OCR Text |
Show Awakening Turkey THE news from Turkey is most encouraging. One familiar from long residence in that country, says: "The outlook of the young Turks is toward Europe and not Asia. The young Turks are naturally Albanians, and not of thoroughly thor-oughly Turkish stock. They are the descendants of the great Albanian landholders of the fifteenth century, who adopted Mohammedanism to save their estates, so that while Mohammedan in religion re-ligion they are European in thought," They have made great progress 'in two years. The 30,000 spies which were everywhere, have been abolished; the censorship has practically been removed; the passport system which made it necessary for a man to show his passport at every town and to pay for the privilege, has been done away with. But another agent more potent than an army with banners has gone there. We mean the moving mov-ing picture shows, and all Turkey responds to them. There is nothing like an object lesson to teach a white man as well as an Indian. And Turkey takes to the pictures as it never did to any other foreign thing. The charge is eight ants and 4,000 Turks, all that can be accommodated accommo-dated visits them daily. Prize fights, army maneuvers, ma-neuvers, dancing girls; wild west shows, ball games; everything that can be represented by moving pictures are supplied and Turkey is as crazy over them as Mr. Bryan is on prohibition or Col. Roosevelt on "my policies," or "Uncle Joe" Is to hold on to the speakership. And when those shows are over Turkey will be ancient Turkey no more. We hope to the pictures is added the phonograph. pho-nograph. If it is, young Turkey will be whistling Dixie and the Star Spangled Banner before another an-other month. |