Cresco plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1913-1945, 1919-08-08
AMERICANS; $T1ll|R|'
LEThARCIC TURKS
Constantinople Becomes Cosmo.
poIitan City With Ending
of War.
NOW RUNNING WITH ENERGY
American Soldiers, Red Cross, Y. N.
c. A. and American Business Men
Now Throng city-caII It "ln-
vasion Of Wealth.

Constantinople. - Americans make
Constantinople hum with their energy,
business methods and way of "going
ahead" that makes even the old Turk.
Indifferent as he is to all that passes
around him, lift an eyelash in mild
surprise. American soldiers, Red
Cross, Y. M. G. A., American busi-
ness men, American-made machinery.
food, clothing, merchandise of every
sort and kind are now in this most
dirty, casual and ancient city. The
Turks, when they talk about it at all,
call It 1.-THE Invasion Of Wealth."
The Prussians have gone: the Ger.
man invasion is over. But, besides
this American invasion. Is the Rus
sian invasion, which the Turk, when
he talks about it at all, calls, owing
to its contrast with the American
species, '"The Invasion Of Poverty"
Russians, Too, Abound.
Every day the orderly, prosperous
businesslike, keen-eyed American
grows more numerous, buster, better
at home in this most fascinating old
city on the Golden Horn. the most
wonderful city that ever was, with
its mingling Of the races, its white
marble palaces, its noise, dust, and
It's seal of the Orient.
Every day more and more Rus
SLAMS. poor, ragged. disordered, idle,
"devil-may-care," hungry and pleas
ure-loving. flock here from the bolshe-
visits, escaping by way of the Golden
Horn from Odessa. At Stamboul, at
more or less Americanized Pera, at
Chiclin and other suburbs Russians
abound.
And what contrast! The Amer1.
cans, clean-shaven every day, method.
ical, wideawake to all around; the Rus
SLAMS, dirty, unkempt, possessed with
the one idea, to amuse themselves.
They gamble every night in the hells
Of Pera, throwing down sheaves Of ru-
bles In notes Of thousand, two and
five thousand, which they feverishly
change at the rate of six cents per ru.
BILE instead of the once nominal so
cents.
American ways and energy have
even penetrated into the Turkish
homes. Many Turkish women now 60
about with uncovered faces because
the American women do it," and few
are taking an active part in politics,
holding meetings at the famous Hip
podrome to agitate for woman suf'
frage, quoting the woman leaders Of
the suffrage movement in faraway
America which they have never seen
and whose language they do not know.
Public order is good throughout the
city. Patrols of Italians and Turks
see to that. At crossroads English po-
licemen regulate that curiously intri-
cate Eastern traffic with the same
calm they showed few months ago
at Piccadilly Circus.
Prices Arc High.
Americans find life dearer here than
in New York. A cab, drawn by an
emaciated horse, SIS for a short
course; a cup Of Turkish coffee. so
cents, about the size of thimble.
One furnished room costs 500 a
month, but no extra charge Is made
for the various kinds Of bugs that in.
fest it. White bread can be had at ~
cents per pound; American flour Is
very popular in consequence.
Except for the women who have dis"
carded their. wells, nobody seems to
care about politics; the great thing is
Observation-Disclosures for Greek, Armeni-
an and Israelite-and each and all
want to do business with the Ameri-
cans. There Is q market for every
thing that grows or makes. And the
Turk, who does no business, but
smokes his cigarette, sips coffee and
lets others toll for him, is ready to
pay the price. For he is by no means
so poor as he gives his neighbors, far
and near. to understand.