Chapter II: Part I: The Great Turk and His Capital (1)

I THE LOST PROVINCES

The next battle-ground of Europe, like the last, will be the so-called Balkan Peninsula, comprising a group of petty states lying south of Austria-Hungary, bounded on one side by the Adriatic, on the other by the Black Sea, and on the south by the Ægean Sea. It is one of the most primitive, yet one of the first settled sections of Europe, where kings and queens and courts shone resplendent in ermine and jewels when Germany, Great Britain and France were still overrun by barbarians. The earliest inhabitants were the Dacians or Getæ, who had reached a considerable degree of culture when we first hear of them, from Pliny and Herodotus, resisting the invasion of Darius, the Persian, five centuries before Christ. A hundred years later, when Philip of Macedon besieged one of their cities, and was about to give a signal for the assault, the gates opened and a long line of priests, clad in robes of snow-white linen, came forth with musical instruments in their hands, singing songs of peace. Philip was so impressed by this demonstration that he laid down his sword, married the daughter of their king, and entered into a treaty of alliance with them.

They fought Alexander the Great; they resisted the Roman legions; and Julius Cæsar was planning a campaign against them when he fell in the forum with the dagger of Brutus in his breast. Trajan subdued them, and the story of his marvelous campaign is carved in marble upon his column in Rome. Theirs was the last province to be added to the Roman Empire and the first to go at its dissolution. The territory was fought over at frequent intervals by contending forces to the end of the fourteenth century, when, one after another, the several Christian states which composed the Bulgarian Empire were subdued by the Ottoman invaders who, in 1529 and 1683, actually reached the gates of Vienna. For nearly five centuries they submitted to the yoke of the Sultan and, like all his subjects, were gradually submerged in political, moral, intellectual and commercial oblivion. The existence of the once powerful people was almost forgotten. They lay helpless and hopeless under the heel of a vindictive and merciless despot until what were termed “the Bulgarian atrocities” excited universal horror in 1875-77. Then Russia intervened on the pretext of racial and religious relationship, and attempted to take them from Turkey.

The original Treaty of San Stefano, which fixed the terms of peace exacted by the Czar from the Sultan, would almost have restored the boundaries of the ancient Bulgarian Empire, given its people theoretical independence under his protection, and reduced European Turkey to a narrow strip of territory; but the jealousy of the other Powers would not permit it. Russia must not be allowed to extend her sphere of influence towards the Mediterranean. England and Germany interfered, called a conference of nations at Berlin, tore up the Treaty of San Stefano, restored a large area to the Turkish Empire, and left a group of small, weak states to stand as a buffer between the Sultan and his aggressive neighbors.

This was done upon certain conditions. Positive pledges were exacted from the Sultan concerning the administration and taxation of the restored provinces, particularly that the inhabitants should be given religious liberty, and be governed by officials of their own faith. Not one of these conditions has been fulfilled, and the most appalling injustice and cruelties have been practiced year after year, similar to those which occurred in Bulgaria and provoked the Turko-Russian war. Human life and property have been held as worthless by the Turkish officials and military garrisons. No woman has been safe from their lust. No man has been allowed to accumulate property or to improve his condition without exciting the avarice of the tax-gatherer and the military commandant. It has been useless for the inhabitants to save money or produce more than enough to supply their own wants, for the slightest surplus would attract attention and be stolen from the owner. The Christian population have had no standing in the courts and are often prohibited from practicing their religion. The number of lives wantonly taken, the number of homes wantonly destroyed, the number of women ravished and the number of children butchered in the Turkish provinces of Europe, particularly in Rumelia, where the population is almost entirely Christian, would shock the world if the truth were known, notwithstanding, year after year, the Powers of Europe have permitted these barbarities to continue. The other provinces, Kosovo, Monastir, Salonika and Scutari, have suffered severely, but the barbarities have not been so extended nor general; and they are not in such a state of anarchy, but are ripe for rebellion. Macedonia, as Eastern Rumelia is familiarly called, is the center of disturbance.

An occasional insurrection or lawless incident of which a foreigner has been the victim, such as the kidnaping of Miss Stone, has attracted public attention, and frequent written protests have been filed at the Sublime Porte by the ambassadors at Constantinople, in which the Sultan has been warned that the atrocities would not longer be tolerated, and has been admonished to repentance and reform. But, instead of improving, the conditions have grown worse. Each of these diplomatic episodes has been followed by more serious exactions and persecutions. Every remonstrance has been the signal for an increase of the military garrison in Macedonia, greater restrictions upon the liberties of the people, and the arrest and imprisonment of patriots who were suspected of having inspired the protests. This fact is well known at every embassy in Constantinople and at every foreign office in Europe, both from official and unofficial information. Every one who cares to know the truth may learn it without the slightest trouble.

