Before The Silence: Archival News Reports Of The Christian Holocaust That Begs To Be Remembered 9781463224868

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BEFORE THE SILENCE Archival News Reports of the Christian Holocaust That Begs to be Remembered Researched and Edited by

Sofia Kontogeorge Kostos Advocate for Genocides Awareness With a Foreword by

Dennis R. Papazian, Ph.D. Professor Emeritus at the University of Michigan-Dearborn and Founding Director of the Armenian Research Center

 

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“In a room where people unanimously maintain a conspiracy of silence, one word of truth sounds like a pistol shot.” —Czeslaw Milosz “The destruction of the past is perhaps the greatest of all crimes.” —Simone Weil

TRIBUTE TO

“NELLY” ELLI SOUYOULTZOGLOU-SERAIDARI (1899–1998) “Nelly” survived the entire burning of her predominately Greek home town of Aidini, Asia Minor by Turkish forces. Through her photographs, she later went on to become an Internationally acclaimed photographer—whose work was much sought after.

“REFUGEE SORROWS” The Turks bellowed, “THEIR WIVES WILL BE WIDOWS AND THEIR CHILDREN ORPHANS!” At times orphans were killed as Turks shouted, “KILL ALL THE ORPHANS!”

A REFUGEE HERSELF, Nelly empathized with the sufferings of the refugees from Asia Minor. In 1926, the Near East Relief Foundation commissioned Nelly to photograph the plight of the refugees in a series she named “REFUGEE SORROWS.” Through her camera lens she conveyed, “their tragic wretchedness and the heart-breaking depths to which they had sunk.”

“REFUGEE SORROWS”

“REFUGEE SORROWS”

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BEFORE HER 100TH BIRTHDAY, a retrospective of her work, “From Athens to New York The Work of Elli Seraïdari” was exhibited at New York City’s prestigious INTERNATIONAL CENTER OF PHOTOGRAPHY [ICP]. The exhibition was curated by Katerina Koskina, from the J.F. Costopoulos Foundation. Nelly’s works were drawn from the Benaki Museum’s Photographic Archives, and from Nelly’s personal collection as well. Her photograph of a Greek Evzone (of the elite presidential guard) appeared on the cover of LIFE Magazine—December 16, 1940 With her camera Nelly captured a legacy of extraordinary images of olden Athens, factory interiors, agricultural scenes, architectural edifices, and portraits that ranged from shepherds to noted figures such as Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos, the Greek poet Kostis Palamas—and more. The book Nelly’s from Athens to New York: A Retrospective Exhibition of the work of Eli Seraidari contains some fine examples of Nelly’s memorable photographs. It was published by Bastas-Plessas Editions, 1997. ISBN 960-7418-27-1. (Out-of-print).

In 1995, Nelly was awarded the “ORDER OF THE PHOENIX” the highest honor a civilian can receive from the Greek Government. Nelly’s death on 17 August 1998, was reported by at least two newspapers: The New York Times, 19 August 1998. Headline: “Photographer Nelly died at 99” EXCERPT: She embarked on her photographic career in 1922 when the Turks were decimating Smyrni and other Greek cities on the Asia Minor coast. The Turks had burnt Nelly’s birthplace in 1920. ***** Athens News Agency, 19 August 1998. Headline: “Pioneering photographer `Nelly` dies at 99” EXCERPT: Born in Aidini, [common use] [Aydin, International use] [Idnion, Greek use] Asia Minor in 1899, Nelly survived the destruction of the predominately ethnic Greek town by Turkish forces in 1919 before moving to Smyrna and then to Dresden, Germany, where she studied music, art and photography. She first arrived in mainland Greece in 1924.

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“NELLY” ELLI SOUYOULTZOGLOU-SERAIDARI’S funeral was held with state honors at the Nea Smyrni Cemetery in Athens. POINT OF INTEREST: Nea Smyrni (New Smyrna), Athens, Greece is where many of the refugees from Smyrna, Asia Minor settled. The ESTIA MUSEUM in Nea Smyrni operates as a cultural museum and houses the Asia Minor heritage. On the grounds of The Estia Museum stands a bust of the beloved GEORGE HORTON who was the United States Consul General for 30 years in the Near East and in Smyrna. Horton was a noted literary critic, author, and poet of several books, including his legacy of the two historical books: The Blight of Asia and Report on Turkey. (SKK)

GEORGE HORTON 1850–1942

PLEASE SEE THE NEWS FROM NELLY’S HOMETOWN: The New York Times, July 6, 1919. Headlines: “TURKS OCCUPY AIDIN.” “Greeks Evacuate Asia Minor Town, Taking Civilians with Them.” The New York Times, 15 August 1919. Headlines: “Turks Slay 21 Boy Scouts” “20 Defenders at Aidin.”

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TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................................................................................... 11 Publisher’s Note .......................................................................................................................................................................... 15 A Message… ............................................................................................................................................................................... 17 Foreword ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 19 Preface ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 21 Archival News Reports ............................................................................................................................................................. 47 Appendix: Chrysostomos of Ephesos, An Eyewitness Report on the Genocide and Catastrophe of the Christians in Asia Minor ...................................................................................................................................... 337

Remembering ............................................................................................................................................................................ 345

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

M

ay DR. “CHARLIE” MAHJOUBIAN’S memory be eternal for his work, and for steering me to archival newspapers where I discovered an abundance of undeniable truths, thus the birth of this book. He was the Head of The Armenian History Research Association, and an active champion of justice for the Armenian people. He was born in Konya, Turkey, to Armenian parents. In 1915, he was 8 when he saw Ottoman Turks herd thousands of Armenians through his village on the way to the desert. There, according to Dr. Mahjoubian, they were killed or starved to death. His family escaped and immigrated to the United States when he was 16. I had the privilege of being invited to his home for dinner with his wife and daughter when he was 92! My deepest thanks go to my husband ANDREW WHO ALTHOUGH HIS NAME IS GOIDICH, his heart is Greek. He encourages my work in ways too vast to define! God bless my friend DR. NICOS NIKOLAOU AND HIS MOTHER ANDROULA NICOLAOU originally from Cyprus for encouraging me to bring this book into the light of day. I dedicate this book to the memory of my late father DR. STEPHEN CONTOGEORGE, whose spirit inspires my work; and to the memory of my late father-in-law from my first marriage. MAÏOS KONSTANTINOS MOSHAROPOULOS (MICHAEL KOSTOS) was refugee from the Byzantine City of Caesarea in Cappadocia, Asia Minor. I had the privilege of knowing him and his wonderful compatriots; but at the time I did not fathom why they spoke Turkish. Because of his belief in Before the Silence, I profoundly thank ELIAS NEOFYTIDES, Honorary Founder and Past-President of the Pan Macedonian Studies Center for spurring interest in my work and this book. My heartfelt appreciation goes to XRYSANTHOS KYRIAKOU LAZARIDIS, M.S. Computer Science—for providing me with countless hours of his computer expertise, without whose help this book would not have been possible. In addition, I thank him for his exquisite translation of the eyewitness Report by the Metropolitan of Ephesos to the Patriarch of Constantinople. My unending gratitude also goes out to friend, writer and photographer, HELENE RYESKY a writer’s dream—for being my extra writer’s ears when I would call her and ask, “How does this sound?” My boundless admiration goes to DR. DENNIS R. PAPAZIAN, Professor Emeritus (founded 1985). He serves as the bridge that links Armenians, Greeks, and Assyrians; he believed in this book—way before it became a reality. It’s been a privilege working with him. A special debt of gratitude goes out to GERALD E. OTTENBREIT, JR., Historian and Researcher at the University of Michigan-Dearborn for providing me with answers to all kinds of questions, and for providing us with his expert COMMENTARIES within these pages. This book is all the richer with STAVROS T. STAVRIDIS’S generous contributions of news reports and with his COMMENTARIES on historic events. Stavridis, is a Historian and Researcher with a Masters Degree from RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia in Greek-Australian History. He is presently working towards his doctorate degree. Thanks and more thanks to my friend and Byzantine scholar, THEODORE G. KARAKOSTAS for providing his COMMENTARIES with his encyclopedic knowledge of history, current events, and for his grasp of Greek Orthodox matters. Ted is wise beyond his years!

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BEFORE THE SILENCE

With deep appreciation to REV. DR. MILTIADES B. EFTHIMIOU for stepping out of the pages of history with his about his father Basil Efthimiou, who was the Secretary and Chief Theologian and Homilist of the martyred Greek Orthodox Archbishop Chrysostomos of Smyrna—who met a most brutal death at the hands of the Turkish mobs. My thanks go to JOHN BARLAS for sending me the last official photograph of the martyred Greek Orthodox Archbishop Chrysostomos of Smyrna, and for kindly introducing me to the Rev. Dr. Miltiades B. Efthimiou. See photograph: The New York Times, 24 September 1922. Headlines: “Slain Archbishop Foresaw Massacre” “Chrysostomos Sent Letter To Foreign Officials Predicting Smyrna Disaster.” God bless BILL THEODOSAKIS, Chairman of the Asia Minor Holocaust Memorial Committee. He provided me with the titles of the remarkable books written by U.S. officials who were eyewitnesses of the organized Genocides in Asia Minor. Back in 1997, at the 75th Anniversary Ceremonies of the Christian Holocaust held in Washington, D.C. outside by the U.S. Capitol Building, Theodosakis informed me that those books were all but erased, that they remained out-of-print, were stolen from libraries, and were pulled out of bookstores. That disturbing news spurred my curiosity. We all owe a huge debt of gratitude to the Gomidas Institute for reprinting a good many of the “out of print books” that were denied us, and for other seminal works as well. My warmest thanks go to ARA SARAFIAN—editor of The Forgotten Genocides of the 20th Century: A Compilation of Poetry. The anthology includes poems by poets GREGORY DJANIKIAN, GEORGE HOBSON, DEAN KOSTOS, MYSELF, DAVID KHERDIAN, GREGORY TOPALIAN, and NORA ARMANI.

I will forever be grateful to the distinguished Greek and Turkish Historian DR. SPEROS VRYONIS, Professor Emeritus for generously availing his precious time and knowledge. Kudos to my Australian colleague, ARIS TSILFIDIS, for making available the customized map of Asia Minor for this book per my requests––limited only by lack of space. This unique process has turned me into a cartophile. EDDIE BRADY, ESQ. the author of Georgie! My Georgie! told me that although he is Irish by blood, he feels an affinity to the Greeks and our sad history during Turkish rule. His book informs of the important but short-lived life of Private First Class George Dilboy who was a native of Alatsata, Asia Minor, (Turkey); and a WWI recipient of the U.S. Congressional Medal of Honor––the highest award bestowed on members of the U.S. armed forces for conspicuous gallantry. In his book, Brady reveals the shocking details of the desecration of Dilboy’s remains by the Turks. “The Hero’s” story is a perfect venue for a film. Efharisto (thank you) to RICHARD ROZAKIS, George Dilboy’s third cousin, for sharing the historic photograph of George Dilboy’s (Γεώργιος Διλβόης) funeral. The American flag covered coffin was followed by a procession of 17,000 mourners through the streets of Alatsata, Asia Minor (Turkey), 1922. You can see this historic photograph within these pages: The New York Times, 11 November 1923, Editorial Page. My highest praise goes to the HONORABLE JIM KARYGIANNIS, Privy Councillor, Canadian Parliamentarian for his proactive role in Canada’s official recognition of the Armenian Genocides, on April 21, 2004. And on May 9, 2009, “Special K” as he is commonly called in political circles, challenged the admission of a Genocide Denier into Canada. I thank him for his tireless and other countless efforts. He is my hero! For his editorial polish of my Preface, a huge thanks to my long-time friend, DONALD A. KAWASH, who is as great History Teacher at Germantown Friends School as he is the world’s best Scott Joplin Ragtime Pianist. For his Commentaries, many thanks to PAUL PASVANTIS who is a living-breathing encyclopedist and an independent historian with a life-long interest in Greece and Turkey (their histories and demography). Very many thanks (shad shenorhagal em) to my “Armenian sister” DR. DORA SAKAYAN, retired Professor of German Studies at McGill University, Montreal. She is the daughter and granddaughter of refugee Armenians who fled COMMENTARY

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

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to Thessaloniki after the Smyrna (now Izmir) Holocaust. She was born in Greece, and speaks Greek fluently. She delights me with Greek songs she learned as a girl while growing up in Greece. FREDERICK A. APRIM, the Assyrian scholar and author wisely said that history continues to remind us that if we fail to mention aspects of our history for a considerable period, people will tend to forget them. Long before this book was published, I thank him for providing answers to my many questions so I could better know his people.

Along the way, very many thanks to my many special friends, and family, with whom I have developed special bonds, and for their respective and valuable contributions as well: KONSTANTINOS CHATZIKYRIAKOS: DIAMANDA GALÁS: IAKOVOS GARIVALDIS: ELEFTHERIOS KOSTANS, CONSTANTINE CONTOS, STAMATIS KOSTOS GEORGE MAVROPOULOS: STAVRIDIS:

FOTIOS

I will be forever grateful to DIMITRIOS HATGISTAVROU for generously sharing his great-uncle’s eyewitness report. The special report that was written by his great-uncle the Metropolitan of Ephesos was sent to the Patriarch of Constantinople on 2 October 1922. It provides excruciatingly detailed accounts of the fear-filled final days of the Greeks and Armenians of the ancient city of Smyrna and its environs. The translation of this exclusive report can be found in the Appendix of this book. ABOUT TEN YEARS AGO, When first I started my research into the archival newspapers, I did so through special processes made possible through libraries: index books, microfiches, and microfiche viewers. One of the joys of living in the United States, is our accessibility to information through our free public libraries and the professional staff of librarians. I would like to thank them by name. However, on the side of caution which is best explained in my acknowledgment to Bill Theodosakis and in my preface, it’s best that I refrain.

PUBLISHER’S NOTE Gorgias Press is indebted to an anonymous sponsor whose generosity made this publication possible at a lower price for the reader. This collection of documents by Sofia Kontogeorge Kostos is an essential tool to anyone who is studying the WWI period and its affects on the Christians of the former Ottoman Empire. That all Christian groups suffered during this period is an understatement. Mrs. Kostos is commended for including in her book all Christian groups including Greeks, Armenians, and Assyrians/Syriacs/Chaldeans. The latter group does not appear in these archival documents under any of the three designations “Assyrian,” “Syriac,” or “Chaldean,” but rather under the term “Syrian.” Care, however, must be taken as in some instances the term “Syrian” is also applied to Arab Christians of Syria and Lebanon, and even sometimes to all the inhabitants of this region. (See Hitti’s note on p. 99.) George A. Kiraz, Ph.D. Editor-in-chief

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A MESSAGE… My hopes and beliefs are that every living person will read with an open mind and understanding the darkness that exists with all of us, and how easy it is to lose control and to be at the point of no return and commit atrocities to others because of their religion and ethnicity in the name of God. History has repeated many times the same atrocities because the truth was hidden, but thanks to the tireless work, dedication and sense of responsibility of my dear friend Sofia Kontogeorge Kostos, the truth is now unburied and witnesses of the events speak with clarity of the pain and shame of humanity’s irresponsibility to stand up to protect the weak and innocent people. We should be more tolerant of others as we expect them to be with us. My grandfathers Kostas Neofytides was born in Trapezounda. My other grandfather Elias Demetriades and my mother Maria Dimitriadou Neofytides—were born in Samsounda along the Black Sea Coast of Pontos. My family had lived there as long as time itself, but they paid the ultimate price because they were Hellenes/Greeks who spoke a different language and because they were Christians. They lost their loved ones and everything they owned. Persecuted for their beliefs, they were lucky to be able to flee to Russia and then to Greece. The systematic extermination of the Greeks, Armenians, and Assyrians living in Asia Minor (now Turkey) was carried through orders mandated by the Ottoman State and then carried to its bitter end by the Kemalist Administration. The deliberate and centrally organized Holocaust of the Christians was started from 1894 and continued all the way to 1923. I do not hold the Turkish people of today responsible for the crimes of their forefathers, but I do hold them responsible for vehemently denying and for covering up what really took place in Asia Minor. As you can see, major English language newspapers worldwide reported the news as it was happening. There should be no doubt in your minds that we must acknowledge and remember the Christian Holocaust. Indeed, what happened to the Armenians, happened to the Assyrians and to the Greeks as well! It is my hope that the voices within this book will compel humanity to work towards understanding and tolerance of our differences. Once more, I thank Sofia Kontogeorge Kostos for her dedication and research. God bless you all, Elias Neofytides Honorary Founder and Past President of the Pan Macedonian Studies Center, Inc., 1995–2009 Founder Producer and Director of Macedonian TV of USA, 1998 to Present.

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FOREWORD Sofia Kontogeorge Kostos is a unique and remarkable woman who has produced a remarkable book. Most people in the know are now familiar with the Armenian genocide, but far fewer have been made aware of the genocide of the Greeks known as the Pontic Greeks and the Anatolian Greeks of Asia Minor; and of the Assyrians who also lived in the Ottoman Empire. The genocide of these Christians was the subsequent outcome of a failed reform movement in the Ottoman Empire, and the ultimate outcome of the policies of the last half of the nineteenth century in which Armenians, Assyrians, Asia Minor Greeks, along with Rumanians, Bulgarians, and Serbs were massacred. Several years ago, Mrs. Kostos got in touch with me and explained her mission to make the genocide of the Asia Minor Greeks, and the Ottoman Assyrians more generally known to the public. After some deliberation, she came to the conclusion that the best way to accomplish this mission was to reproduce verbatim archival newspaper stories of that time which she felt would be informative, enlightening, and convincing to the reading public. After all, newspaper stories are the first step in defining history. I have spent a great deal of time studying the Armenian genocide but I was also aware that Sultan Abdul Hamid, plus the young Turk dictatorship of the Ottoman Empire had decided to remove all Christians—Armenians, Greeks, and Assyrians, from Asia Minor—whether it be by exile or by massacres. Since Turkey had lost mainland Greece after Greece’s War of Independence of 1821, and after the Balkan Wars of 1912–1913, the Pontic Greeks who lived along the Black Sea coast were the first to suffer their wrath. Their forced expulsions and massacres began in 1914, just before the opening of World War I. When Turkey joined the Central Powers against the Allies in 1914, the Young Turk junta saw in the war the perfect opportunity to move now against the Ottoman Armenians and Assyrians, and Greeks, without the interference of the Allied powers who had been their traditional protectors. In 1915-1916 over one and one half-million Armenians were driven from their ancestral homeland and were either brutally massacred or were driven into the deserts of northern Syria to die of exposure, dehydration, and starvation. Finally, in 1922, when the Greek armies had been betrayed by France and were being driven out of Anatolia by the resurgent Turks under Mustafa Kemal, later to be known as Ataturk, events had escalated too far for any kind of humane accommodation. The Turkish armies finally reached the beautiful city of Smyrna, celebrated in legend and in history, and came to a halt. On the third day, while Allied and American warships ships floated idly in the beautiful harbor of Smyrna, the orders were given for the waiting Turkish army to enter the city to massacre its inhabitants and plunder its wealth. The Armenian sector was the first part of the city to be put to the torch and its inhabitants massacred in the most barbaric fashion. Once the vast majority of the Armenians had been massacred, next, it was the turn of Smyrna’s substantial Greek population, Greeks who had lived there from time immemorial and who had developed a high and significant culture were driven out of their homes to the Quay where they huddled en masse in hope of rescue while they fell victim to the depravity of the Turkish soldiers. The American and British warships refused to accept the refugees who swam out into the harbor seeking help from supposedly Christian nations. The only ship that offered succor to the refugees was a Japanese merchantman who threw its cargo of silk goods overboard in order to accommodate as many refugees as possible. As Marjorie Housepian Dobkin wrote in her book on the destruction of Smyrna, “George Horton [the American Consul General]

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BEFORE THE SILENCE

thought that only the destruction of Carthage by the Romans could compare to the finale of Smyrna in the extent of its horror, savagery, and human suffering. He wrote, ‘As the destroyer moved away from the fearful scene and the darkness descended, the flames, raging now over a vast area, grew brighter and brighter, presenting a scene of awful and sinister beauty,’ he wrote. ‘Yet there was no fleet of Christian battleships at Carthage looking on at a situation for which their governments were responsible.’ The Turks had plundered, slaughtered, and now burned the city ‘because they had been systematically led to believe that they would not be interfered with. ‘One of the keenest impressions which I brought away with me from Smyrna was a feeling of shame that I belonged to the human race.’” (p. 167). By the end 1922, the Turkish and Greek governments had signed an agreement for the so-called “exchange of population.” By that agreement over a quarter of a million Ottoman, and Anatolian Greeks were forced from their ancestral homes and sent on a disastrous trek into the interior to their inevitable deaths. Others to Greece, while a similar number of Turkish speaking Muslims were sent from Greece to Turkey. Neither Turk nor Greek had any choice. Since proper arrangements had not, or could not be arranged, the pitiful convoys were forced to walk and to carry with them only what they could put on their backs or the few draft animals they had brought with them. Mrs. Kostos—profoundly burdened with the knowledge of this tragedy—felt it was her moral obligation to bring it to light. I readily agreed with her and told her that she could post her articles, re-typed for clarity, on the Web site of the Armenian Research Center. My only stipulation was that the articles should be true to the original and not modified in any way. I wanted the researcher and the reader to have absolute confidence in what was posted realizing it was true and accurate in every way. Thus, they would have the quality of primary sources. In order to better reach the reading public, Kostos added notes of special interest pertaining to some of the reports. Now Sofia has come to the next step in her project, that is to present her materials in a convenient book which can be distributed widely and perused in comfort. Throughout this project, I have admired her sharp intelligence, her quick wit, and absolute dedication to the cause. I highly recommend this book to statesmen, politicians, university professors, students and to the general public. At a time when the United States has taken on world wide responsibilities, it is the moral obligation of every American to understand something about the Middle East and its history. It has been wisely said that those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it. As I have been a keen observer of American foreign policy for decades, I have come to the conclusion that the American people must take a more active interest in the foreign policy of their country. After all, we live in a democracy, and in a democracy the people should not be manipulated by their leaders but rather they themselves should inform the government of their own values and standards which they expect will be upheld by their elected representatives. I firmly believe that only an educated public can keep the United States on the right path of justice. This book then represents a vital aspect of the practice of American democracy. It should be read and treasured as a distinct contribution to our enlightenment. Dennis R. Papazian, Ph.D. Professor Emeritus of History Founding Director of the Armenian Research Center (1985–2006) The University of Michigan-Dearborn

PREFACE THIS IS A DANGEROUS BOOK, for it reveals buried truths about the Genocides1 of the Christians of Asia Minor (today’s Turkey) . . . truths that revisionists do not want anyone to know. ut the past cannot be expunged. No matter how often and how hard the Christian Holocaust is denied, a proliferation of newspaper reports that came out to the world, remain staunch witnesses of the earlier massacres of 1822, 1849, 1867, 1894, 1895, 1896, 1909, 1910,—massacres that then increased to the full fury of mass Genocides from 1914 through to 1922–23. During those years, millions of Christian Armenians, Assyrians, and Greeks, were relentlessly erased from their ancestral homes and lands in Asia Minor by the Turks. I focused especially on the year 1922 because it was the final year of the Christian presence in Asia Minor, now called Turkey. From newspaper clippings stored in envelopes and in microfilms, I painstakingly transcribed the news reports, word for word, line by line, and column by column. Because of the revelations of my findings, I felt an urgent need to share them. I transcribed the reports for educational, archival, and “fair use” purposes only. By now, many news reports can also be found through the Internet. Before the Silence2 provides abundant proof that the Genocides of the Christians living in Asia Minor included the Greeks, Armenians, and the Assyrians. To some of the news reports, I referred to books that corroborate with those reports; in some cases I provided the page numbers of the reprinted books as well, and in some reports I added archival photographs. These are some of the brutal headlines that are contained within:

B

“Turks’ Insane Savagery” “10,000 Greeks Dead” “Unspeakable Turk” “Turks Will Be Turks” “Turks Set Fires Missionary Says” “Turkish Atrocities” “More Turkish Atrocities” “Predicts Greatest Massacre in History” “Crimes of Turkish Misrule” “Tell of Turkish Outrages” “Black Friday” “Turks Proclaim Banishment Edict To 1,000,000 Greeks” Up until 1944, the word Genocide did not exist in the English language. We have Rafael Lemkin, a Polish Jew to thank for coining the word Genocide. Prior to his introducing that term, some of the words used to describe the killings of large groups of unarmed and innocent people were: outrages, race murder, wholesale massacres, wholesale drownings, atrocities, carnage, organized persecutions, destruction, murderous orgy, slaughters, organized butchery, catastrophe, multitudinous crime, murder of a nation, the greatest horror in history holocaust

1

I purposely spell Genocide(s) with a capital “G.”

2

Before the Silence: Series of Archival News Reports

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BEFORE THE SILENCE

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The word “holocaust” originates from the Greek word; (ολοκαυστóν) holokauston: (óλο) “completely” and (καυστóς) “burnt” meaning, completely burnt out. And yes, well before the Jewish Holocaust the word “Holocaust” was used to describe the horrors and the burnings that were carried out in Asia Minor, by non-Greeks and Greeks as well.. PHILLIP SPYROPOULOS, for whose work I have the utmost respect, once stated: What makes Turkey’s brand of genocide-denial so menacing is that it is being aggressively exported to the United States, thereby seriously undermining the integrity of our nation’s press and academia. As examined by articles in the Philadelphia Inquirer, the New York Times, the Chronicle of Higher Education, the Boston Globe, and even the Turkish Daily News. The Turkish Government is making genocide denial a primary foreign policy objective, spending millions of dollars in pursuit of a false and dangerous historical revisionism through the outright purchase of scholars and university chairs within our nation’s most prestigious universities. P. D. Spyropoulos, Esq. [Former] Director American Hellenic Media Project Date of letter unknown. Under “ARTICLE 301” of the Turkish penal code, known also as “un-Turkishness,” Turkish authorities intimidate and punish Turkish writers, poets, scholars, publishers, journalists, translators, academicians, and even scientists; by confiscating their passports and books, by firebombing their offices, by heavy penalties, by repeated costly trials, and by brutal imprisonments—if any modicum of truth is expressed. Among the Turkish citizens who have been targeted for prosecution and persecution, some are: •

RAGIP ZARAKOLU, publisher of the Belge Press has repeatedly faced trials for publishing the following two books: (1) An Armenian Doctor in Turkey: Garabed Hatcherian: My Smyrna Ordeal of 1922, Compiled and Edited by Dr. Dora Sakayan, Dr. Hatcherian’s granddaughter, 1997. It was translated into nine languages: East Armenian, West Armenian, English, French, German, Modern Greek, Russian, Spanish, and Turkish. (2) The Truth Will Set Us Free: Armenians and Turks Reconciled by George Jerjian, 2002. Zarakolu has faced countless trials and was imprisoned for two years in the past. Currently, Mr. Zarakolu a human rights activist is facing yet another trial, in 2010, for a book he has published.

•

Publisher and human rights activist AYSE NUR ZARAKOLU, and the late wife of Ragip Zarakolu: her passport was confiscated. She too was imprisoned for two years. She died of leukemia brought on by contaminated radioactive tea as a result of the Chernobyl nuclear fallout. At the time, Turkey’s former Prime Minister and the later President, Turgut Özal, publicly denied that the tea was radioactive and insisted that it was safe to drink. After her death: her son was arrested at his mother’s funeral for granting Kurdish women who were at the funeral the honor of carrying his mother’s coffin. Two weeks after the burial of Ayse Nur Zarakolu, a notice was sent to the dead woman’s home announcing that a case was opened against her. Posthumously she was warned, “If you do not come you will be arrested.”

•

Sociologist and Historian and Professor TANER AKÇAM lives and teaches in the United States. Dr. Akçam receives death threats for his latest book, A Shameful Act: The Armenian Genocide and the Question of Turkish Responsibility. 2006.

•

Author ORHAN PAMUK and Nobel Prize recipient for his book Snow (2002).

•

Author ELIF SHAFAK for her book, The Bastard of Istanbul (2007).

•

Economist-turned-author, the Greek-speaking ÖMER ASAN’s book, Pontos Kultura (1996), was confiscated and condemned. Although there is a public demand for the book, it remains out-of-print. Asan was accused as a “traitor” and a “friend of the Greeks” for his book exploring his Greek identity from the Trebizond, Pontos, region of Turkey.

PREFACE

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•

Poet Laureate NAZIM HIKMET, Turkey’s national hero. However, in the 1970’s his books were banned, and Turks were imprisoned for possessing books by Hikmet.

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Editor ABDULLAH YILMAZ for his translation of The Witches of Smyrna. 2004 by Greek author Mara Meimarides. The novel was a bestseller in Greece and sold more than 50,000 copies in Turkey and more than 120,000 copies in Greece. It tells of a Greek sorceress living in Smyrna during the Ottoman Empire.

•

H. ZAFER KORKMAZ, for his translation into Turkish of The Truth Will Set Us Free: Armenians and Turks Reconciled by George Jerjian.

•

The life of MR. HRANT DINK, the Armenian-Turkish editor-in-chief of The Argos newspaper in Istanbul, was cut down in front of his office building on January 19, 2007. Mr. Dink had been trying to bring about equal rights for the Armenians still living in Turkey. The alleged gunman was a Turkish youth. It was reported that after he was apprehended, the alleged assassin’s photograph was circulated depicting him in a hero-like pose with Turkish police. He is reported to have said, “I shot him after I said my Friday Prayer.” It must be noted that at least 100,000 people thronged the streets of Istanbul to show their sorrow. Yet, two years later, NEDIM SENER a reporter for the daily “Milliyet” faces 28 years imprisonment for his book, The Dink Murder And Intelligence Lies. Mr. Sener said, “I published the incidents of negligence of these three important state intelligence institutions in the Dink murder case, giving names. I have proven that fake documents were prepared. Documents marked as classified and containing lies were published in the book.”

WHETHER OR NOT TURKISH LEADERS DENY THEIR AGGRESSIVE ACTS, THESE FACTS PREVAIL: The Ottoman-Turko oppression lasted from the fall of Constantinople in 1453 to 1829; but in some parts of Greece and Asia Minor, the oppression continued to well more than 500 years (until 1922–23).a, b In 1955, on the night of September 6th in what is known as the “Night of Terror,” and “Crystal Night,” brutal Turkish mobs, directed by Turkish authorities, ran wild in key cities of Turkey as Turkish police looked on: The burning of 73 Christian churches; defecating on, urinating on, and desecrating graves, tombs, and religious relics; beating and circumcising priests on the streets; defiling women and children; smashing, and looting 1,000 homes and 4,500 shops 21 factories, 110 hotels, 26 schools, and 73 churches—of the Greeks, and Armenians, living in Istanbul (Constantinople). Metropolitan Bishop Gerasimos of Pamphilos was beaten, burned with lit cigars and dragged through the streets.c, d During the 1964 Turkish invasion of Cyprus, the Turkish Air Force dropped Napalm Bombs on villages in Cyprus—killing unarmed civilians and destroying entire villages. And again, in 1974, Turkish soldiers deliberately murdered and raped the Greek women of Cyprus. They invaded their homes, bayoneted infants in their cribs, abducted children, and aggressively took over one third of Cyprus.e, f PLEASE READ:

Brewer, David. The GREEK WAR of INDEPENDENCE: The Struggle For Freedom. From Ottoman Oppression and the Birth of the Modern Greek Nation. Woodstock & New York: The Overlook Press, 2001. b Hadzidimitriou, Constantine. Founded on Freedom and Virtue: Documents Illustrating the Impact in the United States of the Greek War of Independence, 1821–1829. New Rochelle, NY: Aristide D. Caratzas, Melissa Publications, 2000. c Vryonis, Speros, Jr. The Mechanism of Catastrophe: The Turkish Pogrom of September 6–7, 1955, And The Destruction of the Greek Community of Istanbul, New York: Greekworks.com, 2005. d Internet: http://iktath.kom.duth.gr/violatio.htm e Koumakis, Leonidas, The Miracle: A True Story. Athens: Leonidas Koumakis, 1993. f Hitchens, Christopher. Hostage to History: Cyprus from the Ottomans to Kissinger. New York: Noonday Press, Farrar Straus Giroux, 1984. a

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***

TURKEY’S HISTORY OF GENOCIDE DENIAL HAS NOT GONE UNNOTICED. ON THIS SUBJECT, ROGER W. SMITH, THE INTERNATIONALLY RENOWNED GENOCIDES SCHOLAR DECLARES: Turkey has engaged in attempts to prohibit any mention of the genocide. This has included suppression of any reference to the Armenians in a United Nations report on the prevention and punishment of genocide […] to prevent broadcasts of television programs about Armenians […] and strong pressure on the Reagan administration to defeat a Congressional resolution on a “Day of Remembrance of Man’s Inhumanity to Man,” [….] Moreover, academic and public discussions of the genocide before Jewish audiences have come under enormous pressures. The Turkish government has been willing to violate basic civil liberties, such as freedom of speech and association of non-Turkish citizens, backing its demands in some instances with threats in order to silence those who would confront the reality of the Armenian genocide […] a letter from the Turkish embassy in Washington was sent to schools throughout the United States to dissuade them from using histories that mention Armenian genocide, being formally included in social studies curriculum as part of Holocaust and genocide studies. Future generations must not know—a task that will be made easier when the survivors are no longer with us. (71–2). Smith, Roger W. “Denial of the Armenian Genocide,” Genocide: A Critical Bibliographic Review. Ed. Israel Charny. London: Mansell Publishing Limited, 1991. Vol. 2. AN ANTIDOTE to Roger W. Smith’s cautionary words, “Future generations must not know—a task that will be made easier when the last survivors are no longer with us.” . . . is to require to read the award-winning The Refugee Summer by EDWARD FENTON. The Refugee Summer is an excellent narrative as seen through the eyes of five children at play in Kifissia, a suburb of Athens, in the summer of 1922. FENTON brings Greek history alive. We learn of the Greek Revolutionaries, known as the Pallikaria of the Greek War of Independence; of the Philiki Etairia, known as the Friendly Society; of the Massacre of Chios; of the liberating Greek Army in Asia Minor; of the burning of Smyrna; and much more. Fenton is a distinguished children’s author, and “Greek by adoption.” He provides familiar names of people, towns, ships, and events that can be found in the news paper reports within this book. Fenton, Edward. The Refugee Summer. New York: Delacorte Press, 1982. Hopefully, this precious book will be reprinted. everal years ago I had the good fortune to meet a great humanitarian, a man whose memory I will always cherish. He was DR. CHARLES N. MAHJOUBIAN, a retired dentist, a Bill of Rights activist, a community activist, and in his nineties at the time. He had escaped with his family from Konya, Turkey (located in the south central region of Turkey). Eventually they immigrated to the United States. When I expressed my interest in uncovering the facts of what happened in Turkey, “Sófia,” he said, “look for old newspapers because they reported the truth back then.” As this book illustrates, he was right. DR. DENNIS R. PAPAZIAN, the Founder and then Director of the Armenian Research Center of the University of Michigan in Dearborn, was one of the email recipients of these archival newspaper reports. When Professor Papazian offered to host my series of archival news reports on his university’s website, I gladly accepted the opportunity and named the series Before the Silence. His assistant and researcher, GERALD E. OTTENBREIT, JR. enters my work on their website. No question is too big or too small. He is a wellspring of knowledge and information. efore my involvement with the Before the Silence archival news series, I had been typing excerpts from out-ofprint books by U.S. Government officials, missionaries, educators, physicians, and nurses—who had been eyewitnesses to the events in Asia Minor that could only be found in rare book collections. I named that series Voices

S

B

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of Truth.3 I shared them with my email associates throughout the world. Their responses were encouraging. By reading these first-hand accounts, not only was I astonished by the magnitude of the information available, I was awed by the great writings as well. However, I noticed one particular difference between the books and the news accounts. Unlike the books that mention the barbaric tortures carried out by the Turks, such as nailing horseshoes to their victims’ feet, such as pressing hot rocks under their victims armpits, and many other sordid tortures4—the newspaper reports of those times, refrained from reporting those details. Rarely was the word “rape” used in the news reports of those times. More commonly the term “outraged” or “ravished” was used. In view of the busy lives of the readers of this book, I have included several passages from the out-of-print eyewitness books. By now, a good many of the books have been reprinted and some can be found through the Internet. To catch the eye, I took artistic license by using bold type face, cross-references, inserts, capitalizations, italics, underscores, and photographs. Special mention must go to the men who risked their very lives by secretly taking the photographs that remain indelibly in our mind’s eye.

O

n the outcome in Smyrna, WINSTON CHURCHILL’s famous quote:

“Kemal celebrated his triumph by transforming Smyrna into ashes and by slaughtering the whole of the indigenous Christian population.” —from Winston Churchill’s The Aftermath. 1929. The longer version of Churchill’s quote is: Turkey became once again the sole master of Asia Minor, and Mustapha Kemal’s Army, having celebrated their triumph by the burning of Smyrna to ashes and by a vast massacre of its Christian population, turned the heads of their columns hopefully towards Constantinople and the Straits. (444).

Ernest HEMINGWAY’s short story “On the Quai At Smyrna,” from his book Our Time (1930) bears an uncanny similarity to an Associated Press report. Please see: New York Times, 3 October 1922. These tragic headlines come from an interview given by the American physician, Dr. Esther Pohl Lovejoy: “ASSERTS ATROCITIES IN SMYRNA CONTINUE” “Dr. Esther Lovejoy Describes Systematic Robbery and Outrages by Troops” “100 BIRTHS AMONG VICTIMS” “Babies Dying From Exposure—Departing Refugees Stripped of Their Remaining Valuables.” ALTHOUGH HEMINGWAY WAS IN CONSTANTINOPLE, AND DR. LOVEJOY WAS IN SMYRNA 204 MILES AWAY—THEIR STORIES ARE EERILY PARALLEL:

Voices of Truth: The First Genocides of the 20th Century Under Reconstruction 3

4

“Litany of Tears.”

BEFORE THE SILENCE

26

HEMINGWAY: “The worst, he said, were the women and dead babies. You couldn’t get the women to give up their dead babies. They’d have dead babies for six days, wouldn’t give them up.” LOVEJOY: “There are more than 100 mothers who gave birth to babies. Some were delivered while standing. I attended many. Some of the infants died within a few hours from exposure, but the mothers clung pitifully to the dead bodies of the little things.” Please see: New York Times, 3 October 1922. HEMINGWAY: “They screamed every night at midnight. I do not know why they screamed at that time. We were in the harbor and they were all on the pier and at midnight they started screaming. We used to turn on the searchlight on them to quiet them. That always did the trick. We’d run the searchlight up and down over them two or three times and they stopped it.” LOVEJOY: “At night the Turkish soldiers committed excesses against the women and girls. Only when searchlights from the ships in the harbor are turned on them do they desist.” Please see: New York Times, 3 October 1922

BY WAY OF BACKGROUND: Dr. Esther Pohl LOVEJOY; Dr. Wilfred POST, the Medical Director of the Near East Relief; a British Navy surgeon; and two unknown nurses, were all in Smyrna during its final days. These heroes remained on the piers delivering babies, and helping to the needs of the panic-stricken residents of Smyrna from early morning to late at night. Back then, the 23-year-old Ernest Hemingway was a reporter for The Toronto Daily Star. He arrived in Constantinople two weeks after the arson fires that were ignited on Sept. 13, 1922. Unlike Dr. Lovejoy, Hemingway never stepped foot in Smyrna. His short story “On the Quai At Smyrna,” was based on what he learned from those around him. Although Hemingway’s report is dispassionate and distant, it is compelling nonetheless. Interestingly, through their writings both Lovejoy and Hemingway have left us with indelible insights on what occurred during the inferno that consumed the once magnificent City of Smyrna. Perceiving that her services as a physician would be needed, Dr. Lovejoy left Paris immediately. She boarded the Dotch—the first cargo ship heading for Smyrna containing food supplies. Within these pages, you can read her report and subsequent newspaper reports about her, as well. Fourteen days after Dr. Lovejoy’s arrival in Smyrna, a headline reveals, “Woman Pictures Horrors” on 9 October 1922, in The New York Times. Dr. Lovejoy exclaims, “I was the first American Red Cross woman in France, but what I saw there during the Great War seems a love feast beside the horrors of Smyrna.” Four months later, in another report we learn about Dr. Lovejoy’s and Dr. Elliot’s significant contributions in “War Cross for Dr. Elliott” on 12 February 1923, in The New York Times: The Greek War Cross of Valor was awarded for the first time to two women by the Greek Government. Dr. Mabel Elliott of Benton Harbor, Michigan and Dr. Esther Lovejoy of New York City. They were both honored for their work in Greece and in Smyrna respectively. After returning to the United States, Dr. Lovejoy was interviewed by The Los Angeles Times, 2 June 1924. Headlines: “Woman Sees Turk Horror” “Dr. Lovejoy, American Relief Worker” “Shocked at Christian Exodus from Smyrna.” Dr. Lovejoy laments: I shall never forget the tragedy of that exodus. Wives and children clung to their husbands and fathers, screaming and weeping until torn apart by the Turkish soldiers. There was no effort to keep mothers and children together. Members of one family were often placed on different ships with the prospect of being

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27

permanently separated. Some of the adults in their desperation committed suicide and many of the children fell into the bay and were drowned during the scramble to get aboard. “The condition of the refugees was pitiable. The city had been burned shortly after the Turkish invasion and the majority of the inhabitants had been left absolutely destitute except for the clothes they wore. Dr. Esther Pohl Lovejoy’s excellent book, Certain Samaritans, unfortunately remains out-of-print. However, it can be found on the Internet. For inspiration and aspiration, her book is ideal for pre-medical students, and for women studies courses as well. Lovejoy was President of the Medical Women’s International Association for fourteen years. She and a group of women physicians and nurses were affiliated with the American Women’s Hospitals (AWH) which were under the auspices of Hahnemann Hospital in Philadelphia. Hahnemann Hospital is still in existence. Their mission was to provide medical assistance to most parts of the world wherever there was dire need. Another part of their mission was to train women to become nurses. One of the benefits of their training was realized when some of the trainees immigrated to the United States. They were hired by Bellevue Hospital—New York City’s largest hospital—that remains in existence. The trainees were given the opportunity to become full-fledged professional nurses. Along with Lovejoy’s heart-wrenching stories, she imparts to her readers her love of the history, folklore, and mythology of the countries she worked in. Following are a few of Doctor Lovejoy’s poignant quotes from her book: Smyrna is a lovely name from a mythical Amazon, beautiful of body and unconquerable of spirit, but on account of her predominantly Christian population, she has been known among the Turks for hundreds of years as Giaour Ismir, infidel Smyrna. There are twelve towns in the United States called Smyrna, probably sponsored by godfathers, who knew of the “tribulations” of the ancient city over which she has triumphed gloriously century after century. [As of 2008, there are over 50 cities named Smyrna in the United States.] (141). “Deportation to the interior” was regarded as a short life sentence to slavery under brutal masters, ended by mysterious death. Since conquerors began conquering the different parts of Asia Minor (Anatolia), “deportation to the interior” has been a favorite outdoor sport. The Lost Tribes of Israel were “deported to the interior” by Sargon the Conqueror, and not so much as their bones have ever been found. There was probably not a great difference between the humanities as practiced at the time of Sargon the Conqueror, and the time of Kemal, the Conqueror. Thousands upon thousands of Armenians were “deported to the interior” […] No one knows what became of them, but the flight of the buzzards and the cry of the jackals have gruesome meaning for their wives and their surviving children. (150–1). Pain, anguish, fear, fright, despair and that dumb endurance beyond despair, cannot be expressed in words. Fortunately, there seems to be a point at which human beings become incapable of further suffering—a point where reason and sensation fail, and faith, cooperating with the instincts of self-preservation and race preservation, takes control, releasing sub-human and superhuman reservoirs of strength and endurance which are not called upon under civilized conditions of life. (158). Lovejoy, Esther Pohl, M.D. Certain Samaritans. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1933. From a line in MARJORIE HOUSEPIAN DOBKIN’s brilliant book, Smyrna 1922: The Destruction of a City. (1998), Dobkin writes: Dr. Lovejoy noted in a letter, “[M]y confidence in history has been shaken by the misinformation circulated regarding the finish of the Christian minorities in Turkey […]” (202–3). ndeed, Dr. Lovejoy’s confidence in history would have been shaken even more if she learned of the ALPHABET REFORM OF 1928 which was promoted by Mustafa KEMAL. That’s when Turkey replaced its Arabic alphabet with the Latin alphabet—resulting in a nation with difficulty to read its own historical records before that time. Although this reform made previous records difficult to read, it is by no means a justification for opening the floodgates on historical corruption which reaches even the United States—with its overall policy of falsifying history, and by shamelessly blaming and demonizing Turkey’s victims.

I

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BEFORE THE SILENCE

What would Dr. Lovejoy say if she learned that in 1931 after Mustafa Kemal became President of the Republic of Turkey—he ordered that school books should contain: (a) The first man on earth was a Turk. (b) The Greek Revolution of 1821 known as Greece’s War of Independence—from 400 years of Turkish enslavement and oppression—was “carried out by a bunch of hoodlums.” (c) Ancient Greece is not mentioned at all. —Disclosed by reliable sources who attended school in Turkey. Following are some examples of dishonest and misleading statements that I encountered here the USA: 1. At an evening class at the Henry George School in Philadelphia, I was horrified when I heard a guest speaker (on Turkey) falsely state that the children of Christian subjects were offered in lieu of payment of their taxes. 2. On The History Channel, a Turkish scholar declared that it was considered an honor for (kidnapped) Christian boys to serve in the Janissaries—the sultans’ fiercest army known for fighting Christians. She failed to mention that Christian girls were kidnapped for the Sultan’s harems. She failed to state that the abducted children of the Christian subjects were forced to renounce their Christianity and were never seen by their families again. And, she failed to mention that Christian mothers deliberately dressed their sons as girls, and scarred their children’s faces so they would be considered undesirable. 3. From The History Channel on April 5, 2001 came another misstatement. On “Christmas Unwrapped” it was stated that Saint Nicholas was “an austere Turkish Bishop.” That statement was made even more absurd in that Saint Nicholas was a Greek Christian—NOT a Turk. And that Turks do not have bishops. Furthermore, Saint Nicholas “the Wonderworker” was not austere. Christians revere him for his kindness and generosity. Saint Nicholas was born seven hundred years prior to any Turkish presence in Asia Minor. That statement was tantamount to declaring that seven hundred years before setting foot in America, Christopher Columbus was an Indian Chief. After a four-month concerted effort to convince the producers of The History Channel to make the corrections, they made the changes and thanked me. 4. It was on Easter Sunday 2001 via “60 Minutes” on national television when Andy Rooney stated that “Turkish artists in Byzantium portrayed Christ’s likeness in ceramic tile.” He failed to reveal that the Great Church of Hagia Sophia (Greek: Holy Wisdom) in Constantinople (now Istanbul) was built before any Turks arrived in that region. Sadly, after the fall of Constantinople in 1453 A.D., the Turks converted Hagia Sophia into a mosque and plastered over the priceless tiles—essentially, destroying the mosaics. Several decades of hard work were required by a team from Harvard University to partially restore some of those mosaics. After a massive letter writing effort requesting a correction—neither Andy Rooney nor the Executive Producer of “60 Minutes,” retracted their statements. 5. Revisionists reached the Real Estate Section of the Sunday New York Times in the article “Not Quite a Castle, but It’s Home,” by Fred A. Bernstein (March 26, 2006). The feel-nice article stated, “If the caliphate were restored, the world would be a better place.” I wrote to him that this might sound wonderful if we didn’t know that Sultan Abdul Hamid II rightly earned the epithets: “the Bloody Sultan,” “the Great Assassin,” “the Butcher,” and “the Red Assassin.” I added that the Sultan’s Dolmabahce Palace was built by the renowned Armenian Chief Architect Nikogos Balyan; that for 634 years the palaces of the sultans were stocked with abducted Christian boys and girls who were used as sex slaves; and that the sultans’ fiercest armies (the Janissaries) were the sons abducted from the Christians. I suggested that he should read Noel Barber’s well researched book, The Sultans, published in 1973 by Simon and Schuster. There was no response to my letter. 6. MR. HARVEY WEINSTEIN, the CEO and founder of Miramax, did not know about the Armenian Genocide until his friend the Armenian Canadian film director, Atom Egoyan, showed him his script, Ararat. After Weinstein read the script, he agreed to produce Ararat as a film, despite pressures from the Israeli Government and from several major American Jewish organizations to not produce the film. The Jewish Week reported Weinstein’s retort: “The denial of the Armenian Holocaust reminds me of the denial of our own Jewish Holocaust. I feel strongly about that.”

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7. On October 2007, America’s President George W. Bush intervened to call upon the U.S. Congress to reject the move to recognize the Armenian Genocide. Instead, he chose to name the murder of millions of non-combatant religious minorities, “a civil war.” By startling contrast to President George W. Bush’s announcement—comes the following resolution that was passed (two months later) on December 15, 2007: THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF GENOCIDE SCHOLARS (IAGS) 12/15/2007 WHEREAS the denial of genocide is widely recognized as the final stage of genocide, enshrining impunity for the perpetrators of genocide, and demonstrably paving the way for future genocides; WHEREAS the Ottoman genocide against minority populations during and following the First World War is usually depicted as a genocide against Armenians alone, with little recognition of the qualitatively similar genocides against other Christian minorities of the Ottoman Empire; BE IT RESOLVED that it is the conviction of the International Association of Genocide Scholars that the Ottoman campaign against Christian minorities of the Empire between 1914 and 1923 constituted a genocide against Armenians, Assyrians, and Pontian and Anatolian Greeks. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Association calls upon the government of Turkey to acknowledge the genocides against these populations, to issue a formal apology, and to take prompt and meaningful steps toward restitution. http://www.aina.org/news/20071215131949.htm ***

Although the IAG Resolution is significant, hopefully soon the Greeks from all parts of Asia Minor will be included in the IAG Resolution as well. As the archival news reports do attest, every Greek was afflicted by the onslaught of the deliberate annihilation of the entire Greek population of Asia Minor.

A

mong the powerful women of the time, the name of MABEL EVELYN ELLIOTT, M.D. stands out as well. As indicated in a headline: “War Cross for Dr. Elliott” (New York Times 12 Feb. 1923), Doctors Lovejoy and Elliott were the recipients of the highest award ever given (to women) by the Greek Government. Dr. Mabel Elliott’s flawless book Beginning Again At Ararat merits to be one everyone’s “must-read book list.” Her dauntless courage is evidenced throughout her book. Her humanity and sensitivity shine through the pages as she describes the traumatized Armenian girls, after they were rescued from Turkish harems. Dr. Elliott was the first to speak to the “well-bred” victims. She describes her interviews: You must see them as I remember them, passing, one by one, through my consultation room; gentle, wellbred girls, with brushed hair and shining finger nails, who spoke in low voices and wore with instinctive taste their borrowed clothes. None of them had discussed with anyone her experiences during the war. For the first time their reticence was disturbed, necessarily, by professional questions, and when they had begun to speak it was as though they could not stop. The whole story poured from them. (21). The things that I heard were unbelievable. A doctor sees more into the abyss of human society than any other person except a priest, but I knew only America. This was Asia, strange, bestial, incomprehensible. It was my encounter with such things—the things that human beings can do, carelessly, without rancour, laughing, to other human beings. It was incredible too, that these girls could have seen and endured them. The stories did not vary greatly; the variety was the revealed temperament of the girls. Some sat quietly, with

BEFORE THE SILENCE

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folded hands, talking on and on in a low voice, growing whiter and whiter until there was no blood in their lips. Others became excited, little by little lost their self-control, and ended screaming and sobbing. (21–2). Then there was another girl, whose story had a touch of the incredibly fantastic. With eyelids closed, she was the most beautiful girl I have seen among a people renowned for feminine beauty. Her features were like those preserved for us from antiquity by the chisels of great artists; her skin was like that of a child, and her body was a rhythm of line. But when she opened her eyes, it became painful to look at her. One eyeball swung outward in its socket so grotesquely that one thought of a gargoyle. Her story was the usual one; during those deportations she had been sold to a Turkish house. There she had been rebellious, violent, incorrigible. […] she said. “My eyes were perfectly straight, but they took me to a hospital and had this done to me,” and she pointed to the crooked eye […] why resort to an infinitely delicate operation? It is a question I cannot answer; a question whose answer is so deep in Turkish character that only a Turk could answer it. For I examined the eye, and saw beyond doubt that the story was true. The microscopic scars were there, in the minute muscles of the eye. (25–6). Dr. Elliott provides her readers with an abundance of details interspersed with the histories of the Armenians and of the people around them. On the last page of her book, Dr. Elliott tries to provide hope for the future: Forty thousand children, four per cent of the population, are growing up in America’s care. They owe their lives to America, their schooling, their training in workshops and on playgrounds, their ideals, their energy. To-morrow, they will be men and women, and who can doubt that they will be the leaders of their countrymen? Something of America has been planted here; something will grow. (341). Elliott, Mabel Evelyn, M.D. Beginning Again At Ararat. New York, Chicago, London and Edinburg, Fleming H. Revell Company, 1924. repr: 2007. PLEASE ALSO READ: Dadrian, Vahakn N. Holocaust And Genocide Studies. Vol. 1. No. 2. The Role of Turkish Physicians In The World War I Genocide Of Ottoman Armenians. Oxford: Pergamon Press, 1986. (166–192) PLEASE SEE: The New York Times, 17 June 1922. Headlines: “Says 22,000 Greeks Died On the March, Ward Declares Only Quick Action by Washington Can Stop Turkish Massacres, Christian Girls For Harem, Turks Forbade American Orphanages to Shelter Those Who Were More Than 15.” ***

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nother most illuminating book written on this history comes to us from GEORGE HORTON, an eyewitness to the events as they occurred. For thirty years, Horton served as U.S. Consul and Consul General in the Near East. In 1893 Horton actively promoted the revival of the Olympic Games. In 1899 he became the literary editor of the Chicago Times Herald, and from 1901 to 1903 he presided over the Literary and Art Supplement of the Chicago American. He was fluent in English, French, German, modern Greek, Ancient Greek, Italian, Latin, Spanish, Swedish, and Turkish. Horton was a many times published novelist and poet. He was lovingly known as “The American Lord Byron.” Walt Whitman, the great American poet, stated that he preferred Horton’s poetry to that of any living American poet. George Horton’s The Blight of Asia: An Account of the Systematic Extermination of Christian Populations of Mohammedans and of the Culpability of Certain Great Powers, with the True Story of the Burning of Smyrna, gives a definitive account of the events leading up to and including the destruction of Smyrna. Back then, the cities of choice by American diplomats serving overseas were rated by preference: 1st Vienna, 2nd Smyrna, 3rd Paris. I learned that the Turkish Government prevented the reprinting of this richly detailed narrative by threatening the life of Horton’s daughter. She was also warned to never use the word “massacre” whenever speaking publicly.

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That piece of information aroused my curiosity. I then wondered how many times had Horton used the word “massacre” in his book? I counted the word to see how many times it and a variant of it appeared. Then I expanded my search into Horton’s book for other possibly offending words and discovered: massacre, 100 times; fire, 75 times; death, 4 times; murder, 35 times; destruction, 33 times; extermination, 32 times; loot, 20 times; atrocity, 18 times; rob, 18 times; outrage, 13 times; plunder, 10 times; savage, 8 times; torture, 8 times; rape, 7 times; slaughter, 4 times. In Chapter I, Turkish Massacres 1822–1909, of The Blight of Asia, George Horton indicates, “The following is a partial list of Turkish massacres from 1822 up till 1909:” 1822 Chios, Greeks

50,000

1823 Missolongi, Greeks

8,750

1826 Constantinople, Jannisaries

25,000

1850 Mosul, Assyrians

10,000

1860 Lebanon, Maronites

12,000

1876 Bulgaria, Bulgarians

14,700

1877 Bayazid, Armenians

1,400

1879 Alashguerd, Armenians

1,250

1881 Alexandria, Christians

2,000

1892 Mosul, Yezidies

3,500

1894 Sassun, Armenians

12,000

1895–96 Armenia, Armenians

150,000

1896 Constantinople, Armenians

9,570

1896 Van, Armenians

8,000

1903–04 Macedonia, Macedonians

14,667

1904 Sassun, Armenians

5,604 Total

328,477

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To his list, George Horton adds: To this must be added the massacres in the province of Adana in 1909, of thirty thousand Armenians. So imminent and ever present was the peril, and so fresh the memory of these dire events in the minds of the non-Mussulman subjects of the sultan, that illiterate Christian mothers had fallen into the habit of dating events as so many years before or after “such and such a massacre.” (19–20) reprint: (9). George Horton continues: It is significant that the Turks in 1876 were championed by Jews, while today such Jews as Henry MORGENTHAU, Max NORDAU [physician and writer] and Rabbi [Stephen S.] WISE are prominent among the group of men who are raising their voices on behalf of oppressed Christians. It is due to the influence, and to the voices of such senators as [William Henry] KING of Utah and [Claude Augustus] SWANSON of Virginia, that confirmation of the Lausanne Treaty has been deferred until the blood on the bayonets and axes of the Turks should get a little drier. (22–3) repr: (11). At the end of the First World War, revisionists claim that the extermination of the Christians of Turkey resulted in retaliation against the entry of the Greek Army on Turkish soil. Horton strongly refutes revisionists claims by stating: I returned to Smyrna in 1919, shortly after the Greek army had landed in the city. As the Turkish plan of extermination was well under way before the arrival of the Greek troops, the Christian peasants had been driven out of the entire region with the exception of the city itself, and many had perished, their farms and villages being destroyed. They had scattered over the Greek islands and the continent, and at Saloniki, where the Greek government had constructed barracks to house them, there was a considerable settlement of them. Much has been said of atrocities and massacres committed by the Greek troops at the time of their landing at Smyrna on May 15, 1919. In fact, the events that occurred on that and the few succeeding days have been magnified until they have taken on larger proportions in the public mind than the deliberate extermination of whole nations by the Turks, and no consideration seems to have been given to the prompt suppression of the disorders by the Greek authorities and the summary punishment of the principal offenders, several of them by death. (72–3) repr: (48) MANY WRITERS HAVE WRITTEN ABOUT THE ARSON FIRES that burned the entire ancient city of Smyrna to the ground, save for the Turkish sector that was safe, high on the hill. Revisionists have been hard at work blaming the Christian inhabitants of Smyrna. However, there are many credible accounts to the contrary. Here, George Horton elaborates on who caused the fires: “Who burned Smyrna?” seems to be pretty well dispelled. All statements that tend to throw doubt on the matter can be traced to suspicious and interested sources. The careful and impartial historian, WILLIAM STEARNS DAVIS, [author of A Short History of the Near East: From the Founding of Constantinople: 330 A.D. – 1922, [393] to whom reference has already been made in this work, says: “The Turks drove straight onward to Smyrna, which they took [September 13, 1922] and then burned. (112–3) repr: (73). Men of this stamp [William Stearns Davis] do not make assertions without having first gone carefully into the evidence. (113) repr: (73). Armed Turks, including many soldiers, entered the [Armenian] quarter thus guarded and went through it looting, massacring, and destroying. They made a systematic horrible “clean up,” after which they set fire to it in various places by carrying tins of petroleum and throwing these bundles through the windows. (114) repr: (74).

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They planted small bombs under the paving stones in various places in the European part of the city to explode and act as a supplementary agent in the work of destruction caused by the burning petroleum which Turkish soldiers sprinkled about the streets. The petroleum spread the fire and led it through the European quarter and the bombs shook the tottering walls. (114) repr: (74). They set fire to the Armenian quarter on the 13th of September, 1922 […] (115) repr: (74). […] the Turks had been in possession of the city for five days, during which time they had been looting, raping and killing. It was the burning of the houses of the Christians which drove them to the streets and caused the fearful scenes of suffering[…] Of this state of affairs, I was an eye-witness. ( 115) repr: (75). Turkish soldiers led the fire down into the well-built modern Greek and European section of Smyrna by soaking the narrow streets with petroleum or other highly inflammable matter. (116) repr: (75). Written testimonies corroborate with Horton’s assertion about the arson fires—Miss MINNIE MILLS [Dean of American Schools in Turkey] confirmed that she saw: Turkish soldiers go into various Armenian houses with petroleum tins and in each instance after they came out, flames burst forth[….] I could plainly see the Turks carrying the tins of petroleum into the houses, from which, in each instance fire burst forth immediately afterward. There was not an Armenian in sight, the only persons visible being Turkish soldiers of the regular army in smart uniforms. (144-5) repr: (93). George Horton recounts the brutal murder of the GREEK ORTHODOX ARCHBISHOP CHRYSOSTOM that shocked the civilized world: A Turkish officer and two soldiers went to the offices of the cathedral and took him to Nureddin Pasha, the Turkish commander-in-chief, who is said to have adopted the medieval plan of turning him over to the fanatical mob to work its will upon him [….] it is certain that he was killed by the mob. He was spat upon, his beard torn out by the roots, beaten, stabbed to death and then dragged about the streets.” (136) repr: (86). About his friend Archbishop Chrysostom, Horton elaborates: He was offered a refuge in the French Consulate and an escort by French Marines, but he refused, saying that it was his duty to remain with his flock. He said to me: “I am a shepherd and must stay with my flock.” He died a martyr and deserves the highest honors in the bestowal of the Greek Government. He merits the respect of all men and women to who courage in the face of horrible death makes an appeal. (136–7) repr: (86–7). The American Consul General, George Horton, leaves us with this indelible and searing statement, “One of the keenest impressions which I brought away with me from Smyrna was a feeling of shame that I belonged to the human race.” (153) repr: (98). Horton, George. The Blight of Asia: An Account of the Systematic Extermination of Christian Populations by Mohammedans and of the Culpability of Certain Great Powers; with the True Story of the Burning of Smyrna. Indianapolis: The Bobbs-Merrill Co., 1926. Reprinted by London: Sterndale Classics, 2003. A newspaper excerpt from “Consul Tells of Suffering in Near East—U.S. Official Praises Work of American Colony” the Japan Times & Mail 21 Oct. 1922, George Horton exclaims: “During my consulship at Saloniki I was bombed by Bulgars and Germans and during my official career I have had many rough experiences with submarines and fire, but never in my life have I seen anything like the Smyrna catastrophe.” ***

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As reported in: The New York Times, 16 September 1922. Headlines: “City a Mass of Wreckage” “Foreign Quarter Leveled but Turkish Section Untouched” “Streets Strewn With Dead” “900 Armenians Were Driven Aboard a Lighter and Killed by Fusillade From Shore” “Our Bluejackets Policing But the Host of Homeless Christians Are In a State of Terror.” PROFESSOR TANER AKÇAM inadvertently gives us a clue on how it was that the Turkish section of Smyrna was untouched by the arson fires that leveled the City of Smyrna. He points out the Turkish rules that defined how the non-Muslims were required to dress, and how they, and their homes had to be positioned. In Chapter 1, we learn that, “The dhimmî’s [non-Muslims] debasement included a prohibition on building their houses higher than those of the Muslims, as a reflection of their inferiority.” (24). — Akçam, Taner, A Shameful Act: The Armenian Genocide and the Question of Turkish. Responsibility. New York: Metropolitan Books, Henry Holt and Company, First U.S. edition, 2006

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nother reliable account that answers the question to who started the arson fires, comes from journals kept by DR. GARABED HATCHERIAN. He details his grueling escape with his wife and his five young children. As a physician he had enjoyed financial success, and had held an important position at the Armenian St. Gregory’s National Hospital in Smyrna. Dr. Hatcherian chronicles: Wednesday, the 13th—I see a Turk who approached me say, ‘We did what was due; you turn back.’ The Turk, who obviously had assumed an active role in the arson, takes me obviously for his compatriot and accomplice and advises me not to advance, but to turn back. I answer, “Very well,” with the attitude of someone who understands the situation and I stop for a moment to distance myself from the Turk and to avoid conversation[….] (15). Since 1922, various sources based on eyewitness accounts, have confirmed the fire as deliberately set in Smyrna’s Armenian district by Turks on the 13th of September. The final goal was the complete elimination of the Christian element in Smyrna. It was hoped that fire would rout the remaining Armenians and drive them from their homes. Along with hundreds of Armenians, an estimated 1,500 Armenian houses and shops were destroyed. (63). In addition, Dr. Hatcherian chronicles his family’s escape from Smyrna to the Greek Island of Mytilini. In Akhisar, approximately 50 miles from Smyrna, he learned that ten members of his family including his mother and his wife’s mother were butchered by the incoming Turkish Army. He learned that his wife’s brother was hanged, with other Armenians, and Greeks; that the other men were deported to the shore of the Gadiz river where all were killed by machine gun; that the women and children were massacred; and that the young women and pretty girls were ravished and taken away. Dr. Hatcherian’s own words about broken promises: The Akhisar Christians had made a terrible mistake by signing an agreement of mutual protection with the Turks. In order to save their skin, the Turks swore on the Koran and waited for the Kemalist soldiers to arrive. Once the danger was over for them, the local Turks, with assistance of the Turkish soldiers, committed every kind of barbaric acts against the Christian population, which had been naïve enough to believe their oath. (49). Hatcherian, Garabed, M.D. Ed. DORA SAKAYAN, PhD. An Armenian Doctor in Turkey: Garabed Hatcherian: My Smyrna Ordeal of 1922. Montreal: Arod Books, 1997 FOR ANOTHER CASE OF BROKEN PROMISES BACK IN 1896, please see an excerpt from The Morning Oregonian, 31 October 1896: “Prisoners that surrendered under promise that their lives would be spared were cut to pieces by the moslem fanatics, who rejoiced in a holiday blessed by the sanction of Islam.” The Morning Oregonian’s headlines were: “Abdul Hamid and the Armenian Atrocities” “Darkest Page in Modern History-Jealousies of European Powers The Crime of the Age” “Have Prevented Interference.”

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***

Dedication for his fellow man is evidenced by CLARENCE D. USSHER, M.D. He was both an American physician and an Episcopalian missionary—known then as a “medical missionary.” He was descended from a long line of churchmen from Dublin, Ireland. His remarkable book An American Physician In Turkey was first written to raise money for the purpose of rebuilding a bombed-out hospital in Van, Turkey. Ussher was affectionately called “the big blond foreigner.” He describes his calling and his arrival in Turkey: There being no opening for a medical missionary at that time, I settled in Kansas City and built up a large practice there. My receipts in a month from this practice were greater than would be a year’s salary from the American Board. But the rewards of work on the mission field—well, I will leave it to the succeeding pages of this book to show what these were. (2) repr: (1). The custom house officials appropriated one hundred and forty dollars worth of the contents of my boxes. They confiscated my new Dictionary because it contained the “pernicious” words “liberty” and “revolution;” cut the maps out of my Bible because on several of them “Armenia” was to be found. (4–5) repr: (6). In describing his arrival in Van, Turkey, Dr. Ussher adds: […] hoping to slip into Van (located at the southeastern shores Asia Minor) unobserved while the people were at church, and earnestly trusting that they would not be shocked at our having traveled on a Sunday. But when we arrived at the gate of the mission compound a small boy who saw us, and who knew how anxiously we were awaited, ran into the church in the middle of Dr. Raynold’s sermon, shouting, “They have come!” Out rushed the congregation to greet us with unrestrained demonstrations of joy. We were at home at last. (68–9) repr: (41). Ussher’s wife, Elizabeth Barrows, was born in Caesarea, Turkey, and was the daughter of a missionary, the Reverend John O. Barrows. Theirs was the first American wedding to take place in Van, Turkey. “Her missionary spirit was a beautiful radiance that illuminated her personality,” is how Clarence Ussher describes his bride. (71). Wrongly and maliciously, the Armenians are accused by the Turkish Government for revolting; thereby Turkey claims that the Armenians were justifiably killed. Dr. Ussher proves them wrong: In 1908 Ali Bey was Vali of Van—a man very like his royal master, Abdul Hamid, in character and methods. He used every means in his power to incite the Armenians to revolt in order to have a pretext for massacring them. (125) repr: (71). To this day, revisionists blame the Christians for non-payment of their taxes. Not so, according to Dr. Ussher: The tax-gatherer would go to a village with a band of zabieths [guards] and a number of wealthy Turks from a neighboring village and demand receipts for certain taxes for a period of five, ten, or twenty years. For some of those years there would be no receipts to show, because the taxes had not been collected; the receipts for the remaining years would very often have been destroyed in some massacre. But the tax-gatherer took no account of these things; if the receipts were not instantly forthcoming the villagers were beaten and compelled to pay, or to have their fields, cattle, or standing crops sold at auction for one tenth of their value to the wealthy Turks. (158–9) repr: (88). During the exodus of 3 August 1915, Ussher describes feelings of overwhelming despair: […] from these rocks Turks and Kurds were firing down into the unarmed multitude hemmed in between hills and river. Our Cossack guards galloped off to be first out of danger, but the Red Cross doctors kept

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their places in the line and urged people on. Drivers of ambulances and litters whipped up their horses to a mad gallop; it was a race for life. Hundreds threw themselves over the precipice into the river to escape the worse fate of falling into the hands of the Kurds. Fathers and mothers killed their own children to save them from the Turks. But thousands struggled on panting, grasping, for mile after mile [....] It seemed an eternity of horror [….] (311) repr: (167). More than a year later, in that long, narrow valley through which we had raced so madly, we found the whitening skeletons of about seven thousand men, women, and children who had come to their death by the hand of the Turk that day. (312) repr: (168). Ussher, Clarence D., M.D. An American Physician in Turkey: A Narrative of Adventures in Peace and War. Boston & New York: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1917. Recently reprinted by J.C. & L. Fawcett, Inc., 1990; and by Taderon Press with Sterndale Classics, 2002. ***

Up to now, Turkish policy deliberately degrades the veracity of the eyewitness U.S. Government officials, missionaries, educators, and physicians—whose books remain as constant reminders of the facts of the Christian Holocaust. A fact that must not be ignored is that Turkey boasts a 99 percent Muslim population. From some of the United States officials, we learn that the plan to exterminate the Christians in Turkey was intensified through slogans intended to incite Turkish and Kurdish mobs into murderous frenzies. We learn of marauding thugs (chêtes) who were released from prisons by the thousands, for the business of murder and plunder. Unfettered, their shouts filled the countryside with: “THEIR WIVES SHALL BE WIDOWS AND THEIR CHILDREN ORPHANS!” “KILL ALL THE ORPHANS!” “TURKEY FOR THE TURKS ONLY!” Pillage, massacre, and lust were the order of the day. “Kill all the orphans!” became part of the campaign to exterminate all the orphans of Harpoot. Some orphans were rescued by missionaries, thus escaping certain death. A heart wrenching news report about four of the orphans of Harpoot came from a Special Cable from Beyrouth: The Globe and Chicago Tribune, 13 September 1922. Headlines: “Heroine of 14 Saves 3 Lives, Armenian Orphan Girl Rescues Boys from Edge of Whirlpool, Great Effort Kills Her.”5 Upon reading several of Henry MORGENTHAU’s books, I was impressed by his competency, his keen sense of fairness, and his humanity. Henry [Heinrich] Morgenthau was a German Jew who immigrated to the United States as a young boy with his family. After a career in law, he loomed bigger than life when he served as a diplomat and an international figure in America. From 1913-1916, as American Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, Morgenthau was privy to first-hand knowledge of (in his own words) . . . “giving the death warrant to a whole race.” Morgenthau wrote several outstanding books. In the Ambassador Morgenthau’s Story he defines deportations: The purpose of deportation was robbery and destruction; it really represented a new method of massacre. When the Turkish authorities gave the orders for these deportations, they were merely giving the death war“To An Armenian Girl from Harpoot.” Forgotten Genocides of the 20th Century: A Compilation of Poetry. Ed. Ara Sarafian. London and Reading: Taderon Press, 2005. (68. 60). 5

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rant to a whole race; they [the Turkish authorities] understood well, and in their conversations with me, they made no particular attempt to conceal the fact. Morgenthau, Henry. Ambassador Morgenthau’s Story. Garden City, New York: Doubleday, Page & Company, 1918. and Taderon, 2000; and Detroit, Michigan: Wayne State University, 2003. The following excerpt is from a newspaper report of historic significance by Henry Morgenthau. Headline: “Mandate or War? World Peace Held to be Menaced Unless the United States Assumes Control of the Sultan’s Former Dominion.” The New York Times Magazine 9 Nov. 1919. Henry Morgenthau decries: I have always thought that the final word on Turkey was spoken by an American friend of mine who had spent a large part of his life in the East, and who on a visit to Berlin, was asked by Herr von GWINNER, the President of the Deutsche Bank, to spend an evening with him to discuss the future of the Sultan’s empire. When my friend came to keep this appointment he began this way: “You have set aside this whole evening to discuss the Ottoman Empire. We do not need all that time. I can tell you the whole story in just four words: Turkey is not reformable!” Regarding the plan to increase the massacres into full-fledged Genocides, Henry Morgenthau describes who, when, and why: Unlike Abdul Hamid, the Young Turks found themselves in a position where they could carry out this “holy” enterprise. Great Britain, France, and Russia had stood in the way of their predecessor. But now these obstacles had been removed. The Young Turks, as I have said, believed that while they were at war with these nations they had no representatives in Turkey who could interfere with their internal affairs. Only one Power could successfully raise objections, and that was Germany. But Germany had never attempted to stop massacres in Turkey. In 1898, when all the rest of Europe was ringing with Gladstone’s denunciations and demanding intervention, Kaiser Wilhelm the Second had gone to Constantinople, visited Abdul Hamid, pinned his finest decorations on that bloody tyrant’s breast, and kissed him on both cheeks. The same Kaiser who had done this in 1898 was still sitting on the throne in 1915, and was now Turkey’s ally. Thus for the first time in two centuries the Turks, in 1915, had their Christian populations utterly at their mercy. The time had finally come to make Turkey exclusively the country of the Turks. (192). Morgenthau, Henry, Ambassador Morgenthau’s Story, Garden City, NY: Doubleday, Page & Company, 1918; repr., Plandome, NY: New Age Publishers, 1975; repr. Ann Arbor, MI: Gomidas Institute, 2000; repr., Detroit, MI: Wayne State University Press, 2003. (192; 1975 edition, 292; 2000 edition, 194; 2003 edition, 201) From another of his books, Henry Morgenthau puts a halt to the false accusations of “revolution” or “civil war.” He illuminates: I have told this story of the “revolution” in Van not only because it marked the first stage in the organized attempt to wipe out a whole nation, but because these events are always brought forward by the Turks as a justification of their subsequent crimes. As I shall relate, Enver, Talaat, and the rest, when I appealed to them on behalf of the Armenians, invariably instanced the “revolutionists,” of Van as a sample of Armenian treachery. The famous “revolution,” as this recital shows, was merely the determination of the Armenians to save their women’s honour and their own lives, after the Turks, by massacring thousands of their neighbours, had shown them the fate that awaited them. (197). Morgenthau, Henry Ambassador, Secrets of the Bosphorus, London: Hutchinson & Co. Paternoster Row. 1918 Reprinted: Italica Press. 1986

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PLEASE SEE: The Scotsman, (date illegible) 1919. Headline: “Numerous Arrests.” The New York Times, 2 July 1919. Headline: “Turkish Court-Martial Public Prosecutor Speech.” The New York Times, 13 July 1919. Headlines: “Turkey Condemns Its Leaders” “Court-Martial Gives Death Sentence to Enver Pasha, Talaat Bey, and Djemal Pasha” ***

In Chapter I, “The Epic of Modern Greeks” from his book I Was Sent to Athens, Henry Morgenthau defines his role as Chairman of the Refugee Settlement Commission, the international agency set up by the League of Nations. Morgenthau praises the Greek people: Suppose that something like this had recently occurred: that twenty-six million men, women, and children had suddenly and unexpectedly arrived by steamer at the ports of Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. Suppose, further, that this mighty host was well-nigh starved, was penniless, without any worldly possessions beyond the clothes they stood in, their bodies covered with vermin and filth and ravaged by typhoid and smallpox. Imagine these twenty-six million human beings (chiefly women, children, and old men) to be absolutely dependent upon American charity for immediate food, for shelter, and for medical attention. Imagine that they must depend entirely upon America for an opportunity to make their homes and their livelihoods for the rest of their days. (2). Nothing in Homer is more exciting than this modern epic of the Greek people, which I have made my theme. These present-day Greeks have exhibited the qualities that made their ancestors illustrious: the courage of Achilles, the wisdom of Agamemnon, the ingenuity of Ulysses, the pity of the High Gods themselves. The frightful catastrophe at Smyrna in 1922, when the victorious Turks killed Greeks by the uncounted tens of thousands, and forced the surviving hundreds of thousands to proceed at once to Old Greece, created in that fine nation of five million people just such an emergency as we have imagined for America—the sudden influx of a 24 per cent addition to its native population, requiring instant relief and eventual permanent rehabilitation. (3). Further on, in Chapter XI, “Negotiations With the Bank of England,” Henry Morgenthau provides detailed accounts of how he matched wits with the Bank of England and was able to obtain funds from foreign investors for the refugee work at hand: “I was able to finally convince him that loans for the Greek refugees were not only a laudably humane adventure for the relief of distress but also a sound investment of British funds [.…]” (176). “[…] they wanted to help Greece, but they wanted first to have proof that Greece intended to help herself [.…]” (178). “[…] the loan was to be used wholly for productive purposes, such as the building of houses, purchase of farming implements, equipment of factories, and the like.” (180). Morgenthau, Henry. I Was Sent To Athens. Garden City, New York: Doubleday, Doran & Company, Inc., 1929. < http://www.antibaro.gr/national/morgenthau_athens.pdf > PLEASE SEE: The Japan Times & Mail, 10 November 1922. Headlines: “U.S. Red Cross Feeding 400,000 Greek Refugees” “Workers and Supplies Rushed To Aid of Starving In Near East.” ***

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The U.S. Ambassador Henry Morgenthau decries: “Will the outrageous terrorizing, the cruel torturing, the driving of women into the harems, the debauchery of innocent girls, the sale of many of them at eighty cents each, the murdering of hundreds of thousands and the deportation to, and starvation in, the deserts of other hundreds of thousands, the destruction of hundreds of villages and cities, will the willful execution of this whole devilish scheme to annihilate the Armenian, Greek and Syrian Christians of Turkey—will all this go unpunished?” You’ll find this brief but painful report in the Red Cross Magazine, and also in Henry Morgenthau’s autobiography: All in a Life-Time. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, Page & Company, 1922. (288). PLEASE SEE: The Red Cross Magazine—18 March 1918 ***

Although the Assyrians were also victims of the Genocidal campaign in Turkey, in most cases the news reports wrongly reported the Assyrians as “Syrians.” In the 18th and 19th centuries, the English speaking West misunderstood the Assyrians when they referred to themselves as “Suraye” a word derived from the ancient Aramaic language, which is also known as “Syriac.” For further clarification, be sure to see the Publisher’s Note and the letter by Philip K. Hitti, the Columbia University Professor of History to The New York Times, 17 August 1918. Headline: “Assyrians not Syrians.” For an informative history of the Assyrians, PLEASE READ: Aprim, Frederick A. Assyrians: The Continuous Saga. Library of Congress Number: 2005900569, Orders@XLibris. com, 2004. Aprim, Frederick A. Assyrians: From Bedr Khan to Saddam Hussein: Driving into Extinction the Last Aramaic Speakers. Verdugo City, CA: Perlida Publishing, Second Edition, 2007. ***

Another extraordinary man of his time was Edward Hale BIERSTADT. He was a celebrated New York writer, but became best known for his book The Great Betrayal: A Survey of the Near East Problem. He served as Executive Secretary of the Emergency Committee for Near East Refugees. For his services to the Greek people, the Greek Government decorated him with the Silver Cross of the Order of the Redeemer. In his book, Bierstadt informs: “During the serial publication of The Great Betrayal the Department of State wrote to the publisher referring to “grave errors” in the work [….] At the end of a day’s discussion, however, the Department was unable to point to any error [.…]” (Preface IX, X) Since 1908 the history of the Near East has been written in blood and oil; for six centuries before that it was written in blood alone. The vast natural resources of that territory which should go to benefit all mankind have provoked only dishonor, treachery, war, and destruction, because of the greed of the economic interests behind the foreign policies of the Great Powers. Only in recent years has the Government of the United States played a part in this voracity, but its course is already strewn with unfulfilled promises and broken pledges. What it has gained is more than problematical; what it has lost is all too evident. The American people had established a flourishing western civilization in Asia Minor; that civilization has been drowned in oil. (148). Bierstadt, Edward Hale. The Great Betrayal: A Survey of the Near East Problem. New York: Robert M. McBride & Company, 1924.

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SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT—Bierstadt’s book was recently reprinted: Bierstadt, Edward Hale. The Great Betrayal: A Survey of the Near East Problem. Carol Stream, Illinois: Publishers’ Graphics, LLC, 2008. Distributed by: ***

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ne of the most compelling and revealing reports in this book, is by ALBERT MACKENZIE. Headline: “Crimes of Turkish Misrule” The New York Times Current History Monthly Magazine, October 1922. At the time, Mackenzie was a relief worker in Turkey. I urge everyone to read the entire report contained within these pages. The following text is excerpted from Albert Mackenzie’s report—a report that Turkish officials would forbid anyone to read if they could: […] for five days the whole convoy marched completely naked under the scorching sun. For another five days they did not have a morsel of bread nor even a drop of water. They were scorched to death by thirst. Hundreds upon hundreds fell dead on the way, their tongues were turned to charcoal, and when, at the end of the five days, they reached a fountain, the whole convoy naturally rushed toward it. But here the policemen barred the way and forbade them to take a single drop of water. Their purpose was to sell it at from one to three liras the cup, and sometimes they actually withheld the water after getting the money. At another place, where there were wells, some women threw themselves into them, as there was no rope or pail to draw up the water. These women were drowned, and in spite of that the rest of the people drank from that well, the dead bodies still remaining there and stinking in the water. Sometimes, when the wells were shallow and the women could go down into them and come out again, the other people would rush to lick or suck their wet, dirty clothes, in the effort to quench their thirst. […] on the sixtieth day, when they reached Viran Shehr, only 300 exiles remained out of all the 18,000. On the sixty-fourth day they gathered together all the men and sick women and children and burned and killed them all. On the seventieth day, when they reached Aleppo, thirty-five women and children were left out of the 3,000 exiles […] 150 women and children altogether out of the whole convoy of 18,000 [….] ***

You will learn about the forced conversions of the Christians in The Times, Saturday, 13 June 1896, Headline: “Converts to Islam.” Until MICHALIS CHARALAMBIDIS, a contemporary Greek scholar and author, brought to us the touching and personal stories of the “crypto-Christians” now living in Turkey, we knew little of their fate. Under threat of death, they are the people and descendants of those who were forced to renounce the Cross for the Crescent, . . . but in their hearts they secretly remain Christians. I added a photograph of an elderly Greek crypto-Christian woman from the Michalis Charalambidis book to the news report from The Times, 13 June 1896. Headline: “Converts to Islam.” The photograph of the elderly woman is captioned: To the question of a journalist about her descent, she replied in the Pontian dialect, “I was born here, I do not speak Turkish and I did not learn Greek from the sky.” (143). Charalambidis, Michalis, Aspects of the New Eastern Question. Athens, Greece: Gordios Publishers, 1998. ***

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The Armenian Genocide: Cultural and Ethical Legacies contains contributions by twenty-five contributors—whose works were edited by the prominent Armenian-American historian RICHARD HOVANNISIAN. One of the contributors is the prominent Greek-American historian Professor Emeritus SPEROS VRYONIS, Jr. In Chapter 16, Professor Vryonis presents us with his interpretation of the survivor account of the celebrated Greek author, ELIAS VENEZIS’s book, To Noumero 32.328: To Vivlio tes Sklavias (Number 31,328: The Book of Slavery) which was written in Greek. Although Venezis’s book was translated into Spanish in 2006, it is not yet available in English. Through Venezis’s voice, Dr. Vryonis vividly encapsulates what it meant to be “sent to the interior.” We learn that as early as 1916 more than 200,000 Greeks were conscripted into the amele tuburu (Arabic for conscription labor battalions). The then eighteen-year old Venezis was forcibly torn from his family as he was embarking with them on the last boat out of Asia Minor and thrown into jail—there, he was brutally beaten and forcibly conscripted into slave labor battalions by the Turks. For the next fourteen months he became part of what was known as the death caravans. The number assigned to him was 31,328. Venezis sums up his anguish with, “A few hours later hopelessness overcame us once more and we began once more to summon death.” (283). DR. VRYONIS: […] Less than 1 percent had survived the brutal impositions of the Turkish regime. But even after he [Venezis] arrived in Magnisa in the large concentration camp, safety still was not certain. The weak surviving laborers often fell victim to epidemics of typhoid fever. VENEZIS reveals: The presiding officer would come into the camp and ask, “Are there any corpses?” “There are.” And they gathered the corpses in tens or twenties, as many as there were and they would throw them into a ditch. (284). As late as May 1919, the appearance of the Turkish army in the district of Kars (in Cilicia) brought into action the conscripted labor battalions in the region’s twenty-seven villages. The physical condition of the conscripted Greek labor battalions was of such poor quality that the death rate was very high. One Greek physician observed: During my stay in Islahiye, I saw labor battalions conscripted exclusively of 5,000 Greeks from Denizli. They were decimated in a very few months. Starvation, forced labor of a daily work schedule of twelve uninterrupted hours of hard labor, sunstroke, illness, and deprivation of all necessities brought conditions in which barely 1,000 managed to survive. There would enter the hospital daily 100 sick persons, the majority of whom would die the following day. (288). The Armenian Genocide: Cultural and Ethical Legacies, Edited by Richard HOVANNISIAN. “Greek Labor Battalions Asia Minor” by Speros VRYONIS, Jr., New Brunswick (USA) and London (U.K.): Transaction Publishers, 2008. For news reports about the “labor battalions,” please see: The New York Times, 5 July 1919. Headlines: “Tells How Turks Tortured Greeks,” “Prelate’s Letter Describes Atrocities in Hellenic Territories in Black Sea,” “Population is Scattered,” “Declares Deportations Into Snow Covered Lands Replace Openly Brutal Outrages.” The Christian Science Monitor, 13 July 1922. Headline: “Near East Relief From Helping Greeks,” by Dr. Herbert Adams Gibbons.

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SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: A translation into English of Elias Venezis’s biography, Number 31,328: The Book of Slavery—is forthcoming. ***

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IAMANDA GALÁS is the first performance artist—composer, vocalist, and pianist to receive the Demetrio Stratos award for her Innovative Vocal Works in 2005, and the Bessie award for Sustained Career Achievement in 1997. Galás is the daughter of Greeks of Asia Minor and of Mani, Greece. Through her one-woman performances of “Defixiones: Will and Testament,” and through the power of her unique voice—she mesmerizes and terrifies her packed audiences with the warnings that were printed on the gravestones of the dead Greeks, Armenians, and Assyrians in Turkey. “Defixiones” refers to the warnings engraved in lead that cautioned against moving or desecrating the dead under threat of extreme harm. “Will and Testament” refers to their last wishes. Audio of Diamanda Galás: ***

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vidence of the desecration of the grave of the Greek-American WWI Hero is reported: The New York Times, 5 November 1922. Headlines: “Army Will Honor Dilboy” “War Hero” “Private Killed at Belleau Wood Will be Buried at Arlington.” (with photos) The New York Times, 1 November 1923. Headlines: “Turkey Makes Amends” “Admits Desecration of Doughboy’s Coffin and Gives it Full Honors.” (with photos) The amazing story of PFC GEORGE DILBOY, can be found in Georgie! My Georgie! by EDDIE BRADY < www.Xlibris.com > 2005—call 1-888-7954274. The Greek-American PFC George Dilboy was born in Alatsata, Asia Minor on February 5, 1896. He was twenty-two years of age when he was killed in action on July 18, 1918, in Belleau, France. In the “afterword” section of Georgie! My Georgie!, Eddie Brady reveals the contents of a letter written by George Dilboy’s father to his son Kostas, living in Somerville, Massachusetts, U.S.A. In his letter his father pleaded: I want to tell you that the casket containing the remains of your brother George was in the church of St. Constantine, and the Turks went in there, broke the casket open, scattered the bones all over the floor, trampled on them, and also on the American flag that covered the casket. Then with their swords, they struck the bones, and tried to make people seeking refuge in the church to eat them. Please have someone get in touch with the American consul about what has happened to your brother’s remains. (500–1).

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our United States Presidents, played four distinct roles in honoring PFC George Dilboy. This has never happened before nor has it happened since: (1) PRESIDENT WOODROW WILSON, signed the authorization to award PFC George Dilboy the Congressional Medal of Honor; (2) PRESIDENT WARREN G. HARDING ordered the U.S. Destroyer Litchfield to retrieve the desecrated remains of George Dilboy. President Harding demanded an apology from the Turkish Government and insisted they hand over the desecrated remains of the WW1 hero. The Turks reluctantly complied. By presidential order

PREFACE

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George Dilboy’s casket and remains were shipped to the United States and eventually to his final resting place at the Arlington National Cemetery; (3) PRESIDENT CALVIN COOLIDGE, the former Governor of Massachusetts, presided at PFC George Dilboy’s final burial with full military honors. Present that day, were Senators, Congressmen, a Greek Ambassador, Greek Orthodox Church Officials, and a good many American Legionnaires from Posts throughout the United States; (4) PRESIDENT WILLIAM J. CLINTON urged the re-issuance of George Dilboy’s Congressional Medal of Honor that was stolen during WWII. In 1942, when German paratroopers invaded the Greek Island of Crete, they broke into the Dilboy family house and stole the Congressional Medal of Honor that had been posthumously awarded to George Dilboy. In 1999, the U.S. Ambassador to Greece, Nicholas Burns, presided over an impressive ceremony to which President Clinton had signed the authorization for the re-issuance of the, now called, Medal of Honor to representatives of the Dilboy family in Athens, Greece.

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SOLON J. VLASTO in 1894 first appeared in his popular Greek language newspaper known as the Atlantis from New York City. Soon after, complete copies of Vlasto’s two letters were published on 3 December 1894, in the editorial page of The New York Times, headlined as “Mr. Vlasto’s Letter” and “Greeks Sympathize with Armenians.” Not only was Solon J. Vlasto the editor-in-chief of the newly formed Atlantis, he was also the President of the Greek Society of New York. In his letter, he conveys to the Armenian people, “I express to you my heartiest sympathy, and would gladly co-operate in any movement to alleviate the distress of your people with whom ancient and brotherly ties unite us.” In his commentary “Greeks Sympathize With Armenians,” he writes, “The recent terrible massacre of thousands of men, women, and children in Armenia once more aroused the fiendish outrages perpetrated on the female population filled the world with horror and consternation.” As evidenced herein: reports from more than 20 English-language newspapers from nations as far as Japan and Australia, serve to document the events of the Christian Holocaust. Please use the evidence contained within these pages to shed the light of truth on what is often referred to as “The Forgotten Genocides.” As the following news reports attest, the same horrific fate befell the Armenians, the Assyrians, and the Greeks. In the spirit of Solon J. Vlasto’s forthrightness, and in the spirit of witnesses mentioned and not mentioned, and for the millions of the victims of Asia Minor . . . the involvement of the world community is needed to amplify their voices. We owe it to humanity and to future generations. WO LETTERS WRITTEN BY

Sofia Kontogeorge Kostos Advocate for Genocides Awareness

45 MAP CUSTOMIZED BY COURTESY OF ARIS TSILFIDIS

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The Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, April 2, [year illegible]

children torn from the breasts or the arms of their mothers, and sold to slavery, or reserved for future or disgusting degradation. The country, with its numerous seats and happy villages, is made a desert, and nothing remains of that which was the most civilized and delightful island of the Archipelago but one huge monument of devastation. The details of these desolations we need not repeat, and we must not weaken the description of the unhappy Greeks themselves, by attempting to vary its form. What identifies the councils of the Ottoman Government with the most odious abominations that were committed at Scio, is the deliberate massacre of ten of the hostages who had been sent to Constantinople, and of whom six, as stated by a member of the House of Commons, were empaled alive, while 85, who had been named at Scio, were hung outside the Castle walls by command of the Pascha. It is vain to attempt a palliation of such enormous crimes by insinuating any charge of previous cruelty against the Greek nation. If the affair of Tripolliza2 be that to which it is referred for justification—1st, How long ago had it happened? 2nd What was the most heinous part of the accusation, but that Greek soldiers, after carrying the city by storm, had put a Turkish garrison to the sword; and not after a storm merely, but after a violation by the Turks themselves of a solemn treaty? And is this to be compared with a cool butchery of the innocent elders of a defenceless people, not following close upon the hells of conflict, nor useful to any purpose of safety, nor conformable to any practice of even the most savage war? Does such conduct not naturally throw a cloud of gloom and apprehension over the heart of every man who feels for the existence of Christianity in the East—for the condition of three millions of fellow-creatures and fellow-Christians—and, to bring the matter home, as one of more direct, though less elevated interest—of every man who values the peace of Europe itself ? At an early stage in the diplomatic controversies at Constantinople, we expressed our doubts to the practicability of obtaining from the Ottoman Government any securities deserving the confidence of Europe, for its treatment of the Greek nation, so far gone is armed insurrection against their masters. We have often since declared our belief that Turk and Greek could never again resume their old relation of tyrant and slave. The afflicting events on which we have remarked, have a manifest tendency to confirm both classes of prognostics which we have just recalled to notice; nor is it, we think, possible that the treatment

25,000 ARMENIANS SLAIN Massacred by Turks After Deportation Says Red Cross Man (By Associated Press) New York, April 2.—Twenty-five thousand Armenians deported from Aintab, Palestine, after the Armenian section of the city had been demolished by the Turks, probably were massacred. This statement was made today by DR. JOHN H. FINLEY, New York State Commissioner of Education, who has just returned from the Near East where he was head of the Red Cross. ■ ———————

The Times, Monday, July 1, 1822

EDITORIAL/LEADERS The affecting supplication from the Greeks at Constantinople to their Christian brethren here was published in our paper last Friday. It came from the yet un-murdered remnant of a people on the point, as they perhaps too justly dread, of immediate and total annihilation. We left it to work its own way to the hearts of all Englishmen who could feel for the outraged rights of human nature, for religion grievously persecuted, and for the honour of Christian Europe essentially and universally disgraced. The narrative has in that respect even outrun our expectations. We know not that any tragedy on record ever produced in this country a movement of deeper horror than this recital of the atrocities inflicted by cold-blooded and remorseless infidels on unoffending believers in the same God whom we worship, and for no intelligible provocation but that their being fellow-worshippers with us. The facts are few, but worthy of remembrance. Of the inhabitants of Scio,1 in number an hundred thousand, the males have been exterminated almost to a man—the females violated—the

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experienced by the Sciote hostages, and the nation to which they belong, should fail to produce a very decisive sensation, not only in the minds of the whole Greek people, but of those governments whose cares have, for the last 18 months, been mainly occupied by questions arising out of the subjection of Greece to Turkey. ■ Scio, (Chios). It is the Greek Island in which its inhabitants were butchered by the Turks. The Hellenic Massacres had been carried out repeatedly, as far back as 1822—and even earlier. 2 Tripolliza, is also known as Tripolis, and Tripolitsa. It’s a large town in the Peloponnesus region of Greece. 1

NOTE: 50,000 Chians of Scio (Chios) were massacred by Turks in 1822. PLEASE READ: The Blight of Asia By George Horton. London: Sterndale Classics, 2003. Chapter 1, “Turkish Massacres, 1822–1909 (19,20) repr: (9) E-Book: (SKK) ———————

The Times, London Wednesday, September 11, 1822

or other extirpable1 passions? Will the destruction of a faithless garrison, after a storm which its treachery had invited, be alleged as an equivalent for laying Scio [Chios] in ashes, and burying fifty thousand fathers, and husbands in the ruins of their own peaceful habitations? The subject will not bear to be softened—nor to be thought of: but we have reasonable fear that the disposition which could look with calmness, nay with approbation, at such horrors has not been confined to their defenders in the British Parliament. So far as can be judged from late advices, a spirit, which practically speaking, is one of direct alliance and co-operation which the destroyers of the Sciot [Chiote] race, now actuates the counsels of more than one Christian Sovereign. We subjoin a letter from Smyrna, containing intelligence that the Austrian Government has enjoined its naval commanders in the Archipelago to resist and violate the maritime blockade which the Greeks have established before certain of the Turkish harbours. Now, legitimate Powers, who stand upon law, ought to pay some respect to the recognized law of nations. Here were Greeks, at open war for their existence. ■ 1

extirpable = able to totally destroy or to wiped out.

PLEASE SEE: The Times, 1 July 1822. Editorials/Leaders.

EDITORIALS Many details of the horrible barbarities committed by the Turks at Scio [Chios] have already been laid before the public. We refer to a paragraph in the German papers, where will be found, in few words, the amount and effect of those barbarities. A population of 120,000 souls has been reduced to to about 900! and of them a considerable portion were dying every day of pestilence produced by multitudes of unburied corpses. The most beautiful and flourishing island of the Archipelago is a desert. The most civilized, cultivated, and interesting people, the flower of Greece have been the greater part, exterminated—the residue expatriated, or sold for slaves by the unbelieving butchers of their kindred. Yet acts like these were palliated, and by Englishmen: these acts were all but justified in Parliament, as being provoked, or at least irritated by the Greeks. When did the Greeks deliberately and indiscriminately massacre the male inhabitants of an entire province? When did the Greeks carry off tens of thousands of defenceless women and innocent children, to glut their base avarice,

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The Connecticut Courant, March 18, 1823

DESTRUCTION OF SCIO The following extract from a letter from the Rev. H. D. LEEVES, dated Constantinople, Oct. 8th, 1822, published in the Monthly Extracts from the correspondence of the British and Foreign Bible Society (31st December 1822,) will serve better than a hundred arguments to exhibit the principle of the Holy Alliance in its true light:— “We proceed from Vouria to Scio, where we had an opportunity of witnessing the melancholy and utter desolation which has befallen this beautiful and once flourishing island. I could not have conceived, without being an eye witness, that destruction could have been rendered so complete.

ARCHIVAL NEWS REPORTS

“The Massacre of Chios” (1824) by French Artist Eugene Delacroix — Louvre Museum, Paris. Source: Obscure

We walked through the town, which was handsome and built entirely of stone, and found the houses, the churches, the hospitals, the extensive college, where a few months ago 6 or 7 hundred youths were receiving their education, one mass of ruins. On every side were strewed fragments of half burnt books, manuscripts, clothes, and furniture, and, what was most shocking to the feelings, numerous human bodies mouldering in the spots where they fell. Nothing that had life was to be seen but a few miserable half-starved dogs and cats. The villages have shared the same fate, and a population of 130,000 Greeks, there remain, perhaps, 600 or a 1000 individuals scattered through the most distant villages. In the town, nothing has escaped but the Consul’s houses, and a very few adjoining them, which could not be burnt without burning the Consulates. “From the painful sight of these dreadful effects of unbridled human passions, we were a

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little refreshed by visiting, in the afternoon, the country house of the British Vice Consul, Signior GIUDICO, who during THE SACK OF SCIO, humanely received all the unfortunate creatures who fled to him for protection, and has redeemed many others from slavery. He has a little colony of 207 SCIOTS, chiefly women and children, hutted in his garden and premises, whom he feeds at his own expense, and who, under the British flag, have found protection amidst the wreck of their country. There are similar establishments in some of the other European consulates. Their food, at present, consists chiefly of the figs and grapes, which are now common property, there being no hands to gather in the fruits of the soil; but, as this supply will soon fail, we have, since our return, commenced a subscription among the English residents at Constantinople, who have been ever ready to meet similar calls upon their charity during this calamitous period, in order to send them a supply of biscuit and flour for the winter months. I mean to add, on the part of the BIBLE SOCIETY, a donation of Greek Testaments; and have written to SMYRNA, to desire that a sufficient number of copies may be sent to furnish the refugees both at the British and other consulates.” ■ NOTE: There was a time when there were more Greeks living in Smyrna (Asia Minor) than were in Athens, Greece. (SKK) MASTERPIECE PAINTING: Louvre Museum, Paris — “Massacre of Chios” (1824) by Eugene Delacroix, French Artist, 1798–1863. ———————

Aurora General Advertiser, (Philadelphia, PA.) Friday, September 3, 1824

Greece and Mr. Webster Greece and Mr. [Daniel] Webster.—It must be considered highly complimentary to Mr. Webster, as announced in the London Courier, that his speech in the Congress of the

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United States, on the Greek question, has been translated into the Greek language, printed, and a large number of copies transmitted to Greece, to be distributed among the people of that country.—Nat. Int. ■ REFERENCES TO: – The Aurora General Advertiser was founded in 1790 in Philadelphia by Benjamin Franklin Bache, the grandson of Benjamin Franklin. – Mr. Webster’s Speech on the Greek Revolution—Boston, 1824. – Daniel Webster was a leading American statesman, lawyer, and orator of his time. ———————

The New York Times, Sunday, August 11, 1867

The Turks and the Cretans. Editorial: Whoever has seen the marvelous picture, by JEROME, of the Turkish “Almeh,” or dancing girl, and remembers the heavy stolid, settled look of bestial sensuality depicted as on the faces of the lazy soldiers who sit around watching her movements, will find no difficulty in believing what Dr. HOWE writes of the barbarities practiced on captive Cretans. The conduct of the war by MEHMENT PACHA was that of military movements and battles; and it failed. Now, the brutal OMAR PACHA has devised a more effectual way of using his soldiery by warring against the noncombatants. The Greeks have time and again defeated the Turks in battle, but the Moslem is now showing the terrible efficacy with which he can use the animal passions, engendered by centuries of sensuality. Dr. HOWE writes to the London Times, saying “Hundreds of Cretan mothers have solemnly and with unmistakable simplicity assured me that what causes them and all the women they know to shudder at the thought of falling into the hands of the Turks, is the certainty that they and their children (of both

sexes) will be exposed to personal outrages and abominations.” Boys, girls and women are the prisoners these monsters like to take. We have purposely selected this culminating atrocity of the present status in Crete that Christians may have their attention drawn, with something of the earnestness the case demands, to the horrors of that war. For more than ten months now the Cretans, aided by a very few European and some Greek volunteers, have successfully defied the whole strength which the Turkish Empire could bring against them. During each of the revolts in that little island, the Christians have driven the Mohamedans out of the interior and forced them to take refuge in the fortified towns of the coast. It is now. At the beginning of the present revolution, while about 20,000 non-combatant Cretans fled to Greece, some 8,000 whose villages had been burned over their heads by the wandering bands of Bashi-Bazouks, (or Cretan-Turkish “bummers” and “bushwhackers,”) preferred to seek the walled towns, where the regular forces of the Turks at least pretend to protect their lives. So that there is a mixed population of non-combatants in these towns of which the Turks are masters, and there they use their power to starve and kill the wretched fugitive Christians by ill-treatment. Another class of homeless ones variously estimated at from 15,000 to 20,000 fled to the mountains, and are now there starving, ragged and dying. The Turks, with their regular troops preceded by bands of wandering marauders, avoiding the armed Greek forces, devastate the open country, burning, destroying extirpating everything that might furnish food to these miserable old men, women and children. The island is blockaded against help, although Capt. STEKULLY, a nephew of the brave BOZZARIS, with faithful and courageous devotion, conveyed a cargo of supplies from Dr. HOWE into the mountains of Sphakia, where it was received with tears of joy and shouts of gratitude. Living in the open air, absolutely and really

ARCHIVAL NEWS REPORTS

almost naked, gaunt with famine, but preferring the agonies of starvation to the monstrous abominations of Turkish captivity, these sad and helpless multitudes are the weapons which the Moslem is using against the hearts of their Christian fathers and brothers. Dr. HOWE makes a strong appeal to the people of England, (who have lately shown too courteous hospitality to the master of these cruelties,) and through his correspondence with the friends of Crete in America, he appeals also to us. More help is needed to feed and clothe those famishing victims, and the moral sentiments of indignant Christian America should also be brought to bear, through recognized official channels, against this cowardly and barbarous warfare. We are accustomed to shrink from contemplating the miseries of Andersonville;1 but they were perpetrated upon men—soldiers who braved the horrors of war. These tortures are inflicted upon unoffending women and children, with the devilish intention of thereby subduing the otherwise indomitable bravery of the Christians of Crete. Shall such horrors go on, and the Christian world stand mute and unprotesting? ■ INFORMATION: – Sanctioned by Turkish Central Authorities the Bashi-Bazooks (Turkish thugs) were released from prisons and set loose on the Christian population. Their source of income was derived from loot and plunder. These killer units consisted of 50 to 100 bloodthirsty men, and led by officers. – After the Greek War of Independence in 1822 A.D. and of 400 years of harrowing enslavement by the Turks—mainland Greeks won their independence. – 76 years later, the Greeks of Crete won their independence in 1898 A.D. Andersonville Prison—during the American Civil War (1864 A.D.)—was notorious for the maltreatment and suffering of the Union soldiers before the civil war ended. (SKK). 1

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The New York Times, Sunday, January 10, 1869

— NEWS OF THE DAY — Pastor VARTUGYAN, of the Church of Yeni Kapoo, Constantinople, who is now in the City, sends through the TIMES, an appeal to American Christians on behalf of the down-trodden Evangelical Armenians resident in Turkey. A small number of them have already come to this country, and he desires to promote the emigrattion of others, as the readiest means of relief forwarding their ultimate welfare. These Armenians number about fifteen thousand, and, as everybody knows, belong to one of the most intelligent, fine-looking and industrious races in the world. They are subjected to great sufferings by the Turks, and are neglected by their fellow Christians of Europe, as our correspondent shows. We understand that Pastor Vartugyan has been making inquiries in the Southern States for a proper place for their settlement. There is no doubt that if they could be brought to this country and located on some of the fertile lands of Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia or Texas, they could reach any degree of prosperity they might desire, and there is no doubt that they would be a great acquisition to either of these States, as an aid in the development of their resources. We hope that the excellent pastor will find encouragement and assistance in his Christian and humane undertaking. ■ ———————

The Times, Monday, December 25, 1876

THE TURKISH CONSTITUTION (REUTER’S TELEGRAM.) CONSTANTINOPLE The Porte has to-day telegraphed the following dispatch to its Representatives abroad: “The Constitution granted by His Imperial Majesty the Porte to-day with great solemnity, in the presence of the

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Ministers, all the functionaries, the religious authorities, and a great and enthusiastic concourse of people. “The indivisibility of the Ottoman Empire. The SULTAN, the Supreme Caliph of the Mussulmans and Sovereign of all Ottoman subjects, is irresponsible and inviolable. His prerogative are those of the Constitutional Sovereigns of the West. The subjects of the Empire are called, without distinction, Ottomans. Individual liberty is inviolable, and is guaranteed by the laws. “Islamism is the religion of the State, but the free exercise of all recognized creeds is guaranteed, and the religious privileges of the communities are maintained. “No provision investing the institutions of the State with a theocratic characteristic as in the Constitution. “Taxation will be equally distributed. “Property is guaranteed, and the domicile is declared inviolable. “No person can be taken from the jurisdiction or his national Judges. “The Council of Ministers will deliberate under the presidency of the Grand Vizier. Each Minister is responsible for the conduct of the affairs in his department. “The Chamber of Deputies may demand the impeachment of the Ministers, and a High Court is instituted to try them. “In the-event of the Chamber adopting a vote hostile to the Ministry on any important question, the SULTAN will change the Ministers and dissolve the Chambers. “The Ministers are entitled to be present at the sittings of both Chambers or dissolve the Chamber. “The Ministers are entitled to be present at the sittings of both Chambers and to take part in the debates. “Interpellations may be addressed to the Ministers. “Public functionaries will be appointed in conformity with the conditions fixed by law, and cannot be dismissed without legal and sufficient cause. “They are not discharged from responsibility by any orders contrary to law which they may receive from a superior. “The General Assembly of the Ottomans is composed of two Chambers—the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies— who will meet on the 1st of November in each year, the Session lasting four months. A Message from the SULTAN will be sent to both Chambers at the opening of each Session. “The Members of both Chambers are free with regard to their vote and in the expression of their opinions.

“Electors are prohibited from imposing binding engagements upon their representatives. “The initiative in proposing laws belongs, in the first place, to the Ministry, and next to the Chambers in the form of propositions. “Laws must be first submitted to the Chamber of Deputies, then to the Senate, and finally to the Imperial sanction. “The Senate is composed of members nominated by the Sultan and chosen from among the most eminent personages in the country. “The Senate votes the laws already passed by the Chamber of Deputies, and returns to the latter or rejects. any provisions contrary to the Constitution or to the integrity or safety of the State. “There will be one Deputy for every 100,000 inhabitants. The elections are by ballot. “The position of Deputy is incompatible with that of public functionary. “A general election is held every four years. Deputies are eligible for re-election. “In the event of a dissolution of the Chamber of Deputies, the general elections shall be held and the new Chamber will meet within six months from the date of dissolution. “The sittings of the Chamber of Deputies are public. “The Deputies may not be arrested or prosecuted during the Session without authority from the Chamber. The Chamber votes the laws Article by Article and the Budget by Chapters. “Judges are irremovable. “The sittings of the Tribunals are public. The advocates appearing for defendants are free. Sentences may be published. “No interference can be permitted in the administration of justice. The jurisdiction of the Tribunals will be exactly defined. “Any exceptional Tribunals or Commissions are prohibited. The office of Public Prosecutor is created. “The High Court, which will try Ministers, members of the Court of Cessation and other persons charged with the crime of lesè Majesté or of conspiracy against the State, will be composed of the most eminent judicial and administrative functionaries. “No tax can be established or levied except by virtue of a law. The Budget will be voted at the commencement of each Session and for a period of one year only.

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The final settlement of the Budget for the preceding year will be submitted to the Chamber of Deputies in the form of a Bill. The Court of Accounts will send every year to the Chamber of Deputies a report upon the state of the public accounts, and will present to the Sultan quarterly a statement showing the financial condition of the country. The members of the Court of Accounts are irremovable. No dismissal can be made except in consequence of a Resolution adopted by the Chamber of Deputies. The Provincial Administration is based upon the broadest system of decentralization. “The Councils-General, which are elective, will deliberate upon and control the affairs of the Province. Every canton will have a Council elected by each of the different communities for the management of its own affairs. “The Communes will be administered by elective Municipal Councils. “Primary education is obligatory. “The interpretation of the laws belongs, according to their nature, to the Court of Cassation, the Council of State, and the Senate. “The Constitution can only be modified on the initiative of the Ministry or of either of the two Chambers, and by a vote of both Chambers passed by a majority of twothirds. Such modification must also be sanctioned by the Sultan. “This great event is destined to regenerate the country, and to produce the happiest results for all the populations of Turkey.” The Ottoman Constitution was solemnly proclaimed to-day. It consists in substance of the following provisions [illegible] We give this account in addition to the foregoing because, though in the main the same, there are some slight differences between the two.):Indivisibility of the Empire. The SULTAN is the Caliph of the Mussulmans and Sovereign of all the Ottomans. His prerogatives are those of the Constitutional Sovereigns of the West. The subjects of the Empire are called Ottoman. Their liberty is inviolate. Islamism is the religion of the State, but it shall not have any other distinction or theocratic character. The religious privileges of the communities and the free exercise of the public worship of all creeds are guaranteed. Liberty of the Press and liberty of education are granted. Primary education is declared compulsory.

