Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-07-23

New York, July 2l.-The announce
mont that the French troops in Syria have
hsu,ln a double offensive, directed both ~
Alcppo and Damascus, with upwards of
-5. 900 men engaged, draws attention to
one mor interesting and important de-
yclopment In the Near Fast. At the
nfcsent moment the British, In co-opera-
tiou with the Greeks, are making war upon
the Turk in Anatolla, the French have
now undertaken war upon the Arabs,
while British and French foreign offices
continue to quarrel over the respective
spheres and interests between Son-
s,antinople and the Middle Tigris
I'm making war upon the Arabs the
Frcaeh-are assailing one of the most IN
qenious and successful British creations.
h Will 10 recalled that during the world
war while Great Britain recognized
French claims TO the Syrian region from
tho Gulf II Alexandretta TO Palestine, 1T
was british troops which actually con-
oucred the country. Allenbys famous
yirtories south Of Jerusalem and at
Arnagctldon were won with only tiny
Funch contingent assisting, but with
er,at British forces and very considerable
Arah contributions.
n vns the idea of the British, more or
Iess formulated hy Colonel Lawrence, one
~ the most brilliant of young En gllsh-
mon. who acquired an enormous influence
among the Arabs, 20 use the Shent OF
Mecca. as the central figure IN the creation
uf an Arab state, extending from Mecca TO
AlcNandrctta and from Egypt 10 SYRIA:
Prince Feisal, the son OF the Sheni OF
Mecca headed the Arab contingents IN the
war and after the war attended the Paris
Conference. where he was hacked by the
Rr,t,sb and opposed bv the French, who
saw their Near Eastern colony disappear
me In the new Arab kingdom.
The various mauruvrss at Pans aud
SINCE. are too intricate 10 be recapituiat-
"a now informed American sympathies,
powerfully voiced Nv the late DR.. Howard
Hiss ~ Beirut College, while refraIning
from opcn championship of the Arab
kingdom, favored some sort OF Syrian
lndependcnoe, hacked by the League OF
Nations and founded upon some expires
siou of the wlll Of the people. Tins posi-
tiop was equally unsatisfactory 70 the
British. for whom the Arab kingdom was
no more than dcvlcr for controlling all
of the Arab world and to tn French, who
wanted "A syrian colony, with no more
limitations than were imposed upon the
British m their Egyptian possession
The long battle between the French and
the AaIlfANh NtsN lpbAAit .tAA wv NA'N .NN''
East In recent months the French have
manifestly separated themselves from the
british They have entered into an arms
uce with the Turks, north Of syria, at the
urrcisc moment when the British and the
t,Teeks are attacking them south OF Con-
stantlnoplc They have withdrawn Their
scattered detachment from all OF Turkey
and concentrated them IN Syrla, where
thcv are commanded by General Gou-
r,,a.d. victor Of the last battle of Cham
paqne m July, 1918, which broke the
hnal Iudendorff offensive and opened the
wav 20 the victory of the Second Marne.
Now the French have begun a war upon
Prince Fcisal and the Arab kingdom. Their
ltnmedlatz, obiectIves are Damascus and
Aleppo, grxat cities not far from the
SYRIAN littnr,l. the latter Of which is ON
the Bag,iad railway, at the junction be
tween that great trn.k line and the SYRIAN
railways whsch now extend south TO
Palestine, where they connect with the
railway the British have constructed
from Egypt. Aleppo is, then, the great
railway centre Of Eastern Asia, the point
where the lines frum Bagdad and Cairo
ment
Holding Aleppo, Damascus and the
seaports of Tr1poi and Beirut, the French
u
Bagdad railway upon the Mediterranean.
Evcn II the British, with the Greeks. sue
ceed IN dominating AnatolIa and retain |
enntrnl ~ Mesopotamia and Of Palestine, |
the French thus interpOse wedge OF /
thelr own territory between the two halves /
and control very long stretch of the con- I
Meeting Bagdad railway, as well as an
even longer stretch Of the railway binding /
& Constantinople 70 Cairo and constituting /
not merely the railway link between
Europe and Africa, hut the eSs initial link |
m what will undoubtedly one day be the
Cape Tovn-Calais line
Il Is, then, 10 say the least, annoying
T. the British II see the French entrench-
od Ia such s. strategic position and the
British Office has fought ever since the
4 rTnlstsce 70 shake French claims IN tins
region Pans was battle-ground through
out the conference and the French were
compelled 20 surrender MosJll and much
a the Sy1an hinteriand. But they held
hlst IN SYRIA and made good their claims
Recently they have been involved In
sighting with the Turks north Of Aleppo at
Aintah detail IN general Allied policy /
q partitIoning Turkey But, dissatisfied |
Alth British influence. they have with
iravn from this operation. agreed TO an |
l7nistIce with the Turk and turned their /
ges toward Syria, leaving the British, /
with the Greeks. TO dispose OF the Turk |
md not Disgusting their sympathy with the /
Did enemy