The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1920-01-30

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
VenezueIans are closed and their pro-
prietors thinking of thedters and din
ner parties.
As general rule. when a "Turco"
has accumulated sufficient amount of
money, he win close up shop. pack up
his belongings and return to his native
land where the means acquired in the /
western world enable him to live in .
grand style" according to the stand /
ards prevailing in the home town. +
( Once in a while however, one of the /
i little shopkeepers will decide to re-
/ main in South America and branch
out" AS a result some of the most
important shops in Venezuela are
owned by "Turcos." Further:
The "Turcos" who run these big
shops naturally need employees TO help
them. but the employees are never
"Turcos," for, as I 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 viii find behind the
counter a young Venezuelan clerk who
win obligngly hand down goods from
the shelves, while. tucked away in
dark cubby-hole. barely visible from
the front of the shop. is q swarthy
"Turco" proprietor bent over his
ledger. trying to figure out how soon
he can return to Mount Lebanon and
cut swath among home-folk
Observe Mohammedan Forms.
''Turcos' are born traders and shun
other forms of business. Their idea
of line of endeavor worthwhile is
one where they have to : take no
chances; hence they never Speculate,
l not even so much as to extend credit
to their customers, practically all their
: transactions being conducted on a
c cash basis And they refuse TO change
j their oriental ways, it seems.
: When they close their shops they
! hurry to the quarters where they live
: in Caracas they are packed togeth-
Z or in one of the worst sections of tho
z city-and take up mode of living
q which is not bit different from that
|, Of their kin along the eastern shore of
q the Mediterranean. At sunset the Mo
q hammedans among them PROSTATE
/ themselves toward Mecca and recite
Q tire prayers enjoined apon them by
2, the prophet Old Moors, oriental tc
r the finger tips, in spite of their occi
e dental garb, sit at the doors of Span
2 ish-American novels and chatter il
IS Arabic, quite as if they were in Fee
II or Algiers. Now and then feud
started at hcme before they emigrated
b. bursts out in the Arabic purlieus O
i, some Venezuelan city, and then news
" paper readers running over the police
In news see a wonderful collection o
U, names, Abu this and Mohammed that
Id all run in for disturbing the peace
Sc Once one OF these feuds took on tn
er proportions of regular Tong war o
ut New York's Chinatown, and resulte
I'll in half dozen murders before tn
4 passions aroused IN northern ATTIC
could be Gained down in Venezuela.
ell There have been some amusing in
- cidents connected with the rise of tn
"Turcos" in Venezuela. For one thing
ey they throw dignity to the winds ant
re there too. they get under the skins Q
IL the Venezuelans, who, like eyerybod
le- of the Spanish race, are nothing if NJ
.ly dignified. While the native merchan
Id. however humble, will stay inside hi
Is, shop and wait upon his customers wit
err grave courtesy, the "Turco," as like Q
re. not, will stand at the door and ure
III passers-by with an engaging smile I
1e- enter and look over his wares.
ife