No More Learning

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? TURKEY AND THE WAR
tion ? We sometimes hear travellers and
journalists talk of a " negative spirit of
Islam. " It is a mistake. A great religion,
whatever be its minor errors, is always a
positive and a constructive driving-force,
unless it becomes a weapon in the hands
of a Power which has negative interests.
Such a Power is the Ottoman Empire. The
Ottoman Empire : not the Turkish race.
Were the Turks, so to say, left alone in
the limits of a strictly-national State, with-
out the burden of ruling a huge majority
of other races, they would unquestionably
have shown themselves second to none in
that corner of the world where the standards
of modern culture are kept by Bulgars
and Roumanians. They would have de-
veloped a quite decent commercial and
professional middle class ; they would have
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? " EST DELENDA "
created an industry, a literature, a theatre
of their own. But fate, glorious and
tragic, made of them gardeners in a garden
too big for their resources. So it inevitably
became their only concern to prevent grass
from growing, buds from flowering -- if pos-
sible, sun from shining. This was their
only way to keep, somehow, the colossal
household from overgrowing, throttling and
ejecting its masters.
Optimists may ask : is there no possi-
bility of a change in the Turkish psycho-
logy ? Could they not make up their
minds to submit to the inevitable loss of
their own dominating position in Turkey
for the sake of Turkey's unity ? Could
they not give in to the necessity of their
own submersion by a flood of non-Turkish
elements for the sake of the preservation
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? TURKEY AND THE WAR
of an Ottoman Empire that would be
Ottoman no longer ? To all these questions
everyone who has any understanding of
what is called a nation's soul will find only
one reply : No, never. Ruling races hardly
submit to such transformations even where
the change evolves slowly and gradually.
Since it became evident in Austria that
the growth of the Slavs menaced, though
in a remote future, to undermine the
dominating part which belonged to the
German element, the German Nationalists
lost every interest for the conservation
of Austria's unity. On the contrary, they
began to look for a possible reduction of
Austria's size in order to carve out a
country not so vast -- but with a solid
German majority. Their programme of
1882 -- so called " Das Linzer Programm "
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? " EST DELENDA "
-- asked for the " Sonderstellung " of
Galicia, i. e. , for exclusion of the main Slav
province from the number of the " king-
doms and lands represented in the Reichs-
rath. " Their battlecry was, as an ironic
verse put it, " Das Vaterland soil kleiner
sein " -- let the Fatherland be smaller.
This is the natural attitude of a ruler who
has to choose between loss of power and
reduction of his State's boundaries. Un-
less he is a saint -- which peoples never are
-- he will prefer to remain the chief in a
village rather than to become one of the
crowd in Rome. Old Turks or Young
Turks, they will never accept the perspec-
tive of an Ottoman Empire where the
power of the Turkish race would be reduced
to a share proportionate to its numerical,
economical, and cultural nullity. Shall this
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? TURKEY AND THE WAR
be the reward and the result of centuries
of glorious military exploits and wise
statesmanlike decisions which made the
names of so many Sultans and Viziers
immortal ? The Turks -- Old or Young --
will try their utmost to prevent this national
catastrophe ; and, as the only way to
prevent it is to block the natural evolution
of the vital forces of the country, that is
what they will do.
Turkey under Turkish rule is doomed
to remain backward, unenlightened,
barren. This doom is irremovable so long
as the Ottoman Empire shall last, and
its heavy burden crushes and condemns
to death every spiritual bud that sprouts
from either Turkish or non-Turkish stalks.
The destruction of the historical absurdum
called the Ottoman Empire will be a bless-
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? " EST DELENDA "
ing for both Turks and non-Turks. The
latter, independent or placed under pro-
tection of mighty civilizing Powers, will
freely develop their long-subdued vitali-
ties ; the former, liberated from the op-
pressive load of Imperial responsibilities,
will enter an era of peaceful and productive
renaissance. He who wishes Turkey's
destruction is a friend, not a foe of the
Turkish race.