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The right of association and the right of petition to the Chambers are accorded, and all are declared equal in the eyes of the law. All persons are eligible to public offices without regard to distinction of religion. The taxes are to be equally distributed and their collection to be regulated by a special law. Property is guaranteed and the domicile declared inviolable. The functions of the Tribunals are defined. No one is to be deprived of his national Judges. The proceedings are to be public. The right of defence is recognized and all judgments are to be published. The Ministry has no right of interference in the judicial affairs. Confiscation, statute labour, torture, and inquisitions are prohibited. Ministers impeached by the Chamber are to be judged by a High Court composed of the chief judicial and administrative functionaries. No public officials can be dismissed without legitimate grounds. Their responsibility is maintained, and they are not released from it by the fact of having received orders from a superior, if those orders are contrary to the law. Two Chambers are to be established—namely, a Chamber of Deputies and a Senate. They will receive messages from the Sultan, and the liberty of voting and expressing their opinions is assured. The system of an imperative mandate is prohibited. The initiative in framing laws appertains to the Ministers and the Chamber of Deputies. The laws submitted to the Chamber and revised by the Senate to receive the Imperial sanction. The Senate is entitled to reject laws which are contrary to the Constitution, or to refer them to the Chamber. The persons of the Deputies are declared inviolate. The Chamber votes the laws by articles and the Budget by chapters. There is to be one Deputy for every 50,000 inhabitants, and the elections will be made by secret ballot. A special law will determine the mode of election. The commission of a Deputy will render him ineligible for any public office except for a Ministry. Each Legislature will continue for a period of four years. The Deputies will receive 4,000f. for every Session, which will last from November to March. The Senators are appointed for life by the SULTAN, and will receive 2,300f.monthly.

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Judges and functionaries are to be irremovable. A Court of Accounts is to be formed, the members of which are to be irremovable, except by decision of the Chamber. The Court will present to the Chamber at the end of each year a complete financial account. The Provincial Administration is to be established on the broadest bases of decentralization. General and Municipal Councils are to be formed by means of election. Finally no modification can be made in the Constitution without the vote of both Chambers so sanctioned by the Sultan. The clauses of the Constitution which were recently struck out were restored at a Council of Ministers held yesterday. The Constitution was read at noon in the presence of the Ministers, public officials, and the people. After the ceremony salvoes of artillery were fired. ■ COMMENTARY: Not hypocritical on the part of its author and certain other enlightened people of the time. Unfortunately, the Sultan very soon dissolved the Parliament, suspended the Constitution, and exiled its author. The revolution of 1908 was also carried out in the name of the Constitution, which was restored. There was celebrating in the streets when it was restored. Unfortunately, those who believed in it did not hold onto power and those in favor of an autocratic Turkish state came into power. — GERALD E. OTTENBREIT, JR. ———————

The Times, Wednesday, December 27, 1876

THE OTTOMAN CONSTITUTION TO THE EDITOR OF THE TIMES Sir,—In the interesting letter from your Paris Correspondent in The Times of Tuesday there is, I think, one mistake which I should like to point out, for it has an important bearing on the value of the new Turkish Constituition. The passage in your Correspondent’s letter to which I refer is the following. He says:— The new Constitution consecrates for the first time in an enduring and real manner of great principle of equality of all the subjects of Turkey before the laws, I know perfectly well there have been at different times [illegible] which proclaim this; but in those decrees it was only proclaimed by the Civil power, which had no authority

to modify on this point the rules of the Koran. But in the Constitution proclaimed two days ago it is the Caliph, the successor of the Prophet, surrounded by Ulemas, the Mussulman Pope surrounded by his Council—that is to say, the absolute right to interpret and modify the Koran to adapt it to modern society—which has established and proclaimed the equality of the faiths before the law, and no Mussulman has either the right or the power to protest against that decree or to combat it. Every word of this passage is just as applicable to the Haiti-Cherif of Gulhanè as it is to the new Constitution. The three great provisions of that Haiti are—(1) “Guarantees which assure to our subjects perfect security as regards, their life, their honour, and their fortune; (2) a regular system of assessing and collecting taxes; (3) an equally regular system of military levies and the duration of military service.” And these concession are declared to be extended to our subjects, of whatever religion or sect they may belong, without exception. So much as to the provisions of the Haitti of Gulhanè. Next as to its sanctions. On Nov. 3, 1839, the Sultan, surrounded, by the Court, appeared in the enclosure of Gulhanè, or “House of Roses,” and before him stood all the high functionaries of the Empire—the Ulema, Sheikhs, Khatibs, Imams, of all hierarchies and degrees; the Foreign Ambassadors at the Sublime Porte, the Patriarchs of the three Christian nations, the Kakim Rashi or Chief of the Jews, and all the high dignitaries and heads of municipal bodies, as well as the heads of the Military and Civil establishments. Before the imposing assembly the HaittiCherif of Gulhanè was solemnly proclaimed; and then the Sultan took an oath to observe scrupulously all the conditions of the Haitti, an engagement which he confirmed as follows:— “En gage de notre promesse nous voulons, après les avoir déposée dans le salle qui reuferune [illegible] le manteau glorieux du Prophet, en presence de tous les lemas et des grande de l’Empire, faire serment par le mon de Dieu, et faire jurer ensuite les Ulénas les grande de l’Empire.” It is evident, therefore, that the Haitti-Cherif of Gulhanè was sanctioned by even more than all the authority which your Paris Correspondent claims for Midhat Pasha’s new Constitution. Yet all the world knows that the splendid promises of the Haitti-Cherif of Gulhanè have to this day remained as dead, and impotent as the mantle of the Prophet with which they were appro-

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priately entombed; and so will all the promises of Musulman Turkey to the end of the chapter. The Turkish Government is based on the sacred law of Islam, and that law forbids absolutely and for ever all equality between the Mussulman and non-Mussulman. No Mussulman State, from Mahomet to the present day, ever allowed such an equality in practice, and never will without extraneous compulsion. Even religious toleration, as we understand it, to say nothing of equality, cannot exist and never has existed, where Islam reigns supreme. I make no exception at all in favour of Spain and Sicily under the Saracens. Midhat Pasha’s Constitution must therefore be regarded as nothing better than another experiment on the credulity of Europe. No one knows better than its author, that as soon as the European pressure is removed his fine Constitution will go into the tomb of all the Hatis. Your obedient servant, MALCOLM MACCOLL. ■ ———————

The New York Times, December 3, 1894

Greeks Sympathize with Armenians. From Atlantis, Nov. 24. The recent terrible massacre of thousands of men, women, and children in Armenia once more aroused the indignation of the civilized world, and the most fiendish outrages perpetrated on the female population filled the world with horror and consternation. The attention of the President of the United States has been called to the shameful and criminal indifference of Europe in the execution of the sixty-first article of the Berlin treaty. At first the SUBLIME PORTE denied the truth of the massacre, later on was obliged to admit it, but attributed it to the Armenian brigands, and as a matter of formality and to blindfold the European powers, appointed a Turkish commission to investigate the report. The Turkish Ambassador at Washington published a lengthy article in The New-York Herald, giving his Government’s version of the massacre,

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at the same time maliciously accusing the Armenian revolutionary committees here and elsewhere with grossly exaggerating the reports. An Armenian answered Mavroyeni Bey through The Herald, exposing the utter unreliability and fallacy of the his statement. We are surprised to see that Mavroyeni Bey, being himself a Greek, forgets the massacres of SCIO, CRETE,[1] Bulgaria, most especially the hanging of the GREEK PATRIARCH, GREGORY, and the dragging of his body through the streets of Constantinople; he is a faithful employee of his wretched and heartless master. The people of the United States are indignant at the atrocities committed and are ready to extend a helping hand to the Armenians, but will the United States Government intervene? Of all the nations, the only one who can restore order in Armenia and enforce the execution of the Berlin treaty is Russia, but to do this she must occupy the country from Erzeroum to Diarbekir, and such an occupation could not be tolerated by England, because Russia from Diarbekir could not easily enter Mesopotamia and thence through the great waterways of Euphrates and Tigris could reach the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean. Diplomacy and the political interests of Europe will override philanthropy and humanity, and the hysterical manifestation of indignation in England will die away. The Kurds, Turks, and Circassians will continue to terrorize poor Armenia, and the peaceful inhabitants of the unhappy country will be subjected to blood-curdling atrocities; on the other hand, Europe most probably will accept the report prepared by the commission appointed by the Sultan, which commission is entirely composed of Turks, who are no better than their murderous, bloodthirsty brethren who live on the life blood of Christian Armenia. ■ PLEASE SEE: New York Times, 3 December 1894. “Mr. Vlasto’s Letter.” NOTE: The Atlantis was the first successful Greek language newspaper published in America. It was founded in NYC in 1894 by two brothers, Solon J. and Demetrius J. Vlasto.

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Scio is also known as the Island of Chios.

PLEASE SEE: The New York Times,17 September 1922. By ADAMANTIOS TH. POLYZOIDES, Editor of The Atlantis, Headlines: “Tragedy of Smyrna As Greeks See It,” “Their Point of View Set Forth Here,” “He Blames France Chiefly But Says America, by Failure to Recognize Constantine, Contributed to the Disaster.” ———————

The New York Times, December 3, 1894

Mr. Vlasto’s Letter. I have the pleasure to inclose you to-day issue of the Greek newspaper, Atlantis, the leading article of which, under the tile of “The Massacres in Armenia,” expresses the greatest sympathy for your people, and bitterly condemns MAVROYENI BEY for the gratuitous defence of the Turkish Government, quoting at the same time the reply published in The Herald. As a Greek and as President of the Greek Society of New-York and at that same time editor of The Atlantis, I express to you my heartiest sympathy, and would gladly co-operate in any movement to alleviate the distress of your people with whom ancient and brotherly ties unite us. SOLON J. VLASTO. To J. S. Dionian, Esq., President Armenian Society. ■ COMMENT: Mr. Solon J. Vlasto’s letter is a strong indication of the spirit of brotherhood felt for the Armenians. (SKK) PLEASE SEE: Editor’s message in The New York Times, 3 December 1894. Headline: “Greeks Sympathize with Armenians.” The New York Times,17 September 1922. By ADAMANTIOS TH. POLYZOIDES, Editor of The Atlantis, Headlines: “Tragedy of Smyrna As Greeks See It” “Their Point of View Set Forth Here” “He Blames France Chiefly But Says America, by Failure to Recognize Constantine, Contributed to the Disaster.” ———————

The New York Times, December 7, 1894

ABOUT ARMENIAN ATROCITIES. Impatient Appeals of the English and American Committees. LONDON, Dec.—The committee of the Armenian Society in London passed this resolution to-day: It is the manifest duty of the English Government to propose to the powers international action in behalf of the Armenians under Turkish rule, without waiting for the report of the Commission of Inquiry, which probably never will be made, and in any case will be worthless. Lord Kimberley, Secretary of the Foreign Office, was the chief guest at a dinner of the Eighty Club this evening. He said in his speech that the Armenian atrocities had excited horror in every civilized country, and this feeling was shared fully by the British Government. Every effort was making to secure an impartial and searching inquiry. The Foreign Office was in active correspondence with its agents near the scene of the massacre, and would not fail to perform its full duty to the country. “News from various sources confirms the belief that the first reports of the Armenian massacre were not overdrawn. There is reason to believe that the truth was hidden from the Sultan, who on Nov. 30 requested the Unites States Minister to send a delegate to accompany the Commission with Washington, but the decision of the Washington Government is yet unknown. The Sultan on Dec. 2 requested Gen. Blunt [Pasha] to go to Bitlis and report directly to the palace. Blunt’s health prevented his going, which was regrettable, inasmuch as he would have been a trusty investigator.” GREEN BAY, WIS. Dec.—BISHOP MESSMER and MAYOR J. H. ELMORE head a petition to PRESIDENT CLEVELAND reading, in part; “Thousands of bereaved relatives of the

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cruelly slaughtered people in Armenia with bowed heads and hearts mutely appealing to the world to take up their cause. America as the most enlightened Nation on earth should not hesitate first to respond, and therefore we, the undersigned citizens of Green Bay, Wis., demand you, illustrious head on an illustrious country, to take proper steps to help secure them full, complete reparation for the indignities and losses they have suffered.” ■ COMMENT: This 1894 report is witness to probably one of the first centrally-organized atrocities carried out against the Armenians. It bears repetition to indicate that by 1914, the centrally organized massacres of the Greek and Assyrian Christians were accelerated into full-blown Genocides––lasting through to 1922––to its final finish in 1923. (SKK) ———————

The Scotsman, December 20, 1894 OUTRAGES IN ARMENIA [REUTER’S TELEGRAMS.] CONSTANTINOPLE, December 20. An official contradiction is given to the report lately current at ODESSA of the arrest of the Bishop and members of the Church Council at Noosh on a charge that they had made false reports to the British Consul at Noosh. The United States Minister is to have an interview with the Grand Vizier to-day, when the question of an American delegate joining the Armenian Commission of Inquiry will be decided. According to a report current here, but at present unconfirmed, Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy will be represented on the Commission. The date of the departure of the Ottoman members from Erzingbian on its meeting with the foreign delegates has not yet been fixed. France will be represented on the Commission by M. VILLIERT, the Dragoman of the French Consulate here. He will leave Constantinople on the 22d inst. The

British, French, and Russian delegates are well acquainted with the country and the customs of the people. CONSTANTINOPLE, December 21. Hitherto Great Britain, France, and Russia are the only Powers which had agreed to depute Consular officers to attend the inquiry into the SASSON DISTRICT. Of the other Powers, Italy and the United States are displaying interest in the matter, but it is not regarded as probable that they will be directly represented. ST. PETERSBURG, December 21. One of the papers here, the organ of the Russian local administration at TIFLIS, publishes an account of the recent events at Sassoon, from which it would appear that the extension of the disturbances over so wide an area was chiefly due to the Armenians assumeing that it would be impossible for the Turkish regular troops to penetrate into the recesses of the mountains. This idea, the journal adds, was soon dissipated, and the troops. exasperated by the obstinate resistance of the people of Sassoun, extended their campaign of repression as far as the district inhabited by the Christian community in the valley of Noosh, the largest share of responsibility for the massacres falling on the recently formed and ill-disciplined 3d Regiment of HAMIDIE.[1] The journal goes on to declare that brigandage, which has always been rife in Kurdistan and all Asiatic countries, has much increased of late years, and explains this from the fact that the prosperity of the Armenians, who hold the most fertile lands and control all the industrial and commercial enterprise of the country, excites the cupidity of the mountain Kurds. While regretting this state of affairs, the journal declares that what is much more deplorable is the continued prevalence of brigandage in the Caucasus, where travelers, mail carriages, and even villages are being constantly attacked and plundered by bandits. As recently as October last, in the province of BAKU, a detachment of 300 soldiers was defeated by a band of seven brigands after an engagement in which over 1,000 rounds of ammunition were fired on the one side and the other, with the difference that while nearly every shot of the bandits told, the aiming of the troops left much to be desired.

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WASHINGTON, December 21. THE PORTE is still firmly opposed to DR. JEWETT conducting an inquiry into the alleged atrocities in Armenia under the conditions laid down by PRESIDENT CLEVELAND. Meanwhile, Dr. Jewett’s instructions to make an inquiry and to report direct to the Government here are maintained. MR. TERRELL, the United States Minister to Turkey, will probably persist in his endeavours to induce the Porte to yield so far as to furnish an escort for Dr. Jewett’s protection, and if this is refused Dr. Jewett will undertake his task without Turkey being held responsible for his safety. ■ COMMENT: It bears remembering that October 1894 marks the beginning of the centrally organized and systematic campaign to exterminate the Christian populations from Asia Minor (now Turkey). NOTE: Named 1 “Hamidie” for Sultan Abdul-Hamid. (SKK) ———————

Two Christian priests and with nurse in background. Bodies of the slain in foreground. Source: Obscure

The New York Times, November 20, 1895

TURKISH RAIDERS AT KHARPUT. Christians Slaughtered and Valuable Mission Property Destroyed. APPEALS OF ABDUL HAMID LONDON, Nov. 19.—The correspondent of The United Press at Constantinople sends, under date of Nov. 18, additional details

of the massacre which took place at Kharput Nov. 16. The Kurdish raiders, the report says, were joined by the Turkish soldiers, who assisted them throughout the massacre. Indeed, they were more aggressive in many cases than the Kurds themselves. Besides joining in the sacking of houses, they did the greater part of the firing upon American buildings, being armed with superior weapons. A shell was thrown into the house occupied by DR. N. H. BARNUM of Leicester, Mass., with his family. Fortunately, none of the household of that missionary was hurt. The raiders and their military allies showed especial malice toward foreigners. No accurate estimate of the number of Christians killed is possible, but it is known that hundreds, if not thousands, of them were slaughtered throughout the vilayet. The value of the missionary property destroyed was probably $100,000. The American missions are being amply protected now, the United States Minister TERRELL has obtained from the Porte an order for the stationing of a guard around every house occupied by Americans, as well as a guard for the interior of each building. A Canadian missionary named MARTIN was terribly beaten, and afterward imprisoned at Fekkeh, near Padjin where he was detained sixteen hours before he was released. ■

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COMMENT: The Turks encouraged the Kurds to massacre the Christians with promises of land of their own. Not only did they not keep their promises; some deniers of the Genocides place the blame on the Kurds for being more heavy handed than the Turks. This report indicates otherwise. (SKK) PLEASE READ: MEISELAS, SUSAN; PHOTOGRAPHER, WITH CHAPTER COMMENTARIES BY VAN BRUINESSEN, MARTIN. Kurdistan: In the Shadow of History. New York: Random House 1997. ———————

The New York Times, January 20, 1896

THE UNRELIABILITY OF THE TURK A Correspondent Asks if European Promises Are Written in Water.

To the Editor of the New York Times. According to the teachings of the Koran a lie is always permissible, and the person who lies can readily remit his sin by giving bread to the dogs. The following illustration will substantiate this statement: A few years ago a TURKISH IMAM (priest) happened to see a Turk kill a Christian. When the farcical trial of the Turk was called, the imam was summoned to give his testimony in the lower court, and, being a pious and honest man, told the truth, much to the scandal of the court officials, who were unused to having any testimony given in favor of a Christian. As soon as the case was finished in the lower courts, and before it was taken to the higher, the plainspoken IMAM was advised to consult with the MUFTI, who is the accepted authority on the teachings of the Koran, and without whose advice no Turkish Judge ever dares make a decision. After the imam had taken due counsel with the Mufti, and the case of the murderer was carried to the upper court, the imam denied every part of his previous statement made in the lower court, and, furthermore, denied witnessing any

murder at all. This was in accordance with the Koran which says “a Mohammedan must never testify in favor of a Christian against another Mohammedan.” Then the imam went out and purchased bread of the baker, and the Constantinople dogs of that quarter had a feast. The murderer was, of course, acquitted. In the art of lying the SULTAN may be considered as past master. He had again and again denied the existence of the various massacres and smilingly faced his judges, the European powers, while, underneath the cloak of “reform,” the Spartan fox of Turkish cruelty and treachery was destroying the very vitals of his empire. It is no credit to the perspicuity of the powers that they should have accepted his denials, while the tail of the fox, distinctly visible beneath his transparent cloak, gave prima facie evidence against him. That the promises of the SULTAN cannot be relied upon even by his coreligionists can be clearly seen in the case of SAID PASHA, who absolutely refused to leave the safe anchorage of the English Ambassador’s residence until he was repeatedly assured that this time the arch-deceiver of all the Mohammedans had sworn upon the Koran a solemn vow that no harm should come to him. How can the powers depend upon his Majesty’s meaningless promises when even SAID PASHA, his favorite Minister, dared put no reliance upon them? The SULTAN has defied, and still continues to defy, the powers, while they blindly or infamously submit. A case in point is the present condition of things now taking place in Constantinople directly under the eyes of the Ambassadors, if they are not willfully blinded to the facts. When after the demonstration of Monday, SEPT. 30, in Constantinople, several hundred Armenians took refuge in the churches of Pera and Kum Kapou, they finally came forth only upon the solemn promise of safety made by the Ambassadors of England, Russia, and France. As a pledge of protection they received cards signed by the dragomen of the different embassies. These cards, however, amounted to nothing in the eyes of the Turkish

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authorities. They were torn to bits, spit upon, and the holders dragged to the great Turkish prison of Stamboul, from when at night they are marched to the Bosporous and put upon a Turkish steamer for a journey to that country from which no traveler returns. How can the Ambassadors reconcile this state of things with their guarantee of protection? And things are no better in the interior. Take Aintab, for instance, and Aintab is but one of scores that might be mentioned. The people of that city, at the request of the missionaries, gave up their arms to the Governor upon his solemn promise of protection, and the next day they were butchered in the presence of the missionaries and high dignitaries. Now again comes the prelude of specious promises—that will doubtless end, as the others have ended, in a baptism of blood. The Ambassadors have taken upon themselves to procure the surrender of Zeitoun for the SULTAN, who is ready, as usual, to swear that no harm shall come to the ZEITOUNIES, if they surrender in good faith. In the light of past history we know too well what the outcome will be. What do the powers mean by the apathy? Why do they stand idly looking on, neither rendering assistance nor even raising a hand to prevent the bloody work of the Turk? If they cannot introduce reforms they can at least see that this wholesale system of slaughter is stopped. We have long understood that the promises of the Turk mean nothing and are never to be depended upon. Are European promises also written in water? Can it be that Europe has joined hands with the Turks to compass our extermination? The story of our wrongs, written in letters of blood upon the pages of nineteenth century history, will go down to posterity as a commentary on man’s inhumanity to man that needs no elucidation and admits of no palliation. God is not mocked. HURACHIA ENFIEJIAN NEW YORK, Jan. 15, 1896 ■

NOTE: This report makes a clear case of the unreliability of Turkey’s relentless denials of the Genocides of the millions of Christians of Asia Minor. (SKK) ———————

The New York Times, March 23, 1896

SAW ARMENIANS KILLED REFUGEE DALMAJIAN TELLS OF TURKISH ATROCITIES

In Marsovan Soldiers Attacked Their Victims in the Market and in the Street, but Entered Only Four Houses—While the Massacre Was Going on Turks Called from the Mosques that the Armenians Were Killing Turks. MIHRAM DALMAJIAN, an Armenian refugee who recently escaped from Turkey, is staying in an Armenian boarding house at 390 Third Avenue with two of the companions who escaped with him. There were four in the company, but one went West a few days ago to teach in a school. Mr. Dalmajian speaks good English, having been education in the American College in Anatolia. This college is in the town of MARSOVAN, which contains 24,000 inhabitants, 6,000 of whom are Armenians. “The Massacre of Marsovan,” said Mr. Dalmajian to a reporter for the NEW-YORK TIMES yesterday, “occurred on Nov. 15 last. For a week before that date we all knew that something was going to happen. The Turkish soldiers who had been quartered in the surrounding villages were recalled to Marsovan. These soldiers are very ignorant and can keep nothing to themselves. When they saw anything on the counter of an Armenian store they helped themselves. The when they were

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asked for payment, they would reply: ‘You will get all the payment you want in a day or two.’ “The first thing done on the morning of the massacre was to put a guard of Turkish soldiers around the American College. This was to protect the college from attack. Two or three houses in the town in which naturalized American citizens lived were also guarded, though these naturalized citizens were Armenians by birth. “The Turkish soldiers began by killing in cold blood all the Armenians whom they found in the market. They did this partly with guns, partly with bayonets, and partly with hatchets. Then they murdered all the Armenians whom they found in the streets. They did not, however, enter any Armenian houses except four, where several women were assaulted and killed. “Meanwhile, each of the five mosques in the town had a Turk crying out every few minutes that the Armenians were sacking the mosques and killing the Turks. This added greatly to the public excitement, and added the Turkish populace to the soldiery. “Only 100 persons were killed in all at the massacre in Marsovan. It was freely acknowledged by the soldiers that the Armenians were killed by direct orders from Constantinople. There are altogether 2,500,000 Armenians under Turkish domination, and if they remain under that rule for ten years longer they will be exterminated or converted to Mohammedanism. “Between 30,000 and 40,000 Armenians have been massacred up to the present time. The Governor of the district is now busy arresting all the young Armenian men whom his soldiers or police find in the streets. The result of this measure is that all the young men are keeping in the house, and sending out the old men to buy food. “So far, the great bulk of the Armenians have managed to subsist on their Winter

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stores of food, but in two months more these supplies will have run out, and then nothing but starvation awaits the Armenian inhabitants of Asia Minor. They have no crops and they have no money. The young men cannot go out to work without the risk of capture, and of being kept in jail until they are massacred there.” “What remedy do you propose? Would you like a Russian protectorate?” asked the reporter. “No. The Russians are in some respects worse than the Turks. Most of the Armenians are either Gregorians or Protestants, and they are all proud of their race. The Russians have a craze for obliterating every shade of race or religious distinction, and in short, of Russianizing all the peoples who come under their control. “What the Armenians would like best would be a Christian Governor appointed by the great powers of Europe and responsible to them for the lives and properties of the Armenians whom he governed. I cannot say whether we shall get any relief until it is useless.” ■ COMMENTARY: The idea that the Russians were worse than the Turks is absurd. One should read Taner Akçam’s, A Shameful Act, Chapters 1 and 2; which recounts the slaughter of the Armenians during this period. The Russians were the sponsors and supporters of the Armenians. During the First World War, the Russians assisted the Armenian Nationalists. Armenians fleeing from the Turkish Genocide were given refuge in Russia. —THEODORE G. KARAKOSTAS ———————

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Typical elderly Pontian woman in the historic Pontos of today. To the question of a journalist from a Turkish magazins (Actuel) about her descent, she replied in the Pontian dialect: “I was born here, I do not speak Turkish and I did not learn Greek from the sky”. SOURCE: Aspects of the New Easter Question[1], by Michalis Charalambidis. (143) Courtesy: Eleftherios (Ted) Kostans

The Times, Saturday, June 13, 1896

CONVERTS TO ISLAM The reports of VICE-CONSUL FITZMAURICE on the massacres and forced conversions of Islam at Biredjik, Orfah, and in the neighboring districts, just issued as a Parliamentary Paper, illustrate the system of government which has grown up under ABDUL HAMID[2] in several respects. They tell in plain official language the story of the massacres perpetrated at various points in the region of the Euphratés, including the appalling butchery of ORFAH consummated in Christmas week; they show the responsibility of the local and the central authorities for those crimes; they describe the almost hopeless situation created by the triumph of lawless fanaticism to which the impunity of the criminals has given rise; and they depict the methods by which the Turkish functionaries seek to stifle inquiry into their misdeeds. Mr. Fitzmaurice’s mission had its origin in the protestations of the Sultan to the British Ambassador on the subject of the alleged forcible conversions of Armenians to Islam. The Sultan

declared that he had documentary evidence to show that the Armenians had found salvation of their own free will, and he observed, plausibly enough, that it was difficult for him to discourage persons sincerely desirous of embracing his faith. Still, his conscience was not quite easy on the matter. There might be more in it than met the eye. Accordingly, he proposed to direct a couple of officials to institute an inquiry, and himself suggested that SIR PHILIP CURRIE should nominate some trustworthy person to act with them. Mr. Fitzmaurice was chosen for the duty, and reached BIREDJIK, the first town named in his instructions, at the end of February. At ALEPPO he had already ascertained that his colleagues had got the start on him by eight days. At Biredjik he found they had made good use of their time. They had already taken the new converts in hand, and had, in fact, conducted a preliminary investigation of their own before the British representatives arrived upon the scene. Their instructions, they said, were to inquire into the matter in his presence, and the best procedure seemed to them to be to assemble all the new converts and ask them whether they had embraced Islam of their own accord, and whether they wished to remain Mussulmans. Mr. Fitzmaurice did not think this plan was calculated to elicit the whole truth. As an alternative, he agreed that the joint inquiry should be limited to taking the depositions of a few leading Armenians together with a visit to the Armenian quarter. On the other hand, all parties were to be at liberty to pursue independent inquiries of their own. The results of the joint inquiry are given in two “annexes” to Mr. Fitzmaurice’s report. These give what purports to be the effect of the examination of four converts to Islam, and they admit that all the conversions were effected “under the influence of terror,” and that “a portion” of the converts showed clearly from their manner that they desired to return to their old faith. Mr. Fitzmaurice adds that the answers to all his questions were not recorded, and that the questions put by his colleagues were not a nature to elicit the confidence and real expression of opinion of the Armenians.

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The independent investigation conducted by Mr. Fitzmaurice was more fruitful. The conversions took place in these circumstances. Last November the anti-Christian feeling spread to Biredjik. For two months the Christians were practically confined to their houses, and their attempts to communicate with Aleppo and Constantinople were baffled by the authorities. Early in December a battalion of reserves reached the town, and later in the month the Mussulman inhabitants reproached the Kaimakam for protecting the Christians and concealing the Sultan’s orders for their extermination. On New Year’s Day a systematic massacre took place. The Christian quarter was pillaged, over 150 Christians were slain, and over 60 were wounded. The authorities did nothing to stop the butchery during the eight or nine hours it lasted, and the major reserves absolutely refused to move his men for the purpose. The Christians who had escaped took refuge in the houses of some friendly Mussulmans. Several assaults were made by the mob, and it was in this hour of utmost extremity that a woman mounted to the roof with a white flag and declared that all within had joined the faith of Islam. The Armenians in the house repeated the Moslem formula of belief, and thereupon the besiegers withdrew. Mr. Fitzmaurice warns us against a piece of Moslem casuistry applicable to such cases. The Mussulmans, it is contended, did not actually invite the Christians to choose between the Koran and the sword. They can affirm, therefore, with a sort of truth that the choice was a free choice. All they did was to make it quite clear that to espouse Islam was the sole escape from instant and horrible death. The story would be incomplete without the official report. It was to the effect that in a quarrel between Mussulmans and Christians five of the former and 20 of the latter had lost their lives. In fact one Mussulman was wounded in a brawl over the plunder. The local authorities refused to recognize the new converts, as the legal formalities had not been completed. The populace, however, took good care that they did not display any symptoms of backsliding. In

the face of threats they had to turn their church into a mosque and “some of them took a second wife.” Possibly not much compulsion was needed to extract this last pledge of sincerity. They also telegraphed the glad news of their conversion to the Sultan and begged his alms. At Orfah, at Adiaman, and at other places the story of the conversions is in its main feature the same as at Biredjik. The story of the slaughter at Orfah, in which 8,000 Armenians, by Mr. Fitzmaurice’s estimate, perished in the two days’ massacre at the end of December, has been described already with some fullness [illegible] in our columns, and it is unnecessary to dwell on the loathsome details given in the ViceConsul’s report. The number of converts at this place who survive—for at one period of the siege which preceded the butchery the Armenians tried to buy their lives by declaring themselves Mussulmans in a body—is said to be between 400 to 500. Some of these accepted Islam between the first and second massacre, some during the second massacre, and the rest afterwards. They did so, says the report, under threats or from the conviction that their lives would not be safe as avowed Christians. At Adiaman 410 Armenians were slaughtered: “there are 250 new widows and 370 new orphans.” During the massacre 150 Armenians became Mussulmans, but most of them have since reverted to their old faith. In all Mr. Fitzmaurice puts the total number of forced converts at considerably over 6,000. They are all, he says in reference to the Biredjik victims, Christians at heart and desirous of making an open profession of their old faith. Doubtless the same observation applies to their fellow sufferers elsewhere. But the difficulties which surround them are most grave. They are surrounded by a fanatical populace which has been encouraged in its fanaticism by the conduct of the central Government over a great number of years. Enlightened interpretations of the religious and civil war, such as may be heard from educated Moslems in Constantinople, do not sanction, it is true, conversions obtained by such processes as are recorded in the Blue-book. But the inhabitants of remote country towns and

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villages know nothing of these refinements. The Sheri law in its literal acceptation is their guide, and the present Sultan has done his utmost to inculcate strict adherence to its tenets. That law declares that the lives and properties of Christian “rayahs,”[3] who attempt to enlarge their privileges by recourse to foreign Powers, are forfeited to their Mussulman lords. To the minds of the Turkish masses the Armenians had committed this offence. The authorities at Orfah represented the Armenian demonstrations at Constantinople as an attempt to storm the Porte, and every effort was made to picture the whole Armenian population as deeply tainted with sedition. The people, in the words of the Vice-Consul, “considered it their religious duty and a righteous thing to destroy the lives and seize the property of the Armenians.” It is gratifying to note that in several cases individual Mussulmans sheltered their Christian fellow subjects at their own risk, and at one place, Behesni, the steadfast attitude of the local Mussulman [illegible] saved the 2,000 Armenian Christians of the town from any injury or wrong. Incidents of this kind show what might be done to check disorder if the Central Government showed themselves really bent on protecting their Christian subjects. But Mr. Fitzmaurice is clearly of opinion that hitherto any action they have taken has been in the contrary direction. The local authorities are immediately responsible, but the local authorities have not, he believes, “connived at or brought about these massacres without having in their hands justificatory instructions. These instructions,” he proceeds, “are the result of their deliberate and criminal misrepresentations to Constantinople regarding the Armenians, together with the false and unstatesmanlike attitude of the Central Government on the whole question.” The new Governor-General of Crete is exhorting the inhabitants to show gratitude to “their beneficent ruler for his boundless mercies.” As one reads the latest records of the fruits of those tender mercies elsewhere it is impossible

not to pray that the Cretans may be saved from them in their full rigour. ■ PLEASE READ THE WELL-RESEARCHED ACCOUNTS OF THE CRYPTO-CHRISTIANS WHO STILL LIVE IN TURKEY BY: 1 Charalambidis, Michalis. Aspects of the Near Eastern Question. Athens, Greece: Gordios, 1998 Sultan Abdul Hamid II, also known as: “the “Bloody Sultan,” “the Red Sultan,” “the Butcher,” “the Bloody Tyrant” “the Great Assassin” or “the Assassin Sultan.” The Armenian massacres were named “The Hamidian Massacres.” 3 “Rayahs” was the word used to describe the Christians; Christians had the same rights as “rayahs” equal to a flock of sheep. (SKK) 2

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The Morning Oregonian, Saturday, October 31, 1896

ABDUL HAMID[1] AND THE ARMENIAN ATROCITIES Darkest Page in Modern History— Jealousies of European Powers THE CRIME OF THE AGE Have Prevented Interference. There is no one who thinks that the Turkish government has seriously attempted to make good its repeated promises of reform. The piteous tales of slaughter and desolation among the Christians of the empire says the Milwaukee Sentinel, compromise the darkest pages of modern history, and arraign the responsible powers for the gravest crimes of the century. Every success of the Greek insurgents in 1822 was met by an order to massacre from Sultan MAHMOUD, until 50,000 defenseless men, women and children were brutally murdered. Prisoners that surrendered under promise that their lives would be spared were cut to pieces by the moslem fanatics, who rejoiced in a holiday blessed by the sanction of Islam.

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Since then history has been repeating the awful tragedy. The sacrifice of Christians in 1850, was 10,000; and though the figures since that time are in dispute, the lowest estimate makes the grand total of the last three-quarters of a century more than 100,000 slain by the power that has never [illegible] of fair promises and virtuous protestations. To this most astounding and revolting record, the Christian goverments of Europe have from time to time filed their solemn protests and entered upon new treaty relations with the Turk, who came as an alien and barbarian to a soil that his presence should never have polluted. Even the TREATY OF BERLIN, which was announced as imposing upon the sultan the most binding obligations that European statecraft could devise, has pitiably failed of its purpose. Every crisis in the East has been met by the sultan with the cunning of Oriental diplomacy which conceals the barbarous realities under deceptive appearances, renews promises of reform with cool audacity, and with a fine assumption of paternal solicitude whines that the Turkish government is the victim of prejudice that vents in odious slanders. It is not difficult to account for the consistent wickedness of the Turk. Church and state are inseparably united in his government. The sultan is Calif of the Mohammedan religious world. ABDUL-HAMID Khan regards himself as a successor of the prophet, the chief defender of the faith, and, under God, the absolute arbiter of its destinies. He is to execute the inspired commands of Islam, and the prayer of Islam is that Allah may destroy the infidels and polytheists, make orphans of their children, defile their homes, making them, their relations, their friends, their wealth and their lands the booty of the Moslems. The Koran makes outlaws and aliens of the whole non-Moslem population of the empire. Their legal status leaves

them without redress against wrong, and does not even permit them a place in the army. A promise made to any other than a Moslem is not binding under his creed, and the promulgation of treaties is an expediency that has no moral obligations. Christian evidence is disregarded when opposed to that of one of the faithful. By the very code which the Turk indorses, and in obedience to which he looks for eternal happiness, there is ingrained in his being an implacable hatred of the Christians, and a firm belief that his atrocities reflect great credit upon his religious zeal. But for the jealousies of the European powers, the vexed problem of the East would long since have been solved by wiping Turkey from the map of Europe. Thrice England halted Russia at the very gates of Constantinople, and withheld relief from the Christians within the empire. At every Turkish crisis the powers have eyed each other askance, and a united crusade in the name of humanity against the most dastardly and shameless crimes of our modern civilization has been made impossible. Abdul Hamid, the present ruler of Turkey, never expected to be sultan. He was merely the nephew of the reigning monarch, Abdul AZIZ, and he had an older brother. As a young man he plunged into the wildest of the immoralities and debaucheries for which Constantinople was then infamous. Suddenly he reformed. It was the reaction of a nature above the brutal vulgarity of the time. From a profligate he became an ascetic. He entered a mosque and devoted his life to piety. He became a student of the sacred writings and endeavored to expiate by a life of purity the few years of his early profligacy. He was little prepared, in his retreat among the mountains, to hear of the violent deposition of his uncle, Abdul Azis,

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by conspirators wrought to frenzy by the unlucky monarch’s colossal extravagance, brought upon the land. MURAD was made sultan in his stead. Meantime the war cloud gathered blackly on the Russian frontier. Massacres with horror. Montenegro and Servia, had gone to war, Russian volunteers were flocking to the Servian camp, the capital was seething excitement. There was the underswell of the revolution in Stamboul, the menace of a Russian invasion in Europe and in Asia. In the midst of all those portents of doom the pious recluse was suddenly confounded by the announcement that his brother Murad had gone mad, and that he must ascend the throne of Othman, and for nearly 20 years he has now been the ruler of the great Ottoman empire. Believing in no one but himself, he trusted no one but himself. Surrounded by men who had betrayed his uncle and his brother, living in an atmosphere malarious with corruption and saturated with intrigues, he early decided to trust no one and to govern single handed. And hopeless though the enterprise appeared, Abdul Hamid may at least claim that whatever may be said in criticism of his policy it has at least achieved one great and indisputable success. It has enabled him to survive. And that is more than most people believed possible. Here is a graphic sketch of the daily life of the sultan from Frances ELLIOTT’s “Diary of an Idle Woman in Constantinople.” [*] “Abdul Hamid is a nervous man. Ever since the tragic death of his uncle he has obstinately refused to move from the small kiosk or palazzetto called YILDIZ about three miles from the city, on the European range of hills bordering the Bosphorus. The way to Yildiz lies through the draggle-tailed streets of PERA, into comparative country. After going up and

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down the hill at a break-neck gallop, the outline of a palace kiosk, modern and small, reveals itself rising out of a cincture of dark groves. “This is Yildiz kiosk, where lives the Commandeer of the Faithful. It is not a palace at all, but originally was a summer villa. The park, which is well wooded, is spacious, with grassy slopes, diversified with other kiosks, also shaded with groves descending to a quay on the Bosphorus. It has most charming views over land and sea, Europe and Asia. Near at hand is the broad channel of the deep blue Bosphorus, with its frieze of white palaces, steamers, caiques, and vessels with sails set gliding by every instant. “No sultan has mounted the throne of Mohammed II more blameless in private life or endowed with more sentiments of general humanity. The hideous custom of the murder of infant nephews has ceased under his reign. He is modest in the requirements of his harem. “Like the pope, the sultan eats alone, seated near a window overlooking the Bosphorus, except on special occasions, when he receives with most finished courtesy royal visitors, ambassadors and their wives, every European luxury being understood and served upon the board. Habitually he drinks only water, brought to the palace in casks under special precautions. His food is extremely plain, consisting chiefly of vegetables, served in silver saucepans presented to him at table sealed. “No one works harder than Hamid. He takes few hours of sleep, and sometimes passes the entire night, pen in hand, signing every document himself, from the appointment of a governor to the lowest office at the palace. “Like most Orientals, he is an earlyriser. After the prayers and ablutions enjoined by his religion—and he is eminently a pious Turk—he drinks a cup of coffee, and then begins smoking cigarettes, which

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(as was the case with Louis Napoleon) he continues all day. At 10 A.M. he receives the reports of his ministers, works alone or with his secretaries till 1, when he eats, then drives on the grounds, or floats in a gilded caique on the lake for a couple of hours, never leaving the park or Yildiz except to go to the mosque, after which he returns to preside at the council of state, or to receive ambassadors or ministers. “His dinner is at sunset, when the national pilaf or rice and sweets are served with sherbet and ices. After this he betakes himself to the SELAMLIK to receive pachas and generals of high rank, such as Osman GHAZI, or often he disappears into the harem to pass the evening hours with wives, mother, and children. “Music is his delight, and in private he himself takes his place at the piano. “Turk and Ottoman to the backbone, he is convinced that his soldiers are the best in the world,[2] the most enduring and amenable to discipline. In speech he is a purist speaking well in a slow, monotonous voice, but sometimes the flood of expression is let loose, and he is said to burst into something like eloquence. “The mullahs and dervishes find in him a ready listener and a liberal protector; indeed, he is liberal, and takes pleasure in rewarding those who serve him well. His gifts to European ladies are especially magnificent in gems and pearls, of which he has drawers full in the old seraglio.”[3] It is only on Friday, when the sultan goes to the mosque, that he ever leaves the shelter of the park. All the troops are turned out, the ministers are in attendance, an immense crowd gathers to catch a glimpse of the “Shadow of God.” These public appearances are attended with great pomp. There is concerted shouting all along the line. As has been said, it is not surprising that the sultan lives in the very atmosphere of

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suspicion. He suspects every one. He once put OSMAN Pacha, Osman the hero of PLEVNA, under arrest for three days, owing to a false report that he had saluted RESCHAD, heir apparent to the throne. No one is to be anybody by Abdul Hamid. The press is gagged, Ministers are reduced to the position of mere puppets. If any one distinguishes himself in any way his very distinction is his doom. He is banished, lest the discontent should rally round him. No one must be conspicuous. Every one must be reduced to the universal dead level of abject mediocrity. He bothers himself about the veriest trifles, prohibiting bicycling in and near Constantinople as immoral and “dangerous to the state,” and an officer of an Italian corvette was taken into custody for having been found riding a bicycle, or a “devil’s chariot,” as the Turks name it. No dictionary is allowed to circulate containing such words as revolution, equality, liberty, insurrection, as such words are likely to “excite the minds” of people.[4] He was born September 22, 1852, the fourth and youngest child of Abdul MERJID, the sultan who died in 1861. Abdul Aziz his uncle, held the throne until June 1876, when Murad became sultan and held the throne for three months. Abdul Hamid was made sultan September 1876.” ■ NOTES: 1 Sultan Abdul Hamid, was also known as “the “Bloody Sultan,” “the Red Sultan,” “the Butcher,” “the Bloody Tyrant” “the Great Assassin, or “the Assassin Sultan.” 2 The sultans’ armies were called “janissaries.” The janissaries consisted of boys kidnapped from the Christian subjects. Just like the girls in the harems, the boys were permanently cut off from their families. 3 Seraglio was the sequestered living quarters used by wives and concubines in a Turkish household. 4 Dr. Clarence D. Ussher wrote a similar comment in his book, An American Physician In Turkey, reprinted in 2002. He wrote, “They confiscated my new Dictionary because it contained the “pernicious” words “liberty” and “revolution”; cut the maps out of my Bible because on several of them “Armenia” was to be found.” (5) (SKK)

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PLEASE READ: Barber, Noel, The Sultans, New York: Simon and Schuster, (1973). Blurb on the back of Noel Barber’s book: The story of the Ottoman Empire, seen through the lives and actions of its sultans, in their absolute power and terrifying cruelty. Hatcherian, Garabed, M.D. Ed. Dora Sakayan, PhD. An Armenian Doctor in Turkey: Garabed Hatcherian: My Smyrna Ordeal of 1922. Montreal: Arod Books, 1997 – Translated into nine languages. In Dr. Hatcherian’s own words: The Akhisar Christians had made a terrible mistake by signing an agreement of mutual protection with the Turks. In order to save their skin, the Turks swore on the Koran and waited for the Kemalist soldiers to arrive. Once the danger was over for them, the local Turks, with assistance of the Turkish soldiers, committed every kind of barbaric acts against the Christian population, which had been naïve enough to believe their oath. (49) TO READ: Frances Elliot’s, *Diary Of An Idle Woman In Constantinople, 1892. 3005 pages: http://www.archive.org/details/diaryanidlewoma03elligoog ———————

“The Battle of Navarino”[*] 1827 Source obscure

By French Artist Louis-Ambroise Garneray 1783–1857

The New York Times, December 6, 1896

“THE ASSASSIN” IN GREECE REAR ADMIRAL ROE ON TURKISH RULE IN THE MOREA. The Greek Race Only Saved from Degradation and Extermination by Forceful Interference of Three European Powers. A little peninsular country, 250 miles inlength by 150 miles broad, running out into the Mediterranean, the Aegean waves lapping her eastern shores and the Ionian the western, constitutes what is known in the geographies as Greece proper, commonly allied the Morea. The whole of this land is composed of a series of mountains and rocky masses, rent and twisted out of form and order, with narrow defiles and rocky passes leading through them, with little plains and rales which for 3,000 years have been celebrated to the world by ancient and modern poets. No other country is so little fitted for the military evolutions and marches of great armies, and yet it has been the theater of more terrible warfare than any field in Europe. This land and this people are phenominal; they are an anomaly among the nations of the world. “Greece,” says Frederic Harrison, “is scattered broadcast over Southeastern Europe and Northwestern Asia. Greece is not so much a nation as a race—a monument, a language, a school of thought and art.” Greece has been the universal pedagogue of nations. For 3,000 years, from that sterile rocky land there has been cast over the world of man a radiance of light and knowledge which neither wars nor conquest could extinguish. Every Roman patrician sought for a Greek slave to become a tutor of the

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children and his own teacher and secretary. Even now, when we read the “Agamemnon” and the “Oedipus” we may fancy we are reading an earlier edition of “Macbeth” or “Lear.” A Nation of Contrasts. The Greeks are, and always have been, a nation of contrasts. Although they were not a military race, their history records achievements in bravery and courage without a parallel in the history of any other people. These achievements have given texts on patriotism to all peoples and all races, and they are as eloquent to-day as they were throughout all antiquity. Neither the soil nor the broken and rifted country could afford its people luxurious living. In ancient days they were frugal and a thrifty people—never a luxurious one. They lived in little shabby houses, shabbily furnished, but alongside of them they reared temples and statuary of such dazzling splendor that Julius Caesar—the Roman Legionary—and the Gothic barbarian alike stood before them in awe and wonder. Throughout all their history the political incapacity of the Greeks has been proverbial. No country has ever offered such advantages and strength for a federal system of centralized government, and yet their leagues were ropes of sand, and stability in government was unknown to them. A federation of Thebes, Athens, Corinth, and Sparta, with a federal executive, would have made the little state of Greece invulnerable and invincible to Turk or Persian. The Expedition to Syracuse. The expedition to Syracuse for the conquest of Sicily was not the outcome of statesmanship of military capacity, but the ebullition of an Assembly overblown with the oratory of the Cleons and demgogues. They sent a man to command their army and their fleet who plainly told them the expedition could not succeed, and the

consequent disaster at Syracuse of the total destruction of fleet and army, brought with it the downfall of the Athenian Empire and the overthrow of their government and plunged the people into anarchy and ruin. Military and political incapacity of the Greeks has in all times constituted their one fatal misfortune. This little State has undergone no less than four different conquests by foreign powers. It was conquered by the Macedonians, by the Romans, by the Venetians and Franks, and lastly by the Turks. That a race should survive all this, and still preserve the purity of its blood and its language, its historic traits and traditions, is a wonder and a marvel in history. The Moslem Invasion of Europe. In the year of 1200, Turkish hordes from the interior of Asia, began to appear along the European frontier. Their armies were already sweeping through Southern Russia and up the waters of the Danube. Bajazet stood ready in Asia Minor, with an army of 500,000 Turks, to submerge all Europe with invasion, but, happily for Christendome, Tamerlane, the Tartar, encountered him, destroyed his army, and put him in an iron cage. It was the salvation of Europe. While Constantinople, under the gallant Greek Emperor, was resisting the assaults of the Turks, Amurat II. overran the Morea, leaving ruin and desolation in his track, as he swept northward through Macedonia and Thessaly. Mahomet II. finally captured Constantinople in 1453, where the Greek Emperor died sword in hand, in the breach as if to show the world that the Roman Empire of the East, could die as it had lived in the West, with honor. A few years later on Greece was occupied by a Turkish army, which disputed its permanent possession with Venetians and Franks for over two hundred years. About and the year [sic 1] the Turks held complete pos-

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session, and settled down upon the country like a permanent encampment of military brigands. From [sic 1] to [sic2] the population of Greece underwent a subjugation and experienced a condition of slavery and suffering unparalleled in human history. During that perriod this indomitable and dauntless race never for a moment lost hope or belief that it would again emerge into national life, and regain its status as a free people. Neither hope nor belief ever forsook the people in their lowest depth of degradation and slavery. The Revolt of 1820.[2] It was in the year 1829 in Northern Greece that a special outrage by the Turks had stung the Greeks to some acts of resentment. Blood was shed and men were killed on both sides. A Bishop of the Church proclaimed to his people that the long-hopedfor hour for deliverance had come. He called his countrymen to arms, and to declare to the world their independence of their Turkish masters and tyrants. The revolt spread over the land with singular rapidity, and the whole Greek population rose in arms. In two years they had driven the Turks into their fortresses, and then sat down to the siege of their strongholds, which was not a hopeless thing, for the work was accomplished by starvation rather than by arms, of which the Greeks had little. While this work was going on the Greeks organized a Government that fully illustrated their political incapacity. They constituted an executive of five members on whom the country depended to carry it through a successful revolution. It was the one misery of their glorious cause. The Sultan’s Bloody Work at Scio. When the news of the outbreak of the revolution was brought to the Turkish Sultan, he ordered his Vizier to massacre all the Greek population of the Morea; but

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the Vizier objected that if the people were all put to death there would be none left to pay tribute; and so the general massacre was spared the people. Baffled in that, the Sultan ordered his fleet and 6,000 men to go to the Island of Scio and destroy it. Since the days of Homer, the Island of Scio [Chios] had been described by poets, historians, and travelers, as an “earthly paradise.” The people were entirely defenseless in arms or fortresses. A small Turkish garrison occupied the island to receive the tributes for the Sultan. There was much wealth and refinement in the island, and the people had refused to join the revolution, and remained loyal and faithful to the Sultan. No matter! The Sublime Porte must sate his revenge somewhere, and upon the “Christian dogs.” When the army of assassins landed in Scio, the Capidan Pasha commanded all Greek clergy, priests, and Bishops, to surrender themselves as hostages, and the next morning hanged them all. Then the Turkish soldiers were turned loose upon the [illegible] island. Seven Days of Massacre. For seven days there was a continuous massacre of the people. Of the 80,000 inhabitants of that island, 20,000 were butchered in cold blood, 20,000 women and children were sent to Constantinople in the ships, the boys for the army, and women and girls for the harems of the Sultan and his Pashas. 10,000 escaped to the mainland of Asia Minor in boats and the rest escaped to the mountains and concealed themselves among the rocks and caves. Every village, every town, and every house was burned, and all living things were cut down and destroyed, and the “earthly paradise” was turned into a desert. There are those now living who can remember when the ships brought the news of this horror to America. A cry of grief,

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of lamentation and pity arose from America from France, and England and Switzerland, it was like the blood of Abel crying from the ground. But it is a comfort to record that a single brig-of-war commanded by a gallant Greek seaman, carried a couple of fireships in the midst of the Turkish fleet as it lay at anchor in the straits, and grappled to the Capidan Pasha’s ship and a frigate, then set them on fire, and a good portion of the fleet and some 5,000 Turks together with the Capidan Pasha himself, perished in the flames or were drowned in the water. A Carnival of Murder at Constantinople. In the meantime the Sultan was getting his revenge at Constantinople. He commenced the massacre in Constantinople by the murder of the “Grand Interpreter,” who was a Greek, for no Turk could be found of sufficient intelligence to fill this office as well as that of Chief Dragoman, who was also a Greek. Then followed the brutal murder of ten Greeks of the first families of Constantinople; then came the murder of the Greek Patriarch, Gregory, a venerable man, nearly ninety years of age, and one of the most blameless men in the world. The Sultan allowed him to conclude the services of Easter Sunday, and then seized him as he came out of the church and hanged him up over the gate of his palace like a dog. Then began a general massacre of Christians. Nine Bishops and hundreds of priests were hanged, the streets of Constantinople ran down with Christian blood and thousands of the common people were butchered. This was a general signal for a Christian massacre throughout Asia Minor. It was an indiscriminate slaughter; towns were burned, villages sacked, and there transpired the same scenes we are witnessing now in Armenia.

Greece Ravaged by Egyptian Moslems. Amid all this carnival of blood and fire and terror, the Turkish Sultan could accomplish nothing in Greece. His corps of janissaries were in revolt, the treasury was empty, and the Government was so corrupt it was falling to pieces from internal rottenness. He turned to Egypt for help and gave the Morea over to Mohammed Ali, who sent his son Ibrahim Pasha with an Egyptian army and fleet to subdue the Greeks. Ibrahim landed in Greece with 8,000 Egyptians, drilled in the European tactics, and then commenced the evil days for the Greeks. For three years he swept up and down the Morea, burning every house and hamlet, and destroying every living thing before him. One by one, he retook the old Turkish fortresses, and subjected the Greek population to a slavery such as no other people ever suffered. Those who could, fled to the mountains, and in their fastnesses bade defiance to the Turks. Agile, athletic, frugal, and fearless, these mountaineers carried on a guerilla warfare like that of Spain in the Peninsular war. From their caves and rocks they watched the Turkish soldiers going to and from, and in unguarded moments swooped down upon the Turks and slaughtered them. No quarter was asked and none was given. This mountain life saved the Greeks as a race. In the valley and plains the intense hatred of the two races forbade any amalgamation of blood. In the mountains the Greeks preserved his glorious language, his traditions, the memory of his ancestors, and the belief in his destiny. Three Thousand Slaughtered. The last fortress retaken by the Turkish Army was the ill-fated and ever-memorable Missolonghi. The struggle had now lasted six years. For over three years this fortress had been under siege, and it heroic and desperate defense forms one of the

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epochs of military history; but starvation reduced the defenders at last. As capitulation meant massacre, the Greeks resolved to cut their way through the Turkish Army to the mountains. Of 3,000 men, 1,500 cut their way through and when the Turks entered the deserted fortress 3,000—old and sick and women and children—were massacred in a day. For the first time the children and women were saved from the Turkish harem for the Turkish sword! England, France, and Russia Join to Free Greece. The ravaging of the Morea by Ibrahim Pasha continued for about six years. It was a scene of desolation. No towns, no hamlets, no farms, nor vines nor vineyards were left. The misery and destitution of the people were indescribable. Over and again the Greeks had appealed to Europe for relief, but their appeals fell upon the ears of the deaf. They said they were not rebels, for they had never sworn allegiance to the Turk. They reminded the powers of what their ancestors had done for civilization and explained that they were the first-born of the Church of Christ. To the honor of our own country, food and raiment were sent to Greece. So, too. they came from the people of France and England, and it is said that in Switzerland every peasant of the country gave his mite in money to the heroic but dying Greeks. An American historian describes the condition of this time in these pathetic words: “Of the inhabitants many had been slaughtered, others carried off into slavery in Egypt, and the rest—where were they? O God! It is an awful question to answer, but it is a question which must one day be answered to Thee by this generation, who left thousands and tens of thousands of their fellow-beings to be hunted like wild beasts to the mountains; to dwell in the caverns of the rocks; to wander about year after year, seeking for the roots of the earth; giving to their ragged and

BEFORE THE SILENCE

emaciated children sorrel and snails for food absolutely perishing from want, while the rest of the earth was full of fatness.” But the people of Christendom were not unmindful of the awful scenes that had been transpiring in Greece and Turkey the past seven years. Then, as now, Governments stood mute and their action paralyzed. The contemplation of the Turkish massacres[1] and horrors had filled the civilized world with sympathy and pity; and from sympathy and pity came demands upon Governments for prompt and effective action. The pressure was great—so great, indeed, that on the 6th day of July 1827, the powers of England, France, and Russia, in the City of London, signed a solemn treaty by which they bound themselves to guarantee the liberty and independence of the gallant Greeks. [*]The Battle of Navarino. When the allied fleets arrived in the waters of the Aegean they found that the whole Turkish fleet and army were assembled in the harbor of Navarino, they drew up their fleets in line of battle across the harbor, fronting the Turkish fleet. A flag of truce from the English Admiral’s ship to the Capidan Pasha was fired upon. The fire was returned by the English ship. then a Turkish ship opened fire with great guns, and the greatest naval action of modern times was in progress. The allied fleet was composed of 10 lineof-battle ships, 10 frigates, 4 brigs, and several schooners. The Turkish fleet consisted of 70 vessels—3 lines-of-battle ships, 5 fiftyfour-gun ships, 15 frigates, 25 corvettes— and 12 brigs, and 40 or more transports. They were all lying under cover of the shore batteries of Navarino. From 3 to 7 o’clock the battle raged. In four hours the Turkish fleet was almost totally destroyed, and more than 5,000 Turks perished with it. The historian says: “The treaty signed at London on the 6th of July 1827, was sealed

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in blood at Navarino on the 20th of October.” The battle gave liberty and independence to a gallant historic people from the savagery and brutality of a Sultan of Turkey, and it did still more, for it taught him his impotency if the Christian powers chose to come into action. Once more the Sultan stormed and raged, but, nevertheless, he was in a few months, compelled by the powers to sign the decalration of Grecian independency. Greece Since the Deliverance. From that day to the present, Greece has pursued her way as a Christian, enlightened, civilized nation. Slowly but surely she rose from her ashes, and towns and hamlets appeared upon the old classic sites of ancient days, and her course has been one of progress in material things, of education, good government and the welfare of her people in every department of life. In 1858, Athens only thirty years after her peace and independence came, seemed like a flourishing New England town. From the day of here deliverance to this hour, Greece —modern Greece—is an honor to civilization and to Christendom. The Unspeakable Turk. It is almost incredible that any race of nation of men should lie, stretched along the eastern frontiers of civilized Europe, for over 400 years and still remain in nearly every respect as brutal, as uncivilized, as unlearned as when the Turks first encamped there. The Turk has absorbed all the vices of civilization, but not one of its virtues. His career has been for 400 years through massacre and wholesale murder, as it is this day. He has not been competent to write his own history, and it has been done for him by Arabians and Persians. No artist has chiseled a block of marble into a thing of beauty or painted a scene upon canvas. The Turk has made no gift

to science or useful art, nor has he aided as mite in human welfare. No artisan has erected a monument, or a temple to tell mankind of his worth, and none has created a new tool of labor or an instrument of value. The Turk’s characteristics are lust of flesh and thirst for human blood. M. Lavallée, the French historian, tells us that from the conquest of Constantinople to the Crimean war, the Turk as taken 5,000,000 Christian children from their families and sent the boys to their armies and the girls to the harems of the Sultan and his Pashas. “Such a tribute of flesh and blood,” Lavallée says, “has never been paid to any race or to any nation.” In Greece a part of the tribute to the Sultan was the first-born man child from every family. Greek mothers grew to regard the extreme beauty of their children as a misfortune and a sorrow, and they kept them unkempt, uncombed, unwashed, and dirty not to attract to them the abominable lust of the Turk. It is no wonder that the Turk is hated of all men. He is hated by the Jew; he is hated by the Druses and Marionites: he is hated by the Arabian and the Persian, as he is hated by the Armenian, the Russian, and the Greek; and he is execrated by every race and nation in Christendom. Extermination of the Turk the Only Cure. He professes the religion of the Koran, but he has turned it into the religion of Satan. Every treaty signed by Turkish Sultans with Russia or the European powers has provided rigorously for equal justice and protection to his Christian subjects with those of his own race, and he has violated every one, and broken every pledge, and laughed at every promise, from the capture of Constantinople to the treaty of Berlin. If England has much to answer for his life of brigandage and massacre in Europe,

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France has far more. Thrice Russia has been at the door of the Turk, and thrice she has been driven back by France and England. Like the Canaanites of old, Turkey is a plague-spot, and a contamination to the nations of whom she is surrounded; and like the ancient, Hebrews, the modern world is waiting wearily for another Joshua to exterminate the Turk, as he exterminated the Canaanites. F. A. ROE ■ A NOTE FROM THEODORE G. KARAKOSTAS: An error was made in this news report regarding the 1 & 2 dates/ years of the enslavements of the Greek people. Please see the following correct dates: Depending on the different regions: the years vary as to when the Greeks were conquered and when they were liberated. MACEDONIA 1430–1912 CORINTH 1456–1829 ATHENS 1459–1829 CRETE circa 1566–1912 PLEASE READ: Hadzidimitriou, Constantine G. Founded on Freedom and Virtue: Documents Illustrating American Support of the Greek War of Independence, 1821–1829. New Rochelle, NY: Aristide D. Caratzas, Publisher, 1973. (440) Reference to the 1massacres: The U.S. Consul General of the Near East, George Horton’s, The Blight of Asia, 1926. Republished, London: Sterndale Classics, 2003. Chapter I “Turkish Massacres 1822– 1909” ———————

The Times, Friday, August 27, 1897

ARMENIAN RELIEF WORK IN GREECE The MARQUIS OF SALISBURY has transmitted to the Duke of Westminster the following report, received from Sir Edwin EGERTON, her Majesty’s Minister at Athens, relative to the assistance rendered to Armenian refugees in Greece by the Hellenic Government and people, and by funds issued by Mr. VAUGHAN and Mr. Vincent CORBETT, of the British Legation, and Consul MAXSE:—

British Legation, Athens, Aug. 1897. The following brief account of the work of the Armenian Relief Committee at Athens from October, 1896 to July, 1897, is submitted. In consequence of the massacres at Constantinople in 1896 the autumn of that year saw a great influx of Armenian refugees to the Piraeus. A committee of local Armenians was provided by the Greek Government. After a very short time it became clear that the committee was unable to cope with the distress, and its resources became exhausted. The president, an Armenian chemist from the United States, called at the Legation in the first days of October, 1896, and appealed for help, which, on application to the Duke of Westminster, was readily and promptly accorded from the Armenian Relief Fund. A committee was formed at the British Legation, under the presidency of her Majesty’s Minister, for its distribution, and the active management devolved upon a sub-committee, consisting of Mr. Vaughan, Third Secretary of the Legation, Mr. Maxse, British Consul in the Piraeus, and myself. By October 13 at least 1,000 Armenian refuges had arrived in the Piraeus. For the next few weeks fresh arrivals here were numerous. The great majority of the refugees were unused to hard manual labour, and were unable to remain in employment secured for them on the Peloponnesus Railway and at the Limnie quarries. I must confess, however, that some for whom work was found as olive-pickers—work which cannot have been unduly laborious—also returned in a few days. Over 100 men for whom work had been found returned to tents. On the other hand, those for whom positions were obtained as door-keepers, domestic servants, &c., did better, some of them very well. It proved very difficult to separate the willing workers from those who were not disposed to labour, and whilst the refugees remained in tents we had to manage as best we could, giving money payments only to the sick and others clearly incapable of work, and providing mattresses, &c., for shoes who were in need. Early in December the inclement weather made it necessary to hire suitable rooms in Athens, in which stores were placed, and a daily substantial ration of soup and bread issued. I visited the rooms once or twice a week personally and distributed shoes and clothing to those most in need.

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The mode of relief given was mostly to issue in kind. In rare cases gifts of small sums of money were given. Serious cases of sickness were taken to the Greek hospitals and treated with the utmost kindness. Dr. CARTANOFF, a Russian practitioner, gave his medical services at a nominal feel to those who did not go into hospital. I do not think that out of the 1,000 persons assisted relief was ever given where it was not badly wanted. We have assisted 125 to migrate where they had reasonable chances of finding work, mostly to Batum. Others were set up in business as clockmakers, barbers, jewelers, hawkers, carpenters, shoemakers, and a few gained a living as boatmen. The annexed statement of accounts will show how the grants were expended, and calls for no special remark. It would not be right for me to close this report without calling attention to the humanity and kindness with which the Armenian refugees were received by the Government and the people of Greece. With fugitives crowding in from Crete and with her financial difficulties pressing upon her more hardly every day, it was not possible for Greece to do much to help the Armenians, but what she could do was done. Hospitality was extended to all without question; passage money was not required of those who were too poor to pay; shelter in tents was given gratuitously by the Government; and the soupkitchen, which sold food at nominal prices, was managed by Greek ladies. Since then Greece herself has fallen upon evil days; but, whatever may have been her errors in other respects; her welcome to the suffering Armenians may well be counted to her for righteousness. “VINCENT E. H. CORBETT” ■

of the audience being composed of Greek subjects of the SULTAN. The Turkish Military Attaché and the Turkish Consul-General at SYRA were also present and were loudly cheered. The meeting adopted an address congratulating the SULTAN, the Turkish army, and the Young Turkey party on the establishment of the regime of liberty and equality, and expressing hopes for the settlement of the outstanding questions between Turkey and Greece in their mutual interest. A deputation, followed by a large crowd, then carried a copy of the resolution to the Ottoman Legation. The Minister appeared on the balcony and was greeted with cheers. He promised to forward the resolution to Constantinople. *Through Reuter’s Agency. ■ NOTE: As evidenced in this report, the Greeks, Armenians, and Assyrians of Asia Minor were jubilant over the overthrow of the Sultanate and were ready to embrace the “Young Turks” with open arms. Soon their hopes were shattered! (SKK) ———————

Piraeus is a major seaport city of mainland Greece; approximately 12 miles from Athens. (SKK) ———————

The Times, Monday, August 3, 1908

THE NEW ERA IN TURKEY. DEMONSTRATION AT ATHENS. ATHENS, AUG. 2* On the initiative of several YOUNG TURKS and Greeks from Turkey, a large meeting was held in THE MUNICIPAL THEATRE here to-day, the majority

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Photo with human skulls in foreground. Source obscure.

The Hartford Courant, February 15, 1910

THE BITTER CITY OF CILICIA. The Young Turks did not get ABDUL-HAMID off the throne soon enough to prevent last year’s dreadful

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atrocities in Cilicia. Thirty thousand Armenians were slaughtered; sixty thousand widows and orphans were left in the ruins of the pillaged and burned villages. Many of these women and children are within measurable distance of actual starvation; all are pitiably destitute. The Armenian Relief Association (New York City) makes an earnest appeal in their behalf to the generous people of the United Sates. Its vice-presidents are GOVERNOR HUGHES, DR. LYMAN ABBOTT, SETH LOW, RECTOR MANNING OF TRINITY, PROFESSOR HENRY VAN DYKE, R. FULTON CUTTING and GEORGE ZABRISKIE. Checks should be made payable to J. Adams Brown, Treasurer, and mailed to Messrs. Brown Brothers & Co., No. 59 Wall Street. The money will be cabled to the International Relief Committee at Constantinople, for distribution by the American consuls and missionaries. “The expenses (for office work, etc.) are to be borne by an auxiliary committee of Armenian young men of New York City,” writes the secretary, “so that every cent contributed by the churches and others will be sent out. Intact, to relieve the widows and orphans.” And the INTERNATIONAL RELIEF COMMITTEE writes from Constantinople: “What is done for these people should be done quickly. It is a question of life and death.” ■ ———————

BEFORE THE SILENCE

Victim(s) of hanging(s) were usually of intellectuals and clergy members. Source obscure.

The Atlantic Constitution, June 17, 1914

MASSACRE OF GREEKS CHARGED TO THE TURKS Priest, Old Men and Children Are Reported Slain—Bodies Are Thrown into Well. Athens, Greece, June 16.—Greek refugees from ASIA MINOR today brought reports of the massacre by Turks of 100 Greeks, including priests, old men and children in the town of Phokia, twenty-five miles northwest of SMYRNA. The town, according to the official report, was invaded by a horde of armed men, who looted and then set fire to all the buildings. They are said to have been assisted by the Turkish police. The inhabitants, most of whom were Greeks, fled leaving their property behind them, and 3,800 of them have reached SALONIKI. They declare that the bodies of the massacred people were thrown into wells. The refugees, many of whom were suffering from wounds, were in a state of starvation on their arrival. ■

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NOTE: The Koran condemns the wearing of clothing from the dead. Before the hangings, the clothing of the condemned were first removed; then they were handed shrouds (as seen in photos). (SKK) ———————

The Manchester Guardian, Monday, June 29, 1914

WHY THE GREEKS FLED. ORGANISED PERSECUTION IN ASIA MINOR. A correspondent sends us some extracts from letters he has received from an Englishman recently in one of the Aegean Islands. It will be seen that the writer, who is in a position to know the truth confirms the charges made by Greece against Turkey of ill-using and expelling the Hellenes settled on the Asiatic coast. The letter-writer says: “The state of the Christian villages on the coast is very terrible—all the horrors of war in peace, and these are inoffensive villagers not even accused of any offence against the Government. At MYTILENE the churches are full, and there is no further accommodation, and I believe about 10,00 in all have left CHESME. A number of women and children embarked at Chesme on our steamer. They wished to get out at SMYRNA, but were not allowed, and were therefore brought on here. “The moharjis (Turkish emigrants from Europe who were brought to Chesme to expropriate the Christians were not from MACEDONIA, but nearly all Albanians of Gheg tribe, from Servian territory. So the excuse of retaliation for such a supposed expropriation by the Greek Government from Macedonia cannot be offered. The whole thing (in which the Turkish Government, of course, professes ignorance and innocence) is undoubtedly a perfectly ruthless and carefully organized plot of the Committee for getting rid of the Christian population along the Anatolian coast. This is shown by the similarity of method throughout.

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The smaller outlying villages are first attacked, and the expropriation is there carried out by force. The larger communities are then threatened with the same dispossession by violence. The inhabitants do not, of course, await execution, but having seen it at their doors, anticipate it by leaving. It is then represented to the consuls that they left of their own accord, and had no cause for fear. If what has happened is condoned the larger communities, such as AIVALI and even SMYRNA will no doubt be dealt with. “The Christian villages in the environs of AIVALI having now been completely, village by village, cleared of their inhabitants, proceeding against Aivali itself (it contained about 30,000 inhabitants, nearly all Christian) have commenced, and the first fugitives arrived yesterday. The Kaimakam of Aivali told the inhabitnats that they must go. He said, “This is no longer your country; if you don’t go to-day you will be compelled to go to-morrow.” “Stories of cruelty and outrage in the expulsion of the inhabitants from the villages— features which it was impossible indeed should be lacking—are simply confirmed. A good many girls are in the hospitals at Aivali in consequence of their treatment by the moharjis *** “I live in a sort of hope that the progress southward may be arrested. It surely would not be too much of an irregularity for British ships to go to certain points on the coast for this purpose.” ACHRAMYTHIUM and the villages of the district where the Christian population was large, and now completely emptied of their inhabitants. I suppose the same is now the case as regards the CHESME district. ■ COMMENTS: 1. At that time telephones were scarce: villagers were not aware of the events of another village—until it was too late. 2. The Albanian population included Christians and Moslems. Those of the Gheg tribe mentioned in the report were Moslems.

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3. The “good many girls that are in the hospitals” because they were brutally raped and most died. 4. Under cover of WWI (1914–1918: unhampered by the eyes of the Europeans, the Turks increased their plans to ruthlessly exterminate the Christians. (SKK) ———————

The New York Times, Thursday, August 27, 1914

TURKEY YET WAVERS ON BRINK OF WAR Cabinet is Urged by Diplomats of the Allies to Preserve Neutrality.

CRUISERS A SORE POINT Bryan Denies Prediction by Our Ambassador of Massacre—Destitution Reported in Palestine. WASHINGTON, Aug. 26.—Tension is so acute in Constantinople that diplomats there fear Turkey may at any moment be drawn into the general war on the side of Germany and Austria. A strict censorship has been placed on the newspapers in Turkey, which are now controlled by the military, and are being used, according to diplomatic dispatches received here, to create a pro-German feeling. The Turkish Cabinet is wavering between a declaration of war and the preservation of neutrality. The diplomatic representatives of the various powers are in constant conference with the Government officials, Great Britain, and Russia endeavoring to keep Turkey neutral. The German Ambassador, it is understood, has intimated that while Germany wished Turkey to remain neutral, he believed the Ottoman empire should mobilize to prevent an invasion by Russia.

Feeling is most acute over the entry into the Dardanelles of the German cruisers Goeben and Breslau. Great Britain, Russia, and France requested ten days ago that if these ships were purchased by Turkey the crews be sent either to Germany or Austria and promised safe conduct. Today many of the German sailors are still on board and 150 more are said to have been distributed among Turkish torpedo boats. The British Government is observing these incidents with much disfavor and the situation has been aggravated by the inability of several English merchant ships to pass through the Dardanelles, even after the Grand Vizier had given the necessary permission. Subordinate officials disobeyed the instructions for unexplained reasons. Great Britain has let it be known that if the Goeben and Breslau enter the Mediterranean with German crews aboard they will be fired on by the English fleet. Neither Great Britain nor Russia, however, has assumed a threatening attitude diplomatically, hoping to persuade Turkey to remain neutral. A few days ago the Russian Ambassador was requested to cease using the wireless on a Russian vessel in the harbor. He acquiesced rather than force an issue. Developments in Turkey were discussed generally today in official circles. The Turkish Ambassador had a long conference with SECRETARY BRYAN concerning a statement credited to AMBASSADOR MORGENTHAU in some published reports. Later Mr. Bryan issued a statement saying the story that Mr. Morgenthau had predicted massacre of Christians was untrue. Secretary Bryan said: “While Americans are anxious to leave Turkey as they are to leave other

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parts of Europe in which war has broken out, or may break out, there is nothing in Ambassador Morgenthau’s telegram to justify the reports published.” Mr. Morgenthau’s recent telegrams, it is understood, recorded conditions as much relieved, although a week ago there was some apprehension over the position in which Americans might be placed if the war were extended to Turkey. The cruiser North Carolina will go to Constantinople with gold for Americans. Many Jews in Palestine are destitute, and an appeal for funds has been made to Jewish charities in America. Temporary relief for Americans has been provided personally by Mr. Morgenthau, who has advanced several thousand dollars to meet the immediate wants of those in need. He has raised a total of $75,000 by subscription, but has advised the State Department that additional funds are necessary. ■ COMMENT: With its eye on chromium, iron and other minerals; Germany is known to have provided uniforms, officer training and armaments for the Turks. (SKK) ———————

The New York Times, Thursday, August 27, 1914

SYRIANS FEAR HOLY WAR. Syrians living in this city are alarmed by reports that the Turks are contemplating a holy war. Khalil KHAYAT of 95 Liberty Street, for members of the Syrian colony, sent this letter yesterday to Secretary of State BRYAN: Hon. William J. Bryan, Secretary of State, Washington, D.C. Dear Sir: The New York newspapers published in their issue of this date that

the State Department has been notified by HENRY MORGENTHAU, Ambassador to Turkey that a massacre of the Christians by Turks is imminent. We, therefore, the Syrian Americans born and the naturalized Syrians of the United States, for the sake of humanity protest to the State Department in order that the lives of Christians of Turkey, whether they are Americans or Turkish subjects be spared by the intervention of our Government. Yours Truly, KHALIL KHAYAT. ■ ———————

The New York Times, November 24, 1914

LET JEWS BECOME TURKS. Russian Subjects Will Be Allowed to Change Nationality. LONDON, Nov. 23.—A Reuter dispatch from CONSTANTINOPLE by way of SOFIA says it is announced that the Porte has decided to permit Russian Jews resident in Turkey to become Ottoman subjects provided that they do not revert to the their former nationality at the end of the war. Two members of the Servian Legation who remained at Constantinople assisting HENRY MORGENTHAU, the American Ambassador, in looking after Servian interests, were ordered by the Porte to leave the city within fortyeight hours. They complied with the order forthwith. ■ ———————

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The Scotsman, APRIL 5, 1915

M. VENEZELOS AND THE WAR MEMORANDUM TO KING OF GREECE. NEGOTIATIONS WITH BRITISH MINISTER. Athens, April 3. The controversy in the Press between M. VENEZELOS and M. GOUNARIS continues to be as lively as ever, and partakes of the character of mutual recriminations. M. Venezelos has now followed up his letter, telegraphed yesterday, by the publication to-day of a long memorandum, dated January 11th, 1915, which he addressed to the King, and in the course of which he points out that “Greece is to-day invited to participate in the war, not only in order to accomplish her moral obligations, but in exchange for compensations which, if realized would create a great and powerful Greece.” M. Venezelos recognizes the dangers attending the attainment of those compensations, and expresses the opinion that Greece should prepare to meet them, as otherwise, by persisting in her neutrality to the end, Greece would find herself exposed to similar grave dangers. THE BALKAN EQUILIBRIUM. The memorandum then refers to the danger resulting to Greece in the event of Serbia being crushed. That danger consisted in the occupation of Macedonia by Bulgaria, at the invitation of Austria, in which case Greece would have to assist Serbia; otherwise Greece by continuing to remain indifferent, would risk witnessing the rupture of the Balkan equilibrium to the profit of Bulgaria, which could then fall upon Greece. The memorandum proceeds to examine the conditions upon which Greece should participate in the war— namely, she should seek the co-operation of Rumania, and if possible also of Bulgaria; and in order to arrive at an understanding. M. Venezelos believes it necessary to make other important concessions to Bulgaria. He adds that up to the present he had rejected all discussion on that sub-

ject, and opposed the cession of Serbian territories to Bulgaria, but now the situation had visibly changed by the promise of the realization of Greek aspirations in Asia Minor. Therefore some sacrifice was necessary in the Balkans, even to the extent of abandoning Kavalla for the purpose of liberating Hellenism in Turkey and assuring the aggrandizement of Greece. This sacrifice would, he said, be made, not merely as the price of Bulgarian neutrality, but as compensation for the active participation of Bulgaria on the side of the Allies. EXCHANGE OF POPULATIONS. The memorandum next proceeds to deal with the question of the exchange of populations, and the repurchase of properties, for the realization of ethnological reform and the idea of a Balkan federation or alliance. M. Venezelos further suggests partial compensation for the cession of Kavalla, and in case Bulgaria should extend across the Vardar—namely the cession to Greece by Serbia of the district of Doiran and Ghevgheli, in order to consolidate the Greek frontier facing Bulgaria. M. Venezelos adds:— “Owing, unfortunately, to Bulgarian avidity, it is not certain whether these concessions would satisfy Bulgaria; and if Bulgarian co-operation were unattainable. Greece should at least assure herself of the aid of Rumania, inasmuch as without the latter Greek participation would entail risks.” In conclusion, M. Venezelos demonstrates important reasons militating in favour of Greece siding with the Entente Powers,[1] and points out the mortal blow which the independent life of small nations would receive in the event of a victory for Germany and Austria. Finally, he concludes, “in case of failure we would preserve the esteem and friendliness of the powerful nations which created Greece and which have since often aided and sustained her.” BRITISH PROMISES TO GREECE. In the statements to his political friends which are reproduced by the organs of his party, the exPremier says, “On January 11 the British Minister informed me, on behalf of Sir Edward Grey, that if Greece rendered assistance to Serbia, the Ent-

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tente Powers would willingly agree to important territorial concessions to Greece in Asia Minor. The British Minister added that if I wished for an understanding on this basis, and were to address my proposal without delay to the Governments of the Allies, it would certainly be favourably received. The British representative, however, requested me to withdraw my objections to the territorial concessions which Serbia was willing to make to Bulgaria, since by the territorial extension of Greece in Asia Minor the Balkan equilibrium would not be disturbed to the prejudice of Greece.” COLONEL METAXAS, who holds an important position on the Staff, expressed his opinion when consulted that the co-operation of Greece and Rumania would not suffice to command the respect of Bulgaria, and that the latter’s co-operation was necessary.—Press Association. ■ BY WAY OF BACKGROUND: After nearly 400 years of rule by the Ottomans, mainland Greece declared its independence on March 25, 1821. This report defines Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos’s hopes to reclaim Asia Minor that was still under Turkish domination. His hopes had been to liberate the Greeks in Asia Minor who remained Turkish subjects. His aspirations were undercut by many factors and by circumstances beyond his control.

The Allies of World War I, at times were referred to as the 1 Entente Powers. (SKK) ———————

The Atlanta Constitution, April 26, 1915

POOLS OF BLOOD MARK MASSACRE OF CHRISTIANS Hundreds of Armenians Have Been Butchered by Mohammedans, and the Bloody Work Continues.

WELLS ARE CHOKED WITH BODIES OF DEAD Thousands Flee to Escape Death and Many of the Fugitives Die of Starvation. American Mission at Urumiah Turned Into Morgue. Tiflis, Transcaucasia, April 25.— (Via Petrograd and London.)—Refugees reaching the Russian line report that the massacre of Armenians by Mohammedans is being continued on even a greater scale. They say that all the inhabitants of ten villages near Van in Armenia, Asiatic Turkey, have been put to death. On being advised of massacres at Erzerum, Berjan and Zeitun and of the condition at Van, the Katholikes, head of the Armenian church at Etchmiadzin, near Erivan, cabled to PRESIDENT WILSON an appeal to the American people on behalf of the Armenians. Pools of Blood Seen. The Associated Press correspondent received reports of the massacre of the 800 villagers in Urza and 720 in Calmas. A journey through Salmas showed that three weeks had failed to obliterate the signs of the slaughter. Pools of blood still marked the execution places in Hafgvan.

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A young man named HACKATUR related the story of his escape from a well in which the bodies of the dead had been crammed. He fell with others and was tossed into the well, but wriggled through the bodies and escaped at nightfall. At the desolated Catholic mission at Hosrova, where forty-eight victims of the massacre were buried. ELIZABETH MARCARA, an Armenian girl told how she and young DAVID ISHMU battled with the Kurds. Her story later was confirmed. “When the Kurds burst the village gates,” said Miss Marcara, “we took rifles and mounted to the roof. I fired eighty shots. The Kurds were forced to withdraw outside the village wall. Killed Several Kurds. “There I killed two and David two. Later were killed four-more, one of whom was the chief. The Kurds abandoned their plunder and carried off their dead. “Reinforced, I fled with my relatives. We saw the Kurds pillaging Hafgvan and fired on them, but they escaped with their booty. “Near Dilman we were attacked by fifteen Kurds, of whom I killed one. After the Russians defeated the Kurds and Turks near Khol, a soldier told the Persian governor about me and he sent for me and offered me the chieftainship for a regiment of Turks if I would fight the Russians.” ■ NOTE: The Kurds were encouraged by the Turks to help carry out the massacres, with false promises of their own land. This particular report contains the names of many towns. (SKK)

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New York Times, August 20, 1915

BURN 1,000 ARMENIANS. Turks Lock Them in a Wooden Building and Then Apply the Torch. LONDON, Friday, Aug. 20.—A Reuter dispatch from Petrograd says: “Almost unbelievable details of Turkish massacres of Armenians in Bitlis have reached Petrograd. “In one village, 1,000 men, women and children are reported to have been locked in a wooden building and burned to death. “In another large village only thirty-six persons, it is said, escaped massacre. “In still another instance, it is asserted, several scores of men and women were tied together by chains and thrown into Lake Van.” ■ ———————

The New York Times, August 27, 1915

TURKS DEPOPULATE TOWNS OF ARMENIA Traveler Reports Christians of Great Territory Have Been Driven from Homes. 600,000 STARVING ON ROAD Adds That More Than 100,000 Greeks Have Been Deported from the Mediterranean Coast. A traveler who has just arrived in New York from Turkey, where he was long a resident, told THE TIMES yesterday of conditions as he found them in Constantinople, and of the wholesale deportations of Armenians from the interior districts of Asiatic Turkey. For reasons that are valid, the narrator does not wish to have his name published, but THE TIMES can vouch for his qualifications as an observer, especially of conditions in the Armenian district.

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Leaving Sivas, where he spent some time, he proceeded to Constantinople and thence to Athens, from which port he sailed for New York. When in Constantinople about four weeks ago, he said, the tension was pretty high. In official circles it was maintained that everything was proceeding smoothly for the Turks, but there were many individuals, he said, who expressed discouragement. These put little faith in Germany’s motives in aiding Turkey, and some even charged ENVER Pasha with having sold out to Germany for money. “The Armenians of the interior,” he said, “have been deported in the direction of Mosul. At the time I left Sivas, two-thirds of them had gone from the city, including all Protestants, teachers, and pupils. According to my best knowledge and opinion, with the exception of Armenian soldiers and prisoners, and a very few exceptions, who for various reasons were necessary to the Government, all Armenians are gone from Sivas. According to what I consider good authority, I believe it to be true that the entire Armenian population from Erzerum to and including Gemereh, near Cesarea, and from Samsoun to and including Harpoot, has been deported.” More than 100,000 Greeks from the Marmora and Mediterranean coast have been deported. ■ NOTE: “Deportations” was the cryptic word for premeditated slow and agonizing deaths—of the Armenians, Greeks, and Assyrians. (SKK) ———————

The New York Times, Thursday, April 20, 1916

MASSACRES OF GREEKS IN TURKEY REPORTED Hundreds Killed by Turks and Bulgars in Many Towns London Hears. LONDON, Thursday, April 20,.—Wholesale massacres of Greeks at Adrianople, Constantinople and Smyrna are reported in a Saloniki dispatch to The Morning Post.

“In Adrianople and Demotica, Turks and Bulgarians, acting together,” says the dispatch, killed 400 and wounded 300 Greeks after pillaging their houses. In the Smyrna district several Greek villages were raided. 200 persons being killed and many wounded. “Constantinople was likewise the scene of serious massacres, no figures pertaining to which are available. All the massacres occurred on April 11.” ■ ———————

Atlanta Constitution, January 28, 1917

DEPORTED GREEKS ALSO SUFFERING Committee on Armenian and Syrian Relief Shows Appalling Situation and Asks for More Funds. New York, January 27,—That hundreds of thousands of deported Armenians are suffering, many of them starving and that a large increase in funds will be needed to meet the situation was the information given out here today by the American committee for Armenian and Syrian relief. Private cablegrams coming from a confidential source, but with unquestioned authority, tell that thousands of Greeks who have been deported are also dependent on the agents of the committee for food. A cablegram dated January 13 reads as follows: Refugees Greatly Augmented. “Reports now arriving show numbers and needs of refugees greatly augmented. Through German channels, new reports show present aspect of relief work at Aleppo as follows: In five industrial homes five thou-

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sand women and children in our orphanages, in outlying towns, including naval stations. Kene, Ilamadares, Damascus, 6,030 Armenians are reached through reliable agents. In Ourfa, Marash, Dores, Aintab districts, 100,000 look to us for bread, while large numbers which cannot yet be approximately estimated, are coming from the desert seeking food, shelter and clothing. “Like situation is reported from Samsoun, Sivas, Harpoot, Konia, Brusa and Smyrna, showing unexpected number of Armenians living in hiding and that Moslems are now turning to us for aid. Naturally, the needs of all are increasing at this season, and as it now appears that we have 300,000 Armenians on our lists, these alone need thirty thousand pounds ($133,000) per month to provide only ten piasters (forty-four cents) per head monthly. “Besides Armenian and Turkish sufferers, thousands of Greeks, owing to Greek deportations, are now turning to us for help. Although threatened deportations of Greeks from the Samsoun district has not yet been carried out, thousands have been deported to the interior from the Kerassund and Marmara districts as well as from Thrace. While these deportations have not been like the so-called deportation of Armenians, many lives have been lost through suffering and disease and the business of all who have been so deported has been ruined. My attention has been called to a case which is one of the many, where of one hundred and fifty Greek peasants deported from the Marmara villages, who have managed to come to Constantinople some months ago, eighty have already perished. Food Supplies Short. “It must be realized that today there is no longer an Armenian and Syrian relief, but that there is the relief of Greeks and even of thousands of Turks themselves. While many of the latter can receive some

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relief from their own government, and they themselves have means, as they were not robbed like the Christians and some of them may be undeserving, yet as there are thousands of innocent women and children among them and thousands who are on the verge of starvation, I believe as a matter of humanity, and also as matter of policy, we should do something for them, doing which we facilitate our work among Christian sufferers. “The shortage of food supplies in the country is assuming a most serious character. To what extent will you authorize us to go in meeting these new needs?” The above represents only one of the committees’ channels of distribution. Another cablegram is at hand from the American consul at Tiflin reading: “Committee, after personal investigation of several large districts, report acute distress among refugees. Suffering of widows and children intense. Thousands of orphans require immediate help. Government allowance reduced by half. Cases known of death by starvation.” Another communications from Urumia, Persia, reads in part: “The number of refugees here is from 25,000 to 30,000. The hardships of this year are greater than last. The price of everything is nearly six times more than three years ago.” Another report from lower Mesopotamia reads: “The poor are dying of hunger and those of the men left at home are able to work are unable to secure enough to sustain the lives of their families. The poor of Bagdad, Mosul and surrounding country have seized everything movable, so that there is universal misery and want. No supplies of any sort are coming into Mesopotamia. No trade route is open save that of Syria, and Syria is worse off than Mesopotamia. All

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native commodities have disappeared. Most of the shops are empty and closed for want of things to sell.” Situation in West Persia. Another cablegram received from W. S. VANNEMAN, M. D., treasurer of the west Persia relief committee, reads: “Destitute increasing. Other relief funds diminishing. Eight thousand more refugees. Aid Sunni destitute imperative. One hundred thousand dollars needed spring sowing.” Perhaps the first two words in this cablegram should read: “destitution increasing,” but if it is correct as is sand, it means the number of destitute people is increasing. “The other relief funds refers to help heretofore received from British and Russian doubtless refers to this number of additional Nestorian[2] refugees recently arrived from the mountains of eastern Turkey. The one hundred thousand dollars needed for spring sowing is in addition to an itemized request for two hundred and ninety-five thousand dollars made in a previous cable for distinctively relief work. Including American consuls and missionaries, the American Committee for Armenian and Syrian Relief, 70 Fifth Avenue, New York, has nearly two hundred representatives in various parts of the Turkish empire who, in the face of great danger from epidemics and disease, are remaining at their posts and supervising personally the distribution of relief. None of the consuls or missionaries receive any compensation from relief funds for the service that they render. The expenses of the committee are met privately, so the contributors have the assurance that every penny sent to CHARLES R. CRANE, the treasurer, is cabled to the field and used exclusively for relief work. ■

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The Manchester Guardian, June 21, 1917

ARMENIAN SURVIVORS ——— EPISODES IN THE TURKISH MASSACRES. (Press Association War Special.) The following has been received from Mr. Edmund Candler, the representative of the British press with the Expeditionary Force in Mesopotamia:— BAGDAD, APRIL 29, 1917. One of the best things that is being done in Bagdad is the salvage of Armenian women and children who have survived the massacres, and who are now living in Mussulman families. These are being gathered into homes financed by the British Government and their own community are looking after them. I visited one of these institutions yesterday. The inmates were all young, many of marriageable age, and a great number of children under six who have already forgotten their language and their faith. The first girl I saw was a child of ten from a village near Erzeroum. She and her family had started on donkeys with a few of their belongings, but in three days the Kurds had left them nothing, and they had to walk. The Turks had issued a proclamation in all the villages that the Armenians were to be sent away to a colony that was being prepared for them, and that their property was to be kept under the care of the Government during the war and then restored. This was more than a year ago, The gendarmes were very pleasant to them in their homes, and told them that they were to be given new land to cultivate and that their journey would not be long. The first assurance, as they guessed, was visionary. In the second the gendarmes did not lie. For many of them it was all over the third day. Two or three hundred of the men were separated from the women and killed at a distance, shot or cut down with the sword. After

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that the same sort of thing happened nearly every day. The guards were very haphazard; there was no system. Some of the women were pushed into the river; others thrust over precipices. Twelve hundred left the two villages near Erzeroum; four hundred only reached Ras-el-Ain. The survivors were all women and children; there was not a man among them or a male child over the age of nine. At Ras-el-Ain a Syrian family took in the girl and her sister; the mother had died. And so they reached Bagdad. Ottoman Good-Nature. There were small children of four or five in the home—hardly two from the same village. They had been with their adoptive families a year or more and forgotten their own language. Kindly Turks had picked them up, as one might a small puppy or a small kitten, and taken them in. This is the Ottoman nature all over. The massacres are a very unpleasant business. The less civilized elements of a heterogeneous army are turned on to the dirty work, and the Turk shuts his eyes to it as much as possible. His social and domestic relations are always pleasant. An Armenian mistress enjoys the privileges of the home. A servant is well cared for; children when adopted, are treated kindly. It is good work for Allah to take an infant and make a true Moslem of her. In the rising last spring, after the Kerbela trouble, the inhabitants were shot down in the streets, and Arab women carried off. The Armenian found himself among friendly people, and stayed in the town until the British came to Bagdad. He is now engaged as a mechanic and is one of the ever-growing colony of refugees in the city. Another man I heard of was the sole survivor of a group of refugees who disappeared between Ras-el-Ain and Nisibin. They were taken into the desert and formed up in line, as in a Chinese execution, to be dispatched with the sword. There was a shortage of ammunition, I was told, but the sword was employed for reasons of economy. While waiting for his turn, it occurred to the Armenian that a bullet

would be an easier death. So he broke from the line. In the confusion the gendarmes missed him. It was almost dusk; he hid in the brushwood. By a miracle he escaped and found his way to Bagdad. How a Massacre is Conducted. The main features of the massacres are much the same. The emigrants, if they are not killed on the ready, are taken to some depot, where they are kept a few days. Here they find a large camp of two or three thousand or more, and the rationing becomes a difficult question. Soon notice comes from Constantinople that the refugees of a certain district have been allowed land for cultivation, and they are told they must start on their journey again. This, they know, is probably the death sentence, but they nourish a thin hope. For the first half-day they are generally safe, as murder on a large scale is deprecated near a town. Nobody, for instance, saw anyone killed in Trebizond; but a few days after the Armenians had left the city their bodies came floating down the river. The desert is a nonconductor. What is done there leaves only vague rumor. The refugees, though unarmed, sometimes turn on their guard. More than once the assassins have paid dearly. There is a woman in Bagdad who was one of a band of two or three hundred Armenian women from the hills who held a pass near Urfa. Their men had been treacherously killed off earlier and they knew obedience to the proclamation of exile was as fatal as resistance. They held the pass with their rifles nearly a week, and the Turks had to bring up artillery. Some fifty of them escaped. The woman, who is now in Bagdad, was rescued by a Turk of the better school, who respected her honour, and on the journey treated her as his own daughter, though he failed to convert her to Islam. Few Armenian women were so fortunate. Many were killed with as little scruple as the men. Plainness or good looks were fatal in different ways. The old and ugly died by

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violence or were starved; the young were taken into the families of the Turks. A traveler now in Bagdad was given a letter by an official at Ras-el-Ain to deliver to the gendarmes in charge on the road. “Choose a pretty one for me,” he wrote, “and leave her in the village outside the town.” At Aleppo and Ras-el-Ain German officers stalked side by side with these specters of famine and murder and death, and not a finger was raised or a word said. “It is impolite to interfere,” was the German formula. ■ NOTES: Turkish Moslems rarely converted to Christianity—when they did, they were murdered by other Turks. Vivid and detailed accounts of girls rescued from Turkish Harems are described in Beginning Again At Ararat, by the American physician, Dr. Mabel Evelyn Elliott. She was affiliated with the AMERICAN WOMEN’S HOSPITALS, AN AUXILIARY OF HAHNEMANN HOSPITAL of Philadelphia. (SKK) ———————

The Times, August 23, 1917

EXTERMINATION OF GREEKS IN TURKEY A GERMAN PLOT DISCLOSED. (from our correspondent.) ATHENS, AUGUST 20. M. Politis, Minister for Foreign Affairs, to-day laid before the Chamber four new documents proving conclusively that the persecutions of which the Greeks at Aivali and in other parts of Asia Minor were the victims were carried out in accordance with a plan for the extermination of the Greek race in Turkey devised by the German General Staff, which aided and supervised its execution. The last report on the subject, which is dated April 30, 1917, and came from the Greek Minister at Constantinople, says that the Turkish Ministers themselves, as well as the German Minister, had admitted to him that the extermination of Hellenism was the outcome of a resolve of the German General Staff. These disclosures, following the publication of the White Book[1] showing that tens of thousands of

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Greeks in Eastern Macedonia have died of hunger, have exhibited in the character of executioners of the Hellenic race those who conducted the late political regime. Their condemnation is complete. Their only excuse was that they feared to make war on Germany, as Baron Wangenheim, the German Minister, had declared that in that event Hellenism in Turkey would be exterminated. ■ COMMENTARY: DURING WORLD WAR I, many of the combatant governments issued official books of diplomatic documents concerning the outbreak of World War I and the involvement of that particular country, intending to explain or justify their own Policy. These books were referred to by the color of their outer covers. For instance, France had a Yellow Book, Germany had a 1White Book, Russia had an Orange Book, Serbia had a Blue Book, Belgium had a Grey Book, Austria-Hungary had a Red Book, and Great Britain had a Blue Book (not to be confused with other famous Blue Books, such as the Bryce Blue Book). The Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs published a White Book in 1917 (Documents diplomatiques 1913–1917: Traité d’alliance gréco-serbe, Invasion germano-bulgare en Macédoine), which was translated into English in 1918 as The Greek White Book: Diplomatic Documents, 1913–1917. It was also issued as an offprint from the American Journal of International Law as Diplomatic Documents, 1913–1917: Issued by the Greek Government Concerning the Greco-Serbian Treaty of Alliance and the Germano-Bulgarian Invasion in Macedonia. It is to this 1917 White Book to which reference has been made in the article. Google has digitized and made freely available a 1919 English-language edition entitled The Greek White Book: Supplementary Diplomatic Documents, 1913–1917 Issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Greek Government.—GERALD E. OTTENBREIT, JR. ———————

The Manchester Guardian, Monday, August 27, 1917

GREECE 1917. M. VENIZELOS’S APPEAL

TO THE KING. IMPOSSIBLE TO AVOID WAR. (REUTERS’S CORRESPONDENT.) ATHENS, THURSDAY (Received yesterday). In the Chamber to-day M. VENIZELOS in the course of a debate, laid before the bureau of

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the Chamber a letter which he addressed to King CONSTANTINE in August, 1917, when, after pointing out that the tendencies of the Crown were in contradiction with the views of the responsible Government, he sent in his resignation. The latter contained the following passages: By refusing in principle and under all presuppositions our assistance in the war against Turkey we do not avoid war. We postpone it until later, and we do not postpone it for long. It is evident Turkey will not demobilize before settling accounts with us. But the fact which I believe conceals these things and arouses in the mind of your Majesty and that of M. SRUIT tendencies opposed to those which I support is the wish not to displease Germany by engaging in a war against Turkey with the assistance of the other Powers belonging to the Alliance against the Central Empires. Your Majesty must be aware that when England, at the time of my journey to Europe last year, announced that she was ready to impose upon Turkey the Powers’ decision regarding the islands, even by the dispatch of an international fleet, if Germany agreed to that proposal, the latter Power caused the plan to be abandoned by refusing to agree. Your Majesty is equally aware that when later on the Powers of the Triple Entente decided to use very severe language in the Note which was addressed to Turkey on the subject of the islands, Germany interposed. We know even from the mouth of M. GUATT, that Germany in agreement with the fixed idea of Austria, is inclined in the event of a complete victory, to create a Great Bulgaria, stretching as far as the Adriatic to serve as a bulwark against Slavism. Hence the discovery recently made in Germany according to which the Bulgarians are not Slavs but Tartars. Why, then should we show ourselves so complaisant towards the Power that seeks to assist in every possible way the two principal

enemies of Hellenism, the Bulgars and the Turks, and why should we remain indifferent towards those Powers who, after having called Greece into being, are to-day ready, in case of an attack on us by Turkey, to range themselves on our aide? Sire, I am not ignorant that the stipulation I am making for our millitary co-operation with the Triple Entente in a war against Turkey, the stipulation of our joining or of the guaranteed neutrality of Bulgaria, is one very difficult to carry out. But this difficulty does not remove or make less radical the conflict of tendencies and preferences which has been displayed from the beginning. ■ COMMENTARY: Venizelos was absolutely correct in his assessments. What should be noted is the fact that Venizelos pointed out that the Germans were helping the Turks and Bulgarians; is that the Danish King of Greece was related to the German Kaiser. Also, the “Greek” Royal Family was accepting money from the Germans to keep Greece out of the War, a blatant conflict of interest between the interests of Asia Minor Hellenism and the Danish Family masquerading as Greek Royalty. The subsequent downfall of Venizelos in 1920 and the restoration of the Danish King Constantine on the Greek throne soon after, strengthened the anti-Hellenic elements in London and Paris, and undermined the pro-Hellenic elements in those countries. The activities of King Constantine during the First World War and his proGerman stance was responsible for the betrayal of Greece after 1920.—THEODORE G. KARAKOSTAS ———————

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(Close up of hand).

Source: Internet “The Greek Slave” By American Sculptor Hiram Powers

The New York Times, October 8, 1917 To the Editor

GREEK DEPORTATIONS. The Needs of the Latest Victims of Turkish Cruelty. To the Editor of The New York Times: The deportation and atrocious slaughter of the Greeks in Asia Minor, the deportations to the total number of 700,000, by the Turkish authorities have been overshadowed by massacres, larger and more appalling of Armenians and Syrians. No attention was attracted by the sack in JUNE 1914, of Phocee, a Greek city near Smyrna. The account of the destruction appeared in the Revue des Deux Mondes, DECEMBER, 1914. The narrative by the French archaeologist, M. FELIX SARTIAUX, an eyewitness, showed that this massacre of the Greek inhabitants of this city by the Mohammedan neighbors and Turkish troops matched every Armenian massacre in its character, though there was less wanton murder. A year later Greek deportation began on a scale second only to the great crime in Armenia. At least one-half of

the Greek population has been deported from the cities and hamlets on the coast of Asia Minor from the Black Sea to the eastern end of Cilicia, or around three-fourths of the coast of this peninsula. For these acts no excuse or pretext whatever existed in rebellion, resistance, conspiracy or agitation against the Ottoman Empire. This Greek population has always been free from opposition to the rule of the Turkish Government. The only reason for this atrocious crime was and is to take support from the claim of both Greece and Italy to the control of the littoral of Asia Minor on the ground that it has a large Christian population. The deportation of 700,000 Greeks from this section will not leave enough Christians to give body to this plea of Greece and Italy. But this is more than a mere diplomatic or strategic movement. Deportations means slavery and death to the deported. The victory of the Allies will undoubtedly take the Asia Minor littoral from the Ottoman Empire; but meanwhile the need of relief for these suffering Greeks is as urgent as for the Armenians and Syrians. The Greeks were the first race to be slaughtered in the new development of the Ottoman Empire. The first of these outrages was a century ago in 1818, and this was followed by the Turkish massacre in Scio[1] in which 25,000 were killed. 47,000 deported and only 5,000 left alive. It was this that aroused Europe to action, inspired BYRON’S POEMS and brought personal activity by many Americans on behalf of Greek independence and resulted in the production of our own American POWERS’ familiar and typical sculpture, the “Greek Slave.” All these suffering nationalities are being relieved by the American Com-

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mittee for Armenian and Syrian Relief— and since it is most probable that OCT. 20 AND 21 will be designated by the President as special days for the consideration of the needs of Western Asia. I venture to draw attention to these facts, and to urge contributions to the wants of the survivors of the Greek deportations. TALCOTT WILLIAMS. New York, Oct. 7, 1917. ■ NOTES: Talcott Williams, (1849–1928), was an American journalist and educator, born at Abeih, Turkey, and the son of Congregational missionaries. “The Greek Slave” was sculpted by Hiram Powers. His sculpture inspired poets to write about “The Greek Slave.” Scio, is also known as the Island of Chios. 1 Scio: Where 25,000 Greeks were massacred, 47,000 were deported, and only 5,000 were left alive by the Turks. (SKK) ———————

The New York Times, Sunday, October 14, 1917

HOPE TO GET THRACE, AND CONSTANTINOPLE. Greeks Talk of Hellenic and SerbRumanian Barrier Against Central Powers ATHENS, Sept. 4. (Correspondence of The Associated Press)—If the Turk is to leave Europe as the Entente Allies have required in their war terms, then there is a well-defined belief in the Balkans that two results will occur of high importance to Greece and all Europe: First—That the Greek inevitably will succeed the Turk throughout Thrace and in the whole region down to the Dardanelles and the Bosporus. Second—That a new zone of territory friendly to the Entente will thus be stretched horizontally straight across the

Balkans as a barrier to the German dream of making the Balkans a German highroad to the Orient. PROFESSOR ANDREADE of the University of Athens, one of the foremost authorities on international affairs relating to the Balkans, holds this view, and In the course of a talk today, he explained how these two results would naturally come about in the final peace adjustment by reason of the principle of nationalities now accepted by the Entente Allies as a basis for territorial readjustment. Professor Andreade, who is a specialist on the extent of Greek citizenship beyond the Greek frontiers—in Macedonia and the other Balkans, in Turkey, Syria, and Asia Minor—pointed out the great predominance of the Greeks in the regions to be evacuated by the Turks if they are to leave Europe. The whole vilayet, or province, of Adrianople[1], extending from the Balkans down to Constantinople[2], he declared, is as much Greek as it is Turk, and with the Turks out it is practically all Greek. “Even Constantinople,” he said, “is a Greek city—the largest of Greek cities— with a population of 350,000 Greeks. That gives an idea of the extent of Greek citizenship in all this section down to the straits, which will have to be considered on the basis of nationality and race when the Turk leaves Europe.” Professor Andreade, referring to the Balkan map showed how the readjustment of Balkan boundaries, based on nationalities, would interpose two barriers to Germanic expansion toward Asia Minor[3] and the Orient: one, the Greek zone across Thrace, and another, the Serb-Rumanian link of territory which lies as a dam between Hungary and Bulgaria. This Serb-Rumanian link is only fifty miles across, but with Rumania getting the Banat region, to

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which Professor Andreade says she is entitled by the principle of nationality, this Entente link will be 150 miles across. ■ Adrionople is now Edirne. Constantinople is now Istanbul. 3 Asia Minor is now Turkey. (SKK) 1 2

Before WWI, and well before the Jewish Holocaust: Germany with its eye on the Baghdad Rail Lines, chromium, iron deposits, and other raw minerals in Turkey, encouraged the Turkish Government to wipe out once and for all the indigenous Christian inhabitants of Asia Minor (now Turkey). During the First World War, Germany and Turkey were allies. In order to expedite the extermination process of the Christian population, Turkey provided Turkey with military personnel, training, uniforms, and armaments. (SKK) ———————

Turco-Teuton fashion, which in this instance turned out to be by wholesale drowning. “The unfortunate survivors of the deportation were towed out for several miles into the Black Sea and then calmly dumped overboard, just like so much garbage. None of them survived. ” ■ PLEASE SEE: The Washington Post, 1 January 1918. Headlines: 1,000,000 Greeks Are Put to Death By Turco-Teuton Forces in Asia” “Children and Old Men Towed Out to Sea in Barges and Dumped Overboard to Drown Turks’ Brutality” “Organized by Hun Efficiency.” ———————

The New York Times, January 1, 1918

The Washington Post, January 1, 1918

1,000,000 GREEKS KILLED?

1,000,000 Greeks Are Put to Death By Turco-Teuton Forces in Asia

Trebizond Merchant Puts Victims of “Turco-Germans” at That Figure.

Children and Old Men Towed Out to Sea in Barges and Dumped Overboard to Drown Turks’ Brutality Organized by Hun Efficiency.

At least 1,000,000 Greeks, men women, and children, have perished as the result of organized massacres and deportations by “the Turco-Germans” in Asiatic Turkey, according to a statement by LAZAROS GEORGE MACRIDES, son of a leading merchant of Trebizond, made public through the Armenian and Syrian Relief Committee here yesterday. Macrides, who recently arrived here, says he was one of a party of 2,000 Greeks which was rescued by the Russian fleet that bombarded the town of Ordou late last August and took the refugees aboard. “Those of us who were between the ages of 16 and 60 were drafted into the Turkish Army,” said Macrides. “Our women and children and the older men were placed temporarily in homes and orphanages until the opportunity offered to dispose of them in the approved

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New York, Dec. 31.—At least 1,000,000 Greeks, men, women and children have perished as the result of organized massacres and deportations by the “Turco-Teutons” in Asiatic Turkey according to a statement by LAZAROS GEORGE MACRIDES, son of a leading merchant of Trebizond, made public through the Armenian and Syrian relief committee here today. Macrides, who recently arrived here says he was one of a party of 2,000 Greeks which was rescued by the Russian fleet that bombarded the town of Ordou late last August, and took the refugees aboard. He had been taken to Ordou, he said when the Turks raided Trebizond and seized his father’s store along with those of other Greek merchants.

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“Those of us who were between the ages of 16 and 60 were drafted into the Turkish army” said Macrides. “Our women and children and the older men were placed temporarily in homes and orphanages until the opportunity offered to dispose of them in the approved Turco-Teuton fashion, which in this instance turned out to be by wholesale drowning. “The unfortunate survivors of deportation were towed out for several miles into the Black Sea and then calmly dumped overboard just like so much garbage. None of them survived German efficiency has simply organized the the natural brutality of the Turk and made it many times more effective than ever before I should think that at the most conservative estimate at least 1,000,000 of my fellow countrymen have perish miserably, through the organized cruelty of this Turco Teutonic alliance. The only hope of the future lies in America.” ■

Source: Internet

The Red Cross Magazine March 1918

The Official Organ of the American National Red Cross

PLEASE SEE: The New York Times, 1 January 1918. Headlines: “1,000,000 GREEKS KILLED? “Trebizond Merchant Puts Victims of ‘Turco-Germans’ at That Figure.” (SKK)

WHATEVER else you may do, do not fail to read this account of the extermination of the Christian race by the Turks. Coming as it does from an authoritative source, we consider it one of the most striking and authentic documents of the war as well as a clear exposition of Germany’s guilt in the bloody affair.—THE EDITORS.