How long the Powers of Europe will permit the Sultan to defy them and the present conditions to continue are questions often asked both in private and in public, but never answered. The Powers are too much engrossed in their own troubles to hear the cry from Macedonia, “Come and help us!” for neither their pride nor their pockets nor their politics are affected by the sufferings of a distant people whose commerce is insignificant and who have no influence in international affairs. Russia and Greece are the only sympathetic nations. They belong to the same race and profess the same religion. Greece, being feeble, is powerless, although her recent disastrous war with Turkey secured the partial emancipation of Crete. The Czar would instantly go to the relief of the Macedonians were he not restrained by the jealousy of Germany, Austria and England. The British people will stand unmoved and permit the entire Macedonian population to be exterminated rather than allow Russia to gain a political advantage or extend her boundaries towards the Bosphorus. Nor will Austria allow any interference lest her manufacturers lose an insignificant market.

Austria is the natural protector of the people of the Balkan Peninsula, and her administration of affairs in Bosnia has been remarkable for tact, intelligence and success. If she were allowed to extend a protectorate over Servia, Bulgaria, Macedonia and the other countries and provinces, and introduce among them the same reforms that have been admirably carried out in the countries on the Adriatic, which the Berlin Conference intrusted to her care, it would be an unmeasured blessing; but neither Germany, England nor Russia would permit such an arrangement.

Germany is more culpable than any of the other nations, because its government sustains and protects the Sultan in his atrocious policy of administration, not only in Macedonia, but in all parts of the “Near East.” No diplomatist of ancient or modern times has been more shrewd and skillful in profiting by the rivalries of his enemies. He knows that Germany will not allow Russia, England or Austria to punish him; therefore he can afford to defy them, and treat the remonstrances of their ambassadors with contempt. It must amuse His Majesty the Sultan to read the signature of the German ambassador at the bottom of the frequent diplomatic notes that are handed to him concerning the misgovernment of his empire, and we can imagine his large, sad eyes grow merry at the farces so frequently enacted at the Yildiz Kiosk, when the representatives of the Powers appear in their radiant uniforms, as they often do, to remonstrate against his inhumanity to his Christian subjects, and the massacres that are committed at his very doors. He realizes, and he knows that they realize, that the slightest interference by force on the part of any one sovereign will provoke another and even more emphatic remonstrance elsewhere, lest some political or commercial advantage may be gained. When the situation grows serious, however, he grants another profitable concession to some German syndicate as an additional policy of insurance against intervention.

The continual extension of German enterprise in the Ottoman Empire makes the reform of abuses more difficult and the position of the Sultan more secure. If Germany will cultivate his good will to obtain concessions, their possession will make it necessary for Germany to protect them. The invasion of Turkey by a foreign army, the disturbance of commerce and industrial conditions, would be a serious danger to German investments already there, and the longer such interference is postponed the more serious that danger will be, because those investments are rapidly multiplying and gaining in importance. The peace of Turkey and the maintenance of present conditions are essential to their profit. Thus the Kaiser stands as the nurse of the Sick Man of the East.

There are few German investments in European Turkey, because the anarchy which has prevailed there for many years has kept capital and immigrants away; but throughout the other Balkan States German enterprise is taking the lead in every line of trade and industry, and pushing the sales of German goods. In Asia Minor, Armenia, Syria, Palestine and other parts of Turkey, the Germans are already numerous and are increasing. They have greater privileges and better advantages than any other class. The significance and value of the Kaiser’s friendship for the Sultan is appreciated, not only by the officials, but by the public at large, and for that reason Germans are exempt from many, if not all, of the annoyances suffered by other foreigners.

It is useless to speculate as to what might happen if the friendship of the German Emperor for Abdul Hamid were withdrawn. History teaches that political problems in Turkey cannot be solved by the same rules that apply to other countries. The Sultan and his ministers are not to be considered as logical or rational beings. The extraordinary skill which they have displayed in eluding the frequent crises that have occurred in recent years, offers no ground upon which to base a prediction, but the Germans are not to be involved in any ordinary complication. The latest episode was the seizure of the island of Mitylene by a French fleet to enforce the payment of money due French contractors who built the docks at Salonika. The Sultan appealed to the Kaiser to extend his good offices in arranging an amicable settlement, and the German Minister of Foreign Relations advised the Turkish ambassador at Berlin to pay the bill. The bill was not paid, but a mortgage upon the future receipts of a Turkish custom house was given instead, and the French fleet withdrew; but when the mortgage falls due, two years hence, it will be necessary to send another fleet to collect it, for the Sultan never keeps his promises nor pays his bills until he is compelled to. The Kaiser is too shrewd to become involved in such a scandal; but if the French go so far as to interfere with German interests in Turkey or the Balkan States, they will undoubtedly meet with resistance.

The desperate state of affairs in Macedonia, or Eastern Rumelia, as that province is named on the map, is attracting no marked attention in Europe. This apathy, however, cannot long continue, for sooner or later some nation, whether from humanity or selfishness, will interfere and provoke hostilities in which all the Powers of Europe must become engaged. The seeds and causes of conflict are there, and cannot be exterminated without a struggle. The Austrians could do more than any other nation were they permitted to make the attempt. They have already demonstrated in Bosnia their ability to regenerate and govern a mongrel population, but the ambition and purpose of Russia, ever since the Romanoff dynasty came into power, has been to make Constantinople its southern capital, and add the Ottoman Empire to its own.

