Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-06-08
TURKISH EMPIRES FALL.
GIVESDOUBLE PROBLEM
Constantinople Puzzle for Conferences
U.s.. Would Have Difficult but I'm .,
selfish Opportunity in Armenia. =. -

to create harhors 1t will have to
maintain a considerable army over
an extended period of time in a coun-.
try where disorder has been the COM
| mon circumstance for a thousand,
years. where racial feuds have led to.
massacre time and again. 1t Will
| take at least half century to put
Armenia on its feet. hut. on the other
| hand. there is no mandatory within
the gift of the league of nations
which would offer a greater chance
| for unselfish human service. The Ar
menians themselves are industrious.
their country has great mineral re-
sources. great possibilities OF ulti-
mate prosperity.
If q. S. Takes Armenia.
If an American mandatory is to he
stretched to cover Constantinople,
Anatolia and Armenia. the task will
| be far more gigantic and far more
difficult. Constantinople has been the
cause of more wars than almost any"
other city in the world. 1t is hard to-
| believe that in the future IL will be
less coveted. Greek and Bulgarian
| ambitions will continue. The day is.
almost certain to come when Russia
will once more look southwark to-
ward Anatolia We shall find our
selves faced with seven million Turks,
! who will hardly welcome our role and
we shall find ourselves confronted
! with the task of defending them
against Greek and Italians. The man.
! datory for Constantinople. Anatolia
and Armenia would mean the employ
ment of an army of quarter of
million Americans for an extended
period of time. 1t would mean an.
| enormous task of organization. indus
| trially as well as politically, and IL
would mean inevitable participat ton in
all disputes of the future in the near
east. 1t would mean. in reality, that
| Europe had transferred to the United
States the gigantic task OF solving
| the old eastern problem, which is and
remains beyond European possibili-
ties but we should find ourselves
handicapped in such a solution by the
! fact that the essential parts of the
| territory affected have already been
assigned to Italy and Greece. includ
/ ing the natural borders Armenia
would be a much less ambitious task.
| but one the difficulties of which could
| not be exaggerated. 1t would GER
| tainly take thousands of American
| soldiers and consume years. / have
| said. and l repeat. no finer work of
national unselfshness is conceivable.
| and if any mandatory is TO be taken.
by the United States, none is more
worthy of our acceptance. since none
! would provide greater opportunities,
| for service and fewer for profit. But
(. it would be task beside which the .
Philippines was child's play, and Cuba
| a mere pastime.
1t remains now to deal with the
Arabian portion of the old Turkish
/, empire. lying south of the latitude Of
the Gulf of Alexandria,. Here, now.
this problem presents itself. Cnder
British auspices. there has arisen a
pan-Arabic movement and a new Arab
kingdom. With British authority, tho
King of the Hedjaz has accepted NOM
| inal control over all the old Arab re-
gions from the Red sea to the Cilicians
gates, including Syria. Mesopotamia,
| Palestine and Arabia proper. Thou
sands of Arab troops fought with All
lenby. and their aid contributed much
to the defeat of the Turk
But il the British encouraged the"
King of the Hedjaz to conquer with
their aid these old Arab regions. they
also signed a treaty with the French
assigning Syria to France, and recr
ognized a special French claim IN
the time of the crusades. Thus the
British find themselves in the pres
ence of two pledges. totally opposed.
one made to the King of the Hedjaz
| and the other to the French and out
| of this conflict has come one OF the :
most acute questions Of the Paris con-
| ference. '-it
Solution Seems in Sight.
Today a solution seems in sight.
which will include the territories be-,
! tween the upper Euphrates and the2
| Mediterranean, south of the latitude
of Alexandretta. extending to Pales-
| tine and the great desert. Beirut,
Aleppo. Damascus are to fall within
| the French sphere. France is to rule
under a mandatory of the league of
nations. but with special recognition
of certain of the claims of the King
/ of the Hedjaz. In the Same way
Great Britain is to have Mesopotamia
as far north as Diarbekir and MosuI 4
and Palestine-that is to say. the ter
ritories which have peculiar impor-
| lance for India and for Egypt. >
! But it will be seen by this brief re-
view how incomplete and fragment
airy after all are the settlements or
| expedients which are being adopted
| so far as Turkey is concerned. After
Turkish empire as the Austro-Hun-
i garian. There is the same weller Of
races within. there is the same rivalry
] Of claimants from without. In plac-
| ing Italians on the south shores Of
/ Asia Minor. where they have no rights
based on the will of the populations
, in creating divisions in the Arab pop
! ulation between the French and the
| an indefinite period OF unrest. Ger
| tainly the Turk has shown himself
J incapable of self-government. By
| contrast. dividing the territory which
is economically unit in Asia Minor
| as in the old Austria Hungary, opens
| the way to vast difficulties in the flu
| ture. and in these difficulties we shaliS
he involved II we accept any man
datory in this region.
] do not think there is any questions
| that the Armenian population would
| welcome an American mandatory. Z
! do not think there is any doubt that
| because of our lack of self-interest in
d, that region, we should be the best
| mandatory. On the other hand, to
| take Constantinople. Anatolia and Ar
menia would be to take a country GER
tainly as great in area as France and
Italy. populated by people of many
| races. holding several faiths. who RAJ
cially and religiously have been fight
ing for a thousand years. To take
Armenia would mean small task. but
one not the less complicated. Even II
the faithful discharge Of this task did
not involve us in war with any great
power, it would in the nature or
things lead to endless disputes, with
[ Russians, British, French and Ital-s
ianS, to say nothing of Greeks Ar
| menians. Turks and Arabs. But il we
do not take a mandatory in the dis
appearing Turkish empire. then MOTH
ing is more certain than that this old
battle ground will become once more
the scene of conflict alike between tho
ambitions of European nations and
the eternal animosities of the races OF
western Asia. Certainly the Americana
presence offers the Armenian people
almost its only hope. while American
occupation of Armenia would create a
buffer state. separating the spheres of