The Maui news. [volume] (Wailuku, Maui, H.I.) 1900-current, 1919-12-19
Turkeys Hope For
Future AS Drawn
By Turkish Woman

W. f
ated Press)-There are only two
sincere political movements in Tur-
key, one for American help, the other
for an Independent country which
should be left alone, says Halide Edib,
Turkish woman novelist, poet and ma
tionalist. "All the rest are movements
fed by foreign money" she told The
Associated Press correspondent today.
Small, handsome, a brilliant CONVEX
sationalist and speaker, Halide Edib,
a fiery advocate for ii new and better
Turkey, is the best-known woman of
her country. A graduate of Robert
College for Girls, an American institu-
ton, she speaks English well and has
used it since the armistice to try to
convert Americans here to her hopes.
In the war she worked with her hus-
band, a physician, in the Red Crescent
or Turkish Red Cross. One of her
novels, New Turanila," a Turkish
Looking Forward" has greatly
ed her people by it's patriotic appeal.
81 don't think any nation in Europe
except perhaps Belgium would be dis
interested enough, or would be per-
mitted by the other powers, to take
over the work that must be done here
she said. $50 we have organized an
American propaganda which is evid-
ont IL, oil n ortc Of tho old n1nniTn
Even the humblest people realize the
truth of our contentious, and for that
reason it has been easy to persuade
them to favor an American control.
"The Americans haven't encouraged
us, and other nations have discouraged
us, either by deportations or censor
ship of our press. We can't SEND any
n to America because the armistice
prevents us from travelling. Moustap-
ha Renal Pasha, who is an honest,
sincere patriot, believes as we do.
What Turkey needs is peace, mod
ern agricultural development, as our
soil is very rich, territorial integrity
wherein there are equal rights to
Moslems and Christians, and educa-
ton. We need a uniform school
system. There is a vast desire for
education and many parents make
many sacrifices while children edu-
cate themselves rather than go I'M
educated"
"The woma in Turkey is much
more emancipated than is believed
abroad, and her education is part of
u program. 1t is true that in the
past we have ourselves been influence
ed by the Persian influence which took
from u women their old freedom.
1t must be remembered that all our
women are not to be judged by those
of the city, who don't count for much.
In the country our women have all
the family responsibilities, they till
the soil, they care for the children,
while the role of the man is more
that of the soldier.
Women in Turkey have their vani-
ties, too, just like women elsewhere.
In my novel in which l pictured Tur-
key as she should be, l planned a
new costume without the veil some
what like that of the Quakeress, but
after a time it was no longer worn
because it wasn't found becoming"
Much has been said of the Pan
Islamic and Pan-Turanian movements.
Politically l am for neither. The first
refers to religious union and the sec
ond to the racial union of peoples in
habiting north Africa and Asia. These
peoples are, loosely, Turks, Arabs,
Tartars and Kurds. When the new
Turk idea started the old imperialists
objected that by it we would lose
Arabia and Syria. We appear to have
done so by the war. l believe in a
cultural union of these peoples, how
ever, and a continuance of our econo-
mic relations with Arabia, which were
always close and natural.
THE national idea is to maintain
the integrity of the Ottoman Turks,
who are people who change neither
religion nor other ideas, and for that
reason have always been the champ.
ion Of the religion of Mohammed. We
want also to see an Independent Ar
menia, as we believe the latter will
rest until they have it. We
want for our boundaries the lines Of
the armistice, that is Thrace, Asia
Minor, to the Russian frontier, thence
to the trading center of Bagdad, which
is about one half Turkish though i
is also inhabited by Persians, Kurd'
and Arabs and thence to the Mediter
ranean.
Inside of this territory we wan