New Britain herald., 1918-07-05

V, Sultan of Turkey. died at z o'clock, "Wednesday night, says a Constantinople dispatch received here by wsy of Vienna.
 Mohammcd N., 35th sovereign of Turkey in direct descent of the House of Osman, founder of the, er Dire, came to the throne by coup d'etat on April v, 1909, after having been held for 33 years a prisoner by his brother, Sultan Abdul IT., in the royal palace and gardens in Con- stantinoplc, The scheming Abdul II. intended that his own son, Prince Burhan Edinc, described as the most brilliant and gifted of tho princes of tne House Of OSman, should succeed him. But this plan was thwarted when parliament dcpcscd Abdul and placed his prisoner brother, Noham- med Eeschad Elfendj, on the throne as Mohsmmed Y.
 The Sheik- -ul-Isiam, head of the Moslem church, drew Up the decree Of deposition which passed parlia- ment without a dissenting voice Five minutes later, Mol1a mmcd, who, dur ing his imprisonment had had no experience in the duties of govern ment, being purposely denied educa- ton i'll such matters by his brother, was declared sultan. The same after noon he took the oath of fidelity to the Turkish constitution, and 1D1 guns proclaimed the new sovereign.
 Mohammed V. was born in Con- $tantinoplc November 3. 1S45. He rf e-%1, widely in Turkish literature. His long Imprisonment with lack of exercise and rich living undermined his health 1 and several times he was reported dead or seriously ill. His appear ance showed the ravages of time and the worries of an unsteady throne By his enforced secusion he was to- tally unfit for public life and is re- ported to have said regarding 1t: During my imprisonment of 33 years my enemies have slendered me and called me a madman bordering on imhecility,"
 He was characterized as good na- ! tured, weak and ingenuous with an almost infantile curiosity. and Of a l religious nature.
 At his accession he espoused the cause Of the Young Turks, the party
 
 and ceremony of his brothers reign. Upon the deposition of Abdul. Mo- 1 hammed was welcomed by them as d 1 cha mpon of freedom. He promised { a. progressive reign in a speech from ! the throne read by the grand vizier. ! He was, however, merely pawn of { the Young Turk pa arty, although he sent out to the world the noesss ge that he had always been the ardent supporter oC the cause of liberty, en- 1 lightenment and progress.
 WeakIing Monarch.
 His hand in the government wa ! never strong. Illness, naturally
 oesy disposition. and weak will power
 kept him continually at the mercy bt ! the Turkish officers and the Liberal | rarty. Hc feared deposition during 1 the Turko- Italian WET in 1911 and { spent night praying in the various i shrjnes of stantnoplo. He ap- 1 peaied to the army to be loyal to him 1 and said that their reasonable dc mands encouraged the enemy to at- 1 tack the Dardanclle@. He also lost most of his European dominions in the Balkan wars. The Young Turks ! invaded the palace in 1913, when Mo ! hamned was reported to have l become reconciled with his brother. In 1914, at the outbreak of the pres 1 ent war Mohammed issued a procla-
 nation blaming the Triple Entente | with thrusting war on Turkey. He i exchanged telegrams of greeting with l the German Emperor. from whom he later received the Iron Cross. When England and France declared that a l state of war existed with Turkey he ! arranged to send troops to Germany whenever needed. Tn return he was ! appointed Field Marshal by the Ger , man Emperor and received the baton 1 of that office from Field Marshal von ! Ma'ckensen.
 In February. 1917. in B, speech in l Parliament the Sultan promised Turk 1 ish participation in the war until the 1 end and declared the alliance forced 1 him to break relations with the United | States.
 The Turkish Empire paid dearly l for his entry into the great war l Russia overran Armenia and the Brit
 ish drove the Turks far up the valleys
 of the Euphrates and the Tigrs and
 took Jerusalem, Bagdsd and other
 important cities from them with great l loss of life and treasure. Under him 1 Turkey has become virtually a Ger ! man vassal in the autocratic scheme l of the German Powers for TeutoniC ! ascendenCy in central Europe.
 The next heir to the throne, Yusseff l Tzzedune. is the son of the late Sultan | A bdul Aziz and was. therefore. first 1 cousin of Mohammed v. Mohamm ed s
 eldest son, Via Eddine, now over 3O 1 is ninth in the line of succession NATIONALIST TICKET