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Show JL OLDER IIiSnatiqns: Marvelous Wave of New National Life Sweeping Around the Earth Conglomeration of Races and Religion Relig-ion In Turkey. By WILLIAM T. ELLIS. Constantinople. Turkey awoke with a scream. The recent history of the new regime In this country was quite unintelligible to the western world. The popular shrilling of "Liberty!" "Lib-erty!" "Justice!" "Equality!" "Fraternity!" "Fra-ternity!" resounded throughout civilization. civi-lization. Mullahs and Armenian priests, green-turbaned descendants of the Prophet and Protestant Christians fell on one another's necks indiscriminately indiscrim-inately in a delirium of rejoicing. It was the intoxication of the wine of civilization. The ancient, long-suffering and sadly used Ottoman empire was beside itself with joy. The transformation trans-formation of Turkey into a constitutional constitu-tional government will probably be ranked as one of the great events of the new century. - The reason for all Jhls Is that the nation's sleep had been a nightmare. America has never developed a very, deep or Intelligent Interest in Turkey. Consuls have for years hammered away on the neglected trade opportunities oppor-tunities here, and missionaries have talked of the social and religious conditions con-ditions of the empire. Even In the safety of the free west nobody dared say that Abdul Hamld was several degrees worse than the ogres of the fairy tales. Up to the year 1908 Turkey Tur-key tfis more benighted lhan China. New ideas and popular rights had more opportunity In the celestial kingdom king-dom than in this nation which bestrides be-strides the two continents of Europe and Asia. The cunning resourcefulness resourceful-ness of the most tyrannous ruler of modern history was used to keep out all that makes for enliehtennient. The Dark Days of Turkey. Everybody whom one meets on the streets of Constantinople knows from personal experience the horrors of the old regime. Nobody was allowed to study true maps or read real history. Nobody was permitted to travel abroad. Private letters, as well as newspapers and books, were censored by officials more alert than intelligent. intelli-gent. They required that any book which mentioned Turkish history should call a defeat a "retrograde advance." ad-vance." After censoring some bibles, one of the multitudinous stories current cur-rent has It, the functionary querulously querul-ously enquired, "Who is this man Paul, who is writing to those Gala-tlans?" Gala-tlans?" Government was by assassination and massacre. The- dagger, was at the back of every person of force or initiative or progressiveness. The emaciated and trembling body of that archcoward and tyrant Abdul Hamld could have bathed for months in the innocent blood of the half million people peo-ple whom it is estimated he had put to death. Nobody knew whose turn -would be next. Covetousness, revenge, Jeulousy and, above all, fear conspired to point the assassin's dagger. There was a world of significance in the remark re-mark made to me. by an old resident of the empire as we rode up the Bosphorus last week: "All the big palaces within sight belonged to Abdul Hamld." Nobody was allowed to prosper pros-per greatly except the Sultan. A National Serlo-Comedy. The dark ages have no story to equal this one, which is to this day a favorite theme of conversation wherever wher-ever people meet. Abdul Hamld sleeping sleep-ing in one of the multitudinous rooms of that junkshop called Yildlz Palace after he had said he would sleep In others, lulled to rest by the cheapest type of sentimental and melo dramatic Frencu novels, dreaming over plots against his life, practising with a multitude of revolvers (more than three thousand were found after he had been dethroned), his palace a wonderful house of-fear, hJs eunuchs possessing greater prestige and power than the nation's foremost statesmen, the army and civl) officials all parts of a malign machine, for which the poor overburdened people had to pay, pay, pay Is there anywhere in history his-tory an equal chapter to this? Turkey Tur-key knew a reign of terror; Abdul Hamld represented a reversion to barbarism, bar-barism, and to the basest primitive instincts, in-stincts, equipped with untold wealth and the enginery of modern civilization. civiliza-tion. The Great Awaking. Such was the night from which Turkey Tur-key awoke with startling suddenness. Is it any wonder that this historic city, once the capital of Rome and of Greece and of the Christian empire, a city more truly than Jerusalem "beautiful for situation and the joy of the whole earth," rang with such acclamation ac-clamation as the proudest of its ancient an-cient emperors had never heard? Liberty, long