The daily morning journal and courier., 1903-05-23

 night unless their strength is over whelming. I asked the inspector gen. eral whether it was fair to prohibit one people from carrying guns and not an- other. He replied that the Bulgarians were the disturbing element. and that as soon as they were disarmed the saIe work would be begun with Turks and Albanians. This would be utterly inn practicable. The races in Macedonia may be subjugated, but they can never be disarmed. The Macedonian Bulga- raians assert that they will prolOng this state of anarchy and hopelessness until power is taken from the Turks. Who can venture to say how long either Turk or Bulgarian can hold out? The unpaid Turkish soldier exists on what he exacts. The spy is the only man in the service who draws regular wages. The sultan would probably pay his soldiers if there were any assurance that the money would reach them from the treasury. The minister of war, on the pretenee of saving coal. some time ago sold the machinery out of many of the ships of the sultan's navy. The idle hulks lie anchored in the Bosphor- ous, but are still manned by sailors who leep the day through. The money re- ceived for the machinery is said to have stopped at the war office. If the story be true, changes in the war office are dangerous and inconvenient. After all, the main function of the minister of war is to prevent, at all hazards, the assassination of the sultan. No public works go on in Turkey. What would be the sense of setting aside money for them? The money would go, but the work would not go on. The army is unpaid, but it has ways of making a l living. The soldier preys on the peo- | pie. The taint of corruption is every
 where. The officers of the law sell years freedom from jail at the price of a lira and grant private titles to public 1 lands from which the peasants cut their winters wood. They farm out the right to collect taxes. They sell the privilege of taking. 10 per cent. if that can be ex- tracted from the inhabitants, or even 50 per cent. if they will pay so much. In
 one place, race district, 50 per cent of the seasons harvest is taken by the
 tithe purchaser.
 Arms are not allowed to be brought 1 into Turkey, but boxes of them pass
 through the custom house unexamined
 when the officers palm is greased "Bakshish' is the conjuring word in
 Turkey. I went while I was in Con- stantinople to interview the minister of
 the interior. There was a line of men
 at his door as I retired. All held out their hands and whispered "Bakshish" My dragoman informed me that the
 minister would never be in his office
 again unless I tipped every one of 1 them.
 There is a medley of race interests in 1 Macedonia. The small races such as the Valaques, Rumanians and other remnants scattered over the country may be left out of account, for their 1 influence is considerable. The Turks, while the ruling race do not form even one-sixth of the population of Macedo- mia, and they excel in ignorance. The Bulgarians are by far the most numer- ous race, and they excite the animosity and jealousy not only of the Turks, but also of the Servians, Greeks and Alba nians. The Austrians are conducting 1 from Novi Bazaar active propaganda among the lAlbanians to win their 1 frienship, and are operating to con- siderable extent through the Roman Catholic church. The Servians are at work in the same way among the Bull garians and other races. Macedonia is realm of rival propaganda, easy con- 1 versions of faith and rapid transfers of nationality. American missionaries tell me that people are constantly coming to them and asking how much money they will receive if they agree to become Protestants. Some of these volunteers for the Protestant cause have already been Roman Catholics, and possibly for mercenary reasons. I asked a man in the Metroyitza district to what race he belonged.
 T am a Bulgarian" he replied, but my brother is a Servian."
 How is that?" I inquired.
 "He got 1ira for becoming one" The Servians know that their fate will be sealed if Macedonia be annexed to Bulgaria. The private secretary of the king of Servia made this admission frankly when I talked with him in Bel- grade. The Servians will be hemmed 1 in and isolated forever if Macedonia be- comes a Bulgarian possession. They are not in sympathy with the Buiga- rian movement. Where interese is, there will be sympathy. The Greeks do not love the Turks for they are not yet free from the reproach of defeat at the hands of the sultans me. They hate the Turks less than they do the Bulgarians. They know that the Turks, although other nations may prevent Russia from driving the sultan out of Europe for years or generations, can never make another aggressive move- ment, but must remain on the defen- sive. With Macedonia controlled by the Bulgarians the Greeks cannot hope to have great power. Naturally they are hostile to the Bulgarians.
 The Greeks boast to having the high est intelligence among the races in Macedonia. In Salonica and the larger towns they are the best people. The American consul holds the highest po- siton in local society. He is man of means and influence, and a Greek by birth. Over his beautiful home, which is on the waterfront looking directly to- ward Mount Olympus, floats the Amer ican flag. A Greek by birth and an American official by profession, he is a Russian subject for the sake of having adequate protection. The Greeks in the Macedonian villages do not know even their own great history, That may be