The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-09-29

weight in the capitalization Of the
Senatorial opinion.
Its authors name for the present at
least cannot be given. THE Sun is per-
mitted to publish the following extracts
| from II which bear on the Armenian
problem and incidentally express the
opinions Of a veteran diplomatist on the
League Of Nations questions. The letter
came to the Senator, who has permitted
The SUN to make these excerpts:
mo greater mistake was ever made
than our departure for a moment from
Washington's advice, no entangling al
liances,' and the sooner that the
uAwritten law becomes a part of our
constitutional law, the better; and how
any sensible American can approve
either the League Of Nations pact or the
special alliance agreement IL beyond my
comprehension.
"If the day should ever come when with
our natural safeguards and isolations
we are unable to defend our territory
(which God forbid. the only sensible
| thing left for us to do would be TO either
| select one or more virile nations stin on
the upward march. as allies, or go out
OF business, on the best terms we could
make, as an Independent nation.
| with the growing Socialistic ten.
dencies together with the negro and
other problems we have to solve at
home and the maintenance Of the Mon
roe Doctrine in Central and South
America, we will have our hands quite
full for the next fifty or one hundred
years without adding one iota to the
burden by involving ourselves In Euro
pean squabbles or venturing to attempt
guaranteeing integrity Territorial. hnan-
cial or any other) of the old world
| Powers who have already passed their
zenith and are already on the decline, to
say nothing of the original folly Of
| guaranteeing the integrity Of the inn
mense outlying territorial possessions
| acquired by these Powers by very ques-
tionable methods during the past GEN.
| fury. which they can only retain even
against the peoples of these conquered
nations by force of arms. as It is safe
| to say that few II any of these an
| nexed territories would remain under
the present masters II the Wanted privi-
! lege of self-determination were per-
mitted, prominent examples being al
ready in evidence
| Dangers I'm Armenia.
mo thought of a mandate should be
tolerated for moment, and above all
| that of SO called Armenia, which Is only
| a deceptive geograp hical expression, as
from a national viewpoint Armenia Ia
pon-existent While there are numerous
towns and small districts in Asia Minor
| lying between the Persian frontiers and
the Mediterranean where Armenians
predominant there is no vilayet (equiva-
lent to one of our States), where they
are In a majority.
The way in which the European Pow
ers have been permitted to seize Otto
man territory surrounding districts In
| habited by Armenians, even districts
like Adana, where they abound, as we'll
as their only practical outlet to the sea,
makes ii an impracticable task to es-
tablish n national Armenia and the oner-
Gus task Of protecting them should be
left to the European Powers who have
seized without Judgment or reason the
encircling territory from Turkey. includ-
Ing many districts largely populated by
Armenians, in order to satisfy their own
selfish interests this irrespective of the
native population and greatly to the
disadvantage Of the commercial inter-
ests. The open door will hereafter be
In practice but a small crack with q
chain) zealously guarded.
Turkey always has been forced to
pay the BILL Treaties with her have
never been respected nor has justice or
proper consideration of the difficulties
she had to contend with ever been ac-
corded to her. The reversal of England's
and Frances policy for nearly two CEN
turiss. of keeping Turkeys arch enemy
Russia from absorbing Constantinople
and securing control of the straits and
the Balkans threw Turkey into the
hands OF Germany. as the alliances
| formed by these two countries with Rus
STA In recent years for their own par
tcular interests. after fighting the
Crimean and other wars to keep Russia