The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1913-01-17
rs THE TURK MALrGNED?

Have We msligned the Turk? is question
which is being asked by some OF those who
are inclined to sympathze with the Moslem
in his fight for life against his Christian
querors, and answered in the Affirmative in
few cases
The Atlanta const,tuton thinks It prob
able that the common opinion of the once
terrible lighting man Is too harsh and that
he is possessed OF many virtues for which he
has never been given credit The Danville
Register fnclines 20 the same view, while the
Norfolk rrontan-P Pilot disposes OF the ques-
ton by he statement that if We have have
used stronger terms than it has been able
to call 10 hand. One or two other newspapers
have Joined the discussion and at least one
o. the monthly magazines has undertaken TO
show that the picture OF the Turk with fero-
cious countenance bloody scimtar and hands
on throat of Christian is overdrawn.
The Atlanta Constitution quotes the state
ment Of Turkish woman of high rank in
which she defends her countrymen. declar-
ing that he is a most likeahle creature and
not al all the blood-thrsty individual he is
commonly held to be. or her statement the
ConstttYfion says:
one Of her statements has several times
been made before-and that is TO the effect
that the massacres commonly attributed TO
1 the Moslem are in reality perpetrated by some
one Of the multtudious polyglot tribes that
are in, but not of, the Ottoman empire Ones
4creduLty~ haIka- al accepting more than a por-
"a Of Isfr IL oil rf
course that In the centuries OF fendal warfare
between Turkey and her Balkan neighbors,
nominal Christians have been guilty Of I'M
doubted atrocities But the many investiga-
tons made hy this government demonstrate
that much oil the boodshed for which this and
other Christian nations have repeatedly de-
manded reparation can be traced accurately
to but one source, and that Turkish
The most convincing part of this au-
thoress statement is that the Turk, being by
inheritance a standpatter, so to speak, has
paid the penalty in civilization that is to-
day anachronism. and that is doomed TO
disappear before Christian influence, II not
TO maign is generally understood to mean
to speak falsely of another's character mo-
tives or actions with malicious intent. If this
be- the meaning intended by those discussing
the question the Turk has been maligned, as
has every nation under the sun. but he has
not been maigned universally, II it is meant
that in our ignorance We have credited the
Turk with evil qualities that he does not pos
sess and have denied him credit for good quail
tiles which he does possess that, too, may
be true What the Turkish woman OF the
Atlanta Constitution says is not new and all
o. IT, except that portion which relieves the
Turk of all responsibility for the numerous
bloody massacres Of Christians which have
disgraced the nation which practced them and
the so-caled Christian nations which permitted
them, may Do accepted If we wish That the
Turk is a most likable fellow in times of
peace that he usually Is honorable and that he
is polite and considerable in most instances is
well known Those of us who have denied
sll good qualities to the Turk will have to
plead guilty to doing him AN injustice AS an
abstract proposition there is much in the
charge that the Turk has not been given his
just due
Bot what OF it: That many people have
4 false idea Of the characteristics of = nation
{is unfortunate, but-ahsf bearing has i, upon
| the present war in the Balkans and upon the