The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1920-03-22
bag and Baggage"

! Gladstone coined the phrase, and the
election of the Turks from Europe
came to be an ideal with 10th century
British liberals, reacting against the
pro- Turkish policy under Disrael OF
the tories, who later found, in Lord
Salisbury's words, that they had bet
on the wrong horse When Turkey, in
November, 1914, entered the great war
there was general feeling in England
that at last Gladstone's words would
be fulfilled, that the Turk would be
thrown out of Europe bag and bag
gage" This prospect gave a general
satisfaction which was somewhat
married when the news leaked out,
through the ransacking of the cars
archives by the reyolutionists, of the
secret treaty by which France and
Great Britain allowed Russia to take
Constantinople, France in return get
! ting the promise of the cars support
at the peace conference for the project
of Remembering Germany by cutting
off the left bank of the Rhine. The
disruptive effects in Europe OF the pub
LEGATION by the bolsheviki of this and
other intensely secret treaties cannot
even yet be fully measured
In Russia the immediate effect was
to stimulate powerfully the demand
for peace. The reyolutionists did not
want Constantinople and considered its
seizure by force unethical Since they
would not fight TO win Constantinople
for Russia, obviously they would not
fight to win the left bank of the Rhine
for France Here was the beginning of
the bitter feud between France and
the Russian revolution. Russia's de
mand, through 1917, for treaty revi-
sion was in the main call to the allies
to abandon their secret war aims as
Russia under its new government had
done with the cars war aims, The al
lies were embarrassed; under ques-
tioning the spokesman for the British
told the House of Com
mons that the treaties were still bind
ing but that if Russia refused Con
stantinople the allies could not force
its acceptance.
When Russia declined to take it Con.
stantinople became, in fact, serious !
problem for the allies The simplest |
wav out would have been to assign II |
under mandate 10 the United States, |
which would have been expected to ex-
ecute its duties in an altruistic fash |
ion, and of which no other power would /
have been suspicious. Even Greece,
which had bitterly resented the assign
ment of the Turkish capital to Russia.
and had counted when the ezar was
,verthrown upon succeeding to his
,laim, would have been measurably
-econciled To a mandate for the United
states. II only because the position of
his country on the Bosphorus would
ave been considered only temporary; 4
ooner or later Greece firmly expects
o get possession OF the capital of the
I'D eastern empire. But for the treaty
elay there might have been chance
Il settling the Turkish problem. by far
he most difficult of all the problems
( making peace, in more nearly ideal
manner than can now be hoped for.
The question of Constantinople has [
ow become subordinate TO the graver
uestion of psrtitioning Turkey on i'm
erialistic lines in such a manner as
ill not provoke new wars. Gladstone's
hrase has i'm fact got a little out of I
ate: bag and baggage implies di-
iding line between Europe and Asia
,hich is no longer visible; with the |
Lies scrsmbling for Asiatic territory,
here is nothing specially sacred about
he soil of Europe. and that Constan-
nople stands on the right instead Of
he left bank OF the dividing stream ,
ecomes relatively a matter of indif- .
,rencc, and even the liberal press is
ivided on the question. The great
hing is TO safeguard Christian peoples :
-om massacre and oppression; II this q
IN be done. the world viii get on,
neither the city Of Constantine Is
hristian or Moslem; if the allies fail
, accomplish this, they viii have Ia
BRED in vain even IL the Turk Is eject
] from Europe bag and baggage. -
pTingfield Republican.