Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-01-12
.EJJRf1RE ONCE MORE
GRHpPLES OBSTACLE
=. TIlsWORLD HARMONY
In Gospipncstiion With America, Powers
Seakasstos@@Settle Perplexities Crow
al
ing Out of Eastern Question.

That northern Epirus also Hellenic.
should fall to Greece. and not to tina
Albanian state which is to be a pro-
tectorate of Italy. all but Italy con-
cede.
But conceding, as one must, that
Greece should receive these gifts at
Versailles which constitute an elini-
nation of her own acknowledgement
that she must receive the islands and
the mainland in Asia Minor and
Epirus. by exactly the same logic that
Trieste and the Trentino are to be al
lotted to Italy-will the fri-nds of
Greece seek to saddle upon this little
nation the great responsibilities Incl
dent to the possession of CONSTANT
nople and the guardianship of the
straits? This would mean to put
Greece between two fires. that grow
ing out of Italian jealousy and that
bound to come. if Russia ever regains
unity and strength.
To me. the claims of Greece to Con-
stantinople, as well as to the Bulga-
rian shore. seem sound enough in JUS
tice, but unwise in fact. AT all events.
it would be unwise to press them
now. Nothing is more certain than
that an internationalized Constanti-
nople will at no distant time become a
Hellenic city once more.
Future of Constantinople.
In all human probability the u1ti-
mate fate of Constantinopie will be
to become a part of a new Greek
world: it is not an idle dream to i'm
agine that there will be a rapid and
enormous Hellenic renaissance whom
both sides of the Aegeans and all the
islands are Joined to that Greek state
which already has pushed far north
in the aBlkan peninsula retaining
much of the Macedonia of Alexander
the Great. A few years of peace and
he Greeks will do the rest; they are
the traders of this region; they have
the commercial aptitudes and the ira
mastery of this market. and
tanned it.
This is what the Italians perceive
and this is the explanation of the
italian effort to curb Greek aspira-
lions on all sides--in Epirus in the
aegean, on the mainland of Asia
Minor. 1t would be a crime to give
Sardinia and Sicily to Spain or to
Britain. just as it was a crime to de-
prive Italy of Trieste and the Tren-
tine. There is nothing that can be
said for Italy with respect to her ir-
redenta that cannot be said with
equal emphasis for Greece in her ire
ienta.
Possible Result Suggested.
There remains the third solution.
that of international control. and I be-
ieve this will be the solution adjusted,
But even here the task will not be
Easy. International control has never
proved happy. 1t was a failure where
ever tried in Turkey. 1t can succeed
now only IL there is a new spirit in
The world and a new atmosphere of
trust between the nations. But If the
eastern question could be settled by
The occupation and administration OF
Constantinople. by some International
'orce, then there would be an end of
The plottfngs and strivings Of the va
-ious nations to control this water
way, the outlet of Russia and .Ru-
mania, perhaps the most important
single strategic point in the world,
Is 1t has been the center Of more
struggles than any other point.
What the geographical limits of
ematical. 1t might be wise to per-
nit Bulgaria to reoccupy Adrianopie
and return to the Enos-Midia line,
thus finding some solace for the ter
nination of her hopes in Macedonia
Europe accepted such solution after
the first Balkan war, but Bulgaria
threw away her gains when she
risked the second and Turkey took
advantage of Bulgarian defeatto re-
turn to her lost citadel.
Inclusion Of Ga1lipoli.
Gallipoli, on the northern shore, with
its evil memories, will have to be in
cluded in the new international state,
as well as the whole Asiatic shore
from the Black sea to the Plain of
Troy. with one or two of the small
islands near the mouth Of the Dar-
Enthusiastically Tenedos-but this
would in reality mean only q very
small state, little more than thin
facade facing the vital waterways. but
including Constantinople. Back Of 1t
the population is Turkish. Brusa, the
Did capital fthe Osmanlfs. perhaps
their new headquarters, if they retire
to Asia Minor, is within sight Of the
Sea of Marmora.
Farther south. facing Greece. Smyr-
ma and a considerable area. including
the many peninsulas and islands and
a fairly extended hinter1and from
Mytilene to Rhodes. should be Greek.
Here wdell something like two mil
lions Of Greeks, and behind them is
a population once Hellenic and stiil
the Greek tradition. In
this way there would be created a
new Greece Of from eight to ten mil
lions of people, while by abandoning
it's aspirations for Byzantium this
new state with ancient memories
would avoid the great perils which
must come to any small country hold
ing the gateway, by which large
states would advance.
Reduced to One Conclusion.
international control of CONSTANT
nople an dthe strait is. then. the sin
question. With RuInania, the Jugo-
Slavs and the Bulgarians. as we'll as
the Greeks, finally arranged within
which are based upon
right and Justice: with Bulgaria, the
one disturbing factor. finally e1iri-
mated as factor for harm. since she
will no longer be able to meet any
bat, the eastern question may disap-
pear and the unhappy people of the
Balkans at last. after centuries of
suffering, be able to begin a new life,
possessing at last the opportunities
of prosperity and liberty. so long de-
MED them alike by their Turkish
masters and by the rival jealousies
hands.
Apart from the problem Of Con-
stantinople. there remains only the
question of Albania to be settled. To-
day this is less difficult than it was
when the conference of London wres-
tied with 1T in 1912 and the peace of
Europe hung upon the ultimate
agreement of rival alliances over the
ultimate disposition of Ipek and ia
cova.
Race, But Not Nation.
There is an Albanian race. but there
is no Albanian nation and there never