THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 1918. BULGARIA AND TURKEY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LV, Issue 16969, 1 October 1918, Page 4

THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. TUES DAY, OCTOBER 1, 1918. BULGARIA AND TURKEY.

The arrival of the Bulgarian peace envoys at Salonika suggests that the German attempt to save the Balkan situation by pouring in reinforcements is already too late. It is apparent'that the Bulgarian Government is ' sincere 'in its desire for peace,, il indeed, Buch an adjective -can' be 'usedf of a state of i mind which is governed by nothing nobler than the wisdom of/the/ serpent. It would be fatuous to (suppose that Bulgarian policy is now anything but greedy and mercenary, as it has ever been. Bulgaria joined the Central Powers because she thought ~ they would win the war. She. hoped, like a second Prussia,, to gain wealth and territory by easy conquest. :As the price of her intervention she commenced by extorting from ; Turkey a valuable concession in -a strip of j territory on the Maritza River, | She struck treacherously at Servia in the hope ■of gaining permanent possession of Macedonia, When Roumania was defeated she claimed the Dobrudja. When Constantino left Athens : she aspired to hold Salonika,, and | had already, ; ;- with' ; his connivance, -seized •:'Kavala. .• •• Through weary years of war, which told heavily oh her finances and her production 'in spite of long periods of military inactivity, she, was > sustained ■by the hope of enlarging her borders ■ at ■ the; expense of ; all her neighbours, even ■>of her nominal friend, Turkey. £. Then came disillusionment. The failure of the.German offensive. on the western front pricked the rainbow bubble.; The success of the allied counter-offensive prepared her for inevitable defeat, and the rout of her army and the invasion of her ; own< territory; convinced :. her that the hour had struck when ; she must abandon ; the losing side. There is no call to waste either, pity or sentiment on Bulgaria. In spite of : this, there appears to be no. insuperable" difficulty, in the way of reaching ■' an agreement \ with Bulgaria regarding her • future , role and the demarcation of -her' bounI daries. The withdrawal of her j troops from■'/; Servian, Albanian, Montenegrin - and x Greek ;■■ territory, and the surrender of the Dobrudja for disposal by the* general peace conference, will be the firgt conditions, but it is reasonable to suppose that "Bulgaria' is willing to accept them unreservedly./ She would hardly dare to ask for terms were she not. ; Reparation must be made to Servia, and apart. from any question of.punitive indemnity, this reparation will probably ■be substantial enough to serve as a punishment for the treacherous double-dealing which marked Bulgaria's entry into the war, and has characterised her policy ; for, many years. The only points, then, outstanding /are guarantees of Bulgarian good faith, and the use the Allies > may desire! to make of Bulgarian territory for the further prosecution of ,the war.' The demobilisation of i the Bulgarian army is essential; the Allies - may demand possession of ; ammunitions of war; and they, will \certainly require control of the Bulgarian railways and such territory as may be necessary to give access to ; Turkey on the one ■ side and Roumania//on the other. It will be impossible to allow Bulgaria /. unconditional > neutrality. No ■■ weak sentimeritalism must be permitted to hamper' the full use of 5 the f splendid opportunity which /■ is-/ now offered of ■ bringing Turkey to terms, freeing Roumania from the > German yoke, 1 - and transforming the .whole- situation in

Asia ,; and Eastern Europe. ■ One ijp.porta.nt /guarantee 'the/Allies can give Bulgaria which they could offer to none of : her associates. The annexation '-of territory ■ which was Bulgarian in 1914 is neither necessary nor politic. Stripped of her war gains Bulgaria is /substantially a country of the Bulgars. . Apart from small Greek settlements' there are no aliens under her rule, and to transfer Bulgarian territory to; another State {would only be to sow seeds of future war. Z When ; the ' peace conference remaps the/Balkans on the principle of nationality, which is the declared policy of the 'Allies, 5 the Bulgarian boundaries must be left substantially as they were in 1914.;/. ■ If Bulgaria submits to the Allies,

the position . of , Turkey will be so hopeless/ that ;■ it Zis:./not surprising that there/; are already : rumours of serious ; '■■ events at ;/ Constantinople. The Turks are not European in their passions. They neither hate nor jove; ' they only fear.-arid the prospect of military isolation 'and r crushing defeat is to them a very-terrible one. There are allied statesmen who have /always clung to the hope of forcir><* one or more of Germany's associates:- • 16% desert her. •-:■■ ■ This prospect, has appealed particularly to the American imagination .' and accounts';,for Z the delay , in declaring war on Austria, and for the steady refusal 7 of the -President to enter a state of belligerency with Bulgaria' and Turkey. Bulgaria still has; an ambassador -' at Washington, but Turkey discontinued diplomatic relations, although she did not declare war, when America - joined

the Allies. Americans,. : argue that Turkey? is ' the dupe of Germany,' and ~ there- is ( some historical ' support , for such a contention, ! Mr. Henry- Morgenthau, ho was United Ambassador in Turkey until 1916s maintains that the Turkish Cabinet, .although it created a dangerous situation: by selling the country to Germany, was only nominally! responsible for the ; actual events which brought Turkey into conflict with the i Allies. -..>< His» statement is that a Turkish torpedoboat leaving the Dardanelles -was j. ordered back by British;, warships; because iit .had German sailors ?on board, and that the German general in charge of the fortifications of the strait thereupon mined the Dardanelles w) hout consulting the Turkish Government. ! This may'be true,! and it ma/ be, m ■ Mv. Morgenthafe j asserts," that. the Turkish Cabinet was panic-stricken when it heard of the fact, but Turkey's responsibility remains, if ; not ;as a principal, then as an agent of , a master j with whom she had willingly allied 'herself. Because vof - this and because of unspeakable Turkish atrocities, it is impossible to a give f, Turkey a free pardon or easy term's. : .It is nevertheless true that the Allies might be able to show her more leniency now than if she continued her association with Germany to the end, and that they would find great pleasure in depriving Germany of ■: a' partner towards whom her $ conduct has

been;/ as -brutal"/as jit has been unscrupulous.