The Washington herald., 1922-10-22
i. .Europe's Woes Due to Politics
Of Premiers, Says Sinonds
Lloyd George and Poincare Responsible for
Troubles in Trying to Bring Home
Personal Victory.

on the free seas and she was sup
ported by the representatives of the
United States and for q time by
those Of Italy. italy IL certain to
support Bulgaria now. and France
may II recent reports are to be
credited. Great Britain. on the
other hand. may be expected to
stand behind Greece and II IL more
than likely that Gre.ce, will have
the support of Rumania and Of
uraliy opposed to any aggrandise-
ment OF the nations which were re-
sponsible for this ruin of both In the
world war.
France Courts Little Entente.
II Rumania and JuEo- -Slavia sup
port Greece. however, one may
question II France will actively
favor the Bulgarians, for one of the
cardinal points In French policy
now Is to cultivate good relations
with the little entente to which
both Rumania and Jugo-Slavia be-
long. Both Of these states. more
over, are manifestly not a little dis
turbed by the French support of the
Turk and Rumania has every rea-
son to demand ths maintenance of
the freedom Of the Straits. since all
her commerce must thus reach the
outside world.
To judge from present Indications
there should be very little trouble
In winding up the present phase of
the Near Eastern question. Such
trouble as there Is will grow out of
the safeguarding of the freedom Of
the Straits, but this Is, after all,
practically impossible.
II the Turks are to have both
shores of the Straits-and they are
then nothing can prevent them
from closing the gat.ways by ar
tillery. II they ever choose to take
this step. You may destroy the
fortifications and proclaim the neu-
trality of these shores. but the fact
as contrasted with the fiction will
lie with the Turkish power, which
cannot be questioned.
Henceforth we are right back in
the situation of the nineteenth CEN
tury and of the years in the present
century before the war. The Turk
has become again a factor. He has
a strong army, he has political con-
troll of the territories on both sides
of the Straits and what Is from the
British standpoint even more seri-
Gus, he has rehabilitated himself in
the. Mohammedan world. His ca
pacity for trouble in Mesopotamia,
Palestine and Syria Is unmistak-
able. his Influence in India and in
North Africa will be injurious to
all Christian countries holding ter
ritories there. British. French and
italians equally.
Franco-British Relations Inter-
esting.
For the moment. however, the
real interest centers upon Franco
British relations. The Turkish
affair. whatever its eventual out
come. represents sweeping
victory for French diplomacy over
British and for Poincare over
Lloyd George. II there are signs
that the victory ultimately may
prove disastrous for Poincare, there
is no mistaking the accommodating
evidence that the whole Turkish
fiasco has been terribly expensive
for Lloyd George, the more so be-
cause 1t follows closely upon the
blunder of the Balfour note and
the failure of the Russian
policy at Genoa and The Hague.
But in two months France and
Britain are to meet in Brussels
in a conference which will have
far greater immediate Importance
than that which will in the mean
time adjust the Eastern troubles
At this conference the old familia
financial question Is to come up in
what may be the decisive meeting
BY the first of the year the vir-
tual moratorium which has been
granted Germany will expire and
Frsnce will be free to act, since
Germany cannot pay and has in thu