The Dominion TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1923. RESULTS OF THE LAUSANNE CONFERENCE

Dominion, Volume 16, Issue 120, 6 February 1923, Page 6

The Dominion TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1923. RESULTS OF THE LAUSANNE CONFERENCE

~ r „„ i,- c rollansed in rather peculiar cir“llap.ed cumstances. Agreement was tho fre edom of the- Straits, important questions iais , • minorities in Turkey, and the on —— i. “ Allied proposal, regarding the TS X rXd, k.eing the other, for iurlher negoUaM,. „ cl . led a| , y Proceedings a the Con e.en« “““X™. Turke, and til.” cjliot °”lt Mem.’nkel,, also, that the agreement arrived at with » £ uXZtor,. however „et XXaZnt ol because little confidence can be placea reached on some /‘j “ that under all the presH does not promise null m the in whok S Xi± the, considered essential io a lust setile- " I"Xt. - capitulation treaties, economic questions, and MosuL ,■ i of The Turkish claim to recover Mosul has been fully tau (1 Of ... Mosul is part of the Arab kingdom of liak. Its people sent what they have themselves described as Turkish ±n t the r political independence, and Britain has referred the X“„ dokrmining th. northern frontier of Irak to the treaties provide judicial and «~„omic uuarda lor P foreignsra resident in Turkey- There are appaiently good grounds fo? the a.sertion made in a memorandum addressed to :.e French Government by the French Chamber of Lommorc n Constantinople that without the indispensable guarantees afforded by the capitulations, it would h. impossible for honest European, to "’’TheplrSh magi.tr.oy. according to th. memorandum “is beneath contempt »nly are but they are scandalously corrupt. in w “7* .•’ . 1 ! , the capitulations, the Turks themselves admitted the inferiority of their judicial organisation, and promised reforms which weic ncicr of writing no detailed explanation is given of the economic questions on which negotiations faded Probab'y, the chief of these questions is that of the Turkish Customs Un . Hitherto modifications of this tariff have been subject to the approval of the Powers. The Kemalists, however, have introduced in Anatolia a tariff which virtually excludes foreign goods. lhey wish to foster native industries not only by imposing protective duties on imports, but by imposing export duties on raw materials produced in Turkey. , . , In ordinary circumstances it would be Turkey s own business -to deal with her tariff. It has to be considered, however, that many foreigners, particularly Frenchman, have been induced to invest very large sums in Turkish commercial enterprises in defined conditions which included foreign supervision of the tarilf. The policy adopted by the Kemalists is therefore objected to with apparent reason as an act of bad faith. . Tho unsatisfactory conclusion of tho Conference definitely supports an opinion which has been expressed that the Kemalists, admittedly now dominant in Turkey, had from the outset no desire to reach a full- and friendly understanding with the Allies, and were intent only bn creating a sufficient appearance of agreement to avert the danger of war. With the possible exception of the agreement regarding the Straits, little that the Conference has accomplished seems likely to stand a protracted test. There is -not a very good prospect, tor instance, of enforcing the agreements with regard to the protection of minorities in Turkey should the Turks ignore or violate these agreements. . In spite of the differences that arose between the Russian and Turkish delegations at Lausanne, there are indications that the alliance between Angora and Moscow is being tightened. At tho same time, Turkey is bidding for the political leadership of all Moslem States, particularly those in which there is an insurgent nationalist movement. Turkey, in fact,- is in a fair wa,y to secure, a fresh start in a career of corrupt internal government and international mischieimaking. To keep her reasonably in control and check her power for harm, a more effective exercise of international influence is needed than was exhibited at the Lausanne Conference.