The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-08-26

uced Oy his OfficialS-let us hope
without his knowledge. for while he is
appointees, he may not know all The
evil done in his name Not long ago
young student was arrested and i'm
prisoned because a paper. was found
in his house which contained Glad
stones statement that the sultan was
an assassin. 1t was only a scrap OF
paper, and had been given him be-
cause The other side contained an adj
Vertisement for a hair restcrer, and
he. i'm taking the paper to his house
did not know OF the offensive quota
ton. Another young man was kept
IN prison until he died because a
book was found in his possession con-
tanning picture OF the sultan under
which some one, unknown 10 him.
mad written the word dog A third
man was arrested because in ordering
an engine. be sent a telegram con-
tanning the words: Seventy revolu-
TONS" In his original order he neglect
ed TO state the number of revolutions.
and sent the telegram in answer to an
inquiry A fourth man was impris.
oned because he received a telegram
mourning about burglary, the au-
thoritieS mistaking the word bur
glary" for the word Bulgaria, " where
the authorities were expecting an up
rising. These instances-and we heard
OF many more-are given simply TO
show that the citizen OF Turkey is in
constant danger Of Imprisonment, how
ever innocent he may be OF any inten-
ton TO violate the law.
But IL is I'm the realm Of the censor
that the most amusing cases have oc-
CURED. The officials are destroying a
great many books just now I'm Turkey,
and are very careful about the intro
duction OF new ones. Recently the wife
Of justice Of the peace, frightened by
the confiscation Of books in the houses
OF her neighbOrS. thought to avoid all
possible danger by burning her hus-
| bands library, but her hope was vain.
for her husband was arrested as a dan
gerous character on the ground that he
must have had a library. As he was
holding judicial position, the fact that
he no longer had books was a sufficient
ground for suspicion.
Religious publications are subjected
10 very strict censorship. Sunday school
lessons have been cut out because they
quoted from the Old Testament an re
gard to the killing OF kings, and the
word Christian" is often added before
sinners in order 10 make the text OK
olude Mohammedans. A Sunday school
lesson about Joash, the boy king, was
objected 10 because the authorities did
not think It proper TO suggest that q
boy could be a king. The above are
actual cases, but they have given rise
TO Jokes that go a little farther. For
instance. they say that dynamos are
not allowed I'm Turkey because the
name sounds like dynamite, and that
chemistries have been excluded be-
cause the formula for water. HOO. is
! suspected of meaning, "Hamud II is
a cypher."
have had little experience with a
censor myself. At Beyrout, one of the
Turkish ports, a copy OF the Koran and
a copy of the life OF Abbas Effendi
were taken from me by the censor.
/ had no objection 20 his holding them
| during my stay in the country. but
when he informed me that they woald
have 10 be sent TO Cohstantinople I de-
INJURED and, with the aid Of our repre-
sentative, Consul General Bergholz. not
/ only secured the books, but secured n
promise that the right OF American Cit
liens to carry books would not IN the
future be interfered with at that port.
In conclusion, 1 desire to add that we
| ought to have an ambassador instead
Of a minister at Constantinopie Ac-
cording TO the custom prevailing in the
sultan's realm, a minister is not on
equal footing with ambassadors, and
as other nations have ambassadors
there American interests suffer We
have eighteen cases now awaiting adj
justment. According 10 our law our
appointment OF an ambassador TO any
country depends upon that country's
Willingness TO send an ambassador to
US. This Is false basis. Our action
should depend not upon what other ma
tons do, but upon our diplomats
needs, and We need an ambassador At
Constantinople, whether Turkey needs
\ one at washington or not I under-
stand the question is already being con-
sidered IN congress, and from observa
ton ] am satisfied that the time has
come for the raising OF our legation to
the dignity OF an embassy that Amer
lean citizens may have proper protec-
ton In Turkey, for nowhere Is there
greater need for the introduction OF
American ideas.
Copyright, 1906 by Joseph B. BowIesZ
Copyright in Great Britain-AI
! Rights Reserved.)