The Washington herald., 1918-10-20

| architecture. they built no cities, and
( they established no lasting state.
! They knew no law except the rule of
| might, and they had practically no
| agriculture and no industrial organi-
! zatiOn. They were simply wild and
marauding horsemen, whose one con-
! ception of tribal success was to
pounce upon people who were more
! civilized than themselves and plunder
| them. In the fourteenth and fifteenth
centuries these tribes overran the
! cradle of modern civilization, which
| have given Europe its religion ana.
! to a large extent, its civilization. At
! that time these territories were the
seats Of many peaceful and prosperous
ns tions. The Mesopotamian valley
supported a large industrious agri-
cultural population: Bagdad was one
of the largest and most flourishing
J cities in existence; Constantinople
had a greater population than Rome,
and tho Balkan region and Asia
Minor contained several powerful
states. over all this tart of the
world the Turk now swept as huge.
destructive force. Mesopotamia in =
few wears became a desert; tho great
cities of the East were reduced TO
misery and the subject peoples oe-
came slaves Such graces OF Civiliza-
tion as the Turk has acquired in five
centuries have practically all been
taken from the subject peoples whom
ne so greatly despses His religion
comes from the Arabs; his language
has acquired a certain literary yaIu :
! by borrowing certain Arabic and Per
] nj lin
Arabic Cons antinople's finest archi-
| t6Ctural monument, the Mosque OF St
Sophia. was originally a Christian
' church, and all so-called Turkish
architecture is derived from the
BY yzantine. The mechanism OF busi-
ness and industry has always rest
ell In the hands of the subject peoples.
Greeks. Jews, Armenians. and Arabs.
The Turks have learned little OF
European art or science. they have
established very few educational in
= stitUtions and illiteracy is the prevail
! ing rule The result is that poverty
has attained a degree of sordidneSs
. and misery in the Ottoman Empn E
which is almost unparalleled else
" here. The Turkish peasant lives in
n mud hat; he sleeps on n dirt floor.
he has no chairs. no tables. no eating
+ utensils. no clothes except the few
! scant garments which cover his 0ack
and which he usually wears for many
years.
Conquered Peoples slaves.
] In the course of time these Turks
might learn certain things from their
European and Arabic ne!ghbors. hut
there was one idea which the could
, never even family grasp. They could
! not uhue: stand that a conquered Leo
/ pie were anything except slaves.
| W her they took possession Of a lard,
! they 'Cund it occupied by a certain
| number of camels. horses. buffa! !pes.
| swine. and human beings. OF all these
/ Lying things the object that physic-
| ally most resembled themselves
! they regarded as the least important.
! It heCame a common saying with
! them nat a horse or camel was far
/ more valuable than a man; these
ANIMALS cost money. whereas "intidel
| Cir ristIans" were plentiful in the o.
! roman countries and could easily be
| forced to labor. 1t is true that the
| carry Sultans gave the subject poo
/ PIES and the Europeans in the empire
! certain rights. but these in them
I selves really reflected the contempt
| ga which all nom -Moslems were held.
l have already described the "Clpitu-
atoms" under which foreigners in
| Turkey had their own courts, prisons.
| postofiices and other institutions. Yet
! the early Sultans gave these priv
| ileges not from a spirit of tolerance
| but merely because they looked upon
the Christian nations as unclean and
| therefore unfit to have any contact
with the Ottoman administrative and
| judicial system The Sultans similarly
erected the several peoples, such as
| the Greeks and the Armenians. into
| separate ''millets''-or nations not be.
cause they desired to promote their
! independence and welfare, but because
| they regarded them as vernim, and
! therefore disqualified for membership
in the Ottoman state. The attitude
of the government toward their Chris
tian subjects was illustrated by GER
tain regulations which limited their
| freedom Of action. The buildings in
which Christians lived should not be
conspicuous and their churches should
have no belfry. Christians could moi
ride a horse in the city. for that was
the exclusive right of the noble Mos.
lem The Turk had the right to test
the sharpness of his sword upon ths
neck of any Christian.
Imagine a great government year ir
and year out maintaining this attitude
toward many millions OF its own sub,
jects! And for centuries the Turk:
simply lived like parasites upon these
overburdened and industrious people
They taxed them to economic ex.
tinction, stole their most beautiful
daughters and forced them into theil
harems, took Christian male infant.
by the hundreds of thousands and
brought them up as Moslem soldiers
1 have no intention of describing tbs
terrible vassalage and oppression
that went on for five centuries; my
purpose is merely to emphasize thi.
innate attitude of the Moslem Turl
to people not of his own race anf
religion-that they are not human be-
ings with rights. but merely chattels
which may be permitted to live wher
they promote the interest of theii
masters. but which may be pitilessly
destroyed when they have ceased tc