XIV A REMARKABLE EXAMPLE OF ADMINISTRATION
The problem which is puzzling the United States in the Philippine
Islands should give our people a particular interest in the little
state of Bosnia, where a similar situation has been successfully
handled by the Austrians. From 1463 to 1878 Bosnia and Herzegovina were
a part of the Turkish Empire, and are nominally so still, although
under Austrian authority. While subject to the Turks, they practically
vanished from the current of civilization. Scarcely a ray of light or
progress brightened the intellectual, social and industrial stagnation
that settled upon these people until 1875, when, exasperated by
extortion, taxation, robbery, rapine, murder and religious persecution,
they rose in rebellion. Upon the failure of the Sultan to restore
order, the great Powers of Europe, at the Berlin Conference of 1878,
placed the two provinces under the protection of Austria, although
still requiring them to pay tribute to Turkey.
The success of the Austrians has been chiefly due to the methods
adopted by Count von Kallay, the able Hungarian statesman who has been
practically a dictator since 1878. For Austria to reconcile a proud
people of different races and religions was no easy task. The results
speak volumes for the forbearance and tact shown by the officials, and
demonstrate the practicability of governing an alien race by justice,
benevolence and liberal treatment.
Thirty years ago Bosnia was in the same condition that Macedonia is
to-day, except that it was worse in the respect that it had a much
larger proportion of Mohammedans and Turkish outlaws. The population
were not fit for liberty, and if it had been granted them by the Berlin
Conference, as they demanded, it would have been a curse instead of
a blessing. A German writer, shortly before the Russo-Turkish war,
described the situation in these words: “The misrule existing in the
whole of the Turkish Empire is so great and so universal that it can
be best characterized as a state of chronic and chaotic anarchy. One
province, however, and that perhaps the least known of all, has in
this respect a sad preëminence. It is a province where one can travel
only with the greatest difficulty, and with not less danger than in
the wilds of Kurdistan, where the intolerance and hate against the
Christians is more living and active than around fanatical Damascus,
and where the condition of the people is more abject and hopeless than
that of any Fellaheen upon the Nile. That province is Bosnia.”
One who visits that country to-day can scarcely believe that such
conditions could have existed only a short time ago--the people are
so peaceful, contented and prosperous. Crime is almost unknown.
Railroads reach every corner of the province, and the freighthouses
are fed by long caravans of carts hauled over excellent highways. The
towns are filled with new and handsome houses, factories have been
built to utilize the water power, a university, colleges, academies,
training-schools and other institutions have been established
to qualify the people to make the most intelligent use of their
opportunities. Members of the different religious faiths mix with each
other on amicable terms and show mutual respect and mutual toleration;
the courts are wisely and honestly administered, justice is awarded
to every citizen regardless of his religion or social position, taxes
are low and honestly collected and disbursed. There has been little
corruption in office and whenever it has been discovered it has been
severely punished. The people have learned for the first time in
their history that honest complaints will be patiently listened to
and that wrongs will be redressed. The introduction of free education
has enabled them to appreciate the value of such a government,
and, although the older peasants are still ignorant, backward and
distrustful, the younger generation show ambition and enterprise, and
are conducting their affairs with intelligence and order.
The most convincing proof of the change in the condition of affairs is
furnished by the statistics of crime and violence and the increase in
population. Thirty years ago brigandage was a recognized profession.
There were no railways, and few wagon roads. When people were compelled
to travel they went in large parties, fully armed, or were accompanied
by an escort of soldiers. Murder was not considered a crime and the
number of people killed by the soldiers or by each other was not
recorded. Robbery was as common as lying. To-day human life is as safe
in Bosnia as in Illinois. Travel is safer there because there has never
been a train robbery in that country. During the last ten years, out of
a total population of nearly 2,000,000, the homicides have averaged
six a year, and in 1900 there were only two. There has been no case of
highway robbery since 1895. Which of the states in the American Union
can show a better record?
Under Turkish rule the population was not counted but in 1879, one
year after Austrian authority was recognized, the census showed
1,111,216 people. In 1885 this total had increased to 1,336,097, in
1895 to 1,568,092, and in 1900 to 1,879,978, of which 548,632 were
Turks, 673,246 Greek orthodox, 494,124 Roman Catholics, 9,311 Jews,
4,695 Protestants and representatives of nearly every religion. This
change has been accomplished by the exercise of a strong, firm, honest
and benevolent government. The proclamation announcing the occupation
of the country by Austria promised that all the people in the land
should enjoy equal rights before the law and should be protected in
life, property and worship. That promise has been kept. Order has been
brought out of anarchy; all races and religions are not only tolerated,
but are encouraged, and the immigration from other Turkish provinces
has been large.
Whatever has been done in Bosnia might also be done in Macedonia but
for the jealousy of the Powers.
Bosnia and Herzegovina are situated in the northwest corner of the
Balkan Peninsula, bounded on the north by the Slavonian province of
Austro-Hungary, on the east by Servia, Turkey and Montenegro, and
on the south and west by Dalmatia and the Adriatic Sea. The country
is mountainous, being broken by high peaks, deep glens, ridges,
beautifully wooded hills, winding streams, and rich alluvial basins,
which yield large crops of grain--wheat, barley, rye, oats and other
cereals--and are especially adapted to fruit. The landscape is a
series of terraces which slope gradually in a southwestward direction
and finally disappear in the Adriatic, whose coast is broken into an
archipelago of lovely islands. The Dalmatian coast is one of the most
enchanting pictures in the universe, and its attractions have been the
theme of poets since the days of Homer.
A curious phenomenon is the abrupt and unreasonable behavior of the
rivers and streams in that region, which, like the North Platte of
Nebraska, disappear from the surface of the earth and lose themselves
in underground passages called _ponars_, reappearing in the most
eccentric and surprising manner. The Narenta is the only river that
finds its way to the sea entirely above ground.
Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia, a city of 60,000 inhabitants, almost
in the geographical center of the country, is reached by railway
from Belgrade or from Budapest. You change from the trunk-line of
the Austrian state railway at a town called Bosna-brod on the Save
River, which is the boundary of the province, and there you take a
narrow-gauge line belonging to the Bosnian government, which winds
through narrow defiles in the mountains until it reaches the Adriatic
at Metcovic, the port of Bosnia, although within Dalmatian territory.
Along the railway villages and villas cling to the mountain sides
like swallow-nests and are very picturesque, the older ones being of
oriental architecture with towers and minarets, and roofs of red tiles.
There are several medieval castles, more or less in ruins, interspersed
with modern paper mills, tanneries, cigarette factories and other
industrial enterprises introduced by the Austrians. One of those old
castles has been converted into a prison, and is managed on the
Pennsylvania plan, with the most enlightened methods for correction,
reformation and education. Under the Turks prisons were more common,
but were used to satisfy vengeance, to extort money from unwilling
pockets and to torture political suspects and offenders. They were
similar to the prisons of Cuba, perhaps worse; but under the present
system of government the prevention of crime and the reformation of
criminals have been the subject of great solicitude and scientific
study.
Looking from the car windows between villages you would think the train
was running through the Rocky Mountains. The fantastic crags and peaks
of granite, the deep cuttings, the many tunnels, the chasms spanned
by steel bridges and the “right of way” carved out of the sides of
precipices, with the roaring, foaming streams, would remind you of
Colorado. The train is hauled over the grand divide, 2,667 feet high,
by what is called the “rack-and-pinion process,” which, however, must
remain a mystery, because it does not stop for passengers to inspect;
but it is some description of a cable-and-cog-wheel arrangement.
The longest tunnel is 700 yards. The trains run very slowly and
carefully, as if afraid of accidents, and it is a long journey to
cover comparatively a few miles. As a bird flies, the distance between
Bosna-brod and Sarajevo is less than a hundred miles, but winding in
and out among the gorges and following the long curves made necessary
to regulate the grade, you get an all-day’s ride, but finally reach a
vast garden of vineyards, olive groves, foliage plants and truck farms
in an amphitheater surrounded by snow-clad peaks.
Near Sarajevo is a mountain called Trebevic, 5,100 feet high, which
furnishes a sublime view of the surrounding country for a radius of
fifty miles within the circle of the mountain. There is a pavilion
at the summit, reached by a good bridle path, which was built, like
everything else, by the Austrian officials.
Approaching the city of Sarajevo the railway runs through a famous
gorge. The rails cling to the granite walls that inclose the Narenta
River in a way that reminds you of the Black Cañon of Utah. The gorge
is twelve miles long, peaks 6,000 and 7,000 feet high rise on either
side, and the precipices are almost perpendicular to the height of
1,000 feet above the riverbed.
Sarajevo is a partly modernized Turkish town, and in its architecture
and arrangement a curious combination of the old and the new, the
Orient and the Occident. It is half Turkish and half Austrian, and
so many of the inhabitants cling tenaciously to their native customs
that they add to the picturesqueness of the place. I was told that
the city contains a larger variety of types of the oriental races
than even Constantinople, and that in the bazaar may be seen daily a
sample of every native costume worn from the Straits of Gibraltar to
the Red Sea. It requires much local experience and sartorial knowledge
to distinguish a Dalmatian from a Serb, a Magyar from an Albanian,
or a Greek from a Jew, but whatever their ancestry or religion may
be--Slav, Semite, Moslem, Egyptian, Greek, Slavonian, Latin, Swiss,
Saxon, Teuton, Frank, Magyar, Turk, Russian, Swede, Spaniard, Moor or
Nubian--they live in peace and harmony, each recognizing the scruples
of the other concerning the creed and the customs of his faith, and
under the firm and kindly rule of the Austrians they dwell together in
unity. Many of the women also adhere to their native costumes, except
the wives and daughters of the middle class. When you see a veiled
woman you may know that she is a Moslem, but those who wear their faces
uncovered are either Christians or Jews.
Austrian officers in uniform seem to be numerous and popular, and all
classes of the people are grateful for their deliverance from the
unspeakable Turk. The fathers and mothers still find it difficult to
overcome their suspicions and distrust of their rulers, which have been
bred into their bones through long centuries of deception, cruelty and
corruption.
The capital of Bosnia occupies a sightly place in a wide valley
surrounded by picturesque mountains, and is divided into two nearly
equal parts by the Miljacka, a rapid, foaming stream which tumbles
over a rocky bed. Nine or ten artistic bridges, some of them incrusted
with the lichens of centuries, are approached by wide, well-shaded
streets which slope up the mountain sides with a comfortable grade and
give excellent drainage. Observed from the distant hills, Sarajevo
looks as if it were built in terraces, and the trees in the streets
make parallel lines of green alternating with lines of red, which are
the roofs of the houses. In many places are luxuriant gardens reached
through wide archways under the houses in the oriental style, but they
are generally secluded. There is an abundance of pure water supplied
from the mountains for domestic purposes and for the many fountains
which decorate the interior _patios_ of the houses and gardens. While
the residential portion of the town is irregular and only partially
built up, Sarajevo compares well in architecture and in every other
respect with any city of its size in Europe or America, and some time
will be a beautiful place, for it is much favored by nature, and the
inhabitants are rapidly accumulating wealth.
Sarajevo has been frequently compared with Jerusalem and Damascus.
It is often called “the Damascus of the North,” and perhaps the old
part may bear some resemblance to those venerable cities, but the
new part is more like a German or an Italian town. There are several
mosques with minarets and domes and spires. Churches of every religion,
fine office-buildings, apartment-houses, government buildings and
public institutions. The _Rathaus_, or city hall, is a beautiful
modern structure of the oriental school of architecture, and might
have been transplanted from Constantinople or Algiers, while the
_Scheriatschule_, a law college, is also imposing. The citadel or
castle, which formerly was the residence of the Turkish governor, is
an irregular inclosure defended by a high wall with a collection of
buildings representing several ages and schools of architecture. It is
now garrisoned by a battalion of Austrian troops, whose gay uniforms
delight the eyes of the people.