In Bulgaria, Servia and Roumania, disorganization and decay are advancing more rapidly than the elements of progress. These nations are becoming poorer and weaker because of misgovernment for which there is no hope of reform. Before many years their condition will have reached a crisis that will call for intervention. Russian influence is now supreme in Roumania and Bulgaria, and the Servians are willing to submit to Russian domination under certain contingencies; but Austria lies just across the Danube, and, as the nearest neighbor, takes a deep interest in Servian affairs.

It is probable that trouble will ultimately arise through collisions between the Bulgarian patriots and the Turkish troops in Macedonia. They occur frequently. Scarcely a month passes without a skirmish upon the border between brigands, as they are usually called, and Turkish military guards. Bulgarian citizens are being arrested continually and imprisoned in Turkish jails, and the Bulgarian government is always making useless protests to the authorities at Constantinople. The fact that Bulgaria is nominally under a Turkish protectorate complicates matters and gives an additional excuse for hostilities on the Turkish side, for the tribute which was agreed upon at the Berlin Conference has never been paid, and never will be. Even if there were a disposition on the part of the Bulgarians to comply with this stipulation, it would be difficult for them to raise the funds; thus the debt continues to pile up year after year, until Turkey, when the Sultan considers it wise to act, will make a demand and call upon the Powers to enforce it.

The _casus belli_ is always on the side of the Turk. Bulgarians are continually invading Turkish territory, and it is the policy of the Sultan to shoot them when his soldiers can catch them, and say nothing about it. If Bulgaria makes a complaint, it is claimed that the dead men were brigands, caught with arms in their hands, and that the government is trying to suppress brigandage. Some day, however, the Bulgarian people will not be satisfied with this answer. They will insist that their government demand reparation from Turkey, and make a hostile demonstration that shall attract the attention of Europe. If Turkey “calls the bluff,” and sends her troops over the border, Bulgaria will appeal to the Powers for protection, and thus force the Macedonian cause upon their notice. This would have occurred long ago but for the inability of Bulgaria to raise funds to equip and pay her army, the indifference of Prince Ferdinand and the lack of leadership. The influence of Russia is against radical measures also, because she does not think the time is ripe. If Stambouloff had lived, the situation in Bulgaria might have been very different from what it is to-day. His death removed the chief obstacle to Russian domination and left Bulgaria a mere pawn in the great game of diplomacy which the Czar is now playing with the other sovereigns of Europe.

An American gentleman who has spent his life in Turkey, and is familiar with the situation throughout the country, describes it as follows: “The state of the Turkish Empire--morally, socially, financially and politically--betokens the coming of a night of anguish. In every department of government the amount of shameless iniquity is appalling. Simony and bribery, treachery and extortion, always present, but once wont to hide themselves, have lost all shame and fear of rebuke, and are hideous in their ramifications. Socially the situation everywhere is dismal. You read of riots and bloodshed in Albania, in Montenegro, along the frontiers of Bulgaria, and more recent outrages and bloodshed in Armenia. Things are not quite so bad in Syria, though they are on the way to it. During the past four years emissaries from Constantinople of a certain type have sown seeds of bitterness among the Moslems and Christians until their relations to each other are marked with unusual hostility, suspicion and open bloodshed. Even in Beirut, one of the most peaceful and progressive communities in the empire, an active vendetta is in progress and almost nightly men are murdered. No one is punished, no one’s life is safe. It would seem as though the very foundations of the social fabric had fallen.

“I can give you in brief the reasons why this awful state of affairs will continue: The corruption of the courts, in which all crimes are condoned for money. The sole ambition of the unpaid officials, after the collection of the exorbitant taxes, is to get a hold upon citizens of every degree and by means of charges, false or true, extort money from them. I have lived in Turkey more than eighteen years, and have yet to hear the innocence or guilt of a prisoner or criminal dwelt upon. The officials apparently exult in the increase of crime, caring only for the bribes and gifts resulting therefrom, while the wretched people caught seek only for a way by which they can get free from the clutches of these minions of the law. No one ever places any moral weight on the judgments delivered, for in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred they are worse than worthless. I am measuring my words and know whereof I speak.

“The second fruitful cause is the centralization of absolute power in Constantinople and the treacherous subversion of every vestige of civil rights ever enjoyed by the people. The present Sultan, years ago, instituted a policy by which he was to become the absolute master of everything in the empire. The military establishment, in its six great divisions, takes its orders direct from Abdul Hamid. Civil affairs are supposed to be administered through the vilayets (some thirty-five in all). In former times the chief officials, civil and military, were almost absolute in their departments and are still so in theory. But in recent years the Sultan, by an invidious system of imperial _irades_ or edicts, has filched away every privilege and prerogative of these provincial officials. Constantinople has become a huge auction-market where every position in the empire is bought or sold for a price. Worse than this is the ominous fact that the high provincial officials, who once had the power to punish or remove a disobedient or unworthy subordinate, are now powerless to effect any reform. When an official falls under their displeasure or judgment, the matter must be referred to Constantinople. The delinquent hurries off to the capital and returns with an imperial rescript in his hand, confirming him in his position and enabling him to defy courts and judgments, officials and public opinion. By this process the Sultan has insidiously undermined and completely overthrown the legitimate form of government and replaced it by a set of spies, iniquitous and despicable beyond description. The despotic master and the irresponsible clique which has displaced the real government, have now extended their abominable practices and travesty of justice to the ends of the empire. As a result good men are disheartened and are leaving the empire by thousands. Everyone who ever expressed dissatisfaction with the present régime or sighs for reform or change for the better is instantly branded as one of the Young Turkish party and treated as a felon. So the empire has fallen into the hands of the worst elements--parasites and sycophants who are mocking and baffling one another in every department, while the common people are trampled under foot.

