Part 17

The Albanians in Macedonia have been for more than a generation a source of terror and a tower of strength to the Turkish government. They number perhaps two million in the country and occupy a region remote from the capital, and difficult to control. They have never been fully loyal to the sultan or any other ruler, and, occupying as they do the fastnesses of the mountains along the western borders of Macedonia, they have enjoyed unusual liberty. They have been referred to as the least civilized of the European races. They are warlike by inheritance and profession, and cling with an intense devotion to their Albanian tongue.

They claim that they are direct descendants from the ancient Pelasgi and are proud of their lineage. An Albanian prince told the writer not long since that he was of the same race that gave Alexander the Great to the world. They call themselves _Skipeter_ or “the Eagle People.” The majority of the race have outwardly accepted Mohammedanism but in most cases this is largely in form only. As the Koran is permitted to circulate in Turkey only in the Arabic tongue, and as few Albanians are acquainted with that language, they have little knowledge of Islam, and perhaps less love for it. Many of them are nominal members of the Greek Church.

On the other hand, the Turkish government, through the love of the Albanians for war, has brought many of them into direct service to the state. Some of the best and bravest officers in the Turkish army are Albanians. Mohammed Ali Pasha, who reformed Egypt and founded the present khedival house, was an Albanian. They have risen to the highest positions of influence and power in the empire, not a few of them serving in the sultan’s cabinet. This reveals the native strength of this people, and the reason why the sultan jealously guards the race in his attempt to hold them true to Mohammedanism and loyal to himself. Their very strength of character makes them bold and fearless in the fastnesses of their remote mountain home, and hard to subdue; but when they declare allegiance to a cause or a person they cannot be diverted by fear or favor.

This sturdy people with high codes of honor in their dealings with each other and with strangers number about one-tenth of the Mohammedan population of the Turkish empire. Until within a few years they have been regarded as inaccessible to the missionary and to the Christian worker. Recently mission work in Macedonia has come into contact with them and a few have embraced Christianity. Nearly twenty years ago a school for girls was started in Kortcha, one of their chief cities, conducted by Albanian Christians, and in the Albanian language. Some of the chief men gladly put their daughters in the school, but were later compelled by the sultan to withdraw them.

The Albanians constitute one of the vital race problems of Macedonia. They are eager for modern education and are restless under the restrictive and oppressive rule of the Porte. If they become, as a race, members of the Greek Church, as many have already become, their influence will be cast against the rule of the sultan and in favor of outside protection. If the Turks can hold them to a servile Mohammedanism, they will greatly strengthen the power of the throne at Constantinople. Upon the other hand, if they insist upon a modern education for their children, and enter upon an impartial investigation of the merits of Protestant Christianity, there is no standard for measuring their influences on the other races of Macedonia. Albanians in large numbers are coming to the United States, and here they seek education for themselves and plead eagerly for assistance that they may be able to give greater educational and religious privileges to their children at home.

This race is but a part of the Macedonian question which has been agitating Turkey and Europe for the past few years. If the demands of the European Powers are acceded to, the hold of the sultan upon Macedonia will be weakened, although not broken. It has been well known for the last twenty years that, with every weakening of the sultan’s power, strength has never returned to it. Should there be a withdrawal of Turkish rule from Macedonia, including Albania, it would remove all restraint from the Albanians and give them full freedom to educate their children and to worship God according to the dictates of their consciences. Under these circumstances few would probably remain Mohammedans for any length of time. To Turkey these conditions contain mighty possibilities, nor are they without deep significance to the entire Moslem world. It may be that we are to-day witnessing a break in the Moslem ranks that have hitherto presented a solid wall of opposition to every Christian approach. There is no phase of the present Turkish question which is more important or significant.

Besides the Albanians, Macedonia has three most discordant national elements consisting of Turks, Bulgarians, and Greeks. The Bulgarians are eager for the extension of the Bulgarian principality south to the sea, while the Greeks desire the extension of the kingdom of Greece eastward to include that part of Macedonia in which a large number of Greeks dwell. The Turks represent the government and are strenuously opposed to both these tendencies, and they express their opposition in every kind of repressive measure known to the Porte. To this is added the rivalry and hostile jealousies existing between the Greek and Bulgarian churches in the country, and the resultant condition of affairs is about as bad as well can be.

