Evening star., 1925-09-15
BACKGROUND OF EVENTS
BY PAUL y. COLLINS.

1t is spoken of the Chester Bill
lion-Dollar Conce sion,' but if Tur-
key fails to hold tile against Great
Britain it is likI that the holders
would sell their claims at a discount.
Little has been heard of the Chester
claim for two years and in official
quarters 1t is assumed TO have
lapsed. though AT present the title
is noninally held by the Ottoman
American Development Co., of which
Rear Admiral Chester holds control.
TX \
In the midst of the World War
Sultan Abdul Hamid of Turkey trans
ferred all foreign concessions to his
private purse, and sold the Mosul
oil concession TO Germany, from
whom it was promptly seized b..
Great Britain. Our Secretary OF
State, Mr.. Hughes, reminded Great
Britain that her claimed monopoly
ran counter to our policy of the
open door, and so the title was
changed to that of the Turkish Pc
troleum Co., whose stock is held by
the Anglo-Persian Oil Co., the Royal
Dutch Shell and the Deutsche Bank.
That situation conflicts with all the
Chester claims, and Secretary kellogg
is quoted as characterizing as ''ridicu
| lous" any idea that the United States
will defend Chester investors. It is
reported that half the stock OF the
! Anglo-Persian Oil Co. now belongs to
the Standard Oil and other American
companies, not including Admiral
| Chester's group of investors.
Last year the dispute between
| Great Britain and Turkey was re
ferred by the League of Nations to
a commission TO investigate its merits.
The commission now reports that
| T,-al .,,~l,t I'll, 11lA
adding:
"Irak cannot claim the disputed
territory, either invoking the right
| of conquest or any other legal right.
| 1t can only advance the moral argu-
ments to the effect that, since a
| State Of 1rak had been formed, the
| nature of it's territory must be such
as to allow of its normal development.
| The commission does not feel compe-
! tent to decide what weight shall be
| given to these considerations; that is
a matter for the council (ot the
League of Nations)."
| ~ x y
! A phase which enhances the serious
ness of the crisis IN the Irak (and no
less a crisis in the League of Nations
| is the fact that both Turkey and
| Great Britain announce that they will
not abide by any decision of the
| League Council which does not coin
| eide with their respective interests.
! Turkey not only says so, but mobilizes
an army Of 10000 men upon the Iraq
| border in token of her meaning. She
offered to accept a plebescite of the
| inhabitants, feeling confident of
ma ajority of Kurds are in sympathy
| with Mohammedan Turkey. while
Great Britain sees no reason for let
ting local interests interfere with oil
| dividends. and fatty refuses to permit
| League votes to decide what is ex-
| pedient for British profits.
| Prime Minister Chamberlain does
| not mince words as TO the inconsist-
ency Of England's attitude in relation
to the Leagues decision, for he said in
! the Council meeting at Geneva last
week:
| 1--WE are prone to eschew the gen
eral; we are fearful of these logical
extremes. because, in fact. human ma
! ture being what it is, logic plays but
small part in our everyday life.
. What was the protocol? Some
thing like single code of law single
constitution, for all the states repre-
sented in this great assembly. In the
British Empire we have more than
| once considered putting in black and
white our Constitution, and every
| time the representatives of our differ
ent governments have decided that
| in the very elasticity which our want
Of logic and want of precise definition
afforded us, lay the secret of our
unity. Our object Is to supple
ment the covenant by making special
arrangements to meet special needs.
1 hope we shall have the sym
pathy and approval of the League of
Nations, for we shall bring great sup
port to the League. a great increase
| in it's authority and influence. and the
largest contribution it is within our
power to make to the preservation and
| peace of the world"
That being the British policy-to
adopt whatever appears at the time
TO be expedient in British interests
the decision Of the Leagues Council
that Irak belongs TO Turkey will not
oust Great Britain and King Feisal
out of Irak. whatever the Turkish
army may do.
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