“The third cause of corruption and lawlessness is, if possible, worse than all. Immediately after the massacres in Armenia and Constantinople there were thousands of soldiers, military officers and civil officials whose hands were dyed with innocent human blood, and whose pockets and houses were filled with the accursed plunder which they were allowed to take as their reward. Fearing at that time that the Powers might seek the punishment of these red-handed murderers, the Sultan began a wholesale shifting of them to all parts of the empire, so that in every district we have thousands of these brutes who participated in the killing of 100,000 Armenians. No one was ever punished, no one was ever rebuked. Europe, in her pitiful jealousies, failed to exact punishment for anyone. In a little time the Sultan and all his miserable crew came to glory in this colossal crime. But retribution is coming. The Albanians and the Kurds, after such orgies of lawlessness and bloodshed, rapine and plunder, could never be expected to relapse into law-abiding citizens of any empire, and so they are completely out of hand and at this moment shaking off the last shadow of control from Constantinople. Those parts of the empire which were once safe and law-abiding are now preyed upon by treacherous spies and men whose sense of decency and justice was forever blotted out by their acts in Armenia. So neither Europe nor the world need express any surprise as the hand of God rolls up the stormclouds of retribution and smites the empire with the awful agonies of the coming night.”

Unspeakable horrors have been constantly occurring in this corner of the earth, and will continue to occur so long as Turks are permitted to govern Christian communities. The present management of the Macedonian Committee is patriotic, unselfish and honest. The previous administration was corrupt and vicious, but no one will suggest that the sufferings of the Christian citizens of Turkish provinces should be prolonged, even though bandits and blackmailers may be interested in their redemption. The world owes a duty to the people of Macedonia. So far as Armenia is concerned, anything more than diplomatic intervention is impracticable, and civilized nations can only continue to exert moral pressure on the Sultan in its behalf. But Macedonia is in an entirely different position. There will be no difficulty in reaching the sufferers with a fleet or an army of rescue if necessary, because its ports are on this side of the Dardanelles, and the continued violation of treaty stipulations will justify forcible interference. Every day the situation becomes more and more serious, the necessity for action more urgent.

The number of Bulgarians and other Christians massacred in Rumelia and other Turkish provinces will never be known. There is no hope that time will effect any change for the better. The motives for murder, torture and oppression are too deep-seated for moral suasion or diplomatic negotiation to reach. So long as the Christians submit patiently to every wrong that may be inflicted upon them, so long will they be permitted to live; but, in the eyes of the Mohammedans, they have forfeited their lives by accepting the faith of the Greek or the Roman Catholic Church, and so often as an excuse is offered it becomes a religious duty to exterminate them. Just as Saul was bidden to smite the Amalekites, and to slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass, so does the Koran admonish the faithful to remove unbelievers from the earth. Hence it is absurd for the Powers of Europe to wrangle with the Turks concerning the principles of good government or the introduction of reforms.

Not one of the many stipulations in the Treaty of Berlin has ever been faithfully fulfilled; not one of the reforms demanded has ever been actually carried out by the Turkish authorities. It is true that a Christian was appointed governor-general and served in that capacity for five years; but he was a cowardly creature and permitted himself to be used as a screen to shield Mohammedan subordinates who murdered, robbed and tortured the members of his own faith. “_The Bulgarian atrocities_” perpetrated between 1865 and 1875 have been repeated in Macedonia, and the population of that province has been largely reduced by massacre and persecution until several sections are now entirely deserted by their former Christian inhabitants. Every form of tyranny and brutality has prevailed. One record shows 15,000 victims during the last ten years. If a faithful Moslem covets the property of his Christian neighbor it is only necessary to denounce him for “discontent” before the nearest magistrate, and the soldiers will do the rest.

The inhabitants of Macedonia, as previously stated, are of the same stock, profess the same religion, speak the same language, and have the same customs as the Bulgarians. They are generally intermarried, so that the persecutions are a matter of family as well as national concern. Ever since the refusal of the Berlin Conference to include Eastern Rumelia in the Bulgarian Kingdom, the people of both countries have been determined to bring about annexation by force, and, soon after the recognition of the Bulgarian government, an organization was formed to promote that cause. It is known as the Macedonian Committee. Its headquarters are at Sofia, Bulgaria, occupying the second floor of one of the most conspicuous buildings in the center of the city. No secrecy is attempted. The meetings are open to the public, their proceedings are published in the newspapers, the names of the officers and committees appear upon every document issued, and a weekly periodical, maintained in the interest of the cause, usually contains lists of contributors to its support and signed articles by prominent agitators. Branch organizations exist in every community. There is not a village in Bulgaria without one, and the membership includes at least ninety-five per cent of the Bulgarian people. The organization is non-partisan, and has the tacit support of the government, being composed of members of all political parties--both the opponents and the supporters of the present administration.

