New-York tribune., 1922-10-16
Lloyd George Disappoints


Lloyd Georges Manchester speech
was accurately described in the cable
dispatches as disappointing" 1t
avoided the two main questions in
which the British public is now in
terested-namely, the true inward
ness of the governments recent
Near East policy and the prospect
of new election, preceded by a
breakup Of the Parliamentary coah
tion. He did not back up Mr.. Cham
berlain's suggestion that the coali-
tion has to be maintained as check
on the aggressions of the Labor
party. He left his hearers in doubt
as to whether lie really wanted to
continue as the Coalitionist leader
or would prefer to take chances
hereafter as head of one Of the
straight party groups.
In dealing with the Near East
crisis, now happily over, Lloyd
George skated over very thin ice.
He said IN one passags of his speech
that the governments object was
threefold: "First, it was to secure
the freedom of the Straits for the
commerce of all nations; second, it
was to prevent the war from spread.
ing into Europe and, third,
it was to prevent repetition in Con-
stantinople and in Greece of the
scenes of intolerable horror which
had been enacted in Asia Minor dur
ing the last six or seven years"
Everybody concerned in the Near
Eastern situation is in favor of the
freedom of the Straits. It appears
then, that what the British govern
ment had IN mind in calling on the
dominions, Jugo Slavia and Ru-
mania to help protect the water
way was to prevent the Turkish
army from entering Europe, thus
avoiding responsibility for any
Turkish atrocities which might be
committed on European soil.
The Turkish regular army was, in
fact, kept in Asia by the terms of
the Mudania arn1istice. But Turk
ish civilian officials and gendar-
merle are to cross at once into
Thrace. The Turk, with Lloyd
Georges consent, is to rule again
over European territory. The en-
barge at Chanak was only an emer-
gency one. The Turk is being kept
out Of Europe SO far as he is armed
and uniformed as a soldier. He Is
not being excluded otherwise. He is
not being excluded because he is g
Turk and because the unutterable
horror Of the Armenian massacres
still clings about him.
Lloyd George led many people te
believe that he had gone back to Mr.
Gladstone's view of the "terrible
Turk" But he had not. He said or
Saturday of Great Britain's earl,
war policy toward Turkey that it wa,
first of all, to secure the freedom
OF the Straits, and, second, to TAX
away from Turkish rule Christia,
populations whom you could not in
trust to Turkish charge" But h
admitted that his government ha
drifted away from that policy. ii
departed radically from it in Janu
ary, 1918, when he made his well
Known promise to the Indian Ma
nometans regarding Constantinopl
and Thrace. He reverted to it. it j
true, ia 1920, when he approved th
Sevres treaty. But he rejected
once more when he agreed las
March to restore Turkish SOW
erelgnty over Constantinople an
eastern Thrace.
he has not been a Gladstone. al
though he has recently talked in til
Gladstore manner. And at Mar
chester he very nearly dropped tina
manner, which doesn't eomport >
all with the concessions made /
Turkey in the Mudania agreement.