How was this state founded?

The country had been in a state of war since 1914. We had lost the human labor force, which is the foundation of the economy, in the wars. We had given 1 million 800 thousand sons to the Arab geography alone. There were capitulations in foreign trade and the Public Debt Administration (Düyun-u Umumiye) in domestic trade. Since there was no Central Bank, money and capital were in the hands of usurers. All existing transportation and railways were in the hands of foreigners. The qualified workforce consisted mostly of minorities, and they had gone abroad through the population exchange after the Treaty of Lausanne. There were no skilled masters in any profession.

Turkey consisted of primitive agriculture and a few workshops. There was no industry.

Atatürk landed in Samsun on May 19, 1919, and came to Erzurum. He held a congress in Erzurum. Then they were going to go to Sivas to lay the foundations of the state they would establish. But they had no money. They set off by borrowing 1000 TL from here and there.

They arrived in Sivas.

During the Sivas Congress, Atatürk gave money to Hacı Bey and told him to buy a ledger from the bazaar. When Hacı Bey asked what he would do with the ledger, Atatürk wanted the debts, receivables, and income (donations) accounts to be recorded.

-When he said, "Oh, my Pasha, who will ask for these accounts in this chaos?" Atatürk replied;

-You take it, they won't ask today, but they will ask tomorrow. This ledger was the first Court of Accounts (Sayıştay) record of the Republic of Turkey.

They came to Ankara.

But the lack of money would not leave them alone. Food and drink were a major problem. The Ankara Municipality covered the expenses for the first two months. But it could not cover them anymore. The people of Hacıbektaş had provided some financial support when they were coming, but that had also run out. They didn't even have money to buy bread. Mazhar Müfit Kansu was in charge of financial matters. They sent word here and there, but couldn't find any. Atatürk called out to Ali Çavuş;

-Son, did you ask at the post office? Maybe there is a money order from Cafer Tayyar, he said. Ali Çavuş answered shyly;

-My Pasha, we looked everywhere. There is no news from anywhere.

Atatürk stopped, thought, and gave the following answer that would go down in history;

-There are a few pieces of jewelry belonging to my mother in the suitcase. Take them, leave them as a pledge at the Ottoman Bank, and get money. Let the soldiers not go hungry...

Ali Çavuş took a few pieces of Zübeyde Hanım's jewelry. He left them at the Ottoman Bank. He borrowed 200 TL. They were relieved for a few days.

However, after a while, that money ran out too. Mazhar Müfit Kansu had a valuable fur coat. He was thinking of selling it. Just then, a soldier entered. He reported that Mufti Rıfat Börekçi was coming. Mazhar Müfit became anxious. Because there was no coffee to offer the Mufti. There was no sugar anyway. The Mufti arrived. He sat down. After exchanging pleasantries, Mazhar Müfit asked;

-Mufti Bey, you don't drink coffee, do you?

There is no coffee, no sugar, no money. There is no bread to eat. Such was the lack and poverty. In this scarcity, the parliament was established, the army was formed, a war of independence was fought, the war was won, and even before the republic was declared, the Economic Congress was convened in İzmir in February 1923. At the end of the congress, a 12-article "National Pact in the Economy" was published. The first article of the declaration was about industry;

"Industrial branches whose raw materials are grown domestically should be established."

Do you know what this means, friends? It was an ultimatum given to foreign capital in that scarcity. It was saying, "We will produce and sell our raw materials, not you."

After the Economic Congress, the Treaty of Lausanne was signed. Our independence identity was obtained. Capitulations were abolished. But 84.5 million TL of debt remained from the Ottoman Empire.

On top of this scarcity, this debt had to be paid. This debt was 7.5 times the 1924 budget. Today, the budget of the Republic of Turkey is set at around 9-11 trillion. Just imagine that our state has just inherited a debt of 75-80 trillion. You can't imagine it, right? That is how the Republic of Turkey was founded, friends. It was founded in that scarcity,

But now it cannot be managed in this abundance.