Until 1901 some of the managers were disreputable persons, and were guilty of practices which brought the committee and the cause into contempt. The late president, Boris Sarafoff, was a notorious gambler and dissolute politician. His reputation was such that people would no longer contribute money. He squandered every dollar he could control, and, in order to obtain funds for the support of himself and his associates, adopted a bold system of blackmail. He even went so far as to threaten a high officer of the government with personal injury if he declined to contribute, and gave notice that he would kidnap the child of a Sofia banker unless a large sum was paid into the Macedonian Committee’s treasury. When these practices became known in the community there was a thorough overhauling of the organization and Stoyan Mikhailovsky was elected president. He is a literary man of high character, and enjoys universal respect and confidence, being the most eminent writer and poet in Bulgaria, as well as an orator and scholar. His associates in the management of affairs are men of similar ability and reputation, but, upon taking charge, they found the treasury empty and the accounts in such confusion that they were unable to make a financial statement to their supporters. Under the administration of Sarafoff, the worst elements in Bulgaria obtained control and the local organization at Samakof, or Samacov, as it appears on some of the maps, was undoubtedly responsible for the kidnaping of Miss Stone.

We do not know definitely what is being done in Macedonia to prepare for a revolution, but it is no secret that the entire province is practically in a state of anarchy, and whenever an opportunity is offered it will occur. In the spring of 1901 the treasury of the Macedonian Committee at Sofia was stripped of every dollar by the rascals who had charge of its affairs, and the difficulties of raising funds have seriously increased since the scandalous disclosures made at that time. Nevertheless the committee has renewed its activity and is making energetic preparations in anticipation of an outbreak. No secrecy is attempted with regard to revolutionary operations in Bulgaria. The propaganda is carried on with the greatest publicity. But all movements on the Macedonian side of the mountains are covered with mystery. Conscious of danger, the Turkish authorities in Macedonia are vigilant and constantly engaged in efforts to suppress the proposed revolt. For several years the Macedonians have been organized and arms and ammunition have been distributed among them. They drill in the forests by night and bury their guns and cartridges among the roots of the trees. This is an ancient custom, and strangers riding through the country often have their attention directed to ancient oaks which bear signs to mark the spot where arms have been concealed.

When the struggle does come the Macedonians will fight to the finish. After five centuries of Turkish bondage they have become convinced that it is better to die than to live under present conditions. Deserted farms and heaps of ashes indicate where the Turks have been administering discipline. The Turkish officials spare neither women nor children, and make no distinction between Bulgarians and Greeks. Every person who does not profess their faith is an infidel fit only to die the death, and must submit to their lust, cruelty and extortion. No Christian woman in Macedonia can be protected from the passion of the Turkish soldiers and officials, and the thresholds of thousands of homes are slippery with the blood of husbands and fathers who have died defending the honor of their wives and daughters. But the Turks have a way of accomplishing their purpose without the apparent use of force.

If a Turk finds a Christian woman who pleases his fancy it is only necessary for him to have her summoned before the nearest magistrate and asked if she desires to become his wife. If she consents the marriage ceremony is performed at once. If she refuses persecution begins--not only herself, but her father, mother, brothers and sisters are arrested for fictitious offenses and thrown into prison. They may be accused of treason and shot; they may be fined the entire value of their property, and made to suffer other penalties which the Turks show great ingenuity in devising. Some women yield to save their families, and are self-condemned to spend their lives in the perpetual slavery of the harem, but usually the entire family abandons everything, and flees across the boundary into Bulgaria with only such property as can be carried in their hands, to begin life over again under the protection of the Bulgarian authorities and among sympathetic surroundings. The Turkish officials invariably confiscate any property that may be left. Southern Bulgaria is full of such refugees. A friend told me that more than a dozen families within his own personal acquaintance had been compelled to abandon their homes in Macedonia for this reason alone, and within the limits of Bulgaria are several thousand similar cases. Young women actually disfigure themselves that their attractions may not excite the admiration of the Turk.

A gentleman who recently passed through Macedonia told me of a spectacle he saw with his own eyes and an experience which can never be forgotten. He says that, stopping for a drink of water at a roadside cabin, he saw evidences of a recent disturbance, and, as no one responded to his knock at the door, he entered. Seated upon a rude bench was a wild-eyed woman holding to her breast the body of a young babe, whose head had been crushed by a cruel blow, and whose face was stained with fresh blood. Upon the floor in the corner of the room was the mutilated body of a young peasant, the face hacked by scimiters until it was beyond recognition, while the abdomen had been ripped up until the bowels protruded. The woman was evidently insane from fear and grief, and the fact that she was unharmed was construed by the guide to mean that she was absent when a troop of Turkish soldiers, passing by, had stopped at her home long enough to murder her husband and child. The cause could only be inferred. The man was said to be an industrious, honest, well-to-do peasant, who had married the comely daughter of a prosperous neighbor about three years before. The neighbors dared not discuss the occurrence, but from the little information he could obtain it was not unusual. The people are accustomed to such tragedies. The man was a member of the Greek Church, and the Turkish soldiers killed him and his child because he either refused to renounce his faith or because they supposed he had hidden his handsome wife at their approach.

