Page:Turkey, the great powers, and the Bagdad Railway.djvu/353

 Nationalist delegates—including Djavid Bey—were mindful of the price which their country had had to pay because of its economic exploitation by Germany, and they were determined not to permit another European Power to succeed to the position which Germany had left vacant. Friction developed, therefore, as soon as concessions came up for consideration. The French delegation asked for the incorporation in the treaty of provisions confirming all concessions to Allied nationals whether granted by the old Ottoman Government before the War, or by the Constantinople Government after the armistice, or by mandatory powers in territory subsequently evacuated (as in Cilicia, Smyrna, and Adalia). The Turks objected that they were not aware of the nature, the number and extent, or the beneficiaries of the concessions coming within the last two categories; confirmation of such would have to be the subject of independent investigation and negotiation, for the Turks would not sign any blank checks at Lausanne. They doubted whether they could accept the financial burden which would be involved in validating concessions granted by the Sultan's Government before the War, especially if the National Assembly was to be obliged to honor Ottoman pre-War debts in full. In any case, the Turkish delegates insisted, no concessions would be confirmed if they in any way limited the sovereignty of Turkey or infringed upon its financial and administrative integrity. Between the French and Turkish views was a chasm which it would be difficult, indeed, to bridge. The French stood upon the rock of the old imperialism; the Turks were fortified in their new nationalism. The French were seeking to intrench certain important vested interests; the Turks were striving to preserve a precious independence, recently won at great price.

In these circumstances, it was to be expected that the