6 OCTOBER 1917, Page 3

How bankrupt Turkey has contrived to finance the war is

a problem on which the Manthester Guardian, throws some light. Djavid Bey, the Finance Minister, has stated that Turkey's revenue for this year will be 21,033,000 Turkish pounds—the gold lira being worth about eighteen shillings— and the expenditure, exclusive ef " extraordinary " military expenditure, 54,030,003 Turkish pounds. The Dobt has been more than doubled, and last March amounted to 330,030,007 Turkish pounds. The deficit has been met by issuing paper money on the security of German loans. It is typical of German cunning and Turkish recklessness that these loans have been mostly paper. Germany lent the Turks £5,003,030 in gold in October, 1914, and afterwards deposited £6,519,033 Turkish at Berlin and Vienna as a security for Turkish paper. Sincethen she has financed Turkey with her Treasury notes to the value of shoat £130,000,033, which the Turkish Government have used as a security for more paper. Turkish currency has conse- quently been depreciated to a third or, in Syria, to a fifth of its nominal gold value, and now rests solely on Germany's promise to redeem her Treasury notes hereafter. That is to say, Germany's defeat will cause the entire collapse of the Turkish finances, for the German paper will be valueless.