In Budapest I saw a regiment of troops from Bosnia parading the
streets. They were fine-looking young fellows, full of military ardor,
and seemed to take great pride in their appearance. I was told that
there are 7,000 Bosnian soldiers in Austria and Hungary, and an equal
number of Austrian soldiers in Bosnia, which, by the way, is a very
good scheme, if you will stop to think of the effect. According to law
every able-bodied man in Bosnia, upon reaching the age of eighteen, is
required to enter the army for a period of five years, two years being
spent in active service and three years as a member of the reserve.
Those in active service are sent to Austria and Hungary, where they
learn something of life and civilization, become familiar with the
German language and the customs and habits of the people, and make
many friends, often marrying Austrian girls and taking them back to
Bosnia. The government encourages such marriages, and offers tempting
inducements in the way of relief from certain duty and additional pay.
Married soldiers are allowed to live in barracks with their wives, who
are employed as cooks, laundresses and in other capacities. Thus, after
a term of two years spent in the army in Austria, the young Bosnian
goes home thoroughly naturalized and imbued with Austrian ideas, while
those who take wives with them have an even greater attachment to the
empire. Thus the scheme works well. On the other hand, the Austrian
soldiers who are stationed in Bosnia make friends with the people, and
often marry and settle down there. They are encouraged to do so by the
government’s offering inducements similar to those I have described.
Police duty is performed by a force of about 2,500 gendarmes, selected
from the best material in the Bosnian and Austrian reserves. They are
well paid and pensioned, and the pay and privileges are sufficient to
secure men of education, judgment and good habits. This is absolutely
necessary for the success of Austrian government in Bosnia, because
the experience of the people with the Turkish soldiers was so terrible
that a military uniform is still hateful to them. The Bosnian police
are divided in squads of eight or ten men under the command of a
sergeant, and are scattered throughout the country in every community.
They are called upon to perform unusual duties. They not only patrol
their districts to keep the peace, investigate complaints, make arrests
and do ordinary police duty, but also serve as sanitary officers,
veterinarians, legal advisers and instructors in agriculture and the
industrial arts. They are, in fact, fathers to the people, or as one
of them described it, “maids of all work.” The idea is to furnish the
people advisers in all occupations and stations in life, who carry the
authority and the protection of the government with them and bring it
not only into the households, but into the stables and the gardens of
the entire population.
Thus a peasant when he is out of work applies to the policeman, who
knows everybody and everything in the district, and can generally
find him a job. When an old woman wants seed to plant in her garden,
the policeman sends to the agricultural department for a supply. When
he hears that anyone is sick he fetches medicine from the police
dispensary; when an accident occurs he exercises his ingenuity to
aid in making repairs; when a cow or a horse has the distemper he
gives advice to the owner and instructs him how to administer the
proper remedy. When a cabin is to be built or a marriage performed
or a funeral is held on his beat, he is the master of ceremonies,
no matter whether the persons involved are Turks, Roman Catholics,
Protestants or members of the Greek Church. In this way the policemen
become identified with the interests of the people, and obtain their
confidence. And this form of paternalism has been very effective in
winning the Bosnians to the support of the Austrian authorities. The
contrast with the conduct of the Turkish soldiers in the past is so
radical that the system is all the more effective in accomplishing its
purpose; for, in Turkish times, the man most feared by the community
was the policeman, for he was always a robber and often a fiend.
In order to avoid scandals and protect the police from temptation each
gendarme is accompanied at all times by a deputy or assistant who is
both a student studying the business with the expectation of promotion
to the first place, when his turn comes, and a check or restraint upon
his superior, who, by the wholesome regulations, is required to teach
him and set him a good example. There have been cases where dishonest
and vicious men obtain positions in the police corps and oppress
people, but the penalty for malfeasance is very heavy, and whenever a
case occurs it is utilized as an opportunity to furnish an example. The
testimony is almost unanimous that the Bosnian gendarmes are a model
force; that they have acquired the respect and the confidence of the
people, and that to this system is largely due the remarkable success
of the Austrian administration in Bosnia.
The old part of Sarajevo, called Carsija, consists of crooked and
narrow streets running at right angles with shops and bazaars opening
upon the sidewalks as is customary in all oriental towns. The merchants
and mechanics squat on their haunches or sit cross-legged as they
make and sell their wares. Although nearly everything is oriental in
appearance, and sold as souvenirs of the country to tourists, the
greater part of the gay colored silks and cottons were woven in the
factories of Germany and France; the gold and silver embroideries in
arabesque designs were imported from Austria, and much of the jewelry,
the ornamental pipes and velvet slippers, from Paris. The only goods
that can be depended upon as of native workmanship are those that
are manufactured before your eyes. The busy artisans keep at it from
daybreak till bedtime, seldom knocking off except to say their prayers
at the nearest mosque or drink a cup of coffee and smoke a cigarette
at the nearest café. That is the Bosnian idea of rest and pleasure. He
will smoke and drink coffee all day long if he has the leisure to do
so. They tell of men whose daily allowance is a hundred cups of coffee
and a hundred cigarettes.
Contrary to the French and Italian habit the Bosnians never urge people
to purchase their goods. They manifest no eagerness, but offer them
with dignified courtesy and apparent indifference. They never raise
their voices or gesticulate, but imitate their Turkish neighbors, who
are trained from the cradle to observe the command of the prophet who
said: “Be moderate in thy pace and lower thy voice.” Nor do you ever
see a Mohammedan beggar. He never complains. One of the most admirable
characteristics of the race is the composure with which disappointment
and misfortune are accepted. “If you have food, eat,” is his doctrine.
“If you have no food, die.” In his shop as well as in his place of
worship, the Mohammedan practices his religion and preserves the same
proud and uncomplaining calm.
The different trades are governed by guilds as was formerly the rule
throughout Europe. Each guild has a patron saint and a long list
of officers, who fix prices and profits, regulate wages, appoint
apprentices and decide disputes. The trades are classified and each has
its particular locality. Competitors seem to be upon the most friendly
terms.
