_THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE_
Thus, in the summer of 1906, the Young Turk movement crystallised into
a secret society in Salonica, so well organised that it effected its
purpose despite the universal _espionage_, its work, of course, being
facilitated by the fact that in every part of the Empire the system of
administration had become so hateful to the people that, outside the
horde of spies, and those who prospered under the methods of the old
_régime_, few men could be found so base as to betray the leaders to
the authorities. It will make a wonderful story, when it is fully told,
that of these men working in secret and danger, many losing their lives
and still more their fortunes, but spreading their propaganda, becoming
ever stronger, until at last, having secured the support of a great
army and a powerful Church, they won liberty for Turkey by the almost
bloodless revolution that has taken all Europe by surprise.
This secret society was to a large extent modelled on Freemasonry,
and a considerable proportion of the early associates (Mussulmans for
the most part, with some Jews) were members of the Masonic Lodges in
Salonica. The machinery of Freemasonry, however, was not directly
employed to further the propaganda, and the Lodges took no official
cognizance of this political movement. It would obviously have been
too dangerous to discuss such a conspiracy as this one at Masonic
gatherings, where the treason of one man could destroy so many. The
methods of the Italian secret societies, where a member is introduced
to two or three of the affiliated only and so cannot betray more than
this number, were therefore adopted by those who framed the regulations
of the new organisation. But still Freemasonry was a great help to the
cause; for a member of the secret society who happened to be also a
Mason, while he was seeking, as was his duty, to gain fresh initiates,
could more readily approach a brother Mason than any other man with
this purpose, knowing that the very fact of being a Mason indicated a
natural inclination to be in sympathy with the aims of the Young Turks,
and feeling also that he could rely upon the secrecy and fidelity of
one of the fraternity.
The secret society was first known as the “Committee of Liberty,”
but shortly after its creation it was amalgamated with the “Ottoman
Committee of Union and Progress” in Paris, and became the working
centre of that organisation. From that time the “Ottoman Committee of
Union and Progress” had its secret headquarters in Salonica, while
Ahmed Riza and his associates remained in Paris to form an important
branch committee that was able to further the cause in many ways from
the secure sanctuary of a foreign capital. Thus it was in Paris, in
1907, more than a year after the establishment of the Committee’s
head-quarters in Salonica, that, at the instance of the Paris branch,
there was held that Congress of Turkish revolutionaries of which I have
already spoken, at which Committees representing the various races of
the Empire agreed to co-operate with the Young Turks.
The secret central committee, therefore, held its meetings in Salonica,
and kept up a constant communication with branch committees in Scutari
of Albania, Monastir, Janina, and other towns, and later it had its
small local committee in nearly every village of Macedonia and Albania.
Before the outbreak of the revolution it had established its branch
committees in all the important towns of Asiatic Turkey. Of those who
composed the Salonica Committee I have met many. They were all men from
what we should term the upper and middle classes—young officers in
the army who had passed through the military schools and had profited
by the splendid system of instruction introduced by the genius of
Baron von der Goltz—the one good thing for which Turkey has reason to
be grateful to Germany; young civil servants of the different State
departments; land-owning Macedonian beys; professors; lawyers; doctors
and some of the _ulemas_. Of officers of high rank and of the heads of
the Civil Service there were none; for most of these were creatures
of the Palace, and such as may have had sympathy with the Young Turk
cause were, in consequence of their position, too closely watched by
the Yildiz spies to take an active part in the movement. All the
men—for the most part men under middle age—who became members of the
secret committee were distinguished for their intense and unselfish
patriotism, men who commanded the respect and admiration of every
foreigner who has come in contact with them. This revolution did not
come from below, from debased city mobs or ignorant peasantry, but from
above, from all that is best in Turkey. The self-seeking demagogue
had no part in this revolution. These men, who devoted their lives
to overthrowing the Despotism, represented the honest and patriotic
Ottoman gentry, men who placed country above self-interest, the natural
leaders of the people, belonging to a dominant race which knows how to
command men—a more useful quality than much administrative knowledge.
