Page:Turkey, the great powers, and the Bagdad Railway.djvu/367

 The American press, likewise, is in accord with a policy of governmental non-intervention in the ramifications of the Chester project. The following editorial from the new York World of April 23, 1923, is perhaps representative:

"There is no reason why the State Department should make itself the attorney for or the promoter of the Chester business enterprises. If the Angora Government has granted privileges to the Admiral's company, then the Admiral's business is with Angora and not with Washington.

"Certainly the American people have no more interest in taking up the Chester concessions diplomatically than they would have if the Admiral were proposing to open a candy store in Piccadilly, a dressmaking establishment in the Rue de la Paix, or a beauty parlor on the Riviera. If the Admiral and his friends wish to invest money in Turkey, they no doubt know what they are doing. They will expect profits commensurate with the risks, and they should not expect the United States Government, which will enjoy none of the profits, to insure them against the risks."

It is difficult, nevertheless, to see how the Chester concessions, and their affiliated enterprises can be kept scrupulously free from political complications. The French Government, in defence of the interests of its nationals, has announced semi-officially that American support of the concessions might lead to "a diplomatic incident of the first importance."[49] Furthermore, the United States Navy is said to be vitally interested in the Chester project. The oilfields to which Admiral Chester's Ottoman-American Development Company obtain rights of exploitation may prove to be important sources of fuel supply to American destroyers operating in the Mediterranean—Mr. Denby, Secretary of the Navy, said apropos of the concessions that the Navy "is always concerned with the possibility of oil supplies."[50] Furthermore, an American-built port at Youmourtalik, on the Gulf of Alexandretta, might conceivably be utilized as an American naval base.