THE SFMI-WEEKLY TRIBUNE, NORTH PLATTE, NEBRASKA.
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TELLS OF RUSSIAN SOCIAUSRl
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As related by Am
bassador Elkus, the
American represent
ative at Constanti
nople y to a newspaper
correspondent"
By HENRY N. HALL,
In the New York World.
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ka
BRAM I. ELK US, ambassador ex
troordlnory and minister plenlpo
tcntinry of the United Stntcs to ttio
Sublltno l'orte, Ih tho only mnn In
this country tndny who by Hrst
luind knowledge can toll of things
ns they nro In tho land of tho Turk.
Stricken with tho dreuded typhus,
ho lny at tho point of death when,
obeying tho mandate of Germany,
tho Imperial Ottoman government
broke off diplomatic relations with tho United
StntcH. Mr. Elkus' personality had so Impressed
tho Turks that tho sultan's government Insisted
upon his remaining In Constantinople .until his
lienlth was thoroughly restored and lie could,
without danger of a relapse, undertake tho long
and arduous Joumoy to America. Mr. Elkus con
tinued tho excellent Impression created by his
predecessor, tho lion. Henry Morgenthnu, and by
his elllclency and kindness had dono more than
make himself popular In Turkey; ho Imb mado
tho United States popular. Without any diplo
matic training, tho plain American lawyer who
until then had been distinguished only by his
philanthropy made an excellent record In an ex
tremely dllllcult diplomatic post, and while en
gaged upon an errand of mercy, vlBltlng u Red
Cross soup kitchen, contracted tho Infection which
eo nearly cost him his life.
Armenia was uppermost in my thoughts as I
talked with Ambnssador Elkus. Peaceful, In
dustrious, Intelligent Armenia, an Intellectual
people, clover in practical affutrs and of lofty
Idealism. When Turkey entered tho war there
wcro two million Armenians, but tho atrocities
iOf 1015 and 1010 very greatly reduced their num-
'bar. Systematic butchery and wholesale slaughter
of theso people by tho Turks makes this one of
Itlio most terrible crimes In the history of man
iklnd. Why haB Germany allowed theso things to bo
dono? Tho atrocities committed by tho Turks In
Armenia are perhaps no worse than thoso of
which tho Germans themselves have been guilty
in Belgium and France, but thero Is something
peculiarly horrible In tho cold-blooded extermina
tion of n bravo and cultured pcoplo. What in
terest had Germany in allowing this thing to bo
dono? Tho only explanation that can bo offered
,ls that Germany wanted the Armenians extermi
nated because it suited tho purposes of her com
mercial greed.
Tho Armenians nro tho tanners, tho moldcrs,
tho blacksmiths, tho tailors, tho carpenters, tho
clay-workcra, tho weavers, tho shoemakers, tho
Jewelers, the pharmacists, tho doctors, the law
yors of Asia Minor and of tho Turkish empire.
Thoy are at heart a conservative peoplo and for
hundreds of years their trado has been dono with
STranco and. England. Thoy do not tako kindly
fto Gorman goods. Thcrcforo Germany closed her
loyes while Turkey was exterminating them. Tho
.presence of tho Armenian was a menace, or at
llcast threatened to retard tho Pan-German de
velopment of Mlttel-Europa.
Sympathy for the United States.
' Thoro Is throughout tho Levant and tho Bal
kans a real and deep-rooted sympathy for tho
'United States. Tho leading Bulgarian states
men arc graduates of American schools and col
leges. Tho Turkish government has taken a
grndunto of tho American Collcgo for Girls In
Constantinople and placed her in charge of tho
orguulzutlon of Turkish schools in Syria. It 1b
especially among tho middle and tho lower
jclasscs that tho United States Is genuinely pop
ular. Emigrants who havo returned, tourists
who liuvo traveled, nil agree that America stands
for democratic principles that Is, for liberty and
equality of opportunity for all, rich and poor
alike, without class distinctions. Tho present
grand vizier of Turkey stnrted In llfo as a tclo
gruph messenger boy in Adrlanoplo.
