Current History, A Monthly Magazine

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The New York Times

CURRENT HISTORY

A MONTHLY MAGAZINE

_THE EUROPEAN WAR_

MARCH, 1915

Caldron of the Balkans

But little has hitherto been published in English describing
from original sources how the Balkan States, out of which
the world conflict arose, resolved, in Kipling's phrase, to
"stand up and meet the war." The following documents, taken
from authoritative Balkan sources, show for the first time
the purely Balkan aspect of the great struggle.

How Turkey Went to War

By Ottoman Authorities

_Immediately on receiving official notification of the rupture of
diplomatic relations between Austria and Servia, the Turkish Grand
Vizier hastened to inform the Diplomatic Corps in Constantinople that
Turkey would remain neutral in the conflict. Explaining this official
Turkish declaration, the following editorial article appeared early in
August in the Ministerial paper, Tasfiri-Efkiar, published in
Constantinople:_

The declarations made by the Grand Vizier to the Ambassadors of the
powers, in order to reassure them as to the dispositions of Turkey, do
not constitute from a legal point of view a declaration of neutrality,
according to the stipulations of The Hague Conventions; likewise the
Austrian ultimatum to Servia, viewed in the same light, is not
tantamount to a declaration of war. In fact, The Hague Conventions
demand a formal declaration in both cases. But if the formal
declaration of Turkish neutrality cannot be made before she has
received an official notification of the existing war, it is
nevertheless true that the head of the Government, in his
conversations with the Ambassadors, has given them to understand what
the opinion of the people is here. And even without this, the efforts
of the Turkish Government, the desire, and the policy of Turkey, are
so explicit that there is no ground for doubt as to the significance
of the declarations of the Grand Vizier.

Turkey has never asked for war, as she always has worked toward
avoiding it. But we must not misunderstand the meaning of certain
terms. Neutrality does not mean indifference. The present
Austro-Servian conflict is to a supreme degree interesting to us. In
the first place, one of our erstwhile opponents is fighting against a
much stronger enemy. In the natural course of things Servia, which
till lately was expressing, in a rather open way, her solidarity as a
nation, still provoking us, and Greece will be materially weakened. In
the second place, the results of this war may surpass the limits of a
conflict between two countries, and in that case our interests will be
just as materially affected.

We must therefore keep our eyes open, as the circumstances are
momentarily changing, and do not permit us to let escape certain
advantages which we can secure by an active and rightly acting
diplomacy.

The policy of neutrality will impose on us the obligation of avoiding
to side with either of the belligerents, but the same policy will
force us to take all the necessary measures for safeguarding our
interests and our frontiers. If it be true, as reported, that the
pacificist tendencies of Turkey constitute one of the safest
guarantees of peace in the Balkans, then we must hope that on the day
when a general settlement of accounts will be made Europe will be
willing to recognize the important part played by Turkey in the
preservation of peace in the Near East, and will be eager to rectify,
if not all, at least one part of the wrongs she has caused to our
country.

TURKEY LEARNS OF THE WAR.

_Turkish mobilization was still at its first stages when the European
war began on Aug. 1, 1914. The Turkish Government in particular and
the Turkish population in general were overwhelmed by the unexpected
turn of European events, and it was at the height of the crisis that
Turkey received the news of her two battleships building in British
yards being taken over by England. A correspondent of The Daily
Atlantis of New York, writing in Constantinople on Aug. 10, said:_

The European war makes the Turks think that this is their golden
opportunity for turkifying the empire from the one end to the other.
All non-Moslems, mere boys and young men of 25 to 30 years of age and
grown men up to 45, are being arrested by the police and secret
service force, and dragged to the barracks, like convicts, and if they
fail to pay the fifty or eighty pounds Turkish ($230 or $350) for
exemption from military service, they are forced to work as
"assistant-soldiers."

