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CALEDONIAN-RECORD, FRIDA Y, DECEMBER 2S, 1922 PAfiUJ ÌA I ì I " Statbtician, The National City )., Banlr 01 'Mew York r The problem of tlie Dardanelles irti) lyosnort'ft has been an issue . viiionc the ratior.s of the world ììi;lc belore the discovery of , America. In 145. i, thirty-nine years t.ctore., Columbus macie li ìs first . voyaiie .-'.cross the .Atlantic, the Turks, vho Iwd held the cast oni shorer. o: the .'Jardauclles and ì:-or-poru.s, obii.iiicd r.ontrol of their we&tern t:;.::tgf by the capture of Criusisiiti:;.;;)if :.:-.d adjaccnt areas ulti thus, iUfit rted the right to con u'Ctl the navigatimi of that water way in vicw et the f.ict that its en tire length from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean fdl within Turkish territory. When a few ycars latcr they extcnded their ter ritorial control in Europe to in clude the entire area fronting upon the Black Sea, the Turks calmly inormed ali commercial and diplo itiatic incpiirers that the Black Sea was a "chaste and jure virgin" in accessible to commercial, military V" ni ?, 1 mi ; ' Vicw or diplomatic adventurers of for eign coimtries. This iew was ;bcn accepted by the European na- .1 w 'TV" -i'. 7 1 ; !. ; 1 5 1 Ì3 Kraal Pasha, "Leader of the Turk Na- Iionalists. W' use Reoudiation of Treatv of Sevrei 7; cs Conforenca at Lausanne ueceisary tions without serious protcst, even though it incliuk-d control of a waterway cnnnectiiiK the two createsi scas nf the wrirld, the Mediterranean and the lilack, and phired under the alisoltite con tro' of a non-coiiimercial nation the The Dardanelles, navigation, c!nm?rcc ar linatice repre- l.IMMI.- L (allds, coin- oi an inani! sentini; u t!:'. f:M -:-nare t-.: v. ith r-n-ij.;; ti.cixi;.! hi.-' I.ater. v." e til watt e :.rej c. f 1 ib'.t. iriai .,; .rts of ih Si - 't "-Jkn. . S FVtrSwife. fronting iipon tliis vast body of water, the Black Sea, which of it self is doublé the size of ali of the Great Lakes of the United States in conibination, began to pass from Turkish hands to that of other nations, the protests against the control commercially, as well as otherwise, of that area itself, and of the only waterway by which it could be connected with the oceans, grew more uumerous and espc cially so as the comparatively level land area through which the "Straits passed offered the easiest route of access between the European coun tries and the Asiatic Continent, of which Europe is a mere penin-sula. of the Golden Horn LooMng Toward the Bosporus. Against Single Nation Control So it has bappened that during t':c W) years since Turkey afserteil Iter daini of the right to control the nuiigution of the Straits oi the Bosporus and TJardanelles. of which hot'n froniùges stili lie en tirely within ber territory, there has heen a frowing desire that the produets and commerce of the Black Sea area of 1 (ÌUO.U(K) square liiile.-:, now including the holnes of 100, Oliti. HO people and an annual contniei-ce ot over $l.()(ll).()l)().OU0, should not be controlled by auy one natio;'.. The vassatfeways he-i.-.een the other greiil ìnland seas f'f the world and the oc-Jan over v.-iiich commerce may pass ' frerty ha ve one by one Incn held as in violalile by the control of any one nation. Tlie righi 01 vsssels of commerce or military service to entcr the Baltic has not been ques tioned l'or many years; the en trance to the Mediterranean is open to the commerce and military vesscls of ali nations: the Suez Canal through which the Mediter ranean is connected with the In diali Ocean is, by the Suez Canal Convention of 1888, "to be open in time of war as in time of peace to merchautmen or war vesseìs of ali nations," and this sanie mie ap plies with slight modification to the Panama Canal. The Straits of Magellan, which connect the va ters of the Atlantic and Pacific, at the southern end of South America although passing through the ter ritory of Argentina and Chile were by the trenty of Buenos Aires in 1881 "neutraii'zed forever and free navigation granted to the flags of r. IT nations," while freedom of pas sile in the Strait of Malacca, con necting the China Sea with the In diati Ocean, does not seem to bave been calted in question. Even cer tain great navigable rivers which serve as carriers of commerce for several nations whose territory they touch have been subjected to international control as to free dom of navigation through the fervices of commissions appointed by the respective States through which they flow or which they touch. Among the rivers on which Showini One of Ih Forts Comtructed For Ita navigation is so controlied are the Danube, the Rhine, and the Sclicldt. 220 Miles of Waterway The "Straits of the Dardanelles and Bosporus," as is well known, .