Much of the trouble is due to the desire of Turkish officials and soldiers to secure the daughters of Christian families for their harems. Is it any wonder, then, that the women of Bulgaria and Macedonia have taken the sword in their own hands and defended their homes and their persons with the courage and the strength of men? We read of a band of Bulgarian Amazons who performed such prodigies of valor in one of the revolutions years ago that, when they were finally overcome, the Turks impaled them alive before the gates of the governor’s palace and placed their heads upon the town walls.

The rebellious provinces have a population of about 4,000,000, three-fourths of whom are Christians and one-fourth Turks. Almost two-thirds are of Bulgarian ancestry, and, naturally, the people of Bulgaria have a deeper sympathy for them than have those of other nations. A portion of Macedonia formerly belonged to Servia and the remainder to Bulgaria. If it were understood that, in the event of emancipation from Turkish rule, the province would be divided upon ancient lines, the Serbs would doubtless lend their assistance and reënforce the Bulgarians; but unless some such understanding can be reached in advance the Serbs might resist Bulgaria, because of neighborly jealousy, and aid Turkey to suppress the revolt by making war upon Bulgaria. The present committee advocates Macedonian independence on the same basis as that of Servia, Bulgaria and Roumania, and its local newspaper organ asserts that it would be the crime of crimes to involve these three nations in a war.

Entirely disinterested judgment would suggest that the province of Rumelia should be placed under the protection of Austria, Germany or England; or, if that could not be permitted, that it should be governed by the Swiss, the Danes or the Dutch, who have no political interests at stake. The people are not fit for self-government, while the old policy of trying to reform the Turkish administration is criminal folly. Improvement will appear, however, the moment the curse of centuries is withdrawn, and the ground left free for wise, honest and just administration. Peaceful Moslems should, of course, be permitted to pursue their vocations and practice their religious rites, as in Bosnia. Religious freedom should be the fundamental condition, but the Turkish pashas and bashi-bazouks, and every official of Islam faith should be compelled to disappear, never to return.

If Russia could be induced to extend her influence in Armenia, which no other power can approach without crossing foreign territory, and permit Austria to control the Balkan Peninsula, there might be peace; but Russia is indifferent to the Armenians, because they do not belong to her race, nor profess her religion, while the populations of the Balkan States are almost exclusively Slavs and members of the orthodox Greek Church. Whatever may be said of the political aggressiveness of the Russians, it cannot be denied that the rulers, statesmen and people of that empire have always shown active sympathy for oppressed Christians, and there is not the slightest doubt that Alexander II. entered upon the war with Turkey in 1877 as if it were a holy crusade. The religious relation gives Russia an advantage over Austria, because the latter is a Roman Catholic country, and very few members of that faith are found in Bulgaria or the Turkish provinces. Neither Russia nor Austria would consent to British domination in the Balkans, but they might yield their own claims in favor of a protectorate by one of the smaller nations, such as Switzerland, Denmark or the Netherlands.

II THE TURKISH GOVERNMENT

The Sultan of Turkey is a good deal like President Cleveland, in that he tries to look after the details of his government himself. President Cleveland used to sit up all night sometimes examining the recommendations of postoffice candidates because he felt a personal responsibility in the selection of good men, which he could not delegate to the officials of the postoffice department. He used to read all the evidence and other documents connected with pardon cases, because he could not trust the judgment of the attorney-general and the officials in the department of justice. He frequently sent for the papers relating to Indian contracts, public lands and other matters of business which no President before him ever investigated personally, but he knew more about what was going on, and had more influence with his own administration, as President Lincoln used to say, than any other man. The Sultan of Turkey has a similar disposition, but a different motive. He trusts nobody, although everybody succeeds finally in deceiving him. He endeavors to do everything himself and to attend to all the details, but never goes anywhere and is compelled to depend upon his ministers and other subordinates to see that his orders are carried out. Therefore most of his labor is wasted and the people suffer the consequences.

For example, recently a bridge over a river in Asia Minor was carried away by a flood and the people came down to Constantinople with a petition for a new one, because all such things are within the Sultan’s personal jurisdiction and can only be done by his orders. He read the petition and heard the committee, and, casting his eyes over the map they had submitted, suggested that the new bridge be built at another place. It was somewhat distant from the old one and in a situation more liable to danger from floods. At the same time it was very inconvenient for the public; but nobody dare tell the Sultan so, or even question the accuracy of his judgment. So a new bridge was erected at the new location and a few weeks later it was carried away like the first. The people came back to the Sultan. He refused to receive them and sent word that he had given them a new bridge and that they ought to be thankful and ask no more of him. Since then the population of that district has been compelled to cross the river in small boats because the government will not build another bridge for them and will not allow them to build one for themselves. That is about the way the government of Turkey is managed; a fair sample of maladministration that applies to every department.

