Page:Turkey, the great powers, and the Bagdad Railway.djvu/358

 highway to the East. Alongside the Suez Canal, in the collection of British imperial jewels, will be placed the Bagdad Railway; alongside of Malta and Gibraltar and Cyprus must be placed Jerusalem and Basra and Bagdad.

No less remarkable than all these changes, however, is the entry of American interests into the tangled problem of the Near East.

The Great War was accompanied by a definite growth of American prestige in the Near East. After the entry of Turkey into the war against the Allied Powers, American schools and missions were left practically a free hand in the Ottoman Empire; and inasmuch as the United States did not declare war against Turkey, American institutions were not disturbed even after 1917. Carrying on their work under the most trying circumstances, these educational and philanthropic enterprises established a still greater reputation than they formerly possessed for efficient and disinterested service. In consequence, an American official mission to the Near East in 1919 was able to report that the moral influence of the United States in that region of the world was greater than that of any other Power. President Wilson was looked upon as the champion of small nations and oppressed peoples. Americans were considered to be charitable and generous to a fault. The United States was hailed as the only nation which had entered the war for unselfish purposes.[38]

Since the armistice of 1918 events have not materially decreased the prestige which the War built up. "From Adrianople to Amritsar, and from Tiflis to Aden, America is considered a friend. It has become a tradition in the Near East to interpret every action of the