JOTTINGS FROM EUROPE by H. P. Holser

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · May 14, 1894

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 20, No. 28.

JOTTINGS FROM EUROPE.

By H. P. Holser

TURKEY.

[From our own correspondent.]

WHEN traveling in Turkey one is impressed not only with the desirableness and beauty of much of the country, but with the limited trade and prosperity enjoyed by the people. From the earliest times known to history, this has been a favored land. Along the shores of the Euxine, from Colchis on the east to the Bosphorus on the west, and about the Bosphorus, Propondis, Hellespont, and Ægaen Sea lie the scenes which became the favorite themes of the Grecian poets, while Asia Minor, just across the straits, was once the richest section of the world. It has always been a favorite land of the Greeks, who are still found here in large numbers.

In bold contrast with the golden days of the past stand the present barrenness and poverty of the land. Long-continued wars have laid it waste, and under a bad system of government it has not recovered, but rather grown worse, until some of the once fertile districts are now almost desert. Places once well watered are now arid, doubtless in part due to the removal of trees. Fruit trees are taxed, and as the tax frequently exceeds the total product, the owners cut their trees down to save loss.

The government is such as to discourage husbandry in the fairest land. First, a tithe of the product is demanded; then a second tax of as much or still more is asked. Again, everything in trade is the reverse of what leads to prosperity. For example, raw material taken from Constantinople is allowed to pass free, while all manufactured goods are subject to duty. What better arrangement could be devised to discourage home manufacture and encourage industry in foreign lands?

In addition to the home discouragements, foreign trade is greatly limited by the exasperating way of doing business by the government. In Turkey, time does not figure as a factor in a man's calculations. If one has something to get through the customhouse, he must go and watch his chances. No regular hours are kept by the officials. They come and go at caprice. Sometimes one may wait from morning till 4 P.M. before the necessary officer comes, only to be told that he has not time to attend to his business today. He may come again on the morrow with the same prospects of success. Sometimes several days are thus consumed. For even the smallest article, one must lose from one to two days.

What has been said of the customhouse is characteristic of everything else. The Turk is hopelessly wedded to the doctrine of fatalism, which leads him to total indifference in many things where the European is wide-awake to his best interests. The result is the ruin of trade and prosperity, and the present poverty-stricken condition of the country. As one evil leads to another, so this state of things has led to universal corruption of government officials.

Generally, the officers are not paid regularly, and are left to get their salary as best they can. This has led to an unscrupulous system of "grab." With bribes, one can do almost anything; without them, he can do almost nothing. In consequence, it is very difficult for an honest man to live in Turkey, for he would soon be bled to death.

The principle of "like priest like people" may be applied to "like officers like people;" and when this system of bribery and stealing is once started, it seems to move forward like an avalanche in the ratio of geometrical progression. While in a village almost in sight of Constantinople on clear days, I visited a silk factory. The manager related how he had been seized by robbers, while returning to the village with his wife, and carried away to the mountains, where he was kept till his father paid $5,000 for his release. They have not been able to secure any sort of redress from the government.

Another illustration: one of our missionaries went to visit a village, also in sight of Constantinople in clear weather. As the law does not require one to carry a passport in a certain district about Constantinople, being in this district, our missionary carried none, yet, when he landed, it was demanded, and because he could not produce it, he was marched off to prison, in spite of his protests that they had no right to take him. As he did not take the hint to offer a bribe, he was plainly told that if he would pay a certain sum, they would release him. When he declared that the government gave him the right to travel thus, they coolly responded that they lived in the mountains and did not care what the government said. This shows the existing degree of respect for the laws and ruling powers.

Besides the difficulties resulting from poverty, the government has much trouble with foreign elements. At present the Armenian question is the most serious. Like the Swiss, the Armenians have always been very patriotic. They still sing songs of victory in battle with the Persians, and still celebrate a national festival to commemorate a great victory of 300 Armenians over 10,000 Persians.

Cilicia, their beloved country, their land flowing with milk and honey, has been taken from them, and their liberties greatly curtailed. The more they resist, the tighter the cords of oppression are drawn, until at present a crisis is greatly feared. It is now very difficult for an Armenian to travel, or to do anything of a public nature. An enemy of an Armenian desiring revenge has but to report him to the authorities as a dangerous person or a secret conniver against the government, and he is promptly arrested, and may have endless difficulties.

The censorship of the press is growing more severe. Every article printed must first be submitted to the government. About the only way for a journal to exist is to say absolutely nothing about the government. At present, it is next to impossible to secure the permission for a new journal, while as many as possible of those already existing are suppressed. About the only way to start a new journal is to buy out one already existing, which is an expensive step. All tourists' guidebooks for Turkey are forbidden, likewise every other book speaking unfavorably of the government.

These are but a few hints at the existing state of things. At a glance, one can see that all who have acquaintance with this country by contact in business or otherwise soon lose all respect for it; nevertheless, the beauty and desirableness of its natural advantages still remain, and are still more coveted than if they were under a good government. Under existing circumstances, it is no

wonder that men are constantly expecting a general scramble for this favorable territory.

But the Lord has a work to be done here, and the winds of strife will be held till this work is accomplished. Men who know not what God says in his prophetic word cannot understand the situation; but those that are made wise by his word shall understand. Let us give heed to what he says about the Eastern question in the books of Daniel and Revelation.

H. P. HOLSER.

Isle of Cypress, March 27, 1894.