İttihat ve Terakki Tarafından Birinci Dünya Savaşı Sırasında Basın ve Edebiyat Dünyasına Yapılan Örtülü Ödenek Harcamaları
Yenilgiyle biten Birinci Dünya Savaşı ertesinde imzalanan Mondros Mütarekesi’nin hemen sonrasında 1-2 Kasım 1918 tarihinde İttihatçı liderler Enver, Talat ve Cemal Paşaların, ülkeyi terk etmesiyle birlikte, Türkiye’de ülkeyi savaşa sokan ve savaş sürecinde yönetimi elinde bulunduran, ardından iktidardan düşen İttihat ve Terakki etrafında bir “devr-i sâbık” tartışması yaşanır. Başarısızlığın hesabını sorma eksenli bu tartışmaların odağında ise daha çok mâlî konular yer almış, İttihat ve Terakki yönetiminin savaş sırasında yaptığı harcamalar uzun süre ülke gündemini işgal etmiştir. Bu konuda ön plana çıkan harcama kalemi ise hâliyle örtülü ödenek -dönemindeki adlandırmasıyla “tahsîsât-ı mestûre”- olmuştur. Tabiatı itibarıyla pek çok açıdan tartışma potansiyeli taşıyan örtülü ödenek meselesi matbuat ve edebiyat dünyası söz konusu olduğunda özel bir önem arz etmektedir. Savaş sırasında propagandaya yönelik olarak edebiyat alanında tercih edilen isimler, ortaya konan eserlerin başarısı, konunun mâlî boyutu, sanatçıların meseleye yaklaşımı vs. pek çok konu iktidar-sanatçı ilişkisi bağlamında tartışmaya zemin hazırlamaktadır. Aynı durum İttihat ve Terakki döneminde Birinci Dünya Savaşı sırasında yapılan harcamalar için de geçerlidir. Bu makalede Mütareke döneminde Harbiye Nezareti ve Dâhiliye Nezareti kaynaklı olarak gazetelere yansıyan bilgiler ve haberler ışığında savaş sürecinde İttihat ve Terakki iktidarı eliyle örtülü ödenek hesabından matbuat dünyasına yapılan ödemeler üzerinde durulacaktır. Konu etrafında Kasım 1918-Eylül 1920 arasında İstanbul’da yayınlanan gazetelerde yapılan neşriyat makalemizin temel kaynakları olarak kullanılacaktır. Bunun yanı sıra ortaya çıkan rakamlar değerlendirilirken dönemle ilgili yapılan çalışmalardan ve hatıratlardan faydalanılacaktır. Ayrıca edebiyat tarihimizde önemli yere sahip dergiler ve şahsiyetler üzerinde ayrıntılı bir şekilde durulacaktır.
Discretionary Fund Expenditures Performed for the Press and Literature During the World War I by the Committee of Union and Progress
After The Mondros Armistice – which was signed at the end of the World War I, and which ended in defeat – the Unionist leaders, Enver, Talat and Cemal Pashas, left Turkey between 1 and 2 November 1918. There is a “past period” debate around the Committee of Union and Progress, which had made the decision to enter the country into war, in which it retained control of the country during the war, but then fell from power. In the discussions centered on enquiring information and calculations about this failure, mostly financial topics have been dominant, and therefore, the expenditures made by the Committee of Union and Progress during the war have long occupied the country’s agenda. In this regard, the expenditure item in the foreground is the so-called “discretionary fund”. This “discretionary fund” – which became a hugely controversial topic in the country – is of particular importance when it comes to the world of print and literature. The preferred authors for propaganda during the war, success of works, the financial dimension of the issue, the approach of authors to the subject etc. many issues lay the groundwork for debates around the government-author relationship. The same is true for expenditures made during the World War I and during the Union and Progress period. This article will focus on the payments made to the world of print in the light of the information and news reflected in the newspapers due to the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Internal Affairs during the Armistice Period. It also considers the “discretionary fund” account by the power of the Union and Progress in the course of the war. These articles, published in Istanbul between November 1918 and September 1920, are employed as the primary source of this article. In addition, while evaluating the emerging figures and characters, this article examines memorabilia from other studies regarding the same period and research topic. Moreover, it focuses on magazines and titles that had a significant place in our literary history.
