“You will find our alumni teaching in all the American schools and colleges throughout Turkey, in Armenia, Macedonia, and other provinces. Most of our Greek graduates have gone into commercial life and several have been remarkably successful. They are the sons of Greek merchants in Constantinople, Athens, Patras, and the islands of the Mediterranean. Some of our Greek students have come from Russia also. The Armenian graduates have generally gone into professional life, and have been remarkably successful in medicine, law and education. Two of them are now studying engineering in Edinburgh.”
“What has become of your Turkish graduates?”
“We have had only one Turkish graduate before this year and he is now a teacher. Under the old régime Mohammedan boys were not permitted to attend Robert College. They frequently came, but the government ordered them away. At one time we had two nephews of former Sultan Abdul Hamid, but they remained only a few weeks. As soon as he heard they were studying in a Christian college he sent for them, and we never saw them again. But since the new order of things we have more applications from Turkish students than we can accommodate. We have fifty-four Turks now on our rolls, and I reckon we turned away more than a hundred last fall. Among them is a nephew of the superintendent of education and a grandson of the sheik of one of the orders of dervishes. The Turkish government is sending five students annually, selected by the department of public instruction. The head of that department said to me:
“‘Take these young men and make good Americans of them if you want to, but make them good teachers; we need them for our schools; train these men; we need good men in Turkey; make them good men.’”
“Do you teach the Christian religion?” I asked.
“We are absolutely non-sectarian, but try to practise the Christian religion. We do not ask our students to become Christians, but every student who enters this institution has an opportunity to learn what the Christian religion is, and can accept it if he pleases, but he is never asked to do so. We have Mohammedans, Jews, Armenians, orthodox Greeks, Persians, Russians, Bulgarians, Servians, Bosnians, Egyptians, Germans, Englishmen, and altogether representatives of fifteen different races and five different religions, and every one of them is required to attend daily prayers and the regular services on Sunday. They sing Christian hymns; they hear Christian prayers; they listen to Christian sermons, according to the creed of the Congregational Church, but the sermons are usually lectures on morality rather than doctrinal exhortations.
“The students thus get the truth concerning religion in the chapel on Sunday, as they do in the classroom concerning science, history, and geography on week days, and they can make such use of it as they please. We have never had any complaints concerning the preaching. The Jewish and the Moslem students are often among the most attentive listeners to the sermons and the most punctual in their attendance upon prayers, but we never ask their impressions; we never discuss doctrinal questions with them; we never invite their confidence; we never interfere with the faith they profess.”
“Have you received any congratulations from the Turkish government upon your recent legacy?” I asked.
“Officially, no; but unofficially several members of the government have sent us their congratulations. Robert College is now regarded not only as a part of the Turkish educational system, but as an important agency in carrying out the plans of reform of the Young Turk party. They have given us full recognition. Our students have the same privileges as those of the Imperial University and the government lyceums. They will be exempt from military service until they finish their courses; our diplomas will be recognized for admission into the Imperial University without examination, and the same applies to appointments in the civil service.
“We had very little trouble with the old régime, although the former sultan was opposed to all modern ideas and especially American ideas, because they are inconsistent with his theory of administration. But the present government is as far removed from that line as possible. It favours all modern ideas and is especially friendly to American institutions.