Fort Mill times. [volume] (Fort Mill, S.C.) 1892-current, 1922-10-05
PEOPLE or ASIA M1No R.
Land Where Turks Hfsvs Re cent
" Massacred 011o1sS,

land between Asia and Eur ope,
which again focuses world in ter
est since the turk army has IA
ken and destroyed SIN. rna, are
described in the following bclle-
tin from the National Geographic
society:
1.-The modern history Of Asia
Minor began when the Seljuks IN
vaded it, only few years after
William the Conqueror set foot
on English soil. A pronounce
ment of Mohammed saved the
Greeks from either displacement
or forcible conversion. The true
believers paid no taxes. Hence
the Greeks of Asia Minor were as
much Of an economic asset to the
Turks as the slaves were in the
South before the Civil war.
1.-The conflict of Greek and
Turk of 1922 also has it's roots in
practice which would be even
more revolving to the Goth CEN
tury than slavery-that is, that
tribute children were demanded
Of the subject race to fight in the
army Of Islam. By drafting chill.
dren Of Christians the famous
janizaries were formed and these
picked troops, under Mohamme
dan training, were mighty. in bat
tie and efficient in peace time as
police.
"When Greece revolted in 1921
and America was stirred by Dan
iel Webster's famous Grafton on
the Greek cause, Asia Minor
Greeks felt the fury of Turkish
massacres. Avili was razed and
Smyrna devastated, but the
Greeks survived. The sea coast
area of Asia Minor, which was as.
signed to Greek administration
and which the Turks have now
captured, was carved from the
old Turkish vilayets of Brusu
and Adm. In these two divis-
ions the Greek population was es-
timated to have nearly doubled,
until it approached million be-
fore the recent ,massacres by the
Turks.
"One element in this expansion
was the Greek aptitude for trade
III contrast to the Turk s mgrown
dlstaste of commerce. A striking
aspect of many towns in western
Asia Minor is the single shop,
with merchandise as conglomer-
ate as an old time American vii
lage store, and invariably this
shop is kept by a Greek. Greek
peasants settled in many fertile
valleys and all over the land they
have erected schools. In Smyrna
itself up to few days ago more
than half the population was
Greek, and in smaller numbers
the Greeks have penetrated the
coastal plains, but the plateau
which forms the interior of the
peninsula is the stronghold of the
Turk. .,.- -.
Zone other absence, besides
Turkish merchants, is conspicu-
ous in Asia Minor-that is the
women. Where Christian min
giles with Moslem he must adopt
the latter's policy of feminine ex-
clusion. Upon entering Greek
Rome one may look upon the ia
ces OF its women folk but the cas-
nal traveller meets only men on
the highways and encounters only
men at the inns and should he oh.
serve q female form in the distance
her face will be covered before |
ne can distinguish her features.
Travel is congested on many
q Turkish road. Accustomed as
is the American to automobile
dotted highways he would mar.
vel at the traffic jams of heavily
laden camel caravans in the inte-
rior of Anatolia. Then there are
the slow moving bullock carts,
carriers Of enormous burdens.
Even the Turk has a reason
for his likes and .dislikes, and his
opposition to Western innova-
tiOns not always is based on reli-
gious prejudices or sheer laziness.
1t was these bullock carts which
aroused the opposition to macad-
am roads-an improvement which
seemed to young American sales
. or Dh II