TURKEY IN WAR TIME.

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2371, 29 January 1915, Page 6

TURKEY IN WAR TIME.

AN 1 CNSDBEIMETPORTE 'BSmifflKfflD THETOUNG HIRES AN. INTEEESTINGrPICTUBE The -following interesting description j of the situation in Constantinople is i written by Mr. Henry Wood, the Home representative of the United Press, who > wasi sent to Constantinople after the 'outbreak of war to investigate the pre- ... vailing conditions there. j Constantinople, via Salonlca, Bee. 7. I The-entire foreign population who : nave been financially able to do so and , who have not been restrained by the ; Turks are now fleeing from the city in : order to escape the reign of terror and , the persecutions which have been in-' j, stituted against Europeans. The abolition of the Capitulations and the de- [ claration of war itself are the outcome i'-of a'supreme effort on the part of the ; 'Young ruiks to end for ever all foreign ' interference in affairs political, educa_.tional, financial, and governmental, and to run. the government of the country : entirely by; themselves in the future. ■ The originator, executor, and mov- ;■• -ing genius of ,this programme is the i '32-year-old Enver Pasha, who, follow- > ing ; his meteoric career from military v.attach© at the Embassy in Berlin, i'■'leader of the constitutional revolution i ; in 1908, the deposer of Abdul Hamid, l the hero of the war in Tripoli, the r overtbrower of Kiamil Pasha 'when, the i latter wished to cede Adrianople, marf ried the Sultan's favourite 18-year-old | .niece, became Minister of War, and I now, 'supported by bis friend Talaat [:. Bey. (who is both Minister of the In- ■ ternor and Minister of Finance), comi pletely controls the entire Government I .< of the Sublime Porte. He is. for the T time.. being;.' the idol of the Turkish j'ipeople,' and on account of his. marrying «-! into the' Imperial family exercises a '.. powerful influence with the Sultan. Ber lieving himself to be a man of destiny, ■ 'Enver Pasha determined with .the_ help (-of Germany■• to ond all foreign interI ference in Turkish affairs and regain '; lie lost African provinces, thus' being' | able-to pose as the. great liberator ana ! restorer of modern Turkey. He alone j-. is considered personally responsible for i '. permitting Germany to gain the control j■ cd the Turkish army and navy and. j force the country into war, all the time ; hoping thereby, to further his own perjional ambitions. It is even declared | that,the Sultan-has already promised ; to make him Khedive of Egypt if the I. campaign 'there should prove successful.

I, Confiscation.; i Immediately after th 6 declaration of I war. Enver forced the departure of the j Ambassadors' of the belligerent Powers [from Constantinople, and,, relieved for i the first time.of. the latter's.restraining i influences, : the..Young..,,Turks. t began I wholesale, often semi-ludi-, icrons measure's against the Europeans. \ Mobs, evidently' inspired by the Gov- ; ernmeht,' destroyed and looted foreign-' ! -owned hotels, restaurants, and stores. L.On one occasion they mistakenly took i a signboard advertising Anglo-French !'■ draperies as indicating the nationality 'of the-establishment, and promptly, des- ' troyed it. Next day. they seized the I large French lunatic' asylum, expelling I the staff, and installing as superin- ; tehdent a Turk who himself had only j recently been released from a-similar ; institution. -Then began-the wholesale ; arrests of all prominent foreigners, the : purloining of their most private papers, ) and the; searching of. their premises for • private 7 wireless installations. From : the Rev. Robert Frew, the rector of \ the Episcopal Church, they took all | the church papers, including copies of. j the rev. gentleman's sermons for the- : past -fifteen years. Next they turned ■ their attention to the schools, j confiscating in Constantinople alone 75 of these seminaries, valued at £10,000,- ■ 000, many of which were a century old. , They expelled the teachers and converted the buildings into barracks, hospil: tals. or Turkish schools. Two Ameri- ; can .institutions," the Roberts and Con- '.' stantinople Colleges, alone escaped, al- : though they took possession of the form- ! er*s wireless apparatus, which was kept ; there": for the instruction ■of : -They are now threatening to seize the iqrchives at the latter school. _ ;; Measures of this description have ('been taken throughout the entire Turkjjish Empire, and now the Government \ lhas. just begun the seizure of foreign '' 'concession's, including the English Naval \ 'Cohstructon Yard, valued at £5,000,000, • and the French waterworks. Both the - Damascus and Smyrna railroads have ; been taken possession of by the Govf ?rnment, who have officially announced i. their intention to seize other transport j,facilities, harbours, and public works, ; 'alleging that the foreign owners have , either fled or been expelled, and that \ no one remains to operate them. Turk- : ish controllers have now been installed fin all forign'banks and in the offices of | .iAe; Administration of the Public Debt. :' They have not yet seized tho telephones, ! {however, as they would be unable to I s 'operate them without foreign assistance.

