"Yes; at first all over the empire there was a manifestation of a very crude and vague idea of what they called liberty having possessed the minds of inexperienced people. They thought liberty meant that everybody could do as he pleased, but they soon found our their mistake. They had the same delusions concerning equality. Liberty became license. In some of the Turkish schools the students refused to obey the teachers and tried to run things themselves; they drove the teachers out of their rooms and insisted that they should sleep in the dormitories with the students. At Beirut the Moslems demanded exemption from compulsory attendance upon chapel and Bible classes; in some of our colleges the students insisted that, under the new constitution, they had a right to come and go as they pleased; but that wave of hysteria soon passed over; all the institutions have resumed their normal condition and the greatest change that we see is a new inspiration to work and a realization of the opportunities that are offered educated men. Interest in education has increased to such a degree that every school is filled, and the schools do not suffer from the restrictions that often embarrassed them during the reign of Abdul Hamid.
"One of the most important reforms is the removal of restrictions upon travel. In former times no citizen could go from one town to another without the permission of the authorities. That law has been abolished and now there is no interference with travel. Our students come and go without passports. The people in the interior can go about and trade with each other without interference. This has enlarged their markets; it has given them an opportunity to become acquainted; it broadens their ideas; it removes prejudices and relieves the social and commercial stagnation that formerly kept them down. They can now read newspapers freely. They can read any books they like, and while no doubt the influence of some of the publications is pernicious, that fault will correct itself in time."
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"The late revolution was the result of education, was it not?"
" I think it most certainly was. The leaders of the Young Turk party were educated either in Paris and elsewhere abroad or in the Turkish military schools, and by that education they were able to realize the deplorable condition of the empire and the necessity of the reforms which they have since accomplished."
"Is the present government doing any more for education than the old one?"
"It is doing a good deal. The department of public instruction has been thoroughly organized and is under progressive and intelligent direction. Normal schools have been established, one for women and one for men, which will assist to solve the greatest diflSculties under which the department is labouring, and that is the lack of teachers. Abdul Hamid reduced the university to nothing; the new regime has restored it, enlarged its scope, and introduced new methods and many improvements. There has been a considerable increase in the appropriations for education and a general improvement has taken place in all the schools. The military schools of Turkey have always been the best educational institutions in the empire, and their influence has been good. As a proof of that I can point to the moderation and good judgment shown by the military leaders in the recent revolution. Most of them were educated in the military schools."
"How far are the American colleges in the Ottoman Empire self-supporting?"
"The conditions are about the same as among similar colleges at home. About two thirds, and in some cases had the same delusions concerning equality. Liberty became license. In some of the Turkish schools the students refused to obey the teachers and tried to run things themselves; they drove the teachers out of their rooms and insisted that they should sleep in the dormitories with the students. At Beirut the Moslems demanded exemption from compulsory attendance upon chapel and Bible classes; in some of our colleges the students insisted that, under the new constitution, they had a right to come and go as they pleased; but that wave of hysteria soon passed over; all the institutions have resumed their normal condition and the greatest change that we see is a new inspiration to work and a realization of the opportunities that are offered educated men. Interest in education has increased to such a degree that every school is filled, and the schools do not suffer from the restrictions that often embarrassed them during the reign of Abdul Hamid.