The Morning Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Okla.) 1919-1927, 1921-09-18

at no distant date dispose of Turk
ish resistance. Guerrilla warfare
may continue, but with the Bagdad
line solidly In Greek hands, "A real
frontier, militarily speaking. W uld
seem to be assured the Greeks, a
line which might be held with a
minimum of military expenditure.
The Forbidden Fruit
But, assuming that this be the
military situation. what of the
political? Already Athens has
begun to clnmor for this occupa-
ton OF Constantinople. On the
military side this is logical. The
Turk has been beaten and his
capital lies open. Should not the
Greeks enjoy the right which their
SUCCESS has established? But on
the political side the situation Is
different, Allied fleets and troops
dominate and occupy Constnnti-
noplc. - fOrciblc entrance of the
city Is quite impossible, unthink-
able.
Thus Greece, at the moment. finds
herself in an even more disappoint-
Ing situation than Russia, after her
victories which led to San Stefano.
Still ii is plain that the existing sit
uation cannot endure indefinitely.
Today Greece occupies Thrace and
thus commands the landword an
proach to Constantinople from Eu-
rope. Her armies have passed the
BaEdad railway in Asia and thus
similarly C ontrol the landward roads
to Scutari. which faces CONSTANT
nople across the Straits. Either
Greece must be compelled 10 evacu-
ate her Asiactic conquests or Con-
s~tantinople must, In the end pass
to her.
Britain Enters Again
But who will compel her 10
cvacuate? Britain, on the whole
secs Greek predominancc I'm the
Aegean and Mt the Straits as adj
yantageOus to herself, for Greece
is and must remain a ward and
n protegc OF Britain. II Greece
gets and keeps Constantinople the
old dread OF "a Russian push 10
the open waters OF the Mcditer-
renean will be abolished. Greece
will be n British outpost against
Russia, the English ccntincl on
the Bosporus. And. I'm addition,
the Greek army will he available
In Asia Ia keep In check the I'M
ruly Turk, who Is u nclghbOr or
Britt oh MCsopotamia.
But IL the Greek obtains Con-
stantinople and retains Ismid, Big
ha, Smyrna and Brusa, then Greece
will become a really considerable
state and what is more, will have
opportunity to repeat the great
achievements OF other
centuries. She will organize Asia
Minor, or to put the thing quite
frankly, British capital and British
resources will finance n Greek oc-
cupation and development of all of
Minor. For If memories OF the
empire will doubtless be
stirred. still II is easy to exaggerate
the limits OF possibility. Yet II Is
far from impossible hat much Of
western Asia Minor may be again
Hellenzied. as II has been more than
in history,
All things considered this would
seem the best solution OF the east
ern question. The Turk is hopeless.
He has lost his European empire
and his Asiatic state Is crumbling,
Constantinople under Greek con-
troll will be "A modern city with all
the circumstances of modern COM
llltlN A1A ~ lLAAAHNl u ~ N1l'NA w.
The British will see 10 that. II will
the greatness, as u trade CEN
ter, as a world port, which it lost
when the Turk brought the paraly-
sis Of Islam TO the shores Of the
Golden Horn. The new Greek state,
surrounding the Aegean and ex-
tending well into the interior of
Minor will represent a return
Of Europe to Asia, new fields will
be titled. new mines opened, rail-
roads will be built, with British
capital, not with Greek, but the
gain will be for all concerned,
Turkish and British.
And There's Italy
But she must recognize that such
expansion of Greece can only be
attained at the expense Of the dear
est hope Of the Italians, As It now
most Italians see their flu
in the Near East. France, is
Algeria, Tunis and Morocco
has forestalled Italy IN that Africa
which was so important a de-
tail In Ancient Rome. Britain has
laid hands upon Egypt and viii
leave II only II IT becomes in fact
free or nominally independent and
actually "A British pr~Otectorate, with
The fact becomingly disguised. Even
on the east coast of the Adriatic,
hopes have been baffled, n
new Jugo-Slav state has risen and
disputes Italian rule In
and asserts claims even 10
Trieste.
Today Tripoli is no solace for
disappointment in Tunis and
recent additions at French and Brit
ish expense in the Sahara ana in
do not reconcile Italy
TO seeing Greece take foot on the
mainland and lay hands
upon Smyrna. which is, mex to
-onstantipoplo, the great prize OF