The soldiers thus designated are not given rifles, nor are they
trained for service, but are simply employed as servants to the
regular soldiers. It is easy to understand that no one can endure such
conditions of military life, the result being that each and every one
of these non-Moslems sells whatever property he has in order to pay
the ransom and get away from the army, and from Turkey as well. In ten
days, since this peculiar recruiting began, fully ten thousand Greeks
found a way of escaping from Constantinople, many of them finding a
refuge in the free and hospitable United States. This getting away is
not so easy, writes the same correspondent, because officials of the
various ports are exacting heavy sums from the fugitives before
letting them go. Graft and extortion in this case reign supreme, and
it costs anywhere from three to fifteen pounds ($13 to $70) to "buy" a
police or port official. This process, originating in Constantinople,
is widespread in the provinces, and the sums paid in this way by the
non-Moslems to escape military service amount to millions. "Let the
infidels pay!" say the Turkish officials. "They have taken our ships,
and they have to pay for it."

The popular feeling against England in these first days of the
European war is fierce. Numerous manifestations, in which the younger
element was largely represented, proceeded to attack the British
stores and British subjects, and there have been serious attempts
against the British Embassy in Constantinople and the British
Consulate at Smyrna.

[Illustration: H.R.H. PRINCESS MARIE JOSE

Only Daughter of the King of the Belgians.

(_Photo from Underwood & Underwood._)]

[Illustration: HIS EMINENCE, CARDINAL MERCIER

Archbishop of Mechlin, Primate of Belgium.]

CONSTANTINOPLE IN AUGUST.

_Another letter from the same source, dated Constantinople, Aug. 6,
gives the following picture of the Turkish capital in the early
days of the European war:_

It is impossible to describe the way in which the Porte is trying to
put the country on a war footing, notwithstanding the terrible odds
she has to fight against. God only knows what the Turks are expecting
if the Austro-Servian conflict turns out according to their desires,
or if the European conflict takes the form of a decisive Austro-German
victory. We now have ample proof to show that the Turkish mobilization
is in such a way conducted as to be ready to act in common with
Bulgaria, in a simultaneous attack against Greek and Servian
Macedonia, as soon as the Austrians have a first decisive victory over
the Servians. This scheme, however, seems to be doomed since the entry
of Great Britain into the general war, and there are indications that
Turkey, warned by England and Russia, will disband her already
mobilized army. On the other hand, the news reaches Constantinople
that the Russian forces have crossed the frontier into Turkish
Armenia, and occupied Erzeroum, while Enver Pasha was seen yesterday,
(Aug. 5,) paying hasty visits to the Russian and British Embassies.
While such is the political situation, matters are still worse in the
business world of the Turkish capital. It is almost impossible to give
an idea of the general upheaval brought about by greedy speculators,
who are taking advantage of this anomalous situation, and by the
Government itself, requisitioning everything they can lay their hands
on, regardless of reason or necessity.

Policemen and Sheriffs, followed by military officers, are taking by
force everything in the way of foodstuffs, entering the bakeries and
other shops selling victuals, boarding ships with cargoes of flour,
potatoes, wheat, rice, &c., and taking over virtually everything,
giving in lieu of payment a receipt which is not worth even the paper
on which it is written.

In this way many shops are forced to close, bread has entirely
disappeared from the bakeries, and Constantinople, the capital of a
neutral country, is already feeling all the troubles and privations
of a besieged city. Prices for foodstuffs have soared to inaccessible
heights as provisions are becoming scarce. Actual hand-to-hand combats
are taking place in the streets outside the bakeries for the
possession of a loaf of bread, and hungry women with children in their
arms are seen crying and weeping in despair.

Many merchants, afraid lest the Government requisition their goods,
hastened to have their orders canceled, the result being that no
merchandise of any kind is coming to Constantinople either from Europe
or from Anatolia.

Both on account of the recruiting of their employes and of shortage of
coal the companies operating the electric tramways of the city have
reduced their service to the minimum, as no power is available for the
running of the cars.

Heartrending scenes are witnessed in front of the closed doors of the
various banking establishments, where large posters are to be seen,
bearing the inscription: _Closed temporarily, by order of the
Government._ The most popular of these institutions is the Wiener
Bankverein. This bank, by making special inducements to small
depositors and by paying a higher interest than the others, succeeded
in concentrating the savings of many people of the working classes,
and as this institution is in imminent danger the rush to its doors is
exceptionally great and riotous.

