204	ARABIA INFELIX
Turks re-entered Yamen on the troublous tide of political faction between two rival Imams.
There is a vast difference between setting up-a ruler on your own initiative and being compelled to recognize him by force of circumstances. Turkey might have done the first, but ignored the situation until she was compelled to adopt the second alternative. Her prestige and purse have suffered in consequence.
Yamen is a perfect example of the ultimate results accruing from a policy of drift and expediency—tainted too with contempt on the part of the ruling race for its native subjects.
The local authorities trifled with the prevention of gun-running to their own undoing. They ignored the office of Imam until they had to recognize it. After years of extortion they went to the other extreme, in panic at the gathering forces arrayed against them, and abolished dues to which they are justly entitled. They collect such taxes as are left to them, along the line of least resistance, thereby putting a premium on lawlessness and opposition to their sway. Among the logical consequences of this policy that now confront them are general discontent and unrest, an expensive and fragile puppet to maintain, an impoverished country which is a constant drain on Ottoman resources, waning power and a tattered prestige.
And what a chance they have missed! By birthright, creed and temperament no one is better fitted to rule Moslems than the Turks. If only their administrative ability were on a par with their other gifts, pan-Islamism would be the greatest vital force in the world. They are the natural rulers of Islamic races, born with the sceptre in their hand, and they have thrown it away. Indi-