The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1895-09-06
SINUOUS MOSLEM.
The Way the Turk Relieves Ar.
menian Distress.
MCRP LIGHT ON A BAD CHARACTER,

Attempt to Obtain n Certificate Of Good
Of Relief Funds-British Agents of Mercy
First Harassed and Then Forbidden 10
Perform Their Errand-Prstty Picture OF
Turkish Cussedness.
NEW YORK, Sept. 4.-The following
statement has just been received 10y gen.
tleman, in this city. from responsible per
sons in Turkey, fully cognizant Of the
facts: Some eight months ago move
ment was made on the part of the Turks
to send aid 10 the victims of their barbara
ty at Sassoun. A gift of $4,000 was re-
ported and committee was organized to
zee to its distribution. Small sums were
offered to the people on condition that
they would sign receipts in the nature of
thanks for the generosity thus manifested,
st the same time certifying that is was not
the soldiers of the sultan who injured
them, but only little row had occurred
between them and the Kurds. Naturally
they declined the proffered aid on such
conditions
The Turk Is Truly Unspeakable.
Here was the government that with fire
and sword and with almost unprecedented
and fendish atrocity had utterly wasted
their homes, coming and offering paltry
dollar a head to the survivors who are on
the ground as proof Of their gracious SOW.
ereign's charitable regard for them, while
they could go among their Moslem neigh
bors and identify property worth many
times this sum az that which had been
wrested from them, and it would be easy
for the government itself to collect and
return from among the more distant Kurd-
ish nomads nearly the whole amount they
had lost. In the meantime English men
and women had collected for their fellow
Christians some efficient aid. When the
government learned of this and that agents
were coming to distribute this money Of
ficials began to say that "if these people
will not accept our aid, W ny should we al
low Others TO come in ana help themY'
Not Hurrying the Distribution.
Influential friends of the sufferers final
y persuaded the government TO modify
their demands to the extent Of accepting a
simple receipt of funds received, and then
the people were with difficulty persuaded
to receive the proffered aid. However, the
amount that they have been called upon
to receipt for up To the present time has
not been sufficient to prove burdensome.
OF the ~ 600 only f400 has yet material
tied, and mejils (nearly E2) per day goes
for salaries of the commission When
agents were appointed by the British am
bassador 10 distribute the funds from
abroad ii was with some difficulty that
permission was secured for them TO enter
the devastated region, where some 5000
survivors had already gone To sow their
fields with "A sort of millet that natures in
a few weeks from the time IL is sown.
All Turks Generous Offer.
The services of the existing Turkish
committee were offered 10 distribute
these contributions but finally this point
was apparently waived and they were al
lowed TO locate themselves at the villages
of Semal. The sight of the crumblinR
walls of its once comfortable dwellings
scattered over the picturesque hillsides,
with not even charred chip to show that
they ever had n roof save that "A few small
buildings were hastily covered last fall
in which families managed TO spend the
winter, convinced them that the first
thing to be done was 10 prepare these
walls at least a few of them, for the tim
beers the government had promised 10
bring them from the neighboring noun
tains. So they moved to procure work
men from MoOsh.