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The Greatest Horror In History

The Hartford Courant, February 22, 1918

By Henry Morgenthau Formerly United States Ambassador to Turkey [from 1913 to 1916]

Greeks of Asia Minor. Hartford people received yesterday a circular letter asking aid for destitute Greeks of Asia Minor who are in Greece or are being deported to that kingdom. Greeks are being treated as Armenians have been served, the letter says, “Contributons are to be sent to Rollin Grant, president of the Irving National Bank, New York. ■ NOTE: This report points to Turkey’s campaign to eliminate the Greeks as well. (SKK)

EX-AMBASSADOR HENRY MORGENTHAU was at his post in Constantinople when the Great War broke out. So he had an unusual opportunity of viewing the operation of the grandiose scheme by which Germany planned to dominate the world. Just as the first German military onslaught was

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against Paris, so her first great political intrigue centered on the Bosphorus. In the accompanying article Mr. Morgenthau tells, for the first time, his story of the Armenian horror—the greatest single massacre in the history of the world—which Germany could, but would not, prevent. It is of peculiar interest that Mr. Morgenthau, a Jew born in Germany, was an American Ambassador, the chief protector of the Christians [the Armenians, Assyrians, and Greeks] in Turkey. Mr. Morgenthau holds that the destruction of the military power of Germany and the expulsion of the Turks from Europe are essential to the progress of civilization.—THE EDITORS. Extracts: THE WAR A LONG SOUGHT OPPORTUNITY The conditions of the war gave to the Turkish Government its longed-for opportunity to lay hold of the Armenians. At the very beginning they sent for some of the Armenian leaders and notified them that if any Armenians should render the slightest assistance to the Russians when they invaded Turkey, they would not stop to investigate but punish the entire race. They criticized their ancestors for neglecting to destroy or convert the Christian races to Mohammedanism at the time when they first subjugated them. Now, as four of the Great Powers were at war with them and the two others were their allies, they thought the time opportune to make good the oversight of their ancestors in the 15th century. They concluded that, once they had carried out their plan, the Great Powers would find themselves before an accomplished fact that their crime would be condoned, as was done in the case of the massacres of 1895–96, when the Great Powers did not even reprimand the Sultan. (9) They had drafted the able-bodied Armenians into the army [amele tuburu, Arabic for conscription slave-labor battalions] without, however, giving them arms; they used them simply to build roads or do similar menial work. Then, under pretext of searching the houses for arms, they pillaged the belongings of the villagers. They requisitioned for the use of their army all that they could get from the Armenians, without paying for it. They asked them to make exorbitant contributions for the benefit of the National Defense Committee. (9) DIABOLICAL CRUELTIES The final and worst measure used against the Armenians was the wholesale deportation of the entire population from their homes and their exile to the desert, with all the accompanying horrors on the way. No means were provided for the transportation or nourishment. The victims, which included educated men and women of standing, had to walk on foot,

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exposed to the attacks of bands of criminals especially organized for that purpose. Homes were literally uprooted; families were separated; men killed, women and girls violated daily on the way or taken to harems. Children were thrown into the rivers or sold to strangers by their mothers to save them from starvation. The facts contained in the reports received at the Embassy from absolutely trustworthy eyewitnesses surpass the most beastly and diabolical cruelties ever before perpetrated or imagined in the history of the world. The Turkish authorities had stopped all communication between the provinces and the capital in the naïve belief that they could consummate this crime of the ages before the outside world could hear it. But the information filtered through the Consuls, missionaries, foreign travellers and even Turks…. (9) MEDIAEVAL TORTURES OUTDONE Another terrible thing in Mamuret-ul-Aziz was the tortures to which the people had been subjected for two months; and they had generally treated so harshly the families of the better class. Feet, hands, chests were nailed to a piece of wood; nails of fingers and toes were torn out; beards and eyebrows pulled out; feet were hammered with nails, as they do with horses; others were hung with their feet up and heads down over closets [toilets]…. Oh! How one would wish that all these facts were not true. In order that people outside might not hear the screams of agony of the poor victims, men stood around the prison wherein these atrocities were committed, with drums and whistles....(12) All the high Catholic Armenians, together with their Archbishop were murdered. (12) THE RED CROSS IN TURKEY …Will the outrageous terrorizing—the cruel torturing—the driving of women into the harems—the debauchery of innocent girls—the sale of many of them at eighty cents each— the murdering of hundreds of thousands and the deportation to and starvation in the deserts of other hundreds of thousands—the destruction of hundreds of villages and cities — will the willful execution of this whole devilish scheme to annihilate the Armenian, Greek and Syrian Christians of Turkey— will all this go unpunished? Will the Turks be permitted, aye, even encouraged by our cowardice in not striking back, to continue to treat all Christians in their power as “unbelieving dogs”? Or will definite steps be

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promptly taken to rescue permanently the remnants of these fine, old, civilized, Christian peoples from the fangs of the Turks? (15) ■ FOR AMBASSADOR HENRY MORGENTHAU’S ENTIRE REPORT: The Greatest Horror in History, PLEASE SEE: ———————

The New York Times, April 7, 1918

BOMBARDING SHIPS RESCUE 2,000 GREEKS Remarkable Escape of Starving Exiles from Hands of Turks Brought to New York by Two of Those Starved By M. LAVINIA MANTON. A CROWD OF homeless, hopeless human beings had gathered, August 9, 1917, in the town of Ordou, Asia Minor which is near the southeast edge of the Black Sea. They were Greek exiles whom the long arm of the war had touched on the shoulders, had directed from their homes all along the coast, point them on a journey toward the end of which they knew not of. There were 10,000 of them at Ordou on the very ground where the Argonauts, famed in fable, took ship for their adventurous but successful, quest of the Golden Fleece. Because the spirit of hope never dies, it is possible that a faint optimism stirred within them that some modern Jason would appear to deliver them. Then out across the sea the outline of a ship appeared clearly silhouetted against the skyline. Another and another came in sight, until a flotilla of nine warships and three torpedo boats, all flying the Russian flag, came into

clear view and lined up in battle array. (It is perhaps needless to assail the intelligence of the reader by saying that ORDOU was in the possession of the Turks. TREBIZOND, a few hundred miles west of Ordou on the same coastline, had come into the possession of the Russians.) Fearing to cheer even could their voices have been heard, weak as they were, from starvation and sickness, the half terrified refugees waited huddling. Suddenly there was a puff of smoke and uncertainty was ended. A shell dropped and exploded. Ordou was being bombarded. The explanation was that the Russian naval force had been ordered to make a surprise attack on Ordou, clear the town of its Turkish soldiery sufficiently to enter and destroy certain ammunition depots and an airplane centre known to be there. This the Russians proceeded to do. Having sent the Turks to the rear in a temporary retreat, landing parties were sent ashore from the armed ships. As the small boats approached, the inmates beheld the halffearful, half-welcoming congregation of exiles on the shore. The former were not on a sight-seeing expedition, however, and quickly formed ranks. They swarmed through the streets and after locating the points of their search, blew the buildings with contents to atoms. By this time the number of exiles on the shore had been augmented by those who had come out of hiding and now followed the Russians about imploring them for protection. But the latter had no orders to provide for a small army of exiles. While the leaders among the exiles talked with those among the Russians commanding the landing party, the men, women, and children along the water-

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front began taking it for granted that the bombardment was merely part of a plan for their special deliverance. At last the hoped for order was given on the warships a concession to the importance of the exiles’ leaders, whose pleading could not be utterly denied. Those in the crowd nearest the landing boats were ordered into them and were taken to one of the ships. This was the signal for a wild scramble to the water’s edge. Two thousand men, women, and children scaled the rope ladders from the little boats. Then instead of making another trip to shore through the surf, as was expected, that landing boats were hauled up to their davits! A wild cry went up from the shore. Mothers held out their arms frantically to children peeping through the deck-rails of the ships, daughters screamed to their mothers and fathers on shore; in vain husbands called to their young wives. The ships moved seaward, with more than their mission accomplished against the haze where the line of water merged into the line of the sky. Many hours later the human cargo was landed at Trebizond. The story of the rescue of 2,000 exiles at Ordou by a Russian naval vessel comes to New York with two Greek refugees who were among the fortunate to escape. They are Lazaros George MACRIDES and Miss Evterpi G. KANTARGI, now living with relatives in Brooklyn. Mr. Macrides and Miss Kantargi were among those nearest the water’s edge when the word of embarkation commenced and he was among the first to be taken abroad. In the confusion he became separated from his companion and when he got to the deck began a search for her. Failing to find her anywhere on the ship, he scanned the faces of the people on the shore. At last he

glimpsed her struggling in the water where she had been thrown from the small boat taking her to the ship. Macrides jumped overboard and swam to the rescue of the girl, who was nearly drowned when he reached and rescued her. This romantic bit—the fortunate ending of the adventure of these young people—is only a shining thread in the tragic story of the Greek exiles now being driven into Asia Minor. At the outbreak of the great war there was estimated to be about five million Greek Christians in Turkey, all subject to Turkish rule. According to the latest, and most trustworthy, information some seven or eight hundred thousand have been deported, and the remainder are living under the constant dread of being summoned any day to the road and the march. The region from which they have been gathered, and sent to the interior, is bounded by the Black Sea on the north, the coast lines of the Aegean, the Marmora, and the Mediterranean Seas on the west, the coastline of the Mediterranean Sea on the south, and an imaginary line from Alexandretta to Trebizond on the east. On Saturday, JULY 20, 1917, the following orders came from the Army Headquarters at Sheishehie (Endered): “By JULY 25 let no Greek man over 16 and under 50 be found in Ordou. Send all such on into the interior. As for the families, we will send further orders later.” It was little more than two weeks later that 2,000 people of Ordou were rescued by the Russian ships. Those who were left fell under the fatal order. The reason Mr. Macrides had been spared deportation was because he happened to be in the employ of a military official of Ordou. In this way he was in Ordou the day of the naval bom-

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bardment. He is now doing what he can to assist the Relief Committee for Greeks in Asia Minor, with headquarters at 1 Madison Avenue, New York. He says: “Deportation in Asia Minor, is a euphemism for the most heartless and relentless cruelty. It means the loss of home, business property, and every personal possession. It means being driven into the desert places. forced to march at the point of the bayonet until strength is exhausted; being refused shelter, food, and drink; subject to outrage and calculated cruelty; facing, always, death by violence or from the cumulative effect of exposure, sickness and starvation. The people are herded and goaded like animals. The desperate refugees subsist chiefly on offal; graze like cattle on the roots of scanty grass tufts that push their dry and dusty stems above the sandy soil. It is impossible for words to give an adequate idea of the tragedy of bare existence under such awful conditions. “Many dropped by the roadside, to die where they fell. Others that I know of went insane. And that was only at the beginning. They are still marching on!” Centres of relief have been established at various points in Asia Minor and the Near East. Working in co-operation with the organization channels direct to these centres of relief, the Greek Relief Committee can reach many of these unfortunate people, Rollin P. Grant, President of the Irving National Bank, Woolworth Building, New York, is Treasurer of the Greek organization and is receiving contributions. Working with him are Frank W. Jackson, former United Sates Consul to Patras, Chairman of the committee; B. D. Dugundji, Vice Chairman; Jacob Gould Schurman, Honorary Chairman; Professor J. P.

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Xenides, Secretary; Hamilton Holt, HENRY MORGENTHAU, Talcott Williams, and others. ■ Excerpt of “Deportations” from the above report as described by an eyewitness and Greek survivor from Ordou near Trebizond (1918):

Deportation in Asia Minor, is a euphemism for the most heartless and relentless cruelty. It means the loss of home, business property, and every personal possession. It means being driven into the desert places, forced to march at the point of the bayonet until strength is exhausted; being refused shelter, food, and drink; subject to outrage and calculated cruelty; facing, always, death by violence or from the cumulative effect of exposure, sickness and starvation. The people are herded and goaded like animals. The desperate refugees subsist chiefly on offal; graze like cattle on the roots of scanty grass tufts that push their dry and dusty stems above the sandy soil. It is impossible for words to give an adequate idea of the tragedy of bare existence under such awful conditions. “Many dropped by the roadside, to die where they fell. Others that I know of went insane. And that was only at the beginning. They are still marching on!––LAZAROS GEORGE MACRIDES ———————

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Assyrians: From Bedr Khan to Saddam Hussein: Driving into Extinction the Last Aramaic Speakers. Verdugo City, CA: Perlida Publishing Second Edition, 2007. Assyrians: The Continuous Saga. & Indigenous People in Distress. ———————

The New York Times, August 26, 1918

TELLS OF TURKISH CRUELTY TO GREEKS

PROF. PHILLIP K. HITTI Source Internet

The New York Times, August 17, 1918

Assyrians Not Syrians To the Editor of The New York Times In a Chicago dispatch that appeared in your columns this morning the statement was made that the Persian Consul according to certain charges helped Persians and “Syrians” to evade the draft. No Persian Consul in the United States could have anything whatever to do with the Syrians, whose interests since the severance of diplomatic relations with Turkey have been in the hands of the Spanish Embassy and Consulates. Evidently the reference is not to Syrians, but to Assyrians, who come from the northwestern part of Persia, and would naturally come within the scope of the Persian Consul’s activity. Failure to keep clear the distinction between Assyrians and Syrians has often led to great confusion. PHILIP K. HITTI. Columbia University, Aug. 15, 1918 ■ NOTE: Professor Philip K. Hitti is the author of the History of the Arabs—a book that required ten years to complete. PLEASE READ 3 books By Aprim, Frederick A.

Germany Instigated Persecutions, Says Head of Commission, Now Here, in Address.

RELY ON SUPPORT OF ALLIES Four Millions of Race Now Under Slavery In Asia Minor—Look with Hope to Wilson. In their first official appearance before the Greek compatriots in this country, the members of the newly arrived commission representing the cause of “enslaved Hellenism” made a strong appeal at a luncheon in the Central Park Casino yesterday for American and allied support for the liberation of 4,000,000 oppressed Greeks now languishing in Asia Minor under the tyranny of Turkish and Bulgarian rule. NICHOLAS G. KYRIAKIDES, head of the commission and President of the Central Committee of Unredeemed Greeks, said it would be the purpose of his mission to arouse in this country such sympathy and interest in the sufferings of the enslaved Greeks as would cause public opinion to recognize their liberation as absolutely essential to the achievement of the ideals of democracy and humanity in Europe. Mr. Kyriakides was joined in his plea, by his associate on the commission, C. VASSILAKAKIS, a member of the Greek

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Parliament, and the Greek Minister the United States, GEORGE ROUSSOS.

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Tells of Systematic Persecution. The luncheon was given in honor of the commission by THE SOCIETY OF MARMORIANS, an organization of natives from that part of Asia Minor, where the Greeks are still under Turkish rule. GEORGE KYRIAKIDES, son of the head of the Greek Commission, as President of the society delivered the address of welcome, to which the elder KYRIAKIDES, speaking in English, replied in part as follows: “Systematic methodical, and synchronized persecutions of which even the darkest period of history has no record were and are still inflicted upon our oppressed brothers in Asia Minor, Thrace, and Eastern Macedonia, by the Young Turks and Bulgars, instigated by the scientific barbarism of Germany. “Nothing else is heard from our unfortunate and enslaved country excepting reports of rapacious atrocities, slaughters, massacres, deaths, premeditated and calculated starvation, deportations on a wholesale scale, long marches, night and day, exhaustion, terrorism, suppression of the liberties of our Patriarchate, all committed by the criminal Governments of Turkey and Bulgaria. “LOUIS EINSTEIN, late Special Agent of the American Embassy at Constantinople, writing on the 28th of July 1915, on the persecutions of our brothers’ reports in his book, entitled ‘Inside Constantinople,’ the following: “The persecutions of the Greeks are assuming unexpected proportions. Only a fortnight ago they were reassured and told that the measures taken against the Greek villages in Marmora were temporary and not comparable with those against the Armenians. Now it

looks as if there is equality in suffering and that the intention existed to uproot and destroy both peaceful communities. “The poor Greeks are obliged to leave their homes often without any notice, compelled to march night and day without food or water, and when they cry for this the Turkish guards point to the mosque and tell them the high road to the comforts lies in Islam. Their cattle are requisitioned, and they are obliged to nourish them when they themselves starve. “The above is the report of LOUIS EINSTEIN about the Marmora Islands and vicinity. But do not lose courage; do not despair; do not faint at the hearing of these atrocities, oppressions, and persecutions. Let us rely upon the vitality of our race and upon the support of our noble alliance and that of our mother country. Race Destined to Live. “Our race is destined to live and will live. Sixty thousand of our enslaved brothers, who took refuge in Greece, independent, faithful to our national traditions, are now fighting at the Balkan front side by side with the gallant armies of our allies for a common cause, for the same ideals and for our national restoration. “About twenty thousand Greeks[1] have already joined the American Army and are now fighting under the Stars and Stripes against the German barbarism of the western front. The great American Republic, faithful to its ideals and its traditions, has gallantly undertaken, together with the Allies, to defend the cause of all the small nations under yoke, of liberty and justice. “We can look forward to a brighter day, strengthened in our assurance for the future, now that PRESIDENT WILSON has become for the whole world the elo-

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quent champion of democracy and humanity as against the ancient menace of oppression and autocracy.” Other speakers at the luncheon were JOHN D. STEPHANIDIS, Chairman of the Committee of Enslaved Greeks, and two ecclesiastical members of the commission, ARCHIMANDRITIS A. PAPADOPOULOS, Secretary of the Holy Synod, and CHRISOSTOMOS PAPADOPOULOS, Professor of Theology in the University of Athens. C. VASSILAKAKIS, Deputy of the Greek Parliament, appealed for strong union and organization of the Greeks in this country, declaring that only in the strength of their organization would they be able to assist the liberation of their oppressed compatriots in Asia Minor. GEORGE ROUSSOS, the Greek Minister, paid a tribute to the members of the commission for undertaking the great purpose of which they were the champions. Among the other prominent Greeks present were STEPHEN PANTELIDIS, Attaché of the Greek Ministry in this country; ALEXANDER VOUROS, Consular representative, and S. G. TAYLOR, one of the leaders of the organization of the MARMORIAN SOCIETY. Prior to the luncheon, the guests attended the first appearance at the Greek Church in this city of the Primate of Greece, ARCHBISHOP MELETIOS of Athens, who came over with the commission. Several thousand Greek residents of New York thronged the church and participated with great enthusiasm in the reception to the Archbishop. ■ PFC George Dilboy is one of the approximately 20,000 Greeks in the attached news report. The Hero, as he is known, was born in Alatsata, Asia Minor. He served in the U.S. Army during the Great War. He was the only Greek-American awarded posthumously the Congressional Medal of Honor, for extraordinary bravery beyond the call of duty. 1

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PLEASE SEE: The New York Times, 19 September 1918. Headline: “Germans Inspired Turkish Atrocities Against Asiatic Greeks” The New York Times, 5 November 1922. Headlines: “Army Will Honor Dilboy War Hero” “Private Killed at Belleau Wood Will be Buried At Arlington” The New York Times, 1 November 1923. Editorial Page: “Turkey Makes Amends. Admits Desecration of Doughboy’s Coffin and Gives it Full Honors.”

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The New York Times, September 19, 1918

GERMANS INSPIRED TURKISH ATROCITIES AGAINST ASIATIC GREEKS NICHOLAS G. KYRIAKIDES, a wealthy shipowner of Athens, and CHRISTO VASSILAKAKI, a member of the Greek Parliament, have come to this country to tell the American people and the American Government about Turkish brutalities to Greeks in Asia Minor. Both have taken an active part in the work of the Central Committee of Unredeemed Greeks, an organization built up in Athens to help relieve the condition of the thousands of Greeks living under the rule of the Turk. The Greeks, in their desire for commercial and cultural growth, have for centuries spread far beyond the confines of their country. Before the appearance of the Turk in Asia Minor that country was inhabited almost wholly by a Greek-speaking population, which formed the backbone of the Byzantium Empire, furnishing it with its finest soldiers from among the peasantry and its best administrators from among the aristocracy.

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When the Turkish hordes entered the country they settled in the interior, destroying the splendid cities and farm life there, preferring the life of pasture which better suited their nomadic tastes. The Turk, however, never became a sailor or a trader, hence the seaports all along the coast of Asia Minor remained Greek. Today there are not less than 2,000,000 Greeks in Asia Minor especially strong on the Western Coast, but found also spread along the Southern and Northern Coasts. Nearly all the trade and commerce and whatever manufacture there is, are in the hands of the Greeks, their only competition being from the Armenians. In Smyrna, the chief city of Asia Minor, they number 125,000 of the total population of 350,000 and control the Industrial and economic life of the city. But it is not only in old cities like Smyrna that they show their ability and efficiency. The chief seaport of Northwest Asia Minor is Aivali, newly built in the third decade of the nineteenth century, on the site of an old Greek town. It is a fine example of a large almost purely Greek and practically self-governing community, with more than 25,000 inhabitants, a yearly export business of 12,000,000 francs and a shipping of 3,000 vessels. It has thoroughly modern business institutions, as well as a Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture and an Agricultural Bank. A striking evidence of the alert and progressive spirit of the Greeks is given in the way in which they have followed the railroads into the interior. The cities which have been connected by the railroads going out from Constantinople and Smyrna and the towns which have sprung up beside them have become centres of Greek influence. The Greeks have settled in them in large numbers, and control not only the economic life

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of the towns themselves, but of the surrounding country. It is a great mistake, however, to assume, as many observers have done, that the Greeks of Asia Minor are only sailors and traders, but are not bound to the soil, that they form a purely city element and that the country folk consists only of Turks. The large Greek islands of the Asiatic coast, (Mitylene, Rhodes, Samos, and Chios) have dense populations living in great measure from grape and fruit raising and from silk culture. Farming plays no large part simply because of the lack of arable land. Hence many peasants have emigrated to the mainland, where they settled in the fruitful valleys of the Maeander, the Hermos, and the Sangarios. In this way new and thickly populated settlements have come into existence in the midst of the more scattered Turkish populations and the higher fecundity of the Greek settlers, combined with their industry, their frugality, their intellectual keenness, and their community-feeling, helped always by the retrogression of the Turkish population itself have contributed to extend the Hellenizing process more and more to the country districts. In comparatively recent times there have come to light in the interior of Asia Minor large settlements of Greeks who speak Turkish and conceal the fact that they are Christians, and for political reasons pass as adherents of Islam, but who have kept up their Greek national feeling. Ever since the outbreak of the war, [WWI] however, Turkey has steadily been waging a campaign of brutality against these Greeks on a par with her work of devastation in Armenia. Apart from the indignation arising out of the tales of these atrocities there is a point of in-

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terest in the fact that behind this cruelty is the hand of Germany. This is not mere conjecture. The Greeks have gathered their facts. These show the guilt of Germany. As far back as April 1915, and even earlier. Through the agency of the Deutsche Palestina Bank, circular notices in Turkish arousing the fanaticism of the Mussulmans, were distributed and broadcast. In June, 1915, the Young Turk Committee, with the knowledge of the Germans, adopted resolutions whose purpose was the formation of closer relations with the Bulgarians and the persecution of the Greek element under Turkish rule. These resolutions made the following provisions. 1. The establishment of a TurkoBulgarian commercial alliance, complementary to the Turko-Bulgarian Committee. 2. Taking the commerce of the East out of Greek hands. 3. Establishment in the East of Turkish commercial agencies for the importation of goods exclusively through Mussulman hands, the Turks being expected to stop all dealings with the Greeks. 4. Limitation of the privileges of the PATRIARCHATE and his ecclesiastic jurisdiction; weddings, baptisms, &c., were to be recorded with the Iman, (Mohammedan priest.) 5. Restriction of instruction in the Greek language and its total abandonment in the future.[1] 6. The Turkification of the Greek element by force through the establishment of mixed communities, so constituted as always to have a preponderance of Mussulmans and Greek women, with a view of compelling mixed marriages. The following extract of an official report of MR. GRYPARIS, Minister from

Greece to Vienna, dated Sept. 13, 1915, gives further evidence of the power beyond the Turkish plan of annihilation. MR. GRYPARIS had taken the matter up with BARON BURIAN, asking his intervention. “What is the use,” he writes “of formal remonstrances to the Sublime Porte, or of appeals to the two empires to intervene with her? Is it not perfectly evident that, as things are now in Turkey, the Grand Vizier is only nominally Grand Vizier, the Government being really in the hands of ENVER and TALAAT, whose ideas and opinions about Hellenism in Turkey are only too well known, and that, further, the decisions about banishing to the interior the Greek populations of the seacoast were taken only after coming to an understanding with the German staff in Constantinople?” There is other evidence to back up the assertion of German intrigue, MR. KYRIAKIDES names HENRY MORGENTHAU, late[sic] Ambassador to Turkey; DR. W.W. PEET, a well-known author, and MR. STÜRMER, a German writer, all of whom assert that the Germans are responsible for the massacres of the Armenians and the destruction of Greek and Syrian communities. There is no question that Germany has her reasons for thus aligning herself with the Turk. She knows that the Greek element in Asia is the bulwark against Pan Germanic expansion in that territory. Since the war 500,000 Greeks from Asia Minor, Thrace and Macedonia, all Turkish subjects, have gone to Greece for help. Of these, 60,000 have entered the Greek army at the Balkan front. 45,000 are doing work on the front in France, and 40,000 are in Macedonia. That is the record of the people who have been able to escape. Others have

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not been so fortunate. According to s official figures, the numbers who have died of starvation amount to 50,000. There have been numberless deaths due to other causes. MR. KYRIAKIDES is touring the country to bring these truths home to his people. His idea first was to ask the American Government to allow Greeks here to go over as a national group. It seems that the plan is not feasible. His second aim is to induce the Greeks in America who are Turkish subjects not to claim exemption on the grounds of their alienism. At a meeting held in South Bethlehem, Penn., all the members in the room voluntarily took an oath binding themselves to fight in the armies of the United States when called.[3] The aim of the Turks and the Germans is to eliminate the question of the Greeks as far as the Turkish Empire is concerned, at the time when the peace conference is called. The aim of the commission here and the patriotic Greeks here is to have that question on a par with the questions of Belgium and Rumania. ■ CORRECTION: Henry Morgenthau was the ex-Ambassador to Turkey at the time; NOT the late Ambassador. In the mid 70’s, before disembarking in Istanbul (formerly Constantinople) from a Greek cruise ship—the ship’s captain warned us (the passengers) to NOT SPEAK GREEK, or to use Greek currency either—on shore. PLEASE SEE: The New York Times, 26 August 1918. Headlines: “Tells of Turkish Cruelty to Greeks” “Germany Integrated Persecution, Says Head of Commission, Now Here in Address.” “Rely On Support of Allies” “Four Millions of Race Now Under Slavery in Asia Minor—Look With Hope to Wilson.” 3 The New York Times, 5 November 1922. Headlines: “Army Will Honor Dilboy War Hero” “Private Killed at Belleau Wood Will Be Buried At Arlington.” 3 The New York Times, 1 November 1923. Headlines: “Turkey Makes Amends” “Admits Desecration of Doughboy’s Coffin and Gives it Full Honors.” 2

PLEASE READ: 3 Georgie! My Georgie! By Eddie Brady. It’s the astounding story of one of the ten greatest heroes of WWI, it’s the story of PFC George Dilboy—the recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor. The Hero as he is also known, was born and raised in Alatsata, Asia Minor. (Later, Alatsata was renamed Alachata by the Turks) ———————

VISCOUNT BRYCE Source Internet

London Times—Public Ledger Service, November 19, 1918

GERMAN GUILT FIXED FOR ARMENIA WOE Viscount Bryce Tells How Berlin Stifled Protests of Missionaries London Times-Public Ledger Service Special Cable Dispatch Copyright 1918, by Public Ledger Co. London, Nov. 19 —Referring to the presence of Armenian children in German hospitals in Asiatic Turkey. VISCOUNT BRYCE writes to the Times: “German missionaries in Asiatic Turkey did their utmost during the massacres of 1915 to save and relieve the victims by appealing in the strongest terms to interpose and require the Turks to desist from the appalling massacres which were disgracing Germany. Then the German Government not only refused to listen to their appeal, but did all it could to prevent it from becoming known in Germany,

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so as to prevent the awful realization coming to the knowledge of the German people. It is beyond all question that the German Government not only connived at but tacitly approved the massacres.” ■ GENOCIDES OF THE 19TH AND 20TH CENTURIES IN CHRONOLOGIC SEQUENCE: * 1894 to 1922–23: Documents and news reports reveal Germany’s unmistakable role in aiding and abetting the extermination of the Christian presence throughout Asia Minor. The Turks were willing accomplices. * 1907: German Colonists in Namibia, Africa; carried out their plans to remove the presence of the Heroro people by forcing them into the scorching dessert where they either died from the poisoned wells; or where they were shot to death. * 1939–1945: Germany carried out its plans to exterminate the Jews, Polish Christians, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Roma Gypsies, homosexuals and the disabled from Europe. (SKK) ———————

The Atlanta Constitution, December 10, 1918

Turkish Hypocrisy Exposed by a Greek Editor Constitution: The lately published declaration of the new sultan of Turkey, MEHMET VASSADEL-DIN, in which, impudently, he states that his country’s entrance into the world war was simply an “accident” and that he intends to punish severely all who took active part in the Armenian massacres and other inhuman ferocities against the Christian population of the Turkish empire, comes to surprise those who have studied the Turkish character and ruling since the downfall of the Byzantine empire in 1453 and the occupation of Constantinople and other Greek provinces in Macedonia and Ionian coast. ■

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During said ruling, combined with blood and devastation, their main aim was the complete annihilation of every Christian element throughout the Ottoman empire. Their ancestors’ plans were carried out through the centuries by mathematic precision. The Turk is born and raised to hate everything that is Christian. Such was, is and will be the Turk until the end of the world. If the new sultan attempts to bring to justice his hordes by punishing the fomenters of the massacres and other atrocities I wonder who is going to act as a judge or juror from his people to try the offenders, when every Turk, even himself, the sultan, are guilty for all crimes against the Christians of the empire. The duty, therefore, of the entire civilized world is to put a stop to such barbarous and inhuman acts and force the accursed Turk back to the Red Appletree[1] where he belongs, as his presence among the civilized nations imputes a stigma to the cause for which the entire democratic world have fought to uphold justice, liberty and humanity. EDWARD J. COCALIS. Atlanta, Ga. ■ PLEASE READ: THE MIRACLE: A True Story, by Leonidas Koumakis, translated into English by Frederic Will. The following excerpt refers to the Red Apple Tree: After the Seljuks had won the Battle of Manzikert in Asia Minor in 1071 and the countdown had begun for the dissolution of the Byzantine Empire, the Greeks in Asia Minor created the legend of the 1 Red Apple Tree with the unerring instinct of a people that could foresee the forthcoming disaster. ———————

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THE BELLEVUE-STRATFORD HOTEL is a Philadelphia landmark. It is on the par with the WALDORF ASTORIA HOTEL in New York City. *The Philadelphia Evening Bulletin is now extinct. (SKK) ———————

The Scotsman, [date illegible] 1919 The Bellevue Hotel Source: Internet

The Philadelphia Evening Bulletin [*] [date unclear] 1919

GIRLS DIED TO ESCAPE TURKS Captain Haig BONAPARTE, of the Ar- w menian army deeply moved an audience at the BELLEVUE-STRATFORD today by telling how two of his sisters had poisoned themselves and a third had drowned herself rather than submit to the Turks. The captain is aide to General ANTRANIK, hailed here as “the George Washington of Armenia,” who spoke in his native tongue. They were given a reception by members of the Armenian colony and the NEAR EAST RELIEF COMmittee. “Hundreds of other Armenian women have killed themselves rather than acceded to the demands of the Turks,” said Captain Bonaparte. General Antranik, in his talk, translated by an interpreter, said; “For the peace of the world, America is the only hope of Armenia, and she must say the last word. She must help Armenia quickly. America will go down in the golden page of history in the eyes of oppressed people if she gives us her help.” ■

NUMEROUS ARRESTS FROM THE PRESS ASSOCIATION’S SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT. CONSTANTINOPLE, January 31.—The Turkish Government has finally awakened to the gravity of the situation, and, mustering its courage, has proceded during the past three days to make numerous arrests of prominent members of the Union and Progress party. Up to yesterday the arrests numbered about forty, and included HUSSEIN DJAHID BEY, a former editor of the Tanin, Vice President of the late Chamber of Deputies, and the delegate of the Turkish bondholders on the Council of the Ottoman Public Debt; Hadji Adil Bey, Vali of Adrionople; Midhat Shukri, ex-Secretary-General of the Committee of Union and Progress; Rahmi Bey, late Vali of Smyrna: Ismail Daambolah, former Minister of the Interior: M. Carasso, Jewish ex-Director of Political Affairs in the Police Administration; Kamal, ex-Minister of Food Supplies: Hussein Ladri, ex-Deputy for Karassi and the Alter Ego of Talaat Pasha; Soudi, ex-Deputy; Forid, ex-Secretary of the Committee at Konia; Hosny, member of the Central Committee; Tossoun, manager of the Milli News Agency; Djeved, formerly Military Commandant of Constantinople; Esofee and Djmdjez, former Deputies, and Muhieddin, former editor of the Committee’s organ, Tanin. These highly important arrests have produced a great impression on the public generally, and should have a sobering effect on would be disturbers of the peace, and tend to consolidate the position of the Cabinet.

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The Minister of the Interior, interviewed on the subject of the arrests, declared that justice would take its course. The charges against the prisoners are divided into several categories—namely, profiteering, massacre of Armenians, deportation and spoliation of Greeks, and ill-treatment of Allied prisoners of war. It should be added that the laudable activity of the Turkish authorities is largely due to the pressure brought to bear by the Allied High Commissioners, especially the British. The fugitive RESHID, ex-Vali of Diarberkr, has not yet been found, while another fugitive is Fiemal, a former high police official, who on hearing of the Government’s decision to institute legal proceedings against the officials of the late regime, fled and, like Reshid, is probably hiding not far from Constantinople. ■ PLEASE SEE: The Washington Post, 26 January 1919. Headline: “The Man Who Incited the Armenian Riot.” The New York Times, 15 February 1919. Headline: ‘“Ravished Armenia’ in Film.” The Scotsman, 18 February 1919. Headlines: “Armenian Massacres” “The Constantinople Court Martial.” The Scotsman, 2 July 1919. Headline: “Turkish Court-Martial Public Prosecutor Speech.” The New York Times, 13 July 1919. Headlines: “Turkey Condemns Its War Leaders” “Court-Martial Gives Death Sentence to Enver Pasha, Talaat Bey, and Djemal Pasha.” “All Three Made Escapes” “Djavid Bey and Alussa Metssa Get 15 Years at Hard Labor for Part in the War.” LEARN

ABOUT THE

TURKS

THAT ESCAPED TO

GERMANY,

ABOUT THEIR

TRIALS, AND MORE: PLEASE READ: Power, Samantha. A Problem From Hell: America and the Age of Genocide. New York: Basic Books, 2002 (Chapters 1–4).

———————

CAPTION: Sheik-ul-Islam proclaiming a Holy War. (p. 192) SOURCE: Secrets of the Bosphorus, by Henry Morgenthau

The Washington Post, January 26, 1919

The Man Who Incited the Armenian Massacres by Howard M. Owen Never has there been a more impressive demonstration of divine justice than the fate who of the SHEIKH-UL-ISLAM, until recently claimed to be the head Mohammedans throughout the world. This powerful priest, who was supposed to exercise a greater spiritual authority than any man in the Orient, lent his great influence to aid the Germans in an attempt to enslave the world. He issued, in 1915, proclamations throughout the world to rise against the Christians and exterminate them —men, women, and children. In these proclamations he hailed the KAISER as the friend and protector of Islam, using language that could be understood as implying that the German emperor was actually Mohammedan. His language was that of a fanatic. The sheikh’s proclamations were mainly responsible for the dreadful

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slaughter of the Armenians, as they encouraged the fanatical Turks and the wild, still more murderous Kurds to commit murder as a religious duty. Through this man’s criminal incitements upwards of 2,000,000 Armenians were slaughtered with every circumstance of atrocity, as the report of LORD BRYCE’S COMMISSION has proved. Expected Rebellion. It was clearly the expectation of the Sheikh-ul-Islam and the Germans that the Mohammedans throughout the world, and especially those of India, Egypt and other parts of the British empire, would rise in rebellion against the British and the allies and overwhelm them. There are upward of 221,000,000 Mohammedans in the world and 60,000,000 in British India alone. In one of his proclamations the Sheikh-ul-Islam declared: “Every Mohammedan fighting on the side of Great Britain, France and Russia is not a warrior, but a murderer, and will suffer eternal punishment for the unpardonable sin against Allah. “Every Mohammedan who dies fighting against the Christian unbelievers in this war is assured of immediate entry into paradise and all the delights promised to the true believer by the prophet.” The sheikh’s action was evidently a political conspiracy entered into with the Germans, the Turkish prime minister, ENVER PASHA, and the worst element of the Turks. The sheikh enjoyed enormous power in Turkey. He was beyond the control of the sultan. Indeed, the sultan’s decrees were not binding on the faithful if they conflicted with the Koran and the moral law, as interpreted by the

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Sheikh-ul-Islam and his college of priests. The proclamation of the holy war had an opposite effect from that which the wretched sheikh and his fellow conspirators intended. Instead of uniting the Mohammedans of the world in an attack upon the allies it came near to uniting them in an effort to demolish the sheikh’s claim to the headship of the religion. There were millions of Mohammedans who resented the leadership of the barbarous Turks and were intelligent enough to see that this so-called “holy war” was nothing but a criminal attempt by the Kaiser and the Turks to make a tools of them. Drove Turks Out. An Army mainly composed of Mohammedans from British India fought their way up the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and drove the Turks from the rich lands of Mesopotamia. Another army, similarly composed of Mohammedans, drove the Turks from the Holy Land of Palestine and from other countries which the Turks had taken from more civilized races. The worst blow of all the sheikh’s ambitions came from Mecca. The Arabs of Mecca and Medina, the sacred cities of Mohammedanism, seized the opportunity to cast off the hated yoke of the Turks. The Shereef of Mecca, a lineal descendant of Mahomet, was proclaimed king of the Hejaz. He has a claim to leadership over the Mohammedan community far better than that which the Turkish Sheikh-ul-Islam possessed and has more than filled the latter’s place. At the end of the war there was nothing left to the ambitious Sheikhul-Islam but his authority over the barbarous Turks and Kurds in the

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hills of Asia Minor. His gorgeous dream of ruling over 221,000,000 Mohammedans throughout Asia and Africa had dwindled to a precarious authority over a gang of halfstarved assassins, highwaymen and peasants. But the Sheikh-ul Islam’s effort to enslave the world found its victims in the poor Armenians. They were immediately under the thumb of the murdering Turks and Kurds. They had long been accustomed to outrage and massacre, but as soon as the sheikh’s first proclamation of a “holy war” was issued a deliberate attempt was made to exterminate them. Not Half of People Survive. This attempt came very near to succeeding. How near it is still difficult to determine, but it is accepted as certain that considerable less than one-half of the Armenian population that existed before the war now survives. No Christian powers came to the help of the poor Armenians, the oldest Christian nation in the world, until the Turks had done their worst. They were left alone in their agony till the war was over. They were the great sacrifice in the struggle to save humanity from slavery. Even the sacrifice of Belgium or Serbia cannot compare with theirs. In one region a community of 80,000 Armenians were gathered together and driven into an inaccessible desert, where they were all killed or left to starve. Scores of thousands of gentle Armenian girls were put to death with every shame and torture that devilish brutality could suggest.

The story of AURORA MARDIGANIAN, the young Armenian girl who escaped from the Turks, has already been told at length in this newspaper. It is like thousands of others, and yet unlike in that she escaped alive. Aurora was one of 18,000 Armenians from one town, who were carried away by the Turks to be slaughtered in trackless wilderness and secret places or condemned to slavery in the harem. The attack upon this community was the direct result of the Sheikh-ul-Islam’s proclamations, inciting the Turks to exterminate all Christians. Tragedy Beggars Description. The martyrdom of those gentle Christian people, the Armenians, is one of the greatest tragedies of all time, a tragedy that beggars description. The Armenian committee for relief in the Near East decided that a great, concerted effort should be made to put the entire story before the eyes of the American people and to induce them to save the remnant of the Armenian nation by money contributions and by political action. The committee decided that this object could not be better attained than by presenting the experiences of AURORA MARDIGANIAN in moving picture from to the American public, because her experiences typified the sufferings of the entire Armenian nation. This poor little girl wandered on foot in the wilderness for two years and lived on the bark of trees and such food as she could pick up. By a wonderful accident she escaped into the Russian lines, and was finally sent to America by American friends of Armenia. Coveted by Pasha. The Armenian committee sent Aurora to California recently, and there

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her story and the sufferings of her people were place on the film with herself as the chief actress. The production of this moving picture drama entitled “RAVISHED ARMENIA,” was carefully conducted with fidelity to detail of scenes and costumes, and, like AURORA MARDIGANIAN, many of those appearing in the picture were Armenians who had seen and suffered Turkish oppression. At the opening of the drama Aurora is shown in the city of Harpout, as the charming daughter of a wealthy Christian banker. She is coveted by PASSELT PASHA, the cruel Turkish ruler of the province, and when the order is given by the sultan for wholesale Christian massacres he strives to put his evil designs into execution. Aurora witnesses frightful scenes, in which thousands of men, women and children are slain or deported to face starvation and slavery, but herself manages to escape to a school conducted by an English girl, MISS GRAHAM. Marauding bands invade the school and carry off Aurora with hundreds of other young Christian girls. Miss Graham is also captured and tortured by being buried in the sand because she will not renounce her faith. Aurora and the other young girls then endure two years of frightfulness in Turkish harems and in the hands of desert tribesmen. She sees her own mother slain before her, and sees young girls whipped to death and others crucified because they will not willingly submit to the wishes of their captors. In the course of her adventures she again escapes by leaping from a high cliff into a river and wanders in the desert for nearly two years. She is

BEFORE THE SILENCE

again captured and sold in a slave market with other girls for the pathetic sum of $5 cents, and is forced to endure fresh sufferings. At last the Armenian patriots establish relations with the Russian troops. Aurora is rescued by her girlhood sweetheart, and, through the aid of missionaries, is finally brought safely to America. One of the many remarkable features of the films is the scene in which Turkish savages, while riding on horseback, pick up Armenian girls and throw them on the points of swords planted in the ground. This practice, sometimes called “the sword game,” has been common among the Turks, Kurds and others who have carried out the extermination of the Armenians. Wholesale Slaughter. AURORA MARDIGANIAN witnessed this dreadful form of wholesale slaughter, which she has thus described: “In a flat place on the plains a little distance from the spot where I was held captive, I saw a band of Tchetchens prepare for one of the frightful pastimes for which, as I afterward learned, the wild CIRCASSIAN tribes are famous. They planted their swords, which were the long, slenderbladed swords that come from Germany to the KURDS and Tchetchens, in a long row in the sand, so that the sharp-pointed blades rose out of the ground as high as would be a very small child. When we saw these preparations all of us knew what was going to happen. When Armenian children are bad their mothers sometimes tell them the Tchetchens will come and get them if they don’t be good. And when the children ask, ‘And when the Tchetchens come what

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will they do?’ their mothers say, ‘The Tchetchens are very wicked robber horsemen, who like to sharpen their swords with little boys and girls.’ “Already I was trembling with sickness of heart because of the awful night before and the things I had seen that morning when daylight came. The other girls beside me were trembling too, and felt as if they would rather die than see any more. We begged our Tchetchens to take us away—to take us where we could not look upon those sword blades—but they only laughed at us and told us we must watch and be thankful to them we were under their protection. Hideous Barbarities. “When the long row of swords had been placed the Tchetchens hurried back to the little band of Armenians. We saw them crowd among the refugees, and then come away carrying or dragging with them all the young women who were left—maybe fifteen twenty—I could not count them. “Each girl was forced to stand with a dismounted Tchetchen holding her on her feet, halfway betwo swords in the long row. The captives cried and begged, but the cruel bandits were heedless of their pleadings. “When the girls had been placed to please them—one between each two sword blades—the remaining Tchetchens mounted their horses and gathered at the end of the row. At a shouted signal the first one galloped down the line of swords. He seized a girl, lifted her high in the air and flung her down upon a sword point without slackening his horse.” This film drama, “RAVISHED ARMENIA,” is now being presented to the

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American people in all the great cities of the United States. The receipts from it will go toward a fund of $30,000,000 which the Armenian committee is raising to restore the tortured Armenian people to a place among the nations. It is a vivid, realistic production, but when you witness it you will enjoy much more than the spectacle. You will have the satisfaction of knowing that you are helping to restore Armenia and giving the final stroke to the Sheikh-ul-Islam, the horrible Turks, who tried to set the Mohammedan world in arms against the Christian world. ■ PLEASE READ:

Ravished Armenia and the Story of Aurora Mardiganian, Edited and Compiled By Anthony Slide. The Scarecrow Press, Inc.: Lanham, Md. USA & London. (1997) NOTE: The film based on the book is lost. PLEASE SEE: The Scotsman, (date illegible) 1919. Headline: “Numerous Arrests.” The New York Times, 15 February 1919. Headline: ‘“Ravished Armenia’ in Film.” The Scotsman, 2 July 1919. Headline: “Turkish Court-Martial Public Prosecutor Speech.” The New York Times, 13 July 1919. Headlines: “Turkey Condemns Its War Leaders” “Court-Martial Gives Death Sentence to Enver Pasha, Talaat Bey, and Djemal Pasha.” “All Three Made Escapes” “Djavid Bey and Alussa Metssa Get 15 Years at Hard Labor for Part in the War. ———————

The Christian Science Monitor, February 1, 1919

TURKISH RULE OVER CHRISTIAN PEOPLES. By William Pember Reeves The Christian populations of Turkey have suffered terribly during the war. Probably more than 400,000 Greeks and perhaps twice as many Armenians have been killed, and hun-

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dreds of thousands more ill-treated driven from home and either wholly or partly ruined. It may be said that such things happen in war in many countries and that with the return of peace, better conditions it is hoped for the Christian populations, if they continue under Turkish rule. But anyone who has studied Turkish history knows that while at certain times the position of Christians—better or for worse—it is never safe and never really tolerable. The Turks are not a nation but a ruling military and religious caste of mixed origin united by an intolerant creed and selfish class interests. They are largely Greek, Armenian and even Slav in blood but that does not in the least [illegible] their view of the treatment they ought to give to Christians who dwell in their land. The Turk professes obedience in a civil law which in turn promises justice to the Christian; but the Turk also owes obedience to his religious law and tradition which deny anything like equality to Christians, and the one object of which is keep Moslems and Christians utterly apart. That has been its character for six centuries and it has always succeeded. In the eyes of the Turk, the Christian is an inferior being whose existence may be tolerated as a useful laborer and taxpayer, but whose business is primarily to provide food and revenue for the Moslem Community. The Christian must be a disarmed slave and the Moslem an armed Master. A system of this sort can only be worked when the master is fairly efficient, politically successful and comfortable, and when the slave is satisfied to be utterly submissive. But for the last 150 years at least, since the Turkish Government system became rotten, the Turk has not been successful or comfortable and the Christian has not been always submissive. The Turks have grown poorer. The Christians, in time of peace, at any rate have managed despite an outrageously bad government to make progress and to become wealthier. Moreover the Christians have become politically dangerous, owing to their relations with their enfranchised brethren, now separated from the Turkish Empire or with sympathizers among other nations. The result has been to breed feelings of alarm and jealousy in the minds of the Turks which in later years have driven them to desperation. They believe they cannot compete with their Christian subjects in the arts of peace and that the Christians the Greeks especially are too industrious and too well educated as rivals.

Therefore from time to time they have striven to try and redress the balance by expulsion and massacre. That has been the position generations past in Turkey and will be the position again if the Great powers are callous and unwise enough to attempt to perpetuate Turkish misrule over Christians. The Turk in Turkey is not a possible fellow-subject for Christians. He is simply an incapable master who has no notion of being anything else but a master. There is, therefore, but one solution, and that is to segregate the Turks in those parts of Central and eastern Asia Minor, such as Kurdistan and Northern Mesopotamia where the Christian element is small and where the Turks either independently or under supervision of a League of Nations may lead a peaceful existence having for company only Muhammadans of other races. Asked what exactly this scheme of segregation would involve, MR. PEMBER REEVES explained he did not contemplate forcible transportation of the Turk from Anatolia or elsewhere. The proposal is merely that he should be provided with a state much on the lines of the proposed Jewish State in which the Turkish race will be the ruling race and around which Turks everywhere can rally if they choose in this way the Turks would be left with a state of their own, but with one in which Christians would no longer have to suffer at their hands. ■ COMMENTARY: “William Pember Reeves, A Man Of Vision.” By STAVROS T. STAVRIDIS Historian/Researcher National Centre for Hellenic Studies and Research Latrobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia. On February 1, 1919 the Christian Science Monitor published an article titled “Turkish Rule Over Christian Peoples.” William Pember Reeves would put an end by segregating Turks in Asia Minor where only Muhammadans are. This story quoted a statement made by William Pember Reeves, the Chairman of the Anglo-Hellenic League, in London regarding the termination of Turkish rule over the Christian populations of Asia Minor. He believed that this could be accomplished by separating the Turks from the Christians. It should be noted that Reeves’ statement is best placed within the context on the eve of Eleftherios Venizelos’ presentation of the Greek territorial claims on February 3–4 at the Paris Peace Conference. This article will be divided into three parts. Firstly a short biography of Reeves; second a reproduction of his statement in full below; and finally some brief comments. A short biography of William Pember Reeves: He was born in Lyttleton, New Zealand in 1857 and studied at the Presbyterian High School and Christ’s College and gained an entrance scholarship for the University of New Zealand to study

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the classics, English, French, German and history. He went to study law at Oxford in 1874 but ill-health forced him to return back to New Zealand from England. He became a law clerk and was admitted as a lawyer to the New Zealand bar in 1880. He left the legal profession and worked as a journalist/editor for the Canterbury Times and Lyttleton Times in 1885 and 1889. These two newspapers were owned by Reeves’ father. He entered politics in 1887 as a Liberal candidate and won his seat in the New Zealand parliament. In1891 he became the Minister for Education and achieved improvements in the structure and teaching in primary education. During 1894, as Minister for Labor, he instituted a number of reforms that improved the conditions for workers. His hard work as a parliamentarian was rewarded with his appointment as New Zealand’s agent-general in London in 1896. In 1905 he achieved his most important political appointment by becoming his country’s first High Commissioner in London. He resigned his diplomatic position and took up an appointment as the Director of London of School of Economics in 1908. Reeves became very active with the AngloHellenic League and became a strong supporter of Greek Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos. He was a Director of the Bank of New Zealand from 1908 and held the position of Chairman of Board from 1917 to 1931. Reeves died in 1932. Some brief observations — three brief comments regarding Reeves’ statement above: Reeves believed that the victorious Allied powers at the Paris Peace Conference had a wonderful opportunity to end Turkish misrule of Christian populations in Asia Minor and to create a Turkish State in Central and Eastern Anatolia. The examples of the Armenian and Hellenic genocides in 1914–18 would have still been vivid in his mind. One should not also ignore the Armenian massacres of the 1890’s under Sultan Abdul Hamid in Eastern Turkey. The British would not want a Turkish State established in Northern Mesopotamia. They regarded this area as British occupied territory and viewed it as a future mandate that Britain would administer under the aegis of the League of Nations. There was also the issue of the potential rich oil fields in Northern Mesopotamia. Whilst no name of cities in Asia Minor is mentioned. The Greeks of Smyrna, Constantinople, Trebizond and Samsoun were successful merchants, bankers and manufacturers and had established schools where Greek children could receive a good education. It should be noted too that American missionaries established educational institutions such as Robert College in Constantinople. Reeves stated that the “Turkish Government system became rotten” over the past 150 years. It safely can be assumed that corruption was rife at all levels in the Ottoman Government. No wonder why the Ottoman Empire was known as the “Sick man of Europe.” However the major European powers kept propping up the Ottoman corpse because they had major economic and financial interests in the Ottoman Empire. (STS)

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HAGIA SOPHIA (Church of Holy Wisdom) Constantinople (now Istanbul) COURTESY: Fotios Stavridis

The Times, Friday, February 7, 1919

FUTURE OF ST. SOPHIA. TO THE EDITOR OF THE TIMES. Sir,—I ask your permission to record a brief protest against the movement described in your issue of the 4th inst., “in support of the restoration of the Church of St. Sophia to Christendom by the Peace Conference.” The mosque in question is the chief religious edifice of the Mohammedan world: it occupies a position somewhat similar to that of St. Peter’s at Rome for Roman Catholics. Its confiscation in favour of any Christian denomination would be an outrage the religious feelings of Mohammedans that might have very grave consequences. It is true that the chief Mohammedan Power, Turkey has been our enemy in this war, though she only became so under rulers notoriously devoid of every religious attribute, but the greatest Mohammedan community in the world, that of India, many lesser communities such as those of Egypt and North Africa, and the power, that claims the religious headship of Islam, namely, the Sultan of the Hedjaz, have given us loyal aid and gallant comradeship without stint. I was present at a meeting of the leading Mohammedan citizens of an important city of Northern India at the end of 1916.

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They assured the British Government of their loyalty and admitted that Turkey must lose Constantinople, but they professed themselves shocked and dismayed at the rumoured intention of the Tsar to re-Christianize St. Sophia. It is certain that Indian authorities would protest strongly against such an unjustifiable desecration. No doubt the great mosque was originally a Christian church, but is there no title in 450 years’ unquestioned occupation? The Peace Conference has surely enough on its hands without seeking to redress wrongs inflicted on the Byzantines in the 15th century. I trust, Sir, you will use your influence against an act of religious intolerance and political unwisdom. A. L. S. February 5. ■ COMMENTARY: The letter writer A.L.S. writes in favor of the appeasement of the Turks and Islamic fanatics all over the world by advocating against Hagia Sophia becoming a Greek Orthodox Church once more. Not only should Haghia Sophia have been restored to Greek Orthodoxy, Constantinople should have been given to Greece. The writer argues that Hagia Sophia was to the Muslims what Saint Peter is to the Vatican. That is absurd. The Muslims have their sacred shrines at Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem. Hagia Sophia was a Church, and although Muslim fanatics in Turkey and elsewhere demonstrated outrage at the prospect that Hagia Sophia would be re-Christened, this is not because of the status that the shrine holds in Islam, but because of religious intolerance on the part of the Islamic world. A.L.S writes as an appeaser of Islamic fanaticism. His views unfortunately were the views adopted by the great powers. The Church of England at that time correctly supported both the restoration of Hagia Sophia as a Greek Orthodox Church and the right of Greece to claim Constantinople. Such a conference took place in London with several speakers where the cause of Hagia Sophia was championed. A.L.S writes that the injustice of the fifteenth century could not be undone. It could have been undone by doing away with Turkish rule over the Christians and supporting the just Greek claims in Asia Minor and Constantinople. The Greeks would have crushed the Turkish Kemalists had it not been for the arming of Mustafa Kemal’s terrorists by the Italians, French, British, and Soviet Communists. All the West had to do was to stay out of it. But the views that predominated in the Western Capitals echoed the advocacy of A.L.S and henceforth Constantinople and Haghia Sophia remained in Muslim hands. Finally, Hagia Sophia is not by any means as important to Islam as it was to Greek Orthodoxy. Hagia Sophia is to Greek Orthodoxy what Saint Peter’s in Rome is to Catholics.

There are countless Greek songs, poems, and prophecies composed during the centuries of Ottoman domination that attest to the emotions that Greeks felt over Hagia Sophia. An example is the myth in which the walls of the church opened as a refuge for the priest who was giving Holy Communion at the time so that the Holy Gifts would not be desecrated. Children were told over the centuries that on the day Hagia Sophia was to be restored, the priest would reemerge to finish giving Holy Communion. Greek songs speak of a future liberation that would not come. Hagia Sophia and Constantinople were at the center of these magnificent songs that convey the true meaning of what Hagia Sophia means to the Greeks. A.L.S was entirely wrong as were the policies of the Western powers. Hagia Sophia will always be associated with Greek Orthodoxy and Byzantium. It’s very presence will bear witness to all those millions of Christians of Constantinople and Asia Minor who are long gone. Hagia Sophia is not named for the Saint Sophia! This is a special Church named for Christ himself. The name of the Church in Greek implies “The Church of the Holy Wisdom of Christ.” As such, its control by the Turks blasphemes Christianity. ––THEODORE G. KARAKOSTAS ———————

The Scotsman, February 10, 1919

[No Title] Greece and Armenia.—A demonstration in support of the claims of Greece and Armenia at the Peace Conference was held in Trafalgar Square on Saturday afternoon and there was a large attendance. [illegible] G. MARCHETTI, from the Greek Committee in London, presided. Messages of sympathy were read from QUEEN ALEXANDRA, M. VENIZELOS, VISCOUNT BRYCE, and VISCOUNT GLADSTONE. DR. JOHN CLIFFORD moved the following resolution, which was carried:—“That this meeting considering that the Greek and Armenian Christian nations for centuries by the Turks, contributed to the final victory of the Allies, resolves that the Turkish domination over Christian lands shall come to an end, and calls for the punishment of the authors of the massacre of two million Christians during the recent war.” ■ ———————

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Movie Poster Source: Internet

The New York Times, February 15, 1919

‘RAVISHED ARMENIA’ IN FILM. Mrs. Harriman Speaks at Showing of Turkish and German Devastation. Many persons prominent in society attended a private showing of “RAVISHED ARMENIA,” the official photo-drama of the National Motion Picture Committee of the American Committee for Relief in the Near East, held yesterday in the east ballroom of the HOTEL COMMODORE. The regular showing starts tomorrow afternoon at the HOTEL PLAZA and will be continued for ten days. The first half of the pictures consists of four reels of scenes showing Armenia as it was before Turkish and German devastation, and led up to the deportation of priests and thousands of families into the desert. One of the concluding scenes showed young Armenian women flogged for their refusal to enter Turkish harems and depicted the Turkish slave markets. AURORA MARDIGANIAN, whose experiences in Armenia furnished the story on which the picture was founded, and who was injured in an accident that occurred during the making of the picture, was carried into the ballroom

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on a chair. Mrs. Oliver Harriman, Chairman of the National Motion Picture Committee, delivered an address in which she said that Miss Mardiganian had come to this country because she was a typical case selected from among the people as one of many victims of the terrible desolation wrought in Armenia by the Turk. The young woman, said Mrs. Harriman, established direct contact between a stricken people and a generous human America. “The whole purpose of the picture is to acquaint America with ravished Armenia,” said Mrs. Harriman, “to visualize conditions so that there will be no misunderstanding in the mind of any one about the terrible things which have transpired. It was deemed essential that the leaders, social and intellectual, should first learn the story, but later the general public shall be informed. It is proposed that before this campaign of information is completed, as many adults as possible shall know the story of Armenia, and the screen was selected as the medium because it reaches the millions, where the printed word reaches the thousands.” ■ PLEASE READ:

Ravished Armenia and the Story of Aurora Mardiganian, Edited and Compiled By Anthony Slide. The Scarecrow Press, Inc.: Lanham, Md. USA & London. (1997) PLEASE SEE: The Scotsman, (date illegible) 1919. Headline: “Numerous Arrests.” The Washington Post, 26 January 1919. Headline: “The Man Who Incited the Armenian Riot.” The Scotsman, 18 February 1919. Headlines: “Armenian Massacres” “The Constantinople Court Martial.” The Scotsman, 2 July 1919. Headline: “Turkish Court-Martial Public Prosecutor Speech.” The New York Times, 13 July 1919. Headlines: “Turkey Condemns Its War Leaders” “Court-Martial Gives Death Sentence to Enver Pasha, Talaat Bey, and Djemal Pasha.” “All Three Made Escapes”

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BEFORE THE SILENCE

“Djavid Bey and Alussa Metssa Get 15 Years at Hard Labor for Part in the War.”

The New York Times, February 17, 1919

NEAR EAST RELIEF EXPEDITION LEAVES Dr. George E. White Heads Party of 250 on Leviathan on Way to Aid Sufferers.

MANY SPECIALISTS ABOARD Scientific Experts Included in Contingent of Workers Off for Constantinople by Way of Brest. Headed by DR. GEORGE E. WHITE, former President of Marsovan College in Armenia, the largest war relief expedition which has left this port under the auspices of the Committee for Relief in the Near East sailed for Brest yesterday on the Leviathan. At the French port the party will re-embark on a British transport for Constantinople. The contingent included 250 persons, chiefly women, and has been preceded by equipment for fifteen hospitals, food, clothing, portable buildings, motor trucks, and other material. The total value of the supplies has been placed at $3,500,000. Before the Leviathan sailed ABRAM I. ELKUS, former Ambassador to Turkey, addressed the workers, pointing out the great need for food among the starving millions in the Near East. He urged the building up of the morale of Armenians and their kin, lest they fall victims to “dangerous social doctrines.” Dr. George E. White, who was driven out of Turkey in 1916 after eight pro-

fessors of Marsovan College had been slain, said that an effort would be made to rescue from Turkish harems the young women members of the victims’ families. Among the relief workers who left yesterday were Miss Elaine E. van Dyke of Princeton, N.J. a daughter of Dr. Henry van Dyke, formerly United States Minister to the Netherlands; four members of the Mennonite Church; Miss Esther Green of Providence, R.I., who for seven years managed a Virginia school for mountaineers; Miss Mary Hubbard of Tarrytown, N.Y., who speaks Armenian and is a teacher of defective children; Mrs. Frances King Headlee of Spokane, a member of the State Welfare Commission of Washington; Miss Blanche A. Blackman, Assistant Director General of the Cincinnati General Hospital, and Dr. Stanley E. White, Secretary of the Presbyterian Foreign Missions Board. Walter George Smith, a Philadelphia attorney, representing the Roman Catholic Church, will join the expedition on a later ship. Among the hospital workers were five each sent by Smith College, Wellesley College, and the American Women’s Hospital Unit of the Near East. Other workers and specialists included 60 Red Cross nurses, 7 laboratory assistants and bacteriologists, 28 missionaries, 3 agricultural experts, 10 industrial relife workers, 5 kindergarten teachers, and 3 journalists. DR. JAMES L. BARTON of Boston, Chairman of the Committee for Relief in the Near East, is now on his way to Constantinople, having gone abroad several weeks ago. With him are DR. GEORGE W. WASHBURN of Boston; DR. U. H. T. MAIN, President of Grinnell College, Grinnell, Iowa, and ARTHUR CURTISS James. The missionaries, physicians, and re-

ARCHIVAL NEWS REPORTS

lief workers upon their arrival in Constantinople will be sent to the following cities in Asia Minor, Armenia, Mesopotamia, Syria, and the Caucasus: Smyrna, Brousa, Angora, Konia, Caesaria, Tarsus, Marsovan, Adana, Marash Aintab, Aleppo, Sivac, Erzerum, Trebizond, Der-el-Zor, Jerusalem, Bagdad, Mosul, Uremia, Tabriz, Erivan, Tiflis, Batum, Soublilak, Bitlis, Harpoot, Mardin, Urfa, and Van. ■ PLEASE SEE: The New York Times, 31 July 1919. Headline: “TURKS PARBOILED 250,000.”

News reports described, “deportations in Asia Minor were euphemisms for the most heartless and relentless cruelty.” (SKK) PLEASE SEE: The Scotsman, (date illegible) 1919. Headline: “Numerous Arrests.” The Washington Post, 26 January 1919. Headline: “The Man Who Incited the Armenian Riot.” The New York Times, 15 February 1919. Headline: ‘“Ravished Armenia’ in Film.” The Scotsman, 2 July 1919. Headline: “Turkish Court-Martial Public Prosecutor Speech.” The New York Times, 13 July 1919. Headlines: “Turkey Condemns Its War Leaders,” “Court-Martial Gives Death Sentence to Enver Pasha, Talaat Bey, and Djemal Pasha,” “All Three Made Escapes,” “Djavid Bey and Alussa Metssa Get 15 Years at Hard Labor for Part in the War.”

PLEASE READ: Beginning at Ararat, by Mabel Evelyn Elliott, M.D.

———————

———————

The Atlanta Constitution, February 23, 1919

The Scotsman, 18th February 1919

ARMENIAN MASSACRES THE CONSTANTINOPLE COURT MARTIAL. CONSTANTINOPLE, February 13.—The trial by Court-martial of the three ex-officials charged with having organized and directed the deportations and massacre of Armenians in the Yezghad district is proceeding daily, though slowly, and the evidence of witnesses is most damning for the accused, who persist in their denials. For example, at yesterday’s sitting two Armenian girls, aged respectively 17 and 18, one of whom bore a trace of a wound in the head, described in vivid colours how Armenians were collected, deported, robbed of their money and finally massacred. The deportations of these witnesses exceed in horror and fiendish barbarity what has been revealed hitherto. The papers report the arrest at Zunguldak, a port in the Black Sea, near Heraclea, of the famous NURI PASHA, brother of the equally notorious ENVER, who had been commanding the Turkish troops in the Caucasus.—Press Association. ■

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TURKEY TO BE DEPRIVED OF GREATER PART OF HER TERRITORY Only the Central Part of Asia Minor To Be Left to Ottomans By our Own Military Observer Copyright, 1919. Turkey is in the same position as Austria regarding territorial arrangements; that is, she is to be dismembered and a large part of her domain lost to her forever. But while Austria, or what is now called the “German-Austrian Republic,” retains her capital, Vienna, Turkey is bound to lose Constantinople and to be cast out of Europe altogether, as GLADSTONE long ago urged. Exactly what the Allies will do with the lands on both sides of the Dardanelles, the Sea of Marmora and the Bosphorus is yet uncertain. Some Greeks urge their possession by a greater Hellenic kingdom, as they have a large Greek population,

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and would transfer the capital from Athens to Constantinople, which has a larger number of Greek inhabitants than Athens itself. There is an old tradition that when a CONSTANTINE should again rule the Greeks they would once more possess their ancient Byzantine kingdom with its capital on the Golden Horn, and the predecessor of the present King of the Hellenes, the German Kaiser’s brother-in-law, who was deposed by the Allies, in public documents often called himself CONSTANTINE THE THIRTEENTH, although only first of that name in Athens, to signify his claims to succession to the throne of CONSTANTINE THE TWELFTH, the last Roman Emperor of the East, whose dynasty perished when the Crescent supplanted the Cross on the hill of Stamboul. Constantine’s Treachery. The Allies allowed him to do this because it amused him and did them no harm. But when he began plotting to aid his precious brother-in-law and attempted to block the advance of the allied armies in Macedonia he was quietly ousted from the throne and his second son, ALEXANDER, installed under supervision of the French Minister. By the way, what a curious coincidence of history it is that the last Emperor of the West, ROMULUS AUGUSTUTUS, should bear the names of the first King and the first Emperor of the East, CONSTANTINE XII, should have the same name as the founder of the Byzantine Empire. CONSTANTINE, late of Athens, thought that the great war would end in a draw at least if the Germans did not win, acted accordingly and lost his opportunity to rule in Constantinople. His son, ALEXANDER is hardly to go there. ELEUTHERIOS VENIZELOS, THE PREMIER, is the real ruler of Greece, and is unlikely to put upon his fellow countrymen the burden of governing a domain in which the great majority

BEFORE THE SILENCE

of the natives are hostile. Macedonia Greece probably will have a large part of Thrace, but the straits and the Sea of Marmora and certainly he internationalized and the surrounding district placed under international control. Some have suggested that the region be administered by the United Sates, which is flattering evidence of the trust the Allies have in us, but which would be a task that Washington would not be anxious to assume. Back to the Beginning. It is in Turkey’s vast domain in Asia Minor, however, that the greatest changes will take place. This country, both according to legend and to Bible history, was the cradle of the human race. Past the Garden of Eden, home of our first parents we are told, between the Euphrates and the Tigris, marched the armies of GENERALS TOWNSHEND, MAUDE and MARSHALL on their way to Bagdad. In the north, on the confines of the Russian Transcaucasus, Mount Ararat, where the ark of NOAH rested, raises its snowy peak, marking for centuries the junction of the domains of TSAR, SHAH and SULTAN. ____________ Between them, on the Euphrates and south of Bagdad, was Babel, where mankind was dispersed by the confusion of tongues—a legend found in such widely separated countries as Central America, India, South Africa and Esthonia, pointing to a common source. To the southwest is Palestine, mother land of three [illegible] religions, the Jewish, the Christian and the Mohammedan, which to-day form the fundamental belief of more than half the civilized world. Manifestly any territorial changes here will be vitally interesting to people in every corner of the earth, yet this region of Asia Minor, with its southern peninsula of Arabia, is the one most affected by the great war and

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the one where alterations in government will be most profound and most lasting. The inhabitants of this country nearly 4,000 years ago, according to the earliest remains, were not Aryans, that is, of the stock which colonized Europe—after all only a big peninsula thrust out from the vast continent of Asia—but were superseded by a later immigration along the usual route between Europe and Asia, which appears to have been to the Anatolian plain from across the Hellespont. These ancient inhabitants were the Hittites, frequently mentioned in the Bible. Their settlements dotted the whole of Asia Minor and they left an indelible imprint on the conquering races that followed them, traces of their facial characteristics being observable to this day, especially in Cappadocia. Still older was the Assyrian Empire of Babylon, which occupied the land in the southeast between the Euphrates and the Tigris, the most fertile valley in the world, and has left monuments of its engineering skill in the ruins of the great irrigation works, regulating the overflow of the two rivers by canals between them. Here were hieroglyphs invented, which later were developed into cuneiform inscriptions from which the Phoenicians fashioned their letters which CADMUS, brother of EUROPA, who had been carried off by JUPITER, brought to the continent to which his sister gave her name. From Greece letters passed to Rome, then through Europe, preserved largely by monks in the Middle Ages, till GUTENBERG crystallized them in type at Mayence. Numbers, which are older than letters, are said to have passed from India to Asia Minor and Arabia, and thence the decimal notation was carried by the Arab invasion across North Africa and into Spain. The late ROBERT G. INGERSOLL, used to say that mathematics were implanted

in the brain of Europe on the point of a Moorish lance. At any rate, both our literature and our arithmetic came from Asia Minor. Assyria and Babylonia. These lands, tradition has it, were peopled by descendents of SHEM, the son of NOAH, who hence were called Semites, and also who early passed along the shores of the Black Sea, the Aegean and the Mediterranean, colonizing Phoenicia and Arabia. From Arabia they overflowed Babylonia and established the kingdom where SARGON ruled in 3,800 B.C. from the Tigris to the coast of Palestine as far as Egypt. SARGON built roads through his kingdom and established the first post office. The Semites continued to rule Assyria for more than 1,500 years, the domain of their empire shrinking considerably until restored by the great Krammurabi 2,250 B.C. There followed the Babylonian dynasty, lasting more than 300 years, which was succeeded in 1780 B.C. by the Kassites, who came down from the mountains of Persia and under whom Syria and Palestine became independent. Assyria threw off the yoke of Babylon in 1,300 B.C. and Nineveh supplanted its southern rival. The country of the Medes in northwestern Persia was conquered and the kings of the Jews paid tribute to the city of the Tigris. Meanwhile there had been an Aryan incursion from Macedonia and Thrace, which settled in Anatolia, in the central part of Asia Minor, in the eleventh century before CHRIST, and a Cimmerian invasion from the region of the Caucasus in the ninth century. Then later conquered the kingdom of Phrygia, which had been set up by the former, and established that of Lydia, further west, with its capital at Sardis, where Turkish rugs were first made 2,600 [sic] years ago. CROESUS, its last

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king, had extended his realm to the Mediterranean on the west and the Halys on the east. Here he came in collision with the advancing Persians under CYRUS THE GREAT, who overturned all the little kinglets of Asia Minor. Persia’s Rise and Fall. The empire of CYRUS extended from India to the borders of Egypt, which was afterward conquered by CAMBYSES, the son of CYRUS. Under DARIUS the Persian domains reached the Caucasus and attained their highest prosperity. Thrace was conquered, and Persian troops even crossed the Danube in 512 B.C. but failed to hold the country. Anticipating DE LESSEPS by twenty-three centuries, DARIUS dug a canal from the Nile to Suez and ships from the Mediterranean thus sailed through the Red Sea to Persia. The canal in the course of centuries became gradually choked up and by the time of CLEOPATRA communication was no longer possible. DARIUS gave valuable privileges to the Jews and rebuilt the Temple of Jerusalem. His son, XERXES, conceived the idea of conquering Greece, but his ambitious design failed and his forces, decimated after the battle of Salamis, retreated to Persia. A series of wars with the Persians followed, and finally ALEXANDER THE GREAT, coming from Macedon, crossed the Dardanelles and conquered the whole country with the exception of Arabia, which was held by four little independent kingdoms, the free air of the desert sufficiently protecting them from aggression. Thus if one goes back far enough the first historical claim to Turkey in Asia belongs to Persia and, after her, to Greece. ALEXANDER’S empire fell to pieces almost as quickly as it had risen. SELEUCUS, one of his officers, obtained control in Asia Minor but never was able to extend his rule over the whole country. He con-

BEFORE THE SILENCE

quered Syria, however, obtaining an opening to the Mediterranean, and founded Antioch. The island of Rhodes became an independent Greek republic. The Seleucid dynasty lasted 247 years, its domain gradually decreasing. Pergamum, a Greek colony located north of Smyrna, became a separate kingdom, and it was absorbed by the Romans in 133 B.C. Rome Gathers Them In. Pontus, in northern Armenia, was conquered by Pompey in 63 B.C. Palestine passed into the hands of Egypt and was for more than a century a battle ground between the Syrians and Egyptians, the Jews, led by the Maccabees, vainly attemping to gain their independence. Judea became a Roman province in 63 B.C. The central part of Asia Minor, which had been settled by an invasion of Gauls from beyond the Danube, became the Roman province of Galatia in 25 B.C. For nearly seven centuries thereafter Asia Minor was at peace under the protecting arms of Rome and then of Byzantium. Christianity rapidly spread over the whole country and Greek language and culture prevailed. Then, in 616, CHOSROES, the PERSIAN MONARCH, invaded the country reaching the Bosphorus. He captured Damascus and Jerusalem, whence he carried off the Holy Cross and conquered part of Egypt. He was driven back to Persia by the EMPEROR HERACIIUS who defeated him at Nineveh and chased him as far as Ctesiphon on the Tigris, where GENERAL TOWNSHEND won a signal victory over the Turks on November 22, 1915, before he was forced to retire to Kut-el-Amara. Ctesiphon remained the furtherest outpost of the Empire of the East for ten years longer, until 637. Meanwhile a new Power was growing up in the south. The Arabs had for more than 2,000 years been estranged from the rest of the world, rarely mentioned in his-

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tory. One of their rulers was the QUEEN SHEBA, who visited SOLOMON. Up to the time of MAHOMET there was no union between the various tribes who wondered over the desert or settled in the communities along the coast. At Mecca, where he was born, MAHOMET preached the unity of God and the future of life to his contemporaries, who were mostly heathen. Persecuted at Mecca, he fled to Medina in 622 and rapidly made converts to his new religion, which included absolute obedience to himself as the mouthpiece of God. OF

Islam’s Rapid Spread. Eight years later he returned as the head of his warlike followers and captured Mecca. When he died, in 682, all Arabia was united under the new religion, one of whose precepts was its extension by conquest. His successors were called caliphs, the first being his cousin, ABU BEKR, who married MAHOMET’S daughter, FATIMA. Arab troops were sent against the Romans and the Persians and the new doctrines spread like wildfire. Damascus was captured in 635 and Jerusalem in 638. In 640 the Mohammedans invaded Egypt, took Alexandria and founded Cairo. OMAR, the second caliph, conquered Persia and within fifteen years a great part of Asia Minor came under Moslem rule and all North Africa as far as Carthage. The capital was transferred first to Damascus and then to Bagdad. Meanwhile the Turks originally a tribe from Central Asia south of Lake Baikal, had migrated westward as far as the Oxus River in Afghanistan and there became converted to Islam, which pushed on through India to China, scores of millions embracing the faith of MAHOMET but retaining political independence. Constantinople was besieged under SULEIMAN in 716, but the siege was raised. In the

west the Moslems had conquered the whole North African coast, crossed into Spain and advanced beyond the Pyrenees into France, where they were halted near Tours by CHARLES MARTEL in 732. The empire had grown so large as to be unwieldy. The Moslems in Spain and Morocco threw off their political allegiance in the eighth century. Africa became independent on conditions of paying a fixed tribute yearly to the caliph. This was the origin of the annual tribute paid by Egypt to Turkey of about $3,500,000 down to the outbreak of the great war. Persia regained independence in 868. The caliphs adopted the practice of using Turkish slaves as bodyguards and next of hiring them as mercenaries. Like the Praetorian Guards of Rome, those soldiers often placed a new caliph on the throne and finally the Turks began to rule portions of the empire themselves. Called to Bagdad by one of the caliphs, the Turks remained there and assumed power, finally conquering nearly all Asia Minor, and in turn being subjugated by GHENGIS KHAN, who invaded parts of the country, but later these conquests were abandoned. The SELUKIAN TURKS, who succeeded to the caliphate, by this time had lost power and the country was again split in small independent communities. One Turkish tribe located near Erzerum gained power by wars against the Greek inhabitants on the coast and under Osman reached the Sea of Marmora. This was the foundation of the Ottoman dynasty. The crusaders, marching to reconquer the Holy Land, had no permanent effect on the progress of the Turks. The Byzantine Empire was in the last stages of decay and its fall was imminent. The emperor JOHN PALEOLOGOS was ousted from the throne by CANTACUZENUS, who procured the aid of the Turks by giving his daughter in marriage to OSMAN’S SON ORKHAN.

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The Turks a few years later seized Gallipoli and built the forts which the Allies last week threatened to destroy unless the garrison at Medina surrendered. SULTAN MURAD, son of ORKHAN, after the death of CANTACUZENUS extended his conquests in Europe and captured Adrianople in 1361, making it his capital. Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina were subdued. Salonica fell in 1428 and the Turks invaded Hungary. Constantinople was captured in 1453 and the Greek cities conquered one after another. Under SULEIMAN THE MAGNIFICENT the Turkish Empire extended from Hungary to Persia. ■ COMMENTARY: The author of this article did not go back far enough in time, as the Greeks were in Asia Minor over 400 years before the Persians. See HOMER’s Iliad, and the excavations at Troy for more details. To be more explicit, the Greeks were in Asia Minor over 400 years before the Persians and over 2,000 years before the Seljuk Turks, who did not establish a permanent presence in Asia Minor until after A.D. 1071. I am no expert on oriental carpets, but one such expert wrote that what is called Turkish weaving comes from Seljuk Turkish weaving, which would be not quite 1,000 years old, since the Seljuks were not able to invade Anatolia until after smashing the primary Byzantine army at the battle of Manzikert in A.D. 1071. Thus the carpet weaving that dates back 2,600 years in Anatolia cannot be called “Turkish” for there were no Turks there at that time. This article covers a great deal of history, so I will make just a few more comments. First, concerning the Persians, construction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem started under Cyrus, the founder of the Achaemenid Persian Empire and the ruler who allowed the Jews to return home from exile in Babylon, and not under Darius. It was completed while Darius was King of Kings. The battle of Salamis was important, but by itself did not force the Persians out of Greece. The victory there crimped the Persians’ logistics, so Xerxes had to pull much of his forces out of Greece, but the army he left in Greece still outnumbered that of the Greek states (themselves not united; some, like Argos, were neutral) at war with him. The battle of Plataea the next year (479 B.C.) saw that Persian force wiped out by the outnumbered Greeks. That battle put an end to the specter of Persian invasions of Greece. The author also implies that Arabia was a part of the Persian Empire; it was not. Second, a few works about Muslim history. If I were the author I wouldn’t say the Arabs had been “estranged from the rest of the world;” trade existed between the Arabs and the rest of the world. Muhammad himself was a merchant early in his life, and went to Syria with caravans to trade. I also wouldn’t say that “within fifteen

years a great part of Asia Minor came under Moslem rule.” Yes, there were raids and invasions into Asia Minor on a regular basis, but permanent settled Muslim rule was generally held out of Asia Minor at the line of the Taurus mountains. I also would not use the term “Africa”––yes the north shore of Africa was Muslim then, but it was politically fragmented. Indeed, a Shiite caliph (as opposed to the Sunni one in Baghdad) was proclaimed in what is now Tunis in 909, who cut all ties to Baghdad in his territories. These Fatimid (named after the Fatima mentioned in the article) caliphs conquered Egypt and moved their capital to the newly-founded city of Cairo (A.D. 969). —GERALD E. OTTENBREIT, JR. ———————

The New York Times, March 15, 1919

Terrorize Greeks In Asia Minor. SALONIKI. March 13.—Turkish troops in Southern Asia Minor are ignoring the fact that an armistice1 has been signed and are terrorizing the Greeks in that region, according to the Metropolitan of Sivas, Asiatic Turkey, who says that Allied forces should be sent to protect the population from the Young Turks. ■ COMMENTARY: For the purpose of maintaining peace, the 1Armistice of Mudros (October 30, 1918) stipulated that the victorious Allies were allowed to occupy any part of the Ottoman Empire. Therefore, according to the terms of the Armistice it was legal for any of the Allies to have sent troops to Sivas. ––GERALD OTTENBREIT, JR. ———————

The New York Times, March 21, 1919

TURKS MASSACRE GREEKS. Great Unrest Reported Over Disposition of Smyrna Region. Copyright 1919, by The New York Times Company. Special Cable to THE NEW YORK TIMES. ATHENS,

March

20,—From

a

good

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source I learn that maneuvers designed to misrepresent the ethnological situation in the Smyrna region, under foreign instigation, are assuming a scandalous character. It is also announced that some hundreds of Turks held a meeting on Saturday in the theatre at Smyrna to protest energetically against the eventual occupation of the city by Greece. News from Smyrna reports many murders and robberies by bands of Turks against the Greek element in this region. The situation of the Greeks has become exceedingly critical. ____________ ATHENS, March 20, (Associated Press.)—Information from what is considered a trustworthy source describes the condition of the Greeks in the Smyrna district as extremely critical. Bands of Turkish soldiers and civilians are overrunning the region, murdering and pillaging, the advices state. At Budja, near Smyrna, last Thursday, according to the advices, a party of Greek peasants returning from the fields was attacked and numbers of them were killed. After the Turks had left the bodies of fifty Greeks, it is alleged were found decapitated and partially burned. ■ COMMENTARY: These two news reports show the lawlessness and banditry perpetrated by Turks against the Greeks in the Smyrna area. The Turks would have been annoyed to see the Smyrna region handed over to the Greeks. These news reports probably influenced Greece’s Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos to petition the Allied (Great Britain and France) and the Associated Powers (United States) of the importance of a Greek landing in Smyrna to protect the Greek population in that region. Another important element that emerges from these reports is the breakdown of authority of the Ottoman Government since signing of the ARMISTICE OF MUDROS, LEMNOS on October 31, 1918. The Ottoman Government showed that it had very little authority and control outside of Constantinople with the Turkish “irregulars” and

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demobilized troops running amok in Asia Minor. — STAVROS STAVRIDIS ———————

The Times, Friday, April 4, 1919 Letters to the Editor

GREECE IN ASIA MINOR. TO THE EDITOR OF THE TIMES.

Sir,—Dr. Burrows in his letter published in your issue of the 2nd, states that “at least half of the carpet industry in the interior belongs to the Greeks.” The facts are that in the Vilayet of Aidin 80 per cent. of the weavers are Turks, and the balance Greeks, Armenians, and Jews. The business is in the hands of British and European firms, other than Greeks, who employ as agents a number of Turks as well as a few Greeks, the former being in a large majority. I hope the rest of Dr. Burrow’s statements are based on better information. Yours faithfully, JAS. BAKER, Managing Director of the Oriental Carpet Manufacturers (Limited). 8 and 9, Giltspur-Street, E.C.1, April 2. ■ ———————

The Scotsman, Thursday, 17th April 1919

EGYPT THE ATTACKS ON ARMENIANS AND GREEKS “TIMES” TELEGRAM, PER THE PRESS ASSOCIATION— COPYRIGHT.

CAIRO, April 13, delayed.—In reference to the incidents where Armenians and subsequently Greeks have been killed and wounded, there is now every reason to believe that these attacks were organised and premeditated. The information available shows that the extremists were prepared with detailed street lists of members of the Armeniancolony, and where attacks were made on domiciles

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BEFORE THE SILENCE

it was by virtue of these lists. One of the motives assigned currently for the sudden decision to cease the attacks and for the subsequent rapprochement between this community and the Egyptians, which was owing to the initiative of the latter, is the sudden realization that America is much interested in the future of the Armenians, and a continuation of this violent procedure might prejudice the mission of the Zaghlulties, whilst the peculiar circumstances of the direct attack upon Armenians and Greeks appear to give considerable colour to the theory which has been gaining ground that the Pan-Egyptian movement has some Neo-Turanian foundation and motive power. ■ ———————

The Scotsman, Friday, 18th April 1919

THE MASSACRES OF ARMENIANS FUNERAL HONOURS TO KEMEL BEY CONSTANTINOPLE, April 15.—An unseemly demonstration attended the burial of KEMEL BEY, exGovernor of Boghazlayar, in the district of Yozghad, who was sentenced to death in connection with the Armenian deportations and massacres. The coffin was covered with the Turkish flag, and the interment took place in circumstances making it appear as if a worthy patriot had died. The Court-martial which passed sentence on Kemel Bey has addressed a report to the Government drawing attention to the scandal caused by such demonstrations in favour of criminals, which, it adds, run counter to the ends of justice, and which discredit the Court-martial. The latter, therefore, requests the Government to prohibit such exhibitions in future.—Press Association. ■ NOTE: The name Kemel is also known as Kemal. According to reports, the funeral of Kemel Bey, was carried out with great pomp and ceremony––the funeral wreaths were messaged with: “To the innocent victim of the nation.” and “To the innocent Islamic martyr.” (SKK) ———————

The Scotsman, Saturday, April 19, 1919

ARMENIAN ATROCITIES THE COURT-MARTIAL OF TURKISH OFFICIALS. REVELATIONS REGARDING TURKEY’S ENTRY INTO THE WAR. CONSTANTINOPLE, April 15.—The trial by Courtmartial of officials implicated in the atrocities committed on Armenians at Trebizond has revealed facts of considerable importance in connection with Turkey’s entry into the war. Thus while Union and Progress Cabinets and their supporters were frequently at pains to convince Parliament that the war imposed upon them owing to any unfortunate encounter with the Russian Fleet, which precipitated hostilities, while Turkey had no intention of departing from her neutrality, a certian YUSSUF RIZZA, formerly a member of the headquarter staff of the Union and Progress party and delegate of the party at Trebizond, deposed at yesterday’s sitting of the Court, in reply to a question put by the President of the Court, as follows:— “When Turkey entered the war I was on the point of crossing the Russian frontier. Georgian Beys or notables came to confer with me, and I was mutually agreed to undertake armed action against Russia. The Georgian delegates numbered eight, but I only remember the name of one of them, namely—TZERETELLI. These delegates were recommended to me by the Minister of War, ENVER PASHA, with whom the delegates had already signed a convention with regard to operations to be undertaken in the Caucasus, consisting of cutting off the Russians’ lines of retreat, the destruction of their military stores,, &c. Georgia undertook to carry out this plan on the basis of an agreement between Turkey and Germany. My role consisted in arming the Georgians and dispatching them across the frontier.” It thus becomes clear why Germany and Turkey granted Georgia such extensive concessions on the

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occasion of the signing of the famous Brest-Litovsk Treaty. One of the Judges of the Tribunal inquired of the prisoner, YUSSUF RIZZA, his whereabouts at the time war was declared. The prisoner replied that he was in a certain small Russian town. “Consequently,” observed the Judge, “the headquarters of the Committee of Union and Progress had already decided to enter the war, seeing that you were on Russian territory before even the declaration of war.” Yussuf Rizza was much embarrassed, and made no reply. The Court-martial gave notice that ten days would be granted to the fugitive accused, namely— Talaat Bey, Enver Pasha, Djemal Pasha, Drs. Behaeddin, Shahir, and Russuhi, members of the Union and Progress Committee; Aziz, ex-Director of Police; and Ater, ex-Deputy for Bigha (Asia Minor), to appear before the Court, and that, failing their appearance, they would be tried in [illegible] deprived of civil rights, and have their properties confiscated. A local paper learns that AZIZ is at present in Stockholm, while TALAAT BEY, ENVER PASHA, and DJEMAL PASHA are residing in Germany.—Press Association. ■ - more about the trials: Power, Samantha. A Problem From Hell: America and the Age of Genocide. New York: Basic Books, 2002 (Chapters 1–4) PLEASE READ

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The Scotsman, MAY 26, 1919

FUTURE OF CONSTANTINOPLE PARIS, May 24.—It stated in Conference circles that PRESIDENT WILSON has informed the Council of Four that they should be prepared for the United States declining to accept a mandate for Constantinople, or for any other part of Turkey. This is interpreted not as denoting any personal inclination against the mandate, but as a precaution in case Congress should not approve the granting of

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the Turkish mandate. It has had the effect of starting two distinct movements. The first is for placing Constantinople under an International Commission, in which all the Great Powers would have a voice. Should this not prove acceptable, then the second plan, as it is considered unadvisable that Great Britain, France, or Italy should take the mandate, is to intrust it to Greece, with the support of the Great Powers. M. VENIZELOS has let it be known that he is not urging this plan, but that Greece is ready to assume the mandate, if neither the United States nor an International Commission is prepared to assume the responsibility.—Press Association. ■ ———————

The Scotsman, May 2, 1919

TURKEY AND THE PEACE CONFERENCE. PROTEST MEETING AGAINST PARTITION. A meeting was held yesterday afternoon at Essex Hall, London, “to protect against the indifference of the Peace Conference towards the vital questions affecting Islam.” Mr. M. H. Ispahani presided, and there was a considerable attendance, largely composed of Moslems. A letter was first read from SIR ABBAS ALI BAIG, in which he expressed the opinion that the Moslem view of the vital problems affecting Islam should be focused and made known to the Peace Conference, it appeared from the trend of the happenings in Paris that PRESIDENT WILSON and MR. LLOYD GEORGE were being overborne by the heavy weight of the selfish interests involved in secret treaties, and were being pressed to give their assent to the distribution of the dissevered limbs of the Turkish Empire among the Christian nations. Such cruel injustice to Islam is flagrant violation of the two principles previously laid down by President Wilson, could only be avoided by resorting to a plebiscite in all the Moslem regions now under military occupation. (Applause).

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The Chairman said that the Indian Moslems were at the present time absolutely united in protesting against the perpetration of a manifest injustice to Islam. The dismemberment of the Turkish Emppire might satisfy the ambitions of some of the States which were likely to profit thereby, but it would not conduce the creation of peace and the pacific development of India. Mr. Jusuf Ali proposed “that this meeting implores the Peace Conference, in their settlement of the Turkish question not to disregard the views and sentiments of the vast populations of the Moslem world, more than 80 millions of whom acknowledge allegiance to the British Crown; but would strongly urge a settlement on an equitable basis, of which an outline was foreshadowed by the Prime Minister of England and the President of the United States in their public speeches and [line is indecipherable]. A third resolution expressed the opinion that the only possible settlement which would meet the feelings and sentiments of the Mussulmans would be a settlement on the lines of the two representations already submitted to His Majesty’s Government by representative Moslems. On the motion of Mr. [illegible], seconded by Mr. Ismail, a motion was carried to the effect that the Mussulman world viewed with consternation the suggested dismemberment of the Turkish Empire and the proposed injustice of placing Moslems, even when they are in a majority, under the rule of non-Moslem minorities, and of allocating territories, which have belonged to Turkey from the 14th century, if not before, to some of the Allied States. ■ ———————

The Scotsman, Monday, July 2, 1919

TURKISH COURT-MARTIAL PUBLIC PROSECUTOR’S SPEECH CONSTANTINOPLE, July 2.—The famous trial by Court-martial of a number of prominent members of the late Unionist regime in connection with the

deportation and massacre of Armenians and Greeks and the shameless profiteering which took place during the war was finally brought to a close yesterday by an elaborate speech by the Public Prosecutor, who demanded the death penalty for TALAAT, ENVER, and DJEMAL, and Dr. NAZIM, who fled to Germany, and the acquittal of the accused present at the trial—namely, the former SHEIKH-UL-ISLAM, MUSSA KIASIM; the ex-President of the Board of Accounts and of the Senate, RIFAAT BEY; and the ex-Minister of Posts and Telegraphs, HACHIM BEY. In the course of his indictment, the Public Prosecutor condemned the actions of the COMMITTEE OF UNION AND PROGRESS, and attributed the massacre of the Armenians to their separatist tendencies manifested since the Berlin Treaty, and to the massacre of Turkish men, women, and children by Armenian bands in the early stages of the war. He further asked for the acquittal of DJAVID BEY, the former Minister of Finance, and the adjournment of the proceedings in the case of the two expCabinet Ministers, both Christians, and at present living abroad—namely, SULEYMAN ELBUSTANI and OSKAN MARDIKIAN.—Press Association. ■ PLEASE SEE: The Scotsman, (date illegible) 1919. Headline: “Numerous Arrests.” The Washington Post, 26 January 1919. “The Man Who Incited the Armenian Massacres” The New York Times, 15 February 1919. Headline: ‘“Ravished Armenia’ in Film.” The Scotsman, 18 February 1919. Headlines: “Armenian Massacres” “The Constantinople Court Martial.” The New York Times, 13 July 1919. Headlines: “Turkey Condemns Its War Leaders” “Court-Martial Gives Death Sentence to Enver Pasha, Talaat Bey, and Djemal Pasha.” “All Three Made Escapes” “Djavid Bey and Alussa Metssa Get 15 Years at Hard Labor for Part in the War.” To learn about the Turks that escaped to Germany, about the trials, and more: Power, Samantha. A Problem From Hell: America and the Age of Genocide. New York: Basic Books, 2002 (Chapters 1–4) PLEASE READ:

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The New York Times, July 5, 1919

TELLS HOW TURKS TORTURED GREEKS Prelate’s Letter Describes Atrocities in Hellenic Territories of Black Sea. _______

POPULATION IS SCATTERED _______

Declares Deportations Into SnowCovered Lands Replace Openly Brutal Outrages. Atrocities perpetrated by the Turks against the Greeks in the Black Sea territories are described in a letter of HIS GRACE GERMANOS, LORD ARCHBISHOP of Amassia and Samsoun, in a letter sent from Constantinople to M. CONSTANTINIDES, PRESIDENT of the Pont-Euxine Unredeemed Greeks Committee. A copy of the letter was received from London the by SAVA KEHAYA, PRESIDENT of Greek-American Pontus League, 120 BROADWAY. The letter follows in part: “Euxine Pontus has undergone the greatest calamities and disasters, not only from the all-powerful Turkish part of ‘Union and Progress,’ but also from all the Turkish people. The Turkish people, after having hacked to death a million Armenians, organized and are still organizing according to the same methods, similar outrages. They were led, but only according to their own instincts, by the Government of TALAAT, ENVER, DJAMAL, and their accomplices. “After having drowned numberless little Armenian children in the sea and the rivers, the Turks carried off the young women and wives, putting all the

men to death, and then directed their attention to the fortune, honor and life of the Greek [1]‘Raya.’ At last, exploiting the absence of all control and the ephemeral victories of the Central Powers, the Turks found it necessary to stamp out Hellenism in Turkey. “However, as much anger had been caused in Europe and America by the Armenian massacres, and as further open atrocities could only increase the horror of the whole world, the Turkish people and the Government invented a new way of extermination by assassination less instantly shocking to moral ideas and the rules of civilization. The Greek population had to be wiped out by deportation, hunger, cold, by privations or ill-treatment. Thrace, Propontide, (Marmora,) the coast of the Aegean Sea, were evacuated of their Greek populations, which were deported toward the interior of Anatolia and dispersed among the Turkish villages without shelter, without clothes, dropping and dying on the way of hunger and fatigue. “But it was Pontus that had to undergo the greatest trials and disasters. First of all Sinope and the neighborhood were evacuated. Then Ayadjik and Karza, with all their villages, suffered the same fate. Their inhabitants were scattered among the regions of Kastamoni, but the greater number had already perished on the way as the result of fatigue and ill-treatment. Beat the Women. “The dead were left without burial, and many women, because of the impossibility of taking them and their children, were constantly beaten by the soldiers and abandoned in the mountains, a prey to hunger and wild beasts. The Turks did not even spare the families of those who died in the AMELA-TABOUROU, (forced labor battalion,) nor was

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mercy shown to those who, like beasts of burden, labored on military works, nor even to the families of those fallen on the battlefield. Two villages of Ayadjik, (caza of Sinope,) Yokari-Keuy, and Sernai, to escape death fell away and embraced Islamism. All the others, after the pillage of their wealth, the confiscation of their houses and their cattle, were led away toward the furthest off confines to the vilayet of the Castamouni, where the greater part of them died of cold, hunger, and cruelties.” Describing the deportations from Amissos, (Samsoun,) the ARCHBISHOP said: “First, the army reduced to ashes all the region round about. Nearly all the villages, rich in tobacco plantations, civilized friends of progress and possessing a lively national sentiment, were pillaged and then set on fire. A large number of women and children were killed, the young girls outraged and immediately afterward driven into the interior. Where? Into the vilayet of Angora, to Tchoroum, to Soungourlou, and still further. The Winter was of the most rigorous kind: these girls had to march thirty or forty days across snowcovered mountains and sleep by night in the open. For several days they were without food, for they were not even allowed to buy bread for money; they were continually beaten by the gendarmes and stripped of any money they might have on them, and when they got to the towns they were brutally pushed into the hot baths, on the pretext of hygiene and cleanliness, and just as quickly dragged out. Thus, an easy prey to the rigors of the cold, they were driven on further. The majority, of course, died on the road, and none of the dead at all being buried, vultures and hogs feasted on human flesh.

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Gathers Evidence. “Toward the end of the year, when the savage instincts of the tyrant and his instruments as well as the wild fanaticism of the Turks were satisfied, I was at last able to go out toward the mountains to discover and assemble fragments of evidence as to the catastrophe. I found only ruins and desolalation: skeletons lay scattered on the mountain. I found but a very small number of women and children, who, hidden in the caverns and the forests, had been able to escape the fury of the excited rabble. In the majority of the villages I was unable to discover even the ruins. The places had been burned and were now overgrown with grass. The very small number that had escaped complete destruction were void of inhabitants. Spiders had woven their webs over all, and owls flitted about, mournfully hooting. “Believe me, that out of 160,000 people of Pontus deported, only a tenth and in some place a twentieth have survived. In a village, for example, that counted 100 inhabitants, five only will ever return; the others are dead. Rare, indeed, are those happy villages where a tenth of the deported population has been saved. “Such, in short, is the situation in Pontus; as for the wrecks that come back to us from the catastrophe, having no means of sustenance, they are predestined to death by famine, for in spite of the subscriptions we have organized at Samsoun, individual initiative is powerless to bind up such wounds. There is urgent necessity to take measures, rapid and efficacious measures, so that sufficient money may be sent, never mind whence, to construct huts and shelters, to provide bread, clothes, and other objects of first necessity.

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“It would be good and useful for the success of our hallowed end if European public opinion were enlightened. I beg you to cry aloud, [2]‘urbi et orbi,’ these crimes of the Turks, unique in horror, saying that it is impossible to be governed by them in the future. “It is the duty of our European Allies to punish this criminal people, and give satisfaction to our national sentiment. And, if reunion with our motherland, Greece, is not possible, they still have the duty of creating a Pontic State under a democratic form of government: for even if its population has been decimated, the parents of those perished have set themselves up for the past fifty years in Russian Caucasia, where they wait but the deliverance of their mother country in order to come back and repeople the devastated territory of our country.” ■ Raya is the Turkish word for flock, was derogatorily used to describe the non-Moslem inhabitants of Asia Minor (now Turkey). 2 Urbi et Orbi, “To the City of Rome and to the World,” was the standard opening of Roman proclamations. 1

NOTE: Kara Köpek is the Turkish word for Black Dog. “Kara Köpek” is what the Turks derogatorily called the non-Moslem inhabitants of Asia Minor. (SKK) PLEASE READ: The Armenian Genocide: Cultural and Ethical Legacies, Edited by Richard HOVANNISIAN. “Greek Labor Battalions in Asia Minor” by Speros VRYONIS, Jr., New Brunswick (USA) and London (U.K.): Transaction Publishers, 2008. (Chapter 16) For a news report about the labor battalions, a.k.a. “death caravans”, PLEASE SEE: The Christian Science Monitor, 13 July 1922. Headline: “Near East Relief From Helping Greeks” By Dr. Herbert Adams Gibbons. ANNOUNCEMENT: A translation from Greek into English of Elias Venezis’s autobiography, Number 31,328: The Book of Slavery—is forthcoming. (SKK) ———————

The New York Times, July 6, 1919

TURKS OCCUPY AIDIN. Greeks Evacuate Asia Minor Town, Taking Civilians with Them. PARIS, July 4.––Turkish troops have entered Aidin, which the Greeks have evacuated, taking with them the civilian population, according to a Constantinople dispatch to the Temps. ––––– Aidin, on the Menderi River, fifty miles southeast of Smyrna, was entered by Greek troops late in May, announcement of the occupation [in accordance to the Armistice of Mudros] of the place being officially made at Greek General Headquarters on June 1. ■ ———————

The New York Times, July 13, 1919

TURKEY CONDEMNS ITS WAR LEADERS Court-Martial Gives Death Sentence to Enver Pasha, Talaat Bey, and Djemal Pasha. _______

ALL THREE MADE ESCAPES _______ Djavid Bey and Alussa Metssa Get 15 Years at Hard Labor for Part in the War. CONSTANTINOPLE, July 11.—Enver Pasha, Talaat Bey, and Djemal Pasha, the leaders of the Turkish Government during the war, were condemned to death today by a Turkish court-martial investigating the conduct of the Turkish Government during the war period.

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Enver and his two leading associates in the Young Turk Government fled from Turkey several months ago, and their whereabouts is uncertain. Djavid Bey, former Minister of Finance, and Alusa Mussa Kiazim, former Sheik-ul-Islam,[1] were sentenced to fifteen years at hard labor. The court-martial acquitted Rifaat Bey, former President of the Senate and Hachim Bey, former Minister of Posts and Telegraph. ■ PLEASE SEE: The Scotsman, (date illegible) 1919. Headline: “Numerous Arrests.” The Washington Post, 26 January 1919. Headline: “The Man Who Incited the Armenian Riot.” The New York Times, 15 February 1919. Headline: ‘“Ravished Armenia’ in Film.” The Scotsman, 18 February 1919. Headlines: “Armenian Massacres” “The Constantinople Court Martial.” The Scotsman, 2 July 1919. Headline: “Turkish Court-Martial Public Prosecutor Speech.” LEARN MORE ABOUT THE TURKS THAT ESCAPED TO GERMANY, THE TRIALS PLEASE READ: Power, Samantha. A Problem From Hell: America and the Age of Genocide. New York: Basic Books, 2002 (Chapters 1–4) ––To learn about the Turks that escaped to Germany, about the trials, and more. AND MORE.

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Hamam (Turkish Baths of old). Source Obscure

The New York Times, July 31, 1919

TURKS PARBOILED 250,000. Charges that Turkish officials decimated the Greek population along the Black Sea coast by 250,000 men, women, and children living between Sinope and Ondou without the shedding of blood, but by “parboiling” the victims in Turkish baths and turning them out half-clad to die of pneumonia or other ills in the snow of an Anatolian Winter, are made in a letter from DR. GEORGE E. WHITE, representative of the American Committee for Relief in the Near East, made public yesterday. Dr. White said that the Province of Bafra, also where there were more than 29,000 village Greeks, now less that 13, 000 survive, and every Greek settlement has been burned. The number of orphans, including some Armenian and Turkish children, in the entire district, it was said, aggregated 60,000. Since the armistice, the doctor wrote, many of the deportees have been returning to their ruined homes. ■

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PLEASE SEE: The New York Times, 17 February 1919. Headlines: “Near East Relief Expedition” Leaves” “Dr. George E. White Heads Party of 250 on Leviathan on Way to Aid Sufferers.” “Many Specialists Aboard” “Scientific Experts Included in Contingent of Workers Off for Constantinople by Way of Brest.” NOTE: “Half-clad” mentioned in this report, means that the Turkish gendarmes ripped the clothes from the victims for themselves; they then forced the victims into the hot Turkish baths, and later forced them out into the frigid weather—the extreme hot and extreme cold temperatures resulted in agonizing deaths. (SKK) ———————

The New York Times, August 15, 1919

TURKS SLAY 21 BOY SCOUTS. 20 Defenders at Aidin. LONDON, Aug. 14.—Nicholas AVGERIDIS, a Scout Master, and twenty Greek Boy Scouts have been murdered at Aidin, Asia Minor, by Turks, according to Greek official sources. Avgeridis was tortured before he was killed and the Boy Scouts lost their lives in endeavoring to save him. ■ ———————

The New York Times, August 31, 1919

THE SWORD OF ISLAM. Something more than forty years ago a London daily newspaper seriously proposed that the United States should take the Ottoman Turks in hand and assume responsibility for the good behavior of their empire. Twice that number of years ago ELIHU BURITT, “the learned blacksmith,” declared that Constantinople ought to be one of the richest cities on the face of the globe from the carrying trade between Europe and Asia. Here we have two fundamental views

upon which have been based many suggestions of policy in respect to the plague spot of the Near East. One is that the Ottoman Empire is a criminal Power, not to be recognized or trusted in the fellowship of nations, but always to be kept under restraint; the other is that the Turks are incapable of progress, unworthy to possess and enjoy the highly favored regions they occupy and that they were to be put out of Europe “bag and baggage: in order that their estate may come into the hands of an industrial and commercial people. There is a third view which has controlled European policy for generations—that the Turks, with all their crimes, must be maintained in Constantinople because of the dangerous disturbance of the Balance of Power that would result from the transfer of the Ottoman domain to any of the great States of Europe. Each of these views has its active partisans at this time. The people of the United Sates would be glad to see the Turks transferred to a new State in Asia Minor with Brusa as the seat of the Caliphate. They are interlopers, adventurers in Europe and no integral part of its civilization. They have an evil reputation and are the worst of neighbors. They have been intolerably cruel to subject peoples, the cause of many wars and much bloodshed. In Brusa rest the ashes of their first Sultan, OSMAN I. British policy demands a different settlement altogether. Because of her need to safeguard the route to India and the peace of India, Great Britain is more deeply concerned than any other power in the fate of Constantinople and Turkey. “The sick man of Europe” has been kept alive by British interest, and now again British policy opposes the expulsion of the Turks from Europe. It is not a question of

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maintaining a political power, for we all most devoutly hope that the Turks will never again be allowed to exercise political power; it is the desire to avoid a shock to religious sentiment. The head of the Turkish State is the spiritual head of the Moslem world. It is urged that to thrust him forth from the place where he has ruled so long that he may in truth call it his ancient seat, to transport him against his will to a new capital in Asia Minor, would cause a profound disturbance throughout Islam. In British India there are many millions of Mohammedans. What these followers of the prophet may be thinking about at any given time Great Britain really never knows, but she understands her subject races in India well enough to know that it would be unwise to disregard their religious feelings. These motives of policy are well understood in the United States, we appreciate their weight and force. But we are not prepared for that reason to admit that when Great Britain withdraws her troops from the Caucasus we shall be responsible for whatever assaults the Armenians may undergo at the hands of the Turks unless we instantly send armed forces to protect them. Nor are we at all inclined to accept the role of mandatory and establish administrative and military forces at Constantinople to keep the Ottoman realms in order. When the proposal was made, as we have said, some forty years ago, it received only ironic attention in this country. Made now, we should decline the responsibility. We should decline it with all politeness, in a spirit of entire friendship, but nevertheless with firmness. For the Armenians we might consent to become the mandatory of the League of Nations, for we have a peculiar regard for that much-suffering people and should be disposed to grant their evident

BEFORE THE SILENCE

wish that we extend to them the helping hand. To that extent the American people would be willing to become responsible for restraining indulgence in the national Turkish pastime of killing Armenians. If the Indian interests of Britain now require, what they have so long required in the past, that the Turks continue to hold their place in Europe, certainly Great Britain, not the United States, should go on the Turks’ bond of good behavior. It may come about that circumstances will force Great Britain to become the mandatory at Constantinople. There are other solutions. The non-Turkish peoples of Asia Minor will be freed from Turkish control, of course. Much consideration has been given to the plan of international control over the Turkish population and their chief city and over the Dardanelles and the Bosporus. Under the League of Nations this might be feasible, although the plan has its obvious perils. For two thousand years Constantinople has been the centre of the clash of ambitions. That millennial harmony would be established by bringing the contending forces into partnership at that point might be too sanguine a view. Sharp dissensions are likely to arise, as in the experiment of France and Britain in Egypt. There is another suggestion—that, as a means of avoiding jealousies, Greece take the mandate for Constantinople. The Greeks, and industrious and commercial people, great traders, would at least administer the trust in a way to give Constantinople a prominence in the arts of peace to which under Turkey’s rule it would never attain; they might make ELIHU BURRITT’S vision of reality. The Greeks for centuries have been oppressed and cribbed and confined by the Turks. They have within them the impulse and the qualities to build up a great nation.

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Some opportunity for expansion is given to time already as a fruit of war. It is argued that the corrupt and cruel and conscienceless military and political power of the Ottoman Empire being destroyed, the Greeks would get on very well with the Turkish people. But whether Constantinople be delivered over to international control or to one nation, the indispensable condition of peace and security in the Near East is that the sword of Islam must be taken from the cruel hands that have so long wielded it and be shattered beyond all mending. ■ ———————

The New York Times, September 23, 1919

TURKS MURDERING GREEKS Official Reports of More Atrocities by Moslem Irregulars. SALONIKI, Sept. 22, Associated Press.)—Reports reaching Greek official quarters state that Turkish irregulars[1] are committing many brutalities against the Greeks at interior points. At Koum, it is alleged, the Turks cut off the ears of a Greek priest and two citizens. At Azamly a Greek and is wife were killed, and at Loupadi two Greeks and a young woman were killed. ■ Irregulars were killing squads, a.k.a. (chetes).(SKK)

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Jemal Pasha in front of the Aintoura College, where Armenian orphans were to be turkified (1916) Source obscure.

The Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, October 26, 1919

30,000 ARMENIAN GIRLS HELD IN TURK HAREMS American Red Cross Appealed to Find Aid to Release Them TIFLIS, Armenia Oct. 10.—Via Paris whose daughters were saved from death for a life of slavery in Turkish harems, have appealed to the American Red Cross for aid in obtaining their freedom. It is estimated by officials of the Armenian government that 30,000 girls are thus held in slavery. An executive committee to arrange plans for their liberation has been named and will start work at once. These girls, daughters of refugees from the Van Bitlis regions, disappeared during the massacres of 1918. Nothing was heard from them for months and it was believed they had been slain by the Turks. Recently pitiful appeals for liberation have been coming from them

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from the Turkish harems of Anatolia and European Turkey. Most of the girls declare that they have not changed their religion.[1] Colonel Haskell, High Commissioner of Allies to Armenia, has been appealed to for military aid. No definite answer has yet been given but he is hopeful of being able to offer a show of force as a background for diplomatic negotiations. The American Red Cross has been asked for financial backing necessary for the work of liberating the women. ■ U.S. officials reported that girls and boys were often abducted and then sold by Turkish gendarmes to wealthy polygamous Turks. Forced conversions: upon threat of death, the children “renounced the cross for the crescent.”

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According to the late Dr. Charles Mahjoubian, The Philadelphia Evening Bulletin were all-out supportive to the Armenian refugees that settled in Philadelphia. (SKK)

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The New York Times, Sunday, November 2, 1919

URGES ARMENIAN MANDATE. Dr. Barton Says America Alone Can Preserve the Asiatic Republic. BOSTON, Nov.1.—The Rev. Dr. James L. Barton, Foreign Secretary of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Mission, who has just returned from six months’ travel in the Near East, discussing “America’s Responsibility in Turkey,” in an address today said that only under the mandate of America could Armenia expect unity, independence and safety from annihilation. “The horrors of the Armenian atrocities have not been overdrawn,” he said. “Much has never been and will never be told. It seemed at times as if we were in the very environs of Hades. The country governmentally is hopeless without outside assistance. There were no divided opinions upon this point. Armenian, Turk, Arab and Syrian all look to the United States for help rather than to any European country, their confidence in America was pathetic and yet reassuring. “Pending the ratification of the treaty and the creation of the League, some nation must step in to save the Armenian from annihilation. If left to the Turk, Tartar, and Kurd, this will necessarily be the conclusion. Again the appeal is to the United States, which has already done so much for this people, to come to their protection. Neither England nor France can do this, and Italy has declined.” ■ PLEASE READ: James L. Barton, compiler, Turkish Atrocities: Statements of American Missionaries on the Destruction of Christian Communities in Ottoman Turkey, 1915–1917.

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The New York Times, November 3, 1919

URGES US TO TAKE TURKISH MANDATE Stephane Lauzanne Sees Europe’s Request as a Call of Duty.

DEPLORES SPLIT IN SENATE Feels That France Has Some Right to Address Friends In America

CHANCE TO SAVE HUMANITY Not Troops, He Says, but Hoovers and Davisons Are Needed for the Task. By EDWIN L. JAMES. Special Cable to THE NEW YORK TIMES. PARIS, Nov. 1—STEPHANE LAUZANNE in the Matin today makes a strong appeal to the United States to accept a mandate for Constantinople. He terms it the request of all Europe to the one nation in a position to solve the Turkish problem. He says that American opponents to the acceptance of the mandate place an entirely wrong construction upon the situation. He sees it as a call to duty for America. “In a few days,” says the French publicist, “the Senate at Washington will have to decide upon the gravest of all the questions of the Peace Treaty— upon that which is the heaviest in consequences for Europe. Will America accept or not the mandate which is offered her for Constantinople and Armenia? We know today that PRESIDENT WILSON and his principal counselors, ROBERT LANSING, COLONEL HOUSE, and HENRY MORGENTHAU, after some hesitation are for the acceptance of the man-

date. The Republicans are opposed to it. The Republican opposition is always against anything when the President is for it. As for the Senate, it is split in two, and it is by a small margin that the decision will be taken. Perhaps in the debate we have some right to raise our voice and across the ocean address to our American friends a request. “In the offer of a mandate to her America should see more than the selfish desire of Europe to involve her in European affairs. It is true she fears to be the centre of intrigues and difficulties. She fears distant complications. However, the question is nobler and higher than that. America is an admirable reservoir of energy. She holds the secret of that which is best in our modern life—to build largely and to build quickly. She has youth; she has power; she has wealth; she has that which she calls efficiency. We in Europe are old, poor, enfeebled, divided. It would be prodigiously interesting if America after she has given us of her power, of her money and her material, should give us also an example. “And what an example it would be if America were to accept the mandate for Constantinople! Here is a city which is one of the marvels of Europe and of the world, which is the jewel of the Orient, and which is after twenty centuries of European civilization remains the home of wickedness and corruption. Every one disputes possession of its hills and harbors, and no one tries to make of it a great modern city which, rid of international intrigues and rid of politics, would be the shining pole of Europe. Only America can transform Constantinople; only America can establish herself there without jealousy; only America can civilize the capital of Islam.

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“To do that America has no need of regiments of soldiers or of cannon. She has need only of her workers and her constructors. A HOOVER and a DAVISON would be enough. And America is full of Hoovers and Davisons. “If America accepts, then she can declare that she has rendered an incomparable service to humanity, and that she has played a great role in the world. She, the youngest democracy of the world, will have given a lesson to the old nations of Europe. She will have shown that she knows not only how to fight, but how to build. She will have furnished the most magnificent example of disinterestedness in history. She will have given of her intellectual superiority and material superiority the most shining example and the most conclusive proof. She will have put her imprint upon Europe for generations to come. “Among the stories told to children in America there is one of Napoleon arriving in Egypt and saying to his soldiers: ‘Remember that from the heights of the Pyramids forty centuries look down upon you!’ And so, many more centuries will look down from on high upon America if she makes of Constantinople a model city, or of the Armenians a free people. “To establish among men beauty, goodness, and liberty where reign ugliness, wickedness and tyranny is higher and better than to heap stones without souls one upon another. So we say to our friends of America: If you hesitate, turn toward the tomb at Mount Vernon and ask the hero who sleeps his last sleep. If George Washington could speak he would not hesitate. Far removed from easy-going egotists, he would show the path of duty He would tell you to serve humanity, even if it is far away, and if it is not easy.” ■

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EDWIN L. JAMES was war correspondent and the managing editor of The New York Times. ———————

The Scotsman, November 3, 1919

DIFFICULTIES OF A SETTLEMENT. THE ROLE OF THE UNITED STATES PARIS, November 1.—The difficulties that have arisen regarding the settlement of the Turkish question and the fate of the various provinces composing the Ottoman Empire continue seriously to preoccupy the French Press, and significant articles appear to-day in which the problem is surveyed from the double point of view of the participation of American in European politics and the maintenance of a close union between FRANCO and Great Britain. M. STÉPHANE LAUZANNE, in the Matin, argues, that necessity of an American mandate for Constantinople. “The United States,” he says, “can alone install themselves there without giving rise to mistrust and jealousy, and they would be able peacefully to establish civilization there by means of their engineers and contractors. If America accepted a mandate, she might lay claim to having rendered an incomparable service to humanity, and to having played a great part in the world.” The Éclair infers from the statement published by the Matin yesterday that Great Britain holds the view that France should maintain a close understanding with her, the two countries having need of each other. The Éclair thinks, however, that that is a wrong way of putting the matter. In its opinion England, above all, has need of France on account of her Mussulman affairs, and the question of Turkey has less importance for France than for the United Kingdom. “Frenchmen,” conconcludes the Éclair, “comprehend the necessity for a close union with England, but, after the numerous sacrifices that have been asked of them by England, they think the moment has come for the latter to make compensation for those sacrifices.” —Reuter. ■

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The New York Times— Editorial, November 9, 1919

THE TURKISH MANDATE The article by Mr. MORGENTHAU in today’s issue of THE TIMES MAGAZINE presents in admirable form the compelling and unanswerable argument for the expulsion of the Turk from Europe.—“The Turk is the habitual criminal of history,” he says, whose promises to reform are abundant in time of trouble, but have invariably been repudiated; there is no more reason to believe them now than in 1856, or 1878, or 1908. “Turkey is not reformable.” The Turkish character has some admirable points, but these are displayed more satisfactorily when the Turk is in a position of political inferiority. As a political power the Turks must be driven out of Europe—a step which would mean the gradual emigration of a large part of the Turkish population still living on the European side of the Strait—and sent back to the interior of Anatolia, where they have least chance to do further harm. No unbiased reader of Mr. MORGENTHAU’S argument can fail to be convinced of the desirability of this end. The only question is whether it can most suitably accomplished by the plan favored by MR.MORGENTHAU—the assumption by the United States of a mandate for Thrace and Constantinople, Anatolia (except a small area around Smyrna) and Armenia; the three administrative districts to be separated on account of local conditions, but joined together under a single central government at Constantinople. The Sultan would by this plan be exiled to Brussa or Konich in Asia Minor, and “under proper man“datory control would retain religious “and political sovereignty over the Turk“ish people in Anatolia.”

It may be said at the outset that the Turks do not share Mr. MORGENTHAU’S confidence that such a plan would put them in their place. Indeed, one of the three or four strong currents of sentiment favoring a unitary American mandate is that of the Turks and their friends, who appear to think that such a solution would be the best way out for them. And other supporters of the unitary mandate do not talk of removing the Sultan from Constantinople. One reason or another—all specious—is given for his retention, but they do not want him out. If the Sultan stays in Constantinople Turkish functionaries would stay with him. Turkish political influence, with its infinite variety of corruption, would still be strong. The Turks do not want to be partitioned among the great Powers. Above all, they do not want to see the Armenians freed, nor any more Turkish territory lost to the Greeks. The Greeks are natural heirs of Constantinople, second only to the Turks, and not so very far second, among the various races that make up the population; destined, perhaps, to surpass them if the passing of Turkish political power should be followed by the usual migration. Moreover, the Greek element is the most energetic in and around the city. The Aegean coast and the northwestern section of Anatolia, ancient seats of Greek culture, have a Greek population which in some districts considerable outnumbers the Turks, and in the aggregate is large enough to make the transference of these districts to Greece immediately practicable. Greek rule means progress, but the unitary mandate would work to the disadvantage of this race, which is the hope of the whole region from the Bosporus to the Maeander. Hostility to Greece is one reason why the Turks favor an American mandate,

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and, unhappily, it is also a motive among some of the American advocates of the theory. “The large missionary and edu“cational interests of the United States “in Anatolia must be adequately pro“tected,” says Mr. MORGENTHAU, “and “it is illusory to imagine that this can “be done if Anatolia is subjected to “Greek, French, or Italian sovereignty.” It certainly seems an unwarranted presumption that the French and Italian Governments would fail to give proper protection to any legitimate activities of American teachers and missionaries. If the Greeks should fail to do so, it would be because of a conflict of opinion as to the frontier of legitimacy. Above all of which is the question whether we should govern the residue of Turkey for the advantage of its peoples, particularly its progressive and Christian peoples, or for the advantage of “our large missionary and educational interests.” American sentiment no longer looks with favor on a State-supported Church or a Church-controlled state. Without doubt an American mandate would promote the commercial development of Anatolia, to the great profit of American and European business men. But Mr. MORGENTHAU places the matter rather upon a philanthropic basis; he does not seem to think it would be worth while purely as a commercial venture. It could be financed—he thinks three or four hundred million dollars would suffice; others say a billion—“by issues of “bonds against the resources of the ter“ritories involved. If the United States “held the mandate there would be no “difficulty in floating such issues.” None at all; but they would be sold by the American indorsement, and not by the Anatolian revenues. If as he says, “the commercial situation is of little importance to us,” the expenditure involved would hardly command public approval.

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Finally, it is argued, and with reason, that America is a world Power with world duties. England and France are already straining their resources to police territories in process of development; Italy might find heavy engagements in Anatolia too great a strain; Greece, for the moment, will have her hands full if she gets the territories, aside from the Strait, to which she is entitled on racial considerations. What Greece can do in twenty years is another matter. We might be able to keep order in an important strategic centre by taking over the whole territory, but in doing so we should be certain to strengthen the Turk. And in removing the European jealousies which might arise if Turkey were divided we should probably divert them all upon ourselves as the holders of a region so bitterly disputed in times past. The unitary mandate would suit the Turks, the missionaries, some diplomats who could transfer their worries to our shoulders, and the holders of Turkish bonds, present and future. It would not suit the Christians whom the Turks oppress; it would hardly be likely to suit the American taxpayer; it might lead to a solidification of European sentiment against us. Better arguments for it must be advanced than any that have been heard as yet. ■ PLEASE SEE: 11–3–1919. The New York Times, Headlined: “Urges Us To Take Turkish Mandate” By Edwin L. James 11–9–1919. The New York Times, Editorial – Headlined: “The Turkish Mandate” 11–9–1919. The New York Times, Magazine – Headlined: “Mandates or War” By Henry Morgenthau, Ex-Ambassador to Turkey 11–12–1922. The New York Times – Front Page – Headlined: “Turk’s Eyes on Europe, Says our Ex-Ambassador” By Henry Morgenthau, Ex-Ambassador to Turkey. ———————

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The New York Times—Magazine Section, November 9, 1919

MANDATES OR WAR? World Peace Held to be Menaced Unless the United States Assumes Control of the Sultan’s Former Dominion By HENRY MORGENTHAU Ex-Ambassador to Turkey I AM one of those who believe that the United States should accept a mandate for Constantinople and the several provinces in Asia Minor which constitute what is left of the Ottoman Empire. I am aware that this proposition is not popular with the American people. But it seems to me to be a matter in which we do not have much choice. Nations, like individuals, are constantly subject to forces which are stronger than their wills. The responsibilities to which individuals fall heir, are frequently not of their own choosing. The great European conflicts in August, 1914, seemed to be a matter that did not immediately concern us. In two years we learned that it was very much our affair. The impelling forces of history drew us in, and led us to play a decisive part. If we could not keep out of this struggle, it is illogical to suppose that we can avoid its consequences. One of the most serious of these consequences and the one that perhaps most threatens the peace of the world is a chaotic Turkey. Unless the United States accepts a Turkish mandate the world will again lose the opportunity of solving the problem that has endangered civilization for 500 years. The United States has invested almost $40,000,000,000 in a war against militarism and for the establishment of right.

We must invest three or four billions more in an attempt to place on a permanent foundation the nations to whose rescue we came. An essential part of this program is the expulsion of the Turk from Europe and the establishment as going concerns of the nations which have been so long subject to his tyranny. Unless we succeed in doing this we can look for another Balkan war in a brief period perhaps five years. Another Balkan war will mean another, European war, another world war. It is for the United States to decide whether such a calamity shall visit the world at an early date. If we assume the mandate for Constantinople and the Ottoman Empire probably we can prevent it; if, as so many Americans insist, we reject this duty, we shall become responsible for another world conflagration. Perhaps the most ominous phase of world politics today is that new voices are interceding in behalf of the Sultan and his distracted domain. The Government at Constantinople is making one last despairing attempt to save the bedraggled remnant of its empire. It has reorganized its Cabinet, putting to the fore men who are expected to impress Europe favorably; but it is not punishing the leaders who sold out to Germany and murdered not far from a million of its Christian subjects. The new Sultan has given interviews to the press, expressing his horror at the Armenian massacres, and promising that nothing like them shall ever occur again. More ominous than these outgivings is the fact that certain spokesmen in behalf of the Turk are making themselves heard in the allied countries. Again it is being said that what Turkey needs is not obliteration as a State, but reform. Probably the financial interests which look upon Turkey as a field for concessions are largely responsible for this

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talk; the imperialistic tendencies of certain European countries are blamable to a certain extent, for, strange as it may seem, there are still many people in England, France, and Italy who urge that the Turks, bad as his instincts may be, is better than the Oriental peoples whom he holds in subjection. If we listen to these arguments, and to the fair promises of the Turkish Government, we shall put ourselves into the position of a society which fails to protect itself against the habitual criminal. Every civilized society nowadays sees to it that constant offenders against decency and law are put where they can do no harm. Yet the Turk is the habittual criminal of history, the constant offender against the peace and dignity of the world, and if we permit him to remain in Europe, and to retain an uncontrolled sovereignty, it is easy to foresee the time when a regenerated Russia will again be dependent on him for a commercial outlet, so that the dangerous situation of the old world-order will be duplicated and perpetuated. We cannot hope sanely for peace unless America establishes at Constantinople a centre from which democratic principles shall radiate and illuminate that dark region of the world. If we look at the Near Eastern situation we perceive that Italy and Greece are reaching out to such distances for territory and power that both, if their ambitions are gratified, will find themselves not only unable to govern the new lands they have acquired, but will be greatly weakened at home through expenditures in the maintenance of troops and Governments in their colonies. The danger is not only that the Balkans will be more Balkanized than ever, but that Russia, too, will be Balkanized. The only safety lies in setting up a beneficent influence through a strong Government in

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Constantinople, which would counteract the intrigues and contentions of embittered rivals. A brief survey of the history of Turkey in Europe will suffice to make clear the danger of accepting in this late day any promises of reform from that quarter. I have always thought that the final word on Turkey was spoken by an American friend of mine who had spent a large part of his life in the East, and who on a visit to Berlin, was asked by HERR VON GWINNER, the President of the Deutsche Bank, to spend an evening with him to discuss the future of the Sultan’s empire. When my friend came to keep this appointments he began this way: “You have set aside this whole evening to discuss the Ottoman Empire. We do not need all that time. I can tell you the whole story in just four words: Turkey is not reformable!” “You have summed up the whole situation perfectly,” replied von Gwinner. The reason why this conclusion was so accurate was that it was based, not upon theory, but upon experiment. The history of Turkey for nearly a hundred years has simply amounted to an attempt to reform her. Every attempt has ignominiously failed. Up to fifteen years ago Great Britain’s policy in the Near East had as its controlling principle the necessity of maintaining the independence and integrity of the Ottoman Empire. The folly of this policy and the miseries which it has brought to Europe are so apparent that I propose to discuss the matter in some detail, particularly as it is only by studying this attitude of the past that we can approach the solution of the Turkish problem of the present. From 1853 to 1856 Great Britain and France fought a terrible, devastating war, the one purpose of which was to maintain the independence of Turkey. At this time the British public had be-

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fore them the Turkish problem in almost the same form as that which it manifests today. As now, the issue turned upon whether they should regard this question from the standpoint of civilization and decency, or from the standpoint of national advantage and political expediency. The character of the Turk was the same in 1853 that it is now; he was just as incapable politically then as he is today; his attitude toward the Christian populations whom the accident of history had placed in his power and identically the same as it is now. These populations were merely “filthy infidels,” hated by Allah, having no rights to their own lives or property, who would be permitted to live only as slaves of the mighty Mussulman, and who could be tortured and murdered at will. All European statesmen knew in 1852 that the ultimate disappearance of the Ottoman Empire was inevitable; all understood that it was only the support of certain European powers that permitted it to exist even temporarily. It was about this time that CZAR NICHOLAS I. applied to Turkey the name, “sick man of the East,” which has ever since been accepted as an accurate description of its political and social status. The point which I wish to make here is that that phrase is just as appropriate today as it was then. The Turk had long since learned the great resource of Ottoman statesmanship—the adroit balancing of one European power against another as the one security of his own existence. Yet, there was then a school of statesmanship, headed by PALMERSTON, which declared that the preservation of this decrepit power was the indispensable point of British foreign policy. These men were as realistic in their policies as BISMARCK himself. Outwardly they expressed their faith in the Turk; they

publicly pictured him as a charming and chivalrous gentleman; they declared that the stories of his brutality were fabrications; and they asserted that, once given an opportunity, the Turkish Empire would regain its splendor and become a headquarters of intelligence and toleration. Lord Palmerston simply outdid himself in his adulation of the Turk. He publicly denounced the Christian populations of Turkey; the stories of their sufferings he declared to be the most absurd nonsense; he warned the British public against being led astray by cheap sentimentality in dealing with the Turkish problem. To what extent Palmerston and his associates believed their own statements is not clear; they were trained in a school of statesmanship which taught that it was well to believe what it was convenient to believe. The fact was, of course, that the British public was under no particular hallucinations about the Turk. But its mind was filled with a great obsession and a great fear. The thing that paralyzed its moral sense was the steady progress of Russia. This power, starting as a landlocked nation, had gradually pushed her way to the Black Sea. There was something in her steady progress southward that seemed almost as inevitable as fate. That Russia was determined to obtain Constantinople and become heir to the Sultan’s empire was the conviction that obsessed the British mind. Once this happened, the Palmerston school declared, the British Empire would come speedily to an end. It is almost impossible for us of this generation to conceive the extent to which this fear of Russia laid hold of the British mind. It dogged all the thoughts of British statesmen and British publicists. There appeared to be only one way of checking Russia and protecting the British fireside—that was to pre-

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serve the Turkish Empire. England believed that, as long as the Sultan ruled at Constantinople, the Russian could never occupy that capital and from it menace the British Empire. Thus British enthusiasm for Turkey was merely an expression of hatred and fear of Russia. It was this that led British statesmen to disregard the humane principles involved and adopt the course that apparently promoted the national advantage. The English situation of 1853 presented in particularly acute form that question which has always troubled statesmen: Is there any such thing in principle in the conduct of a nation, or is a country justified always in adopting the course that best promotes its interests or which seems to do so. As applied to Turkey it was this: Was it Great Britain’s duty to protect the Christians against the murderous attacks of the Mohammedans, or should she shut her eyes to their sufferings so long as this course proved profitable politically? I should be doing an injustice to England did I not point out that the British public has always been divided on this issue. One side has always insisted on regarding the Turkish problem as a matter simply of expediency, while another has insisted on solving it on the ground of justice and right. The part of humanity existed in the days of the Crimean war. Their leaders were RICHARD COBDEN and JOHN BRIGHT—men who formed the vanguard in that group of British statesmen who insisted on regarding public questions from other than materialistic standpoints. Cobden and Bright saw in the Ottoman question, as it presented itself in 1853, not chiefly a problem in the balance of power, but one that affected the lives of millions of human beings. It

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was not the threatened aggression of Russia that disturbed them; their eyes were fixed rather on the Christian populations that were being daily tortured under Turkish rule. They demanded a solution of the Eastern question in the way that would best promote the welfare of the Armenians, Greeks, Syrians, and Jews, whom the SULTAN had maltreated for centuries. They cared little for the future of Constantinople; they cared much for the future of these persecuted peoples. They therefore took what was, I am sorry to say, the unpopular side in that day. They opposed the mad determination of the British public to go to war for the sake of maintaining the Turkish Empire. The greatest speech John Bright ever made was against the Crimean war. “That terrible oppression, that multitudinous crime which we call the Ottoman Empire,” was his description of the country which Palmerston so greatly admired. Richard Cobden had studied conditions at first hand and had reached in conclusion identically the same as that of my friend whom I have already quoted —that is, that Turkey was not reformable. He ridiculed the fear that everywhere prevailed against Russia, denied that Russia’s prosperity as a nation necessarily endangered Great Britain, declared that the Turkish Empire could not be maintained, and that, even though it could be, it was not worth preserving. “You must address yourselves,” said Cobden, “as men of sense and men of energy to the question—What are you to do with the Christian population? For Mohammedanism cannot be maintained and I should be sorry to see this country fighting for the maintenance of Mohammedanism. * * * You may keep Turkey on the map of Europe, you may call the country by the name of Turkey if

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you like, but do not think that you can keep up the Mohammedan rule in the country.” These were about the mightiest voices in England at that time, but even Cobden and Bright were wildly abused for maintaining that the Eastern question was primarily a problem in ethics. In order to preserve this hideous anachronism England fought a bloody and disastrous war. I presume most Englishmen today regard the Crimean war as about the most wicked and futile in their national existence. When the whole thing was over, a witty Frenchman summed up the performance by saying: “If we read the treaty of peace, there are no visible signs to show who were the conquerors and who the vanquished.” There was only one power which could view the results with much satisfaction: that was Turkey. The Treaty of Paris specifically guaranteed her independence and integrity. It shut the Black Sea to naval vessels, thus protecting Turkey from attack by Russia. Best of all, it left the Sultan’s Christian subjects absolutely in his power. The SULTAN did, indeed promise reforms—but he merely promised them. Despite experience to the contrary, the British and French diplomats blandly accepted this promise as equivalent to performance. It is painful to look back to this year 1856; to realize that France and England, having defeated Russia, had a free hand to solve the Ottoman problem, and that they refrained from doing so. That absurd prepossession that this Oriental empire must be preserved in Europe simply as a buffer State against the progress of Russia entirely controlled the minds of British statesmen —and millions of Christian peoples were left to their fate. What that fate was we all know. The Sultan’s promise of reform, never made

in good faith, were immediately disregarded. Pillage, massacre, and lust continued to be the chief instruments used by the Sublime Porte in governing his subject peoples. Again the Sultan maintained his throne by playing off one European power against another. The “settlement” of the Eastern problem which had been provided by the Crimean war lasted until 1876. These twenty years were not quiet ones in the Ottoman dominions; they were a time of constant misery and torture for the abandoned Christian populations. Great Britain and France learned precisely what the “integrity and independence of the Ottoman Empire” meant in 1876, when stories of the Bulgarian massacres again reached Europe. Once more Europe faced this everlasting question of the Turk in precisely the same form as in 1856. Again the British people had to decide between expediency and principle in deciding the future of Turkey. Again the British public divided into two groups. Palmerston was dead, but his animosity to Russia and his fondness for the Turk had become the inheritance of DISRAELI. With this statesman, as with his predecessor, Turkey was a nation that must be preserved, whatever might be the lot of her suffering Christians. The other part , that played by Cobden and Bright in 1856, was now played by GLADSTONE. “The greatest triumph of our time,” said Gladstone in 1870 “will be the enthronement of the idea of public right as the governing idea of European politics.” And Gladstone now proposed to apply this lofty principle to this new Turkish crisis. Many of us remember the attitude of the Disraeli Government in those days. We are still proud of the part played by two Americans, MCGAHAN, a newspaper correspondent, and SCHUYLER, the American Consul at Constantinople,

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in bringing the real facts to the attention of the civilized world. Until these men published the results of their investigations the Disraeli Government branded all the reports of Bulgarian atrocities as lies. “Coffee house babble” was the term applied by Disraeli to these reports, while LORD SALISBURY, in a public address, lauded the personal character of the Sultan. But these two Americans showed that the Bulgarian reports were not idle gossip. They furnished Gladstone his material for his famous Bulgarian pamphlet, in which he propounded the only solution of the Turkish problem that should satisfy the conscience of the British people. His words, uttered in 1876, are just as timely now as they were then. “Let the Turks now carry away their abuses in the only possible manner, namely, by carrying away themselves. Their Zaptiehs and their Mudirs, their Bimbashis and their Yugbashis, their Kaimakans and their Pashas, one and all, bag and baggage, shall, I hope, clear out from the province they have desolated and profaned.” Gladstone’s denunciation stirred the British conscience to its depths. The finer side of the British character manifested itself; the public conscience had made great advances since 1856, and the masses of the British people began to see the Ottoman problem in its true light. Consequently, when Russia intervened in behalf of the Bulgarians and other persecuted peoples, England did not commit the fearful mistake of 1853—she did not go to war to prevent the intervention. British public opinion at first applauded the Russian armies; when, however, the Czar’s forces approached Constantinople, the old dread of Crimean days seized the British public once more. Again Englishmen forget the miseries of the Christians

BEFORE THE SILENCE

and began to see the spectre of Russia seated at Constantinople. Again Great Britain began to prepare for war; the British fleet passed the Dardanelles and anchored off Constantinople. England again declared that the safety of her empire demanded the preservation of Turkey, and gave Russia the option of war or a congress at which the treaty she had made with Turkey should be revised. Russia accepted the latter alternative, and the Congress of Berlin was the result. This Congress could have freed all the subject peoples and solved the Eastern question, but again civilized Europe threw away the opportunity. At this Congress England, in the person of Disraeli, became the Sultan’s advocate, and again the Sultan came out victorious. Certain territories he lost, it is true, but Constantinople was left in his hands and a great area of the Balkans and a larger part of Asia Minor. As for the Armenians, the Syrians, the Greeks, and the Macedonians, the world once more accepted from Turkey promises of reform. Thus Gladstone and the most enlightened opinion in England lost their battle, and British authority again became the instrument for preserving that “terrible oppression, that multitudinous crime which we call the Ottoman Empire.” Had it not been for the Congress of Berlin it is possible that we should never have had the world war. The treaty let Austria into Bosnia and Herzegovina and so laid the basis for the ultimatum of July 22, 1914. It failed to settle the fate of Macedonia, and so made inevitable the Balkan wars. By leaving Turkey an independent sovereignty, with its capital on the Bosporus, it made possible the intrigues of Germany for a great Orient empire. No wonder Gladstone denounced it as an

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“insane covenant” and “the most deplorable chapter in our foreign policy since the peace of 1815.” “The plenipotentiaries,” he said, “have spoken in the terms of METTERNICH rather than those of CANNING. * * * It was their part to take the side of liberty —as a matter of fact, they took the side of servitude.” The greatest sufferers, as always, were the Christian populations. The Sultan treated his promises of 1878 precisely as he had treated those of 1856. It was after the treaty, indeed, that ABDUL HAMID adopted his systematic plan of solving the Armenian problem by massacring all the Armenians. The condition of the subject peoples became worse as years went on, until finally, in 1915, we had the most terrible persecutions in history. The Russian terror, if it ever was a terror, has disappeared. England no longer fears a Russia stationed at Constantinople, and threatening her Indian Empire. The once mighty giant now lies a hopelessly crippled invalid, utterly incapable of aggressive action against any nation. What her fate will be no one knows. What is certain, however, is that the old Czaristic empire, constantly bent on military aggression, has disappeared forever. When we look upon Russia today and then think of the terror which she inspired in the hearts of the British statesmen forty and sixty-two years ago the contrast is almost pitiful and grotesque. The nation that succeeded Russia as an ambitious heir to the Sultan’s dominions, Germany, is now almost as powerless. Moreover, the British conscience has changed since the days of the Crimean and Russo-Turkish wars. The old-time attitude, which insisted on regarding these problems from the standpoint of fancied national interest, is every day

giving place to a more humanitarian policy. Glandstone’s idea of “public right as the governing idea of European politics” is more and more gaining the upper hand. The ideals in foreign policy represented by Cobden and Bright are the ideals that now control British public opinion. There are still plenty of reactionaries in England and Europe that might like to settle the Ottoman problem in the old discredited way, but they do not govern British public life at the present crisis. The England that will deal with the Ottoman Empire in 1919 is the England of Lloyd George, not the England of Palmerston and Disraeli. For the first time, therefore, the world approaches the problem of the Ottoman Empire, the greatest blight of modern civilization, with an absolutely free hand. The decision will inform us, more eloquently than any other detail in the settlement, precisely what forces have won in this war. We shall learn from it whether we have really entered upon a new epoch; whether, as we hope, mediaeval history has ended and modern history has begun. If Constantinople is left to the Turk, if the Greeks, the Syrians, the Armenians, the Arabs and the Jews are not freed from the most revolting tyranny that history has ever known, we shall understand that the sacrifices of the last four years have been in vain, and that the much-discussed new ideas in the government of the world are the merest cant. Thus the United States has an immediate interest in the solution of this problem. The hints reaching this country that another effort may be made to prop up the Turk are not pleasing to us. We did not enter this war to set up new balances of power, to promote the interest of the concessionaires, to make the new partitions of territory, to satisfy the imperialistic ambitions of contending European powers,

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but to lend our support to that new international conscience that seeks to reorganize the world on the basis of justice and popular rights. The settlement of the Eastern question will teach us to what extent our efforts have succeeded. If this mistake of propping up the Sultan’s empire is not to be made again, either that empire must be divided among the great powers—a solution which is not to be considered for reasons which it is hardly necessary to explain—or one of these great powers must undertake its administration as a mandatary. The great powers in question are the United States, Great Britain, France, Italy, and Japan. Of these only the first two are capable of assuming this duty. LORD CURSON has told me personally that for political and economic reasons Great Britain cannot assume the Ottoman mandate. LLOYD GEORGE has said essentially the same thing. And STEPHANE LAUZANNE, who speaks in a semi-official capacity for France, said, in an interview Nov. 1 with a correspondent of THE TIMES: “In the offer of a mandate to her America should see more than the selfish desire of Europe to involve her in European affairs. It is true she fears to be the centre of intrigues and difficulties. She fears distant complications. However, the question is nobler and higher than that. America is an admirable reservoir of energy. She holds the secret of that which is best in our modern life—to build largely and to build quickly. She has youth; she has power; she has wealth; she has that which she calls efficiency. We in Europe are old, poor, enfeebled, divided. It would be prodigiously interesting if America, after she has given us to her power, of her money and her material, should give us also an example.

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“And what an example it would be if America were to accept the mandate for Constantinople! Here is a city which is one of the marvels of Europe and of the world, which is the jewel of the Orient, and which after twenty centuries of European civilization remains the home of wickedness and corruption. Every one disputes possession of its hills and harbors, and no one tries to make of it a great modern city which, rid of international intrigues and rid of politics, would be the shining pole of Europe. Only America can transform Constantinople; only America can establish herself there without suspicion of bad faith and without jealousy; only America can civilize the capital of Islam. “To do that America has no need of regiments of soldiers or of cannon. She has need only of her workers and her constructors. A HOOVER or a DAVISON would be enough. And America is full of Hoovers and Davisons.” I recognize the tremendous problems which confront us in our own country. Those problems must and will be solved. But the day is past when the individual citizen can permit absorption in his personal affairs to exclude the consideration of the community’s or the nation’s wellbeing. A new social conscience has maintained itself. And it is equally true that the United States, as a member of the League of Nations, must take an active and altruistic interest in world affairs, however pressing our own problems may seem. The European situation, indeed, is really a part of them. Our associates in the war cannot drift into bankruptcy and despair without involving the United States in the disaster. The losses we would suffer in money would be the least distressing, should the world fall into the chaos which is threat-

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ening. If we cannot solve our own problems and at the same time help Europe solve hers we must be impotent indeed. So much, then, for the general principles involved; what are the practical details of such a mandate? Last May WILLIAM BUCKLER, PROFESSOR PHILIP M. BROWN, and myself joined a memorandum to President WILSON, outlining briefly a proposed system of government for the Ottoman dominions. This so completely embodies my ideas that I reprint it here, with two slight omissions: “The government of Asia Minor should be dealt with under three different mandates, (1) for Constantinople and its zone, (2) for Turkish Anatolia, (3) for Armenia. The reason for not uniting these three areas under a single mandate is that the methods of government required in each area are different. In order, however, to facilitate the political and economic development of the whole country, these three areas should be placed under one and the same mandatory power, with a single Governor in charge of the whole, to unify the separate administrations of the three States. “Honest and efficient government in the Constantinople zone and in Armenia will not solve the problems of Asia Minor unless the same kind of government is also provided for the much larger area lying between Constantinople and Armenia, i.e., Turkish Anatolia. Constantinople and Armenia and mere fringes; the heart of the problem lies in Anatolia, of which the population is 75 per cent. Moslem. “The main rules to be followed in dealing with this central district are: “1. That is should not be divided up among Greeks, French, Italians. &c. “2. That the Sultan should, under proper mandatory control, retain religious and political sovereignty over the Turkish people in Anatolia, having his resi-

dence at Brusa or Konia, both of which are ancient historic seats of the Sultanate. “3. That no part of Anatolia should be placed under Greeks, even in the form of a mandate. The Greeks are entitled by their numbers to a small area surrounding Smyrna. Under no circumstances should Greece have a mandate over a territory mainly inhabited by Turks. The above solution of the problem of Asia Minor means refusal to recognize secret deals such as the Pact of London and the Sykes-Picot Agreement, and especially the Italian claims to a large territory near Adalia. If Greeks and Italians, with their long-standing antagonism, are introduced into Asia Minor, the peace will constantly be disturbed by their rivalry and intrigues. Italy has no claim to any part of Anatolia, whether on the basis of population, of commercial interests, or of historic tradition. “No solution of the Asia Minor problem which ignores the fact that its population is 75 per cent. Turkish can be considered satisfactory or durable. The only two countries having any prospect of successfully holding a mandate over Anatolia are Great Britain and the United States. “The large missionary and educational interests of the United States in Anatolia must be adequately protected, and it is illusory to imagine that this can be done if Anatolia is subjected to Greek, French, or Italian sovereignty. “Only a comprehensive, self-contained scheme such as that above outlined can overcome the strong prejudices of the American people against accepting any mandate. To cure the ills of Turkey and to deliver her peasantry from their present ignorance and impoverishment requires a thorough reconstruction of Turkish institutions, judicial, educational, economic, financial, and military.

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“This may appeal to the United States as an opportunity to set a high standard, by showing that it is the duty of a great power, in ruling such oppressed peoples, to lead them toward self-respecting independence as their ultimate goal.” The Armenians are wholly unprepared to govern themselves or to protect themselves against their neighbors. More supervision will not be adequate. What the Armenian State requires is a kind of receivership, and we should take it over in trust, to manage it until it is time to turn it over when it is governmentally solvent and on a going basis. Anatolia should be under a separate management and have its own Parliament; its Executive should be a Deputy Governor under a Governor General at Constantinople. The three Governments should have a common coinage, similar tariff requirements, and unified railroad systems; and in other respects should be federated somewhat as States in this country are. The commercial importance of such an arrangement is enormous, for Constantinople must continue as Russia’s chief outlet to the world, and it is the gateway to the East. The commercial policy would, of course, be an open-door policy. All nations would have equality of opportunity in trade and would be free in regard to colonization. As a matter of fact, the commercial situation is of little importance to us. Prior to the war our foreign trade amounted to only about 6 per cent. of our total trade; and although it increased during the war to about 11 per cent., it is likely to recede soon to the neighborhood of 8 per cent. It will consist largely of raw materials, such as wheat, cotton, copper, and coal, which other nations must get from us, whether or no. Foreign trade is a mere incident; our prosperity is not what we are fighting for.

BEFORE THE SILENCE

It need not require the extension of large credits from us to put these nations on a sound footing. They could be financed by bond issues issued in each case against the resources of the territories involved. If the United States held the mandates, there would be no difficulty. I apprehend, in floating such issues. And as for the policing necessary, that need be very small, provided a man of strong will and quick decision, fertile in resources and of unshakable determination, were assigned to the Governorship General at Constantinople. The opportunity would be a great one for an American completely imbued with our institutions. The succession of able proConsuls whom we have sent to the Philippines shows that we shall not lack such men. We shall surrender our mandates over these three territories when we have finished our work. We shall not necessarily leave them all at the same time; we shall turn each one over to its people when the public opinion of the world, expressed in the League of Nations, has decided that it is capable of directing its own affairs. It might be necessary for us to remain in Constantinople longer than elsewhere, and there is reason to suppose that Constantinople will become the Washington of the Balkans and perhaps of Asia Minor, the central governing power of the Balkan confederation. But if left without the guidance and help of outside intelligence and capital, those peoples will necessarily continue to retrograde. They must have security of property if they are to have an incentive to labor. Unless they have that, the blight of Southeastern Europe will remain, and the Turks, originally a marauding band of conquerors, who have held a precarious and undeserved footing for more than 500 years on European soil, will continue to menace its peace and safety. If

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ever there was a chance to put them out, we have that chance now. The United States is the only Government which can undertake the purification of the Balkans without incurring ill-will and jealousy. We need not indulge in overpolite phrases. This is the only nation which can accept these mandates and maintain international good feeling. It is absolutely our fault if the Turk remains in Europe. The difficulties inherent in this situation can be cured only at the source. The League of Nations, when it comes into being, must not operate exclusively through a central agency at Geneva, because it cannot learn in that way the real difficulties and the wants of dependent peoples. That can be done only in the directest way, through representatives on the spot. The people, moreover, want to be heard. They are wonderfully relieved after they have had their say. That fact has its touch of pathos, perhaps to some a touch of the ridiculous; but it is a factor of the human equation which we cannot afford to ignore. And if we supply American tribunals, disinterested and just, before which these peoples can state their grievances and their aspirations, we will have taken a long step toward their pacification and stablilization. ■ PLEASE SEE: The New York Times, 3 November 1919. Headline: “Urges Us To Take Turkish Mandate” By Edwin L. James The New York Times, 9 November 1919. Editorial – Headline: “The Turkish Mandate” The New York Times, 9 November 1919 Magazine – Headline: “Mandates or War” By Henry Morgenthau, Ex-Ambassador to Turkey The New York Times, 12 December 1922. Front Page: Headline: “Turk’s Eyes on Europe, Says our Ex-Ambassador” By Henry Morgenthau, Ex-Ambassador to Turkey The Scotsman 29 June 1920. Headline: “Danger to Constantinople Averted.” ———————

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The Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, December 6, 1919

1,056,550 Armenians Massacred by Turks Salonica, Dec. 5 M. KHANZADIAN, an Armenian leader and former officer of high rank in the Turkish army, on his arrival here today, declared that German and Turkish statistics which he saw in Constantinople in 1916 showed that 1,396,350 Armenians had been deported and that of that number 1,056,550 had been massacred. Thanking the Greek Government for its sympathy with the cause of the Armenians, he said the Greeks and Armenian should combine their efforts against Turkish oppression. ■ NOTE: This report indicates the brotherhood felt by the Greek Government for its fellow Armenians. (SKK) ———————

The New York Times, February 23, 1920

MORGENTHAU URGES PROTEST. Tells Philadelphia Audience Turk Should Be Driven from Europe. PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 22.—HENRY MORGENTHAU, former United States Ambassador to Turkey, in an address at a mass meeting under the auspices of the NEAR EAST RELIEF here today, asserted that the Turks should be driven from Europe, and urged the American people to make a strong protest against the outrages which he said had taken place and continued in the Near East. “The British and French politicians for selfish purposes,” Mr. Morgenthau

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said, “are arranging to let the Turk remain in Constantinople. If the Turk is permitted to keep control of the police and judicial systems, the Greeks, Syrians, Armenians, and Jews cannot call their souls their own. “I believe the time has come when the American people must protest. It is a farce, for the countries that professed to be fighting for justice and the selfdetermination of all small peoples do not wait until the blood is dry on the hand of the Turk, but take that hand while it is still streaming with blood of murdered Armenians, and say, ‘We will put you back again.’ “If the Turk is not punished I venture to prophesy that within three years the Russian will massacre two or three million Jews for they will argue that public opinion did not protest against massacres of a million by the Turk. The United States is making itself an accessory after the crime unless it takes the stand that the Turk must be punished. Congress should act to help.” ■ A powerful quotation by Henry Morgenthau, former US Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire 1913–16, Secrets of the Bosphorus, 1918, CHAPTER XII: “…On one hand were the Germans, urging their well known ideas of repression and brutality, while on the other were the Turks with their natural instincts to maltreat those who are helplessly placed in their power.” ———————

The New York Times, February 29, 1920

Allies To Act at Once on Armenian Outrages Council Calls Military Experts Into Conference Before Making Announcement. LONDON, Feb. 28.—The military experts were called before the brief afternoon session of the SUPREME COUNCIL,

when reports of the Armenian massacres were further discussed. Just what the Council desired of the experts was not explained, but it is officially announced tonight that the Council has agreed to deal with the situation immediately. In this connection it is recalled that Great Britain recently warned the Sultan that unless the Turkish Government ceased what was termed “uncivilized practices” the Council would impose more severe peace terms than the members at that time were disposed to lay down. Hence no great significance is attached to the presence of the military men at today’s meeting, it being pointed out that the pressure upon Turkey could hardly be military on an effective scale, but it is hoped to bring the country into line through the political weapon held in the hands of the Council. The discussions on high prices and exchange, begun yesterday, were continued by one section of the Supreme Council this morning. Among those present were Premier Lloyd George, J. Austen Chamberlain, Chancellor of the Exchequer; Sir Auckland Geddes, Minister of National Service and Reconstruction; Frederic Francois Marsal, French Minister of Finance; Premier Nitti and Signor Bendeduce of Italy; Baron Moncheur, Belgian Ambassador in London, and the financial and economic experts. The other section of the Council, which is dealing with the Turkish treaty, met separately. Earl Curzon, the British Foreign Secretary; Paul Camborn, representing Premier Millerand of France; Philippe Berthelot, Political Director of the French Foreign Office; Vittorio Scialoia, Italian Foreign Minister; Marquis Imperiali, Italian Ambassador at London; Viscount Chinda, the Japanese Ambassador, and the various experts were present.

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Facts collected by the Supreme Economic Council were presented at the morning session of the Supreme Council, indicating that Germany was receiving less than half her normal requirement of food calories. The Economic Council is collecting similar facts regarding Austria, Hungary, and other European countries. German conditions were considered today, not only for the purpose of comparison, but because the general economic condition of Europe is being reviewed, and other countries will be dealt with similarly in the course of time. One of the Council’s aims is to consider how the general adverse trade balance against Europe can be rectified, and for this purpose a thorough understanding of existing conditions is necessary. This adverse balance is estimated at 1,000,000,000 pounds annually. In the case of Great Britain the balance has been largely rectified because exports have almost, if not quite, overtaken imports. In Europe generally this is not the case. When all the facts have been ascertained the Council will not deal with remedies, but this phase has not yet arisen. It was brought out at the economic meeting that the pre-war level of wholesale prices had increased in the various countries as follows: In France, 300 per cent.; Italy more than 300 per cent.; Great Britain, 170 per cent.; Japan, 160 per cent. and America, 120 per cent. Premier Lloyd George left London tonight and will be away until Monday. Most of the other members are remaining in the city over Sunday and will hold informal conferences. ■ ———————

The New York Times, February 29, 1920

ARMENIAN REFUGEES PERISH IN BLIZZARD Attempted to Follow French Who Evacuated Marash After Defeat by Turks. CONSTANTINOPLE, Feb. 17.—Assistant High Commissioner ENGERT, who is on his way to Aintab, Asia Minor, to investigate the recent murder by bandits of JAMES PERRY and FRANK S. JOHNSON of the American Y. M. C. A., has been held up on his journey because of interruption of the railways by the snow. MR. ENGERT is still at Beirut, awaiting an opportunity to proceed with representatives of the Turkish Government. There has been no recent communication from Aintab and this has resulted in uneasiness for the American relief workers marooned there. MINNIE DOUGHERTY of Holyoke, Miss., MABEL H. POWER of North Hero, Vt., and HELEN SCHULTZ of Reading Pa., members of the relief force at Marash, are reported to have arrived at Adana, having left Marash with a French doctor. DR. MABEL E. ELLIOTT of Benton Harbor, Mich., is still at Islahie, attending the Marash refugees. Details have been brought here by refugees, who say that when the French evacuated the town 3,000 Armenians attempted to follow and that many of them perished during a blizzard encountered on the three-day trip to Islahie. The Armenians charge that the Turks began their massacres before besieging Marash, killing 5,000 persons. An Armenian Girls’ Home conducted by Americans, was burned, the Armenians alleging that eighty-five inmates

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of the home were massacred. Half the city is reported destroyed. Casualties among the French are placed at 800. DR. M. C. WILSON of Boonshill, Tenn., is remaining at Marash in charge of the relief workers. Reports say that the French forces were greatly out-numbered and tried to effect reconciliation with the Turks. They lost many of their men when fired upon by snipers. ■ A favored method of extermination was to force the victims to walk under extreme weather, and where possible into malarial swamps. (SKK) ARCHBISHOP CHRYSOSTOMOS OF SMYRNA

PLEASE SEE:

The New York Times, 15 October 1922. Headlines: “Refugees At Mitylene Tell of Atrocities” “ “Many Are Suffering From Wounds Inflicted by Turks—New Influx From Anatolia Expected.” The New York Times, 12 February 1923. Headlines: “War Cross For Dr. Elliott” “She and Dr. Lovejoy Are the First Women to Receive it From Greece.” PLEASE READ THIS EXEMPLARY BOOK:

Beginning Again At Ararat By Dr.

The New York Times, June 14, 1920

MILD GREEK RULE PREVAILS IN SMYRNA

Mabel Evelyn Elliott, 1924.

Occupying Forces Permit Turks to Retain Their Civil Administration.

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FIGHTING ON KEMAL’S FRONT Vast Army Expense Are Burdensome, but Greeks Are Hopeful of the Outcome. By SIR PHILIP GIBBS.[1] Copyright, 1920, by The New York Times Company. Special Cable to THE NEW YORK TIMES. SMYRNA, June 7.—The occupation of Smyrna by the Greeks, according to the terms of peace with Turkey, has aroused the armed resistance of Turkish conspirators and stirred them to greater anger than the allied occupation of Constantinople. A hundred kilometers from the coast of Asia Minor the Greek Army faces Turkish soldiers enrolled, armed and disciplined, most against their will, by Mustapha KEMAL and his

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confederates in disobedience to the SULTAN’s orders, but in secret alliance with all those Turks who under the old régime lived by the system of political tyranny, corruption and plunder which it embodied. They hold a line which isolates the interior from the coast, so that the old caravan routes are broken, two railway lines to the port of Smyrna are cut, and the merchandise which used to pass coastward from ships in the gulf, flying the flags of all nations, in return for the oil, figs, raisins, wool and carpets of Asia Minor has ceased to flow. Along the line where Turk faces Greek with hostile purpose there is something in the nature of the old trench warfare, desultory shelling, night raids, affairs of outposts, when bodies of Turks cut up a Greek patrol or slit the throat of a Greek sentry, or when the Greeks make a dash into the Turkish lines. Here, therefore, in Smyrna and its neighborhood is a test case which will decide whether Ottoman rule shall prevail over Asia Minor and over all the Christian communities which have been under the Turkish yoke so long, or whether the Greek spirit will be strong enough to break the evil spell which was cast over their race when the Ottoman Sultans began their massacres in the Middle Ages. Turkish Outrages on Greeks. Since I have been in Smyrna I have heard tragic narratives of the sufferings inflicted upon the Greek populations in Asia Minor during the last six years. Like the Armenians, the Greeks were deported from their villages into the interior, and on these long marches through the snow in Winter and under burning sun in Summer, starved, flogged, robbed, outraged, stricken with disease,

thousands of them died. Many of their villages are in ruins as complete as those which were made a thousand years ago. Their vineyards are leveled, their industries are destroyed. Of the survivors many are refugees living on the charity of other towns, and in Smyrna there are thousands of orphans whose parents have disappeared in the mystery that hides many tragedies of massacre and misery. Beyond the Turkish lines there is a great silence as to the fate of many little communities of Greeks and no news comes through. Something about all that story was told me by the Metropolitan or ARCHBISHOP[2] as we should call him, of Smyrna. In his black robes with a high black cap over his long hair, this tall, bearded man pointed to a picture on the wall by his side, representing the martyrdom of St. Polycarp, a man of 80, who died for his faith in Smyrna, at the hands of the Romans 155 A.D. “Many of my people have suffered worse tortures,” he said, “during the last few years, and many Greek men and women have died like Polycarp rather than adopt the faith of their oppressors.” He deplored the ignorance of the fate of all the Greek Christians cut off from communication in the interior, but rejoiced in the belief that with England’s help they would be rescued from the perils that menaced them.[3] When one recalls the brutalities inflicted by Turks upon Greek men and women so recently, as for many centuries, it is to the credit of the Greeks that in their zone of occupation in Asia Minor their policy and practice—after the deplorable day when they first landed at Smyrna—are to give the Turkish populations friendship and favor.

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In Constantinople I was told that Smyrna was an unsafe place for any stranger and that in the city and countryside there were constant fights and murders between the two races. My first impressions and my last give the lie to those tales, and I have been impressed by the absolute peace prevailing between Greeks and Turks within the Greek zone. Greeks’ Mild Rule in Smyrna. Under the wise guidance of VENIZELOS the Greeks are administering their Turkish territory with justice and mercy, and with even a generous spirit, to the Turkish populations. The Prefect of Smyrna is a Turk, Hadji BEY, and all the Turkish officials of the municipality have remained at their posts with authority over the civil side of the administration. I took coffee with Hadji Bey and his assistants, and they told me that the Greek rule had been accepted by the Turks in Smyrna with resignation and without rebellion. The problem of the Greeks is difficult, and the courage of the people will be tested by what the next twelve months holds for them. With Mustapha Kemal raising Turkish levies against them, they cannot demobilize their army, and the daily cost of maintaining these officers and men is a dreadful drain upon the resources of the State. Unless communication is established between the coast and the interior the port of Smyrna will be idle and empty and many Greek merchants will be ruined. The line held by the Kemalists must be broken by force by persuasion or the Greek hold will be hard to maintain. If Kemal’s line is broken by force there may be guerrilla warfare among the mountains, which will be long-enduring and costly to both sides.

BEFORE THE SILENCE

That is the gloom side of the picture for the Greeks, but I find them full of hope and with spirits elated by the great chance which fortune offers them. ■ SIR PHILLIP GIBBS was an English journalist and novelist who served as one of five official British reporters during the First World War. 1

On September 13, 1922, 2 ARCHBISHOP CHRYSOSTOMOS: “A Turkish officer and two soldiers went to the offices of the cathedral and took him to Nureddin Pasha, the Turkish commander-in-chief, who is said to have adopted the medieval plan of turning him over to the fanatical mob to work its will upon him[….] it is certain that he was killed by the mob. He was spat upon, his beard torn out by the roots, beaten, stabbed to death and then dragged about the streets.” —Excerpt from The Blight of Asia by George Horton. Reprint: London: Sterndale Classics, 2003 Chapter 16, “The Turks Arrive” (86). ENGLAND though sympathetic to the plight of the Christians in Asia Minor, was conflicted out of concern that the Moslems of India would rebel against her actions against the Turks. (SKK) 3

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The Scotsman, June 29, 1920

DANGER TO CONSTANTINOPLE AVERTED. PARIS, June 28—The Petit Parisien says the initial successes of the Greek forces, coupled with the serious set-back administered by the British troops to the Turkish Nationalists in the Ismid region, have resulted in deciding MUSTAPHA KEMAL PASHA to abandon the proposed attack on Constantinople. Thus for the moment the danger threatening this city and the Dardanelles appears to have been overcome.—Reuter. ■ COMMENTARY: Mustapha Kemal was testing Allied resolve near Constantinople and a combined Anglo-Greek force was able to disperse the Kemalists from threatening the security of the city. Mustapha Kemal did not accept the Treaty of Sevres and would do everything in his power to tear it up. —STAVROS STAVRIDIS

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The Scotsman, June 29, 1920

NOT A WAR AGAINST ISLAM. STATEMENT BY GREEK PREMIER. PARIS, June 28.—In the course of an interview with a representative of the Excelsior, M. VENIZELOS declared that he keenly regretted the interpretation which had been placed upon the initial successes achieved by the Greek forces in Asia Minor in certain political circles. “The war which we are conducting,” continued the Greek Prime Minister, “has been approved by the SUPREME COUNCIL OF THE ALLIES, and it is being carried out strictly in accordance with the directions laid down in full agreement with MARSHAL FOCH and FIELD-MARSHAL SIR HENRY WILSON. Our sole aim is to impose the peace of the Allies, and not our own peace, upon the Turks. Greece is not making war against Islam, but against the anachronistic Ottoman Government, and its corrupt, ignominious, and bloody administration, with a view to expelling it from those territories where the majority of the population consists of Greeks. At the same time, we are rendering assistance to the weak Franco-British contingents, which would be forced to pass under the CAUDINE FORKS in the event of a victory by MUSTAPHA KEMAL PASHA and the Turkish Nationalist forces. Such a catastrophe would not have failed to set Europe and the Orient in flames.”—Reuter. ■ ———————

The Scotsman, August 24, 1920,

5,000 CHRISTIANS MASSACRE TURKISH NATIONALISTS’ CONSPIRACY. (“TIMES” PRESS

TELEGRAM, ASSOCIATION—

PER THE COPYRIGHT.)

CONSTANTINOPLE, August 18,— The massacres in the Feivo district and south of Karamusal, both south-east of Ismid, in Asia Minor, are believed to have cost the lives of at least 5,000 Christians. The

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procedure followed the old lines. The villagers were driven out from their villages and marched to a convenient river or lake. The men were separated from the women and shot. Many of the women were raped and murdered; the rest were clubbed and drowned with most of the children. The Nationalists pretend that the irregulars were out of hand, but it is notorious that most of the cruelties were committed by a semi-regular unit recently railed down from Angora called the Gyok Bairak, or Blue Banner Battalion. The name was probably given to it by some bloodthirsty little pan-Turanian student who had read of the banner carried by the guards of the Mongol Conquerors in LEON CAHUN’S romance, “1241.” The Nationalist extremists seem incorrigible, and it is to be hoped that the Powers will assist the Turkish Government should it decide, after offering as it has done an amnesty to the deluded followers of MUSTAPHA KEMAL, that military action must be taken against the leaders of the conspiracy. ■ ———————

The Times, Wednesday, March 2, 1921

THE ŒCUMENICAL PATRIARCH. The Œecumenical PATRIARCH GERMANOS V., who is to plead before the Allied Conference in London for the Christians of the Greek Orthodox Church, arrived at Victoria last night at 9:30. He was welcomed by representatives of his Communion in England, the chaplain to the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the Greek Minister, DR. GENNADIUS. He will present the case of the Christians in Asia Minor, Rumania, and Russia, and will demand religious liberty, and request that the Church of St. Sophia, be restored to the Greek Orthodox communion. The arrival of the Patriarch is a historic event, for never before has the head of the Greek Church visited England officially. He will be the guest of the Archbishop of Canterbury. ■

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COMMENTARY: During the First World War, the Ecumenical Patriarchate protested the persecution of Christianity and the deportation of Greeks by closing its Churches. It has also published documents such as the “Black Book” which vividly describes the slaughter of Greek Christians by Turkish nationalists. The prominent role of the Greek Orthodox Church has not received the acknowledgement that it should have from many scholars. The Ecumenical Patriarchate represented the Greeks under Turkish rule. Its leadership under the acting Patriarch Dorotheos and under the later Ecumenical Patriarch Meletios Metaxakis strongly emphasized the grievances of the Greeks under Turkish rule. Prominent Bishops such as Chrysostom of Smyrna and Chrysanthos of Trebizond who actively opposed the Genocide of their flocks were prominent hierarchs under the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Ecumenical Patriarch Meletios Metaxakis had been demonized for his pro-Greek activities by pro-Turkish historians. The fact remains that his activities were motivated by considerations of religious freedom and human rights, nothing else. When Meletios was eventually forced by the Kemalists to resign the Ecumenical Patriarchate, he accurately predicted that the Patriarchate would permanently face harassment and persecution in Turkey, which it continues to do up to the present day. —THEODORE G. KARAKOSTAS ———————

The Los Angeles Times, April 20, 1921

KEEP SCUM IN EUROPE. Not Wanted Here, Hughes’s Edict. Secretary Says Those Who Would Rush to America are Undesirable Ones. Calls on Congress to Make Restrictions so Rigid as to End Trouble. (By A.P. Night Wire) Washington, April 19. —Rigid restrictions of immigration was recommended today by Secretary Hughes[1] in official documents transmitted to Congress. They were interpreted by Congress leaders as reflecting increased

need for immediate passage of the immigration bill reported today by the House committed, limiting admission of aliens for fourteen months, beginning May 10 to 3 per cent of each nationality resident in the United States in 1910. Debate will begin tomorrow. “Our restriction on immigration should be so rigid,” said Mr. Hughes’s report, “that it would be impossible for most of these people to enter the United Sates.” Reference was made to undesirable classes from Balkan cities, Armenia, Russia and Georgia. FUNDS ONLY BAR. The report said 606,292 passport visas were granted by American Consuls in Europe for 1920, reflectiing a stimulated desire to emigrate to America before anti-immigration laws were passed. The principal restraining influence was said to be lack of funds. “The director-general of police of Rumania,” the report adds, “has issued an order excusing Jews from military service and permitting their discharge from the army if they desire to emigrate to America.” In Rumania 1,500 persons were awaiting examination for permission to come here. It was said, while “tremendous pressure” for passage was reported by officials in Poland, where 55,000 awaited accommodations. Letin (sic) and Lithuanians, leaving the Balkans, Mr. Hughes said, were largely people from the slums. ALL ARE WILLING “In the Russian Caucasus, it may be accepted as nearly literally true,” he said, “that every Armenian family which has enough money or

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is not impregnated with Bolshevism will endeavor to emigrate to America. Russians and Georgians are likely more and more to emigrate. “The great bulk of emigrants to the United States from this district are highly undesirable.” The report said 5,000 Armenian and 20,000 Syrians were awaiting passage from Baghdad, and that despite difficulties of emigration from Germany, the number desiring to come had doubled in the last year. Senator Jones, Republican, Washshington, introduced an amendment to the immigration bill today which would compel all immigrants to take passage only on vessels flying the American flag. NUMBER ALLOWED. The 3 per cent immigration based on the 1910 census will permit in one year the following immigration from the various countries of Europe. Northwestern Europe Belgium, 1,482; Denmark 5,149; France, 3,523; Germany, 75,040; Netherlands, 3,624, Norway, 12,116; Sweden, 19,956; Switzerland, 3745; United Kingdom, 77,206. Total, Northwest Europe, 202,212. Outside Northwestern Europe: Austria, 50,117; Bulgaria, 345; Serbia, 139; Montenegro, 161; Greece, 3038; Italy, 40,294; Portugal, 1781; Rumania, 1978; Spain, 663; Russia, 51,974; Turkey, in Europe, 967; Turkey, 1792. Total, outside Northwestern Europe, 153,249. Grand total, 355,461. IMMEDIATE PASSAGE. “The committee believes that the causes which called for the passage

of the bill to limit immigration in the Sixty-sixth Congress still exist and call for the immediate passage of an act to restrict immigration,” continues the report. “These causes may be stated briefly as follows. “(1.) Conditions in Europe which cause a considerable portion of the population of many nations to seek domicile in the United States. “(2.) Large unemployment in the United States, making it impracticable for the United States to accept a heavy immigration. “(3.) Lack of housing facilities in the United States. “(4.) The presence in the United States of 10,000,000 or more unnaturalized aliens. PREVENT DISEASES. “(5.) The danger of spreading contagious and loathsome diseases through the arrival at the port of New York and elsewhere of more aliens than can be properly examinied and cared for at Ellis Island and other immigration stations. “(6.) Inadvisability of admitting aliens of the nationalities of the world, speaking their various languages, faster than they can be assimilated. “(7.) Any measure which checks the flow of immigration generally must necessarily result in admission of fewer mentally and physically undesirable immigrants.” All immigration from the so-called barred Asiatic zone is prohibited. Tourists, actors, professional men and students are not to be included in the figures given above. The bill is to become effective May 10, 1921, and remain in effect until June 30, 1922. ■

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of State Charles Evans Hughes served in U.S. President Warren Gamaliel Harding’s Cabinet from March 5, 1921 until March 4, 1925.

Over eleven hundred horses left Belfast on Saturday on S.S. Manhattan, which has been chartered by the Greek Government. ■

PLEASE READ: The Teapot Dome Scandal: How Big Oil Bought The Harding White House And Tried To Steal The Country, by Laton McCartney. Random House, NY: 2008.

NOTE:

NOTES: 1Secretary

Tragically, the refugees faced discrimination by some American officials. On the other hand, The Philadelphia Evening Bulletin and the Near East Relief organization in Philadelphia welcomed and supported the refugees that arrived there. (SKK) ———————

The Scotsman, August 15, 1921

GREEK GRATITUDE TO MR. LLOYD GEORGE. ATHENS, August 13.—Commenting on the dicussion by the Supreme Council of the Eastern questions, the newspapers express satisfaction at the attitude of Great Britain, and add that MR. LLOYD GEORGE has imprinted on the soul of Greece a further claim to gratitude, and has enhanced the influence of his colossal country in Greece.—Reuter. ■ ———————

Source: Internet

The Scotsman, August 15, 1921

SHIPMENT OF IRISH HORSES FOR GREEK ARMY. During the past few weeks thousands of Irish horses have been purchased to meet the requirements of the Greek Army in the war with Turkey.

Eddie Brady the author of Georgie! My Georgie! informed me that most likely those horses might very well have been his Irish grandfather’s horses. (SKK) ———————

The Christian Science Monitor, Thursday, November 3, 1921 An International Daily Newspaper

FRANCO-TURKISH AGREEMENT HAS HAS SURPRISED BRITAIN Treaty With the Kemalist Turks Gives France Valuable Concessions and Is Thought to Infringe Rights of Allied Powers Special cable to The Christian Science Monitor from its European News Office LONDON, England (Wednesday) — Profound surprise has been aroused in British official circles at the terms of the Franco-Turkish treaty, the text of which was delivered to the British Foreign Office last night. Although it was well known that the French Government was negotiating with the KEMALIST Government at Angora, it had been understood that the discusions were proceeding along lines of nothing more than a local agreement. The surprise may be judged by the fact that it is now discovered that full fledged peace treaty has been signed by one of the Allies without consultation with the others and apparently with total disregard to the terms of the Pact of London. In official circles it is considered that the terms go far beyond anything that been expected but the net result will be that some very

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searching questions will undoubtedly be asked by the British Government. These questions will, of course, be based on the assumption that a reasonable explanation will be readily forthcoming and every effort will be made to keep the discussions on frank and friendly lines. Territory Renounced At the same time it cannot be disguised that the utmost tact will be needed on both sides. For notwithstanding the French declaration that the document in question is purely an agreement with KEMAL PASHA, the only meaning that the British official mind has so far been able to read into the part is that it is a definite treaty of peace. Furthermore according in Article VIII of the Franco-Turkish agreement or treaty, a large stretch of the Cilician territory assigned to France under the Treaty of Sèvres is renounced in favor of Turkey. The new frontier runs from north of Alexandretta between Killis and Allepo, leaving in Syrian territory part of the Baghdad railway up to the Euphrates. The control of the railway between the Euphrates and Nisibin will be in Turkish hands. From Nisibin the frontier goes along the Tigris to Jezireh Ibn Omar, following the caravan route. In Article III, it definitely lay down: “In a period of two months at the most, dating from the signature of the present agreement, the Turkish troops will withdraw to the north and the French troops to the south of the line described in Article VIII.” On the other hand, and apparently in return for France giving up this territory she is granted some remarkably valuable concessions in way of iron, chrome and silver mining rights over a period of 99 years.

Value of Concessions Obtained Another point in the treaty that is considered to have significant value is the right for French teachers to be appointed to Turkish schools with the object of teaching the French language. It is fully expected that the French authorities will use the argument that by the cessation of hostilities they are released from the necessity of maintaining troops in Syria and Cilicia. This fact is frankly acknowledged by the British authorities, but at the same time it cannot be disguised that in the matter of concessions—whether intentional or not— French interests have undoubtedly got in ahead of her allies. Another point which it is considered will be the subject for serious consideration is that France by signing this treaty has by virtue of this act given de facto recognition to the Kemalist Government at Angora. This alone may lead to serous complications. Another matter that vitally affects British interests in the East is contained in the latter part of the terms of treaty whereby either French or Turkish troops have the right to be transported over that portion of the Baghdad railway which is returned to Turkey. As to what action France would take in the event of Turkey interpreting this clause to her adventage as regards an attack on the newly formed kingdom of Irak (Mesopotamia). British authorities find it difficult to express any opinion. Particular attention is drawn to Article 6. which is considered to be quite unsatisfactory. The article reads: “The government of the Turkish Grand National Assembly declares that the rights of minorities solemnly recognized in the national part will be confirmed by it on the same basis

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as that established by conventions concluded on this subject between the powers of the Entente, their adversaries and certain of their allies.” Much time and many precautions it is stated, have been devoted to the protection of minorities in Asia Minor by western powers. According to this wholly unsatisfactory clause it is considered that these much-suffering peoples have every reason to express anxiety as regards their future safety if this treaty is to stand. Taken in the entirety, this act on the part of France in effect would render null and void the solemn Pact of London, entered into in 1915, whereby each ally undertook not to sign any treaty of peace with an enemy power without the full agreement of the partners, taking into consideration the fact that the Sèvres Treaty with Turkey has not been ratified. ■ ———————

The New York Times, March 17, 1922

ANATOLIA GOVERNMENT. Quotes Unfavorable Description by Ali Kemal Bey. To the Editor of the New York Times: According to the Turkish journal Yeni Adana, published in Adana, capital of Cilician Armenia, on the occasion of the ceremonies incident to the transfer of Cilicia by France to the Turks, Senator Franklin Bouillion, negotiator of the Franco-Turk treaty, is reported to have made the following remarks: “ * *” Even during the bitterest days of the war France was friend of Turkey. Now a new situation had been created in the East which makes it pos-

BEFORE THE SILENCE

ible to conclude an agreement between France and Turkey. I am happy to have subscribed my name to that agreement. That agreement has also been signed by your President, Mustapha Kemal Pasha, whom I greatly respect and love.” * * * Ali Kemal Bey, the well-known Turk leader, writing in the Turkish journal Peyam Sabah, describes Mustapha Kemal and his Government as follows: “Tyranny has free play in Anatolia. The great National Assembly, the administrative, judicial systems of Anatolia—these are empty words, pure bunk. “The Government of Anatolia rests upon the scaffold and the sword. It keeps itself in power by murder and plunder. “Topal Osman Agha —a hero according to Angora—at the head of his thousand brigands invaded the regions of Samsun, Marsivan and Tchorum and everywhere created a state of terror. Anatolia has been converted into a gigantic hospital. “But Nureddine Pasha excelled him in brutality. He slaughtered at KatchKerni all the Kurds who had gone thither to effect an understanding with him. Whereupon the Kurd Deputies protested on the floor of the Angora Assembly, and Nureddine has been cited for trial. But he will not be punished. They cannot punish him. “What, then, are the reasons that Angora pleads in support, of these revolting deeds? National defense, is the answer. The poor people of Anatolia are living today under the continuing menace of all sorts of oppression. The Angora Government may hide the truth from the people for a few weeks or months, but the people will soon discover how badly they have been duped. “Never before has this country had a Government that was as stupid, as un-

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clean and as tyrannical as the so-called Government of Kemal is. The Government of Angora makes one wish for the return of the tyranny of Union and Progress (Young Turks). VAHAN CARDASHIAN. New York, March, 4. 1922. ■ ———————

on the point of signature, under which Italy will renounce special advantages conferred on her by the Tripartite Agreement (between Britain, France, and Italy), in return for the promise of an eventual economic concession. Meanwhile, Greek troops have occupied 50 square miles of territory in the Meander Valley evacuated by the Italians. A conflict is likely to ensue at Sokis, where the Turks are advancing to replace the Italians.—Reuters. ■

The Atlanta Constitution, March 30, 1922

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24 GREEK VILLAGES ARE GIVEN TO FIRE

The Scotsman, April 24, 1922

London, March 29.—(By the Associated Press.)—Twenty Greek villages in the region of Karasuda, on the Black sea, were burned February 25; and four other large villages in the Pontus met a similar fate March 1, says a telegram from ARCHBISHOP MELETIOS METAXAKIS, PATRIARCH OF CONSTANTINOPLE, received today by the ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY. Most of the inhabitants of these villages perished in the flames, the patriarch’s message said. The message was sent on behalf of the Christian minorities in Asia Minor. “The smell of the burning bodies of women and children in the Pontus” said the message, “comes as a warning of what is awaiting the Christian in Asia Minor after the withdrawal of the Hellenic army.” ■

TURKEY’S ARMY. REDUCTION OPPOSED BY KEMAL PASHA.

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The Scotsman, April 24, 1922

ITALY’S PACT WITH ANGORA. CONSTANTINOPLE, April 22.—It is reported from Angora, that the Italian agreement to evacuate the Meander Valley is part of a general pact now

(“Morning Post” and “The Scotsman” Correspondent.) CONSTANTINOPLE,—April 21. One of the main objections which the Turkish Nationalists intend to raise against the Allied peace proposals will be the question of the reduction of the Turkish Army. The essentially militarist character of the Kemalist movement is revealing itself strongly in the present debates at Angora on the Ententé’s Note. MUSTAPHA KEMAL PASHA in his quality of military leader of the movement is putting personal pressure on the Nationalist Parliament in this sense, and it is stated that the question of the size of the Turkish Army may be one of the principal points which will be disputed by the Turks at the proposed Peace Conference. The political idea governing the Angora leaders appears to be at all costs to preserve Turkey from disarmament in view of the distrust still felt towards the European Powers. Two days ago Kemal himself appeared before the Angora Parliament, and oracularly delivered his opinion on the Allied Armistice offer, suggesting that the Ententé’s object was to take from Turkey her means of defence. The following speech reveals his version of the Allied Notes.’— “Comrades,—As you know, the Entente Powers handed us the first Note, containing conditions

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and imposing a control over our Army which would have continued for a long time. Their second Note included conditions limiting the strength of our Army, and taking from our country its means of existence and defence. Now, in a third Note, they have put off the evacuation of Anatolia, which your House had made an essential basis of entering into peace negotiations. If the three Entente Notes are compared it will be seen that whereas in the first and second the evacuation of Anatolia was put as the main object of the Allied decisions, yet in the third it is postponed. This contradiction needs no comment. Neither do I think it necessary to explain that the question of peace and peace conditions are matters to be solved directly between Turkey and the Powers, and that Greece has no standing whatever in this matter. Our business is not with Greece but with the Powers. Nevertheless, we cannot ignore the fact, that we ardently desire an end to the devastation of our country.” NO AIMS OF CONQUEST. Kemal, developing his ambition not to allow his Army to be seriously diminished under the peaceconditions, concluded with an extravagant eulogy of it declaiming:—“For six weeks I have been at the front where I have closely examined the situation of the enemy and inspected our troops. Our Army, bruised though it was under very difficult circumstances, is not equal to that ancient Ottoman army which stooped only before the walls of Vienna. Nevertheless, it is superior to that Army in that it has higher and purer ideals. It has no aims of conquest; it is the instrument of our national will, and its moral is very high and its strength very considerable. Knowing this, we must take our decision in accordance with the interests of the nation.” The latest information says that Kemal has the Angora Parliament under complete control, and that it will accept a peace conference definitely reserving discussion of the Allied proposals, regarding Thrace, the Gallipoli Peninsula and the Ottoman Army upon which Angora’s policy admits no compromise. ■ ———————

The Times, Friday, May 5, 1922

TURKS’ INSANE SAVAGERY 10,000 GREEKS DEAD (FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.) CONSTANTINOPLE, MAY 4. Four American relief workers have 1 arrived from Kharput,[ ] where they had been in charge of Near East relief, having been deported by the Turks. They are MAJOR YOWELL, director of the Kharput unit, DR. WARD, chief surgeon, DR. RUTH PARMALEE, medical director, and MISS ISABEL HARLEY, orphanage director. Major Yowell has filed full reports of the abominable treatment of Christians with the American Consul at Aleppo and the American High Commissioner in his private capacity as an America citizen. “These American deportations are the culmination of a long series of unfriendly acts, and are the prelude of fresh Turkish outrages against the Christian population of Asia Minor,” said Major Yowell. I have been (he added) director of the American relief at Kharput since October. 1 was arrested on March 5 for reasons which the Turks refused to divulge, and was forcibly deported. All the American relief workers in the Kharput district were consistently treated with the utmost discourtesy and injustice in spite of the fact that they were doing large relief work for Moslem orphan refugees as well as Christians. The Armenians in this district are now in a state of virtual slavery, and are not permitted to travel even within the country. All the property of the Armenians who died in the recent deportations has been confiscated by the Turks. Armenians have no rights in the Courts. A recent Turkish law prevents any Christian inheriting property, except from

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father or brother; all other properties go to the Government. If the rightful heirs have been deported to any other district they are prevented from taking possession owing to the deportation law. Christian men are thrown into goal[2] for no reason except to extort ransom from relatives. Women are forced into Moslem houses as slaves without the right to appeal to any tribunal. Turkish officials frankly state that the only way they can get money is by blackmailing Christians. Major Yowell declares that the conditions of the deported Greeks are even more terrible. Of 30,000 deportees who left Sivas 5,000 died before reaching Kharput, and 5,000 more died at Kharput or west thereof. None of the relief workers were allowed to take charge of the children left by the dying deportees. All along the route the Turks were allowed to visit refugee groups and select the women and girls whom they desired for any purpose. “The Turkish authorities frankly state it is their deliberate intention to let all the Greeks to die, and their actions support their statements.” The Turk hardly yet seems a fit candidate for the League of Nations, and it is scarcely surprising that the insane brutality of the Nationalist authorities has aroused a strong no-surrender feeling among both the Asiatic Greeks and Hellenes, which the Entente Powers can only combat by insisting upon genuine safeguards for minority rights in Turkey. ■ NOTE:

In 1Kharput (Armenian), Harpoot or Harput (English), and Mamuretülâziz, the Turkish Province; the Turks rampaged through the streets, RANTING: “KILL ALL THE ORPHANS” “THEIR WIVES WILL BE WIDOWS AND THEIR CHILDREN ORPHANS” “TURKEY FOR THE TURKS ONLY” Goal is the British variant word for “jail.”

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PLEASE SEE: The Globe and Chicago Tribune, 13 September 1922. Headlines: “Heroine of 14 Saves 3 Lives” “American Girl Rescues Boys from Edge of Whirlpool” “Great Effort Kills Her” ———————

Armenian child starved to death, 1916 Representative Photo by Armin T. Wegner Source: Armenian Genocide-Museum Institute in Armenia

The Belfast News-Letter, Thursday, May 16, 1922

MORE TURKISH ATROCITIES The telegram which MR. CHAMBERLAIN read in the House of Commons yesterday prove that the unspeakable Turk is also unchangeable. All attempts to civilize him have failed, and he is incapable of forming or maintaining a just and honest administration. When the Young Turkish movement was in progress many people were confident that a new era was opening for Turkey, but subsequent events disappointed them, The Young Turks soon showed that they were no better than the Old Turks. Like them, they were guilty of horrible atrocities against the Christians of Armenia, and for several years massacre has followed massacre until that persecuted and martyred race is in danger of complete extermination. That seems to be the deliberate object of the Kemalists whose seat of Government is at Angora. MR. T. P. O’CONNOR asked the information in regard to the reported murder of 10,000 Greeks in Asia Minor, and the seizure of their wives and children for transfer to Turkish harems; whether the Government had

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made any representations to the Kemalist authorities or those at Constantinople; and whether they had been warned of the effect which the massacres would have on the decision of the Powers in regard to the relations between Turkey and Greece, and the demand of the Kemalists that Smyrna should be evacuated by Greek troops. Mr. Chamberlain read telegrams from his Majesty’s High Commissioner as Constantinople which confirm the reports of systematic and organised atrocities. The Turks, he states, appear to be working on a deliberate plan to get rid of minorities, and he describes how the Christians have been deported from their homes, and forced to make long marches in the course of which many thousands of them have died from hardship and exposure. This method is adopted so that the Turks can say that they did not actually kill them. They generally choose winter weather for this cruel form of massacre, but now fresh deportations are starting in all parts of Asia Minor, from the Northern seaports of the South-Eastern districts, and a Turkish official at Kharput told DR. WARD, an American investigator, that in the next massacres the Turks would take care to do their work thoroughly. The High Commissioner expresses the opinion that the Turkish protests now being received in regard to alleged Greek excesses are intended to divert attention from their own atrocities. His second telegram sent on 25th April states that the whole Greek population of the age 15 and upwards in the Trebizond area and its hinterland is being deported apparently to form labour battalions at Erzeroum, Kara and elsewhere. The deportations, he sates, are carried out in conditions of terrible hardship. The Turks have been repeatedly warned against continuing these atrocities, but without effect. The Government is inviting the French, Italian, and American Governments to join in a through and impartial investigation of what the Foreign Secretary in his telegram to the High Commissioner described as “the appalling tale of barbarity and cruelty now being practiced by the Angora Turks as part of a systematic policy of extermination

Christian minorities in Asia Minor.” As the Angora Turks assert either that the massacres did not take place or that the reports of them have been greatly exaggerated, they should welcome an impartial investigation, but they may be expected to put every obstacle in the way of the investigators. The dispatch from Lord Curzon contains the following significant sentence:—“It is inconceivable that Europe should agree to hand back to Turkish rule, without the most stringent guarantees, communities which would be liable to be treated in the manner described by competent American witnesses, whose reports, moreover, are confirmed by independent information in our possession.” This is the least that the Government can do, seeing that it has accepted responsibility for the protection of the Armenian Christians. But we fear that “the most stringent guarantees” are useless in the case of the Turks. No guarantees can bind them. The only thing to be done is to deprive them of power as far as possbile. It would be a crime against humanity to extend their rule in any direction, and it is to be hoped that on such a question as the Governments of France, Italy, and the Untied States will be in complete agreement with our Government. ■ COMMENTS: This report reveals that regardless of their geographic locations in Asia Minor, the Christians were doomed for total extermination: First by Sultan, Abdul Hamid; Second by the Young Turks; Finally, by the Kemalists. (SKK)

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The Belfast News-Letter, Tuesday, May 16, 1922

TURKISH ATROCITIES HARROWING STORIES. Christians Done to Death by the Thousand.

BRITISH GOVERNMENT’S ACTION. The British Government has received confirmation that the Turks in Asia Minor are still pursuing the policy of deliberately exterminating Christian minorities in Asia Minor. MR. CHAMBERLAIN in the House of Commons yesterterday read a harrowing story of how many thousands of people have been done to death. He added that the Government was seeking the cooperation of France, Italy, and America in making further investigations with a view to action. ___________ MR. T.P. O’CONNOR (N.) asked the LORD PRIVY SEAL whether on the receipt of confirmation of the statement that the Turks in Asia Minor had murdered 10,000 Greeks, followed by the seizure of their widows and daughters for transfer to Turkish harems and the starvation to death of their children, any representation was sent to the Kemalist authorities or those of Constantinople pointing out the inevitable effect such atrocities must have on the coming decisions of the Powers with regard to the future relations of Turkey and Greece, and especially with regard to the demand of the KEMALISTS for the evacuation of Asia Minor by the Greek troops; and whether if such a remonstrance had not been already issued, one would be immediately dispatched. Mr. Chamberlain said confirmation had been received of the statements contained in the recent report by MAJOR YOWELL. He read two telegrams received from his Majesty’s High Commissioner at Constantinople, in which he said DR. WARD, of the Near Eastern Relief Commission, who had just arrived from Kharput, corroborated the statements as to the treatment of minorities contained in a telegram from Constantinople published in

the “Times” of 5th May. The Turks appeared to be working on a deliberate plan to get rid of minorities. Their method had been to collect Greeks and march them from place to place until large numbers die on the road from hardship and exposure. The Turks chose the winter weather for driving deportees into the mountains. The Armerican relief organization was not allowed to shelter children whose parents had died on the road. Dr. Ward in December counted 150 bodies between Kharput and Malatia; while a fellow worker counted 1,500 bodies on the road to Kharput and 2,000 deportees died on the road east of that place. Fresh deportation outrages were starting in all parts of Asia Minor, and Dr. Ward considered that if action was not taken soon the problem would be solved by the disappearance of minorities. Mr. Chamberlain, continuing, said:—The Turks have been repeatedly warned that those atrocities —which have now been going on almost continuously for over seven years—would adversely affect Allied public opinion and policy; but all warnings and protests have been without effect. His Majesty’s Government, who have in the proposed terms of peace assumed serious responsibility for the future protection of minorities, cannot allow such reports to remain uninvestigated or such incidents to continue unchecked. They have therefore proposed to the French, Italian, and American Governments a line of common action. It was proposed that each Government should send a carefully selected officer to investigate. If the Angora Government refused facilities for investigation his Majesty’s Government would have to reconsider their entire attitude towards the Peace proposals. It was inconceivable that Europe should agree to hand back to Turkish rule, without the most stringent guarantees, communities which would be liable to be treated in the manner described by competent American witnesses, whose reports were confirmed by independent information in possession of the British Government. LORD R. CECIL (Ind.) asked whether, in order to avoid any possible delay, the right hon. gentle-

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man could intimate that in the event of our Allies not being ready to join in this matter we should proceed to action by ourselves, and whether he would consider the desirability of forthwith sending similar observation officers to the Smyrna district where it was only too possible that reprisals against the Turks might take place. Mr. Chamberlain—I hope my noble friend will give me notice of both these questions. SIR. J. REES (Co. U.)—Is the right honorable gentleman aware that the allegation of the Turks is that they were not heard at the investigation which resulted in the confirmation of these reports: that the officer chiefly concerned was deported from Anatolia after being concerned in the promotion of rebellion against the Turks by the Greeks in that area; and that their submission is that information will be forth coming that either these massacres did not take place or were not nearly so serious as was represented? (“Oh,”) Mr. Chamberlain—If that is the attitude of the Angora Turks, they should obviously welcome the impartial investigation by the Powers that we have invited. MR. MILLS (Lab.) asked if Mr. Chamberlain was aware that the initiative was taken as a result of the determination of the Secretary of Agriculture of New York State in spreading broadcast photographs of thousands of bodies uncovered by the melting snow which he saw during his tour in Armenia! Mr. Chamberlain—I am not personally aware of the initiative having come from the United States Government, but I hope they will join us. ■ COMMENT: There was ample evidence of the wholesale atrocities done to the Christian inhabitants of Asia Minor by the Turks. Yet, nine months after the final days of the Christians; the war weary Allied Powers turned their backs on Turkey’s crimes against humanity. By startling contrast news reports appeared such as: The New York Times 28 February 1923—Headlines: “Mrs. Kemal Charms An American Visitor” “Beautiful Bride Pours Tea for Foreign Newspaper Men in Home Near Angora” “She is For Women’s Rights—Eighty Per Cent. of the Turkish Women Emancipated Already Kemal Declares.” ———————

The Irish Times, Tuesday, May 16, 1922

Turkish Atrocities. MR. CHAMBERLAIN’S statement in the House of Commons yesterday will send a shudder of disgust throughout the civilized world. For several months ugly rumours have been coming from Asia Minor in regard to Turkish atrocities. The catalogue of horrors which was read out by the Leader of the House of Commons was appalling. His statement, based on information which he had received from the British High Commissioner on the spot, embodied the independent testimony of impartial American witnesses. Therefore, there cannot be the slightest doubt about its accuracy. Massacres are in progress which are even more comprehensive than those of GLADSTONE’s day, and they are calculated to finish the dire work which was begun in 1915. The process of extermination extends over the whole area in Asia Minor that is in KEMALIST hands, from the Pontic coast near the Caucasus, across to Adalia in the South West. The principal victims are the Ottoman Greeks;[1] but the Armenians are not being spared, and the roads of Asia Minor are strewn with their bleaching bones. DR. WARD, who is chief of the American Relief Commission in the Near East, counted 150 corpses on the road between Kharput and Malatia recently. Another American counted 1,500 bodies, while at least 2,000 are lying on the roadsides east of Kharput. The method which is being adopted by the Turks is peculiarly loathsome. All the available Christians in the Trebizond area, for instance, were herded together in Amasia, and then forced to march, via Tokat, and Sivas, to Cesarea. From this town they were marched back to Amasia and then through Kharput, into the

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mountains of the East. Naturally, thousands of them died on the way. The “deportations” have been carried out during the winter, while the weather has been at its worst, and many of the victims apparently were frozen to death. The Americans have done their best to relieve distress in the torture areas, but they themselves have been treated very badly by the Turks. Nobody can estimate the number of Greeks and Armenians who have been done to death during the past six months. One high official of the KEMALISt Administration announced recently that when the Allies should make peace with Turkey, there would be no minorities left to safeguard. “The error which was committed in 1915,” he said, “when an end was not put once for all, to Christianity in Turkey, must be remedied now.” Complete extermination is the order of the day. ■ NOTE: After the Revolution of 1823, most of the Greeks of mainland Greece were freed after 400 years of enslavement and oppression by the Turks. Whereas, the Greeks of Asia Minor remained Turkish subjects; they were referred to as 1“Ottoman Greeks” until 1922. (SKK) ———————

The Irish Times, Tuesday, May 16, 1922

“UNSPEAKABLE TURK.” ATROCITIES IN ASIA MINOR. ROADS STREWN WITH DEAD. BRITAIN’S STRONG ACTION. The recent reports about Turkish atrocities in Asia Minor were confirmed yesterday in the House of Commons by MR. CHAMBERLAIN.

He read telegrams from the High Commissioner at Constantinople which showed that the Kemalists are working on a deliberate plan to get rid of the minorities. Whole communities have been deported and thousands of men, women, and children have died from hardship and exposure on the roadsides. Britain has proposed that the Great Powers should make steps to stop these atrocities. Mr. Chamberlain made it clear that, so far as the Government is concerned, its whole attitude towards the settlement proposals will be changed unless the Turks at Angora give adequate guarantees for the protection of minorities. PROMPT ACTION NEEDED. SEVEN YEARS’S PERSECUTION. MR. T.P. O’CONNOR in the House of Commons yesterday, asked the LORD PRIVY SEAL whether, on receipt of the confirmation of the statement that the Turks, in Asia Minor had murdered 10,000 Greeks, followed by the seizure of their widows and daughters for transfer to Turkish harems, and the starvation to death of their children, any representation was sent to the Kemalist authorities or those of Constantinople, pointing out the inevitable effect such atrocities must have on the coming decisions of the Powers with regard to the future relations of Turkey and Greece, and especially with regard to the demand of the Kemalists for the evacuation of Asia Minor by the Greek troops, and whether, if such a remonstrance had not been already issued, one would be immediately dispatched. Mr. Chamberlain said that confirmation had been received of the statements contained in the recent report by MAJOR POWELL. Two Telegrams had been received from the High Commissioner at Constantinople. In the first he said that DR. WARD, of the Near Eastern Relief Commission, corroborated the statements about the treatment of minorities. The Turks appeared to be working on a deliberate plan to get rid of minorities.

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Their method has been to collect at Amasia Ottoman Greeks from the region between Samsoun and Trebizond. These Greeks are marched from Amasia, via Tokat and Sivas, as far as Caesarea, and then back again until they are eventually sent through Kharput to the East. In this manner a large number of deportees die on the road from hardship and exposure. “The Turks can say they did not actually kill these refugees, but a comparison may be instituted with the way in which the Turks formerly got rid of dogs at Constantinople by landing them on the island where they died of hunger and thirst. Large numbers of deportees who were being sent to Van and Bitlis, passed through Kharput between June and December last year. Now the spring has come these deportations have begun again. Once these gangs have passed Diarbekir, which is the last American relief station, Americans lose all track of them, but DR. WARD has little doubt that many deportees die in the mountains [illegible]. IN THE MOUNTAINS. “The Turks, in preference, choose winter weather for driving these deportees into the mountains. The American Near-Eastern Relief was not allowed to shelter children whose parents had died on the road. These children were driven forward with other deportees. Dr. Ward himself last year in December counted 1,500 bodies on the road to Kharput and 2,000 deportees died on the road east of that place. Two-thirds of the Greek deportees are women and children. “At present fresh deportation outrages are starting in all parts of Asia Minor from northern seaports to the south-eastern district. A Turkish official at the head of the Educational Department of Kharput told Dr. Ward, as on illustration of Turkish inefficiency, that in 1915 the Turks had not made “a clean job of the massacres.” He said that the next time the Turks would take care to do their work thoroughly. Dr. Ward endorsed SIGNOR TUOZZI’S statement of January last that the deliberate policy of the Turks is to exter-

minate the minorities. He considers that they are accelerating their activities in this respect before the peace settlement, and he stated that if action is not taken soon the problem will be solved by the disappearance of the minorities. “I am confirmed in my belief that the Turkish protests now being received in regard to alleged Greek excesses are designed to divert attention from Turkish atrocities. “Another American of high character and standing who came with Dr. Ward, states that DR. GIBBON, formerly a professor at Robert College, who has just been visiting the Greek front and went into the Turkish lines, reports that the Greeks have behaved well in the AfiornKhara-Hissar-Aidin sectors; also the Musulman population seem quite content with Greek rule in these districts.” ALLIED PLAN. In his second telegram the High Commissioner says that on April 25 the whole Greek population from the age of 15 upwards, of the Trebizond area and the Hinterland was being deported, apparently to Labour battalions at Erzerouni and other places. Mr. Chamberlain added that the Turks had been warned repeatedly that these atrocities, which had been going on for seven years would adversely affect Allied public opinion and Allied policy. So far these warnings had had no effect. The British Government had proposed to the French, Italian, and American Governments a line of common action. The plan was that everyone of the Powers should send an officer to investigate the atrocities. If permission for investigation were refused, the British Government would have to reconsider its entire attitude towards the settlement proposals, for it was inconceivable that Europe should agree to hand back to Turkish rule without the most astringent guarantees communities which would be liable to be treated in the manner described. ■ NOTES: • Turkish Harems were supplied with the abducted children of the non-Moslems.

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• The systematic exterminations of the Christian inhabitants of Asia Minor were carried out for twenty eight years, from 1894 to 1922–23; and well before that—but were accelerated from 1914 to 1922–23. • The Turkish revolutionaries included Mustafa Kemal. The Kemalists continued the deliberate policies of exterminations that were started by the Ottomans; of the Greeks, Armenians and Assyrians of Asia Minor. (SKK) COMMENTARY: The “Mr. Chamberlain” in the article is most likely Lord Privy Seal Austen Chamberlain, the older half-brother of Neville Chamberlain. —GERALD E. OTTENBREIT, JR. ———————

The New York Times, June 4, 1922

PREDICTS GREATEST MASSACRE IN HISTORY Dr. Ward Says Turks Will Be Restrained Only by Powers’ Concerted Action. Copyright, 1922, by The New York Times Company. Special Cable to THE NEW YORK TIMES. PARIS, June 3.—The greatest massacre in history was forecast here by DR. MARK WARD, head of the Near East Relief Hospital of Harpoot, Anatolia, who has recently been deported from Anatolia by KEMALISTS and today passed through Paris on his way to Washington to lay the case of the Christians of Asia Minor before the State Department. “There are approximately 2,000,000 Turks and 1,000,000 Christians in Asia Minor,” DR. WARD stated. “Indications are such as to leave no doubt that the Turks are planning the extermination of this Christian minority. I have practically been warned that if we continued the work of helping Armenians and succeded in putting them on their feet they would be forced to massacre the whole Armenian population. ‘We have been too easy in the past. We shall

do a thorough job this time,’ an official told me. “Official actions justify these declarations. Soon after coming into power the KEMALISTS appointed a liaison officer to work with us at Harpoot, and orders were sent to me that we could not admit any orphans or give the poor relief without his consent. When we refused they ordered the deportation of all Near East officials in Harpoot who spoke Armenian. “The condition of the Greeks is as bad as that of the Armenians. There are approximately 500,000 of these people in Turkey. They have retained their religion. They are now being indirectly massacred by the thousand. They are not permitted to leave the country and are being deported from the coast to the extreme interior under conditions under which they cannot survive. During the Winter one band of 30,000 was driven through Harpoot. From Diarbekir, our last station, only a hundred miles further, I learned that only 10,000 passed there. Probably not a thousand reached their destination. These deportations are going on constantly. “The attitude of the KEMALISTS can be seen in the fact that in the Harpoot district, with a population of approximately 100,000, there are 1,000 Christians who have received passage money from relatives in America, but are not permitted to leave. There are also 200 American citizens by marriage, naturalization, &c. who are being held. Two naturalized American citizens, carrying passports, were refused permission to leave. “The situation is tending daily toward a general massacre which the Turks have proved they are not averse to and which can be prevented only by strong action by America and the other world powers.” ■

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The Times, Thursday, June 8, 1922

KEMALIST WAR ON CHRISTIANS HOSTILITY TO AMERICAN RELIEF WORK DR. MARK H. WARD, of the American Near East Relief Organization at Kharput who has arrived in London, leaves on Saturday for America to report to Washington concerning his experiences in Asia Minor. Dr. Ward visited the Foreign Office yesterday, where in the absence of Lord Balfour, he saw MR. OLIPHANT, his purpose being to lay all the information in his possession before the British authorities. Later, Dr. Ward made a statement to a representative of The Times. I have been in Kharput (he said) ever since the Armistice. When we arrived the Turks welcomed the Americans and helped us in every way in our relief work. At that time the relief work took the form of opening up orphanages. We collected some 4,000 Armenian orphans. We started industries, and gave relief to the poor, destitute, aged, and infirm. At the time this was appreciated by all races and creeds. Things went on pretty well for a year and a half but for over a year and a half there has not been a change. When the Kemalists set up their Government in Sivas in 1920, the Government seemed to be suspicious of the work we were doing. They appointed a commissar to look after it. He was to investigate and report to his [illegible] to be suspicious of the work we were doing. They appointed a commissar to look after it. He was to investigate and report to his Government about our work, and after his appointment there was a gradual change. The Government ordered that we were not to be allowed to take anyone into our orphanage without his consent. Later, we could not give out any money as poor relief or charity with-

out his endorsement. Still later a rule was issued that no one could be admitted to the American hospital, of which I was the director, without receiving a paper or permission of the official sanitary officer of that vilayet. They then began a more thorough investigation of our work, and tried to supervise the buying of our supplies and the salary lists. Finally, they told us they would take over the directorship of our schools, which we refused to give to them. We were therefore forced to close the schools. They told us they were going to prevent us from paying out any money whatsoever either the money sent from America to relatives or any money paid out for supplies of any nature, without their first having been consulted. They said they would take over the directorship of the work and we Americans could supply the funds. These last two things we refused to comply with and for that reason they became very hostile to the work, finally notifying the director, MAJOR YOWELL, that he was to leave this country. He refused unless they gave him a statement of the charges they made against him. They arrested him and sent him south to the Syrian frontier under guard. They then said that unless I left voluntarily they would send me out under guard and that would make it very difficult for those who were left behind to carry on the work. I left on March 15 and went to Beirut and Constantinople. From May, 1921, to March last, when I left, thirty thousand deportees, of whom, were collected at Sivas and deported [illegible] six thousand were Armenians and the rest Greeks Kharput to Bitlis and Van. Of these thirty thousand, ten thousand perished last winter and ten thousand escaped to have been protectted by the Americans. The fate of the other ten thousand is not known. The deportations are continuing: every week’s delay means death to hundreds of these poor people. The Turkish policy is extermination of these Christian minorities. ■ ———————

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Souvenir postcard. Abducted Christian slave child used as servant in Turkish household. Source: Kurdistan: In the Shadow of History

Armenian slave forced in Turkish harem, tattoo-marks with owner’s name(s). Source: Obscure

The New York Times, June 17, 1922

SAYS 22,000 GREEKS DIED ON THE MARCH Ward Declares Only Quick Action by Washington Can Stop Turkish Massacres.

CHRISTIAN GIRLS FOR HAREM Turks Forbade American Orphanages to Shelter Those Who Were More Than 15. Copyright, 1922. by The New York Times Company. By Wireless to the NEW YORK TIMES. of

LONDON, June 6.—DR. MARK H. WARD Suffern, N.Y. an American official

of the NEAR EAST RELIEF, who has brought from Harpoot news of the deliberate campaign of extermination which the Turks have been carrying on against the Trebizond Greeks, visited Ambassador Harvey today and has an appointment tomorrow at the Foreign Office, where he hopes to see the Earl of Balfour. Discussing with The New Times correspondent today the atrocities of which he has been a witness, Dr. Ward estimated that only 8,000 of the 30,000 Greeks he knew to have been deported from the Trebizond region ever reached their destination. “They were supposed,” he said, “to be taken by the Turks as enemy sujects to work on the roads, but as these were absolutely destroyed by the Russians in their advance during the great war, and as the whole region is mountainous and inhospitable, I have little doubt they have by now all died of starvation. About three-quarters of the old deportees were women, children and old men, who were carried off on the plea that they had been giving aid to Greek brigands near a Turkish town. It seems to me that it is quite impossible to accept either explanation. “The fact is, the Turks frankly do not understand why they should not get rid of Greeks and Armenians from their country and take their women into their harems if they are sufficiently goodlooking. They know that to do so is to cause themselves some inconvenience. The Greeks and Armenians are the best skilled artisans and traders of the country, and it will be hard to get along without them. ‘But,’ they argue, ‘Turkey is a Turkish country; it belongs to the Turks, and they have the right to live in their own way. If the Greeks and Armenians come along and introduce a different sort of culture there is

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no reason why the Turks should not exterminate them if they wish to do so.’[1] “For this reason, Dr. Ward said, the Turks were very much opposed to the American system of orphanages. Their attitude was perfectly logical from their point of view. This is their argument: “A few years ago we went to a good deal of trouble to root the Armenians out. Then the American missionaries extablished orphanages and trained up a number of children, so that soon the Armenians will be as strong as ever, and the pogroms will have to be done all over again. Clearly orphanages are not to be encouraged.”[2] Dr. Ward says that last March the order went out that the Americans must not keep in their orphanages any boys or girls after they were fifteen. This meant, as far as the girls were concerned, that they would at once be forced into Turkish harems.[3] One American at Harpoot rebelled; MAJOR YOWELL declined positively to let his Greek girls go. Since then, however, he has left Harpoot for the Caucasus, and Dr. Ward cannot say if his colleagues have been equally determined. “As a matter of fact,” said Dr. Ward, “we have only been able to get along with the Turkish officials by paying every possible consideration to them. After all, they are often in a miserable enough condition themselves, with their pay six months in arrears. When we were giving them bread and soap for distribution among the Greek convoys we found they were selling it to the miserable refugees,[4] and it was not until we provided the soldiers with food and soap for themselves that they let the Greeks get their share. “Then the GOVERNOR OF HARPOOT came to us and told us his wife was ill, and could he have an automobile to take

BEFORE THE SILENCE

her to the hospital? We assented, and that machine was away for four months, and its trip with petrol and repairs cost the Near East Relief $2,000. “The Governor at another time came and said we had taken all the best houses in town, and might he use the upper part of one we had just hired for offices? He moved in with his family, sent to us for stoves when the weather became cold, and we have never had a cent from him.” Dr. Ward told how men, women and children had been forced by the Turks to toil over the road, carrying such belongings as they most prized on their backs, until they fell exhausted. In the 200 miles between Sivas and Harpoot one American observer, he said, counted 1,500 dead bodies, and those who staggered into Harpoot were in rags and covered with vermin. It was only with the greatest difficulty that the American workers could get the Turks to see that in the interests of the Turkish community itself it was necessary to attend the poor wretches and stamp out disease: and then, when a quarantine station was started, it was managed so badly as to be worse than useless. A large church was taken: men, women and children were crowded into it without food, water or sanitary appliances, and kept there for a fortnight, to starve amid their own filth. The Americans supplied appliances for bathing and disinfecting the helpless masses; but, as the Turks permitted those who had been disinfected to wander among the still vermin-infested crowds, practically nothing was accomplished. “In such a condition of affairs,” Dr. Ward was asked, “what good would a commission of inquiry do?” “It would do good,” he replied, “because the Turks are exceedingly anxious to conciliate American opinion. They

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like Americans and look upon them in quite a different light from the English, French or Italians. They know well what we have done in Cuba and the Philippines, and they would like us to come and do the same in their country. Moreover, they want American capital and are anxious for American engineers to come in and develop their country. I am sure that if they knew the American Government was sending to investigate the massacres of Greeks they would at one stop their persecutions.” “Only, what Washington does it must do quickly, or there will be no Greeks left.” ■ The Greeks and the Armenians were originally in Asia Minor thousands of years before the Seljuk Turks raided their territory. 2 “KILL ALL THE ORPHANS” became the Turkish battle cry. 3 Harems were not only for the Sultans—but for the wealthy Turks too. 4 Forcing victims to pay for water out of wells was reported. 1

PLEASE SEE: A Monthly Magazine of the New York Times, Current History, October 1922. Headline:“Crimes of Turkish Misrule” PLEASE READ: Dr. Mabel Elliott’s flawless book Beginning Again At Ararat, speaks volumes and merits to be on everyone’s “mustread book list.” Her dauntless courage is evidenced throughout her book. Her humanity and sensitivity shine through the pages as she describes the traumatized Armenian girls, after they were rescued from Turkish harems. Dr. Elliott was the first to speak with these traumatized girls. Elliott, Mabel Evelyn, M.D. Beginning Again At Ararat. New York, Chicago, London and Edinburg: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1924. Reprinted: 2007. (See: 25–6) ———————

The Sheboygan Press Telegram, June 21, 1922

GREEKS ARE BEHEADED IN ASIA MINOR Athens, Greece—Official information from Smyrna is to the effect that, the Greek Governor of Sokia reports that five Greeks, who escaped from Geronta (in the interior of Asia Minor), brought tidings that the whole Greek population in that part of the country has been deported towards the furthest interior, most probably to Mougla. On the way they are being gradually massacred. The women and the children are herded together in a few houses and there left to die of starvation. Prior to this the women are forced to dance for the amusement of the Turkish rabble, and the violation of women, girls and young boys is carried on in the most abominable manner. These tidings have filled Athens with a deep sense of horror and Requiem masses are being held for the souls of the unfortunate victims. Dispatches from Constantinople report that, according to the depositions of trustworthy refugees from Trebizond, the persecution of the Greeks in the Pontine region continues unabated. The district of Rhodopolis has been surrounded by Turkish troops and bands of wild irregulars. The Metropolitan of that Seat and his flock are shut up in their dwellings and are in danger of being starved to death. A forthnight ago irregulars and troops invaded several villages of that part of the country and vio-

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lating the women and pillaging and murdering the inhabitants, set fire to the houses. Thus fifteen villages have been wiped put of existence, and from a population of 15,000 souls only a few women and children escaped annihilation. The monks of the Monastery of “Peristeriota” were delivered over to the irregulars to be dealt with by them, pillaged all the precious objects and the cash found in the Monastery. At Djevgeli several Greeks were beheaded and their heads fixed on poles were exposed for several days in the market place. At Platana, near Trebizond, all the best Greek houses were set on fire and the chief inhabitants massacred. Generally speaking, the persecutions are now directed chiefly to the eastern portion of the Villayet of Trebizond, which, up to the present time, had been more or less spared. But the satanic temper of the Turks exceeds even their own savage way of perpetrating their traditional horrors, and after the Armenians, the Greeks are now exterminated by those “high contracting parties” with which certain Christian, civilized European governments have lately contracted treaties of amity as with equals, and the fairest portions of Asia Minor are reduced to a smoking and howling wilderness, while the civilized world is looking on clam [sic] and impassive! ■

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BEFORE THE SILENCE

The New York Times, December 7, 1922

Call Stergiadis for Trial in Athens. LONDON, Dec. 6.—A revolutionary court-martial has decided that M. STERGIADIS, former Greek Commissioner in Asia Minor, is partly responsible for the disaster in that region, and various charges have already been made against him by the examining Magistrate, says a Reuter dispatch from Athens. If M. Stergiadis does not reply to a summonss ordering him to stand trial in Athens he will be tried in absentia, the dispatch adds. ■ NOTE: Mr. Stergiadis, unwisely ordered the Christians in Smyrna to disarm themselves. Thus, putting them in harms’ way and leaving them no defense against the armed Turkish citizenry of Smyrna. (SKK) PLEASE SEE: The New York Times, 24 September, 1922. Headline: “Slain Archbishop Foresaw Massacre.”

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PHOTO BY C.D. MORRIS, HEAD SUPERVISOR RED CROSS, AND COMMITTEE OF MERCY Source obscure.

The Christian Science Monitor, Boston Thursday, July 13, 1922

NEAR EAST RELIEF PREVENTED FROM HELPING GREEKS. By Herbert Adams Gibbons, Ph.D. [1] Constantinople, May 31st So persistent and sweeping have been the denials telegraphed from Angora concerning the present atrocities in Asia Minor, and so categorical the disclaimer that the Turks are trying to exterminate the Greek population with more vigour than they exercised towards the Armenians in 1915, that I have sent by cable to the Christian Science Monitor a resume of my letters from Trebizond, giving my personal testimony, and a brief statement made by MISS EDITH WOOD of Philadelphia. In view of the importance of giving concrete evidence, at this time, upon a condition that is bound to result in a profound modification of the British policy towards a Turco-Greek armistice and peace negotiations, I am sending in full the statement of MISS WOOD, which she gave

to me of her own accord, with the understanding that it should be published with her name. MISS WOOD went into the interior as a nurse, under the NEAR EAST RELIEF, was stationed at Harput, then at Malatia, and came out of the Interior only last week. Her term of service is over, and she is returning to the United States, where she intends to tell in detail what she has seen. MISS WOOD left Harput at the end of November, and spent all the winter and early spring alone at Malatia, which was a “distributing centre” for the Greek deportees from the Black Sea coast. Before leaving Harput MISS WOOD had already seen evidences of the plan to exterminate the Greeks, of which MAJOR YOWELL and DR. MARK WARD have written. In Malatia she declares that conditions were far more horrible than in Harput, although she was permitted to take in and attempt to care for the Greek orphans, which had been forbidden at Harput. Housing the children only prolonged their agony, however, as only half of those under 12 were temporarily saved.

Constitutions Undermined From four to seven of those who passed the initial test of being able to stand food and washing passed away each

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day MISS WOOD thought that they might be pulled through. Their constitution was too greatly undermined by the journey from the coast. “It was like an endless chain,” said MISS WOOD. “The children would often be gone before I had taken their names. Forty to fifty of the older women passed on each day also. You see, starvation, exposure, exhaustion did their work before these deportees arrived at Malatia. They came to me in the last stages. “Food and medicine were no good, although I tried my best, The Turks were doing nothing at all for them. In Malatia bodies lay around in the streets and fields. No attempt was made to bury them. Deportation is worse than a sentence of execution. Unless one sees these things, it is difficult to believe that such monstrous cruelty and barbarity exist in this world. Making women and children suffer that way until they drop and expire seems incredible. But that is Malatia, and they receive us coldly in Constantinople when we want to tell what we know for the benefit of our Government, and let it appear very clearly that my story is unwelcome and that I am a hysterical woman exaggerating or falsifying—that is the way it is. “It took me fourteen days’ constant travel to get from Malatia to Samsun on the Black Sea coast, where I took a vessel for Constantinople last Thursday. All the way it was a heartrending journey, passing women and little children on their long road to Calvary. And I knew what was at the end of it! I hardly pitied those who had given up en route. Bodies lay along the roadside and in the fields everywhere. There was no hope for the Greeks from Malatia to Samsun, and the most fortunate were those who perished at the start.”

Testimony of Other Observers Other Near East Relief workers, whose names I am not at liberty to mention, have come out of the Interior during the past fortnight, and their testimony corroborates that of MISS WOOD. An American who was in Sivas from October, 1921, to May, 1922 says that the deportees began to pass through there in the autumn, supposedly on their way to Harput, coming not only from the region of Samsun, but from all the villages and cities of northern Asia Minor. Throughout the winter they came, in an indescribable condition of dirt and distress. The Americans were refused pointblank, permission to do anything for the Greeks. Finally VALI HAIDAR BEY agreed to let the Americans minister to women and children and to boys under fifteen, but not to

older boys and men who were sent to Erzerum to work on the roads. This was a pretext. The snow was deep. They were without shelter, and most of them perished of the cold.[2] Outside Sivas is a sevkiat—deportation camp—where sheds without roofs or windows or doors—just palisades— are the only shelter. No Near East Relief worker was allowed to approach this camp. The sick were brought in to town and thrown into the Armenian church, which one of the American workers calls “the Black Hole of Calcutta.” Only she thinks that the original Black Hole could not have been as bad. For into this church, whose windows are boarded up and where it is dark and damp, are carried and dumped pell-mell cases of all kinds of the horrible diseases. The Americans are not allowed to do anything for these people. They all perish. None can possibly be saved. Their bodies are not removed.

