New-York tribune., 1919-11-23
Europe Is Now Disputing Over
the Settlement of the
Turkish Problem
By Frank II. Simonds
4 FTER the Conference of
~ Paris we are to have a
conference Of London.

Sucn Is tho announcement
now coming from Europe. This
new conference will have vital in
terest for Americans, because it will
deal with the Turkish problem, de-
liberately placed at one side in
Paris pending the outcome Of the
debate in the United States Senate
over the league Of nations phases Of
the Treaty of Versailles.
At Paris Europe derived from the
American representatives the clear
impression that the United States
was prepared to take one and pos
sibly two mandates-that is, that in
accordance with the provisions of
the league of nations we were will
ing to undertake the responsibility
Of protecting and developing coun-
tries incapable alike Of self-defense
or independent existence.
Europe understood this to be the
clear and prevailing opinion in
America and accepted it as assured
that the United States would as
sumo the mandates for CONSTANT
nople and for Armenia. Neither
the President nor Colonel House In
dicated anything but approval Of
such a course, while both pointed
cut that the actual decision in the
matter of mandates would have to
await the decision Of the United
States Senate.
The opposition which has de-
veloped in the United States to the
league Of nations covenant, as
adopted in Paris, took the European
world by surprise. It had never
counted upon effective opposition; it
had conducted its negotiations with
tho assurance that, even though
tl,sre might be superficial political
objection, the country at large would
support the President and the Presi-
dent would have no difficulty in
overwhelming political opposition by
e direct appeal to the people them
selves. At the beginning of June,
when ! left Paris, the opposition to
the President in the United States
was regarded by all Europe and
the representatives at Paris as quite
negligible.
That the President favored al
American mandate, that he looked
with sympathy upon two mandates,
those of Constantinople and Ar
menia, was we'll known in Paris and
no secret was made Of this fact
by his associates, notably Colonel
House. Neither the President nor
Colonel House could commit the
United States to the acceptance Of
a mandate and neither, of course,
undertook any such promise, but
what Europe gathered was that If
the President won in the matter Of
the treaty, and victory was assured
after possible delay incident to an
appeal to the American people, then
America would participate in the
settlement Of the Turkish problem.
A P0stp0nenent
But pending the American deci-
sion it was inevitable that the Turk
ish problem should be postponed.
The result has been that any general
settlement has been postponed. But
III the absence Of any general solu-
ton many partial arrangements
have been made and practically the
whole Of the seacoast, together with
the so-called Arabic provinces Of
Turkey, has been occupied by Eu-
ropean nations. Moreover, save in
the cases of Constantinople and
Armenia, these occupations have
begun to assume a more or less per-
nanent character.
Thus, at the moment when 1t ap-
afars, at least superfcially, to be the
~w Of the American people that
NO mandate b accepted BY them,