The Highland weekly news. [volume] (Hillsborough [Hillsboro], Highland County, Ohio) 1853-1886, 1885-07-15
THg IuRMsH PosrAL sYsrEM.

THE TURKISH POSTAL sYsTEM. /
a uoly war Imminent unless Ita Em. !
oloncy Do Improved.
The crusaders Of old, from Peter the F.
Hermit 90 Prince Methusalcm, would
gird up their loins anew and raise again
the tattered banner Of the cross,
II they could but know of the war now
in progress between United States
Consul Selah Merrill of Palestine, and
the Turkish Government anent the
mail service of Syria. In one of his re
ports to the State Department last fail,
Mr. Merrill took occasion to say that
Turkey is In the postal union, and In
Europe and America IL is supposed she
is sufficiently civilized TO deserve TO be
thus admitted, but those Europeans and
Americans who reside here realize to
their sorrow often that letters in the
Turkish post are common property
when they see them scattered promis-
CuOusly about the single room of the
pOstOldco, on window lodges, and the
tops of boxes, on divans and on the
floor. This was worse than a charge
of offensive craftsmanship against the
postmaster at Jerusaiom, and the State
Department of this country made up its
mind to investigate him. This it did
by requesting of Consul Merrill a bill of
particulars.
The Consul has made a lengthy re-
port, bringing extensive and alarming
allegations against the whole postal
service of Turkey, but particularly that
of Palestine. 10 seems that i'm Jerusalem
there are two mail services, the Turkish
and the Austrian, but no complaint is
made as TO the latter. The only sea-
port of Jerusalem is Jafa (the ancient
JOppa,) forty miles distant, and the
mail lis conveyed across the country by
almost anybody who viii consent to
carry IT, The Austrian mail arrives i'm
Jerusalem about eighteen or twenty
hours after it's reception at Jaila, and IS
distributed by seven o ClOcSin the morn
inc, while the Turkish mail is seldom
oDen until six hours later, The Consul
SAYS that on one occasion the BAG con-
tanning the mail was given by the
Turkish officials at Jala to q common
peasant, who agreed TO carry it TO Je-
rusalem for one mediidi or about one
dollar. The man took the bag, dis
appeared, and has never since been
heard of, the authorities claiming they
could not be expected to find man
of whose name and residence they were
ignorant
4 The Consul declares the mailbag is
sometimes taken from Jatta and left fOI
hours by the side of the street outside
/ the gates of Jerusalem, where crowds
/ of men and animals are constantly pass
/ ing. Near this point there is a large
/ khan, where mules and dOnkeys art
| kept, and here the mailbag is Otter
= dumped on its arrival from JaiIa. re-
naming for the night or day, or until
some official from the postofIice sends
for it. In the meantime anybody and
/ everybody takes the liberty of opening
the bag and getting out his
mail. 1t frequently happens, says the
/ Consul that during Ramadan (the
great MOhammedan feast, which
continues for a month"; the mudi loll
down to the postollice at noon, opens
the bag to give out Government mail t
! some official messenger, and then de
liberately sits down to smoke, leaving
the European patron to cool his heel
on the stone floor. When the mail il
finally distributed, the Christian j.
quietly told there is nothing for him
when the fact is the letters are scattered
all over the room, and it is much easier
to say mo- than to ascertain who thel
are really for.
In this manner. says the Consul, valu
able letters are lost through the dis
honesty and carelessuess of the Turkisl
postal officers, and he advises all Ameri
can mail for Syria to be sent by way O
Brindisi or Trieste, instead of by Con
stantinople Naturally enough, wael
these charges were formally laid befOr
the Director General Of posts at Con
stantinople, supplemented by simila
charges from the French Consul at Je
rusalem, there was great gnashing q
teeth and the Turkish anger wa
kindled. After several months of wait
ing, the Director General now files wit
the Government of the United States
denial of the charges in language tina
would do justice to a Kentucky duelist
He says he caused an investigation t
be made of the mail service of Syri
and that no complaints were hear
from anybody but the American Consul
''WhOse charges are ineXplicable an
Intentionally untrue" Now the Stat
Department is scratching its head an
wondering how long anybody but
consul could live in Syria after DARN,
to complain at anything the Turks
Government did, and Consul Merrill
rOOsting in the Mount of Olives with
knife up his sleeve There will be
holy war if Mr.. Merrill doesn't get hi
next love-letter on time WdsbiHatOt
Cor 81 Louis Globe Democrat