Difficulties put in Way And yet this “Hospital” is under the charge of the ANGORA COMMISSIONER OF DEPORTEES, DR. DJEVDET BEY, who with his assistant, DR. SHERIFEDDIN BEY, are examples of the fiends educated Orientals are capable of becoming. DR. DJEVDET was always debonair, and jested with the American women when they begged to be allowed to separate the cases and pay men to go in to remove the bodies. DR. DJEVDET refused permission to open orphanages or hotels for the girl children and their mothers. Finally, the Near East Relief did get eight houses, but all sorts of difficulties were made for the exiles who would enter them. They had to have papers, and it took two or three days of going from bureau to bureau to get these. As the women were already in an exhausted state, very many of them perished in this last effort to get to the asylum of unnecessary cruelty—the way we should never treat a suffering dog or horse. DR. DJEVDET and his assistant took forcibly from the Near East homes certain picked girls to serve suppers in their house and kept them till morning. Those who refused to come received orders the next day to leave Sivas—an awful fate. These horrors reached their climax in May. On May 14th the Americans received the order to give up all boys over fourteen, and these were taken from the orphanages. But Few Greeks Left Still another Near East Relief worker, who has had wide experience in Asia Minor, told me that the deportations first came to his knowledge in June 1921, and that they reached their climax between April 15th and May

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15th, 1922. They are bound to decrease now, because so few Greeks are left anywhere. The Americans were not allowed to do anything for the Greeks, and were told to stick to their Armenian orphanage work. But when the hordes of refugees became numerous, and many of them remained in the towns where the Near East Relief had depots, it was of course impossible to obey these orders. Then began the difficulties between the Angora Government and the Near East Relief. All the prominent Greeks of Amasia and Mersifoun were assassinated or condemned to execution and hanged. The Independent Court of Amasia, created by NOUREDDIN PASHA, GENERAL COMMANDING THE CENTRAL NATIONALISTS ARMY, had both civil and military powers. It was used principally to give a semblance of legality to the murders of the Greeks, but it terrorised also any Turks who would raise their voices against the clique running the Angora Government. When the Greeks of Amasia were finished this court moved to Sivas and condemned Greek boys as young as seventeen to be shot as deserters from the Turkish Army. The Turks came into the Near East Relief orphanages, and arbitrarily set ages to the boys, taking many not older than fifteen, and when some of these tried to escape from the barracks they were hailed as deserters and shot. When these workers came out in the last fortnight of May they saw on the road what MISS WOOD saw. I have a detailed description of the groups of refugees on the road from Sivas to Samsun, via Tokat, and of the way Turkish cavalry is beating the forests for deserters, and rounding up the last of the Greeks in Samsun and the surrounding villages. The AMERICAN HIGH COMMISSIONER, Admiral BRISTOL,[3] is opposed to the publication of these statements, believing that it is to the interest of the United States to keep quiet and sustain the Angora Government. He thinks that in that way there can be obtained concessions and other business advantages, and that the Americans who tell what they see, “play into the hand of the British propaganda.” Americans who know the Turks and who have lived here long, however, differ with the Admiral. Even if it were merely a question of business advantage the policy of tolerating these crimes by silence would be a wrong one. The business of Turkey is not in the hands of the Turks, and never has been. But the appeal of suffering mankind transcends all selfish considerations. I share the conviction of old American residents here that “British propaganda,” through spreading massacre stories,

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exists only in the American High Commissioner’s imagination. In this part of the world Americans and British must pull together and work for the triumph of Anglo-Saxon ideals. Everybody out here likes the Turks as people—they have peculiarly attractive qualities and the Anatolian peasant is a fine, upstanding fellow. But the men who direct the Angora Government, who plunged Turkey into the World War, who killed off the Armenians and are now repeating the crime with the Greeks, are dangerous fanatics, and their unfitness to govern in a civilized way, which is proven by their extermination policy, should be known for political as well as humanitarian reasons. Their own people will be first to condemn and repudiate them when the transitory power of these terrorists is broken. EXTRACTS FROM A REPORT TO THE HONOURABLE CHARLES E.

HUGHES,

SECRETARY

OF

STATE,

WASHINGTON,

U.S.A.

BY MAJOR F. D. YOWELL FORMER DIRECTOR OF THE HARPOOT BRANCH OF THE AMERICAN NEAR EAST RELIEF (PRIOR TO MAY 5TH, 1922):

The condition of the Christian population in the Interior has steadily grown worse within the past two years until now the Armenian and Greek deportees are in a condition worse than slavery. The attitude of the Vilayet Government toward the Greeks who were being (and who are still) deported through Sivas-Harpoot-Diarbekir from the Black Sea Coast and the Konia district, seems to be one of extermination. From statistics obtained from American sources—persons who have come into contact with the deportees in the course of their work of relief—we have accounted for at least 30,000 who reached Sivas. Of this number 8,000 died on the route to Harpoot and 2,000 remained in Malatia. After many obstacles thrown in our way by Turkish official to prevent the N. E. R. from assisting these refugees were overcome, we were able to save thousands of lives by giving food, clothing and medical care. However, 2,000 refugees died in Harpoot, Mezra, and scattered in villages near by. The remaining 20,000 were sent on toward Diarbekir, and it was not merely a coincidence, in my opinion, that days when terrible snowstorms were in progress were selected to send these people, threefourths of whom were women and children, out over almost impassible mountains, without food or covering of any kind, and where no shelter can be found. In all cases these people have been robbed of everything that can be taken from

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them before they have progressed but few days on their journey, and the most attractive girls taken into Moslem homes. Of the 15,000 sent toward Diarbekir 3,000 died on the route and 1,000 died in Diarbekir. About 1,000 (all men) were taken by the Government to work on the roads between Harpot and Diarbekir. They were given no pay, and their entire food allowance consisted of 200 grs.[4] of bread per day and a little thin soup once a day. They had no shelter and were compelled to sleep out of doors in bitterly cold weather, without bedding or covering, and when they are too ill to work their food allowance is discontinued and they are allowed to die without medical care. Of the 9,000 Greeks known to have been sent on toward Bitlis, nothing further is known on their fate, as all efforts of the Americans to get there or send relief has met with failure. This we do know. Bitlis is almost totally destroyed and is not capable of supporting more than a few thousand of people. As it is also located in high mountains, reached by passes only through which vehicles cannot now travel, it can be safely assumed that few of the deportees sent toward Bitlis reached there. In the Vilayet of MAMOURET-UL-AZIZ the Near East Relief was not permitted to employ any Greek, for or without compensation; it was not allowed to take in any Greek children, orphans or destitutes, an in many cases Greek men were forcibly taken by Moslems to work for them without compensation, and it was necessary for the Near East Relief to give them bread to prevent them from starving. We were not allowed to take any Greek into our hospital or to give medical aid without a written permit from the Director of Sanitation, and the patient was compelled to call in person for the permit. In many cases the patient died before he succeeded in getting a permit and in the majority of cases they failed to get permits at all. Cases are on record in Harpoot where money was paid to Turkish officials for such permits. Convalescents from our hospital were invariably taken by the Government and sent out over the mountains before they had regained near normal strength. In effect the authorities admitted to myself and other Americans that the Greeks were enemies of the Government and that they should be killed, and that those who assisted them were enemies of the Governor. One American, whose name cannot be given now for obvious reasons, counted 1,500 dead Greeks on the road between Sivas and Malatia last December: another counted 128 dead Greeks on the road between Malatia and Harpoot,

and was compelled to run a truck out of the road on many occasions to keep from running over the dead. I have personally seen hundreds of Greek bodies unburied and being devoured by dogs and vultures. The Moslems do not take the trouble to bury the bodies of the dead Christians, and the living have not the strength to perform this rite, were they allowed to do so. The presence of Americans in Harpoot exercises a great moral influence on the general situation there, and I am strongly of the opinion that the withdrawal of the Americans would be signal for outbreaks and probably massacres. The situation is very tense, even with the presence of Americans there, and one prominent Turkish official told me personally that if we persisted in educating the Armenians and brought them up again where they would be a power in the Vilayet, the same thing would happen to them as happened in 1915. In spite of the entirely humanitarian motives of the Americans in Harpoot, they are treated with the utmost rudeness and discourtesy by the Turkish officials, and everything possible is done by the Government to make their stay unbearable. I do not think that the Moslem population as a whole are in sympathy with the attitude of the Government and on the other hand, I have had some very concrete evidence to the contrary. In conclusion, I beg to state that I have endeavored to confine myself strictly to facts as they are evidenced, and to base my statistics on the most reliable data obtainable under abnormal conditions. I feel that as an American citizen I should emphatically protest against the treatment accorded the American citizens, and more especially the helpless Christian subjects of the Turkish Empire by the Turkish Nationalist Government. ■ NOTES: The author of this report was 1 HERBERT ADAMS GIBBONS, Ph.D. He also authored: 1 The Foundation of the Ottoman Empire: A History of the Osmanlis up to the Death of Bayezid I.(1300–1403) New York: The Century Company, 1916. The Turks are known to have led the 2 deportees into malarial swamps and into extreme weather. The attached photograph depicts men being taken away into the infamous Amele Tabourou “slave labor battalions,” also known as, “death caravans.” Admiral BRISTOL was an unabashed racist who hated the Greeks, the Jews, and the Chinese. He tried unsuccessfully to influence the U.S. journalists to present the Turks as saints. He pretended an air of civility; but lacked compassion and moral decency, as evidenced in this news report.

3

ARCHIVAL NEWS REPORTS

200 grams of bread equals a slab of bread approximately 4 1/4” wide 2” high, 1” thick. (SKK)

4

PLEASE SEE: The New York Times, 20 September 1922. Headlines: “Harding To Keep Out of Near East Crisis” “White House Statement Says We Will Take No Part in Political and Military Situation.” “Ships To Guard Interests” “No Co-operation With Allies in Defense of Straits—Two House Moves for Mediation.” PLEASE READ: The Great Betrayal, By EDWARD HALE BIERSTADT. New York: Robert M.

McBride & Co. (1924) PEASE READ: The Armenian Genocide: Cultural and Ethical Legacies, By Richard Hovannisian. Chapter 16, pages 275–290: “Greek Labor Battalions Asia Minor” By Speros Vryonis, Jr. New Brunswick (USA) and London (UK): Transaction Publishers, (2008) SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: A translation into English of Elias Venezis’s biography, Number 31,328: The Book of Slavery—is currently in progress. ———————

The Christian Science Monitor, July 23, 1922

Greeks Protest Against Treatment of the Turks By Special Cable. ATHENS,S—Officials of the Greek Red Cross have protested to the international committee at Geneva against the condition of the war prisoners in Anatolia and have appealed for help. One thousand Turkish liras sent by the American Red Cross to aid the Greek prisoners in Asia Minor was seized by the Turkish authorities and prisoners who dared to protest against the action of the Ottoman officials were maltreated and forced labor was imposed upon some of them. The American Y.M.C.A. at Athens sent representatives to examine the condition of war prisoners in Anatolia, and at the same time sent other representatives to inspect the condition of Turkish prisoners in Greece.

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The report of DR. HIBBARD, secretary of the Y.M.C.A. in Athens, who has just returned from a tour of inspecttion in the Peloponnesus and Greek islands, shows that that condition of the Turkish prisoners is excellent. The Turkish prisoners, he says, are well cared for, and the officers are given comfortable living quarters and are paid salaries regularly by the Greek Government. ■ COMMENT: Unlike the Turks, this report proves that the Greeks were exceptionally civilized towards their Turkish captives. (SKK) ———————

The Nevada State Journal, July 27, 1922

TELLS OF DEPORTING GREEKS AND OTHERS LONDON,

July 10.—Two American relief workers, J.H. KNAPP and MISS B. BANNERMAN MURDOCK, who have from arrived in CONSTANTINOPLE ARABKIR, where they have been organizing relief among refugees, give further details of the deportation of Greeks and Armenians described previously by Major YOWELL and Dr. MARK WARD. Arabkir is in the interior of Anatolia, 60 miles west-northwest of KHARPUT. They estimate that 10,000 deportees passed through ARABKIR between July, 1921, and March, 1922. The signed report given by them to the British Armenian committee reads as follows: “Beginning in July, 1921, the first installment of 600 deportees of Greek men of military age arrived. They were all from the KONIA district. One hundred and fifty of these were Armenians and were sent on to EGIN. The balance were Greeks. About 150 of these remained in Arabkir, and the

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balance were sent on to the KHARPUT and DIARBEKIR districts. Then came an installment of about 250 to 300 deportees, mostly Greek, from the ORDU district. There was sometimes a man with his whole family, but generally women without any male members of the family with them, and children. “To a large portion of these it was necessary for us to furnish bread every day for the whole winter. There was another group of about 100 men over 50 years old; some appeared to be 90 years old. These remained a few weeks and then all but a few were sent on to the KHARPUt area. A large drove of over 1,000 was the next installment to arrive in ARABKIR, in the late fall. They were herded on a hill above the city within 200 yards of a running ditch of water. They were not allowed to get water from this ditch, but were compelled to buy it from vendors. On a bleak, cold morning a few days afterward they were started on their way toward KHARPUT. It was a sight that one can never forget, to see middle-aged and old women and men, to say nothing of the younger women and children, carrying on their backs large loads of bedding, food and faggots and in their hands pots and kettles and perched upon their load a child. “Many of these were destined never to reach their destination, as the storm which was brewing in the early morning on the mountains soon developed into a blizzard and the roads were left strewn with dead bodies. These things were personally seen by us, and in visiting one of the Armenian buildings where those who were unable to go on were left behind we discovered several dead bodies on the floor and a number of other per-

BEFORE THE SILENCE

sons dying, with their children hanging over them. These scenes were only examples of many others which we witnessed during the deportations. Many of the women were unable to carry their children along and were obliged to leave them on the roadside. We took in our orphanage about 20 of these children and several of them were unable to survive the starvation and exposure they had undergone prior to reaching ARABKIR. “Personally, I visited in KHARPUT several hospitals that were full of hundreds of Greek deportees ill with typhus, and from one hospital it was reported as many as 20 a day were carried to the cemetery. The stories of robberies and extortions told us by the deportees were almost universal. We were convinced from the policy of the Turkish government in forwarding these deportees to other places on days when the weather was extremely severe that their intention was to subject them to such exposure that they would perish. Their policy of giving two rations of bread a day to the deportees who were working on their roads, which was insufficient for their nourishment, and then cutting it down when they showed signs of weakness to one ration showed that slow starvation was another method for accomplishing their extermination. “On our way from ARABKIR, through KHARPUT, DIARBEKIR and URFA, we encountered these Greek deportees in every village and city, and thousands of them were at work on the road. Personally we examined the rolls of deportees to whom Americans were giving bread every day in KHARPUT and the number averaged 3,500.” ■ ———————

ARCHIVAL NEWS REPORTS

The Christian Science Monitor, July 28, 1922

MOSLEMS TO TAKE PLACE OF GREEKS IN SAMSUN REGION Kemalists Announce Intention of Bringing 30,000 More Muhammadans from Crimea Special from Monitor Bureau WASHINGTON, July 28—While the Allies are pressing for an investigation of Turkish Nationalist methods in the Near East, word is received by the Greek legation in this city that the Turks are carrying on their campaign of expulsion and extermination of the Greeks in Anatolia with rerenewed vigor. A statement issued by the legation last evening contains the following charges: “Anatolia is being cleared of its Greek inhabitants by all possible methods, and the two most popular processes are deportation and extermination, according to opportunity and circumstance. The Turkish Nationalists are particularly thorough in their tactics along the Black Sea coastal regions. Installing Tartars “Last month, according to official KEMALIST statistics, procured by the Greek Government.” The statement continues, “2091 Moslem Tartars were brought by the Angora authorities to Samsun to be installed in that region, which formerly was flourishing, but with the KEMALISTS have completely denuded of its industrious Greek population. The KEMALISTS have officially announced their intention of bringing in 30,000 more Moslems,[1]

principally from the Crimea, to take the place of the former Christian population of the Samsun district. “It is obvious that the KEMALISTS,” an attaché stated, “so long as they continue in the pursuit of their present Anatolian policy, cannot permit an official inquiry into their treatment of the Greeks and Armenians in Anatolia, and therefore they protested against the proposal, calling it a ‘snare laid by Great Britain.’ Kemalists Indignant The KEMALISTS are especially indignant at America’s agreement to participate in the proposed inquiry, and their official organ declares that the British government is not neutral and is not proposing an impartial inquiry. The Greek legation here also has received information to the effect that relations between Angora and Moscow are becoming more and more intimate, and the great quantity of ammunition for the KEMALIST army has been stored at Batum. At the request of Great Britain, [illegible] in the United States are France, the International Red Cross is to undertake the investigation of alleged atrocities in the Near East, it is announced by the State Department. Some time ago Great Britain sent a communication on the subject of the alleged atrocities to the United States and the Secretary of State replied that the United States was willing to appoint a member of members of a commission, which France and Italy were asked to join, and proposed that the investigation extend to charges against the Greeks as well as those against the Turks. Last week the Secretary of War said that MAJ. GEN. JAMES G. HARBORD would remain in

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Europe pending the decision in regard to the commission, and would represent the United Sates, if one were appointed as had been proposed. Great Britain, however, has in its latest note suggested that in view of the allied powers and Turkey, the prospects of an early and satisfactory conclusion of the proposed inquiry would lie enhanced if it were intrusted to a neutral agency. In order to expedite the inquiry the Sate Department has sent messages to American officials in Constantinople and Athens to co-operate with the representatives of the allied powers in securing with the least possible delay the necessary facilities for investigations by the commissions to be selected by the International Red Cross. In making its official announcement of acceptance, the State Department said: “As this modification of the original proposal, by intrusting to the International Red Cross the conduct of the inquiry, will not alter its essential object, which is to obtain in full report regarding the situation in Asia Minor, this Government has agreed to the above proposal.” ■ NOTES: 1Moslems were brought in to take over the homes of the “deported Christians.” BY WAY OF BACKGROUND: The Greek Army landed in Smyrna on May 15, 1919 under the authority of the Western Powers: Great Britain, France, and the United States. From the point of view of the oppressed Greeks and Armenians of Smyrna, the landing of the Greek Army was perceived as a day of liberation from the Ottoman yolk. (SKK)

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The New York Times, September 11, 1922

INDIAN MOSLEMS EXULT. Prayers for Kemal Pasha Are Said In the Mosques. Special Cable to THE NEW YORK TIMES. LONDON, Sept.—The Daily Telegraph’s Calcutta correspondent in a message dated Sunday, says that the news of the Turkish victories in Asia Minor is featured in the Indian press and is a topic of conversation and demonstrations in the bazaars. The extent of the feeling was indicated Sunday by the fact that most Mohammedan houses were decorated. Some quarters were on fete with illuminations, fireworks and gigantic placards of “Long Live Kemal Pasha.” Special prayers for the success of the Turks have been said daily in many mosques. Naturally the Khalifate extremists are momentarily in the ascent. ■ At the time of this report: India’ s population was largely Moslem. 2. The Blight of Asia By George Horton, 1926, defines the teachings of the Moslems:

ARCHIVAL NEWS REPORTS

Chapter 33 Mohammedanism and Christianity Chapter 34 The Koran and the Bible Chapter 35 The Example of Mohammed 1. The Blight of Asia By George Horton is now available through: Sterndale Classics. PO Box 32665. London, W14 OXT. England Email: [email protected] 2. The Blight of Asia By George Horton is also on the Internet.

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The New York Times, September 11, 1922

KEMAL WON’T INSURE AGAINST MASSACRES His Message Disquiets League Officials, Who Fear Turks Have Begun to Slaughter. —By EDWIN L. JAMES Copyright, 1922, by The New York Times Company By Wireless to The New York Times. GENEVA, Sept. 10,—The Secretary of the League of Nations received today from MUSTAPHA KEMAL PASHA a cryptic telegram saying that on account of the excited spirit of the Turkish population the Angora Government would not be responsible for massacres. This is taken here to mean that massacres have already begun. It is not quite clear what the League as such can do to prevent excesses by the victorious Turks, but it is expected that LORD ROBERT CECIL will bring the matter before the Assembly tomorrow and ask that the Governments of the League possessing the force take action to protect the Christian minorities in Asia Minor. Kemal’s message was sent through the Red Cross. GEORGE STREIT, head of the Greek delegation in the League Assembly and former Foreign Minister, said today that

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his country would seek to negotiate peace terms with Mustapha Kemal in joint action with the Allies rather than separately. England and France have already been asked to use their good offices to arrange a peace meeting. M. Streit does not believe that the League has any role to play in the hosptalities nor in the peace negotiations as such. He quoted LORD BALFOUR’S speech yesterday as indicating that no such effort would be made and said that Greece had not asked for it. However, Mr. Streit believes that an appeal from the League to Kemal against massacres in Anatolia may have a good effect, even though there is no armed force behind it. After the conclusion of peace, he said, the League might take the Christians in Asia Minor under their protection, in much the same way as the European concert did before the war. Mr. Streit says he doesn’t believe that Constantine’s throne is in danger because he is not held responsible for the defeat by the majority of Greeks. In his opinion the Venezelists would ruin themselves by trying to exploit the present misfortunes of their country by attempting a coup de êtat. He explains the Crown Prince’s recall by the natural desire of his father to see him. ■ Excerpt from The Blight of Asia, CHAPTER XVI, “The Turks Arrive.” The U.S. Consul General of Smyrna George Horton wrote: […]And any one who knows anything of Turkish character will testify that the Turk is essentially a soldier, extraordinarily amenable to the orders of his superiors. The Turk massacres when he has orders from headquarters and desists on the second when commanded by the same authority to stop. Mustapha Khemal was worshipped by that army of “regulars” and “irregulars” and his word was law. (81)

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THE ORPHANS OF HARPOOT Photo: Armin T. Wegner * Source obscure

The Globe and Chicago Tribune, September 13, 1922

HEROINE OF 14 SAVES 3 LIVES Armenian Orphan Girl Rescues Boys from Edge of Whirlpool

GREAT EFFORT KILLS HER Special Cable to The Globe and Chicago Tribune, Copyright, 1922 Beyrouth, Sept.13. — While 500 children were bathing in the Mediterranean at the Near East Relief Orphanage near Aintyleas, three small boys became separated and were carried through safety ropes into a dangerous whirlpool a quarter of a mile off shore. RUTH MANOGIAN, aged 14, the only older child within helping distance, swam into the edge of the whirlpool and succeeded by superhuman efforts in rescuing all three and carrying them safely onto a rock at the edge of the whirlpool, where boats could reach them later. Ruth, exhausted, collapsed on the rock beside the children.

When a lifeboat reached the rock the surgeon, diagnosed her as dead of heart failure, due to over-exertion. Ruth arrived from Harpoot last week after two years’ effort to escape from the Turkish interior, and ex pected to sail for America next month to join relatives. ■ My poem, To An Armenian Girl From Harpoot, honors this remarkable child, and all the orphans of Asia Minor. This poem can be found in The Forgotten Genocides of the 20th Century: A Compilation of Poetry. Ed. Ara Sarafian. Reading, England: Taderon Press. (2005) When this report was written about orphan Ruth Manogian, she no longer had a family to love her or to mourn her death. Leaving us to ask: Did her acts of heroism stop her heart? Or did malnutrition and feelings of unfathomable hardships and grief weaken her heart? My friend Prof. Dora Sakayan told me that Ruth is not an Armenian name; that “Ruth’s” Armenian name was most likely “Ruzen.” (SKK)PLEASE SEE: The Times, 5 May 1922. Headlines: “Turks’ Insane Savagery” “10,000 Greeks Dead” *Armin T. Wegner risked his life by photographing what he witnessed during the deportation of the Armenians. To learn more about his life; and to see many of the photographs that he hid under his belt, and then secreted out of the country—PLEASE SEE:

ARCHIVAL NEWS REPORTS

PLEASE READ: Vierbücher, Heinrich. Armenian 1915: The Slaughter of a Civilized People at the Hands of the Turks. Edited by Ara Ghazarians, with an analysis by Vahakn N. Dadrian. Translated from the original German edition of 1930. Arlington, Massachusetts: Armenian Cultural Foundation, 2006. Introduction by Ara Ghazarians. (p. XIII)

The Mexia Evening News, September 15, 1922

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ATHENS,

The New York Times, September 14, 1922

FEELING RISES IN EGYPT Turks’ Victory Has Stirred PanIslamic Sentiment. Special Cable to The New York Times. CAIRO, Sept. 13.—There has been a change in the situation here the last few days, as the result of the Turkish defeat of the Greeks. There have been illuminations on the mosques and an extraordinary number of Islamic flags flitting in processions in the streets. The exuberant tone of Moslem papers has been capped by discourtesy of some Egyptians toward foreigners. All this indicates an increase of PanIslamic feeling in Egypt as well as the whole Arabian peninsula. It is reported that there is anxiety in military circles in Arabia, as it is impossible to know how far the PanIslamic fervor will go. ■ COMMENT: Wednesday, September 13, 1922 marks when the Turkish soldiers torched the entire Christian Sector of the ancient and magnificent city of Smyrna. Just like the denials of the 28-year campaigns authorized by Turkish Authorities to exterminate the Christians—so too the Turks deny that they burned down the City of Smyrna. (SKK) PLEASE READ: Macmillan, Margaret. Paris 1919: Six Months That Changed the World. New York: Random House, 2002. (p. 451)

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Wholesale Massacre Murder and Loot In Pillaged City Sept.—Turkish hordes murdered and looted today as Smyrna was swept by fire. Kemalist horrors in the city which was wrested from the Greeks by the Turks described by American refugees who arrived at Piraeus on board the American destroyer, Simpson. Fire, which was started in the foreign quarter by a Turkish sergeant, according to witnesses, is beyond control. The entire Greico Armenian section has been wiped out and the flames are spreading, creating a panic among 200,000 Christian refugees. Wholesale massacres by Turks of Greeks and Armenians is reported. Several Americans were molested and it is feared that many have been killed. ■ ———————

The New York Times, September 15, 1922

60,000 Are Left Homeless. Copyright, 1922, by The Chicago Tribune Co. ATHENS, Sept. 14. —Fire starting at 4 o’clock yesterday afternoon in Smyrna, near the American Collegiate Institute in the heart of the Armenian quarter, left 60,000 Armenians and Greeks homeless, destroyed the beautiful Armenian and Greek foreign quarter and left the entire western portion of the town in ruins. As we left the harbor last night the flames were entirely beyond control and were already approaching the British and American Consulates. All the foreign Consulates are probably doomed. The quays were packed with refugees. No American lives were endangered. The United States destroyer Simpson

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was taking aboard naturalized Americans, whose status was that of refugees, when the fire broke out. All other Americans in Smyrna were immediately placed on board, save VICE CONSUL BARNES and three American business men whose interests demanded they remain with the American relief workers. CONSUL GENERAL HORTON, under orders from CAPTAIN A. J. HEPBURN, commanding the American naval forces, also left with his family. Toward midnight the destroyer Simpson received a wireless announcing that Mr. Barnes had saved the consular archives, which were transferred to the destroyer Litchfield, and that the remaining Americans were already aboard the Litchfield. Several stories are told concerning the origin of the fire. The most reliable is that of MINNIE B. MILLS, head of the American Collegiate Institute who declared she saw a Turkish regular army sergeant or officer enter a building near where the first flames were seen. He was carrying small tins, evidently containing kerosene. Immediately after he left the house it broke into flames. Other small fires started shortly after. Dead Put at Nearly 1,000. It will be impossible to estimate the number of Armenians and Greeks dead. Dr. Post and other American workers, who made a thorough investigation before the flames drove them, he safely, estimated the dead at nearly 1,000. How many were killed during the night and how many were trapped in the burning area is unknown. Foreign destroyers in the harbor kept searchlights playing on the crowds along the quays all night to give the refugees every possible protection. A cordon of Turkish regular troops was thrown around them.

BEFORE THE SILENCE

The Turkish quarter was untouched. It was the first day since the occupation that there was a southwest wind, which would blow the flames westward instead of into the Moslem area of the city. American financial losses are probably heavy. Several tobacco warehouses were in or near the burned area. The Gary Tobacco Company, purchasing for the Liggett, Meyers Company, probably lost its entire stock, valued at $2,000,000. The Reynolds Tobacco Company also had a small warehouse in the same district. The bulk of its stock, however, was outside the burning district. The Alston Company, with a $4,000,000 stock, probably escaped any heavy loss. These warehouses were chiefly outside the fired area. The total American financial losses will not exceed $5,000,000. The American Y.W.C.A., the French St. Joseph’s College and several other French schools were destroyed, as were the premises of the French firm of [illegible] Bach and several British commercial houses. The total financial loss probably will reach $60,000,000. Large stores of food, including flour, the property of the Near East Relief, destined for refugees, were destroyed. The food situation, which was already serious is now critical. Armenian and Greek villages near Smyrna and the foreign residential suburbs, Tournabat and Boudja, also were fired. ■ PLEASE READ: Read the journal chronicling the fires: Sakayan, Dora. An Armenian Doctor in Turkey, By Garabed Hatcherian: My Smyrna Ordeal of 1922. Montreal: Arod Books / 3445 Drummond, Montreal, Quebec, H3G 1X9 CANADA, 1997. PLEASE SEE: The New York Times, 29 September 29, 1922. Headlines: “Turks Set Fires, Missionary Says” “Miss Mills Reports from Athens That Battleships Looked On at Massacre” ———————

ARCHIVAL NEWS REPORTS

The New York Times, September 15, 1922

Panic After Kemalist Entry ATHENS, Sept. 14 — Persistent but unconfirmed rumors[1] reaching here relate that Smyrna is in great disorder. The Kemalist entry into that city was accompanied by various explosions which threw the population into a panic these reports state. A well-known resident of the city, who arrived here today, said that when the Kemlalist army entered on Saturday morning a hand grenade exploded among the cavalry. An officer was wounded. The Turks were infuriated by the explosion and began to loot. In the evening, the Smyrna resident recounted, the Armenian quarter was raided. He said that women were outraged, and all told 150 persons were killed. He declared that the same thing occurred in the Greek quarter, where he estimated the number of killed at 200. There were reports of disorders in other parts of the town. Before the formal occupation of the Kemalists, a proclamation was posted throughout the city threatening the penalty of death for the murder of any Christian. Later, the word punishment was substituted for death penalty. Information received here states. The Christians were thrown into a state of panic. Turks occupied the inter-Allied passport office and prevented further departures, The scene which took place among the refugees on the quays were described by those reaching here as heartrending. ■ PLEASE SEE: The New York Times, 15 September 1922. Headlines: “Athens Calm In Defeat” “Diversity of Opinion, However, as to Whether it Will Continue”

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NOTE: The words; 1 “unconfirmed rumors”—indicate that news reaching Athens was filtering slowly. This report indicates that the Athenians were clueless of the tragedy that was unfolding in Smyrna. (SKK) ———————

The New York Times, September 15, 1922

ATHENS CALM IN DEFEAT Diversity of Opinion, However, as to Whether it Will Continue. LONDON, Sept. 14. –The Athens correspondent of The London Times, under date of Sept. 13 says that externally the city is calm almost normal. No stranger would suppose that the country had just sustained a serious military defeat, he adds. Business and fashionable amusements are proceeding as usual. The apprehension of disturbances a few days ago has disappeared with the formation of the new cabinet. But whether calm will continue is a matter on which there is a great diversity of opinion. ■ COMMENT: This report indicates that that the news reaching Greece was either filtered, censored, or slow. It stands to reason that had the Greeks known about the destruction of Smyrna—they would have been crying in the streets. (SKK) PLEASE SEE: The New York Times, 15 September 1922. Headlines: “Panic After Kemalist Entry.”

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The New York Times, September 15, 1922

BODIES IN MUDANIA HARBOR. Americans Report Appalling ation in Refugees’ Stampede.

Situa-

CONSTANTINOPLE, Sept. 14, (Associated Press). —American subchaser No. 96 has arrived here with reports of the appalling situation at Mudania, on the Sea of Marmora, where the harbort is filled with the bodies of refugees who stampeded when the last vessel departed before the Turkish occupation. Fifty thousand refugees, without food or water, lined the waterfront for miles in the broiling sun, with arms uplifted pleading to taken off. Those brought here included fifteen Americanized Greeks and Mr. Ketchum an employee of the Standard Oil company. ■ ———————

The New York Times, September 15, 1922 Killed While Fire Raged. Copyright, 1922, by The New York Times Company. Special Cable to The New York Times. LONDON, Sept. 15.—The latest reports received in London are to the effect that the European and Armenian quarters of Smyrna have been completely gutted, while the Turkish quarters were untouched owing to the southeasterly wind blowing the flames westward. Dispatches from Athens declare the town was fired by Turks to conceal the massacres they perpetrated to celebrate their conquest of the town and that the massacres continued while the conflagration was still raging. Several Englishmen are reported to have been murdered by the Turks who

invaded the Consulate, including MR. WILKINSON, the Consulate Postmaster. The CONSUL GENERAL, SIR HARRY LAMB, is believed to have escaped aboard a warship while LADY LAMB AND MISS LAMB have arrived at Malta. Other British subjects killed include an English doctor and his wife. According to one Athens message the bodies of two employees killed at the British Consulate were set up in a standing position and in the rigid hands of one, the Turks placed a British flag. Refugees who have reached Athens say MUSTAPHA KEMAL refused to receive the British Admiral, who intended to tell him he would be held responsible for any outrages against British subjects. It is added that the Admiral afterward addressed a note to Mustapha Kemal threatening to bombard the Turkish quarters if the disorders continued. Many Slain in the Night. It is estimated by Americans witnesses that at least 1,000 persons lost their lives in the massacres which preceded the fire, but this may prove a low estimate, for the killing went on throughout the night in the midst of the flames. A large number of Christians are believed to have perished by fire. At least a hundred thousand Greeks and Armenians are homeless and faced with starvation owing to the destruction of food supplies. An area two miles long and a mile wide has been burned out, including American, British and French stores and establishments. The damage is estimated at 12,000,000 sterling. British and French ships were able to embark, a number of refugees, including a majority of their own nationals. If, as reported, British subjects have been murdered in Smyrna, prompt and drastic action from the British Govern-

ARCHIVAL NEWS REPORTS

ment is expected. The Daily Chronicle says: “When these early reports of fire and massacre come, it is wise to exercise a certain reserve in regard to the details, but it is beyond doubt that the fire was preceded by a massacre and that the massacre was directed against Christians as such and knew no distinction of nationalities. That the Turk has some provocation is possible, but he was in possession of the town. Had he behaved well he would have had the credit and therefore he cannot escape the infamy of what has happened. If, as is rumored, English lives have been lost through his insane fury, he will be called to especial account and the French and Italians whose nationals might equally have been victims will, we are sure, support us.” Such support from France is more likely to be forthcoming as a result of a Paris report received late tonight to the effect that the French Consul General at Smyrna had telegraphed that he had take refuge aboard a French warship after the French Consulate had been set afire. ■

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The New York Times, September 15, 1922

LONDON NOW EXPECTS WIDE CONFERENCE Large International Gathering is Advocated as the Only Way to Turkish Peace.

PRESS FEARS A DISASTER Doubt That Kemalists Will Yield Fruits of Victory—Cabinet to Take Up Crisis Today. Copyright, 1922, by The New York Times Company. Special Cable to The New York Times. LONDON, Sept. 14.—There is no dispostion here to minimize the gravity of the Near East situation. It is recognized that Turkey, which four years ago was militarily annihilated, is today once more a military power of some strength. Technically the Allies are still at war with her. The view expressed in British official circles is this—that although Turkey has just defeated Greece she has not defeated the Allies; that the Turco-Greek conflict has been so to speak, a side show; that it has nothing to do with the general situation and that despite the Greek defeat the relations of the victorious Allies to their common enemy remains unaffected. As guarantee at the armistice the Allies occupied the Straits and established a neutral zone occupation to remain until peace was concluded. A Turkish attempt upon the occupied zone would mean a renewal of the war on the Allies. The peace of Europe as has been pointed out, therefore, depend largely upon the moderation of KEMAL PASHA and his power to hold the Turk in leash.

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“Should he assume the position of the conquering hero and attempt to carry his war across the Bosphorus,” says the Daily Chronicle, the Balkans would be again ablaze” and the Allies once more engaged in a war.” Despite statements to the contrary in the French press and in a section of the British press there is authority for saying that Britain has for eighteen months past warned Greece against the policy of adventure in Asia Minor. Greece today, it is added is suffering as a result of disregarding these warnings. The opinion here is that a general peace conference will have to be summoned within the next few weeks to resume the task imperfectly concluded in the Sèvres treaty, and it is thought desirable that the scope of the conference should be widened to include the new States of Europe, especially Jugoslavia and Rumania, whose vital interests are deeply involved. “One has only to imagine the consequences of the reappearance on European soil of Turkey as a military force,” says the Chronicle’s diplomatic correspondent, to realize how vitally interested these States must be. Were such a Turkey conterminous with Bulgaria a certain result would be eventual war, which it would be almost impossible to localize in the present unstable position of the whole of Eastern Europe. “It is true that at Paris last March it was agreed among the Allies to restore a portion of Thrace to Turkey, and even to create a short common frontier between Turkey and Bulgaria, but that frontier would have had no military value, and in any case the limited Turkish zone in Europe would have been completely demilitarized. Any vital modification of the plan thus agreed

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upon would restore the Balkan danger in its old and even acuter form. The States of the Little Entente a new European great power. “France has often shown herself anxious to bring the Little Entente into a discussion of world affairs. She now has her chance.” The Chronicle in an editorial declares the defeat of the Greek armies gives the Turks in Asia Minor nothing that they could not have got without fighting under the Treaty of Sèvres as revised last March. “The chief business of the Allies,” it says, “is to impose a peace which will be fair to Turkey and at the same time fair to themselves. “Let us beware,” adds the paper, “of accepting the argument of force when it is used by Turkey. If we do we shall be creating a dangerous precedent which we shall bitterly regret. Turkey’s victory over Greece has nothing to do with the policy of the Allies.” HOME SECRETARY SHORRT, speaking at Newcastle tonight, said if there was war in Asia Minor, that war threatened in the Balkans and that war threatened in Austria. Britain’s task, he said, was to do her best to stop fighting in any part of the world. He denied that Great Britain had done anything to encourage the Greeks in any wild military enterprise. ■ NOTE: This report was written six days after the September 9th invasion by the Turkish Army into Smyrna. (SKK) ———————

ARCHIVAL NEWS REPORTS

Source obscure. Eerie scenes on the shores of Mudania and Smyrna were common after the massacres and mass drownings of the Christians. Here, Turks are “fishing” for the remains of the dead. (SKK)

The New York Times, September 15, 1922

Many Slain in the Night It is estimated by American witnesses that at least 1,000 persons lost their lives in the massacres which preceded the fire, but this may prove a low estimate, for the killing went on throughout the night in the midst of the flames. A large number of Christians are believed to have perished by fire. At least a hundred thousand Greeks and Armenians are homeless and faced with starvation owing to the destruction of food supplies. An area two miles long and a mile wide has been burned out, including American, British and French stores and establishments. The damage is estimated at 12,000,000 sterling. British and French ships were

able to embark, a number of refuges, including a majority of their own nationals. If, as reported, British subjects have been murdered in Smyrna, prompt and drastic action from the British Government is expected. The Daily Chronicle says: “When these early reports of fire and massacre come, it is wise to exercise a certain reserve in regard to the details, but it is beyond doubt that the fire was preceded by a massacre and that the massacre was directed against Christians as such and knew no distinction of nationalities. That the Turk had some provocation is possible, but he was in possession of the town. Had he behaved well he would have had the credit and therefore he cannot escape the infamy of what has happened. If, as is

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rumored, English lives have been lost through his insane fury, he will be called to especial account and the French and Italians whose nationals might equally have been victims will, we are sure, support us.” Such support from France is more likely to be forthcoming as a result of a Paris report received late tonight to the effect that the French Consul General at Smyrna had telegraphed that he had taken refuge aboard a French warship after the French Consulate had been set afire. ■ ———————

The New York Times, September 15, 1922

MORGENTHAU FEARS WAR. Points Out Elements of a Balkan Outbreak if Turks Are Not Curbed. LONDON, Sept. 13, (Associated Press). —“If the Turks are allowed to re-enter Europe there is sure soon to be another international war,” said HENRY MORGENTHAU, former Ambassador to Turkey, today. Mr. Morgenthau who is being widely interviewed in London as an expert on Turkish affairs, is also seeing and talking with high British personages, and from information that has been presented to him it would appear that an ultimatum will be delivered in a few days to MUSTAPHA KEMAL PASHA, the Turkish Nationalist leader, stating that an effort by him to cross with his forces from the Asiatic to the European side of turkey will be resisted by force. “Jugoslavia,” Mr. Morgenthau continued, already has an army above 200,000 afoot, with the possibility of mo-

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bilizing a total of 600,000 in a month. Now, consider that Bulgaria, rightly determined to have an outlet to the Aegean Sea, begins to make her dash to obtain it the moment the Turks are crossing to retake Adrianople. Then her enemies, the Jugoslavs, would start their armies marching to attack both the Bulgarians and the Turks. “I believe I have been able to stimulate British opinion during the past few days and show the danger of letting the Turk pass. There have been many political mistakes made in the Near East, with the Turks the only ones not making any. It is to be remembered that the Turks are now flushed with victory. They are ruthless fighters, and they are sure to attempt to seize disaccord among the Allies to regain their lost territory. “No one should believe the Turks now in command are bent on a new nationalism. Besides, they cannot get along without outside help, and this they don’t want. “America’s interest in Turkey is largely financial, but it is to be remembered that the whole of the pre-war yearly imports and exports with Turkey never amounted to the volume of business done by a single American concern, such as the United States Steel Corporation. The Turks have no economic sense. Therefore, they consider they have nothing to lose by continuing the state of war. So it is sure they will not make peace quickly with the Allies. “My opinion is to give them Asia Minor, but under no circumstances let them control the Straits or cross to Europe.” ■ ———————

ARCHIVAL NEWS REPORTS

The New York Times, September 15, 1922

MUST HAVE CAPITAL, SAYS KEMAL PASHA Turkish Leader Asserts He Will Take It if Allies Don’t Yield It.

WANTS ALL TURKISH AREAS Demand Includes Asia Minor and Thrace Up to the River Moritza Copyright, 1922 by The Chicago Tribune Co. SMYRNA, Sept. 13 (Delayed).—“We don’t want to fight Great Britain, but she must give up Constantinople to Turkey. It is Turkey’s capital, and we wish it peacefully if possible, if not we will fight.” In these words MUSTAPHA KEMAL PASHA announced the next aim of the Turkish Nationalist Army. Many units which had part in the crushing defeat of the Greeks are on the way to the Ismid front, while Kemal prepares his demands. Seated in the little sitting room of a house which was requisitioned for the General. Kemal talked of the recent victory over the Greeks and of his willingness to meet the western powers in an immediate conference. “Our demands are unchanged by our victory,” he said. “We want nothing more nor less than what we have already asked. We stand upon the nationalist pact.” “Then you are ready to meet the Allies in conference?” “We have always been ready to meet them,” he replied, “ but it is not we but the Allies who have delayed settlement of the Near East questions.” “Our demands are simple. The Nationalist pact occupies less than a page.

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We want real independence over all the Turkish lands. For us capitulations no longer exist. We demand Constantinople, Adrionople and that part of Thrace which is predominantly Turkish.” The behavior of the Turkish troops and civilians since the army entered the city was discussed. “As you have seen, there have been no massacres or anything approaching serious disorders in Smyrna.” he said. “Such pillaging and killings as have occurred are inevitable. When an army enters a city after marching 450 kilometers through their own land, burned and sacked, and having seen their parents and relatives slaughtered, it is difficult to control them. But control them we will. You can say that order has been completely restored from today. We don’t wish any acts of revenge. We are not here to collect on past accounts, but to work for the future of Turkey. For us the acts of the past are finished.” ■ COMMENT: Mustafa Kemal through his actions and inactions proved to be part of the persistent plan to exterminate the entire Christian inhabitants of Asia Minor. Smyrna was the last part of that campaign. (SKK) PLEASE READ: Dobkin, Marjorie Housepian. Smyrna 1922: The Destruction of a City. New York: Kent State University Press. 1998. EXCERPT: These troops were sometimes referred to as chettes (irregulars), although knowledgeable foreigners tended to discount the distinction between regular and irregular troops. Turkish leaders themselves admitted that the formerly rebellious outlaw bands had become fully integrated into Kemal’s army by 1920, and had thereafter submitted to its discipline. According to a Untied States military intelligence report, in 1922 that discipline was ‘excellent’. The same report noted that morale was maintained ‘by the desire for loot.’ (127) ———————

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The New York Times, September 15, 1922

Naturalized Americans Missing in Smyrna; Native Americans Save, Admiral Bristol Cables Special to The New York Times WASHINGTON,

Sept. 14. — Fourteen naturalized Americans are missing in the fire that is sweeping Smyrna following upon its capture by Turkish Nationalists, according to a cablegram received at the State Department tonight from REAR ADMIRAL BRISTOL, American High Commissioner at Constantinople. The message said that all the native Americans in Smyrna were accounted for. Admiral Bristol stated that the great fire, which began yesterday afternoon and was still in progress today, had wiped out the entire European quarter of Smyrna. The fire, according to his dispatch, began in the Armenian quarter. The American Consulate was destroyed. All the foreign war vessels in the harbor are crowded with refugees. Admiral Bristol said his information came from CAPTAIN ARTHUR J. HEPBURN of the American destroyer fleet at Smyrna. The situation, serious enough with the growing hordes of refugeess facing starvation as a result of the Greek debacle, has been greatly aggravated by the holocaust,[1] Admiral Bristol stated. In an earlier dispatch today he informed the State Department that there were 300,000 refugees in Smyrna with practically no food and little prospect of receiving any. The earlier dispatch described the situation as “appalling.” Tonight’s dispatch stated that all the warships in the harbor had pressed into service to take care of refugees, without being able to accommodate anything like the horde of starving people who had fled into the city in advance of the Kemalists. Effort is being made by the foreign war vessels in the harbor to relieve the situation by sending refugees to the other points[2] where they can be reached by relief agencies. The Admiral reported tonight that three destroyers had been sent from Smyrna to other points with refugees, two to Piraeus and the third to Salonika. Most of the refugees are Greeks, though there are other nationalities among them. These destroyers will make return trips for other refugees. ■ REFERENCE: Dobkin, Marjorie Housepian. SMYRNA 1922: The Destruction of a City. Newmark Press, 1998: (The insurers, as it happened, were British.) In encouraging American business ventures in Turkey, Bristol had not seen fit to warn against war risk—indeed such a risk was not the best advertisement for investors—and so most claims were now valid only if the fire was deemed an accident. Tobacco losses alone ran into the millions. (187) PLEASE NOTE: The word 1holocaust was used well before the extermination of the Jews by Hitler and the Nazis. (SKK)

COMMENT: Many statements made by Admiral Bristol proved to be self-serving and unreliable. His statement, “…2sending refugees to the other points….” refers to the Americans as “refugees” but excludes the natives of Asia Minor. However, his description of the fire as a “holocaust” is accurate. (SKK)

ARCHIVAL NEWS REPORTS

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EXCERPT FROM Paradise Lost by Giles Milton. NY: Basic Books, 2008. Senior American officials spent the weekend trying to persuade the Greek government to send a fleet of vessels to rescue the crowds on the quayside before it was too late. But the Greeks would only agree to this if the safety of their ships would be guaranteed by the Turks. Such an assurance was not forthcoming. According to a telegram sent to Admiral Mark Bristol in Constantinople, ‘Kemal…said he would not take responsibility to allow Greek ships into the harbor.’ Bristol himself was coming under increasing pressure to send more vessels to Smyrna in order to speed up the humanitarian relief effort, yet he remained extremely reluctant to get involved, fearing that it would jeopardize American interests and potential future oil deals…. (350) ———————

The New York Times, September 15, 1922

The New York Times, September 15, 1922

[No Title]

[No Title]

LONDON, Sept. 14.—MUSTAPHA KEMAL PASHA has resolved to march his army on Constantinople unless the powers hand over the city to the Turks, according to a statement he made to The Daily Mail correspondent at Smyrna. Kemal said he was ready to participate in a peace conference anywhere, but unless it was held on Turkish territory he would not be able to attend personally, as the National Assembly of Angora would not permit him. He added that the Turks must always have a Caliph in Constantinople, but they regarded the present SULTAN as having intrigued with their enemies and the National Assembly in all probability would displace him. ■

MUDANIA, Sept. 14 (Associated Press.)—Indescribable misery and anguish exist among the Christian refugees here who are struggling to escape the clutches of the Turks. The Greek Goverment is unable to provide vessels to evacuate the panic-stricken fugitives from the interior, and hundreds are throwing themselves into the sea. Marmora is littered with bodies. Two companies of French Infantry rushed from Constantinople to afford temporary protection to thousands of the distraught refugees, who are without shelter or food. French destroyers have hurriedly removed all French nationals, including many priests and nuns. The Armenian Catholic Bishop of the Agora, who was among the refugees, has also been cared for. ■

COMMENT: War weary after WW1: the Allies were fearful if they did not cave into Turkish demands that Turkey would wage a second world war. (SKK) MERRIAM WEBSTER: Caliph; a successor of Muhammad as temporal and spiritual head of Islam—used as a title. ———————

COMMENT: Mudania is a seaport on the Sea of Marmora close to the city of Bursa and is located in northwestern Turkey. Between 1919 and 1922: another 200,000 Christians left Anatolia or disappeared. In September and October of 1922: another reduction of 500,000 Christian Greeks and Armenians took place. (SKK) PLEASE SEE: The New York Times, 2 December 1922. Editorial, Headline: “Turks Proclaim Banishment Edict to 1,000,000 Greeks.”

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The New York Times, 3 December 1922: Editorial, Headlines: “A Black Friday” The New York Times, 4 December 1922. Headline: “The Statesmanship of Extermination” The New York Times, 9 December 1922: Headline: Expelled Greeks Years before I initiated the Before the Silence project, I had transcribed the following reports for the American Hellenic Media Project: ———————

The New York Times, September 15, 1922

Puts the “Victims” at 120,000 London, Sept. 15.—The victims at Smyrna numbered at least 120,000 up to Thursday morning, says a dispatch to The London Times from Athens, quoting JOHN MANOLA of the American Relief as its authority. Smyrna has virtually ceased to exist, says the dispatch. The whole town, with the exception of the Turkish quarter and a few houses near the Nassamba Railroad Station, has been gutted by the conflagration, which is still raging. “It is impossible at present to estimate the number of those massacred,” the dispatch continues, “but we have the express authority of John Manola of the American Relief Committee to date as his opinion that the victims numbered at least 120,000 to Thursday morning. “The extent of the awful tragedy was only properly realized this morning when the American steamship Winona arrived at Piraeus with 1,800 refugees, mainly Greeks and Armenians. “The Winona left Smyrna at 5 o’clock Thursday afternoon. The American Captain declares his last vision of the town was a mass of flames, while the cries and screams of the terrified Christians, crowding the quay only a few

yards from the burning buildings, were audible when the ship was a mile away. “The waters of the harbor were full of the bodies of persons drowned or shot by the Turks, while trying to reach the ships. Some of the corpses had been horribly mangled by the propellers. “The quayside was still thronged with dense crowds of all classes awaiting a chance to escape. Explosions were still occurring in the interior of the city, and it is presumed the Turks used incendiary bombs.” *[It is likely that the 120,000 “victimes” mentioned in the dispatch include killed, wounded and others who suffered from the capture of Smyrna by the Turks and the conflagration that followed. The total is enormously larger that any previous estimate of the dead.] ■ *Brackets above–– as shown in news report. (SKK) PLEASE SEE: The New York Times, 16 September 1922. Headline: “Turks Will Be Turks” PLEASE READ: Papoutsy, Christos. Ships of Mercy: The True Story of the Rescue of the Greeks Smyrna, September 1922. Portsmouth, NH: Peter E. Randall, 2008. ———————

ARCHIVAL NEWS REPORTS

The New York Times, September 15, 1922

The New York Times, September 16, 1922

SMYRNA BURNING, 14 AMERICANS MISSING, 1,000 MASSACRED AS TURKS FIRE CITY; KEMAL THREATENS MARCH ON CAPITAL

340,000 HERDED IN SMYRNA.

OUR CONSULATE DESTROYED

Copyright, 1922, by The New York Times Company By Wireless to THE NEW YORK TIMES.

Fire Starting in Armenian and Greek Quarters Is Sweeping City.

BELIEVED A TURK REPRISAL 300,000 Starving Refugees in the City Are Thrown Into a Panic.

OUR MARINES FIGHT FLAMES But Brigade of Allied Soldiers Is Unable to Stop Spread— Italy Rushes Ships. SMYRNA, Sept. 14 (Associated Press) —A fire of serous proportions is sweeping Smyrna. The Greek and Armenian quarters are completely destroyed. The fire is rapidly spreading to other areas. The Turkish irregulars who are in control of the city are firing upon and terrorizing the population. Sir Harry Lamb, the British High Commissioner, left aboard the British battleship Iron Duke. The British marines are withdrawing, leaving the protection of the city to French, Italian and Nationalist guards and American bluejackets. ■ ———————

Near East Relief Calls for Aid for These Starving Refugees.

LONDON, Sept. 15.—CHARLES V. VICKSecretary to the American Near East Relief organization in London, said today that he had received telegraphic advices of the appalling situation in Smyrna. There are 340,000 refugees practically without food and have no prospects of returning to their destroyed villages. A cablegram has been sent to the Near East Relief organization in Constantinople asking for a detailed statement of the supplies needed from America. The Near East Relief has 200 workers, all Americans engaged in Russia, Armenia, Cilicia, Palestine and Anatolia and in other regions. ■

NEY

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The New York Times, September 16, 1922

New Greek Appeal to Powers. Special to The New York Times. WASHINGTON, Sept. 15.—A dispatch sent from Athens last night and received at the GREEK LEGATION here this afternoon says: “The Government again requested the powers to send boats to save nearly one-half million Christian refugees who are anxiously waiting at different points on the coast for help. “Several hundred thousand persons took refuge on the islands of the Sea

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of Marmora, fearing an attack by the Turks. The small island of Karabighar is lacking in all means for their upkeep. “A large committee has been formed in Athens under the presidency of HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN for the purpose of helping these refugees, and will begin the work of making up public subscriptions immediately. The committee expects to establish kitchens and employment bureaus. “Refugees arriving in Smyrna were criminally treated by Turkish native bands formed immediately after the departure of the Greek troops. The Turkish police are making up lists for the banishment of those Greeks who were particularly the Greek occupation. Arrests in masses are taking place.” ■

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of the Paradise College was evacuated before the blaze became serious. The teaching staff of the Collegiate Institution, together with all the students, boarded the ship Winona, which is now in Athens. Business men and relief workers who remained are still quartered on the destroyer Litchfield. ■ NOTE: It has been noted that the reason the Turks burned Smyrna, was to conceal evidence of the slaughters that were being committed by the Turkish army. (SKK) PLEASE SEE: The New York Times, 16, September 1922. Headline: “Greeks Report Fiendish Slaughter” PLEASE READ: Papoutsy, Christos. Ships of Mercy: The Rescue of the Greeks Smyrna, September 1922. Portsmouth, NH: Peter E. Randall, 2008. ———————

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The New York Times, September 16, 1922

The New York Times, September 16, 1922

CITY A MASS OF WRECKAGE

Figure Smyrna Loss at $200,000,000. Copyright, 1922, by The Chicago Tribune Co. SMYRNA, Sept. 15.—Three-fifths of Smyrna is in ashes, and more than 300,000 persons are homeless this morning as the fire buns itself out after having destroyed the entire American, Greek and foreign quarter. The financial loss is close to $200,000,000, of which $12,000,000 is American. The loss of life is impossible to compute. Every allied ship in the harbor has volunteered its services in clearing of the refugees, many of whom are badly wounded. The streets are littered with dead. Thus, despite Mustapha Kemal Pasha’s assurances, Turkey has “regulated past accounts.” After checking the roll of American citizens, it is found that every American in Smyrna is safe. The teaching staff

Foreign Quarter Leveled but Turkish Section Untouched.

STREETS STREWN WITH DEAD 900 Armenians Were Driven Aboard a Lighter and Killed by Fusillade From Shore.

OUR BLUEJACKETS POLICING But the Host of Homeless Christians Are in a State of Terror. Constantinople. Sept. 15 (Associated Press)—Smyrna has been completely wrecked by the conflagration which has been raging there for the past two days, according to information from authentic sources reaching here. Thousands of persons are believed to have perished. Only the Turkish quarter remains.

ARCHIVAL NEWS REPORTS

The theory is advanced in Greek official circles here that the Kemalists deliberately set the city on fire in order to evacuate the entire Christian population, thereby relieving the Turks altogether of the problem of minorities in Anatolia. Kemalist officials on the other hand, assert that the conflagration resulted from the exchange of the rifle shots between the invading Turkish Army and the Greeks and the Armenians, and the latter of whom attacked the Turks from churches and houses. The property loss is believed to have been many millions of dollars. With the evacuation of the British forces from the desolated city, American bluejackets now are the dominant factor. They are being well treated by the Kemalists, who have earnestly urged them to remain and assist in restoring order and in ministering to the dying. CAPTAIN H. J. HEPBURN, Chief of Staff to Rear Admiral Bristol, is directing the work of the American naval men and relief workers. Turkish courts-martial have passed death sentences upon 200 Greeks and Armenians, who were charged with being implicated in the killing of Turks in 1919. The Christian population in Smyrna is in a state of terror. The departure of British craft from Smyrna today is thought here to have removed the last vestige of hope for ten Americans and three Britishers still on the missing list. Ten thousand Armenians refugees have arrived in the Bosporus on five vessels, and will receive shelter in the Armenian churches of the city. Rodosto and other ports on the Sea of Marmora are choked with refugees, who are arriving by the tens of thou-

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sands in an appalling state of misery. Hundreds are dying before they can be landed. The Near East Relief has dispatched a shipload of foodstuffs and medicines for Rodosto in charge of COLONEL STEPHEN E. LOWE of St. Louis. ■ NOTE: By Turkish rule to show their superiority : the homes of the Turks were built at higher elevations. Therefore, the Turkish homes could not be reached by the arson fires below.(SKK) PLEASE SEE: The New York Times, 16 September 1922. Headline: “Greeks Report Fiendish Slaughter.” PLEASE READ: Akçam, Taner, A Shameful Act: The Armenian Genocide and the Question of Turkish Responsibility. New York: Metropolitan Books, Henry Holt and Company, First U.S. EDITION. 2006 ———————

The New York Times, September 16, 1922

FOREIGN AREA ON SEA FRONT Smyrna Had About 250,000 Population In June of this year the population of Smyrna was estimated at fully 250,000 of whom about one-third were Turks, about 75,000 Greeks and the remainder Armenians, Jews, Maltese, Syrians, Italians, British, French and Copts from Egypt. This did not include the Greek soldiers on duty in the city for patrol purposes, or the local police numbering 30,000 who were mostly local Greeks and Armenians. The European quarter in Smyrna was built along the sea front. Its houses were of stone and among the buildings located there were the consulates, steamship offices, Unites States Shipping Board and the Post Office. At the eastern end there were a number of villas with gardens where the agents for the foreign companies lived. ■

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COMMENTARY: The coast of Smyrna is approximately 25 miles long. It is shaped like a huge spoon that extends from a narrow long bay—and at the far end, it widens. —PAVLOS PASVANTIS ———————

The New York Times, September 16, 1922

Greeks Report Fiendish Slaughter. ATHENS, Sept. 15 (Associated Press). —The Greek official news agency in a statement today tells of the horrors reported from Smyrna, including the massacre of soldiers and the populace: of soldiers being decapitated and others placed in sacks and thrown into the sea; of women and children being dispatched with swords in the hands of the Turks and the execution of Greeks and Armenians for having served in the Greek Army. “Many Greek soldiers who were unable to embark were cruelly killed,” says the statement. “One American reports having seen the bodies of many Greek soldiers without heads. Some of the decapitated men were tied to posts. Other soldiers were sewn into sacks and thrown into the sea. A great number of Armenian and Greeks were shot in masses in Turkish galleys. “The newspapers report as certain that the MOST REV. CHRYSOSTOM, METROPOLITAN of the Greek Church in Smyrna,[1] was summarily executed and his body carried by crowds through the streets. It has not been confirmed that the Archbishop of the Armenians has been murdered. “The details of the savagery of the Turks pass all imagination. An American woman is said to have seen the bodies of women who had been disemboweled and their eyes bored out, and

of children who had been killed by sword thrusts through their bodies.” The situation of the Christians is depicted as most pitiable, as they are both starving and in fear of massacre. In particular the position of the Christian Ottomans who served in the Greek army is considered dangerous, as they are looked upon as traitors, and it is feared they will be shot. The fact that foreign subjects are not spared by the Turks is taken in diplomatic circles here to indicate that Mustapha Kemal Pasha has lost his hold on the army.[2] ■ EXCERPTS: The Blight of Asia, by George Horton. Chapter XIII, “Smyrna as it Was” 1926: […]Ionia is of intense interest to the whole Christian world. It is the land of the Seven Cities of the Revelation, of the Seven Churches and the wonderful mystical poem of St. John the Divine. Six of the candles went out in eternal darkness long ago, but that of Smyrna burned brightly until its destruction on the [13th] thirteenth of September, 1922, by the Turks of Mustapha Khemal and the death of the last of its 1great bishops whose martyrdom fitly ended its glorious Christian history. (99) [Metropolitan] 1Chrysostom was tortured and torn in pieces by a Turkish mob in front of the military headquarters of the Khemalist forces in Smyrna on September [9th] ninth, A. D. 1922. (99) EXCERPTS: The Blight of Asia by George Horton Chapter XVI, “The Turks Arrive” 1926: • “...much has been made by Turkish apologists of the

difference between “regulars and “irregulars.” (126– 127) • 2“Mustafa Kemal was worshiped by his Army of “regulars” and “irregulars” and his word was Law.” (127) • 2“The Turk massacres when he has orders from headquarters and desists on the second, when commanded by the same authority to stop.” (127)

PLEASE SEE: The New York Times, 16 September 1922. Headline: “Figure Smyrna Loss at $200,000,000. ———————

ARCHIVAL NEWS REPORTS

The New York Times, September 16, 1922 HUNDREDS CAUGHT IN FLAMES SMYRNA,

Sept. 15, (Associated Press).

—The fire which started in the American quarter of Smyrna early yesterday afternoon has left the entire European section in ashes, and countless thousands homeless. There were hundreds of casualties among persons who were caught in the section where the flames spread with greatest rapidity. Fourteen naturalized Americans are missing, but all the American-born are accounted for. Ten of them are in the suburbs, with American and Turkish guards. The AMERICAN CONSULATE GENERAL was situated in the burned area. CONSUL GENERAL GEORGE HORTON[1] and his staff left the building as the flames swept toward it, taking with them the official codes and funds, together with the most important records and documents. An American destroyer sailed for Saloniki with refugees, and another later cleared for Piraeus with 400 persons, including some of the consular staff, members of American benevolent organization and business men. The Turkish troops are making strenuous efforts to prevent wholesale looting by bands of irregulars. GENERAL NOUREDDIN PASHA, Commanderin-Chief of the Kemalist forces here, yesterday urged officials of the American Committee on Relief in the Near East to arrange for the evacuation of as many of the Greeks as possible, as he feared their return to the interior would mean certain death in reprisals for the alleged malicious destruction of Anatolian villages by the Greek troops. The Turkish commanders fear outbreaks among their own troops, who are

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without food. Several regiments posted on the outskirts of the city have subsisted on uncooked barley for the last five days. ■ COMMENT: 1George Horton made every effort to bring aboard on his American flagship as many of his non-American staff– –by presenting them as Americans. Even years later, he was known to grieve that he was unable to rescue more of his non-American staff members and friends. (SKK) PLEASE SEE: The New York Times, 16 September 1922. Headline: “Greeks Report Fiendish Slaughter”. ———————

The New York Times, September 16, 1922

Hundreds of Corpses in Streets. MALTA, Sept. 15 (Associated Press).— Hundreds of bodies of victims of the Turkish massacre in Smyrna were lying in the streets of the city when the British hospital ship Maine left there with more than 400 refugees on board, it is stated by Reuter’s Smyrna correspondent, who arrived here on the Maine today. “When I left Smyrna,” he said, “the Turks were still pillaging and massacring, and hundreds of bodies were lying in the streets of the town and the outlying villages. Two large villages five miles from Smyrna were on fire. The British had withdrawn all their patrols and guards, and several British houses had been requisitioned for Turkish officers. “The Christians have been placed in a terrible position owing to the highly reprehensible action of the retreating Greek army in burning towns and villages. [1]Thousands of the Greek refugees, when I left, were lying in lighters in the port and on the breakwater in a pitiable condition, without food or water, although the British had given

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raisin and fig crops have been mostly lost. Many British firms are hard hit, and British prestige is low.” The refugees on the Maine included 270 British subjects and eighty-one Maltese, the remainder of the total of 407 being French, Greek and the nationals of other Allies. LADY LAMB, wife of the British Consul, and her daughter were also on board. The majority of the refugees were well-to-do, but penniless at present because of their precipitate flight. ■ COMMENTARY: [1] Yes, the Greek (Liberation) Army did commit some atrocities. But, as the American Consul General stated in his dispatches to Washington from Athens in late September 1922, the Greek soldiers had been abandoned and betrayed by incompetent Royalist Army officers, and the betrayal of Greece by the Western Powers was in the minds of all. During the previous decade, the Turks had been systematically deporting and killing Greek civilians well before 1914—and at least five years before the Greek Army set foot in Asia Minor. The Greek atrocities were far fewer than those of the Turks, and were not centrally organized in comparison to the official atrocities against all the Christian populations that were organized by Turkish leaders. —THEODORE G. KARAKOSTAS ———————

GEORGE HORTON POET, NOVELIST DIPLOMAT APPOINTED U.S. CONSUL GENERAL SERVED: 30 YEARS NEAR EAST WITH FIVE (5) YEARS IN SMYRNA. Source: ATHENE, The American Magazine of Hellenic Thought. Summer 1946 COURTESY OF MISS NANCY HORTON

The New York Times, September 16, 1922

MORE AMERICANS ESCAPE. Smyrna Consul General at Athens Reports on Refugee Removal. Special to The New York Times. WASHINGTON, Sept. 15—Latest reports to the State Department from the Near East, contained in a cablegram received tonight from GEORGE HORTON, American Consul General at Smyrna, who has gone to Athens to care for American refugees just arrived there, stated that the United States Shipping [illegible] Steamer Winona had arrived at Piraeus from Smyrna this morning with about 1,000 refugees on board. He stated

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that there probably were a number of Americans among those on the Winona, but that he had not yet had time to comb them out and to ascertain complete particulars. These will be in addition to the 150 American refugees from the vilayet of Smyrna that arrived at Piraeus with the Consul General, as reported in his early dispatch received by the department today. His earlier message was filed yesterday; but the one received tonight by the department was filed at Athens this afternoon. Consul General Horton said he was doing his best to care for all American refugees and that the Greek authorities were co-operating with him in an effort to get them all comfortably quartered ashore. Most of the Americans who fled from the vilayet and the City of Smyrna are naturalized Americans of Greek origin who had homes in Smyrna and vicinity. The suddenness of the Kemalist descent and the completeness of the Greek debacle, along with the aggravated conditions resulting from the big fire, have left most of them destitute. ■ ———————

The New York Times, September 16, 1922

[No Title] CONSTANTINOPLE, Sept. 15 (Associated Press).—A message from Angora received here at 2 o’clock this afternoon announces the fall of Panderma (sixty miles southwest of Constantinople), the last foothold of the Greeks in Asia Minor, to the Turks. Most of the Greek Third Army Corps was safely evacuated toward Thrace. The Turkish Nationalist Army is now within the thirty-five miles of Constanti-

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nople. The population is in a state of nervous tension, and the city is full of rumors that Mustapha Kemal Pasha’s designs upon the capital. One story is that the Nationalist commander has sent an ultimatum to the allied powers demanding the evacuation of their forces from the city so as to permit the entrance of the Turkish Nationalist Army. Another is that Nationalist troops have crossed over to the Gallipoli peninsula from Chanak, planning to march into Thrace with the object of taking Adrianople. ■ ———————

The New York Times, September 16, 1922

PREDICTS MORE MASSACRES. Morgenthau Says Constantinople Will See ‘Tragedy and Destruction.’ LONDON, Sept. 15 (Associated Press). —Speaking of the projected Peace Conference, Henry MORGENTHAU, formerly American Ambassador to Turkey, said tonight: “Mustapha KEMAL Pasha will not attend any conference, but will continue his bluffing.” Mark my words, Turkey will be a graveyard in which both Christians and Turks will sleep side by side before the Kemalists have finished. Kemal cannot control his troops. I look for the same tragedy and destruction by fire at Constantinople as at Smyrna, whether it is done by malicious Greeks or enraged Turks. ■ EXCERPT: The Turk massacres when he has orders from headquarters and desists on the second when commanded by the same authority to stop. Mustafa Khemal was worshiped by his army of “regulars” and “irregulars” and his word was law. Chapter XVI “The Turks Arrive” (127) The Blight of Asia, By U.S. Consul General George Horton. 1926. Reprinted 2003.

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The New York Times, September 16, 1922

Tell of Turkish Outrages An Exchange Telegraph dispatch from Athens says: “The Turkish population in Smyrna continues to be master of the situation. A number of Turkish officials accused of having aided the Greeks were executed in front of the Government buildings. “Refugees arriving in Athens from Smyrna recount terrible stories regarding the state of the city, owing to the ferocity of the Turks. Immediately on their arrival the Kemalist troops gave themselves over to massacre and robbery of the Christians, and the quays were littered with corpses. A Greek journalist was shot dead after being dragged through the streets tied to the back of an automobile. “An American passenger who reached Piraeus from Smyrna says he saw 900 Armenians forced by the Turks to embark on a lighter. The Armenians were then shot down from the shore, the bodies being left floating in the water. According to other passengers, prominent members of the British colony in Smyrna were similarly murdered.” ■ ———————

The New York Times, September 16, 1922

THREAT TO BOMBARD TURKISH QUARTERS. The Admiral commanding the British squadron at Smyrna has warned the Turkish authorities in the city that if the massacres are continued the Turkish quarters will be bombarded, says an Exchange Telegraph dispatch from Athens.

From 1,000 to 2,000 Christians had been massacred in Smyrna by the Turks before the fire which swept the Armenian and other quarters of the Asia Minor seaport, recently evacuated by the Greek army, it is charged in semi-official and other Greek messages from Athens received today. Among the Turkish outrages was the carrying off of many girl pupils of the American Girls’ College, it is alleged. The Greek belief is that the fire was set by the Turks to conceal the traces of their alleged misdeeds. A considerable share of the property loss from the fire, the total of which is estimated in Greek quarters at 1,000,000,000 francs (about $75,000,000 at present exchange rate for the French franc), fell upon American firms. ■ ———————

The New York Times, September 16, 1922

Turks Will Be Turks. On Wednesday Mustapha KEMAL said to an American correspondent in Smyrna: “There have been no seri“ous disorders. Such pillagings and “killings as have occurred were “inevitable. You can say that order “will be completely restored from to“day.”[1] The next day fire started in the Armenian quarter. There are many eyewitness stories of Turkish soldiers sprinkling kerosene and touching it off.[2] In any case, the fire started in the Armenian quarter when the wind was blowing it away from the Turkish quarter. Three days ago a correspondent telegraphed that everybody was amazed at the absence of massacres; the town was relatively calm; not more than

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300 people had been killed. The state of relative calm ceased the next day. How many have since been killed is uncertain, but it appears that thousands will be slaughtered or die of starvation and exposure. American property worth several millions has been destroyed, but all native Americans have escaped, though fourteen of our naturalized citizens are missing. A dispatch to The Sun yesterday afternoon suggested that the State Department was inclined to doubt that there was a fire in Smyrna. This uncertainty does not seem to be shared by persons on the spot, but, at any rate, there is no fear that the fate of the fourteen naturalized citizens or the girls in the American College will entangle us in any involvements. How the admirers of Nationalist Turkey will reconcile these events with their conviction that the Turks have turned over a new leaf we do not know. The sturdiest and most useful foreign sympathizers of KEMAL, certain politicians and financiers in Paris, have never been troubled by any of these moral scruples. Their recently awakened worries are due only to the fear that if the Turks cross into Europe the structure erected by the peace treaties may come crashing down. The French Government has authorized its High Commissioner in Constantinople to join his British and Italian colleagues in sending a note to MUSTAPHA KEMAL telling him to keep away. What will happen if the gentleman, who has received a good many notes of late years, pays no attention to the order is another matter. A clear declaration that France would fight for the Straits might conceivably save her from having to fight for certain other

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much nearer home. Fortunately, the Bulgarian Government has announced that it will remain neutral. If it can hold down the hotheads and keep this promise, the danger of a general war will be much reduced. ■ PLEASE SEE: The New York Times, 16 September 1922. Headline: “Puts the Victims at 120,000”. ———————

The New York Times, September 17, 1922

DENOUNCES BRISTOL AS FRIEND OF TURKS H. H. Topakyan, Former Persian Consul and Armenian Born, Urges His Removal.

FOR ACTION BY AMERICA He Assails Britain, France and Italy for Their Part in the Asia Minor Tragedy. A bitter attack upon Admiral BRISTOL,[1] American Commissioner at Constantinople, as pro-Turkish and a hater of Greeks, Armenians and Jews, was made here yesterday by H. H. TOPAKYAN, former Persian Consul General in this city, who was born an Armenian and is a naturalized American citizen. He also criticised the former allied powers for not stopping the Turks. “In the face of a situation such as this,” his statement said, “the so-called powers of Europe sit idly through preparations to stop murder when murder is complete and there is nothing left to save. Whether the infamy of the Turk or of Great Britain, France, and Italy is greater is a question which one cannot answer. “France supplies 200,000,000 fracs’ worth of ammunition and arms to KEMAL

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to spite England’s selfish aims: England closes an already half-blind eye to events because of craven fear of her Mohammedan subjects of India, while boasting, which occasion required in 1914, of plunging into a world war ‘to keep her treaty obligations,’ when in reality the purpose was to save her own miserable skin; Italy follows France and England to get some little part of the loot. “In this appalling crisis there in one power that can stand forth and speak with the voice of disinterested humanity. That country is the United States. And what is America’s source of news and who is its representative on the spot? “I regret to say, and I make the statement deliberately and solemnly, that the United States is today represented in this crisis of the world’s affairs by a man who is a pro-Turk of the most rabid type and a hater of Greeks, Armenians and Jews. “The United States cannot afford to have its fair name besmirched and befouled by allowing such a man to speak, for the American soul and conscience. To be quite frank, I refer to Rear Admiral Bristol, who is now in Constantinople in charge of American affairs and of the American fleet. “I do not make this serious charge without ample grounds. It was my privilege to be in Constantinople in the Summer of 1920, after a tour for over a year of a large part of Europe, Asia and Africa on important business transactions. While in Constantinople I was often a visitor at the Constantinople Club, which is frequented by leading Europeans, allied officers and prominent Turks and other natives. While there I was known as a Persian representative, due to my connection with the Persian Consular Service.

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“As such I came in contact with Rear Admiral Bristol, who not suspecting my Armenian origin, but supposing me to be a Persian deliberately told me once: ‘I hate the Greeks, I hate the Armenians, I hate the Jews. The Turks are fine fellows.’ Thus, to use a phrase used on another occasion, has the wool been pulled over the eyes of at least one American Admiral, and this is the man representing America in the Near East at this crisis. “I have personally stated these facts to the Acting Secretary of the Navy, Theodore ROOSEVELT, whose father, I knew well. Mr. Roosevelt was appalled. “A copy of this statement is being sent to the President and Vice President of the United States, to every Cabinet officer, to every Senator and Representative in Congress, to the Governor of every State in the Union and to the leading members of the clergy of every denomination, Catholic, Protestant and Jew. It is furthermore being given to every newspaper in New York City and to every press association. Mr. Topakyan said he intended to leave for Washington to make another plea to the Government for assistance for the Armenians against the Turks, and might try to see the President. He intends to sail for the Near East within a few weeks. ■ To shed light on the devastation caused by 1Admiral Bristol who was the highest ranking U.S. official in Constantinople: PLEASE SEE: The Christian Science Monitor, 13 July 1922 Headline: “Near East Prevented from Helping Greeks.” ———————

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The New York Times, September 17, 1922

Editorial CONSTANINOPLE, Sept. 16 (Associated Press.).—M. Stergiadis,[1] who was Greek High Commissioner in Smyrna before that city fell before the Turks, arrived in Constantinople today. He was met by a hostile crowd of Greeks, who shouted: “Traitor! you disarmed the Greeks and supplied the Turks with ammunition!” M. Stergiadis was guarded by allied police and hurriedly took passage on a Rumanian steamer, which is proceeding to Constanza. Upward of 2,000 persons perished in the great fire at Smyrna 2,500 buildings were destroyed and all the American property wiped out. The catastrophe, according to direct advices received here, is of much greater proportions than the conflagration at Saloniki in 1917, which caused $100,000,000 damage and left 200,000 homeless. A heavy rain continued to fall after the fire, making the plight of the inhabitants and refugees pitiable. Thousands of the frantic populace fled to the waterfront and pleaded with the small forces of American bluejackets there to give them shelter aboard the destroyers. Many in desperation jumped into the water and were drowned. The city is without adequate food and water, and the deplorable lack of sanitary conditions is giving rise to pestilence. ■ NOTE: M. Stergiadis, took the high moral ground by ordering the civilian population of Smyrna to disarm. Therefore, when the Turkish civilians shot at the Christians, the Christians were left vulnerable, defenseless, and completely at their mercy— where there was none. (SKK) ———————

The Christian Section of Smyrna Was Completely Ruined.

The New York Times, September 17, 1922

Fire Has Swept the City Proper and Is Raging in Suburbs. AMERICANS GIVE SOLE AID Naval and Relief Forces Grapple With Task of Succoring 200,000 Christians

SAILORS RESCUED HUNDREDS But Were Forced to Turn Back Thousands Who Swam in Darkness to our Warships. SMYRNA, Sept. 16. (Associated Press). Smyrna—no longer exists. The fire, which has been raging for three days with unabated fury, has swept the city and is extending to the suburbs. Only blackened masonry and a small vestige of the Turkish quarter remain. Death and indescribable misery prevail among 200,000 of the crazed population. Six lone American relief workers are attempting the superhuman task of burying the dead and ministering to the liv-

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ing. No other country has yet come forward to relieve the suffering. All the patients who were crowded in hospitals, not numbering less than a thousand, have been burned to death. All relief supplies sent from Constantinople by the American relief organizations were destroyed by the fire. MAJOR CLAFLIN DAVIS of the American Red Cross and H.C. JAQUITH of the Near East Relief are bending all their efforts to evacuate the Christians as the only means of saving them, but are handicapped by lack of vessels. Bands of Turks are killing the helpless Christians, and the whole city is in the throes of terror. Rescue work among the ruins is proceeding slowly, the Kemalists leaving the fire victims to their fate. The catastrophe is so vast that only the collective efforts of the allied nations can cope with it. Swim Out to Our Warships. When the fire was at its worst the American destroyers Lawrence and Litchfield were almost swamped by thousands of maddened survivors who plunged into the water in the darkness of night and swam out to the vessels, imploring piteously to be saved. The American bluejackets rescued hundreds from drowning. The American sailors ashore were obliged to hold off great crowds at the point of the bayonet in order to keep them from the frail destroyers. The American flag was hoisted on the quay, and the bluejackets went among the panic-stricken people, picking out those with American citizenship papers. The flag was like a beacon of hope; hundreds that could speak only a few words of English asserted that they had been in the United States, but could show

BEFORE THE SILENCE

no satisfactory proof. Others said they had relatives in New York, Chicago, San Francisco and other American cities. The Americans, however, were forced to turn a deaf ear to these appeals. The big-hearted bluejackets were overcome with emotion at the distressing scenes and did their best to comfort the terrorized women and children, even giving up their own bed rolls, clothing and rations. COMMANDER MERRILL of New York, aid to Rear Admiral Bristol, is hailed as a hero, men, women and children falling on their knees and kissing his garments as he passes through the refugee concentration areas. ■ COMMENTS: This news report is evidence that while under Mustafa Kemal’s command, his soldiers were brutal. According to EDWARD HALE BIERSTADT’S book aptly titled, The Great Betrayal, the American Admiral Bristol had been scheming with the Turks for years. Bristol was a known racist and bigot whose hatred of Greeks, Armenians, Jews, and Chinese were well documented. (SKK) PLEASE SEE: The New York Times, 20 September 1922. Headlines: “Harding To Keep Out of Near East Crisis” White House Statement Says We Will Take No Part In Political and Military Situation.” “Ships to Guard Interests” “No Co-operation With Allies in Defense of Straits—The House Moves for Mediation. ———————

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The New York Times, September 17, 1922

Editorial Plague Breaks Out Among Refugees. Copyright, 1922, by The Chicago Tribune Co. SMYRNA, Sept. 16 (via Alexandria).— The horrors of plague have been added to the other horrors of Smyrna, the disease broke out yesterday, it being impossible to take sanitary precautions to protect the thousands of refugees, and dozens are being added to the toll or death by starvation and massacre. All communications between ships and the shore have been cut. Typhus is also certain to make its appearance. The city is almost entirely without food save the little in the possession of relief organizations and that held by the Turks for the Turkish population. Passenger liners making Smyrna a regular port of call have been warned away from the city despite the desperate need of shipping to remove refugees. If these ships called, it would only spread the disease to other nearby countries. ■ ———————

Courtesy Konstantinos Chatzikyriakos GREEK GIRLS CELEBRATE THE LIBERATION OF SMYRNA BY GREEK ARMY, MAY 1919.

The New York Times, September 17, 1922

TRAGEDY OF SMYRNA AS GREEKS SEE IT Their Point of View Set Forth by the Editor of Atlantis, the Greek Daily Here.

HE BLAMES FRANCE CHIEFLY But Says America, by Failure to Recognize Constantine, Contributed to the Disaster. By ADAMANTIOS TH. POLYZOIDES, Editor of Atlantis. For three years and three months Smyrna, with an area of Asia Minor covering 116,000 square kilometers, with a population of 3,000,000 souls has been

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under Greek occupation and Greek administration. During this period, while a great war was going on against the Turkish Nationalists, and notwithstanding the various fluctuations of the front, order, tranquility, progress and even prosperity reigned supreme. The civil population, irrespective of creed and nationality, was recovering from the effects of centuries of Turkish maladministration; work was going on in the fields, shops and factories; moneys were being appropriated by the Greek Government for public works and other improvements; justice was meted out quickly and impartially by the Greek judiciary, and public revenues were increasing, showing by the fact that Asia Minor was busy and happy. Smyrna itself was the picture of all this progress brought over by the Greek army, which gave Ionian capital a new life and a new business impetus. Smyrna was the most lively city in the whole Near East during the three years of the Greek occupation. People went there from the country and from the islands and from Old Greece itself to enjoy Summer and to feel happy in this turmoil of joyous life. When the Turk Came Back. It was under such conditions that the Greek Army extended its front gradually, taking in ESKI-SHEHR and AFLUN KARAHISSAR[1] and KUTAIA and BRUSA and AIDIN,[2] and marched victoriously to almost the gates of ANGORA. Then all of a sudden the Turk came back to Smyrna, following one of the greatest catastrophes that ever befell an army in the field and the hurried departure of that same army, which was the Greek. The Turk entered Smyrna on Sunday, and on Wednesday Smyrna as a city

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ceased to exist because the torch of the invader reduced the Ionian capital to a smouldering heap of ashes, covering the charred bones of 2,000 [sic 3] innocent victims, butchered in cold blood by the authors of the Armenian massacres, the perpetrators of the Pontus horrors, the executioners of Adana and Hadjin and Aintab and Marash. It took the Nationalist Turks exactly three days to undo the three years’ peaceful work of Greece in Smyrna. It took exactly three years to show the world that all the lavish propaganda in favor of the new Turkey of Angora and of Mustapha Kemal was nothing but a flimsy smoke screen under which the same old unspeakable Turk was hiding all the time. “Turkey Will Never Reform.” The statements of Mustapha Kemal that he would treat the Christian populations under his domination as a civilized conqueror, the promises given his lieutenants, like Bekir Sami Bey, and Fethi Bay Yusuf Kemal Bey and all the propagandists attached to his cause, the Nationalist Turkey would respect the non-Moslem population that was to be submitted to his rule, were found to be a pack of lies. Turkey does not reform, cannot reform, will never reform. No matter how modern Kemal or Halidé Hanoum appear outwardly to be, they have shown themselves to be the same Turks of the five centuries ago/ the killers of defenseless women and children, the desecrators of churches and incendiaries that they have been throughout their stay in Europe. The sack of Smyrna, whose dimensions increase as more details are filtering through from that city of horror and death, gives the lie to such champions of the Turkish cause as M. Pierre Loti and Claude Farrère and Berthe George Gaulis and Franklin-Bouillion and all

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those French writers, travelers, officials, clergymen and all those who are considered among the best exponents of French policy and thought at the present day. We mention these names because it is French policy that made the Kemalist triumph possible, as it was French jealousy at the success of British policy, in the Near East that awakened the slumbering fires of Islam and brought about the present catastrophe, the consequences of which no one can foretell. French guns, French money, French advisers, French diplomacy and French newspapers stood behind Kemal, since the day of the armistice of Lemnos in October, 1918, when the British Admiral Carden came to terms with the Turks, behind the back of the French Generalissimo of the Macedonian front Franchet d’Esperey, down to the sack of Smyrna which marked the culmination of the Franco-Turkish campaign against Great Britain, whose tool Greece was supposed to be. But then it was not France alone that helped the Turks; there was Italy, bitter and hostile to any plan of a greater Greece, and there was Soviet Russia, whose enmity Greece won by taking part in the disastrous campaign of General Denikin in the Ukraine. There was England cold and indifferent toward the Greek campaign, on account of the pro-Turkish leanings of such men as Lord Reading, the Viceroy of India, and Montagu, the ex-secretary of India, the late Lord Northcliffe and a host of other imperialists of the old school, bitter antagonists of Premier Lloyd George. Apportions Blame to America. And, finally, there was neutral America, whose attitude in not extending formal recognition to a duly constituted popular and constitutional régime like that of Greece, gave Kemal the im-

pression that the United States was not unfriendly to him. It was in the face of such more or less overt enmity that Greece for three years kept carrying on the Asia Minor campaign. Financially and diplomatically blockaded while the Turk had free access to the sources of French, Italian and Russian credit, Greece, whose navy was denied the right to search the vessels carrying war contriband to the Turks under the protection of allied flags; Greece, whose army was stopped by the same Allies when it attempted to occupy the Turkish capital of Constantinople; Greece that stood all the rigors of a ten years’ continuous campaign with an internal revolution on the side—this poor and harassed Greece finally gave way and left Asia Minor, fully convinced that it was not possible for her to keep fighting the whole of Europe forever. Turkey is now the mistress in the Near East. She has reduced the best and richest city in the Levant to a pile of smoldering ruins. She is massacring the Greek and Armenian population; she is killing American citizens, destroying American property, insulting American girls, desecrating our American flag. Sixty million dollars is America’s share of the losses connected with the burning of Smyrna. And, what is worse, the end is not yet in sight. Greece today, far from being crushed, will draw new courage from her misfortunes, as she has always done in her long history with continued success; but Greece is exhausted and needs all the support that Christendom can give her. Greece has hundreds of thousands of refugees to shelter and feed and protect. And immediate relief should be accorded her, in the same spirit in which Islam has extended a lavish help to Kemal.

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This is the first time since 1914 when the spectre of a new great war has appeared so terrifying in the Near East. Europe, torn by dissention, has not seen up to this moment that by extending its moral and material encouragement to the Turk it has not only brought about the tragedy of Greece, which would be a small matter if the whole thing ended there, but has made Islam so powerful and so victory-mad that it encourages all the maddest dreams of its adherents. The whole Eastern world is in ferment while these lines are being written. Anything may happen before they appear in print. A Turkish army may rush into Constantinople and repeat the Smyrna holocaust:[4] a general massacre may ensue as the most natural thing in a Turkish campaign. Bolshevist Russia, the closest ally of Kemal, may send any amount of troops to the Bosporous and set on fire the whole of Europe, from the straits to the Baltic, and from the Danube to the Rhine. If there was a time when America, by a prompt intervention, could still save the day, this is the only time. And it is up to America to stop the new war now, before she finds herself once more fighting the battle of Europe, which we will have to do, whether we want it or not, if there is a new world war. ■ WORTH NOTING: George Horton writes in The Blight of Asia; Republished, London: Sterndale Classics, 2003. Chapter 10, “The Greek Landing at Smyrna” (48): Much has been said of the atrocities and massacres committed by the Greek troops the time of their landing at Smyrna on May 15, 1919. In fact, the events that occurred on that and the few succeeding days have been magnified until they have taken on larger proportions in the public mind than the deliberate extermination of whole nations by the Turks, and no consideration seems to have been given to the prompt suppression of the disorders by the Greek authorities and the summary punishment of the principal offenders, several by death.

Regarding 1Afion Kara Hissar see: Chapter 31, “American Institutions Under Turkish Rule” (149), George Horton reports: In December of 1914, Turkish soldiers seized the American mission property of 1Afion Kara Hissar and occupied the church, school and pastor’s house for a period of four years, leaving the building with doors, windows and roofs wrecked and generally defiled with human offal. The Turks pulled the Cross down from the church and put up the Crescent up in its place. In 1919, the Turks seized these buildings again and housed soldiers in them. On 2Aidin see: Chapter 11, “The Hellenic Administration in Smyrna (May 15, 1919-September 9, 1922)”, (58) George Horton writes: Financial aid on a large scale was furnished, as was the distribution of flour, clothing, etc., to refugees caused by the Khemalist raids in the interior and the destruction in 1919 of the cities of 2 Aidin and Nazli. Among those so succored were thousands of Turks. CORRECTION: The numbers of non-combatant Christian inhabitants butchered in Smyrna were more like 3200,000. (SKK) PLEASE NOTE: The word 4holocaust was used well before the extermination of the Jews by Hitler and the Nazis. FOR AN ANALYSIS OF THIS REPORT BY STAVROS STAVRIDIS, PLEASE VISIT:

8/29/2005 PLEASE SEE: The New York Times, 3 December 1894, From The Atlantis, Headline: “Greeks Sympathize with Armenians.” The New York Times, 3 December 1894. Headline: “Mr. Vlasto’s Letter.” ———————

The New York Times, September 17, 1922

Wouldn’t Let Allied Marines Land. LONDON, Sept. 16 (Associated Press). —Kemalist forces massed on a quay at Smyrna prevented an attempt by detachments of Allied Marines to land Saturday morning. according to a dispatch to The Sunday Express from Smyrna by way of Malta. The dispatch says the Greek battleship Klikos has bombarded Smyrna’s Turkish quarter.

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Estimates of the number killed in the massacres in Smyrna vary greatly. One Athens dispatch quotes an American relief worker as declaring that up to Thursday morning there had been 120,000 victims. It is thought that this figure may include the wounded also, as previous reports placed the number of dead at from 1,000 to 2,000. Landward from the city it is reported that all the villages are burning, and that the whole countryside has been devastated. The commercial loss in Smyrna as a result of the great fire is enormous, all reports agree, and falls to a great extent upon foreigners. Apparently the whole trading quarter was consumed with its immense stores of goods. Members of British firms engaged in the Levantine trade say the results will be calamitous to them, while numbers of prosperous Greek and Armenian traders face ruin. The dried fruit, carpet, tobacco and cotton goods trades are among the worst sufferers. M. C. Vittie, Secretary of the Smyrna British Chamber of Commerce, told The Daily Express that more than £40,000,000 of British capital was sunk in Smyrna and the surrounding districts. The loss of the dried fruit crop will be a heavy blow. The season’s export trade had just begun, the crop was above the average and nearly 100,000 tons were awaiting exportation. All of this was burned, if the accounts of the area covered by the fire are accurate. It is believed that a number of London insurance offices have suffered heavy losses. Official dispatches received from Smyrna today say that all the foreign consulates were destroyed by the fire with the exception of those of Spain, Belgium and Norway.

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Machine Guns Used by Turks? M. Lasaris, editor of the newspaper Kosmos, in Smyrna, who was reported in a Constantinople dispatch to The London Times to have been killed by the Turks, is apparently safe on the island of Mitylene, as the following message has been received from him, timed 5:20 o’clock yesterday afternoon: “New refugees from Smyrna arrived here this morning, including many Americans and English. They say the Turks are using machine guns at the street corners, killing indiscriminately. “Twenty-five thousand Christian women and girls have been conveyed to the interior and distributed among the Turkish soldiers.” ■ NOTE: Approximately 50 miles from Smyrna, in the town of Akhisar…Dr. Hatcherian learned that ten members of his family including his mother and his wife’s mother were butchered by the incoming Turkish Army; he learned that his wife’s brother was hanged, with other Armenians, and Greeks; that the other men were deported to the shore of the Gadiz river where all were killed by machine gun; that the women and children were massacred; and that the young women and pretty girls were ravished and taken away. PLEASE READ: Hatcherian, Garabed, M.D. Ed. Dora Sakayan, PhD. An Armenian Doctor in Turkey: Garabed Hatcherian: My Smyrna Ordeal of 1922. Montreal: Arod Books, 1997. Translated into (9) languages––including Turkish. For which the Turkish publisher, Ragip Zarakolu, has faced “un-Turkish charges” under Turkey’s penal code “301” repeatedly. ———————

The New York Times, September 18, 1922

FIENDISH TORTURES FOR GREEK PRELATE Turkish Mob, at General’s Order, Hacked Smyrna Metropolitan’s Body to Pieces. Special Cable to THE NEW YORK TIMES. LONDON, Sept. 18.—Writing of the martyrdom of Mgr. Chrysostom, the

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Greek Metropolitan of Smyrna, the Smyrna Correspondent of The Daily Telegraph says: “The murdered Prelate, according to an account given me from a Greek source, was arrested and brought before, the KEMALIST GENERAL NUREDDIN PASHA, who ordered him to be handed over, together with his dragoman, to a fanatical mob. The mob tore off the Archbishop’s beard and did him to death in one of the main public squares, after inflicting upon him and his dragoman the most fiendish tortures, their bodies being literally hacked to pieces. “One hundred innocents were slaughtered within the Roman Catholic Cathedral, despite the efforts made on their behalf by two French officers.” ■ The U.S. Consul General George Horton wrote,

The New York Times, September 18, 1922

[No Title] ATHENS, September 16.—Refugees constantly arriving from Asia relate new details of the Smyrna tragedy. On Thursday last there were six steamers at Smyrna to transport the refugees, one American, one Japanese, two French and two Italian. The American and Japanese steamers accepted all comers without examining their papers, while the others took only foreign subjects with passports. ■ NOTE: The Japanese steamer was a cargo ship. It dumped its cargo of silks, laces and china, representing many thousands of dollars to make room for the refugees. Unfortunately, the name of the Japanese cargo ship remains unknown. (SKK) A personal note: My friend’s mother-in law, Irene Pittaris, was a 13 year old girl on that ship. She recalled seeing the bodies of those who died on the ship being thrown overboard into the sea. Sadly, the name of the Japanese cargo ship remains unknown. (SKK)

He was offered a refuge in the French Consulate and an escort by French Marines, but he refused, saying that it was his duty to remain with his flock. He said to me: “I am a shepherd and must stay with my flock.” He died a martyr and deserves the highest honors in the bestowal of the Greek church and government. He merits the respect of all men and women to whom courage in the face of horrible death makes an appeal. (86–7) The Blight of Asia, Reprint London: Sterndale Classics, Chapter 16 “The Turks Arrive.” Internet:

PLEASE SEE: The New York Times, 21 September 1922. Headlines: Our Smyrna Consul Praises Americans. Big Relief Fund. Automobiles From American Firms. Stars and Stripes. Helped Throughout the City. The Japan Times & Mail, 21 October 1922. Headlines: “Consul Tells of Suffering In Near East” “U.S. Official Praises Work of American Colony At Smyrna” The Boston Globe, 3 December 1922. Headline: “Japanese at Smyrna.”

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The New York Times, September 18, 1922

The New York Times, September 18, 1922

[No Title]

[No Title]

September 17 (Associated Press)—Forty thousand Greek refugees have arrived in Saloniki from Asia Minor. ■

CONSTANTINOPLE, Sept. 17.—The Near East Relief has sent a steamer to Mudania loaded with supplies. Another steamer has proceeded with a relief shipment to Rodosto in response to a telegraphic appeal from a committee speaking for 30,000 Greeks, who have

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arrived there Brusa. ■

from

Panderma

and

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The New York Times, September 18, 1922

[No Title] Copyright, 1922, by The New York Times Company. Special cable to THE NEW YORK TIMES. LONDON, Sept. 17.—Messages received in London from Athens and elsewhere through news agencies give the following further reports of scenes in doomed Smyrna. The refugees say the Kemalists spared nobody except their co-religionists and Jews. Massacre and incendiarism were the order of the day and were carried out by groups headed by Turkish officers. Houses and stores were looted by soldiers and civilians and afterwards set on fire. Mutilated and burnt corpses were everywhere to be seen. Women and girls were taken to the outskirts of the town and massacred. Since Thursday no Armenians have been seen in Smyrna. Some doubtless are in hiding, but it is feared even the infants have been massacred. The quay on which we concentrated the panicstricken and trembling refugees presents the most tragic human spectacle imaginable. Groans and agonizing cries of the wounded and dying are heard on all sides, and all are suffering from hunger and thirst. Boats and lighters to carry the refugees to available ships are insufficient, and many attempting to reach the ships by swimming were drowned, while others were shot from the quay. Several of the refugees, particularly the women, became insane. It is impossible to learn the number of lives lost, but the lowest estimate

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given by the refugees places the total at 120,000. Large numbers of Greeks and Armenians were summarily shot on the charge of having helped the Greek army or having committed imaginary crimes. ■ NOTE: In similar reports, it was reported that women and girls were raped, then murdered, and others were sold into harems. This story clearly points to the Turkish officers! (SKK) ———————

The New York Times, September 18, 1922

SMYRNA’S RAVAGERS FIRED ON AMERICANS Y. M. C. A. Workers Were Held Up and Robbed by Turks and Shot At in Escaping.

COLLEGE PRESIDENT BEATEN Dr. McLaughlin, on Crutches, Finds Refuge on Iron Duke— Our Sailors Gallant. SMYRNA, Sept. 17 (Associated Press.) —Smyrna, which the Turks have called the Eye of Asia, is a vast sepulcher of ashes; only the shattered walls of 25,000 homes and the charred bodies of countless victims remain to tell the story of death and destruction, unexampled in modern history. The ruins are still smouldering, like a volcano which has spent its fury; no effort has been made by the Turks to remove the dead and dying; the streets are full of the bodies of those who sought to escape, for the most part women and children. Every building in the Armenian quarter has been burned, with the dead lying about; the bay, which covers an area of fifty acres, still carries on its surface the poor remnants of those who were massacred or sought to escape the ruthlessness of the foe.

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On the waterfront crouch thousands of survivors who fear death in another form at the hands of the soldiery. There are no boats to take them off. One ship captain declined to take any of the wretched sufferers, but, in contrast to his indifference, Captain WALTERS of the American steamer Winona, rescued 1,800 and took them to Piraeus. American sailors of the destroyer Litchfield snatched 450 orphaned boys from the pier and carried them safely to Constantinople. The jacktars slept on the iron decks or under torpedo tubes while youngsters occupied their bunks. In all the acts of gallantry by the Americans at Smyrna, there was none more inspiring than this. Guards’ Attention Diverted. While the orphans were being loaded on the Litchfield, H.C. JAQUITH, Director of the Near East Relief, who came here recently from Constantinople, diverted the attention of the Turkish guards, giving them cigarettes and talking to them in their native tongue. These guards are under strictest orders not to permit the escape of any of the Greek and Armenian refugees, and on several occasions have shot to death fugitives endeavoring to reach outlying vessels by swimming. Out of 300,000 Christians crowding the city prior to the descent of the Turks, only 60,000 have been evacuated. Kemalist officials have informed the American relief workers that the return of Christians to the interior meant certain death. The director of the Armenian Orphanage, established by the American Committee for Relief in the Near East, committed suicide by drowning in the presence of Mr. Jaquith, who is the director of that organization. Scores of others followed his example.

Dr. MCLAUGHLIN, President of the American College, was severely beaten by Turkish irregulars, and his clothes and money seized. He limped by the aid of a crutch from the suburb of Paradise, seat of the college, and was taken aboard the British dreadnought Iron Duke. He attributed his escape from death to the fact that he can speak Turkish and worked a ruse on the Turks. E. M. FISHER and E. O. JACOB, directors of the Y.M.C.A., were held up and robbed by Turkish soldiers, and when attempting to escape were fired upon. The shots, however, went wild, and they reached a place of safety. A temporary American Consulate, in charge of Vice Consul Maynard B. BARNES, has been established on a quay at the end of the town. The Stars and Stripes is the only foreign flag ashore; it is an inspiring sight amid the ruins and desolation. The American destroyers Lawrence, Edsall and Simpson are still here; their officers and crews have been practically without sleep for five days, and are doing gallant work. The only American property which escaped destruction was the Standard Oil Plant and two tobacco warehouses in the outskirts of the city. The following Americans are remaining in Smyrna: Major Claflin DAVIS, Dr. W. E. POST, G.B. HULSE, Chester GRISWOLD, Cass READ, R. J. MOREMAN, C. J. LAWRENCE, S. L. CALDWELL and E. O. JACOB. The following have left for Constantinople: H. C. JAQUITH, Constantine BROWN, Irving THOMAS, Mark Prentice, E. M. FISHER, E. M. YANTES, Messrs. CRAWE and JOLIN, Miss E. A. EVON, Miss S. CORNING and Miss WAY. ■ ———————

ARCHIVAL NEWS REPORTS

The Scotsman, September 18, 1922

APPALLING SCENES “MUSTAPHA KEMAL HAS WIPED OUT SMYRNA.” Athens, September 16.—Refugees arriving here from Asia Minor relate that in the general conflagration the Greek and Catholic churches and schools, and the French, British and American Consulates and Government offices were gutted. Mutilated and burnt corpses were everywhere to be seen, and the atmosphere was poisoned with the smell of burnt flesh emanating from the ruins. Women and girls were taken to the outskirts of the town, where they were raped[1] and then massacred. Since Thursday no Armenians have been seen in Smyrna. Some doubtless are hiding, but it is feared that even infants have been massacred. The quay on which were concentrated the panicstricken and trembling refugees presents the most tragic human spectacle imaginable. The groans and agonizing cries of the wounded and the dying are heard on all sides, and all are suffering from hunger and thirst. Numbers of corpses are to be seen floating about the harbour. The boats and lighters to carry refugees to the available ships are insufficient, and many attempting to reach the ships by swimming were drowned, whilst others were shot from the quay. Several of the refugees, particularly women, became insane. It is impossible to learn the number of lives lost, but the lowest estimate given by refugees arriving from Smyrna places the total at 120,000. An Englishman from Smyrna remarked to-day that Mustapha KEMAL[2] had wiped out Smyrna, and would now devote his attention to the Dardanelles. A steamer from Smyrna with English refugees on board passed the Piraeus to-day bound for Malta. Some Englishmen are missing. Their fate is unknown.—Reuter. ■

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NOTE: At that time, the word 1rape was used sparingly in the press, and in polite society. (SKK) COMMENT: Revisionists refer to 2Mustafa Kemal as “A Man of Peace” and “The George Washington of Turkey.” In Turkey, any comment to the contrary is punishable by imprisonment. EXCERPT FROM: The Blight of Asia by George Horton, Republished London: Sterndale Classics, 2003: CHAPTER IX “Information From Other Sources” We have seen it in operation in the days of Abdul Hamid, “the butcher,” we have seen it more fully developed and better organized under Talaat and Enver, those statesmen of the “Constitution.” We shall behold it carried out to its dire finish by Mustapha Khemal, the “George Washington” of Turkey. (47) ———————

The New York Times, September 19, 1922

200,000 IN SMYRNA HOPELESS OF RESCUE Three Destroyers in Harbor, but Their Crews Must Do Guard Duty Ashore

TURKS ABDUCT CHRISTIANS Suicide by Drowning Becomes Commonplace—Hundreds of Bodies Floating in Harbor. CONSTANTINOPLE, Sept. 18 (Associated Press). All the Americans who have returned to Constantinople from Smyrna depict the situation as one of inconceivable horror. Nearly 200,000 distracted and cowering refugees remain in the city and environs, imploring to be saved. Their cries remain unanswered because there are no ships to rescue them. The American destroyers Edsall, Lawrence and Simpson are lying in the harbor, but their commanders must turn a deaf ear to the agonizing cries from shore, for their crews are needed on

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land to keep the situation from degenerating into an orgy of madness and revolution. Thousands of Christians are being taken into the interior by the Kemalists. Only Providence knows their fate. According to eye-witnesses suicide by drowning has become commonplace. Crazed mothers entreat the American bluejackets to take their babies, so they may be free to drown themselves. Mingled among the inanimate masses of prostrate humanity of the quay are hundreds of dead horses, sheep and mules which fled maddened from the fire only to perish at the water’s edge. Hundreds of Bodies in Harbor. The bodies of hundreds of Christians who were slaughtered or who found death at their own hands on the night of the fire have come to the surface of the harbor, giving the desolate city a more ghastly aspect. The Americans, French and Italians have urged the Turks to help remove the litter of bodies from the ruins, but no heed has been paid to these requests. The Angora Government, through its representative here, has been notified by the allied Commissioners that the neutral zones as defined by the allied Governments must not be violated. An official’s note to this effect was handed to HAMID BEY today by the Commissioners. EDWARD M. FISHER of Reading, Pa. director of the Y. M. C. A. at Smyrna, who was robbed and narrowly escaped death at the hands of Turkish irregulars a few days ago, has returned to Constantinople. He gave the Associated Press a vivid picture of the fire and terrible incidents which followed. Story of American Eyewitness. “The scene resemLYTTON’S bled BULWER ‘Last Days of Pompeii,’[1] said Mr.

BEFORE THE SILENCE

Fisher. “The fire started Tuesday afternoon, and within ten hours had spread nearly two miles. The lamentations of the women and the piercing cries of the children are still ringing in my ears. It seemed as if reason had fled and the fire and sword of the Turk had triumphed. “In an incredibly short time the quay was a seething mass of horrified humanity. The Christian population has already lived through a nightmare of intimidation of slaughter by the Turks; it needed only the fire to complete their frenzy. Mobs of them surrounded the American sailors doing patrol duty and begged in the name of the Saviour and America that they be saved, but our bluejackets were helpless. “The heat of the spreading flames was unendurable. The refugees dipped blankets into the water of the bay and wrapped them around their bodies. Others fled up side streets, goaded by the overpowering heat, only to find Turkish soldiers with machine guns[2] ready to slay them. The harness of horses took fire and infuriated animals dashed among the dense crowds of the pier, trampling many to death.” Massacred by Hundreds. Other Americans arriving here today from Smyrna gave graphic descriptions of the scenes they witnessed in that city during the great fire and attendant disorders. One, a resident of Smyrna for ten years, said the Turkish troops massacred hundreds of Christians and then deliberately set fire to the city to cover up their crime.[3] Some of the inhabitants, driven insane by the reign of terror which ensued, rushed to the harbor and drowned themselves. A naturalized American citizen shot himself dead when the Kemalists seized his wife and sister.

ARCHIVAL NEWS REPORTS

Other Americans were intimidated with pistols and robbed. Lieut. Commander JOHN B. RHODES, Commander of the American destroyer Litchfield, with five bluejackets saved six British civilians from death after the British forces evacuated the city. American sailors at the peril of their lives rescued thousands of the refugees while the fire was in progress. CHESTER GRISWOLD, American merchant, performed almost superhuman work, succoring terrorized Christians by his successful pleas with their would-be Turkish slayers. H.C. JACQUITH of Darien, Conn., who was in Smyrna from the time of the invasion to the destruction of the city,[4] told The Associated Press correspondent: “The American people should be proud of the valor and intrepidity of their sailors, who showed reckless unconcern for their own security, helping women and children to escape from the holocaust.[5] They forced their way with bayonets through the densely congested crowds of crazed fugitives which extended for two miles along the quay, consoling and comforting the women and children.” NOTES: Many in the “irregular” army were thugs released from Turkish prisons. Nevertheless, they obeyed their commander, Mustafa Kemal explicitly. As prescribed––their loot was their pay. The Allied ships standing in the harbor consisted of American, English, French, Italian ships. The Japanese merchant/cargo ship was neutral. 1 The Last Days of Pompeii By Edward Bulwer-Lytton published in 1834 was a widely read book. 2 Machine guns were not often used because of lack of bullets. But there were times when the Turks were well supplied with bullets. 3 This presents one more reason that the Turks set the arson fires. It was not an 4 invasion as reported; it was a liberation by the Greek Army sanctioned by the Allies of WWI.

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The word 5 holocaust––is derived from the Greek word (ολοκαυστóν) holokauston––was used well before the extermination of the Jews by Hitler and the Nazis. (SKK) ———————

The New York Times, September 19, 1922

INDIAN MOSLEMS REJOICE. _________

Decorate Houses and Celebrate Turkish Victory in Mosques. BOMBAY, Sept. 18,—The Kemalist victories are being celebrated here today. The mosques are crowded with worshippers. A day of prayer and thanksgiving was held yesterday. The Moslem quarters are decorated and processions in honor of MUSTAPHA KEMAL PASHA parade the streets. Turkish flags about and at night there are brilliant illuminations. ■ _________ CALCUTTA, Sept. 18,— This city was placarded yesterday with notices announcing that the Moslems throughout India would celebrate the Turkish victory. All were enjoined to assemble in the Mosques and pray for the success of the Turkish army. ———————

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The New York Times, September 19, 1922

SAW ARMENIANS MASSACRED. French Actor Declares Smyrna Slaughter Was Without Provocation. Special Cable to THE NEW YORK TIMES PARIS, Sept. 18, [1922]—An account by an eyewitness of the massacre of Armenians by KEMALIST soldiers during the first days of the occupation of Smyrna before the city was burned will be published by The Matin tomorrow. The eyewitness is ROBERT NADER, a French actor, who with his wife was filling an engagement at Smyrna at the time of the fall of the city, and who arrived at Marseilles today on the Lamartine, which brought 250 refugees of all nattions. After describing the events preceding the entry of the Turkish troops, M. NADER said: “On the morning that the first Turkish troops entered the city, after having fired on some Greek patrols, who fled, the Turks proclaimed martial law, and notices signed by KEMAL PASHA[1] were posted on the walls proclaiming that after eight o’clock no citizen must appear in streets, but that at the same time Christians would suffer no harm. “The very same evening the massacre of Armenians began without the least provocation. It was a veritable butchery. I saw with my own, eyes some groups of Armenians put to death with terrible tortures. Turks first cut off their noses, then their ears and their hands. Even women and children were not spared. “I myself was molested by Turkish soldiers who took from my wife and myself all our jewels and all our money.”

