The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1895-12-20
GEO. KEENAN, TALKS.
SOr1E THOUGHTS ON THE ARMEN-
IAN TROUBLES.
The Great Powers of Europe Arraigned
for Their Supineness While nassa-
cres of Christians are Going On-Our
State Department Remiss, and
American Citizens are not Protected
i'm Turkish Territory-MOre Back
bone Needed.

Geo. KEENAN,, of Washington, ID. c.,
the famous traveller, writer and
lecturer, who gave one of the lectures
on the citizens course at the Normal
Monday, spent Sunday and Monday in
the city, having come from Platts-
vile, Wis. From here he goes to
Lafayette, Iowa. He was found in
his room, parlor g, of the Saulpaugh,
today by FREE PRESS reporter, and
talked entertainingly for a quarter Of
an hour or SO.
In speaking of the Armenian maSSa
cres, Mr.. KEENAN, said: "The Armeni-
ans are peaceable people, those in
the cities being traders. The excuse
which the Turks make that they
started the troubles is like the claim
of the wolf that the lamb muddied
the stream. When the lamb explain
ed that it was impossible, as she was
standing down stream from the wolf,
the latter replied tst it made 40 diff
ference, as the lambs ancestors had
done it. The Turks have been into
the same business in Syria, Bulgaria,
AMI other provinces in years past"
Mr.. KEENAN, is vice president of the
Red Cross organization, and in speak
ing of it's acceptance of the work OF
distributing relief in Armenia, he
said: "It is doubtful whether L shall
60 to Armenia owing to my engage
ments, but the president, Clara
Barton, is going. The American
government does not protect it's citi-.
zens in Turkey and Russia as it
should, and Miss Barton is likely to
be murdered in Armenia, and if SO
there will be little prospect of redress.
/ am glad that Congress is in session,
as there are some men in it with
enough patriotism to insist that
American citizens be protected wher-
ever they are, which is not the case
with the present state department.
Claims for murder in Turkey have
not been pushed as they should, and
it will be the same way in the LEM
case. The American government
should sieZe a Turkish port and col
lect the revenue until these claims are
paid, as Great Britain did at Corinto,
and then the Turkish government
will have care that American citi-
zens have protection. If l were to
travel in Turkey would ten times
Drift sch - m
an American one. Last spring went
to the state department and asked
! what protection could be assured
Americans travelling in Turkey, and l
was told that none could be promised.
''The European governments that
are bound by treaty to protect the
Christians in Asiatic Turkey, and
particularly England and Russia, are
shamefully negligent, owing to their
jealousies. 1t is the great disgrace of
the nineteenth century, the way they
act, while tens of thousands of Christ
ians are being slaughtered, lat moder-
ate estimate, They don't even prOte ct
their own citizens and missionaries.
, 1t is very difficult to get at the real
number who have been killed. The
ambassadors of the powers sit in
Constantinople and bubble, and the
porte shuffies around and gains time,
and nothing of any practical value for
the safety of the Armenians is ac-
complished."