The Washington times., 1915-08-03
Balkan War, Brought Its Les.
son and Removed Certain
Weaknesses.
FAITH IN NEW TURKEY
Growth Of National Unity and
Spirit of Confidence Seen In
Country's Soldiers.

he manages during the few hours of re-
pose granted him each evening to enjoy
little of the atmosphere Of home and
oomesticity. He had received me at
tired In civilian costume, such as any
american business man might wear.
1t would be mistake now to refer
TO me as the father of the modern
Won der Goitz. HThe Turkish army or Or
ganization. which is now surprising the
entire world. dates only from the Bal
Kan tha vars. vars. M and is entirely a creation Of
i may seem, the disasters of the two
Balkan wars have proved for the Turks
tnelr greatest source of strength. Prob
ably to them alone they owe their
Until the Balkan wars 1t had been
necessary at all times to keep the
flower Of the Turkish army stationed
constantly in Macedonia and Albania
the Bulgarian. Serbian. Greek. Albanian
and other racial elements Of the popu-
!ation. For the first time In It's history
the turkish government is now able to
concentrate In very small area Of terri
tory Its entire military strength for the
defense Of its capital and the Ottoman
empire. There Is NO fear OF internal up
risings or Of dissentions In the ranks.'s
Unity Is Achieved.
"Formcrly when the Turkish army
included large contingents Of the
various racial elements Of Macedonia,
there was a lack OF unity and Of 10y
atty that constituted one Of its great
est weaknesses. This. too, was swept
away by the Balkan wars. The Turk
ish soldier. fighting in the ranks to-
day. feels everywhere about him the
spirit OF unity, the patriotism and
the inspiration which comes from un.
divided contact with men of his own
race and religion. He fights with all
Tho interval between the close OF
! the last Balkan war and the begin
ming OF the present struggle was too
brief to permit anything but the lay
ing of the foundations of this reor-
| xanizatton of the Turkish army. but
the effectiveness Of what has been &C.
complished already has been demon
! strnted.
Turkey. for instance. planned tina.
| insteci of being dependent on foreign
nour;es for her munitions of war. she
would produce munitions herself To-
day she Is turning out practically all
the war materials she is using In her
successful resistance. True, the
greater supplies she could make a
| greater showing. Nevertheless her
| output Is ample for maintaining a
successful resistance to every attack
| tHdt can DC OlTeCteQ agar HeT Ipt
an indefinite period.
| It's Numerical Strength.
| Incidentally the entire world has de-
ceived itself badly In guessing the nu
merical strength OF the modern Turk
ish army. At the present moment there
| are no less than a million and a quar-
ter Of men under arms. trained. equip
!, ped, and officered as no Turkish arm!
has been In the past. This million ant
quarter does not by any means ex
haust the resources of the empire. and.
man for man. the Turkish soldier Is a
good as the English or the French sol
| dier. His environment has made thi
| true. The Englishman or Frenchman 4
| accustomed to various needs that &C
| company a highly civilized life and Il
| less effective in trench life. where h
| finds them lacking. The Turk has never
| known these needs and the lack o.
them affects him in no way.
| These things explain the confidence
| you see on every hand. This confidence
| is of the highest importance from an
other point of view. When the war 1!
ended. 1t will prove a most effective
element In the new life which will b.
taken on by the regenerated Youni
Turkey OF today-a regeneration whicl
began with the close Of the secont
Balkan war, and which. increased b.
the success Of the present war. viii
firmly establish the Turkish empire 70
all time to come on the territorial bas
1t now hoids-if not greater one"