/W 17 HE PRESENT STATUS OF MISSIONARY AND EDUCATIONAL WORK IN TURKEY James L . Ba rton, D.D., Boston, Mass. TN dealing with the situation in Tur- -■- key one can consider only the pres- ent conditions with any degree of cer- tainty, and with the long distance that separates some of the interior stations in Turkey from the Board headquar- ters in Boston even an attempt to state the present state of affairs must be subject to amendment. The new treaty signed but not yet ratified by the United States does not mention American religious, educa- tional, or philanthropic work. An at- tempt was made in Lausanne to have that work included in the treaty and made a matter of agreement, but it was finally decided, under the insistence of the Turks, that no men- tion should be made of these institutions in the body of the treaty, but that there should be an exchange of diplomatic correspondence covering these mat- ters at the time the treaty was signed. This took place, and when the treaty was signed on the twenty-fourth day of July at Lausanne, Ismet Pasha, on behalf of his government, handed to Mr. Grew a declaration with refer- ence to the attitude of the Turks toward American religious, educa- tional, and philanthropic institutions. This declaration was made in the name of the Nationalist government and assured Mr. Grew for his gov- ernment and his nationals that the Turkish government would recognize the existence in Turkey of American religious, scholastic, and medical es- tablishments as well as of other char- itable institutions recognized as ex- isting in Turkey before the thirtieth 'T'HE War, the Lausanne Conference, and later negotiations have changed materially the status of American missions and in- stitutions in Turkey. Just how this article is in- tended to show. of October, 1914. It also declared that the government would favorably examine the cases of other similar American institutions existing in Tur- key at the time the treaty was signed, with a view to recognizing their position. This declaration of Ismet Pasha, the minister of Foreign Affairs and the spokesman for the National govern- ment at Lausanne, declared also that the establishments and institutions re- ferred to in the earlier part of his communication as regards fiscal charges of every kind would be treated on a footing of equality with similar Turkish establishments and institutions and would be subject to the administrative arrangements of a public character as well as to the laws and regulations governing the latter. This declaration is made with the un- derstanding that the Turkish govern- ment will take into account the con- ditions under which these establish- ments carry on their work, and in so far as schools are concerned the prac- tical organization of their teaching arrangements will come under the purview of the Turkish authorities. This is the only provision made with- in or outside of the treaty for the reg- ulation and protection of American schools, hospitals, charitable, and mis- sionary institutions in Turkey under the new order. At the same time, Turkey has no established educational laws for the control even of her own government institutions, much less of private and foreign institutions. She has a body 18 MISSIONARY AND EDUCATIONAL WORK IN TURKEY of regulations drawn up first and pro- mulgated in 1914 near the outbreak of the war and later republished and reannounced in 1918 for the govern- ment of foreign and private educa- tional institutions within the country. These can hardly be dignified with the term "educational laws." They were hastily drawn and are in such form that any local government official hos- tile to the existence of a foreign school within his district might, without dif- ficulty under the regulations, close al- most any school that might exist. The attention of the Turkish officials at Lausanne was called to this defect in their school regulations, and the rep- resentatives repeatedly declared it to be their purpose as soon as the treaties were signed to take steps for the drawing up of adequate school laws for the entire country which should make due provision for private insti- tutions, both native and foreign. Some of the leaders declared that they would undoubtedly turn to the United States for the loan of one or more educational experts to spend a year or even more in Turkey in studying the present educational needs of the coun- try and then to draw up a body of school laws that would be just to all the races interested, that would give an adequate scope for private schools, both native and foreign, and lay the foundation for a thorough educational system for the entire country. There is no doubt that the Turkish leaders are eager for this. While the old regulations are de- clared to be in operation and no new laws have been promulgated, the pri- vate educational institutions, and especially the foreign, are in an anomalous position. To comply with the regulations to the very limit would close every foreign school in the coun- try. To what extent the educational authorities will be lenient under pres- ent conditions and allow foreign schools to continue, complying with some of the regulations but ignoring others, remains to be proven. The old conditions under which American schools were allowed to carry on their work have met with a complete change. The Turkish officials have au- thority over the schools. Schools can not claim immunity from the regu- lations imposed upon them by the au- thorities. It is probable that friend- ly official Turks, recognizing the im- portance of these schools as a part of the educational system of the coun- try and pending the drawing up of a body of educational laws adequate to meet the situation, may treat these schools with a large degree of leniency, allowing them to carry on under cer- tain regulations and under the super- vision of the government until a new educational order is established for the entire country. Some of the American schools have been closed because of the exchange of populations approved by the Lau- sanne Conference, as, for instance, Euphrates College at Harpoot, Cen- tral Turkey College at Aintah, Teach- ers' College at Sivas, and the college at Van, all in the eastern section of Turkey, are no longer in operation. These were conducted almost if not quite wholly for Christian students, that is, Armenians for the most part, but with a few Greeks and Syrians. Under the deportations the country was almost wholly depopulated of this part of the inhabitants. The teachers were deported or left the country so that these institutions are today closed. Central Turkey CoUege, which was at Aintab, however, is aiding some work in Aleppo, which is in the French mandate, to which city a large number of the people of Aintab have fled, but the constituency of the other institutions are scattered far and wide. Anatolia College, which was at Marsovan, is in practically the same condition, altho it had many Turkish students, but its teachers have been MISSIONARY AND EDUCATIONAL WORK IN TURKEY 19 scattered. Dr. George E. "White, the president of the college, is not yet per- mitted to return to open