The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-07-04
REMARKABLE BOOK DISOOSES KAISERS POL
Anonymous Author.
Said to Be in High
Position. Tells How
Net Was Spread
Abou the Sultan
~ JEANETTE l.. GLIDER.

DoosN hffo' % shos
n wide attention at the present
n time Is The Near East from
Within" which is accredited
to some very distinguished parsonage
and one who knows what he Ia writing
about but prefers to hide his identity.
at least as far as the title page Of the
book goes. The publishers are Messrs.
Funk & wagnalls. The anonymous
author writes a short preface in which
he says that many years OF his life
have been spent in the by-paths Of
European politics.
AT times a silent observer. not sci.
dom a mere cos In the great wheel,
or again entrusted with operations Of
diplomatic moment. circumstances
made me acquainted with the mysteries
and Inducements Of political life and
Of diplomatic intrigue In many parts
Of the world. Latterly things which
I did not understand seem to have b.
come clear. Events, the s~ignincant
purport Of which I did not earlier real
ise, now stand out vivid and strong
from the chambers Of my memory.
Trifes have become invested with
prime importance"
When the war broke out It seemed
to him to be his duty to remain silent.
for 'it were Of little avail to add to
the bitterness and hatred which
sounded on every hand" He won
dered how far loyalty demanded q
yelling Of matters which. once made
known. would throw into truer focus
the inner history Of the Balkan and
allied Eastern troubles and their root
causes during the last twenty years.
Rightly or wrongly" he says. II
arrived at the decision hat my greater
duty was to mankind rather than to a
man." The author admits that there
IL much to shock and distress In the
pages Of this book. but nothing that
= consciously exaggerated.
The book opens with an account Of
Sultan Abdul Hamid. his personality
and policy. This much talked Of ORR
entail potentate did not impress the
writer Of this book as either prepos.
sessing OF imposing. and though II has
often been said that Abdul Hamid was
. tyrant he does not believe II.
He lacked the backbone Of a ty-
rant. He could be guilty Of surpass-
Ing cruelty, but more from the cor-
tinually haunting fear Of assassina-
ton than from inherent wickedness."
The early years Of Abdul Hamid's
life had been spent in imprisonment.
which had made him naturally dis.
trustful of everybody and everything.
When he became Sultan he became
obsessed with the idea that It was
necessary to resort to any measures.
however questionable. to keep his
throne. He a q clever politician.
according to this writer. and an enigma
He never wanted people to know how
much he knew, and he succeeded In
hiding from every one the fact that he
knew the French language to perfec-
ton. He would pretend. however. that
what foreign Ambassadors told him
had not been properly interpreted or
that he had not grasped the proper
meaning OF communications made to
him.
The writer Of this book had II from
the lips of Baron Marschall Won Bic
bernstein himself that so far as he
knew the only person who perceived
tIC uVNCptIoH was TX N%iiPVIot
lam H., who while on his visit to
Constantinople during an interview
which he had with the Sultan sud
denly SEN away the interpreter and
then, turning on his discounted host,
bluntly told him that they had better
discuss alone what they had to say,
because he knew very we'll that they
could understand each other without
any outside help. Abdul Hamid was
30 taken by surprise that he could
not find words to deny the assertion
and II was only when the conversation
came to an end that he begged his
guest not To reveal to others the Sc
cret he had penetrated.
THE reply was typical Of the EN-
peror: 1t Is far more to my interest
than to yours hat the world should
think you do not understand French.
and that In consequence you we're un-
able to discuss politics with me-"
Our author has little doubt that when
William II. paid his visit to Constanti-
nople he hoped to persuade the Sultan
to enter into an alliance with Ger
many. but did not succeed for various
reasons. n because he displayed far
too much eagerness. Another element
in the failure OF William ii. was that
Abdul Hamid wisely inferred that II
might he more printable to see
whether he could not secure better
conditions elsewhere.
While Abdul Hamid was a sensual
Est. like all Orientals, love was I'M
known to him, and yet he fell under
AhA trAtnpna ~ fFhrSan Anna
who was a member of his harem and
who contrived to worm herself into
his entire confidence and to become
his associate in many plans and many
designs. She became a pawn in the
diplomatic game played by Baron
Marschall Won Bieberstein. He fat
tered her. made her lavish presents,
flashed brilliant prospects before her
eyes and ever allowed her to think
that should Turkey enter thoroughly
INTO the plans Of Germany she would
And herself strongly supported in her
ambition to be recognized as the only
legitimate wife OF Abdul Hamid.
After the fall Of Abdul Hamid and
his Imprisonment at Salonica the fact
that he was rich beyond all dreams OF
avar1ce became known. though hii
wealth was we'll concealed. For years
ne kept the revolutionar1es. who had
robbed him OF his throne, on tenter.
hooks, doing out small bribes of a few
thousands at a time and never reveal.
ing the place where he had hidden
his many millions. To this day in two
German banks considerable sums are
lying to his credit about which few
~ those he tr,sfs have any idea apf