Fitzgerald leader enterprise and press. (Fitzgerald, Ben Hill County, Ga.) 1921-1964, 1923-05-03
CHESTER CONCESSION" MAY
DISTURB PEACE OF WORLD
AND INVOLVE UNCLE SAM

The diplomats are assembling in the
little town OF Lausanne to bring about
an understanding between Great Bri-
and Greece concerning the Near East
particularly the oil fields OF Mesopo-
tamia
The first page of the morning paper
tells us that the principal subject to
come before the conference will be the
Chester concession" and that the gov
eminent OF the United States is ex-
pected to use all its influence in defense
CT the concession while the govern
mcnts of France and Great Britain are
registering opposition.
What is the Chester concession"
and why should one hundred and
ten million peac Glowing Americans
have any interest in it?
The Chester concession" gets its
name from Rear Admiral Colby M.
Chester. u. S. NJ retired, and now
resident OF Washington
The story goes that years ago when
the admiral was i'll active service, he
was sent to Turkey to help protect
American missionaries and while there,
became acquainted with some OF the
officials OF the Sultan's government and
succeeded in getting CONCESSION to
build railroads and prospect for oil,
copper and other valuable deposits.
However that may be, as soon as the
;.dmiral got out OF active service, he
went into the business of looking for
concessions" and succeeded in inter
cstinp powerful American financial
leaders.
When the Standard Oil interest were
looking around for foot hold in Mes
opotamia they dug up the Chester con
ccsson" as something with which they
could combat the claims of the power
fu1 British oil interests
They succeeded in getting the Turk
nationalist to formally confirm the
CONCESSION" and then they went to the
American State Department and put
this government back of their claim.
Admiral Chester, now almost eighty,
sits in his Washington home and dis
cusscs the whole affair with amazing
frankness. He takes it for granted that
the American State Department exists
to look after such claims as he has sue
cceded in grabbing.
at must be remembered that the
World War was fought over OIL said
the old admr&l the other day in dis
cussing the matter with newspaper
man. Parenthically, it may be re-
that some men who were not
admlrals were sent to Jail for utterlng
such opinions during the war
Britain invaded Turkish territory in
the oil region two months before Ger
man troops crossed the Belgian line.
The Turks have whipped them soundly
twice and they don't want any more.
The British and Turks have been
fighting three years since the armlstlce,
but censored articles are not allowed to
tell the truth of it. Counting the World
War, Great Britain has sacrificed lOO,-
600 men in her determination to mon
opolize Turkish oil
We are in Turkey to stay. Great
Britain and France would not let US
through the front door, SO we have
affected an entrance thru the rear"
While protesting that he had no au-
thority to speak for the State Depart
mcnt, the admiral stated he would
stake his life" that the Harding admin
istration would back up the American
interests to the limit in their fight for
MeSopotamia oil.
The admiral says his Concession" is
worth "bilions" but he does not explain
how the ordinary American citizen is
TO get any part of the loot
AS has been stated in these columns
before, the Standard Oil people have