BEFORE THE SILENCE

M. NADER left Smyrna just as the first columns of smoke arose at the beginning of the great fire.” ■ NOTE: The word 1Pasha was used as a title for military and civil officers in Turkey. (SKK) ———————

The New York Times, September 19, 1922

URGES HARDING[1] TO ACT TO AVERT WORLD WAR Women’s Board of Missions Wants American Warships Sent to Guard Constantinople BOSTON, Sept. 18.—A message urging American intervention “to prevent a possible world war through the occupation of Constantinople, by the KEMALISTS.” was sent tonight to PRESIDENT HARDING by the Board of Directors of the Women’s Board of Missions. The board, which directs missionary organizations in all the Atlantic States, transmitted to the President, a copy of resolutions adopted at a meeting here today, as follows: “Whereas, the action of the Kemalists in destroying life and property in Smyrna is against the cause of civilization and humanity, and, “Whereas, in the destruction of property the American Collegiate Institute for Girls in Smyrna belonging to this board has been burned, the students seized, and the work of years destroyed, and, “Whereas, if the Kemalists are not prevented from crossing into neutral territory at Constantinople, the cause of Christianity and civilization, in Eastern Europe is at stake, therefore,

ARCHIVAL NEWS REPORTS

“Be it resolved, that we urge the Government of the United States to protest immediately against such contempt of civilized law and to send warships at once to stand with those of the Allies to forestall further destruction of life and property and to prevent a possible world war through the occupation of Constantinople by the Kemalists.” ■ NOTE: U.S. President Warren G. Harding (Republican) was the 39th President of the United States. His term in office began March 4, 1921. He died of a heart attack on August 2, 1923. Harding was preceded by Woodrow Wilson and was succeeded by Vice President Calvin Coolidge. (SKK) PLEASE READ: Simpson, Christopher, The Splendid Blond Beast: Money, Law, and Genocide in the Twentieth Century. Monroe, Maine: Common Courage Press, 1995. EXCERPT: ….but the systematic effort (chiefly by the 1Harding administration) to turn U.S. public opinion towards Turkey was purely and simply motivated by the desire to beat the untapped resources of that country, and chiefly the oil.” (33) ———————

Japan Times & Mail, September 20, 1922

Japan Neutral In Truce-Greek Developments Country Refuses To Be Drawn Into Present Conflict In Near East Japan is represented on the Allied Commission in charge at Constantinople by a High Commissioner, who is naturally taking part in the planning for the defense of that city, but it is altogether unlikely that Japan will be represented if any Allied force that may be raised to send against the Turks should MUSTAFA KEMAL attempt to carry out his threat to seize the Golden Horn.

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There are no ships of the Japanese Navy west of Suez, which might be sent to the scene of latest trouble and none will be despatched to join the British, Italian, American and French warships in the Dardanelles. “Japan has no interests whatever to guard in Europe and no inclination to interfere in any way in any European quarrel,” says an official of the Foreign Office. “This country is a signatory of the Treaty of Versailles and of the Covenant of the League of Nations, buts there is nothing in either the treaty or the covenant to oblige this country to send any forces anywhere and as the decisions of the League of Nations to call upon its members to act must be unanimous, the League cannot call upon Japan without Japan’s consent, which will never be given in any European question.” ■ PLEASE READ: Papoutsy, Christos. Ships of Mercy: Rescue of the Greeks. Portsmouth, New Hampshire: Peter E. Randall, LLC, 2008. ———————

The New York Times, September 20, 1922

HARDING TO KEEP OUT OF NEAR EAST CRISIS White House Statement Says We Will Take No Part in Political and Military Situation.

SHIPS TO GUARD INTERESTS No Co-operation With Allies in Defense of Straits—Two House Moves for Mediation. WASHINGTON. Sept. 19.—The statement was authorized at the White House today that the American Government

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does not expect to participate actively in any settlement of the political and military difficulties of the Near East and that under no circumstances will American military or naval forces be used for the defense of the Dardanelles. It was stated that such American warships as are in the waters adjacent to Smyrna and Constantinople are there solely for the purpose of protecting American lives and property and that no battleships will be sent to co-operate with allied warships. While detailed maps covering Constantinople and the neutral zones protecting the Straits were at hand, it was said the Cabinet at today’s session did not discuss the Near Eastern situation in any way. Officials of the State Department and of the military branches of the Washington Government are watching developments in the Near East closely, however, because they believe the situaton is filled with possibilities which might draw American attention more closely at some future time. The President was requested in a resolution introduced today by Representative London, Socialist, of New York to offer to mediate “between the powers now contending in the Near East and in the Balkans.” Another resolution touching on the Near Eastern situation was introduced by Representative KINDRED, Democrat, of New York. It would request the President to express to the Government of Turkey the moral outrages in Asia Minor and against the continued persecution of Armenians, Jews and Christian peoples. The resolution also would ask the President to take up with Great Britain, France and Italy the question of calling a conference to consider methods by which the Armenians might be given opportunity to establish themselves as a

BEFORE THE SILENCE

nation and to give to the Christians and Jews of Turkey “freedom and the rights enjoyed by other civilized nations.” General H. H. TOPAKYAN, Commissioner of the Persian Government and former Consul General of Persia in New York City, who is in Washington, announced today he planned to protest to President Harding against retention of Rear Admiral BRISTOL as American High Commissioner in Constantinople on the grounds that the Admiral is too friendly with the Turks and unfriendly to the Armenians, Greeks and Jews. ■ NOTE: Admiral Bristol was an unabashed racist who abused his power and yielded catastrophic influence to satisfy his self-serving interests. (SKK) PLEASE SEE: The Christian Science Monitor, 13 July 1922. Headline: “Near East Relief Prevented From Helping Greeks.” PLEASE SEE: The New York Times, 17 September 1922. Headlines: “Only Ruins Left in Smyrna” “Fire Has Swept the City Proper and Is Raging in Suburbs” “Americans Give Sole Aid” “Naval and Relief Forces Grapple With Task of Succoring 200,000 Christians” “Sailors Rescued Hundreds” “But Were Forced to Turn Back Thousands Who Swam in Darkness to our Warships”. ———————

The New York Times, September 20, 1922

RELIEF FUNDS GATHERING. Sister of Dr. Post is One of the First Contributors Officials of the Near East Relief announced yesterday that the movement is showing progress. Among the first contributors ALFRED POST CAHART of was MRS. Roslyn, L. I., a sister of DR. WILFRED POST, who is in charge of the Near East Relief ’s medical work in Smyrna. MRS. CAHART sent a check for $500. Chairmen of branch organizations of the Near East Relief in various States informed headquarters that they had begun campaigns for the Smyrna victims.

ARCHIVAL NEWS REPORTS

JULIAN ZELCHENKO, head of the New Jersey branch, announced that he would open a campaign for $250,000 with a meeting in the ROBERT TREAT HOTEL,[1] Newark, on Thursday night. Relief officials in Minnesota reported that they had collected large quantities of wheat and other foodstuffs. The campaign in New York is under the direction of the New York branch of the Near East Relief, with the offices in the same building as National Headquarters, 151 Fifth Avenue. Officials of the State branch asked that funds be sent to CLEVELAND H. DODGE at that address. J. KYRIAKIDES, President of the Greek Flag Tobacco Company, of 42 Madison Avenue, sent a telegram to PRESIDENT HARDING yesterday on behalf of 3,000 Greeks in this city, whose names were affixed to the telegram, which read: “In our anguish we appeal to you, the first citizens of our adopted country, to save from the claws of the bloodthirsty Turk the Christians that are still being tortured by him.” A Greek mass meeting will be held this evening at 7:30 o’clock in the hall of the Greek Orthodox church of ST. ELEPHTHERIOS[2] at 359 West Twenty-fourth Street. ■ NOTES: 1The Robert Treat Hotel remains a landmark hotel in Newark, New Jersey. 2 The beloved Saint Eleftherios Greek Orthodox Church remains at the same location on 24th Street between 8th and 9th Avenues in New York City. PLEASE VISIT: (SKK) ———————

The New York Times, September 20, 1922

200,000 IN SMYRNA HOPELESS OF RESCUE Three Destroyers in Harbor, but Their Crews Must Do Guard Duty Ashore.

––––––––– TURKS ABDUCT CHRISTIANS ––––––––– Suicide by Drowning Becomes Commonplace—Hundreds of Bodies Floating in Harbor. CONSTANTINOPLE, Sept. 18 (Associated Press). ––All the Americans who have returned to Constantinople from Smyrna depict the situation as one of inconceivable horror. Nearly 200,000 distracted and cowering refugees remain in the city and environs, imploring to be saved. Their cries remain unanswered because there are no ships to rescue them. The American destroyers Edsall, Lawrence and Simpson are lying in the harbor, but their commanders must turn a deaf ear to the agonizing cries from shore, for their crews are needed on land to keep the situation from degenerating into an orgy of madness and revolution. Thousands of Christians are being taken into the interior by the Kemalists. Only Providence knows their fate. According to eye-witnesses suicide by drowning has become commonplace. Crazed mothers entreat the American bluejackets to take their babies, so they may be free to drown themselves. Mingled among the inanimate masses of prostrate humanity of the quay are hundreds of dead horses, sheep and mules which fled maddened from the fire only to perish at the water’s edge.

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Hundreds of Bodies in Harbor. The bodies of hundreds of Christians who were slaughtered or who found death at their own hands on the night of the fire have come to the surface of the harbor, giving the desolate city a more ghastly aspect. The Americans, French and Italians have urged the Turks to help remove the litter of bodies from the ruins, but no heed has been paid to these requests. The Angora Government, through its representative here, has been notified by the allied Commissioners that the neutral zones as defined by the allied Governments must not be violated. An official note to this effect was handed to Hamid Bey today by the Commissioners. Edward M. Fisher of Reading, Pa. director of the Y. M. C. A. at Smyrna, who was robbed and narrowly escaped death at the hands of Turkish irregulars [1] a few days ago, has returned to Constantinople. He gave the Associated Press a vivid picture of the fire and terrible incidents which followed. Story of American Eyewitness. “The scene resembled Bulwer Lytton’s ‘Last Days of Pompeii,’ said Mr. Fisher. “The fire started Tuesday afternoon, and within ten hours had spread nearly two miles. The lamentations of the women and the piercing cries of the children are still ringing in my ears. It seemed as if reason had fled and the fire and sword of the Turk had triumphed. “In an incredibly short time the quay was a seething mass of horrified humanity. The Christian population has already lived through a nightmare of intimidation of slaughter by the Turks; it needed only the fire to complete their frenzy. Mobs of them surrounded the American sailors doing patrol duty and begged in the name of the Saviour and

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America that they be saved, but our bluejackets were helpless. “The heat of the spreading flames was unendurable. The refugees dipped blankets into the water of the bay and wrapped them around their bodies. Others fled up side streets, goaded by the overpowering heat, only to find Turkish soldiers with machine guns ready to slay them. The harness of horses took fire and the infuriated animals dashed among the dense crowds of the pier, trampling many to death.” Massacred by Hundreds. Other Americans arriving here today from Smyrna gave graphic descriptions of the scenes they witnessed in that city during the great fire and attendant disorders. One, a resident of Smyrna for ten years, said the Turkish troops massacred hundreds of Christians and then deliberately set fire to the city to cover up their crime. Some of the inhabitants, driven insane by the reign of terror which ensued, rushed to the harbor and drowned themselves. A naturalized American citizen shot himself dead when the Kemalists seized his wife and sister. Other Americans were intimidated with pistols and robbed. Lieut. Commander John B. Rhodes, commander of the American destroyer Litchfield with five bluejackets, saved six British civilians from death after the British forces at the peril of their lives rescued thousands of refugees while the fire was in progress. Chester Griswold, American merchant, performed almost superhuman work, succoring terrorized Christians by his successful pleas with their would-be Turkish slayers. H. C. Jacquith of Darien, Conn., who was in Smyrna from the time of the invasion to the destruction of the city,

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told The Associated Press correspondent: “The American people should be proud of the valor and intrepidity of their sailors, who showed reckless unconcern for their own security, helping women and children to escape from the holocaust. They forced their way with bayonets through the densely congested crowds of crazed fugitives which extended for two miles along the quay, consoling and comforting the women and children.” ■

“American Consular Building, Smyrna before which Turkish soldier poured inflammable liquids. It was completely consumed.” George Horton, U.S. Consul General

PLEASE READ: New York Times, 9 October 1922. Headlines: “Woman Pictures Smyrna Horrors” “Dr. Esther Lovejoy, an Eyewitness, Tells of Terrible Scenes on the Quay.” “She Assails Neutrality” “Declares it a Crime for the World to Lack Means to Prevent Such Outrages.”

SOURCE: The Blight of Asia, By George Horton. BEFORE THE ARSON FIRES

EXCERPT: 1 When anything particularly atrocious was to be done they were assigned to the task, and the Turkish High Command promptly disclaimed any responsibility on the ground that the acts were those of “irregulars.” Moreover, during the occupation and sack of Smyrna there was never an hour when there were not ample regular Turkish troops in the city to quell any disturbance. Hence, Kemal’s excuse that the outrages committed were merely the acts of the chettes is obviously fallacious because: first the chettes were part of the regular Turkish Army; and second, even if they had not been, the Turkish Army had the city under complete control. This was admitted by Secretary of State Hughes, who in a statement made to Senator Lodge in the winter of 1923, said that the responsibility for what happened at Smyrna was with the military authorities in command of the city at that time. (26, 27) ––The Great Betrayal: A Survey of the Near East Problem, by Edward Hale. 1924. Hale was Executive Secretary of the Emergency Committee for Near East Refugees. RELIABLE SOURCE: My friend’s mother-in-law, Irene Pittaris, was 13 years old when she was rescued by “a Japanese ship.” She recounted seeing dead bodies being thrown overboard into the sea, before they reached Piraeus. Sadly, the name of the Japanese cargo sip remains unknown. She would complain that one of the American ships close by only took photographs but would not take hers or others on board. (SKK) ———————

AFTER THE ARSON FIRES

The New York Times, September 21, 1922

OUR SMYRNA CONSUL PRAISES AMERICANS Horton, in Athens, Says Countrymen Disregarded Their Own Safety to Aid Distressed.

RAISED BIG RELIEF FUND Automobiles From American Firms, Flying Stars and Stripes, Helped Throughout the City. ATHENS, Sept. 20 (Associated Press). —“During my consulship at Saloniki I

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was bombed by Bulgars and Germans and during my official career I have had many rough experiences with submarines and fire, but never in my life have I seen anything like the Smyrna catastrophe,” is the manner in which GEORGE HORTON, the American Consul General at Smyrna in his remarks on the disaster, summed up to the Associated Press his experiences in Asia Minor. Consul General Horton explained that his official position prevented his commenting on the incidents in Smyrna. “I cannot give an interview,” he said, “but it is my duty to speak of the splendid heroism and self-sacrifice of the American colony in Smyrna. “When the situation became dangerous, I, in collaboration with Captain ARTHUR J. HEPBURN, Chief of Staff to Admiral BRISTOL, arranged for the safety of the American colony. I took over a theater in Smyrna and had it guarded by marines. I told the members of the colony to come to the theater twice daily to receive the latest bulletins on the situation. I summoned the principal members of the colony to discuss the general situation. “Thousands of refugees in the despairing city were absolutely hungry and destitute. Rufus W. LANE, an American in Smyrna, spoke up on one occasion and said that they had not come to the meeting to look out for their own safety, but to look out for those of the starving people. Francis W. BLACKLEY, another American, agreed in this and gave 200 Turkish pounds to start a subscription list for the refugees. STANLEY W. SMITH of the Standard Oil Company in Smyrna gave 500 Turkish pounds. Women Stayed at Their Posts. “We started the work of relief immediately. The American firms contrib-

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uted the use of their automobiles and trucks. They never saw them again, because they were burned up. Representative Americans, members of the Y.M.C.A. and professors of the American College organized a central committee. Within an hour while the automobiles were still in their possession and with the Stars and Stripes flying over the city, administering relief. Their first effort was made among Americans. Their conduct was generous and heroic, even under the greatest difficulties. We urged the American women teachers, in the girls’ school of the Y.W.C.A. to leave Smyrna, but they refused point blank to leave their posts until driven by the flames. “These brave women labored unceasingly without food and sleep. Some are still there.” MRS. HORTON remained with her husband at the Consulate until it was finally burned. The Consul General and his wife embarked on the United States destroyer Simpson, with sixty-five other Americans, and came to Athens. Vice Consul Maynard H. BARNES remained in the devastated city, with twelve other Americans, who were chiefly engaged in relief work. Consul General Horton is now suffering mental strain. A Japanese merchantman brought succor to the refugees en route to Greece and gave them the kindest treatment.[1] Americans speak with admiration of a Turkish girl who was attached to the American school. She having no thought to her own safety, ran to the Turkish lines, seeking to save the Greek women and children. She succeeded eventually in reaching Athens. American observers say that the Turks fired on refugees who tried to swim to safety. Thrilling experiences were related by other American refugees who arrived

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here. Among them were Mr. and Mrs. W.H. Boyd of New York, MR. AND MRS. J. E. ARCHIBALD of Washington, D. C., and MR. AND MRS. ROGERS of Memphis, Tenn. Mr. Archibald and MR. BOYD procured a launch in the Smyrna Harbor and saved fifty refugees by taking them to the American steamer Winona. The former gave refuge to 2,000 Greeks and Armenians in his home just outside Smyrna. Mrs. Boyd stated that when the Turkish army entered both men and horses looked fat and healthy.[2] Led Orphans Through Fire. All accounts of the rescue work are piling up evidences of the notable part played by Americans. For instance, there is the story told by MISS Jean CHRISTIE of Springfield, Mass., director of the American Y.W.C.A. in Smyrna. She is now in Athens as a refugee and speaks of her own part in the tragedy with all modesty, yet by others it was declared that she had displayed remarkable bravery and resourcefulness. With Miss Myrtle NOLAN, also an American. Miss Christie conducted a school for children. “When the fire started,” she said, “refugees began streaming into the city, moaning,, weeping and imploring for help. I thought of the 150 Armenian orphans in the houses and school near by, and thought it best to bring them to the Y.W.C.A. When I got there I found the building afire and led them through the streets to another Y.W.C.A. The children screamed pitifully, fearing the Turkish soldiers, who were everywhere. “Soldiers stopped us on the streets, but I pleaded with them to let us proceed without harm, and they did so. The scene that night was terrible. Flames, accompanied by resounding ex-

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plosions, advanced steadily, consuming everything including the Y.W.C.A., and we lost all. We were ordered to take refuge on an American steamer. Twelve American bluejackets escorted us to the waterfront, where we embarked on the American steamer Winona. The streets were filled with dead and dying, and one man was shot before my eyes. “Bodies were lying on the quay. The next day I saw the remains of a number of persons floating on the water. It all seems like a nightmare. For ten days we did not take off our clothes. I shall never forget the look of terror those little Armenian children showed as I led them through the streets of Smyrna.” From official circles it was learned here that Dr. Alexander MACLACHLAN of Kingston, Ontario, President of the International College at Smyrna, and an American sailor were stripped and thrashed by the so-called irregular Turkish soldiers. The doctor was badly injured. (A Boston dispatch, reporting a cable from Dr. MacLachlan, stated today that he and his family were safe at Malta.) Another American who is entitled to honorable mention was Captain John M. WALTERS of the steamer Winona, who insisted on returning to the quay to take off additional refugees, including twelve Americans. The Winona finally left under fire from the Turkish army while its officers, as the vessel glided through the water, pulled more refugees aboard. Another American steamer is said to have rescued 600 refugees and landed them at Saloniki. In all about 200 Americans were brought here from the fire. Of these 150 were of Greek origin. ■ COMMENTS: 1 The Japanese ship was a cargo ship that coincidentally was in the harbor with a shipment of silk, laces and

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china, representing many thousands of dollars. It was reported that they dumped the entire cargo into the sea, in order to rescue many of the refugees. The Japanese ship transported the refugees to the safety of the Piraeus harbor in Greece. Despite efforts to learn the name of the Japanese cargo ship, its name remains unknown. 2 This report indicates that the Turkish soldiers appeared to be well fed—contrary to another report that indicates that Turkish soldiers were hungry. (SKK) Books by George Horton, and other U.S. officials, reveal with certainty that the arson fires that burned down the entire Christian neighborhoods of the City of Smyrna (now Izmir) were set by Turkish soldiers. (SKK)

PLEASE READ: Horton, George. The Blight of Asia. Brooklyn, NY: Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1926. London: Sterndale Classics, 2003. Internet: < http://www.hri.org/docs/Horton/HortonBook.htm > PLEASE SEE: The New York Times, 18 September 1922. No Title. Athens. The Japan Times & Mail, 21 October 1922. Headlines: Consul Tells Of Suffering In Near East. U.S. Official Praises Work Of American Colony At Smyrna. The Boston Globe, 3 December 1922. Headline: “Japanese at Smyrna.”

cept the clothes they were wearing. They were taken on board Italian and French warships. ■ ———————

The New York Times, September 21, 1922

TURKS WHET SABRES TO TERRIFY SMYRNA Irregulars Sharpen Swords on Pavement Within Hearing of Refugees Herded on Quay.

OUR BLUEJACKETS ON GUARD 100,000 Christian Fugitives Are Awaiting Disposition—Highest Praise for the Americans.

CIVIL GOVERNOR APPOINTED

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Turks Begin Clearing Bodies From the Ruins—Food and Sanitary Problems Serious.

The New York Times, September 21, 1922

Copyright, 1922 by The New York Times Company. Special Cable to THE NEW YORK TIMES.

POPE SENDS AID TO SMYRNA Orders Further Monetary Help in Addition to 100,000 Lire. ROME, Sept 20 (Associated Press).— Pope Pius XI, who at the moment he heard of the Smyrna fire sent 100,000 lire for the relief of the suffering, has today ordered further monetary help. A telegram received at the Vatican from Smyrna says that the Archbishop’s house and many ecclesiastical buildings were completely destroyed. The cathedral and all the other Catholic churches were not damaged, however. The Archbishop and the clergy barely escaped with their lives. They were unable to carry anything with them ex-

SMYRNA, Sept. 18.—Calm has followed panic in ruined Smyrna. Under the promise of more ships coming to take them away, the remaining 100,000 Christian fugitives have become reassured. They are herded on the quay, with Turkish soldiers guarding them, and American bluejackets patrolling before the American Consulate are watching, too. Chettas, or Turkish irregulars, pass the encamped refugees at intervals and strike terror by whetting their sabres on the pavement, just as they did at the height of Smyrna’s spectacular destruction, a few nights ago. The latest estimates of property damage range from $250,000,000 to $300,000000. The toll of life never will be

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know, the estimates ranging from 1,000 to 5,000. These figures are attributable to those robbed and killed during the occupation and lost in the fire, and do not include those deported to the interior. One outstanding feature of the fire and attendant horrors has been the superb exhibition of American preparedness to cope with a disaster in the distant land. Americans performed heroic work from the start to finish-which is not yet—and won the life-long gratitude of 300,000 unfortunate people. Only now, when order has succeeded the last few chaotic days and nights, has the full extent of this and other phases of the catastrophe been revealed. The American naval units have been singled out for high praise. As one allied officer said, every member of the American naval force was a hero. Bristol’s[1] Prompt Measures. When the first flash of Smyrna’s refugee problem reached Rear Admiral Bristol [1] at Constantinople he sent two of the fastest American destroyers to the scene with instructions to take measures to save life. When their wireless ticked the outbreak of the fire, two more destroyers were dispatched. The first destroyers to reach Smyrna brought American relief units from Constantinople, headed by Major Claffin Davis of Boston, representing the Red Cross, and H.C. Jacquin of Darien, Conn., for the Near East Relief. The second unit of destroyers carried deckloads of flour and other relief supplies. Admiral Bristol[1] also sent his own Chief of Staff. Captain A. J. Hepburn, and an aid, Captain A. Stanton Merrill of Natchez, Miss., both of whom performed gallant service in the face of great personal danger. When the fire was at its worst Merrill marshaled the panic

stricken women and children on the quay and worked with great courage, alleviating their sufferings and calming their fears. Meanwhile bluejackets were guarding American institutions, American citizens and transporting refugees safely to their ships. Co-operating with the navy was a band of devoted Americans which included L. Irving Thomas of Richmond, Va., Director of the Standard Oil Company; F. P. Crane of Montclair, N.J., and Miller Joplin of Richmond, Va., also of the Standard Oil; Chester Grisold of New York, a brother-in-law of Frank L. Polk, ex-Secretary of State, and Edward M. Yantes of Richmond, an official of the Gary Tobacco Company. When the fire was at its height and after the British had evacuated their nationals, Thomas learned that a number of Britishers were cut off by the fire. Tying an American flag to his automobile, Thomas raced through the town at the risk of his life, and brought them out safely. 100 Greeks and Armenians Shot. The city was in a state of terror even before the first fire began. There was considerable indiscriminate killing in the streets and houses and coincident with the arrival of the Kemalists 100 Greeks and Armenians were shot for alleged participation in the assassination of Turks when the Greeks landed in Smyrna in 1919. One American counted thirty-five bodies in the streets of the Armenian quarter the first day of the Kemalist occupation, the bodies being purposely left in the streets thirty-six hours to terrorize the Greek and Armenian populations. Soldiers looted the bazaars in Bournabat and Boudja, in the Armenian quarter. The wildest rumors were believed. Thirty thousand Greek

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prisoners were marched into Smyrna and forced to shout in unison, “Hurrah for Mustapha Kemal.” When an American called on General Nouridine Pasha,[2] commander of the Turkish forces, to make plans for feeding the 150,000 refugees from the hinterland, he replied that the Turkish soldiers had been subsisting on raw barley for two weeks owing to the devastation of the countryside by the retreating Greeks. He urged them to get the Armenians and Greeks out of Smyrna, as it was unsafe to send them to the interior. “If the Allies wish to evacuate the Christians,” he said, “they should send ships quickly.” The fire started at noon on Sept. 12 at three different points in the Armenian quarter, a mile and a half from the waterfront. American sailors on patrol saw Turkish soldiers setting fire to houses. A strong southeast breeze hastened the fire’s progress. It spread to the Greek quarter and then across the principal business thoroughfare to the residential and hotel district along the wide quay. The narrow, crooked streets which run parallel to the quay and the alleys that connected them became choked with tens of thousands of maddening men, women and children, all making for the waterfront. Two Miles of Suffering. When darkness came there were 300,000 people on the quay. The horses pulling street cars bolted and ran into the crowds and laden camels and pack mules, with blazing loads on their backs, ran through frenzied throngs, knocking down children and increasing the confusion. The wind was driving the flames straight for the quay, which is the width of an American avenue, and for a time it looked like certain death for

BEFORE THE SILENCE

all who could not swim to the warships and other craft in the harbor. The terrified screams of women and children rose above the crackle of burning buildings. The flames lighted up the scene like day and revealed a human mall two miles long. Tears were in the eyes of the Americans on destroyers half a mile away as they saw thousands of pairs of women’s arms, outstretched, some of them holding babies, their faces ghastly in the red glow. Meanwhile the small boats of American, British, French and Italian men-ofwar were taking off capacity loads to the ships. Many, impatient at not being rescued, drowned themselves. Others succeeded in swimming to the ships. Mothers pleaded to have their babies taken away even though there was no room for themselves. An American official of a large corporation who has been on every fighting front in the last quarter of a century, including the Boxer rebellion, said he never witnessed such a terrifying spectacle. The American destroyer Simpson embarked with 150 naturalized Americans for Athens, while the destroyer Edsall received a capacity load of 650 Greeks for Saloniki. When the flames reached the American relief station in Smyrna’s finest theatre, the Americans were obliged to take refuge on the destroyer Litchfield. The American consulate on the quay was the next to go. The building occupied by the Gary Tobacco Company, followed and the custodian, Yantes, had a narrow escape while saving the records. Of the panic-stricken crowd on the quay, Yantes said: “The screams are still echoing in my ears. I suppose the sight of those unfortunates will haunt me the rest of my life.”

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Yantes rescued numerous Britishers overlooked in the evacuation of those subjects. During the night the wind decreased and the fire did not reach that part of the quay occupied by the fugitives. All through the night American bluejackets remained on guard on the quay, and their presence was reassuring to the refugees. When morning came two-thirds of Smyrna was in ashes. The old Turkish quarters, out of the path of the flames, was saved. The fire continued Thursday and Friday with diminishing fury, burning itself out at frequent intervals. During those days Turkish soldiers were seen escorting groups of refugees from the quay to the hinterland, to destinations unrevealed. It is estimated that 60,000 refugees have been evacuated by sea. Many also managed to reach the neighboring islands. Most people in Smyrna hold the Turks responsible for the fire, because they were seen setting houses aflame, but the Turks say, “Why should we burn our own city?” ■ EXCERPTS INDICATE THAT PETROLEUM AND MONEY WAS THE MOR-

AL COMPASS:

The U.S. High Commissioner to Turkey was 1Admiral Mark L. Bristol, a man with a reputation as a bigot and a determined advocate of U.S. Alliance with Mustafa Kemal. “The Armenians,” Bristol wrote, “are a race like the Jews—they have little or no national spirit and poor moral character.” It was better for the United States, he contended, to jettison support for the Armenian republic as soon as possible, stabilize U.S. relations with the emerging Turkish government, and to enlist Kemal’s support in gaining access to the oilfields of the former Ottoman Empire. found a receptive affinity for oil interests eventually blossomed into the [in]famous Teapot Dome bribery scandal. (33) Retired U.S. Admiral William Colby Chester joined Admiral Mark Bristol as a leading public spokesman for reconciliation with Turkey. Chester was not a disinterested party. The Turkish government had granted him an oil concession

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in Iraq that was potentially worth hundreds of millions of dollars. (35) Simpson, Christopher, The Splendid Blond Beast: Money, Law, and Genocide in the Twentieth Century. Monroe, Maine: Common Courage Press, 1995. EXCERPT: [General] 2 Nurredin Pasha, the Turkish commander-in-chief who is said to have adopted the medieval plan of turning [Archbishop Chrysostom of Smyrna] him over to the fanatical mob to work its will upon him…..it is certain that he was killed by the mob. He was spat upon, his beard torn by the roots, beaten, stabbed to death and then dragged about the streets. (86) Horton, George. The Blight of Asia. Reprint: London: Sterndale Classics, 2003. Chapter 16, “The Turks Arrive”. ———————

The New York Times, September 22, 1922

HOPE FOR COMPROMISE. French Believe Evacuation of Zone Would Appease Kemal. By EDWIN L. JAMES Copyright, 1922 by The New York Times Company. Special Cable to THE NEW YORK TIMES. PARIS, Sept. 21.—The French expect that when the Near East Conference resumes tomorrow Lord CURZON will give British consent to the withdrawal to the European bank of the Straits of the English troops on the Asiatic side in the vicinity of Chanak, thus leaving the maintenance of the neutrality of the Dardanelles for naval forces. It is said here that Lord Curzon recommended to London the adoption of this course. But it is by no means so likely, and the French recognize it, that the British Government will consent to the occupation at once of Eastern Thrace by the Turks. In response to the Italian and French contention yesterday that inasmuch as the Turks would eventually get

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Thrace they might as well have it now. Curzon expressed opposition, reasoning that it was bad diplomacy because if the Allies gave the Turks everything they asked for now, they would have no cards to play at the peace table to win. Turkish agreement to the proper control of the Straits. He pointed out that if the French policy were followed there would be nothing left for the Allies to do except to sign on the dotted line to which KEMAL’s finger might point. That this may or may not be a pleasing prospect for the French Government doesn’t mean for the British Government having perhaps different motives and different aims, would quickly swing to the French suggestion. Knowing there is grave doubt as to English acquiescence in Kemal’s Thracian demand, the Paris Government hopes that the concession of allied evacuation, which means British evacuation of the Asiatic side of the Straits, will lead Kemal to abandon for the moment his insistence on an immediate occupation of Eastern Thrace. So tomorrow’s conference depends largely on the decisions of the British Cabinet today. The French appear as optimistic as ever and say the Turkish Peace Conference will meet the first week of October in Rome or Venice. At yesterday’s meeting Earl BEATTY for the British Navy and Admiral GASSET for the French Navy agreed that the British and French Navy agreed that the British and French ships now in Turkish waters could prevent any crossing by Kemalist forces in defiance of the Allies, and Marshal FOCH gave it as his opinion that the position at Chanak would be difficult to hold against Kemal with fewer than 60,000 men. However, all of this calculation on preventing the Kemalists crossing the

BEFORE THE SILENCE

position to give him permission to do so in order to occupy Thrace and thereon appears to hinge the situation, with M. POINCARÉ standing between the British and the Turks. The American Government will have an opportunity to attend the Near East Conference if it wishes, although it is not likely that a formal prayer will be sent to the Washington State Department, being informed unofficially that America would be welcome. However, in view of the American Government’s intention not to exert itself in any way to regulate the Near East problem, the absence of an American unofficial observer from a Near Eastern conference would perhaps be less regretted by the Allies than our absence from preceding international gatherings. Although, on the one hand, we would have presented to us an opportunity to protect endangered Christians in Turkey on whom American churches have spent so much time and money, yet, on the other hand, our Government would face the opportunity of having to say yes or no in a first-class Balkan row that may grow out of the Thracian problem. ■ COMMENTARY: This news article affirms what Turkish propagandists deny, that Mustafa Kemal’s victory was aided and abetted by the Western Powers. The Greek Army was still powerful and in possession of Eastern Thrace. They would have taken Constantinople and would have crushed the Kemalists, but were not permitted to do so by the Italians, French, and the British. The debate over when to give Eastern Thrace to the Turks was devoid of morality and decency, and exposed the hypocrisy of the three countries and their false concern for the Christians. The Christians were condemned once and for all when the Turks were permitted to take Eastern Thrace, and the previous conquests by the Kemalists were done with the complicity of the Western Powers. Mustafa Kemal was nothing without the backing of the powers. —THEODOROS G. KARAKOSTAS ———————

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The New York Times, September 22, 1922

RESCUE WORK AT SMYRNA. In the hell that was Smyrna when the Turkish soldiers got out of hand, the members of the American colony, women as well as men, relief workers, teachers, nurses, merchants and the consular officers, thought less of the perils of their position than of succoring and saving others. “It is my duty,” said CONSUL GENERAL HORTON, “to speak of the splendid heroism “and self-sacrifice of the American “colony in Smyrna.” There is a thrill in the story of JEAN CHRISTIE, Director of the American Women’s Christian Association, going to the rescue of Armenian children when the home was in flames, leading them through mobs of Turkish soldiers in the streets, and getting them unscathed down to the waterfront and the protection of the American bluejackets. “For ten days,” said this Massachusetts girls, “we did “not take off our clothes. I shall “never forget the look of terror on “the faces of those little Armenian “children as I marched them through “the streets.” Unafraid American womanhood commanded the respect of the Turk. At a meeting called by CONSUL GENERAL HORTON the American merchants made liberal subscriptions for the relief of refugees. Professors of the American College put themselves at the service of a central committee. Automobiles and motor trucks flying the American flag were driven all over the city by volunteers, who distributed food and supplies until the conflagration threatened to envelop them. They had to abandon some cars to the flames. The American women teachers

in the girls’ schools “refused point“ blank to leave their posts until driven “away by fire.” Some of them still remain in Smyrna. HORTON and his wife did not leave the Consulate until it was burning. One American merchant commandeered a launch and brought off fifty refugees to the steamer Winona. Her captain took aboard refugees under Turkish fire. An American with a big house outside Smyrna threw it open to all the Greeks and Armenians it would hold. As in every emergency, the American sailors who were put ashore behaved with the utmost gallantry, showing the efficiency characteristic of them in handling terror-stricken fugitives and guiding them to safety. “The American people,” says H.C. JACQUITH of the Near Eastern Relief, “should be proud of the intrepidity of “their sailors, who displayed reckless “unconcern for their own security, “helping women and children to es“cape from the conflagration.” The only American warships in the harbor were three destroyers, and in saving life and getting the overflow of refugees aboard merchant ships the crews worked day and night. In the cause of humanity the American flag won new prestige in Smyrna. ‘It is very apparent,” says President HARDING in a letter to Chairman WARREN of the Senate Appropriations Committee, “that we have an obligation to afford relief.” It should not stop with the appropriation of $200,000 recommended. Private charity also has a duty to perform. Funds of the relief societies are low, and the need of aid for the distressed people in the Near East is more urgent than ever. The practical way to recognize the self-sacrifice of American men

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and women in Smyrna is to make a contribution to carry on their work. ■ ———————

The New York Times, September 22, 1922

SMYRNA, Sept. 21 (Associated Press) —Although eight days have passed since fire obliterated Smyrna, 75,000 survivors remain exposed on the quay, destitute distracted and abandoned. No allied vessel has offered to salvage this last wreckage of human life. Nearly a dozen warships remain in the harbor, but some saw a disposition to aid the wretched population except the American destroyers. Deportations continue and Turkish soldiers are beginning to carry off the Greek and Armenian girls, leaving their parents in a frantic state.[1] Sporadic shooting and thefts continue. Smoke is still emerging from the ruins. The Turkish authorities explain that this is due to the burning of human bodies. DR. WILFRED POST of New York, Medical Director of the NEAR EAST RELIEF, has urged the Turks to bury their dead. In order to prevent pestilence. He also has appealed to them to vaccinate every one. In order to guard against cholera and smallpox. ■

Before Archbishop Chrysostomos was brutally torn apart by the Turkish mobs, this photograph was taken of him with the American and Greek military officials in Smyrna. In the background: the arrow points to Basil Efthimiou, Secretary to the Archbishop, and the Chief Homilist and Theologian of the Smyrna Diocese. (1867–1922) PHOTO COURTESY JOHN BARLAS

COMMENTS: 1The “Young Turks” behaved no differently than the sultans that they ousted. The “Young Turks” and the “Nationalists” continued the practice of stealing children for their self-serving bestialities. (SKK)

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The New York Times, September 24, 1922

SLAIN ARCHBISHOP FORESAW MASSACRE CHRYSOSTOMOS SENT LETTER TO FOREIGN OFFICIALS PREDICTING SMYRNA DISASTER. Blame for massacres of Christians in Asia Minor is placed partly upon the negligence of the Greek authorities in a letter written by, to ARCHBISHOP CHRYSOSTOMOS,[1] the Metropolitan of Smyrna Meletios, the Ecumenical Patriarch in Constantinople, during the first days of the advance of the Turks. He asserted that the Greek authorities believed that the Turks would not dare attempt massacres in the twentieth century. The Archbishop himself is reported to have been among those massacred at Smyrna. In his letter, written on Aug.

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31, he foresaw that thousands of Christians would be slain, and said that he blamed the Greek authorities, because the Turks living in Asia Minor were “armed to the teeth,” while the Greeks had been disarmed by the High Commissioner, so that they had no means of defense. A copy of the letter was sent to the Greek Archbishop Alexander in this city and handed to K.L. Tsofainos of the Bulletin of the League of the Greek Liberals in America for publication here. “Everybody feels that the greatest dangers and sufferings hang upon the unfortunate Christian population of the interior and of Smyrna,” wrote the Archbishop, “because it is very well known that the Turkish populations, civic and agricultural, without any exception, are armed to the teeth, thanks to the incomprehensible, because of the last three years’ negligence and good-will of the High Commissionership, and the other Greek military and police authorities. “A victorious entry of the Turkish Army in the cities of the interior, and most especially in the capital city of Smyrna, when to this army shall be added all the armed Turkish populations, which until now were living in full security under the cover of the Greek administration and the protection of the Greek Army, will be marked by excitements of rage and hate and by terrible slaughters. Needless to insist upon this point here, because we all have a very bitter and bloody experience of the continuous and inevitable slaughters and massacres which everywhere are marking the passage of Turks, whether they are victorious or defeated. “Unfortunately, the whole Greek population, that of the cities and of the villages, is armless, thanks to the very stern measures of the High Commission-

er, [2]who has not allowed even the Committee for the Defense of Asia Minor to buy and bear arms and to give arms to civil guards, which would greatly contribute to the rising of the morale of the Greeks for the protection of the lives of the citizens from the armed bands, and the Turkish masses. “Thus, Greeks will be delivered to massacre and destruction. Hundreds of thousands of Greeks will perish without the possibility of the slightest defense, not even for its preservation for a few days or hours, until a European intervention may be effected to save the situation. “We are sending tomorrow committees from among the members of the two bodies under my Chairmanship to the High Commissioner and to the Commander-in-Chief, as well as to the Consuls General of the Great Britain, France, Italy and America, so that we draw their attention to the disasters which are going to take place and which we Greeks feel that they are going to take place throughout Asia Minor on a large scale, although our High Commissioners and the Consuls General are not inclined to believe that it is possible in this twentieth century and in the midst of Europe under the eyes of civilization and Christianity the Turks shall ever commit such massacres. “We are afraid that it will not be allowed to us by some civil and military authorities to cable and make known in time our premonitions to the Courts and Governments of Europe and America. For this reason we also request your Holiness to enlighten the Christian conscience of that civilized peoples, more especially that of the clergy of Europe and America, on the gravest dangers which threaten the Christians of Asia Minor. ■

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COMMENTARY

By The Rev. Dr. Miltiades (Milton) B. Efthimiou, the son of the late Vasilios Efthimiou VASILIOS EFTHIMIOU, following the complete destruction of Smyrna (now Izmir) with a price on his head for being chief theologian to the GREEK ORTHODOX ARCHBISHOP CHRYSOSTOMOS; he escaped to Paris, where he became active in the Office of ELEFTHERIOS VENIZELOS for the Smyrna refugees. He then went on to receive his Doctorate from the Sorbonne, and at the request of ARCHBISHOp ATHENAGORAS, was ordained in order to come to America to help his old CHALKI schoolmate organize the Church in America. In the early ‘30’s, he found time to organize the first MICRASIATIC (ASIA MINOR) SOCIETY, and with others, continued working for the cause of Smyrna with lectures and writings, in memory of his martyred superior, Chrysostomos, who by this time, was a revered Saint among the Micrasiatic people worldwide. Archbishop Chrysostomos of Smyrna was martyred at Smyrna, September, 1922 MBE

CHRYSOSTOMOS—Chryso (golden) stomos (mouth)

1

“[…]A Turkish officer and two soldiers went to the offices of the cathedral and took him to Nureddin Pasha, the Turkish commander-in-chief, who is said to have adopted the medieval plan of turning him over to the fanatical mob to work its will upon him. There is not sufficient proof of the veracity of this statement, but it is certain that he was killed by the mob. He was spat upon, his beard torn out by the roots, beaten, stabbed to death and then dragged about the streets. “His only sin was that he was a patriotic and eloquent Greek who believed in the expansion of his race and worked to that end. He was offered a refuge in the French Consulate and an escort by French Marines, but he refused, saying that it was his duty to remain with his flock. He said to me: ‘I am a shepherd and must stay with my flock.’ He died a martyr and deserves the highest honors in the bestowal of the Greek Church and government. He merits the respect of all men and women to whom courage in the face of horrible death makes an appeal.” Chapter XVI “The Turks Arrive” (136–137) (86, 87) Horton, George. The Blight of Asia. Brooklyn, NY: Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1926. London: Sterndale Classics, 2003. Internet:

NOTE: In recent years, 1Archbishop Chrysostomos has been canonized to Sainthood. In accordance with the Julian Calendar, August 27 marks the day his Eminence was martyred. (SKK) NOTE: The Greek 2High Commissioner, Aristides Stergiadis, was a man of rigid standards that got in the way at times. But by banning firearms from the Christian population in Smyrna, Stergiadis’s edict placed them at the mercy of the Turks who were “armed to the teeth.” (SKK)

The New York Times, September 24, 1922

BISHOP WOULD USE NAVY AGAINST TURKS Cannon Calls for Force, If Necessary, to Avert More Massacres.

WARNS FRANCE AND ITALY Says America Will Hold Them Responsible if They Have Put Turks Back in Power. Special Cable to THE NEW YORK TIMES. LONDON, Sept. 13.—BISHOP CANNON, Chairman of the Southern Methodist Advisory Committee of the American Near East Relief, in a letter to the London Times says: “MR. MORGENTHAU has not expressed too strongly the attitude of the Christian people of America of practically all denominations concerning the duty owed by Western Christianity to protect the Christians of the Near East from the savage murderous fanaticism of the Turks.” Bishop Cannon refers to the resolution adopted by the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church South last May, memorializing the United States Government to take steps “to stop the persecutions which threaten the annihilation of the Christians in the Near East.” Bishop Cannon presented this resolution in person to SECRETARY HUGHES on JULY 10. “After calling his attention to the fact that other great denominations had taken similar action,” says the Bishop, “emphasizing my belief that the Governments of the Christian nations of the world, including that of the United States, would be held responsible by future generations and by Almighty

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God if they did not take whatever steps might be necessary.” Mr. Hughes made official response in a letter which was forwarded to Bishop Cannon in London. One extract from Mr. Hughes’s letter reads: “I am fully aware that the situation of the Christian minorities in Turkey has enlisted to a marked degree the sympathies of the American people. A recent response to this sentiment was made by this Government in signifying its readiness to participate in an international inquiry in Asia Minor. I may add that the department is following carefully the developments in Turkey and sincerely desires to be of service in any practical way.” Bishop Cannon in his letter to The London Times proceeds “If, as the result of encouragement and support from France and Italy, the Turks shall not only have the will but the power to continue persecutions and massacres of Christians in the Near East, the Christians of America will certainly not fail to apportion the blame and while despising the outrageous conduct of the Turks, will not forget that the French and Italian Governments gave a new lease of life to the infidel Turks and thus made practically certain the perpetuation of outrages and murders which have been a disgrace not only to Turkey, but to the Christian Governments of the Western world for many years.” “The American people came into the war to aid Great Britain, France and Italy because they believed the German armies menaced the liberties of the world. American Christian fathers and mothers agreed that their sons should risk their lives on the battlefields for the sake of freedom. They will feel that France and Italy have poorly repaid the American people for the assistance they

rendered if now France and Italy, for whatever reasons, have breathed hope and life into the defeated Turks. American Christians of the Near East from extermination? Are not their lives as precious as were the lives of the men, women and children of France and Italy who were threatened with loss of property and life, with outrage and death, during the recent war? Are they to be deserted because they are comparatively few in number? Has the Turkish power been revived because of French and Italian support? “While, of course, I can speak only for myself, I believe I voice the sentiments of the great mass of American Christians when I say that if France or Italy, or both, have made possible the coming back of the Turks into power they will have to meet their responsibility for it to the American people, and nothing will more certainly alienate the sympathy and the respect of our people * * * “And, if the Governments of Europe can not or will not send ships and troops sufficient to protect Christians from massacres, then they should notify the Turkish Government that it will be treated as an outlaw Government; that it will not be recognized by any Government of the civilized world; that it will not be allowed either to import or to export through the usual channels of trade; that there will be absolute cessation of all intercourse by civilized Governments with a band of murderous cut-throats who openly proclaim that they will not be responsible for massacres of defenseless Christians. “Every possible means should be taken to indicate to these bloodthirsty outlaws of the centuries that Christian civilized men will not shake hands with them or have any sort of intercourse with them. The blood of millions of

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Armenian and Syrian Christians cries to Heaven, and any massacres which have been perpetuated in the past few months by the Greeks in retaliation for Turkish massacres is as dust in the balances compared with the practically continuous massacre of Christians by the Turks. “Neither France nor Italy nor any other country can retain the friendship and respect of the great mass of the American people if that country minimizes or palliates the outrages and massacres committed by the Turks, or if it agrees to any compact or treaty which does not thoroughly safeguard the property and lives of the Christians of the Near East. “Personally, I believe that Christian America will insist that the Government of the United States, shall not cooperate promptly and actively, not only diplomatically, but if necessary with the army and navy, to secure this result.” ■ NOTE: Bishop Cannon’s letter cries out against the: “savage murderous fanaticism of the Turks”- “outrages and massacres committed by the Turks”–– “persecutions which threaten the annihilation of the Christians in the Near East”–– “these bloodthirsty outlaws of the centuries”–– “a band of murderous cut-throats who openly proclaim that they will not be responsible for massacres of defenseless Christians.” (SKK) COMMENTS: 1. The massacres rendered by the Greeks were retaliatory—they were NOT ordered by the Greek Government. Whereas the systematic massacres rendered by the Turks, were systematically ordered by the Ottoman and Turkish Governments over a protracted period of 28 years from 1894 to 1922. 2. Circa 1922, the region of Asia Minor (Turkey) was referred to as the “Near East.” Today, the “Middle East” is the accepted terminology. 3. The Allied Powers stood by and witnessed from their ships the final extermination of the Christians of Asia Minor. And when the dark deed was done, the Allies disembarked from their ships to negotiate business deals with the Turks. (SKK) ———————

The New York Times, September 25, 1922 CONSTANTINOPLE, Sept. 28 (Associated Press).—The Belgian steamship Marie Louise arrived here today from Beirut, Syria, with 1,500 Armenian orphans from the interior of Anatolia. When in mid-Mediterranean the steamer encountered an equinoctial storm. The storm lasted two days and the rudder chains of the steamer snapped, causing the vessel to drive. Finally the chains were welded and the steamer limped into the Bosphorus. The children who were in [the] charge of George St. John Williams of Pittsburgh, former American Vice-Consul at Milan, represent the first batch of 5,000 orphans who were rescued in the interior of Asiatic Turkey. They will be placed in the American Near East Orphanage in the Bosporous. The children traveled from Karput[1] to the frontier of French Syria, 500 miles, principally on foot along the upper Euphrates River. They made the journey in batches of 500.[2] One group was held up and robbed of their meager supplies of food and their baggage by Kurds. The churchmen are besieging the headquarters of the Associated Press for confirmation or denial of the reports that the Kemalists [Mustafa] are coming. They make pathetic entreaties for the Americans to protect them. “Cannot the generous humane people of the United States raise a merciful voice across the ocean to save us from the fury of the Moslems?” is the appeal of the Greek Patriarch. “We already have appealed to your President,” the appeal continues. “America is our only hope. If she fails us, we are lost.” ■ PLEASE NOTE: 1Karput is also spelled: Harpoot, Kharpert, Kharpet.

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PLEASE READ: 2The Globe and Chicago Tribune, 13 September 1922. Headlines: Heroine of 14 Saves Lives, Armenian Orphan Girl Rescues Boys from Edge of Whirlpool Great Effort Kills Her. NOTE: Was it the same group of orphans? Had they not suffered enough! (SKK) ———————

The New York Times, September 25, 1922

Dr. Lovejoy Reaches Smyrna SMYRNA, Sept. 24 (Associated Press). —Dr. Esther Lovejoy of New York, president of the American Women’s Hospitals, has arrived here and will assist in directing the medical relief work for the refugees from Smyrna, Mytilene, and Chios. Dr. Lovejoy will decide where the American Women’s Hospitals can do the most good. She has given $10,000 for relief work and promises more money if the situation demands it. Fourteen thousand survivors of the Smyrna fire have left on British warships. About fifty thousand still remain in the city, not including those who are in hiding and thousands who have been driven into the interior.[1] The Turks are still engaged in expelling refugees from the few remaining houses. Two hundred and fifty Greek girl orphans have been taken to Saloniki on the destroyer Litchfield, but the Turks are not allowing the boys to sail. There is still the most pressing need for ships if the remnant of survivors is to be saved. Kemal Pasha [[Mustafa] has allowed until Sept. 30 for the evacuation of the remaining 50,000 or more refugees here. If vessels are not sent by that time the refugees will be taken into the interior.

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The American destroyers, whose crews have borne the brunt of the relief and patrol work since the fire, are striving to take as great a number as possible to safety, but are hampered by lack of space. American relief workers have endeavored to ascertain the fate of the 200,000 Christians already deported, but have met with indifferent or evasive answers by the Turkish officials. Fethi Bey, Minister of the Interior, has declared that the Nationalist Government is willing to exchange the Christian minorities in Anatolia for Ottoman subjects in the neighboring countries. The Christians, he added, must never hope to return to Western Anatolia. Some of the banks are trying to resume in ten days with improvised facilities, but Americans doubt the success of any business enterprises while Smyrna is in ashes and the interior is desolated. The prosperity of the whole Anatolian area depended on the great fig and tobacco crops, which were almost wholly destroyed by the fire. The survivors continue to live on the cobbled pavements and the quay, without shelter and without food. When Americans go among them distributing bread they are assailed by clamoring refugees who fight among themselves and snarl like famished wolves in their effort to get food. ■ “Sent o the Interior” meant certain death. It meant being forced to work in slave labor battalions, known as amele tuburu (Turkish). Death was inevitable under extremely inhumane conditions. The roads in Turkey were paved by these unfortunate souls. (SKK) 1

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The New York Times, September 25, 1922

STAMBOUL THE CRY OF TURKISH TROOPS Mark O. Prentiss Sees Cavalry, Perfectly Equipped, Marching North From Smyrna.

REFUGEES’ PLIGHT IS WORSE But Arrangements Are Now Being Completed to Evacuate All the Greeks. By MARK O. PRENTISS. Special Representative of the Near East Relief in Smyrna. Copyright, 1922, by The New York Times Company. By Cable and Wireless to THE NEW YORK TIMES. SMYRNA (via Constantinople), Sept. 23.—Upon insistent representation, the Turkish officials have agreed that Greek ships may enter Smyrna harbor and evacuate all Christians except men of military age, provided the ships carry other than the Greek flag. They have arranged for the ships to approach alongside the quay and embarkation is possible without lighters. This greatly facilitates the movement. They have arranged practically a ferry approximately an service to Mytilene[1], hour’s voyage. A temporary concentration camp is available there. The Greek officials have given an assurance of their earnest co-operation in the evacuation to permanent homes. I have made the first civilian survey of the city and its environs and I find conditions growing steadily worse. There is much sickness, although there is no outbreak of contagious disease. The number of destitute now exceeds my original estimate and is still increasing.

The official attitude toward the civillian population is as follows: Every male who appears to be between the ages of 15 and 50 is arrested, robbed and often beaten. The officials insist that all are treated as war prisoners. Conditions among women, children and old men in the streets and concentration camps and in hiding everywhere are pitiful beyond description. Hundreds are huddled together in misery in the side streets and open places. They are visited nightly by soldiers and bandits who again and again strip their victims of any possessions. I have heard hundreds of terrible stories of outrages [rapes] of women, often followed by fiendish murder, which I believe, although utterly impossible of proof. Today I witnessed a large body of perfectly equipped cavalry moving northward in perfect order. The lancers, singing the national song, gave me a new conception of the Turkish Army afield. The commanding officers formally saluted in passing. Many of the soldiers shouted “Stamboul, Stamboul!” Fethi Bey, the Kemalist [Mustafa] Minister of the Interior, has stated that in view of the unprecedented and wanton atrocities perpetrated, the retreating Greek Army has created a state of perpetual individual warfare between Turks and Greeks. The previous condition of peaceful and neighborly trade and social relations is absolutely impossible forever. I hear and firmly believe many stories of Greek atrocities and I have abundant evidence that the Greek Army distributed enormous quantities of ammunition among the civilians in Smyrna and encouraged and organized sniping and bombing. I again urge Americans to believe that there is divided responsibility for this

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terrible situation and ask them to render succor in great quantity, not for any nationals or creeds, but endeavor to relieve the terrible suffering of helpless children. ■ The Island of Mytilene is also known as: Lesbos, Kastro. Stambul (Turkish) shortened for Istanbul. It is the site of Constantinople, (Constantine’s City) the ancient City of Byzantium built by Constantine 1, in the fourth century. In 1930, it’s name was off officially changed to Istanbul. (SKK) 1 2

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The New York Times, September 27, 1922

Report That 900 Christians Were Massacred in Bigha LONDON, Sept. 27.—A few persons who escaped to the town of Dardanelles, south of Chanak, from Bigha, assert that the Christian population in Bigha was massacred by bands of Turks, some of them in uniform, who entered the town five days ago, says a dispatch to The London Times from Constantinople. They seized all the Greeks and Armenians, numbering about 900, and beheaded some and shot the remainder. It is hoped that the stories are exaggerated, the dispatch adds, but news from Brusa and elsewhere in Anatolia indicates that all the irregulars and many of Kemal’s regulars are out of hand. ■ ———————

MISS MINNIE MILLS Teacher American Girls’ College at Smyrna, who saw Turkish soldiers engaged in firing at Armenian houses. PHOTO FROM: The Blight of Asia, (216)

The New York Times, September 29, 1922

Turks Set Fires, Missionary Says Miss Mills Reports from Athens That Allied Battleships Looked On at Massacre BOSTON, Sept. 28.—Miss Minnie B. Mills, Dean of the American College for Women of Smyrna, cabled the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions from Athens today that she believed the true conditions in Smyrna had been misrepresented to the American press. Miss Mills who was among the missionaries to reach Athens from Smyrna, said there was “indisputable evidence” that the Turks set the fires, destroying all Christian quarters. Massacres by the Turks, she said, went on “under the eyes of the allied battleships.” A small proportion of the population escaped, the message stated, the remainder having been massacred, “Only American relief and strong action from the civilized Governments can

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stop the terrible slaughter,” Miss Mills added. The board announced that it was without information as to the individual members its force who remained in Smyrna after the sacking of the city or the condition of those who reached Athens. ■ FROM A RELIABLE SOURCE : “Miss Mills was one of my mother’s teachers when she was a little girl and at that school. My mother spoke of Miss Mills as if she was a Saint.” (AK) PLEASE SEE: The New York Times, 15 September 1922, Headline: “60,000 Are Homeless” EXCERPT from the log of Papoutsy, Christos. Ships of Mercy: The True Story of the Rescue of the Greeks Smyrna, 1922. Portsmouth, NH: Peter E. Randall, 2008. Lieutenant Commander Cazlis of the French vessel Somali: “September 10, … At night I ascertain that the villages are on fire everywhere ….” (106) ———————

The Scotsman, September 30, 1922,

GREAT BRITAIN’S IMPORTANT AID. Great Britain’s efforts on behalf of the refugees from Asia Minor, which appear to have been minimised in certain quarters, are every day assuming more importance. In the work of removing the refugees from Smyrna, British ships have played, and are playing, an important part. The Press Association understands that vessels of the Royal Navy, in addition to removing the entire British colony, were responsible on September 16 and 22 respectively for the transport of 1,749 and 4,407 refugees of all nationalities, while of the 20 vessels ear-marked for the further transport of refugees, 10 has been chartered by the British Government. Each of these is capable of carrying on each journey a large number of refugees, and can ply rapidly between Smyrna and other ports on the Asia Minor coast and the various centres in Western Thrace and the Greek Islands and mainland to which the refugees are being sent.

DIPLOMATIC ACTION. These practical measures have been supported by diplomatic action. The question of the removal of refugees from Smyrna was earnestly considered by H.M. Government as soon as it arose, and full support was at once given to the action taken in Smyrna by the Allies generally with a view to inducing MUSTAPHA KEMAL to allow Greek ships—as being the only large amount of tonnage immediately available—to enter the harbour and take off Christian refugees. His Majesty’s Government have again recently joined in a further request to MUSTAPHA KEMAL that the time limit within which this was to be permitted should be extended to enable a complete evacuation of all refugees. On their arrival the refugees are being cared for by an organisation in Athens, with which the British and American colonies in Athens are co-operating to the fullest extent, MR. LINDLEY, the British Minister, presiding over a local committee with the object of giving immediate help, while other organisations are perfecting their plans for more permanent relief. £50,000 TO THE LEAGUE As has already been announced, the Earl of Balfour, Great Britain’s representative on the Council of the League of Nations, took the initiative in bringing this urgent matter before his colleagues, and was authorized to offer the sum of £50,000 sterling from British public funds as a contribution towards expenses of the League’s organisation for caring for the refugees when landed. This British offer was made in the expectation that the other Great Powers would make a similar contribution to this humanitarian effort, and other countries in proportion. PRIVATE ORGANISATONS. Over and above all official or semi-official assistance, private organisations in Great Britain are working on a large scale. The three British organisations working in connection with Russian relief—the Save the Children Fund, the Russian Relief Fund, and the Friends of Relief Committee, which was co-ordinated last March under the title of the All-British Appeal—have extended the scope

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of their work to include the relief of refugees of all nationalities from Asia Minor and already stores to the value of £10,000 sterling have been released, and are being shipped. SAVED FROM SMYRNA. The first complete list of British refugees who have arrived at Malta on H.M.S. Maine from Smyrna has reached the Foreign Office. The Bavarian arrived at Malta on the 17th from Smyrna with about 290 British refugees on board, and on the following day H.M. S. King George V. arrived with a further party of 36. The complete list of these two parties will be received at the Foreign Office in due course. ■ PLEASE SEE: The New York Times, 2 October 1922. Headlines: “Still Embarking Smyrna Refugees” “Turks Have Granted No Extension of Time, But Americans Continue Their Work.” ———————

The New York Times, Current History October — 1922 A Monthly Magazine of the New York Times

CRIMES OF TURKISH MISRULE By Albert Mackenzie Recently connected with relief work in Turkey Freshly gleaned facts and personal observations offered in refutation of Rear Admiral Chester’s statements— A massacre of 2,000 Armenians and Greeks that took place only a year ago. The article, “Turkey Reinterpreted,” by Rear Admiral Colby M. Chester, in the September CURRENT HISTORY, calls for a refutation. Nothing could be more pernicious. The author’s contention that “Turkey joined the Germans with reluctance” is, if true, the most singular truth in captivity. Turkey’s armies were trained, officered and equipped by Germany before the war started. ENVER PASHA was on German payrolls. The Goeben and the Bres-

lau, German cruisers, were bought by Turkey. It was the only move Turkey had on the board to prevent her complete disintegration. Her lot was already cast with Germany’s. To fight on the side of Russia, her traditional enemy, would have been suicide in view of the indications of that moment. Even to win the war with Russia as an ally would have meant the swamping of Turkey by the big Slav neighbor. Turkey’s political dissolution is classic, and is only because of her flagrant misrule. Since her very advent into history she never ruled over a country that was content with her domination. The Turks are parasites; they have never built a city, their language is a hybrid of other tongues, the paucity of their literature is beyond discussion. Turks never make mechanical or scientific inventions. The Great Mosque of St. Sofia in Constantinople is a rebuilt Byzantine Church, and the greatest monument of her construction, aside from mosques, anywhere in the empire is Roumeli Hissar on the Bosporus. The Turks fight with foreign guns and ammunition; an Austrian firm used to make their fezzes, an Austrian today runs the establishment which supplies uniforms to the army. They make no automobiles, battleships, and airplanes—not even telephone and telegraph sets where there are such. Before 1915 the Christians were, generally speaking, the economic and intellectual developers of Turkey. It is that very thing which let loose the massacres. The Turk was in despair; brains he had not, but might he had. In the last century Turkey’s control at any time over Northern Africa was only nominal. In 1912 the Balkans exploded against her abominable lordship. She lost Tripoli. The Arabs— brother church members—revolted against Turkey, and now have a free State, the Hedjas. The Near East question is not religious, but racial and cultural; religion, however, aggra-

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vates it. The Arabs—more devout Mohammedans than the Turks—broke from Turkish misrule. The Kurds were never propitiated. The Syrians and Palestinians importuned the members of the Paris conference to grant them independence. Subjects of Turkey in those two regions inundated the Crane commission with petitions for independence, or, as an alternative mandate control by America (1,152 petitions to the latter effect). In regard to the Turk as a husband, I will simply relate an incident in the American Hospital in Harput, where I was stationed seven months as a relief worker in 1921–22. A Turk brought his shrouded wife one day to the American Hospital and asked if there was any way of curing her of sterility. He was informed that, if he consented to let her undergo an operation, the woman would in all likelihood be able to bear him children. Fine! When could it be done? He was then told that the operation would cost him four golds, or about $16. Up went his arms in despair and indignation. “What, pay four golds to operate on her, when I can get another wife for a medjidie!” (40 cents). And off he stalked, out of the hospital. But Admiral Chester writes: “In Turkey every man by law and by religion must adequately support and treat with kindness and faithful respect whomsoever he may marry, and, moreover, this he does.” The retired Admiral says that the Adana massacre of 1909 was an “affair” in which “the Armenians, fully armed, arose in their might and drove the Moslems from Adana, killing more of them than they lost by their own causalities.” HERBERT ADAMS GIBBONS, the author of several admirable books on international affairs, was in the courtyard of the Adana Government building when the massacre of 1909 broke out, and he attests with feeling to the crimes by the

Turks. No more trustworthy witness could be found than Mr. Gibbons. I have but recently come from the interior of Turkey, where I lived eight months. With my own eyes I have seen thousands upon thousands of Greek families tramping over the snow-covered mountains of that country. I have seen groups of 3,000 to 4,000 refugees moaning, freezing, dying, with typhus, gangrene, pneumonia, starvation, insanity mothers so weak they could not lift their dead babies from their backs where they had been strapped. I have watched dogs and vultures eat so many bodies that I can tell now just where a dog will start on a fresh carcass for the choicest pieces, and his whole modus operandi until the bones are clean. We have pleaded with officials for mercy to the specters that still survived to allow them to be taken to the American Hospital for treatment. Ofttimes permission was refused. In any case, every refugee we did not treat had to be O.K.’d by a callous Turkish Sanitary Inspector, who had less sympathy for the patients than he would have had for dogs. He begrudged them their lives. As to the virtue of honesty in business, another of Admiral Chester’s arguments, when the Turk is honest it is not a matter of principle, but only because he can’t get away with anything else. Through my hands passed between $ 30,000 and $60,000 each month. It was my duty to pay all bills, and I had to exchange our Turkish paper banknote appropriations into gold and silver, because paper was not the currency in the vilayet of Mamuret-ulAziz. From this contact, day in day out, I grew to know, not only Turkish and Armenian merchants as classes, but the reputation of scores of individuals. The Treasurer of the Province tricked us out of $3,360. One day, nearly half a year afterward, we arranged a trap, to sell him

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a draft which was later dishonored and in that way got back the money. The sonin-law of the Governor of the province sold us wagonloads of wheat that he stole from military warehouses. Even when the owners are alive, the Turks rarely - and rarely means once in twenty-five or thirty cases - pay rent on the shops and homes which they took from the Armenians in the massacre of 1915. On the other hand, the Government collects taxes, where it finds any one to tax, on the Armenian shops which they burned in 1915. Last spring they collected taxes for six years on Armenian shops from any persons who were supposed to have once owned them; and they collected taxes on shops whose sites are now ash-heaps that they themselves made. All this is paltry, however, when compared to the heinousness of the massacres. When I left Constantinople, where I had lived all Summer, to go to the interior, I was pro-Turkish. I felt the majesty of the Turk’s religion, I admired his inscrutable face, his reserved mien. I condoned his evil, because I didn’t know and couldn’t understand. Since then I have seen sights that have made me know and understand. I find another glaring point in the Admiral’s description of the Armenian deportations. “So the Armenians,” he says, “were moved from the inhospitable regions where they were not welcome, and could not actually prosper, to the most delightful and fertile part of Syria. Those from the mountains were taken into Mesopotamia, where the climate is as benign as in Florida and California, whither New York millionaires journey every year for health and recreation, All this was done at great expense of money and effort.” How beautiful to contemplate! Does Colby M. Chester know that the world knows— and knows that he knows—that some

800,000 Armenians perished in those deportations? Even the Turkish newspapers themselves estimated that they had cleared the land of 800,000 “giaours.” I personally know Turks—have been on parties with them— who boast of the number of Armenians they killed. One Kurd in Harput, a member of the old Committee of Union and Progress, glories in the fact that he used seventy-two Armenian girls in the deportations. Today the Turkish peasants, riding on their oxcarts, sing songs about the Paradise of the “sufkiet” (deportations), when they had the prettiest women all to themselves for nothing, and how they chased the ugly ones down the road. If the deportees returned “fat and prosperous” from their voyage, as Mr. Chester writes, why has the Near East Relief spent over $70,000,000, and why is it feeding over 100,000 orphans every day, whose only prayer is “Give us daily bread”? In regard to the “benign” climate of the country through which these deportees passed in the Summer of 1915, I shall quote from Viscount Bryce’s “The Treatment of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire.” This extract is a memorandum by a foreign resident in Turkey at the time of the “sufkiet.” Obviously the source of this testimony coming as it does from a neutral resident, is above reproach. To satisfy myself of its correctness I elicited the story from an Armenian lad in Turkey, who had been in this deportation. His story, of course, was more elaborate, but there was not a single discrepancy to be found, though the boy knew nothing of Viscount Bryce’s book. I quote here pages 266 and 267 of that book: “On the fortieth day the convoy came in sight of the River Mourad, a branch of the Euphrates. Here they saw the bodies of more than 200 men floating in the river, with traces of blood and blood-stained fezzes, clothes and stockings on the

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banks. The chief of the neighboring village took one lira in toll from each man as a ransom for not being into the river. “On the fifty-second day they arrived at another village, and here the Kurds took from them everything they had, even their shirts and drawers, so that for five days the whole convoy marched completely naked under the scorching sun. For another five days they did not have a morsel of bread nor even a drop of water. They were scorched to death by thirst. Hundreds upon hundreds fell dead on the way, their tongues were turned to charcoal, and when, at the end of the five days, they reached a fountain, the whole convoy naturally rushed toward it. But here the policemen barred the way and forbade them to take a single drop of water. Their purpose was to sell it at from one to three liras the cup, and sometimes they actually withheld the water after getting the money. At another place, where there were wells, some women threw themselves into them, as there was no rope or pail to draw up the water. These women were drowned, and in spite of that the rest of the people drank from that well, the dead bodies still remaining there and stinking in the water. Sometimes, when the wells were shallow and the women could go down into them and come out again, the other people would rush to lick or suck their wet, dirty clothes, in the effort to quench their thirst. “When they passed an Arab village in their naked condition the Arabs pitied them and gave them old pieces of clothes to cover themselves with. Some of the exiles who still had money bought some clothes; but still some remained who traveled thus naked all the way to the City of Aleppo. The poor women could hardly walk for shame; they walked all bent double. Even in their nakedness they had found some means of preserving the little money they had. Some kept it in their hair, some in their months.*** “On the sixtieth day, when they reached Viran Shehr, only 300 exiles remained out of all the 18,000. On the sixty-fourth day they gathered together all the men and sick women and children and burned and killed them all. On the seventieth day, when they reached Aleppo, thirty-

five women and children were left out of the 3,000 exiles from H., and 150 women and children altogether out of the whole convoy of 18,000.” Regarding the sufferings of Greeks in Asia Minor, we have the facts presented by MR. VENIZELOS before the Council of Ten of Dec. 30, 1918, in addition to which I have my own figures on the number of Greeks known to be alive now in Eastern Anatolia; these figures, collected in towns which I passed through, were supplemented with data from non-native sources with which I got into communication. Basing an estimate on my own investigations, I am positive that 225,000 Greeks— men, women and children—have met death in Eastern Asia Minor since May, 1921. In September, 1921, I stayed three days in Marsovan and gathered the story of a new massacre there from foreign residents who had been compelled to turn Christians out of their premises to be killed, and who had watched the actual murdering and burials in pits from their windows and even saw some of them being buried alive. So recently had the massacre of these 2,460 taken place that the air was still polluted with decomposed bodies upon my arrival. I smell it yet! The whole Christian quarter of the town was looted and burned and the only moot question is— which official is most responsible? That was just one year ago. No one gets rich laying the Turkish crimes before the world. Rather, one gets into a certain type of disrepute with those whose commercial aims would be best served by smothering such news. The greatest obstacle to imprinting the story of the Turkish massacres on our minds is its inconceivableness. It is almost beyond contemplation. After each outrage on the Armenians and Greeks, the American public is electrified with horror, and being a humane public, it will—if dollars and cents do not stuff its ears and blindfold it—ultimately mete out justice where the

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vanishing peoples cry in supplication. 109 South Twenty-second Street, Philadelphia, Pa., Sept. 6, 1922. ■ PERSONAL NOTE: With tear-filled eyes, this report was most difficult to transcribe. (SKK) PLEASE SEE: The New York Times, 17 June 1922. Headlines: “Says 22,000 Greeks Died on the March” “Ward Declares Only Quick Action by Washington Can Stop Turkish Massacres” “Christian Girls for Harem” “Turks Forbade American Orphanages to Shelter Those Who Were More Than 15.” EXCERPT: […] Chester declared that the Turks had been falsely maligned during the World War; that their policy toward minorities had been one of most benevolence; in fact, ‘the Armenians in 1915 were moved from inhospitable regions where they were not welcome and could not actually prosper, to the most delightful and fertile parts of Syria…where the climate is as benign as in Florida and California whither California millionaires journey every year for health and recreation. All this was done,’ wrote Chester, ‘at great expense and effort.’ (153) Dobkin, Marjorie Housepian. Smyrna 1922: The Destruction of a City. Newmark Press. 1998 EXCERPT: Retired U.S. Admiral William Colby Mitchell Chester joined Admiral Mark Bristol as a leading spokesman for reconciliation with Turkey. Chester was not a disinterested party. The Turkish government had granted him an oil concession in Iraq that was potentially worth hundreds of millions of dollars. (35) Simpson, Christopher. The Splendid Blond Beast: Money, Law and Genocide In The Twentieth Century. Monroe, Maine: Common Courage Press. 1995. ———————

The New York Times, October 1, 1922

DECLARES SMYRNA DRY. Kemal Orders Twenty Lashes on The Back for Offenders. SMYRNA. Sept. 30—Mustapha Kemal Pasha has declared Smyrna dry. The Koran forbids the use of wine, But the new edict here prohibits all alcoholic drinks and provides that infractions shall be punished by twenty lashes on the back of the offender. ■ Yet, Mustapha Kemal was reported to be a heavy drinker. (SKK)

Source: Certain Samaritans

The New York Times, October 1, 1922

THE ISLES OF GREECE The Isles of Greece! Eternal Summer, may “glid them yet” in literature, but, according to the dispatches received on Friday, for the tens and even hundreds of thousands who wander homeless on these islands and along the bleak shores of the Aegean there is no such golden lights as BYRON saw in haloing them. These fugitives are left to “weep o’er days of blest.” On the Island of Mitylene alone, “where burning Sappho loved and sung,” there are 60,000 refugees, but “there is not bread.” The famished population is subsiding on roots. Five thousand infants are suffering from acute impoverishment. In the Island of Chios, the birthplace of HIPPOCRATES, called the “father of medicine,” whose name has been given to the oath, the HIPPOCRATIC OATH, taken by doctors to the day entering upon the practice of medicine, there are 40,000 needing shelter, food and medicens. And these two islands hold but a quarter of those in flight because of fire or fear. From Constantinople comes a dispatch sent by a highly responsible person certifying to the great extent of the devastation and the “dire necessity for relief.” A disaster relief committee of the Red Cross has been formed there, bringing

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together in united effort all the local relief associations. And they are looking to America for this “a case where “America can do humanity the greatest “good.” The Near East Relief has been made the channel at this end for such immediate help as people in this country wish to give. The Government has made an appropriation for our own citizens in Smyrna, but there are nearly half a million fugitives who appeal to our private charity. When BYRON wrote of these isles, at a time when all except the sun of their ancient glory had set, he asked what was left, and answered: “For Greeks a blush—for Greece a tear.” But this black disaster cannot be put away from our thoughts with a blush and a tear. America is again appealed to for bread. Those who can give to help meet this dire need should give at once to the Treasurer of the Near East Relief, 149 Fifth Avenue, designating their contributions “for Smyrna Relief.” ■ NOTE: Lesbos is also known as the Island of Mitylene. (SKK) PLEASE SEE: The New York Times, 12 February 1923. Headline: “War Cross for Dr. Elliott [and for Dr. Lovejoy]” The Greek War Cross of Valor was awarded for the first time to two women by the Greek Government. Dr. Mabel Elliott of Benton Harbor, Michigan and Dr. Esther Lovejoy of New York City. They were honored because of their work with the Near East Relief in Smyrna and for risking their own lives to save many people from death. ———————

The New York Times, October 1, 1922

THE TWO KEMALS The Polished Aristocrat of European Circles in Contrast With the Ruthless Commander of Fanatical Turks If you were to meet in the flesh the man of mystery who has so suddenly arisen above the Near East-

ern horizon, Field Marshal Mustapha KEMAL Pasha, you would be at once charmed and astonished. This most “terrible” of all “the terrible Turks”—described by Earl BALFOUR only a year or two ago as a brigand—is in his demeanor a polished man of the world, who addresses you in accomplished French, who wears an English shooting suit of tweed and soft gray collar with gray tie, sits at a desk like a Western official—calm, detached, inscrutable. The picture of KEMAL as a kind of buccaneering sheik in Oriental robes, with jeweled scimitar and horse pistols at his waist, has thus no foundation in reality. His headdress is not the Turkish fez, familiar in Egypt, but the somewhat ampler kalpan of lambskin, and his fingers, instead of dripping blood, toy with a string of amber beads, ending in a brown tassel. But this, courtly diplomatic KEMAL is only one aspect of the man. His is a dual personality. One KEMAL displays the velvet glove; the other, the mailed fist within. KEMAL has light blue eyes of steel, which at times contract with temper, while his high and thoughtful forehead is, as it were, gathered in at the bridge of the nose, where there is a deep dent, indicative of concentration, even of a certain moody and obstinate purpose. His health has suffered from his uncertain life, and he likes special cooking. But he has been always a man under rigid discipline. His tense face shows it. Over the high cheekbones, the features are drawn with not an ounce of flesh to spare. Unmarried at 41 years of age, his income is the equivalent of $180 a month. He is thus in a sense an ascetic. He denies and he controls himself; and it is this reserve of energy, this fanaticism held in leash, that makes KEMAL so formidable. He is like an en-

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gine with steam at high pressure. Talking to him, you would at once understand why the Turk is called the gentleman of the Near East, or as a correspondent in the Balkan wars once put it, as “the only Christian among them.” KEMAL expresses what appear to be opinions of the utmost moderation. He would have us believe that he is not concerned with the Pan-Islamic movement, however interested the Pan-Islamic movement may be in him and that his aims are limited to Turkey. Nor is he extravagant in the definition he gives of what he means by Turkey. He disclaims troubling himself with the socalled Pan-Turanian cause, which would stretch the Turkish Empire, east and west, hundreds of miles. KEMAL apparently accepts the facts that Syria and Palestine, that Mesopotamia and Arabia, that Greece and Bulgaria, and Serbia have been alienated forever from the Ottoman Empire and that, with regard to these territories, it is Kismet. But all the more insistent is KEMAL’S claim that in what remains of the empire the Turk shall rule. As each province was lopped off there was a migration of Turks into the provinces that were left. For the true Turk is not a merchant, not a worker, not a producer; he is a ruler, a soldier, an aristocrat. Unless he rules, he cannot live. And when he ceases to rule he emigrates. It is for the last stronghold of the Turk that KEMAL claims he is fighting. Where the Turk is a majority, there, it is argued, he should govern, whatever happens to the minorities. It is in practice self-determination, pressed to the point of denying the essential rights, even of life, to those who differ from the ruling class, whether in religion or race. Much that KEMAL says sounds liberal. In the little hill town of Angora they

have a Parliament, or National Assembly, as democratic in form as any one could desire. There is no Senate to check the popular decision. The Sultan at Constantinople is treated with scant respect. In a sense there is no Cabinet, The Assembly appoints certain men to do certain things, and it is to the Assembly that they are responsible. KEMAL is, in name merely the President of the Assembly. But, in fact, the Government has rapidly become autocratic. On KEMAL there has been conferred, for a limited but constantly extended period, a dictatorship which is now absolute. When he drove back the Greeks from the Sakaria River, the Assembly created him Field-Marshal and hailed him as “The Glorious.” Under the stress of war, fanaticism thus forced the leadership into his supreme hands. The fact is that the rise of KEMAL is by no means surprising as at first it appeared. On more than one occasion Turkish history records a similar phenomenon. The power of Islam is the sway of the sword, and whoever holds the sword must always threaten the influence and even the life of the reigning Sultan. It was thus that the Turks themselves, a thousand years ago, absorbed the powers of the Caliph, or successor to MOHAMMED, at Bagdad. They played exactly the game that KEMAL is playing today. Similarly, MEHEMET ALI, who a century ago founded the throne of Egypt was simply an Albanian soldier who proved too strong for the Sultan. He overran Palestine, Syria and Asia Minor and would have seized Constantinople itself if Russia had not intervened, just as Britain is intervening today. Fifty years ago, ARABI PASHA, also in Egypt, led a national movement which under a Parliamentary form, rapidly assumed a military aspect, challenged the reigning

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KHÉDIVE, developed anti-European tendencies and was the cause of the British occupation in Egypt. And, finally, we have the case of ENVER PASHA, who led the Young Turk movement against the late SULTAN, ABDUL HAMID, and, in 1907, deposed him. In all these cases an able Turk has established himself in authority, partly as a protest against the misgovernment of the sovereign partly as a champion against Western powers, and partly as the leader of a liberal impulse which, however genuine at the outset, has hitherto invariably disappointed expectations. The Assembly at Angora has passed measures, the wording of which has been to ameliorate labor conditions and advance Moslem education. It has tried to reorganize the Christians under a Turkish Orthodox Church, independent of the Greek Patriarchate at Constantinople. But it has also repudiated the capitulations, or treaty rights of foreigners, and it has quadrupled taxation. And it is with no light hand that KEMAL is making war. He is now a soldier in action, and only to be regarded as a soldier, and he spares neither age nor sex. That he obtained munitions and technical aid from the French appears to be established history. Russia, also assisted him. But this organization of munitions and supply for his army is none the less a marverlous feat. For the number of Greeks opposed to him is stated to have been no fewer than 300,000. MUSTAPHA KEMAL is just over 40 years of age. ENVER was his senior by a bare year or two, and they may be regarded as contemporaries. Both men hailed from the Balkans. Both belonged to the Turkish aristocracy that in their youth held down the provinces now annexed to Greece, Bulgaria and Serbia. Both spent

BEFORE THE SILENCE

time in Saloniki, which was then Turkish and a hotbed of revolutionary propaganda. Both, as officers, received an excellent training. KEMAL attending the Military College at Constantinople, where the influence of German instructors under experts like MARSHAL VON DER GOLZ was overwhelming. Against ABDUL HAMID the men worked together, but as soon as he was deposed ENVER and KEMAL parted company. KEMAL’S contention is that Enver merely wished to continue the HAMIDIAN policy under his own name, which has proved to be a fairly shrewd estimate, and, anyway, he led the opposition. It was here that he first revealed the character of extremist. He was a man who insisted on having his own ideas accepted. As Brigadier General he fought in the Gallipoli campaign, displaying brilliant qualities as a strategist but at the same time a disinclination to accept orders, even from so formidable an authority as GENERAL LIMAN VON SANDERS. He was therefore sent into Asia, which meant in effect exile and the loss of promotion, but he emerged again when, with the defeat of Turkey, the Young Turks fled and the Treaty of Sèvres was to be forced upon the Sultan. In a sense, KEMAL’S opposition was here a little like that of DE VALERA in relation to ARTHUR GRIFFITH and MICHAEL COLLINS. The Sultan’s Government was ready to accept the treaty: KEMAL was not, and he withdrew the National Assembly to Angora, in order to prevent ratification. That KEMAL should be an irreconcilable is, after all, not to be wondered at. He is human. He has seen the entire country where he was born and bred—commonly called Macedonia—a country held by the Turks for many hundreds of years, annexed by peoples whom the Turk re-

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gards as social and spiritual inferiors. He is embittered by long experience of defeat. What has now come to MUSTAPHA KEMLA PASHA is the testing time. He has won a big fight. In the courage that he has displayed it is impossible not to admire him. But what he has done and what will he do with his victory? It is in the misuse of power that the Turk hitherto has always failed. And in Smyrna, KEMAL’S ideals were illuminated by the wild and hardly reassuring glare of a prosperous city in flames. When Enver rose to power, his watchwords were the same as those of KEMAL, namely independence and nationalism. But what actually happened was an emphasized dependence on Germany and an absolute denial of true religious equality. KEMAL also is depending on foreign assistance and is also unable to deal with the sectarian question except on ENVER’S sanguinary and oppressive lines. Like ENVER, he is far superior in intellect to those with whom he is associated. But, also like ENVER, he cannot expect to act in an enlightened fashion through instruments which are fashioned in primitive ignorance. Himself, he may be incorruptible, celibate, abstemious and a model of all virtues. But his army has always lived on plunder as the only certain pay, has always regarded women as part of that plunder, and has fought every war not as a political war but as a holy war. These swarthy soldiers from villages where they hardly know the meaning of the name Europe, and think that the Sultan rules the entire universe, are the basis of KEMAL’S power. While KEMAL quotes the Koran with a careful reticence, they believe the Koran as the Koran was believed by Mohammed himself. To them the world consists of the

faithful and the unbelievers. And for unbelievers the one and never-changing choice is Islam or the sword. Normally, these passions in the Moslem lie dormant. Even the KAISER could not stir up a holy war. But what KEMAL has to face in Anatolia is no normal situation. His army is flushed with success. On his men, a frightful orgy of lust and blood has left for the time being its irresistible impulses. To these men, it is little to receive Constantinople by diplomacy, under imposed conditions, with international navies and armies preserving the freedom of the Straits and in a position to interfere in the affairs of the city whenever they wish. What the KEMALITES want, it is evident, is to achieve a spectacular capture of Constantinople, a manifest “comeback,” a world-wide humiliation of Western ideals. Whether the French agent, FRANKLIN BOULLON, who has been hurrying to Kemal, would arrive in time to plead for moderation and if so, whether he would be able to hold the Turkish leader, pending a conference, have been questions on which might depend the peace of the world. Did KEMAL really want a peaceful settlement, assuming always that he could hold his army? That again is a question which no one can answer except KEMAL himself. But an analysis of the man’s character and career suggests serious reflections. On no occasion has he ever compromised. With ENVER, with his military superiors and with Europe he has always maintained a stiff upper lip. Like DE VALERA, he is armed with and to some extent enslaved by a formula. It is the National Pact, socalled, adopted by the Assembly at Angora. To that formula, KEMAL stands like a sentry at attention. According to that formula, he is to advance here

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and now on Constantinople and Thrace. Angora expects him to do it. For, not without reason. Angora has her suspicions of a conference with Europe, whether at Venice or anywhere else. For in KEMAL’S character there is one further element. Not only is he persistent, but he is also ambitious. He wishes to be himself the man who does things. Power and the exercise of it have become his very life. In success his is adored and almost worshipped. And there, within a stone’s throw, lies Constantinople, with a phantom Sultan trembling on a throne which is only maintained by foreign guns—that throne which is still to the Moslem the most glittering prize to be won on this planet. KEMAL is human. Has he dreamed no dreams? On a question that may mean his own partial effacement, is he entirely an impartial judge? The Turk. who thus rises to prominence has always hitherto overreached himself. Will KEMAL be wise in time? If he refuses now to hold his hand, it must be remembered that he also rejected the drastic revision of the Treaty of Sèvres, conceded to him in March of this year. And that revision embodied much of the offer made to him last week. His policy has thus been hitherto to conquer instead of discussing. And he has been able to claim that up to the fall of Smyrna this policy has succeeded. For with that triumph KEMAL ceased to be an adventurer. Even his personality was merged in his new situation. Throughout Asia he became a symbol. On him were focused hopes, schemes, politics ranging from far Japan, through India, Persia, Afghanistan. Despite himself and his earlier professions, he has found that Pan-Islam hails him as the appointed Sword of the Prophet. And, behind him, there is ranged the

BEFORE THE SILENCE

tremendous mass formation of Russia, unrecognized by the Governments of the world, but none the less demanding a voice in Constantinople. MUSTAPHA KEMAL would be more than human or less than human if he were not stirred to the depths of his being by such a variety of world-wide considerations. And there is no evidence that, among his associates, any voice has been raised against the plan of pushing his campaign to its utmost culmination. ■ THE SILENCE BEGINS: Notice the sudden amnesia on the part of the Western news media—as the news about Turkey begins to shift deeper and deeper into silence. (SKK) In 1926: Mustafa Kemal put into place an alphabet reform based on the Latin script. The alteration of the Turkish alphabet, left Turkey’s history in the dust bins—that Turkey’s future generations cannot read. Although Kemal was opposed to polygamy and alcohol, it has been reported he was a womanizer and heavy drinker. (SKK) FOUR MONTHS LATER - PLEASE SEE: The New York Times, 28 February 1923. Headlines: “Mrs. Kemal Charms An American Visitor” “Beautiful Bride Pours Tea for Foreign Newspaper Men in Home Near Angora” “She is For Women’s Rights” “Eighty Per Cent of the Turkish Women Emancipated Already. Kemal Declares.” ———————

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The New York Times, October 2, 1922

STILL EMBARKING SMYRNA REFUGEES ________

Turks Have Granted No Extension of Time, But Americans Continue Their Work. ________ LONDON, Oct. 2 (Associated Press).— According to Government advices, the Turks have not replied to the request for an extension of the time for the removal of the refugees from Smyrna., which ended at midnight Saturday, but the embarking of refugees continued today, showing that the time limit had not yet been put in operation. ________ SMYRNA, Oct. 1 (Associated Press).— Another fire broke out in the residential quarter of Smyrna today and destroyed twenty-five buildings. It is reported that several Armenians, fearing they would be blamed for the fire, threw themselves into the flames. Although the time limit fixed by the Turks for the evacuation of refugees expired at midnight last night, there still is a steady influx of Christians from the interior. Relief ships under the protection of the American flag continue to ply between here and the island of Mitylene, which is the nearest refuge for those who are fleeing from the Turks. The Americans hope to evacuate from Smyrna all those at present in sight within three or four days. They are going ahead with their plans just as if no time limit for getting the refugees away existed. It is asserted by the Americans that if all the boats that have been promised arrive they will

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have the refugees safely away from the Turks by Wednesday. To the surprise of the American Disaster Relief Committee, the census showed there were 100,000 refugees in Smyrna. Friday after the committee had thought the departure of 36,000 had reduced the total remaining to below 50,000. The influx came from the hinterland and near-by hiding places. From the beginning the coming here of those who have been in hiding has been one of the difficulties of the situation which has imposed an immense extra burden on the American relief workers. The plight of these later arrivals has been worse than that of the first ones, because thousands of them have come from greater distances and have suffered more severe hardships. On the whole, the refugees now in Smyrna are being treated in more civilized fashion than the first arrivals, notwithstanding the temptation of the Turkish irregulars to rob those among them who still possess funds. CONSUL HEIZER, Director of the American Disaster Committee, has opened registration bureaus, which are in charge of the Near East relief workers, at the refugee centres of Mitylene, Cavalla, Rodosto, Saloniki, and Athens. At Mitylene there are now more than 100,000 penniless fugitives and more are coming hourly, adding to the confusion that exists. Food, and even water, is at a premium, and the whole island is a breeding ground for pestilence. ■ PLEASE SEE: The Scotsman, 30 September 1922. Headline: “Great Britain’s Important Aid” ———————

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Source: CERTAIN SAMARITANS, by Esther Pohl Lovejoy, M.D.

The New York Times, October 3, 1922

ASSERTS ATROCITIES IN SMYRNA CONTINUE Dr. Esther Lovejoy Describes Systematic Robbery and Outrages by Troops.

100 BIRTHS AMONG VICTIMS Babies Dying From Exposure—Departing Refugees Stripped of Their Remaining Valuables. Constantinople, Oct. 2 [1922] (Associated Press). “The cries of the Christian refugees of Smyrna for water and food are met by a Turkish lash,” said Dr. Esther Lovejoy of New York, President of the of the American Women’s Hospital, who has just returned here after a week’s survey in the stricken city. Dr. Lovejoy declared that the world has not been told the real story of the fire and horror.

“There are still several hundred thousand Christians in Smyrna and the interior whose lives are in peril, for the time limit of their evacuation has expired,” she said. “Only Providence knows what their fate will be. The crowds on the quay are so great that some of them are pushed into the sea. Women stood waist deep in the water, holding their babies aloft in their arms to save them from drowning. “Turkish soldiers are systematically robbing the men and wrenching the rings from the women. The wretched sufferers are willing to be robbed if the robbing can purchase life. “At night the Turkish soldiers commit excesses against the women and girls. Only when searchlights from the ships in the harbor are turned on them do they desist. In terror of the Turks the refugees are packed in thousands in front of the American Consulate.

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“There are more than 100 mothers who gave birth to babies. Some were delivered while standing. I attended many. Some of the infants died within a few hours from exposure, but the mothers clung pitifully to the dead bodies of the little things.” Dr. Lovejoy said that a Turkish soldier, mistaking her for a Greek woman, struck her heavily with the butt end of a rifle and left a mark. This soldier was about to strike her again when an American officer intervened. She declared that she saw two men attempting to escape by swimming out to a boat. They were discovered by Turkish soldiers, who fired on them. The shots were wild, and American bluejackets were able to pick up the two men in a motor boat before they were killed. One of the doctors, asserted Dr. Lovejoy saw a Greek woman cut her throat and then hurl herself into the water, where she was drowned. Dr. Lovejoy declared that Americans at home could not begin to visualize the terrible anguish of the refugees as their loved ones were torn from them, children being separated from their mother and the fathers being sent into the interior. Refugees who were evacuated had to pass through a series of gates, she said. Dr. Lovejoy described how at each gate they were stripped of their belongings. Including their money and clothing. In some cases the women were forced to undress so that they could not take any funds with them. By the time a refugee woman reached the last gate her clothes were in tatters. Dr. Lovejoy described the sanitary conditions in Smyrna as unspeakable. The whole city, she said, was befouled. She thought that the Turkish officers were doubtless unaware of the misbehavior of their soldiers. In many cases the officers showed real compassion for

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the refugees, she said. She mentioned one instance in which a Turk threw himself across the body of a child in order to save it from being trampled to death. [1] American relief workers in Athens have sent the following telegram to the headquarters of their organization here: “About 25,000 refugees are at Piraeus, and more are expected. The American committee is caring for thousands of mothers and babies. A local newspaper is raising a million-drachmae fund.” ■ PLEASE SEE: The New York Times, 9 October 1922. Headlines: “Woman Pictures Smyrna Horrors” “Dr. Lovejoy, American Relief Worker Shocked at Christian Exodus From Smyrna” The New York Times, 15 October 1922. Headlines: “Refugees At Mitylene Tell of Atrocities” “Many Are Suffering From Wounds Inflicted by Turks—New Influx From Anatolia Expected.” The New York Times, 12 February 1923. Headlines: “War Cross For Dr. Elliott” “She and Dr. Lovejoy Are the First Women to Receive it From Greece.” The Los Angeles Times, 2 June 1924: Headlines: “Woman Sees Turk Horror” “Dr. Lovejoy American Relief Worker Shocked at Christian Exodus from Smyrna.” NOTE: Boat oars were broken by the Turks, thus making escape from the fires impossible. (SKK) ———————

The Scotsman, October 5, 1922

BOLSHEVIST’S DISPATCH [“Morning Post” and “The Scotsman” Correspondent.] The Angora correspondent of the Moscow Inveslia sends a long account to his paper of the feeling in Anatolia at the present time, and gives some interesting details of the long preparations made by the Angora Government for the “great push” and the steps taken by the authorities to ensure the success of the military operations. The writer begins his article by quoting excerpts from the leading Angora journals, which openly declare that

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“Greece must be, and will be, completely destroyed. Greece must be wiped from the face of the earth.” According to the Bolshevist correspondent, MUSTAPHA KEMAL PASHA and the Turkish Nationalists have no intention of satisfying their ambitions by the restoration of Anatolia and Thrace, but do not make a secret of the fact that their interpretation of the “National Pact” means no less than the restoration of the Ottoman Empire “within the limits of a century ago.” An interesting account is given of the Anatolian people and their energetic efforts to ensure victory. The correspondent writes:— “All peasants were mobilized. Only women were left to cultivate the fields. The last piastres were taken from the pockets of the pauperized peasantry, the last two-wheeled cart was requisitioned from the farmers to carry munitions to the front and the Anatolian proletariat worked night and day in the long munition factories set up and equipped by the heroic efforts of a small handful of technical experts, and in the primitive mines of Zunguldar. Turkish and Russian officers trained the Army, while diplomats played a complicated game, striving to utilize in every possible way and to turn to the benefit of Turkey the divergences and differences that had strung up between France and Great Britain in connection with the Near Eastern problem. The Angora Government succeded finally in procuring from France very considerable material support, which, to a large extent facilitated the Turkish victory over the Greeks.” Commenting on the exemplary unity of will displayed by all classes of the population of Anatolia in their support of Mustapha Kemal Pasha the Bolshevist correspondent adds:— “The Turkish trading classes and bourgeoisie are animated with the desire of getting rid of the more civilized and more cultured Greek bourgeoisie in Anatolia, which has always held trade commerce, and the liberal professions in its hands.” ■ NOTE: The Turks considered the Greeks to be beneath them, because the Greeks had been enslaved by the Turks for four hundred plus years. (SKK)

Smyrna devoured by Flames and Smoke

The New York Times, Monday, October 9, 1922

WOMAN PICTURES SMYRNA HORRORS Dr. Esther Lovejoy, an Eyewitness, Tells of Terrible Scenes on the Quay.

SHE ASSAILS NEUTRALITY Declares it a Crime for the World to Lack the Means to Prevent Such Outrages. Copyright 1922 by The New York Times Company. Special Cable to THE NEW YORK TIMES. PARIS, Oct. 8—An ugly picture of the cruelty of the Turks in forcing the evacuation of Greeks and Armenians from Smyrna is painted by DR. ESTHER LOVEJOY, an eyewitness, who arrived in Paris this morning. Dr. Lovejoy is Chairman of the Executive board of the American Women’s Hospitals and President of the Medical Women’s International Association. She was in Geneva attending the conference of the latter organization when the Smyrna fire started and was dispatched there immediately by the American Women’s Hospitals.

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Dr. Lovejoy refused to discuss the causes behind the Smyrna trouble, confining herself to depicting the horrors she had actually witnessed. “I was the first American Red Cross woman in France,” she said, “but what I saw there during the great war seems a love feast beside the horrors of Smyrna. When I arrived at Smyrna there were massed on the quays 250,000 people—wretched, suffering and screaming with women beaten and with their clothes torn off them, families separated and everybody robbed. “Knowing their lives depended on escape before Sept. 30, the crowds remained packed along the water front—so massed that there was no room to lie down. The sanitary conditions were unspeakable. “Three-quarters of the crowd were women and children, and never have I seen so many women carrying children. It seemed that every other woman was an expectant mother. The flight and the conditions brought on many premature births, and on the quay with scarcely room to lie down and without aid most of the children were born. In the five days I was there more than 200 such confinements occurred. “Even more heartrending were the cries of children who had lost their mothers or mothers who had lost their children. They were herded along through the great guarded enclosure, and there was no turning back for lost ones. Mothers in the strength of madness climbed the steel fences fifteen feet high and in the face of blows from the butts of guns sought the children, who ran about screaming like animals. “The condition in which these people reached the ships cause one to wonder if escape were better than Turkish deportation. Never has there been such systematic robbery. The Turkish sol-

diers searched and robbed every refugee. Even clothing and shoes of any value were stripped from their bodies. “To rob the men another method was used: men of military age were permitto pass through all the barriers till the last by giving bribes. At the last barrier they were turned back to be deported. The robbery was not only committed by soldiers, but also by officers. I witnessed two flagrant cases committed by officers who would be classed as gentlemen. “On September 28 the Turks drove the crowds from the quays, where the searchlights of the allied warships played on them, into the side streets. All that night the screams of women and girls were heard and it was declared next day that many were taken for slaves. “The Smyrna horror is beyond the conception of the imagination and the power of words. It is a crime for which the whole world is responsible in not having through the civilized ages built up some means to prevent such orders as the evacuation of a city and the means with which it was carried out. It is a crime for the world to stand by through a sense of neutrality and permit this outrage against 200,000 women. “Under the order to remain neutral I saw the launch of an American warship pick up two male refugees who were trying to swim to a merchant ship under the Turkish rifle fire and return them to the hands of the waiting Turk soldiers on the beach of what must have been certain death. And under orders to remain neutral I saw soldiers and officers of all nationalities stand by while Turk soldiers beat with their rifles women trying to reach their children who were crying just beyond the fence.” ■

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PLEASE SEE: The New York Times, 3 October 1922. Headlines: “Asserts Atrocities In Smyrna Continue,” “Dr. Esther Lovejoy Describes Systematic Robbery and Outrages by Troops,” “100 Births Among Victims,” “Babies Dying From Exposure—Departing Refugees Stripped of Their Remaining Valuables.” The New York Times, 15 October 1922. Headlines: “Refugees At Mitylene Tell of Atrocities,” “Many Are Suffering From Wounds Inflicted by Turks—New Influx From Anatolia Expected.” The New York Times, 12 February 1923. Headlines: “War Cross For Dr. Elliott,” “She and Dr. Lovejoy Are the First Women to Receive it From Greece.” The Los Angeles Times, 2 June 1924, Headlines: “Woman Sees Turk Horror,” “Dr. Lovejoy, American Relief Worker Shocked At Christian Exodus from Smyrna.”

The Turkish losses were about 10,000 all told.— Per the Press Association—Copyright. ■ ———————

PLEASE READ: Lovejoy, Esther Pohl, CERTAIN SAMARITANS. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1933. ADDITIONAL BOOKS BY ESTHER POHL LOVEJOY, M.D.: The House of the Good Neighbor. N.Y. 1919. Women Physicians and Surgeons; National and International Organizations. Book One: The American Medical Women’s Association, The Medical Women’s International Association. Book Two: Twenty Years with The American Women’s Hospitals. Livingston. N.Y. 1939. Women Doctors of the World. N.Y. 1957. ———————

The Scotsman, October 13, 1922

SMYRNA AS MEETING PLACE ISMET PASHA CONCURS [BY ARRANGEMENT WITH “THE TIMES,” LONDON.] CONSTANTINOPLE, Wednesday.—ISMET PASHA considers the Nationalist suggestion that Smyrna should be the meeting place of the coming conference excellent. MUSTAPHA KEMAL and the Grand National Assembly would be in close touch with its debates and this would speed things us. Ismet Pasha informed a number of journalists that the Greek losses and prisoners were less heavy than at first reported, but there had been great captures of material.

Floating hells, “No food, no water, smallpox, and typhoid fever.” Source: CERTAIN SAMARITANS by Esther Pohl Lovejoy, M.D.

The Scotsman, October 14, 1922

THE GREAT DISTRESS IN THE NEAR EAST. 5 St. Andrew Square, Edinburgh, October 14, 1922. Sir,—At the last meeting of the directors of the National Bible Society of Scotland, a letter was submitted from the REV. ARISTIDES MIHITZOPOULOS; the agent of the Society at Salonika, and a minister of the Greek Evangelical Church. Referring to the distress, he wrote:— “250,000 Christian refugees have fled into Greek territory, and the Greek Government has no means to do anything for them. Our churches in Asia Minor have been completely destroyed. Smyrna, Magnesia, Thyatira, and Philadelphia are all scattered and the REV. MR. MOSCHON, with the brethren, are refugees in the islands of the Mediterranean. Can you make an appeal through your friends for the Christian refugees of Asia Minor who are naked and hungry on the islands?” —Since the date of this letter the area of the calamity has greatly extended. At a meeting held in the Mansion House, London, on the 10th of the

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present month, the Lord Mayor said:—“On the shores of Greece, of Thrace and of Anatolia there are 500,000 men, women, and children destitute and starving.” LORD CURZON says:—“It is difficult to exaggerate the distress of the unfortunate fugitives whose numbers, already amounting to nearly half a million, are constantly increasing.” A great exodus has already commenced of the Christian population of East Thrace, who are estimated to number 900,000 the majority of whom will probably leave the country rather than continue to live in it under the new regime. From Constantinople there will issue a crowd of Christian refugees. In face of such an actual calamity questions as to the political causes of the present distress are silenced for the moment at least, by the urgent call for help. As the Lord Mayor said:— “There is no time to lose. Swiftness is the very essence of relief work in an emergency like this.” The Society’s treasurers will gratefully receive at 5 St. Andrew Square, Edinburgh, or 224 West George Street, Glasgow, any gifts for this object, and these will be promptly remitted to the Society’s agent at Salonika, who has had much experience in the administration of the relief work. I am, &c. W.P. URE, Chairman of the National Bible Society of Scotland. ■ EXCERPT: In Athens people slept on the streets, in a royal villa, in the ruins of the Parthenon, in the theaters. Every velvet-lined box in the National Opera housed a family; other refugees slept in the orchestra and on the stairs. Makeshift camps sprawled for miles along the beaches. Abandoned automobile tires were cut up for sandals. Pots, pans, even sewing needles became collector’s items. With the approach of winter pneumonia, tuberculosis, malaria, and trachoma [blindness caused by insufficient water] reached epidemic proportions. Virtually every refugee was ill. These conditions halted a small tourist trade on which Greece was by now almost totally dependent for revenue. Cruise ships were boycotting Greek ports. (114) Dobkin, Marjorie Housepian. Smyrna 1922: The Destruction of a City. Newmark Press. 1998 Please See: The New York Times, 14 November 1922. Headlines: “Hundreds Dying In Saloniki” “Red Cross Reports Terrible Conditions Among 140,000 Refugees.”

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The Manchurian Guardian, 15 January 1923. Headlines: “The Refugees In Greece” “Settlement Prospects and Present Relief ” The Toronto Star, 17 January 1923. Headlines: “Near East Refugees Die on Plague Ship” “Sixty Deaths, Reported When 1,600 Passengers are Stricken” “Burn Bodies In Furnace” ———————

Dr. Mabel Elizabeth Elliott* Head of American Women’s Hospitals in Greece and all other hospital associations. Aug. 1920 — Aug. 1923.

The New York Times, October 15, 1922

REFUGEES AT MITYLENE TELL OF ATROCITIES Many Are Suffering From Wounds Inflicted by Turks—New Influx From Anatolia Expected. Copyright, 1922, by The New York Times Company. Special Cable to the NEW YORK TIMES. Oct. 14.—DR. *MABEL ELLIOTT of Fort Worth, Texas, medical Director of the Near East Relief at Mitylene, sends the following report: “Refugees are still arriving from the mainland. They are actually pouring in as fast as we are evacuating others. Many of the recent arrivals are suffering from the effects of wounds, blows and ill-treatment. A wounded Greek who arrived today told me at the hospital: ‘“Turkish irregulars are working havoc among all Greek civilians in the CONSTANTINOPLE,

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interior and the situation of the Christians who have remained behind is beyond words. I saw a group of prisoners tied together by a band of irregulars who poured oil over them and set fire to them.’ “American ships which have got inshore to take off refugees have been under rifle fire from irregulars concealed in the cliffs; but the shots were fortunately wild. “The Governor General of Mitylene, who has inspected our medical work, expressed his pleasure and gave me an order granting me powers of dictator in all hospital and sanitary matters. We have established a new maternity hospital and babies’ clinic in an Italian soap factory. “The food situation in the northern part of the island has been critical in the last three days, and our Director there said to me this morning: ‘If flour does not arrive tomorrow I am going to quit. I can’t face these people empty-handed another day.’ Fortunately the supplies arrived this afternoon.” A representative of the Near East Relief at Adalia reports: “All Christians except males of military age are now ordered out of Adalia, Makri and the entire region of Southern Anatolia within seven days. This will result in a new exodus of perhaps 50,000. Throughout KEMALIST Turkey the principle of ‘Turkey for Turks only’ will be strictly observed and enforced. The refugees gathering here have appeared to ADMIRAL BRISTOL for transportation to Greece.” Adalia is one of the most interesting of ancient Greek towns in Asia Minor. Greeks occupy the southern part of the little seaport town. They are notable because they preserve many quaint customs of the days when PAUL and BARNABAS preached there and converted the

BEFORE THE SILENCE

Greek population to Christianity. Adalia Greek women are renowned for classic beauty and their peculiar habit of reddening their hair, which is worn in picturesque pigtails under tiny round purple bonnets. The port is important to America because Greek farmers export from it quantities of licorice for use in the manufacture of American tobacco. ■ PLEASE SEE: The New York Times, 12 February 1923. Headlines: “War

Cross For Dr. Elliott” “She and Dr. Lovejoy Are the First Women to Receive it From Greece.” ———————

GEORGE HORTON U.S. CONSUL GENERAL IN THE NEAR EAST 30 YEARS FIVE (5) YEARS IN SMYRNA Photo from original oil portrait. (SKK) Portraitist unknown.

The Japan Times & Mail, Saturday, October 21, 1922 Consul Tells Of Suffering In Near East U.S. Official Praises Work Of American Colony At Smyrna Athens—“During my consulship at Saloniki I was bombed

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by Bulgars and Germans and during my official career I have had many rough experiences with submarines and fire, but never in my life have I seen anything like the Smyrna catastrophe,” is the manner in which GEORGE HORTON, the American Consul-General, at Smyrna, in his first remarks of the disaster, summed up to the Associated Press his experiences in Asia Minor. Consul-General Horton explained that his official position prevented his commenting on the incidents in Smyrna. Americans Heroic “It is my duty to speak of the splendid heroism and self-sacrifice of the American colony in Smyrna,” he said. “When the situation became dangerous I, in collaboration with CAPTAIN ARTHUR J. HEPBURN, chief of staff to Admiral Bristol, arranged for the safety of the American colony. I took over a theater in Smyrna and had it guarded by marines. I told the members of the colony to come to the theater twice daily to receive the latest bulletins on the situation. I summoned the principal members of the colony to discuss the general situation. “Thousands of refugees in the despairing city were absolutely hungry and destitute, an American spoke up on one occasion and said that they had not come to the meeting to look out for their own safety, but to look out for those of the W. starving people. FRANCIS another American BLACKLEY

agreed in this and gave 200 Turkish pounds to start a subscription list for the refugees. STANLEY W. SMITH of the Standard Oil Company in Smyrna gave 500 Turkish pounds. Begin Relief Work “We began the work of relief immediately. The American firms contributed the use of their automobiles and trucks. They never saw them again, because they were completely burned up. Representative Americans, members of the Y.M.C.A. and professors of the American College organized a central committee. Within an hour, while the automobiles were still in their possession and with the Stars and Stripes flying on their machines, they were all over the city administering relief. Their first effort was among Americans. Their conduct was generous and heroic even under the greatest difficulties. We urged the American women teachers in the girls’ school of the Y.W.C.A. to leave Smyrna, but they refused until driven by the flames. “These brave women labored unceasingly without food and sleep. Some of them are still there.” Remains With Husband Mrs. Horton remained with her husband at the consulate until it was finally burned. The ConsulGeneral and his wife embarked on the U.S. destroyer Simpson with sixty-five other Americans and came to Athens. Vice-Consul Maynard B. Barnes remained in the devastated city with twelve other Americans who were chiefly engaged In relief

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work. Consul-General Horton now is suffering a mental strain. A Japanese merchantman brought succor to the refugees on route to Greece and gave them the kindest treatment. Americans speak with admiration of a Turkish girl who was attached to the American school. She having no thought for her own safety, ran to the Turkish lines seeking to save the Greek women and children. She succeeded eventually in reaching Athens. American observers say that the Turks fired on refugees who tried to swim to safety. Their experiences were related by other American refugees who arrived here. Among them were Mr. and Mrs W. H. Boyd of New York, and Mr. and Mrs. J. E. Archibald of Washington, North Carolina. Archibald and Mrs. Boyd secured a launch in the Smyrna harbor and saved fifty refuges by taking them to the American steamer Winona. The former gave refuge to 2,000 Greeks and Armenians in his home just outside Smyrna. ■

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PLEASE SEE: The New York Times, 18 September 1922. No Title. Athens. The Boston Globe, 3 December 1922. Headline: “Japanese at Smyrna”. ———————

Men separated from their families on the Smyrna Pier and held for deportation to the “Interior.” (x) Turkish guards. Source obscure.

