Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1895-01-05

With Reference TO Condition of
Affairs in Armenia.
STATEMENT OF THE PORTE

| Board OF Com ssiohers TOT f"feigh
Missions-Turiscy Trying tn Assume
Authority over Foreigners Mail.
BosToN, January 1.-The following
statement with ref renee to the condi-
ton OF affairs in eight districts OF Ar
menia in which Christian missionaries
are stationed was to-day issued by the
American Board Of Commissioners for
Foreign Missions:
"Oficial letters sent recently from the
rooms of the American Board of Com
missioners for Foreign Missions, contain
ing accounts relating to the European
| Turkish missions, were opened by the
! Turkish officials. The letters were sub.
sequenty delivered, but with the Turk
| ish word examined written on the en-
velope. This indicated that the Turkish
government is attempting to assume all
authority over the mail OF foreigners.
"When the reports OF the massacre OF
Christians in the Sassoun district OF
| Eastern Turkey became public after
more than two months OF suppression
on the part of the Turkish officials, the
Ottoman government was alarmed at
widesprea publications in the American
and English press. Under pressure from
| foreign powers the Sultan agreed to send
a mmssorer to investigate and report
upon the odtrages. In view OF this
promise of the government the repre-
sentatives of the European powers at
| Constantinop!e decided to wait for the
report before taking any positive action.
| But after this decision by the powers,
and while they were waiting for the de-
parture of the Sultan's commission,
which had hefn appointed, and which
was to make tull and impartial investi-
cations of all the affairs reported by the
! English Consul, as well as by many in
divduals from the Sassoun district, the
Turkish government gave out the APP
pended official staten Mt OF the case,
which statement was printed in the pa
pers of Constantinople. All papers
printed in Tu&key are under close CEN
sorship, and s paper could refuse to
print the STATE nent under penalty OF inn
mediate suspf &son. Hence the Christ
ian periodicals were compelled to print
what they knew to be false. The state
ment is as follows
- Some Of he European papers have
stated, contra n to the truth, that few
Armenian VIII ges have been destroyed,
and il, the Vt kntime persons have been
massacred ~ heI 'sss1-lh soldiers in the
district of sAsodl. Others, in order to
magnify these ifports, have asserted
| that the news Il the outrage was pre-
vented from leaking ont by the obsta-
Giles the government put III the way OF
travellers from that district. The sub
| Al, Nf iii GfTIn Of
are quietly engaged with their business,
and the people travel wherever they
wish in perfect safety. Some Armenian
bandits, being induced by agitators, be-
gan lately in and about Sassoun to dis
turb the peace and comfort of the peo-
pie by numbering, plundering and block
! ing the highways. In order to put an
end to such disasters the government
employed the necessary means, and con-
seuuentlv ordered out sufficient body
of imperial soldiers Of the Fourth Army
! Corps. Thus the extension of the re-
volt being checked, the troops were with
drawn to their headquarters. There was
no interference by the kurds; but, as
stated above, some Armenian bandits
| having ventured to disorderly actions,
the Sublime Porte, having been notified
by the reports of the authorities OF the
Fourth Imperial Army Corps and also
| bv the Governor of Bitlis, undertook to
| investigate as to the facts, and subse-
Quentlv commission of inquiry was APP
painted, composed of Abdallah Pasha,
Eomer Bey, Medjid Eflendi and Hafez
Tevfix Pasha. The commission will
start this week by steamer to the scene
of the trouble. In general the Sublime
Porte will never allow such outrages to
be perpetrated as published in foreign
papers upon her subjects
CHAUNCEY DEPEw's PROTEST.
New YORK, January l.-Chauncey NJ.
Depew tonight delivered an address on
the Armenian atrocities. He began by
saying that the year 1894 has been pc
culiarly unhappy one. The world had
! been visited during the year by revolu-
tions both social and financial. But the
crowning cause of unhappiness and the
one which left bloody stain upon the
history of the. year was the murder OF
the helpless Armenians by the Turks.
| He continued:
alt behoves us as public-spirited clti-
| Zens to begin the new year with protest
against the outrages at Sassoun. The
peace of Europe is only maintained by
| an ever increasing armament. AT Wash
! linton all may be silent, but America
! with IS 900 600 voices in a language OF
her own-the universal language of the
| globe-will protest in tones that cannot
be mistaken against the slaughter OF our
fellow Christians"