The Dakota chief. (Gann Valley, Buffalo County, S.D.) 18??-1913, 1894-08-30

TEg
II SCHOOL
while the buyer declares that his
o'1er is far beyond TIE value of the
goods, and only prompted by the per-
sOnal goodwill he bears to the pro-
prietor. Little by little one advances
and the other recedes from the first
prices, and after an enormous waste
of time a bargain is concluded, the
adjustment of the last plaster or
two probably taking longer than all
the rest Of the transaction. AS it
is, both parties are generally we'll
satisfied and separate, each imagin-
ing he has cheated the other.
In spite Of their apparent inditfer-
ence, the Turks are clever bargainers,
and the outward show of contempt
for such a paltry consideration as a
few piasters does not prevent the
keenest possible trafficking in order
to gain a small advantage over a
commercial adversary. But none of
this is shown in their manner Of deal
ing, for nothing could be cooler or
lilOiO dppdlClIly IouCildlduU. 1ucy
could give a New York stock broker
many points in concealing their real
feelings, and still not seem rufied.
The Turk is not in the least eXcita-
bic, and things that aus the people
of other countries to grow wild with
enthusiasm hardly make him raise
his eyebrows. Nor is this lack of
emotion in him due to %self-control;
it is simply his nature; he does not
care. He has an idea, tolerably well
defined, that the universe will go on
about as we'll without as with him,
SO he does not worry when things go
against him 0 become much elated
whep they are in his favor.
1t would seem unreasonable under
these circumstances that any Turk
should ever grow rich, but among the
merchants of the capital and leading
SeapOrtS there are many wealthy
men, who have become rich in spite
not only Of their natural indifference
to their surroundings, but also of the
| cXorbitant taxes levied by the Govern
ment. For when the Turk is a money
maker at al he is exceedingly close.
Even the Greek, who has the rcputa-
ton of being the sharper Of the
OrieCt. is not Shrewder at a bargain
than the Turk. But to the latter
the value of time is an unknown
quantity, nor can he the least he
| made TO understand that others re-
| gard time as money. 1t is a matter
of supreme satisfaction, therefore,
to him to defer even the cOnsidera-
tion of the most important and
! pressing affairs, and when a Turk
succeeds in putting off until the day
after tomorrow what ought to have
been done the week before last he re-
CARDS himself as having achieved a
triumph of intellect. 1t is thus
about as easy to hurry a Turk as to
hasten the march of the seasons. He
cannot be hurried. Whether the af-
fair is that of buying a handful Of
| tobacco for his pipe, or of negotiating
a treaty for the salvation Of Con-
stantinople from the Russians, he is
going to take his time about it, and
| to every effort to hasten matters he
will oppose a passive resistance far
more effective than the moSt active
antagonism.
Incidence is reflected in every grade
and class of the people. The street
porter sits down and smokes while
waiting for Allah to send him a job;
the donkey boy lies down. Nobody
| stands up to do anything that by any
| stretch Of ingenuity can possibly be
accomplished while seated. Carpen-
tiers sit down to saw and plane a
board. sbutiling incOnveniently along
On their hams as the necessities OF
their work demand; when on guard
in positions that do not demand on
| slant w~atchfulness the Bashi- Bazook
sentinels squat cross-legged on the
pavement, smoking their pipes or Gig
aretteS.
The triumph of laziness, however,
is recorded by DIN, who, in his
travels in the Orient, noticed in ii
province of Asiatic Turkey a farmer
| at work spading his garden. AS any
one knows who has tiled it spading
is not an easy task, and requires not
only a considerable application Of
muscle, but in addition all the
weight of the body to be thrown on
the spade in order to force it through
the soil. The labor-hating Turkish.
granger, however, unwilling to do
violence to his W feelings or to set
a bad example TO the neighbOrs by
standing up to work, managed to ac-
complish his job, after a fashion