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.”

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.

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.

PART V
Greece

PART V
GREECE