Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-08-15

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the public enemy, against the tyranny of
the absolute monarchy.
Demands of the Congress.
The resolutions adopted by the congress
were:
1. The abdfcation of Sultan Abdul
Hamid.
regime.
regime (parliamenD
To accomplish these, the following
measures were adopted unanimously:
1. Armed resistance.
2. Unarmed resistance by political and
economic arbitration; that is. the officials
and police will be persuaded to resign
under the present regime.
3. Refusal to pay the taxes.
4. Propaganda in the army: the SOL
diers will be appealed to not to open fire
on the people or on the revolutiOniSts.
5. A general instruction.
@. Other measures according to the cir
cumstances.
The president of the congress was
Prince Sebaheddin Bey, who in a bril-
liant address propounded the principles
of the French revolution, the ideas of
liberty, equality and fraternity. Speak
ing Of the Armenian massacres. he con-
demned his uncle, the sultan. and said:
I'VE live at the dawn of a new era.
Our relations with the Armenians are
changed The grand movement for free
dom has made them our brothers, our old
and our new friends
And they were Turks and Armenians
who carried this resolution of the oppo-
sition party into the active field. Were
PRONUNCIATION OF the constitution the re-
suit of this alliance? My answer is af-
firmative. l know. and can assure the
readers of the Independent, that all the
OttOmans are sympathetic with this rev.
dictionary union of races.
Secret workers. who went from the
Paris congress into the country, found
many prominent and military officials
were ready to welcome the new call.
They were waiting for the opportune
moment to destroy the sultan's despotic
government.
The dissatisfied and liberal leaders in
the army in European Turkey were Enver
Bey and Niazi Bey, whose names will go
down for generations to come in Ottoman
history. The day was set for a coup
d'etat and general insurrection on list
of September the day of the anniversary
Of the ascension of the sultan to the
throne
The success of this plot was doubtful.
indeed. but when recently King Edward
visited by the car and the Macedonian
question was to be decided, our revOlu-
tionists grasped the situation. They knew
well that the loss of Macedonia meant the
end of European Turkey and the beginning
of the end Of the Ottoman empire. The SOL
tan, through his stubborn persistence in
denying the reforms and constitution. was
leading the nation to the abyss of de-
struction. So our army in Macedonia. adj
vised by young Turks and led by Enver
Bey and NiaZi Bey, revolted. An envoy
was dispatched to Constantinople to de-
mand of the sultan that he proclaim the
constitution. Otherwise. three hundred
thousand insurgent soldiers would march
on the capital. put an end to Abdul
Hamid's rule and establish a free govern
ment.
What could the sultan have done? AL
bania had already revolted. Anatolia was
in disturbance, the kurds in Dersim
aggressive and general discomfort grow
ing. so he was compelled to yield. Said
Pasha and Kamil Pasha, the liberals of
olden times, were called from their Sc
clusion to the Yildiz Kiosk. and upon
their advice the constitution was pro-
claimed July "a. the day which we will
celebrate as the day of Ottoman indie
pendence. Now. since the constitution
is fact. it is not possible that the sultan
will go back on his word. no matter how
reluctant he may be. His life is in dan
ger the moment he turns his back on
the young Ottomans.
Liberty and Equality.
This constitution means a great deal to
all Ottomans. without discrimination on
account of race or religion. 1t means the
freedom of the press. safety of life and
property, freedom of commerce. equality
of all before the law. 1t means union.
brotherhood and progress: In fine. 1t is
the peace so long cherished which will
open the path of civilization.
OF course. the constitution of 1876
needs revising and / assure the readers
of the Independent it has already been
of all. the absolutism of the sultan will
be abolished. and secondly, the thirty
senators will be elected by public vote
instead Of by being appointed by the sui
tan. Another change will be that every
q. 600 voters will elect one deputy, in
stead of $1,000. as is provided in the old
constitution
What attitude the European powers
will take for the present is not clear
England is a friend of the Ottomans;
we can count on the friendship of France
and know that Russia will remain neu-
trail. But there is Germany. the friend
of the sultan. For the present her inter-
ests, commercial and economic. her con-
tracts and railroads, are endangered
The young Ottomans mean business. and
the friend of Abdul Hamid will no
more favors. Our commerce and industry
will be intrusted again to the Turks.
ArmenianS and Greeks. who for centuries
have wisely managed the countrys
finance and worked for the economic
well-being of the nation.
Since the granting of the Ottoman
constitution / have carefully observed the
sympathy of the American press and
public in general. / sincerely hope that
the public opinion of this libertyloving
land of Washington. Jefferson and Lin
coin will be with the young Ottomans.
For my part. / trust that i'm the future
the young Ottoman empire will have more
friendly and economic relations with the
United States. and 1 do not see why
we should not
In closing this article / cannot neglect
a tribute to our martyrs and heroes who
died on the gallows for freedom. The
Turkish and Armenian heroes. their
great sacrifices and suffering, will be re-
membered always in Ottoman history
with reverence Shrines will be built
for Turkish martyrs, who bravely stood
against tyranny and suffered the horrible
tortures of the old regime. The story
of their heroism may never be told to the
world. but their memory lives
in our hearts. They are the founders
and the fathers of the Ottoman en-
pire.
Let there be no more Turkey on the
map. but strong Ottoman empire.
young. energetic, progressive. a guardian
Of peace for Europe and a forerunner
OF civilization for Asia.