MY SECOND MISSION TO TURKEY
Conferences with Ambassador Hay and Dr. Angell in London regarding
Turkish matters--I make suggestions for cooerdinating work in our
diplomatic service--With Baroness de Hirsch in Vienna--Arrival at
Constantinople; audience with the Sultan--The visit of the Emperor
and Empress of Germany--Breaking Turkish passport regulations--The
Porte refuses to negotiate a treaty of naturalization--The
indemnities for missionaries at Harpoot and Marash; the Sultan
admits claim and promises to pay; I obtain irade for rebuilding
college at Harpoot--The Philippine Mohammedans; a diplomatic
romance--American flour cheapens bread in Turkey--Aid to the
British ambassador in the protection of Armenian orphanages--A
renegade Roman priest--Lord Rosebery--Dr. S. Weir Mitchell--The
Sultan entertains American tourists--His Majesty's only smile--A
visit to Athens--Happy days on the Bosphorus--The Sultan's gift of
vases--Dr. Theodor Hertzl--A visit to Rome--I return to Washington
and conduct negotiations from there--LL.D. from Pennsylvania
University--I end my mission.
In London I had several conferences with Ambassador John Hay, who was
shortly to return to Washington as Secretary of State in the place of
William R. Day, chosen to head the Spanish-American Peace Commission at
Paris. Mr. Day a few years afterward was made associate justice of the
United States Supreme Court, and the duties of that post he still
discharges with distinction.
Mr. Hay and I went over in detail the questions at issue in Turkey and
the plans I proposed for their adjustment. I told him of the pressure
being brought upon the President to send warships to the Bosphorus, and
said I regarded such a course as mixing up in the Eastern question, that
traditional tinder box of Europe, aside from the possible danger of
another incident like the blowing-up of the Maine. Mr. Hay agreed and
promised to support me to the fullest extent in settling matters with
Turkey.
I also met Dr. Angell in London on his way back from Constantinople, and
went over matters with him. He told me what a fruitless year and a half
he had had there and how he was made to feel he was _persona non grata_.
He had not been invited to dine at the Palace once during his entire
stay.
Before I left London I had a call from William E. Dodge, of Phelps,
Dodge, & Company, New York, and president of the Evangelical Alliance of
America. He came to express his appreciation for my making the personal
and business sacrifice to go to Turkey again. He was one of our most
benevolent citizens, prominently connected with the missionary bodies
and therefore deeply interested in the American colleges and schools in
the Ottoman Empire.
When I left for Constantinople this time, there were with me, besides my
wife, my daughters, Aline and Mildred, respectively fourteen and fifteen
years old; my little son Roger, six and a half years old, and his nurse;
my niece Sissy, daughter of my brother Nathan; and my nephew Percy,
second son of my brother Isidor, who was to be my private secretary.
Mildred we allowed to return from Paris to continue her studies at
Barnard, as we were unable to find a suitable school for her in either
England or France. We had sailed for Liverpool on the S.S. Lusitania on
September 3d.
* * * * *
My friend General Horace Porter had been appointed ambassador to France,
and while in Paris I dined with him several times. He was a man of means
and had located the embassy in a magnificent residence in one of the
most fashionable parts of Paris. There we met among others Ferdinand W.
Peck, United States Commissioner to the Paris Exposition, and Mrs. Peck;
also William F. Draper, ambassador to Italy, who with Mrs. Draper was
in Paris on a leave of absence.
To Messrs. Porter and Draper I proposed what I had felt the need for
during my earlier mission: some sort of cooerdination and cooperation
among our various diplomatic representatives throughout Europe. I
suggested we might have conferences from time to time, or prevail upon
the State Department to keep each of us informed respecting negotiations
between the Department and all the others. Much of this material would
be of interest and value to us in connection with our respective
embassies or missions. It was being done by other foreign offices. The
British Foreign Office, for instance, issues confidential communications
in the form of blueprints, which are sent to the heads of all British
missions. During my previous sojourn at Constantinople my colleague, Sir
William White, frequently gave me the benefit of extracts from these
blueprints referring to American matters. They were very informing and
helpful.
Porter and Draper said they would cooperate with me in urging the State
Department to adopt some such scheme, and when I wrote to our colleague
at Berlin, Andrew D. White, he gave similar support. However, when I
suggested the idea to the State Department nothing came of it. Since
then some further effort has been made in that direction, but I have not
learned to what extent this desired system has been effected.
* * * * *
We went on to Vienna to meet Baroness de Hirsch, who was coming from her
estate at Eichhorn. She had put her beautiful Paris residence on the rue
d'Elysee at our disposal, but unfortunately my appointments made it
impossible for us to avail ourselves of her hospitality. The Baroness
looked ill to me, and I warned her against allowing her intense
occupation with benevolent activities to wear upon her. She said she had
had the grippe, and later told my wife that her physicians feared her
ailment might be more serious. In spite of this, however, she went right
on, while at the Hotel Bristol in Vienna, with conferences with her
almoners, among others Ritter von Gutmann and Baron Guenzburg, who were
associated with her in her endowed enterprises in Austria and elsewhere.
Alas, her malady was more serious than grippe, for it was only a short
time after our reaching Constantinople that her family informed us of
her death.
We met some of the leading Jewish scholars, artists, and literary men
while in Vienna: the architect, Wilhelm Stiassny; the actor, Adolf von
Sonnenthal; Dr. Adam Politzer; the Hungarian artists, Leopold Horowitz
and Isidor Kaufmann; Professor David Heinrich Miller, of the Vienna
University; and the attorney, Dr. Adolph Stein. Herr Stiassny was
president of the Jewish Historical Society, and at a meeting of that
body at which I was present he referred in glowing terms to my
appointment, saying that, amid the anti-Semitic spirit that was taking
hold of Austria and other European countries, America had shown by my
appointment that no race or religious distinction existed here, which
could not fail to have an influence in Austria and in several other
European states.