The municipality has issued a number of ordinances fixing the prices
of all necessary commodities, and the Government, after the first
panic, declared that no further requisitions are to be made. At the
same time the authorities took special pains in order to induce the
various merchants to import goods from abroad, thus relieving the
extremely strained situation of the market; but it is doubtful whether
such measures will have any calming effect on the scared population.

Immediately after war was declared between Germany and Russia the
Porte ordered the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles closed to every kind
of shipping, at the same time barring the entrances of these channels
with rows of mines. The first boat to suffer from this measure was a
British merchantman, which was sunk outside the Bosphorus, while
another had a narrow escape in the Dardanelles. A large number of
steamers of every nationality are waiting outside the straits for the
special pilot boats of the Turkish Government, in order to pass in
safety through the dangerous mine field. This measure of closing the
straits was suggested to Turkey by Austria and Germany, and was
primarily intended against Russia, as it was feared that her Black Sea
fleet might force its way into the Sea of Marmora and the Aegean.

TURKISH PARLIAMENT PROROGUED.

_On Sunday, Aug. 2, the Medjlissi-Meboussan, or Parliament of Turkey,
was urgently called together, and the Speaker of the House addressed
the members as follows:_

Dear Colleagues: The imperial proclamation ordering the last elections
has produced some uneasiness both within and without the empire. It
was said at that time that the Chamber was to be convened only to give
vent to partisan feeling and to disturb the quiet of the country. The
elections, however, proceeded in as orderly a way as possible, and the
Chamber performed its duty with great order and solicitude, having
voted the budget and many other laws. The country accordingly is
convinced that the Chamber has fulfilled its duty with relative calm,
in view of the circumstances. We part today in order to meet again in
November. The war between Austria-Hungary and Servia has a tremendous
importance in the general European situation. While until yesterday
Europe was kept in a state of watchful waiting, now we are informed
that war has been declared between Germany and Russia. In face of such
an international situation, it behooves all us Ottomans to rally in a
spirit of harmony around the imperial throne, and to act with the
moderation characteristic of our race for the preservation of our
country.

Hoping that the great example given by Parliament to the nation as
regards the working in a spirit of harmony and order will have its due
influence on the country at large, I salute you and bid you farewell.

THE MOBILIZATION.

_One of the first schemes of the German General, Liman von Sanders,
for the reorganization of the Turkish Army was to provide a system
whereby a speedier mobilization of the forces could be made possible.
According to this scheme, as far back as the first days of May, 1914,
every Mayor and village President of the empire was provided with a
sealed envelope, under orders to open it only on telegraphic notice
from the Central Administration. These envelopes were opened on Aug.
3, and were found to contain the papers constituting the order of
general mobilization, including a large poster in colors, bearing,
under the imperial monogram, or "Tougrah," two crossed green Turkish
flags, with crossed sword and rifle, and underneath a gun and its
carriage, and lastly the imperial edict in large letters, reading as
follows:_

A general mobilization was ordered to
start on ........................
(To be dated on notice.)

Those liable for duty must report at
their respective headquarters. First day
of mobilization is on ........................
(To be dated on notice.)

DIPLOMATIC SITUATION AND PRESS OPINIONS.

_While Turkey in this way was preparing for war, Talaat Bey, the
Turkish Minister of the Interior, and Halil Bey, President of the
Chamber, were leaving Constantinople for Bucharest, where they
intended meeting the representatives of the Greek Government, in order
to find a way of settling the outstanding Greco-Turkish differences
regarding the Aegean Islands and the question of refugees. The object
of this political move was twofold. First, Turkey was bent on giving
to Europe a proof of her pacific intentions, and, second, she was
trying to convince the Hellenic Government of her willingness to reach
an understanding regarding their mutual differences, and begin anew
the friendly relations of yore. The following extract is from an
editorial article published in the Ikdam of Constantinople on Aug.
17:_

