The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1919-04-23


the dirtest city IN the world and ap-
pears to be endeavoring to live up its
reputation. Never have I seen such
ldirt and filth and poverty and degen-
Grafton and degradation!
We walked through the filthy
streets brushing elbows with the mos.
comglomerate mass Of humanity one
will find anywhere in Europe we wan
dered through the narrow streets of
the walled city, in which now are liv-
ing hundreds of Greek war refugees;
we went through the old Turkish pri-
son of Seven Towers; we climbed the
minaret of st. Sophia, walked under,
| the Arch of Alexander the Great, bar
tered with the merchants for q hand
full of nuts, and hurried back to The
ship to take a bath.
Through DardanelIes.
We sailed the following dav at i
p. m. for Constantinople, reaching the
Dardanelles about a. m. next dav.
The weather was ideal for sightsee-
ing on these famous waters and YOU
may be sure that we made the most
! of it.
| By the aid of some of the English
officers on board and some good field
glasses, we were able to live over in
our imagination those eventful DAYS of
exactly four years ago now. We saw
the "River Clyde" still beached where
she was abandoned in the attempt to
land troops on the Gallipoli Peninsula
and the spot where so many brave
English men lost their lives at the
hands of the crossfire from the Tur-
kish machine guns on the heights on
either side.
The battleship Majestic and an 9TH
er sunken vessel still show their fun
nels above the water where they went
down. All along the peninsula for
miles can be seen the trenches where
the Turks were so strongly fortified.
Forts Were Ready to Yield.
We crept through the mine field to
Kilid-il-Bahr and Tchanak Kaleb,
where we. anchored for three hours
to land some English Colonials and
to take on General Croker, the chief
officer of this department.
You will remember that these are
the two forts whose supply of am
munition was nearly depleted when
the English abandoned the attack,
the fall of which was a matter of
minutes only, and whose fall would
undoubtedly have meant the early
ending of the war. 1t was worth
great deal to most of us just to be
there. It seemed that we were in
truth on holy ground.
Leaving Tchanak Kaleb, we leisure
ly steamed along through the Sea of
Marmora so as to reach CONSTANT
nople in the early moning.
America is Hope of East.
While we have been here but
very short time know | am correct
in saying that America is the hope
of the Near East Everywhere we
go we are received with great wei
come; even the little children stand
at attention on the streets and sa-
lutte the American flag when it goes
by. On the quay / talked with an
English-speaking hotel agent who was
looking for business for his hotel, and
when he learned that had just ar
rived he told me with a pleased light
in his eyes that since the American
came they now have white bread a.
gain "just like snow"
With all due respect to the great
European powers, the Near East does
not trust their past colonials poll
cies. But the whole world is ready
to trust the United States; and the
Near East hopes that America will
take the mandatory under the League
of Nations for the development of
this part of the world.
Prices Out of Sight.
Prices here are unheard of due to
the depreciation of Turkish money. Be-
fore the war the Turkish Lira was