San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1923-02-10
MAY BE ANOTHER WAR

Either the Turks are bluffing or there
is an excellent chance of another war in
the Balkan region and possibly in Asia
Minor as we'll.
The Lausanne conference has broken
UP without even approaching an agree
ment. For seventy-nine days the statesmen
argued and argued on all sorts of ques-
tons but finally they gave up and left
for home Absolutely nothing was &C
complished except to prove that it will
be exceedingly difficult TO accomplish
anything. In the meantime the Turk,
who has been extremely arrogant ever
since he defeated the Greeks in Asia, has
become more "up-stage" than before and
has told the Allied warships that they must
get out of the harbor of Smyrna or he
will chase them out.
There are in the harbor, American,
Dutch, British, French and Italian war
ships. America has taken no part in
the fuss and Our ships would, in all
probability, quietly steam away If hos
tilities began. We have no especial in
terest in Smyrna harbor beside the fact
that we happen to be there and have a
natural objection to moving on an order
from such an animal as the Turk.
The British are going to pay no at
tention to the Turk except to fire back
at him if he fires at them. Furthermore,
the are quietly Strengthening their naval
forces around Smyrna, two super-drcad-
naughts having recently arrived in Gre
clan waters from Malta. They are with
in easy sailing distance from Smyrna
and if hostilities open the big fighting
ships can be throwing shells at the Turks
within few hours.
The Dutch have not announced what
line OF action they will take if the Turks
attack them, but the italian and French
have declared that they will remain
where they are and fight if the Turks
are bent upon having fight. In all
ways there seems to be more than a
fair chance of war.
Deplorable as the renewal Of the war
must be it cannot be denied that the
Allied nations have gone far-toward bring
ing it upon themselves by their shuffling
attitude toward the Turks ever since the
close of the great war. At that time
Turkey was defeated nation. She was
down and out There was absolutely
no reason why she should not have been
chased back into Asia where she belongs
and kept there. Instead of doing this,
however, the Allied nations allowed the
Turks to hold Constantinople and thus
retain a footing in Europe Instead Of
throwing her bodily out of Europe they
tried to leave her partly one on one side
of the straits and partly on the other.
The result was that Turkey claimed to
have rights on both sides of the water
and after she had defeated the Greeks,
demanded larger concessions in Europe
which the Allied nations gave her They
never would have had such situation
on their hands if they had thrown the
Turk bodily out of Europe.
However, the trouble lay where it has
always been found No one nation was
willing that anv other nation should have
possession of Constantinople. The result
was that because of the distrust in which
every strong nation of Europe held every
other strong nation, the Turk slipped
back into his old place and now there
may be a war to get him out of the coun-
try into which he never should have been
allowed to enter.
It's a bitter dose but it was brewed
| by those who will have to drink it.