Today in 1920s Turkey: 7 November 1923 (One Chair Is Plenty, Mr. President)

(Cartoon by Ratip Tahir, Karagöz, 7 November 1923, no. 1632, page 4.)

Türkçe
Karagöz: Sevgili Paşam, sen bu şaklabanların sözlerine bakma! Sana yaranmak için bu sandalyeleri üst üste mıhladılar ama seni sevenlerin içi rahat değil! Gel şu alttakileri indirelim de en üsttekinde rahatça oturup keyfine bakasın!

English
Karagöz: My dear Pasha, don’t pay any attention to the words of these buffoons! They nailed these chairs on top of one another in order to curry favor with you but those who love you are ill at ease! Come, let’s remove the ones at the bottom so that you can sit comfortably on the one at top and enjoy yourself!

Comments:
Published ninety-five years ago today, this cartoon comments on recent developments dominating the news cycle: the founding of the Republic and Mustafa Kemal (Atatürk)’s ascent to the office of the Presidency. Both events from the previous week (29 October) garnered a fair amount of support as well as suspicion. In the case of the satirical journal Karagöz, subverting the excessive enthusiasm demonstrated by certain members of the press for the new President is the focus of the cartoon. Perched atop an unsound structure comprised of precariously stacked chairs, is the new President and celebrated leader and hero of the Turkish War of Independence (1919-1922), Mustafa Kemal Pasha. Karagöz, the mascot of the Karagöz magazine, stands next to the teetering tower of chairs while two men stand opposite the Pasha. The men are two journalists, Celal Nuri (İleri) and Ahmet Ağaoğlu, and both were keen supporters of the Pasha’s candidacy for the presidency and apparently much more, as indicated by the carpentry tools laying on the ground before them.

The text below the cartoon is Karagöz’s address to the new president on behalf of the people (halk). Here, it is revealed that the tower of chairs was built by the journalists and Karagöz attributes their efforts to their desire to express their blind loyalty to the new head of state. Karagöz urges Mustafa Kemal Pasha to remain in the top chair but abandon the other chairs below it. The chairs are, in fact, each carefully labeled. From top to bottom they read: Presidency (Cumhur Riyaseti), Prime Ministry (Kabine Riyaseti), Party Chairmanship (Fırka Riyaseti), and Speaker of the House (Meclis Riyaseti). Karagöz warns the new President that despite what the press may advocate, the occupying of all four roles by one person makes “those who love you” rather uneasy.

Such discussions surrounding the limits of power, the new form of government and the role of the presidency are not unfamiliar to the pages of Karagöz in particular and the satirical press in general. For instance, post #23 of Today in 1920s Turkey covers a “typical” discussion among parliamentary representatives regarding the future of the government from a month earlier, on 3 October 1923. But Karagöz is a pragmatist and his namesake magazine represents the interests of the common people, which is why the cartoon views with distrust the many powers some overly zealous supporters are ready to hand over to the one man. A lack of separation in branches of government often leads to corruption and injustices—a state of affairs that almost always effects the masses negatively. These kinds of practical, apolitical, basic concerns are at the heart of an article located directly below this cartoon, in the lower right column of the same page. Luckily, Today in 1920s Turkey has also covered this content! To read on see: Post #30: Changing Regimes or Changing Mentalities?

(Entire page, Karagöz, 7 November 1923, no. 1632, page 4.)

This article has been updated and modified from its first iteration published right here on Steemit on 7 November 2017. For the original version see:
121. Today in 1920s Turkey: 7 November 1923 (One Chair Is Plenty, Mr. President)