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Show JJL OLDER illlNAnoNS Turkey a Conglomeration of Races and Religions That Baffles Attempts to Predict Its Future The Great Greek Boycott. By WILLIAM T. ELLIS. Constantinople. The pleasant sensation of sitting upon a smouldering smoulder-ing volcano may be enjoyed by any one who attempts to understand the Turkish situation. This great empire is made up of diverse and conflicting elements without any adequate amalgamating amal-gamating agencies at work upon them, such as makes the creation of the American type the wonder of students here. Almost every one In Turkey confesses con-fesses allegiance to some cause or body higher than the government Itself. It-self. Patriotism is subordinated to nationalism. Men are Turks or Greeks or Armenians or Jews or Syrians or Arabs first and Ottomans afterwards. Such a congeries of dissimilar races is nowhere else closely gathered Into one empire. I fall to see how they can ever possibly fuse. Each of these peoples Is proud of its own past and Intolerant of any program that does not put it on top.' More Tongues Than at Pentecost. In the streets of Constantinople one fommonly sees shop signs In five different dif-ferent languages. French is supposed to be the prevailing language of the higher circles of the city. Except for the work of the missionary schools the English tongue is losing ground. The German language is not making the Inroads of other German forces here. Beneath the upper crust where these European languages are recognized recog-nized one finds more tongues than at Pentecost, and, Incidentally, practically practical-ly all of the races mentioned in the Pentecost story in the Book of Acts, are now within the confines of the Turkish empire. Ten minutes upon the Galata bridge will give a vaster and better conception concep-tion of the motley assortment of peoples peo-ples with which the Turkish government govern-ment has to deal than a long newspaper news-paper article. Thanks to Islam there Is no color line in Turkey. Across this rickety bridge, all wearing the red fez or tarboosh, which marks Turkey's subjects in Constantinople, go black Nubians from Africa, and blond Circassians from the north, yellow Mongols and brown Arabs, with all possible shades between the black and the white Armenian, Greek, Jew, Druse, Koord and Turk. The dress is more diverse than the faces. There is no spot on top of the earth so cosmopolitan as this shaky old structure struc-ture which joins Galata and Stamboul above the waters of the Golden Horn. Liberty That Will Not Mix. "Wear any kind of clothes you please and it will be all right; nothing Is strange in Turkey." So said an old resident to a visitor. Turkey is tolerant tol-erant of all non-religious usages. There is no kind of raiment that may not be seen in half an hour's walk in old Stamboul; there are more rags than In China and the latest fashion in French shoes. Ottomans are fond of shoes, especially the women. Beneath Be-neath the hideous black garment (the ezar) that covers head, face and body there may be seen peeping out the latest creation In tan or fawn colored col-ored Oxford ties. American enterprise enter-prise is opening up the shoe markets for Massachusetts products. A queer local fashion Is the devotion devo-tion to the bootblack. There are no sidewalks to speak of, and yet it is a point c' etiquette to keep one's shoes polished. Bootblacks, who carry their kits on their shoulders, are as common as they were in American cities 20 years ago. The flexibility of Turkish manners some of them primitive and to western ideas revolting speaks well for the open-mindedness of this country. Religion and Nationalism One. In the Ottoman empire there is no non-religious class, at least openly The young Turks are doubtless skeptical skep-tical In all matters of religion, and the more conservative Moslems call them infidels. Outwardly the Young Turks conform to the usages of Islam. Privately, Pri-vately, I have seen them smoke during the Ramazam fast, and when traveling with them on ships at this season have known them to eat three square meals a day. This liberality Is likely to be a serious factor In political development develop-ment in Turkey, although in the west it would be deemed a minor point, with no relation whatever to government govern-ment matters. A man here says, "I am a Christian," but that statement must not be understood to imply anything any-thing whatever about his character or personal religious life. It merely means that he is not a Moslem. In studying this interblending of religion re-ligion and nationalism one soon learns that the ineradicable longing of myriads myri-ads to see the cross back upon St. Sophia, which at