In the center of the old city is a common meeting-place--a coffee-house
in the oriental style called the Kiraet-han--a resort for the
better class of merchants and artisans, where types of all races
may be found. Near by is the beautiful Begova Djamia, the largest
and the finest mosque in Europe with the exception of St. Sofia in
Constantinople and Selim’s in Adrianople. In the courtyard is the
inevitable fountain, in which the worshipers wash their hands before
performing their religious duties, for cleanliness is not only next to
godliness in the Mohammedan creed, but was declared by the prophet to
be “the key of prayer.” In this courtyard is the official measuring
stone, exactly the Turkish equivalent for a yard in length, and
whenever there is a dispute or discussion as to the accuracy of a
merchant’s measurement he is compelled to subject it to the test.
Many injunctions from the prophet make it difficult for a conscientious
Moslem to compete with the Greeks, Jews, Italians and Austrians, who
are his rivals there. His religious observances take up much valuable
time. He goes to worship five times a day whenever the Hodja calls to
prayer. So many times must he lay his forehead to the ground, repeating
so many verses from the Koran; so many times must he rise to a sitting
posture with his hands upon his knees, and with eyes closed repeat the
gospel of his religion; and so many times must he arise and recite so
many prayers. Not one prayer or position must be omitted or neglected.
As a rule the Mohammedans are much more regular and devout in the
observance of their spiritual duties than the members of the Christian
churches, and no race is so faithful to the teachings of its religion.
They told me there, as I have often heard elsewhere, that no matter how
cruel, bloodthirsty or treacherous a Turk may be, he will not lie or
cheat. I have been frequently advised that I can always trust a Moslem
to give me real value for my money, and depend upon his word as to the
article he sells me, but when I deal with a Christian or a Jew I must
look out for myself. That, however, is a myth, to entertain strangers.
Strangers find great difficulty in distinguishing between the
Christians and the Turks in Bosnia, for both wear turbans, embroidered
waistcoats, loose open jackets, zouave trousers gathered at the knee,
and heelless shoes with toes that turn up like the arms of a crescent,
the same that you see in the windows of shops that sell Turkish goods
at home. The ordinary European costume is being adopted rapidly by
those who wish to be considered up-to-date. The rich families of the
middle class buy all their clothing at Vienna or Budapest, and it is
difficult to distinguish them from the Austrians. Nevertheless there
are little signs by which those familiar with the country can always
tell whether a man he meets upon the street is a Mohammedan or a
Christian. The peasants adhere most tenaciously to the ancient customs,
and by going into the country one can get a much better idea of what
Bosnia used to be than in the cities, although the latter are still
picturesque and interesting. In Turkish times Christians were compelled
to wear a certain costume of dark colors to denote their servile
condition, and it was as much as life was worth for anyone to wear
green, the color of the prophet. The Turks considered it sacrilege,
and the penalty for violating this unwritten law was so terrible that
it was seldom broken. Now, however, any man or woman, Christian, Jew
or Turk, is allowed to wear whatever pleases the taste and fancy, and
you see mixed costumes as often as any, the fez, which was formerly
the distinguishing badge of the Mohammedans, being frequently worn by
Christians and Jews.
A similar change has been going on among the women. Formerly they
were restricted to the harems, as in Turkey, but now they may be seen
in the streets and bazaars and even in the fields, where, before the
Austrian occupation, it was impossible for them to appear, because of
the danger of insult from any passing Turk. They never ventured far
from their homes and the protection of their husbands and neighbors.
It has never been customary for Turkish women to work in the fields
like the Germans and Austrians; but this is all changed, and throughout
Bosnia these days their bright costumes illuminate the landscape in
every direction. They work side by side with men, as in Hungary.
Nowadays, also, many Mohammedan husbands in Bosnia allow their wives
and daughters to be treated by Christian doctors when they are ill,
notwithstanding the superstition that it is contrary to the will of
Allah. Enlightened Mohammedans who have observed the advantages of
the social, agricultural and administrative reforms introduced into
Bosnia and have reflected thoughtfully upon them are gradually yielding
to their better judgment, and, while they will never yield in their
attachment to the old faith, are adopting the customs and habits of
the western world. The lives of women are thus becoming enlarged. They
are being released from the degraded position which they occupy in
all Mohammedan countries. The popular impression that the Mohammedan
religion denies souls and immortality to women is a fallacy. The Koran
teaches the reverse, and admits them to the hope of Paradise; and it
is custom rather than a religious injunction that prohibits them from
entering mosques at the same time with men. Certain hours are allotted
women for prayer in most of the mosques, but some of them they are not
allowed to enter.
The Turk is not altogether terrible. He has many admirable traits.
There is much to be admired in his religion and in the spirit with
which he observes the injunctions of the prophet. The Mohammedans are a
curious contradiction. Although it is asserted that ninety out of every
one hundred cases in the Turkish courts are settled by bribery, and the
official class is absolutely untrustworthy, yet I am informed by those
who have had long experience that the word and still more the oath of
a Mohammedan may be accepted implicitly wherever it affects members
of his own faith. Their religion teaches that those who are guilty of
falsehood shall have no part in the next life. In Egypt and in other
countries the rule is the same as in Bosnia, that when a suit is being
tried between two Moslems, the defendant, if he has justice on his
side, will insist that the plaintiff be compelled to testify, feeling
confident that he will tell the exact truth, if properly questioned,
and admit that he is wrong. Thus it is not because of religion, but in
spite of it, that corruption is universal wherever the Turks control.
In Bosnia the Austrians have separate courts for Turkish cases,
because it is not perjury for a Mohammedan to swear falsely against
a Christian. A different rule and practice is required in the
administration of justice where representatives of both religions are
involved. They also have courts there for the settlement of trifling
differences, in which lawyers are not allowed to appear, because that
honorable profession is accused of encouraging litigation for the
sake of making fees. Before the Austrian occupation this was a great
evil. Almost the entire population were involved one way or another
in lawsuits. If a man was dissatisfied in any way with the conduct of
his neighbor he would drag him into the courts. About twenty years
ago the Austrians decided to put an end to this litigation, and a law
was enacted limiting the number of lawyers to sixteen for the entire
country. No one can be admitted to practice unless there is a vacancy.
