The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1895-12-12


Patriarch of Constantinople, almost in
dependent of the Catholics, is however.
the most influential dignitary of the
Armenian Church.
The royalty of Armenia expired with
the origin of their sehism, and since
then the rotations of fortunes wheel
have been numberless. In 1912 the
whole of Armenia was overrun by the
Monguls and this was the greatest
disaster that ever befell the ancient
people, for such an enormous number
of them were slaughtered that they
subsequently never recovered their
numerical strength. The Turks, under
Sultan Selin l., in 1913, conquered the
western part of the country; little
| later the Tartars overran the plateau
of the Taurus, while the Persians oc-
cupied the eastern part. Finally the
| MuScovite came from the north and
wrested from Turkey and from Persia
some of the ancient Armenian provinces,
yet through all these vicissitudes the
ArmenianS retained their own Iangu-
age, customs and habits, with special
love of their country. Under the rod
of oppression the zeal of the Armenians
is fervent and intrepid. They have Of
| ten preferred the crown of martyrdom
| to the turban of Mohammed, or to the
teachings of the Russian Church. In
the fourth century of our era, for IN
stance, they seemed politically to have
sunk to the very bottom of sea OF
misfortunes. They were then Persian
subjects, and were as much the prop
erty of the king as the slave is chattel
| of his master Yet when it was queS-
| ton of compelling them to change
! Christianity for the worship of Ormuzd,
| they rose up, one and all, and shook the
| throne of Yezdigerd to its foundations
| In like manner, some years ago, Wnen
| II ID atsroro ont
to consent to change the constitution OF
| that ancient church of theirs, they
| Steadfastly refused, and men who under
different circumstances would almost
barter their human dignity for a RIB
| bon to stick in their coats, resisted
the imperial commands like heroes, pre-
ferring the apparently inevitable al
| ternative-the mines OF Siberia
| Armenia. like Poland is parceled out
between three neighboring Powers,
Russia, Turkey and Persia, and we see
her children sitting down by the waters
of modern Babylon and weeping when
they remember the past glories of Van
and Ami Well can they weep, espec-
| tally now when the cities of Asia Minor
are running with torrents of the blood
of thousands of Armenian victims.
Slaughtered by hundreds, murdered in
cold blood, driven from their homes by
fanatical Turks, the Armenian Nation
in Turkey win be simply annihilated II
the European Powers do not hasten TO
| their rescue During the negotiations
of the treaty of Berlin, Great Britain
entered into a secret compact with the
| Sultan by which she guaranteed to
| Turkey the integrity of her Asiatic
| possessions on condition Of pledges that
the Government should effect reforms
| in their administration and should pro-
4t,da
Kurds and Circassians. These pledges,
however, have not been observed, in
fact they have been simply trampled
upon. and instead of reforms and pro-
/ lection the poor Armenian finds OPP
| preston and death. To the shame Of
| our civilization the Christian nations
are looking on while the slaughter is
/ going on, or are preparing slowly TO
make some demonstration in favor of
the oldest of the Christian kingdoms,
| disunited jealous of each other, and
| afraid to reopen the yexed Eastern
question which will require yet untold
sacrifices before it will be settled.
! One nation alone is ready to strike the
first blow and acquire the lions part
from the lettering Inheritance of the
! Osmanlis This nation is the silent,
slow, tenacious, ever grasping and
treacherous Russia. The colossus of
the north with secrecy almost terrible
| has massed a large army on the from
| tiers of Armenia, ready to enter and oc-
/ cupy it forever. With cunning worthy
of her, she kept the attention of the
world upon Corea and Japan while in
| the meantime, without giving any cleW
as to her whereabouts, she concen-
trated her troops where she wanted
them, and is now alone of all the Eu
| rOpean Powers prepared to act VigOr-
| ously. Not to help Armenians, not at
all. She does not care more about them
than she does about the Coreans, but
she wants Armenia and will get it with
some more territory, if other Powers
will allow it, or will be able to force
Russia to relinquish her price.
It is true that the profound convic-
ton prevails among Armenians of the
| Turkish, as we'll as of the Russian
provinces, that the annexation of Turk
| ish Armenia by Russia would be fol-
| lowed, in a comparatively short space
| of time, by the utter blotting out of
those distinctive marks of national in
dividuality which the people have jeal-
ously preserved from the action of time,
the violence of fire and sword and the
| subtle poison of corruption. The feel
| ing that animates the masses is the
slow spirit of political hate that en-
| dowed their hero Vartan and his men
with almost Superhuman strength to
| S1fllte the armies OF Persia ,0UO years
ago They feel that in the Russian en-
pire, vast as it is, there is no place for
united Armenian people, who are
| bound to disappear as their neighbors,
the Georgians and Ossetinians, in the
| Caucasus are disappearing.
| A plum desideratum of every lover of
liberty ought to e the establishment
of Armenia as an Independent country.
| The opportunity for affecting the
! change is far more favorable than it
ever was for the liberation of different
Danubian municipalities and Greece. "A
vitality equaled only by that Of. the
Jews, political aptitudes as marked as
| those of the Hungarians, a com bina-
| ton of European love of progress and
Asiatic tact and diplomacy, silence all
doubts as to the qualifications of Ar
menians to play the important part
that would of necessity devolve upon
one of the principal heirs of the Sick
Mans dominion. The logical outcome
OF the present butchery of the Arme-
mans should be the establishment of
| a small but independent principality
or still better, a republic, the center of
which would be Van. The new princi-
patty would be to Russia. in Asia what
Bulgaria is in Europe. But of course
Russia will never agree except by force
of arms to the establishment Of indie
rendent Bulgaria. The children of
| Haik know it and fear the great
northern power far more than they do
the Turks.-M. L., in Los Angeles
Herald.