* * * * *
On arriving at Constantinople we were welcomed by the secretary of the
legation and acting charge, John W. Riddle, together with other members
of the legation and consulate and several of the missionaries. Mr.
Riddle, by the way, had conducted the affairs of the legation in the
interim with discretion and ability. He has since filled several other
posts most creditably; he was ambassador to Russia under Roosevelt, and
at the present writing is ambassador to Argentina.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs at the Porte now was Tewfik Pasha, who
had been ambassador to Germany. He spoke German better than French, so I
conversed with him in the former language. As was customary, I left with
him the letters of recall of my predecessor and a copy of my
presentation address. I was informed that the Sultan and all the
officials at the Porte were pleased at my return, because they knew me
and had every confidence in me both personally and officially. Of
course, these remarks may have been diplomatic politeness, but events
seemed to show some sincerity in them. My audience, for instance,
instead of being delayed for weeks, was granted within one week of my
arrival; and instead of being accorded the lesser formalities of a
minister, I was received with all the ceremony accorded an ambassador:
four state carriages were placed at my disposal, preceded by four
postilions and outriders; a detachment of guards rendered military
honors as I arrived at the Palace; the Sultan was attended by Osman
Pasha, Fouad Pasha, general-in-chief of the Turkish armies, and some
thirty other high civil and military officers.
After the formality of presenting my credentials and making my address,
the Sultan reiterated three times that he felt great pleasure in
welcoming me back, as my former mission had given him much satisfaction.
He said that he knew I was a "gentleman"; and that is the only English
word I had ever heard him use.
President McKinley had authorized me to arrange for the elevation of the
mission at Constantinople to an embassy, as by the Act of March 3, 1893,
provision was made for the appointment of ambassadors. Up to that time,
based on the idea that ambassadors represented the person of a monarch
and that republics should not thus be represented, we had had only
ministers. The act reads:
Whenever the President shall be advised that any foreign government
is represented, or is about to be represented, in the United States
by an ambassador, envoy extraordinary, minister plenipotentiary,
minister resident, special envoy, or charge d'affaires, he is
authorized, in his discretion, to direct that the representative of
the United States to such government shall bear the same
designation.
The initiative for sending an ambassador, therefore, rested with the
foreign power, and we could not send an ambassador to Turkey until that
Government accredited an ambassador to us.
During my audience I informed the Sultan that the President had said he
would be pleased to raise our mission to an embassy, but I observed that
His Majesty did not take kindly to the suggestion. He replied politely
that he would take it under consideration.
Among my colleagues, Baron Calice still represented Austria-Hungary.
Germany was represented by Baron Marschall von Bieberstein, former
Prussian minister, a large man of the von Moltke physique; he died later
in London (1912) after a short service as ambassador to Britain. From
France there was Paul Cambon, brother of Jules Cambon, who was
ambassador at Washington at the time of the Spanish-American War and
continued the Spanish negotiations after our rupture with Spain; a
little while after my arrival in Constantinople Paul Cambon was
transferred to London. From Great Britain there was Nicholas R. O'Conor,
whom I met during my former mission when he was consul-general and
charge at Sophia; he had meanwhile been ambassador to Russia. And from
Italy there was Signor Pansa. Severally they informed me that since my
first mission, ten years before, the power of the Ottoman Government
had been more and more concentrated in the Palace, that the Sultan
himself was the "whole show" and very little power was left at the
Porte.
* * * * *
Constantinople was all agog with preparation and excitement, for the
Emperor and Empress of Germany were expected on October 17th! (As a
matter of fact, rough weather on the AEgean caused them to arrive a day
late.) The main streets of Pera were paved anew, and the walls
surrounding Yildis were newly whitewashed. All business at the Porte was
suspended. A Government official told me that the visit would probably
cost the Ottoman Empire not less than five hundred thousand pounds! One
of the residences at Yildis, near the Palace, was placed at the
Emperor's disposal.
As is customary on such visits, all the heads of missions left their
cards at the German embassy and inscribed their names in the Emperor's
visiting register. Each visit was promptly returned the next day by von
Buelow, Minister of Foreign Affairs, who left his card.
The Emperor and Empress drove through Pera in state, preceded by a
company of Turkish lancers and followed by numerous officers on horses
and in carriages. They rode in the royal victoria, drawn by four horses,
accompanied by numerous outriders in gala uniforms and on caparisoned
horses. The whole procession was gorgeous, and the royal pair bowed to
left and right as the crowds in the streets greeted them.
Some time after midnight on October 20-21 the doorbell rang and my
portier brought me a communication, just received from the Grand Master
of Ceremonies at the Palace, inviting Mrs. Straus, myself, and our first
dragoman to the banquet to the German Emperor and Empress at 7.15
o'clock on the evening of the 21st. The doyen of the diplomatic corps
had sent suggestions that the ladies wear high neck and long sleeves, as
the Sultan objected to the regulation European evening dress. The ladies
accordingly contrived to cover their necks and arms with chiffons,
laces, and long gloves. It proved unnecessary, however, because the
Empress and her ladies-in-waiting wore the usual decollete.
In the recollection of the oldest diplomats present, this banquet was
the most brilliant in its appointments that had ever been given at the
Palace. More than one hundred persons were there, all the heads of
missions and the leading officials of the empire. The approach to the
Palace for quite a distance was illuminated and lined on both sides of
the way with rows of soldiers. At the Palace entrance, where we were met
by the court officials, we passed between rows of magnificently
uniformed Turkish and German officers, each wearing his full regalia of
numerous decorations.
At the proper time we were ushered into the audience room, where the
diplomats and their wives were arranged in a circle, the ladies on one
side and the gentlemen on the other. When the Emperor and Empress with
the Sultan entered, every one made a court bow. The Sultan and the
Emperor then engaged in conversation through an interpreter in the
center of the circle, while the Empress greeted each lady individually.
Each person, as was the custom, bowed before and after being spoken to.
When the Empress had greeted all the ladies and started with the
gentlemen, the Emperor started with the ladies.