first sight appeared so noble a sentiment, is in large part a political aspiration. It means that when the cross comes back to St. Sophia the Turk will have fallen from power on the Bosphorus. All kinds of strange legends and prophecies are current among the people in this con- The situation Is complcatia by the general fact that the Christians are, as a class, more efficient and prosperous prosper-ous that the Turks. Deprive him of his official privileges and pre-eminence, and the Turk is in a bad way. Aside from his military virtues be has not been a conspicious success. Christian Chris-tian scoffers point to the Turks' lack of efficiency In the arts and sciences. He rule3 them, but they despise him. A clash iB coming sometime if the empire em-pire lasts long enough. The Greek Boycott. Two recent happenings show the Intensity In-tensity of racial and religious feeling on the part of the Turks. The Cretan troubles, and the attempts of the Greeks to take control of that island, brought the two nations to the verge of war. The indignation of the Turks against the Greeks took the form of a boycott against all Greeks, Ottoman as well as Hellenistic. Moslems Mos-lems will not patronize Greeks anywhere any-where in the empire, and as the Greeks are pre-eminently a merchant class, the effect has been serious. Moslem hamals, or coolies, refuse to carry freight to Greek ships, and at the moment there are several vessels flying the Greek flag lying In the Smyrna harbor with empty holds. The boycott up to date has cost millions of pounds. Of course it affects af-fects Turkish individuals and firms also, and Greeks have spoken bitterly to me of the short-sightedness of the Turkish government that would permit per-mit such a suicidal policy. To this day t .... -, - ' -l-rn TZ7. - - 52.4... .1 The Eptrance to the Grand Vizier's Office. nection. One is that when the dogs have all gone from the streets in Constantinople Con-stantinople then the Turks will have to go, too. Russia unquestionably dreams the same dream of a cross shining above the vast dome of St. Sophia and her deepest support is the sympathy which is extended to her here as a Christian nation though in Europe and America, Russia is not much thought of as an exponent of Christianity. An Assortment of Religions. The outstanding religions of the empire are the Greek orthodox church, the Greek Catholic church, the Armenian Ar-menian or Gregorian church, the Armenian Ar-menian Catholic church, Syriac Chaldean, Chal-dean, Maronite, Roman Catholic and Protestant churches, Judaism and Islam. Is-lam. The last Is the most powerful. There are no signs apparent of a blending of the various religious bodies, except as their children mingle min-gle In the Protestant schools. Reform agencies are at work In some of the older of the ChriBtian churches, but that is another story. The priests and professors of the various Christian churches are a common sight upon the streets of Constantinople. Con-stantinople. There Is no denying a certain kind of tolerance to Islam. If he Is accepted as a superior and these inferior religions pay him a tax and allow him to be unmolested as the "top dog," the Turk gets along quite well with the other religions. He has no thought but that these must be subject to him and to the Prophet. the boycott is on In unabated rigor, and as it is directed in large part against the Turks' own fellow Ottomans Otto-mans it rather gives the lie to the sentiment of fraternity of which awakened Turkey has been so fond. A second great grievance the Greeks have against the government. Some weeks ago a national assembly of the Ottoman Greek church was called to meet in Constantinople. Doubtless it intended to discuss national na-tional as well as religious affairs, and the political situation here Is too critical crit-ical to endure much discussion. The government forbade the Patriarch to hold the assembly. The delegates were on their way, however, and as they arrived at the meeting place they were arrested, one after another, by Turkish soldiers. Of course this was rather-high handed, Just as if the American government had sent troops to gather in all the delegates to a Methodist General conference. As soon as they had taken a pledge not to attend the council the delegates were released and the Greek patriarch himself made formal submission and apology to the government. The wound was a deep one, however, to Greek pride, and In some respects it has had more effect than the continuous continu-ous unrest and minor rising in Macedonia. Mace-donia. Foreigners are apt to be captious and point out that this is what a military government means for Constantinople is still under martial mar-tial law. (Copyright. 1911, by Joseph B. Bowles.) |