Marauding parties, formed and armed in many instances upon the Bulgarian side of the border, have penetrated into Macedonia, terrorizing all classes and clashing with the Turkish troops. These have operated for several years. The object of these expeditions apparently was to arouse the attention of the world to the misgovernment of the country and so secure outside intervention, and consequent reform. Their purpose has been offset by the lawlessness of the Turkish soldiers, and between the two the innocent citizen and peasant are ground almost to powder. There are also Greek bands of marauders who strike terror to the regions in which they operate.

It is to restore some degree of order and to prevent the country from running into absolute lawlessness, that the European Powers have endeavored to unite and secure for Macedonia a systematic and safe administration. If the Powers succeed in this effort, we may reasonably hope that the hold of Turkey upon Macedonia will soon begin to break and that ultimately all that section of Europe will be free of Turkish rule. The sultan will not yield those rich and fertile provinces of his empire willingly, but he is powerless to resist the demands of the combined Powers of Europe.

XXVI. GENERAL POLITICAL SITUATION

There are no indications of the presence of the “Young Turk” secret organization, but there is a growing discontent with the present régime. This is caused (1) by individual dissatisfaction with injustice, increased taxation and harsh military service; (2) by the racial ambition of Arabic speaking Moslems who regard the Turk as a barbarian and of doubtful orthodoxy, and are restive under Turkish rule which allots them few positions, civil or military. Many Arabs wish the caliphate assumed by one of their race and would bring the capital of Islam near if not into Arabia, its cradle. This politico-religious aspiration is ascribed to Midhat Pasha and has been fostered, since his day, by pamphlets widely scattered and by secret societies. (3) Discontent also results from impotent rage at the waning political power of Islam under Turkish leadership. Moslem supremacy has been lost in Mount Lebanon, in most European provinces, in part of Asia Minor, in Cyprus, Crete, Egypt, and is now imperilled in North Africa. (4) Another cause of discontent is realization of the fact that universal corruption is sapping the vitality of the empire and dissipating its resources. (5) To these causes is added knowledge that other lands have secured improved material conditions and equable justice without interference with religious observances. This embitters by contrast their present situation. Emigration, which has taken tens of thousands of Christians from Syria, has lately begun to draw from the Moslems. The letters of the absent and the influence of those who have returned are factors of unrest. That any or all of these elements of political ferment will produce any revolt is improbable. No leader could expect success with an unarmed and poor set of followers nor could he unify and harmonize hostile sects. —From “The Mohammedan World of To-day.”

The political situation in Turkey can well be summed up as “A fifteenth century Oriental government in conflict with modern civilization.” This condition is aggravated by the existence of European rivalries and jealousies and Mohammedan fanaticism. The combination of these forces is hard to analyze and its results even more difficult to forecast.

The first, and in some respects the most evident, difficulty especially manifest to those who reside in the empire, is the intellectual, social, and moral upheaval caused by the influence of Christian civilization upon the people as a whole. New and, to that country, startling ideas of religious freedom, human rights, and the true functions of a government, have taken hold upon large numbers out of every nationality and religion. So long as the government of Turkey is conducted according to Oriental fifteenth century ideals, it is inevitable that there must be a conflict, trying both to the government and to the governed. So long as the people were densely ignorant, knowing little of the world outside and far less of the principle that governs civilized people, they made little complaint. As enlightenment came to them from various sources, it was inevitable that unrest should also come. Had Turkey been able to adjust herself to the new situation and move forward in her administrative methods, keeping pace with the growing intelligence of her subjects, she might have become one of the strong, compact, and thrifty nations of the East.

She chose otherwise and began early to devise and put into execution plans for the suppression of general education. At the same time, the press was throttled by a severe censorship and all who were suspected of thinking for themselves came under a ban. Turkey, in her feeble way, attempted to follow the lead of Russia in this respect, and did so undoubtedly under Russian advice. The failure to protect property has discouraged the investment of capital. Industries languished and have almost died out. Inevitably enterprising men would seek to emigrate. When once outside the country few incline to return so long as present conditions continue. In fact, the government discourages the return of any who have been abroad, fearing the new ideas they acquired in Europe and the United States. At the present time the government practically forbids the return to Turkey of all who have been in civilized countries, endeavoring to maintain a wall of seclusion against all ideas of modern civilization. Turkey calls such people dangerous characters and throws them into prison as revolutionists.