When he came to Mrs. Straus, he made some mention of having seen her
queen lately and that she was as beautiful as ever. Mrs. Straus, by way
of indicating that she was from the United States, said, "I suppose Your
Majesty refers to Mrs. McKinley"; but the Emperor, evidently without
stopping to listen to what was being said, clicked his heels, made his
courtesy, and greeted the next person. It seems on being introduced he
had misunderstood "Roumanie" for "Etats-Unis," especially since Mrs.
Straus was next to the Serbian minister's wife. Count Eulenburg later
explained to Mrs. Straus that the Emperor's hearing was a little
defective.
When the Emperor reached me, he at once expressed a keen desire that it
might be possible for him to visit my country, and especially our great
shipyards, such as those of Cramp, which he had heard were wonderful. He
then asked me whether I knew our ambassador at Berlin, Andrew D. White;
and when I informed him that Mr. White had been a friend of mine for a
number of years, he said a few complimentary words about him.
The dinner service included gold plates and gold knives and forks. The
waiters wore brilliant red and gold uniforms. Between courses the Sultan
and the Emperor conversed by means of the interpreter who stood behind
them, and until they had finished talking the waiters were patiently
holding the next course up in the air for a cooling.
After the dinner we again formed a circle, made more courtesies at the
proper time, while the Sultan himself went round and greeted and shook
hands with each one. That ended the royal dinner.
During the meal I sat next to the Emperor's personal physician, Dr.
Lidhold. He had held the same position under the late Frederick III,
whom he characterized as a most lovable man. He said William II was
active and fond of amusing himself, and enjoyed constantly traveling
about, which was not so pleasant for his physician and other members of
his train. He admitted that the Emperor's left arm was quite lame, but
it did not interfere much with his movements because he had acquired
such dexterity with the other. He added that the magnificent attentions
of the Sultan could not fail to have a great influence upon Germany's
attitude toward the Ottoman Empire.
The visit of the Emperor at this time, following as it did the dreadful
massacre of Armenians only a few years before at Harpoot and then at
Constantinople itself, was very much resented by the Christians
throughout Europe. It was interpreted as an effort on the part of the
Emperor, for his own gain, to reinstate the "bloody Sultan" in the
esteem of the world. It was stated that the Sultan presented the Empress
with a very costly string of pearls.
* * * * *
One of the four outstanding questions included in my instructions
concerned the right of our citizens to travel in the interior of Turkey.
Following the Armenian massacres of 1896 the Turkish Government made new
passport regulations, and all foreigners were required to get a
tezkirah, or special local passport, from the Sultan before traveling
into the interior. As usual in Turkey, asking for a permit of any kind
was one thing; getting it was quite another. This regulation proved most
obstructive to our missionaries and those of Great Britain who had
missions in the interior. They would go home or to Europe on a leave of
absence, and upon returning to Constantinople would be held up,
sometimes for weeks, on account of these tezkirahs, which were not
definitely refused, but not given, which practically amounted to the
same thing.
When I arrived at Constantinople eight Americans, bound for Erzerum and
Harpoot, were being held up in this way. One of them was Dr. C. F.
Gates, president of the Euphrates College at Harpoot. After exhaustive
negotiations with the authorities, in which I pointed out the fact that
refusal of the tezkirah was in violation of treaty rights, I myself gave
Dr. Gates a permit, signed by me, with the seal of the legation on it. I
then informed the Porte of my action and said that if any injury befell
the party _en route_ I should hold the Turkish Government responsible. I
also sent an open cable to our State Department informing Secretary Hay
what I had done. My British colleague was a bit disturbed when he heard
of it, because there were several British missionaries in the party.
That same night I got another of those Turkish midnight messages. After
apologizing for disturbing me, the messenger brought me the intelligence
that my cable had been held back, and that the Minister of Foreign
Affairs sent word that instructions had been given for the full
protection of the missionaries _en route_ to their posts. That broke
down the passport regulations, and a very few days thereafter I received
notice that the Council of Ministers had taken up the matter and ruled
that the regulations for traveling into the interior should be restored
to what they were before the Armenian troubles.
At about the same time I was enabled to cable to our Department of State
that I had obtained the Sultan's irade granting the exequatur for our
consul at Erzerum.
* * * * *
The third item in my instructions, the Treaty of Naturalization, I had
to drop. The Porte refused to negotiate this question because of the
failure of our Government to accept the terms I had obtained during my
previous mission, and for this I could not blame them. As during my
earlier mission, when matters involving questions of naturalization
arose I succeeded in securing the rights of the persons concerned on the
merits of each individual case.
* * * * *
Lastly there was the question of indemnities due missionaries at Harpoot
and Marash for property, real and personal, plundered and destroyed
during the massacres. This was a delicate matter, because the Americans
were not alone in making claims for such damage; also the Government was
very poor. At first the Porte denied all liability and refused to pay. I
started the negotiations in November, 1898, and the process proved a
long and tedious one, lasting over a year. But step by step progress was
made. By December the Sultan admitted the claims and promised to pay as
soon as the amount was fixed. By February, with the amount still
unfixed, he had decided how payment was to be made: he would buy a
cruiser in America, to the cost of which the indemnities could be added,
enabling him to make payment "behind a screen," which he preferred. He
said arrangements were being made for loans through a bank in Paris to
begin installments on such a contract. By early September the irade for
the purchase of a ship from some American builder had been given, and
plans were being studied to determine the type of ship. By the end of
the month the Sultan again assured me that the subject was receiving his
attention and would be settled in a month or two.
The state of the Turkish finances was, of course, deplorable, and the
Minister of Foreign Affairs told me that the Government was planning to
apply to the purchase of the ship, money coming due in two months upon
the conversion of some loans. And there were claims from England,
France, Germany, and Italy, none of which the Sultan had recognized or
promised to pay.
Even so, I planned that if His Majesty showed a disposition to deny his
promise I should offer to arbitrate and thus bring matters to a head.
