The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1913-07-13

Copyright. 1913 by A. D. Jscobson-)
The office Of Turkish Grand vizier ID
| becoming as undesirable now as 1t was
10 years ago under the Sultan Selim
(the GRIM. Then II was regarded as the
high road to execution. "May'st Thou
Be selim's vizier, was a common phrase
for Strike you deadr'
On one occasion the terrible Seiim
(what a travesty. for ''Selim' Is derived
| from the Semitic "sholam," meaning
peace consulted his vizers as to what
should be done concerning his troubles
| with the Mameluke ruler OF Egypt. Cine
Mamelukes were a corps Of cavalry In
Egypt whose chiefs for long time were
the sovereign rulers of that country.
They were originally Mingrelians and
other slaves, who In the thirteenth cen
| fury were sold by Genghis Khan to the
Sultan Of Egypt. About 125O they over
threw the government. making one OF
their number their Sultan. II was Seltm-
the Grim, who in 1517 subjugated the
Mamelukes. but they remained part OF
the Egyptian army until ISL, when Meh-
met Ali annihilated them all in a gen
eral massacre)
Selim's secretary advised war. and Sc
lin was SO pleased that he made him
Grand Vizier on the spot But 1t re-
quired a dose of the bastinado (apply 9.
Ah6 a hcAiDlc cane u INC pdI Gu boaSof W
persuade the man to accept the doubt
full honor.
Shefket Pasha. Il recently assassin
ated prime minister of Turkey. came into
prominence during the memorable days
Of 1909. when the army of Stamboul and
Its leaders instituted new era Of free
dom by dragging Abdul Hamid. the
red" tyrant. from the Vildiz Kiosk and
proclaimed his brother Sultan as
Nah II axI hi fol
lower. Enver Bey. who brought the ar
tillery to bear upon the imperial palace
and shot down the dethroned Sultan's
bodyguard. He was frank and sympa-
thetic, though with a soldiers bluntness
OF expression.
Shefket had many faults. but he was
handsome and generous. He never for
got his friends and rarely forgave his
enemies. He lacked caution and dis
cernment, and had a tendency to insin-
certify. He had the true gait Of the
raconteur, and the most prosaic incl
dents coming from his lips sounded like
version of the Arabian Nights. One
Of his weaknesses was his vanity and his
love Of the picturesque. He would pose
ten times a day before a camera. and
he was wont to stand for amateur and
professional photographers with his head
well thrown back, those dark Arab eyes
of his flashing like diamonds. one hand
on his hip and the left grasping firmly
the hilt of his sword.
His lichthearted breaking OF of the
negotiations with the allies and beginning
the second campaign after the armistice.
shows that he had lost all sense of per-
spective and thrown military discretion
to the winds, telling the Turks that he
would preserve Adrianople to the en-
Kirk Killissa and Lule Burgas, and
would preserve Adrisnopie to the En-
pire. We all know how grievously he
disappointed his countrymen. As a re-
suit angry passions and personal ami
mosities surged uppermost.
Nazim Pasha and his aid-de-camp. tho
accomplished Tewfk Bey, fell victims {
violence. From this moment Shefke:
realized that his days were numbered.
Ever since that January day when the
Cabinet of Kiamil was overthrow and
the Young Turks climbed back to power.
Shefket has lived haunted by the specter
of an assassin. The friends and symps-
thisers OF the dead Nazim had sworn 10
make the lives both OF the Grand Nizier
and of Enver Bey. and IL Shefket has
lived so long 1t is perhaps because oppor-
tunities for killing him were lacking.
Born in Bagdad. Shefket was simple
hunt soldier, but with no claim to mill