The Near East

Allies and S. A. Allied Over Capitulations The Lausanne Conference, which began its second session on April 23, promises to be a long affair. The rock of capitulations (treaties granting foreigners extraterritorial rights), upon which the last conference foundered, has once again become a danger point for that rickety ship--the Near Eastern Question.

The position at present is that the Allies--France well in the front--and the United States are insisting upon their rights in Turkey under the terms of the capitulation treaties. They are, however, willing to exchange these rights against guarantees in the new treaty, which, it is hoped, will result from the present conference. The Turks, with their usual barefaced equanimity, have met the Allied demands with the bland remark : " There are no capitulations; we abolished them in 1914. You have, therefore, nothing to exchange." The upshot of the matter is that the treaty was sent back to the experts for study and is not likely to come up again for general discussion until the results of a conference in Constantinople between the Turkish Government and the representatives of foreign interests become known.

The Turks certainly encountered a blow from the United States, whom they had hoped to appease by the Chester concession, when Joseph C. Grew, United States Minister to Switzerland and " official observer " at the conference, made it clear that his country would support the Allies in their capitulations claim. He also said that his position was that of an observer, but that he had " full authority" from his Government to speak for the United States.

The effort to end useless procrastination was clearly evinced when General Pelle, head of the French delegation, informed Ismet Pasha, chief Turkish delegate, that France intended to get a fair settlement of the Ottoman debt, to retain her concessions--given to her in 1914-and to remain in Syria. He also informed Ismet Pasha that France is prepared to send two divisions (or more if necessary) to Syria. At the same time as General Pelle was making French policy clear to Ismet Pasha a Turkish member was explaining to the press that Turkey had sent troops to the Syrian border " because deeds were better than words."