Turkey broke off diplomatic relations with tho
United States two weeks after tho declaration
of war with Germany. Tho exact date was April
20. Ambnssudor Elkus was Informed by a prom
inent member of the Turkish government that tho
pressuro exerted by Gorniany upon the Sublime
'Porto to brenk off relations with America was
daily growing stranger. It is Klgnllkuut that tho
jioto announcing the rupture of relations was
dated Friday, which Is tho Turkish Sabbath. Yet
on tho day when nil public olllcos aro closed, tho
Turkish cablnot held a meeting and the note was
drafted, signed nnd dispatched, To everyone In
Constantinople this denoted that tho utmost pros
suro had been brought to bear upon tho sultan's
Government by his Teutonic ally.
When tho war broke out thero was only ?-l,000,.
000 worth of paper money In Turkey. Every
thing was paid for In hard cash, and gold and
silver were tho currency almost exclusively used
In tho dully transactions of Uio people. Every
thing was on u cush basis. Thoro is in Turkey
today after 83 months of war moro than $350.
000000 of paper monoy, tho authorized emissions
having reached a total of nearly DQ,000,0)0
pounds.
(0ut7d iOO Yaarzi tyo)
The poor In Turkey find It hard to keep
themselves nllve. The only reason mnny of them do
manage to live In tho cities Is because tho govern
ment allotvs each Inhabitant half a pound of
bread a day, for which tho recipient hns to pay
two centn. Somehow or other they all manngo
to get their two cents a day. Then thero nro
floup kitchens run by the American Bed Cross,
tho Turkish Ited Crescent, the Jewish Charities
commission, tho Greek Patriarch, and other socie
ties." Some ifop kitchens give food free; others
sell at cost price.
Thero aro now no dogs In the streets of Con
stantinople. Time wns when thoy acted as scav
engers, but now thero Is no surplus left nround
to eat. Tho peoplo save their last crust. Thero
are no bones. The dogs were not shot or used for
military service, they were sent off to a semi
desert Island In tho scu of Mnrmora nnd havo
undisputed sway of Its barren shores.
Tho government makes froo distribution of
beans, cheese nnd olives to tho families of sol
diers, but this support Is doled out In driblets.
Destitute families among tho civilian population
ulso get supplies free from, some of the charitable
organizations, but before tiio war one never heard
of men and women dropping dead from starvation
In the streets. Even now it is comparatively rare,
but deaths from malnutrition and lack of re
sistance to even mild diseases arc not uncommon.
Peoplo weakened by luck of food fall easy prey
to ailments which In normal times would not bo
serious.
Tho aspect of Constnntlnoplo has changed con
siderably slnco tho outbreak of tho wur. Curi
ously enough, It has Immensely Improved,' and
from a cause which la entirely unrelated to war
or political conditions. It happened that during
tho flrst yenr of the war an unusually capable
and honest man was mayor of Constantinople
DJcmll Pasha, tho foremost Burgeon In Turkey.
He went to work on tho city ns If it had been n
diseased human being and performed surgery on
tho streets. IIo cut out and removed unhealthy
slums and widened nnd relald streets; ho paved
streets and cleaned streets nnd mado parks and
open breathing plnccs. IIo got tho telcphono
system completed and tho street car system elec
trified. In 1015 ho resigned because of trouble
with the government nnd went to Switzerland,
whero ho had been cducnted. Later ho made his
pence with tho powers that bo and Is now bnck
In Constantinople.
Germany Dominates Turkey.
How far Germany seeks to domlnato Turkey,
not only In mllltury but also in civil matters,
may best bo shown by tho fact that Berlin In
sisted, aB part of tho recent treaty with tho
Subllmo Porte, upon tho reorganization of tho
court system nnd tho abolition of tho religious
tribunals. This means a profound modification
of tho Mohammedan political and civic system
along German lines.
Tho U. S. S. Scorpion Is Interned in Constanti
nople for tho duration of tho war. Thero aro
only thrco olllcers and sixty men on board. Per
mission for shore leave under proper restrictions
1b not dented by tho Turkish authorities.
Tho wonder of wonders in Constantinople Is
that women workers nro beginning to bo seen.
Womnn's flrst step toward emancipation through
work In Turkey wns brought about by an Ameri
can invention tho telephone, "nello girls" were
first employed. Then tho city got permission to
use women as Btreet sweepers If they could
sweep tho houses, why couldn't they sweep tho
streets? Then tho post olllco went short of men
nnd a few women wero used ns letter sorters.