COMMENTS: Later in Greece; upon seeing Mr. George Horton on the street, Greeks and Armenians would run over to him to kiss his hand for saving the lives of their families. Nevertheless, he would express his sorrow for not having saved more lives. The Japanese merchantman tossed overboard his ship load of silks, laces and china, representing many thousands of dollars—to make room for the refugees whom he then transported to Piraeus, Greece. A PERSONAL NOTE: My friend’s mother was a nine year old girl on that ship. She recalled seeing the bodies of those who died on the ship being thrown overboard into the sea. The name of the Japanese cargo ship remains unknown. (SKK)

The Japan Times & Mail, Wednesday, October 25, 1922

Allied Failure Means Disaster For Near East Turks Deport Christians To [1] Certain Death In Bleak Interior New York—Survivors of the Smyrna fire and massacre are being deported and starved because of the failure of the Allies to afford relief, according to a cablegram received by Near East Relief headquarters in this city from Constantinople. the cablegram, sent by H.C. JAQUITH, Managing Director of Near East Relief in Constantinople, was as follows:

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“Tardiness of the allied Governments in providing relief ships to take off the 100,000 Christian refugees in Smyrna has prompted a conference of American relief workers under the chairmanship of ADMIRAL BRISTOL, which called for renewed representations by allied High Commissioners to their Governments for prompt and decisive action. It pointed out that the Turks are profiting by every hour’s delay and are dispatching hundreds to death by deportation to the devastated interior.[2] “The inertia of the Allies is causing Admiral Bristol to obtain 3,000 loaves of bread and ten tons of rice. Another destroyer will leave with American Government authorization to employ destroyers to evacuate additional refugees. But, owing to their small capacity, which is limited to 600 at one loading, they will be unable to complete the task without the aid of larger ships. “The destroyer Litchfield returned to Smyrna with 3,000 loaves of bread and ten tons of rice. Another destroyer will leave with larger supplies. Near East Relief workers, the with MAJOR DAVIS of Red Cross and American business men, who have remained at their posts from the first, are saving thousands from starvation. They are the only hope of the Christian refugees who are quartered on the quay where many are dying daily from exhaustion. “At intervals Turkish soldiers are driving groups from the quay

through the ruined city to unknown destinations in the interior. Many must die on the roadside before they go to [illegible]. Young Greek and Armenian girls are torn from their families to disappear from sight. Only the prompt arrival of ships can save thousands more from a like fate. One United States Shipping Board vessel has been promised from Piraeus and the Armenian Patriarchate in Constantinople is sending a 5,000-ton boat. Relief workers have re-opened several bakeries with stock of 6,000 sacks of flour. The water supply is holding out, but unsanitary conditions are inviting a plague Dr. Post has urged the Turks to bury the dead and to vaccinate every one against cholera and smallpox. Near East Relief workers are making efforts to locate missing members and reunite families in response to appeals from scattered refugees in Saloniki, Athens, Mitylene and other Greek centers.” Although some time has passed since fire obliterated Smyrna, 75,000 survivors remain exposed on the quay, destitute, distracted and abandoned. No allied vessel has offered to salvage this last wreckage of human life. Nearly a dozen warships remain in the harbor, but none show a disposition to aid the wretched population except the American destroyers. Deportations continue and Turkish soldiers are beginning to carry off the Greek and Armenian girls leaving their parents in a frantic state.

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Sporadic shooting and thefts continue. Smoke is still emerging from the ruins. The Turkish authorities explain that this is due to the burning of human bodies. DR. WILFRED POST of New York Medical Director of the Near East Relief, has urged the Turks to bury their dead, in order to prevent pestilence. He also has appealed to them to vaccinate every one in order to guard against cholera and smallpox. Interviewed by the Associated Press, Dr. Post said: “It is regrettable that the allied ships did not do more in salvageing human life. The work of all the vessels on the night of the fire was magnificent, but on the succeeding days, when the impulse of the great disaster disappeard, there was a lull in their energy and spirits. “If we had kept up the work, there would now be no evacuation problem and thousands would have been saved who might otherwise be deported or killed. Even before the fire there was indiscriminate killing and looting. There are so many bodies in the streets that I had on one occasion to alight from my automobile to lift the corpses out of the path of the car. No words can describe the fire as a spectacle. “It was like a gigantic scene staged by Nero or like a chapter from Tamerlane. It was so vast and complete that it had every appearance of being malevolently planned in advance.” ■

BEFORE THE SILENCE

To learn about the meaning of: 1“Certain Death In Bleak Interior” and, 2 “Dispatching hundreds to death by deportation to the devastated interior.” PLEASE READ: The Armenian Genocide: Cultural and Ethical Legacies, Edited by Richard HOVANNISIAN. “Greek Labor Battalions in Asia Minor” by Speros VRYONIS, Jr., New Brunswick (USA) and London (U.K.): Transaction Publishers, 2008. (Chapter 16) PLEASE SEE: The Toronto Daily Star, 1 December 1922. Headlines: “Turks May Expel All Greeks From Territory” “It Would Mean Worst Compulsory Exodus in History” “Affect Two Million” “Venizelos Charges That Turks Drove Million Greeks From Anatolia.” ———————

The Fort Collins Courier, November 2, 1922

GREEK PRIESTS BURNED WHEN SCORN ISLAM All Greeks In Two Places are Massacred By Turks and Wells are Filled With Bodies of Young Girls Who Drown Themselves To Escape Turk. By Associated Press Nov. 2.—The Greek “metropolitan” and ten priests captured by the Turks at Aivialy were burned alive because they refused to embrace Islamism, according to a cablegram received today from Athens by the Greek legation. Word also had been received in Athens, the message said, that all Greeks who remained in Aivialy and on the island of Moschonissia have been massacred and that wells in the vicinity “are filled with bodies of young girls” who drowned themselves to escape from the Turks. Christians in Smyrna between the ages of 18 and 50, the legation was informed, have been deported and are forced to hard labor, hundreds dying from hard labor and fatigue. ■ WASHINGTON,

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The New York Times, Monday, November 5, 1922

ARMY WILL HONOR DILBOY, WAR HERO Private Killed at Belleau Wood Will Be Buried at Arlington.

PFC GEORGE DILBOY, WWI Book Cover: Georgie! My Georgie!

PHOTO BY KOSTAS ALEXIS, GEORGE ALEXIS’S SON, COUSIN OF “THE HERO.” (Courtesy Arlington National Cemetery Website) Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Army, Company H, 103d Infantry, 26th Division. Place and date: Near Belleau, France, 18 July 1918. Entered service at: Keene, New Hampshire. Birth: Greece. G.O. No.: 13, W.D., 1919. DILBOY, GEO PVT 1/C H 103D INF 26TH DIV WW N H VETERAN SERVICE DATES: Unknown DATE OF DEATH: 07/18/1918 DATE OF INTERMENT: 11/12/1923 BURIED AT: SECTION 18 SITE 4574 ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY

WASHINTON, Nov. 4.—With full military honors the body of PRIVATE GEORGE DILBOY of Massachusetts, who had been recognized by War Department as “one of the outstanding heroes of the World War,” will be buried, Nov. 12, at Arlington Cemetery. Army officers and former comrades of the lad, who was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor posthumously, will join in paying tribute to his memory. DILBOY lost his life at Belleau Wood. His body was sent to the home of his parents at Alachata[1], Turkey, where, it has been charged, Turkish soldiers broke open the coffin, stripped it of the American flag and desecrated the body, the incident resulting in diplomatic exchanges between the United States and Turkey. DILBOY’s body has been sent to the United States for burial at his parent’s request. An announcement of plans of the funeral ceremony made public today by the War Department said: “The story of the heroism of this young soldier of Greek extraction is a glorious one. His platoon badly punished by German machine gun fire, the Lieutenant started to go out to the front to see how this nest could be flanked. A young lad with an automatic rifle jumped up and said: ‘Lieutenant, I can wipe out these men,’ and the Lieutenant answered, ‘Go ahead.’ “The lad, who was DILBOY, threw himself flat and wriggled forth, killing several of the machine gunners with bursts from his automatic rifle. In his

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progress he was hit twice by a German sniper, but he never stopped to think about himself and kept on. When he reached the place to charge he found two remaining Germans; he stood up and received a burst from the machine guns which literally cut off his right leg. He dropped on this back and with his left heel pushed himself forward. There he turned his head, aimed his last shot and killed the two men. “Lying on his back, with his right hand uppermost, the lad motioned to his platoon to go forward, and died with a smile on his face.” ■ COMMENTARY: Turkey has an appalling record of disrespecting corpses. During the anti-Greek pogroms of 1955, the Patriarchal Cemetery at Balikli was attacked and the bones of the Ecumenical Patriarchs were scattered about. In 1993, a Greek Orthodox Cemetery at the Church of the Virgin Mary at the Neohorion part of Constantinople was vandalized and the remains of the dead were scattered about. It was this incident which served as a catalyst for various assassination attempts against the Ecumenical Patriarch. His holiness Bartholomaios I, visited this cemetery after this nefarious incident and denounced the attacks, shortly thereafter extremists attempted to burn the Ecumenical Patriarchate to the ground. In 1998, another Greek Orthodox Cemetery was vandalized. Attacks on the deceased Christians in Turkey are far too common. ––THEODORE G. KARAKOSTAS FOR AUDIO: Defixiones: Will and Testament, International Acclaimed Composer, Singer, and Pianist, Diamanda Galás sings curses on the those who desecrate the graves of the Christians: PLEASE SEE: The New York Times, 26 August 1918. Headlines: “Tells of Turkish Cruelty to Greeks” “Germany Integrated Persecution, Says Head of Commission, Now Here in Address.” “Rely On Support of Allies” “Four Millions of Race Now Under Slavery in Asia Minor—Look With Hope to Wilson.” The New York Times, 19 September 1918. Headline: “Germans Inspired Turkish Atrocities Against Asiatic Greeks” The New York Times, 1 November 1923. Headline: “Turkey Makes Amends, Admits Desecration of Doughboy’s Coffin and Gives it Full Honors.” NOTE: According to Eddie Brady, the author of 3Georgie! My Georgie!—PFC George Dilboy was from 1Alatsata; which was later renamed Alachata by the Turks. It’s an astounding story of one of

the ten greatest heroes of WWI, it’s the story of PFC George Dilboy—the recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor. (SKK) PLEASE READ: 3 Georgie! My Georgie! By Eddie Brady. 2005. USA. www.Xlibris. com –– to order call 1–888–795–4274.

Antonis Dilboy, the hero’s father decided the issue by selecting the Arlington National Cemetery because, “George belongs to America.” (503) ———————

The Toronto Daily Star, November 7, 1922

A Fever of Apprehension. Constantinople, Nov. 7.—Constantinople is in a fever of apprehension over the Kemalists demands for the evacuation of the allied military and naval forces, the extension of the nationalist regime here the imposition of confiscatory customs duties, the condemnation of the Sultan and the indiscriminate arrest of prominent Constantinople Turks. The allied high [illegible] have given RAFET PASHA, the new Nationalist governor here, forty-eight hours in which to release one of the men arrested and condemned to death, ALI KEMAL BEY, editor of the anti-nationalist Sabah. An unconconfirmed report to-day had it that Ali Kemal already had been executed at Ismid. The allied commissioners held an extraordinary council last night, at which the recent series of threatening demands by the nationalists was discussed at length and the adoption of a firmer attitude was decided upon in resistance to the Kemalists’ arbitrary course, the curbing of their activities in Constantinople, eastern Thrace and other areas and counteracting the increasing infractions of

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the Mudania armistice convention. It is understood the commissioners even considered the expulsion of Rafet Pasha from the capital in the event of a continuance of the armistice violations. To Maintain Control. The commissioners held a conference with Hamid Bey, the Nationalist envoy here and informed him that the allied government, while not desiring to interfere with Turkish internal affairs, must maintain the system of control which the allies regarded as necessary during the occupation of Constantinople. Meanwhile the city which had been sanguinely anticipating the Lausanne conference to clear up the various disputes became the prey to worse fears than those that prevailed before the Mudania peace was signed, in the belief that the KEMALISTS intended to insist upon all their demands. It was remarked, however, that for the first time in many weeks there had been complete unanimity reached among the British, French and Italians in their action toward the Nationalists, and the belief was expressed in some quarters that the Kemalists would retreat from their arbitrary stand in the face of the allied unity. ■ PLEASE READ: From Smyrna to Mudania September-October 1922: Greek Reactions in U.S. and Greece, By Stavros T. Stavridis ———————

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The Toronto Daily Star, November 7, 1922

Allies send instructions. London, Nov. 7.— The allied governments to-day instructed their high commissioners in Constantinople to oppose Turkish threats to violate the Mudania agreement with force if necessary.” The Foreign Office let it be known that Britain will not in any way capitulate to MUSTAPHA KEMAL’S demands. It is believed possible that Kemal is merely bluffing. ■ ———————

The Toronto Daily Star, November 7, 1922

Ask for Authority. Paris, Nov. 7.— The allied high commissioners at Constantinople have asked their governments for authorization to take all necessary measures to maintain order in Constantinople, it was announced here this afternoon. The commissioners it was stated, will declare martial law if necessary. The French dreadnought[1] Jean Bart will leave Toulon to-day to join the allied fleet at Constantinople. ■ NOTE: 1Dreadnoughts were the predominant battleships of the early 20th Century. (SKK) ———————

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BEFORE THE SILENCE

The Toronto Daily Star, November 7, 1922

BRITISH FORCES IN MESOPOTAMIA LEAVING MOSUL? Kemalist Troops Said to Be Entering the Evacuated Area.

OUTLOOK IS SERIOUS Constantinople is a Fever of Apprehension Following the Turk Demands. Special and Associated Press Dispatches. Constantinople. Nov. 7.— According to Turkish nationalist headquarters the British forces are retiring from Mosul on the Tigris in northern Mesopotamia and the Kemalists are entering the evacuated areas. ■

I beheld a most touching sight at meal time in this orphan camp. Twelve hundred boys were fed at once. Before the distribution of their simple meal of figs and bread, all joined in unison in outspoken prayer, the Greeks praying in the Greek tongue and the Armenians in Armenian, after which all joined together in singing an American hymn. —Henry Morgenthau, I Was Sent To Athens (284)

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The Japan Times & Mail, Friday, November 10, 1922

U. S. Red Cross Feeding 400,000 Greek Refugees Workers And Supplies Rushed To Aid Of Starving In Near East

“These three women, who were almost blind, were led by different children from their neighborhood to the A.W.H. Eye Clinic for treatment.” —Certain Samaritans by Dr. Esther Pohl Lovejoy (5) NOTE: The children also suffered trachoma1 causing blindness. (SKK)

Athens—Once again the resources of the American people have been mobilized to aid Europe. Backed up by support and funds from the people back home, every American organization in southeast Europe and 100 Yankee residents here have efficiently tackled the job of handling one of the hugest migrations in history—the evacuation of 1,000,000 refugees from Asia Minor and

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Thrace. The panic stricken exiles, destitute and homeless, are overwhelming Greece, threatening an unprecedented national calamity. Americans here have undertaken the housing, feeding and clothing of the motley hordes who fled before the Turkish army. The first batches of refugees from Asia were merely dumped onto the beaches at Piraeus, where they were housed in cattle sheds. The first steps taken to aid them were inaugurated by D. O. HIBBARD, formerly of Racine, Wis., who hurriedly raised funds among the American colony at Athens and among prominent Greeks. He secured blankets, food and doctors for the sick, hungry and hopeless thousands. Today all relief organizations are rushing workers and supplies to Athens, where an organization covering the widest scope already is functioning. The relief committee of the American colony in Athens is caring for 40,000 persons on whom they are spending $175,00 donated by the American Red Cross. The American colony at Saloniki has formed a committee headed by U.L. AMOS, formerly of Baltimore, assisted by C. M. BOSLEY of Cedar Rapids, Ia., and C.S. LAMB of Duluth. The committee is arranging to care for the refugees from Thrace, who are already beginning to arrive. Americans in Constantinople have formed the American Disaster committee, headed by REAR ADMIRAL BRISTOL which is aiding in the evacuation from Asia Minor and has arranged to se-

cure ships to take off refugees. The Near East Relief committee, the Y.M.C.A., the Y.W.C.A., the American Red Cross and the American Women’s Council at Constantinople are devoting all their funds and energies to this work, which includes the feeding and the sheltering of hundreds of thousands of refugees huddled on Islands in the Aegean sea. Rely on U. S. Aid The American colony at Smyrna, headed by the staff of the American college, is caring for the victims of the Smyrna disaster still remaining the in city. A.K. Jennings of the Y.M.C.A. has been superintending the debarkation of refugees for islands in the Aegean sea, while MRS. N. G. BIRGE has been caring for students at Smyrna. The new Greek government is attempting to formulate a plan for the ultimate absorption of the 1,000,000 refugees among the population, but it pins hope on America for the immediate salvation of the lives of its exiled people. The Greek activity is headed by DR. D. DOXIADES, minister of public assistance, who announced that 600,000 refugees had already arrived in Greece. Dr. Doxiades asserted that there were 130,00 refugees on Mitylene and Chio islands, 70,000 at Saloniki and 40,000 at Piraeus. The government is endeavoring to pay the refugees 2 drachmas (4 cents) daily. It is trying to solve the housing problem by sending the refugees to interior towns decreeing that each town must receive refugees to the number of a half of its inhabitants.

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DR. DOXIADES explained that it would be absolutely impossible for the government to meet more than a half the vital needs of the refugees. Tragedy yet not realized “Refugees from Thrace already are beginning to arrive in Saloniki,” he said. “The poorer peasants are filtering in afoot, and plodding along the roads beside their donkeys, heaped high with their scant and pitiful possessions and household goods. The more prosperous Thracians, who sold everything they possessed, are arriving in automobiles piled high with trunks and baggage. There are 70,000 refugees from Asia Minor already at Salonika and as there is no place to receive them, they have to sleep in the streets, parks and churches. The staggering proportions of the tragedy are not realized, for the avalanche of refugees from Thrace has just begun. “The earlier refugees were housed in four big camps outside the city, which were built for the British army during its thrust at Gallipoli. Seventy per cent of these people have been stricken with malaria from the swamps about the city, and the disease cannot be coped with as quince is not available. “As I picked my way among the crowds I was constantly besieged by half insane women who, weeping, begged me to go to MUSTAPHA KEMAL to plead with him to spare their captured husbands whom they believe have been taken to Angora to be

BEFORE THE SILENCE

‘slaughtered in revenge.’ All the refugees tell hideous tales of Turkish brutality, one man asserting that when the Turks entered the village of Moskonissea in Asia Minor they shot fifteen men, heaped their bodies in the public square, saturated them with gasoline and burned them. “One 13 year old girl was reported to have been driven insane when she was attacked many times by Turkish soldiers. The refugees declare that the Turkish officers in their billets took the pick of the Greek women, whom they mistreated.”[2] ■ NOTES: In the press and polite society, the word 2rape was rarely

used. Neither were reported the many sordid tortures such as the nailing of horseshoes on human feet; impaling of girls’ genitalia into sharp wooden stakes; pressing hot rocks or hot hard-boiled eggs under arm pits or into anus cavities, and many other tortures. (SKK)

PLEASE READ: Morgenthau, Henry. I Was Sent to Athens, Garden City, NY: Doubleday Doran and Company, Inc. 1929 This perfect book deserves to be reprinted. (SKK) “[…]But the outstanding feature of the occasion was a concert by a band made up of small boys, everyone of whom was blind. All these children were being taught means of self-help and eventual independence. [Photographs not available].” (282) TRACHOMA: 1Blindness among the refugees was not uncommon. The infection spread from person to person; from child to child; and from child to mother—it was caused by shortages of water, and crowded living conditions. When left untreated, the infection eventually caused the eyelids to turn inwards, which in turn caused the eyelashes to rub on the eyeball, resulting in intense pain and scarring of the front of the eye and eventual blindness. (SKK) ———————

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The New York Times, November 12, 1922

ALLIED COMMISSION THREATENS KEMAL WITH ARMED ACTION Demands Revocation of Offensive Orders Under Penalty of Martial Law.

BRITISH CABINET MEETS Lord Derby Cancels His Provincial Engagement to Remain at the War Office.

PARIS PRESS OPINION VEERS Many Papers Condemn Premier’s Near East Policy—Peace Conference Adjourned to Nov. 20. By EDWIN L. JAMES. Copyright, 1922, by The New York Times Company. Special Cable to The New York Times. PARIS, Nov. 10.—With date of the opening of the Lausanne Conference still fixed officially for Monday morning, a cloud thick with uncertainty hangs over the whole Near East situation. Paris, Rome and London are at odds on various points, and, although ISMET PASHA, head of the Turkish delegation, has left Constantinople and is due to arrive at Lausanne by Monday, it is now certain that the allied delegations will not be there on time, and that the conference will not begin Monday. Probably some under-officials will be on hand to welcome ISMET PASHA and bid him wait a bit. It was supposed yesterday that Paris and London had agreed to open the conference on Nov. 20, but the Quai d’Orsay, after a series of conflicting diplomatic reports on the intentions of the French and British Governments, announced this afternoon that PREMIER

POINCARÉ stood out for beginning on Monday. It is believed here tonight that the conference may get under way about next Friday. This little difference as to the date of the conference is symptomatic of deeper and more important differences in the attitude of the allies toward the exaggerated demands of the Turks. The British appear sincere in their desire to have an agreement between London and Paris before facing the Turks. The French proclaim the same desire, but up to tonight the two Foreign Offices have not agreed on how far to go. Situation Full of Danger. The situation is full of danger. KEMAL’S delegates have indicated that they will take the stand that the Allies have no rights in Turkey which the KEMALIST GOVERNMENT does not choose to recognize. In other words, KEMAL does not recognize the allied victory of 1918, as he has shown by declaring that the Mudros Armistice, which ended the World War in the Near East, means nothing to him. It was, perhaps to bring this point into relief that the Allied High Commissioners in their note to the Angora Government last night demanded the immediate revocation of the KEMALIST orders taking over the customs and local administrations hitherto exercised by allied officials, and gave as their reason the statement that KEMAL’S orders were contrary to the terms of the Mudros armistice. The note threatens that if KEMAL is obstinate the allied generals will take steps to enforce their will. This probably presages a declaration of martial law, in accordance with the authorization of the allied Governments given the High Commissioners three days ago. The prospect of a satisfactory settlement at Lausanne is not bright. Even

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if the KEMALISTS do not demand that the French quit Syria and the British Mesopotamia, where both are by virtue of a treaty which has been torn up, even the fixing of the Turkish frontiers as laid down in the Angora National Pact would take from the British the Mosul oil reregion, in which the American Government has shown a keen interest. KEMAL’S demands for the Aegean islands are sure to make trouble, as well as his project to demand payment of more than a billion dollars’ indemnity by the Greeks. Foreigners having business and other interests in Turkey have been deluging the British and French Governments with protests against the abolition of the capitulations, asserting that foreign business will be hopelessly handicapped if it is subject to Turkish laws administered by Turkish courts. The Nationalists’ announcement of their intentions regarding missions and schools indicates that there are great difficulties ahead for those enterprises. In this respect it seems a safe prediction that American wishes as set forth in the note of SECRETARY HUGHES to the Allies will suffer a severe disappointment, especially since the American Government proposes to do no more than sit on the side lines at Lausanne. It will probably be one more illustration of the fact that by sitting on the sidelines Washington cannot share in the prize money of international diplomatic games. Newspapers Turn Against POINCARÉ. Because of the arrogance of the Turks PREMIER POINCARÉ is steadily losing support in France for his pro-KEMAL policy. The Journal des Debats, tonight accuses the French Government of playing a losing game and says:

BEFORE THE SILENCE

“Proud in the belief that they conquered all Europe in beating the demoralized army of CONSTANTINE, the Turks attack not only the Treaty of Sèvres, but the Balkan treaties. In the face of such shocking pretensions LORD CURZON is quite right when he thinks it imprudent to go to Lausanne without fixing a program for the Allies. “What does this mean, this cry from the Quai d’Orsay that we should hurry the Lausanne meeting where the Turks await us? Does it mean that we prefer to make arrangements with the Turks rather than with the British? That would mean that there would come out of Lausanne not a satisfactory arrangement, but the triumph of the Turks over England. We do not like to believe that we can get the co-operation.” At no time since the war have the Allies been in such a confusion as they are with regard to Turkey, and that with the peace conference only a few days away. All of which redounds to the benefit of the Turks. ■ ———————

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The New York Times, November 12, 1922

TURK’S EYES ON EUROPE, SAYS OUR EX-AMBASSADOR FEARS SECOND WORLD WAR “Help Now or Fight Later,” Morgenthau’s Warning to U.S.

BOLSHEVIKI BACKED KEMAL French and Italian Munitions Also Helped Arm Angora Forces for Advance. By HENRY MORGENTHAU Ex-Ambassador to Turkey. Only the Turkish Army of all the armies in the world is hungry for conquest. Only the Turks are ready and eager at this moment for a strong offensive movement against civilization. In the light of recent events this constitutes a very grave danger to the whole world. Other nations, war-worn and weary, ask only for peace. The Turks have no commerce, no manufactures, no merchant marine. They have nothing to lose. They have no culture. They have training save in bearing arms, no science save the science of war, no art save the lethal art. They are mere marauders. Three years ago, on Nov. 9, 1919, I wrote for The New York Times an article under the title, “Mandates or War?” in which I asserted that unless we assumed the responsibility in Constatinople and the Ottoman Empire then urged upon us we could look for another in the Near East. I set five years as the limit in time for that disaster. We declined the mandate and war has come in three years.

In April of this year I was so positive of the truth of what I said that I included the article in full as an appendix to my book, “All in a Lifetime,” which has just been published. And I said further that war in the Balkans would spread into a world confrontation unless the United States intervened. Now I repeat that warning. Today I write the theme “Help Now Fight Later.” The present menacing situation in Turkey is a result of the struggle in Europe for a new balance of power. It is the end of the first round. The overthrow of the LLOYD GEORGE Government in England and of the Facta Government in Italy is an outcome of the Near Eastern policy. Turkey, her treasury fattened with rubles, her forces accoutred with French, Italian and Bolshevist arms, has conquered Greece and will appear, paradoxically, at Lausanne in the role of victor, although she was cast for the part of a vanquished nation treating with her conquerors. An ambitious and unscrupulous clique at Angora, having defied the Great European powers, having overridden the religions and political authority of the SULTAN, is aflame with arrogance and greed. The Bugaboo of a Holy War. Let us put in its place before we go further the fear of a holy war. The chancelleries of Europe have too long shuddered, or pretended to shudder before this bugaboo. I do not believe that even with a political appointee of the Angora Government presiding as Caliph at Constantinople there be more than a ripple in the Mussulman world. MOHAMMED VI, is a pretender. The Osmans have maintained their religious hegemony for five centuries by right of theft. A Sultan of the family and the true faith probably

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will be enthroned at Mecca, as Successor of the Prophet and Commander of the Faithful; and the Moslem hordes of the East are likely to go along as though nothing had happened. We may expect no repercussions of fanatic religion. But the political and military possibilities of this situation are of the most serious nature, and before we can get a clear picture of them we must glance at the forces which have brought them about. If the proper study of mankind is man, the proper study of this problem is the Turk. Unaided, Turkish politicians could not have brought this crisis to pass. If Europe had been united and determined since the armistice, the ragged Turkish Army would have been powerless. But Mustapha Kemal, titular head of the Angora Government, found valuable allies. And this in spite of the fact that in 1914–15 the world had been unanimous at least on this one point: That the Turk must be expelled from Europe; that there must be, moreover, an end of what JOHN BRIGHT had described as “that terrible oppression, that multitudinous crime which we call the Ottoman Empire.” When the armistice was signed, this unanimous intention seemed more than an inspiration; it seemed to have a become a reality. Never was a country more completely broken than Turkey. Some one once said that the Ottoman Empire rested on four pegs, the cities of Constantinople, Bagdad, Jerusalem and Damscus. All four at the time of the armistice were in the hands of the enemy. The Turkish Army had been reduced to impotence. The whole empire lay at the mercy of the Allies. At last the most enlightened nations of Europe had a free hand in solving the Turkish problem.

BEFORE THE SILENCE

The treaty signed at Sèvres was intended to accomplish this purpose. It created a republic of Armenia. It detached from the Turkish Empire Mesopotamia, Palestine, Egypt, Syria, and gave them to Great Britain and France. It set up a new Arab kingdom, and deprived the Sultan of that sovereignty. It practically gave Cilicia to France, and Adalia with its hinterland to Italy. It awarded Thrace and Smyrna with their adjoining territory to Greece. The Sultan was left with nominal authority over Constantinople, but the real power was in the hands of an allied commission. All that remained of the Ottoman Empire, one of the oldest and certainly the wickedest of the dynasties of the world, was the region somewhat indefinitely known as ANATOLIA, with the cities of BRUSA, KONIA and ANGORA. In thus circumscribing the Turk there was no historic injustice. Though the area left to him contains representatives of other races, its population in the main is Turkish. Of the 5,000,000 Turks in the world, almost 4,000,000 live there. The loss of their Mediterranean seacoast was not serious, for they are not a seafaring people. The Anatolian region could well support the race, for olives, figs, tobacco and other valuable products flourish there. There is not the slightest doubt that the Turkish peasant would have been well content with his lot, for he has no ambition and is not chauvinistic unless his leaders inflame his religious fanaticism. Left to his own devices he can live on terms of amiability with even his nonMoslem neighbors. Like Tammany Hall Leaders. But certain malevolent forces began to manifest themselves both in the Turkish and in European Governments.

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Not much is known in this country about the group of politicians which has really governed Turkey for the last fifteen years. It can best be described, I think as the district leaders of a Turkish Tammany Hall. Formerly it called itself the Union and Progress Party. Now it is masquerading under the new name of the NATIONALIST PARTY, but it is the old group, with the old sinister purposes: and it was the real power in Turkey even when the SULTAN was nominally its overlord. This was the committee which, under the domination of TALAAT, ENVER and DJEMAL, made a compact with Germany, closed the Dardanelles and forced Turkey into the war on Germany’s side. This was the committee which ordered the massacre of more than half a million Greeks and more than a million Armenians. It did not as some suppose, collapse in 1918. Of its leaders, Talaat and Djemal have been assassinated; and the third, Enver, has been engaged in miscellaneous military and political adventures beyond the Caucasus; but hardly had these personalities vanished from the scene when another of the group arose. This was MUSTAFA KEMAL. I caught an occasional glimpse of Kemal during my ambassadorship in Constantinople. He was known then as an energetic and able young soldier. So rapidly was he forging to the front, indeed, that Enver was jealous of him and refused to sign his commission as a General in the Turkish Army. But when Enver quit the scene Kemal succeeded to the headship of the Union and Progress Committee because he possessed the same talents which had pushed Talaat and Enver and Djemal to the front. He was audacious, clever and unscrupulous. He was a real Turk. Under Kemal’s inspiration the Union and Progress Committee now under-

wrote a new enterprise. This was to destory the Treaty of Sèvres and restore Turkey to the position, territorially and politically, of 1914. Probably the imagination of Kemal and his associates reached far beyond that vision. Turkey had lost in a century, by several stages, not only her largest North African possessions, but most of the great European empire which had been the fruit of fifteenth and sixteenth century conquests, which had added to the Osman Crown first GREECE, then SERBIA, then RUMANIA, then BULGARIA, HERZEGOVINA and BOSNIA. All these had regained their independence; and I do not doubt that at present Kemal’s ultimate ambition is to recover them to reverse Turkey’s inglorious history and lift the Crescent again above these territories. To undo the Treaty of Sèvres was neccessarily the first step. How bitterly the Kemalists regarded this document is evident from their sentencing to death the Turks who signed it; and that bitterness was reflected in the denunciation of the Sultan when he was stripped of his last vestige of temporal power. No longer could the Committee of Union of Progress, under its new name of the Nationalist Party, even pretend to maintain good terms with the Osmans. It could not tolerate an authority, however flimsy, which it was denouncing as traitorous. Nor had it any desire so to do. For many of the men who compose this governmental clique are not true religious Mohammedans. They are agnostic and atheists. No religious scruple stood in their way. They feared moreover, that the Sultan might dismiss the Parliament and have a real election, instead of a National Assembly selected by them. By themselves, I repeat, Kemal and his political associates could have accomplished little. They had, however,

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this advantage: that all the European powers excepting Great Britain disliked the Treaty of Sèvres. France and Italy had acquiesced in it because they regraded it at the time as essential to keep on good terms with Great Britain. Both were disgruntled at the great accessions of territory which Greece enjoyed under the treaty. They are Mediterranean powers which was skilled in maritime pursuits and might rival them in military force. The award of Thrace, Smyrna and large stretches of coast line to Greece rankled with them. Jealousies of the Great Powers. Both France and Italy, moreover, were jealous of Great Britain. They thought these favors to Greece evidence of a plan for British aggrandizement. The possession of Thrace is important because, in a military sense, it controls Constantinople, Smyrna, aside it controls commercial value, is of strategic importance in the Mediterranean Sea. France and Italy suspected that Great Britain was using the Greeks as a catspaw for the control of the Ottoman Empire. Nor should we lose sight of Russia. If we are to have a complete picture of the chessboard to Southeastern Europe and are to have a thorough understanding of what has been transpiring there. The possession of an ice-free port—which means Constantinople—is the dream of Russian statesmen no less today than in the day of the Romanoffs. It has been the Russian ambition since the time of Peter the Great. Let no one imagine that LENIN and TROTZKY have abandoned this imperialist plan. it is not merely a Russian ambition, it is a matter of necessity. So that the territorial gains of Greece aroused the Bolsheviki no less than the French and Italians and manifested itself in hostility to the British policy.

BEFORE THE SILENCE

These jealousies, these antagonisms resuscitated the almost expiring Turk. Kemal and his Nationalist associates began to fish industriously in these troubled waters. Their first rapprochement was with the Bolsheviki. The details of this treaty have not become known, but it is known that the Kemalists obtained what they most needed, money and munitions; and it is reasonable to suppose that they promised Moscow that Constantinople should be controlled by the countries bordering on the Black Sea. GENERAL TOWNSEND told me of receiving, in change for a twenty-pound note in Angora, Russian gold. Bolshevist money and Bolshevist arms equipped the Turks for their first move. Italy’s position in Adalia and the adjoining territory was extremely precarious. She had neither the men nor the resources of an efficient defensive campaign. To have occupied the territory was not justified by any advantage she could gain. The Turks, thanks to their new friends, mustered an army formidable in comparison. The Italians had really little option as to whether they should go or stay. The Turks could probably have done to them in March, 1921, just what they did later to the Greeks. The Italian problem was to withdraw with as much dignity as might be, and to gain some material compensation if possible. The secret Turkish-Italian treaty signed in London in March of last year has not been published, but its main details are fairly common knowledge. It is thoroughly sordid. Italy agreed to get out of Turkey and to help Turkey regain Smyrna and Thrace, a provision by no means disagreeable, since they must be taken from the strong new Greece. There were also arrangements for concessions, and for the joint op-

ARCHIVAL NEWS REPORTS

eration of Turkish and Italian capital in developing certain resources of the Ottoman Empire. As a result Italy left the Christian minorities in Adalia at the mercy of the Turk, and left behind incidentally, important stores of ammunition. Thus Kemal and his associates disposed of one enemy and were the stronger in facing France. Cilicia had fallen to France as her sphere under the Sèvres treaty, and the position of the French army there was not unlike the position of the Italian in Adalia. The ground could not be held without fighting, and France had no stomach for a Turkish war. Germany seemed to her the most formidable enemy, and she concentrated her military resources on the Rhine. Like Italy, she was glad to withdraw from Asia Minor on terms which would not greatly impair her prestige. She, too signed a treaty with the Kemalist Government in March of last year, the treaty of Angora; and its terms too, are secret, but are fairly well known, France retained certain concessions in Cilicia and in other districts, but withdrew her forces and agreed not to fight the Turks further. Thus France and Italy broke up the Entente. They ceased to co-operate with Great Britain. They disregarded the pact of London, wherein they had agreed to make no separate peace with an enemy. They made separate treaties with Turkey, still an enemy. Warning to Venizelos Now the Turks were ready for Greece. It may not be amiss for me to say at this juncture that I forewarned VENIZELOS, during the Versailles Conference of what was to come, and set down that conversation pretty fully in my book, “All in a Lifetime.” I told him then that the Greeks were mistaken in posting an army in Smyrna

that the new Turkish leaders attached great importance to this port, since they had lost their other ports, on the Mediterranean, and that I felt certain they would fight for it. I reminded him that even then the Turks had forbidden their own people to employ Greeks and had insisted that American firms should not use Greek workmen to collect the licorice root: and I told him that aside from the difficulty of governing Smyrna from Athens with Constantinople between them, his people could ill afford the heavy burden of war with Turkey. Venizelos listened patiently to me and admitted that he had acted too hastily, but said that to withdraw would admit [illegible], and court political defeat. He said that the monarchists were plotting constantly against him: and I gathered from other things he said that the pressure of Greek financiers had compelled him to make his demands for Smyrna and Thrace, as well as to attempt to carry out the occupation of those districts. The conflict came as I had foreseen but its outcome was more fateful than any one could have guessed. When the French withdrew from Cilicia they left behind large ammunition dumps and quantities of machine guns, with other materials of war. These, with the supplies obtained from the Italians and the Bolsheviki, enabled the Kemalists to equip an army which inflicted on the Greek forces one of the most overwhelming military disasters of modern times. GENERAL HADJANESTIS, in charge of the Greek Army, who had been before in a hospital with hallucinations was arrested last October while suffering with delusions and returned to hospital restraint. The mercurial Greek temperament, the repudiation of such a statesman as Venizelos, and the restoration of such an unworthy King as Cons-

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stantine, all played their part toward the result. For the position taken by Great Britain in the recent crisis I have the warmest admiration. The world does not yet realize the extent of its obligation to the Lloyd George Government. That the responsibility for holding the Turk in check did not devolve upon a people more stable and capable than the Greeks is to be regretted but it is no reflection upon the British policy. The Turk, docile in defeat, is ferocious and intractable in victory. I recall vividly the effect on the Turkish spirit of the withdrawal of the British fleet and army from the Dardanelles, in March 1915. “I shall go down in history.” Enver Pasha told me, “as the man who defeated the British fleet.” Up to that time the Turkish leaders had been cringing and fearful. Straightway they became arrogant and insolent, confident that they could conquer mankind and become once more a world power. They celebrated their triumph by massacring the Christian populations with indescribable atrocity. That same spirit has been reawakened by the recent victories. For the first time in history the Turk has regained territory wrested from him. The Turkish Army set out toward Constantinople, but its leaders hoped to go on to Athens, to Sofia, to Belgrade, perhaps even to the walls of Vienna. Against that ambition Great Britain was the sole barrier. France and Italy refused to lend a hand, and France even withdrew her troops from Chanak. England played the part last September which Poland had played in the seventeenth century. She turned back the Turkish armies at the threshold of Europe and saved the world from incalculable bloodshed. Nor do I believe that she had any imperialistic purpose

BEFORE THE SILENCE

in so doing. I do not believe she backed Greece because Greece could serve her plans. I do not believe she has any intention of transforming the Straits into another Gibraltar, British statesmen know that no European power can plant itself as sovereign at the GOLDEN HORN. I have come from recent meetings with them and I think I know something of their purposes. They desire, above all, to see Constantinople internationalized and the Straits kept open. The Clique of Kemalists. These, in brief were the movements on the checkerboard of Southeastern Europe which preceded the declaration from Angora that “the Palace of the Sublime Porte having through corrupt ignorance, for several centuries provoked numerous ills for the country has passed into history.” In that declaration the clique of Kemalists a arrogated to itself the sovereignty of the nation, all executive and legislative powers, the right to declare war and make peace, and the abolition of the Sultinate. I announced that a Caliph, to be selected by the Angora Parliament from the Osman family, would continue to sit at Constantinople as the religious head of the nation. If this were to bring civil war in Turkey, it would be a cause for thanksgiving. But I am inclined to believe that the race, which worships military success, will be more likely to deify Kemal than to rally to the discredited Sultan. The Sultan is powerless. He has no army. As for Kemal, he is likely to be autocrat in name only, for even he will not be able to disregard the secret orders of the committee, which has taken to itself the name of the Nationalist Party. He may for a while [illegible] the country. Whether the

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committee will set up a republic under that name does not much matter. Whatever it is called, it will remain an oligarchy. Kemal’s term of power must depend on the good graces of his associates. But this, like the establishment of a sort of twin Caliphate in Constantinople and Mecca, is really of minor importance. The fact of major importance is that, on the eve of the Lausanne conference, arranged in order that terms might be laid down to a defeated enemy, a jealous, disorganized and discordant array of European delegates will face a Turkish delegation not crestfallen, but exultant and self-assertive. It is this situation of jealousy and discord which has perpetuated the Turkish Empire in Europe. Unsupported, Great Britain cannot keep the Turk in his place; and if he is not kept in his place, Bulgaria and Germany may follow suit. If the Turk may so easily defy the European powers and set at naught the conventions they have drawn, why not they? This small band has demonstrated to the world (in which the United States is still included) that while the big fellows are fighting among themselves over the balance of power, any determined little fellow can upset their calculations. The Bulgars are straining like hounds at the leash to get to the Mediterranean. The Germans are unquestionably observing events closely. The hordes of Russia lie in wait, ready to add their sledge hammer blows in breaking up of civilization. As a matter of self-protection and with an eye to the balance of power, France has backed up Poland and the Little Entente: now, having struggled to get her little finger into the Turkish pie, she is perhaps jeopardizing her chance to collect any part of the reparations due her. Before BONAR LAW was made Prime Minister he observed that if

France would not help Great Britain on the Bosporus, Great Britain could not be expected to help France on the Rhine. All Europe is divided against itself. The very foundation of its being is upon the sands. “Europe is one economic system,” said H. G. WELLS not long since. “It will be saved or destroyed together. This division among a number of disputing nationalities, each sacrificing the common good to some chimerical advantage, is the obvious obstruction to any effective dealing with the problem.” With this statement I am in hearty agreement. With the assertion that Europe is sinking rapidly toward the Middle Ages as a consequence of her division in sentiment and purpose no dissent is possible. And this disastrous division of purpose, this setting of small advantage in front of the common good is a consequence of the failure of the League of Nations. Through its incompleteness the League is able to function only in minor disputes. The principal European powers have perforce, begun jockeying for a new balance of power, a return to the old discredited system of diplomacy which the League was intended to destroy. Had the United States entered the League the balance of power would be obsolescent as a diplomatic weapon. In this discordant and semi-chaotic situation Great Britain cannot, I say, hold the Turk within bounds unless she has our support. Lloyd George, in one of his recent speeches, declared significantly that only one country in the world seemed to understand the British policy in the Near East and to symppathize with it. Only from the United States came any word of approval. He [illegible] this fact as evidence that the two countries held identical ideas on all fundamental problems: that only the

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American and British peoples believed diplomacy need necessarily involve moral principles. It is not impossible, even now, for us to extend our moral support to Great Britain. It is not impossible for us to exercise such an influence in European councils as to keep before the eyes of statesmen there the larger issue, the common good, of which they seem to have lost sight altogether. All the European powers are eagerly covetous of our participation in their problems. I think this the only important matter in which they all feel alike. All of them are agreed that they need us, and there is a pleasant rivalry among them in the effort to convince us of our usefulness at their council table. But before we can do that we must learn to do what we criticize Europe for failing to do. We must make the general good the main part of the picture. The United States, no less than European States, is trying to save a valuable painting or a precious tapestry from the fire instead of trying to prevent its spread into a world conflagration. Perhaps this must mean a radical change in our national psychology. It may involve, I think, nothing more than a change of policy at Washington. Turkey and the present Turkish situation is eloquent testimony to the absence of idealism in European politics. This I take it, constitutes our greatest opportunity. As soon as the Turkish situation comes to be regarded as a moral problem and is shorn of selfish considerations the problem can be solved. I do not believe that time can come unless the United States lends an active hand. I do believe that unless we intervene by sending more than a mere observer to the Lausanne conference, another World War is imminent.

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Please do not fancy that this is an alarmist picture. Beyond doubt the present intention of the Turk is to Turkefy all the district he can control, by massacre or deportation of the non-Moslem populations. The present leaders believe the mistake of the past has been in permitting other nationalities to survive within Turkish domains. And these leaders, drunk with recent triumphs, will stop at nothing. I tell you they have their eyes on Europe. Thus a great destructive force, perhaps to be augmented by the man-power of other nations, is assaulting the forces of civilization. If the forces of destruction are permitted to gather too much momentum, only a war can stop them. If we enter the arena now we can avert catastrophe. The Lausanne conference presents to our Government an opportunity to take its proper place in European politics without permanently committing itself to any particular plan. A strong, determined American representative, armed with something more than the authority of an observer, thoroughly versed in international affairs, adroit in reconciling the present differences between European powers and yet unshakably committed to the preservation of Europe for Europeans, would extend by his mere presence the necessary justification for a firm stand against the Turk. Such an American delegate could extricate Europe from the morass of peril and doubt which now encompasses her. He would serve as a guardian for civilization against the collapse which threatens to engulf it. ■ PLEASE SEE: • 11–3–1919. The New York Times, “Urges Us To Take Turkish Mandate” By Edwin L. James • 11–9–1919. The New York Times, Editorial—“The Turkish Mandate”

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• 11–9–1919. The New York Times, Magazine – “Mandates or War” By Henry Morgenthau, Ex-Ambassador to Turkey • 03–17–1922. The New York Times, “Anatolia Government” “Quotes Unfavorable Description by Ali Kemal Bey.” • 11–12–1922. The New York Times, Front Page - “Turk’s Eyes on Europe, Says our Ex-Ambassador” By Henry Morgenthau, Ex-Ambassador to Turkey. PLEASE READ: The autobiography, All in a Lifetime, By Henry Morgenthau, 1922. Reprinted (2007). PERSONAL NOTE: This, I believes is one of the most eye-opening reports transcribed by me. (SKK) ———————

The New York Times, November 12, 1922

YIELD TO THE TURKS NOW, SAYS PRENTISS Near East Relief Agent Declares Only Immediate Evacuation Can Avert Massacre.

ALLIES AT TURKS’ MERCY “Will Be Forced Out” of Capital if They Fight—8,000 Victims Marked for Death. PARIS, Nov. 11 (Associated Press).— “Turkey for the Turks” is the slogan which the Turks gave as their watchword to MARK O. PRENTISS special representative of the American Near East Relief, who sent by headquarters to make a survey of the work in the Orient and who has just reached Paris from Constantinople after going through the Smyrna fire. He is returning to the United States to report on the future possibilities of refugee work. Mr. Prentiss had a conference with the American Ambassador in Rome, RICHARD WASHBURN CHILD, and will see AMBASSADOR HERRICK here and AMBASSADOR HARVEY at London, and finally will report to the State Department in Washington.

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“The Allies,” said Mr. Prentiss, “ought to get out of Constantinople immediately, to avert disaster; otherwise they will be forced out, for they face a careful Turkish plan.” He declared that there was certain to be an explosion in Constantinople soon, which, in his opinion, “would be another Smyrna, but several times worse.” Three-quarters of a million people must be evacuated from Constantinople pellmell if the impending disaster is not anticipated. The Turks, Mr. Prentiss said, had a list of 8,000 Greeks and Armenians in Constantinople, with their photographs, and “they are going to get them and kill them.” NUREDDIN PASHA, second in command of the Nationalist Army, told him that Turkey was through with all missionaries, including Americans, and it was going to be “Turkey for the Turks.” If the Americans wanted to help Turkey, Nureddin advised, they could send technical men, but no more mission schools. The Turks during their first retreat according to Mr. Prentiss, dropped off secret agents, and these agents took photographs of Greeks, particularly officers, and investigated all outrages. They attached memoranda to the pictures, and the Turks when they made their recent advance gathered the compiled records of more than 25,000 persons charged with crimes. They found 12,000 of these in Smyrna, Mr. Prentiss says, and killed them, and are waiting to get 8,000 whom they have “spotted” in Constantinople. ■ NOTE: On September 6–7 1955, an extermination of the Christians of Constantinople was carried out again—it is known as The Night of Terror. My personal experience in 1973 before disembarking in Constantinople (now Istanbul) from the cruise ship I was on—the ship’s captain warned the passengers to NOT speak Greek in Turkey, and to NOT use Greek currency. (SKK)

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Professor Speros Vryonis, Jr., the renowned Greek-American Byzantinist has written the most comprehensive book about Constantinople. In addition to the wealth of information, the book provides many photographs of the wanton destruction, unprovoked attacks, mass killings, that were carried out by the Turks against the Christian inhabitants that still lived there. PLEASE READ: Vryonis, Jr., Speros, Ph.D., The Mechanism of Catastrophe: The Turkish Pogrom of September 6–7 1955, and the Destruction of the Greek Community in Istanbul. Published by www.greekworks.com. ———————

The New York Times, November 14, 1922

HUNDREDS DYING IN SALONIKI Red Cross Reports Terrible Conditions Among 140,000 Refugees. Washington, Nov. 13.—Hundreds of refugees from Asia Minor, stricken by smallpox and starving, are dying daily in Saloniki according to a message from Miss Sophie Nelson of the American Red Cross Nursing Service at Athens, received at the national headquarters of the Red Cross today. Miss Nelson,, who has just returned to Athens after a survey of conditions at Saloniki, gives a picture of “terrible conditions among the starving thousands,” an announcement by the Red Cross says. “First careful examination of the refugee area at Saloniiki just completed.” The Nelson message said, “This is the largest refugee centre in Greece. There are 70,000 in city and another 70,000 in surrounding country. Hundreds are dying daily. Malaria is sweeping all camps. There are no food, no clothing, no medical supplies. Whoever gets sick dies. “An American Red Cross ship arrived with flour, and people mobbed it, breaking the flour sacks. Every day big riots

occur at the only soup kitchen in Saloniki, which dispenses 7,500 portions daily. People fight for food, pulling hair and knocking each other down. There are looting and stealing at night throughout the city. “One of the greatest tragedies is the frequent suicide of those who can no longer endure the awful conditions. The city is choked with refugees, who are in schools, churches, mosques, warehouses, cafés, moving picture theatres, railway stations and quays. You fall over them in the streets. “The first shipment of American Red Cross flour and milk has reached Saloniki, and more flour is coming in a few days. There are thirty cases of smallpox in camp. At Piraeus, the port of Athens, soldiers are guarding the smallpox camp there, but thirty smallpox patients climbed the wall and got away.” ■ PLEASE SEE: The Scotsman,14 October 1922. Headline: “The Great Distress in the Near East” The Manchester Guardian, 15, January 1923. Headlines: “The Refugees in Greece” “Settlement Prospects and Present Relief ” The Toronto Star, 17 January 1923. Headlines: “Near East Refugees Die on Plague Ship” “Sixty Deaths, Reported When 1,600 Passengers are Stricken” “Burn Bodies In Furnace”.

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The New York Times, November 28, 1922

250,000 CHRISTIANS MAY DIE IN FLIGHT Marching Toward Black Sea, Anatolian Refugees Beg Our Destroyers to Save Them.

VESSELS ARE OVERWHELMED Not a Hundredth Part of Stricken Throng Can Be Accommodated Officials Say. CONSTANTINOPLE. Nov. 27 (Associated Press).—Another human tragedy that promises to rival the Smyrna fire is developing in Northern Asia Minor, where the tide of a quarter of a million Christian inhabitants is sweeping in full flood to the fringes of the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. These refugees are clamoring to be saved. The American naval base at Constantinople is deluged with S O S calls from the flotilla of American destroyers patrolling the Mediterranean and Black Sea coast of Asia Minor, which are crowded with Christians fleeing from the Turk. There is a poignant note of despair and tragedy in every message snatched from the air. Appeals from land to “save our souls” are received almost hourly and are taxing the capacity of the American radio staff here. Appeals come from every part of Anatolia, where whole Christian communities are migrating and where the American Near East Relief is working heroically to overcome almost insuperable obstacles, including the removal of orphans for great distances to the sea. Cryptic radiograms received today indicated that a critical situation was

developing with surprising suddenness. The whole interior is blanketed with snow, adding immeasurably to the misery of the exiles. A wireless from the destroyer Barry said: “Five hundred Christians are arriving at Samsun daily from parts unknown.” Another from the Barry, relayed from Sivas in the interior of Anatolia, said: “Ten thousand Christians and two thousand orphans trudging through the snow from Siva’s are looking to the Americans to save them.” Another destroyer relayed a dramatic appeal to the Near East Relief at Constantinople from James H. CRUTCHER, of Tuscaloosa, Ala., at Samsun: “Can you take a thousand mountain children? if not, it means their end.” One from the destroyer Lawrence came from Americans at Trebizond, declaring: “We cannot hold up evacuation of Trebizond orphans much longer. We are overwhelmed by arrivals from the interior. Instruct immediately.” From Mediterranean coastal towns come moving please for succor from tens of thousands of orphans. The destroyer Overton, stationed at Mersina, received a radiogram from Chrystie MURPHY of New York: “Not a ship in sight for 6,000 refugees. Where can they go?” Charles THURBER of Manchester, N.H. sent a message: “Must have fifty thousand Turkish pounds to buy bread for ten thousand destitute orphans and adults crowding Sivas. The situation is becoming worse hourly. Unless additional funds and transportation are provided immediately thousands will perish.” Another message, more cheering arrived a moment later from the Overton: “Two thousand Near East Relief orphans are leaving Mersina on the 26th

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by the steamers Malino and Sumatra. One thousand orphans from Adana leave by the steamship Sardinia on the 29th.”

Dr. William DOOD of Montclair, N.J. reported: “The evacuation of Konia orphans was completed Nov. 20, but more on the way.” ■ ———————

Weeding Out the Men. All men of military age were torn away from their wives and children and led away in groups for deportation to the interior. SOURCE: The Blight of Asia by George Horton (photo facing title page)

The Toronto Daily Star, December 1, 1922

TURKS MAY EXPEL ALL GREEKS FROM TURK TERRITORY It Would Mean Worst Compulsory Exodus in History.

AFFECT TWO MILLION Venizelos Charges That Turks Drove Million Greeks From Anatolia. Associated Press Dispatch. Lausanne, Dec. 2. — Reports that a compulsory exodus of Greeks from

Turkey has been ordered by ISMET PASHA though not substantiated by any official statement this morning have caused a sensation in conference circles. It is declared that if the Turks have actually determined to demands a general withdrawal from their territory it would mean the worst compulsory exodus in history. The total number of Ottoman Greeks that would be affected counting those expelled since the beginning of the war, would be nearly two million.

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A sub-commission to-day is considering the question of civilian populations. Discussion of this question yesterday led to rather violent words between VENIZELOS and ISMET PASHA concerning mutual responsibilities of their countries for destruction during the Asia Minor retreat, particularly during the Smyrna tragedy. Venizelos charged that the Turkish army had driven a million Greeks from Anatolia; these people had left their homes intact and the Turks had inherited them. Ismet retorted that on the contrary, the Greeks had burned entire regions in Asia Minor during their retreat. He wanted the Greeks to return war prisoners immediately, whereas Turkey would undertake to return Greek prisoners when peace was actually signed. The entire problem is being considered by a special sub-commission composed of representatives of Great Britain, Greece, Turkey, France and Italy under the presidency of an Italian delegation. In addition to the Greek population in Constantinople, it is estimated that there are 180,000 Moslems in Grecian territory who would be affected by the exchange project and about half a million Greeks in Asia Minor. The Greek prisoners in the hands of the Turks are estimated at 30,000, and the Turkish prisoners in the hands of the Greeks at 10,000. M. Venizelos asserted that 100,000 Greek males had been seized by the Turks during the Smyrna disaster and sent into the interior under duress. ■ COMMENTS: Being “sent to the interior” was a euphemism for harsh slave labor, unimaginable abuse and certain death. The labor battalions were known as the Amele Tuburu—meaning “death caravans.” (SKK)

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PLEASE SEE: The Japan Times & Mail, 25 October 1922 Headlines: “Allied Failure Means Disaster For Near East” “Turks Deport Christians To Certain Death In Bleak Interior”. ———————

The New York Times, December 2, 1922

TO FIGHT FOR BILLION AND RICH OIL LANDS FOR SULTAN’S HEIRS Alvin Untermyer Sails Today to Press Claims of 22 Princess and Princesses.

AT LAUSANNE CONFERENCE Immense Oil Holdings In Mesopotamia Now the Object of World Diplomacy.

STANDARD IN THE CONTEST Property Part of the Immense Private Estate of Abdul Hamid, Claimants Say. UNTERMYER, son of SAMUEL ALVIN UNTERMYER, sails for Europe today to press before the LAUSANNE CONFERENCE the claims of twenty-two Turkish Princes and Princesses for Mesopotamian oil fields alleged to be worth more than $1,000,000,000. Mr. Untermyer will represent his father and other American and British citizens who are financing eighteen of the twenty-two heirs of the late SULTAN ABDUL HAMID. The claim is that most of the oil fields now the object of world diplomacy are owned by them in fee simple by inheritance from Sultan Abdul Hamid, who died in 1915. They contend that the Sultan bought the property from funds from his personal estate, paid taxes on it to the Turkish Government, and was the personal owner with

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a title as good as any person could have for real property. Hamid was deposed and driven out of power by the Young Turks, but this, it is alleged, did not impair his title to the property nor the right of his heirs to inherit it. MAJOR JOHN GODOLPHIN BENNETT, who is mentioned in dispatches from Lausanne, is the representative of eighteen of the Turkish heirs. Samuel Untermyer on his recent trip abroad became interested, it was learned yesterday, with Major Bennett in the affairs of the Turkish heirs. Arrangements were made to furnish the capital which was necessary to provide immediate income for some of the heirs, to pay the taxes on their property and to defray the legal expenses in connection with it. LIEUT. COL. T. MAITLAND EDWARDS is said to be one of the British citizens interested. Fighting Oil Companies. The chief legal expenses, it is alleged, are incurred in fighting the alleged efforts of the STANDARD OIL COMPANY and other oil companies to capture rights in these properties and to make good the title of the heirs against claims put forward by English and other interests. The oil fields owned by the Sultan and claimed by his heirs are alleged to contain more oil than all the fields in America and Mexico, so that the thing at stake is not merely the fortune of individuals but, to some extent, the future of nations. Mr. Untermyer was shown yesterday a dispatch in The New York Times from Lausanne containing an interview with JOHN W. DE KAY, in which Major Bennett is referred to as the secretary of Mr. De Kay, and is quoted as saying that former Postmaster General Hays and Samuel Untermyer were to sail

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from New York today and to make their appearance at Lausanne. The statement of Mr. Untermyer is as follows: “The message is confused and unintelligible. Major Bennett is not secretary to Mr. De Kay. He is an Englishman who was for many years Military Attaché to the British Embassy at Constantinople, and is now representing the Turkish princes and princesses who are the heirs of the deceased Sultan Abdul Hamid and who claim, as such heirs the title of vast oil, mineral and agricultural lands in Syria, Thrace, Greece Tripoli, Palestine, Mesopotamia and other countries, including the vast oil fields of Mesopotamia that are the subject of so much diplomatic rivalry. “When I was in Europe last Summer Major Bennett and Captain Edwards, representing these Turkish interests, retained me to act for those interests. My son, Alvin Untermyer, is leaving tomorrow for Lausanne for that purpose. “I know nothing about the story that Will Hays is about to go abroad, except that I know he is not going with my son or in connection with this business.” Will H. Hays was not in this city yesterday. His secretary, Ralph Hays said: “Mr. Hays is not sailing to Europe tomorrow, and I don’t think he plans to sail there at all. I am sure that he is not personally interested in any way in the Mesopotamian oil question. It is barely possible that his law firm is connected with it in some way. Mr. Hays is today in Indiana.” When Abdul Hamid died in 1915, it was said that he was the richest man in the world. His main productive wealth was agricultural, and his greatest potential wealth was oil. Oil fields described as the most valuable in the world exist on his private estate.

ARCHIVAL NEWS REPORTS

The principal part of the known oil properties, which have figured so largely in the diplomacy of the last few years under the name of the “Mesopotamia oil fields,” were bought by the former Sultan in his lifetime. His ownership under these conditions is alleged to have blocked the efforts of the STANDARD OIL COMPANY and British companies to get a foothold there. Whatever company obtains the right to drill for oil in these fields, it is asserted, will have to settle first with the heirs of the old Sultan. The alleged efforts of the STANDARD OIL COMPANY to enter these fields through diplomacy have been under attack for several years. In the last part of the Administration of PRESIDENT WILSON, Secretary of State BAINBRIDGE COLBY was active in demanding fair play for Americans in the Mesopotamian oil fields. This policy is alleged to have been followed up actively by the present Administration. The position alleged to have been taken by the State Department at Washington is that the liberation of Mesopotamia from the Turkish control automatically killed all the Sultan’s real estate titles in that region. The future of the oil property may depend on whether the Turkish Government now succeeds in recovering the MOSUL TERRITORY now administered under a British mandate. Importance of Concession. No ordinary concession is at stake. Governments are deeply interested because oil is expected in the present century to play the part in the rise and fall of nations which coal played in the Nineteenth Century. Oil is alleged to have been an important factor in bringing abut the recent Turkish war and there is fear that it will cause another war.

The alleged efforts to identify the plans of the STANDARD OIL COMPANY with the interests of the United States has been criticized by EX-AMBASSADOR MORGENTHAU, Samuel Untermyer and many others. A number of Americans are said to be interested in the claims of the Sultan’s heirs. One account of the Abdul Hamid estate and of the efforts of various interests to deprive the heirs of their rights was given yesterday as follows: “Abdul Hamid was a billionaire when he died. He had been for years buying up great tracts of irrigated agricultural lands, until he owned millions of acres in ASIA MINOR, THRACE, MESOPOTAMIA and AFRICA. This was his personal property. He paid taxes on it to the Turkish Government, just as any other individual property owner would. His annual rentals from these lands were equal to $7,000,000 a year. His vast oil tracts in Mesopotamia were, of course, underdeveloped. The most valuable part of the oil fields now in controversy among nations is on his private lands. “After he died, the tenants didn’t pay any rents except in Constantinople, where the heirs have been receiving them. “Major Bennett made an agreement with eighteen of the twenty-two heirs by which all their claims were to be turned over to corporations that he organized. There are five such corporations—one to take care of the copper and other metals, various great mineral deposits and the oil concessions. “Then there are two holding companies that he organized in Virginia. His agreement with the heirs provided that he should advance a certain amount of cash which he paid them to give

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them certain interests in the stocks these companies. He is also to hundreds of thousands of dollars in way of taxes and the registration titles.

of pay the of

Private Rights Sacred. “Under the Mohammedan laws, private rights are sacred. They cannot be seized by the Government even if the owner is declared a traitor. Land titles, when once registered in Turkey, are not subject to contest. These land titles are registered. “The tens of thousands of tenants on the agricultural lands of the Sultan Abdul Hamid have paid no rent since he died and will pay no rent to any one other than his heirs. “The French Government has recognized the rights of the Turkish heirs in the Syrian property and in the land and all concessions there. “A billion dollars is a fair valuation to put on the property. It is one of fabulous wealth. “The British Government has long been angling for the opportunity to get in on the Mesopotamian oil fields—thus far without success. It recently put forth a claim that it had an option from the Sultan Abdul Hamid on this land, but could produce no writing substantiating its claims except a writing from the Turkish Ambassador said to have been written in 1915. “It is understood that the British Government has now abandoned that contention. This contention is based on the recognition of the title of Abdul Hamid. “For the past few years the STANDARD OIL COMPANY has made repeated efforts to effect an arrangement with the Turkish heirs. To that end it has tried to deal with Major Bennett but without result. Having failed in that direction it appealed to our State Department to

get a ‘look-in’ through the claim of our Government to the open door in Mesopotamia on the ground that, it being a free State, all countries should have an equal choice to exploit its resources— quite overlooking the fact that the concessions to these oil fields were already owned by Turkish subjects whose rights will be protected. “It has not been possible to learn what representations were made or what influences have been used to get our Government to interfere through the claim of the open door—which, in this case, means Standard Oil. If our Government persists in this attitude in the interest of the Standard Oil it looks as if the situation might become embarrassing. “We have here, therefore, the following condition: The British Government is trying to get an interest in the Mesopotamian oil fields under the claim of an option from the Sultan Abdul Hamid which his heirs deny. The Turkish heirs claim that they own the oil fields, while our Government raises the contention that, since Mesopotamia is now a free State, the exploitation of these oil fields should be open to all countries—meaning the STANDARD OIL.” ■ •

The Standard Oil Company was founded by John Davison Rockefeller. • Abdul Hamid II was known as “the Great Assassin” “the Red Sultan” “the Butcher” and “the Bloody Sultan.” He ordered the beginning of the massacres of the Christian Armenians in 1894–96. • A ruthless method of collecting taxes from the Christians was to farm out the job of tax collector to the highest (Muslim) bidders. For incentive: the Sultan’s tax collectors were granted full powers of authority to collect taxes—and kept the rest for themselves. This practice led to wide open to abuse of the Christians from whom they collected the taxes. (SKK) SEE: The Times, 4 December 1922. Headlines: “Mesopotamian Oil” “A Story of Abdul Hamid”. ———————

ARCHIVAL NEWS REPORTS

The New York Times, Saturday, December 2, 1922

TURKS PROCLAIM BANISHMENT EDICT TO 1,000,000 GREEKS Ismet, in Lausanne Conference, Gives Those Remaining in Turkey Two Weeks’ Grace.

ALLIES ACCEPT THE DICTUM Proceed to Discussion of Means of Evacuation—Greeks in Constantinople Included.

CONFERENCE RECESS SOON Leaders, Despairing of Agreement Now, Plan for an Adjournment About Dec. 15 By EDWIN I. JAMES. Copyright, 1922 by The New York Times Company. Special Cable to THE NEW YORK TIMES. LAUSANNE, Dec. 1.—A black page of modern history was written here today. ISMET PASHA stood before the statesmen of the civilized world and admitted that the banishment from Turkish territory of nearly a million Christian Greeks, who were two million only a few short years ago had been decreed. The Turkish Government graciously allows two more weeks for the great exodus. The statesmen of the civilized powers accepted the Turkish dictum and set about ways to get those thousands of Greeks out of harm’s way before they should meet the fate of 800,000 Armenians who were massacred in Anatolia in 1910 and 1917. New Light on Turkish Massacres. Here, in the beauty of the Winter sunshine of the Swiss Alps, diplomats have been for ten days talking political problems with the Turks, treating them as

equals. Massacre and bloodshed seemed far away. But today a change took place, and a new light was thrown on the situation. The facts are not new: the world knows the Turks’ cruelty and massacres. But the way their crimes were presented this afternoon came like a clever stage effect. As an audience may change from smiles to tears, the diplomats here seem to have had their souls touched today as LORD CURZON unfolded the sinister story of the fate of the Greeks in Asia Minor; and today’s events cannot but fail to have an important effect on the final settlement. In all probability no treaty will be written at this session, and in two weeks the conference will be adjourned, it is believed, to meet again in a month or six weeks. In the meanwhile the Turks will have time to think things over and become more reasonable or face the consequences. Today’s meeting was scheduled under the simple heading: “Exchange of Prisoners.” The delegates rolled in luxurious automobiles to the old château. They left in two hours later with solemn faces. Within the ancient walls the shades of murdered thousands had poured to have their say. Dr. Nansen Reads His Report. DR. FRIDTJOF NANSEN, who had been sent to Anatolia by the League of Nations, read his report on conditions there and made the radical recommendation that all Greeks under Turkish sovereignty be got away quickly to save them from starvation or death by other agencies. It was immediately apparent that something more than the mere discussion of the fate of some few thousands of prisoners of war had been staged. ISMET PASHA arose and said that the Turks were willing to begin the discussion of means for getting all Greeks

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out of Turkey and suggested that the conference proceed at once to take up the subject of minorities. Lord Curzon declared that he felt that many thousands of lives were at stake and said that quick action must be taken. He said that the Turks had decreed that all Greeks in Anatolia must get out by the last day of November and added that they had extended the date to December 15. Immediate steps, Lord Curzon said must be taken to remove the Greeks by that date. Ismet Admits Decree of Banishment. Instead of retreating before Lord Curzon’s attack, ISMET agreed that the Greeks must leave Anatolia and volunteered the statement the Greeks in Constantinople had better depart also. Lord Curzon protested that this would mean great economic loss for Turkey. EX-PREMIERE VENIZELOS declared that if those hundreds of thousands were sent to Greece the country could not care for them and would have to ask the United States for aid. When Lord Curzon warned ISMET of danger to the Turks in Western Thrace, which remains Greek, ISMET coolly replied that it might be a good idea to trade the Greeks in Turkey for the Turks in Greece. Lord Curzon then said that he wished to give some statistics in order that there might be a clear idea what was at stake. He said that figures from American sources showed that before 1914 there were 1,600,000 Greeks in Anatolia. Between 1914 and 1918 300,000 died, left the country or otherwise disappeared. Between 1919 and 1922 another 200,00 left Anatolia or disappeared. In September and October of this year another reduction of 500,000 took place leaving now 500,000 or 600,000 Greeks in Anatolia, most of whom were males between

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15 and 60, to whom the Turks had refused permission to leave. A Million Greeks Wiped Out. “In other words” said the British Foreign Minister “a million Greeks have been killed, deported or have died.” Lord Curzon said that there had been 300,000 Greeks in Constantinople, most of whom were still there, 320,000 Greeks in Eastern Thrace, some of whose families had been there for a thousand years and more, all had fled before the dread of the Turks, leaving desert areas behind them. Turning to the issue of the prisoners of war, Lord Curzon said that the Greeks held 10,000 Turkish soldiers and about 3,800 Turkish civilians. The Turks hold about 30,000 Greek soldiers. He further pointed out that there were in Greece proper, in the Greek islands and Western Thrace 480,000 Moslems. He further mentioned 120,000 Greeks who have been deported by the Turks into inner Anatolia. He recommended that immediate steps be taken to solve the tragic problem. Ismet demanded that the Greeks free at once the Turkish civilians whom they held, whom he called hostages. He said that some of Lord Curzon’s figures were too high, but he did not deny that the Turks had decreed that all Greeks must leave their territory. The outcome of the discussion was the appointment of a subcommittee to consider means for getting the Greeks out of Turkish territory. This story of the fate of 2,000,000 Greeks who were in Turkey takes no account of the wiping out of an almost equal number of Armenians of whom the Turks wished to be rid. After the massacres of war times only about 300,000 Armenians remain in Turkey.

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There is almost an equal number in Constantinople and Thrace. They must go somewhere else or be killed, in all probability. The Turks have been invited by the Allies to become members of the League of Nations. They have replied that they will join when their friends, the Reds of Moscow, are admitted. Recess From About December 15 Planned. Facing a situation which seems almost impossible, the leaders of the Lausanne conference have about decided to try to arrange a temporary settlement of the most pressing issues between the Turks and the Greeks and take a recess from about December 15 until the middle of January or the first of February. It is reported that meanwhile Ismet Pasha will go to Angora to explain the allied position on the larger questions. On the issues of the exchange of prisoners, the protection of minorities, the capitulations, the customs and the Ottoman debt, the diplomats believe that an agreement can be reached with the Turks. But on the issues of the European frontier of Turkey, the future of the Straits and the Anatolian boundary line, it appears unlikely that, so long as Ismet Pasha sticks to his instructions, any agreement can be reached. According to present plans, Ismet will take to Angora the proposals of the Allies relating to these questions and endeavor to bring back new instructions. This proposal originated with Ismet Pasha and was tentatively approved by Lord Curzon, who today communicated the suggestion to the other delegations including the American observers. While on the face of it the recess would be taken to allow Ismet to confer with the Angora Government in per-

son, conversations with the Turkish delegates reveal another idea, namely, that the Brussels conference may produce a change in the complexion of the allied negotiations with the Turks. The Turks feel that the allied unity at Lausanne which they did not expect, is due to a bargain between England and France by which England has promised France aid in the solution of the latter’s economic problems, including reparations. The Turks reason that after the Brussels Conference the French will either have the fruits of their bargain or will be ready to act against Germany without British help. In either eventuality they calculate that France may be ready to stand less firmly by the side of England against themselves. It seems scarcely believable that the POINCARÉ Government could have given the Turks any encouragement in such hopes, but nevertheless the Turks seem confident that they will lose nothing by waiting. Turks Working With Russians. On the issue of the Straits the Russians, whose chief delegate, GEORGE TCHITCHERIN, arrived tonight, are ready to fight to the end the British claims, whatever they may be. The Turks so far are working closely with the Russians and are denying the British demands for the demilitarization of the Straits. Coached by the Russians, they now refuse to listen to the proposal to have the League of Nations guard the Straits, although three weeks ago in Paris, Ismet said that the solution would be acceptable. While the British demand the right to send their warships through the Straits into the Black Sea, the Russians demand that the Straits be closed to all warships, as before the World War.

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With respect to the European frontier the Turks demand a bridgehead on the western side of the Maritsa River, on the ground that it contains the railroad station of Adrianople. The Allies refuse to allow the Turks to cross the Maritza, on the ground that it gives them an excellent bridgehead for offensive operations in Europe. The Anatolian frontier issue hinges on the MOSUL OIL FIELDS, which the British intend to keep within the borders of the Mesopotamian mandate, but which the Turks claim for themselves. On none of these three issues has the slightest progress been made toward a settlement. It is true the Turks maintain stoutly that the British have made them proposals by which the Turks would get sovereignty over the district in return for an assurance of oil concessions, the British giving assurances that they could dispose of the French, Italian and American claims. Lord Curzon himself authorized a denial that any such proposal has been made. The basic trouble here is that the Turks present themselves as conquerors, having whipped the Greeks in 1922, while the Allies present themselves as conquerors, having whipped the Turks in 1918. ISMET PASHA, leading one side, acts on the basis of the Mudania armistice, which marked the halt of the victorious Turkish troops, while Curzon, leading the other side, acts on the basis of the Mudros armistice, which marked the halt of the victorious Allied troops. Russian intervention on the one hand and Balkan intervention on the other serve to muddy the waters, with the result of a confusion which is almost complete. M. Tchitcherin on his arrival went into a three-hour conference with ISMET

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PASHA, head of the Turkish delegation. Tomorrow the Turks will entertain the Russian delegation at luncheon. In a statement to the press M. Tchitcherin said: “Two principles will guide the Russian delegation at the Lausanne conference. “One is the principle of self-determination and the other is the need for peace in the world. The first obviously applies to Turkey as well as to other nations, and, therefore, the Russians will demand an independent Turkey. As for the second principle, we consider one of the essential conditions for peace in the Near East is that the Straits shall be effectively closed to all foreign warships.” Bulgaria Threatens to Fight Greece. PREMIER STAMBOULIWAKI of Bulgaria, in an interview tonight, declared that he had quitted the Balkan League and was going to work with the Turks. Furthermore, he said if the conference did not give Bulgaria the port of Dedeaghatch and a corridor to the Aegean, the Bulgars would “go and get it.” “It is foolish to talk about the Balkan bloc,” he said. “There is no such thing. If this conference does not give us Dedeaghatch as demanded, we will fight the Greeks for it.” “The Bulgarian Government is in complete accord with Turkey and ready to support all her claims in return for Turkish support for our demand for an outlet to the Aegean, which has been promised us and which we mean to have.” M. Stambouliwaki said that, as for the proportion of the Ottoman debt owed by the parts of Bulgaria won from Turkey, Bulgaria would not pay one cent. ■ NOTE: Edwin L. James was the managing editor of The New York Times.

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COMMENT: This news report indicates that at least one million Greeks were exterminated by the Turks. To the count of one million exterminations—“deportations” should be added as intended death sentences. The Greek refugee organizations of Greece and of the Diaspora annually commemorate the Genocides of their people: May 19 for the Greeks of the Pontos regions. September 14 for the Greeks of the Smyrna region. September for the Martyred Archbishop Chrysostomos of Smyrna.

dirty waters of the harbor, and the freighter was loaded with several hundred refugees, who were taken to the Piraeus and landed in safety to Greek shores. ■

BACKGROUND: The massacres were centrally conceived, and methodically directed for 28 years, between 1894 to 1922, by Turkish officials from Central Headquarters. The millions of Hellenic/Greek families exterminated were from Thrace, Macedonia, Imvros Tenedos, Pontos, Cappadocia, Bursa, Smyrna, and many more places. Sadly, for geo-political reasons, the Greek Government remains mute about the extermination of its own people (SKK)

RELIABLE SOURCE: My friend’s mother-in law, Irene Pittaris, was 13 years old when she was rescued by “a Japanese ship.” She recounted seeing dead bodies being thrown overboard into the sea, before they reached Piraeus. Sadly, the name of the Japanese cargo ship remains unknown. She would complain that one of the American ships close by only took photographs but would not take her or others on board. (SKK)

PLEASE SEE: The New York Times, 2 December 1922, Editorial, Headline: “A Black Friday” The New York Times, 4 December 1922. Headline: “The Statesmanship of Extermination” The New York Times, 9 December 1922. Headlines: “The Expelled Greeks” “Turkey’s Defiance of All the Laws of Civilization”.

TO DATE: The name of the Japanese cargo ship remains unknown. (SKK)

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The Boston Globe, December 3, 1922

JAPANESE AT SMYRNA Mrs. Anna Harlow BIRGE, wife of Prof. Birge of the International College at Smyrna, tells of an incident when Smyrna was being burned. The desperate refugees were crowding each other off the wharves, and the harbor was full of men and women swimming around in the hope of rescue until they drowned. In the harbor at that time was a Japanese freighter, which had just arrived loaded to the decks with a very valuable cargo of silks, laces and china, representing many thousands of dollars. The Japanese captain, when he realized the situation, did not hesitate. The whole cargo went overboard into the

COMMENTS: On behalf of the victims of Smyrna—Greeks, Armenians, Assyrians and others—they owe the Japanese people a show of appreciation for their compassionate intervention.

PLEASE SEE: The New York Times, 18 September 1922. No Title. The New York Times, 21 September 1922. Headlines: “Our Smyrna Consul Praises Americans.” “Big Relief Fund. Automobiles From American Firms.” “Stars and Stripes. Helped Throughout the City.” The Japan Times & Mail, 21 October 1922. Headlines: “Consul Tells Of Suffering In Near East” “U.S. Official Praises Work Of American Colony At Smyrna”. ———————

The New York Times, December 3, 1922

A BLACK FRIDAY: EDITORIAL, By EDWIN L. JAMES Copyright, 1922 by The New York Times Company. Special Cable to THE NEW YORK TIMES There have been many Black Fridays in recent history. Most of them have been days of financial panic. There has been none of blacker foreboding than last Friday. And the blackness is not loss or fear of loss in stocks and bonds. It is the blackness of loss of home, the blackness of exile and suffering and the

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peril of death. But that which deepens the darkness that has come upon the earth in the broad daylight of the twentieth century is civilization’s prompt acceptance of the Turks’ decree of banishment not only of a million Greeks, but incidentally of all Christian minorities within the Turkish realm beyond the Hellespont, which the Aryan crossed over three thousand years ago. Light blackens such a blot. Lord CURZON but urged that the Greeks be gotten out as quickly as possible in order to escape massacre. For the rest there was, so far as reported, only quiet acquiescence. Meanwhile, the dispatches from Washington of the same date report that the Administration believes that the United States “is not without influence at Lausanne,” that not only the Allies but the Turkish representatives appear to be “wholly satisfied” with the part that the United States is playing at Lausanne, and that the very latest reports from Ambassador CHILD enable the Department of State to draw the conclusion that the work of the “gathering” at Lausanne is “proceeding satisfactorily.” Let us assume that the “very latest reports” do not include the happenings of Friday. If the government were knowingly “wholly satisfied” with that day’s record, then black were white. It is inconceivable that the American people can be as “wholly satisfied” with our part as the Turks are reported to be. Is this to be the end of the Christian minorities in Asia Minor—that land where, thirteen centuries and more before the Turk came first to rule it, PAUL had journeyed as a missionary through its length and breadth, and where the first “seven churches that are in Asia”[1] stood, to which the messages written in the Book of Revelation were sent? ■ Edwin L. James was the managing editor of The New York Times.

[1]The first “seven churches that are in Asia” were: The Church of Ephesus, The Church of Smyrna, The Church of Pergamum, The Church of Thyatira, The Church of Sardis, The Church of Philadelphia, The Church of Laodicca. (SKK) PLEASE SEE: The New York Times, 3 December 1922. Editorial, Headlines: “Turks Proclaim Banishment Edict to 1,000,000 Greeks” “Ismet, In Lausanne Conference, Gives Those Remaining in Turkey Two Weeks’ Grace.” “Allies Accept the Dictum” “Proceed to Discussion of Means of Evacuation—Greeks in Constantinople Included.” “Conference Recess Soon” “Leaders, Despairing of Agreement Now, Plan for an Adjournment About Dec. 15” The New York Times, 4 December 1922. Headline: “The Statesmanship of Extermination” The New York Times, 9 December 1922. Headlines: “The Expelled Greeks” “Turkey’s Defiance of All the Laws of Civilization”. ———————

The New York Times, December 4, 1922

THE STATESMANSHIP OF EXTERMINATION. What The Times thinks about the morality of the Turkish plan to drive every Greek and Armenian out of Turkey—which means that a great many of them will die or be murdered on the way, and that others will fall victims to famine or pestilence in their places of refuge—has already been said. It has been pointed out, too, that the serious thing is not so much the morality of the Turk, which has been fairly well known to the world for several centuries, but that of the so-called Christian Powers which stood by and were consenting. The British Government protested in the name of humanity when the Greek revolutionaries shot a group of ex-Ministers and Generals. But when the Turks announce that a million Greeks are to be expelled from the country where they have lived since two thousand years before the Turks were heard of, and driven out to die,

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LORD CURZON’S moral scruples are satisfied with a request for two weeks’ delay. Politicians, it seems, can be shocked by killings only when the victims are other politicians. Even granting that this eviction on a grand scale will be successful—as apparently it will—what is to become of Turkey? What will become of the deported Greeks and Armenians is, unhappily plain enough. What of the Turks who will be left to undisturbed enjoyment of the country which has been somewhat inexactly called their homeland? Their friends make much of their “racial vitality” which has been demonstrated by the national revival. But racial vitality which exhausts itself in a capacity for fighting, diplomatic intrigue and a low grade of agriculture is poor equipment for a nation in the twentieth century, especially for a nation occupying a country of enormous strategic and military importance. Already there is trouble in Smyrna. The expulsion of the Greeks and Armenians has ruined the town. What has happened in Smyrna will happen in Constantinople if the Christian population is expelled. Turkey will be left a nation of peasants, and the business which was formerly done by Greeks and Armenians will have to be done by somebody other than the Turks. It is too much to suppose that the world will leave the Turks to till their fields and enjoy the pleasant spectacle of deserted and ruined cities undisturbed by the complications of modern business. Somebody is going after the iron and the oil. The great cultured nations of Western Europe which watch calmly the annihilation of some of the oldest stocks of European culture may be calm because they think they will get a bigger share of the

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business with resident business men out of the way. But business there must be; even the Turks will need it. And the killing off of the races that have done the business hitherto will merely widen the field for that foreign intrigue which the Near East has known for centuries and will continue to know so long as weak or incompetent States lie in the zone between Asia and Europe. There is some justice in the Turkish complaint that the Christian minorities were used as pawns in foreign diplomatic games: but the games will go on with other pawns. The Turks will not be let alone, nor will the Near East cease to be a breeding ground for European wars. The Turks have found themselves unable to get along with races whose collaboration was essential if Turkey was to continue to exist under modern conditions. They knew no way to solve that problem but the extermination of the minorities. Yet this murder of hundreds of thousands of men, women and children will in the long run bring no profit either to the Turks who do it or to the European Powers which are apparently going to allow it. ■ PLEASE SEE: • The New York Times, 3 December 1922. Editorial, Headlines: “Turks Proclaim Banishment Edict to 1,000,000 Greeks” “Ismet, In Lausanne Conference, Gives Those Remaining in Turkey Two Weeks’ Grace.” “Allies Accept the Dictum” “Proceed to Discussion of Means of Evacuation—Greeks in Constantinople Included.” “Conference Recess Soon” “Leaders, Despairing of Agreement Now, Plan for an Adjournment About Dec. 15” • The New York Times, 3 December 1922. Editorial, Headline: “A Black Friday” • The New York Times, 9 December 1922. Headlines: “The Expelled Greeks” “Turkey’s Defiance of All the Laws of Civilization” • WORTH NOTING: Besides the “oil and iron,” chromium, zinc, aluminum, and magnesium were all minerals of interest. (SKK) ———————

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The Times, Monday, Dec. 4, 1922

MESOPOTAMIAN OIL. A STORY OF ABDUL HAMID. (FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT) NEW YORK, Dec. 3. The departure for Lausanne yesterM R. day of MR. UNTERMYER, son of UNTERMYER, the eminent New SAMUEL York lawyer, forms the subject of newspaper articles relating to the oilfields of MESOPOTAMIA. It is stated that Mr. Untermyer’s mission is to urge upon the LAUSANNE CONFERENCE the claims of twenty-two Turkish princes and princesses to oilfields of estimated to be worth over £200,000,000 sterling. The presentation of these claims is said to be financed by American and British citizens. The story, as given to the New York Times, is as follows:— SULTAN ABDUL HAMID had acquired great tracts of irrigated agricultural lands in Asia Minor, Thrace, Mesopotamia, and Africa. This was his personal property, upon which he paid taxes to the Turkish Government. His annual rental was £1,500,000. His vast oil tracks in Mesopotamia were undeveloped, and the most valuable part of the oilfields now in controversy among the nations is on his private lands. After he dies his tenants did not pay any [illegible] rents except in Constantinople, where his heirs had been receiving them. MAJOR JOHN GODOLPHIN BENNETT, who is now at Lausanne, made an agreement in 1918 with twenty-two of the heirs by which all their claims were to be turned over to corporations he organized. The informant of the New York Times adds that the British Government has now abandoned its contention that it had an option from Abdul Hamid on his lands, and that the STANDARD OIL COMPANY, after making repeated efforts to effect an arrangement with

the Turkish heirs, induced the State Department to urge the “open door” Iraq for all nations, and thus help it in the campaign to wrest the oil property from the rightful Turkish heirs. THE STANDARD OIL COMPANY to-day publishes an official denial of the charge against it. It says that it stands for the open door for all American interests in Mesopotamia, and is not attempting to appropriate there or elsewhere any rights legally owned by other interests. ■ PLEASE SEE: The New York Times, 2 December 1922. Headlines: “To Fight For Billion and Rich Oil Lands For Sultan’s Heirs” “Alvin Untermyer Sails Today to Press Claims of 22 Princes and Princesses” “At Lausanne Conference” “Immense Oil Holdings In Mesopotamia Now the Object of World Diplomacy” “Standard in the Contest” “Property Part of the Immense Private Estate of Abdul Hamid, Claimant Say”. ———————

The New York Times, December 7, 1922

Call Stergiadis for Trial in Athens. LONDON, Dec. 6.—A revolutionary court-martial has decided that M. STERGIADIS, former Greek Commissioner in Asia Minor, is partly responsible for the disaster in that region, and various charges have already been made against him by the examining Magistrate, says a Reuter dispatch from Athens. If M. Stergiadis does not reply to a summons ordering him to stand trial in Athens he will be tried in absentia, the dispatch adds. ■ NOTE: Mr. Stergiadis, ordered the Christians in Smyrna to disarm themselves. Thus, putting them in harms’ way and leaving them defenseless against the Turkish citizenry that were “armed to the teeth” as reported. (SKK) PLEASE SEE: The New York Times, 24 September, 1922. Headline: “Slain Archbishop Foresaw Massacre”. ———————

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The Manchester Guardian, Wednesday, December 8, 1922

EXODUS FROM CONSTANTINOPLE The number of refugees who recently left Constantinople is estimated as follows: — Orthodox Greeks……………….110,000 Armenians………………………..15,000 Russians…………………………..12,000 Jews………………………………...7,000 Turks…………………………….... 6,000 Different nationalities……………20,000 —Reuter, Constantinople. ———————

The Manchester Guardian, Wednesday, December 8, 1922

MINORITIES IN TURKEY. PROPOSALS OF THE BRITISH ARMENIA COMMITTEE. A memorandum dealing the question of Armenia and the non-Moslem minorities in Turkey was presented to the British Delegation at Lausanne yesterday by representatives of the British Armenia Committee. The memorandum says:— In the territory of the Armenian Republic of Erivan, with a native population of 1,000,000 there are about 400,000 refugees from Turkish Armenia: the remnant of the non-Moslem population of Asia Minor, numbering perhaps another half-million or more, is at this moment under threat of expulsion or extermination: and the non-Moslem inhabitants of Constantinople, again another half million are living in daily fear of a repetition of the catastrophe which recently destroyed the prosperous community of Smyrna. Thus there is a total of nearly 1,500,000 people living in a precarious situation, one million of whom are actually in peril of their lives. The Committee believes that these facts have only to be mentioned in order to establish be-

yond question the direct responsibility of the European members of the Conference for the future of the Armenian and other non-Moslem people of Turkey: and it further believes that no settlement in the Near East can be permanent or satisfactory which does not contain provisions guaranteeing to these peoples liberty and security and the opportunity of self-development in amity and co-operation with their neighbors. The Committee reaffirms its conviction that a fundamental solution of the problem must invoke the separation of the various conflicting racial and religious elements, and the allocation of each of some adequate and suitable area in which they can concentrate themselves and develop their own national religious and cultural life. It reaffirms in principle the necessity of establishing a national home for the Armenians as has twice been approved by the Assembly of the League of Nations. The most predictable method of realising this aim might be by means of an accretion of territory to the Armenian Republic of Erivan. A comparatively small additional area would enable the Republic to provide land and homes, not only for its own refugee population which it cannot possibly absorb within its present boundaries, but also for many thousands of Armenians now scattered over the Near East and wider regions who would welcome the opportunity of settling among their fellow-countrymen. The Committee respectfully suggests that the Conference might with advantage explore the possibilities of an amicable agreement along these lines with the Russian and Turkish Governments. There remains the question of the protection of that portion of the non-Moslem population which desires to remain in Turkey. The minorities to be dealt with under this head are perhaps most numerous in European Turkey, but they exist also in Asia though now under notice of expulsion and therefore any safeguards for their protection need to be applied over the whole of Turkey. As a matter of international concern, the protection of

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minorities should be placed under the guarantee and direct supervision of the League of Nations, which might therefore be consulted before the final drafting of the articles. The Committee desires to emphasise the opinion that the provisions for minorities agreed to by certain European Powers would be entirely inadequate in the case of these Near Eastern territories. In order to guarantee the execution of whatever provisions are adopted the Committee urges that a representative of the League of Nations be appointed in Turkey, and that foreign officers be attached to the Turkish gendarmery. ■ To avoid public outcry, the Turkish government deceptively used the words “deportations” or “expulsions” in order to exterminate unnoticed—the millions of Christians of Turkey from 1894 to 1922. (SKK) ———————

The New York Times, December 9, 1922

THE EXPELLED GREEKS Turkey’s Defiance of All the Laws of Civilization. To the Editor of The New York Times: The last decree of the Angora Government that 300,000 Greeks who were living peaceably in Turkey should leave that country at once and the refusal of the same Government to allow Greek ships to take them away was a gross breach on international law and calls for prompt action by the American Government. It is true that a nation may require individuals who are unfriendly and suspected of crime to leave the country. But that is a very different thing from compelling immediate deportation of 300,000 men, women and children with the warning that if they do not go at once they will be carried off to the interior. This means, as experience with

the Angora Government shows, that the men will be killed and the women enslaved. These people were living in their homes, earning an honest living, quite independent of the charity of foreign nations. The President of the United States had called upon the American people to relieve the distress of the multitudes who had been already driven out of Turkey and many of whose friends had been murdered by the Turks. THE TIMES has given us pictures of these Christian refugees who are temporarily sheltered in tents and are being cared for by the American NEAR EAST RELIEF and by the RED CROSS. Now the Turk is proposing to put upon us the burden of over 300,000 more. It is a most unfriendly act and one that we should resent and defeat by every means in our power. The rule which should govern civilized nations was well stated by DANIEL WEBSTER, when he was Secretary of State in 1842, in a dispatch to our Minister in Mexico. Referring to American citizens who had been captured when they were alleged to be members of a large Texan force acting in hostility to Mexico, he said, “It is still the duty of this Government to take so far a concern in their welfare as to see that as prisoners of war, they are treated according to the usage of modern times and civilized States. Indeed, although the rights of the safety of none of their own citizens were concerned, yet, if in a war waged between two neighboring States, the killing, enslaving, or cruelly treating of prisoners should be indulged in, the United States would feel it to be their duty, as well as their right, to remonstrate and to interfere against such a departure from the principles of humanity and civilization. These principles are common principles, essential alike to the welfare of all nations, and in the preser-

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vation of which all nations have, therefore, rights and interests.” The extreme cruelty with which the Turks carried on their previous deportations is described in the report of the American Military Mission to Armenia, dated October 16, 1919. It sums up the slaughter thus: “The dead from this wholesale attempt on the race are variously estimated at from 500,000 to more than a million, the usual figure being about 800,000.” We hear much about the new Turk. As far as appears, the new Turk of the Angora Government is only new in that he has revived the fanaticism and cruelty of the Turks when first they conquered ASIA MINOR and captured CONSTANTINOPLE. The SULTAN, whom they dethroned, had at least some moderation in his crimes. Henry MORGENTHAU, in his article recently published in THE TIMES, states the case very clearly: “Only the Turks are ready and eager at this moment for a strong offensive movement against civilization. In the light of recent events this constitutes a very grave danger to the whole world. Other nations, worn and weary, ask only for peace. The Turks have no commerce, no manufactures, no merchant marine. They have nothing to lose. They have no culture. They have no training save in bearing arms, no science save the science of war, no art save the lethal art. They are mere marauders.” The questions for America now to consider are these: Will Congress support the recommendations of the Secretary of War and the Secretary of the Navy and authorize an army and navy of sufficient force to protect civilization, of which America is still a part, from these marauders, and will the President use the force he now has as a police to do our part in the struggle? And will he

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notify the Angora Government that it must revoke at once this order for deportation, or have we become a new America—cowardly, selfish and shortsighted—forgetful of the principles of our great statesmen and the action of our Government in previous administrations, and mindful only of our own immediate ease? God forbid. EVERETT P. WHEELER. New York, December 6, 1922. ■ EVERETT P. WHEELER 1840–1925: Lawyer and civil service reformer. Mr. Wheeler was Founder of the New York Bar Association. HENRY MORGENTHAU served as U.S. Ambassador to Turkey for 3 years. He was a true giant amongst men. NOTE: To this day, Turkey maligns the good name of the U.S. Ambassador Henry MORGENTHAU. (SKK) PLEASE SEE: The New York Times, 3 December 1922. Editorial, Headlines: “Turks Proclaim Banishment Edict to 1,000,000 Greeks” “Ismet, In Lausanne Conference, Gives Those Remaining in Turkey Two Weeks’ Grace.” “Allies Accept the Dictum” “Proceed to Discussion of Means of Evacuation—Greeks in Constantinople Included.” “Conference Recess Soon” “Leaders, Despairing of Agreement Now, Plan for an Adjournment About Dec. 15” The New York Times, 3 December 1922. Editorial, Headlines: “A Black Friday” The New York Times, 4 December 1922. Headline: “The Statesmanship of Extermination”. ———————

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The New York Times, December 14, 1922

CURZON THREATENS TO END CONFERENCE UNLESS TURKS YIELD Delivers a Virtual Ultimatum in Bitter Arraignment of Ismet on Minorities.

OUR ENVOY RENEWS PLEA Urges Turkish Chief to Accept the Guarantee Plan and Cites Favorable Effect Here.

MAY AVERT A BREAKDOWN Rumors of Trades Are in the Air, as Capitulations and Mosul Issues Remain Unsettled. By EDWIN l. JAMES. Copyright, 1922, by The New York Times Co. Special Cable to the New York Times. LAUSANNE, Dec. 13.—At the close of a bitter debate this morning LORD CURZON, speaking for the Allies threatened to break up the Lausanne conference if the Turks did not agree to give more than paper guarantees for the safety of the decimated Christian minorities in Turkey. A break-up of the conference under these conditions might lead to war or massacres. It might lead to both. The Turks persist in their arrogant attitude because they see three reasons for not yielding: First, the possibility that Britain would not fight them; second, the probability that the French would not fight them; third, the certainty that the Americans would not fight them. If the Turks were notified tonight that these three powers would send armed forces to obtain protection for the minorities, they would yield quickly enough. But moral suasion, typified by the Amer-

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ican position, means very little to them, and it will take a different sort of persuasion to get from them a fair settlement of this issue. When GENERAL ISMET PASHA, in the privacy of his hotel room, figures how far he can go on defying the rest of the world, the presence of AMBASSADOR CHILD at LAUSANNE is among the least of his worries. Child and Ismet Confer. The Americans took no part in the discussion today, but Mr. Child spent more than an hour with Ismet Pasha this afternoon presenting the American view of the minorities’ problem and trying to persuade the Turkish chief to be more reasonable. A small sensation was created tonight by the report from Turkish sources that Mr. Child told Ismet this afternoon that he was quite right in refusing League of Nations supervision of carrying out any minorities regulations. I informed Mr. Child at midnight of this report and he authorized me to say: “There is absolutely no foundation for such a report, I said nothing of the sort to Ismet Pasha.” Another version of Mr. Child’s two conversations today with the Turkish chief is that the American Ambassador proposed that the issue of the humanitarian rights of minorities in Turkey be settled either outside the Lausanne conference or independently of the political debates going on here. If Mr. Child made any such proposal it might indicate that the British were using the minority issue to force over a favorable settlement of the STRAITS and MOSUL issues. To Reply to “Ultimatum.” Ismet will reply to the allied “ultimatum” tomorrow. I am informed in Turkish quarters that he will insist that the Allies should be satisfied with Turk-

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ish acceptance of the same supervision and execution of minority regulations as exercised in POLAND, RUMANIA, GREECE, JUGOSLAVIA and other Central European countries, and not insist on a special commission to do nothing but watch the Turks. Seldom has one diplomat used to another, across the conference table the language Lord CURZON addressed today to Ismet Pasha when the British Foreign Secretary declared the world had had enough of Turkish massacres and demanded guarantees against their repetition, laying down the virtual ultimatum that the Allies must have those guarantees or they would not make peace with Angora. Ismet yesterday had promised to give a reply to the allied minorities proposals today. He began with another attack on the Greeks, who, he said, destroyed 27 towns,1,400 villages and 98,000 habitations in Anatolia. Proclaiming Angora’s desire for peace in Turkey, he said the best way to have this peace was to have no Greeks in Turkey. “A long series of events,” he said, “has rendered it necessary to exchange the Greeks in Turkey against the Turks in Greece. This solution has become inevitable. “The exchange of Greeks in Constantinople is a necessity, but logical and just. Nevertheless, our humanitarian sentiments led us to consent to except from the exchange Greeks born in Constantinople, who number 200,000.” Ismet referred to the sadness and suffering the expulsions would cause, but he concluded it was all for the best because it might prevent worse things. Regarding the minority of Jews, he said there was no question. The Turks would permit them to remain.

“That is sufficient to show,” he said, “that in our country the best way to enjoy all rights is for decent citizens not to have compromising relations with the outside and not be in the object of particular solicitude from abroad.” The [2]orthodox Turks and [2]Syrian Christians need have no fear, added the Turkish chief. Fears Dismembering of Turkey. Turning to the Armenian issue, he said the Turks were willing to forget the past and live in peace with the Armenians if the latter would cease conspiring against Turkey.” “On the other hand,” he continued, “I am forced to declare that the cession of Turkish territory for an Armenian home would be to dismember Turkey. The impossibility of such a demand should be apparent. Neither in the eastern provinces nor in CILICIA will Turkey give one inch of territory for this purpose.” For the allied demands of amnesty for the Greeks, Ismet said that was being considered. Turkey, he said, would grant the freedom of movement asked by the Allies for minorities. The allied point that Christians by payment of a tax should be exempted from military service in the Turkish army was refused by Ismet on the ground that it was unjust and illegal. Then Ismet came to the heart of the allied proposals, namely international supervision of Turkey’s execution of her promises in respect to the lives and welfare of Christian minorities. On this point Ismet was quite clear. “The Turkish delegation does not share the opinion that the constitution of a commission charged with the minority mission and sitting in CONSTANTINOPLE would help toward the happiness of the minorities,” he said. “Our delega-

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ton believes this commission would be a means of foreign interference in Turkish affairs and, therefore, absolutely incompatible with Turkish sovereignty. Therefore, we cannot possibly accept any such commission. The rights of minorities will be confirmed by us on the same basis as those established in treaties recently made with European powers.” In other words, Ismet offered no more than paper promises. The archives of European Foreign Offices contain many paper promises of the Turks not to massacre Christians and they were all made when there were millions of Armenians in Anatolia instead of the thousands which remain today. While it is true that the League of Nations supervision of minorities in Central Europe is conducted by one commission with headquarters in Geneva agents being sent to investigate charges of unfairness, it is apparent that such a system would not work in Turkey. The League would have a task of attending funerals rather than doctoring patients. Curzon’s Retort to Ismet. Lord Curzon began his reply to Ismet by citing a historical reference to the tolerance of MOHAMET II. to the Greek church. “But you demand,” he said to Ismet. “that the GREEK PATRIARCHATE and all its appurtenances quit Constantinople, and it is thus you emulate the tolerance of Mohamet II.” The British Minister then cited a long list of Turk charges against the Greeks and said that if he liked he could present a much more damning case against the Turks. But, he added, that would not get any nearer a settlement. “Let us look at the Armenian case,” said Lord Curzon. “Ismet pictures them as responsible for all their troubles. Let me ask Ismet Pasha how

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3,000,000 Armenians in Anatolia have become 130,000? By what process? Did they kill themselves? When the French withdrew from Cilicia, why were they followed by 80,000 Armenians, who left all behind? If the Turks were so kind to the Armenians, why did they run away? “You cannot tell me that story. The Turkish treatment of the Armenians is one of the great scandals in world history. “You tell us now it will be easy to live with these minorities. Yes, I supit will when those minorities have been reduced to a mere handful. The rest should be easy. “But the world will not be content if the remnant of these wretched people shall be left without any protection beyond what the Turks shall be pleased to accord.” Calling the Lausanne negotiations a dark scene, Lord Curzon continued: “I deeply regret this proposed exchange of populations. It is a thoroughly bad and vicious solution for which the world will pay for a hundred years to come. I detest having any hand in it. But it is being forced on us by the Turks, and to say that the Greeks are responsible for it is monstrous. It is being forced by the Turks because of their expulsion of the Greeks , for it is perfectly clear the Turks seek to rid themselves of the Greeks or make conditions for them cruel and impossible. “When we leave Lausanne—and we may go sooner than you think—when the world hears the allied powers have been fighting the battle of the minorities and have gotten nothing but platitudes in return, the general expression will be deplorable.” He quoted the allied note of Sept. 23, the terms of which were agreed to by

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the Turks as acceptance of the League of Nations surveillance, which they now reject. Says Turkey Must Decide. “Yesterday Ismet Pasha expressed fear and distrust of the League,” Lord Curzon continued. “M. BARRERE and I speak for the two greatest colonial powers, whose minorities number millions. We are not afraid of the League of Nations. We are not afraid because our hands are clean. The charge of unfairness has never before been made against the League of Nations. “The time has come when Turkey must make up her mind about the League whether she will join or not. It is voiced in almost all our discussions. Accepted by most all nations, it represents the best judge whether Turkey keeps her promises. Referring to the Turks’ refusal to exempt Greeks from military duty for money payment on the ground it was unjust, Lord Curzon asked Ismet to explain why every Greek of military age leaving Constantinople was forced to pay £100. He added it was well known that any Turk could obtain exemption from military duty by paying a bribe. Summing up, Lord Curzon said: “The Turks don’t seem to realize the situation. They constantly are placing barriers in the way of fair settlements. This cannot go on indefinitely. Europe has other things to do. “The question of minorities arouses more interest than anything else we are doing. If the conference breaks on this issue, and if we leave Lausanne, will a single voice be raised in behalf of the Turk delegation? They may get support in Angora, but they will get no support—nothing—anywhere else.”

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Lord Curzon then asked Ismet to answer him. Ismet, visibly moved by the onslaught, said he would have to prepare a reply, and would make it tomorrow. The Turks tonight appear less arrogant than they were this morning. Lord Curzon told several diplomats tonight that Britain would never agree to a settlement not including surveillance of Turkish treatment of minorities. There can be no question of Lord Curzon’s sincerity today. Yet in the circumstances it is permissible to point out that Britain for fifty years has been assuring the Armenians protection and the Allies collectively have done it many times in the past four years, and therefore the issue raised today is not new. It has been raised often before, without the result demanded this morning. It might also be mentioned that there are other grave differences here, notably the Straits issue and Mosul, on either of which the conference might break. From the technical diplomatic point of view, the allies would be in an immensely better position if the conference broke on minorities rather than on the other issues. This apparent circumstance leads to the charge by the Turks that the Allies are seeking a soft cushion on which to fall if the conference breaks because the Turks do not grant other demands. ■ COMMENTS: Reference to 1orthodox Turks, implied the Greek Orthodox Christians who were Turkish subjects of the Ottoman Empire for 400 years and more. Although mainland Greece was freed from enslavement by the Turks, the Greek Orthodox Christians in Asia Minor remained Turkish subjects. (SKK) EXCERPT THAT IS WORTH NOTING: Much has been said of atrocities and massacres committed by the Greek troops at the time of their landing at Smyrna on May 15, 1919. In fact, the events that occurred on that and the few succeeding days have been magnified until they have taken on

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larger proportions in the public mind than the deliberate extermination of whole nations by the Turks, and no consideration seems to have been given to the prompt suppression of the disorders by the Greek authorities and the summary punishment of the principal offenders, several of them by death. (48) —George Horton, The Blight of Asia, Chapter X, “The Greek Landing at Smyrna” London: Sterndale Classics. 2003. COMMENTARY: Lord Curzon was a philhellene and a friend of the Christians but his hands were tied by the policies undertaken in Great Britain and by the governments of Italy and France. The Turks were absolutely correct that the European countries had no desire to fight them. That is how Kemal prevailed! The present problems of the Greeks and the Armenians emanate from the events at Lausanne. Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew’s present problems come from the fact that at Lausanne, Turkey was not required to recognize “the Ecumenical” status of the Patriarchate and Turkey was not obligated to do anything more than permit the Patriarchate to remain in Constantinople—where it has become a hostage institution. —THEODORE G. KARAKOSTAS ———————

The New York Times, December 14, 1922

MORGENTHAU FEARS WAR. Points Out Elements of a Balkan Outbreak if Turks Are Not Curbed. LONDON, Sept. 13 (Associated Press). —“If the Turks are allowed to re-enter Europe there is sure soon to be another international war,” said HENRY MORGENTHAU, former Ambassador to Turkey, today. MR. MORGENTHAU, who is being widely interviewed in London as an expert on Turkish affairs, is also seeing and talking with high British personages, and from information that has been presented to him it would appear that an ultimatum will be delivered in a few days to Mustapha KEMAL Pasha, the Turkish Nationalist leader, stating that an effort by him to cross with his forces from the Asiatic to the European side of Turkey will be resisted by force.

“Jugoslavia,” MR. MORGENTHAU continued, “already has an army above 200,000 afoot with the possibility of mobilizing a total of 600,000 in a month. Now, consider that Bulgaria, rightly determined to save an outlet to the Aegean Sea, begins to make the dash to obtain it the moment the Turks are crossing to retake ADRIANOPLE. Then her enemies, the Jugoslavs, would start their armies marching to attack both the Bulgarians and the Turks. It is to be remembered that the Turks are now flushed with victory. They are ruthless fighters, and they are sure to attempt to seize disaccord among the Allies to regain their lost territory. “I believe I have been able to stimulate British opinion during the past few days and show the danger of letting the Turk pass. There have been many political mistakes made in the Near East with the Turks the only ones not making any. “No one should believe the Turks now in command are bent on a new nationalism. Besides, they cannot get along without outside help, and this they don’t want. “America’s interest in Turkey is largely financial, but it is to be remembered that the whole of the pre-war yearly imports and exports with Turkey never amounted to the volume of business done by a single American concern, such as the UNITED STATES STEEL CORPORATION. The Turks have no economic sense. Therefore, they consider they have nothing to lose by continuing the state of war. So it is sure they will not make peace quickly with the Allies. “My opinion is to give them Asia Minor, but under no circumstances let them control the Straits or cross to Europe.” ■ ———————

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The New York Times, December 17, 1922

TURKS BAR HEARING OF ARMENIAN PLEA Allies Give Unofficial Audience to Noradunghian, Kemalists Being Absent.