That would put him upon one of two horns of a dilemma: if he accepted,
it definitely and authoritatively exposed to all the world the horrible
details of the massacre; if he refused, it put him in the position of
having declined the only peaceful method of adjustment. Tewfik Pasha,
however, in the name of the Sultan continued to make promises of
payment, and the matter dragged along a few months more.
Having settled all other problems that were irritating the relations of
the two Governments, I asked for leave to visit the United States. I
planned this trip so as to accentuate our displeasure at the
procrastination of the Ottoman Government in settling the indemnities,
and notified the Minister of Foreign Affairs that as my Government had
been patient for over a year I should now return home for consultation
regarding the delay.
Upon my return to the United States I carried on the negotiations
through the Turkish minister at Washington and prepared the instructions
for our charge at Constantinople through the State Department. This
finally resulted in a contract with the Cramp Shipbuilding Corporation,
with an additional amount of ninety-five thousand dollars to pay the
indemnity claims, though actual payment was not made until June, 1901,
under the incumbency of John G. Leishman, my successor.
During the course of the indemnity negotiations I succeeded in obtaining
the Sultan's irade for the rebuilding of college and missionary
buildings at Harpoot which had been injured or destroyed during the
massacres.
* * * * *
Among the interesting episodes during these fifteen months at
Constantinople was what might be termed a diplomatic romance. In the
spring of 1899 I received a letter from Secretary Hay enclosing a
communication from William E. Curtis, Washington correspondent of the
"Chicago Record," and one of the best-known syndicate writers of the
time, who was well informed regarding what was going on in both official
and unofficial circles at Washington. Curtis reported a conversation
with an important official of the Turkish legation wherein he learned
that since the Turko-Greek War the Sultan had regained authority and
respect among Mussulmans throughout the world, and his advisers thought
the time propitious for him, as the religious head of Islam, to make
known his authority to the Mohammedans of the Philippines, Java, and
neighboring islands. The official had gone on to say that our victories
over Spain had surprised the Sultan beyond description, and he was
anxious to cultivate the friendship of a government whose navy could
sink the enemy's fleet and go round the world without the loss of a man.
Curtis thought that, in view of our present minister's influence and our
good relations with the Turkish Government, the Sultan under the
circumstances might be prevailed upon to instruct the Mohammedans of the
Philippines, who had always resisted Spain, to come willingly under our
control. Secretary Hay said he would give me no advice or instructions,
but would leave to my judgment what, if any, action I might deem it wise
to take; that if I could succeed in getting the Sultan of Turkey to send
a message to the Sultan of the Sulu Islands which would result in
peaceful and harmonious relations between the Sulu Sultan and our
officers, it would of course be a great accomplishment. The subject
interested me greatly. I saw the possibility of rendering an effective
service, and I was fascinated by the romance of the suggestion.
When I went to Turkey on my first mission, my father placed his hands
upon my head, gave me his blessing, and a parting advice which sank deep
into my consciousness: "When you have an important matter coming before
you, don't act promptly, but sleep over it." My father's death in
January, 1898, accentuated this advice in my memory, and when I received
the Hay-Curtis letters I followed it. I knew very little about the
Philippines. I doubt that our State Department knew much more. The
library at Constantinople had nothing on the subject. I had a copy of
the testimony taken by our commissioners at the Paris peace
negotiations, but it contained only vaguest references. But one of my
colleagues had the works of Jean Jacques Reclus, the French geographer.
From this I learned that the Mohammedans of the Philippines were not
Shiites, like those of Persia, but Sunnites, and therefore recognized
the Sultan of Turkey as their spiritual head.
I thought about the problem for a few days, and then I sent a note to
the Palace that I should like to have an audience with His Majesty, as I
had some private communication to make to him that I believed might
interest him, for it would enable him to render a great service to a
section of his co-religionists. The audience was promptly arranged, and
I gathered that the Sultan knew very little about the Sulu Mohammedans.
He asked regarding their sect. I told him they were Sunnites. He asked
whether they made pilgrimages to Mecca. I told him I thought they did,
the same as those of Borneo.
Then a curious incident occurred. In order to be able to take up the
matter very fully with the Sultan, I had anticipated all kinds of
questions and armed myself with pertinent information. Among them I
thought he might seek some assurance as to our Government's attitude
toward Mohammedanism, and to reassure him I had come prepared with a
translation into Turkish of Article XI of an early treaty between the
United States and Tripoli, negotiated by Joel Barlow in 1796. It read:
As the Government of the United States of America is not in any
sense founded on the Christian Religion; as it has in itself no
character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquility of
Musselman; and as the said States never have entered into any war
or act of hostility against any Mehomitan nation, it is declared by
the parties, that no pretext arising from religious opinions shall
ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the
two countries.
When the Sultan had read this, his face lighted up. It would give him
pleasure, he said, to act in accordance with my suggestions, for two
reasons: for the sake of humanity, and to be helpful to the United
States. He added that he hoped his services would be appreciated, and
that when occasion presented itself a like friendly spirit would be
shown to him. He knew I was a "gentleman" and would make known to my
Government the spirit in which he met my suggestions. The Mohammedans in
question recognized him as khalif of the Moslems and he felt sure they
would follow his advice.
We discussed means of conveying his message to them, and finally decided
to send a telegram to Mecca, where the Moslem pilgrims were then
gathered, to ascertain if any Sulu chiefs were there. Before
transmitting it, His Majesty's secretary read the telegram to me in
translation.
Two days later the Sultan invited me to the Palace to inform me that he
had received a reply that two Sulu chiefs were at Mecca. Another
telegram was then formulated instructing the chiefs in the name of the
Sultan that a definite understanding had been reached with the American
Elchi Bey (American minister) that they would not be disturbed in the
practice of their religion if they would promptly place themselves under
the control of the American army; that because of the Sultan's deep
concern for their welfare he advised and instructed them to return at
once to their people to prevent any bloodshed.
