Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-02-14
Germany Wants Her Language
Taught in Schools.
JEALOUS OF THE ENGLISH
American Schools Give Great Brit
ain an Advantage.
TEACHING FORCE IS LACKING
Not More Than 10 Per Cent of Pub
lie Schools Authorized Are in
Actual Operation.
RY, WILLIAM T.. CURTIS.

by, WILLIAM T.. CURTIS.
Written for The Star and the Chicago Record
Herald.
The German ambassador at ConStanl-
nople, Count Won Bieberstein, has recently
made a most extraordinary demand upon
the Turkish government. l believe 1t Is
unprecedented in the history of dlplo-
| macy. 1t is that the German language
shall be taught in the public schools that
are now being slowly established i'll the
ottoman empire.
There is a reason for all things, and
the motive of Germany in making this
extraordinary demand is to keep even
with England in the struggle for COM
| mercial supremacy in the east.
Since the constitution was adopted by
Turkey, 1J.1:2 schools have been theoret-
ically established in the Ottoman en-
pire, although actually not more than
10 per cent of them are in operation, be-
cause it has been impossible to find
teachers. and S4.30o,GIO has been appro-
priated by the parliament for education
al purposes but only small part of that
sum has been actually expended, for the
reason that the treasury is empty and
the revenues are being diverted chiefly to
military purposes.
American Missionary Schools.
OF this appropriation $1.000,00O was
allotted to pay for new primary schools.
and $i5Oi0o for subventions to schools
that are already established. in lieu OF
tuition fees for students who have been
selected by the minister of education TO
be trained for teaching in the pubic
schools. The American board of foreign
missions has APT missionary schools anu
colleges in different parts OF Iurkey-lh-
Asia, and they receive the greater par.
of this allotment. They are crowded
with young men and women from all
classes of society who are eager for edu-
cation and can OBTAIN it nowhere else.
The English language is taught in all
the missionary schools. Pupils OF the
middle classes, particularly the Arme-
Mans Syrians and Greeks, are anxious
to learn it, because it is a great advan-
tage when they emigrate to America
and everybody emigrates as soon as he
can get money enough together to pay
his passage and meet the requirements
of the immigration laws of the United
States. The American missionary schools
are the only source of supply that the
minister of education can find for teach
ers and for text books.
All Teachers Speak English.
All the teachers speak English and
most of the text books are in the Eng
| lsh language. Thus it happens that
English is being taught in the public
schools that have recently been estab-
lished by the government, and you must
| remember that there We're practically no
schools, except those of the American
missionaries, irf Turkey before the adop-
ton of the constitution in 1898.
The German government, fearing the
competition of England in its CONNER
cial conquest of Turkey, recognizes that
the study of the English language by
the rising generation will give its rival
a tremendous advantage and therefore,
it has compelled the Turkish ministry to
order the minister OF education to make
the study of the German language COM
pulsory in the public schools through
out the Ottoman empire.
Such an order is impossible to carry
out; first, because the teachers do not
know the German language and there is
no place for them to learn it: secondly
the people do not care to learn German
There is no reason why they should do
so. Nobody expects to emigrate to Ger
many. and nobody can recognize any adj
vantage in the study of German for
those who remain at home However
it is an interesting situation, and all the
world will watch with curiosity the re-
suit of the effort to Germanize the
Turkish people.
Schools in the Colonies
Germany has established German
schools in its colonies in China and
South Africa for the purpose of extend
ing the use of its language among the
mercantile classes, but to insist that in
struction shall be compulsory among the
children of a different and independent
nation is very remarkable
This is only one of several steps of
Germany toward the occupation of Tur-
cial conquest
"A recent writer in the Fortnightly Re-
view describes the intentions of the Ger
man government as follows:
The motives which underlie the action
of German diplomacy in the Balkans
and toward the Turkish empire generally
are tWofOld The German government
can never iose sight of the fact that the
industrial population of the empire is in
creasng with amazing rapidity. The rulers
OF Germany, whose situations do not de-
pend OH an ephemeral majority in par
lament are capable of looking far
ahead. They have so far succeeded in
satisfying the needs of the German prole-
tarlat. and. although social and political
discomfort makes itself heard in Ger
many, as elsewhere, it is we'll known by
all Intelligent Germans that the policy of
the empire has been remarkably success
| ful in obtaining material advantages for
the people and that no other government
could probably have done better or even
as well.
ESz11