New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-08-02
THE FIGHTING TURK
Neither Splendid Warrior Nor Chivalrou'
Il Il Asserted.
To the Editor OF The Tribune.

To the Editor OF The Tribune.
Sir: In his brilliant review Of the second
year of the world war the inimitable Frank
II. Simonds writes: "The Turk was making
the finest fight in his splendid fighting his
tory.
The Turkish troops who were so ingo-
riously defeated by the Balkan League have
been represented during this war not only as
,plendid lighters, but "chivalrous." This Is
due partly to the efforts Of an English
school of Turcophile pamphleteers and jour
halists like Marmeduke Pickthall and Dixon
johnson, who have always exhibited an alb
FORMAL prediction for Moslems, and partly
to certain English politicians who. since the
Gallipoli fiasco and the Kut-el-Amara Incl
dent English euphemism for defeat-have
essayed. by assiduously extolling the Turk
.sh "chvary," "clean fighting" and "brav-
cry" both to remove the sting of these Eng
lsh reverses and TO make the Germans APP
pear inferior to the Turks Even General
Townshend was deeply impressed by the
u7forgettable chivalry Of the Turks"
How deeply the Turks appreciate these
English encomums lavished upon them can
I've judged from the following Illumination OF
the Turkish journal "Anadoloo," that, de-
scribing the British defeat at Kut-el-Amara,
concludes boastfully: Napoleon III often
repeated that the Almighty had created the
Italians that they might be beaten by the
Austrians. Tomorrow history will record
that the craven English were created that
they might be extirpated by the Turks"
The Turkish soldier cannot fight splendidly
except when he is opposed to defenceless
women and children. He won the fame OF
GOOD fighter in the battle of Plevna, but then
he was temperate, devoutly religious and
fanatic However, since that time the Turk
ish soldier has become an inebriated, lasclv-
ious and diseased monster. Because the
Turkish government encouraged its Moslem
subjects to plumber, rape and Stay the Chris
tians under Ottoman domination, its army
has degenerated into licentious rabble OF
criminals, unavaiingly whited by the late
General Won der Goltz and his compeers, as
was proved by the Balkan campaign. The
Turkish success at the Gallipoli Peninsula
must be ascrbed chiefly to the inadequate
forces of the Allied powers and to the nat
ural offences of the position, made impreg-
rabe by the German Krupps. In Mesopo-
tamia the Turkish troops would present
very sorry figure but for the brave Arabs.
government OF murderers, by WuruererS ana
for murderers, like that of Turkey. is incapa-
bic of producing brave troops. The fighting
quality of the present day Turkish soldier is
brilliantly demonstrated in his precpitous
flight before the victorious armies of Grand
Duke Nicholas.
As to the chivalry and clean fighting of the
Turkish soldier we may state that If tortur
ing the Russian wounded in the Armenian
theatre of war, grossly insulting the Eng
lish and French women interned in Syria,
and executing two French Off
GERS taken prisoners under the white flag at
Kum-Kale, and fendishly striving TO exter-
inmate the whole Armenian nation-inci-
dents recorded by the British press-are
symptoms of chivalry, then the Turks are
entitled 10 that honorl
ARSHAG MAHDESIAN.
New York, July 81, 1916.