Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1920-09-16
CARNIVAL OF JOY
Turkish Capital the Most "nide
0pen' Of Cities.
NominaIIy Under Allied Control, There
10 No Interference With Any Form
Of ReveIry That Could 30
Thought OF.

Constantinople now combines all the
frenzy Of a new mining camp and
world seaport. It's 1.-THE end Of the
trail" for all the Balkan states and
everything west of Suez on the Medi-
terranean.,
Caucasian oil men. Donetz Basin
miners. Anatolian sheep and cattle
kings, Greek war millionaires and Sy-
rian merchants rush to Constantinople
to pop champagne in proof of their
success. Soldiers and sailors of half
dozen nations swell the population
and add to the cosmopolitan aspect of
the streets and pleasure resorts.
Under allied occupation the city has
become wilder place than it was I'M
der the Turks. There are no civil
courts. None of the allies desire to
assume responsibility for reforms 9TH
er than are necessary to safeguard
life. Italian. French and British
troops cooperate with the Turkish
gendarmerie in keeping order. But
everybody's job is nobody's job. Con-
sequently Constantinople is very
wide-open town. Midnight closing is
enforced pretty generally, but until
that hour there is little interference
with dance halls, gambling dives and
redlight districts unless murder is
committed.
Leadville and Goldfeld in their dir
ziest days never offered anything
wilder than certain sections of Con-
stantinople. where jazz bands vie with
Neapolitan orchestras and tsigane
singers in their efforts to attract way
farers into the beer tunnels and dance
halls filled to overlooking with the
painted women of many nationalities.
Half dozen summer gardens offer
vaudeville programs which attract
thousands Of persons every night who
seem to have far more interest in the
drinks and restless crowds than in
the Russian prima donnas and bare
legged dancers whose art is usually
as meager as their attire. Turks.
Arabs, Bedouins. Egyptians and AS
syrians, gorgeously clad in native cos
tunes, elbow their way among Cos
sacks and Georgians whose uniforms
are far more brilliant than their re-
cent military achievements.
Coal-black French colonials. re-
splendent in red fezzes and green kha-
XII, mingle with Sikhs and Punjabi.
whose long hair and many-colored
headdresses are wrapped in somber
brown. Civilians, soldiers and sailors
from all parts of the world are hope
lessly jumbled together in CONSTANT.
nople crowds and are so busy looking
at each other that tenors from the
Petrograd opera, naughty French sing
ers from Montmartre and Austrian
strong awed ladies claim but slight
attention.
Constantinople itself is a grand
pageant every day. Its main thor.
oughfare. Rue Grand Pera, is more
fascinating than any scene which pro.
ducers ever can hope to stage. Camel.
drivers lead their patient trains, bur.
dened with charcoal, through the maze
of street cars, shrieklng army motor.
cars and carriages, piloted over the
rough paving at breakneck speed by
Turkish hostlers who crack their whips
and shout constantly at high pitch to
pedestrians who venture off the mar
row sidewalks.
Turks mounted on tiny donkeys
move indifferently through this mael
strom. Occasionally Turkish peasants
drive flock Of sheep or turkeys into
this swirl Of traffic and serene oxen
draw heavy carts along at pace
so slow that drivers Of military CANT
ons curse them in 10 languages.
The narrow, crooked streets of Con
stantinople are ill-suited to motor traf
flc and the slow-going fatalistic TurA
is little inclined to change his pace
Consequently there are many acct
dents and the indifference with which
foreign military cars are driven has
done much to intensity Turkish hatred
of foreigners.