The evening herald. [volume] (Shenandoah, Pa.) 1891-1966, 1896-01-29
CRIMES ON THE TURKS.
The Story Told in Reports Of the
Consular Delegates,
MAssAORBs MUCH EXAGGERATED

While the Death List Is Smaller Than RE- |
ported, the Brutality of the sultans Sol |
diers and the Neglect OF His Government
Is Clearly Shown.
LONDON, Jan. 20.-Blue books have been |
issued containing all Of the official dis
patches relative to Armenia between July |
a. 1891, and Oct. 49, lS05, and the reports
of the consular delegates attached to the
Sassoun commission.
The report gives the history of the Ar |
menian agitation for several years, and
records the obstacles thrown in the way of
the commission by the Turkish delegates
Italso acquits the Armenians of the charge
brought against them of burning their
own property to incite an outbreak among
their people, adding that the facts elected
failed to prove that the Armcnians were
in revolt but show that the agitator Mu-
rad instigated several Armenian outrages
on Kurds. The latter then retalated and
the Armenians fed to their villages. The
conflict between the Armenians and
Kurds followed, and the government did
nothing TO arrive at a peaceful settlement
or to protect women and children.
The delegates are compelled to believe,
the report says that all the Armenians
who fell into the hands Of the soldiers, the
Kurds or the Haptiohs, were either killed
or wounded, andsthat, with the exception
of the eleven villagers of Talori, not sim
gle prisoner was taken.
The report shows chat the number of
killed has been grossly exaggerated, but
admits that, owing to the absence of regis
tration. it is impossible even approx
mately TO fix the number of victims. There
is appended, however, to the report "a tab
ulated list of all the evidence rendered to
the commission.
The six villages mentioned show a total
of 265 victims, distributed as follows: She
mix, ia; Semal, 65; Chellcguzan (the scene
of the story of the great pit which was
filed to overfowing with massacred vic
tims) 40; Agpi, %; Spagank 1Ui Talori,
| Il. These villages We're all -aed and
/ the Inhabitants were scattered, q
/ The British delegate, Shipley,Sid n mem
orandum attached to the ioint Mort, from
the evidence gathered by Cons 4 N2mpson
during his tour, estimates tAc'totit mum
/ Der of victims in the SassouH ulsGllct, in
c uding deaths from starvation, at about
800. One of the worst cases of cold bloodcd
cruelty, Delegate Shipley says was the
murder of prisoners in the camp at Chell-
eguzan under promise OF safe conduct.
But the number of those so murdered was
only forty or fifty, and not hundreds as
has been stated.
Delegate Slipley, while he admits that
there was violation of women. asserts that
the alleged wholesale butchery of women
was not confirmed He points out that
while an agitation subversive of the Otto
man authority had existed amongst the
Armenians in Turkey and abroad, and
had exasperated the Turkish government
it must be admitted that the government
had failed in it's duty of affording protec
tion to all classes Of its subjects. He com
plains of the connec ion and suppression
of evidence before the commission by
Turkish officials us not calculated to adj
vance the interests of the truth.
Mr.. Shipley further declares that th'
Armenians were hunted like wild beasts
and if the slaughter was not greater i
was solely owing to the vastness of tn,
mountain ranges, which facilitated th
escape of the Armenians He was con
vinced that the Turks aimed at the com
plete determination of the Armenidns il
the Chclleguzan and Talori di tricts