Baxter Springs news. [volume] (Baxter Springs, Kan.) 1882-1919, 1895-12-07
ABOUT ARM ENiA.
An English Statesman Discusses What Can
lyH ilous Win the Turks.

An English Statesman Discusses What Can
Al. 80 Dsne with the Turks.
Why does not such government go
10 pieces, according to the law Of nature
which happily provides that corruption
and weakness bring dissolution In
their train? There are three reasons.
One is the jealousy OF three great
European powers, which has had the
effect Of preventing two Of them from
annexing what remains OF Turkish
territory. Another is the fact that the
Mussulman population, being In the
majority, is SO fanatically Ill disposed
TO the Christians (who are tn, greatest
suffcrers) that II Is not only willing to
help the government to hold the Chris
tians down, but even disposed to toler-
alto evils which would produce Mus.
sulman Instructions were there no
Christians In the country. There Is,
however, n great deal Of latent discon-
tent among the Mohammedans, and
but for the fatalism which Islam en-
genders; and which has made the
masses listless and resigned, one may
doubt whether even jealousy OF the
Christians would suffice to prevent
outbreaks. The third reason is the
enormous advantage which modern
weapons give to q government which
can raise money to purchase them.
Two centuries ago instructions were
far easier and moro likely to succeed
than now because the insurgents were
more on n level with regular troops
than they are in these days OF swift
firing guns and rifles Of long range.
There Is therefore littlo ground for
hoping for any speedy extinction Of
the Turkish power by natural causes.
II then 1t is going to last some time
longer, can nothing ut all be done, II
not to reform II, yet to abate its evils?
Experience has shown that there is
only one way of reforming an Oriental
government, and that is by putting 1t
into leading-strings, by either super
seding the chief officials and putting
Europeans In their places, or else by
giving them European adjutants who
shall virtually direct them. This
might be done in Turkey IL the Eu-
ropean powers were willing. But it
would be necessary practically to su.
perscde the sultan-that Is to say, to
prevent him from interfering either
with administrative policy or with up.
pointments Aud it is a method which,
though capable OF being efficiently
worked by directing and protecting
power, rs England works 1t in the
minor protected states Of India, cannot
be we'll applied, at least on large
scale, by three or four powers con-
Jointly, because each would suspect
the other Of obtaining some advantage
for itself.
Another expedient would be to de-
tach from the rest Of the empire those
parts Of the country where disorders
were most frequent, placing them un.
der n specially constituted administers.
ton. This was done in the case OF
the Lebanon, and with very good re.
suits. 1t has been proposed for
Armenia, and would probably sue.
coed there. II the powers chiefly
concerned were to compel the sultan
to erect Armenia into q distinct pro-
vince, with European governor who
should be irremovable except with the
consent OF those powers, who should
control the revenues OF the province
and maintain out Of them strong pc.
lice force, and who should be free to
introduce administrative and judicial
reforms. the country might in ten
years time be brought into the same
perfect order. and obtain measure OF
the same prosperity, rs has attended
the rule OF Count Kallay in Bosnia,
which was delivered from the Turks in
1878. There are, no doubt, as many
Mussulmans as Christians in Armenia,
but the former have also much to gain
by the establishment Of good admins.
tration, and would welcome II. Russia,
however, is unwilling to set up on her
borders what she fears might become
IN Armenian principally toward which
her own Armenian population would
SO It is to be feared that this
course, however promising, will not be
taken. james Bryce, NJ. p in Century.