New-York tribune., 1920-05-09
Only Time will Determine Whetbe,
the Turks and Arabs Will Submit
tothe San Reno Verdict


Lesser Arpenia the Armenians are
but a <vspairing remnant. 1t is
here that massacres have been most
systematic, not merely in recent
war times, but stretching back over
many years.
| To include Lesser Armenia in the
new Armenian state is to greatly
expand the task Of administration,
Of garrisoning; to multiply the ex-
pense in money and in lives. In the
days when the Allies were making
secret treaties against Germany
both the Armenias were assigned to
Russia. Thus, it was agreed that,
through Asia Minor, Russia would
realize her long sought goal, an out
let on the Mediterranean. For such
a task the old Russia was we'll
equipped, with her vast resources
in men and her autocratic govern
ment, which permitted the rulers to
! use their resources, human and ma
terial, as they chose.
But all arrangements went by the
board, with SO many more, when
Russia turned Red. Now, in SIM
pie terms, the proposal to the
| United States to fix the frontiers Of
Armenia amounts merely to a polite
reference to the country Of the dou-
BILE problem. We are asked, in
terms:
"Will you accept any response
bility? Will you accept responsibility
for all Of Armenia, as the Arme-
mans draw their boundaries, with
full justice, recognizing the old stu
alton before the massacres, or only
for the Greater Armenian"
Problem Must Be Faced
Beyond indicating the greatness
Of the task shall not say more now
Of the Armenian mandate. 1t is
clear that, despite q certain sympa-
thetic response to the proposal, the
sense Of the country seems against
it. But later developments may
change this sentiment. What one
must do is to approach it frankly,
with a clear vision Of the extent of
the task, for if we accept the man
date we cannot afford to fail and
we cannot draw back.
There remain three other aspects
of the Eastern questionable Italian,
the Greek and the Turkish, the lat
ter complicated by the new turn of
affairs which has brought Great
Britain to Constantinople instead
of Russia, her old rival, and Ger
many, her recent opponent, who for
the years of the war dominated the
Golden Horn to the infinite cost of
her enemies.
Italian aspirations are, for the
moment, limited to the southern
coast Of Asia Minor, the Italian
sphere extending round the corner,
as it were, to the port of Adm, that
is, from the French Syrian mandate,
which begins at the Gulf of Alexan-
dretta and runs south to the coast
of Palestine, to the Greek sphere,
which begins just north of the Mean
der River in western Asia Minor.
Now, for this Italian claim to a
sphere Of influence in Asia Minor
there is only one thing to say. 1t
does not rest on concern for any
adjoining territory, like British
claims in Arabia, where Britain is
influenced by Egyptian and Indian
interests. 1t does not, as in the case
of French claims on Syria, rest
upon traditional policy and large
material investments. 1t is purely
and simply a question Of colonial
ambition.
Italy Wants Share
Italy Is Mediterranean power,
the largest Of the merely Mediter
ranean powers. She sees Britain.
France and even Greece greatly in
, creaSing their Mediterranean hold
ings, and she demands share. Her
claim has been recognized by her
allies, and she finds herself about to
undertake a new colonial venture
on the southern shore of Asia Minor.
But she has to reckon with two hos
tilities, the Greek and the Turkish.