The Constantinople correspondent of the Times states in Tuesday's paper
that the dispute at the Stambul quays has been provisionally settled. The dispute was rather signifi- cant, and is worth understanding. On the Stambul side of the Galata Bridge ships have to be moored stern on to the quays owing to insufficient room. To expedite unloading the Quay Company, which is an Anglo-French combination, has for a long time used pontoons, which float between the ships. The Guild of Lightermen. at Sta.rubul protested against the use of the pontoons for the familiar obscurantist reason that labour-saving appliances reduce the opportunities for labour. The Porte after some hesitation backed up the lightermen, and ordered the removal of the pontoons. The British and French Ambassadors complained more than once b_fore the pontoons were restored. The lightermen are suffering through the anti-Greek boycott, for which they themselves are largely responsible. The most ominous thing is that a Guild, with a ridiculous economic argument, can get, even temporarily, the formal backing of the Porte. It seems as though the Porte fears to resist any angry demand made upon it.
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