CONDITIONS IN TURKEY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 17325, 27 May 1918, Page 6

CONDITIONS IN TURKEY

NOT YET BEATEN. PEN PICTURE OF LIFE IN CONSTANTINOPLE. • A. neutral diplomatist who has recently arrixeti- here from OoiisULutinopie has given mo au interesting account oi conditions Were (wrote cue Geneva correspondent ol a London paper recenijyj. Tne p;cture presented is less sombre tnan those drawn by other witnesses, but it should be roinonibered that theso observations were made from tlie angle of the olisciat world and by u man who obviously did not come into close contact with ttio imisscs ot the people. Conditions are certainly bad in lurkey ttie said) but there is a tendency in the outside world to paint them blacker than t-iiey are. Ihcro is a great deal of want and misery among the poor, tome discontent among tne middle class, and a widespiead desire for peace. On the other hand Uie Young J urk LTOvermiient seems immovable. Let thore be no illusions on tho point- lurkey is not yet on its last logs. Food is scarce and tho quality is bad, but in Turkey, as elsewhere, you can get fry tiling you want provided you are prepared to pay high prices, and millionaires live m luxury. Tne poor eat broad and olives and drink sour milk. The plentiful supply of Jish from tho Bosphorus eases the food situation. The deb£ js about £350,000,000, tho greater part of which is covered by German war bonds. The outcome of the war will probably determine Turkey's solvency or bankruptcy, and the financial situation is causing much anxiety. 1 alaat Pasha, the Grand Vizier and Minister of the Interior, and not Enver Pasha, is now Turkey's strong man and leading political figure. Talaat is an able man, popular with all classes, courteous to neutral diplomatists, extremely tolerant and broadminded in his attitude towards enemy subjects now in Turkey. Talaat Pasha and the < Young Turk Government, in spite of their grievous, sins, ■ are to be praised for the support they give to the "new woman movement in Turitcy TURKISH TELEPHONE GIRLS. In Turkey, of couise, such movements progress slowly. The efficiency displayed by the Turkish girl telephonp operators is helping to break down old prejudices against female labour. The Turkish " holloa girl " is extraordinarily alert. I have used the telephone in hall a dozen European capitals, yet 1 experienced less, difficulty in getting a communication in Turkey than in any one of them. T.he first Turkish Girls' Commercial College was opened at Constantinople last December. The Kaiser's visit to Constantinople was the great event in social life last autumn. The Turkish official world made a tremendous fuss of its great ally, and a round of engagements was arranged. Accompanied by " mihminders "—Turkish officials placed at his disposal—the Kaiser visited the show places at Constantinople, prayed with uncovered' held in the German military cemetery, and dined on board the Goeben. The numerous Germany colony cried " Hoch" until they were hoarse, whereas the Turks were polite and a little cynical I found myself an arm's length from the Kaiser at several of these functions. He seemed worn and weary. THE BRITISH COLONY. Tho British colony at Constantinople reaches about 2000. Maltese and English born in Turkey, and married to 'lurks, Greeks, or Italians predominate, the British of pure stock numbering about 600. Their friends in England need have no great anxiety on their score. Certainly they share tho general discomforts—to use a mild wprd—which prevail at Constantinople, but they suffer no actual ill-treatment. Early in the war leading members of the colony, under the guise of " reprisals," were interned inl.uid. The policy of " reprisals" has been happily abandoned, and these men are back at Constantinople. British shopkeepers still carry on trade in spite of the difficulty of imparting goods to letail. The British chaplains bring poor Turks within the radius o! their charity, and are highly esteemed by the Turkish authorities. General Townshend is, of course, tho most distinguished British subject in the Turkish Empire. I saw, as it happened, his Tuikish aide-de-camp almost on tho eve of my departure from Constantinople. "The General," he told me, "is in excellent, health. 110 spends most of the day in his little yacht, and reads enormously." I called on the General last summer at his villa on the Island of Prinkipo, and chatted for an. hour with him and his British aide-de-camp, a captain. His pa.tience in captivity ha.; confirmed the glowing opinion which his courage on the battlefield n-ave the Turks.