THE EXPANDED "EASTERN QUESTION."
THERE is more to the "Eastern Question" than, Who shall occupy Constantinople? The "more sure Word of prophecy" says, "And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates [the Turkish Government]; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared." Rev. 16:12. The preparation of this way, whatever the object of those through whom it is being prepared, will have the effect to gather the kings of the whole world "to the battle of that great day of God Almighty." As to preparing the way, or facilities for the gathering to "a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon," the following article from an exchange may be of significance: "A German railway from Konia to Bagdad is nearing completion, and the time is approaching when an attempt will be made to extend the line to the Persian Gulf. The choice of a terminus is a problem of grave concern to Great Britain. It has been commonly believed that the Germans have designs on Koweit, situated near the head of the gulf. But when it was urged that the sheik of Koweit is under British protection, the Germans withdrew their pretensions without a murmur. Their choice appears to have fallen on the Khor Abdullah, to the north-east of Koweit. "Of the Khor Abdullah so little is known in Europe that it is usually described as a shallow arm of the gulf, beset with sand banks, and absolutely useless for the purposes of a port. Charts give no indication of the possibilities of the place; but the survey made by the British war-ships revealed a splendid anchorage, with from eight to ten fathoms of water, within 300 yards of a bluff solid enough to bear the construction of a terminus for a great railway. The shoalest part of the channel gives eighteen feet of water, and sand dredging with modern appliances is a simple operation. The survey party made an interesting discovery—the canal made by Xerxes to get his ships to Bussorah.15 "As Persia has been the chief storm center of the Russo-British contention in Central Asia, it is especially notable in connection with the Bagdad railroad that Persia has lately concluded negotiations for an agreement with the German minister at Teheran, under which Germany is to lend Persia $6,250,000, and to receive in return for the accommodation a port or facilities for establishing a large coaling station on the Persian Gulf at the terminus of the Bagdad railway. "In Asiatic Turkey railroad building began in 1856, and very little progress was made, until in 1882 came the German military mission, familiarly known as the Van der Goltz mission, for the reformation of the Turkish army; and from that year Germanophil and Anglophobe counsels prevailed at Constantinople, greatly facilitated by the British occupation of Egypt, and by subsequent unsympathetic policy of Britain, that an ambitious railway program was initiated by the sultan at the instigation of his German advisers, and various concessions were accorded to various concession hunters. There are now 2,405 miles of railroads constructed in Turkey. Of these lines 840 miles are German, 653 French, 266 British, and 646 Turkish. The projected lines extend 3,305 miles, and of these 2,505 are German, 180 French, and 620 Turkish. On the other hand British lines are working toward Persia from India. It will be seen from these facts and figures that the whole of the region around Babylonia will soon be traversed by a vast net of railroads, and with their operation will come commerce, population, reconstruction of ancient cities, the creation of a vast wealth that will make our present millionaires look like pygmies. Commercially the West has had its day of brilliant growth; we now look to the East for the climax of its greed for gain."