The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-10-03
UPRISING OF CHRISTIANS
Scores Slain in the Combat
and the Wounded Are
Put to Death.
PLOTTED TO KILL THE vIzIER.
Fighting on the Streets of Con-
stantinople Continues-H Hun
dreds Taken Prisoners.

LONDON, Eng, Oct. 2.-The Post will
= tomorrow publish a dispatch from Con-
~stantinople saying it is believed that ten
persons were killed and forty wounded in
the streets during the rioting which oc-
CURED Monday. Five hupdred persons
have been arrested on the charge OF par
ticipating in the riot.
e.. Among the prisoners are a number of
Armenians. These, when arrested, were
thrown down, disarmed, beaten and then
bound. One Armenian was struck with
bludgeon and afterward shot and killed.
Two n6n-commissioned gendarme officers
We're about to seize an Armenian near the
gaze of the Sultan's palace where the
trouble originated, when shots were fired
from a crowd of students and both officers
were killed. Several other gendarmes
were wounded. 1t is stated that eight
Armenians were killed within the Min
istry OF Police. which was attacked by the
rioters. "A crowd OF armed Sofia assem- bled
later and threatened TO massacre the
Armenians. The police, however, dis
persed them.
The Porte and the palace officials are
greatly alarmed. The Ministers have held
q meeting to consider the situation, which
is threatening. 4 dinner which had been
arranged at the palace in honor of Prince
Albert SchIeswig has been Cancelled.
The French dispatch boat Petrol, which
was about to sail for Toulou, has been or
dered to remain.
The demonstration of the Armenians had
long been prearranged. Copies OF the Pc
tition against the Government, to present
which to the Grand Vizier was the object
OF the visit Of the Armenians to the gate of
the palace, were sent to some OF the embas-
sizes, with an intimation that the petition
would be forwarded to the Grand ViZier.
The police hearing this, orders were given
to prevent the petition from being pre-
sented-
. About 1000 persons assembled in the
K0umkapon Cathedral TO attend the ceie-
bration OF the cross. After the service
twenty Arm menian women presented to the
Patriarch petition begging him to 81 m
mon the faithful to go to the Porte to pray
that 1t promptly enforce reforms in Ar
menia. The Patriarch addressed the as
semblage and exhorted them to make no
demonstration, inasmuch as it would be
d. con trary to law. He begged them to rely
upon himself to do everything possible to
. s-~Nt%4C NE-C hNoAA C0 4ClO1 AIlos
crowd shouted: eve have had enough
We want liberty or death"
=: The Patriarch then withdrew and the
Armenians tried to form procession, but
in this they were prevented by the police,
who dispersed the crowd into various
Streets, Later, however, they gathered
again at an arranged point. There Major
Serwet Bey, aid to the Ministry of Police,
addressed. them, directing them to leave
the palace with him. Some reports say
:that he insulted the Armenians. At any
rate, the latter became incensed and began
Shouting. Then shots were fired, and Ser
wet Bey~was killed and several gendarmes
were wounded. A hand to hand fight fol-
lowed.
. he disturbances were renewed on Tues
day but the details cannot be obtained. 1t
is knownj however, that some people were
killed.
. The streets are patrolled by troops, and
the guards at the Government offices have
been re-enforced. 1t is stated that the Ar
menians broke into the law courts and
killed two Judges.
During the rioting Monday bullets
pierced the carriages OF the Minister of the
Interior, the Minister of Foreign Affairs
and the Minister of Police.
The Constantinople correspondent Of the
Daily News says that an eyewitness of
Tuesday trouble declares he saw cart
load of corpses removed from the Koum-
kapon district last night.
Greek messenger employed at tho
British consulate reported that he was at
he Grand. Zaptieh, the principal prison OF
the city, and saw four dead and eight
wounded Armenians brought in He
heard an order given to kill the wounded
which was done. The matter was reported
TO Sir Pbiilip Curry, the British Minister
The Daily News estimates the killed at
more than twenty. Christian and Mcslem
fanaticism, it says, is alike aroused and
the trouble may be worse yet unless ener-
getic measures are taken
The Standard has Constantinople dis
patch saying that the number of killed is
vaPiously estimated at from thirty to 200
The exact num- ber will probably never he
known. Many hundreds of persons have
been arrested and the entire Ministry of
Justice has been turned into iail. The
ordinary. jails are full. Any Armenian
who appears on the streets runs the risk of
being imprisoned.
The dispatch adds that many versions
are given of the tenor of the Armenian
petition. -.One version is. that it was
abusive and was intended only as pre-
text to enable the conspirators to gain
access to the Grand Vizier. The agitators
well knew they would be resisted, hence
their action can only be regarded as delib-
crate armed proYocation, any repetition of
which might have been of the most serious
consequences for Christians throughout
the empire.
The familiar rumors of an impending
~rnassacre are already revived and the
public mind is greatly agitated.