Thero nro also Turkish women employed ns hos
pital nurses nnd In tho soup kitchen.
Although Turkey Is virtually dominated by Ger
many In military matters, tho Turks do not lovo
the Germans. In tho estimation of tho gentlo
Turk, the German lacks tact and delicacy. Teu
tonic ability, energy, Initiative and capacity are
ndmlred nnd genulnoly respected, but tho Turk
and the German do not mix nny more thnn oil
and water. Yet Germans aro everywhere In Tur
key, and are almost falling over themselves In
Constantinople. There are Gorman olllcers, Ger
man military experts, German civil advisers,
German educators for Germany Is pnylng par
ticular attention to the education of the rising
generation of young Turks. Even the Germans
put In n military olllcer ns adviser to the Turkish
police headquarters. Tho Turks somewhat re
sented that.
Tho Turkish police system is about tho best
organized thing they have In Turkey, lloro tho
Oriental love of Intrigue can give itself full play,
nnd ns for astuteness nnd "finesse," the Turkish
secret service Is not to be beat. It has more
weird and curious devices, more strango and
secret methods (linn the mathematical mind of
German olllotouey ever dreamed of.
The legal limit for Mohammedans Is four wives.
As u matter of fact, most of them got along with
one, Thero are, of, course, some old-fashioned
reactionaries who Insist upon their legnl matri
monial complement, uml a l'ow poor men who want
a servant and cunnot afford one. Theso marry
n second wife, who becomes
the household drudge for her
keep only. Hut polygamy In
Turkey Is fast disappearing In
the best clnsses, as the edu
cated Turkish woman of to
day will not marry n man
who already has one or more
wives, nor will she consent to
share her husband afterward.
Of course Turks still refer
to their harem, but when they
do so they rarely If ever mean
what the American under
stands by the word. Hnrem
means womnnfolk. and n Turk
speaking of his harem In
cludes his mother nnd sisters
nnd bis cousins and his aunts
ns well as his wife or wives.
Tho part of the house set
aside for their use Is called
tho harem, and far from be
ing furnished with Oriental
luxuriance, ns most people
Imagine, It not lnfraqucntly
contains Grand Rnplds furni
ture, uncomfortable chairs,
pianos, phonographs and the
other appurtenances of nn av
erage American flat.
There nre a number of
theuters In Constantinople, or
structures that go by thnt delusive name, but
one rarely sees anything even approaching a de
cent show. The moving picture houses are legion,
nnd when the stnff of the American embassy left
Constnntlnoplo they were showing, In weekly In
stallments, n wonder film cnlled "Mysteries
nenry N. Hall has mado a close
study of conditions existing In Russia
since the revolution. In n recent Inter
view he said :
"To understand tho Russian revo
lution and the situation which has de
veloped over there In the army 'the
Russian collapse,' as some newspapers
call It you must study the underlying
causes, or rather, I should say, their'
underlying cause. For tho otherthrow
of the czar on the one bund nnd on the
other the refusnl of many of Russia's
bravest and best soldiers to fight nny
moro are both due to one and the
same thing: Class-struggle socialism.
Let me see if I can make It clear."
"Abraham Cnhan, tho editor of the
Jewish Dally Forward tho man who
teaches socialism to the great East
side was telling mo of tho upheaval
In Itussla, the" land of his birth, nnd
explaining to mo tho whys nnd where
fores of the apparently contradictory
events which have happened in quick succession on the eastern front. I
listened Intently ns ho went on:
"As a technical term of scientific socialism the words 'class struggle'
menn moro than the mere struggle between capital and labor. You might as
well talk tho Talmud to n Sunday school child as to try to get people hero to
understand the Russian situation If they havo no knowledge of what 'class
struggle' means in socialism. Tho doctrine of 'class struggle' which nil of us
socialists preach has undergone some important modifications, nnd this is
where the troubn comes In. It is the weak spot of our movement. Anyway,
It has been too weak to stand the strain of tho present world war. It Is tho
lino along which our vessel has been cracked by the great conflict. To put
It in plain English, the war hns split the Socialist party in several of the bellig
erent countries, Russia among them. If In the new-born democracy this split
has assumed graver forms than It has elsewhere these are due to the ex
traordinary conditions with which that country has been surrounded by tho
GUARDS HEALTH OF SOLDIERS
I el. In nnlil tn linvn COSt a Hill
lion dollars. Every title and "cut-In" bore the war on the one hand nnd the revolution on tho other."
