In the year 1860, in a public address in the city of London, the Earl of Shaftesbury paid the following tribute to the character of the American missionaries in Turkey:—

“I do not believe that in the whole history of missions; I do not believe that in the history of diplomacy, or in the history of any negotiations carried on between man and man, we can find anything to equal the wisdom, the soundness, and the pure evangelical truth of the body of men who constitute the American mission. I have said it twenty times before, and I will say it again—for the expression appropriately conveys my meaning—that ‘they are a marvelous combination of common sense and piety.’ Every man who comes in contact with these missionaries speaks in praise of them. Persons in authority, and persons in subjection, all speak in their favor; travelers speak well of them; and I know of no man who has ever been able to bring against that body a single valid objection. There they stand, tested by years, tried by their works, and exemplified by their fruits; and I believe it will be found that these American missionaries have done more toward upholding the truth and spreading the gospel of Christ in the East, than any other body of men in this or in any other age.”

Mr. William T. Stead once said, “How many American citizens, I wonder, are aware that from the slopes of Mount Ararat all the way to the shores of the Blue Ægean Sea, American missionaries have scattered broadcast over all the distressful land the seed of American principles. When General Mosseloff, the director of foreign faiths within the Russian empire, visited Etchmiadzin the Armenian patriarch spread before him the map of Asia Minor, which was marked all over with American colleges, American churches, American schools, American missions. They (the American missionaries) are busy everywhere, teaching, preaching, begetting new life in these Asiatic races.”

—From “Memoirs of William Goodell.”

[Pg 233]

Industrially Turkey was ages behind even at the beginning of the last century. Practically nothing modern had entered the country from without and found acceptance there. The agricultural implements in use were of the same primitive character as those of two thousand or more years before. The plow of Abraham’s day, made of the branch of a tree and only scratching the surface of the soil, was the only plow known, and it is not by any means extinct. The winds of the plains winnowed the grain, and the old threshing instruments with teeth still performed its ancient service upon the threshing-floors of earth.

In some respects the people were more jealous to guard their methods of work than they were their beliefs. It was found, however, that when a man had enlarged the horizon of his thinking, he was far more susceptible to suggestions as to his method of living and working.

Little by little new tools were brought in and made use of by native carpenters. Winnowing-mills for cleaning up threshing-floors, after years of opposition, won favor and are now found everywhere. In some sections cotton-gins run by water-power have brought a blessing to the farmers, while now and then a modern plow and other improved implements are finding acceptance. The sewing-machine is found in almost every town of importance, and the kerosene lamp has completely changed the character of multitudes of homes and greatly multiplied the possibilities of intellectual improvement and social reform. [Pg 234]

The first electric telegraph instrument ever set up and operated in the empire was exhibited to the sultan of Turkey by Cyrus Hamlin, the missionary. The potato, the tomato, and other vegetables have been introduced into various sections, and in many cases have become regular articles of diet and staples in the market. Space forbids mention of the many industrial, mechanical, and economic improvements which have entered the country through the influence and even by the direct exertions of the missionaries.

All this in the earlier years was incidental to the mission work. During the last twenty years deliberate plans to teach industries have been made by the missionaries in some of the leading schools. While this industrial instruction was begun for the purpose of affording an opportunity to worthy but needy students to earn their way through school, the experiment proved that there was still another advantage not second to this in importance, and that was the educational value of practising an industry, as well as an economic value to the student and to the country. Industrial plants have been attached to some of the higher educational institutions like Anatolia College at Marsovan, where the results have amply justified the effort. It is surprising to see how rapidly new industrial ideas are disseminated from such a school.

At the time of the massacres of 1895-96 a large number of orphan children, both boys and girls, were taken in charge by the missionaries. These numbered many thousands. Their presence and needs forced the adoption of methods by which they could earn a part, at least, of their own support. Various industries sprang up wherever orphans and widows were found gathered into homes superintended by the [Pg 235] missionary. These activities include cabinet work, carpentry, tinsmithing, blacksmithing, baking, embroidery, lace-making, with many other trades, besides silk culture and farming. As the children are bright and quick to learn the use of tools and remarkably good at imitation, marked progress is made. It is inevitable that out of these industrial plants will come new ideas and new industrial and mechanical impulses. Many of the young men who have come to the United States have learned trades which they will carry back to their own country as soon as they are satisfied that liberty is given them to return in safety. Probably industrial reform has not taken hold of the country as yet with the same force as other reforms. One prominent reason for this is that all industries are discouraged by the government. We can expect but moderate results until there is a change in this respect in the policy of administration.

Many changes in the construction of houses have taken place in t............