The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1895-10-24

considered and recommended favorably to
the denomination.
| In the evening, after the praise service,
the thanks of the conference were given
| to the pastor and ladies of the Bethel
church.
Then Rev. J E. Pierce, missionary,
was introduced to speak OF
| TURKEY AND AMERICA.
| He left America twenty five years ago,
and went to Trebizone on the Black
Sea- Thence he went to Erzroum where
| he labored ten years. Since then ne mas
been in parts of Asia Minor nearer Con-
stantinople. Mr.. Pierce has travelled all
over Asia Minor on horseback, there be-
ing very few railroads
The language that he used in his work
was the American. All the people of
| Turkey are not Turks. An Armenian is
insulted by being called Turk. There
are also Kourds, Arabs and Circassians.
The Armenians alone are Christians.
The others are Mohammedans. These
Mohammedars are very pious. They pray
five times day. according to common
report, falling on their knees whenever
the call from the mosque is heard But
this is not true The Turk does not pray
until he has washed himself, there being
many fountains for this purpose.
The Turks are fanatics, and consider
all Christians dogs. They treat them as
such also.
ocix
Around Erzroum the farmers are plough
ing with the same crooked sticks that
were used centuries ago. No progress is
made, because a son considers it dis
respectful to know more than his father
knew.
AS to the outrages in Turkey he could
say that the half had never been told.
The English language cannot express it,
The Kourds and the Turkish soldiers are
friends. They have been brought up to
believe that the more Christian dogs they
can kill the better place they have in
Heaven. They are passionate and
immoral
Mr.. Pierce'S associates in the harrassed
region of Armenia are engaged in dis
tributing relief. The whole territory is
wrecked. Thousands of people have been
butchered, and their villages wiped away.
The Armenians trace their ancestry
back to Japhet, son of Noah. Their land
on the map is called Kurdistan, because
the Turks do not allow the word
Armenian to be used. The Armenians
claim to be the first nation to accept
Christianity and their national church
has remained faithful. They call their
church the Gregorian church, which is
much like the Catholic church. But the
spirit of religion has largely passed away,
and they worship the pictures OF the
saint. Their Bible is in the old Armenian
language, which the people do not UNDER
stand. So also the church services are
not understood.
So the American missionaries are try
ing first to convert the Christians, before
attempting the Turks.
The Armenians priests oppose
Professionalism, and converts are prosecuted
severely. In the old days the priests only
were educated. 1t was considered i'm
proper for woman to be educated But
the schools have changed all this.
The Turks are trying to smother the
missionary enterprises. In CONSTANT
nople it is impossible to get permits to
build churches.
In the vicinity of Constantinople are
two colleges, Robert College fog young
men, and college for women. Students
from all over the Empire attend these
colleges; but few Turks are among this
number.
The Armenians are very poor 1t costs
but $50 year to support boy or girl at
a missionary boarding school. yet we are
able to educate their children.
The recent prosecutions have made the
Gregorians much more cordial to the
missionaries