The New York herald., 1922-11-07
WASHINGTON FEARS
NEW TURKISH CRISIS
Decision to Keep Clear Of Any
Military Venture i'm East
Is Unshaken.
DYNAMITE IN SITUATION
View Demand for Closed
Straits as Most Serious Fac
tor i'm Situation.
Special Dispatch to THE NEW York HERALD.

tpttlut DtSpOtNH 10 III VIEW ANhh A'HAeAH'
New York Herald Bureau.
Washington, ID. C.. Nov. @.
The new diplomatic offensive sprung
by Mustapha Kemal Pasha, following
the assumption of complete hegemony
In Turkey by the Nationalist Govern
nent. came as a surprise to officials
here. Should the demands reported to
have been made by the Turkish Ma
tionalists prove as drastic as they now
appear Administration officials believe
that the situation is liable to change for
the worse. with the probability of more
war clouds in the Near East.
Most Serious Demand.
The most serious of the demands as
viewed here is that permission OF Tur-
key must be obtained before the war
ships of any power pass through the
straits This declaration is regarde 1
as challenge to the Powers and par
ticularly TO Great Britain.
From the British standpoint the free
dom of the straits is the first neces-
sity toward a stabilized condition in
the Near East. Such freedom would
rot be absolute so long as the Turkish
flag had TO be saluted and foreign war
vessels had to obtain permission to en-
ter the Dardanelles and the Sea OF
Marmora
1t is regarded as probable that the
downfall of Premier Lloyd George may
have encouraged the Nationalist Gov
ernment to launch a new offensive on
the assumption that the new British
Government is committed against war
In the Near East. On the other hand.
while his handling of the Near Eastern
situation was made a strong point in
the attack on Lord George, the impress
sion here is that no British Government
will stand for the return of Turkish
suzerainty over the straits.
Threats of attacks on the Christian
population in Constantinople and else
where in Turkey added to the apprehen-
sion of State Department officials. and
1t was admitted that the situation is
charged with dynamite.
While this Government is on record
as favoring the freedom of the straits
there is no likelihood that the raising of
this issue in the form of the declaration
just handed to the Allied Commissioners
would affect the determination of the
Administration to keep clear OF any
naval or military ventures in the Near
East
Allies May Ask u. s. Intentions.
If the straits have 10 be kept open
by force of arms. the Allies must do it.
On the other hand. in view of the
declaration of Secretary of State Hughes
in regard to the straits It is thought
entirely possible that II a crisis with
the straits as the main issue develops,
the Allies. particularly Great Britain.
may ask this country what ii proposes
TO do to maintain a principle in fact
which il has already indorsed in theory.
II is the attitude of France and not
the attitude of the United States which
Is the perplexing element in the situation.
How far France has gone to assure
Mustapha Kcmal that she would not
stand in the way OF the aspirations of
the Angora Government is not known
here. IL is believed that the assurance
was rather sweeping. and the possibility
that il may have been strengthened since
the fall OF Premier Lloyd George is one
explanation put forward for the diplo-
matte offensive of the Kemalists.
Until the situation has assumed a
more concrete form it Is impossible TO
predict whether or not the Lausanne
conference will be postponed. The con-
that the Mudania armistice agreement
should hold until peace treaty had
been framed. The demand Of Hamid
Bey that allied troops evacuate the So
called neutral region as well as Con-
stantinople is regarded here as a viola
tfon of the armistice