Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-06-22

just as il he were a private citizen. The
people have already become accustomed
to meet his carriage in the streets.
He is short. fat. amiable looking
man, with full round face. IN appear
ance as well as character and disposition
as one human being can be different from
another.
Abdul Hamid is a lean. hungry. fierce
looking person, with eyes Of steel. thin
lips. long nose and haggard. anxious
expression. Mehmed Kahn looks like a
jolly old chap. well fed and well groomed.
without a care in the world.
He is not a man Of force or education
or experience. He has been prisoner
for thirty years in the palace where he
there instead Of moving up to Yildiz
Kiosk, which his predecessor occupied.
because he had become used to his apart
ments and found them comfortable.
He is kindly disposed to everybody; he
has no ambition, no policies; no one to
advance and no one to punish, but is
simply a figurehead for the secret COM
mittee Of the Society, Of Union and Prog
ress phich is represented by his ministers.
Strange Rule Over Turkey.
This is q most extraordinary situation.
The Ottoman empire is governed by an
invisible head; by a secret committee of
nine members, who are self-elected and
self-constituted and responsible only to
themselves. Their identity is guessed at
freely. but is practically unknown.
This committee selects the prime min
lister and he selects his cabinet 1t is
known that certain members of the cabi-
net are the mouth-pieces of the secret
committee, who are the actual dlctatorS
of the government.
The parliament is ruled in the same
way. Certain members of the senate and
the chamber of deputies are known to
be members of the committee When they
open their lips they speak as oracleS to
bes obeyed.
The influence Of this secret committee
is felt everywhere and is obeyed with
the most extraordinary compliance. The
government has gone along slowly but
smoothly under its direction, but there
has been one cabinet crisis and one change
of ministry caused by the refusal of par
Lament to give vote of confidence to
the cabinet when it was criticised by the
press and the public concerning a mat
ter of official policy.
Scheme That Failed.
Since 1850 an English firm, known as
the Lynch Brothers, has been running a
line of boats upon the Tigris and Eu-
pirates rivers in competition with Tur-
kish company known as the Hamidieh.
which belonged to the ex-sultan and was
taken away from him with other property
at the time of his overthrow.
The appearance Of the British flag upon
these two historic rivers offends the SEN
sitiveness of certain patriotic Turks. 1t
was arranged to combine the two COM
panies under the Turkish flag and the
MANAGEMENT of the Lynch Brothers.
The president and manager of the new
organization was to be British. supported
by four British and four Turkish direc-
we'll as patriotism and One-half of the
profits of the service were to be paid into
the public treasury.
Rut. as is usual in such cases, the mo-
tives of the ministry were distrusted and
the scheme was attacked from all sides in
violent manner, Hilmi Pasha, the
prime minister with the courage of
righteousness, submitted the matter to
the chamber Of deputies for their moral
Endorsement, although 1t was entirely
within the executive Jurisdiction
Much to his surprise the scheme was
repudiated by large majority The
cabinet resigned. The vote is explained
on the theory that corruption In office
has been so common in Turkey that the
members of parliament thought it neces-
sary to lean over backward.
Women 60 Unveiled
One of the most conspicuous and signi-
ficant features of the demonstration in
honor of the sultan, the other night, was
the presence of thousands of women
upon the streets. with their husbands ard
brothers and fathers. Many were un-
yelled This could not have happened
two years ago.
There has been a rapid advance toward
the emancipation of women in Turkey.
It would be much more rapid but for the
caution and encouragement of leaders of
thought land action. the fear that too sud-
den and radical a change will produce
reaction.
Nearly all the women you meet upon
the streets OF Constantinople today are
only partially yelled. Many wear no
wells at ALL. only draw the end of their.