Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1895-02-22
THE ARMENIAN 0UTRAGES AGAIN
THE TURKS HAVE RAISED THE cny
OF CHOLERA
70 Keep the Christians From seeing
tho Files of Dead which They VIII,
Put Out OF the Way whea the snow
MeIt..
LONDON. Feb. Il.

FSV"t OF tne ASSOCIATED lfess, |
VINO was sent out froln London TO Ar |
menia to investigate as TO the atrocities
said to have been perpetrated upon the
Armenians, and whose first report in
letter sent from Tinis. Russia, was
received here on the I'd inst. and cabled
TO the United States that day. has made
second report This, like the first one.
was posted at Tifiis. 1t is dated jan
uary Is. In II the correspondent says:
I'm the letter wrote ten days ago
giving the result of some preliminary
Inquiries had made at ConstantInopie
sassoun, Kerasund. Trebisson and Tiff
us concerning the alleged atrocities
and the state OF affairs generally in
Armenia, / endeavored to convey some
Idea of the difficulties that would be en-
countered in prosecuting any sort of in
Vestigation or getting at the real facts
of the case.
Ihat L did not exaggerate these diff
hculties viii be apparent from other in
formation on the point, which l am
now in position to supply.
Take. TO begin with, the cholera quar-
anime which Is being enforced In var
aous portions OF the sultnn's dominion
IN such manner as to draw u net
around the districts OF Armenia in
Whlch the atrocities are alleged to have
occurred and to keep away from the
scene OF the outrages all Independent
investigators.
1t Is announced that cholera exists in
van, Bitlis and Moosn, aud that strIct
quarantine rhortIuttnn5 ,,.,,.4
be enforced. Now. 1t certainly is a pc
cuiiar circumstance that cholera should
nave happened to break out at this
season OF the year In the region OF the
Sassoun mass1cres and nowhere else
In Asia Minor Who is 10 prove or dis
prove the statement that disease Is
raging In those snowclad and practl-
cally inaccessible mountain Businesses?
Even In Constantinople and STAN
boul. little or nothing IL known by
the public or by newspaper correspond
| ents concerning the cholera outbreaks
OFFICIALLY reported from time to time
| In these cities In the Turkish CAPT
tai medical officer reporting a case
| OF cholera receives double pay until a
l1clean bill of health Is returned from
the afflicted district, and in a country
| like Turkey, 1t is not surprising II doc
tors find symptoms of cholera In every
| ANAAAb 4ANll 'A0AR ~ ~ RtAhlu ltNtls
ut is pretty thoroughly understood
| that quarantine law is the highest law
on earth and that even international
| courtesy must bow to It, So, when
We are told as we have been here dur
ing the past few days. that an epidemic
of cholera has suddenly made its ap-
| pearance In the region of the SRssoun
massa. even Il blind man can see It
| Is meant to delay or obstruct the work
| - .,F tpn
| 1t is believed here that the Turks.
forced to the wall by the protest OF the
| foreign delegates on the commission,
| threw up the last obstruction and hoist
ed the yellow flag upon Il. Even a
foreign delegate could not Ignore Q
cholera quarantine or find means 10
eyade 1t.
NO information has been vouch.
safed as to the form in which the chol-
era epidemic has manifested itself In
the Sassoun mountains. one is forced
to believe that II is raging among the
rocks and mountain peaks like snow
storm, for as a matter OF fact there are
no human beings in the Sassdun noun
tains at the present time for any sort
of disease to feed upon. Those who
were not killed in the massacre have
long since fed to other parts of the
| country and those who did not have
| sense 10 flee have been clapped into
Jail.
"of COURSE there are many persons
| I'm and around Muosh who know what
| took place In the Sassoun mountains
last autumn and a good effective chol-
era quarantine will prevent them from
getting at the commission or the COM
mission from getting at them. 1t is
argued that If the Turks have sue
ceeded in repairing the damages to
] 10 n
son why the commission should not be
allowed to visit the scene of the mas
sacre and founder about in ten feet
| OF SNOW IL II cared for that sort OF
thing, but the refusal of the Turks
10 allow anyone to travel through the
Sassoun country, and the timely guar
antine suggest that the money sent to
rebuild the destroyed villages has beer
stolen or that the snow was so deer
before the money arrived that nothing
could be done. In that case, the bodies
of the butchered Christians are lying
under the snow. The Turks Will take
good care that they reach the scent
first in the spring and clear away al
traces OF the massacre before indig
nant Christianity insists upon sending
in an independent investigating com
mission. The Turks are safe unit
April. and by that time their marvel
GUS ingenuity may INV - "fS -,
the difficulty. Even without cholers
nuarnntine. It would be practically i'm
nossible for the commission to maxi
any real Roadway until spring. owing
to the intense cold and the srea
amount OF snow In Armenia
The situation may be Judged to some
degree BY the fact that the roads tS
T,rIIvan and Kars. in Russia, which
nre in a much lower altitude, have beer
for more than a fortnight blocked VIII
snow.
.Tnles Of oppression. outrage ant
murder in other parts of Armenia, Tur
kew. are as thick as blnckberrles here
and along the southern coast of tbs
BLACK sea, and enough Information u
ohtainable from thoroughly trustwor
INV sources TO establish the very facts
without the aid OF the more or less WILD
rnmors OF Armenian origin, the yerS
absurdity of which makes the patien
Investigator weary OF his task. II thu
detailed facts of the Sassoun massacre
are ever established, and they nroba
bIv never will be, they must be estab
ilshed Independently of Armenian ties
tImony or their value may be seriously
questioned Iris Is open TO reasonable
explanation. In the first place, everi
Armenian with whom II has been mi
Iurlx 10 come in contact seems to haN'
"a yerv vague idea Of the value OF &C
curacy and truth. In the second place
In hts anxiety TO make out case
asaingt the Turk he Is willing to pub
lish as facts any grotesque rumor thai
he NAV chance 10 fall over in the street