210 WORLD-POWER AND EVOLUTION 



of beams and felt over the holes in the limestone where the water 

 escapes. They have also tried to deepen the channel at the outlet. 

 Their greatest effort, however, was a vain attempt to build a 

 practically horizontal canal for a dozen miles around the smaller 

 lake from inlet to outlet. The idea was excellent. The only 

 trouble was that they went to work with characteristic lack of 

 foresight, and apparently made little effort to secure a proper 

 slope. Now with greater foresight the Germans have given their 

 canal the right slope and are watering the plain. 



Of a piece with this bit of Turkish lack of foresight was the 

 remark of a Turkish peasant. One of the engineers was telling 

 him what a fine thing it would be when his land was finally irri- 

 gated; "When we turn the water into the canals, your crop of 

 grain will average five times as large as now." At first the peasant 

 did not seem impressed. Then an idea struck him: "Allah be 

 praised! Do you know what I'll do.? I'll sell all but one fifth of 

 my land, and work only one fifth as much as now !" 



Equally stupid is the Turkish attitude toward massacres. Why 

 does the Turk massacre the Christian.? Is it because he is by 

 nature more cruel than other people.? More likely it is sheer 

 stupidity. The Turk reasons thus: "Look at these Christians. 

 They occupy good land ; they prosper ; they lend money to Turks 

 and make the good Moslem pay interest; they 'eat' better than 

 we do. Let us tax them and make them disgorge the wealth which 

 by right belongs to the Children of the Prophet." So the screws 

 are turned and the Christians are pinched. Naturally the Chris- 

 tians protest and squirm. "Aha," says the Turk, "you are 

 against the government, are you.? We'll settle that. The Kurds 

 shall kill and plunder you, and we will share the plunder and 

 enjoy your lands." The stupid Turk does not realize that he is 

 killing the goose that lays the golden eggs. 



I happened to visit Adana just after the massacres of 1909 in 

 which fifteen or twenty thousand Armenians were killed. That 

 case illustrates the extraordinary stupidity and also the lack 