From today the regeneration of our fleet begins. From today Ottoman
hearts must again rejoice. We must work hard now for the strengthening
of our navy. We must know that our fleet, which till yesterday was
lifeless, is no longer in incompetent hands and under the leadership
of lazy minds. New Turkey has intrusted her navy to iron hands. At the
head of our fleet is Djemal Pasha, whose naval successes it is
unnecessary to mention. The commander of the fleet is the Chief of the
Naval Staff, Arif Bey, and in command of the light flotilla is Capt.
Muzzafer Bey. Likewise the commanders and the other officers of the
two new battleships are chosen among the fittest. This is the
beginning of a new era for our navy. In addition to this we must say
that we are expecting good results from our political activity. Talaat
Bey and Halil Bey have left for Bucharest, where they will try to find
a solution of outstanding serious questions. At the same time they
will have an opportunity to exchange views with Rumanian statesmen. It
is unnecessary, in our belief, to exalt the significance of this
mission. We think, however, that a wise and moderate policy,
strengthened by a good army and navy, will go far in bringing good
results.

_On Sept. 10 an official announcement from the Sublime Porte was
handed to the representatives of the powers in Constantinople, and
communicated to the press. This declaration ran as follows:_

As an expression of the sentiments of hospitality and friendship on
the part of the Ottoman Government toward the European populations of
the empire, there were instituted long ago certain regulations to
which Europeans coming to the Levant for commerce would be subjected,
these same regulations having been duly communicated to the respective
Governments of those Europeans.

These regulations, adopted by the Porte on its own initiative, and
considered entirely as privileges, and having been strengthened and
made more general through certain acts, have continued to be in force
up to this time under the name "Old Treaties," (in Turkish "Ouhout-i
Atikah.") These privileges, however, are wholly incompatible with the
legal status of recent years, and especially with the principle of
national sovereignty. In the first place, they became a hindrance to
the progress and development of the Imperial Government, while in the
second, by creating misunderstandings in its relations with the
foreign Governments, they formed a barrier preventing these relations
from becoming more harmonious and more sincere.

The Ottoman Empire continues to advance in the path of regeneration
and of reforms, overleaping many obstacles, and in order to acquire
the position due to it in the civilized family of Europe, it adopted
modern principles of government, and has not deviated from its
programme of having the State conducted on these principles.

The founding of the constitutional form of government is in itself a
proof that the efforts of the Ottoman Empire for its regeneration have
been fully crowned with success. Certain exceptions, however, based on
the capitulations, such as the participation of foreigners in the
administration of justice, which is an all-important prerogative of
national sovereignty, the limitations imposed on the legislative
rights of the State, based on the argument that certain laws cannot be
applied to foreigners, the injustice inflicted on common right from
the impossibility of convicting a delinquent who disturbs the safety
of the country merely because he happens to be a foreigner, or because
the prosecution against him must be subjected to certain limitations
and particular conditions; and likewise the difference in the
competency of the various courts dealing with cases where the
capitulations are involved; all these constitute impregnable barriers
against every effort of the country toward progress in the
administration of justice.

From another point of view, the fact that foreigners living in the
Ottoman Empire are exempt from taxation, in accordance with the
capitulations, makes it impossible for the Sublime Porte to procure
the indispensable means for the carrying out, not only of the reforms
but of its everyday needs.

The impossibility of increasing the indirect taxation is bringing
about the increase of direct taxes, and therefore makes the burden on
the Ottoman tax-payers all the heavier. The fact that foreigners who
enjoy in the Ottoman Empire every protection and every privilege as
well as freedom in their business transactions are exempt from
taxation constitutes in itself an intolerable injustice and creates at
the same time a situation detrimental to the independence and prestige
of the Government.

While the Imperial Government was firm in its resolution to continue
its efforts regarding the reforms, the general war broke and increased
the financial difficulties of the country in such a degree that all
the innovations and all the reforms which have been decided upon and
actually begun are threatened to remain without effect.

The Sublime Porte feels convinced that the only way toward salvation
for the Ottoman Government lies in the realization of the necessary
reforms in the least possible time. In the same way the Porte feels
that every encouragement will be shown her in the decisive steps to be
undertaken for this end.

Convinced of this, the Imperial Government has decided to abolish, on
Oct. 1, 1914, the capitulations, and all conventions, concessions, and
privileges emanating therefrom, which have become an iron ring around
the State, making it impossible for it to progress.