Immediately I cabled Secretary Hay, that he might be able to advise
General Bates, one of our commanders in the Philippines. The negotiation
proved to be very important and valuable to us. Some three months later
our Government received word from the Philippines that an
insurrectionist leader, Aguinaldo, had sent emissaries among these Sulu
Mohammedans, but they had refused to join the insurrectionists and had
placed themselves under the control of our army, thereby recognizing
American sovereignty.
Lieutenant-Colonel John P. Finley, who had been governor of the District
of Zamboanga, Moro Province, of the Philippine Islands for ten years,
wrote an article for the April, 1915, issue of "The Journal of Race
Development" in which he refers to this incident:
At the beginning of the war with Spain the United States Government
was not aware of the existence of any Mohammedans in the
Philippines. When this fact was discovered and communicated to our
ambassador in Turkey, Oscar S. Straus, of New York, he at once saw
the possibilities which lay before us of a holy war.... He sought
and gained an audience with the Sultan, Abdul Hamid, and requested
him as Caliph of the Moslem religion to act in behalf of the
followers of Islam in the Philippines.... A telegram to Mecca
elicited the fact that they not only visited Mecca in considerable
numbers, but that at that very time there were Moros from Sulu in
the Sacred City.... The Sultan as Caliph caused a message to be
sent to the Mohammedans of the Philippine Islands forbidding them
to enter into any hostilities against the Americans, inasmuch as no
interference with their religion would be allowed under American
rule.
President McKinley sent a personal letter of thanks to Mr. Straus
for the excellent work he had done, and said its accomplishment had
saved the United States at least twenty thousand troops in the
field. If the reader will pause to consider what this means in men
and also the millions in money, he will appreciate this wonderful
piece of diplomacy in averting a holy war.
There was one commercial trouble to be attended to, in the settlement of
which I nevertheless emphasized the human aspect. Bread was, of course,
one of the main staples of the people, and it was rising in price. There
was a shortage of flour, yet a shipment of twenty thousand bags from the
Pillsbury-Washburn Flour Company of Minneapolis had been rejected. The
reason given was that it did not contain a sufficient percentage of
gluten and elasticity.
As a matter of fact, a shipment received six months before had had the
effect of reducing the retail price of bread about thirty-three per
cent. Such shipments competed with the local flour mills, whose owners,
chiefly Greeks, thereafter paid liberal baksheesh (tips, or bribe money)
to have the flour rejected.
I secured expert testimony to show that the flour, instead of being
inferior, was far superior to the local flour. I made the issue urgent
and sent an open telegram to our State Department that the flour was
being refused admission in distinct violation of our treaty rights. This
had the effect I anticipated. The flour was admitted.
The result of this negotiation was reflected in every household, and was
significant especially for the poorer people, who were grateful to the
American legation and the American people for further reducing the price
of their bread. After this, other large shipments of flour arrived from
time to time and were admitted without difficulty.
* * * * *
The British ambassador came to me one day to ask whether, in view of the
success I had had in opening and protecting American schools, I could
give him some assistance in the protection of the orphanages which
British benevolent societies had established following the Armenian
massacres. The Duke of Westminster had called the attention of Her
Majesty's Government to the Porte's ruthless closing of a number of
these orphanages.
Although it was not a matter that came officially under my jurisdiction,
I told my colleague I should be glad to aid in every way possible. I
called on the Grand Vizier and explained to him that if the Government
persisted in destroying these institutions for the protection of orphan
children, it would have a prejudicial effect in aggravating the
justified horror produced in America as well as in England by those
massacres. I stated frankly that while this was not an American
question, it would, none the less, from a humanitarian standpoint,
create a disastrous impression to the further disadvantage of the
Turkish Government.
We got the desired result. It so pleased my colleague that in reporting
to Lord Salisbury he expressed great appreciation for the valuable help
I had given him. This recognition was widely published, in the London
"Times" and other British papers, as well as throughout America. The
Germans also reaped some benefit, for several of the orphanages, as at
Palu and Diarbekir, were under the supervision of their nationals.
* * * * *
Occasionally in the City of the Sultan there arose strange and peculiar
incidents. I had a call one day from Monsignor Bonetti, the papal
delegate, who had a summer residence near mine. He said it had been
reported to him that a Roman priest named Brann, who had left his
position in America about a year before because of some moral
delinquencies, had arrived in Turkey within a few days. He was doubtless
under an assumed name, but Bonetti had heard that the renegade priest
was among our missionaries, and requested that I make inquiry. I asked
him what he proposed doing should the priest be found. He said he wanted
to counsel him to return to the church. The missionaries with whom I
spoke gave me every assistance, but the priest had evidently not come
among them, for he could not be found.
* * * * *
A number of distinguished people, European and American, visited
Constantinople during the winter of 1898-99. Lord Rosebery arrived in
his mother's yacht and was the guest of the British ambassador, Sir
Nicholas O'Conor. We had the pleasure of meeting him several times at
dinner. In a conversation I had with him he expressed great admiration
for America and said that at one time he was on the point of becoming an
American. I remember particularly his remark to the effect that he
believed America and England, by cooperating, would control the world
for the interests of the world, without having to fight a battle; that
the peace and welfare of the world were in their hands, and sooner or
later it must come.
We talked about our respective forms of government, parliamentary and
congressional. He thought McKinley wise in referring all questions,
during and since the Spanish-American War, to Congress. To quote his own
words: "He is sailing on unknown seas, and it is wise to let the
representative body do the steering."
He asked whether I was an ambassador or a minister. I explained to him
that the President desired to raise the mission to an embassy, but as
the law stood we were dependent upon the initiative of the Sultan. He
said that during his incumbency as prime minister he had much to do with
having the United States name an ambassador to London; he took special
care that Great Britain should be the first nation to send an ambassador
to Washington and to receive an American ambassador.
He spoke in a complimentary manner of Secretary Hay and said he should
have remained in London, especially as it seemed to be his preference.