- ? .... v ... ...:2v include that comparatively narrow strait known as the "Dardanelles' 42 miles in length and from 1 to 5 miles in vvidth, extending in a northesterly direction from that arni of the Mediterranean known as the Aegean Sea to the "Sea of Marniora" about 160 miles in length, which in turn is connected with the Black Sea by the narrow waterway known as the "Bos porus," 18 miles in length and from one-half mile to W2 miles ih width. The entire navigable length of this complete .wa'erway between the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, geographically known as the "Straits of the Dardanelles and Bosporus" is thus about 220 miles, and its width ranges from one-halt mile to 1 Vz miles in the Bosporus and from 1 to 5 miles in the Dardanelles, while the width in the Sea of Marniora is about 45 miles. The castern frontage of this entire waterway had long been held by the Turks and when in l-)5,i thev obtained control of its Map Showinj the Straits western frontage through the cap ture of Constantinople and adja cent territory they assumed the right to reserve for their own ships of commerce or of the military service the exclusive privilege of navigation upon its waters over the entire length from the Mediter ranean to the Black Sea, or to at A r. 5 Protectioa least establish" rulef under which the vessels of other nations might utilize its waters, and also those of the Black Sea, of which they were the only outlet and which subse quently became a "Turkish lake" through the occupancy of its ni I 7 iCfì Se filili va liiilH Tnrrc n L tire frontage by the Turkish Gov ernment. PFotests Against Turkish Control The continuous control by Tur key of this passage between the Mediterranean and the Black Sea has not been acceded to without protests of European and other countrie9. Russia, for example, after obtaining a large frontage on the northern shore of the Black Sea became especially anxious that the sea and the straits which con nected it with the Mediterranean should be thrown open to ber com mercial as well as military vessels or at least that she have special privileges for the movement of ber great supplies of foodstuffs, minerai oils, and forest produets to the waters of the Mediterranean by which they could be moved to the markets of southeastern Europe. Iler wheat, meats, minerai oil, lum ber, flax and other naturai produets were wanted by ali of Europe and she wanted European manufac tures in exchaige. But as ber ti r ritorial and commercial exu-nsion was creating commercial and poh't- ical jealousies among certuni ot ! the European cou. tries it was cav.- ! for them to forni secret treaties ! witn Turkey which would encour- atre ber in insistine ution ber ih-ini to the control of the Black Sea and its exit, especially as the Turks were adepts in the art of diplo macy in maintaining their daini. Trade Privilege Treaties It should not be assumcd, how ever, from althis that ali of the commerce of the Black Sea or of that passing through the Straits was actually carried by the Turk.;, a non-commercial people. The necessary trade and trade require ments of t'.iì countrics fronting upon that bod 01. water had grown so large that it demanded facilities of transportatioj a.id tinance wiiich the Turks. csuld not themselves supply. This demand carne espe cially from '.. several conntries having large' f-onlages 011 the Black Sea, rr-bly Russia. Bul garia, Koumania. ani the sections of Turkey stili '-...-upying the southern frontage ci tliat area, and later carne al:o from the great com mercial conntries of western Europe vrliicl required the nat- ' SEA OF f MAR MORA of the Dardanelles and Bosporus and Establlshed by the Treaty of Sevres. nni produets of the Black Sea area. As a result of this growing demand for access to the produets of this great fertile a.ea, the Turk ish Government during the last centnry granted through special treaties with the various coimtries the privilege of maintaining com mercial rleets, constila and other parapbernalia of trade, finance and banking in the Black Sea and Straits, and these privileges were later extended to commercial coim tries having rio frontage on that sea but interested in the trade of that area. Approximately one-halt of the quantity of mrrchandise ex ported from Russia in 1913 passed through the Black Sea and this was especially true of foodstufTs and minerai oils, and the very pow er possessed by Turkey to con trol this trade, especially in case of European or world wars, of fered enorinous possibilities in the formation of secret or open diplo matic relations with the country possessing such power, and dded to the uneasiuess of other Euro pean powers as to the effect of these secret treaties upon inter national relations. The possible importance of the control of large quantities