Some of the principal members of the Committee of Union and Progress
in Salonica spoke to me when I was in that city, in November last,
without reserve—as they will do to an Englishman who has gained their
confidence—concerning their early secret organisation; for now that the
danger is almost over they are quite willing that the methods which
they were compelled to adopt before the granting of the Constitution
should be made known. To understand with sympathy what I am about to
describe, and recognise how fully justified were such assassinations
as were ordered by the Committee, one must bear in mind the terrible
nature of the late _régime_; how thousands of spies were scattered
over the country whose business it was to denounce suspects to the
Palace; how many of the best men in the country suddenly disappeared
from their wives and families, never to return; how torture and death
were the penalties for those who sought to set bounds to the Sultan’s
absolutism.
The machinery of this wonderful secret Society, which, throughout
the three years preceding the granting of the Constitution, did its
dangerous work so well, so unpityingly when the occasion demanded, but
always so justly, has been described to me as follows by some of its
best known founders:
The propagandist work of a member of the Society was two-fold. First,
he had to gain adherents to the cause among all classes of the Turkish
population by using arguments, explanations, and exhortations.
Secondly, he had to persuade certain carefully selected persons from
among his relations and more intimate friends to become affiliated to
the Society, and this he had to do with the greatest caution. Thus, a
member of the Society, whom we will call A, would approach his friend
and, perhaps, brother Mason, B, whom he knew to be a righteous and
patriotic man, to whom the methods of the Despotism must necessarily
be detestable, and carefully sound him. Having satisfied himself that
his friend was inspired by a true zeal, and was prepared to make great
sacrifices for his country’s salvation, A would say to B, “I have a
secret, a great mystery, which I should like to confide to you. Will
you swear never to divulge what I am about to say to any one?” On B’s
taking the required oath, A would explain to him that there existed a
powerful secret society of which he himself was a member, whose aim was
the destruction of the existing system of government, and would then
ask whether as a patriot he would like to join the brotherhood, warning
him at the same time of the serious step he was about to take and of
the great dangers which he would have to face.
On B’s replying in the affirmative, A would leave him, and a few days
later two messengers would come to B and call upon him in the name of
his friend A to follow them. The messengers would lead B to a lonely
place, there blindfold him, and then take him to some retired house
or recess in the forest which had been selected as the place of his
initiation. Here he would be ordered to stand, the bandage still across
his eyes, while he was addressed by two or more eloquent speakers,
who would draw a vivid picture of the evils of the tyranny, of the
certain destruction of the Ottoman Empire to which ill government
was leading, of the great suffering which the Palace _espionage_ had
inflicted on so many of their friends and relations, and would show
in burning words that it was the duty of every good Ottoman to do his
utmost by all possible methods to assist in the liberation of Turkey.
Turks often possess great oratorical powers, and I am assured that in
nearly every instance the candidate would be moved to tears by these
impressive exhortations. The candidate would be sworn to secrecy and
fidelity and unquestioning obedience to the orders of the Committee,
on the Koran and on the sword, and he would then be solemnly declared
to be affiliated to the secret Society. In the rare cases in which the
candidate was not a Mussulman the oath would of course be administered
in some other way.
The bandage would then be removed from his eyes and lie would find
himself in the presence of five masked men wearing long cloaks. One
of these would again address the initiate. First, he would explain to
him that precautions to secure secrecy and to make treason difficult
were indispensable to the very existence of the Society, for the spies
of the Palace were ever around it, while it was possible that some
were even within its circle; that therefore it was expedient that the
initiates should be as little known to each other as possible; and that
it was on this account that those who now addressed him were masked,
and, moreover, persons whom he had never previously met, so that it
might be impossible for him to identify them by their voices. The
speaker would then proceed to explain to the initiate his duties and
obligations. He would remind him that the Committee condemned to death
not only traitors but those who disobeyed its orders, and impress upon
him that by the oath he had taken in the name of God and Mohammed his
life would have to be devoted to the cause until Turkey was freed,
that he belonged body and soul to the Society, and would have to go to
whatever part of the world he was sent, and do whatever the Society
bade him, even were it to kill his own brother. At the conclusion of
this ritual B would again be blindfolded and be led away by the two
messengers.
