CHAPTER XVIII
THE GHAZI MUSTAPHA KEMAL PASHA—THE GREATEST MAN IN TURKEY TO-DAY
Now that I know Angora, I must know also its
Nationalist hero.
Fethi Bey has invited me this afternoon to meet the President at the Assembly. The Lausanne Conference is beginning—perhaps he will give me his impressions.
From the window of the antechamber I saw the Pasha arrive, attended only by one aide-de-camp. There is, of course, absolutely no foundation for the stories that he is even more strictly guarded than Lenin, among a people who trust and love him!
It is not necessary to see M. Kemal Pasha to realise that he is the greatest man in Turkey to-day, quite apart from his actual achievements. He has, indeed, accomplished miracles; but it is rather the universal attitude of the people by which one measures the man. I feel that my host's regard for me was definitely increased when I had had lunch with Mustapha Kemal. The servants announce the "Pasha, Pasha"—no need for a more precise name.
Should one hold him greater as statesman, soldier, or orator? since he is past-master in all three aspects. Personally, I am more grateful to him who prevents war than to the conqueror. It is as a statesman that I met him, and I will therefore first consider his political ideals and work.
Great events create great men, and it is but once in the life of a nation that situations so grave as that which found Mustapha Kemal are ever likely to arise.
