The Washington herald., 1914-02-02

lIukkey - OWselves = brlef
~ onIuLHr DnDE.
slx hundred ysars agp The Ottoman
STATE cane Into hsing. 10 b exact the
dsy W. Dscembr q ma
IN her oqoth ysar TuFksy's control Of q
lbroad strip across tho Balkan Psninsula,
| from the Durdana]lss TO The Adriatic. Wa
BROUGHT to an end; her tributaries In
| Europe were also freed. Only the year
befors turkey lost control Of hsr North
African possssnions. In two years the
Icrumbling OF the Ottoman control has
constsptinopje' with i comparatively
small area tn III Immediate vicinity. 10 Ill
that remains In Europe Of . power
| whose soldiery once stormed the walls OF
Vienna, controlled the passes OF the Alps.
invaded Spain. conquered Africa from
Egypt to Morocco. forced tribute from
Venice, and touched with fear every
nation that had faced on the Aediter-i
ranean. In the time or suie.man the
Magnificent the Turkish Empire extended
from near the present frontiers OF Ger
many to the frontiers Of Persia.
Turkeys rrassc Fail.
Viewed ,o,ely from the side Of national
studies. 1t Is regrettabie that the wreck
of Turkey in Europe should come just At
this time.
She never had been nation: bot
rather a system of military rule over
peoples inherently hostile Tor religious as
well as racial reasons. Her record had
always been one Of absorption. but not
Of digestion.
However, by 1855 the stir Of modern i'm
pulses had reached her. The young Turk
movement fcstered from Geneva and
Paris and elsewhere in Europe became a
successful revolution n that year. The
Leaders were anxious to build up national
strength through reforms The dreams
and devotions and ideals of the Young
Turks brought Greeks. Albanians, Turks,
Armenians, Servians, Bulgarians. and
Jews into harmonious work for common
constitutional aims. Just as such great
light dawned, her own light was nearly
extinguished. II is a tragedy.
Six hundred years had Turkey fought
her way; advanced. receded, advanced
again. had gone to her knees. struggled
ur once more as vigorously as ever. held
great powers at bay, retained her own.
sometimes by might, often by diplomacy.
and frequently by the mutual distrusts
OF those arrsyed against her. Through
centuries great and virile leaders had
made Turkey renowned and feared. Some
had striven for reforms. all had failed
until a little over i've years ago the
Sultan ceased to be an autocrat The
change came too late.
Her Real weakness.
The destroying element IN Turkey was
her absolute monarchy, linked up with
thec1racy. Each Sultan was both head
of religion and of government
Mingled with his power to control mems
bodies was the power to control or COM
pei mems souls. On that erroneous and
fanaticaI theory the Ottoman State could
only grow by blood and by repression.
Timid souls. who. by the million. feared
to protest, were always ready to rejoice
over. any disaster that befelI the oppres-
sor. They never became nationalixed. In
stead therefore OF laying the foun-
dations of national strength in the
hearts Of men. Turkey had tied the dis
sonant together. and because OF cowed
silence. had assumed there was peace
Every one of those whom she had con-
quered or compelled to bow the head in
obedience to the head of the church.
were feeble folk. individually. Their
power for redress was altogether in the
appeal from the momentary suffering from
those wheels OF the gods. that grind ex-
ceeding slow, but do grind. The undoinz
OF the Young Turk reforms was not In
the defects OF today, but in the racial
entipathies and ancestral memories and
hates that had been gathering volume
sanctioned by the name of Allah and his
prophet.
Turkeys Fstsre.
Turkey is no longer of great moment
in the European concert. She is more
like the patient on an operating table
than one of the surgeons.
1t may even occur that, from the view
point of Administrations some may
wish TO depose her from royal power
in her relations with the courts of the
world 1t is serious' mistake, however.
to think of Turkey as a vanished power.
The tremendous background and reserve
of Turkey is in Asia. Her empire includes
all of Asia Minor. Armenia, Kurdistan.
Mesopotamia, Syria, Arabia. Possibly the
area she now controls equals one-third
the area of the United States with a
population one-fourth as large. Turkey
in-Europe is now smaller than our State
Of Maryland. but Turkey-in-Asia Is al
majestic empire. to which the whole Mo-
hammedan world in Asia and in Africa
will always turn its eyes.
Turkey has already felt the thrill of
modern life and aspiration. That will not
die. Her men of vision will perhaps be
the freer to work for the light of Asia
because there is so little to be done in
Europe. Equality for all is no\longer an
academic dream among her men. Con-
stitutional rights are coming to be I'M
derstood. Modern demands are making
themselves felt. In material lines, Tur-
key Is showing great advances in agri-
culture, in irrigation, in forestry, in civic |
retirement. and in the building up of
Industries. The spread of such progress
i've ideas over Turkey-in-Asia has prom