The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1918-11-07
p ".

Germany Mobilizes the Turkish Army.
In reading the August newspapers,
which described the mobilization in
Europe, | was particularly struck with
the emphasis which they laid upon the
splendid spirit that was overnight
changing the civilian POPULATIONS into
armies. At that time Turkey had not
entered the war and her political lead
efs wenN loudly protesting their inten-
tton OF maintaining a strict neutrality.
Despite these pacific statements, the
occurrences in Constantinople were
almost as warlike as those that We're
taxing place in the European capitals.
Though Turkey was at peace, her army
was modifying, merely, we were told,
as a precautionary measure. Yet the
daily scenes which | witnessed in Con-
stantinople bore few resemblances to
those which are agitating evey city Of
Europe, The martial patriotism Of
men, and the sublime patience and sac
rifice Of women, may sometimes give
war an heroic aspect, but in Turkey the
prospect was one Of general listlessness
n misery. Day by day the lniscei-
laneous ottoman hordes passed through
The streets. Arabs, bootless and shoe
less, dressed in their most gailV colored
garments, with long linen bags, contain
Ing the required five days rations,
thrown over their shoulders, sham
bling in their gait and bewlldered in
their manner, touched shoulders with
equally dispirited Bedouins, evidently
suddenly snatched from the desert. A
motley aggregation OF Turks, Circas-
slams, Greeks, kurds, Armenians and
Jews, showing signs Of having been
summarily taken from their farms and
shops. constantly jostled one another,
Most were ragged and many looked
half-starved; everything about them
suggested hopelessness and a Cattle-like
submission TO a fate which they knew
that they could not avoid, There was
no JOY in approaching battle, no feel
ing that they were sacrificing them
selves for a mighty cause, day by day
they passed, the unwilling children of
a characterization empire that was
making one last ~despairing attempt to
grid itself for action. ID
These wretched m%archers little real
lied what was the poWer that was
dragging them from The four corners
OF their country, Even we OF the diplo-
matte group had not then clearly
grasped tho real situation, We learned
afterward that the signal for this mobil-
had not come originally from
Enver or Talaat or the Turkish Cabi-
net, but from the general staff in Ber-
lin and its representatives in Coustan-
tinople. Liman Won Sanders and Brons-
sart were really directing the compli-
Gated operation, There we're unmis-
taxable signs of German activity. AS
~b'll oN NV NCiilaI tlpopNN tAt
Rhine, work was begun on a nam
moth wireless station Il few miles out
side of Constantinople, The materials
all came from Germany by way of
itumania, and the skilled mechanics.
industrIously working from daybreak to
sunset, were Enthusiastically Germans.
OF course, tho neutrality laws would
have prohibited the construction of a
wireless station for a belligerent in a
neutral country like Turkey; 1t was
therefore officially announced that a
German company was building this
heaven pointing structure for the Turk
ish government and IN the sultan's W
property, But this story deceived no
one, Wangenheim, the German amhas-
sador, spoke Of 1t freely and constant
~ as a German enterprise.
Have you seen our wireless YETI he
would ask me Come IN, let's ride up
there and look it over"
He proudly told me that 1t was the
most powerful in the world-powerful
enough to catch all messages sent by
the Eiffel tower In Paris He said that
it would put him In constant communi-
tempt to conceal its German owner
ship that several times, when ordinary
Geographic communication was sus-
pended, he offered TO let me use it to
send my kilograms,
This wireless plant was an outward
symbol OF the close though ~unacknowl-
edged association which then existed
between Turkey and Berlin. 1t took
some time to finish such an extensive
station and in the interim Wangenheim
WAS using the apparatus on the Cor
covado, q German merchant ship which
was lying in the B%osphorus opposite the
German embassy. For practical pur-
poses, Wangenheim had q constant
telephone connection with Berlin.
German officers were almost as active
as the Turks themselves in this mohil-
~iSation. They enjoyed 1t all immense
": indeed they gave every sign that
they were having the time, OF their
were constantly at Enver's elbow, adj
vising and directing the operations,
German officers were rushing through
the streets every day In huge automo-
biles, all requisitioned from the civilian
populations, they filled all the res
taurants and amusement places at
right, and celebrated their joy in the
situation by consuming large quantities
Of champagne-also reouisittoned. A
particularly spectacular and noisy
figure was thai OF Won der Goltz Pasha,
He was constantly making a kind OF
viceregal progress through. the streets
in q huge and madly dashing automo-
bile, on both sides of which flarins Ger
man eagles were painted; A trumpeter