THE NEW TURKEY

Evening Star, Issue 22204, 5 December 1935, Page 18

THE NEW TURKEY

FRONTIERS GUARDED THE BUDGET BALANCED AND OUTLOOK HOPEFUL Republican Turkey is one of the few countries which are satisfied'' with their post-war frontiers, and which have no territorial ambitions or disputes, writes J. H. Walton, in the * Daily Telegraph.’ The loss of vast portions of the [Turkey of the Ottoman Empire lias been to some extent a factor in the success which post-war Turkey has made of her republic, for it has relieved her of tracts of territory where intrigue was always rife. , The Turkey of Mustapba Kemal, now rightly known as Ataturk (Chief Turk) has rid herself of the offensive title of the Sick Man of Europe. She has been her own doctor. Turkey is content with the territory Sste now holds, but woe to anyone who attempts to infringe on her rights or menace her frontiers. Not so long ago Italy was believed to have intentions of this kind, and Turkey took great pains and made huge sacrifices to organise a fitting reception. This acare has abated, but it has not yet been forgotten, and a certain distrust of Italy still exists. Though Turkey manifests little apparent interest in Italy’s present aspirations, every Turk is secretly glad that Italy has turned her,attention elsewhere, and tho general sympathy is certainly on the side Of the Abyssinians. STRENGTH ON FRONTIERS. The only thorn in .the side of the Turks is the periodical hostility shown by certain Bulgarian factions. Turkey is prepared, however, for every eventuality. She has made her western Thracian frontier an invulnerable ■tronghold, and her defences in that legion, linked up with those on the opposite side of the Dardanelles, are amply sufficient to render Turkey inviolate, at least from any but concerted action on the part of Great towers. Turkey accepted the shelving of her Remand to refortify the Straits, but it might be presented again at any moment. Little material importance ,Would attach to such a demand for the official consecration of h fait accompli. It is a “ secret de polisbinelle ” that requires jgry, little more than 1 ■ r -

she has actually got to guarantee her security in the Straits zone. Kyrithea, a village on tho plateau above Helles, well known to those who were in the Gallipoli campaign, is now being rebuilt and populated with Turkish refugees from Bulgaria and Rumania; Soviet Russia has been of no small assistance to Turkey in the matter of organising defence. Every advantage was taken of the visit of Voroshiloff, the Soviet Commissar for Defence, two years ago, when he inspected the Asiatic zone on the Dardanelles. Turkey’s friendship with Soviet Russia, the first Power to tender moral and material aid to the struggling Kemalists in their light for independence, has enabled Republican Turkey to concentrate on the gigantic t. -k of setting her house in order. Secure in the knowledge that she had nothing to fear from her north-eastern frontier, she was able to turn her face towards progress and her hand to reconstruction. Almost ideal stability and security exists on all her frontiers, and her work at home has proved highly successful. ’ FUTURE PROMISING. Financially, Turkey is in a more healthy condition than any Balkan Power. The Budget is always balanced, though the huge purchases she is obliged to make for the Departments of Public Works and Defence render this balanced Budget a somewhat startling fact to comprehend, A leading French fianancinl expert who has been going through Turkey’s books gives it as his considered opinion that her future is promising. Her royalties from the Mosul oilfields this year amount to £500,000, and within a' short time her own mineral resources will start to yield profits. The railhead has now reached the famous Ergana copper mines, and serious prospecting is being carried out for oil. Experts consider that the Baku-Mosul oil-bearing strata pass through Eastern Turkey, and should prove a rich source. Germany has important interests in tile Ergana copper mines, but Turkey will doubtless make great efforts to acquire these. She has still a long way to go and many sacrifices to make before she can rest and admire her achievements. Many years will have to pass before money can be saved. The execution of industrial plan* is calling for enormous expenditure and defence units demand exceptional sums. Three hundred aeroplanes are, to bo bought and maintained. Thus. - the Turkish people must bow to extraordinary taxation for a period of time impossible to estimate, for they are trying to accomplish, in the space of a few years, what other nations have

taken centuries to achieve. The determination is there, and results obtained during the last few years lend encouragement for tho future.. 1 BOLSTERED UP. As in almost every • other country the commercial situation has had to he bolstered up with exceptional measures. Clearing agreements have been forced on nations having favourable trade balances which wish to trade with Turkey, and Turkish exports have perceptibly gained over imports. In a few years, however, when Turkey attains her goal as the producer of manufactured goods which she has hitherto imported, she will lose that bargaining capacity which has made the imposition of 'clearing agreements possible. It is to be hoped that by then some other means Will have_been discovered to maintain balanced international trading operations. Turkey is again a market for British goods—so far as the present trading agreement will allow, which is not very much. There are definite indications in official quarters that British commercial interest in Turkey will be welcomed. That British goods are best has always been the belief of the Turks, but hitherto either the rate of exchange or quota restrictions have prevented purchases from reaching the extent desired. A feeling of friendship for Britain is also developing again. The period of military occupation which followed the armistice produced and left in the Turk a definite hostility and suspisjfm of British activities which did "much harm to Anglo-Turkish relations. ADMIRER OF BRITAIN. Great Britain’s successful diplomatic representation in Turkey during the last 10 years has created a keen desire for rapprochement. Ataturk himself is an admirer of Britain, and is devoting considerable time to learning English, which he already speaks haltingly. Turkey’s leader is as strong as ever. The reforms he has introduced in lightning-like succession are applied in their entirety, and bear no indications of being merely superficial. His energy is boundless, and he expects others to be as he is. Ho brooks no resistance, and never contemplates half measures. As a military genius he still holds his place, and the army is ever his chief consideration. Turkey has never possessed an army so disciplined, so well equipped, or so fit as is her present force, which is however, no longer inspired by the doubtful stimulant of religious fanaticism. Ataturk’s slogan, “ Turkey for the Turks.” has resulted in a policy which has cleared all Administrations of tho foreign elements. Furthermore, it has been ‘responsible for the acquisition, by tho State of almost every forcign-held concession. The only remaining railway

of foreign ownership is the Chemins de i'er Orientaux, which links up Istanbul with the continent of Asia. This will be repurchased in the near future. British financial interest in Turkey terminated with the purchase by the Turkish Government of the Istanbul Telephone Company recently. Rumour has it that towards the close of the negotiations which resulted in the Lausanne Treaty, a British statesman showed Ismet Pasha a wallet of bank notes and said: “ Turkey may possibly go far to-day, but, without this, she will not go far in the future.” But Turkey has, up to now, got along without any foreign loan, and there are no indications that any special welcome >vih be given to new capitalists unless their propositions are vastly different from those imposed in Turkish Imperialist times.