Mexico Missouri message. (Mexico, Audrain County, Mo.) 1899-1918, 1913-01-02

Mustapha Pasha-The minarets of
Sultan Selim!
Needle-like, | have seen them rise
over the indistinct mass of Adriano-
pie from the distant hills, then as
substantial columns from the nearby
hills, and again so close from the
shellproof of an advanced infantry
position that | could make out the
things on the dome of the great
mosque itself.
The simple grace of the minarets
dominated town, and landscape, and
siege. Weary drivers Of the weary
oxen OF the transport and still wear
Ter artillerymen, bringing up addi-
tional guns through seas of mud saw
them for the first time as a token of
defiance. OF work unfinished, OF bat.
ties yet to be fought, and of lives yet
to be lost.
Infantrymen in the advanced
trenches saw them as the goal
against a foe which had fallen back
without any adequate rear guard sec.
ton, but which had begun TO fight
desperately under their shadows.
That Turkish garrison. as it with
drew into the shelter of its forts,
seemed to find something of the spirit
of old Sultan Selim the Magnificent.
for whom the mosque was named,
but with this difference: Sultan
Seim was not given to falling back
on forts and minarets. He stormed
forts; he went ahead to plant new
minarets in the soil of Christendom.
Rouses Old Turks Spirit
From the first in this war the Turk
took the defensive; from the first he
accepted 1t as his part and portion of
the campaign.
In Bulgaria where many Turks still
live under Christian rule, we had
seen the Terrible Turk. the great
fighting man of the past, whose soul
was supposed to be above lowly toll.
as newer of wood and a carrier of
water He did odd Jobs In the abb
scnce Of the Bulgarian at the front.
The lion Of the past had been trained
to dog harness.
All the early victories OF the Bull
garian army completed an impression
of one-time lordly race demoralized
and eneryated. who retained only the
fatalism Of "Kismet," in it's LEXICON.
The warriors cry, For Allah" was
lost forever. But at Adrianople For
Allah! For the Minarets! For the
Padisha!" rose again to the dignity
which abandoned bravery always com
mands.
The sheer, impetuous fearlessness
Of the Bulgarian. well drilled and
coolly manipulated, was the first
great revelation Of the campaign, and
the second was how. in the hour of
hopelessness. his. desperation arous-
ed the old qualities of the Turk.
Every situation, every development
IN the war reverted to Adrianople. 1t
was the nut to crack in the first plan
OF strategy of the campaign. It hov.
cred over the first army before
IchatalJa as a nightmare. 1t stood
IN the way of the prompt supplies OF
bread and bullets for the first army:
II delayed the signing OF the armis-
ice Tor ten days; il has been the
main subject of contention before
me London peace conference: It was
responsible for the treatment of the
niiltary attaches. who saw nothing of
the war, and of the correspondence
who saw little.
~ war Hinges on Adrlanople.
4 Even our phlegmatic little English
speaking censor assistant at Musta.
pha would lose his temper at the
very suggestion of any peace terms
y WIN Adrianople still in Turkish pos
4 session.
we snail have a revolution II we
uon get Adrianople," have heard
many officers say.
we shall not go home without
Nur'anople.' the wounded soldiers
ing "' "ept repeat
ouCh were the instructions which
IT, Dahen, the Elihu Root of the Bal.
ria a' LOOK with him to London. Ad.
~, ple was craven on the minds of
.ouhtrymen. BY diplomacy he
aS get a fortress which was not
'aNen by force OF arms.
,ho nance at map and you will see
suat the whole success of the allies
r W., on bottling up the Turk on
peninsula, so that all the other
lurAish forces from scutari to Adri.
4 "hopie' from Kumanova to Hassona.
sAonouid be cut off from oommunica.
80 The Greeks. Serbs. and Mon.
a unesrlhs We're the backs. The Bul.
Bans ,ans undertook to buck the line.
n nula did not have to consider
oninton 'e army, European public
or p'"ion and the ieslousies of the pow.
crs acted as efficient substitntoo PS s".
me bulgarian military stotesmans, hJr
understood that if Bulgaria wars naot
en- the powers would meyer nerna,,
urkey to take an irch of RuIgarian
t 1on II vas a case 4, Heads 7 win
aus ! don't lose"
"V TURKS knew this, too. 1t was