The tenure of land was one of the most difficult questions to
deal with, because, under Turkish rule, the larger part of the
cultivated area belonged to the government or the ecclesiastics,
who were oppressive and extortionate in their treatment of their
tenants. Gradually these conditions have been reformed, and, although
agriculture is still in a low state of development, the farmers are
secure in the possession of their lands and are thus encouraged to
improve and cultivate them with care. Eighty-eight per cent of the
population are engaged in farming and raising cattle, sheep and swine.
Tobacco is a very important crop, and a government monopoly. It may be
raised by any farmer under the supervision of the revenue inspectors,
who not only measure the acreage planted, but even count the number
of plants in order that sales to private individuals may be detected.
A considerable proportion of the crop is exported--nearly 2,000 tons
in 1901--but the greater part is manufactured into cigarettes in
government factories, which not only bring in a handsome revenue, but
furnish employment for nearly four thousand women and girls.
The cattle industry is next in importance, there being an average
of one steer, one goat, one hog and three sheep per capita of the
population. The hides are tanned at home and shipped to Great Britain,
France and Austria. They are of the highest grade and bring the best
prices. The next important industry is dried prunes, the exports in
1901 amounting to more than $1,500,000.
Beet sugar is now being manufactured by the government, and silk
culture is also being introduced. The government gives assistance
to the agricultural population in many important ways--by the
establishment of schools of instruction, by the introduction of
new ideas, by furnishing seeds and sample implements and by other
methods. There are several excellent schools of agriculture situated
at convenient locations, where the country people may send their sons
to study the practical cultivation of the soil, and their daughters to
learn how to make butter and cheese, cultivate silk worms and raise
poultry and other by-products which materially increase the family
income. Experts have been brought from Italy to instruct the natives
in the cultivation of silk worms, as the climate and other conditions
appear to be unusually favorable for that industry.
The government has also taken great pains to improve the breeds of
horses, cattle and sheep and to induce the peasants to take proper
care of their stock. It has established farms and studs at convenient
locations and holds cattle and horse shows at the provincial capitals
every year, at which considerable sums are given as prizes to stimulate
competition. There are at least a dozen poultry farms belonging to the
government, where a large variety of game birds and domestic fowls are
kept. Eggs of the best breeds of poultry, ducks, geese and turkeys are
furnished free to farmers who will agree to observe the printed rules
for hatching them, and so successful has this policy been that poultry
is now plenty throughout the entire province. An ordinary chicken can
be bought in the market for ten or fifteen cents and a goose or a
turkey for twenty-five cents. The turkey is so common that we might
properly call it the national bird.
Not only in agriculture but in the other industries has the paternal
policy of the government brought happiness and prosperity to the
people. It has established factories and training-schools in all the
principal towns in order to produce artisans and mechanics, who are
very scarce in that country. Students are educated in the simpler
sciences, such as electricity, chemistry, mechanics, engineering,
architecture and house-building, designing, the construction, repair
and operation of machinery, carpentering, masonry, stone-cutting,
molding, iron-working and the other useful trades. It will not be
the fault of the officials if the next generation of Bosnians is not
thoroughly skilled in the useful arts and trades.
A woolen mill and a carpet factory have recently been established
under government supervision. The former produces fabrics for ordinary
clothing of a low grade, similar to the homespun generally used by
the people. The carpet factory buys the raw wool from the farmers and
turns it into Turkish rugs, which are shipped to Austria and Hungary,
and are sold at good prices. In connection with the factory is a
training school for spinners and weavers, a school of design to develop
the artistic talent of young men and women, and a laboratory for the
manufacture of dyes.
All this is done under official supervision with capital from the
public treasury, and the proceeds add considerably to the public
revenues, although that is not the object aimed at. Under Turkish
rule the Bosnians lived from hand to mouth. They were prevented from
accumulating wealth or acquiring homes or providing themselves with
comforts by the rapacity of their rulers, and hence there was no
incentive for them to labor or save or to improve their condition.
They even hid their houses as far as possible behind clumps of trees
or in the valleys some distance away from the road, hoping that they
might escape the observation of Turkish officials and soldiers. Now
there is no longer any danger, and they are building comfortable cabins
and surrounding them with stables and pens for their poultry and live
stock. It is now safe for women to live or to travel alone in any part
of Bosnia, whereas a few years ago they dared not show themselves in
the fields or on the public highway. More than 200,000 people fled
from Bosnia during the ten years preceding the Russo-Turkish war to
escape the cruelties and extortions of the Turks. They took with them
only what they could carry on their backs, and, leading their little
children by the hand, abandoned their homes and harvests and crept
through the thickets and the forests of the mountains until they
reached the Austrian boundary, where they could live in safety and were
protected, not from their enemies, but from the officials that were
appointed to rule over them.
The cruelties committed by the Turks in their efforts to keep the
people in subjection are indescribable. Centuries of horrors compose
the history of the Bosnian people, and, although almost incredible, it
is officially asserted by the British consul that from 8,000 to 10,000
people were annually murdered by the officials and military guards.
The same conditions prevailed in Bulgaria. They prevail in Macedonia
or Eastern Rumelia to-day, and will continue so long as the Powers of
Europe permit the Turks to govern that country.
The Scheriatschule is a peculiar local institution, in which is taught
Moslem, Christian and Jewish law. In fact, the instruction covers
the laws of all races and religions which is necessary to that mixed
population, where the government endeavors to respect the religious
scruples of every citizen and to adjust its requirements to the
ordinances of the different churches. The Austrian statesmen who were
required to solve the Bosnian problem recognized the importance of a
fact which many rulers in all parts of the world and in all times have
forgotten or overlooked--that religious sentiment and conscience lie
deeper than any other influences that affect human action. Hence, in
Bosnia, each individual is not only allowed to worship in his own way,
but is excused from the observance of laws which conflict with his
religious duties. For that reason different courts are provided for
the trial of different races. Speaking generally, the laws of Turkey
still prevail in Bosnia, because that country is nominally a Turkish
province still, although it never again will come under Turkish power.
