villages are owned or leased by the Mohammedans. There are only a few Christians who can call as much as seven acres of land their own. But at the same time the Christians enjoy the utmost toleration. Their churches are open on Sundays, or on any other day if they feel like worshiping. Their meetings are not disturbed by the Mohammedans. The only restriction put upon the Christians is that they must not insist that their religion offers the only means of getting true salvation and that the Apostle Peter has the only key that can open the gates of heaven. In his interesting book on "Pan-Germanism" Dr. Usher, in speaking of the Balkans, says: "For centuries the Balkans have been the seat of the most intense religious hatred, and are the only states where active warfare still exists between the Christian and the infidel and between the Latin and Greek Churches, and these different races live so near one another as to result in constant reprisals which keep the community in a condition of alarm and anxiety." The same feeling exists in Persia and Turkey, but, the Christians being so few in number, little attention is paid to them. Often the Mohammedans content themselves with maintaining order among the rival sects of Christians. In fact, whenever you see a Christian in prison he is usually accused by his fellow-Christians. A Mohammedan would never bring suit against a Christian. If a Christian swears at a Mohammedan and insists on calling him names, the believer will then club him on the back or head and let him go to his home with a few bruises. Under an Oriental form of government it is absolutely impossible for the people to take an interest in political affairs. The masses are down on the government and the government is down on the masses. To say that the Christian population get the worst treatment is hardly true. They believe they do because the officials are all Mohammedans, and to them a Mohammedan government and the Prophet himself are the greatest curse God ever placed on mankind. Should the Christian population have an opportunity, I believe they would drink the blood of the Mohammedans as if it were a luxury. It is all religious hatred. Of course we know that the form of government referred to is not perfect; but show us anywhere a perfect government! A perfect government, as Rousseau explains it, is in heaven, and the kingdom is far from being upon the earth. To say that the Christians are not in danger in Turkey is out of the question. They really are in great danger of being massacred should Turkey enter into this war. In the first place, the Christians would rather be killed by the Turks than fight against Christian nations; and, in the second place, it is very improbable that the Mohammedans would go to war and leave the healthy Christians in the land among their unprotected women and children. We do not say positively that Christians have not been sent to the front by the Mohammedan Government, but when the attempt has been made the results have been very bad; it usually has taken a regiment to keep them from rebelling against their officers. This was proved in the Russian and Persian War in 1877, and also to some extent in the recent Balkan War. We now find England and France bringing the Mohammedans from their colonies, and they are making a good showing,, but it is hardly probable, should Turkey enter into this war, that the Mohammedan population would fight against Turkey. They regard themselves as governed by a stepmother, so to speak, and no matter how well they are treated they feel that they are under a foreign power, and they cherish the expectation that one day they shall be governed again by the descendants of Mohammed, Abu Beker, and Osman. The Armenians, who form the greatest number of Christians living under the Turkish Government, are not interested in the political aspect of the country. Their chief aim is to increase their trade and business, to which they are very devoted, and in which they meet with great success, no matter where they are. Nothing can be more pitiable than the condition of these poor people. They are plundered unceasingly in the most arbitrary manner by the tax collectors, and are constantly exposed to the robberies of the Kurds. The Kurds do not consider a man's religion and standing ; they would rob a Turk or a Persian as well as an Armenian or a Greek. The Ottoman Porte has not the power to interfere. There are times when the condition of the Christian becomes more serious than at others; for instance, when the Mohammedan nation is at war with a Christian nation. the present time, owing to the European con(Continued on page following illustrations) At COPYRIGHT BY UNDERWOOD & UNDERWOOD FORTIFICATIONS THAT GUARD ONE OF THE WAR'S GREAT PRIZES Constantinople, which compares favorably with any of the world's capitals for beauty of situation and splendid possibilities, is probably destined to witness stirring scenes within a short time. The Turkish capital may quite possibly pass into Christian hands as a result of the war. The picture shows the somewhat antiquated defenses on the Bosphorus, as seen from a passing vessel PHOTOGRAPH BY PAUL THOMPSON TURCOS FIGHTING FOR FRANCE One of the anomalies of the war is the presence in France of Mohammedan troops from her African colonies, who are engaged in fighting the Germans; while the Turks, as allies of Germany, are now fighting the French. The photograph shows a detachment of the Algerian troops escorting some of their wounded to a place of safety A TRIUMPHAL RECEPTION ACCORDED TO A GERMAN NAVAL HERO Commander Widdigen, of the submarine U9, which sank the four British cruisers Hogue, Aboukir, Cressy, and Hawke, received a great welcome at Wilhelmshaven recently. The above picture was drawn by a German artist, Willy Stöwer, who witnessed the reception |