32. Today in 1920s Turkey: 15 November 1923 (Turkey to Chester Concession: Thanks but No Thanks)

(Cartoon by Ratip Tahir Burak, Zümrüdüanka, 15 November 1923, no. 89, page 2.)

Comments:
Ninety-three years ago today Zümrüdüanka included a cartoon by Ratip Tahir Burak on the subject of foreign investment. Although not explicitly stated by name in the cartoon, the investment project at hand is the Chester Concession which was a recurring topic of discussion that week in the popular press. The Chester Concession was a development project proposed by an American syndicate initially in 1908 to the Ottoman state. The deal promised the construction of free railroads and commercial ports to the Ottoman Empire in return for ninety-nine years of mineral and oil mining rights in the areas surrounding the railways among other benefits. Visual references to the details of this deal are included in the cartoon. The American investors are rendered as a singular Uncle Sam character with miniature boats, trains, planes and factories strapped to his back. With his finger on the ringer of a closed door labeled “The Republic of Turkey” (Türkiye Cumhuriyeti) this ambitious salesman cannot wait to just get his foot through the door in order to make himself a cushy profit.

When World War I cut negotiations short the previously unrealized sticky mandate was brought up again in March 1923 during the Lausanne Peace Conference. The project promised rapid infrastructural and industrial development… but with many-a-strings attached. After first having accepted the terms of the concession on 10 April 1923, the Turkish government cancelled the deal in December 1923 due in part to the insufficient progress made by the American investors who were unable to scrounge up the necessary capital to push operations forward on the ground in Turkey. This was a wise decision on Ankara’s part. Imagine: had that deal gone through, it would still be valid to this day with six more years to go. The cartoonist’s unflattering depiction of Uncle Sam as a spindly, eager pusher of “free stuff” provides a comical snap-shot of predatory lending at its worst.

English:
Above: A foreign investor at Turkey’s door!
Below: — If I could just get inside…

Türkçe:
Üstte: Türkiye kapısında ecnebi sermayedarı!
Altta: — Bir defa içeri girebilsem…

(Entire page, Zümrüdüanka, 15 November 1923, no. 89, page 2.)