of foodstuffs and raw niaterials in case of war by the ac tion or attitude of a singie power intensified the desire of not only European but rertain non-Euro-pean countries for a termination of the conditions under which access to this important area was retaind in the hands of one sud especially a non-commercial, power, ir al though more tha.i one-half A the Black S?a merchaiidise was car ried under foreign flags it was stili within the power of a single coun try, Turkey, to terminate the privi leges under which such service by the shipping of the various nations was being performed. The area to which access might at any moment m m be suspended aggregated, as above indicated, 1,000.000 square miles, its population 100,O(K),0OO and ita norma! trade prior to the recent Beautiful Lausanne Hvar more tlian a billion dollars a year, and of cotirse accompanied by the necessary transportation, in dustriai and hanking equipments, largely controlled by financial in -terests outside the area in ques tion. Treaty of Sevres This international desire to ter minate an unusual and abnormal control of world commerce by a non-commerciat power, while it could not be successfully asserted by a single country, found oppor tiMiity for a joint expression upon that subjcct by several great com mercial nations of the world w lieti the League of Xatio.is at the dose of the VVorld War niet at the city of Sevres, Erauce, to fraine a peace treaty with Turkey. The principal participants in that con- RI API QPA TURKÉ.Y the International Zone, fcrence inclitded on the nn Innd (ire-t Britain l-'rance. Ita'. vaiti and certain othr :f the ." 't rs oi the Leagtte of X'ations, ., :n the other hand, the Imperiai ('lito man Government Uhe Government of the Sulian) represented by cer tain oflicials appointed for tì'.st service r.ntl designated by tlie treaty itself as " l'Ienipotentiar'e? " The result of that ccmference of the victorious allies on the or.e li a n ù, and the forni of treaty which they haiiiled to the Turkisli repre scntatives on the other, was the famotts "Treaty of Sevres," laid before tlie represcntatives of the Turkish Government on August 10, and signed under protcst by them. Its chief feature as relates to the suhicets above discusscd was as follows: Artide- .T: The navigatimi of the Str.-n'is, ircliuliiig the Dardaeellri, the Sea i. Mar mora arni Bniiorn, sh;ill in future he njien, iwi-.h in jieacc and w.ir, tu every r.sel ut commerce or ot w;ir anil to nulitarv ani! commercial aircraft. wiihrmt dutincti.-ii m" fìn((. Thee warers hall not le Mihjpct to hlockaiic, rior shall any Iiellicrrnt i ' -lit he exercinl n-,r any aci , hi.atilily tic rran tnittcìl within rhrm. unlps iia piiruam-e of a deci5iun of Die Colmai of the Lcague of Nations. Artide "S: The TurViih Government recogmzes tnat il is n-es.iry to take fnr ther mc.-.rur tu ensure thr trmlmn of navigation ir..vi,je for in Artide .'7, ami accordinely itdrgate, m far ai it il ten cenicil. to a CoinmisHiun to' he calici the "t'ommifsion of the Straits." tnr contini oi the waters spccilied iix Artide 3'). Artide l": The aathority f the Cora rr,isicm will eMcnrl tu ali the waters tween the Mediterranean niouth of the Dar rlantlles ami thr Klack Sea nintith of the Bosporus, and to the waters within tbiee milai of eacb of these raoatht. Artide ari: The Commiuion ha!I be Cora Iirvrl of rcprecntatives appointed respec tively hy the Vnited State of America if anri when that Government is willmg to par ticipate), the British Empire. France, Italy, jatian. Kusia (if and when Russia becomes a memher of the League of Nation), Treece, Roiimania. and Moicana and Turkey (lì and when the two latter States become mein bers of lo Leaguc of Natiom). The treaty further outlined the arca on either side of the great fi i 1 1 ir l!' ! " I I 1 jRfSff,"! li l 'i il i cr S2 waterway in qttestìon over which this conunission should have con trol in order to insure perfect free dom of commerce and including her- Conference to Decide Question of "every vessel of commerce or of war without distinction of flag," and'the area thus outlined has been ofticially shown on maps of that atea under the title of "Zone of the Straits." l'nder this treaty the Enciclopédia Britannica in its 1022 edition says: "The Straits (Danl.melles ami Bosporus) were thrown inien to ali uaviiiation in neace or war wnthnnt distinction of ria ; bloct.ade of these waters was prohibitril ; an 'Inter national Cinnmsion of the Straits' was es tahli'hed to control the wati-rway, and a de milifaned -Zoi,e of the Straits' createli lo embiace adjoitnnK coastal territory." Treaty Not Officially Ratified This provision of the Sevres Treaty dedaring specilìcally that "navigation of the. Straits shall in future be open both in peace and war to every vessel