SUNSHINE IN TURKEY 



69 



now, behold the dawn of liberty ! Now, 

 behold the dawn of fraternity ! Where- 

 upon the gang of Moslems, headed by a 

 band, went up to the headquarters of the 

 gang of rowdy Christians, escorted them 

 down to the Bourge, and feasted them 

 there and waited upon them as their 

 servants. I am not sure whether the 

 meal was enjoyed by the guests, the 

 Christian rowdies, because I presume 

 they all thought there might be some 

 poison mixed in the food ; but at any 

 rate the meal passed off successfully and 

 no one died. A few days later there was 

 •another procession, and now the Chris- 

 tian rowdies — no longer rowdies, but 

 brothers — went up to the Moslem row- 

 dies and escorted them down to the same 

 place and gave them a return meal ; and 

 there again there was no poison and there 

 were no concealed daggers ! 



In all parts of the city there were 

 different assemblies of the people ad- 

 dressed first by a Christian orator, and 

 then by a Moslem, and then by a Jewish 

 rabbi. Some of the instructors from the 

 college spoke, and I only wish that one 

 of these Syrian instructors, who have 

 spent from four to ten years in our col- 

 lege, might be here tonight. I know they 

 would be able to thrill you, speaking, too, 

 in English that could not be criticised. 

 How they would pour forth their souls 

 under the power and the fervor of that 

 new liberty that is filling their hearts. It 

 would wake us up. Sometimes I feel 

 that we are inclined to become somewhat 

 indifferent in this country; that some- 

 times our patriotism needs to be touched 

 with a new fire and to be deepened and 

 chastened with a new consecration. I am 

 sure, as I say, that if one of these Syrian 

 orators, speaking to you in English, were 

 here he would be able to touch us to a 

 new realization of the meaning of our 

 liberties. 



To them the Turkish flag has become 

 a new flag. Did it ever occur to you that 

 the Turkish flag is a beautiful flag? 

 When you have looked upon it with the 

 star and crescent upon the red field you 

 have been accustomed to think of that as 



a setting star; but I assure you, my 

 friends, in the opinion of these Syrians 

 and these Turks and all the different 

 elements of the Turkish Empire, the star 

 in that flag is not a setting star, but it is 

 the star of the morning, and it is a wax- 

 ing and not a waning crescent. 



the: pathetic story of fttad pasha 



Still other things happened there in 

 Beirut. One of the things that came 

 with the promulgation of the constitution 

 was the granting of amnesty to political 

 prisoners. It has been said that forty- 

 two thousand men were affected by this 

 action — some put the number as high as 

 sixty thousand — who during the last 

 thirty years have been asked to leave 

 Constantinople for the benefit of the 

 state. They have been sent to all parts 

 of Europe. The very men that were re- 

 garded by the powers in authority as 

 representing what they supposed to be 

 the most poisonous influence have proved 

 to be the very best means of promulgat- 

 ing the doctrines which had seemed so 

 dangerous. 



Doubtless some of you have been to 

 Damascus. You may remember, if your 

 visit has been during the past six years, 

 that as you went through the city to the 

 hotel, upon the left you noticed a large 

 building. In front of the building were 

 stationed guards. That made you sus- 

 picious. Not only that, but you saw all 

 the windows barred up with great 

 wooden shutters. That necessarily led 

 you to ask, "Who lives there?" and 

 "Why is the house so guarded?" and the 

 answer was that that was the residence 

 of Fuad Pasha. "And who is Fuad 

 Pasha ?" and you were told that six years 

 ago he was a man of great influence in 

 Constantinople — a man whose military 

 record was notable. Six years ago this 

 man fell into disfavor, and he was sent to 

 Damascus; but there, in that barricaded 

 house, Fuad Pasha spoke more elo- 

 quently and more effectively than he 

 possibly could have spoken if he had re- 

 mained in Constantinople. 



Now, when the declaration of amnesty 



