University Missourian. [volume] (Columbia, Mo.) 1908-1916, 1909-04-27
SPIRIT OF THE NEWS

ruler of modern times. The fate OF
the Sultan depends upon the Turkish
parliament. 1t will probably be left by
the parliament to commission whose
principal duty will be to find what part
the Sultan took in the coup d'etat of
March l3 and. if. "a the leaders OF the
Young Turk party believe. he was act
ing in bad faith with the reform party
to give sentence accordingly.
When Abdul Iamd came into power
in 1876. his country WAS experiencing
Il general insurrection based on a de-
mamd for honest political reforms and
ii parliamentary system. Much against
his will he wa, forced To grant Il con
>titution and establish il parliament.
In his determined opposition To the re-
form party. however. he had atrocitie>
committed in Bulgaria such that a war
with Russia resulted. His empire was
saved to him from Russia only hy the
intervention of the powers of Europe.
which powers saw to it that all his
former power was restored to him in an
advantageous treaty with only the
guarantee of his promise that the need
ed reforms should be carried out The
only reforms he carried out We're the
revocation of the constitution. the dis
mi>>al of parliament. and the placing of
under close espionage. He then turned
his efforts toward the training of an
efficient army that did much toward
maintaining his absolutism so long.
At the same time. he exercised his di-
plomatic ingenuity in playing of the
European nations against each other
in their mutual jealousy. and thus saw
ing himself from each one individually.
50 well did he succeed that in 1895 g
there We're perpetrated i'll Armenia. at
his command. Outrages worse than those
which twenty Years before had brought
on war with Russia. and no Euro
pean nation so much as entered a pro
test. 1t has been said OF him that.
No ADLER diabolic statesman has eX-
i~ted i'm our era"
But in spite of the Sultans consist
ent and watchful opposition to every
thing that limited at Il representative
government. there grew up within the
empire party based on the demand
for that very thing. At first, it was
only an unorganized revolutionary COM
mittee. but it grew rapidly and became
what is known as TIE Young Turk
party. the party which is now in pow
er. In the revolution of last July. the
members of this party forced the Sui
tan to regrant the constitution and
parliament of 1876. The present revo-
luton is the result of the belief of the
Young Turks that recent events showed
the real purpose the Sultan to be a
second revocation of the constitution
and another po>tponement OF the So
long deferred mOdernization of the
Turkish government. One cause OF
Abdul Hands continued power
was that he has always been a staunch
champion of orthodox MuSSulman-
ism. Besides. he has been an invet-
crate foe of political development. and
l. hn
could not have done so by any less de-
cided stand. This time. however. it
seems that they are going to put him
out of the way for good.
Lisbon was shaken considerably by
an earthquake Friday. and several
towns lying near We're completely de-
-troycd Between one and two hun
dred persons are known to have been
killed or injured. King Manuel and
some of his ministers Went To aid in
bringing relief to the 1000 persons who
were made homeless. In lIJJ. Lisbon
was the scene of one of the greatest
earthquakes i'm the worlds history.
One in which 50.OO lives were lost.
A. f. BoaS of New York City has Of
fcrcd a 5000 ransom for his l3-year
old daughter. Adele. who has been miss
ing since Friday and whom he believes
to have been kidnapped. To offer Il ran
som before the kidnaper> are heard
from. if there are any kidnaper> in the
ease. is not solving the question OF
kidnapping 1t is meeting the kidnaper>
half way.
The case of the Whitla boy was on
ly the first of many reported or actual
recent examples of kidnapping. Most Of
them. however. are not cases of hold
ing for ransom. James Sheppard Ca
banne the third the boy who di-ap-
peared from st. Louis April l.. turned
up in san Francisco under the charge
of Broughton Brandenbur". the writer
who says that he Is the boy, step
father. after fashion James Shep-
hard Cahanne. .Ir j. on his way to
California to bring back his son