The American Ambassador, ; ' When the fury of" the Young Turks ; first broke, the pnited States Ambassador, Mr. Morgenthau, representing . British, American,. French, Belgian, •' .Servian, Swiss, Danish, and Argentine interests, alone stood between foreign- ] 'ers arid the immediate execution 1 of pro- ; .posed Turkish reprisals. Since then the ; entire staff of the American Embassy ; jhas been working night and day securi ing the release of those arrested, see- , ! ; ing to their safe departure by special : 'trains to the frontier, and guarding ■ against unexpected surprises by the ;. Turkish authorities when the special i trains are about to leave. On the first ! occasion, as one of these trains, was about to depart the Turkish police re- ■■ fused to give a permit for it to leave : until-Mr. Morgenthau forced the Gov- ■ eminent to overrule the police orders. i Tip to date the American Embassy 'has i been the means of forcing the Govern- ; ment.to permit the departure of 1000 foreigners whom they originally intend- ; ed t ohold as hostages. At the present moment, however, the ', Government is enforcing a new law ! Which only permits of the departure of : women and children, the men capable • of taking up arms' for their own coun- ; try. being threatened with internment : in-concentration camps. Despite this -. law the American Embassy still succeeds in. securing the departure of - about half a dozen daily. The majority : of the few thousand Europeans still re- : maining here consists of those who for financial reasons are unable to leave ; .the country. Their condition is a ! pitiable -one, but has not yet become critical. Foreigners leaving the country ' are not permitted to take with. them, more than £10 in : gold, and in somo • cases are forced to . accept Turkish paper money. Across : the borders the towns are filled with distracted relatives who, not daring to reenter Turkey, are unable to communicate'with or. seciire the departure of ; their relations who still remain in Otto- _ man territory. Dedeagatch alone har- , hours 2000 families' who succeeded in ; crossing the frontier, but without money ; are unable to proceed further. The unceasing efforts of the Amerii'dan Ambassador have secured consid- \ erable moderation in the treatment of 1 foreigners. The original orders were ; to expel all French nuns and seize all the funds in the convents and their pro- ; porby."/ ,'Wamed of this intention in ■ advance, the American Ambassador arrived' a't'the.principal..convent;ahead of

the police, to whom he refused admittance untd he had obtained from the Government their consent to grant all nuns ten days', grace. The nuns, taking advantage of this respite, cocealed all their money and valuables. Alleging that the fleets of the Allies had bombarded unfortified cities, the authorities at Smyrna, Beyrout, Jaffa, Morsina, and Alexandretta sent the bank deposits and the official archives into the interior, and are now holding foreigners as hostages under the penalty of death if there should be any further bombardment. Constantinople isolated. Although the Government has promised the American Ambassy-not to permit the massacres of the Christian population, serious doubt is entertained as to whether the • Government will be' able to control the' situation should the proclamation of a holy war arouse the fanatics. Leading foreigners remaining in Constantinople also fear rebellion against the Government and Germany if the Turks should be defeated. The population is not permitted .to read any war news except, official bulletins describing mythical naval and military victories. A crisis is feared when the full truth becomes known. Hoping to prevent this, the Young Turks controlling the Government have practically isolated Constantinople from Europe. All steamship services have been cancelled, and only one train is permitted to enter Turkey daily. Only one telegraphic connection is being operated, and the Government is holding up the bulk of the_ incoming and outgoing mails. Foreigners leaving the country are not permitted to carry letters or other, documents suspected of containing information relative to the prevailing conditions either in the capital or throughout the country generally. This regulation is. so strictly enforced that the authorities on the frontier took from Mr. Wylie Brown, the secretary of the American Chamber of Commerce, business letters from Turkish firms, letters from the Ambassador and the Consul General, orders for merchandise from Turkish firms, and even a list of American business houses in the Orient. Comfo'.Opera. Despite the gravity of the situation the loung Turks daily persist in actions which can only be likened to comic opera °l hoysh pranks. For instance, when the Government promises the' American Ambassador to permit the departure of foreigners, the,police, after the authority has been given, step in and hold the latter up at' the station. The refugees in their turn excitedly appeal to the Ambassador to intervene on their behalf, and when he does so the Government on every occasion overrides the police and promises faithfully that such interference in future will not be allowed. Next day, however, the performance is repeated. Likewise the Government on one : day promises the Ambassador not-to arrest prominent foreigners, but on the very next day proceeds to take someone into custody. When the Ambassador appeals to the Government and reminds them of the promise of the.day. before, an official blandly admits ' that the promise had been- forgotten, and the prisoner is forthwith released. A high official the other'.'.day, when; the Ambassador made one of his • requests, said with' a smile, ■'We cannot understand your solicitude. We haven't killed, hung, or shot anyone yet." Nevertheless the American Ambassador fully controls the situation, the Turks granting practically every demand made by him on behalf of citizens of the' eight countries which he has represented sinco Turkey went to war.