Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-11-30

Washington. Nov. 29.-tBy Ihe AS
sociated Press Published attacks
upon the position the American gov
ernment is taking at the Lausanne
conference, attributed to Henry Nor
genthau ambassador to Turkey under
the Wilson administration. prompted
the state department to issue formal
denial Wednesday aimed rather at the
implications involved in the printed
version of Mr.. Morgenthau's remarks
than at the specific allegations they
contained.
The specific statement involved al
legged cooperation of the state depart
ment with the Standard Oil company
to obtain restitution b the Dutch Shell
company. British concern, of por-
tion of its interests in Palestine, IN
favor of the American company. The
departments statement said Mr.. Nor
genthau had been either incorrectly
quoted or misinformed in this con
DectiOn.
The general implication read by de-
partment officials into Mr.. Morgen-
thaus remarks was that the American
government was chiefly concerned at
Lausanne or elsewhere in obtaining
commercial opportunities in the Near
East for American oil companies. In
that connection, the departments
statement said:
The implication in this Mr.. Nor
genthau's statement was vigorously de-
MED by the department.
Refers to Mandate Notes
The only action taken by the de-
partment which could possibly be re
ferred to il the published account, the
statement continued. was its mandate
notes asking for equal opportunity for
American enterprise in mandate ter
ritories. an attitude which this ad
ministration has taken as well as the
prior administration"
The Standard Oil company is under
stood to hold q number of permits from
the Turkish government for oil pros
pecting in Palestine, some of them
ante dating the war. There has been
correspondence of a most friendly
character between the Washington and
London governments in connection with
these. end it was said that the British
authorities had shown no inclination
to deny their validity or to prevent
prospecting under them.
In none of these matters. however. |
was the Dutch Shell company, refer
red to by Mr.. Morgenthau. concerned /
it was added, nor has the Standard |
Oil. or any other American concern,
been furnished with state department
letters intended for use with other oil
companies in Palestine or Mesopo |
tamia.
1t is possible that Mr.. Morgenthau
had in mind correspondence over Meso !
potamian oil interests in which the
United States objected to the exclusive
division Of the field there between
British and French interests under the
San Reno agreement. The British
recognized at the time of that cor
respondence the soundness of the
American complaint at being excluded
from any opportunity for American
enterprise and while no official report
has yet been received Of Lord Curzon's
statement to the press at Lausanne
recently that Great Britain regarded
the San Reno pact as null and void,
there is no disposition here to doubt |
that such is the British attitude.
U. S. Aims Are AItruistic
As to the general attitude of the
American delegation at Lausanne, it,
can be said authoritatively that in
structions to Ambassador Child make !
it very plain that a paramount inte-
rest of the United States relates to /
humanitarian considerations, such as
the rights of religious and racial minor |
tiles, the protection of educational in |
stitutions and similar questions in
Turkey. 1t is strongly hoped in Wash i
ington that the Lausanne meeting will
result i'll general agreements on these
points.
Conferences at Lausanne between |
Ambassador Child and the Turkish |
delegates are believed to have dealt |
with such questions rather than with |
preliminary steps toward a separate I
treaty with Turkey. Such a treaty, it !
is thought in official quarters. would |
in all probability be predicated largely
upon agreements reached by the
Lausanne conference and the treaty
negotiations, therefore, would follow,
rather than precede the conference.
The open door policy of the United
States as applying to Turkey has al
ready been stated to the conference
by the ambassador. Broadly speaking,
it is said, this would cover American
concern with even the difficult ques-
ton of the freedom of the Turkish
straits. The view taken here appears
to be that the United. States probably
would be inclined to indorse q dis
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