He spoke of the ambassadorship of Edward J. Phelps and said he had heard
him make some of the ablest public speeches he ever listened to; they
were effective not only in what they expressed, but in their reserve. He
thought public speaking in America was more finished than in England, of
a higher order or better grounded from the standpoint of oratory: "We
can't speak as you do."
I replied that one had only to point to him as an example to disprove
that complimentary comparison. But he thought hardly anybody ever read
his speeches.
* * * * *
Dr. S. Weir Mitchell, of Philadelphia, and his wife, together with the
great-grandson of Alexander Hamilton, Philip Schuyler, and his wife,
came to Constantinople. We saw much of them. The Mitchells had just lost
their daughter.
Dr. Mitchell, who was regarded as the leading authority on nervous
diseases--if I mistake not it was he who first introduced the rest cure,
at any rate so far as America is concerned--was very anxious to see
something of a Turkish household, which was not easily possible by
reason of the seclusion of Turkish women. It happened that Tewfik
Pasha, Minister of Foreign Affairs, had often spoken to me about the
illness of his wife, who seemed to be suffering from some nervous
ailment. She was a German-Swiss whom he had married while ambassador at
Berlin, but their _menage_ was kept purely Turkish. Here, then, was my
opportunity to kill two birds with one stone: I should satisfy Dr.
Mitchell's curiosity by rendering Tewfik Pasha a service. In speaking to
the Pasha I explained, of course, that Dr. Mitchell would accept no fee,
that he would give his services as a favor to me and an act of courtesy
to him. Dr. Mitchell was able to prescribe with excellent effect for
Mme. Tewfik, and the Pasha was very grateful indeed.
Dr. Mitchell and I went to the museum one afternoon to see two famous
marble tombs that had recently been unearthed at Sidon, upon discovery
by Hamdy Bey, director of the museum. Both these tombs were supposed to
be of the best period of ancient Greece. One was known as the Alexander
tomb because it portrayed in high bas-relief the battle of Issus and
also a hunting scene, in each of which one of the figures was identified
as portraying Alexander. At first some scholars believed it to be the
tomb of the monarch himself, but that seemed not to be correct, and it
was doubtless the tomb of one of his generals. The other tomb was of
equal size and proportions, about five feet high and ten feet long.
Round its four sides it had a number of figures of a woman in various
phases of mourning, the same figure with varying expressions. This
ancient work of art appealed to the bereaved heart of Dr. Mitchell and
he sat before it for quite a while. Later he wrote an "Ode to a Lycian
Tomb," one of the best, if not the best, of his poems. He sent me a copy
when it was privately printed, and subsequently it appeared in the
"Century Magazine."
* * * * *
The inauguration of trips to the Orient by the Hamburg-American and the
North German Lloyd Steamship Companies frequently brought hundreds of
Americans to Constantinople at a time. In March the S.S.
Augusta-Victoria arrived with three hundred and fifty American visitors.
The Sultan was most gracious to them. Through one of his aides he asked
me to invite them to Selamlik, after which he arranged a luncheon for
them on the grounds of the ambassadorial kiosque, and had them visit the
royal stables. When they left, the Sultan's aide carried on board the
ship for them a large assortment of delicious Turkish candies and
cigarettes, which they appropriately acknowledged in a letter that I
transmitted to the Palace for them.
* * * * *
From time to time, especially when the weather was fine, I attended
Selamlik, as was customary among the diplomats. On one very beautiful
Friday I took with me my little son Roger, then seven years old. It was
the Sultan's birthday and the pageant was exceptionally fine. From the
window of the ambassadorial kiosque Roger leaned out as far as he
possibly could to get a good view of the Sultan as he passed beneath in
his victoria. The Sultan bowed in acknowledgment of our greeting, when
suddenly Roger realized that he had not taken off his cap and pulled it
off rather comically. This made the Sultan smile, and it was the only
time I ever saw his habitually sad face wreathed in a smile.
* * * * *
After a strenuous winter, replete with difficult and trying
negotiations, I took advantage of the invitation of M. Paul
Stefanovich-Schilizzi, a philanthropist of Greece, to visit him in
Athens in May. He was a man of great wealth and beloved throughout the
Near East by reason of his benevolence. It is his niece, who was a
frequent guest at our home, who recently married Eleutherios Venizelos,
the famous Greek statesman.
_En route_ to Athens we stopped for several days at Smyrna, where we met
Kiamil Pasha, the Grand Vizier with whom I had so satisfactorily carried
on a number of important negotiations during my first mission. He was
now vali at Smyrna, highly regarded, and justly called the "grand old
man" of Turkey, being about seventy-five years old. Amid the corruption
of his time no one ever questioned his honesty. He had been grand vizier
several times. He spoke English fluently, doubtless acquired in his
youth at Cyprus, where he was born.
He deplored the hopeless condition of affairs at Constantinople, where
all the power had gradually been concentrated at the Palace. Thus the
grand vizierate became a post without power, which, he explained, did
not interest him any longer. Besides, he did not agree with the Sultan's
methods, though he was thoroughly loyal to Turkey. His sympathies, as
between the contending powers, were with Great Britain; he believed good
relationship with her was the surest guarantee for the welfare of his
country.
From Smyrna we took a ship for Piraeus, a sixteen-hour trip. There we
took a carriage, instead of the train, to Athens. We stayed at the Hotel
Grande Bretagne, which was owned by our friend Stefanovich. It was, and
doubtless still is, the leading hotel on the square near the King's
palace, and from the balcony of our rooms we had a clear view of the
Acropolis.
This was our second visit to Athens. We had been there ten years before
as guests at the beautiful residence of Dmitri Stefanovich-Schilizzi,
brother of Paul, where we were sumptuously entertained; we dined at the
palace, attended several functions there, and met, at various social
gatherings, the leading people of the city. This time, however, we came
for rest and recreation; we made no official calls, but spent the six
days or so visiting places of interest, chiefly the excavations that
were being made, and the museum.
