Turkey

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXVIV, Issue 45, 28 January 1916, Page 5

Turkey

I ON TO CONSTANTINOPLE. I ■ THE GERMANY-BALKAN EXPRESS. | % i IMPRESSING BULGARS AND TURKS. EXORBITANT PRICES IN THE CITY. | "CALLIPOLI DAY" CELEBRATIONS. TURKEY'S FUTURE ASSURED BY GERMANY. PULLING THE DANDY'S LEC! STRIKE AT THE BRITISH EMPIRE THROUGH SUEZ.

CONSTANTINOPLE AT NICHT.

[DmrKr Prebb aeßooiAiioN."? (Received 8.10 a.m.) London, January 27

The Daily Mail's correspondent cabled yesterday that he .travelled from f Sofia to Constantinople in the Ger-many-Balkan express, which was the I most .handsome train in Europe, with the name blazoned on the carriage in three-feet letters in order to impress the Bulgars and Turks. He found an alarming dearth of necessities in Constantinople and prices were exorbitant. There was no coal and nearly all the shops were closed. It was untrue that there were fifty thousand German troops present, but there were ten thousand, all of the first rate.

The correspondent stated that he had attended the celebration of "Gallipoli Day." The town was gay with flags. and mobs paraded the streets waving banners, but the victory was dearly bought. He saw an .endless procession of wounded filling the tramcars, vehicles, and motors.

The correspondent interviewed Halil Bey, Foreign Minister, who said Germany would make Turkey as wealthy, prosperous, and enterprising as she made Boumania.

I The correspondent persuaded Halil Bey to introduce him to Enver Bey. who was a real dandy. He asked Enver Bey if it was true England was prepared to make a separate peace with Turkey, and Enver said "It was too late. The Entente may have had that design and might have succeeded, but we learned that the Entente had designed to give Constantinople to Russia."

I He added: "If the English had had courage to rush more ships to the Dardanelles, she could have reached Con'stantinople, but the delay enabled us Ito fortify Gallipoli. We took two hundred Austrian guns thither in six weeks, but if the English had reached j Constantinople there would only have Ibeen an impasse, because we would 'have retired to Asia Minor and the English would not have destroyed j Constantinople." ! Enver Bey concluded: "With the !Germans' help we can strike the British Empire through the Suez Canal. Our motto is: 'To Egypt!' " The correspondent learned that the Germans intended to destroy the Canal from end to end and fill it up with sand. The Germans generally admitted they had no chance of reaching Paris, but, having walled off the British and French armies, they feel they can operate freely in the East. The officers admire the fighting capacity of the British soldiers, and said they wish they had the British, Australians, and Canadians to command. Constantinople's theatres, cafes, and |cinemas are closed, and the only means of journeying by night is with small I electric torches. The money position lis an extraordinary one as regards Lold and silver, arid official Turkish paper money is very short. Substitute Turkish notes which have been issued ostensibly of the face value of 17s M | are realising 12s 6d.