of commerce or of war" was looked upon as likely to terminate the 467 years of Turk ish control of that great water ,vvay, and the provisions of the treaty for the freedom of com merce of the Straits have since been put into operation by the Cotcmission appointed for that porrose. Recent developmetits, ::o A-ever, bave iliade it apparent .'at the question as to the ac cevance by the Turks of the Sc-res Treaty is stili an open one. The Government of the Sultan at Constantinople failed to ratify the acts of its Blenipotentiaries whose signatures were attached to the Treaty of Sevres, and the States man's Vear-Book, an accepted au thority. stales in its V22 edition that "The Treaty of Sevres al though signed August 10. 1920, is not yet ratified by any of the partics." Turkish Nationalist Govern ment The great uncertainty, how- t-ver. which now prevails as to the permrinciice or otherwise of the freedom ol commerce in tlie Straits ! as provided by t!:e Treaty of Sevres is found in the prospective -attitude of tl'e politicai organia- tton establihed in 1920 at An i estahiislied in 1920 at An- a. in Asia Minor, about "5 miles i t of Go:'-i:..tUinoplc, under the ; of the 'TutkM. Xationalit gora cast titie inermuent. t,-,, re.en.ttng a po- htteal tacito:, o. lttrkey lormerly known as the " oung Turks" pam. Of this nrganiaiioi. a ( io eriiiuent'," repv riter in Oim-tu Historv of Aprii. 22. says. "Tl-e power of the .Jta.e vestui in tlu- -,-inds ol the Va- mal A-M'ii.ii'y, liic nieiiibers of V. 11..-:; IO';' i: the peonie." '-i i re uro ..i-n l t ,.t It i..t- ..,,,1 I, .!er,-h :p Mustupha Kemal i asini, J-'resident r! tlie Assembiy, v.-ho-u- snecesres in ihe lidi! against Che Gi-ech1- were followcd by a re- fusai on ilio part of th Government to in any w: nize the demands ot the Angora y recog- re.itv of Sevres, as the conference at Sevres was not p.irtidpatcd in by of ficiai represcntatives of the k'ein-ali-l or "Yir.i:n.T Tt-rl; Govern ment. !ispau-''es i'-ont Angora, dated N'ovet'iber J;h. state that the As-. r.iblv h..s i.dopteii resolmi.-ms ptirportiii!; to. ab'iìish the Sulta nati; and prodainiinv,- a Rcpr.blic of the Turkish State to include ali Turkish territory; also dedaring void ali treaties of the Constanti nople Administration madc since j ji y- .sii ne i.l r r rvi March ir., 1020. a date preceda -that of the Treaty of Sovres. Hhe tlispalcbes from Angora state tha the (jovernment has prtd luimeri t,-,. death penalty against the Tuiidt' ofticials who signed the Trea'y c-i Sevres. Whife ifustapha Ketnal, t!;t President of the Angora Assembiy. has . been unofficially reported ol several occasions as expressing 4 willingness to assent to the termi nation of Turkish- control of ths commerce of the Straits, the en tire question of the attitude of the 3 . r Dardanelles Takes Place Angora Government, whicli now claims to represent ali of Turkey, upon this sttbject is one of the im portant factors of the approaching conference to be held at Lausanne, Switzerland, and which is to bc at tended by the Turkish Nationalist Foreign Minister.slsmet Pasha. ami a stalY of experts. Reports troni Constantinople indicate that the Sultan, who does not accept the Angora decre for Iris abdication, has decided not to send delegatesi to the Lausanne conference. Re cent dispatches also indicated that the Russian Soviet Government has been invited by the Allies to send delcgates to Lausanne to partici pate in the discussion relative to the freedom of navigation in the -Straits. Nothing is stated as to whether the recently organized gOvernments on the northern front age of the Klack Sea including Ukraine, Taurida, Kttban, Georgia and the Don Republic have been invited to attend, but as the States man's Year Book of 1922 describes them ashavicg dose relations with the Government of Russia it is pre sumed that the Russian delegates at Lausanne will present their views on the question of freedom of commerce both on the Black Sea aud in the Straits which con nect it with the Mediterranean and the great oceans of the world. WESS'X J4àV JTAl Wfcì W - , . J iJJfl W Ui iH ' Wlj5nÌ3V.1S fj , MpJXh &Mzttl M T&S? Tf fit t H C-.J j.J r2 3 U1 2 MZS&V4 - ?t'.f SSS iisfC? F" ACl .J. 1 HS". i.a..jisB- a, .dfc,, is.ro.aa a, a. I UPMWiAsiiAaÉW tilt Remarkable Viltà Over the Minarets of Stamboul Showing tli Bosporus and the Domes of Pera Beyond Thus, the entire iuestion of the pi-rmancncc of the freedom of com merce in the Straits (which stili lie in enlirety within Turkisli terri tory) is to be further considered bv the Lausanne Conference, tliougli incantimi' the allied forces continue in control tf the "Zone ?f the Strit" rlespite the demàtids of the Argon Government for control of the area in question. Ibi r.- fu it. I Il , Ir M'J !lf! ':" '1 Harbor of Constsntinopls .