Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Foreigners Resident In the Turkish Empire Are Pessimistic Concern ing the Outlook for the New Re gime?Ottomans Not Loyal. By WILLIAM T. ELLIS. Somewhere in Turkey.?For rea sons (hat are apparent, I dare not lo calize the Interview which I shall re port In this article. Tho porsons quoted could onslly bo discovered, and they would bo made to feel the heavy hand of the government. They repre sent the darker side of the present sit uation within the Turkish empire. Deforo proceeding to quote these men, I may state one ominous and related fact, vlt: Every foreigner whom 1 have met In Turkey?and I havo interviewed hundreds?has shown himself hostile to the present government. This 1? an amazing con dition of things. Sometimes the an tagonism bus been merely skeptical and supercilious. In other cases It has been deep and passioned. Hard Knocks for the Turk. Tho criticisms of the present govern ment made by these British and Americans has not been necessarily in contrast with the old regime, but It has been a criticism of the Turk aB a governing power. Neither Is It to bo considered hostile to Islam per so, but to Islam as embodied In the ruling class of the government. I have heard Educated Non-M oslem Ottomans. ?coro9 of predictions that the out- | come of tho present regime will be I utter failure. This state of mind on the part of the principal foreigners resident in Turkey must necessarily be a heavy drag on the wheels of the government. Another ominous and allied fact Is that the Christians in the Turkish em pire aro emigrating by the thousands. If anybody has the curiosity to exam ine tho bulletins of Ellis island during the present six months he will And a big percentage of Turkish subjects among the arrivals. These men have fled from the prospect of military serv ice. When put to the tost, they show that tho Christian population of Tur key la not loyal to the government. Apparently Constantinople is willing to let these people go, although, taken as a class, the Christiana are more efficient members of the community than the Moslems. An Upper Room Conference. These generalities were Illustrated and substantiated by an interview I bad recently with a doxen non-Moslem Ottomans, who are all educated men. and most of them professional men. They would be called leading citizens of any community. I asked a friend Typ? of American School in Turkoy. to ?rrnnge un interview -with the edu cated natives of the city who spoke English. The result was an evening gathering I? an upper room of the bom* of one of the members. The Interview started with one man who bad lived abroad serving as spokes man, but it quickly developed lato a general discussion. "Have conditions Improved under the new regime?" "No; conditions are really worse than in the Hamidlan days. The new regime has made the Moslems more alert to what is going on, and quicker to assert their superiority, and to im pose exactions upon non-Moslems. Christians have no rights In Turkey today, in spite of what you have read In the papers." Here one man broko in with an 11 L lustrntlon: "A short tlmo ago, In my Dativo village, u. Christian caught a thief among his goats. Tho house holder was a strong man and over powered the thief, and kept hlm In the house for the eight. Tho next day ho took him to tho ofllclals, but because tho offender was a Moslem ho was set free, while the Christian was arrested and fined 25 Turkish pounds for kld naplng a Moslem!" The Old Cry for Justice. "Tell mo." I asked, "what ycu edu cated non-Moslems want of tho gov ernment?" Instantly there camo from several. aB If by prenrrangemcnt, tho cry, "Jus tice, equality." "Why not 'fraternity* also?" I asked, reminding them of tho third of the watchwords which wero so generally UBed at the time of the rovolutlon. "Never mind about that; let us bavo justice and equality, and then fraternity will take care of Itself." "We cannot get justice. Thero Is as much bribing as ever, only the bribes are bigger. Thero are fewer Christians in office than there were In the old days." Venturing to suggest that, In spite of all, conditions aro Improving and that the new forces at work must make for human betterment, one man Impetuously Bald: "When will they be better? After we are dead? We want bettor times now." Ottomans Who Hate tho Turks. After more pessimistic talk I re marked: "Then you seem to think that tho present government is going to smash?" "Wo hopo so," was tho Instant re sponse. "Wo are willing to bavo any powor but Turkey rule. Of course wo dream the dream of Independence for our own part of the land, and for the vnrlous nationalities that go to make up Turkey, but that la far In the fu ture. At presont we prefer the suzer ainty of some one of the powers?any body except the Turks; or we would be glad to see our part of the country neutralized under the powers, as Is the case with I.