For some weeks or months after this initiation B would undergo a
term of probation; orders would come to him by secret channels and
he would obey them, but he would see no member of the Society. His
introducer, A, was responsible for his fidelity, and should B so act
as to be condemned to death by the Society, it would be the hand of
his friend A which would have to slay him. At last, B having proved
himself worthy, the messengers would again summon him to a meeting of
the secret Committee, and after a ceremony somewhat similar to the
first, he would be affiliated to one of the companies into which the
Society was divided, each company containing about one hundred and
fifty members. But B would be made known to four men of his company and
no more, for it was in circles of five only that the initiates used to
meet. So it was impossible for any false member to betray more than
five comrades—the four of his own circle and his introducer. In each
circle of five one member served as a link with the other circles of
the company; while each company had certain members who were the links
between it and the other companies and with the Central Committee.
Of this secret Central Committee I can say little; for though now, the
Despotism having been destroyed, the members of the Committee of Union
and Progress have come out in the open, and every one knows who they
are, they still appoint a secret central organisation, the names of
whose members no man will tell you and few men know. But one is assured
that this Committee has no president and no leaders, that all are
equal in it, and that a new chairman is elected at each meeting; for
individual ambition is deprecated, and it was the original aim to make
of this a band of brothers working with unselfish devotion, unknown,
without desire for any recognition, for their country. The formation of
any dominant group or camarilla within the Central Committee is made
impossible by the regulations which govern its procedure.
Just before the proclamation of the Constitution the initiates of the
Committee of Union and Progress, in Macedonia alone, numbered fifteen
thousand. It was the duty of each member to spread the propaganda by
conversing with men of all classes, a delicate and very dangerous
task, as one may well imagine. Many were arrested at the instance
of the spies, to be imprisoned or to lose their lives. Many of the
captured were taken to the Palace and offered large bribes in return
for information, and, this failing, tortures were applied, but with
no effect. There was not one single instance of the betrayal of his
brethren by a member of the Society.
The organisation of this wonderful secret Society was very complete.
To meet the expenses each member was compelled to contribute a fixed
percentage of his income to the Committee chest, while rich members,
in addition to this tax, made generous donations when funds were
required. Arms and ammunition were secretly purchased. A considerable
sum was set apart annually to provide for the families of members
who lost life or liberty while working for the cause. Their several
duties were apportioned to the members. There were the messengers who,
disguised in various ways, went to and fro over the Empire carrying
verbal reports and instructions, for naturally communications between
branches of the association and orders to individual members could
not be confided to the postal and telegraph services. There were the
men who had to assassinate those whom the Committee had condemned to
death—Government officials who were working against the movement with a
dangerous zeal, and Palace spies who were getting on the scent. Other
members were sent out to act as spies in the interest of the cause, and
the _contre espionage_ became at last so thorough that it baffled the
_espionage_ of the Palace. Men whom the Palace paid as its spies were
often the loyal agents of the secret Society. The Committee had its
agents in every department of the Government, in the Civil Service, in
the War Office, in the Custom House, in the post and telegraph offices,
even in the foreign post-offices in Constantinople and other big
cities; so that official communications were intercepted and read and
the most secret designs of the Palace were revealed to the Committee
and could therefore be circumvented. The Committee had its spies in
the Turkish Embassies in foreign countries, among the retainers of
influential Pashas, and in the Yildiz Palace itself. For example, a
correspondent, writing to the _Times_ from Salonica, tells the story
of Dr. Baha-ud-Din, formerly physician to one of the Imperial princes,
who had been exiled to the Russian frontier. He returned secretly to
the capital, and for the three months preceding the revolution remained
in the Palace undetected, supplying the Committee with a good deal
of useful information. Suspicion fell upon him a few days before the
revolution broke out, so he had to flee for his life, and became an
active member of the Committee in Salonica.
