A world in perplexity . sts of these two countries seem irrecon-cilable. They go to the very heart of their positionand power. They are deep rooted in the commercialand financial life of these nations. . The Mediterranean is in effect a British sea, com-manded at Gibraltar and Egypt by Englands posses-sion of these two strategic points. The building of theBagdad Railway is a menace to this control as well asthe shipping and overseas trade of the British new rail route thi^eatens not only the life-cord ofthe British Empire; it strikes at the underpinning ofthe entire British financi
A world in perplexity . sts of these two countries seem irrecon-cilable. They go to the very heart of their positionand power. They are deep rooted in the commercialand financial life of these nations. . The Mediterranean is in effect a British sea, com-manded at Gibraltar and Egypt by Englands posses-sion of these two strategic points. The building of theBagdad Railway is a menace to this control as well asthe shipping and overseas trade of the British new rail route thi^eatens not only the life-cord ofthe British Empire; it strikes at the underpinning ofthe entire British financial world [italics ours].— WhyWar, p. 334. 48 A Wo7id in Perplexity A similar impasse exists between Russia andwhichever power controls Constantinople and the Bos-porus. The industrial life of Russia is dependent onthe marketing of her surplus wheat. Her wheat ex-ports pay the interest on her debt. They finance herimports. Her only open outlet is to the arctic seas,where her ports are closed for a part of the (0 International Film Service, Inc., N. Y. British Forces on the Way to Jerusalem Russia like Germany has dreams of empire tothe south. They come into conflict with Great Britainin Persia and with Turkey at Constantinople. Hereagain is another seemingly irreconcilable warfare ofinterest which a solution of the conflicts of the finan-ciers does not remove. And these conflicts of Germany, England, and Rus-sia are all so identified ivith the life [italics ours] ofthese countries that any concession by either power in-volves the abandonment of imperial pretensions as wellas industrial and commercial advantages. Claims aris-ing over these conflicts are not justiciable. They cannotbe submitted to Hague tribunals. Obstacles to Peace 49 These conflicts about the Mediterranean are amongthe most difficult problems which the war would seem that they will only be settled by occu-pation and force. They may delay the duration of thewar far longer than would the purel
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