The Madison journal. (Tallulah, Madison Parish, La.) 1888-current, 1919-09-27

of Arabs, MOOrS or Turks with
the picturesque cities of the
Spanish main, yet there is a
fiOurishing colony of these Orientals
in Venezuela, mailing from northern
Africa and Asia Minor. They main
tain among their foreign surroundings
all the customs of their brethren In the
Old World except that of plural mar
riage, on which institution the Nene-
Zuelan government has put its foot.
1T is a strange thing to walk along
one of the main business streets, say,
of Caracas, essentially Spanish In
every respect" says writer in the
New York Times, as quoted in the Lit
erary Digest, land suddenly see along
side Spanish names of merchants
strange Oriental inscriptions, such as
Abu Amad, Ben Sid, Chalala, Benatar.
One might easily imagine ones self in
the bazaars of Tangier or Damascus"
They are an interesting lot, these
''TurcOs," as the VeneZuelans call
them. irrespective of whether they
came from Turkish territory or not.
They will not work under boss"
and so all of them are in business for
themselves, mostly as peddlers or
small shopkeepers; and all of them
make money hand over fist. Not only
do they take in the coin, but they also
save 1t, and it is no uncommon thing
for an humble peddler to come into a
bank, plank down $4,000 in gold and
ask for Il receipt and Il check book.
| They don't like banks and therefore
keep their money at home until the
| amount becomes so large that they
| fear for its safety. And they will, I'M
der no circumstances, mix with the
native population.
Live Their Lives Apart.
These Arabs and MOors and Turks
live life entirely apart from the
| Venezuelan community. Whereas, if a
Venezuelan has half million dollars,
he is known all over the country and
| pointed out as one of the leading men
i'm the community, "TurcO" in Cara
Gus, the Venezuelan capital, may have
|
live so entirely To himself that scarce
ly anybody in the city can even tell
you where he dwells. There are "Tur-
cos" with big accounts in the leading
banks of Caracas who are still living
in the wretched novels they occupied
when they first reached Venezuela
with ten or fifteen of tls,ir race packed
into the same house, several in d
room. And when they return TO north
ern Africa or Asia Minor they often 20
back as they came, in the steerage
crowded in with hundreds of other
passengers, though the purser of the
steamer may have locked up for safe
keeping thousands of their dollar.
which they have earned by years o
hard work in Venezuela.
The "TurcOs" never accept u job
They want to he their own bosses first
last and all the time. They began b!
going tn some Old-establiShed firm il
Venezuela, asking n credit of 81 to $40
and taking out a basket of trinkets an,
dry goods to sell from house to hous,
in the capital or some of the lessee
cities and towns. They start on
shortly after dawn and work unit
dark. Their cry of "Compre, mer
chante" c"Buy, customary, in
strange, Oriental singSOng, is wei
known all over Venezuela.
Prosper and Grow Rich.
Gradually, rs they proSner-nnd the
almost invariably dO-they get NOR
credit from the hig firms and eventu
ally open little shop. 4 mere hole
in-the-wall," where there is scarcel