Then there was the host of propagandists who were scattered all over
the Empire doing their dangerous work, urging the civil population to
embarrass the Government by a refusal to pay taxes and to prepare for
a general rising, and persuading the soldiery of the righteousness of
the movement, and obtaining their promise not to fight against their
own countrymen when ordered to do so. So as to obtain easy access to
houses and barracks, Turkish officers disguised themselves as hawkers
of cheap jewellery and ribbons, or as the peripatetic sutlers who sell
sherbet and little comforts to the Turkish soldier; and in their packs
were always concealed the revolutionary tracts that were to spread
the propaganda. One well-known officer for long kept a barber’s shop
in Baghdad, and inoculated his customers with the doctrines of the
conspiracy. Dr. Nazim Bey, who had been exiled, wandered over Asia
Minor for eighteen months, sometimes disguised as a peddler, sometimes
as a _hodja_, in order to win over the Anatolian regiments. He made
initiates among the officers, and conversed with the men to such good
effect that when the Sultan, in the last day of the old _régime_,
despatched several battalions of the Anatolian army, to crush the
military insurrection in Macedonia, these troops not only refused to
fire on their comrades, but joined forces with them.
One remarkable feature of the propaganda was the great part taken in
it by the Turkish women. They were largely employed, for example, in
the delivery of messages and the carrying of documents; for it was easy
for the wife of a member of the Committee to visit the wives of other
members without attracting observation. The respect that is paid to
women in Turkey gives them immunity from being searched; the women’s
apartments in a Turkish house are held to be inviolable, and a police
officer would not venture to infringe these cherished customs without
very weighty cause. The following incident exemplifies this: Shortly
after the revolution had made the Committee the virtual ruler of
Turkey, some young officers were sent to pay a domiciliary visit to the
house of a Pasha suspected of being a party to a reactionary plot. They
arrested the Pasha, but made a vain search for incriminatory documents.
At last they came across a chest that had obviously been concealed, and
felt confident that they had at last discovered what they were seeking.
At this juncture the Pasha’s wife came forward and stated that the
chest contained her jewels and other property; whereupon the officers
refrained from opening it, and, saluting the lady, left the house.
[Illustration: TURKISH MARKET-WOMAN IN STREET DRESS]
The first and most important task before the Committee was, of course,
that of bringing round to the cause the Macedonian garrison—the Third
Army Corps. The disaffection of these troops, the reasons for which I
have explained, had in places manifested itself in open mutiny, and the
incompetence and corruption of some of the officers of superior rank,
who were indebted to Palace favouritism for their position, filled
both the junior officers and the rank and file with an ever-increasing
disgust. By degrees a number of the young officers were affiliated to
the Committee, and received instructions to win over the rank and file.
The fact that the troops were moving about in small bodies, hunting
down the Bulgarian bands, rendered this proceeding the more easy; for
while engaging in this work, regimental officers, unrestrained by the
supervision of their superiors, could give political instruction to the
men, and were able to hold meetings among themselves without attracting
the attention of spies; the company commanders used also to deliver
lectures to their men in out-of-the-way places, where any stranger
would be conspicuous and Palace spies would be immediately recognised.
Whenever a spy was discovered he promptly disappeared, soldiers who
had taken the oath of fealty to the Committee being given the word to
kill him. At last the whole Macedonian army was won over to the cause
of the Young Turks, and as a consequence of the work performed by the
disguised officers in other parts of the Empire, the Second Army Corps,
which garrisons the Vilayet of Adrianople, also contained a large
proportion of officers and men in sympathy with the movement—troops
hostile to the Despotism thus enclosing the capital on all sides—while
on the farther shore of the Bosphorus, Anatolia, whose sturdy peasantry
supplies the Ottoman Empire with its finest troops, had been similarly
prepared by Dr. Nazim Bey and numerous officers.
