The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1922-03-28
The Turk Still in Europe.

Paris to the Greek Government at
Athens and the two Turkish Govern
ments, one at Constantinople, the
other at Angora, of the proposed
revision of the Treaty of Sevres
leaves scarcely shred of the famous
allied agreement practically to drive
the Turk from Europe and reduce
the once mighty Ottoman Empire to
a mere shadow of itself. The memo
randum means that Turkish sover-
eighty remains over Asia Minor from
the Persian, Caucasian and Mesopo-
tamian borders to the Mediterranean
and 4Egean seas, while in Europe
the Turk goes back to the Enos-
Midia line of the end Of the Balkan
war. The Greeks are to retain Adri-
anople and the Gallipoli peninsula,
| the Turkish straits are to remain
open, and the Armenians, while con-
tinuing under Turkish sovereignty,
are to be under the protection of
the League of Nations.
The conditions which have caused
this radical revision may be briefly
stated to be the weakening of the
Greek strength, the rebound of the
Turkish power and the influence ex-
erted upon the Near East situation
by the unity of Islam in the demand
for, the protection of the Mohamme-
dan Caliphate. Last November it be-
came evident that the Treaty Of
Sevres was obsolete; for the second
time the Greeks had failed to enforce
their claims against the Turkish Ma
tionalists and there was no longer
any doubt but that the Kemalist
movement was a powerful force,
aptly described as "the only force to
be reckoned with in Turkish ma
tional life, a force which has pro-
voked reverberations far beyond
Turkish territory" To impose the
Treaty of Sevres, it then became
clear, would require an army of at
least 100000. There was no Euro
pean Power which would undertake
to send this force; besides the ques-
ton arose, would it be polite or
in the interest of world peace to send
it even IL it could be raised?
Here was a very different situation
from that which obtained at the time
Of the meeting at Sevres. Then the
II tu
pinely helpless. Vhe Moslems Of In
dia and Morocco had served faith
fully with the armies of Great Brit
ain and France; the Sultan's attempt
to involve the Mohammedan world in
holy war had miserably failed.
These. however, were merely surface
indications. In the first place, so far
as the Constantinople Government
was concerned, Turkish resistance
was futile; but MUsTAPHA KEMAL
Pasha awakening a nationalist senti-
ment spirit in Anatolia proved that
there was still Turkish spirit to be
reckoned with.
In the next place, when the Moham-
medans saw Constantinople, the
seat of the Caliphate, about to be
taken from Islam an intense exas-
peration spread throughout the Mos
lem world. The failure of the
British plans in Persia was due to
the British acceptance OF the terms
of the Sevres Treaty. The Indian Mo-
hammedans may have no special in
terest in the Turk, yet they are
deeply interested in the only impor-
tant independent Moslem State in
the world. The end OF the world
war showed conclusively that Islam
had changed in the last quarter OF a
century and that 1t understood that
unity would give 1t power to attain
its ends.
The Turk came into Europe in
the fourteenth century, he estab-
lished his capital at Adrianople in
1861. he won the battle OF Kossova,
which settled the fate Of the Balkans,
in 1889, and in 1453 he captured Con-
stantinople. At one time he was
battering at the walls OF Vienna.
He was a conqueror, but never a
governor. BY the middle OF the nine
teenth century he was back below
the Danube. He adopted the policy
OF playing one European Power or
group OF Powers against another, a
policy which reached its highest cum
ming in the reign OF ABDUL HAND.
He always held before Europe the
\ green flag Of the Prophet and the
threat of a Mohammedan worldwide
uprising. He knew the value OF Con
stantinople as the central point on
the great overland route from the
Occident to the orient, he knew how
his queen city of the straits was COW
eted, but he kept his hold on 1t be-
cause he knew not one OF the Powers
would permit another to rule II.
This sly policy has paid him.
GLADSTONE exclaimed. Send the
Turk bag and baggage out Of Europel"
But the Turk stayed His allies, the
German and Austrian Emperors, the
shrewd FERDINAND of Bulgaria, the
kings and princes OF the small German