Up the Golden Horn is a navy yard, with a fine marble building for the headquarters of the admiralty, a school for the education of officers, barracks for the accommodation of sailors, a hospital for the sick, and a long line of sheds and shops for the construction and repair of ships, and an enormous amount of money is expended annually for the maintenance of ships which are supposed to be in commission, but cannot be used because their engines, boilers and other machinery are useless. Some of them have no smoke-stacks. They lie at anchor where the Sultan can see them through a glass from a certain point in the park that surrounds his palace, and he supposes them to be in full commission and ready for active service. He gives the minister of marine every year money to pay for coal that is never bought, for provisions and other supplies for crews that do not exist, and for repairs that are never made. The shops are idle and empty, although he believes them to be filled with busy workmen. According to the official register, the Turkish navy consists of eighteen cruisers of from 2,000 to 8,000 tons, twelve coast-defense ships, six gunboats and twenty-six torpedo boats, but all are useless except a few small torpedo and gunboats stationed at different ports along the coast. The annual allotment of money for the supplies of the navy is about $3,200,000, but, according to the popular impression, a very small part of it is ever applied to the purpose for which it is intended. The navy yard on the Golden Horn is the most extraordinary marine morgue in existence. Long rows of vessels of the most antiquated pattern lie side by side, stripped of their machinery and equipments and fit only to be knocked to pieces for junk. Students of marine architecture will find there types of vessels that have not been used for a century, and the Sultan still appropriates money to maintain them. But even the most modern vessels, built during the late war with Greece, have been stripped of everything portable by officers and sailors whose wages have not been paid. The Sultan does not know anything about it. He depends upon his minister of marine, who gives him such information as he thinks advisable, and is supposed to rob him right and left.

Hassan Pasha has the reputation of being the richest and the most corrupt official in the Turkish government. He is supposed to be worth $4,000,000 or $5,000,000, all of which he has acquired while in the service of the government. He has great influence with the Sultan. The latter considers him one of his most loyal and efficient officers and trusts him implicitly. It is said that Hassan would like to resign and enjoy his money in London or Paris, but dare not do so. The moment he suggested any such idea the Sultan’s suspicions would be excited, and it would be dangerous for Hassan to retire, because his successor would discover what has been going on in the navy department, and Hassan’s head and his money would both be in danger. Many other pashas are very rich, but they send their money out of the country as a precaution, for they never know when they may forfeit their sovereign’s favor, and that usually means the confiscation of their estates and perhaps decapitation or imprisonment for life. When a prominent man disappears in Turkey no questions are asked. It is impolitic to be inquisitive.

Said Pasha, the grand vizier, is believed to be an honest man. He is one of the few prominent officials of the government who has not amassed a fortune while in office. For his honesty and other reasons he has many bitter and revengeful enemies. Six years ago, when he was grand vizier, he endeavored to punish certain influential pashas for robbing the government. They engaged in a conspiracy against him and got the ear of the Sultan, who believed their statements, and sent the _Kapu-aghasi_, chief of the white eunuchs and first officer of the imperial bedchamber--the Sultan’s most confidential man--to summon Said Pasha to his presence. The _Kapu-aghasi_ is always an unwelcome messenger, because the Sultan trusts him when he will trust nobody else. When he carries a message it has unusual significance.

Said Pasha understood the situation, and, instead of going to the palace, sought an asylum at the British embassy, where Lord Dufferin, then ambassador, gave him protection. Nobody knew what had become of the grand vizier until after seven days, when he sent a carefully prepared report of his proceedings and the motives for the conspiracy against him to the Sultan by the hand of the British ambassador. The latter explained to the Sultan his opinion of the case, and vouched for Said Pasha as an honest, truthful and loyal man. The Sultan was not convinced, but agreed to accept Said Pasha’s resignation without further proceedings, and gave a formal assurance that if his former prime minister left the embassy and returned to his own home he would not be injured. Lord Dufferin notified the Sultan that the British government would hold him responsible for any injury that Said Pasha might suffer, and that in case of his death not even a plea of sickness would be accepted. From that hour Said Pasha was the safest man in Turkey. The Sultan sent his own physician and two of his most trusted aides-de-camp to live in his house to protect him, and, adopting Lord Dufferin’s suggestion, made an investigation of the charges against him. Nobody knows how he got at the facts, but he executed some of his new favorites, sent others into exile and finally restored Said Pasha to power and gave him his confidence as fully as he ever gives it to any one.

It is said that Shanghai, China, is the dirtiest city in the world, that Peking is ten times as dirty as Shanghai, and that Canton is ten times as dirty as Peking: but Constantinople is as dirty as all the rest of them put together, and the pavements are simply horrible. Yet the Sultan, who has never ridden about his capital, is laboring under the delusion that it is well paved and sweet and clean. Several years ago he took a notion to go by carriage instead of by boat to Seraglio Point upon his annual pilgrimage to worship before the holy mantle of the Prophet Mohammed, and the officers of the municipal government covered the pavement of the streets through which he was to pass with fine sand two or three inches deep. This not only concealed the filth, but made a smooth and comfortable track for his carriage. The Sultan was delighted, and gave instructions to fix all the streets in Constantinople in the same manner, allotting a large sum of money to pay the expenses. The officials took the money and put it in their pockets, and nothing was done to the streets. The Sultan honestly believes that Constantinople is one of the best-kept cities in Europe, and often boasts of that fact to foreign visitors. As he dare not go through the streets to see for himself, and is surrounded by men whose interests and safety require them to maintain the deception, he will probably never discover how he has been deceived. The two great bridges across the Golden Horn, which connect Stamboul, the Turkish town, with Galata, the foreign settlement, produce not less than $2,000 a day in tolls. Every foot passenger is charged a penny, about the same fee as that collected by the ferry companies of New York, and carriages pay ten cents. But of the receipts not more than $100 a day goes into the public treasury. The rest is stolen by people who have charge of the collections. Everybody gets his “squeeze,” from the general manager down to the Turks with white aprons who stand at the entrances and take the money. Curious people have taken the trouble to stand at the approaches to the bridge and count the number of passengers within a certain time as a basis for an estimate of the revenues, and assert that $2,000 a day is a low calculation. It is also asserted that not more than ten per cent of the customs collections goes into the treasury. The balance is stolen by the officials, who receive no salaries and are expected to take care of themselves. Sometimes they get their money out of the importers and exporters by blackmail, because each collector of customs is required to turn a certain amount into the treasury every month, but some of them simply take a proportion of the ordinary receipts and are satisfied with that.

