216 WORLD-POWER AND EVOLUTION 



scourged the starving villages, stripping men and women of every 

 rag, and leaving them weak and wounded to find the way home 

 for miles in the blazing sun. We grow eloquent over the infernal 

 wickedness of the Arabs, and the criminal weakness of the Turkish 

 government in permitting such devastation. But why should we 

 blame the Turk and the Arab? They are acting absolutely in 

 accordance with the stage of evolution which they have reached 

 and with the physical environment in which they are placed. If 

 we would do anything, we must show the Arab how to find food 

 where there is no food, and the Turk how to be so wise and ener- 

 getic that he will forestall the hunger and violence of the Arabs. 

 If the new government which must be established in Turkey can 

 find a way of helping the Arabs in times of drought, it can pre- 

 serve its borderlands from desolation. Raids will never cease so 

 long as the Arabs are hungry and have the desert as a refuge. 



Here is another example of the economic handicaps which keep 

 the people of the Turkish Empire so backward. Everyone famil- 

 iar with Constantinople wonders at the desolate character of the 

 surrounding country. On the Asiatic side, to be sure, villages are 

 fairly numerous in spite of the relatively high mountains. On 

 the European side the beautiful plateau stretching northward to 

 the Black Sea and westward a hundred miles to Adrianople, is 

 well-nigh uninhabited. It lies only a few hundred feet high; the 

 soil is deep; the slopes are gentle; and everything appears pro- 

 pitious for agriculture. Yet one may walk for miles and see 

 nothing but flocks of sheep, and at long intervals a little village 

 in a secluded valley. To test the common opinion I made inquiries 

 of three friends who have lived in Constantinople. All are far 

 better informed than the average traveler, and one is among the 

 chief authorities on the country. My inquiries took the form of 

 this question, "Why is the country around Constantinople so 

 sparsely settled?" 



The first reply was : "Lack of energy on the part of the Turks. 

 They might have some fine gardens there ; they have them in some 