added remark. "Captured In Roumanla." irencn
films, however, are rarely seen, sometimes a few
Italian ones, but usually the "Mcstcr" films "made
In Germany" nre shown. There Is, of course, n
weekly war film, but invariably the Austrlun war
films arc more popular thnn tho Gcrmun. rJotn
Ing but victories are ever shown.
Constantinople has had little to fear from air
rnlds, and the streets have remained brightly
lighted at night. One unexpected effect of the
war has been the rapid spread of tho Installation
of electric light to nil classes of buildings, despite
the exorbitant cost of wiring nnd of electric light
fixtures. The reason Is thnt petroleum oil, for
merly used for Illuminating, now costs $5 gold n
gallon, and the high-proof gnsollne cannot be hnd
for love or money. All tho fuel for' automobiles
Is under military control.
WHERE SOME NICKNAMES GIVEN WORLD'S
FIGHTING MEN HAD ORIGIN
Will It bo "Snmmlcs?" Probably not. The
history of slang shows that nlcknnmcs of soldiers
(or nnythlng else) come from tho soldiers them
selves, or very often from the enemy. It apparent
ly has occurred to nobody who writes letters to
the newspapers that tho American soldier has
Surgeon General Blue Is con
vinced that such edlblo nlcknacks as
"hot dogs, peanuts, lemonade and lco
cream cones" should be accurately set
down on tho public menus ns "trash"
nnd ho will, therefore, strictly segre
gate any of the ubiquitous "pop and
pennut" men who might hover about,
the various cantonments many miles
from their objectives.
Soldiers, ns a rule, have pro
nounced "sweet tooths" and, us a con
sequence, delight In spending their
loose chungo about stands which fly
popular colored advertising pennants
and are armored with tin soft drink
emblems. '
These same soldiers, also Surgeon
General Blue maintains, generally havo
more or less stomach trouble from
their careless diet and nre many times
temporarily incapacitated from theli
routine of duties. And It is with tho
object In view of keeping "the boys"
gone through severnl wars without any fixed in perfect physical trim that the surgeon general has found It necessary to
slang nnmo such as the English soldier's Tommy iSSUe this health order.
Atkins. It is presumed that the "pop and peanut" edict will eventually reach
Most of tho letters advocato the Sammy ap- those camps adjacent to the District. At the present time, however, Its Jurls-
pendage. Who stnrted it nobody knows. Prob- diction ends on tho borders of those cantonments situated In and near An-
nbly the Idea of Sammy after uncle sam oroKO nlston, Gn.
out In eruption in severnl quarters at tno same
time. Word from France says that the men of
the Pershing expedition do not like the Idea
Sammy or any word ending In tho affectionate
diminutive to the American mind Is unmanly.
That is not so In England and British possessions
"Tommy Atkins" sprang, according to wcll-es-
tabllshcd reports, from a word written on a sam
plo form of application to the British army. It
ACTING CHIEF OF GENERAL STAFF
MnJ. Gen. Tasker H. Bliss, assist
ant chief of general staff, was born In
Pennsylvania, December 31, 1853, and
represented tho British "John Doe." And anyway appointed to the Military academy
Tnmmr nnniios onlv to tho Encllsh soldier, usu- rrom tnnc state in iaa. tie was com-
" ' I 1 1 1 1n..innH. I
niiv n llttli, ffllnw. and nof to the b e-boned CO- imssiuuuu ii, sucuuu uuuieuuui in we
I . ill! T M t t OTP TT 1.
lonlnls, Scotch "Kilties" or Irish Dragoons or firat uruueryon juubiu, xotu. nu uu
TrDinnr been acting chief of the general staff
With Sammy ns n basis tho letter writers next becuuso or tne absence or uen. iiugu
decided on Snmson as n fitting name less ef- - &coir, military nenu oi me Amen-
femlnatc. "Tho Sons of Sam Uncle Sam" fine can commission to Russia.