There is much that is good in the Turkish statutes, and when honestly
administered they are peculiarly suitable for the government of that
race. It has been necessary, however, to supplement them with local
statutes, which are enacted by an assembly chosen by the tax-payers
of the country. This legislature also assesses taxes and makes
appropriations for public purposes to be disbursed by the executives.
To instruct and qualify natives for the bar, the bench, the
legislature and positions in the executive department of the
government, the Scheriatschule was established, and it now has about
200 pupils who pay a small entrance fee and a moderate price for their
rooms and board. It occupies a large rectangular building of the
oriental style, built of horizontal rows of black and white stone that
suggest a prison garb. It is approached by broad stone stairs with
parterres of flowers on either side, and the entrance is a lofty arch
which leads into a central court decorated with a fountain and flowers.
Upon this court open lecture-rooms, libraries and recitation-rooms, a
dormitory, a refectory and a chapel, well constructed and fitted up
with modern conveniences. Great care has been taken by the Austrians to
make the Bosnian schools models.
There is a fine national museum. Bosnia is unusually rich in ethnology,
and practically an unexplored field for ethnographic research. An
international congress of archeologists and ethnologists met here
several years ago, and the members were handsomely entertained by
the government with the hope of stimulating scientific interest. Its
reports attracted considerable attention, but I cannot learn that the
United States was represented. Prehistoric remains are numerous and
have been practically undisturbed except by the ignorant populace,
who have searched some of them for treasure and dismantled others for
building material. The country has seen successive civilizations from
century to century, and at several periods reached a high degree of
culture under the Romans and the Greeks, which in turn were engulfed
or destroyed by barbaric invasions only to spring up again in another
form. Its art and architecture are largely buried under the soil and
are represented by ruins in the valleys of the mountains. In addition
to Roman and Greek remains there are traces of Germanic, Gothic,
Saracenic and Turkish occupations; but the field, as I have said,
is practically unexplored and should tempt the learned societies to
undertake systematic investigations such as have been carried on in
Greece.
There are good hotels in every part of the province, most of them
having been established by the government either directly or indirectly
by the payment of subsidies, as an inducement to travelers, and they
have proved to be valuable investments. The policy pursued here has
been very different from that adopted by the United States Congress
in our new possessions. We passed a law forbidding the introduction
of new capital and the organization of new enterprises to develop the
industry and material resources of Cuba, Porto Rico and the Philippine
Islands, because our legislators were afraid that somebody would derive
a profit from the application of money, energy or brains. The granting
of franchises was forbidden. Austria has taken the opposite course in
Bosnia, and not only invited capital and enterprise, but erected hotels
in order to entertain their representatives in a comfortable manner and
give them pleasant impressions of the country.
When the Austrians first assumed control everything in Bosnia was
extremely primitive and old-fashioned. There were no conveniences nor
comforts; no modern improvements whatever; but filth, disorder and
discomfort prevailed everywhere, so much so that decent people avoided
Bosnia. The description which Francis Bacon applied to Turkey centuries
ago was true of Bosnia in 1876: “Without morality, without letters,
arts or sciences; a people that can scarce measure an acre of land or
an hour of the day; base and sluttish in building, diet and the like;
and, in a word, a very reproach to human society; and yet this nation
hath made the garden of the world a wilderness, for it is truly said
concerning the Turk--where the Ottoman’s horse sets his foot people
will come up very thin.”
[Illustration: GOVERNMENT HOTELS, BOSNIA]
The Austrians devised every means to induce immigration and capital,
to encourage commerce and industry, and they decided to make the
country attractive to strangers and tourists, who would advertise it.
It is now pleasant to visit Bosnia. The hotels have not only proved
an attraction, but a source of profit. Amusements and pleasures of
all kinds were introduced for the entertainment of the people, who,
under Turkish rule, had been deprived of everything of that sort. The
diversions have been gratefully appreciated--theaters, operas, parks,
museums, gardens, cafés, military bands, parades, ceremonials--by a
people whose natural love of music and motion is very strong. They
also have proved remarkably important in diverting their minds from
politics and opening to them a new world. This is another hint to the
administration of affairs in the Philippines, where the people have
similar tastes and the conditions are very much like those that existed
in Bosnia twenty-five years ago.
The official residence of the Austrian governor-general is a pleasant
structure surrounded by rich gardens and shrubbery, and is called the
Konak. It was built half a century ago for the use of the Turkish
pasha, who was a man of luxury and taste, and had unlimited command
of money. In many places are other evidences of official and private
extravagance, and the people were taxed to pay for it.
The Roman Catholic church is a fine Gothic structure, with two handsome
spires. It was built by the government with contributions from the
Catholics of Vienna and other Austrian cities. The orthodox Greek
church is also imposing, and most of the wealthy men are members of
that faith. The Jewish synagogue is also a notable building. There is
no Protestant church.
Under Turkish rule all public worship except that of the Moslems was
forbidden, but the Christians were allowed to say their prayers in
secret. They were known as _rayahs_,--the word means “ransomed”--those
who have merited death because of unbelief, but have purchased
permission to live by paying tribute. Western Christians do not
appreciate the religious heroism which the poor peasants, not of Bosnia
only, but of Bulgaria, Macedonia and other parts of the Balkans, have
displayed during all the centuries that they have suffered from the
persecution of the Turks. They have lived in daily dread of martyrdom,
for the Mohammedans consider that they do no wrong when they kill
a Christian. Nevertheless the Greeks and the Roman Catholics clung
to their faith when they might at any moment have secured safety,
prosperity and position by recanting and accepting the religion of
their oppressors. The same may be said of the Jews, who actually
increased in numbers under persecution because emigrants came from
Roumania, where they suffered even more from the Christians than in
Bosnia from the Turks.
Since the Austrian occupation there has been a large invasion of Jewish
traders, who have been attracted by the commercial opportunities.
