Democratic Sentinel, Volume 19, Number 15, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 April 1895 — HIS NOD IS LAW. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

HIS NOD IS LAW.

The Sultan of Turkey and How He Rules His Barbaric Land. One of the most interesting personalities in the world just now is the Sultan of Turkey, Abdul Hamid, who stands re-

sponsible for the recent horrible massacre of from 6,000 to 10,000 Christians in Armenia. He has been Sultan since 1876, when he succeeded his brother, Murad V., who became insane and was deposed. The Sultan is a striking character. Ho never writes and he never reads, and despite the large num-

ber of ministers, secretaries and coun- ' selors who dance attendance on him he rarely consults. He just sits down, nods or shakes his head, and these dumb rulings of his carry power in every section of ! the Ottoman empire. I The Sultan is an absolute autocrat. ■ Standing himself in eternal fear of assas- ■ sination, ho thinks nothing of having 10,i 000 men, women and children butchered | if his own Hfe and comfort may be in-

■ured thereby or if the massacre promises to guarantee the safe collection of taxes in the future or the payment of overdue moneys owing to the soldiery and army officers. The harem under Abdul Hamid is not the festive institution of old. Quality has given away to quantity even in the selection of odalisques. The Sultan has one real wife—the Sultana —who is the mother of seven children. The quantity of the odalisques kept for his benefit varies between 150 and 200—all extremely young. When they reach their 16th summer Abdul has no further use for them, and either sells them or presents them to his friends or officials. The chief objects of interest that enter into Abdul Hamid’s official life are: European politics, fires in Constantinople and keeping cholera at a distance.

ABDUL-HAMID.