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? PART III -- CONTROVERSIAL POINTS OF THE
PARTITION SCHEME
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? X -- A LIST OF CLAIMS
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? X
A List of Claims
The purpose of this introductory chapter
is simply to recall the extent of the various
territorial claims which have any serious
chance to be considered in the emergency
of the coming dismemberment of the Otto-
man Empire. We say to recall, and this
term marks the exact limits of our present
task. We are not prepared to try to explain
all such claims, to defend them, to sup-
port them : our object consists mainly
in, so to say, drawing a map of the existent
aspirations. To discuss whether the rea-
sons and interests upon which they seem
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? TURKEY AND THE WAR
to be founded are valid in every case is
beyond our intentions. Such discussions
are, as a rule, useless and in the majority
of the cases impossible. The arguments
generally employed to support territorial
claims are mostly as hard to refute as to
prove. Is, for instance, the presence of
French-speaking inhabitants a sufficient
reason for the establishment of a French
protectorate ? It is and it is not : it is
in the case of Beyrouth, but it is not in
the case of Salonika or Constantinople,
although French is much more frequently
spoken in the two latter towns than in
the Syrian harbour. Or, to take another
example, does the existence of invested
Italian capital constitute a fair base for
Italian annexation ? It certainly does for
Valona, but it would not for Syria, al-
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? A LIST OF CLAIMS
though, from a pure economical stand-
point, Italy's capital is much more in-
terested in Syrian than in Albanian enter-
prises. What matters is the will of a
great nation to expand in a given
direction : interests, reasons, arguments,
historical recollections, religious senti-
ments and what not are only of secondary
importance.
In one case only does it seem to us
advisable to call the reader's attention to
the real interests involved in the issue :
when the situation shows germs of a
controversy between the Allies themselves,
or between Allies and neutrals. To make
a comparison between two contending
claims is much easier than to give
a plausible proof of the absolute well-
foundedness of one. We only know of two
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? TURKEY AND THE WAR
instances where a unanimous agreement
between the Allies (although attained and
secured between the Governments) is not
fully realized by the public. One is the
fate of Constantinople and the Straits.
It has been ascertained from reliable
sources that the Entente Cabinets have
arrived at a full mutual understanding on
this secular problem ; but public opinion
in England and Italy does not yet seem
sufficiently prepared to welcome the solu-
tion foreshadowed by the Allied diplomacy
in accordance with the vital interests
of Russia. The second question which
is still unsettled so far as uninitiated
circles are concerned is the delimitation
of French and English spheres of in-
fluence in Syria. It seems that a com-
plete and satisfactory agreement in this
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? A LIST OF CLAIMS
matter has been reached at one of the
Paris Conferences ; but here again public
discussion in both France and England
remains behind the progress realized by
their own diplomatists. To these two
questions we will dedicate special chapters.
In connection with the problem of
Syria's future another question arises
which, in days to come, is bound to play
a prominent role in Eastern politics. It
is the question of Arab national aspira-
tions. The Governments do not seem
very much concerned with this movement
as yet, and indeed it looks as if they
were right in refusing to attribute any
exaggerated importance to a promising but
unripe phenomenon. What an observer*
* Andre Dubosq, " Syrie, Tripolitaine, Albanie,"
1914.
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? TURKEY AND THE WAR
recently said seems to be true and recog-
nized as true by all those who know the
Orient : " What is prematurely called 1 the
Arab movement ' is as yet not more than
the expression of local tendencies with no
concordance between them. The Yemen,
the Nedjed, Bagdad, and Syria are not on
the eve of marching under the same flag
to the conquest of an Arab supremacy. "
The ordinary public, however -- we mean
of course that part of the public who know
of the existence of such a thing as an
Arab Nationalism -- may be sometimes in-
clined to feel puzzled at the seeming con-
tradiction between European and native
interests. We try to point out some as-
pects of this interesting problem in one of
the following chapters.
Another and the last chapter will deal
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? A LIST OF CLAIMS
with the German claims on the Turkish
heritage. We think that victory, however
complete, must not relieve the winning
side of the obligation of reckoning with the
vital necessities of the conquered foe.
Of
course, we are not going to advocate a
" generous treatment " of the " crushed "
German Empire -- this would be ridiculous
in dealing with an enemy who will be
beaten but never crushed, and who will
never require nor accept generosities. But
the interests of a durable peace would be
irrevocably compromised were Germany
excluded from -- at least -- commercial ex-
pansion in the Orient. At the same
time, the rights of the Turkish race
must not be forgotten ; and it would
be only fair to every side concerned
if both claims, Turkish and German,
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? TURKEY AND THE WAR
could be settled by one and the same
arrangement.