* * * * *
Returning we took a steamer direct for Constantinople. We had learned
that the Montenegrin portier in charge of our house at Pera had a slight
case of smallpox, so we went directly to our summer home at Yenikeui on
the Bosphorus, about a mile distant from Therapia where most of my
colleagues had their summer residences. We had succeeded in securing a
house that was a veritable palace and admirably arranged for
entertaining, so that we were well able to reciprocate the attentions of
our colleagues and extend proper hospitalities. A wealthy Greek had
constructed and owned this mansion, but on account of some questionable
dealings with the Palace involving large sums of money, he was a
fugitive from Turkey.
The house was surrounded by a park of its own, fronting on the
Bosphorus. There were pomegranate and magnolia trees in bloom, under
which we took our lunch. We had a launch that I named the Franklin, and
it was one of the fastest on the Bosphorus, so that within an hour I
could readily be at the Porte to transact the business of the legation,
although things are more quiet during the summer.
Altogether that summer was thoroughly delightful. My brother Isidor and
his devoted wife had both joined us. My brother had had an attack of
influenza and his health was not very good, so they had come to Europe
to consult a distinguished specialist, Professor Erb, at Heidelberg.
After completing the cure my brother came to Constantinople for rest and
quiet with us. The climate on the Bosphorus is ideal, never very hot
because of the constant cool breezes from the Black Sea. During that
summer there were only three days when the thermometer rose to ninety.
Everything seemed to prosper with me. I had brought several important
issues to a successful termination; our whole immediate family was
together, for Mildred had come to spend her vacation with us; and I had
the pleasure of a visit from my dear brother and his wife. I recall no
period of my life that was such a happy one.
* * * * *
Toward the end of the year I telegraphed to Washington for leave to
return home. I had adjusted all the matters at issue between the two
Governments except the indemnity, so that I felt justified in leaving my
post. I knew that I could rely on Lloyd C. Griscom, the secretary who
would be in charge, for a tactful and efficient handling of the affairs
of the legation. The indemnity required only steady pressure and
patience. As I have already stated I timed my return so as to make it
effective in adding a little more pressure.
When I was about to depart, the Sultan sent to my residence a pair of
beautiful vases, each several feet high, and artistically ornamented.
They were manufactured at the royal pottery which the Sultan had had
established on the Palace grounds, and the workmanship was French. As
the question of cost did not enter into the manufacture, some wonderful
productions were turned out at this pottery, and the vases sent to me
were exceptionally fine specimens. I was very much embarrassed, yet I
did not want to give offense by refusing them. I sent Mr. Gargiulo, our
veteran dragoman, to explain to the Sultan's secretary how much I
appreciated this attention, but as I was not permitted to accept the
vases for myself I would accept them for our National Museum at
Washington. That pleased the Sultan, and the vases now have a place in
our museum at the national capital.
* * * * *
As there was no need for hurrying home, we made a few stops on the way,
first at Vienna. The papers announced our arrival at the Austrian
capital, and I received a note from Dr. Theodor Hertzl asking for an
appointment. I was glad of the opportunity to meet him, for I had read
much about him. I found him a man of attractive appearance: a little
above medium height, coal-black beard and hair, very dark, expressive,
bright eyes. He was about forty years old, seemed full of energy,
beaming with idealism, but a man of the world. He did not at all impress
one as a religious fanatic.
He said the idea of Zionism, or, rather, the colonization of oppressed
Jews, had been developing in his mind for ten or twelve years. I told
him I was not a Zionist, though I did not want him to understand that I
was in any way opposed to the movement, or disposed carelessly to ignore
the solemn aspirations which the deeply religious members of my race had
prayerfully nurtured in sorrow and suffering through the ages. In answer
to his question whether the Sultan had ever spoken with me about the
subject, I told him he had not, as he probably understood it was not an
American question and did not in any way come under my jurisdiction. But
I told Hertzl of my negotiations regarding the immigration of the Jews
to Palestine during my first mission to Turkey, when I visited
Jerusalem.
We spoke of the condition brought about through the agitation of
Zionism, the immigration of hundreds of Jews without means into
Palestine, where there was as yet no industry to enable them to make a
livelihood. He said he appreciated that and was doing everything in his
power to prevent such immigration until a permit for a "chartered
company" with sufficient capital had been obtained from the Sultan, and
that he was in correspondence with an official of the Porte for the
securing of such a permit. I suggested that it might be best for him to
go to Constantinople and personally take up such negotiations; that I
had been shown a letter from him to Artin Effendi, the under-Secretary
of State, and this man was one of the biggest rogues in the empire, an
Armenian kept nominally in office by the Sultan to mislead and hold in
check his oppressed co-religionists. Dr. Hertzl thought he might take my
advice.
He informed me that some months before, he had taken the matter up with
the German Emperor and was led to believe that the Emperor was not in
any way opposed to Zionism, nor to the returning of the Jews to
Palestine, but Dr. Hertzl feared the opposition of the Catholics. He
gathered also, from what he had heard, that Russia did not oppose the
plan.
I mentioned Mesopotamia to him as a better place for the colonization of
the Jews than Palestine; it was the original home of Abraham and his
progenitors, was sparsely settled, and if the ancient canals were
reopened that country could support several million people. He said he
was somewhat familiar with this idea, as well as with Professor Haupt's
pamphlet, and a scheme for the colonization of Cyprus, and that it was
perhaps well to have more than one plan; if one did not serve as an
outlet for emigration another might.
It seemed to me that Hertzl was one of those men who, having capacity
and idealism, attach themselves to a cause that appeals to their
intellect or their sympathies, and grow in spirit and effectiveness
through the intensity of their devotion. Such men often develop
extraordinary qualities of true greatness under conditions that impose
weighty responsibilities, to an extent which they themselves did not
realize.
* * * * *
We next went to Rome. All my life I had looked forward to visiting
"Imperial Rome" on her seven hills, the old Rome that inspired some of
the leading chapters of the world's history. And my imagination was
fired the more because in my mind's eye I carried for comparison a
picture of Athens, city of Pallas Athene, once proud intellectual
mistress of the world; Jerusalem, from whence emanated the spiritual
endowment of civilization; and the new Rome to which Constantine brought
the scepter of the world.