At the same time the Ottoman Government engages to treat with foreign
countries in accordance with the rules of international law. While I
have the honor of communicating to your Excellency this decision,
which opens a new and happy era in the life of the Ottoman Empire, an
event which undoubtedly will please your Excellency, I consider it my
duty to add that the Porte in abolishing the capitulations does not
harbor any hostile feeling against any of the foreign States, but is
acting solely in the highest interests of the empire. At the same
time, the Porte is ready to begin pourparlers for the conclusion of
commercial treaties in accordance with the principles of international
law.

_The Turkish press made little mention of the manner in which Europe
took notice of the important step taken by the Porte, and the
Ministerial Tasfiri Efkiar was the only one to express the feelings of
the Government on this occasion, saying:_

It is not proper for us to expect a unanimous and speedy satisfaction
from all the European powers; but, on the other hand, we must welcome
every objection and every discussion from whatever source it comes, as
in this way we shall know who are our friends and who our enemies.

APPROACHING THE CRISIS.

_The events covering the period from Sept. 10, when the abolition of
the capitulations was decided upon, till Oct. 29, when the Turkish
fleet attacked Russian ports and shipping in the Black Sea, were
confined mostly to hasty and all-absorbing warlike preparations on the
part of the Turkish Government, assisted by the German military
mission. The Constantinople correspondent of The Daily Atlantis of New
York wrote on Sept. 17:_

We are daily approaching a crisis. The Government has not swerved from
its warlike attitude, and is threatening not only Greece, but Russia
and the Triple Entente as well, while, on the other hand, it has
failed to secure Rumanian or Bulgarian co-operation in its militant
policy. At the same time, the Porte has learned that efforts are being
made in the Balkans for common action against Turkey. It also became
known that the Governments of London and Petrograd agreed to indemnify
Bulgaria by giving her Adrianople and Thrace, while Greece was to have
Smyrna, with a considerable hinterland.

During this period the Turkish press maintained an active campaign
against England and the Allies. The following extract from an
editorial article published in the Terdjumani-Hakkikat thus
characterizes the situation:

Everybody knows that the Balkan States are traversing a
period of doubts, and that the belligerent parties are doing
their best in order to secure the sympathies and the
assistance of the Balkan States.

To begin with, the idea of reconstructing the Balkan League
came under consideration. In this way the Balkan States
think they will become strong enough to impose their will at
the final settlement that will follow the war. This idea,
however, based as it is on the nullification of the Treaty
of Bucharest, and on certain sacrifices on the part of
Rumania and Greece, proved to be a failure. In the course of
the discussion between the two States it was shown that
neither Greece nor Rumania was willing to make any sacrifice
in favor of Bulgaria. The Balkan Alliance, being thus
unpracticable, the belligerent powers of Europe attempted to
attract Rumania and Bulgaria only, and to this end they made
every sort of promise to the two Governments of Sofia and
Bucharest. The President of the London Balkan Committee, Mr.
Noel Buxton, went to Bulgaria and made certain promises to
Mr. Radoslavoff, the Bulgarian Premier, in the name of Sir
Edward Grey. He promised the restitution to Bulgaria of the
Enos-Midia line, including Adrianople. The Bulgarians,
however, are not to be fooled in this way by promises at the
expense of third parties, and especially when the eventual
cost of these gifts might be a heavy one. We must not forget
that Bulgaria wants not Thrace, but Macedonia. If Great
Britain had promised Bulgaria Macedonia, including Saloniki,
and the Bulgarian Government was convinced beforehand of the
fulfillment of the promise, then it is certain that the
proposal would be accepted. But this is not in line with
England's interests, because in that case she would lose her
two other customers--Greece and Servia. And so there goes
Mr. Buxton making offers out of our own pocket.

But we Turks have been used to injustices; and it has become
an axiom in history that whenever there is trouble in any
part of the world we must be the ultimate sufferers. It
seems that this time, too, "our friends" felt like repeating
the same story; but now we are not to be caught napping, and
the Government, having in time mobilized the army, is ready
for every emergency.

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