But, curiously enough, the old Jewish families will have nothing to
do with the newcomers. They are descendants of the Jews who were
driven out of Spain in 1574 and obtained permission from the Sultan of
Turkey to settle in Bosnia and Servia. They number altogether about
7,000, and at least 3,000 live in Sarajevo. They speak Spanish among
themselves and have preserved their ancient customs and habits. Their
burial-ground in a suburb of the city, on the slope of the Mountain
Trebevic, is an interesting place. Unhewn boulders are used for
tombstones, a practice which originated when the Jews were too poor to
buy anything better.
[Illustration: JEWISH CEMETERY IN BOSNIA]
The Bosnian Jews claim exemption from the persecution imposed upon
the rest of their race on the ground that they are descended from a
member of the Sanhedrin of Pilate, who voted against the crucifixion of
Christ. The same claim is made by the Jews of Toledo, Spain.
It is the prevailing impression that the Turks are the most difficult
of all races to govern, but the Austrian experiment in Bosnia has
demonstrated that this is a mistake. The better class of the Turkish
population have welcomed the restoration of order and have been
the strongest supporters of the new government. The officials have
suppressed the fanatics by the application of a punishment which they
dread more than death. To shoot or kill a Mohammedan is simply to send
him to the paradise he is seeking, and he believes that he will rise
again in the actual body; but if his body is burned or cut to pieces it
is impossible for him to attain paradise, for he cannot rise again or
be translated if his soul has no body to inhabit. Therefore all Moslem
believers who have been convicted of murder or other capital crimes
have been sentenced to death and cremation, which so terrified the
fanatics that they have left the country.
The Bosnians are naturally very bright, although the lack of
educational facilities and the ordinary compensations for industry
and ingenuity have kept them down. Occasionally some man like Nikola
Tesla, the famous electrician of New York, who is a native of Bosnia,
has broken through the restrictions and has found an opportunity to
develop his genius elsewhere. But such cases are very few. Long Turkish
oppression crushed the minds as well as the spirits of the people, and
only with the coming generation are they beginning to show the talents,
ingenuity and other natural qualities which their admirers have claimed
for them. They are naturally honest, too, although until recently they
have had few examples of integrity to imitate. There is very little
stealing, and corruption in office has been so severely punished that
the government is almost free from it. At first natives who were
favored with official positions attempted to imitate the practices
of the Turks who preceded them, but soon found that it would not be
tolerated, and I was assured that for four or five years there have
been no cases of official dishonesty detected. On the other hand, the
Austrian officials have set excellent examples for the natives in this
respect.
A large part of the property in Bosnia belongs to the government or the
ecclesiastical authorities, or has been bequeathed or appropriated to
religious and charitable objects and held in trust by officials for the
benefit of mosques, hospitals, schools, fountains and for the relief of
the sick and the poor. Under the Turks the revenues of these properties
were generally stolen, but since the Austrian occupation the business
has been so well managed that it has not only supported but paid for
the extensive improvement of the charities for which it was intended.
The same may be said of the government revenues. Under the Turks the
harvests were not allowed to be gathered until the collectors had
calculated the amount of taxes and had received the money, which was
often one-third of the total value and usually one-fifth, and a great
part of the money went into the pockets of the collectors instead of
the public treasury. This was such a common practice that everybody
knew all about it, and hence the reforms which the Austrians have
introduced are all the more conspicuous.
The most fascinating town in Bosnia is Jajce, where the people have had
so little intercourse with the outside world that they still retain the
customs and manners and wear the costumes of their ancestors four or
five centuries back. The women are clothed in brilliant colors and load
themselves with ornaments of silver, bronze and enamel. Like the Hindus
and the North American Indians, they wear the greater portion of their
wealth upon their bodies. The men dress in white sheepskin, beautifully
tanned. In summer they wear the wool outside and in the winter they
wear it inside. The arms and hands of both men and women are usually
tattooed with religious emblems. They are devout Catholics, and you
seldom find a boy or a girl over sixteen who does not carry a crucifix
tattooed upon some part of the person. Both men and women wear their
hair long.
At Jajce is one of the most celebrated of sanctuaries, the Church
of St. Luke, which is venerated equally by Catholics, Greeks and
Mohammedans, as everybody believes that it was the early burial-place
of the apostle, and that when it was threatened with destruction by
the Turks in the Middle Ages an army of angels lifted it from one
side of the river to the other. You are shown the place where the
church formerly stood on the east bank, and the inhabitants of all
the surrounding country would regard you as a hopeless skeptic if you
expressed a doubt of the truth of the story that it was lifted by
invisible hands, carried several hundred yards and placed intact upon
a new foundation. Thousands of pilgrims, especially people who are
crippled and diseased, visit the shrine, and many miracles have been
performed there.
According to the local belief, St. Luke lived and died in Jajce, and
was buried in this church, but the priest in charge says that is a
mistake. He does not know of any evidence that the apostle ever lived
at Jajce, and believes that he died in Syria, but the records show that
in the thirteenth century the remains of the apostle were brought from
Constantinople to Rogus, one of the towns upon the Adriatic coast,
and, in 1436, George Brankovic, King of Servia, purchased them of
the Turkish governor of that province. The latter, fearing a riot in
the town if an attempt were made to take them away, caused his spies
to circulate a rumor that the Sultan had ordered a census for the
purpose of taxation and military service, and that it would be taken
on a certain day. All the Christian population had business in the
country for a few days about that time, so that they might evade the
enumerators. While they were absent the holy casket was secretly taken
from the church and carried aboard a vessel. For several months it was
not missed, and the theft was not detected until rumors began to come
back from Servia concerning its reception in that country.
Helena, daughter of Brankovic, married Tyrtko, the last king of Bosnia,
and took the body with her as part of her dowry. When Jajce was
captured by the Turks she managed to escape and carried it to Italy,
where it was placed in the convent of St. Giustina at Padua.
