Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-05-12

| WITH THE Confessions OF
Bashi- Bazouk. BY q. W. Stevens, author OF
| The Land Of the Dollar" etc. With -Four
ington Brentanos.
| Mr.. Stevens accompanied the main Turk
| ish army in the late war between Greece
| and Turkey as correspondent of the London
| Daily Mail. He writes strictly and con-
| fessedly from the Turkish standpoint. He
| saw nothing of the Greek operations save
| in their unvarying results leading to defeat
| and retreat. Hence his verdict upon the
| relative merits of the two armies and the
| characteristics of the two nations is avow-
eddy based upon a somewhat one-sided
foundation. But this unevenness of oppor-
| tunity to observe is more than counterbal-
anced by Mr.. Stevens evident justice OF
comment He criticises the Turk imme
| diately after praising him, finding some
merit coeXistent with some fault that could
| not well escape his trained eyes and judg-
ment.
Mr.. Stevens deductions are not compli-
| mentary to the Greeks. He found the
Turks, as soldiers, UNNECESSARILY superior.
| He saw the unbroken record of inadeqaucy
| on the Greek side only too plainly evil
| denced by the feeble resistance to the on
| moving Turk. He paints a new picture of
| the Turkish character. He does not OUT
| line the Ottoman soldier as the fierce, I'M
dental world has been taught to consider
| him. With few exceptions, such some
| of the Albanians and the GhegaS, he found
| the Turkish reserve and even the Turkish
regular steadfast Flooding, patient. de-
termined man, obedient. to the most eXcep-
tional degree ready for any duty, however
hazardous, without a rnurmur, long-suffer-
ing and grim, yet at no time displaying the
least tendency toward an outbreak of bar
barrie impulses for looting and outrage. At
the same time he found the Turkish officers
remarkably inefficient, the organization
loose and often unreliable, the commissary
and quartermaster department absurdly
inadequate He shows that the main prin-
ciple of Turkish warfare is never to follow
up an advantage, in accordance with which
it required a month for an advance that
might readily have been accomplished with
in week Indeed. after a study of this
volume, which impresses the reader mainly
with its atmosphere of truthful frankness.
ii seems absurd that the campaign should
have resulted as it did, unready were the
Greeks on the one hand to hold TO their ex-
eelleEt strategic positions and slothful
we're the Turks on the other hand to accept
their palpable opportunities. Either side
night have won by display of a little
brilliant geleralship.
OF course at each stage of the fighting
the Greeks were heavily outnumbered, but
had they been disciplined and trained they
might have won from even such brave and
unfiinching fighters the Turks, owing to
the stupidity OF the commanders of the lat
ter oflly one OIL the turkish CflcerS Knew
the ground. He attained an interna tional
reputation after the war for his remarkable
geographic knowledge, and this within a
few hours of railroad riding from the Turk
iSh capital.
The Turkish progress was a sort of exctir-
sion forward. the men sauntering up to the
enemy easily and placidly, firing OCCASION
ally from behind tiny breastworks and sell
dom hitting anybody. There were no en-
gineers in the Turkish army, nothing mod
ern save one brigade of men from Adriano-
pie, armed with Mauser rifles who went
forward calamity at Domoko against ire
mendous odds, without support. with the
enemy in an impregnable position OF the
1000 men over 1000 were killed, the heav-
lest mortality of the war. Yet even with
this repulse the Greeks reaped no advan-
tage, but promptly retreated as soon as
they had driven the Turks away.
The book is brightly written entertaining
in its detail and decidedly amusing in some
of its descriptions of persons and places.
The hardshps of the life of a war CORE
spondent, in such a rugged and half civil
lied country as Thessaly, painted with
light and fascinating touch that shows
the real clevernesS of the writer who
though comparatively young man. has
seen much hard service and has done some
brilliant work.
WASHINGTON VS.. JEFFERSON: the Case Tried
by Battle in 1ssi-65. BY Moses NJ. Gran
ger, formerly captain 18th L. s. Infantry,
lieutenant colonel 122d Ohio Volunteer Infantry,
breyet colonel US. Volunteers and chief Judge
of the supreme court commission of Ohio. Bos-
ton: Houghton Mifiin & Co. Washington: VIM.
Ballantyne & Sons.
The author finds the first causes of the
civil war in an early difference of opinion
among American statesman as to the real
character Of the union of states. He crys-
tallizes this difference in the divergence of
Washington and Jefferson. The former
strove for the doctrine of single RESPONSE |
bilty and power, the latter for the doctrine
of the right of each state to govern itself
Col. Granger writes with a sympathy for
the former doctrine. He traces the seces-
sion sentiment from the inception of the |
Kentucky resolutions, adopted by the legis-
lature of that state in 1T9S, which he as |
cribes specifically to Jefferson. He notes |
the various phases of the anti-slavery agi- |
tation. the compromises, the Mexican |
war, the factional differences in the demo-
cratic party and finally the election of |
LINCOLN on a platform Of personal princi- |
pies and pledges that would not have led to |
radical action had not the south taken the |
initiative. He urges that this initiative was |
taken as the result of the advice and urg- |
ing of certain leaders who wished to dem /
cnstrate the doctrine of jefferson, and his |
argument is that the people of the south |
themselves did not want to secede and /
would not have done so had they under |
stood the situation clearly. He criticises
many of the reconstruction methods and i
thus closes his account of one of the most /
momentous chapters in the history of the /
American nation
THE LIFE OF CHARLES CARROLL OF CAR
RoLLToN, 1isl-1ss2; With His Correspond
ence and Public Papers. BY Kate Mason Row
land, author Of The Life of George Mason" In
two volumes. New York: G. p. Putnam's Sons.
Washington: Woodward Lothrop.
This is virtually the first biography of |
this eminent American, whose name is SO /
closely associated with the formative period
and whose sagacious counsels so often aid
ed in the creation of wise standards of ma
tional action. Charles Carroll was indeed !
one of the foremost men of his time, and it /
is strange that his life has not until now
been recorded with the fu1lness and fidelity |
that should be bestowed upon the founders
Of the republic. This work, 1t should be