After The Mondros Armistice, which was signed at the end of the World War I and ended in defeat, the Unionist leaders Enver, Talat, and Cemal Pashas left the country between the 1st and 2nd November, 1918. There is a “past period” debate around the Committee of Union and Progress, which had made the decision to enter the country into war, in which it retained control during the war but fell from power later. In the discussions centered on enquiring information and calculations about this failure, mostly financial topics have been dominant, and therefore, the expenditures made by the Committee of Union and Progress during the war have long occupied the country's political agenda. In this regard, the most relevant expenditure item was the so-called “discretionary fund”. The most important feature of this fund was that “money [was] allocated to state officials on condition of being kept confidential for whom and for what purpose they are to be used in matters that are of interest to the public and which should not be disclosed”. Importantly, the fund was under no supervision. However, in the cases of failures and extraordinary circumstances, “discretionary fund” comes at the forefront of issues that government and governors are criticized. As a matter of fact, the same is true for the Union and Progress, which fell from power immediately after the World War I, and which is seen as being responsible for the defeat. The “discretionary fund”, which became a hugely controversial topic in the country, is of particular importance when it comes to the world of print and literature. The preferred authors for propaganda during the war, success of works, the financial dimension of the issue, the approach of authors to the subject etc. many issues lay the groundwork for debates around the government-author relationship. The same is true for expenditures made during the World War I and during the Union and Progress period. This article focuses on the payments made to the world of print in the light of the information and news reflected in the newspapers due to the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Internal Affairs during the Armistice Period. It also considers the “discretionary fund” account by the power of the Union and Progress in the course of the war. The articles published in Istanbul around November 1918–September 1920 are employed as the primary source of this article. Additionally, while evaluating the emerging figures and characters, it also examines memorabilia from other studies about the said period. The following conclusions can be reached regarding the payments made by the power of the Union and Progress during the World War I – on the basis of the sources and works mentioned above, and regarding the payments made to print media by the calculations of the Ministry of War, which were disguised as benefits and reflected on the press during the Armistice Period.
1. The discussion of the discretionary fund in the Armistice press. The first list of this issue was published on 21 October 1918 (19th of November) for the power of the Union and Progress, which started immediately after the signing of the Mondros Armistice when Enver, Talat, and Cemal Pashas went abroad.
2. Discretionary fund list that originated from the Ministry of War were published between 21 November 1918 and September 1920. It was meaningful to publish large lists, especially at the time of the Union and Terror, and during the antinational and struggling governments of Damat Ferit Pasha, which took place from 19 to 20 April 1919 and from 7 to 10 September 1920). In effect, Damat Ferit Pasha’s government fell on 17 October 1920, and this issue fell from the agenda after the establishment of the new Ahmet Tevfik Pasha government.
3. Alemdar, Peyâm and Peyâm-Sabah newspapers, like Damat Ferit Pasha, who opposed the Union and Terror and the National Struggle, wanted to constantly keep the issue of covered appropriation on the agenda.
4. Newspapers, magazines and books supported by discretionary fund account were Red-Black Book, New Magazine, The Translator of Truth, Literature-General Magazine, Armenian Hayrenik Newspaper, Farmers Association Magazine, and Hâver.
5. Tanin, Hilâl and Servet-i Fünûn were the printing houses which were paid from the discretionary fund.
6. Poets and writers who were paid from the discretionary fund account were Ahmet Rasim, Mevlânzâde Rıfat, Celâl Sâhir (Erozan), Samipaşazâde Sezai, Kâzım Nami Bey, Mehmet Emin Yurdakul, Abdülhak Hâmid, Ahmed Cevad Emre, Celâl Nuri Bey, Ahmet Ağaoğlu, and Hamdullah Subhi. It is also noteworthy to mention that Mevlânzâde Rıfat opposed the Committee of Union and Progress.
7. Abdülhak Hâmid, Mehmet Emin Yurdakul, Enis Avni, Kâzım Nami Bey, Mevlânzâde Rıfat, Ahmet Ihsan Bey, and some institutions (such as Hilâl Printing House) sent their explanations about the money they had been given to the newspapers, while others preferred to keep quiet.
8. It is difficult to assess whether or not the list of sources from the Ministry of War and Internal Affairs published in the newspapers is a complete list. Considering the information and statements made later, we can see that names, such as Cenab Şahabeddin and Yusuf Ziya Ortaç at the time of the Union and Progress, also received money from the covered appropriation. However, these two names are not included in the published lists. This raises the question about the rigor and reliability of the work done.
