The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-05-25
GREEC0-TURK WAR t. LOOMING AGAIN.; WARSH|PS GATHER.
Athens Officials Claim Kemal- ist Troops Have Crossed
 Frontier

LONDON, May 24-With martial preparations under way on both sides of the Aegean sea, Greeco-Turk hos tiiities again loom in the Near East.
 War hangs on the question of separations Turkey demands from Greece at the Lausanne conference.
 Greece diplomats claim that an entire Turkish division has crossed Thrace in the last few days and been secretly concentrated on the Maritza front. They assert that Turkish troops are in bad condition, however. while saying that 100000 well-equipped Greek soldiers con- front them.
 Greek Warships Sighted.
 Constantinople dispatches report that the steel spider masts of Greek warships, (which are old U. $. navy vessels sold to Greece) have been sighted lowering threateningly off the Dardanelles.
 Turks hope that in the event of hostilities Refet Pascha, now com Thrace. will be able to hold the Ma ritza line until Nur Ed Din brings up the First Kemalist army corps, now concentrated on the Ismed pen insula within striking distance of Constantinople. It will be recalled that Refet succeeded in lengthily holding up the British advance in the Palestine campaign of 1917 on the Gaza front.
 War Talk Rife.
 War talk is rife in both Athens and Constantinople. General Plaste- rias. lean, raw-boned veteran of 15 years of Oriental wars, and behind the-scenes dictator of Greek policy in his capacity as head of the trium- virate of the present revolutionary Greek government, said
 We wait only until Sunday for discussion of the indemnity. The Greek delegation has been instructed to leave Lausanne If the conference decides that we must pay an in- demnty."
 TURKISH PATROLS
 ARRESTING CREEKS.
 CONSTANTINOPLE, May 24.-Turk- ish patrols are arresting numerous Greek residents here, following gloomy predictions of a failure of the Lausanne conference and a re- newal of fighting between Turkey and Greece.
 It is believed that the arrests are in forcing war. Greek merchants, terrified, are beginning to leave the city.
 The Spanish legation. which has charge of Greek interests here, has protested the arrests.
 Meanwhile British residents arc preparing plans for leaving the city if evacuation is necessary.
 The Constantinople situation has long been fraught with danger. The gateway to south Russia and the Mo- sul oil fields, the port cannot we'll be abandoned by the allies even if war Is resumed between Turkish and Greek forces.
 At the present moment the city is under inter-allied military control. British, French and Italian warships ride at anchor in the swift flowing waters of the blue Bosphorus. Amer ican destroyers of the Black sea sta- ton are anchored off the Golden Horn.
 With the city of Pera the large foreign colony feels safe under pro- tection of the inter- allied military police, who maintain armed patrols of British. French and Italian troops. American navy shore patrols are on duty at all hours.
 A renewal of the Greek Turkish war, however, might force the de- fense of the city. It is feared that Moslem fanatics from Stamboul might rush the Galata bridge to Pera ;n an endeavor to massacre Greeks and other Christians.