The Taranaki Herald. DAILY EVENING WEDNESDAY, APRIL 28, 1920. SAN REMO CONFERENCE.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 16725, 28 April 1920, Page 2

The Taranaki Herald. DAILY EVENING WEDNESDAY, APRIL 28, 1920. SAN REMO CONFERENCE.

The facts of the problems under discussion at the San Remo Conference wore fairly well known to the. statesmen concerned, so that most of the spade work had been accomplished and the chief necessity was to secure friendly agreement as to the final decisions. The more or less informal meeting's at the Italian watering place were more likely to offer a favourable atmosphere -for discussion than conferences in Paris witli large staffs of secretaries and officials constantly at hand. _ The absence of President .Wilson, whoso ideas were formed in the study and maintained with singula* - disregard'of • the facts of the position, must also have been a relief to those members of the conference who realised that it was often necessary to be satisfied with solutions which were _ not those that would be taken in an ideal world. The immediate cause of the conference was the differences that arose between Britain and France over the advance of French forces across the Rhine into the Ruhr district. This small explosion served to clear the air and it appears from the statements of correspondents that definite conclusions have been reached. The first of these is that the amount of the indemnity due from. Germany shall be definitely fixed, and the second that Germany shall be compelled to cut down her army to the numbers permitted by the Allies. If these conditions are enforced it should simplify the situation very considerably. Another matter that, was brought nearer a settlement, if not finally dealt with, was the future of Turkey. The Turks will not be expelled from Europe, but will retain Co’nstanlinople and a small area of the peninsula on which it stands, extending as far as the Chatalja defensive line, 25 miles,from the city. Greece will apparently succeed to. the coastal territory of the TEgean Sea up to this .new Turkish boundary, with some rights granted to Bulgaria at the third, rate port of Dedeagatch. The Dardanelles- and Bosphorus will be neutralised and put under the charge of the Allied Powers. The fate of the far eastern Turkish provinces is now definitely settled in the way that has practically existed for some time. Britain takes the mandate over Mesopotamia and Palestine and France over Syria. The , boundary between Palestine and Syria will be settled bv agreement, but there is likeH to be. some difficulty in fixing the northern and eastern boundaries. The Arabs are to have Damascus as a reward for their services, but they are not' to have Palestine which sentiment allots as a home for the Jews, though there are comparatively few Jews there and the majority of the population is mainly Arab. ’ No one supposes that Syria will b<* free from troubles, but the real crux of the whole question is Asia Minor. This portion of Turkey is roughly 1000 miles by 300 miles and has never been conquered by the Allies. At present it is dominated by the Turkish National Party, which has a large number of men in arms. These soldiers, though not capable of prolonged resistance to a well organised army, can keep up guerilla warfare for a long period and up to the present time none of the Powers has shown any desire to restore order. Everyone agrees that Armenia, the. eastern province 'of Asia Minor, should have a chance of escaping from Turkish tyranny, but there is little competition for the mandate over this territory. We have not yet been informed what the conference decided about Asia Minor, but it is certain that so, large an area cannot be loft a prey to disorder. Another subject discussed was the Adriatic problem, and one may hope that a settlement -was reached which will give satisfaction,to Italy and not prove unacceptable to the Jugoslavs who are -setting l up a new kingdom carved out of AustriaHungary. FromVthe above brief summary it is evident that there was no lack of subjects for consideration at San Remo and that it must have needed rare skill in gnidinsr the discussions and much goodwill to reach any decision at all.