The Maccabaean

Ir is quite clear to you by now, in a general way, what is to be the program of the Young Turks, the party which is now in control of the Turkish Empire. It is the policy of concentration, as opposed to the policy of national group representation in a central government. The Young Turks wish to keep the reins of government in the control of Turks, and they hope to coerce or persuade all other national groups to merge themselves with the Turkish element in the interests of a united empire.

The basis of this policy indicated by the desire of the Turks to retain the leadership in an empire in which they are numerically not in the majority, is the fear that should each national group be given autonomous rights, the empire would be at the mercy of the European powers, who are biding their time, and, the moment internal weaknesses are disclosed, are prepared to take a hand once more in its affairs. Only by establishing a strong central government with Turks in control, the Young Turks think, can the empire be maintained on an independent footing.

It is generally known that before the Sultan Abdul Hamid was deposed, there was two groups in the Young Turk party, one in favor of the recognition of national group rights, the other favoring a concentrated government. The first, it seems, constitute a minority, and for practical purposes, seems to have disappeared.

The question is, how will the Young Turks be able to maintain their position, with the centralization principle the ma-

jor part of their program. Will the Young Turks be able to keep the population of Armenia, of Crete, the Arabs, the Syrians, the Kurds and the Serbs in subjection, and at the same time establish a strong central government under Turkish domination?

One of the arguments used by Mazliah in opposing Jewish autonomy—in answer to questions ·quite needlessly put to him in London—was that the Turkish government did not want to have a Jewish question on its hands, as it has an Armenian, a Cretan and a Bulgarian problem.

It is admitted that Turkey has before it a problem of race adjustment.

The Turks are in the minority in the Turkish Empire. In Constantinople itself, only one half of the settled population are Mussulmans, the other 'half being made up mostly of Greeks, Armenians, Jews, native Roman Catholics and Greek Latins. The population of Asia Minor, where most of the Turks are found, is little more than 9,000,000, while the population of Armenians and Kurds in Armenia and Kurdistan is 2,470,000, Syrians in Syria about 3,000,000, Arabs in Turkish Arabia over one million, etc., and throughout the empire, the Turks occupy the position of aliens, ruling over the natives. There are about 8,000,000 Turks to about 30,000,000 of other race and national groups.

This rule by the Turks has been made possible only by the adjudication of the European powers, and not by reason of the inherent strength of the Turks. Deprived of the support of Europe, the Turks