The Washington herald., 1912-02-01
THE JOURNAL OF
ABDUL HAMID

pear IN print. These are the most au-
thenticated records OF his terrible thirty
three years reign and viii throw inter-
esting light upon the social conditions OF
court life at Constantinople during the
rule Of the red assassin" These MEM
oirs include historical memoranda; diaries;
letters Of denunciation; transactions Of
the female slave market; sanctions Of ex-
ecutions and tortures; notes, bills, and
statements OF innumerabIe spies; feverish
scribblings Of falsehood and treachery;
Machiavellian records and registers, as
well as testimony Of unheard-of oppres-
sion and cruelty.
All this will give a Iurid insight inta
the fierce. gloomy, melancholy moods and
haunting fears OF tie man who is aptly
called ''the Nero OF the Eastern Rome"
and will reveal iniquity and wickedness
rarely paralleled In the worlds history.
Soon after the deposition Of Abdul Hamid
those at the head Of the new constitu-
tional regime made every effort to get
possession OF all his private papers.
Search was made for them in all the. vast
quarters Of the Yildiz Kiosk in the SUBJ
terranean passages. reOesses. and caves
Of the ''selamik'' (that part OF a Mo-
| Ihammedan's house assigned TO mem, and
even in the sacred domain OF the Suitan's
harem, with its 1900 beauties.
| All search was in vain. Abdul had
to disclose the whereabouts Of the docu-
ments himself. He kept them in a hid
den chamber near his bedroom, access
to which was known only to him. It
was shut and opened by an ingenious
electrical contriyance, the workings of
which none could ever discover. When
this hii1en chamber was entered there
were found in Il piles of boxes filled
with journals. More than 500 Of them
weIe brought to light. Abdul never de-
stroyed any letter sent to him, however
insignificant or however unimportant the
sender.
Among the countless journals OF Abdul
Hamld not a single line is found written
/ by himself. He never wrote anything
He had an unaccountable aversion to the
art OF writing, although he urged others
under the penalty OF death, 10 write to
/ him as often and as completely as pos
| sible to keep him Informed of all that
/ was going on in the capital and in the
[ empire. Even his name he never signed.
| His imperial signet served as death SEN
| tence or order OF promotion for courtier
| or slave.
But although the ex-Sultan never wrote
/ a line, he was exceedingly fond Of read
1
years Of his reign. became a passion.
He read day and night, and never went
| to bed without a book. His library was
| characteristic OF his disposition and char
acter 1t consisted of books Of a most
| trivial nature. Novels with a murderous
ending were his prediction. He dis
liked, however. narratives Of an immoral
or obscene trend. Stories with bloody
! incidents Of cruelty and crime were his
delight
The reading OF his secret notes afforded
him pleasure. He spent hundreds of
thousands OF Turkish pounds every year
for the indefatigable services Of his in
| tricate. always well-managed and we'll
directed espionage system. Although he
almost never left the precincts Of Yildiz
Kiosk. for fear OF assassination, he knew
what was going on outside. He knew
every Official. every diplomat, every
scribe. however low his social or political
standing.
Being very suspicious. he naturally was
bert forever upon gaining public opinion
This ever watchfuIness dictated, of
course. by fear and coupled with his
| Unsuitable inquisitiveuess and curiosity,
made Abdul Hamid himself a formidable
Spy. This his servile emissaries knew
perfectly well, and they never dared to
equtvocate or bubble in his presence
Among these thousands OF documents
| the majority are letters OF denunciation
| Abdul Hsmid expected every one Of his
servants to be first a spy and then a de-
nunciator. A Jealous oficial, eager to re-
place superior, an inferior OF the i'm
perial harem determined to be raised TO
the dignity OF a .sultana, had only to
| scribble down a few lines denouncing
somebody, no matter whom and no mat
ter how high and distinguished, and the
object was attained. Abdul had a special
secretary who had nothing else TO do but
TO receive such scribblIngs and to hand
them over to his master, who never in
quired into the facts or the truth OF the
accusation. A written statement from
whatever source was sufficient Tor the
accused to be condemned and IN many
cases executed.
Abdurs system of espionage had many
formidable branches. reaching into the
lowest levels OF the populace, and up
into the highest circles OF society. He
paid his spies literally He readily dis |
tributed little bags full Of gold pieces
for every little information against any
body whom he had begun TO dislike. His |
imperial fayors and bounties knew no
limits when news of a plot or conspiracy |
was brought to him. Many a despicable |
n
province for a mere calumny. Fathers |
spied on their sons, sons plotted against |
their parents, wives slandered their hus- |
bands, servants swore falsely against |
their masters, and each and all were get |
ting royal reward from the arch-spy |
Abdul.
Tho publication OF the 'Djournals'' VIII
also reveal strange facts concerning a |
number of high state officials and dlplo- |
mats OF the present Young Turk regime. |
Pashas, ministers and even grand vizers |
Csecretaries Of state), are said to be i'm |
plIcated. In fact it begins TO look as |
though several deputies, who at present |
eloquently are propounding the ideas Of |
liberty and brotherhood, or freedom from |
the yoke Of barbarous, autocratic rulers |
&C, were nothing but "dJourdaljIs'' (de- |
nunciators) during Abdul Hamid's time, |
and that even the former Grand Vizier |
Haiku Pasha is not free from the re- |
proach A letter has been found which |
had been addressed to the ex-Sultan by
the present Grand Vizier Said Pasha, in |
which this latter speaks in derogatory |
terms Of the Ottoman constitution. This |
should never have been granted"' was |
the opinion Of the aged statesman.
Such facts are eagerly taken up by the /
opposition as proofs of the present gov |
ernment being desirous TO overthrow the /
dearly-bcught liberal regime. Intermin- |
able discussions follow in the ParIia-
ment Accusation and defense are both