the work so that the college and its attendant schools are not in operation. The two colleges in Constantinople, Robert College and the Constanti- nople College for Girls, have contin- ued without break. Last autumn, after the burning of Smyrna, a con- siderable number of the Christian stu- dents, Armenians and Greeks, left Constantinople, so that both of these colleges lost a considerable proportion of the student body and some of the teachers were compelled to leave, or left of their own accord through fear. Nevertheless, the colleges have per- sisted in their work. Many Russian students have come in to take the place of those who have left. Inter- national College at Smyrna, whose students were nine-tenths Greeks and Armenians, was closed from the burn- ing of Smyrna until January this year. It reopened at the usual time in January with something like thirty students, regular, and half as many irregular students, almost wholly Turks, and continued through the year. The college is opening this au- tumn with more than one hundred students, of whom one-half are board- ers, but among them there are no Ar- menians or Greeks. St. Paul's In- stitute at Tarsus, altho not carrying on college-grade work, has something like one hundred and fifty boys, Turks, Arabs, and Kurds, under in- struction. Other schools in Constan- tinople, like the School of Religion which is going on with four or five nationalities studying in preparation for Christian work in the Near Bast and promises to be a school of tre- mendous importance in the whole plan for the Near East, the school for girls in Scutari with something like two hundred and fifty pupils, all Armen- ians, the Gedik Pasha School with Ar- menians, Greeks, and Turks in large numbers, the school at Geuz-Tepe, four or five miles out of the city down on the Sea of Marmora, and the Girls' School in Brousa all are going for- ward with every prospect of con- tinuance. Just at the present time in the ab- sence of regulations the schools are hampered in their religious teaching. The Turks have given orders that there shall be no religious instruc- tion and for the present there is noth- ing in the form of direct instruction during school hours and none of the students can be required to take Bibli- cal studies or be present where re- ligious instruction is given. Under present circumstances it seems wise to those who are conducting schools in the Near Bast to comply with these regulations until a more substantial understanding can be reached and the educational system of the country put upon a sound foundation. Under the advice of the Department of State, as well as of the American representa- tives at Lausanne, the missionary and educational institutions are holding on as best they can, occupying their premises, doing the best work possi- ble under the regulations imposed upon then, with the hope and expecta- tion that after the treaties are signed and the government settles down to substantial, reconstructive work, edu- cational conditions will be materially modified. If the treaty with Turkey is ratified by the United States Senate, the United States will be represented by an ambassador who will be able to take up with the Turkish ofScials the subject of the relation of these schools to the government and to the educa- tional system of the country. It is expected that the attitude of the Turk will change from an attitude of re- sistance which it maintained through- out the Lausanne Conference to an attitude of cooperation in the inter- ests of the country and its people. r 20 MISSIONARY AND EDUCATIONAL WORK IN TURKEY There are many minor regulations, like the holding of property, the of- ficial language of the schools, and of the text-books, the employment of teachers, and questions of that kind which will come up one by one for future consideration. The United States government is in sympathy with the things for which these edu- cational institutions stand, and the State Department is ready to do any- thing in its power under the terms of the treaty and under agreements with the Turkish government to help these institutions to establish them- selves in Turkey. It is well understood by Turks as well as by foreigners that Turkey needs what these institutions can give in order to enable her to or- ganize her present administrations on a basis that would give her a worthy place in the sisterhood of nations. For the first time in history Tur- key stands upon equal treaty rela- tions with the Western world. Her task is not an easy one so to set her house in order that she will be a worthy member of the family of na- tions. Many of the leaders of new Turkey sincerely believe that this can be done and will use every effort in their power to bring it about. They will have much to overcome in the deep-seated traditions of the past and in the prejudices that have existed for generations against the nations of the AVest as well as against Christianity. But those who are more familiar with the Turkish situation do not believe that these difficulties are insuperable, but we do believe that it is the priv- ilege and responsibility of the West to do what it can to help Turkey set her house in order and to establish herself as a republic worthy of fel- lowship with the Christian nations. MATTER AND SPIRIT' SOME problems of human thought are eternal because their solution is im- possible. Of such is the problem of this book, the relation between mind and body. There are advantages, however, in discussing these insoluble problems, one of which is to keep alive the consciousness that easy-going thinking can not really escape such problems by ignoring them. There are four possible relations between the mind and the body. Professor Pratt tells us. Firstly, mind and body may mutually in- fluence each other. Secondly, body alone may be causally effective and mind merely a result. Thirdly, mind and body may flow on parallel with each other, each causaiUy efficient within its own banks, so to speak, but neither ever affecting the other. Fourth- ly, mind alone may be efficient, and body merely a resultant or appearance of mind. After a detailed analysis of all these possible relations between mind and body, * James Bissett Pratt. The Macmillan Com Price, $1.00. except the first, the author accepts the first, or interaction relation as the most reasonable and satisfactory view of the phenomena of life. Having reached this solution of the problem he applies his conclusions to the religious life and other issues. Such a solution is the one most in harmony with all generally accepted standards of thinking, and our minds come to rest once more, in the feeling that so acute a modern philosopher confirms the judgments of common sense and popular experience. For this reason, if for no other, the book is valuable. There is really no other theory of the relation be- tween mind and body that can give any satisfaction at all to the average mind. And when the average mind becomes dis- turbed in the midst of current scientific assertions of strange views of things, an occasional reassurance is certainly most comforting. ny, New York, 1922. 7%i5% in. 232 pp.