Another national problem is connected
with the settlement of Palestine's fate.
The Jewish question has been brought into
special prominence by the horrible suffer-
ings of the Russian and Galician Jews
in the war-zone, and the fact that the
Government responsible for these sorrowful
events is an Allied Government makes of
this question a debt of conscience for the
Western members of the Entente. At the
same time various manifestations of the
Zionist idea, especially the one which
took the form of a " Zion Corps " attached
to the British Expeditionary Force in
Gallipoli,* called the attention of the
* Lt. -Col. J. H. Patterson, " With the Zionists in
Gallipoli," London, 1916.
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? A LIST OF CLAIMS
English public to this old undying hope,
to the endeavours of the Zionist Organiza-
tion, and to the existing Jewish colonies
in Palestine. But we do not think that
this problem, however " actual' ' it may
be, and whatever may prove its impor-
tance for the future of the Near East,
belongs naturally to the special category
with which we are now dealing. It has
no immediate and necessary connection
with the question of delimitation of fron-
tiers. The Zionist aspirations tend not
so much to full independence -- at least
for the present -- as to a sort of " Charter "
including guarantees of self-government
and privileges for colonization. Such a
Charter could be granted, theoretically
speaking, by any liberal government, be
it French or English.
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? TURKEY AND THE WAR
For the remainder we shall confine our-
selves to a bare recital of the main revin-
dications formulated by the Allies or
friendly Powers, officially or unofficially,
in connection with the present war.
England seems to include in her aspired
zone of influence the whole of Mesopo-
tamia and the Southern part of the Syrian
coast land, including probably also the
control over the corresponding portion
of the Hedjaz railway.
The French zone of aspirations em-
braces the whole of Syria including Alex-
andretta in the north, Damascus and
Aleppo in the east, and Palestine in the
south ; the last claim, however, seems to
have been abandoned in deference to British
interests.
Russia demands the possession of the
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? A LIST OF CLAIMS
Straits ; this implies the annexation of
Constantinople and the adjacent part of
the present vilayet of Constantinople on
the European side of the Bosphorus, as
well as of Scutari and surroundings on the
Anatolian side ; further, the possession of
all the islands in the Sea of Marmora, of
the Gallipoli Peninsula and of the Asiatic
coast of the Dardanelles. Russia also
claims control over the whole of his-
torical Armenia, embracing the vilayets
of Erzerum, Van, Bitlis, Kharput (Mam-
uret-el-Aziz), and Diarbekir, As an alter-
native to the annexation of the Straits it
has also been spoken of leaving to Russia
the ancient region of Cilicia, corresponding
to the present vilayet of Adana ; this
would evidently imply the possession of a
fairly wide " thoroughfare " leading from
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? TURKEY AND THE WAR
Adana-city in this region to Kharput in
Armenia.
Italy claims control over the ancient
region of Pamphylia -- the present Adalia
in the vilayet of Konia. It is also a
matter of common knowledge that Smyrna
began to attract, during the last years, a
good deal of attention from official and
commercial Italy.
If Greece joins the war on the side of
the Entente, Smyrna, and probably the
whole vilayet of Aidin which forms Smyrna's
" hinterland/' will be claimed by this
Power on the ground of important ethnical
affinities and serious commercial interests.
Greece will also insist on having a share in
the future control of Constantinople and
Gallipoli.
Roumania, even having joined the war on
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? A LIST OF CLAIMS
our side, does not seem to have any posi-
tive claims on the Turkish heritage ; but
she will countenance the annexation of
Constantinople to Russia only under some
arrangement securing a strong representa-
tion of Roumanian interests.
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? -THE STRAITS
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? XI
The Straits
Constantinople is claimed by Russia,
Greece and Bulgaria. The part Bulgaria
has chosen in this war does not fit her for
the role of a pretender to a town which
belongs to one of her allies. The partition
of Turkey implies a victory of the Entente,
and we can hardly imagine such victory
resulting in a reward for Bulgaria. Be-
sides, the Bulgarian pretence is not backed
by any serious argument of either ethnical
or economical character. Constantinople has
no more than 15,000 inhabitants of Bul-
garian race and speech, out of a total
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? TURKEY AND THE WAR
population of 1,125,000 ; another 10,000
could be found perhaps in the environs
of the city. The commercial interests of
Ferdinand's kingdom have been completely
settled since the conquest of Dedeagatch :
Bulgaria possesses what is denied to Rou-
mania and to Russia -- an ice-free port on
the right side of the Straits. The Bul-
garian claim on Constantinople is a rare
example of a political pretence absolutely
void of any plausible justification, being
an outcome of mere ambition and mania
grandiosa.