-ebanon, over which, however, Turkey has some control. Then all these emigrants who hare left by the hundreds of thousands will return to this country. All of them pine for the homeland, but they simply cannot live here." "Do yon not see," I remarked, "that tht> -./untry is being drained of the best people by emigration, so that the prospects grow weaker as more of them leave?" "Good people go to a good country," was the terse rejoinder of a college professor; "there is no field here for educated non-Moslems." The Army Bugaboo. I have said that the prospect of mil itary service which is now open to the Christians is driving many young men out of tho country. Several were escaping on ships upon which I trav eled. When remonstrated with these young men declared that the Chris tians are persecuted In the army; that there are no Christian officers; that the Immorality of the Turkish soldiers ta of a nature that makes ?Ten the nominal Christians flee from It; and that the lifo In the army la not only poorly paid?about 80 cents a month? but that the conditions are of the hardest It seems to be the opinion of these educated observers that Turkey Is willing to have as many of the Chris tians as please leave the country. Here my companions began to ask questions about America. They talked of it as the children of Israel must have talked of Canaan. Every man of the twelve in that room, as wo found by a count, has relatives in America; some of them look forward to going thither themselves. They think that the rapid spread of the Masonic movement will help improv conditions; but they say that In Tui key the MasonB do not cohere sufL clently. The Sultan's Greatest Dread. Speaking of tho reform elemenl which undoubtedly exists within Islam Itself, these educated Ottomans said that tho progressive Moslems dare not show their hand In Turkey. There Is no real freedom of criticism. "If you would print in your paper," I suggested to one, "that the Sultan If not a descendant of the prophet, and not oven a membvr of the prophet's tribe, and so, according to tho ancient law of islam, is not qualified to be caliph, would you be sent to prison?" This point Is one which gives tho sul tan grentest concern. With fine scorn tho man answered: "No; I would not go to prison; I would go to my grave." "TheBO new days have only made the Moslem Turks more fanatlcul There is likely to be a massacre at any moment. None of us is safe. I cannot venture out without my pistol, as you see"?moving aside his coat and showing tho pistol In his pocket? "everybody goes armed. When the Moslems could kill Americans, as they did Rogers and Maurer in Adana, they say It Is safe to go ahead and kill native Christians." Factors In Reform. The gentlemen present were unani mous thai the greatest factors of promise tn Turkey were the schools maintained by foreigners, and espe cially by the Americans. After the beginnings of tho public education which have been made, there may come general enlightenment. Thero Is great need for the Improve ment of ogrlcultural conditions by the government itself, If people are to wrest a bare living from tho fields, with prices rising on every hand. Late at night tho conference broke up, and I carried with mo a picture of men under the strain of tho great fear and a great discontent, who could be patriots If given a chance, but whose present sentiments are tho?e of utter antaRonism to tho government of which they are citizens. (Copyright, 1911, by Joseph B. Bowles.) HOW TO AVOID MATRIMONY Kind-Hearted Soul Offers Some Valu able Advice on the Matter, Without Charge. To avoid getting married is a very easy matter, either for a man or a woman. If you are a man, frequent the dance, especially the coming-out dance. Stick to tho debutante as men of liberal views stick to their opinions. Hang around conservatories when the music is playing soft and low. and where thero are intoxicating odors. Hang around summer resorts and attend musical recitals. There are other things to do, but this should be enough. For a woman to avoid matrimony is quite as easy. She should live in a college town, or Washington, D. C. She should cultivate those young men who wear yachting Bults all summer and who know what to do with their hats on a piazza; who are good at buckling on skates, who ask if you have heard this and that, who would just as soon act as ushers at a wed ding as not, who are perfectly willing to explain the game of baseball, who are willing to Introduce other fel lows. That's all you have to do to avoid matrimony. But, in order to cinch the matter it may be well to add a few more words of