Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1922-10-06
Friday, October 6, 1922.
THE TURKS
They Are Not Such a Bad People
'' After iii.
HAVE SUFFERED MUCH PERSECUTION.

Disciples of Mohammsd as They Reaii,
Appear to a Careful observer-Wor
chip Jesus Christ as Minor Prophet
BY Paul Bowerman in the Dearborn
Independent.
$50 YOU have been in Turkey! A.
they really as terrible as one hears?
L have answered this unvaryine
formula at least once a day since my
return from the Near East. Without
exception my questioners have enter
tained an identical opinion of the peo-
pies among whom l was thrown; tha'
the Greeks are an enterprising ana
worthy people, that the great majority
of Armenians have been massacred
and that the Turks are the most
viliainous and detestable race on the
face of the earth. The unanirlity OF
belief would be almost incredible If
did not keep in mind that my own
opinion was similar TO theirs prior 10
the day that 1 disembarhed at Con-
stantinople. Ny change of viewpoint
had begun even few days earlier, for
I had been reading Pierre Lofts "The
Disenchanted" on the boat.
There was plenty of time and oppor-
tunity to puzzle over this after l had
gone through my own "disenchaut-
mcnt." and the reasons were not diff
cult to discover Very few Americans
ever find their way 10 Turkey except
as passing tourists, and those few are
principally engaged in missionary
work. Our information then comes
from the following sources; from the
English, who are intensely concerned,
politically and commercially, in getting
control of Constantinople and the
Dardanelles, and who, for that reason,
have supported the Greeks on every
possible occasion, and who have lost
no opportunity to justify their action
by placing the Turkish people in an un-
favorable light before tie world; from
our own missionaries who are often
prejudiced in the ideas regarding
religious differences, since their life
work is devoted to the spreading OF
Christianity; from travelling cores
pondents who seldom spend more than
a week in getting UP" their articles
and who depend upon a dozen hurried
interviews for their information; and,
lastly, from the tens of thousands OF
Greeks and Armenians in our own
country, there being practically no
Turks to defend themselves by
counter propaganda. 1t is easy to see
from this that whether the information
is correct or incorrect, 1t comes from
only one side OF the fence and that is
dangerous: and unfair
Conscious and Unconscious Dishonesty.
There is no better way OF setting
forth the truth of the matter as saw
it than by recalling in succession the
various reactions 1 experienced in and
around Constantinople.
AS an instructor IN an American
college, whose students were drawn
from the wealthiest and most respect
ed families, l was particularly fortu-
nate in coming into close and intimate
contact with young Levantines OF
every nationality. 1t was not surpris-
ing to find them almost universally
dishonest, for here was the Oriental
and semi Oriental mind confronted by
the incongruous ideals and austerlty
of our Occidental civilization. They
all cheated flagrantly.
Little by little / began to discover
that dishonesty could be separated
into two different categories-con-
scious and unconscious dishonesty.
Into the first category fell the Greeks,
Bulgarians and Armenians-al those,
in fact, who lived nominally ir the
western fashion who were Christians
and who claimed to despise the Mo-
hammedan faith and civilization. These
BOYS knew we'll enough the difference
between right and wrong as we un-
derstand it and deliberately chose the
wrong. They would never admit cheat
ing: even though I had caught them
red d-handed One day an Armenian
showed me a watch his father had
given him for completing his studies,
adding that his father had praised his
clcvcrncss in escaping detection dur
ing the examinations. Such instances
were the rule rather than the eXcep-
ton. This, l decided, was conscious
dishonesty.
The Turkish boys, on the other hand
were a novel experience. Quite as dis
honest Us the others, they could see nc
good reason for being otherwise, and
were therefore quite free to acknowl-
edge their guilt They were openly
amused at my attempts to inculcate II
them. the principles Of personal honor
II was as if they were listening to
language which had no meaning foi
them. And, indeed, it had little.
was dealing with the Oriental mind
about which l knew nothing at th'
time To them, l was foreigner g
Frank" a person who worshipcd
strange God. To them, life was easy
going, a thing 70 be enjoyed with a.
little sclr-sacrifice and self-denial a.
,,,...;,.,. I I,ol co,,,n from q diStgn