What the Constantinople police were about last week in their
high-handed attempt to close all the foreign Chambers of Commerce it is not easy to say. Appar- ently the Ministry of Commerce claimed to be the only body which should issue certificates of origin, and perhaps exercise other functions which have been occa- sionally exercised by the Chambers or by some of them. There are British, American, French and Italian Cham- bers besides a mixed Maritime Chamber, all duly estab- lished and recognized officially. The ideas of courtesy and the notions of how Turkey's own foreign trade may be advanced, now prevailing at Angora, are mistaken, and the sooner Turkey recognizes her errors the better for all parties. If foreign trade is extruded from Turkey, we shall all be losers, but no country will lose as much us Turkey, which will retire more and more into a limited Asiatic nationalism. However, for the moment the Angora Government has climbed down with admirable promptness.
Previous page