advice. Ladies! If a man comes along who will not talk baseball with you; who does not know anybody and does not want to; who does not even play bridge; who cannot even toll you who ore tho richest girls at the summer resort and Just how rich they are; who never was an usher at a wedding and never will be?pass him the ice pitcher! And do it quick! Then go and hide! Men! When you see a girl who hasn't got a crowd around her; who wears no scalps upon her belt; who subscribes to the I'^me I>ady; who knows how to Bet a table for five in a cottage that cost $1,200; who can give an appropriate Halloween party. Beat It, my son! Beat It!?Puck. Physical and Psychical. Dr. Farlll, lecturing before a soclal eervice class In Chicago, Bald "the character of the man as a citizen oft en was dependent on the physical training he received." Yes, but his character was more dependent upon the moral training he had received. His environment, his studies, his as sociations, Iiis methods of thought, the books he reads, the things he likes to talk about have more effect on his character than all the physical exer cises he can pursue. Because sound muscles, nerves and organs are to be desired, they should not monopolise one's interest entirely. The vanity of the flesh very often leads to the un dermining of one's life. Building up the physical at the ex pense of the psychical is a disturb ance of that equilibrium which means health. The tendency of the age is to disturb that equilibrium?to make the legs of a man the test of his mlghtness, which was not the Lord's way, as the Psalms remark. The right way, in the determination of those im portant relations, Is to keep the soul just a little ahead of the body on its upward maroh. Not Hard Cider. Bacon?I see a man in tho apple country has a lake of apple cider on his place. Egbert?And do they skate on It? "No; the cider's not hard enough for that."?Yonkers Statesman. EDEN NOTES. Eden, Feb. 12.?The farmers of the Eden district No. 2, met the 10th to reduce tho acreage of cotton. The weather being unfavorable there were not many present. Mr. S. R. Gray has returned homo from Atlanta with a line pair of mules and a horse. Mr. Gray believes in good stock on the farm. Mrs. J. A. Armstrong made a hy ing trip to ?den last week. Dr. J. W. Benson has purchased a new buggy. Miss Sophia Armstrong spent Friday with Mr. M. W. Gray and family. B. W. Martin nnd wlfo ate turkey with Zeb Vance and family Friday. Miss Vivian Owens spent Wednes day night with M. W. Gray and fam ily. A party of men went to Sowen's Bridge last Tuesday and killed about forty rabbits and several birds. F. W. Mahaffcy was In Laurens Sat urday on business. Clyde Mahaffey and wife spent sev eral days In Fountain Inn last week. Ambrose Holder went to Greenville Friday on business. E. H. Reeves Is on the sick list this week. See tho splendid values wo are showing In Iron Beds. S. M. & E. H. Wilkes & Co. Liver Tonics The wise old saying that "an ounce of pre vention is worth a pound of cure" stands the test when spoken of your liver troubles. When the liver is out of whack the whole systen goes wrong. One of our standard liver tonics taken at the right time will prove the real "ounce of prevention.'* Try One of These: Thackers Liver and Blood Syrup. Lax-Fos Kidney and Liver Hedicine. Black Draught Liver Medicine. Simmons Liver Regulator. Laurens, S. C. NewSpringGoods AT SWITZERS We have just received a big shipment of New Spring Goods for your inspection. They go on sale this week. The Quality and Price will sure please you. We ask that you come to our store and make your selection of early Spring Goods now. SILK DEPARTMENT. New Things In Silk Foulard. 50c, 27 inch Silk Foulard for February ..86c 35c, 27 Inch Silk Foulard, for February . .25c Big shipment of new Ginghams, just what you want for early spring school dresses. 12 l-2c Spring Gingham .10c 15c Spring Gingham.If l-2c Spring Percals now on hand. All new pat terns here at Swltzer. Per yd 10c and 12 l-2c LINEN DEPARTMENT NOW COMPLETE. 36 in Linen Crash, just the correct thing for new spring suit, blue, new tan, gray, only .40c 36 in Linen Crash, gray brown and white 25c 36 in brown Dress Linen .20c SUIT DEPARTMENT. We have Just received our first shipment of new Bprlng Suits. Ask that you come and look through this department and let us show you what Is the correct thing In Suits for spring. WHITE GOODS DEPARTMENT. 36 in White Madras .10c 27 in Heavy cord White P. K.25c 27 In cotton Corduroy, white and black . .25c 27 in White corduroy. 50c kind .40c Our buyer leaves this week for the big North ern Harkets where he expects to purchase a com plete line for every department of our store. We are now, and will continue to be, in perfect shape for our trade. SWITZER C?T LAURENS, S. C.