While in Rome we were entertained by our ambassador and Mrs. Draper.
They were occupying Palazzo Piombino, one of the most magnificent of the
newer palaces, where they entertained in a manner befitting their
station. We met there several of my former colleagues at Constantinople
who were now representing their governments in Rome. Moses Ezekiel, our
distinguished American sculptor, was also in Rome at this time, and with
him and Mr. Bonney, in charge of the excavations of the Forum then in
process, we went through the recently excavated chambers of the vestal
virgins.
Before leaving the city we were received by the beautiful and charming
Queen Margherita. She was a remarkably well-informed woman, even about
events in our country. She spoke about the American press, and said one
of our papers had a correspondent in Rome who was an ardent supporter of
papal rule and could see no virtue in the Italian Government. She
referred to the invention of the flying machine by Professor Langley, of
the Smithsonian Institution, which, if it proved a success, would
ultimately change the life of all peoples, which she hoped would bring
the nations nearer to one another and into closer spiritual contact.
We visited Pompeii, and then went to Naples, where we boarded a steamer
for New York, arriving home on February 8, 1900.
* * * * *
Immediately I went to Washington for a conference with Secretary Hay and
to give him the details of the various negotiations. He was especially
interested in the communication of the Sultan to the Sulu Mohammedans,
for the friendly relations that this established between the Sulus and
our Government had already prevented the shedding of blood.
I told Secretary Hay that I desired to resign. The matters for which I
had been sent to Turkey were adjusted, the payment of the indemnity
being only a question of time and patience; on the other hand, it was
important, so far as concerned my personal affairs, that I be relieved
from further duty abroad, especially as I could not in Turkey properly
give to my children the education I felt they should have. The secretary
thought my request reasonable and just, but he thought the President
would regret it and would have difficulty in replacing me.
I took the subject up with the President next day. He said he realized I
had made sacrifices enough and was entitled to have my wishes respected;
he did not, however, wish me to send in my resignation just yet, but to
continue, for a time at least, to direct matters in Turkey in
consultation with Secretary Hay. He expressed great satisfaction with
the result of my mission and said if he hadn't sent me, some hostile
demonstration in Turkish waters would have been inevitable, with
possible serious complications as a result; but that the clamoring for a
warship to Turkey subsided with my going over because of the general
belief that I would succeed in handling matters. "No one else could have
done so well; you have done better than I thought it possible for any
one to do," he graciously added.
He indicated that there might develop some important post in the United
States which he should like to feel free to ask me to accept should the
occasion arise, but he made no further explanation. I later learned from
St. Clair McKelway to what this had reference. McKelway was on intimate
terms with the President and at the same time was a close friend of
mine. The President mentioned to him that he feared Secretary Hay, whose
health was failing, might have to relinquish his post, in which event
McKinley had in mind to offer it to me.
Within a week after my return I received a letter from Charles C.
Harrison, provost of the University of Pennsylvania, informing me that
the trustees had unanimously voted to confer upon me the honorary degree
of Doctor of Laws, and he would be glad if it were convenient for me to
receive the degree at a convocation of unusual importance on
Washington's Birthday. This ceremony took place at the Academy of Music,
Philadelphia, and similar degrees were conferred also upon Justice
Harlan, of the United States Supreme Court; Professor Ames, of the
Harvard Law School; Minister Wu, of China; President Diaz, of Mexico;
and two delegates from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge.
From time to time during the next few months I went to Washington both
to direct Turkish matters through the State Department and to confer
with the President on matters in general. On one of these occasions, in
August, he mentioned his forthcoming letter of acceptance of
renomination and spoke about the efforts of the Democrats to fasten the
charge of imperialism on the administration, but said he would make it
plain that we proposed to give as much freedom of government and
independence to the Philippines as they showed themselves able to
receive. I read to him from a memorandum I had drawn up regarding our
purpose to withdraw our troops as fast and in proportion as the
conditions of peace in the islands permitted. He said I had expressed
his ideas exactly, and as I was about to replace the memorandum in my
pocket he said he wished I would let him have it, which of course I did.
He asked what I thought of conditions in China, and I told him I was
convinced our true course was to oppose the partition of that country
and to stand firm for the open-door policy; that if Germany, or any
other Power, endeavored to bring about a division, we could doubtless
prevent it by insisting upon the open door, especially as the nations
could not agree among themselves.
Early in December I received a letter from Secretary Hay, asking whether
I still preferred to be relieved or whether for any reason I would
consent to continue as minister to Turkey. I definitely answered in the
negative and my second mission terminated with the following letter:
DEPARTMENT OF STATE
WASHINGTON, _December 18, 1900_
OSCAR S. STRAUS, ESQUIRE
42 Warren Street
New York City
MY DEAR MR. STRAUS:
I have laid before the President your letter of the 12th instant,
in which you express your preference not to return to
Constantinople, and offer your resignation of the mission you have
honorably and faithfully filled for the past few years.
Deferring to your wish, the President has accepted your
resignation. In charging me to inform you of this acceptance, the
President desires me to make known in fitting words his high
appreciation of the valuable services you have rendered to your
country, and his sense of the ability and intelligence you have
brought to bear in the performance of a task of more than usual
delicacy and difficulty. Called, as you were, a second time to the
Ottoman mission and confronted by the problems and entanglements
that seem to especially environ that post, you have shown rare
aptness in dealing with its perplexities and have notably
strengthened the hands of the government in leading the long
pending questions toward a settlement. While deeply regretting your
retirement and while averse to losing your helpful counsels, the
President has felt that he could not rightfully impose fresh
personal sacrifices upon you by disregarding your wish. You take
with you into honored private life the esteem of those who have
known and understood your conscientious worth in the paths of
official duty.
I share the President's regrets and equally share his appreciation
of the good services you have rendered. My sincere regards and
personal friendship are with you always.
Very cordially yours
JOHN HAY