The Madison journal. (Tallulah, Madison Parish, La.) 1888-current, 1919-09-27
"Turco" Shop in Caracas.

room for person to turn around.
They put in Il stock of dry goods.
trinkets, novelties and the like, or per
haps the lighter kind of hardware.
Then they get rich. Their money null
tiplies in ways that strike the Nene-
Zueans, who are inclined To take life
easy, as miraculous.
The quitting whistle means nothing
to a "Turco." He will start little rat
hole of shop near the market place
i'm Caracas, for instance, and open mp
ut dawn i'm order To catch the sellers
of vegetables and fruits, who come
into the market from the villages
round about. and the sellers of fish
who cross the mountains from the sea
coast in the small hours and reach
Caracas at sunrise. He will remain
open long after the shops of the
Venezuelans are closed and their pro-
. prietors thinking of theaters and din
ner parties.
AS general rule. when q "TurcO"
has accumulated a sufficient amount of
money. he will close up shop, pack up
his belongings and return TO his native
land, where the means acquired i'm the
western world enable him to live in
grand STYLE" according 10 the stand
ards prevailing i'm the home town.
Once in a while. however, one of the
| little shOpkeepers will decide to re-
;, nj oh
out" AS result some of the most
important shops in Venezuela are
owned by "Turcos." Further:
The "rurcos' who run these big
shops naturally need employees to help
! them, but the employees are never
"Turcos," for, as / said. these people
insist on being their own bosses. So
the strange anomaly is presented of
these keen competitors of the VeneZue-
Ian merchants being served by Vene-
zuelan employees. Customers entering
several of the principal dry goods
shops of Caracas will find behind the
counter young Venezuelan clerk. who
will obligingly hand down goods from
the shelves. while. tucked away in q
dark cubby-hOle. barely visible from
the front of the shop. is swarthy
''Turco" proprietor bent over his
ledger trying 20 figure out how soon
he can return to Mount Lebanon and
cut n swath among home-folk.
Observe Mohammedan Forms.
"Turcos" are born traders and shun
other forms Of business. Their idea
of line of endeavor worthwhile i,
one where they have to take nc
chances; hence they never speculate
not even So much as 10 extend credit
to their customers. practically all theil
transactions being conducted on &
cash basis.
When they close their shops the,
hurry to the quarters where they liv,
i'm Caracas they are packed togeth
er I'm one of the worst sections of tn,
city-and take up Il mode of Twin;
which is not a bit different from tina
Of their kin along the eastern shore q
hammedans among them prOstrat,
themselves toward Mecca and recir
the prayers enjoined upon them b!
the prophet. Old Moors, oriental {,
the finger tips. in spite of their Occi
dental garb, sit at the doors Of Span
, ish-American novels and chatter il
Arabic. quite as IL they were in Fe
or Algiers. Now and then n feud
started ut home before they emigrated
bursts out in the Arabic purlieus q
some Venezuelan city. and then news
= paper readers running over the polio
news see Il wonderful collection a
: names. Ahu this and Mohammed that
' all run in for disturbing the peac,