The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1911-12-08
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eagdad, City Of Romance, Now Trans
formed-The New Era In Turkey Is
Making Over the Homo OF 1.-THE
Arabian Nights" Tales
BY WILLIAM T. ELLIS.

Bagdad. Turkey.-All that Is TO
mantle and oriental is embodied In
the name Bagdad. Over this city once
ruled Haroun er Raschid, the caliph
of the immortal ARABIAN Nights"
Here Persia and India meet with Ara
bia and Syria and Turkey proper,
while a handful of foreigners repre-
sent the western trade and ideas that
are so rapidly cOnquering the East.
A few of the old buildings, dating
back to the time of the caliphs, re-
main, but they are rapidly making
way for more modern structures. The
narrow streets, and the changeless
bazars are still here-but they are
changing. 1t Is now possible to ride
in carriage from one end of Bag
dad to the other, If one knows the
streets; and this would have been i'm
possible In the days when Haroun
and his grand vizier prowled about
the narrow and tortuous and mysteri-
GUS highways.
A new Haroun is on the scene, and
making changes so rapidly that the
Arabs who come to town after an in
terval of only year, rub their eyes
and cry in amazement, "Ma'sh
Allah!" The most obvious of the
transformations being wrought by
NaZim Pasha, the new Vail, or COVER
nor, is the driving of modern high
way straight through the center Of
the city. The dust of demolition fills
the air, for nothing stands before the
march of progress. Legal TECHNICAL
ties may not preserve mans home,
If it Is on the line of the new high
ways.
NaZim Pasha has autocratic author
ity. He refused to accept the post I'M
til he was given a tree hand over all
the affairs of the city and the desert
round about. His word Is law. He has
control over the revenues and over
make his own terms with the Arabs
and all the tribes have come in" and
promised to be good. can testify to
the quiet and good order which now
prevail in this famously turbulent re-
gion. After traversing considerable
portion of the desert can report that
no violence was offered, nor did hear
aught else than that everything is
quiet-though how long even the
strong hand of Nazim Pasha can keep
it so Is a matter of conjecture, for
the Arab is a restless and lawless per-
son by nature.
Making an Army Overnight.
The rag-tag and bobtail which used
to pass for an army in Bagdad has
been caricatured times without num-
Der. The men were literally in rags.
They went barefooted. They were
mostly without weapons. lll-fed, ILL.,
paid, ill-treated, they made more trou
BILE than they quelled. Now almost
overnight, Nazim Pasha has changed
all this. He has organized an entirely
new army, with progressive Young
Turk officers and foreign drill-mas-
ters He has made In Bagdad the
uniforms which all of them now wear,
and he has equipped every man with
a modern rifle. He is also taking the
weapons out of the hands of the peo-
pie generally, so that only the repre-
sentatives of the law shall be armed
The soldiers are becoming smart" In
appearance and discipline. Their set
ting-up exercises are as rigorous as
those of the German army.
There Is need. For no one knows
when the fires that are forever smoul-
dering in the desert may break forth
into flame, and the revolt in the Yemen
may spread any day to this region.
AS 1t Is, some inter-tribal fighting has
to be winked at. A despot must have
at hand means to execute his DEGREES.
The terror that now fills the lawless
at mention of Nazim Pasha's name
may not be allowed to diminish.
A benevolent despot is the new
governor. He is resolved to bring in
law and order, and to establish the
western civilization. 1t used to be
that robberies and attacks upon pedes-
TRANS were of nightly occurrence in
the city. Last month there were only
four cases of robbery and the culprits
were arrested. When l spoke to
Nazim Pasha of the regret that the
world will feel over the loss Of the
ancient Bagdad, with its romantic