To those Englishmen who knew something of the Turkish army it appeared
an amazing thing that these soldiers, who worshipped the Sultan with
a blind faith not only as their sovereign, but as the head of the one
true religion, “the Commander of the Faithful,” “the Shadow of God upon
earth,”—however discontented they might be, however ready to mutiny, as
they sometimes did mutiny, against their officers—could be persuaded to
join in a movement of which the avowed object was the deposition of the
Sultan Abdul Hamid. The soldier could only be won over by convincing
him that religion itself commanded the overthrow of the tyrant. It
will be remembered how, in 1876, the Sheikh-ul-Islam, as chief of the
interpreters of the Sacred Law, decreed that the Sultan Abd-ul-Aziz
should be deposed because, in ruining the State which God had confided
to him, he had broken his sacred trust, and could no longer be head
of the believers. The young officers put the case in the same way,
and in simple words, to the honest and devout soldiery; they quoted
the passages in the Koran which denounce tyranny, and showed that the
Sultan was not true to his country, and therefore had forfeited the
privileges God had lent to him. The fact that Austria and Germany
had been granted concessions to construct railways through Turkish
territory (the proposed railway through the Sanjak of Novi-Bazaar,
which would afford Austria railway connection with Salonica, and the
German-owned Baghdad railway) was a proof to the soldier that the
Palace was selling the country bit by bit to the foreigner.
During the early days of the propaganda, _hodjas_ who had joined
the Committee, and officers disguised as _hodjas_, being freely
admitted into barracks in their capacity of preachers, advocated
these doctrines, and satisfied the religious scruples of the men;
and when, later, the Sheikh-ul-Islam declared himself in favour of
the Constitution, there remained no doubt in their minds that they
were acting as their creed commanded in following the lead of their
young officers. As a matter of fact, it was not difficult to show
that Abdul Hamid, to quote from Mr. Hamil Halid’s book, “The Diary of
a Young Turk,” was “the worst enemy of Islam, as no Moslem ruler has
ever brought by his misdeeds so much shame upon the faith as he has.
Any one who has observed his career closely knows that his actions
are diametrically opposed to the principles of the Mussulman law and
creed.” Moreover, the Turkish soldier, like the soldiers in other
armies and the majority of healthy young men, can be appealed to
through his stomach, and he naturally acquired an affection for and
confidence in these majors, captains, and lieutenants of the new school
who sympathised with him, pitied his wretched condition, and with their
own money, or the Committee funds, supplemented his miserable rations
and supplied him with comforts.
Of the methods of the propaganda in Macedonia we learn a good deal from
the published letters of Major Niazi Bey, the officer who first raised
the standard of revolt. He explains how, gradually, the young officers,
hitherto estranged from one another by the mutual suspicions engendered
by the system of _espionage_, were emboldened by the patriotic
hopes held up before them, and through the possession of a common
secret became as a band of brothers, mutual confidence and affection
increasing daily; and how even those who had not been made members
of the secret Society, and knew not its mysteries, were convinced by
their affiliated comrades that the Committee was powerful and just,
and was working in the sacred name of liberty for the integrity of the
fatherland; and so sympathised heart and soul with the movement, and
were in readiness to co-operate with the revolutionaries.
In the meanwhile the Committee was steadily undermining the entire
civil as well as military administration of the Empire. It acted, as a
member of the association put it to me, like a well-ordered but secret
Government. It kept books in which were inscribed the names of all the
higher Government officials, with particulars as to their careers
and habits—their _dossiers_, in short. Some of the enlightened and
right-minded of these officials had been gained over to the cause; the
others were closely watched, and whether they were _Valis_, Inspectors
General, or Governors of districts, or what not, their moral influence
was destroyed, and their authority was made impotent by the fact that
their subordinates, on whom they had to rely for the execution of their
wishes, had almost without exception become adherents of the Committee.