The Washington times., 1922-10-02

PO oAAyB SoA WV >AoaS
seems softened. The Turks re-
tire a little. Kemal may prove
to be a wise Turk, willing to
enjoy what he has accom-
plished, instead of pushing on
to his own destruction. Few
conquerors know enough for
that
If Turkey subsidies, "civil-
lied" Europe can again turn to
squeezing all possible out of
Germany and forcing Russia to
pay old debts. France still has
that dream.
1t is interesting to read that
c0unselors of the Pope, old
and wise, with the wisdom of
many centuries, deal with the
Russian problem as though Boil
shevism were to last at least
fifty years more.
1t has been we'll said that the
Vatican thinks "in centuries"
whereas other statesmen think
from hour to hour.
In a strange way the pay
ment of reparations and ma
tional debts is avoided. 1t is
not by hiding money, but SIM
ply making it worthless.
There is hardly enough paper
in .Russ;n to print as many
rubles as would be needed to
pay the billions that France
foolishly lent the Gar, plus the
few hundred millions that our
ignorant bankers sent to Russia
when the coming revolution
should have been evident to
any high school boy. The old
plan to avoid payment was hid
ing money. Now it is initiating
money. And the new plan
works.
Have you heard the story
from Vienna, illustrating what
the drop in paper money
means?
A Vienna tradesman died
during the war, leaving one
million krOnen to his two sons.
One, virtuOus, put his in the
state savings bank and lived on
the interest. The other, vicious,
filled a magnificent cellar with
the finest wines, invited his
friends, and announced that he
meant to Give"
The fortune of the virtuOus
son has shrunk to SIS; his
annual income is so cents. be-
cause of the drop in krOnen. He
is a beggar. The vicious son
drank up every cent, but saved
the bottles, and those, he has
sold for 100000 kronen, six
teen times what his father left
him.
What's the moral Of that?
Mustapha Kemal, with Euro
pean statesmen bowling and
placating him, may for the
moment rest on his oars, to
enjoy the fruits of victory and
the humiliation of Greece, the
ancient enemy. None the less,
trouble is coming from Asia.
You remember the "grand. in
spring" days of the "man-
dates" when they wanted Us
to take Turkey, under the
League of Nations? Nice little
orphan we should have adopted
had we taken Turkey under our
wing. and nicely fitted our
hiohly-educated Government
would be for that kind of long
distance job.
Luckily the voters stopped
that, and brought our Govern
rnent back to the United States
from its megalomaniac tramp
abroad. But European natiocs
were not as wise. The French,
with the Syrian mandate, are
trying to rule the Svrians, as
they rule the blacks in Africa,
i"ncrinP difference in the breed.
The result is bitter Syrian
hatred Of France that compels
her to keep 100000 soldiers in
Syria-not cheap.
To offset her lack Of popu-
larity in Syria, France has cul-
tivated the friendship Of Turks
and Arabs. 1t was largely the
machine guns, field artillery,
flying machines. and flying
teachers sent to Turkey by the
French that enabled Kemal to
defeat the Greeks. 1t is plain
that European nations con-
fpiring against their fellow-na-
tions. with semi-barbarous Asia,
will have a bill to pay, soon or
late.
England also has her "man-
date" worries, made more acute
by Kemars triumph. Naturally
the Turks will turn toward
Mesopotamia, where the nice
oil is stored under ground.
Next England would see the
Turks, made dangerous by vic
tory, pressing against the bor-
ders of India. To penetrate