Evening star., 1926-10-14

The most sensational news of the
season is the report from London that
Italy and Greece have concluded an
agreement to attack Turkey and di-
vide it's territory between themselves.
The details are thrilling, and lack
only one quality to make them OF
overwhelming interest-truth.
The whole story is officially contra
dicted by the Italian embassy and
the Greek legation, and is character
lied as merely an effort of Italian
speculators-political refugees-desir-
Gus of discrediting the Fascist admin
istration and profiting by artificially
stopping the persistent rise in the
Italian lira.
Mussolini himself has welcomed an
American correspondent and given
him q written interview, published on
the heels Of the false report, in which
the duce emphasizes his claim that
nothing Is farther from the policy
Of Fascisrn than to encourage war
under any circumstances short Of
aggression by foreign power.
The Italians concede that they are
in need of more territory for their
overpopulation, especially since their
outlet through migration Of 100000 a
year to the United States has been
reduced to about 1000 by our 1mmi.
grafton protective laws, but Italy al
ready possesses all of Libya, which
covers Tripoli and Cyrenaica in AT
RIGA. While the interior of those vast
regions is too hot for Italians, there
is considerable available land near
the coast which can yet be occupied.
That region was added to Italy's pos,
sessions by her war with Turkey in
1912.
A sensational two-column article ap-
peared last Saturday in the London
Daily Express, stating-not on the au'
thority of Mussolini-that Mussolini
lis making definite plans for a war
with Turkey" His object. says the
article. is to obtain the sphere of in
f1uence on the Aegean coast Of Tur-
key, which was promised to Italy in
1915 by the secret treaty of London
with Russia, France and Britain, but
was denied in the Versailles treaty.
The campaign is laid out in that
dispatch, even to an appeal to the
United States to use its influence for
peace. 1t adds, Greece is committed
to active cooperation, as has been
confirmed by conversations with NJ
Pangalos, who Is now in prison."
M. Pangalos Is the deposed dictator
of Greece, who was recently over.
thrown by a coup d'etat led by M
kOndylos, now premier. The Greek
legation gives out the following Off.
cial contradiction of the whole story
"The following cable has been re.
ceived by the Greek legation from the
ministry for foreign affairs at Athens
Concerning the statements alleged
to have been made by former Presi
dent Pangalos, which, Furthermore, he
himself has already denied, 1t appears
after a thorough study of the official
correspondence of the Hellenic diplo.
matte missions abroad, as we'll as
from the respective files of the min.
istry for foreign affairs, that never,
at any time, have negotiations taken
place between Greece and any other
power for an eventual attack on
Turkey"
Behind the story there lies this
much of a shadowy foundation or
which to base such a report. In the
Aegean Sea are IL islands called "the
Dodecanese" (Which in Greek means
twelve). The chief Of these islands
Is Rhodes. They belonged to Greece
some 1000 years ago, but passed into
Roman hands. later Byzantine. Jewish
and Turkish rule.
During the Turkish war of
1912 Italy seized the islands from her
enemy, Turkey, and occupied them as
base of supplies. and she has never
relinQ nQuished her hold upon them. al
though the peace commission. after
the World War. awarded them to
Greece. at the request of their inhabit
ants. mostly Greek. Italy's refusa
TO give them over to Greece has led to
more or less dissatisfaction. which the
League of Nations has failed to as
suage But neither Italy nor Greece
has ventured to go to war to maintain
claim to the Dodecanese.
Recently. Italy and Greece have