Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1925-11-04
prepared by the National Geographic 2 :
ciety, Washington, d. CO.

MI near which thousands or
Nv 4 Turkish troops have been
massed-supposedly to make
more potent Turkeys objection to
any decision by the League Of Ma
lions against her claim to the region
has been storm center ever since the
close Of the World war. The vilayet or
province Of Mosul was part Of Tur-
key, as were the vilayets Of Bagdad
and Basra, which without question are
now included in the new state Of Iraq.
But the Turks have been unwilling to
have all of the province of Mosul
carved from their old territory, and
they have been particularly lnsistent
that no land north of the old Mosul
Vine be included.
The dispute as to the sovereignty of
territory near Mosul has been sup
posedly between Turkey and Iraq, but
in reality it has been between Turkey
and Great Britain, which holds a man
date over Iraq from the League of
Nations. The British have taken little
part in the government of the new
state, but they consider the latter UNI
der their protection and have pushed
its claims as we'll as their own in the
transactions before the league looking
to a decision on a permanent boundary.
In December, 1924, the council of the
league established provisional bound
airy which both claimants were to re-
spect. Later the leagues commission
ers went personally to the disputed
territory to gather information on
which to base permanent decision.
1t was the recent charge by Great
Britain that the temporary boundary
had been violated by the Turks that
brought matters to a head.
The presence of petroleum in the
MOsul region has always been a factor
in the diplomatic moves, but it has
been religious questions that have
often caused actual conflicts in the
neighborhood. The unruly Kurds have
been a third factor In the complex stu
alton.
photographic maps show that the re-
gion of the oil fields, except for
oNetANAlAiS VI AJldluGdllS dEOuIlu AlOSul
city, is solidly settled by Kurds 1t is
their country, and though the Kurds
do not appear at the conferences in
European health resorts, where the
maps are made, they are always on
the spot and ready to fight for their
country when an invasion starts.
In the past the Turks held only the
loOsest control over these fierce fight
ers. When the new rulers came to
take possession Of what was their on
the map, the Kurds fought back.
Desultory fighting has been going on
since 1920. Nominally, the fields are
in Mesopotamia The Mesopotamians
are not much interested in oil and less
interested in fighting with the Kurds.
All of the fighting on their side, osten-
sibly for the integrity of this new
Mesopotamia, has been by the British
air force.
HISTORIANS the Sufferers.
But whether the surface fighting or
marauding has been by Turks or
Kurds, the now wholly innocuous Mes
torian Christians have been the chief
sufferers. The boundary decision, in
cldentally, may mean life or death to
these people, who until the World war
had held on to their mountain fast
nesses north Of Mosul-and to their
faith-for nineteen centuries.
In the days Of Marco Polo and for
some centuries previous, the Assyrian
or HISTORIAN Christians represented a
mighty church spread throughout Asia.
The mother church was very strong in
Mesopotamia and Persia, and thriving
missions and communities Of converts
existed in Tartary, Siberia, Mongolia,
China and India. Twenty-Five or more
bishoprics are listed in the church rec
ords of that age. Over this strong
Christian church ruled the Patriarch
of the East" with his see in Meso-
potamla.
While most other divisions of Chris
tianity have grown stronger and strong
err, here is the unusual situation Of a
once mighty Christian church which
has all hut disappeared. The Western
WOTlu mas uScluSu W CaA THESE SHTIS'
tians HISTORIANS" They prefer to be
known as "Assyrian Christians" There
Is still a further confusion of names
for a group of the Assyrians who have
accepted the tenets and government OF
the Roman Catholic church are termed
"Chaldean Christians" In support OF
their objection to HISTORIAN" the As
syrlans explain that the famous Mes
torius, patriarch of Constantinople ii
400, who was communicated on q
charge of heresy, followed them rather
than they Nestorius.
The heart of the Eastern church re