Italy And Turkey Eager To End War.

New York Times 100 years ago today, August 18, 1912:
And Only an Equitable Basis Is Needed to Bring Peace if the Powers Assent.
PORTE WILL ACCEPT LOSSES
Tripoli and Cyrenaica Gone Forever, but Italy Would Give Back Most of the Aegean Isles.
Special Cable to The New York Times.
    ROME, Aug. 17.— It is now eleven months since the beginning of hostilities between Italy and Turkey, and there is no doubt that the desire for peace is strongly felt on both sides.
    Italy has been extremely fortunate — first, in conducting a campaign by sea against an adversary who was practically without a fleet, and, secondly, in being able to maintain both in Italy and Tripoli such hygienic conditions as to prevent any serious epidemic, which, it was believed, would be the more dangerous enemy to fight. Instead, notwithstanding the African heat, no other colonial war has given such a small percentage of invalids.
    It must be remembered that last year there were a considerable number of cases of cholera in Italy, so it was supposed that the scourge might reappear here with even greater violence this year, on account of the contact with Africa; but thus far the sanitary precautions taken by the medical authorities have prevented even an insignificant appearance of the dreaded disease. All the same, this does not mean that Italy would not be glad to put an end to the war, which costs her a colossal amount of money daily.
    Turkey is in a much worse condition, on account of her internal dissensions, The defeats she has suffered, and the lack of money.
    The situation, therefore, is such that what is required for the conclusion of peace is simply a formula which will render it possible.
    In substance, the two conflicting parties are in complete accord. That is to say, Turkey understands that Tripoli and Cyrenaica are lost forever, and that Italy is ready to indemnify the Porte in a generous manner, and also ready to admit the spiritual sovereignty of the Caliph over the Mussulmans in the new Italian colony. As to the islands in the Aegean Sea, Italy may wish to keep Stampalia as a naval base, although it is only a few square miles of rocks, but she is ready to return the other islands, with such guarantees and pledges as are necessary to make sure that, as the Italians say, "not even a hair will be twisted" of the Greek populations, which sympathized with the Italians and welcomed their advent.
    In this, however, not only Greece, but the Powers, may have something different to say, and it may not be in favor of Ottoman interests.