Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1898-02-24

unco and art ind cagor translators;
and formerly there were only one or
two daily payers. today there Is II re-
spectacle number of daily, weekly and
monthly papers. which md their read
crs in spite OF oppressive ccnsurc Of n
pecvlsh and dcspotic government. Even
the female portion Of tho population
has awakened from it's lethnrgy and IL
giving llnmistakable signs Of progress.
Schools for girls are daily Increasing.
Turkish women are taking to literary
pursuits and II Turkish paper for
ladies'. called Khinimlara maghsus Ca
zeta Journal for LADIES' enjoys Il par
ticulnr favor in the harcm.
l could easily multiply the proofs
that the much-censured Turk is not
averse to western civilization, and If
he nevertheless is still tagging In the
dark recess of Asatic life and certain-
~ much behind his Christian neighbor,
II Is only the system OF government and
his inCorrigible. despotic rulers who are
the main cause of all his rlisfortunes
and OF all his retrogresson. The sultan,
| although acting apparently as ruler
| assisted by ministers and councillors. Is
undoubtedly one of the most autocrntic
and absolutistic princes that ever sat
on the throne In Europe and in Asia
While his predecessors contented them
selves with the superior power and used
to ncquiesce in the decisions of the sub
lime porte, Sultan Abdul Hamid has
totally Invested his ministers of ali
ruling power; the grand vizier and
ministers are mere puppets in his
hands; nobody has any right of opin-
ion; and when invited to the councils
held at Ylldlz. they have constantly to
nod to the viii OF their master; they
have TO admire his sagacity and
shrewdness even In cases where they
are convinced of the detrimental issue
of the matter in question. Considering
4,
gifted he be. can hardly carry the
manifold and varied state burden upon
his shoulders. the sultan. while refusing
to seek advice Of qualified statesmen,
has surrounded himself with coadjutors
taken from the lower and most ignor-
ant class OF his people, men without
knowledge and character and who
actuated he mean personal interests
""~o little rhout the welfare az the
nation and have mostly contributed
toward the horrible state of things and
tite nter confusion under which Tur-
key is actually suffering,
The main feature in the character of
Sultan Abdul Hamid being dlhdence
and jealousy. he does not even trust to
the aforesaid class Of his servants. He
uses "A host OF spies to satisfy his
avidity about the private dongs of his
subjects: for he suspects everywhere
treason and believes everybody bent
life and power. The result of this de-
testable system manifested itself in the
collapse of order: for palace creatures
sent abroad as civil officers In the
provinces were backed by the clique
even In their most nefarious doings:
and as the money extortcd from the
poor and oppressed population hardly
sutfices to pay the mercenaries of the
palace. the army and the civil officers
are left for ten or fifteen months with
out pay and exposed to the direst pri-
vations.
Such state of things cannot last for
any length of time; and IL Is evident
that the only remedy left, namely, the
Introduction of reforms, has become
more imperative than ever. Unfortun-
ately however, the absolutistic ten
denotes of the present sultan. and not
the religious fanaticism of the Turks
as generally asserted, are the chief him
drance In that direction. Abdul Hamid
abhors every measure by which his
boundless autocracy would be curtalled
and his absolute will controlled When
pressed by the representatives of the
foreign powers he takes refuge in false
and misleading steps in appointing
muavins-that is. Christian assistants
to his own creatures in the provinces,
who have not the slightest power to
act, or by getting up some sham coun-
ell of Mohammedan and Christian
members who have neither the courage
nor the will to bring order into the rot
ten administration. AS long as the
wallis, that is, governor generals of the
provinces, depend upon the palace, and
as long as the suplime porte Is not re-
| instated in the power it enjoyed during
the reign OF the last three sultans,
there can be no hope for an ameliora =.
ton, and all meetings of the European
ambassadors in Pera will be barren of
Af fl.a -
clique that there is no trustworthy man
among the pashas and effendis of to-
day Is null and void.
The writer of these lines, having n
long personal relation with the sultan
and his court as well as with the lead
ing men of modern Turkey. can fairly
state to the contrary. The younger
generation of Turkey is not only i'm
bued with the spirit of modern western
civilization, but also with liberal ideas
and with n strong desire for political
independence. The ancient regime of
Asiatic despotism and autocratic rule
is deeply detested, as shown by the
short period of constitutional life at the
accession to the throne of the present
sultan; and If the reproach might be
brought against the Turks that every
people gets the government 1t deserves,
we ought not to forget that we, too, in
Europe have acquired our liberty only
after a long and hard struggle with
absolutism, and that the Turks, having
a ruler in the quality of demigod, are
SO to say. hindered by their religion
from approaching the divine figure
which tyraniZes them. 1t Is only by
extraordinary exertions that they will
be able to put a barrier to the abso-
lutistic tendencies of their sultan: and
people laboring under many hundred
years of tyranny and despotism cannot
be SO easily brought over to the path
of political liberty and modern institu-
tions.
Here the assistance of the happier
nations is Indispensable to the Turk.
If we desire to accelerate the process
of transformation Of ancient Turkey in
to a modern state we have to discontIn-
ue the policy of rivalry and special ma
tional interests on the banks of the
Bosphorus. Up to the present, as 40
years experience has taught me, the
Introduction OF the smallest reform has
been bone of contention among the
various representatives of the West
Every power was anxious to secure its
special influence against the other; ana
the end of 1t was that the slow and
lazy Turkish government got the best
of 1t. namely. a respite ad infinitum ana
happy opportunity to avoid all re-
forms and ameliorations. AS long as
they quarrel among themselves" said
Il Turk to me 30 years ago. 1--WE re-
main unscathed and undisturbed in
our blissful inactivity" OF course thi.
procedure on the part of Europe did
not and could not conceal from the