Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1915-03-21
WILL RED SULTAN"
REGAIN THRONE?
The Great Assassin" May Re-
sumo Sway if Allies Force
Dardanelles.
WORLD WOULD PROTEST
But 1t Would Be Political Ex-
pedient to Combat German
Influence.
WORLD WOULD PROTEST

from his Young Turk captors. and Is
with his admirers OF the old Turk
party.
with the allied fleet bnttering the
6cf"ns" OF the Dardancllcs to pieces.
and with disorder and disnay holding
sway throughout In" Turkish empire,
THIS entirely crcditablc item of news
possesses peculiar significance.
VIII the allies put the man whom
Lord Gladstone called The Great
ASSASSIN back on the crescent throne?
II would bc AN act of political en-
Dcdicnce which would draw Mortified
protests from every land under the sun,
bat tho necessity OF combating pro-
'ierman Influence in Constantinople
may drive the allies TO this very thing
tEuToNIC INFLUENCE
NOT RELISHI:D Bi ABDUL
Tn" Young Turks hung their fate on
thc German alliance The Old Turks
would rally all the anti-C;crnan Gle
nI"n's III the empire around Abdul. who.
ln his diary. translated by Nj Babi
pcy. has this TO say OF the Teutonic
Influence:
'My friend. tn" German Emperor.
eulogizcs tn" progress achieved by our
officers. who are learned in German
"aNs. fear tn. Emperor is greatly
mistakcn
Brilliant, no doubt. ar" the tcsti-
m"niais thcs" young gentlemen receive
at the hands of their partners. the Prus-
Eiai Officers. But happen to know
mat when the bouquets are handed
"r"uno yond"r. one eye is closed, inavbc
'ven both; for the presence Of these
pasha's sons in prussian academies is
most fiattering TO tho pride OF our
German friends
The old qualities of the Osmanlis
simplicity and self-denial are but too
often lost sight OF by our youths in
Germany. VIVA, they do lcarn-and
well. too--is immortality. drinking. etc
returning as inflated windbavs, they
look down haughtiy on their com
radcs. on the old tried generals. and
hold our customs up To ridicule.
"Osman Pasha never learned Prussian
drill. but he was n fine general, all
the same"
After his last orgy In Yildiz Kiosk.
his labyrinthine palace at CONSTANT
nople, Abdul and few selected wives
~ 1909 were shipped to Saloniki where
they were immurcd luxuriously I'm the
Ailaiini Palace and carefully guarded
lhen came IN" Balkan wars Abdul
was brought back to Constantinople
for safety. and allowed certain
amount OF liberty
When Turkey was drawn into the
war. and the British. French and Rus
sian ambassadors left the Turkish
capital. his treatmcn; underwent n very
marked change
The ma!contents said on every hand
that Turkey would never have been
made Germany's cars-paw If Abdul
had remained on the throne
TAKEN UNDER STRONG
GUARD ACROSS STRAIT
Realizing the danger from the old
tyrant, Enver Pasha and other Younp
Turk leaders are said to have had
Abdul seized some time ago AT night
and conveyed under strong guard
across the strait into Asia Minor. He
was taken TO some remote district.
with the present distractions il
would be easy for n small group of his
friends TO fall upon his guards and
free him.
While Abdul was prisoner at Sa-
ioniki there were rumors that he was
IN his dotagc. But those who saw and
talked with him when he came back
10 the scene of his former glories found
his mind was as lively as when his
macy. while his imperial manner re-
NAMED unimpaircd by misfortune.
Not all those who have known AbduI
Hamtd have called him hard names
lie was the Sick Man of Europe" il
- true. but his surprising success i'm
hoiolhS mis- empire together and pre-
venting his becoming the Dead Man
OF Europe" provoked admiration.
Lord Beaconsflcld said of him: He is
not tyrant: lie is not dissolute; he is
not a bigot"
Abdul is now seventy-two years old.
He assembled the throne in 1876 AT the
age of thirty-three, and immediately
abolished the Constitutions For thirty
three years he was n despot. At the
inception of his reign he had 70 fight
The Persians. His armies put up a
stubborn resistance, and when the time
for signing terms OF peace came, lie
gained concessions considered little
short of marvellous.
Ahdui got his bad name abroad prin-
'ipaiy from the Macedonian and
Armenian massacres which occurred
under his regime. The victims Of these
atrocities numbered about 100000.
ierc is passage from Abdul's diary
which shows how he regarded the non
Moslems OF Turkey:
The sole reason for our misfortune
is that our empire is not n unit with
united religious element This is
because we have so many Christians
within our boundaries. Such stun
ton Is bound to make for disunion.
Just as Ii does elsewhere Different
religions In one country work out bad
Is; an example OF that is provided by
Tie German empire. The stability OF
tho national building must necessarily
suffer II. within, there are bitter
livalrios cngcndered by divergent re-
ligious beliefs.
What great peoples were we when
;hc Christian hordes. cloaking their