Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-11-11
TIL M



CORA have decided in council that
the sultanate is abolished and the
caliphate is hereafter to be confer
red on any member of the house
of Gilman which the Angora as
scnbly chooses to select, instead
of being a hereditary title insep-
arably attached to the %sultanate or
ruler of the Ottoman empire. The
~sultanate and the caliphate are two
very different things heretofore
united in one persons. The sultan
means the mighty one, the lord of
lords, the chief. The caliph is a
religious title. He is supposed to
be the direct heir of the prophet
Mahommed, the spiritual chief OF
the Moslems of the whole world,
the commander of the faithful. AS
the prophet left no male children
there has for hundreds of years
been considerable difference OF
opinion as to who possessed the
real title to the caliphate. Some
claimed that it passed down
through the daughter of the pro-
p1et, Fatinla, some that the tath-
er-in-law really was the caliph Sc
lected by the prophet, and others
that it passed to the ruling family
in Bagdad after the death of the
prophet. The claim Of the Otto
man Turks to the caliphate rests
on rather shsadowy evidence, but it
had the power of a weighty sword
back of it, and for more than 500
wears the sultan Of the Ottoman
empire claimed and exercised the
right to be the spiritual head OF Is
lam. though there were always
some far enough removed from the
strength of his right arm to dis
pute his title to the caliphate. At
one time the Ottoman empire COW
cred a good part of Europe, most
of Asia, and a considerable part of
Africa. It's armies fought in
Spain and France and Austria, as
we'll as in Russia, Persia and In
dia. It conquered Egypt and the
Mediterranean southern coasts. 1t
is sadly shrunken now, though am
bilious to extend once more into
Europe.
The Angora assembly represents
very largely the Young Turk par
ty." the modern Turks. The An
CORA government seems to be es-
sentially based on democratic prln-
ciples. It is the only real power
in Turkey today. It controls the
army and has both modern and
progressive ideas. It is this pow
,er that has notified the sultan OF
Turkey that his political office is
abolished and his religious office
separated from his political office
and made the prize Of the demo
cratic assembly It Angora, to be
conferred on whom they please,
subject only to the limitation that
it must 60 to a member OF the
house Of Gilman because the
Turks believe that in this family
thew have the true heirs OF the
prophet Mahommed. That belief
is not shared by the Persians, the
Arabs, the Indians and other
branches of the MohaHarnedar
races.
So far as military power Is con
" cerned the Young Turks have al
that there is in Turkey, and the
sultan is helpless to contest thelr
orders. In fact his life is not very
safe unless he takes refuge on
British man of war or with som.
foreign representative at Constan
tinople. He does not accept th'
decree Of the Angora assembl,
a~bolishing the office Of sulta1
which has existed for some 90
wears. nor does he concede tn
right of the Angora assembly T.
give the caliphate to any membe
of his family they may choose. "A
this latter question affects tn
whole of Islam, other nations out
side of Turkey Insist that the,
must have a voice in it. 1t is there
fore a question that may hsv
world stirring effects. The Ne'
Turks have evidently had thei
heads greatly swelled by the re
cent military successes they hav
had against the Greeks, and whic
they were greatly aided in by bot
France and Russia who supple
them with arms and money. The
have lately been usirt the languag
of victors to John Boil, and tellin