With all that Mr. Lloyd George said about the sufferings
caused by the sealing up of the Straits in time of war we heartily agree. But when he went on to emphasize the horribleness of the present war by definitely laying the blame for massacres in Asia Minor on the Turks he went rather beyond the evidence. We particularly desire to be fair in this matter as our personal wish would be to restrict the territory ruled by the Turks as narrowly as possible. The Turks are undoubtedly pastmasters in massacre ; they massacre not so much out of fear and want of discipline as the various Balkan peoples do as by direct order of the Government. When the Turkish Government orders a massacre it is systematic. When for some reason of State the Turkish Government ordains that there shall be no massacre the Turkish regular soldiers obey. Arson and massacre may have been ordered in Smyrna, but we have no really satisfactory proof. The stories of atrocities committed by the panic- stricken Greeks on their retreat are unhappily better authenti- cated. It was therefore extremely inopportune for Mr. Lloyd George to bring this accusation against the Kemalists at the very moment when they were being invited to a Conference.
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