The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1880-05-01
Our 0liu.
Correspondence qf he Nss Tort Observer.
TURKEY,
By One who is ia ]. and Knows what he Says.

There Is mineral wealth enough Ia the
soil to pay all Turkeys debts aud enrich
the country, but the government will
neither mine il itself nor let anybody else.
Schools have sprung up all over the laad, |
but most Of them atnOng the subj ject races, !
not among the Turks. Among the latter
there are indeed few schools, but most
Of them are on the old methods. with boys
sitting on the floor, with 90 seats, no desks |
and few books, swaying back and forth,
rseiting aloud aud 10 concert passages
from tue Koran, They also learn to write
with the reed pen aud this is their eduea-
ton.
For the army there Il something higher,
where instruction Is given, 10 part at least,
by lectures. | heard one such, which
CHANGED to be upon ancient history. The
learned professor began at the beginning.
the creation of man. Adam had two sons,
Gain and Abel. Unfortunately they both
fell in love with the same girl. Abel won
her Cain was mad about il and killed his
brother This is Ancient History with
variations.
The houses Of a village not far from
ConstantiooplO consist Of slight frame Of
crooked sticks or roughly -hswn timbers,
filled in with sun dried bricks or wattles
and mud. The timbers are cut in the
forest near by, but boards for the floors
are brought from Austria brought By sea
in the form Of heavy, thick planks, then
cut into thin boards with pit aw-all
done by Land The forests that over.
shadow the village would furnish boards
enough, If there were any mills 70 saw
them; and the mountain streams would
supply all the water power needed; but
where are the mills? Foreign enterprise
would soon plant them on every stream, if
the government would favor such under
takiugs; but il does not Il seems 10 think
that if any foreigner carries on success
ful business in the country he is robbing
the government
Foreign enterprise has tried 10 work
their mines, tried manufacturing, bringing
in capital and employing idle hands. In
the first place, II is almost impossible to
get permit to begin any such work, and
then, as soon as the government sees it
well under way, it taxes it to death or
stops it peremptorily, A gentleman re.
Gently spent E30,O0 in erecting a large
manufactory. Fortunately he got gov.
erument contract to begiu with, and that
kept his works going for time; but as
soon as that was finished the establishment.
was closed by order, and the owner was
compelled to abandon his enterprise, sac.
rihcing his property, selling il to some
Turk for small fraction of what il had
cost him.
The government already taxes every.
thing that passes FROM hand TO hand
True, the government is poor and need.
money. But its poverty is not half SC
manifest as its injustice, its corruption
and its Incompetence. IL has had about
a hundred thousand refugees within il.
capital most Of the time since the wal
closed, maintained by public charity OF
dying for want Of il. Why are these not
set to work All the able-bodied meu
among them might have been most use
fully employed. The vast treasury build
ing in Constantinople was burned three
years ago. The walls arc still standing
aud strong, but the winds whistle through
them, aud proclaim as they 20 the imbe
cility OF the government The bridge owe,
the Golden Horn, across which sixty thou
sand persons pass daily, is old and rickety
The flooring is Of rough timbers, the sur
face very uneven and very uncomfortable
to pedestrians; the bridge narrow and So
crowded at times with vehicles and foo,
passengers, with horses, donkeys and Dor.
ters with huge loads on their backs, tha,
it is almost impossible to thread ones way
across It. A few years ago the govern.
ment attempted to build alongside another
much larger and better. II was almost
finished three or four years ago, aud then
ii was stopped, Turkish fashion. Some
show Of resaming work upon Il has re.
Gently been made, bat when il viii be
ready for use it would be rash to under.
take 10 tell. 81
There is a railway from Mondania "a
BroOsa, distance Of eighteen miles; track
graded, bridges made, ties laid, rails All
IN place, and there ii Is left--uo engines,
10 cars, and the road ro,ting. An i'm.
mense traffic goes right alongside on horse,
back, donkey back, camel-baca, and n
rough Tartar wagons, There seems not
70 be energy or enterprise enough in al
Turkey to equip and run this road
The streets of ConStautiuople are filthy
beyond description; the pavements rough
and broken; some streets almost impasss
BILE. The refugees might ere this have
rebuilt tho treasury, rcpayed the streets
cleaned away the filth aud rubbish Of ages
finished the bridge and done many olhe,
wonderful things il the government had
been wise enough 10 employ them. An
EoglishmaR kindly suggested this ye,y
thing TO some Of the oiheials. .Whatf Y
was the reply, "set Turk at such meuiaI
service :" "Yes," said the Englishman
"let them work or stsrve." But the Turk
evidently thought il much more respceta.
bic to ssarve than to work. da5s
"Dog in the manger" was the va,
10 which an Englishman recently express.
ed u 10 our hearing-'ihey will neithe,
govern the land themselves nor let aav
body else" England has appointed soms
good men 90 look after promised reforms
one stationed al Erzroom, another At Siyss
and another at Diarbeker. Possibly some
good may come Of il, but as yet they a.
not lind much encouragement. Iudees
We understand that one Of them has writ.
ten to his goyernmeat, telling Of the atroc.
itlcs and irregularities which he sees plaip.
y enough around him, but frankly con.
Tossing that he sees no evidence os M.
Prosement, and that he is himself unable
to secure any, lie sees tho wrong hut has
20 power 70 eafores the right. lie may
advise, u he does il with suiEieisnt moder.
alton, but force is the only advice which
the Turk win receive. How long must
the world tolerate the existence Of such 1
goyernment2 How long recognize i as
among the eivilized nations Of he globe 7
The people themselves are sighine for 4
dellverer. Even many or The Turks de.
spair Of their own government, and long
for soine change, hardly caring what.
Any change must be for the better: i, could
not be for the worse.
Tha I.n....... L fa4 .