New-York tribune., 1901-12-31
CONSTANTINOPLE.
DR.. HENRY o. DWIGHT ON THE TURK
AND HIS CAPITAL.

PEOPLES cUsToMs. RELIGIONS AND
PROGRESS BY Henry Otis Dwight. LII u; p
Illustrated, octave PIP 2ss. Fleming II. heVen
Company.
The Turkish capital has occupied and still oc-
cupies large share Of the worlds attention IT
Is city OF strange anomalies. to the Occidental
understanding. well Of unceasing pictur-
esqueness. and DR.. Henry Otis Dwight's book.
in which he attempts to clear up some OF its
puzzling features will be read with interest by
those whose attention is directed toward the
city the Bosporus, especially on the lines OF
missionary endeavor. He speaks from the point
of view Of the missionary. The Mahometan has
an incompIeteness in his equipment for life
that makes him rely on Christians and Jews for
his important affairs The army depends on
foreign Christians for its organization ana It's
arms: the Treasury would go TO pieces without
Christian counsellors: a Mahometan banking
house is almost unthinka bic. and Christians pub
lish their books. manage their industrial enter
prises, plan their mosques design and sail their
steamships DR.. Dwight finds the explanation
I'm the character Of the Mahometan's faith: his
spiritual faculties are dwarfed. Ritual is the
first obligation. leaving the worshipper free in
his quest for self qualification: God is tolerant
Of sin and no believer is jeopardized by sin.
The man who IS under the domination Of these
principles cannot deny himself for the public
good any more than he can compete in prac-
ticaI affairs with whose ideals score self
seeking as the lowest instead of the highest of
motives
The Woman Question is the title OF an en-
tertaining chapter which shows that DR.. Dwight
has had unusual opportunities for observing. or
at least for acquiring knowledge. of the state
OF women in Constantinople. His conclusion is
that ignorance, superstition and crude selfish
aI Of of IN
among the women. and that this citadel is we'll
nigh cut off from approach. The curious posi-
tion OF the Eastern Church in Constantinople,
with its sort of partnership with the turkish
Government, is the subject Of another interest
ing chapter. Political considerations rule II, ana
its existence is "a proof TO every Mahometan
beyond cavil that Christianity is a lie and
folly beneath contempt" Indeed. the condition
of that Church is sunk to the lowest level yet
DR. Dwight believes that hope for the elevation
of the moral and social standards OF the masses
in Turkey depends upon the discovery OF means
for arousing the nobler Eastern Church in Con-
stantinople TO nobler perspectives of Christian
life OF the difficulties and suspicious that have
TO be met by missionaries DR.. Dwight gives
some amusing instances:
Not long ago a decorative cover was prepared
for the Turkish version of DR.. Henry van
Dykes story of "The Other Wise Man IL
represented the wise man gazing AT the Star OF
the East The book cover has now been modl-
5ed nv the Turkish censor, who has cut out the
star in the picture, leaving the man standing
upou his housetop like watchman who is 10
answer the question. What of the night?"
star svnnbolizes hope and in Turkey hope is
held necessarily to have political import
In one OF the books published by the mission
recently the verse quoted IF man say.
love God and hateth his brother, he is liar
This aroused the censor as an insult to Ma
hometanisrn-it might call to mind the Arme-
nian massacres. He proposed a compromise;
LET the verse read. said he 'and hateth his
sister! Women were not commonly killed in
the massacres But he was overruled by appeal
TO higher authority.