Condon globe. (Condon, Gilliam Co., Or.) 189?-1919, 1895-04-26
PREPARING FOR A WAR
The Crisis in Armenia Reach.
ing an Acute Stage.
TIME FOR HosTILITIEs is SET
Plan for General Uprising Through
out the Turkish Empire During
the Month of May.

London, April ia correspondent
writing from Armenia, under date Of
March II, says:
II have travelled many hundreds of
miles in Russia and Persia, and have
visited Armenian colonies as far east
as the Caspians, and as far south as
the city OF Teheran, and have learned
after most careful investigation and
verifcation Of the facts, that the Ar
menian question will soon reach the
acute and painful crisis. In fact, Ar
menia is preparing for war. The revo-
lutionary party has now both money
and guns. During the past eight weeks
money has poured into the revolution
ary treasury in steady stream from
the Armenian colonies in Batoum, Ii
fiis, Baku, Erivan, Etchmiadin and
other places in Russia, and from
Rescht, Kazvin, Teheran, Tebriz, Khoia
and other cities Of Persia. The central
idea Of the plan Of campaign is gem
eral uprising Of Armenians throughout
the Turkish empire some time during
the month Of May. The leaders prom
Use the people in the eastern part of Ar
menia that the chief attack will be
made in the city of Constantinople it.
self, and the brunt of the fighting will
be done by the Armenian residents
therein, but this may be only subter-
fuge to encourage the faint-hearted at
Van, Bitlis and Moosh.
'tThe Armenians have at least 4, 900
Martini. Henry rifles hidden in secret
places in the mountains not great dis
tance from Lake Van. For a handful
of unframed Armenians to deliberately
begin fight with the $780, regular
troops of the Turkish empire would
seem to be folly too colossal for human
conception; yet the purpose is not to
bring Turkey to terms in fair fight, but
to settle the quarrel by intervention Of
the European powers. Before the rev.
olution is three months old, the pow
ers, it is believed, would be compelled
to take hand in the conflict, for the
cruelty, atrocity, the outrage, the lust
and butchery of the struggle will be so
unthinkably horrible that Christian
humanity will interfere. Armenia, it
is then hoped, may get her freedom.
''For the most part, the revolution
ary leaders are Of the younger genera
tion of Armenians, who argue that it
is no worse that a few thousand Ar
menians should be killed 10 one time
than that they should be killed sep
arately during period Of few
months or years. To what extent the
plans of the revolutionary leaders are
approved by the Armenian people at
large, it is difficult TO tell. seriously
doubt if those plans are known in de-
tail to more than per cent of the Ar
menians. Still, there are genuine pa
triots who believe that TO free Armenia
from the dreadful depth to which she
is sunk they must surrender some of
their fellow-countrymen to torture,
outrage and death.
There is belief in Europe that
Russia desires to make the Armenians
Russian subjects by annexing the east
ern end of Turkey. Curiously enough,
this belief is not shared by the Rus
slams of the Caucasian region. The
Georgians certainly would resent any
further increase in the Armenian popu-
lation. The business methods of the
Armenians are not generally approved
by Georgians and Russians. 1t is
therefore believed likely that Russia
wants the Armenians, but whether or
not she wants the Turkish territory
which the Armenians inhabit, is quite
another meter. For the most part the
average Armenian is anxious to have
some other man fight his battles, and
he is willing to believe England and
Russia are only waiting for chance