A voyage up the Adriatic to Venice or Trieste along the Dalmatian
coast is one of the most enjoyable that can be imagined. The scenery
is sublime. The cloudless blue of the skies and the water, the purple
tints of the hills, mingled with the orange and scarlet of the autumn
foliage, make a harmony of color that can scarcely be found elsewhere,
while the little islands that make up the archipelago protect the
coast from rough water, and the steamers glide in and out among them
without feeling the wind or the tide or any other marine disturbance
that a passenger can object to. It is very much like sailing through
the famous Inland Sea of Japan, only in this case you have a continuous
coast on one side, while in the other it is on both sides. There is a
choice of steamers, two or three a week, so that one can stop off at
any of the beautiful little towns for twenty-four or forty-eight hours
and then take up his journey again.
Cattaro is only interesting and important as the port of the little
principality of Montenegro, which has caused so much dissention among
the European nations, and the terminus of the road to Cetinje, its
capital. Cattaro does not belong to Montenegro, because England and
Austria are afraid Prince Nicholas would cede it to Russia if he had
the power to do so. Montenegro is theoretically independent, and
under the protection of the great Powers, but there is a very close
intimacy between the ruling family and the imperial house of Russia,
and everybody believes that there is a secret treaty of alliance also.
Like the other Balkan States, Montenegro was a province of Turkey until
1878, when the treaty of Berlin made it independent, and, although it
contains a population of only 228,000, less than that of the District
of Columbia, its political importance is great. Two of the daughters of
the reigning prince have married cousins of the Czar, another is the
wife of the King of Italy, and a fourth is the Duchess of Leuchtenburg,
whose husband is next to a king.
Ragusa, another of the towns on the coast, and a charming old place, is
identified with some of the most stirring incidents in history. In the
Middle Ages it was almost as powerful as Venice, Naples or Genoa, and
was able to resist the attacks of the Turks. Here Richard Cœur-de-Leon
landed on his return from the Crusade. During a gale at sea he made a
vow that he would build a church to his patron saint on the spot where
he was permitted to make a safe landing. He finally went ashore on the
little island of La Croma, then moved over to Ragusa, where the people
received him with such hospitality that he asked the Pope to relieve
him from his vow and let him build the church in Ragusa, which had
several thousand inhabitants, instead of upon a barren little island.
But the Pope would not grant his prayer, and, like the gentleman that
he was, he built churches in both places. That at Ragusa was destroyed
in an earthquake in the seventeenth century, but the church at La Croma
still stands.
Metkovic, the port of Bosnia on the Mediterranean, and the southern
terminus of the state railway, is situated upon a point of land made
by the silt of the Narenta River, twelve miles from its mouth, and
has the unhappy reputation of being the most unhealthy port on the
Adriatic. The surrounding country is swampy, and miasmatic poisons are
believed to rise in clouds from the surface of the earth whenever the
sun goes down. It is purely a modern commercial city, with about 4,000
population, mostly Italians, Greeks and Jews, and looks like an Italian
town. Everybody is engaged in fishing or shipping. Metkovic will become
a port of growing importance as the trade of Bosnia develops, but
people never stop there if they can help it for fear of malaria and
mosquitoes, and the trains from Sarajevo are arranged to connect with
the steamers so that passengers can be rushed through as if it were
a plague-infested place. I do not think it is any worse than Colon,
and it really looks much better, because the buildings are of stone
or stuccoed brick, with thick walls, solid floors and tiled roofs,
while Colon is a collection of bamboo huts and wooden houses. Metkovic
is fourteen miles from salt water. A canal is being dredged through
the delta, which is broad and level, so that the largest steamers can
reach the docks instead of handling cargoes in lighters. The marsh,
being made of the soil washed down from the mountains, is of prodigious
richness, and marvelous stories are told of its fertility; but the
atmosphere is so unhealthful that few people attempt to cultivate the
land. Syndicates have been organized to drain the marsh, but the outlay
is too great. I have seen tropical vegetation along the Spanish Main,
in Yucatan, Cuba and the other West India Islands, in the valleys of
the Amazon and the Orinoco, but there is nothing on the American
hemisphere to compare with the plant life there.
The most interesting of the many places along the eastern coast of the
Adriatic are Spalato and Salona, where are found the most extensive and
best-preserved Roman ruins and remains in all that country. Centuries
before the birth of Christ, Salona was a populous and prosperous city,
and its people were far advanced in culture; quite equal to those of
Rome. Their wealth and artistic taste, their luxurious habits and
rivalry in display, are clearly illustrated by the remains of their
palaces, baths and places of amusement. The entire district for fifty
miles around is full of absorbing attractions to archeologists and
historians, and the palace of Diocletian at Salona is declared to
be the best-preserved example of Roman architecture of its period
now extant. It possesses extraordinary interest for everybody, and
fascinates artists and architects.
Attracted by the entrancing scenery of Salona, his native place, the
Emperor Diocletian, at the height of his power and opulence, erected
here an incomparable retreat in which he spent his declining years.
The palace, or more properly the series of palaces, covers nearly ten
acres of ground, and contemporary writers relate that 6,000 servants,
attendants and guards were required to protect and wait upon this
luxurious Roman. The palace was twelve years in construction, and
must have cost an enormous sum of money, for in size, magnificence
and architectural pretensions it surpassed all dwellings that had
been erected before or have been erected since. At the time of its
completion, at the end of the third century after Christ, it was
doubtless the largest, the most beautiful and costly structure ever
built by human hands. Many of the architectural details still remain
in a perfect or partial state of preservation, sufficient to excite the
wonder and the admiration of visitors. The most perfect portions are
the mausoleum, intended for Diocletian’s tomb, which is now used as a
church; the Capella Palatine, now the baptistery; the main vestibule,
a colonnade and three of the gates. All of them are sufficiently well
preserved to permit an accurate study, but the rest of the palaces
have been practically destroyed, and the marble is being gradually
carried to Trieste, Venice and even to Rome and other cities of Italy
for building purposes. Several of the most beautiful palaces in Venice
are said to have been constructed entirely of material taken from the
palace of Diocletian. After the death of the emperor, in 313 A.D., the
palace became state property, but none of his successors ever made it
an abode, because of the expense of maintaining the establishment.
Shortly after the Christian era it was converted into a fortress and
after the fall of the Roman empire was allowed to crumble into ruins.
* * * * *