Wichita eagle., 1889-11-02

aries Out of Brides.
If Paris is France, Constantinople is Tur-
ley. 1t is here that the sultan lives. Here
are the headquarters of the Turkish army and
from the government offices here go out the
wires of political appointment which control
the lives and property of more than 80, DOC, 600
people. Constantinople is the center of Turk
ish business and it is the pivot around which
the whole Mohammedan world revolves. Sit
uated, as it is, partly in Asia and partly in
Europe, it forms the connecting link of the
two great civilizations, and its population is
the most cosmopolitan On the face OF the
globe. The Straits of the Bosphorus, which
connect the big Black sea with the little Sea
of Marmora, wind in and ont like u wide
river between Europe and Asia.
PICTURESQUE SITUATION.
They are bordered by beautiful hills which
slope down in places almost precipitously to
the water, and their natural scenery COM
pares very favorably with the best bits along
the Rhine and the Danube. A. the beginning
of these straits there is a lofty peninsula con-
tanning the area OF two or three good sized
farms, the greater part Of the northern side
of which is separated from the main body of
Europe by long inlet Of water which winds
around like horn and which Is known as the
famous Golden Horn of Constant;nople. The
lower side OF the peninsula is washed by the
Sea Of Marmora, and its upper edge blocks
the waters Of the Bosphorus. Standing upon
its shores you can almost throw a stone int,
Asia, and by turning around you could, with
revolver, shoot bullet deep into the body
of Europe
1t is upon this peninsula that the greatest
part of Const&nsinople IS built. This part is
known as STEAMBOAT and it belongs almost
exclusively to the Turks Upon it stand the
great bazsrs, above its thousands of Turkish
houses rise the tail minarets of hundreds Of
mosques, and the cries of its turbaned ped
dlers are mixed with the shrill tenor of the
muezzins, who fve times each day stand
upon the balconies of these towers and sing
out the hours Of prayers. A bridge of boats
about q mile long and as wide as Pennsylva-
MIA avenue in Washington connects this
Turkish quarter of the city with the Euro
pean shore, and over this bridge there is con-
stantly passing thronS Of Turks, Christians
and Greeks of brown gowned men from
Persia and broadcioth traders from Europe
An Italian writer in Constantinople says
that 100, 0GO men go over this bridge every
day. and one new idea crosses it about every
ten years
This bridge leads TO Pera, which is the Eu-
ropean quarter of Constantinople The hills
on the north side of the Golden Horn are as
steep as those Of San Francisco, or of the
bluff on which Kansas City is built.
Pera mas European hotels with Swiss SER
wants, French cooks and electric bells in
which you can be as comfortable as in any
hotel in New York. And the social dinners
of its people would compare favorably with
those of the other capitals of Europe. AS a
diplomatic post the city of the sultan is one
of the most important capitals of Europe.
The complications which are at any time
liable 20 arise with Russia lead the English,
the French and the Germans to keep immense
establishments here, and the expenses of the
foreign ministers for entertaining runs into
the tens of thousands of dollars year. One
of the legations uses at its state dinners gold
and silver plate which is worth 500 00O and
the sultan feasSs the diplomats on gold plate
and furnishes theirs Turkish coffee in gold
cups.
THE SCLTAN's OFFICIALS.
The sultan has his great government de-
partments like those at Washington There
is a department of state, or foreign office
war department, a department of public
works and a department of education, of the
interior and of justice. A large number Of
these departments are in the vast building
known as the Sublime Porte which is located
near the great palace of the sultan in SIAM
boul, known as the Old Seraglio visited
the Sublime Porte yesterday and met num-
Der of the leading Turkish officials. found
that many of them spoke English and that
lister who has charge of the newspaper press
of the empire, and who is to large extent
connected with the interior, told me that the
government was now encouraging the news
paper, and that the day would come when
eec. city in the Turkish empire would have
its daily paper
There are number of daily newspapers
in Constantinople-som in English, some in
French and some in Turkish. The Persians
have paper. The Greeks have their organ,
and there are also newspapers for the He
brews and Armenians. A missionary press
publishes Bulgarian newspaper, but l I'M
dcrstand that with all these papers the CEN
sorship of the press is very strict and that the
greater part of the articles published are
read over by the government officers before
they are permitted to be printed This is es-
pccially with the Bulgarian newspapers,
as the Turks are much afraid of revolutions
among the Bulgarians, and they cut out
everything that relates to liberty or tends to
the depreciation of the government of the
sultan
The Turks are the governing class in Tur-
key, and it is well for the country that they
are They do not make very good bust
ness men, and the most of the business
of the Ottcs-an empire is done by the
Hebrews, the Armenians and the Greeks.
The Turks are not accumulative or industri-
ous. Their fortunes, when made, seldom pass
through more than one generation. The sons
live high off Of their fathers wealth, and il
they should become bankrupt they look upon
ii AZ fate rather than as the result of their
own extravaganza. They are soldiers and
agriculturists rather than business men, and
they prefer the government service TO any
other The better class of government Off
GERS is well paid.
The grand vizier, who is the sultan't right !
hand man. receives 81. 800 a month. and the /
other cabinet ministers get from 500 to $3.50 |
mvnrh In addition to this they have what
they can make by brides, and in all Oriental
countries this brioing or squeezing is legiti- /
mate in China an officer receives a salary
OF 81 600 year and is expected 10 make $50
coo year out of perQuisiteS or blackmail |
doubt not il is much the same here. II is
certainly 20 10 large extent in the collec-
ton o; taxes The sultan is supposed TO re-
N Turkey. The districts are, however. sold