dreamed of, and often despaired of, came almost overnight to a throne on the Bosphorus where two continents and two seas meet. What the New Regime Means. With the significant details of the new conditions in Turkey I shall deal in subsequent articles; here I want to present the broad outline. Approaching Constantinople by wa- III J2suiJ! i ( ' I ft "J " Tru. -hi t lyrrrr ; I M ".V V V-ii , ...... - ! " - . , ' i . -'' ... , ! -i Mosque of St. Sophia, Constantinople. ter one finds it still as of yore, the fairest work of man that anywhere greets the traveler's eye. Above the red-roofed houses, unmarked by the smoke-stacks of modern Industry, rise, the graceful minarets. On a commanding com-manding position on one of the seven hills of old Stamboul, St. Sophia keeps guard, now a mosque, but the oldest building in existence dedicated to Christian worship, and more magnificent mag-nificent than St, Peter's in Rome, or St. Paul's .or Westminster- Abbey Jn London, or Notre Dame In Paris, or the gaudy Don In Berlin, or historic St. Stephen's in Vienna. Greeks, Armenians Ar-menians and Roman Catholics dream and prophesy of the day when the cross will once again shine above St Sophia's great dome, and the power of Christendom will be supreme on the Bosphorus. The Constantinople Dogs. The famous, or Infamous, Constantinople Constan-tinople dogs, are missing, except for an occasional stray,' at which critics of the new administration point fingers fing-ers of scorn. Some thousands of dogs were gathered np by workmen with wooden tongs, dropped into carts and carries to towboats, which bore them to an island In the harbor. The simple sim-ple and natural way would have been to kill them painlessly and end the matter, or accept some one of the commercial offers to clean the city of dogs for the sake of the hides, one company agreeing to give the government govern-ment a bonus for the privilege. But the Turk has Ideas of mercy toward dumb animals, albeit rather quixotl- cal. The poor mangy, flee-bltten curs were sent to this island, where, It is said, they got nothing to drink or eat, although supposed to be fed by government grant. Certain it is that the dogs which at first waded out to sea in longing for the filthy streets of old Constantinople speedily became be-came fewer and fewer and all are now but a tradition of dark days that are gone. The Press as Archimedes' Lever. Most significant of all the signs which an observer notes In the Constantinople Con-stantinople of today are the boys and men who hawk daily newspapers through the streets. "Extras!" in strange, hen-track Turkish, Arabic and Armenian script are flaunted in the face of the cosmopolitan passers-by. passers-by. They are real newspapers, too, filled with the doings of the whole world. Of course, this means a changed order or-der of society. You cannot have newspapers news-papers without having progress. The dark ages cannot stand the tidings ol what Is going on In the world." The press is one of the Archlmldean levers lev-ers by which the world Is moved. What armies and mobs could not do In the overthrow of . despotism the printing press is silently accomplishing, accomplish-ing, not only in Turkey, but in China and Persia, and the other backward countries of the world. With the uncensored press have come books. A man may now read anything he pleases In Turkey. My bag of books received not a second glance at the Custom House, which caused a fellow traveler used to th ways of the old order, to tell stories of what would have happened twe years ago had a. traveler tried Lc bring a suit-case full of books Into the Custom House. There is free en trance for twentieth century Ideas in Turkey. Whereas men used to have to whisper und' their breath the big words of "Liberty!", "Justice!", "Equality!" and "Fraternity!", thej now cry them aloud and placard them on the highways. Formerly nelthei Ottoman nor foreigner could trave In the Interior of Turkey without a special passport; now anybody may go anywhere.' Some Marvellous Transformations. No organizations were permitted under the old regime. Today clubs, societies and, parties flourish. Spies are but a hideous memory. Even schools for women are permitted and encouraged. Turkish officials send their daughters to the schools of mod ern learning maintained by the for eigners. in a word and with reservations and exceptions to be noted later-modern later-modern civilization has come to Turkey. Tur-key. There are , multitudes who for one reason or another sigh for the re turn of the good old days; but tbeii power has been hopelessly broken Turkey Is awake never to-sleep again (Copyright, 1911, by Joseph B. Bowlc-s.) Every time a girl meets a bacheloi she Imagines he would propose to hei if she gave him half a chance. |