The daily morning journal and courier., 1903-09-03
THE BREEcHEs OF THE TURK.
Astonishing Garments Observed By A
 Visitor to Constantlnople.

Astonishing, Garments Observed By A Visitor to Constantinople. What most struck me at stamboul?
 What were my first impressions of Con- stantinoole, the famous city seated on
 the Bosphorous and divided by the
 Golden Horn? Did I think of the By zantine emperors? Of the many dy-
 nasties who occupied the thrones of the empire of the East? Of Constantine? Of Helena Of Justinian? Of Theo- dore? Did I think of the many dithyrambic word paintings had read? l Of the many mosques? Of the count
 less minarets? Of the summer palaces
 which line the Bosphorus from the sea of Marmora to the Black sea?
 No, to be frank, I did not think of any of these things. I did not weep, like Lamartine. nor did rave like Gautler, nor did I turn hot and cold at the famous bridge across the Golden Horn-a bridge reposing on rotting pontoons, and apparently fastened to- gether with rusty wire, pieces of tin roofing, old hops, bed slats and wealth er-worn rope Then, what first struck me as stepped ashore was the neither garment of the Ottomen. The first man I saw was an elderly Turk, attired in rich gold-laced uniform, girt by his side was gofd-hilted saber with beautifully enameled scabbard; as far as his knees he was trim elegant and point devise; but below the knees his uniform  feet were clad in aged congress gaitors. with gaping elastic side seams; these gaping gaitors were thrust into still more aged rubber galoshes, which bore even more evident traces of the filth of Stamboul's streets.
 As I gazed at this gorgeous person, gold-laced above, frowsy and filthy be- low, a bu1bous umbrella in his right hand, his left holding goldhilted saber, he seemed to me to typify the Ottoman Turk Peace and war glitter and foulness. His umbrella symbolized peace, for your umbrella is the least lethal of weapons, and your Turk is peaceful if left alone. But his saber meant war. for the Turk is fighter, and is always ready to fight if he be
 attacked. His beard was gray-your
 Turkish soldier has no age limit. Every male from 1e to 60 Is eligible as re- cruit, and therefore potential food power He was uniformed and there- fore an officer or official. He was either unpaid or poor, for he had to walk through the filthy streets, as was shown by his umbrella, his frowy trousers his galoshes and his lack of cab.
 Another point that struck me was that these same trousers were unlike any other trousers in sight. Every man on the street wore different kind of breeks. This showed the lack of unity, the absence of homogeneity in the Turkish Empire. In our country we all wear the same kind of trousers. When President Roosevelt made his tour of this vast country he wore exactly the same kind of trousers as every man he met. All were cut about 19 inches over the knee and about r inches over the insteo. This was true even of the Presidents favorite cowboys, with the purely superficial difference that they rolled their trousers up, or, as they would express it, "wore their pants in their boots."
 How different the variegated trousers of Turkey from the near paintings and trouserings. of respectable America! How different the multiform breeks of the Turks from the uniformly creased trousers of our dear native land! Wherever I cast my eyes I saw a oF At. Montenegrin alligaskins-tight-fi fitting around the ankle and calf, looser around breeks-so redundant that the wearer might easily carry bushel of wheat in the seat saw the Rumanian pantaloon like breeks-breeks much resembling the pantaloons of our great grandsires, some of whose great grandsons enormously call their trous- CTS ''pantaloons. I saw young officers of the Sultan's guard in smart riding breeks. looking as if they came from West End London tailors, which per- haps, they did. I saw the cheap hand me-down breeks of scowling. sour-faced fanatic old Turk-Christian breeks, made in the sweatshops of Germany, as evidenced by tags upon these trousers the only Christian thing about these ur-faced-fanatics; they were Chris tian made breeks. but yet baggy- evidently baggy brands of breeks made up specially in Christendom for the breek wearers of Islam. I saw the smart creased breeks of the Greek clerks going to their Pera offices. saw also the geniune Greek breeks, which are voluminous pantalooned petticoats, r. -4s. 5% t