"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."
[fragment illegible in the scan of the first edition]
"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 difficulties 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
Armenians, another for the Turks, and others for Greeks and Bulgarians.
In these seminaries the largest number of students are natives of Turkey. Some of the graduates have afterward had the benefit of post-graduate training in Europe or the United States, but that is not encouraged. It has been demonstrated by many cases that students from Turkey who go to the United States find it difficult to retiu-n to their native country, while others are made discontented by differences in conditions. It is the policy to employ native teachers and professors, so far as is consistent with maintaining a high intellectual and moral tone in the schools. That is the rule in all lines of work. No missionary is ever pastor of a native church. He supervises and directs, but he leaves the active work to the natives.
Perhaps the greatest value of the educational work done in Turkey by the American missionaries has been its influence upon native educational methods; in setting a standard to native schools; in furnishing text-books; and in awakening an ambition for learning. These missionary schools have in a large measure caused a revolution in the social life of Turkey. Men and women who have graduated or have taken partial courses command the best positions in commerce and society and have been most successful in professional life. Their services are sought for and they are able to command larger salaries than others who have not enjoyed their advantages. Large numbers of former students are prosperous business men in the principal cities of Turkey, while others are the leaders in their respective professions. Most of them are examples in the eyes of the community of the benefit and the value of an educational training.
•ROBERT COLLEGE, 447
The college at Beirut is not included in the estimate I have made. It was established in 1866 by Rev. Daniel Bliss, who remained at the head of it until a few years since, when his son succeeded him. It is one of the most successful educational institutions in all the world, and one of the most prosperous. It has a campus of over forty acres, a model plant of dormitories, laboratories, and lecture-rooms for between 700 and 800 students, representing fourteen different races and nationalities. No other institution between Athens and Tokio compares with it.