This dangerous class includes Albanians, Turks, Greeks, Syrians, and Armenians. In most respects among these are found the most enlightened people of the country. Some of the educated Turks have obtained their new ideas from sources within the country, while others have studied in Europe. Many of them have come into more modern ideas of a government and its functions, and would gladly see changes made which would bring Turkey into harmony with Europe. These are called the new Turks, and are classified roughly together as the “New Turk party.” They are not revolutionists in the ordinary sense of that word. They find no favor with the reigning sultan, and are exiled and even executed without trial. The party, although apparently not organized, is a fact, and the spirit of reform is spreading among the Turks. Measures to suppress this movement are generally secret and are seldom reported abroad. A Turk once told the writer that “when outrages are perpetrated against the Christians, the whole world lifts up its hands in horror and the sultan is ordered to cease; but when the poor Turks are the victims, where is there a voice raised in their defense?”

Naturally the Turkish government fears the Armenians since they have made such rapid progress in education during the last eighty years. Since Bulgaria became practically an independent state, Turkey has tightened its hold upon Armenia. At the same time, the Armenians, seeing the great freedom and prosperity enjoyed by the Bulgarians, have cherished dreams of the time when they too might be free. While all Armenians have at times indulged in such visions, but few have ever seriously considered the proposition a practicable one. Only the most rattle-headed of them declare such a plan possible and only such are advocating revolutionary measures to that end. Armenia (a name not permitted in Turkey) can hardly be erected into an independent nation, although it would be impossible to convince Sultan Hamid II of that fact. He governs as if he expected hourly that Armenia may rise and demand its freedom, although the Mohammedans are everywhere greatly in the majority.

There are, however, a considerable number of Armenians who have been driven to desperation by the injustice and cruelty of the government. Aware that they are powerless to reform Turkey, they declare their inability longer to endure. These resort to acts of desperation with the hope that Europe will become aroused, as it did in the case of Bulgaria, and interfere in the interests of the oppressed. Small revolutionary parties called by various names have been organized in Macedonia, in Armenia, and especially in border countries like Bulgaria, Russia, and Persia, for the secretly avowed purpose of compelling the attention and interference of Europe. They have stirred the Turks to acts of extreme cruelty, but have egregiously failed to accomplish their purpose.

These internal affairs which disturb and vex the people almost beyond endurance are allowed to continue, unchecked by European interference, because the nations of Europe cannot agree to act together, nor can they trust any one to act for the rest. England’s influence, which was supreme when the Treaty of Berlin was signed, has been superseded by Russia, and she in turn has taken, more recently, second place to Germany. The sultan, most astute of all, is able to set rivalry, jealousy, and suspicion against suspicion, jealousy and rivalry, and while they quarrel over methods and precedents, he works his will. No diplomat is able to cope with the sultan of Turkey, because his statements cannot be relied upon, while his promises are meaningless. Every ambassador and minister learns this to his sorrow, but is powerless to meet the conditions created by it. To call the sovereign of a state to which he is accredited “a falsifier” would not be diplomatic, and might strain existing relations, and to meet falsehood with falsehood is against the principles of representatives of the Christian nations. While the foreign legations are considering these problems the sultan continues his own way.

The present unsettled condition in Russia and the defeat of that country by the Japanese will undoubtedly weaken her influence over the sultan. The emperor of Germany, while maintaining friendly relations with Hamid II, does not seem to attempt to restrain him in his acts of violence against his own subjects. If he would, it is believed by many that Emperor William might accomplish much in bringing about reform measures in Turkey, if the other Powers of Europe would permit him to do so.

Financially Turkey seems to be upon the verge of bankruptcy. Her system of assessing taxes, paralyzing industry, and her method of often collecting from the poor taxpayer many times the amount due, have impoverished the country. The occasional general massacres in different sections have been terribly destructive to national wealth, striking directly at its sources. The strained political situation is due in no small measure to the economic conditions of that country, accompanied by the unjust administration of the government. If Turkey could afford her subjects of all classes a safe and just government, it might soon be one of the most prosperous and thrifty countries in Asia, comparing favorably with the governments of Europe.

What the future will bring forth for Turkey no one can predict. Some twelve years ago the writer asked an old and experienced diplomat at Constantinople what was to be the outcome of the then threatening conditions in the country. His reply was, “I have studied Turkey from within and without for thirty years, and have carefully weighed the diverse forces that are operating in the empire. I have come to one clear and final conclusion which I am certain will stand the test of time, and that is that I do not know anything about what the future will produce here.”

