WHY TURKEY WANTS WAR.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 938, 4 October 1910, Page 5

WHY TURKEY WANTS WAR.

' .The. present regime ;oh the -Island of. Crete-is a bundle of.contradictions. .It acknowledges the .Sultan Vas. suzerain' on condition that he; foregoes his euzeiain rights.:'.lt. mokes' George.of Greece King of- the island on condition that,he does not officially call himself king. ' At the recent Greek elections three Cretan politicians wore eleoted''to 'the Greek Parlia- : ment,: ; Turkey indignantly contending thatthese new deputies were Turkish' not Greek subjects.... ■-..' -..': ) .. , . ■•• Writing . of. the situation' in '■ the "Contemporary.Review,".■Dγ. E. J. Dillon eays:. —"A few-days, ago I came across an article whioh appeared in a Caucasion paper.and threw a sharp, , unpleasant light on .the."feeling of. martial, buoyanoy- which is spreading—thanks vtb the efforts of the Young-:• Turkish'..Committee— throughout European; Turkey.' 'It was penned by the Inspector-General of the Turkish schools, Askmed- Bey. Agayeff,..whose relations- to Nazinv. Bey,'/the leader,.of that committee, are, intimate...;/What: be"6ays is that . the Ottoman Government will ■ either obtain- a,'.final settlement:'.of .'the. 'Cretan question,, and, , of course,, .settlement, or else will go' to war. . "But against -whom can ut . fight? '.". To this query all- reply 'against Greece.' ; ; The first step is to bring-about;hostilities, to find a pretext; the next is .to throw an army'.of ; 20,000' men .into Greece , ' and-.,t0 annihilate'it utterly'.!.. .Arid then -Europe' maydowithTurkey as. it lists. ' ;.That; is the prevalent feeling.:-' It is senseless, but psychologically quite, intelligible.. For the Turks' are now. convinced thatj when all. is said - and, done,; Europe, will, not .allow .Turkey to : establish herself ..firmly, and that if '. the Turks give-way to-day in the Cretan question, another question will arise: to-morrowj .and -eo .0n..;: .That, is why the Turks are -seeking to. wage war, ! and, I : say it quite ■■ openly, tbey; are doing, ■their.:, utmost -to,- bring.-it -about.;. They, will "avail themselves lof; tne flimsiest; pre-. text , that "Greece may offer. and ■; use .it to .precipitate -a conflict. Everywhere contingents of;-volunteers; are 'being enlisted. .;. The/, are ..offering their ,6ervices 1.-ift thousands.- .The famous revolutionary hero, Niazim Beyj-is.gathering free-lances in ; the mountains,: aria there is some danger .that these bands may/cross, .over.'the frontiers and ..make raids."; '■:.'.. •■■• ,; ;' l ■■ ■