Page:Islam, Turkey, and Armenia, and How They Happened.djvu/140

134 of the princes of the world," under whose protection the wolves are set loose upon the lambs.

No man expects to transact business or receive attention in a Turkish court without bribery. The well-known Turkish proverb is that, "As soon as the bribery enters the door the justice escapes from the window." The doors and the windows of Turkish courts are kept open day and night for this accursed draft.

In a great many instances the bribery is practiced at the expense of the central government. The merchants save more by having goods pass through this bribery channel than by the ordinary way. A few mejidiehs (dollars) given to an officer or two under the name of "bakshish" (present), will save $40 to $50. Many forbidden books and papers enter the country and circulate widely through bribery. Many buildings and repairs are allowed through the same means. In fact, if the officers would regard the law and the orders more than bribery, 50 per cent of the transactions in various lines of business would be impossible, especially for the Christians. It is the opinion of the writer that bribery, though detrimental to the interests of the central government, is the only good thing in the whole machinery of the corrupt rule. The Sultan's government has for several years positively forbidden the granting of pass-ports to Christians for foreign ports, with repeated orders for arrest and imprisonment of those who allow them to pass; yet bribery has kept the ports open for those who could afford to pay from $3 to $300.