The New York herald., 1922-10-03
Hope for Near East Peace.


The tension of the Near East sit
uation is temporarily lessened by the
retirement OF the Turkish soldiers
from the neutral zone along the Dar-
danelles and the acceptance by
KEMAL of the proposal to discuss the
points at issue between the Nation
alists and Great Britain, France and
Italy. The meeting OF representa-
tives OF these interests is to take
place to-day at Mudania. small
town on the Marmora and the seaport
of Brusa. Its purpose is to bring
about an armistice preparatory to a
peace conference-apparently the
conference previously arranged for
Venice-where it is hoped perma-
nent solution may be found for the
whole Near East problem.
KEMAL has not receded from his
previous demands and there is moth
ing in this present movement to in
dicate that he has any intention OF
accepting the British conditions. He
has ordered a retirement of his
troops from the neutral zone along
the Asiatic shore of the Dardanelles.
particularly at ChanalI, the key posi-
tion of the straits, where the Turks
began crowding in soon after they
had successfully completed their oc-
cupation of Smyrna. The danger
which General HARRINGTON saw OF
clash between his troops and the
Turks carried away by their eager
ness to reach Thrace seems thus tem-
porarily to have passed.
The Turkish army still remains
behind the zone limit and is grow
ing in number by accessions which
its successes have brought to it from
central Asia and eastern Turkey
There has been marked concen-
tration OF Nationalist troops at Ismid,
cne of the strong Asiatic defenses OF
Constantinople, which has been taken
10 mean the possibility of an advance
to the Bosporus in case Of the failure
Cf the plans for an armistice. The
evacuation of Erenkeui, within the
neutral zone and five miles east Of
Kun Kale, at the entrance to the
straits from the Egean Sea, has ap-
parently not been carried out, but the
Turkish cavalry has advanced no
further toward the sea.
The disposition of Thrace still re-
mains of vital Importance to both
parties at the Mudania meeting. The
Midia- -Rodosto line, or even the more
liberal Midia-Enos line of past peace
conferences, no longer enters into the
Kemalists' calculations. 1t must be
an entire eastern Thrace, from the
Martha to the Black Sea. with Adri-
anople included, II the Thracian con-
troversy is to be discussed at all
by the Turkish Nationalists. KEMN
reiterates his previous demands for
an immediate occupation Of the coun-
try. He declares that it is necessary
for the protection of the Moslem
population against the Greeks. The
rev Government at Athens is appar-
emily intent on proving it's right to
existence by insisting that Greece
shall retain this territory as awarded
TO her by the Sevres treaty. 1t pro-
poses to send the Greek army which
has returned from Asia Minor to
Thrace in order to protect it and the
Greek people from the Turkish
Nationalists.
The British have won a point In
their control of the shore of the Dar-
danelles, but If the withdrawal OF
Turkish troops from the straits we're
merely to strengthen KEMAL's army
before Constantinople it may be
question If after all they gained any
decided advantage. The difficulty now,
as it has been from the time when
KEmAL first appeared with his army
at the. straits. is in bringing about
settlement OF the Thracian question.
Even If KEMAL is permitted to send
troops to the Thracian border the
temper Of the Greek army is such as
to make clash between the two
armies inevitable.
KEMAL so far has shown the ira
Gitional Turkish patience. He is in
tent on his purpose to enter Europe
and reestablish himself at CONSTANT
nople. He is willing to try either an
armistice or peace conference as
means to these ends; to him they
are parts OF the program. But while
he has been waiting he has learned
that the Western world does not
want him beyond the straits and that
blufing his way into Europe is not
so easy as he thought.
Lenine Back on the JOB.