THREAT TO SUMON IRISH Riza Nur Bey Makes it in Ridicule of Armenians’ Lack of Standing in the Conference. Dec. 16 (Associated LAUSANNE, Press).—Armenia was the storm centre of the Near East conference today. The Turks refused to attend a meeting of the sub-commission which had arranged to hear the plea of the Armenians for the establishment of the national home in Turkey, and both ISMET Pasha and RIZA NUR Bey sent strongly worded communications to the conference protesting against the decision to allow the Armenians to state their case. They declared that if the Armenians, who had no official standing and represented no independent Government, were heard by the conference, there was no reason why the Egyptians or the Irish should not be allowed to present their demands. The so-called irregular Egyptian delegation has been waiting in Lausanne for more than a month for permission to be heard by the conference and voice a demand for the independence of Egypt and complete withdrawal of the British army. Text of the Turkish Protest. The Ottoman protest, signed by Riza Nur Bey, was addressed to President MONTAGNA of the sub-commission on minorities. It reads:

“In the official program for today which was received by our delegation I read, not without surprise, that the Armenian and Bulgarian delegations will be heard by the sub-commission on minorities. At the end of the last meeting of this sub-commission I presented objections to your plan to hear the Bulgarian delegation, and it was agreed that the Bulgarians would be received privately by the Allies. Now I learn that you not only intend to receive the Bulgarians at the sessions of the subcommission, but also to hear the Armenians. I protest energetically against these audiences. “If, despite the unchangeable attitude of the Turkish delegation, which has a direct interest in the proposed discussions, your Excellency insists upon listening to these two delegations, I cannot agree that this meeting should be regarded as official, or that the declarations made should find a place in the official report of the conference. “From the official standpoint and the standpoint of the Turkish delegation the session must be considered nonexistent. The conference consists of two parties. The Allies constitute one party and Turkey the other. Therefore any session at which Turkey is not represented cannot be regarded as official. “Despite the logical arguments which I furnished the other day in support of our position, you have decided now to hear the Armenians as well as the Bulgarians. The Armenian delegation is composed of Turkish subjects, and it pretends to represent Armenians who are Turkish subjects. To enter, into contact with such a delegation would be equivalent to employing against a State subjects of this same State. Any initiative or step in this direction will only

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encourage us to suspect the assurances which have been showered upon us in connection with the safeguarding or our sovereign rights. Furthermore, it would be helpful to inquire what can possibly be the official character of the Armenians who have been invited, and of what Government they pretend to be the delegates. “The existing State of Armenia has already arranged with Turkey, by treaty, all differences existing between them. As Lord CURZON himself has declared, the Armenians now petitioning the conference are private persons who are opposed to the Armenian Republic of Erivan as they are to Turkey. “The subcommission on minorities is going outside the field of its rightful deliberations. The Turkish delegation believes itself justified in not participating in these meetings. “If the principle is accepted that all private persons who pretend to be delegated by their respective countries are to be heard by the conference, then the delegation of the GOVERNMENT OF THE GRAND NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF TURKEY will have the honor to propose, by the same token, the admission and audience of delegations representing the populations of Egypt, Palestine, Syria, Irak, India, Tunis and Tripoli and the Moslem minoriitites of Jugoslavia, Rumania, Bulgaria and Greece, as well as the delegates of Ireland, who ceaselessly ask our assistance to secure an opportunity to present their just and legitimate claims.” Heard at Unofficial Session. In consequence of the Turkish protest the official meeting of the sub-commission was postponed, and the representtatives of the inviting powers. Great Britain, France and Italy, sitting alone, listened to the Armenian spokesman, who suggested that a home be established in the northeastern vilayets of

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Turkey, which should include historic MOUNT ARARAT, or a section in CILICIA. It was impossible, he declared, for the proposed Armenian home to amalgamate with the Armenian Republic or Erivan, which had been taken over by the Russian Soviets. The Armenians would willingly accept the same relationship with Turkey as the dominions with England. In conclusion he asked for exemption from military service for the Armenians and urged the maintenance of the ORTHODOX PATRIARCH in CONSTANTINOPLE. The Entente delegates took the Armenian petition under advisement, as they did petitions from the Bulgarians and the ancient people known as the Assyro-Chaldeans. NORADUNGHIAN Pasha, once Turkish Foreign Minister presented the Armenian plea. He said that the tragic events of 1915 had widened the Gulf between the Turks and the Armenians. The Young Turk Government at that time had not only used unspeakable methods to dealing with those Armenians who were loyal subjects of the Ottoman Empire, he asserted, but it also lacked the most elementary understanding of the interests of the country. Although Armenians were serving in the Turkish army, there were many deportations of Armenians and suppression of a great part of the Armenian population without the slightest pretext. “We deeply regret that mutual distrust still exists between the Turks and the Armenians,” he continued, “and that nothing is being done by Turkey to diminish the gravity of the situation. It is impossible for us to consider as a solution that the refugee Armenians who are in foreign countries should return to Turkey, as ISMET suggests.”

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“There is, on the one hand, the fate of the Armenians of Balikesri, Brusa and Bigha, who on assurances given them by their Turkish countrymen, decided to remain in these localities and lost their lives as a result of recent events. There is, on the other hand, the present exodus of the few survivors of the 1915 deportations, who after the signature of the Mudros armistice, had the courage to return to Anatolia. “Those unhappy people are once more obliged to leave the country. We cannot imagine that in midwinter these women and children and old men, without means of sustenance, are fleeing of their own free will to the Black Sea ports or to Syria, while the able-bodied men are being kept in concentration camps or at work.” 700,000 Armenian Refugees. “There are now about 700,000 Armenian refugees in the outlying countries. Of these 345,000 are in different parts of the Caucasus, 95,000 in Syria, 120,000 in Greece and the Aegean islands and Macedonia; 40,000 in Bulgaria and Western Thrace and 50,000 in Persia, and remainder being dispersed here and there, not to mention about 110,000 orphans, who providentially are receiving aid from the American Near East Relief. “All these refugees have lost many relatives by violence. Every one awaits with anxiety and legitimate impatience a solution which will end the tragic situation. Those refugees, once laborious productive elements are now cared for by benevolent institutions, and it is quite clear that this pitiful situation should not last indefinitely. “These are the unhappy facts: You will see that they are not of a nature to re-establish confidence or make possible the return of these families to the country where they formerly lived and

where they will only find poignant memories, bitterness and inextricable dissentsions. No kind of permission or order, no kind of proclamation or special stipulation can reassure them. Only the creation of a national home would be able to obliterate the tragic past, allay accumulated hatred and bring back confidence. “It is these considerations, and also a desire to keep their formal pledges that have led the allied Governments in the conference in London in March, 1921, and Paris in March, 1922, to decide to constitute an Armenian home. We cannot imagine that the Turks, who have struggled for independence of the Moslem peoples which before the war formed part of their empire, can refuse to other countrymen the right to realize such moderate claims. “It should be noted that the Turkish State and Turkish individuals have benefited by the real personal properties of the Armenians who disappeared without leaving successors. We believe that the national pact of Angora, which antedated the project of the creation of this moderate home and did not foresee the present case, does not prevent the Turks from considering impartially and favorably the question at issue and from reaching a solution by the adoption of the same arrangements that have proved successful in a number of countries, particularly the British dominions. “As for the territory suggested as a national home, our delegations refer you to the memorandum which they have the honor to present to the conference, in which they have left to the conference the choice between a region in the northeastern vilayets or a region in Cilicia. Both of these are regions with which the Armenians have been historically connected for centuries, and in which the present

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Moslem populations, owing to the war, are very much reduced. Allies’ Pledges Recalled to Them. “Let us, gentlemen, remind you that all the peoples of the world have admitted the justice of our cause and have expressed themselves in their Parliaments and through the Assemblies and Councils of the League of Nations as to necessity of creating a national home. You have there on your tables pathetic appeals signed by millions of members of European and American well-known individuals in behalf of that solution, and it is a particular pleasure to think that there are not only Christians with that thought in mind, but thousands of Moslems in India. Persia and Azerbaijan, and also in Turkey, who on many occasions have recognized the legitimacy and need of an Armenian national home. “Finally, having examined the question under Turco-Armenian and humanitarian aspects, allow us to mention also in a few words the point of view of righteousness. The allied powers, who made war for the triumph of justice, have on many occasions promised liberation to the Armenians in Turkey. It was after the agreement concluded in London and after the terrible deportation of 1915 that the Armenians of America and other countries were invited to form a “Legion of the Orient” under the auspices of France. “Having signed enlistment forms in which the liberation of their country was stipulated, they fought bravely and successfully under the command of Field Marshal Allenby on the Palestine and Syrian fronts. The Sèvres treaty, the arbitration of the United States defining the Armenian boundaries and the twenty-second article of the Pact of Nations are so many reiterations, which have consecrated the engagements con-

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tracted by the Allies during the war on behalf of the Armenian people. “If, as a consequence of political events, you are now preparing a new treaty for the pacification of the Near East, we are certain that the spirit which is urging you to take into consideration in a larger way the Turkish claims will also inspire you to recognize the legitimacy of the Armenian cause. We do not doubt that nothing will be neglected in your deliberations and resolutions for safeguarding the principles and promises referred to. “In conclusion, let us express the wish that the Turkish delegation newly inspired and more fully enlightened, will modify their views on the question of an Armenian national home which is now before us. To have a Dominion will not only be a title of glory for the new Turkey, but she will also have accomplished a just and fruitful act in conformity with all the interests involved. She would gain the friendship of the Armenian element, productively active, which will in addition, be devoted to proving itself a helpful factor in the future. “We are thoroughly convinced that it is only by such a solution that the peace concluded for the Near East will have a sound and rational basis and will be prevented from becoming illusory and incomplete.” Plea for 160,000 Bulgarians. Appearing at the unofficial meeting of the sub-commission, the Bulgarians requested that 160,000 Bulgarians who had fled from Eastern Thrace should be permitted to return to that country, which had become Turkish territory, and said they were ready to accept the same treatment as Turkish citizens. Biblical history came before the meeting when the representatives of the ASSYRO-CHALDEANS[1] arose. Their people

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live in Mesopotamia, between Mosul and the Turkish frontier. They wish to maintain their own language and customs and to be allowed to dwell in peace. General Achpitros, their chief spokesman, said with dignity that history had proved that Adam and Eve were born in their country and the early chapters of early life moved about the AssyroChaldeans. The sub-commission also discussed the question of fixing the nationality of the peoples inhabitating provinces detached from Turkey, such as Syria, Irak and Palestine. It was decided that Greek and Turkish subjects could have the option of declaring themselves subjects of their own nation within a period not yet determined. After the expiration of this period they would become by reason of their continued residence citizens of the countries in which they resided. Hopeful progress was made today on the problem of the GREEK PATRIARCHATE. The French suggested as a possible solution that permission be granted the Patriarch to remain in Constantinople as an autonomous archbishop, with the understanding that he would in no way represent political or administrative matters, or voice the ambitions or incarnate aspirations of Greece. He would exist as a religious figure only. The French argued that the brusque removal of the Christian leader would cause an unpleasant feeling abroad toward the new Turkish State. The Turks will give their vows on this suggeston at another session. The Straits problem still remains unsettled. The Allies are striving to arrange some formula for a general collective guarantee that Turkey will not be subjected to foreign aggression. The Turks decline to grant the Straits. Control Commission jurisdiction over the

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zones of demilitarization, as requested by the Allies. There is a general expectation, however, that the Straits problem will be solved, although Russia’s ultimate attitude remains a mystery. ■ COMMENTARY: Turkey has not lived up to its mandates. They closed down the Greek Orthodox seminary, periodically they continue to attack The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate, murder its priests, destroy its buildings, and desecrate its graves. Unlike the time when the above report was printed, wrongdoings of the Turkish Government are never reported in mainstream media, thus they repeat their offenses. —THEODORE G. KARAKOSTAS NOTE: Turkey at the time had been allied with Germany during WWI (and later during WWII). Although Germany and Turkey were defeated, Turkey postured a demanding and threatening stance during their negotiations with the Western Powers. The war-weary allies did their utmost to maintain a balance in their negotiations. (SKK) ———————

ASA K. JENNINGS Source obscure.

The New York Times, December 27, 1922

GREECE HONORS JENNINGS. Confers Two Decorations Upon American for Aid at Smyrna. ATHENS, Dec. 26.—The Greek Government has awarded the Golden Cross of St. Saviour and the highest war honor, the Medal for Military Merit, to ASA K. JENNINGS of Cleveland, N.Y., a member of the Near East Relief, for

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his work in evacuating refugees from Smyrna. This is the first time that both decorations have been awarded simultaneously to the same person. The [Greek] Government also has asked the United States to permit it to bestow the Medal for Military Merit upon the commanders of the twelve torpedo-boat destroyers that assisted in the evacuation. ■ PLEASE SEE: The New York Times, 28 December 1922. Headlines: “Doubly Honored By Greece” “Two Decorations for A.K. Jennings of Utica for Services in Asia Minor.” PLEASE READ: Dobkin, Marjorie Housepian. Smyrna 1922: The Destruction of a City. London: Faber and Faber. 1998. (145, 190– 7, 215, 230) TO LEARN MORE ABOUT ASA K. JENNINGS, THE REMARKABLE HERO, PLEASE READ: Papoutsy, Christos. Ships of Mercy: The True Story of the Rescue of the Greeks. Smyrna September 1922, Portsmouth, NH: Peter E. Randall Publisher, LLC. 2008. ———————

can Red Cross expressed the gratitude of the Greek people for America’s generositiy in succoring the millions of refugees. “Through the AMERICAN RED CROSS and other organizations,” the message said, “you came to the rescue, your flour feeding them, your blankets, arriving to rob the Winter of its terrors, and your doctors saving the sick. “We face the future with courage, but we are conscious of its perils. Only by the continuance of your help can misery be permanently removed. “Praying to the same God and celebrating the nativity of the same Christ, we express our thanks.” M. Venizelos and his colleagues of the Greek delegation to the NEAR EAST CONFERENCE have received pessimistic advices from Athens concerning the economic and financial situation of the country. ■ ———————

The New York Times, December 28, 1922

DOUBLY HONORED BY GREECE Two Decorations for A.K. Jennings of Utica for Services in Asia Minor.

Eleftherios Venizelos Source obscure. EX-PREMIER OF GREECE Source Internet.

The New York Times, December 27, 1922

VENIZELOS THANKS AMERICA Send Christmas Message Voicing Greece’s Gratitude for Aid. Lausanne, Dec. 26 (Associated Press).—EX-PREMIER VENIZELOS of Greece in a Christmas message to the Ameri-

Copyright 1922, by The Chicago Tribune Co. ATHENS, Dec. 27.—The Greek Government has awarded its highest civilian honor, the GOLDEN CROSS OF SAINT XAVIER [Saviour] and the highest war honor, the MEDAL OF MILITARY MERIT, to ASA K. JENNINGS of Utica, N.Y., for his work with the Near East Relief in directing the evacuation of 500,000 refugees from Asia Minor. This was the first time in history that both medals were awarded to the same person simultaneously.

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The Greek Government also the United States to permit it the Medal of Military Merit to manding officers of the twelve destroyers which assisted in the of the Greek refugees.

has asked to award the comAmerican evacuation

PLEASE READ: Dobkin, Marjorie Housepian. Smyrna 1922: The Destruction of a City. London: Faber and Faber. 1998. (145, 190– 7, 215, 230) MORE ABOUT ASA K. JENNINGS, PLEASE READ: Papoutsy, Christos. Ships of Mercy: The True Story of the Rescue of the Greeks: Smyrna September 1922, Portsmouth, NH: Peter E. Randall Publisher, LLC. 2008 PLEASE SEE: The New York Times, 27 December 1922, Headlines: “Greece Honors Jennings” “Confers Two Decorations Upon American for Aid at Smyrna.” ———————

The New York Times, Sunday, January 7, 1923

ALLIES CONSIDER TURKS INSULTING; DEMAND APOLOGY Withdrawal of Delegate From Discussion of Armenian Home Sharply Resented.

NO GUARANTEES FOR ALIENS Ismet Flatly Declines to Consider Giving Foreign Judges Seats in Turkish Courts.

DARE ALLIES TO END PARLEY Turks Evidently Acting on Theory That They Will Gain by Threatening a Break. By Edwin L. James. Copyright, 1923, by The New York Times Company. Special Cable to THE NEW YORK TIMES. LAUSANNE, Jan. 6.—The Turks virtually dared the Allies today to break up the peace conference. This

morning RIZA NUR BEY refused to listen to further allied pleas for the Armenian home and insultingly walked out of the meeting. This afternoon ISMET PASHA delivered his long-delayed response to the Allied request that the Turks reconsider their refusal to give any guarantees to foreigners in place of their capitulations. His reply was a flat rejection of all special regimes for foreigners in Turkey. Tonight, after the first full day’s proceedings for ten days, no one knows just where the Near East negotiations stand. No further meetings are scheduled, but probably next week there will be a general résumé of the discussion of the last seven weeks. All good recipes for a peace conference should specify as an essential ingredient one defeated nation. This necessary ingredient is lacking at LAUSANNE, where both the Allies and the Turks pose as conquerors with the result that the novel experiment of trying to impose a peace settlement by words will probably fall. The Turks have all along said that they would not consent to the establishment of the American delegation to “insist” if they did not, produce the expected effect of not changing the Turkish attitude. After Riza Nur had several times declared the issue closed because the Turks said, “No,” SENATOR MONTAGNA, chairman of the minorities subcommittee, brought the Armenian home queston up again this morning, giving the floor to SIR HORACE RUMBOLD, who asked not only for such a home for the ARMENIANS, but for another for the AssyroChaldeans. When he had finished SENATOR MONTAGNA called on M. DELACROIX of the French delegation. Riza Shouts Defiance to the Allies. Riza Nur arose, shouting that he would listen to no more and demanding per-

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mission to speak. Senator Montagna replied that M. Delacroix had the floor, and that Riza Nur must wait until he had finished. Riza retorted that he would not wait, because he was going to leave the meeting. Senator Montagna protested strongly, but meanwhile M. Delacroix consented to yield the floor to Riza, who said: “You Allies are quite right in concerning yourselves with the Armenians, whom you have used for your interests, whom you have incited against the Turks, and upon whom you have brought ruin. But everything you have said for them I consider null and void and refuse to listen any more. Whereupon Riza started for the door, Senator Montagana called after him: “By your conduct you are placing yourself outside the conference,” but Riza Nur kept on going, followed by his secretaries and experts. There was nothing left for Montagna to do except adjourn the meeting. Late this afternoon the heads of the allied delegations sent Ismet Pasha a formal protest against this morning’s behavior of Riza Nur Bey, who is the second Turkish delegate, and demanding an apology. Turks Refuse Guarantees to Foreigners. This afternoon the conference met as a committee of the whole and heard Ismet’s reply to the allied appeal of Dec. 28 asking the Turks not to refuse all guarantees to foreigners. In a tiresome manner Ismet went over all his arguments previously presented, pleading that the Turkish law offered ample protection for foreigners. “Turkey,” he said, “ought not to be made to suffer for her hospitality to foreigners.” In reply to the charge that the administration of Turkish law was slow and inefficient, he said that the same

BEFORE THE SILENCE

was true of other countries. He denied that the Turkish police were more arbitrary than those of other nations. “Turkey.” he said, “agrees with the American warning against isolation. Turkey has no intention of isolating herself, and wishes to work in co-operation with other countries, but that does not mean that she will consent to having foreign judges in her courts.” He ended by saying that Turkey refused flatly to frame any special regime for foreigners, and suggested that the whole matter had better be covered by separate treaties between Turkey and the other nations. The MARQUIS DI GARRONI replied, expressing regret that the Turks had maintained their stubborn attitude. He reminded them that the capitulations represented the contract rights of other nations, which could not be wiped out by Turkey without her giving something in return. LORD CURZON said he had hoped that ten days’ reflection would show the Turks their mistake, but evidently it had not. He declared that the Allies would not accept the Turkish position and advised Ismet Pasha to consider the seriousness of his action. CAMILLE BARRÈRE, speaking for France, agreed with Lord Curzon and the Marquis di Garroni. Ismet answered saying that the Turkish law and the Turkish judges “answered every possible need of foreigners.” Turkey, he said, demanded to be treated as other countries were, and therefore she had not counter-proposals to make to the allied demands for a special régime for foreigners. She intended to grant no special régime. There the meeting ended. American Delegates Remain Silent. Although the American delegation has taken a stand in favor of guarantees

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for foreigners and in favor of the Armenian home. Its members had nothing to say today. They will probably make a protest after it is too late to produce any effect, as they did in protesting against the scheme for a STRAITS COMMISSION a few hours before it was adopted. M. Barrère goes to Paris tonight to discuss the situation with the PREMIER POINCARÉ. The general feeling here is that France and England will remain together at Lausanne, despite their differences over reparations. It is difficult to see how the NEAR EAST CONFERENCE can continue as the farce it has become. It is possible that next week the situation will become clearer. Conversations with the Turks show that they are confident the Allies will not dare to break up the conference and fight Turkey. On that confidence they appear to be basing a strong play for a more favorable settlement than the Allies have indicated their willingness to make. The departure of two Turkish oil experts for London has given rise to reports that the English would cede Mosul to Turkey, in exchange for oil rights, but the official spokesman of the English delegation said tonight that there had been no change in the British attitude, and that on no conditions would England surrender Mosul. ■ ———————

Interior of National Opera House, Athens. Each box is Occupied by a Refugee Family. (124) Source: I Was Sent to Athens, by Henry Morgenthau

The Manchester Guardian, Monday, January 15, 1923

THE REFUGEES IN GREECE. SETTLEMENT PROSPECTS AND PRESENT RELIEF (From our Special Correspondent in the Near East.) ATHENS, JANUARY 2. If England were suddenly inundated by about ten million of destitute people, the problem of giving them food, shelter, clothing, and employment would be a severe strain on her resources. Greece, always a poor country and now half-ruined by military disaster, has to face a problem equally big

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in proportion. She has 4 ½ million inhabitants and has received about a million refugees. They have been distributed all over the country, but most of the bigger ports are still congested with them. Only a very small proportion has been settled on the land or absorbed by the native population. Central Greece, the Peloponnesus, and the islands are either mountainous wastes or soil that is fully cultivated and barely able to support the existing peasantry. Thessaly is densely populated and the inhabitants are themselves suffering from land shortage. Epirus is mountainous and marshy. It could support new settlers if the marshes were drained, a task at present beyond the financial capacity of the Greek Government. There remains Macedonia. Its future is uncertain, for the danger of war with Turkey and of local insurrections is permanent. The Vardar and Struma Valleys were devastated in the Great War. Entire districts lie under water. These could be reclaimed, but the cost would be very heavy. The Karadjova Valley is very fertile and densely populated by Moslems. New settlers could be absorbed if the thoroughly pernicious idea of a compulsory exchange of populations were carried out, or if surplus land were expropriated. Eastern Thrace, the real granary of Greece has been given to the Turks. The Greek population of about 300,000 has left its field, and farms to [illegible] the multitude of refugees.

Here in Athens and in the Piraeus there are about 100,000 refugees. Several big buildings have been assigned to them—the Zappeion a huge exhibition hall, the Municipal Theatre, schools, churches, warehouses, factories, sheds. Every available space is overcrowded. Fortunately the climate is very mild. Christmas Day was like a hazy June morning in England. The brown rocks of the Acropolis, with their dull green aloes and cacti, the honeyand-cream-colored ruins of the ancient temples, the wide plains, the seas, and the islands lying around were drenched in warm sunlight. The refugees suffer less from exposure here than anywhere else in the Near East. But even here their state is a pitiable one, and the winter is not continuously warm and dry. There have been cold, wet days, and cold, wet days are still to come, perhaps even snowfalls and blizzards. “Some of the overcrowded sheds have rotting, leaky roofs. The rain drips through and collects in puddles on the muddy floor. The cold winds blowing down from the snow-clad hills whistle through the apertures in the dilapidated walls. Most of the inmates have nothing but a summer garment, which is usually a mere bundle of filthy verminous rags. Babies are born on the wet mud or cold stone floors. Infant mortality is terribly high. A Near East relief worker who visited the camps in the Piraeus towards the end of November found that 180 babies under one year of age were dead.

Conditions in the Shelters. About 70 per cent of the refugee families have lost their able-bodied men, the Turks having kept them back for forced labour in Anatolia. Many of the younger and stronger women have also been seized by the Turks. I have visited refugee camps where there were only old men, old or very ugly women, and small children. Nearly all the refugees from Anatolia, who are the vast majority, have come with nothing but the rags they stand in.

The Relief Agencies. Except for a few cases of smallpox there have been no serous epidemics. Mortality is due mainly to exposure and malnutrition. Every entirely destitute refugee under the care of the Greek Government gets two drachmas a day (about 1 ¼ dr. at the present rate of exchange), a little black bread, and sometimes a little soup. The dole of two drachmas will probably have to be discontinued, as the Greek Treasury, which has

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already spent more than 70 million drachmas on the refugees, is nearly exhausted. The American Near East Relief is providing for some 2,000,000 Greek and Armenian orphans whose parents have been massacred by the Turks or have perished during the exodus. Apparently the American Red Cross is prepared to give ten million dollars for relief. The League of Nations is to give £100,000.half of which has been contributed by the British Government. Thanks to foreign charity, there is no longer any wholesale dying, but unless foreign charity is not only kept up but increased thousands of refugees are doomed to perish miserably. I have visited the STRINGOS FACTORY, where refugee families are being supported by the British Save the Children Fund. The big rooms are clean and dry. One of them has been turned into a ward where the sick are well cared for and have fairly comfortable beds to sleep on. A strict discipline enforces the elementary law of sanitation. A newly-built kitchen provides the inmates with an adequate daily meal. The filth and squalor usual in refugee camps are entirely absent. the Save the Children Fund is now providing for 15,000 refugees in all. In the Hehe [sp?] Factory which is being supported by the Greek Government, I was surrounded almost instantly by a throng of haggard, [illegible] women. They seemed seemed to be in desperate frame of mind and said that their children were dying of hunger— could nothing be done for them? They had turned the corner of one of the rooms into a little church by a wooden partition. A few candles were burning in it a few colored images of saints were stuck on to the walls, and on a small wooden altar was a roughly made crucifix and a little bright tinsel. In the Church of St. Denis I saw refugees crowded together in gloom and squalor amid the gorgeous ornaments along the aisles, in the pews, and up in the galleries. Here, as

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in other refugee camps and shelters, the absence of able-bodied men was very obvious. One of the hangers I visited provided hardly any protection against the cold and wet. The refugees who had blankets used them to make shelters under which they could creep, tying them with bits of string or rope to posts and rafters. THE MUNICIPAL THEATER OF ATHENS, a huge fine building is overcrowded. There is a refugee family in every box, and even the royal lodge is occupied. The galleries, the foyer, the dressing-rooms, the stairways are thronged with destitute people clothed in rags. Sanitation is difficult in such a building, and the atmosphere is foul. But the GREEK RED CROSS has taken over two rooms in the theatre and tuned them into a clinic and a hospital ward that are being managed very efficiently and are kept spotlessly clean. ■ EXCERPT: In Athens people slept on the streets, in a royal villa, in the ruins of the Parthenon, in the theaters. Every velvet-lined box in the National Opera housed a family; other refugees slept in the orchestra and on the stairs. Makeshift camps sprawled for miles along the beaches. Abandoned automobile tires were cut up for sandals. Pots, pans, even sewing needles became collector’s items. With the approach of winter pneumonia, tuberculosis, malaria, and trachoma [blindness caused by unsanitary conditions] reached epidemic proportions. Virtually every refugee was ill. These conditions halted a small tourist trade on which Greece was by now almost totally dependent for revenue. Cruise ships were boycotting Greek ports. (114) Dobkin, Marjorie Housepian. Smyrna 1922: The Destruction of a City. Newmark Press. 1998 PLEASE SEE: Tribute to “Nelly” Elli Souyoultzoglou-Seraidari’s with three photos from her collection: “Refugee Sorrows.” (SKK) PLEASE SEE: The Scotsman,14 October 1922. Headline: “The Great Distress in the Near East” The New York Times, 14 November 1922. Headlines: “Hundreds Dying in Saloniki” “Red Cross Reports Terrible Conditions Among 140,00 Refugees. The Toronto Star, 17 January 1923. Headlines: “Near East Refugees Die on Plague Ship” “Sixty Deaths, Reported When 1,600 Passengers are Stricken” “Burn Bodies In Furnace”.

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Toronto Star, January 17, 1923

The New York Times, February 12, 1923

NEAR EAST REFUGEES DIE ON PLAGUE SHIP

GIFT TO NEAR EAST RELIEF.

Sixty Deaths, Reported When 1,600 Passengers are Stricken

BURN BODIES IN FURNACE (Special Cable to The Globe and The New York Times, Copyright 1923.) Paris, January 16,— A message from Athens says that 60 deaths occurred on the steamer Marigo, bringing NEAR EAST RELIEF refugees from SAMSOUN and CONSTANTINOPLE. Epidemics of typhus, smallpox and cholera broke out simultaneously on the day the vessel left Constantinople,1,600 passengers out of 2,000 being stricken including two of the three doctors. The remaining doctor was utterly unable to cope with the work. Even the disposal of the bodies was a problem. Thirty-five were buried at sea, but 25 died at Piraeus on the last day, and by order of the harbor sanitary authorities, had to be burned in the furnace of the ship. The Greek Government has now put an absolute bar against the admission of further refugees until the health crisis is controlled. ■ NOTE: Little did these wretched souls know that there would be a continuous effort to smother the truth of their unfathomable suffering—to this very day. (SKK) PLEASE SEE: The Scotsman, 14 October 1922. Headline: “The Great Distress in The Near East” The New York Times, 14 November 1922. Headlines: “Hundreds Dying in Saloniki” “Red Cross Reports Terrible Conditions Among 140,00 Refugees.

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French Present Site in Syria for Armenian Girls’ Orphanage. Copyright 1923 by The New York Times Company By Wireless to THE NEW YORK TIMES. BEIRUT, Feb. 11.—The French Government has given to the American Near East Relief land for an orphanage at the mouth of the so-called RIVER OF ABRAHAM. The orphanage will accommodate 1,000 Armenian girls refugees from Anatolia and will be under the direction of MRS. W. R. GENNAWAY of Seattle. It will have four dormitories, a large hospital and an industrial school. The site, twenty miles north of Beirut on the seashore, has been unoccupied since 1922, when a landslide destroyed the village of AFKA with the loss of 400 lives. In Roman times there was at this point a temple dedicated to Venus and and Adonis. The river at certain seasons is colored red with mineral matter which the ancients regarded as the blood of Adonis shed by a wild boar. The Americans will harness the river and will install an electric plant for lighting, heating and cooking. It is estimated that the river is capable to producing 40,000 horsepower with proper storage developments. ■

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The New York Times, February 12, 1923

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Tell of Atrocities” “Many Are Suffering From Wounds Inflicted by Turks—New Influx From Anatolia Expected.” The Los Angeles Times, 2 June 1924, Headlines: “Woman Sees Turk Horror” “Dr. Lovejoy American Relief Worker Shocked at Christian Exodus from Smyrna.” PLEASE READ: Two exemplary books written by: Dr. Lovejoy’s, Certain Samaritans, & Dr. Elliott’s, Beginning Again At Ararat. NOTE: Dr. Mabel E. Elliott was the head of the AMERICAN WOMEN’S HOSPITALS, along with independent hospital services; and was involved in cooperative work with other organizations in Greece from August 1920 to August 1923. (SKK) ———————

Source: Internet.

WAR CROSS FOR DR. ELLIOTT She and Dr. Lovejoy Are the First Women to Receive it From Greece. ATHENS, Feb. 11—The Greek War Cross was awarded today for the first time to women when the Greek Govt. presented it to two Americans, DR. MABEL ELLIOTT of Benton Harbor, Mich. and DR. ESTHER LOVEJOY of New York City. Their honors were bestowed because of their work with the Near East Relief in Smyrna, where they saved many persons from death at the risk of their own lives. ■ NOTE: The photograph of the Greek War Cross was not in the original news report. (SKK) PLEASE SEE: The New York Times, 3 October 1922. Headlines: “Asserts Atrocities In Smyrna Continue” “Dr. Esther Lovejoy Describes Systematic Robbery and Outrages by Troops” “100 Births Among Victims” “Babies Dying From Exposure—Departing Refugees Stripped of Their Remaining Valuables.” The New York Times, 9 October 1922, Headline: “Woman Pictures Smyrna Horrors” The New York Times, 15 October 1922. Headlines: “Refugees At Mitylene

MISS MINNIE MILLS

The New York Times, Wednesday, February 28, 1923

HUGHES CENSURES TURKS. Writing to Lodge, He Holds Them Responsible for Smyrna Disaster. WASHINGTON, Feb. 27.—The statement that the Turks were responsible for the extent of the Smyrna disaster was made by SECRETARY HUGHES in a letter to SENATOR LODGE of Massachusetts, the Republican leader, placed in The Congressional Record, today as a result of inquiries made in the course of recent Senate debates as to events in the Near East. Several questions were submitted by Senator Lodge and answered by Secre-

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tary Hughes concerning the destruction of the American consulate at Smyrna and the treatment of the Americans during the fighting there. “As far as the department is informed,” said Secretary Hughes, “the authors of the fires, apparently of incediary origin, which brought on the Smyrna conflagration have never been apprehended nor their identity discovered. On this point conflicting evidence has been received by the department and the various antagonistic racial groups in Smyrna have each ascribed the origin of the fire to the other. However, the Turkish military authorities in occupation of Smyrna can scarcely avoid responsibility for their failure to maintain order in Smyrna, which undoubtedly was one of the contributory causes for the extent of the disaster.” Secretary Hughes said no Americans were present during the Smyrna disaster, although some American destroyers were in the harbor and landing parties of bluejackets were later stationed through the city. “The record of American officials, of the American Navy, of American citizens and relief workers at Smyrna,” he said, “is one of which all American citizens can justly be proud.” ■ Evidently, Secretary Hughes was not aware of what George Hor-

ton reported in his book:

“MISS MINNIE MILLS, teacher in American Girls’ College in Smyrna, who saw Turkish soldiers engaged in firing Armenian homes.” —George Horton, The Bight of Asia. Taderon Press: Reading England. Chapter 30 “Our Missionary Institutions in Turkey” (144) 2003. AN ARMENIAN FRIEND WROTE TO ME, “Miss Mills was one of my Mother’s teachers when she was a little girl and at that school. She spoke of Miss Mills as if she was a Saint.”

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The New York Times, February 28, 1923

MRS. KEMAL CHARMS AN AMERICAN VISITOR Beautiful Bride Pours Tea for Foreign Newspaper Men in Home Near Angora.

SHE IS FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS Eighty Per Cent. of the Turkish Women Emancipated Already. Kemal Declares. Copyright, 1923, by the Chicago Tribune Co. ANGORA, Feb. 27.—Mrs. Mustapha Kemal held an “at home” and poured tea for foreign newspaper men today, shattering a five centuries tradition and bringing a modern European atmosphere into the life of the new Turkish Government. Mr. and Mrs. Kemal carried out the spirit of the interview when they discussed educational, industrial and professional walks of life, as well as their plans for establishing co-education throughout the schools. The Kemals live five miles out of town in a house given them by the Grand National Assembly, which regards Kemal in the same light as Americans do George Washington. It is two stories high and located on a hill overlooking the Angora Valley for miles. The political and military life of Kemal is public, but his home life is a mystery except to friends. Hence there was more than usual expectancy among the guests, including a British newspaper man, a photographer, Bulgarian, newspaper men and myself, as we passed the sentries and arrived at the door, where a guard was ready to receive us. We entered a big anteroom

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with a marble fountain, which was not running, in the middle of the tesselated tile floor, and were immediately ushered into a big room, best described as Kemal’s den, where Premier Raouf Bey introduced us to Mr. and Mrs. Kemal. The room itself radiated the personality of the Orient and Occident. Heavy Oriental rugs covered the floor and over the windows were modern lace curtains, surmounted by Persian tapestries. In a corner as a heavy Chippendale writing desk and in the centre a long table, where a copyist was busy. On a delicately worked brass centre table books and magazines were piled and also a big box of famous American chocolates. Crossed swords and daggers and pictures hung on the walls one of which last was a gift from the City of Beirut, showing Kemal uniting the Arabs and Indians. Gold incense-burners and Oriental vases and bric-a-brac were on the shelves and tables. Leaning against the wall was a marble tablet of ancient Greek design, showing Turkey victorious, breaking the shackles of oppression and rising triumphant. In this semiOriental atmosphere were heavy leather upholstered chairs, but one divan was covered in an Oriental fashion. Wife Has Many American Friends. After the exchange of formalities Mrs. Kemal directed the conversation to the sphere of woman. She has numerous American friends, and her father is a former member of the New York Cotton Exchange. Though she has never visited America, she was educated in England and France and therefore is familiar with women’s activities in the Untied States. She laughed when a correspondent declared that American women usurped all the privileges of men without taking over the responsibilities,

and that America was the only country in the world where a sentimental jury would excuse the brutality of husband killing. This was not the goal of Turkish women, she said. “My husband and myself are in perfect accord on the question of woman’s sphere as we are on all political questions.” she said. She then translated the conversation, which so far had been in English, to Kemal, who replied that a woman must be regarded as a partner and comrade of a man, even to the point of abolishing men’s clubs and women’s clubs in favor of clubs for both men and women, without segregation. When asked if Turkey was prepared to give women their freedom, Kemal made a long explanation, which his wife and Raouf Bey translated. In the first place, he said, Europeans did not know the real conditions in Turkey, which was not surprising, as many Turkish readers were ignorant of them. Eighty per cent of the Turkish women, he said, enjoyed the same rights as men. Peasant women, who engage in every phase of men’s work, cultivation of the fields, raising the livestock, and heavy timber jacking, after the day’s work is done participate in the same social life as the men. Besides doing men’s work, as well as men, they know more. For each man who is able to read and write there are two women. Part of the 20 per cent. of women, in big cities like Constantinople, which the Europeans see are restricted according to Kemal. Neither the seclusion nor the veil are racially or religiously Turkish, but are an inheritance from the outside. Certainly, he said, some of the 20 per cent. had fixed ideas and probably would retain them, but the freedom of

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Turkish women was inevitable, as it was based not only on the will but on the practice of the majority. He said it was not revolution, but evolution. His study and experiences with revolution had satisfied him that success came only when the majority favored the ideas adavnced. That he said, was the secret of the success of the Nationalist Government despite the obstacles. Had not the Nationalist spirit permeated the masses the movement would have failed in the beginning. Kemal’s wife since their marriage, has accompanied him everywhere he has had to go—to the front to inspect troops, to social and diplomatic functions, banquets and receptions—yet no where has the majority failed to endorse her action, because she has been doing exactly what the majority of women wish to do. Kemal is usually pictured as austere. He appeared to be anything but that, laughing with the others when the conversation took a humorous turn. Once when explaining that Turkey never would accept any regime depriving her of economic independence in the slightest, his gray eyes set intensely. Instead of the Kemal the world knows, on the battlefield snapping orders or in the Chamber haranguing the Deputies, here was Kemal in his slippers. A Beauty of the Circassian Type. Mrs. Kemal is a beauty of the Circassian type, with dark eyes, flashing through long eyelashes. Her small mouth, when laughing reveals a perfect set of teeth. She wore the usual black satin Turkish dress and was unveiled. She had bracelets on both wrists, but she had only two rings, one a four-karat diamond in a deep platinum setting and the other a platinum ring which Ismet Pasha who dropped

BEFORE THE SILENCE

in the course of the interview brought from Lausanne. Kemal was dressed in a sack suit and wore a soft collar. Tea was served in the dining room, which was decorated with Oriental tapestries, the sideboard containing Oriental and Occidental services, the gold and silver goblets and vases in themselves being sufficient to fascinate a collector. Kemal and Ismet remained in the dining room while Mrs. Kemal served tea to Raouf Bey and the foreigners. She chatted gaily and recounted humorously the story of three months imprisonment by the Greeks in Smyrna and her liberation when Kemal arrived. She said she was accused of espionage and understood that a sentence of death was contemplated. She neither admitted nor denied the charge. Then she told about her marriage. She said she had always been against marriage and had devoted her life to study, which eventually she desired to bring into service for the nation. She and Kemal had discussed the educational and political needs of Turkey and were so in harmony that it had brought them closer together. Their marriage surprised her friends. Kemal had wanted her to work independently and she had desired to work with him actively in the educational and political work. It is difficult to impart the idea of the charming personality of Mrs. Kemal as well as to give the impressions of the guests as they sipped tea and listened to her talk on the rejuvenation of Turkey; but her enthusiasm was catching and even in the presence of the powerful personality of her husband every one felt that she too was destined to do great things for her country. ■ COMMENTS: The news report of Mustafa Kemal’s wife is an example of how the public was manipulated to dismiss that

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her husband was part of the extermination process that wiped out the millions of non-combatant Christians who had been the original inhabitants of Asia Minor. (SKK) BY STARTLING CONTRAST ONLY NINE MONTHS EARLIER—while under the command of Mustafa Kemal, please see the following two news reports: The Times, 5 May 1922. Headlines: “Turks’ Insane Savagery” “10,000 Greeks Dead” The Belfast News-Letter, 16 May 1922. Headlines: “Turkish Atrocities” “Harrowing Stories” “Christians Done to Death by the Thousand” The Times, 16 May 1922. Headline: “Turkish Atrocities.” IN AN ATTEMPT TO “SELL THE MAN,” PLEASE SEE: The New York Times, 1 October 1922. Headlines: “The Two Kemals” “The Polished Aristocrat of European Circles in Contrast With the Ruthless Commander of Fanatical Turks”. ———————

The New York Times, Monday, March 19, 1923

MORGENTHAU NEAR FIGHT AFTER SPEECH Shakes Finger Under Nose of Ghandi Disciple—Calls Him Turkish Propagandist.

HAD TOLD OF ATROCITIES Denial by Hassain Leads to Exciting Scene and Applause at Community Forum. Incensed by having the accuracy of his information questioned, HENRY MORGENTHAU, former Ambassador to Turkey, shook his finger angrily under the nose of SYUD HOSSAIN, an Indian disciple of Ghandi, on the platform of the Community Forum, Thirty-fourth Street and Park Avenue, last evening, accused his assailant of being a Turkish propagandist, and called his attack a “dirty, contemptible trick.” In his address on Turkey and the Near East, Mr. Morgenthau had cited statements of the American Consul

General[1] at Smyrna in proof of Turkish atrocities against Christians there. Hossain, a familiar and popular figure at the Community Forum gatherings, stepped to the platform when the usual three-minute speeches from the floor were in order. “In the Chicago Tribune of Oct. 20,” he said, “the Tribune’s staff correspondent stated that this Consul General had gone among American correspondents and reporters at Smyrna and asked them to circulate stories of Turkish atrocities in America to create a crisis. If the rest of Mr. Morgenthau’s information is based upon no better source than this, I think the accuracy of all his remarks may well be questioned.” Mr. Morgenthau stepped quickly toward Hossain, saying to the applauding audiences, “How can you applaud such rot!” There were mingled hisses and handclaps, and the former ambassador said to Hossain: “Do you know who owns the Chicago Tribune? MEDILL MCCORMICK does.” His next words were lost in the clapping and shouting of the audience. “To use the statement of an unreliable reporter to impugn the truthfulness of my entire remarks,” Mr. Morgenthau continued with heat, “is a dirty, contemptible trick. Something has been said here of Turkish propaganda in this country. Well I am convinced that Mr. Hossain is a Turkish propagandist.” Hossain then made a rejoinder, substantially repeating his first remarks, and left the platform. The scene was duplicated later when Mr. Morgenthau made his final speech of rebuttal, Hossain coming again to the platform; but the evening ended without further altercation. In his main address Mr. Morgenthau declared that entry by the United States

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into the League of Nations would have prevented the danger of another World War, which he said now threatened civilization. He declared that the Turkish authorities in Asia Minor were continuing their persecution and murder of Armenians and other Christians, and urged that Turkey be kept from the Family of European nations until she heeded the pleas of this country to cease such atrocities. ■

The Blight of Asia, By George Horton, the 1U.S. Consul General in the Near East for thirty years, originally published in 1926. —Extract: Certainly, at Smyrna, nothing was lacking in the way of atrocity, lust, cruelty and all the fury of human passion which, given their full play, degrade the human race to a level lower than the vilest and cruelest of beasts. For during all this diabolical drama the Turks robbed and raped. Even the raping can be understood as an impulse of nature, irresistible perhaps when passions are running wild among a people of low mentality and less civilization, but the repeated robbing of women and girls can be attributed neither to religious frenzy nor to animal passions. One of the keenest impressions which I brought away with me from Smyrna was a feeling of shame that I belonged to the human race. (98) Reprinted: 2003. Chapter XVII “Where and When the Fires Were Lighted” London: Sterndale Classics. THREE YEARS LATER: A freeze on information regarding the events that took place in Asia Minor was well under way. The New York Times did not review George Horton’s Blight of Asia. 77 YEARS LATER, IN 2003: The Blight of Asia was reprinted by: London: Sterndale Classics. & also available at: http://www.hri.org/docs/Horton/HortonBook. htm (SKK)

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The New York Times, Tuesday, April 3, 1923

CHESTER OIL CLAIM INTERESTS FRENCH Effort by Angora to Play United States Against Great Britain Is Seen.

MOSUL NOT NOW TURKISH And Paris, Fearing for Syria, Is Not Anxious for Britain to Relinquish District. Copyright, 1923, by The New York Times Company. Special Cable to The New York Times. PARIS, April 2.—European diplomats see inapproval by the Turkish Cabinet of the Chester concessions, which include claims in the Mosul oil fields, an effort by Angora to play the American Government against the British Government. It is pointed out, however, that the Mosul oil fields are not now in possession of the Angora Government to be ceded to ADMIRAL CHESTER or anyone else. They lie within the borders of the State of Irak, which under the League of Nations mandate is more or less a protectorate of England, and it is England’s intention that British companies shall develop them, with a share going to French companies and a quarter interest to Standard Oil. If KEMAL can carry out his plan to get Mosul back within the borders of Turkey the situation will of course be different, but with Mosul outside the borders of Turkey it can be seen that Angora concessions for its oil have or have not value, according to whether Angora gets back Mosul or does not. Perhaps the Turks figure that with an American company standing to obtain

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rights of exploitation if Turkey gets Mosul, the American Government may in some way or other help her to do so. “Open Door” in Turkey. Dispatches from Washington say AMBASSADOR CHILDS is going to LAUSANNE to protect the Chester claims through supporting America’s demand for the open door in Turkey. The matter is not so simple as that, for as long as Mosul is not in Turkey no Turkish open door leads to it. In this connection it is interesting to recall that another American company— at least so called—more or less directed by SAMUEL UNTERMYER, has also a claim on Mosul oil, this company having bought an option on the rights of the heirs of the late SULTAN ABDUL HAMID, which they contend include a little of the Mosul oil district. At the Lausanne conference this American claim was backed by COMMANDER BENNETT, formerly of the British Secret Service, and COLONEL EDWARDS, formerly of the British Army. The British assert their rights to Mosul oil under a concession granted to the Turkish Petroleum Company, formed before the war as a British and German concern. The German shares have been given to the French, and the British Government officials say arrangements have been made with the Standard Oil by which the American company gets a 25 per cent share. Students of the affair say that legally the Turkish Petroleum claim and the Chester claim rank almost equal. British possession of the contested territory naturally lends a great deal of weight to the Turkish Petroleum claim. It is taken for granted that the British will not allow Angora to outlaw their claim to oil fields now lying in a country which under the British interpretation is absolutely independent of Tur-

key and therefore in no way bound by the actions of the Turkish Government. It now appears that the Mosul dispute is not to be dealt with in the Turkish treaty, but to be left for settlement directly between England and Turkey within a year. It is held here to be altogether likely that the British will not get out without a fight unless their oil companies obtain the lion’s share of the Mosul fields. Therefore should Mosul return to Turkey under any such conditions prior to the ratification of the Chester claims —considering that the Turkish Petroleum claims, like the Chester claims, have not so far been ratified by any Turkish Parliament—an interesting situation would arise. If, on the other hand, in support of their desire to have the right to give the Mosul concessions to whom they like, the Kemalists go to war with the British over the issue, the Chester plans would have to wait. This, of course, applies only to that part of the Chester concessions relating to oil. There may well be some arguing about some railroad concessions, but it is the oil issue which in the Chester matter attracts the attention of Continental diplomats. French Interested in Our Stand. The French are deeply interested in the American Government stand on the Chester concessions and the status of Mosul, not only because they are interested in the Turkish Petroleum claim, but because of the political repercussions the British Turkish dispute may have. While on one hand the French experience some chagrin over the fact that PREMIER LLOYD GEORGE traded them out of Mosul, which under the 1916 agreement was to have gone to France, on the other hand if the Turks succeed by force or by diplo-

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macy in getting the British out of MESOPOTAMIA, or even out of Mosul, the French position in SYRIA will be threatened. For if the Turks could get the British out of Irak, they would certainly sooner or later take the kingdom into Turkey, and the moment the British were out of Mesopotamia Turkish attention would turn to the French in Syria, and recent indications show Kemal dreams of getting both the British and French away from territories which were Turkish. Therefore, if it should come to pass that Washington would prefer to see the British leave Mosul. It is very unlikely any support would be forthcoming from the French, who would for the present at least prefer to see Mosul remain in English hands. ■ PLEASE READ: The Great Betrayal: A Survey of the Near Eastern Problem, By Edward Hale Bierstadt. 1924. Edward Hale Bierstadt was Executive Secretary of the Emergency Committee for Near East Refugees SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: The Great Betrayal, By Edward Hale Bierstadt has been reprinted, and is now available through (SKK) PLEASE READ: Smyrna 1922: The Destruction of a City, By Marjorie Dobkin. 1998. …[Sultan] Hamid magnanimously offered Chester the exploitation rights to the Mosul oil fields and the lands stretching for thousands of miles along the route to the incipient Berlin-toBaghdad railway; in fact the very same rights he was simultaneously offering to the German Kaiser. (80) ———————

The New York Times, Editorial July 30, 1923

OPIUM AT LAUSANNE. Among the numerous matters which had to be attended at the end of the Lausanne Peace Conference, one item seems to have been overlooked. It had been intended that the Hague opium convention should be included in the peace treaty. MR. STEPHEN G. PORTER, head of the American delegation to the opium conference which so admirably rebuked the wicked foreigners for their negligence in the matter of narcotic drug production, went to Lausanne himself and got ISMET PASHA to promise that Turkey, like the other nations, would agree to limit the production of opium to that required for “legitimate” purposes.” But ISMET seems to have forgotten about it, and the allied delegates say that if they had reminded him of his promise and started another argument it might have delayed the signing of the treaty. So while India, whose iniquities have aroused so much moral indignation among our statesmen, has at least promised some sort of feeble effort to restrict production, Turkey has not. And the opium used in this country comes almost entirely from Turkey. It will be MR. GREW’S business to add this to the demands which we are making on the Turks in the negotiation of the separate treaty. If we believe the dispatches which represented the signature of the general treaty as due chiefly to Mr. Grew’s iron hand and velvet glove, he can make Ismet sign anything he wants. He who forced the Turks to give way to Europe ought to be able to force them to give way to America as well.

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It is true that they didn’t give way to Europe on anything of importance, nor do they show any signs of being ready to give way to America. But all patriotic citizens will believe as long as they can that Ismet Pasha trembles at America’s frown. Besides, Turkey, like America, is outside the League. Turkey may be the first recruit—, outside of Mexico and Russia—for the New Association of Nations which the Administration used to promise us every time. HIRAM ■ PLEASE SEE: The New York Times, 6 September 1923. Editorial, Headline: “Turkey in the Opium Agreement.” (SKK) ———————

The New York Times, September 6, 1923

EDITORIAL Turkey in the Opium Agreement. To the Editor of The New York Times: Will you allow me to correct a mistake in your editorial article on July 30, to the effect that Turkey did not rectify the opium convention when she signed the treaty of peace with the Allies at Lausanne on July 24? Turkey did ratify this opium convention, as will be found in Part III. Section VI., Article 100, which reads thus: “Turkey undertakes to adhere to the conventions or agreements enumerated below, or to ratify them (then follows the list). No. 9, opium convention signed at The Hague Jan. 23, 1912, and additional protocol of 1914.” This, binds Turkey, as you see, and to those of us who are interested in controlling the opium situation it will be very welcome news. I must say I really don’t wonder that you make a mistake on this, for that Turkish

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treaty is a rather bulky volume, and as this opium convention is not mentioned in the index it takes a deal of searching through the entire thing to come across it. But there it is, after all. Besides, this treaty was only published in London about Aug. 4, so I suspect a copy had not reached you at the time of writing that article. May I add one personal note? I think the credit of having this Hague opium convention included in the treaty was due largely to the deep interest and untiring efforts of MRS. HAMILTON WRIGHT.[1] She made a special visit to Constantinople to talk things over with certain Turkish officials, as well as several visits to Lausanne to discuss this same question while the treaty discussions were under way. There were probably other influences, too, but I think America may claim a very fair share of the victory through the influence of Mrs. Hamilton Wright. ELLEN N. LA MOTTE, London, Aug. 22, 1923 ■ NOTE: Mrs. Hamilton Wright, a.k.a. Elizabeth W. Wright, was Special Representative of the Bureau of Narcotics. (SKK) PLEASE SEE: The New York Times, 30 July 1923. Headline: “Opium At Lausanne”. ———————

The New York Times, Wednesday, October 21, 1923

GREEKS LIKE OUR METHODS. American Educational System to Be Introduced in Near East. Greece intends to Americanize her system of education, according to MAJOR C. D. MORRIS, Secretary of the Near East Relief Commission in that country, who recently returned. “A step toward this end was made recently by the PATRIARCH MELETIOS, who

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offered through Athens relief headquarters a large tract of church property for the establishment of an institution like the American Robert College at Constantinople,” said Major Morris yesterday. “The Greeks are quick to recognize the good in foreign methods in all matters. The Government has watched with keen interest the accomplishments of the NEAR EAST RELIEF orphanage schools. The children in these institutions were brought out of Turkey. Some of them had never received any previous schooling, but made such rapid progress that the native officials were amazed.” Referring to the forthcoming visit of the Hellenic King and Queen to this country, Major Morris said: “The primary reason for their visit is to express their country’s appreciaton for American relief work, but they both hope to make a thorough study of the American way of doing things, many of which they can be introduced to advantage in Greece. The King is interested in “agriculture and told me that he would like to spend part of his time in California studying agricultural methods.” ■ ———————

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The New York Times, Tuesday, October 23, 1923

EDITORIAL: AN OFFICIAL ENVOY. Former Ambassador MORGENTHAU goes today on a mission which is comparable in importance with that of an official diplomat. He sails for Greece to take the active Chairmanship of the commission under the League of Nations for the settlement of refugees from Anatolia in Western Thrace and Macedonia. There are 600,000 of these exiles who, having fled from Anatolia, where their ancestors lived for generations, are now given shelter by the Greek Government and the Greek people. More than a million acres of land (vacant lands and crown lands) have been deeded by the Greek Government to this use. The Greeks have undertaken to attempt to raise among themselves 1,000,000 pounds. The British have made a temporary loan of pounds 1,000,000. And it is hoped to sell long-term bonds in the total amount of pounds 6,000,000 for the constructive work of setting up these refugees in agriculture and elementary industries. This great public enterprise is to be carried forward under the direction of a committee of four members, named by the League of Nations, Mr. MORGENTHAU being the designated Chairman. The United States Government is in no way obligated to help forward this MORGENbeneficent enterprise. Mr. THAU goes in a private capacity. But he will have back of him the good-will of a great body of citizens who feel that we should co-operate in every possible practical way to help a people who have, with all their mistakes, behaved most hospitable and gener-

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ously toward others in distress. While the Red Cross and the Near East Relief and some other organizations have given a helpful hand since the great Smyrna disaster, the Greeks themselves have given far more than all outside agencies—as two to one—in providing for these exiles, some of whom have no more claim upon the hospitality of Greece than upon that of the rest of Europe or of America. It is a work of rehabilitation which ought to succeed, not only for the sake of those who will be directly aided but also because of the wholesome general influence which such a successful effort would have. What is

needed is not another Deucalion and Pyrrha incident in Greece, for she is overpopulated with seed, plows and [illegible] and other agricultural implements. The very valley in which ALEXANDER THE GREAT was born needs to be conquered by agricultural industry. If this is accomplished the flight of the refugees to Greece may turn out to be a blessing for that disturbed, historic land. ■ PLEASE READ: Morgenthau, Henry. I Was Sent To Athens. New York: Doubleday, Doran & Co., 1929. INTERNET: You will discover the genius and humanity of Henry Morgenthau, in his book: (SKK) ———————

The Funeral of the Hero Dilboy in His Birthplace Alatsata, Asia Minor

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PFC George Dilboy Congressional Medal of Honor PHOTOS: Courtesy of Richard Rozakis, the third cousin of George Dilboy. NOTE: When he turned 15, George Dilboy lied about his age so he could fight in the Balkan Wars in 1912–13. Later, he served in the Mexican Border War from 1916–17. Five months later, he fought in Europe during the First World War. Broad-brim hats similar to the one in the photograph were issued to the soldiers of the Mexican border war to protect them from the bright sun. (SKK)

The New York Times, Thursday, November 1, 1923

EDITORIAL PAGE: TURKEY MAKES AMENDS. Admits Desecration of Doughboy’s Coffin and Gives it Full Honors. Special to The New York Times. WASHINGTON, Oct. 31.—The Turkish Government has made full official amends for the desecration at ALACHATA,[1] near Smyrna, at the time of the Turkish advance of September, 1922, of the coffin of PRIVATE GEORGE DILBOY. A.E. F., who in 1917 was killed in action near Belleau and to whom was awarded posthumously the Congressional Medal of Honor, SECRETARY HUGHES has been advised of this action in official reports and today authorized an announcement to that effect. On receipt of reports of the desecration an investigation was made by American representatives in Turkey, the

preliminary results of which have already been announced. The Turkish authorities having conveyed to this Government through the American High Commissioner in Constantinople an expression of regret, undertook an independent investigation which resulted in the recovery of the coffin at Alachata. The Turks, however, were unable to verify the report that it had at the time of the occupation of Alachata been covered by an American flag or to ascertain the identity of the person or persons responsible for the alleged desecration. On Sept. 7 at Chesmeh, southwest of Smyrna, to which the body of PRIVATE DILBOY was brought in 1922, an American detachment landed and was saluted by a Turkish guard of honor drawn up beside the coffin, which was covered by an American flag. The coffin was then formally delivered to the American officials and carried on board the Litchfield, full military honors being rendered by both detachments. ■ NOTE: Unfortunately, the desecration of Christian cemeteries has not stopped––the desecrations of Christian graves are still carried out. (SKK) COMMENTARY: Turkey has an appalling record of disrespecting corpses. During the anti-Greek pogroms of 1955, the Patriarchal Cemetery at Balikli was attacked and the bones of the Ecumenical Patriarchs were scattered about. In 1993, a Greek Orthodox Cemetery at the Church of the Virgin Mary at the Neohorion part of Constantinople was vandalized and the remains of the dead were scattered about. It was this incident which served as a catalyst for various assassination attempts against the Ecumenical Patriarch. His holiness Bartholomaios I, visited this cemetery after this nefarious incident and denounced the attacks, shortly thereafter extremists attempted to burn the Ecumenical Patriarchate to the ground. In 1998, another Greek Orthodox Cemetery was vandalized. Attacks on the deceased Christians in Turkey are far too common. —THEODORE G. KARAKOSTAS PLEASE HEAR: Defixiones: Will and Testament, Diamanda Galás acclaimed International Performance Vocalist and Pianist sings curses on the those who desecrate the graves of the Christians:

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PLEASE SEE: The New York Times, 26 August 1918. Headline: “Tells of Cruelty to Greeks” “Germany Instigated Persecutions, Says Head of Commission, Now Here, in Address.” “Rely On Support of Allies” “Four Millions of Race, Now Under Slavery In Asia Minor—Look With Hope to Wilson.” The New York Times, 19 September 1918. Headline: “Germans Inspired Turkish Atrocities Against Asiatic Greeks” The New York Times, 5 November 1922: Headlines: “Army Will Honor Dilboy, War Hero, Private Killed at Belleau Wood, Will Be Buried at Arlington.” NOTE: Author Eddie Brady’s book Georgie! My Georgie! informs us that PFC George Dilboy was from 1Alatsata; which was later renamed Alachata by the Turks. EXCERPT: Upon the insistence of the United States Government, and after much ranting and raving, the Turks gave up the remains of PFC George Dilboy. Mustafa Kemal’s personal emissary, General Nurettin Pasa brushed off the desecration by blaming it on “over indulgence in Greek liquor.” Later, General Nurettin still fuming said, “Besides, who cares about the bones of a dead Greek?” (503) Antonis Dilboy, the Hero’s father resolved the issue of his son’s final resting place by selecting the Arlington National Cemetery by proclaiming: “Georgie belongs to America.” (503) ———————

The Boston Globe, November 8, 1923

MORGENTHAU TO TEACH GREEKS AMERICAN WAYS GENEVA, Nov. 7—HENRY MORGENTHAU of New York arrived here today on his way to Greece to take up his new position of chairman of the Greek Land Settlement Commission, under which THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS hopes to make the 1,000,000 Greek refugees self-supporting. Mr. Morgenthau said he intended to introduce American agricultural and industrial methods in Greece. A loan of $10,000,000 had been assured, part of which would be taken up in the United States. ■

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NOTES: Henry Morgenthau was the American Chairman of the Refugee Settlement Commission: as decreed by the League of Nations from 1923. He was formerly the American Ambassador at Constantinople to Turkey, from 1913 to 1916. Clearly, Mr. Morgenthau was the savior of the refugees. Soon after the First World War the flood of refugees – Greeks, Armenians, Assyrians and others converged upon Greece with barely the clothing on their backs. After WWI, Greece was in no financial position to absorb the huge numbers of refugees. In his illuminating book, I Was Sent to Athens, Morgenthau writes in exquisite detail, the manner with which he obtained sizable bank loans. Eventually, the loans were paid off by the industrious refugees whom he had unquestionable faith that they would. Morgenthau’s greatness as a statesman and humanitarian leaps out of the pages. (SKK)

I Was Sent To Athens, by Henry Morgenthau Please See Internet: ———————

The New York Times, Sunday, December 9, 1923

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: MAKING PEACE WITH TURKEY Closing of All American Institutions Accepted as Preferable to Surrender of Principles Long Maintained To the Editor of The New York Times: You have printed references to the publication in Boston of the statement urging ratification of the Lausanne Treaty with Turkey just issued by DR. JAMES L. BARTON. Doctor Barton admits that “if ratification means condoning the crimes against humanity of the present Turkish Government and its predecessors, rejection must follow.” That is precisely what MR. GERARD, MR. CARDASHIAN and myself are so strenuously urging. The Turk is the same Turk whether he rules through a Caliphate, a Sublime Porte, a Parliament, a President, a polygamist, or a monogamist. His religion is the same

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religion. Its teaching, a duty to exterminate the infidels, has not changed nor has there ever been a new revelation by a prophet; but Dr. Barton says, “after the repeated declarations at Lausanne of the spokesman for the United States of the universal condemnation of the atrocities committed against her subjects by the Turkish officials and by the Government there can remain no doubt upon this point.” No doubt? But what does the treaty say about it? The Turks at Lausanne knew there was no doubt upon this point; but they laughed at the demand of the Allies and the delicately and mildly put suggestions of our “Observer.” Has Dr. Barton forgotten that the arrogant representative of Mustapha Kemal not only bluffed the Allies on the showdown on their demand for a home for the Armenians, but remarked with a sneer and a smile that if the United States should back that demand with 100,000 men on the Cilician Coast “we would fight it out with them;” “if they backed it with 250,000 we might discuss it with them”? To whom was this said? To a representative negotiating, on the part of the United States, a treaty after the act of severing diplomatic relations. What was the status of the United States on the Armenian question at that time? Millions of its people had denied themselves and had given tens of millions of dollars to relieve the victims of Turkish massacres, confiscations and deportations. The military leaders of the gallant Armenian Army had been thanked in the name of the Allies, including the United States, for their successful military operations. The Senate of the United States and the State Department had recognized the Republic of Armenia. The President of the United States had been requested

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by the Supreme Council to act as an arbitrator to delimit the boundaries of the new republic just recognized. He had done so. Both political parties had given assurance that all would be done for the Armenian people that could be done. MR. WILSON had promised to send a message along the lines of DANIEL WEBSTER’S LIBERIA message stating that “the United States would view with grave concern any encroachment upon the infant republic or any failure to put it in possession of its territories thus authoritatively awarded to it,” provided his successor, then recently elected, would assure him a continuity of such governmental policy. I went with Mr. Gerard to Marion, Ohio, and secured from MR. HARDING a cordial and very prompt assurance that he would adhere to such a policy and approve the sending of such a communication to Turkey and the powers. He put in a call for SENATOR LODGE on the longdistance for that very purpose while we were there. MR. HUGHES was at that time a member of the Committee for the Independence of Armenia and had not yet signified his willingness to accept the Cabinet office of Secretary of State, for Mr. Harding said to me, “if the Secretary I hope to have had already accepted the portfolio I would have referred you directly to him.” Mr. Wilson never sent such a message. Mr. Harding never sent such a message, and Mr. Hughes having become Secretary leaned over backward in his habitual official attitude not to allow any of his acts to even seem to be dictated by any former relationship. The Turks had “no objection to our taking care of the victims that resulted from their massacres or other outrages so long as they could be left free to take care of their own economic, social or political problems.

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Dr. Barton ought to know these facts. I have caused them to be repeatedly published. But listen to what he says: “While our treaty does not cover the protection of minority populations, the presence of American institutions cannot fail to serve them in many ways.” I suppose by institutions he means our hospitals and relief stations; and so he urges that we should keep in close diplomatic relations with Turkey, and to use the good offices of our Government deemed his acts barbarous, cruel or inhuman? Running through the reverend doctor’s whole argument his complaint is that the failure to ratify the treaty means the closing of all American institutions. Well—suppose it did? Dr. Barton knows that I am interested in the maintenance of philanthropies and missions throughout Turkey. My father gave over half a century of a devoted life to the missionary cause in [Assyria], and I have other relattives engaged in that work today; but if the alternative be closing up of our institutions on the one hand and condoning the crimes of the Turks on the other, then I know what my father would have said and how he would have decided. If to reject the treaty resulted in American institutions being closed up by official Turks for one day or one month the American people would be aroused, the millions of those who have been patiently providing for the Near East Relief, and as patiently hoping that these atrocities would be brought to a permanent close, would rise up, exert pressure on official Washington and insist upon the immediate formulation and execution of a righteous policy. Remember the Dey of Algiers— and the Spaniards in Cuba!

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The ratification of a treaty reduced to writing after our negotiator had abandoned demands for an Armenian home and the recognition of the rights of Christian minorities could have but one interpretation. Oral negotiations are superseded by the written text. We would go permanently on the records of history as having made generous promises and failed to fulfill them by signing a treaty, omitting any guarantee on these points and patently and conspicuously purporting to protect commercial rights alone. HENRY W. JESSUP. New York, Nov. 26, 1923. ■ COMMENT: The sum total of all the news reports including this report, indicate that had it not been for the dedicated work of the various missionary groups in Asia Minor, there would have been far more fatalities and far more suffering of the Christians. (SKK) PLEASE READ: James L. Barton, Protestant Missionary and Compiler, Turkish Atrocities: Statements of American Missionaries on the Destruction of Christian Communities in Ottoman Turkey, (1915–1917) Order through: [email protected] ———————

The New York Times, Sunday, December 16, 1923

Extracts from Letters No Converts in Turkey? The article entitled “A Turk Salvation Army Leader” in your Sunday issue was indeed very interesting to read, but even if the name GARABED was not mentioned the photograph alone of “Joe the Turk” would be enough evidence that he is an Armenian, Christian born, and no covert at all. It is also interesting to note that in spite of all the efforts of so many American missions in Turkey, they have not been

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able to convert a single Turk into Christianity from the date of their very establishment to our own days. Probably this is news to many of your readers. N. PAPADOPOULOS. New York, Dec. 4, 1923. ■ COMMENT: All books indicate that conversion to Christianity by a Moslem was punishable by death. No doubt Mr. Garabedianw a.k.a. “Joe” did find Christians willing to convert to The Salvation Army— an organization with a fine reputation. (SKK) Not shown here: Mr. Papadopoulos refers to an article in The New York Times, 2 December 1923. Headline: “A Salvation Army Leader, Joe the Turk.” The following report and photographs are provided by The Salvation Army:

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Esther Pohl Lovejoy, M.D. Chmn. Ex. Bd. A. W. H.; Pres. Med. Women’s International Asso., 1919–24; Pres. Med. Wom. Nat. Asso., 1932–33. Source: Certain Samaritans

The Los Angeles Times, June 2, 1924

WOMAN SEES TURK HORROR Dr. Lovejoy, American Relief Worker, Shocked at Christian Exodus from Smyrna One of the most tragic events in history was the exodus of more

than 1,000,000 Christians from Anatolia after the country was conquered by the Turks about a year and half ago, says DR. ESTHER [POHL] LOVEJOY OF NEW YORK, HEAD OF AMERICAN WOMEN’S HOSPITALS, who was an eyewitness of the scenes attending the departure of more than 250,000 women, children and old men from Smyrna a few days after that city had fallen into Turkish hands. Dr. Lovejoy, now at the Biltmore is in Los Angeles to attend the biennial convention of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs. She is interested intensely in the work of the federation, and will tell the assembled delegates of her experiences in the Near East and the relief work being done there by the organization of which she is the head. “I was in Smyrna quite by accident on the day the exodus began,” said Dr. Lovejoy. “I was in the Near East in the interest of our relief work, and landed in the city without knowing that an order had been issued by the Turks, barring all American women. But I was permitted to remain and I witnessed the tragic scenes enacted when families were torn apart. I was shocked to see women, children and old men being driven like cattle to the docks where they were placed aboard ships, while the male inhabitants between the ages of 16 and 42 years were marched to the interior of Asia Minor. “What happened in Smyrna was only an example of what was taking place all over Anatolia. More than 1,000,000 Christians were forced to leave the country. The noncombatants, carried in the ships

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sent to their relief by different Allied nations, were landed in Greece and on islands in the Mediterranean. The men were held captive in the interior. Wives Cling To Husbands “I shall never forget the tragedy of that exodus. Wives and children clung to their husbands and fathers, screaming and weeping until torn apart by the Turkish soldiers. There was no effort to keep mothers and children together. Members of one family were often placed on different ships with the prospect of being permanently separated. Some of the adults in their desperation committed suicide and many of the children fell into the bay and were drowned during the scramble to get aboard. “The condition of the refugees was pitiable. The city had been burned shortly after the Turkish invasion and the majority of the inhabitants had been left absolutely destitute except for the clothes they wore. After the landing in Greece was terrible. Many died from hunger, exposure and disease contracted as a result of their privations.” Among these refugees the AMERIICAN WOMEN’S HOSPITALS, which is the medical service committee of the MEDICAL WOMEN’S NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, began its relief work. Temporary hospitals were established and doctors provided for the care of the sick. Food and clothing were furnished and everything possible was done to relieve the situation. The relief organizations continue to function among the refugees, and Dr. Lovejoy stated that, while

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there still is considerable suffering among them conditions are improving. The women and children are building huts with mud bricks in which to live and are endeavoring to become established in their new home. IN RUSSIA AND JAPAN In addition to the work in in Greece, Dr. Lovejoy and the AMERICAN WOMEN’S HOSPITALS are conducting hospitals in Russia and Japan. During the war they carried on relief work in France, Serbia, Turkey and Armenia. The organization, which is composed entirely of women physicians, is not affiliated with any other group, though it has enjoyed the co-operation of such organizations as the Red Cross, the Near East Relief Commission and others in its work in the Near East. Its specialty is hospitalization and medical relief. Dr. Lovejoy also is the president of the Medical Women’s International Association, with members in most of the civilized countries of the world. This body will conduct its annual convention in London next month, at which time the American delegation will be entertained by PREMIER MACDONALD at the House of Commons and the Archbishop of Canterbury at Lambeth Palace. ■ PLEASE SEE: The New York Times, 3 October 1922. Headlines: “Asserts Atrocities In Smyrna Continue” “Dr. Esther Lovejoy Describes Systematic Robbery and Outrages by Troops” “100 Births Among Victims” “Babies Dying From Exposure—Departing Refugees Stripped of Their Remaining Valuables.” The New York Times, 9 October 1922. Headlines: “Woman Pictures Smyrna Horrors” “Dr. Lovejoy, American Relief Worker Shocked at Christian Exodus From Smyrna”

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The New York Times, 15 October 1922. Headlines: “Refugees At Mitylene Tell of Atrocities” “Many Are Suffering From Wounds Inflicted by Turks—New Influx From Anatolia Expected.” The New York Times, 12 February 1923. Headlines: “War Cross For Dr. Elliott” “She and Dr. Lovejoy Are the First Women to Receive it From Greece.” PLEASE READ: Lovejoy, Esther Pohl, M.D. Certain Samaritans. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1933. (Dr. Lovejoy’s perfect book should be reprinted). (SKK) ———————

The New York Times, August 28, 1926

OTTOMAN ATAVISM. Whatever the effect OF Mustapha Kemal’s policy of punishing to death his political enemies may be at home, it is seriously damaging his reputation and that of the young republic abroad. It may be said in extenuation that the Turkish view of life is less humane than that which prevails in the West. Of TAMERLANE,[1] who overthrew BAYAZID, the OSMANLI EMPEROR called “THE THUNDERBOLT,” in a memorable battle at Angora, it was said, that he did not lament even the deaths in his own army; and there was no good reason, added his biographer why a good Moslem should lament them. It was their happy fate. But it was a fate which he denied Bayazid, the predecessor of Mustapha Kemal, for instead of killing him the victorious TIMUR THE LAME had his captive put in a litter surrounded by bars “like a menagerie cage” and carried about, wherever his jailer captor went, like a jungle beast, until his haughty spirit was broken and death came to release him, “the most cruel fate imaginable for such a man.” Our Western codes, political and moral, to which it has been hoped the Turk was gradually conforming his

ways, look with disapproving horror upon such summary means as Mustapha has used to rid himself of the political leaders who have not entirely sympathized with his policies. Let it be admitted that these victims would probably have been as remorseless in their dealing with Mustapha had they secured the upper hand; let it not be forgotten that they were of the group of powerful young Turks who led their country into the [1st] World War on the side of the Central Powers;[2] let it be remembered, too, that it was the brutal hand of those who organized and led this group in the days of its triumph that murdered Armenians and oppressed the Arabs; and let it be kept in mind that two of the greatest of these leaders were assassinated by the Armenians whom they sought to exterminate. Five centuries ago the Ottoman sovereign began a practice, which in another century was formulated into a law of the State, which declare it to be a “solemn obligation” of the new ruler on seizing the throne to murder his brothers that there might be no danger of the division of the empire through amicable arrangement or by forcible opposition. Though nominally President of a republic, Mustapha Kemal Pasha has not wholly freed himself from the despotic ways of those Osmanli emperors upon whose splendid tombs of blue and green and lapis lazuli, in beautiful Brusa, he still goes to hang his banners of remembrance and reverent homage. There was a concession, to be sure, to Western practice in this uncivilized disposition of political enemies. The accused men were given a trial before the “tribunal of independence,” but the impression of vengeance rather than of justice which was given the

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modern world a few weeks ago by the thirteen bodies hanging from the gibbets on the QUAY OF SMYRNA, against the background of the burned city, has been deepened by the sentence of a political court. It will have the effect in this country of alienating the sympathy of many of who have been urging the ratification of the LAUSANNE TREATY as a means of bringing America into more helpful relations with the supposed westward-looking democracy of Turkey and of strengthening opposition to it. It can only be hoped that there was more justice in the judgment of the court than is to be inferred from the partisan nature of the indictment. HALIDE HANOUM,[3] who has done so much for the freedom of her Turkish sisters, gave to Mustapha Kemal Pasha “before his full powers were proven to all,” as the author of “An Englishwoman in Angora” has stated, the following epitaph, found on the gravestone of an old Turkish Padisha:[4] I was not appointed to rule over a rich but over a poor people scantily supplied with food and clothing. For the Turkish race I slept not at night, I rested not by day, I worked for my people till death. But she is now in virtual exile because of her hostility to some of the policies of the Government, and one wonders whether the words with which she defined the purposes and sacrifices of Mustapha Kemal still

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accurately represent his attitude, now that he stands securer in his full fame. What was once written by some Turkish poet concerning peoples is true of individuals: that “many “linger who are counted by man as “dead.” These condemned men might, living, have been wisely led to help build and solidify a republic, while their death may but tend to divide and weaken it. It is not the way of a true democracy, as it was of the early Ottoman Empire, to require a “solemn obligation” on the part of its Chief Executive to take such fierce measure as did BAYAZID I to prevent opposition and insure a united people. ■ Definition for the word atavism, n. = The recurrence of a genetically controlled feature in an organism after it has been absent for several generations, usually because of an accidental recombination of genes. PLEASE SEE: The New York Times, 17 March 1922. Headlines: “Anatolia Government” “Quotes Unfavorable Description by Ali Kemal Bey.” PLEASE FIND: Los Angeles Examiner, 1 August 1926. Headline: “Kemal Promises More Hangings of Political Antagonists in Turkey.” By Mustapha Kemal Pasha. NOTES: 1 Timur the Lame was the leader of the Mongols and descendant of Genghis Khan. 2 “The Central Powers” is the term used to describe the wartime alliance of Germany and Austria-Hungary against the Allies. 3 Halide Edib Hanoum, was Mustafa Kemal Pasha’s only and later divorced wife. 4 “Padisha” was a Turkish title given to a Sultan of Ottoman Turkey (SKK)

APPENDIX EYEWITNESS REPORT TO THE PATRIARCH OF CONSTANTINOPLE, MELETIOS IV (METAXAKIS), WAS WRITTEN BY HIS EMINENCE THE METROPOLITAN OF EPHESOS, CHRYSOSTOMOS HATGISTAVROU. His Eminence later became the Archbishop of Athens and all of Greece between 1962-1967. This report was provided to us in a nonoriginal typewritten format courtesy of Dimitrios Hatgistavrou, the great-nephew of the Metropolitan. His 2 October 1922 report was kindly translated from Katharévousa (Καθαρεύουσα) Greek into English by Xrysanthos Xristos Lazaridis. Katharévousa is the “purist” form of Greek. As recently as the 1980s, it was commonly used, was taught in schools, and used in newspapers and government texts. Katharévousa retains much of the grammatical and semantic richness of classical Greek. This important report can also be found on the Before the Silence website at SKK THE

FOLLOWING

TRANSLATOR’S NOTE: Text in brackets indicate comments or words added by the translator. Old-New Calendar dates are provided as: Old (New) or Old/New. For readers’ clarity, some longer sentences were shortened. ––Xrysanthos Xristos Lazaridis

CHRYSOSTOMOS EPHESOU CHRYSOSTOMOS OF EPHESOS AN EYEWITNESS REPORT ON THE GENOCIDE AND CATASTROPHE OF THE CHRISTIANS IN ASIA MINOR Your All Holiness With the grace and help of the Almighty Who delivered me from the mouth of the lion and from the vile-murderer and blood stained hands of the barbaric conquerors, and turning the eyes of soul and heart to our Great Church as to an affectionate and compassionate mother who has her attention turned to the calamities of her children, I wish to pour out my inmost yearning, and giving an account of the afflictions of Her children, to ask for Her prayers and blessings, for the blessed souls of our brethren, annihilated through fire and iron, and [also ask] for God persuading supplications for the ceasing of tribulations, of calamities, of unprecedented savagery in the History of our Nation and Church, and for the preservation and deliverance of thousands of souls, still found among the barbarians and criminals. In my last telegram before the tragic events, having repeated the humble supplication for the dispatch of ships to receive on board those justifiably in panic, I expressed the idea that I am divesting myself of all responsibility. Your All Holiness, I could see from afar the tempest, black and roaring threateningly, I was taking into consideration the savage and revengeful spirit of the Turks, [and] the lesson learned from the example of the martyred city of Aidinion and with tears of anguish, I was anticipating the events that were to occur.

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Under the weight of such anticipations and feelings I came down from Kordelió, on Saturday 27 of the month of August (9 Sept.), and at about the 11th hour, I was at the Metropolis of Smyrna, where contrary to custom, a noticeable calm reigned. The doors of the offices were closed, the employees were absent, and the Archdeacon alone was receiving in his office the few who came. Having learned from him that the Ever Memorable brother in Christ, was in his quarters, I hurried to meet with him and found him busy accommodating his archpriest’s ámfia [vestments]. I suggested to him that we attempt a final recourse, with the Consuls of the [foreign] Powers, hoping to secure through them, since the Greek Civil and Military authorities had already left, that the City be turned over, subject to an agreement with signed terms and conditions. Of which the very first one would be, granting total amnesty to all those who, during the Greek occupation had expressed their feelings and those who according to the Turks had been politically guilty. So, while he, having agreed on the matter, was getting ready to depart with me wherever it was necessary, it was announced to us, that a military detachment of the Turkish cavalry, followed along by mountain dwelling bandits of savage looks and intentions had entered the city. The thousands of refugees staying in the walled patio surrounding the Holy Church of Ayia [Saint] Photiní were taken by fear and the weeping and wailing of women and children and their desperate appeals were crushing our hearts. I then exhorted the Ever Memorable that we confine ourselves until the regular army occupied the city and the Authorities were established. He consented and agreed with the idea, but having received specific information, according to which, only by the 4th pm hour of the same day, was it possible for the first military units of the enemy’s front line to arrive, he postponed exiting the Metropolis. Since the purpose of my descent to Smyrna was thus rendered in vain, I left the Metropolis, to go to Kordelió. Unfortunately however, as soon as I arrived at Saint Polykarp’s Catholic Church, a fusillade of shootings fired by Turkish civilians looting the shops of our Greek people on European Street, compelled me to accept the spontaneous hospitality offered me by an unknown Franciscan monk of the Catholic Church of Saint Mary, who having first sheltered me in said Church, led me, after the shootings ceased, with an entourage of Italian military personnel, to the Archdiocese of the Catholics, where I was given a really brotherly reception, by the Archbishop His Eminence Galega [Gallega, Galenga (sp?)] and the good and benign priests serving at the Cathedral Church. In the patio within the wall surrounding this Church, guarded by a force of the French navy, under the orders of a philanthropic captain, [had] found refuge, as the service assigned to distribute the bread to them found out, two thousand seven hundred fifty women and children. From my hiding place I followed the events happening in the city and the environs, and through my emissaries, Catholic priests and other philanthropic foreign citizens I tried to be useful. To exit my hiding place was absolutely impossible, because the rage of the raiders against the clergy primarily had no limits and the latter were killed as soon as they were seen. On that Saturday until evening, the following events took place. Massacres, abductions, and dishonoring of women were perpetrated with unheard cruelty, in the Suburbs of Smyrna, from which the populace that managed to escape, half naked took refuge in Smyrna. At Bournóva [Vournóva] and Boudzá [Voudzá], where the number of atrocities rose [illegible] vertically, the malefactors didn’t spare not even the foreign citizens and especially the English, against whom, their hatred was manifested in multiple ways. On that day, as I was able to verify, suffered martyrdom, the eminent clergymen, the Vicar from Boutzá of blessed memory Archimandrite Iákovos Arhatzikákis, slaughtered in the [illegible] church office of the sacred church of Saint John and the proïstámenos [presiding priest], of the lower [illegible] district of that same suburb the Forever Memorable [lit. Praised in Songs] Archimandrite Athanásios Nikolópoulos [illegible], whom the criminals horseshoed [tortured by nailing horseshoes] on his feet and his chest and then slaughtered. They only spared the parish priest Archimandrite Nýfon, [illegible] who however, died of a heart attack, two days later as I was informed. On the same day, massacres and dishonoring of women and destruction were carried out in great scale in the Armenian quarter of Smyrna, where many of our own Greeks, primarily from the province of Philadelphia, had also taken refuge. Intense gun shooting, [and] grenade explosions were being heard at all times. [while] groups of women and children, both our own Greeks as well as Armenians, were gathering in panic and almost half naked seeking refuge in front of the Catholic Church, from where the God-sent Catholic clergy, really working in Christian like manner, led them to safety, to the various Catholic institutions.

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On that same day around 2 pm, a policeman came to the late Metropolitan of Smyrna of Eternal Memory Chrysostomos, who had remained at the Metropolis and had not found in time a temporary place to hide. He ordered him to go to the Colonel Commander Salih Zeki, for orders that he had to announce. Without objections, boarding a carriage, he went to the Commandery, where he was given a cordial reception by the Commander who ordered him to issue a circular, in order to calm down the Christians and urge them to turn in their weapons, and the hiding Greek officers and soldiers. The Forever Memorable [lit. Praised in Songs] returned to the Metropolis by car that was offered him by an American Naval officer, who happened to be there by chance, and working with his brethren he edited and copied into several samples, circulars related to the orders he had received and had them posted by his aid at the most central places in Smyrna. Exhausted by this task and previous hardships and sleeplessness, during so many days, at about the 7th pm hour he attempted to get some rest. After a few minutes however, he returned to his office and taking in his hands the Holy Scriptures he read in prayer, full of sadness and affliction, when at 7:30 pm a military car accompanied by two spear-bearing Turks on horseback, stopped in front of the Metropolis. The policeman in the car went up to the Metropolitan’s Office and announced to him that by orders of the same Commander, are summoned to the Commandery he and two or three of the leading men [of the Community]. Finding himself before such a demand, the Ever Memorable [lit. Praised in Songs] sent orders and had appear before him from among the elders of the community, the Ever Memorable Nikólaos Tsourouktsoglou and D. Klimanoglou, liked by the Τurks, so he thought, with whom he went to the Commandery escorted by the policeman and the two soldiers on horse back. What transpired at the Commandery nobody until today has known. Those at the Metropolis, with justified worry, waited for his return, when at 10:30 pm they receive[d] by a policeman a note from the Ever Memorable sent and addressed to his brother, which read as follows: «Brother Evyénie, we have been detained, myself as the president, and the rest as members of the Resistance. Notify their families.» This was the last trace of life of this Hierarch of blessed memory!!! The information collected on the following day from various sources, all of it affirmed, that he was turned over to the mob, which after they had dragged him around town, mocking him and torturing him to the extreme, they dismembered his body, and then triumphantly carried around his Episcopal staff through the Turkish neighborhoods, proclaiming the «exemplary punishment kiafir, for having acted treasonably towards the Turks». Thus was perfected in the Lord an Arch-priest, who lived through his God beloved life, in virtues and sanctity, who passionately loved the Church, fought for the Nation winning the good victory, and took the lead in every piece of work, befitting a real minister of the Church of Christ. It all came to pass, according to what was prophetically said by the Spirit about him, «faithful unto death» and he was given the crown of life [Book of Revelation b-10]. «The Mother Church, mourning for the loss of a remarkable minister of Hers», is, I doubt not, proud for his blessed end that sealed a Christian-like life, full of tireless work and superhuman toils. May the remunerator of the Lord receive him in the eternal rest! Thus, the day of Saturday passed, Your All Holiness and on the morrow, Sunday, while the bells of the churches remained silent and in their stead the weeping and wailing of the unfortunate victims of the Turkish atrocities was heard, a group of bashi-bazouk [irregulars whose pay was their plunder] and soldiers, uttering blasphemies and threats, was looking for my humbleness in Kordelió. They threatened everyone and everything if I did not present myself. Under the assurances of the neighbors that I was in Smyrna, they ransacked my house, only sparing the Metropolis, and went after my younger brother, fortunately unsuccessfully, and thence, charging with the help of local Turks into the Armenian quarter they unleashed themselves by merciless massacres, dishonoring of maidens and women and plunder, thus turning in a few hours into Hades, this formerly blossoming and immersed in joy Community. On the same day, having first looted houses, other groups of malefactors along with Kemalist soldiers set on fire the profoundly Greek small town of Koukloutza near Smyrna. From the mountains of Asia Minor and in particular from Tmólos and Mesoyís, gradually descended to Smyrna all those malefactors, whose savagery, Greek military detachments were not able to tame during a three-year long concerted campaign. With them, Turks from the interior like swarms of ants overcrowded Smyrna. Refugees from the interior, both our own Greek people and Armenians who had sought refuge in the patios of churches and other public

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buildings suffered the first attack[s], from them. I will never forget the desperate screams of those unfortunate ones! What those people suffered is impossible to describe here. Everything valuable that those poor ones possessed, fruit of so many years of labor and toil was taken from them by force, those who resisted were immediately killed, the most good looking maidens were abducted in groups. Others were dishonored before the eyes of their parents or brothers, many of whom incapable of enduring such a horrific sight, would commit suicide, by snatching the knives and firearms of the executioners. Catholic priests whom I begged and sent to the places of these tragedies, gave accounts of the events, adding that their presence contributed to a temporary ceasing of this nefariousness. The looting of shops at the market continued on this day too, while at night, intense gunfire and grenade explosions kept all in fright. But while we all awaited on Monday (the 29th of that same month) (11 Sept.) that an end would be given to these unheard of torments of the Christians, since the regular Turkish Army, in size of a regiment, along with the famed Nuredin Pasha had entered the town at night, in the morning, we saw in shock in the French newspaper «Levant», published in half page, threatening orders issued by said pasha, and it didn’t take us long to realize that the situation became worse and that the troops that had entered, were of the same savage spirit, characteristic of their chief. The killings on this day were so numerous that the Catholic priests who went out to obtain bread for those that had sought refuge in the various religious institutions, came back in terror, and one of them a venerable old man, presiding priest of the Catholic Church of Ghioz-tepe, withdrawing on that day in his Metropolis, for a long time could not articulate one word and was continually weeping and overcome by a nervous breakdown for having seen such atrocities! It is now good time, your All Holiness, to exalt the work realized by the Catholic priests in Christian-like self denial. Their institutions were open to anyone who wished to seek refuge in them. By informal calculations about sixty thousand Christians found refuge in those institutions both in the city of Smyrna and the suburbs. These praiseworthy workers provided for the needs of all of them in no time, not omitting even to provide medicines for those who were ill. As for the nuns of the various orders and especially the Sisters of Mercy, all by themselves with no protection, since no foreign soldiers were provided for them as guards, went about the streets, collected on stretchers and with their own hands transported to the various Hospitals, the wounded and the sick, and took in their care abandoned children. Some of them unfortunately, even met their death while carrying out such a sacred duty. Along with the above mentioned, and with the same zeal and the same self-denial, worked the American Pastors of the Protestants, of whom the Director of the American School in Parádeisos, Mr. [Dr.] MacLachlan was subjected to tortures by the Turks, until he died when he attempted to rebuke them for the atrocities they were committing. To all those, we the unfortunate will be eternally grateful. Tuesday and Wednesday (30 and 31 August) (12 and 13 Sept.) elapsed in the same way. The scenes of savagery were repeated and as for the nights, those were infernal nights and in their darkness, scenes of unimaginable savagery unfolded. No home remained untouched during those days. After plundering the houses, and [after] the properties of the tenants and of those who had sought refuge in them were ransacked, the dishonoring followed. Ten, twenty, even thirty malefactors on many occasions dishonored one and the same virgin, and now, as I am here, I issue certificates by the hundreds for unfortunate maidens having lost in such a way the one most precious valuable they possessed on earth, and whose names for obvious reasons I omit. On Moskov Street in Smyrna by the Greek Hospital, this evildoing was of such intensity that multiple suicides occurred. This touched even those human-like monsters to the point where many of them abandoning their victims mounted guard outside the houses, averting other raiders. In the Vairakli Suburb hundreds of virgins jumped together into the sea and drowned, to avoid falling into the hands of their persecutors. It is impossible Your All Holiness for one to elaborate on details about the incidents. Each Christian has their own story, a story of horror and torments and only a collection of such accounts (as the local newspaper «Néa Iméra» [«New Day»] has already started preparing) could give a faint picture of what has happened. On Wednesday (31 August) (13 Sept.) I was informed that about seven thousand Armenian women and children shut themselves up in the courtyard of Saint Stephen’ s Cathedral and having been under siege by the Turks since

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three days ago, they were desperate without water. Since Sunday, Turks, both soldiers and civilians, had already rushed in, in order to dishonor, plunder and massacre them but the valiant young men had set up a defense and forced the raiders to stay at a distance. As soon as I was informed about this, and also that the Armenian Archbishop had sought refuge in a Catholic institution and was therefore unable to do something for them, I begged the Catholic priests of the Metropolitan Church and two of them, the archbishop’s secretary Don Dellepiani [sp.?] and the priest Don Scalarino, hurried to their salvation and after many negotiations succeeded in rescuing indeed, those thousands of women and children and to settle them to safety in their religious institutions. But Divine Providence was reserving events that were even more tragic. Exactly on the 3rd afternoon hour of Wednesday (31 Aug.) fire broke out in the Armenian quarter. At first it was considered accidental and no one worried, more so, since the superbly well trained firefighters’ corps hurried to the site and worked super humanly to suppress the fire. But the efforts of those good workers of duty were running into insurmountable difficulties. The water hoses as if by magic were found broken and fires broke out in many other spots in the city. The fire was thus taking on frightening dimensions. Dense black asphyxiating smoke covered the horizon, unbearable heat developed throughout the city, frequent grenade explosions and intense gunfire spread panic among the unfortunate ones who had sought refuge in the various buildings. The firefighters seeing the impossibility to contain the fire and having suffered quite a few casualties from the explosions of the grenades and from the gunfire, were forced to retreat and regroup at their stations [the ones that were] further away and I saw them from my hiding place around the 6th evening hour, passing by, half naked and half dead from exhaustion. The omnivore element was thus left free to continue and conclude its destructive task. An intense odor of kerosene and gasoline betrayed the Turkish efforts to contain the disaster (!) and one after another the Greek neighborhoods of Smyrna were consumed by the fire and women and children were frantically running away towards the Quay, towards Pounta and towards the suburbs, in their effort to escape from the new unvanquishable foe. The sight was immensely tragic and this reality was made worse by the merciless persecution of those fleeing, by the mobs and the army, who stopped the unfortunates on the road, robbed of them money, jewelry and everything of value and even their very outer garments and shoes. At around the 11th evening hour, the fire approached my hiding place. After a meeting with the Catholic priests we decided to quickly evacuate the patio of the Church, and thus, two thousand seven hundred fifty women and children, forming a long and crowded line of unfortunate creatures, were set in motion, at such a late hour heading for the Quay, to place themselves under the protection of Embassies and landing parties of foreign troops. We placed ourselves along with the Catholic priests and the military detachment of the French navy as their Rear Guard. As soon as I came out of the Church patio, I found myself face to face with a sizable detachment of the Turkish army, with two guns which were constantly firing into the streets, along which women and children frantically ran, carrying on their shoulders whatever was left from their luggage. Then, I could not contain myself and although I was in most obvious danger, I dared to approach the officer in charge and to ask him to please spare the innocent and guileless creatures, as they were seeking their salvation. With characteristic calm he answered me saying that he was shooting against thieves pillaging properties! As those words were being said a Turkish soldier ran past us carrying two containers of kerosene or gasoline. I called the officer’s attention to this but he replied that «he is one of ours carrying water to extinguish the fire»!!!! Under those same conditions we continued our way towards the Quay through narrow Ródon Street while the houses on both sides were on fire. We were forced from time to time to pause in order to move over dead bodies and to aid women and children who had caught fire. In front of the clinic of Mr. [Dr. Apostolos] Psaltof, our entourage of French soldiers left, in order to help those who had sought refuge in other religious institutions and so, on our own, after a myriad of dangers, continually stumbling upon dead bodies and forced at times to step on them, for the street was covered with them, we arrived at the Quay, where we thought, we would be safe. Unfortunately the fire didn’t delay in arriving even at our new refuge. At around the 2nd hour after midnight, the buildings on the waterfront began to catch fire. Then, scenes of indescribable tragedy took place. Suffice it to keep in mind that by the most conservative estimates over

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three hundred thousand souls had gathered on the Quay and besides them, [there were also] their belongings, forming real hills, like carriages and carts of those from the interior that had sought refuge in Smyrna. Such was the intensity of the flames that the luggage caught fire and the people, those who knew how to swim, threw themselves into the sea, while others sought rescue by covering themselves with wet sheets. The weeping and wailing and the heart breaking screams were heard from everywhere capable of even making the stones feel distressed [by the prevailing pain]. Landing parties of the Foreign Powers, deployed along the Quay and forming zones were, until that moment, only letting in, and rescuing their own citizens with their luggage. I was therefore facing obvious danger, and much more so, since our persecutors had begun doing their work on the Quay. I dared with the help of a Catholic, Italian citizen to approach the Italian zone in front of the Port Authority. But while I was in front of the Post Office, I encountered a segment of infantry and cavalry and artillery of the Turkish forces ready to start moving and I recognized the Colonel in charge whom I had met during the European war. Fearing I would fall into his hands, I changed direction to resort to the English zone. In front of the Splendid Hotel however a segment of the Turkish army deployed across the Quay was blocking the road, and their officer in charge wearing the uniform of a Greek gendarme arrested me and led me to an apartment on the Quay, where more Christians were held. He told me that «we have to settle many accounts with the Greek Priests». [While I was] there, detained, I dared after a few minutes to start a conversation with the officer who had arrested me. [Who] Ignoring my identity and giving in to my pleas promised to get me on board a steamship, if I could give him twenty pounds. Since I was not carrying more money, I gave him five golden pounds and my watch, and I managed to get through the zone promising that I would pay the rest from money that my family had, who probably were somewhere there. Thus, left free, I ran to the English military parties, asked to talk to the officer in charge, told him who I was and after many negotiations I was accepted into the zone and I was in relative safety. I still had to wait for the permit from Sir Harry Lamb the Consul General of England who had taken shelter on board the flagship «Iron Duke» and from the Admiral. After three quarters of an hour a luxurious steam launch docked at the pier and assisted by sailors I boarded without my habit and cap and was taken to a requisitioned ocean liner which was to sail on the following day to Malta and on the morning of the following day I boarded another steamship heading for Piraeus. On the first steamship I met many English officers and depicted to them in vivid colors the immediate danger facing so many thousands of Christians threatened by criminal elements, the Turkish army and the fire, and it seems that my words produced an effect and after consultation with the Admiral, all the lifeboats of both the war and merchant English ships were lowered and as many as was possible and without distinction were being transported to the requisitioned ships, which were soon filled beyond capacity. However, the women and children that were rescued were a drop in the ocean. The sea was filled with swimming men and women, and boats and barges with no oars or rudders, filled beyond capacity with women and children, were being blown by a fortunately favorable wind towards the battleships and there, they were received on board by the philanthropic English, French, and Americans, and Italians. So that Your venerated by me, All Holiness may form a faint idea of these unimaginably tragic events, suffice it to mention that boats full of women and children were drawn by rope tied around the neck of courageous men, who by swimming, managed to salvage the precious cargo and many of them met their death due to exhaustion. They drowned while doing their duty. Other women unable to continue to swim were towed by those in the boats, who held them by their hair. This harsh sight and the wild screams of those left on the Quay affected me to such a degree that I felt my forces abandoning me, my vision darkened and I fainted and fell in a corner of the deck. I am not able to calculate how long I remained in that situation. That night’s piercing cold contributed to my recovering my senses without any help from anywhere, and when I came to (it was day by then), I saw the sea and the Quay deserted and only discerned in the distance crowded groups of women and children being led by spear bearing Turkish cavalry and infantry soldiers away from the fire toward Pounta and the Commandery. The groups were often taken by panic, caused by the soldiers and the irregulars who robbed and killed and abducted the most good looking of the women and the maidens. [The victims would break away as the scene unfolded over and over again:] Anew they would seek refuge to the center of the Quay, and anew a persecution [forcing them] away from there, towards Pounta and the Commandery, and this situation continued during the whole day of Thurs-

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day (1st/14 September) until the 5th pm hour, when our steamship, set sail. To ensure the safety of those on board, the English Flag ship and one Destroyer escorted our ship up to Karavourna. On board, I engaged in another duty, tending as much as it was possible, to the needs of those rescued. There were in total 1740 women with children and elderly and almost all of them wet and half naked. The philanthropic compassionate officers of the ship (the ship’s name was Karnak) did their best employing all the means in their power to bring some relief to those poor ones. But it didn’t take long for the supplies to finish and besides food, we also ran out of water, which the hard hit, wretched ones needed even more. Under such conditions we arrived in Piraeus and we all disembarked and on that evening of Friday (2/15 September) we immediately found brotherly love. On the same evening I went up to Athens, from where I related telegraphically to Your most Sacred and venerated by me, All Holiness, all about how by the Lord’s help I escaped and reached safety and on the following day, I composed, and sent the respective report, both of them lost as I deduce from your Holiness’ telegram. While here, I considered it my sacred duty, to bring some relief through my efforts and benefactions to the unfortunate victims of this great and unprecedented catastrophe in the History of our Nation. In addition to the steps I took with the Ministry of Succour and Relief where I admit that I found praiseworthy willingness and real affection for the refugees, I concentrated my attention to the immediate restitution of professors, teachers and priests, and to the success of this effort contributed greatly Mr. I. Siótis, the good and benign Minister of Church Matters and Education. He actively engaged in having the necessary Legislation approved and enacted. Unfortunately, however, we had to consider only a few clergymen, not over the one hundred number. The madness and rage of the persecutors primarily exploded against them, and thus, over three hundred priests and deacons who did not succeed to flee, were annihilated. The majority of those salvaged through a myriad of perils, found themselves compelled to disguise themselves by cutting their hair short, shaving off their beards, and wearing lay-people’s clothing. But even so, only those of more advanced age managed to be salvaged, since in accordance to Kemal’s known order, Christian [men] between 18–25 years of age, were detained by the Turks as prisoners of war, to be used in the euphemistically called work battalions [slave battalions in which, most people, either met their death or were killed]. Among them are mentioned the Ever Memorable Archdeacon Basilios Papadopoulos of the Metropolitan of Smyrna, Deacon Athinagoras Iatrópoulos, a graduate of the School of Theology, priest Parthenios of the Cemetery of Smyrna, the private secretary Meletios of the Holy Church of Evanghelistria of Smyrna, deacon Grigorios of the Metropolitan Church of Magnisía [Magnesia], my church warden in Magnisía, Archimandrite Ánthimos who was even put to jail, and others. As for the secretaries of my Metropolis, Emanouel Farlekas (in Kordelió) and Anestis Pavlidis (in Magnisía), they are being held in prison for unknown charges. In parallel I directed my efforts to rescuing those women and children left in the hands of the Kemalists and to that purpose I formed a makeshift committee by refugees of good social status (the election was carried out by an appeal to all refugees, at the offices of the Council of the Unliberated). I [thus] managed to have, seven big steamships under foreign flag chosen and proposed by said committee, [and] chartered by the Ministry of National Economy. By which means, several thousands were rescued. Until, thanks to the negotiations of the Americans, Greek requisitioned steamships were allowed to dock in Smyrna and thus were brought to the hospitable shores of the Mother Land, the pitiful remains left over, from our formerly happy Christians in Asia Minor. Said committee was organized efficiently. It supplied everyone with identity cards, indispensable for their medical attention. It established information and employment centers and in general has worked and is working, in spite of all intervening obstacles, from within, unfortunately, and from without, in coordination with the Ministries and other Associations to bring relief to the unfortunate ones. To me in particular, everyone here, both officials and private citizens, have shown great affection and esteem. Anywhere I address myself about refugee matters, I find exceptional reception, and recently, as an expression of appreciation for the work realized here, I was appointed, by the Ministry of Soccour and Relief, as member of the Great Committee for the Refugees. In it, outstanding citizens participate, philanthropic and energetic, from the praiseworthy work of whom, there is a lot that the refugee world can hope for.

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BEFORE THE SILENCE

Concerning the fate of the unfortunate Christians of the remaining provinces of Asia Minor I learn from time to time, from those who are spared as if by miracle. And about Kríni, Vrísila, Ilioúpolis, Ánneis, Pérgamos, Your most Sacred and venerated by me All Holiness must have already learned, through reports of the respective Metropolitans. Concerning however the provinces of Moschonísoi and Kydoníe with the deepest pain I inform with reverence, as assured by people who survived by fleeing from there, that from the latter [Kydoníe] extremely few were saved by ferrying across to Mytilíni [Mytilene], while the rest were abducted and sent to the interior along with His Eminence the holy brother in Christ, Grigórios [Gregory] of Kydonie. From the former [Moschonísoi] no one survived but instead, absolutely all of them, along with His Eminence the holy brother in Christ of Moschonisoi, were abducted to the interior and word has it that all of them without exception, were massacred. In my reports to Your Most Sacred, venerated by me, All Holiness, until Friday the 26th of the month of August that passed along (8 Sept.), which I sent from Smyrna always by means of the English mail service, I exposed my actions about salvaging my flock. Having notified them all in time, I gathered them and settled them in Smyrna where we thought [illegible] that they are safe under the protection of so many powerful fleets [illegible]. But in spite of all this I never ceased to admonish all of them to depart in time, for we saw clearly the unavoidable danger. But something more was not possible for us to do, because there were not enough steamships, and those requisitioned Greek ships, in the port and gulf of Smyrna, which for whole days remained vacant, in spite of all the attempts by me and the Ever Memorable one, it resulted impossible to make them available for the transportation of the refugees, because they supposedly were meant for military transportation only. From all negotiations that unfolded with the Civil and Military Authorities we understood that no serious effort was being made by them, for a timely rescue of the Christians, so that, as General Mr. Hadzianestis was saying «no refugee problem would be created in Greece, given that she didn’t have the money for their relief». To the Committees from the Provinces of Kríni and Vrýsylla that came to Smyrna and specifically asked for my opinion about what ought to be done, I recommended immediate dispatch of the Christians to some [Greek] island. Unfortunately, although they most certainly had the time and the means to do so, they stayed, heeding the assurances of their Turkish neighbors and thus, so many thousands of a thoroughly Greek population were almost exterminated. When, on the evening of Thursday 1st/14th September we were passing by, I saw with my own eyes, the heroic [town of] Vrýsylla, on fire. In the distance, salvos from our battleships were heard, providing cover during the boarding process of the pitiful remains of a most heroic and laurel crowned army which cowardly and unworthy leaders lead to defeat and dishonor. I must add the [following] detail: That the inhabitants of Nea Fókea disobeyed my orders which I conveyed by an envoy, sent for this specific purpose by motorboat; and heeding the recommendations of the elders Hronis Vasálos and Karavás, all of them stayed behind. When they finally realized the danger, there was not enough time nor the means to be rescued, and only a few managed to be saved by ferrying across to Mytilini. Misled by the Turks, stayed behind as well, the Christians of Axárion about whom we already hear painful and horrible [tragedies]. And now Your All Holiness, with justified anxiety, I await your All Holiness’ orders, so that I know what I must do and how to direct my further activities. The temporary relief of the refugees is not sufficient of course. Their definitive settlement is urgent and to this, your Most Sacred and venerated by me, All Holiness can be decisively conductive, by recommending through your All Holiness’ authority, both the Greek Authorities and the foreign associations working for the refugees, about what ought to be done. Concluding, with an overly saddened heart, fervently kissing Your right hand, which conveys God’s blessings, and by accepting Your God appealing prayers for me and our poor refugees, I remain in God with unlimited respect. Athens on the 2nd of October 1922 The humble brother in Christ of Your Most Sacred and venerated by me All Holiness, and with thorough willingness under Your orders.

[signature] Chrysostomos of Ephesos

Remembering Forget! Forget! Forget! I close my eyes, but cannot.

Μνημοσύνη Ξέχασε! Ξέχασε! Ξέχασε! Κλείνω τά μάτια μου, μά δέν μπορῶ. ––English original and Greek translation, by Sofia Kontogeorge Kostos

—Armenian translation by Rev. Fr. Diran Papazian, Archpriest

—Syriac translation by George A. Kiraz, Ph.D., Director of Beth Mardutho: The Syriac Institute

––Modern Assyrian translation by Daniel Benjamin, Author and Assyrian Historian

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PHOTO BY THEANO OF ATHENS

SOFIA KONTOGEORGE KOSTOS is an accomplished sculptor, photographer, writer, poet, and community activist. A Greek-American, Kostos has traveled extensively. She lived two years in Athens, Greece. She also visited her paternal and maternal homes on the Greek Island of Euboea. Thirteen of her poems appear in The Forgotten Genocides of the 20th Century: An Anthology of Poetry. She is determined to keep alive the memory of the Genocides of the millions of Greeks, Armenians, and Assyrians of Asia Minor.

Sofia Kontogeorge Kostos has done a tremendous work. God bless her for it. Her contribution brings alive such forgotten, hard to find, but most credible historical documentation and makes it available to today’s younger generations, to scholars, and to statesmen. It is not only of great importance, but it is also a due requiem to the innocent victims of the Hellenic Genocide. —Rear Admiral Sotirios Georgiadis, Hellenic Navy, Retired, Athens, Greece Member of the Society for the Study of Hellenic History I highly recommend this book to statesmen, politicians, university professors, students and to the general public. At a time when the United States has taken on world wide responsibilities, it is the moral obligation of every American to understand something about the Middle East and its history. It has been wisely said that those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it. —Dennis R. Papazian, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of History, Founding Director of the Armenian Research Center — The University of Michigan-Dearborn I am glad this issue of the annihilation of the Christian population in Asia Minor is discussed by eminent concerned people. Kudos to you and everyone else who follow suit. ––Rev. Dr. Miltiades B. Efthimiou Protopresbyter of the Ecum. Patriarchate of Constantinople This book is a collection of newspaper reports documenting the massacres and genocides of Greeks, Armenians and Assyrian minorities who inhabited Asia Minor over many millennia by the Ottoman Turks and later the Kemalists. These reports emanating from English sources show that there was a systematic and organized campaign by Turkish authorities to eliminate all traces of the memories of these minorities from the face of the earth. Before the Silence will serve as a permanent reminder that the many massacres starting from 1822, and the genocides carried out during the years 1914-23 are a crime against humanity and the memories of the victims should never be forgotten but respected and remembered. —Stavros T. Stavridis, M.A., RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia. Greek-Australian Historian. Presently working towards his doctorate degree. This is a valuable compilation of documentary material, an antidote par excellence against Turkish perpetual denial of its heinous crimes against humanity, particularly the extermination of its entire Christian population before, during, and after WWI. In selecting a garland from a storehouse of news reports reflecting Turkey’s shameful history of those days, Sofia Kontogeorge Kostos has done an excellent job. This book leaves no doubt in the reader’s mind that the genocide of Armenians, Assyrians and Greeks has indeed occurred on Turkish soil and that it was perpetuated in an organized and premeditated way. —Professor Dora Sakayan Applied Linguistics and Germanic Philology The genocide of 1914–1923 was perpetrated against all of the Christian people of the Ottoman Empire who lived there thousands of years before the first Turk. The Republic of Turkey was built on the genocides and the forced religious conversions of the Assyrian, Armenian and Greek victims of the genocide. As often as possible, we Assyrians, Armenians and Greeks should speak with one voice. Sofia Kontogeorge Kostos’s book is a welcome example of that. —Sabri Atman, Director of the Assyrian Seyfo Center

Before the Silence is a masterpiece of heartfelt historical research. Sofia Kontogeorge Kostos’s passion for truth and justice suffuses every page of this invaluable anthology of first-hand accounts of the Christian Holocaust. Her sources, from Ernest Hemingway to Winston Churchill are unassailable. These witnesses to the first holocaust of the twentieth century bring the reader face to face with a human rights tragedy that has hitherto been either ignored or denied. Kostos’s book shines the bright light of truth on one of the darkest pages of modern history. A must read for every person who cares about historical accuracy and human rights. —Donald A. Kawash, Historian