Turks Give Up All Except Adrianople.

New York Times 100 years ago today, January 2, 1913:
    LONDON, Thursday, Jan. 2.— The announcement of Turkey's counter-proposals was wrung from the Ottoman delegates at yesterday's conference with the greatest difficulty. It came only after Rechad Pasha had reiterated Turkey's desire to shift the responsibility for adjudicating all the vital questions to the great powers, and the representatives of the allies had registered their unchangeable objections to such a course, and had plainly given the Turks to understand that the failure of the Ottoman delegates to embark upon serious negotiations would mean a resumption of hostilities in Southeastern Europe.
    The sitting was the most momentous and exciting since the beginning of the conference. The Greek Premier, M. Venizelos, presided, and immediately after the opening of the conference he invited Rechad Pasha to present the Turkish counter-proposals to the demands of the allies, as the Turks last Monday had agreed to do.
    Rechad Pasha said his interpretation of the badly transmitted telegrams early in the week had been correct, his Government proposing in them to submit all the questions at issue, except Adrianople, to settlement by the powers. This caused an outburst of indignation which M. Venizelos was hardly able to suppress. Several of the delegates shouted that it was not dignified to turn such vital matters into a joke, while others observed that they had not come all the way to London and remained here for three weeks to hear a proposition advanced which might have been made at the time when the armistice was signed.
    When relative calm was restored, M. Venizelos, Dr. Daneff, (the leader of the Bulgarian delegation;) M. Novakovitch, (Servian,) and M. Miyuskovitch, (Montenegrin,) for their respective countries, declared that they would not accept the proposed mediation by the powers, and insisted that the Turkish delegates present a practical and defined proposal, saying that on it they would be ready to negotiate.
    Rechad Pasha then announced that his instructions contained an alternative, and requested a few minutes' time to formulate it. After a short recess, during which he absented himself from the chamber, Rechad Pasha re-entered the conference room and M. Venizelos again took the chair.
    Rechad Pasha said that Turkey, desiring to give tangible proof of her love for peace, and in deference to advice received from the powers, was ready to make the maximum of possible concessions to the allies by granting a rectification of the frontiers, ceding the territories westward of the line occupied by the allies in the vilayet of Adrianople to them.
    Dr. Daneff here arose and said it would be impossible for Bulgaria to renounce her claim to the possession of Adrianople, and that he could not accept such an indefinite offer.
    M. Venizelos said the proposal of Turkey must declare explicitly that the question of Adrianople must be settled independently later. Ho added that the proposed compromise should even include territory not yet occupied by the allies, citing as an instance Yanina. M. Miyuskovitch made a similar claim on behalf of Montenegro concerning Scutari.
    Rechad Pasha then said that the translation of his communication had not yet been finished, but that the first part of it as read naturally meant the cession of Yanina and Scutari. He added that the questions of Albania and Crete should be solved by the powers, who already had taken the matter into their hands.
    Several of the delegates then asserted that this meant Turkey's renunciation of both Albania and Crete, but Rechad Pasha replied that his instructions did not extend thus far. M. Novakovitch observed that the Turkish statement did not lend itself to any other interpretation, the allies taking it in that sense.
    Rechad Pasha, continuing his enumeration of the Turkish proposals, added that the Aegean Islands should remain with Turkey. To this M. Venizelos protested in the name of Greece, and also on behalf of the other allies, declaring that the islands, geographically and racially, were Hellenic, and, besides, were occupied by Greek troops, except those which had been provisionally retained by Italy at the conclusion of the Turco-Italian war.
    Finally, Rechad ended the reading of his communication by proposing that Turkey and Bulgaria treat directly concerning Adrianople. M. Daneff immediately declared that it would be impossible to accept this proposition, saying "the Balkan States were united en bloc to obtain their independence; en bloc they conducted the war, and en bloc they intend to carry on the negotiations and so conclude peace on large or small questions that may arise."
    Rechad remarked that if the principle of the bloc was so thoroughly admitted, Turkey might have insisted on treating with only one delegation representing all the allies, who thus would have only one spokesman, but the Constantinople Government, he added, was always lenient, and never insisted on this point.
    Rechad then asked if the allies were ready to discuss peace on the basis of the Turkish proposals.
    M. Venizelos replied that he desired Rechad to put in writing and deliver to the allies the text of his propositions in order to enable the allies to return to him their written answer.
    Thereupon, the sitting was suspended. When it was resumed Rechad compiled with the request of M. Venizelos, and in turn received the written reply of the allies. This was that the allies would maintain their original terms, but for the sake of discussion they would invite Rechad to present at the next sitting of the conference a map of the district of Adrianople with the frontier line proposed by Turkey marked on it. The conference then adjourned until Friday.
    Thus the bone of contention is Adrianople, the last remaining memory of the might of the Osmanli in Europe. The Bulgarians are ready to allow the Turks to retain in Adrianople the famous mosque of the Sultan Selim, the greatest masterpiece of Ottoman architecture, which is built on the ruins of a Roman pagan temple and which rivals, with its 200-foot high minarets, the glory of the Mosque of St. Sophia in Constantinople. They also are willing that the Turks shall keep the Muradieh, which was built by Murad I; the mosque of Murad IV., and the Bayard Mosque, which are the main centres in Adrianople of Mohammedan worship.
    But the Turks refuse to give up Adrianople. There is an imperishable sentiment which makes them crave for the holy city, the earliest site conquered by Murad I. in 1361. This condition probably explains yesterday's sudden yielding to the allies on other points. Turkey seemingly hopes, by ceding almost all her territory, to be allowed to retain the only point on which she insists. It is thought likely that she also may be ready to cede her islands for the sake of seeing the green banner of the Prophet still waving over "the Jewel of the Orient," as Adrianople is called,
    It is stated that the situation at Adrianople is becoming desperate. Should the city fall the position of the Turks would, of course, be worse than it is now. When Adrianople was first besieged it had provisions sufficient for about three months. These will be exhausted in two weeks, and, even admitting that horses and other animals may be used as food, it is thought that the city will not be able to hold out against hunger after the end of January. Accordingly, it is to the interest of Turkey to come to an understanding with her enemies before that time.
    After the conference adjourned yesterday the delegates of the allies held an informal meeting to discuss the situation that had arisen by Turkey's changed attitude. They telegraphed to their respective Governments and also notified the Ambassadors of the powers of the happenings of the day.
    Unofficially, hope is now entertained that if peace is not concluded for the orthodox Christmas, Jan. 7, the orthodox New Year, Jan. 14, will witness its approach.