nnd mnnlv. they argued. But Samsons didn't As chief of the general staff, Gen-
stlck cither. Then many advocated "Yanks" from eral Bllss Is military adviser to tho
Yankees, tho old Civil war nickname for tho Union secretary of war, nnd it is his Job to
troons. That, of course, did not appeal to tho plan nnd sco that tne auministrnuons
Southerners. Somebody wroto In that Yanks plans for tho participation of the
wouldn't do because Yankee camo from an Indian forces of tho United States In tho
word which meant coward. Thnt Isn't shown by great war are executed.
Webster, who gives a dozen other theories about Before being assigned to his pres-
the origin of Yankee. Like all other slang words ent post. General Bliss camo Into
It comes from so for back that nobody's memory prominence while military governor of
would serve In untangling tho mystery. Mindanao, dno of tho Islands In the
In the Civil war tho Northerners wero "Ynnkees" Philippine group, where he successful-
or "Yanks," meaning properly In tho States a
New Englnnder, but n word applied abroad to all
Americans. The Southerners were "Rebs," from
rebels, or "Johnny Rebs." It Is apparent that
eiich got his name from tho enemy. So in tho
Mexlcnn war tho only slang name the American
soldiers had wus "gringo," also given to him by
the enemy. "Gringo" means nothing in Spanish,
The Australian and New Zealand soldiers of the
Rrltisli nrniv havo been dubbed "Auzac." n combi
nation of the initial letters of Australian and New
Zcnland nrmy corps. Tho Scotch rctnln their nnmo
of "kilties," of course, from tho kilts they wear.
The Gorman soldiers are suld to cull them "the
ladles of hell," but that was too long a title to re
main, although It probably pleased tho "kilties."
Thero has been much discussion about "boche,"
tho name fur the German soldiers, and "pollu," the
French soldier. "Boche" is French slnng, and Its
birth Is clothed in mystery nlmost always sur
rounding n slang word. It menus n most desplcublo
sort of person and Is nn Insult.
In that connection tho American nrmy already
has Its slang term for an infantryman. It Is
used commonly In the army, but generally un
known to tho civilian. Tho term Is "doughboy."
Slnco "doughboy" long has been an American In
fantryman the United States army already has as
explicit a slang term as the French army has In
"pollu." "Doughboy" Is In Wcbstor as meaning
tin infantryman In tho United Stales.
Probably "doughboy," by reason of Its uso and
popularity in the American army, will becomo tho
general word for the American soldier before the
war Is over. "Gringo" also may become common
usage, for tho American soldiers have seen so
much service In and near Spanish speaking cuunj
tries unit UH!Y otieu reier 10 uicmscivcs m tun as
"gringos." Ntw York Herald.
ly subdued tho rebellious tribes. He
was succeeded at th&t post by Brig. Gen. uolin J. Pershing, now n major gen
eral nnd In Franco nt tho head of tho first American nrmy to participate In
tho war against Prussianlsm.
EXPERT IN AVIATION WORK
MaJ. Benjamin D. Foulols, Junior
mlltnry uvlntor, can Justly be called
tho original "bird-man" of tho army.
When attending tho signal school In
1007 nnd 1008 flying, which had never
been seen in tho United States, was
his hobby nnd his graduating address
was on thnt subject, and men here who
heard that address state that each of
his predictions havo come about with
but little variation from his prognosti
cations. Ho has been on aviation 'duty from
Its beginning in tho United States
nrmy. In July, 1009, he operated tho
government dirigible nt Fort Myer,
St. Joseph, Mo., nud Omnlm. Junuary,
1010, to July, 1011, ho operated tho
flrst army airplanes at San Antonio
nnd engaged in reconnaissance duty
on tho Mexican border In 1011, after
which he was relieved from aviation
service until 1015, when lie was
wrdered to the Mexican border, whero
ho served up to tho tlmo that the American troops wero withdrawn from
Mexico.
When tho United States entered the wnr against Germany, Major Foulols
was brought to Washington nnd placed In charge of tho organization, training
and supplying of the now aerial forces of the United States nrmy.