The true Democrat. [volume] (Bayou Sara [La.]) 1892-1928, 1897-10-23
THE TURKISH EMPIRE,
EXTRAORDINARY VARIETY OF RACES
THE SULTAN MIsRULEs.

because of Clashins Crceds It Ia Doub
1"1 whether 1t Is Possible to Make Tu1
Key Land of Peace and Harmony Al
banians Dress Richly, but Hate Soap.
! Owing to the extraordinary yariet,
OF races and creeds over which til
= Sultan OF Turkey rules, his diiicultic
: are almost insurmountable; and it il
! doubtful whether he or anyone els,
: Will ever succeed in making Turke,
l land OF peace and harmony.
There are no fewer than seven mair
divisions of races in the European enc
ASIAN provinces. In Europe both the
Greeks and Albanians are as nun,er.
Gus as the Ottoman Turks, each con.
} tlngent numbering about 1900, 900,
according to the best authorities. Con.
Stantlnople itself has ustas diversified
mixture as the kingdom generally;
and only 1856, 900 of its SIS, 900 inha5,
ltants are Mussulmans, the Greeks
numbering l52, 900 and the Armenians
loo,oOo. But in Asia there are twice
as many Ottoma1s as all other races
put together. The Turks proper con-
slst OF Ottomans, Yurouks and Turko.
mans. The names have something
terrible in their very sound to us; but
travellers unite in describing the o.
tomans as honorable and humane men.
although they can fight when it comes
TO blows. The Turkomans live pas.
toral life, while the Yurouks ore no.
madlc and therefore not easily sub
Iected to law.
Although the Greeks and the Alba-
mans are regarded as belonging to the
same Graeco-Latin race, the latter are,
Tor the most part, Mussulmans. Some
OF the Albanians are Roman Catholics
and Others are of the Greek church.
ana the two slightly divergent sects
nate each other as cordially as Par.
nellltes and anti-Parnellites. But,
whatever the form Of faith, they pre-.
ter robbery as means of livelihood to
any other industry. At the same
time they are of q fine physical type
ana make splendid soldiers; but they
treat their women like oxen. and a.
though they dress in rich clothes Of
u fashion of the Scottish Highlands. |
they have horror of SOAP In fact.
1t IS said that they put on their clothes
once for all and never take them off,
In the event of war, the Albanians
W. would probably fight for the Sultan,
Inc Greeks have not penetrated very
Tar inland, but have scattered them.
selves along the coast of both Euro
pean and Aslatic Turkey, where thew
Ire always on The lookout to put
money in their purse. Together with
me Jews and the Armenians, thew do
nearly all the trading and banking of
~ country, and make very good
ming out of it. In spite of the Sui
ans misrule, the Greeks immigrate
n :, increasing numbers every Year,
which makes one think that they must
70 a slngularly imprudent people.
Armenians and their exterminators
ne kurds, are both sprung from q
)erslan stock. The Kurds live in the
and ere not precisely the
IND OF people one would care to set
bout reforming. Some say there are !
n even million of them; others saw
here are over two millions They
eep the Sultan in perpetual hot
alter, being very bad Moslems. But &
icy are very entertaining, chiefly in {
aging Armenians and stealing their I
goods. When not thus en- t
aged they rear cattle, sheep and
oats; and they differ in no way from
lelf ancestors, as described by Keno t
non. Armenia was portion of /
'estern Asia, between the CASPIAN a
"a and Asia Minor, but it has sui u
req the fate of Poland, and the Ar t
en'ans are now almost as scattered b
the Jews. They number about two II
ID half millions, and are intelligent a
'ople, with q particular talent for u
AIDE and banking. The Kurds would
obably fight on the side of the
inks, and we all know what side the
'menians would take. II
The Semetic race has many families Al
Turkey. There are the Hebrews o.
10, prosecuted everywhere, took ref te
q IN Turkey; the Greek church Mar te
ties, who are the deadly foes of 81
cir neighbors, the Druses; the 81
uses, of the Mahometan faith, brave N
d temperate men, who take neither W
ne nor tobacco, and who detest the IL
'ronltes; the Chaldeans, who detest OF
, Maronites; the Chaldeans, who te
Christians of sort; the Arabs, of I'll
ON there are four or five millions. pc
! who. though holding the same re- su
lous views as the Sultan, are his in. TO
crate enemies, and the Syrians. I'll
Then there is the fine race of Cir nc
SLAMS, who are differentiated from 81 s,
st of the other inhabitants by the tn
that they work for living; the es
zes and the gypsies It is supposed 90
t, in the event of war, the Lazes wa
Circa qaiona oo r,oll ~ IL m IN