"XXII\٨ سكة حديد بغداد" [و‎‎٩‎٧] (١٩٤/١٨٩)

The weakness of the Turkish Empire should be interpreted
as the call of the East to the West to come its support - to
bring new life to it# The great opportunity will cone at the
close of the war# It rests with the West to direct the momen
tous changes which the East is forced to face into a channel
that will lead to its resuscitation. The policy of "inter
nationalization", so plainly suggested by existing conditions
in the East, should at least be given a trial. Let a beginning
be made with the reorganization of the Bagdad Railway on a basis
which will divide the investment among the capitalists of various
nations interested, with equal representation in the Board of
Control. That will be the first important step towards opening
up the great highway to all. Asia Minor is the 7;orld , 8 highway.
It should be secured for the benefit of the world. The fate of
the East, dependent upon the control of the route stretching
from Constantinople to the Persian Gulf, should not be at the
mercy of any one nation.
The proposed policy would further involve the "inter
nationalization" of Constantinople under the protectorate of an
international commission, with a circuit around it, the neutrality
of which should be guaranteed not by a few Powers but by the
concert of nations. Internationalization has been tried in the
instance of the Danube commission and has worked satisfactorily.
Why should it not apply to Constantinople as the starting-point
of the great highway ? Sir Edwin Pears, whose life-long residence
in Constantinople makes him a valuable witness to the needs of the
East, has been advocating its "internationalization" since the
beginning of the war, and the plan is meeting, one is given to
understand, with favor in France. The overthrow of autocracy
in Russia strengthens the claims for such "internationalization"
of the historic city on the Bosphorus. Constantinople in the
hands of Russia would never have led to a solution of the Eastern
Question. On the contrary. It would have complicated it by
another aggravating factor. The Russian Revolution has repudia
ted the policy of conquest, which was a part of the old regime.
Russia, the republic, has no interest in boiling Constantinople,
if