The Greek case has much better founda-
tions. It may be questioned whether the
so-called historical rights have any prac-
tical value in our prosaic days ; but it is
undeniable that the historical rights on
Byzantium can be claimed by none but
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? THE STRAITS
Greece. In addition Constantinople has
a Greek population of more than 200,000,
who play prominent parts in every vital
branch of local life. That is no small
matter -- but that is all. Greece cannot
support her claim by any argument show-
ing on her side a real practical need for
Constantinople. Her maritime position is
ideal without the Golden Horn. And even
the racial argument cannot be accepted
without objection. A town or a country
can be claimed on purely ethnical grounds
only if the majority of the population
belong to the claimant's race. This is not
the case in Constantinople where the Greeks
are only one-fifth of the inhabitants. So
the only title which indeed cannot be
questioned in itself is the historical
right as aforementioned. It is a great
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? TURKEY AND THE WAR
factor, but it can hardly stand against
a claim based upon vital economical
interests.
Such is Russia's claim. Its unpopu-
larity with the English public must be
mainly attributed to the fact that it was
always considered as a mere product of
Panslavistic ideas. It may be true psy-
chologically or it may not : we leave it
undiscussed because it really does not
matter. Whatever may have been the
motives of him who first formulated " By-
zantium for Russia " and of those who
supported or inherited this battlecry, it
is now strongly supported by people who
have nothmg to do with Panslavism. Even
if there were no Slavs at all in the Balkan
Peninsula, or if Russia were not a Slav
but a Latin or a Chinese Empire, its push
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? THE STRAITS
towards the Straits would remain what
it is -- a natural and obvious necessity,
We hardly think it worth while to
indulge in proving this commonplace truth.
A look at the map would be sufficient, even
if the well-known events of the war had
not previously brought this fact to the
consciousness of every impartial observer.
Still a few figures may be useful to recall
some experiences in the good old days of
peace -- experiences which were in their
own way not much sweeter than those
of war-time. Russia's export of cereals
amounted in 1910, for instance, to
847,100,000 pounds, of which more than
a half were forwarded through the Black
Sea and Azov Sea ports. The part which
these ports play in Russia's shipping traffic
can also be seen from the following dis-
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? TURKEY AND THE WAR
tribution of tonnage (entered and cleared)
between the three sea-shores of European
Russia in the same year, 1910 :
Entered. Cleared.
Tons. Tons.
White Sea - 830,000 829,000
Baltic Sea - - - 5,547,000 5,629,000
Black and Azov Seas - 7>555,ooo 7,424,000
Total - - 13,932,000 13,882,000
Thus more than a half of Russia's ex-
ports is under the absolute and unlimited
control of the ruler of the Straits. Worse
than that : Russian commerce depends
upon the goodwill not only of the Turk
but of any of his innumerable enemies,
big or small. Every complication in the
Near East is bound to result in the closing
of the Dardanelles. So in the three years
preceding the war the Straits were closed
twice. The result can be clearly shown
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? THE STRAITS
by figures illustrating the effect which
the Tripoli and Balkan wars had on the
Russian exports. The grain exports sunk
from 847,100,000 pounds in 1910 to
547,900,000 pounds in 1912 ; the shipping
traffic in the Black and Azov Seas de-
creased from 7,555,000 tons entered and
7,424,000 cleared in 1910 to respectively
5,712,000 and 5,575,000 in 1912. What
it means for Russia can be seen in the
instance of Odessa. The two successive
closings of the Straits resulted in com-
pletely shattering the economic health of
this once flourishing town. Since then
Odessa is visibly declining, and many of
Russia's leading authorities on trade matters
doubt whether she will be able to recover
from her wounds.
We do, however, notice even now a
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? TURKEY AND THE WAR
strong instinctive aversion in the average
English mind to Russia having Constan-
tinople and the Straits.