El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1911-03-04
FRANK G. CARPENTERS LETTER

daily prayers and to go to services Sun
day. understand that this college IS
now highly approved by the new gov
eminent. but that the latter would ike
to have it Incorporated as Turkish in
stitution. subject TO the laws of Tur-
key and with Turkish directors. To this
the Americans naturally object They
say that they are organized under the
laws of New York, and they expect TO
stand by the rights which the foreign
ownership gives them
The Censorship of the Turks.
There is no doubt but that the Amer
leans are sensible in preferring the
protection of Uncle Sam to that of the
sultan. Conditions are bound to be
unsettled in this part of the world for
wears to come There viii be revolu-
lions and counter revolutions before
the Turks come down to a solid, sub
stantial, modern government; and NJ
one can tell when the old conditions Of
censorship may not be resumed As II
is now, the students can read what
books they like, and there is little
trouble as to the newspapers They
can go where they please without pass
| ports. and the new government is do
ing all it can to promote education
Tt was far different under the re-
eime of Abdul Hamid. In his time
every newspaper was carefully looked
over. and all sentences or words OBJ
iectionable to the governmental critics
were cut out. This was so Of papers
| coming in through the mail as well
as OF the native paper. Here in Beirut
| a Sunday weekly is published devoted
largely to the life and sayings of our
Savior The censors objected to it say
| ing. 1.-The paper is a bad one, for in 1t
! they kill a King of the Jews every
week This might suggest the assas-
sination of the sultan, and we cannot
permit it." Dr.. Bliss, the president of
the college at Beirut, not long ago i'm
ported an old copy Of Shakspere. 1t
was kept at the customs house, the
/ censor Directing. Said the latter:
! ''Shakspere is bad book for the
/ Turks. 1t has In it the story of a
man named Macbeth who killed a
, king It would be a bad example for
u.s."
| Dr. Bliss succeeded in getting his
| Shakspere in by saying he had an
other copy of the same book, which, as
/ it was already in the country, could
not be taken out, and he would be
glad TO trade this for the new copy.
| The censor consented, and he accepted
! the SHAKESPEARE which cost a dollar and
admitted the fine old edition instead
At another time some New Tesla
ments sent to Constantinople were held
back by one of the censors because
of the Epistle of Paul to the Galatians
| Galata is one of the divisions of Con-
stantinople, and the censor asked:
''Who is this man Paul, and why is he
writing to our people in Galata?" He
was with difficulty persuaded that st
Paul was dead and that his letter was
not the part of plot. I am told that
a chemistry was once kept out, be-
cause a censor objected to the term
H2O, saying that it seemed to mean
that Hamid II (the sultan, Abdul Ha-
MIDI amounted to nothing.
The Syrian College at Beirut.
In addition to Robert college and the
| institution at Assiout, there is one here
at Beirut which is quite as important
as either of the others 1 refer to the
Syrian Protestant college, established
! by Americans in 1865, which since then
has been the Harvard and Yale Of the
Far East. 1t has had thousands OF
| graduates, and its doctors and lawyers
! stand at the heads of their profession
! in Egypt, Syria. Turkey, Persia and
India It has 800 students, all orient
ais, representing every part Of the Le-
want
This institution was founded bJ
| Presbyterians. but the instruction /!
! on-sectarian. The faculty has abou
35 professors, the most of them Ameri
cans, and it is thoroughly uptodat'
university. 1t has a medical depart
ment which, with its hospitals, treats
something like 10000 patients a year
| 1t has physical, chemical and othel
laboratories. a large library and ethno