Evening star., 1923-04-30
EDITORIAL DIGEST

peace to be menaced and shattered by
these concessions. There is oil
enough in the world for all. as there
Is trade enough and wealth enough,
but there is very far from being
enough of peace. order. co operation.
confidence and good will. 1t would
be a pity. and more than that. a dis
grace. If the efforts to establish peace,
order, cooperation. confidence and
good will-that is to restore the world
to civilized condition-should be
diverted to a selfish scramble for
concessions, and so rendered ineffec-
tive. 1t Is. indeed, time to dethrone
King Oil for the present at least and
make way for the serious considera-
tion of the larger matters throughout
the world" !
"The Chester concession" the Syra-
cuse Herald carefully points out. lis a
reminder that we are establishing a
far-fung line of investments in the
foreign danger zones which our gov
ernment has been SO anxious to keep
at full arms length. 1t is enough to
give Senator Johnson. now travelling
in Europe, a fresh fit OF staggers.
particularly in view of the fact that
tropical Turkey is a rather poor mar
ket for California nuts and oranges"
There always is the possibility. as
well. the Knoxville Sentinel holds,
that there may result "a political and
have never before engaged in. and
which may require full membership
| in the world court and possibly in the
league Of nations itself, to enable US
fully" Even so, the st: Paul Dispatch
goes on. "the United States is def
nitely out In the world. Our inter
ests, to which our whole economy is
adjusting itself, are extended to
! Siberia, China. the Pacific islands,
and Central America. Africa and
Asia Minor. Tt is useless to pretend
! that politically our interests are not
similarly extended. and useless to ig-
more the responsibilities and duties
essential to the interest and economy
of the nation which are implied in
view. the Chicago Journal feels "the
| whole concession business ought to be
abolished. No first-clasS power grants
exclusive concessions to outside capi-
tai. Such privileges are wheedled,
bullied or bargained from compare
and are a fruitful source of trouble
and International i'll will. AS for
| rebuilding Turkey that can be ac-
complished only by rebuilding or
abolishing the Turks. and that is not
job for the strongest syndicate"
Adding to this line of thought. the
New York World believes that "for
all spots in this world where the vices
of the old diplomacy are virulent,
Turkey is perhaps the worst. The
very hottest of imperialistic intrigue.
1t is entangled with a series of in
trigues and chicanery which reach
into all the foreign offices. In Europe
This concession is, first OF all. po-
litfcal thing, brought forward as a
! maneuver to draw US into a sordid
imperialistic struggle" This argu-
ment finds no favorable response so
far as the Boston Transcript is con-
cerned. that newspaper believing "the
concessions should be an asset in the
adjustment of our commercial rights
in the Near East. We have insisted
upon equality of economic opportun-
fty, yet 1t is notorious that no such
| equality has existed in dividing up
the near eastern spoils. The Chester
grant gave us far better chance to
insist that the maximum of equality
| of economic opportunity be put in
every day practice and not reserved
for the post-prandiaI diversions of
imperialistic statesmen"