El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1920-09-18

| the emphasis laid on this position al
during the war and in Ghe peace ne
/ gotiations. One OF the first acts OF
I Britain after the war began was 20
proclaim the proteeetorate over Esypt-
I Immediately after Turkey entered the
war she hurried troops to sieze the
I territory at the head Of the Persian
gulf and 20 start on the road 10 Bag
dad; and soon afterwards other troops
were sent to Gallipoh to capture the
/ entrance TO the Black sea
/ Throughout the war men and mu-
] nitions were diverted to Mesopolarlla
] and Palestine, despite the opposition
Of the military commanders VINO
[ pleaded that every. resource should be
I thrown into France 10 defeat Ger
many. Chances were taken OF as
/ aster in the west 70 pursue the AIMS
OF the empire builders
! Immediately following the war these
Influences set out 20 get control or
] Persia and negotiated the secret
D treaty whereby they were 10 oversee
the military and financial affairs OF
Near Cause OF Breach.
It is known that this treaty almost
/ caused a breach among the allies az
+ the peace table, so holly was ~ re-
[ sented by American and trenc1l
I statesmen. Yet the British insisted
on clinEing TO IL and also on pushing
] their advantage further and taking
away from Russia its Caucasus pos
] sessions and erecting them into -DuL-
Z fer states" under British protection
AN these things fitted into one
plan. africa was to be dominated
from the Cape TO Cairo ana a com
I pact British empire was 70 connecs
/ eastern Asia with africa. all the ana
routes TO India being held and the In
! dian ocean dominated II was a
D scheme wei worthy Of the -coiossa-
German empire builders me -al-l
was that 70 took no account OF aclu-
alities. The Britain Wnich Iouna "
l self strained by the task Or Wlplns
up the Boer republic could hardly
hope TO subdus the Slav and MoharIl-
medan worlds when II was sorely
I crippled as the result OF the great
war, divided at home and faced by
] Jealous rivals on the continent o.
Europe. Since the Catholic world Is
being arrayed against il through the
Irish rebellion. the situation has be-
come even worse
Prestige Badly Impaired.
What we have witnessed In the last
ten months has been steadily rising
tide against the British which has
resulted in serious impairment OF
their prestige in The near east Their
reign In India and elsewhere In recent
centuries has been based largely on
this prestige. and In turn II was
founded not wholly on the idea OF
overwhelming power, but largely on
moderation In government IL mad
been the policy more than once TO
protect the shrines Of Islam from
Christian invasion and 10 plac1Le the
eastern peoples rather than rule them
By force. Such policies, however,
were cast aside when the attempt
was made to annex the holy places OF
Islam. and much OF the prestige
which had been based on moderation
was lost I am not discussing the
right or wrong OF these actions but
merely setting down the effects.
A serious BLOW 70 British military
prestige, in turn was dealt In sLne
spring, when the BolsheTiki marched
the buffer states" and swept into
Persia, with the demand that the Brit
fsh should get out Tbs effect was
seconded by the spectacle OF pu1ssant
Britain having 70 call In little Greece
70 do The fighting In western Turkey.
Now the word has gone out through
the bazars that the Nationalists OF
EETpC, who were prescribed BY the
peace conference and hunted down Tor
months, have compelled the states
men OF London to come 10 terms and
that the Nauonallsts OF Persia have
had similar success with their treaty.
Serious Situation in Mesopotamfn.
We see ali this working out In
Aesopotamia- Little BY little we learn
70 what straits the British have been
brought In that land OF promise,
which was to pour out agricultural,
mineral and oil riches 10 relieve the
financial strain on the empire Bag
dad has been almost eucompassed by
the tribesmen couverging on IL from
all sides Communication with the
] Persian gulf, by railroad and river.
has been cut more than once. Carl
sons sent 20 outlying districts have
been surrounded and some relieved
with difficulty Worst OF all, the In
dian troops have proved unreliable in
many instances, apparently having
little stomach for fighting their fell
low fasteners. the Arabs. and in
some cases going over 20 the enemy
with their arms.
Mesopotamia must Be evacuated I'M
less the British are prepared TO pour
into IL more scores Of millions and