The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-05-13
THE TURK IN HIS CAPITAL.
QUEER WAYS AND the oT
BA6SHISH Ar CONSTANTIN0PLE'
How . Grow Rich on Unpaid sa'artes- 'ahe'
Pssd when You Plcase-The FHe Deps,'
~~ut- Complaisant customs ~

XAy0 Wn0u uOu btCesE
nsss- complainant Customs "mo'A'''
STRANGE, passing strange" unused the IN
spsctor OF Revenues, however he NAV DO prop
~iy called In the Turkish language as he
frsvned suspioionsly upon the shrussihS
shoulders bsfore him Not one gun ho' u
ainxls pistol sold this Twelve month YOUR
stook numbers precisely the same as last year
and then twas tho same story as the year Or
fore and the year before that. and so oack 70
he days Of the great inventory ~hsn 'he
psdish,h commanded that all the weapons IN
tbe CITY should be counted, How happens
this, sirrah, DO you sell no frearms'
An, no. Efendim! Business is 80 vTy
had. YOU see Not ono pistol will diaours
or Osmanli buy. while ] grow ever poorer ana
poorer. What times these ire ANA y"'
Fnendim, II your Excellcncy would but con-
descend 10 accept ono little present IN token
Of my humble appreciation OF that courtesy
tina, never fails an, so, Ssldm d%iev"nrn'
such the dialogue one may fancy exchanged
be,wser tho dealer in firearms In 'onstah-
tpoplc and The official inspector who 'alI'
once a yoar and inventories his stock, IN ord'r
both to assess taxes and to determine that III"
law prohibiting the importation o' rlneS OF
reyoIyers has been strictly observed To be
sure. everybody knows that these weapons
are constantly being sold. and well filed shops
occupy attractive and prominent street cor
ners in the Turkish capital. Everybody 100,
except the officials officially, knows that the
forbidden goods afford n lucrative traffic 10
numbers Of smugglcrs and the mates oi III"
aims in whose care they arrive without for
mality OF manifest, relieving pryinc customs
a.. - ~. tpnpIouuupt iut l. pf rDD0gpntlOD
We are told thar to translate n Turkish book
ono must begin with the last paG" and TO get
the meaning Of each sentence must turn first
70 the closing words. So, too, the true in
vardness Of many things Turkish will only
begin to appear 20 the visitor after a STAY OF
many weeks and as disclosed by the many side
lights certain to he thrown upon nv" ana hnS'-
ness by the friends one is quite sure TO make
The fragments Of gossip recorded here were
90 cleaned during a prolonged stay lat winter
In the land Of tho unspeakahle Turk ana pre-
tend to be neither profound nor perhaps ao-
curate in detail, in fact are offered tor natlght
else than what they are, everyday gossip
They are set down. hOwcy"r, exactly as they
came to the write" from friends English, French,
German, Greek, armenian, Jewish, Turkish
all that c~onclomcrnte popullt'"n that goes 10
make up the chipf charm 10 the stranger Of
Q stay in the ln,rut All seem matters of
rommon knowledge in Con~'uutlnoIla. and one
accepts them - approximately true alter
hearing them a score Of times oyer from twenty
sources, By the way. why he "Iuspcakahle
Turk" i he really 50 bad as al. hat
Many are the stories that come Ia him who
waits for a month or six weeks IN tonstanti-
nople. Other than that in firearms
Is regulated Nv law. The bakers, for example,
are commanded 10 sell only loaNr, Of a pre-
scribed weight under penalty OF cOniiscation
Of their entire stock. Think you that this
carries aucht Of terror 10 their crafty Souls?
They still go on baking underwelCht loaves,
asserting that Il - cheaper TO suffer an oc-
casionai con'iscauon than To be habitually
honest so +, happens that whom the supply
OF bread il the barracks runs short, ont sal
lies an inspector in tull confidence that the
first loaf In tests in the first shop on his list
will be short wcight and thus put in his hands
the whole stock. Thns are troops fed At a
minimum of expense. while the baker philoso-
phicalll ,n,' NJ hop. q" reS,lm" as soon rs
his OVEN Il turn ont another supply Of alto
eether similar ioayns.
Thackera, apropo~ OF Becky Sharp, was
II not? take, uu" chapter 10 telling How
n live on nothing q wear The employees
Of the Suhlino Porte nave not only solved
the problem hu, som" ~ ln"ru can also demon
strate How To get rich ~ nothing a year u"
Salarips9 Yr~ 'h"rs ar" III rios. promised
paid srmi-orrl lonylb and in part For the
r~est-wcll. the man must live, his children
must have bread his rank demands certain
expenses; what would sou: II he robs right
and left II E, no n.urr thar his ~uperiOrS do.
ave. even to ~" exalted rank. and thus comes
to he quite the proper thing. And 10 arise
anv number of abuses aud bak~hi-h covers
n multitude OF S.n,. supports families in llN-
urv. and works wonders WHEN ono Ni-hc~ ia
ESCAPE anro,HuO, or to bother som" other
fellow. A. tor III" pay ment a. salaries, the
Government, f., ,hrpn wears IN arrear- lust now.
assert, common Gossip But if the cash j.
not available the Porte can i~~l" us paper
promise and can and does decree that such
scrip shall be legal tender IN paw nlent un ac-
count Of taxes levied ON real estate up 10 4
per cent. Of their total amount What mat
tiers It that but a small rar, OF the army oi
employees of his Majesty own real estate
can they not take their scrip to any money
changers and there snll it nj q discount, Il
Is clearly mtN~l lil'' IlIl''I'' I'' lilFIl llltl 'IlfN'
financial sharks manifest 81 lttl" in,'rc~'
In thr transaction that they are ouly wiIliul
to cash this paper AZ a discount Of about -
Der cont. But on hruihrr baud what = bcautI
fuI Opportunr, this affords 10 tn" capitals
who does own hoG7,> or ground. oven lhoupl
he be not one of the favored employ ""~ Of th'
Government Ne can hT! thi- scrip iron
the money changer al les ihdn - per cont
OF its face value and turn + lu AZ oar on accom-
of his own taxes M 20 one hair Of their tota
amount. thus e~l,ociiug "A saving Of % per cent
or more. II j. a question thar may be lett 4
the statistical politician rs to how the sultan
one seems Co1'"aI. and ~ to reform win
VIII pcrs reform in Turkey
Speaking Of taxes, pay when you please {
the rule IN COnstautlnoplc. .aN my lncllsI
friends. You " a house, a. docs Brown, ~
rich drygoodS merchant \ low repairs ar
needed. but nr.t OF all permission must b. Oh
tanned. FOR no hulldlng operation &, otherNiS
possible Visit the proper iur.ronarF ih"r
alwav- a person If imw"u-e dignity. Vet m
SOC. Nj Brown. turning over The leaves 81
ponderous boob ah,i s"c. You haven't pa.
your tax for two, tnrrc IC-. nv" N'Hrr Wei
10 repair yuIr house they have a stree
cleaning tax ntuu'~ lantnOple. why, " hOua
saw perhlps they actually docloantl -tr"ct'
although the present wrllnr discovered nOrNl
denCe of the tact daring hl~ stay " any raj
the offices Of one i the great tourist aEenCe
were moved - urN quarters about a N"Ir az,
HaTdlVsWprr tlv' comfortably settled hcltr
around came u I'LL ter no les than nine vrar'
back street oicaulug taxes IhsN we're due. =
coursn. from the lormpr tenant. but If III
new one hal not been an English cornpan