The Portland daily press., 1895-12-25
THE WRETcHED ARMENlANs.
No Show at all for them, and Only Luke
warm sympathy.
lLondon Spectator. J


The Armenians cannot resist effectual-
disarmed, undrilled, and surrounded at
once by a regular and most formidable
soldiery, and by hostile and well-armed
mob. You might as we'll expect the Jews
to resist IN Russia, or the gypsies in
Roumania, or the Catholics in Great
Britain. They have not the means to re-
sist, and if they do, they are only crushed
more completely and more quickly, Tor
though the regulars do not interfere at
first, they will not stand by and seq their
co-religionist defeated by men whom they
regard as ''risen" and ungrateful slaves
The Americans would not assist blacks
against whites in local riot, and the
hatred of Turk for Christian subject
who disobeys is deeper than the hatred OF
an American for an 'insolent" black, for
he thinks he is justified by his creed,
which the American does not and he has
fear that his opponents may find foreign
protection from which the American is
exempt. In plain English, the Armenian,
having onue aroused Ottoman jealousy as
we'll as hate, must either be protected
from the outside, or he will perish. Our
people will understand the wholesituation
if the Macedonians should rise and be
put down as the Armenians are being
"put down. The. sympathy of Euro
peans and Asiatics Is so imperfect, that
even the modern passion of pity grows
10 fho la
ter continent. The japanese massacre of
the Chinese in Port Arthur hardly stirred
Europe more than great railway disas.
ter would have done. The great persecu-
ton of the Jews in Russia was no doubt
condemned especially by religious per
sons, but it woke none of the passionate
feeling aroused two centuries before by
the cruelties inflicted on the Huguenots
of France Not only were the flying
Hebrews not welcomed here as the
Huguenots, who were fed, comforted
and subsidized, but..the mass of the popu-
lation objected to their coming sulkily
declaring the Russian Jews were a dirty
lot, and would bring down the general
rate of wages. Even for these Armenians.
though the existen CO of treaties and gen
eral horror of Turks wakes in this coun
try certain energy of denunciation,
the general sympathy is imperfect, the
subscriptions for the ruined come in in
driblets, and many of the journals are
will ng to believe not only that Arne-
mans are disagreesble folK-whioh is true
enough of classes among them. they often
displaying the Asiatic tendency to inso
lence in prosperity-but that they are
capable of risingivoluntarily upon Mus
sulmans, which is like saying that the
Jews of our East End are capable of or
gan1zing revolt The Macedonians
on the other hand, are as European as
we are. Every blow struck will bs real
lied all through Europe, and If the Mace
DOMAIN women are treated as Armenian
women have been treated, nothing could
save either the throne of the Sultan or
the Osmanli caste. The mysterious
comfy of race will influence us as well a.
pity; and those who pity will not flush
but turn white round the lips as onIy
Europeans do. Then, and we begin to
fear not till then. we shall realize to the
full extent what the Armenians bavs
suffered and are suffering, and what thu
real danger is-that they will be actually
exterminated