Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1909-04-29

= i 4 !. 4 = i + + + 4 #4@| i
Constantinople, April PA !
salute of one hundred and one 1
y guns fired at half past two this I
4 afternoon announced to the i
waiting people the change in !
4 the sultan. j
Constantinople, April 27-Abdul
Hamil II. has been deposed as sultan
of the Turkish empire. Mehemmed
Reschad Effendi, his brother, was pro
claimed his successor this afternoon
Inc deposition was through the regu.
lar form prescribed by the tenets OF
the Mohammedan faith
me news Of the deposition caused
great excitement throughout Constan.
tlnople. Crowds at once began to
gather in the principal thoroughfares
and around the imperial palace Yildiz
In anticipation of the proclamation of
the new sultan.
Young Turk Officers Arrested.
Fifty Turkish officers have been ar.
rested at Erzeroum by their troops
and dispatched under escort to Treb-
izond. The exact significance of this
action Is not yet clear, but this 1t is
feared means the beginning of a re-
volt of the provincial troops against
the young Turk officers.
There was a fresh outbreak of fanati-
cism and murder last night at .Adana
accompanied by footing and incendiar.
ism. The situation there is critical.
1t Is reported the sultan has been re.
moved from the imperial palace and
conveyed across the Bosphorus to a
point in Asiatic Turkey.
Young Turk Leader Arrested.
Among those who have been arrest
ed under orders of the military dicta-
torship are Prince Sabah Eddiua,
nephew of the sultan and all the mem
hers Of. his family. The prince has
been leader of the young Turk party,
and his apprehension is taken to
mean that he has fallen under sus-
picion. Abdul Hamid is now prison
er in the hands Of the young Turks
and is carefully guarded.
Awaiting decision Of Sf1lek.
Upon the decision of the Sheki-ul-
Islam, the highest authority of Mo-
hammedanism next to the Sultan
rests the fate of the imprisoned ruler.
Without his sanction of the deposition
OF the Sultan the country might be
plunged into civil war far more ser
ious in its consequences than the fight
for the maintenance Of the constitu-
ton.
The sheikul-Is will be ap-
preached today. The parliamentary
leaders wish to discuss the Sultan's
fate with the temporal representative
of the prophet before any step is taxi
en- publicly in regard to Abdul Hamid
The tide is running strong against
the Sultan The caucus of Senators
and Deputies determined to make an
effort to compel him to abdicate under
the ecclesiastical law, by the terms OF
which decree may be issued by the
Sheik- lIslam pronouncing the Sui
tan incapable of ruling
Sultan's Supremacy Harmful.
the grounds upon which the Is
suance of canonical rescript will be
demanded are that the Sultan's sup
remacy is harmful to the church, con
trarv to the sacred law and unjust tc
the Turkish people. The program as
agreed upon at the caucus is that q
demand shall be made for the abdica-
ton of Abdul Hamid simultaneously
from the highest court of the church
from the National Assembly and from
the military chiefs. The Sultan will
be offered a palace and liberal allow
ances.
The Sheil1- -Isam lives a secluded
life of a mysterious. semi-holy char
acter. He Is not likely to act without
giving serious consideration to this
important matter taking counsel with
the principal Ulema and seeking the
opinion of the wisest and most power
full men in the church.
The constutionalists have no wish tc
oppose ecclesiastical authority nor tt
undertake the tasks of progress with.
out the support OF majority Of the
the abdication of the Sultan it would
hardly be insisted upon at present, al.
though this is regarded as the simplest
course, to avoid further complications
with Abdul Hamid
Report of Sultan's Death.
London, April pa dispatch from
Constantinople by a news agency says
that numerous rumors are current in
the Turkish capital that Abdul Hamid
is dead. The troops who are said tc
have taken him from the palace last
night found him unconscious on the
floor of the harem
Hopkins rs on 76th Ballot,
Springfield, ILL.,, April 27.-The sew