Several propositions have been made to the Sultan to farm out the collection of duties to a bank, which is willing to guarantee him a stated sum in cash annually and take its chances of collecting an equal amount or a good deal more upon the present tariff rates, but the Sultan dare not make such an arrangement because the customs service takes care of so many poor relations and hangers on of his favorites. If he should put this patronage out of his hands they would have to be supported in some other manner. Therefore he declines to have his revenues honestly collected.

Some people think that the Sultan was not responsible for the Armenian massacre in 1896. Others are confident that he ordered it, just as Charles of France ordered the massacre of St. Bartholomew. They believe that he was induced to do so by the representations of the Sheik-ul-Islam and his ministers that the Armenians were on the point of revolution, and there was circumstantial evidence to sustain their claims. There had been repeated massacres by the Kurds and other Turkish barbarians in Armenia, and thousands of Christians there lost their lives and property. When a committee of Armenian citizens went to the Sublime Porte to present a petition demanding the protection guaranteed their countrymen by the Treaty of Berlin in 1878, they were prevented from entering, and attempted to fight their way in, which caused a riot and gave their enemies an argument to secure official sanction for their persecution. But what is known as the “Ottoman Bank Affair” was really the immediate cause of the massacre. It is practically the only bank in Constantinople, and is managed by an Englishman. One morning in 1896, while business was going on as usual, a party of forty or fifty armed men entered the building and closed the doors. The manager, Mr. Vincent, succeeded in escaping. The bank was promptly surrounded by troops, which made it impossible for the bandits to get away with any booty or with their lives, but they threatened to blow up the vaults and to set fire to the building unless they were granted immunity. Mr. Vincent had sufficient influence with the authorities to secure such terms, and during the night after the raid the bandits were taken from the bank to the nearest dock, placed on board Mr. Vincent’s private yacht and carried to Marseilles, where they were put ashore and disappeared. They claimed to be Armenians, but were all strangers. Some people think it was a “fake” raid arranged by the Turkish police to arouse public prejudice against the Armenians. Others think that a foolhardy group of Armenian revolutionists attempted to secure funds to carry on a revolution. But whatever the intent or expectation, on the following day the Sultan was persuaded that unless the Armenian community was effectually terrorized it would overthrow his government. He gave the word, the Mohammedan priests and _softas_ (theological students) led the mobs, and the Turkish fanatics continued to kill Christians until they were exhausted.

There is a multitude of priests, divided into classes and ranks. The lowest is the muezzin, who is a sort of sacristan or sexton at the mosque. He calls the faithful to prayer, but takes no part in the devotional exercises. _Softas_ are theological students--young preachers who make up a fanatical and turbulent class and are the cause of most of the disturbances in Constantinople, as the students of universities often are in other European countries. Next to them in rank are the _cadis_, who exercise a temporal as well as spiritual jurisdiction, acting as notaries, justices of the peace, judges of the courts and look after the financial affairs of the different parishes and religious orders. There are several religious brotherhoods and orders like the dervishes. The _moulahs_ or regular priests, who conduct the services at the mosques, may be compared with the ordinary clergy in our country. One grade above the _moulah_ is the _khodja_, or professor of theology, who is found daily at the mosques with a copy of the Koran and other orthodox authorities before him, expounding the faith of the Mohammedans to groups of students and others who gather around him, sitting cross-legged upon the floor.

You can find these groups in every mosque at all hours of the day, and they remind you of the story of Jesus teaching in the temple. The theologians receive fees from their pupils. Another class of _khodja_ expound the Koran to ordinary people very much in the manner of our Sunday-school classes. After the regular prayers are over in the mosques they take convenient places, and those who desire to learn from them squat around in semicircles within the sound of their voices. The lesson or lecture lasts about half an hour. Many of the pupils are business men who are interested to hear and know. Others are poor devotees who scarcely understand the language of the teacher, but listen attentively to everything he says. There is no regularity about the lectures and no stated fees are charged. Those who attend can pay whatever they like. Some of the ablest theologians attract large classes and make a good living. Their incomes are much better than the salaries paid to the ordinary _moulahs_, or parish priests. Superior to them are the _mufti_, or bishops, and the Sheik-ul-Islam, or patriarch, the spiritual head of the Mohammedan Church, who often is known as the Great Mufti.