The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1890-09-21
THE SICK MAN AGAIN.

The loss of the Turkish frigate Ertogroul,
with all hands-500 souls. including OSman
Pasha Of Pleyna-would be a surprising
occurrence if the vessel had carried any other
flag than that of Turkey. But the Turkish
Empire is such an anomaly, and differs so
widely from every Other lower III the void,
that nothing that comes flOm its dominion
should cause establishment
The ETtogroul Goes not appear in the
present navy list Of Turkey. All Turkish
men-of-war built prior to 1864 We're some
time ago stricken from that list; the Oldest
vessels in commission being Ih- four wooden
64OO-tun ships built in 1864. The Erto-
groUl was built in 1868; her tonnage was only
2344 tons. She was long ago condemned as
unStaWoItily. Yet when the Sultan re-
solved to send the most distinguished officer
Of his army On special mission to Japan,
this was the craft chosen to convey him.
She was ill-proyisoned, and the captain WIS
not supplied with money; he was unable to
pay port dues or buy supplies. The crew
seems TO have been on short allowance dur
ing most Of the voyage. How she made the
long trip from ConStantinOple to Yokohama
without disaster is singular; that she must
founder in the first severe storm she en-
countered was foregone conclusion.
But the incident is typical of everything
that is Turkish There is no finer country
in the world than EuroIean and parts of
Asiatic Turkey; it is peopled by one of the
most robust races that ever lived; it has
assed into a proverb that the owner of
Constantinople is the master Of the world.
Yet so wretchediy is the empire admins
tered that its total revenue IS only about
S90,C00,O00, some 100000 less than its eX-
penditure, and the last time it went into the
markets Of the world for a loan, the best
bid il could get for its five per cents was 80.
That every department of the Government
is saturated with cOrruptioL is no peculiar
ity. The cohesive power Of nationality
seems to have ceased to operate, and PROV
ince after province of the empire sloughs off
without a reason, and without resistance.
Even in China, where the national author
ity seems to be on the point Of deliquescence,
there is as much national feeling as in the
outlying pashaliks oil the Porte.
On the map, the Turkish Empire spreads
from the Balkans to the southern limits of
Palestine, and from the Adriatic to The
Tigris; but in this vast stretch of territory
equal in area to that of the United States
east of the Rocky Mountains-thcre are
tribes which acknowledge no allegiance to
the Sultan, others which have been for
years at open war with him, and others
which accept the rule of British resident.
This disjOinted and fIagmeutary empire
nevertheless claims to be able to put $780, 600
soldiers into the field; SO that Of the scanty
substance of the State the lions share is de-
voted to the barren business of feeding
troops.
1t is curious that so strange an anomaly
as the Porte should continue to cumber the
earth. British jealousy has thus far pre-
vented the absorption of the Turkish dOmin-
IONS by Russia; but how long can Great
Britain keep life in power which seems to
have no capacity for renovation? When the
eXtremities die of gangrene, the trunk can
not lrng retain existence. Turkey has lost,
since this century began, nearly all its
African possessions; it is an object Of deris-
ion at TripOi, which still retains the name
of a Turkish villayet in Asia, it has lost
Kars, and the recent Armenian revolt will
probably end in the secession Of Erzeroum
and TrebIzond; England is only waiting for
convenient excuse 10 annex Bagdad and
Bassorah. II would be better for the Turks,
and infinitely better for civilization, if some
power-not much matter which-divided up
the empire, and brought it into line with
modern ways and modern thought.