The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-03-23
High Official Gives Author itative Information as to Part the Porte Is Playing in Present War
REPORTERS AND
 EDITORS ARE NOT
 TRUSTED ANY MORE
Tells Correspondent to Keep Name of Informant Secret on Pain of Death, and Re porter Complies

Constnntinoplc, Thursday. Febsunr. Is.--tcorrcsrondence of the Associated Press.1--..if you mention my nsme in connection with what I have told you 1 wiii apply our military law and have ,ou shot. Your promise not to do so reporters md editors any more. They have He'd too muchi lied the blue ont of the sky. Aud let me assure you thsf ii sou use my name the protection of your enbnsss win not heip you. You know under what stipuIations | hay. talked to you. The Turkish army has nothing to conceal. hut it does not want to be He'd about" This was the admonitory conclusion of a statement obtained by eorrespon- d'nJ of tho Associated Pess from man who would permit that as authority ''sem-official" source be given. Since the statement that he must be looked upoa as aI authoritative source will not brina the firing squad any nearer that designa ton will be in order
 His statement in part follows
 Condition Excellent
 "The present condition of the Turkish army in the Caucasus is excellent. We do not expect that the decision of the lErYopean war is to take place in tn Caucasus. Our operations there have pri- inarly the purpose of oblging the Rus. slams to keep a large force there in orde. to ease our allies in Poland and Galicia. Some of tho Russian companies in the Caucasus have dwindled down C. 2o ren instead of 25O. We recently wiped out Russian regiment so completely that funeral services had to he neid Tor the entire organization, There was not a man left
 ''The crossing of the Suez canal three mouths ago by q battalion of Turkish infantry demonstrates that the waterway is no obstacle to us. We do not intend forcing operations against Egypt just now. We have men enough there for that purpose but supply conditions do not allow a general offensive for the timu being. The railroad which will serve to make communications through the 2oo kilometres of desert easy will be com pleted soon. cannot tell you where thaE
 
 BeGjas line, or where 1t win touch the Suez canal. Our forces are advancing as fast as is feasibe--one army along the c, asst of the Mediterranean. another along the Gulf of Suez and the third in tha certer
 We have no trouble in feeding our mea in the field. In the Caucasus we ha~ not always been able to give. them en,ugh bread. that is true, but the meat supplies In that region are so plentiful that we have made up the rations in that way There has been no difficults supplying our troops in the south with focu though the scarcity of water there has been somewhat of q problem-one which we are meeting satisfactorily, how ever. I have no recent data on that sub ject, but believe that the rains of the season have helped to solve thls prob lem.
 Ammunition Not Scarce
 Talk of a scarcity of ammunition and other supplies of war Is rank nonsense Wc have an ammunition factory able to meet our demands and there is in op- eration plant in which we are able tp turn out field artillery. You are at lfb- erty to inspect both.
 The resources of this country in men fit for military service have been ;l surprise to me. We do not have to take men from Turkey in Europe for service in the Caucasus and against Egypt. Right now we are raising several corps in Anatolia. We have in Turkey in Europe six army corps to give proper reception io any force which may undertake to land on these shores The spirit of our troops is excellent.
 The stories alleging that the Turk ish troops in the Caucasus and elso- where are dying in droves are Inven- tons. There has been some sickness and there has been In all other armies A good many of our men have hso their hands and feet frozen. The win ter in the Caucasus has been bad. but 1t soon will be over now. The Amer ican ambassador here deserves great credit for his efforts to get sanitary supplies to our troops. There is nothing to be said about the much -advertiscti defeat of our