One thing is sure, the methods of government which were successful there six centuries ago cannot be continued indefinitely. Modern thought and ideas will not submit in patience and quietness forever to the oppressive measures of the middle ages. Dawn is breaking and it is useless for the night to rail at its coming. Intelligent belief will win in the end, and justice and righteousness must triumph. This may cost the shedding of blood, but indications do not point that way. A mighty revolution is already in progress which will accomplish its purpose, in time, by the simple laws of God wrought out by the lives and acts of intelligent and righteous men. The forces of reform are in operation, not only in institutions, but in the hearts and in the longings, and in the purposes, of men of all classes and races. It propagates itself as it moves from coast to coast, and from plain to mountain fastness, gaining in force and depth and breadth with every decade. Present conditions cannot indefinitely continue. Times may be worse before they are better, but even greater changes are inevitable and at no remotely distant day. God is in his heavens and he is guiding the affairs of the Turkish empire.

XXVII. CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT

In the Mohammedan dominions of Turkey missionary institutions have graduated men who have in many instances occupied government positions on account of their superior capabilities, in spite of the fact that Christian officials are greatly handicapped by Moslem prejudices. In the case of the Bulgarian graduates of Robert College, it was said in 1902, by a missionary of the American Board then residing at Sofia, that “since the beginning of the national administration of Bulgaria, in 1878, there has been no government ministry without one at least, and often two or three, Robert College members. The present Secretary of the Cabinet, whose ability has preserved his position for him during ten years, and under eight successive ministries, is one of these men.” The judge of the supreme court, besides the mayor of Sofia, and many others in diplomatic, judicial, or clerical posts, are all Robert College men. The Syrian Protestant College at Beirut has graduated men who, as government appointees, occupy positions of responsibility, and exert no little influence in the administration of political and judicial affairs in Syria, especially in the Mount Lebanon government. Its medical graduates, moreover, are to be found in the military and civil service in almost all sections of Asiatic Turkey, and notably under the Egyptian administration. —JAMES S. DENNIS in “Christian Missions and Social Progress.”

Many causes have combined, many factors are present, many influences have turned the hearts of men through that empire [Turkey]; but if we ask ourselves what the governing and final factor is which has brought about the first of the world’s bloodless revolutions, which has seen a people divided and dissevered by creed, by race, by language, by every conceivable difference which can separate the sons and daughters of men, suddenly act together—we do ill if we forget that for eighty years the American missionaries have been laying the foundations and preaching the doctrine which makes free government possible. —TALCOTT WILLIAMS, LL. D., editor Philadelphia Press, in an address at Brooklyn, N. Y., Oct. 15, 1908.

Late in 1902 a plan for administrative reform in the Adrianople, Salonica, and Monastir Provinces of European Turkey was published. These included Macedonia where disorders and atrocities had become chronic. Under this measure the valis or governors were given new powers and an inspector general was appointed reporting directly to the grand vizier. The Powers compelled the addition of a financial commission representing them, which should examine the budget of the three vilayets and recommend improvements. With the aid of three Ottoman inspectors, the commission was to supervise the provincial finances and in other ways bring relief to the untoward conditions of the inhabitants. The gendarmerie was put under a foreign officer with an Italian general in command, and much improved in efficiency.

A three per cent increase in the customs duties provided funds for securing other reforms. These, however, it must be said, existed largely upon paper. While the Powers ostensibly had some responsibility and authority in the administration of affairs in Macedonia, the sultan was able in ways so well known to himself to thwart their exercise of it while the discordant elements in Albania and Macedonia made conditions for all classes more intolerable than ever.

Again, early in 1908, the Powers gave hesitating attention to this plague-spot of Europe as one united cry of distress arose from all tongues, the Turkish, Greek, Bulgarian, and Albanian alike. It is impossible to say which race was the greatest sufferer or which the freest from oppression. Practically the entire country was in a state of anarchy and there was none to deliver. On March 13, 1908, the Porte reluctantly consented to the British proposal that the mandates of foreign officials in Macedonia be renewed for a period of seven years. A budget was adopted for the support of the army, the civil list, and the railway, which threatened a deficit of nearly $4,000,000. With all these arrangements no party to the transaction was satisfied, except those European Powers that hoped, in the end, to make political capital out of Macedonia’s affliction. These entered reluctantly into agreement as did also the sultan, who saw his personal power in the three provinces gradually wane; but his former experiences made him quick to read the signs of the times.