The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1918-11-25

nothing to antagonlze them, Evidently
Pallavielnl wished me to believe that
Wangenheim and he really desired to
help, Yet this plea was hardly frank.
for | knew all the time that Turkey,
II the Germans had not constantly In
terfered, would have behaved decently.
fould that the evil spirit was not
the Turkish government, but Won
Bronssart. the German chief Of staff.
The fact that certain members of the
Turkish cabinet, who represented Eu-
ropean and Christian culture-men like
Bustany and Oskan-hadI resigned as
a protest against Turkeys action in
entering the war, made the situation
Of foreigners even more dangerous.
There was also much conflict Of au-
thOrity; a policy decided on one day
would be reversed the next, the result
being that we never knew where we
stood. The mere fact that the gov
eminent promised me that foreigners
would not be maltreated by no means
settled the matter, for some underling;
like Bedri Bey. could frequently find
an excuse for disregardinR instructions.
The situation therefore was one that
called for constant vigilance; | had
not only to get pledges from men like
THlaat and Enver, but l had personally
to see that these pledges were carried
into action.
l awoke one November morning at 4
o'clock l had been dreaming, or l had
had a "pTesentlment," that all was NOT
going we'll with the Sion Soeurs, a
French s%isterhood which had for many
years conducted q school for girls in
Constantlnople. Madame Bompard, the
wife Of the French ambassador, and sew
eral ladies Of the French colony, had
particularly requested us to keep a
watchful eye on this institution. 1t was
a splendidly conducted school; the
daughters Of many OF the best families
OF all natlonallties attended 1t, and
when these girls were assembled, the
Christians wearing. silver crosses and
the non-Christians silver stars, the
sight was particularly beautiful and inn
presslve. Naturally the thought OF the
brutal Turks breaking into such a COM
munity was enough to arouse the wrath
Though We had nothing more definite
than an uneasy feeling that something
might be wrong, Mrs. Morgenthau and I
breakfast. As we approached the
building we noted nothing particularly
suspicious; the place was quiet and
the whole atmosphere was n of peace
and sanctity, Just as we assembled the
however, five Turkish policemen
followed on our heels, They crowded
after us into the vestibule, much to the
CONSERVATION of a few of the sisters.
who happened to be in the waiting
room, The mere fact that the American
itselS increased their alarm, though our
arrival together was purely accidental.
What do you WANT" | asked, turn
Ing to the men. As they spoke only
Turkish, naturally they did not under
stand me. and they started to push me
aside, My own knowledge OF Turkish
extremely limited, but ] knew that
the word "elchi' meant ambassador"
pointing to myself, | said:
"Elchi American"
This scrap of Turkish worked like
magic. In Turkey an ambassador Is a
much revered object, and these police
men Immediately respected my author
ity. Meanwhile the sisters had sent for
their superior, Mere Elvira. This lady
was one of the most distinguished and
influential ~personages in Constantine
pie, That morning, as she came in
quietly and faced these Turkish police
men, showing not a sign Of fear, and
splendor and dignity Of her bearing, she
represented to my eyes almost a upper
natural being. Mere Elyira was a
daughter of one of the most aristocrRtlc
families OF France; she was a woman
Of perhaps 40 years OF age, with black
hair and shining black eyes, all ac-
c~entuated by a pale face that radiated
culture. character and intelligence. |
could not help thinking. as looked at
her that morning, that there was not a
diplomatic circle In the world to which
she would not have added grace and
had this present d~istracting situation
completely under control. She sent for
a sister who spoke Turkish and Ques-
toned the policemen, They said that
they were acting under Bedri's orders.
All the foreign schools were to be
a1-aaI NLAA ,N~-z-A NhA AEt
Intending to seize all their buildings
There were about 70 teachers and Sis
tiers In this convent: the police had or
ders to shut all these Into two rooms.
where. they we're to be held practically
as prisoners, There we're about 200
girls; these were to be turned out into
the streets. and left to shift for them
selves. The fact that 1t was raining
In torrents, and that the weather was
extremely cold, accumulated the bar
barity OF this proceeding, Yet every
enemy school and religious institution
In Constantinople was undergoing a
similar experience at this time. Ceariy
this was a situation which l could not
handle alone, and ] at once telephoned
my Turkish speaking legal adviser.
Herein Is another Incident which may
have an interest for those who believe
In providential intervention. When l
arrived in ,Constantinople telephones
u btNIl u htlpW IL bhN - ~ NV tuCl lt"
months, an English company had been
introducing a system. The night be-
fore my experience with the sion
Soeurs, my legal adviser had called me
up and proudly told me that his tele-
phone had just been installed. | jotted
down his number, and this memoran-
dun | now found In my pocket. With
out my interpreter ! should have been
hardpressed, and without this tele-
phone I could not have Immediately
brought him to the spot.
While waiting for his arrival | de-
layed the operations OF the policemen,
and my wife, who fortunately speaks
French, was obtaining all the details
from the sisters. Mrs, Morgenthau I'M
derstood the Turks well enough to
know that they had other plans than
the mere expulsion OF the sisters and
their charges. The Turks regard these
institutions as repositories of treasure,
the v%aluables which they contain are
greatly exaggerated In the popular
that, among other things, this expul-
sion was an industrious raiding eXpe-
dition for tangible evidences Of wealth,
Have You any money and other
valuables here" Mrs. Morgenthau
asked one Of the sisters,
Yes, they had quite a large amount,
II was kept in a safe upstairs. Ny
= NbAl NV w hN'f wy I'NfANFAilNil
busy and then she and one OF the sis
ters quietly disa ppeared from the scene,
Upstairs the sister disclosed about a
hundred square pieces OF white flannel,
into zach one OF which had been sewed
20 gold coins. In all the Sion Soeurs
had in this liquid form about 3 0 ,0OO
francs. They had been fearing ex-
pulsion for some time and had been
getting together their money in this
= form. SO that they could carry 1t away
with them when forced TO leave Tur-
key. Besides this the sisters had sew
eral bundles OF securities and many
valuable papers. such as the charter
of their school, Certainly here was
something that would appeal to Turk
ish cupidity, Mrs. Morgenthau knew
that IL the police once obtained con-
troll of the building there would he
little likelihood that the Sion Soeurs
would eve see their money again. With
the aid of the sisters, my wife prompt
" s'oncealed az much as she could on
her person. descended the stairs and
marched through the line OF gendarme,
out into the rain. Mrs, Morgenthat
told me afterward that her blood AL
most, ran cold with fright as ~,
passed by these guardians of the law
from all external signs. however, she
was absolutely calm and collected, She
stepped into the waiting auto. wa
driven to the American embassy. placed