The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-04-25
CONSTITUTIONAL ARMY
 IS IN COMPLETE CONTROL
Thousands Were Killed In the Street Fighting Before the Revolutionary Forces Gained Possession
 of Turkish Capital.

Constsntinople. April 24-The eonstitu- tional forces are in complete control of the capital tonight. The Sultan is praeti- eally prisoner in the Yildiz palace. His formal submission has not yet been given, but he and the troops with him gre at the mercy of the army of occupation.
 Mahmour Schefket Pasha, the com mander-in-chief of the invading forces. desires to finish the work without l further bloodshed He is negotiating with the Sutan's representatives and has ex- tended the period of grace within which 1 the Sultan must make his final decision. l The Yildiz Kiosk may be seized during the night. for some 5000 infantry are dis l posed within a mile and half of the place
 What disposition will be made of the ruler of the empire when he is in the hands of the consttutionalists is unknown 1 to the embassies. although the opinion Is held in authoritative quarters that he will continue as the nominal constitutional ex- i ecutive. responsible with the officials of 1 his household. to the cabinet, who in turn will be responsible to parliament.
 City Is Tranquil.
 i Complete tranquility prevails in the city at the present moment, but anxious looks are cast in the direction of the Yldiz, the refusal of part of its garrison to submit being the serious feature of the situation. General Schefket is concen trating large force near this point. Troops have been pouring in since noon, and several bat teries have been planted in the neighbor- ing heights. but 1t is feared the task of composing the well guarded stronghold may be extremely difficult, owing to it's excellent defensive position and the thor ough preparedness of the garrison.
 The other positions already captured hy tlse investing army were not provided with artillery. which gave the asasilants an ] immense advantage. since they were able to shell the barracks without reply from 1 artillery. The Yildiz garrison not only possesses artillery, but 1t is believed the neighborhood is mined. Apparently, Gen eral Schefket and the other leaders of the 1 Salonild troops are anxious to avoid l further bloodshed. hence their desire to 1 give the Sultan and his advisers ample | time for consideration.
 First Attack Made. 1 The sending forward of the advance posts of the Saloniki army yesterday aft- ernoon to within two and half miles of l the palace foreshadowed the attack upon ] tne GUY WHICH began hl Q O ClOch liliS morning. The bridges had been picketed and small parties of cavalry had recon i noitered the ground After desultory fir l ing just before dawn strong advance was made in the southwest part of Pera. l The attacking forces spread out In long i line and made an assault upon the Match
 ka and Tasch Kischa barracks south of i the palace where they were met with q i stubborn resistance.
 The invaders continued to advance in i their columns with the utmost precision 1 and occupied all the points of vantage
 The volunteers from Ghevgeli received l their baptism of fire from Matchka. but they stood their ground well and replied i with steady voileys. The strength of
 the volunteers was overwhelming and
 the Matchka garrison soon surrendered
 Almost immediately the loyal soldiers i in the Tasch Kischla barracks on the
 opposite hill opened with a deadly fire, 1 but notwithstanding many of them fell.
 the Salonikl troops did not hesitate in
 their advance. but moved slowly and l cautiously, bringing up their machine
 guns which eventually resulted In silenc-
 ing the garrison. There were heavy losses
 on both sides.
 Under Artillery Fire.
 While this attack was proceeding an- 1 other corps of Saloniki infantry enoount- cred a sudden attack from the artillery men in the Taxim barracks, but these l were only supplied with rifles. Mukstar | Bey, commander of the Saloniki force, l fell dead, and many were killed OF i wounded the first assault.
 The fighting in the Stamboul quar- ter occurred at the porte, where the
 garrison refused to surrender, but after l sharp fusilads they were obliged to l hoist the white flag There was a stiff
 fight at the Iplik Haneh barracks where- the mutinous artillerymsn. who recently
 arrived. from Tchatlaja, were Quartered. ] Perhaps the most remarkable feature of
 the attack upon the city was the great
 number of people of different nationali-
 ties Including many Europeans, who
 thronged the streets immediately out
 side of the zone of the nring.
 Thousands Killed.
 The number of casualties probably will
 never be known. but 1t Is estimated
 as far into the thousands. Around the Taxim barracks it is estimated that 1000
 or more men fell. The private houses within the line of fire suffered greatly. One of the heaviest losses to the paria- mentary forces occurred through the mis- use of the white flag by the besieged Tasch Kisohla barracks. For more than an hour the machine guns of the at ! tacking party poured a hail of shots 1 into the garrison and then the defend CTS hoisted the white flag Infantry moved 1 forward in the open and the gun fire l was suspended, When the battalion was within 400 yards of the barracks the guns
 behind the walls opened up deadly fire 1 on them, 27 being killed and 80 wounded. ! In one quarter some 5000 or 1000 troops were engaged in the conflict, but with the l terrific exchange of shots few non-com- l batants were killed. Half of the Saloniki 1 chasseurs who were brought from the i country districts several months ago and | placed in the Yildiz garrison by the com | mttee of union and progress and who | took a prominent part in the recent mutiny fell fighting in or near the bar | racks, where they murdered most of their