Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1918-09-29

ginning OF the fifteenth century, and
that fact combined with HE on d
low moral plane explaiRsrhig steady
decrease in numbers The Greek on
tho contrary, especially In the nine
tecnth century, has been steadily in
crcasinH. Today there are not less
than 100000 Greeks In Asia Minor.
especially strong on the western
coast bat found also spread along
the northern and southern coast
Greeks Are Progressive.
The Greeks are the most alert. ef-
ficient ana progressive race OF the
mixed peoples Of Asia Minor Nearly
all the trade ard commerce and
whatever manufacture there Is are
IN their hands, their only cOmpeti-
ton being the ArmcnlanA In smyrna,
the chief city Of Asia Minor they
number l25.O0O Of the total pOpuld-
tinn OF $50, 900 and control the In
dustrial and economic lie OF the
city. But II IL not only in old cities
like Smyrna that they show their
ability aud efficiency. The chief scu.
port Of northwest Asia Minor ls Al
vail, newly built In the third decade
OF the nineteenth century on the site
OF an old Greek town. 1t Is "A fine
example Of large, almost purely
Greek and purely governing
community with more than 5000
inhabitants, yearly export business
Of 10000, 900 francs and shipping
Of 1000 vessels, II has thoroughly
modern business institutions as well
as "A Chambe OF commerce aud agri-
culture and an agricultural bank a
striking evidence Of the alert and
progressive spirit Of the Greeks II
given In the way In which they have
followed the railroads into the inter-
iOr. The cities that have been con.
ncCtcd by the railroads going out
from COnstantinople and smyrna
and the towns that have sprung up
beside them have become Centers OF
Greek influence. The Greeks have
settled in them In large numbers and
control not only the economic lie Of
tho towns themselves, but OF the
surrounding country.
Thlckly Settled
II Is a great mistake, however. to
assume. as many superficial obServ-
ers have done, that the Greeks of
Asia Minor nre only sailors and trad
ers, but are not bound TO the soil,
that they form purely city element
and that .thG country folk consist
only OF Turks The large Greek is
lands Of the ABintic coast. Mitylene,
Rhodes, Serps and OhiOs have dense
populations living In great measure
from grape and fruit raising and
from silk culture. Farming plays no
large part simply because Of lack OF
arabic land. Hence many peasants
have emigratcd To the mainland
where they settled In tho fruitful val
leya OF the Maeanier, the llermos
and the Sangarios. In this way new
and thickly populated settlements
have come into existence In the
midst Of the more scattered Turkish
populations and the higher fecund-
ity OF the Greek settlers. combined
with their industry, their frugality
their intellectual kecnnesS and their
community feeling, helped always by
the retrOgressiOn Of the Turkish pop
ulation itself, have contributed to
extend tho Hellinizing process more
and more to the country districts
In comparatively recent times there
have come 10 light In the interior OF
Asia Minor large settlements OF
Greeks who speak Turkish and con-
ceal the fact that they are Chris
tians, and for political reasons pass
Az adherents OF Islam, but who are
really devoted to Christianity and
| have kept up their Greek national
| feeling,
Asian Greeks In Schools.
To speak only Of the increase in
numbers, wealth and material pro-
gress OF the Greeks OF Asia Minor
would give very erroneous impress
sion, for 1t Is their intellectual and
spiritual progress In tho past CEN
tury that has been most remarkable.
! In 1914. there were 1850 boys
schools with 900 teachers and A.
| 900 pupils. In other wOfds ten per
cent OF the Greek Inhabitants OF Asia
1 Minor are In school, These schools
| are all supported by the Greeks
themselves, the Turkish government
not only contributing nothing to their
maintenance. but frowning upon
| their existence. There are also 1000
| churches with 2,b0O priests attached
to them. These schools and churches
are the centers of tho national life,
but In all the large citios the Greeks
have their newspapers, casinos and
other agencies OF "a cultural life. II
| is no wonder that the higher protes-
sional places IN the towns OF Asia
Minor are filled almost exclusively
by Greeks. Teachers, doctors and
| engineers are for' tho most part
/ Greeks and amonS the higher ad-
ministratlve and engineering officials
OF the Antolian and Bagdad railways
are found many Greeks. Though
conquered by the Turk, the Greek, In
his turn, won the upper hand by his
intellectual superiority When one
realizes, that under a government
which existed only to rob the worker