Evening star., 1922-09-24
BRTTAIN'S POLITICAL SUN :
in DANGER OF ECLIPSE
French Dominance Assured Should Eng.
land Be Defeated in Stand as
to Dardanelles. =

IN theSe regions, ana tneSc nave
proven SO untrustworthy In mum :
Der of combats. that the British have
been forced to give up advanced posi-
tions.
Complete Turkish success In regain
ing the Dardanelles, reseattng them.
selves In Constantinople, Thrace and
Adrianople. means but one thing from
the British standpoint. and that is an
outbreak Of the whole Mussulman
peoples not only In mandated terri
tories. but in those regions long
recognized as British. A wave OF dis
fest and propagandists have avatled
themselves Of this chance In India.
where since Ghandi spread his doc
trines there are ever increasing demands
that the British grant the fullest form
Of seIf-definition. Certain Indian In
ternal policies, such as colonization.
have been repeatedly attacked and
the colonial office In London has been
kept busy explaining away Its mis-
takes and the charges directed
against it.
Hatred Famed By Reds.
The Mohammedan peoples hatred OF
the British not only has been famed
by bolshevist agents, but Turkish as
WELL In view Of the clash between
the French and the British over the
Arabic countries and the dominating
position at Constantinople and the
Dardanelles. which were placed under
supposedly joint allied control after
the armistice. British suspect that the
French have fathered-at least have not
discouraged In the least-efforts to dis
credit the British policy among Moham-
medan peoples. The British however,
have been in large measure to blame
for the rapid rise Of anti-British senti-
ment in regions Of the near east. The
reasons are plain.
During the war Britain promised
this effectively not only in gaining
support in the east. but in under
mining enemy morale. This principle.
1t must be said in all truth. has not
been fully lived up, to since the war
endeth Only a measure Of self-dehnt-
ton has been granted to Asiatics who
fought for the allies. and naturally they
are asking: III European peoples have
been united under their o&n rule. why
have not been slow to cite alleged be-
trayal Of wartime promises.
Activities in Caueasus.
When the armistice came the British
set about to consolidate their gains in
the near east They first dispatched a
large force Of men to the Caucasus,
there to ostensibly shield India from
the incursion Of the bolshevists. More
likely it was to obtain grip upon the
Baku oil fields. At any rate. the British
about nine months after the collapse Of
Denillen. withdrew before Red advances.
They remained in Persia and instead of
fighting with the Persians. stated that
they were not there to fight but to
morally support the Persians. who them
selves directed their attacks against the
reds. At this juncture the British con-
trolled Persia politically and militarily.
SO to speak. and the regime IN Teheran
1t is claimed that $750.o00 was used
by the British among Persian govern
ment officials at this Juncture to pro-
tect their positions. News OF this alone
has tended Led. TO British prestige tes
financial reasons the British withdrew
their forces from Persi2 the bolshevists
likewise withdrew their forces from
threatened regions. This tended to un-
dermine all previous British claims that
shevist advances. The blunders made
by British colonial agents in handling
the whole Persian and Caucasus ques-
tion. with subsequent growth Of boil
shevist influence In all those regions
skirting the eastern sections Of the Black
influence.
Friction in MeseDotamia.
The manner in which the British have
handled the Mesopotamian and Arabic
questions has caused a great deal Of
friction. The British not only made
Feisal King of Irak, but established
King Hussein in the Tramsjordanian
regions Both are members Of the old
Sheridan family Of Mecca and always
have been more or less unpopular
among Mussulmans throughout Arabic
regions.
It is a known fact that Ibn Saud
and his Wahabite followers have only
been restrained from operating
against the Transjordanian and Irak
regions through the annual grant Of
$4,000 a year from Great Britain.
rests indirectly with the British
through their espousal Of Abdullah
and Eeisal. Britain must protect
Mecca and Medina: Through forced
economy England has been unable
deemed necessary to the furtherance
of its policy. The main protection
Of the lslamic holy regions has been
left to airplane detachments and q
comparatively small number Of troops
of other branches.
rulers, known enemies of the sultan's
caliphate, never will. be sanctioned
by Mohammedans unless It Is proven
that they always will, be. safe. and
this the Mohammedan cannot recon-
cile with present conditions.
Furthermore. the Mohammedan Is ar
guing: why should we not end in
security. unite the whole Of the Mo-
hammedan world and protect its insti-
tutions against Christian domina-
tion?"
In centuries past the Mohammedan
world has been unable to unite in any
sort of holy war, because OF tribal
jealousies and fine religious distinc-
tions. but with the Turkish victory
insured, with complete backdown
by the allied nations. it 'is believed
old differences would be forgotten
and the Mohanmedan world move as
a unit in sustaining its dominance in
Mohammedan lands. and with the
view Of forever precluding Christian
influence. Hence the British danger.