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Show Turks Ran War on Shoestring that those who are not for them are against them, and they have been made to feel during the four years that Admiral Mark L. lirlstol has been United States high commissioner in Constantinople that they were not friendless when dealing with Americans. n National Debt Is Smallest of Any Nation Participating in Great Conflict. STRICT ECONOMY IS OBSERVED Angora Government Resists Temptation Tempta-tion to Print Up Any New Money Needs but Little Foreign Money or Loans. Paris. Turkey is the least bankrupt of any nation that has taken an active part in the World war, according to Information reaching here, not excepting except-ing England or France. The chief reason rea-son is that apparently she lias conducted conduct-ed her wars since l'J14 with the strictest strict-est economy. The present Angora or nationalist government, which has 'been fighting the Greeks and holding off the allied powers since 1919, has resisted the temptation to print up any new money. The total prewar and war debt of Turkey, Including the charges that may be set against her at Lausanne or in any treaty of peace to pay damages dam-ages to foreign nationals, Is estimated to run barely above $1,000,000,000. This sum Is regarded as ridiculously low when it Is remembered that, by way of comparison, France owes the United States a war debt of $3,400,-000,000, $3,400,-000,000, and Germany owes the allies approximately $34,000,000,000. European Interest Political. From a European point of view, the Interest In Turkey Is partly political, especially In war times, and largely was one Internal loan of 18,000,000 Turkish pounds (about $79,000,000 at the exchange of that time). Then there was a paper money Issue of 154.fiSl,400 Turkish pounds, secured by German government treasury bonds, payable 15 years after the war. Certain Cer-tain supplies In limited quantities were bought In Germany. These figures have a distinct bearing. bear-ing. on the future for those Americans or others who wish to live or do business busi-ness In Turkey. Has Splendid Future. According to one American financial expert who has traveled all through Turkey, as rarely do the majority of foreign visitors, If Turkey secures a stable political government and If she frees herself from foreign control, there Is no reason why she cannot Intensify In-tensify her agriculture and prosper. Strange as it may seem to the casual observer of the course of post-war nations, na-tions, this expert osserted Turkey needs but little foreign money or loans. Hers Is a problem rather of a sound domestic policy; encouraging the creation of domestic capital through better banks; the opportunity for proper land mortgages, and progressive pro-gressive agriculture. Many Americans in Europe are watching keenly the trend of politics leading to a peace with Turkey. If new Turkey gets the peace she demands, de-mands, and If the Angora men of the steady sort, such as Mustapba Kemal Pasha and Gen. Ismet Pasha, keep control, it is believed Americans will do better in Turkey than any other nationality. These Turks take the point of view financial in peace times. American Interest In-terest also has been directed toward Turkey in the last few years, her tobacco to-bacco crops. If nothing else, being bought up by American firms. An analysis of Turkey's finances shows she became bankrupt In 1874, after foolish sultans and their corrupt ministers had contracted unproductive foreign loans. In 1881 Abdul Hamld, In order to satisfy these loans, turned over the salt and other monopolies to an Institution known as the public debt, to be directed by foreigners until their debts should be paid. In one way or another Turkey owed abroad in 1914, 165,000,000 Turkish pounds. This unit had a prewar value of $4.40. Also she had a funded debt of 152,000,000 Turkish pounds. Of the foreign debt, roughly the equivalent of $800,000,000. France held 60 per cent, Germany 21 per cent and Great Britain, Brit-ain, Holland and Belgium about 19 per cent. Turkey's war debt expenses have been described as "the most amazing thing in the history of World war finance." She ran her war on a shoestring. shoe-string. When the army needed anything, any-thing, it seems to have been either requisitioned re-quisitioned from the civil population or else the army simply went without with-out It. And this army often numbered num-bered 1,000,000 men. In 1915 there |