The Greeks Won't Pay

The world has once again been treated to a diplomatic stalemate. The Turks and Greeks are still at loggerheads over the question of indemnities. The Turks insist upon being paid. The Greeks refuse to pay. That is not all. Greece threatens a resumption of hostilities with Turkey unless the claim for indemnification is dropped. In view of the fact that Greece would completely estrange the friendship of Europe if she declared war, her threat cannot be regarded as more than a diplomatic bluff. The Turk, however, is the hardest man in the world to bluff.

The fact that the Lausanne Conference is being held to fix, among other things, the terms of peace between Turkey and Greece has been consistently forced into the background by issues which have more closely affected the Allies. The facts which led up to this, the second instalment of the Lausanne Conference, are as follows: In accordance with the terms of the Treaty of Sevres Greece received a large stretch of Asia Minor and most of Thrace. The terms of peace between Turkey and the Allies were also fixed. The Turks refused to sign the Treaty and attacked the

Greeks in Asia Minor on August 28, of last year. On September 9, Turkish troops entered Smyrna after the Greek army had evacuated the town. September 29, the principal Allied Powers issued a note inviting Turkey to a conference at Lausanne. Another peace egg was laid, and again Turkey refused to hatch it. The present conference is then a peace conference between the Allied and Associated Powers and Turkey on the one hand and Greece and Turkey on the other. The United States is acting separately.