Waterbury evening Democrat., 1894-11-17

Soldier Killed 100 Persons and Spared Neither Women Nor Children. LONDON. Nov. 1.-The chairman of the Armenian Patriotic association. c. Hagopian, has sent the following letter, received from an American whose name Is not given because it would jeopardize his life to tho Earl of Kimberly. the sec rotary of stato for foreign affairs. Tho letter Is accompanied by one from Hago- plan. in which he says:
 II have no reason to doubt the authen- ticity of tho details. They areborne out by fuller official reports which have been or which will soon Do received from tho British agents in Armenia The events reported are the re-enactment of tho Bull garian atrocities, with all their most sick ening details of flendish lust and atro- cious cruelty on unarmed Christians and defenseless. innocent women and children, deliberately planned and ruthlessly exe- cuted under orders received from head quarters at Constantinople.
 Hagopian concludes with appealing that the time has come to abolish in toto the existing administration of Armenia, and to replace it by another regime ap- proved by Great Britain and the other sig natories of tho treaty of Berlin and work cd under their immediate supervision.
 Ruled by n Nero.
 The letter of the American previously referred to is dated Bitlis Oct. 9. and commences by saying that the chief mag nato appears to be n second Nero, and con- tinues:
 Tho so called rebellion of the Arme- nians in 1893 was got up affair for tho repression of which the chief magnate got a decoration. This year the kurds car ried off Armenian oxen, and tho Arme- nians' appeal for their restoration was re fused fight ensued. Two kurds wore killed and three wero wounded.
 The Kurds immediately carried their dead before the governor. declaring that the Armenian soldiers had overrun tho land, killing and plundering the Kurds
 This furnished n pretext for massing the troops from far and near. The troops were commanded by a pasha and n mar shal and were hurried to tho district Tho pasha is said to have hung from his breast after reading 1t to his soldiers, an order from ConstantinoplC to cut the Armeni- ans up root and branch and adjuring them to do so If they loved their king and government
 Nearly all these things wore related hero and there by tho soldiers who took part in the horrible carnage. some of | them, weeping. claim that the kurds did more and declare that they only obeyed | the orders Of others
 Tt Is said that 100 fell to each of them | to dispose of No compassion was shown to age or sex even by the regular sodicry. not even when the victims fell suppliant at their feet
 Six to ten thousand persons met such a fate as even the darkest ages of darken- ed Africa hardly witness, for there wom- | en and tender babes might at least have had a chance of life of slavery, while | here womanhood and innocence were but a mockery before the cruel lust that end ed its debauch by stabbing women to death with the bnyonet. while tender | babes were impaled with the same weap- on on their dead mothers breasts or per | haps seized by the hair to have their heads Topped off with the sword. ''In one place 800 or 100 women, after | being forced to serve vile purposes by the merciless soldiery. were hacked to pieces by sword and bayonet in the valley below.
 Tn another place some 200 weeping g and wailing women begged for compas- sion. falling at the commanders feet. But the bloodthirsty.wretch. after order ing their violation directed his soldiers to dispatch them in n similar way.
 Young Brides Slaughtered In Church.
 In another place some 50 young brides and the more attractive girls were crowd ed into a church, and after violation were slaughtered and human gore was seen flowing from the church door
 At another place still a larger company under the lead of their priest fell down before them, begging for compassion and averring that they had nothing to dc with the culprits. But all to no purpose. All were called to another place, and the proposal was made to several of the more | attractive women tu change their faith, in which case their lives were to be spar ed. They said:
 "'Why should we deny Christ: We arc no more than these, pointing to the man gled forms of their husbands and broth CTS. Kill us too. And they did so.
 "A great effort was made to save onG beauty. but three or four quarro!ed ovel her. and she sank down like her sisters But why proiong the sickening tale There must be n God in heaven who wil do right in all these matters, or some O us would lose faith
 ''One or moro consuls have been ordered that way to investigate the matter | the Christians instead of the Turks re ported these things in the city of Bitli and the region where I have been tour ing. the case would be different. But nov we are compelled to believe most of it , The magnates are having papers circulat ed and arc trying to compel the Christian to sign them, expressing satisfaction tha justice has been dealt to the rebels ant : thanking the king and the chief magnat |. | himself. The Christians of Bitlis will no sign, though it is said that in some O the outlying districts sonlo of the Chris tians havo signed It.
 The circulars have not yet been offore to Protestants and as yet the Protestant !, have not been thrust into chains or black mailed very much. though lately thing
 are beginning to look that way = Another letter says that some of tn
 regular soldiers themselves admit thn
 they killed 100 persons each in a fiendis
 manner and that rape was followed b
 the bayonet.
 Twenty or 30 Armenian villages,
 would seem, have been wholly destroyed = and some persons were burned to deat with kerosene in their own houses.
 The Times Expresses an Opinion.
 Commenting this morning upon tt letter of G. Hagopian, chairman of tf Armenian Patriotic association, I'll
 Times says:
 r. It is only too probable that somethin
 of the kind has occurred, though no d. r. tails as to time or place are given. W
 repudiate any acquiescence in tho stat
 msnt that the alleged atrocities were 0!
 ecuted under direct orders from Cor
 stantinople. It is not consistent wit . reason to assert that the porto has gor
 out of its way to organize a persecutiO
 of Armenians. although it may not ha'
 exerted itself as it ought to have done
 control the savage violence of the kurd
 It requires a robust faculty of belief
 accept the Turkish official version of u
 affair as a complete explanation.
 At the same time the political objec
 of tue Armenian association should
 remembered. We may warn the Arm
 nians that it is idle to imagine that a no . atrocities agitation can for a second tin ) be made an excuse for reopening the oas
 ern question and disturbing the world