The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-02-24
Hypocrisy of the SuItan's Commits
siOners Appointed to Investigate
Armenian Massacres.
TURKISH ASSASSINS PRAISED
THE CHRISTIAN WITNESSES
THREATENED WITH EXECUTION.
Peace Restored by Circumcision and
StarvatiOn-The Destitute Not Al
lowed to Accept Relief.

From Correspondent of the Associated Press.
CONSTANTINOPLE, Feb cit will be re-
membered that the Sublime Porte soon after
the massacres in this country sent out COM
missioners to investigate into the recent dis
turbances and take measures for quieting
the country. One group of commissioners
went to Erzerum and the other entered the
country at Sassoun and came to Sivas. This
| commission from the interior did its work
| very rapidly, spending only a few days in
| each of the principal cities on the route. The
| day after their arrival they summoned before
| them a number of leading men, Moslems and
| Christians. These were admitted to the
presence of the commissioners separately,
| first the Moslems, afterwards the Christians.
Report says that the commissioners SAID to
| the Moslems:
| I'VE did not expect so much Of you, but
now you have done it, never mind. Hence
! forth you must keep the peace
when the Christians were admitted the
F.! commissioners received them standing and
| at once began to read an address reciting
| the benefits the Christians had received dur
| ing the, reign of the beneicent Sultan Abdul
Hamid Khan and the perfidious conduct of
| the Armenians, who had started newspapers
and sent men to Washington and Chicago to
| agitate and stir up the nations against their
| government. In conclusion, the address said:
Hereafter if either Turks or Armenians
| stir up trouble there will be no more i'm
prisonments, but the death penalty will be
visited on such offenders"
After the reading of the address Abdullah
| Pasha began to address the Christians in a
much more violent strain. He said If the
| Armenians should again begin to agitate
| not even the name of Armenian would be
allowed to remain; they would all be blotted
| out Drawing himself up to his full height
| and stretching his arm out like sword, he
| said:
What we have gained. We have gained
| with blood, and when We give up this morsel
| we will give it up with blood. BLOOD,
| BLOODr
So far as I can learn, in the Harpoot villa
vet the commissioners spent all their time
| in MeZreh, and did not even visit the city OF
| Harpoot which was Numbered and burned,
| No questions were asked of the Christians
summoned before them. When the commits
| sioners had finished their speeches they dis
| missed them.
FORCED CIRCUMCISION.
Another fact of interest is the sending
out of officials to enroll in the government
| lists the names of Christians who have be-
| come Moslems. Multitudes have been
forcibly converted to Islam. / do not mean
simply that they have been obliged to
| choose between becoming Moslems and per-
ishing by the sword, but that they have
| been bound or held while the rite of cir
| cumcision was performed without their
consent I know of one case in which an
aged priest was tied to his own door and
| circumcised. while in another village Chris
| tians begged to be killed, and their Turk
| ish neighbors said to them: No, we want
| you to till the fields We will make you
| Moslems," and they circumcised the Chris
1 - h. 1loa hx- fnrn
| The government has said that these con-
versions were worth nothing, and that no
one would be forced to change his religion
but now government officials write these
new converts, while the Turks drive them
| to say they are Moslems In the village of
Sheikhaj the official said to the Christians:
| Il write your names on a separate list to
satisfy the Turks there is no farce about
it," One acquainted with. the Turkish
ways may expect Mse 10 na cfzsns shess
| The carrying off of Christian girls and
| women, too, still continues. In the city
Of Palu Turks carry off girls keep them
| for a few days and return them dishonored
| The same is done in many other places In
one of the Arabkir villages. eight girls of
/ the place are imprisoned in Turkish
| harems. Their friends hear their cries. but
| can do nothing to help them.
The destitution Of the Armenians beggars
| description. Men who were wealthy in Oc-
| tober were begging for bread in November.
Villages were pillaged of every scrap of
food and clothing. After the plunderers $
4
| villagers returned and sifted the dust to
| gather a few kernels of wheat or barley.
| Doors and windows were carried OFF. In
| many cases the timbers of the houses were
| pulled out and carried off. Jars were
| broken. Everything of value which could
| not be carried away was broken. VIM
| The utmost pains were taken TO leave be-
| hind nothing of value to the owners. And
| all this was done at time when winter
was so close at hand as to make it reason
| ably sure that cold and hunger would de-
| stroy those whom the sword had spared.
| Wherever you go you meet wan, pinched
| faces and people clad in scanty garments.
| and you know that multtudes spend the
| long cold nights huddled' together with
| cover them. OF course. disease sets in and
carries them oil.
DESTITUTE THOUSANDS.
| II is estimated that there are between
| $4,000 and 100000 people in extreme destitu-
| tion Europe and America are touched with
| compassion, and funds are being gathered
for the relief of the sufferers in every town
| and city. 1t is far otherwise with the Turk.
He views his work with complacency and
| does not like to see II interfered with. The
| government has given little aid occasional
| ly. In many cases the allowance is one
sixth as much as is given 70 a Turkish
| gendarme or soldier. have seen the bread
| given in several places. 1t resembles the
/ lnseed cake used in Europe and America
| for feeding cattle. Even this allowance is
| seldom continued for any length of time.
| A large share of the governments appro-
| priations for the relief of the destitute goes
| into the pockets OF officials. Moreover, ,ne
/ Turks are hostile to relief work and oppose
| il i'm various ways. In the city of Palu the
| Turks said TO the Christians:
| eff our benefcent Sultan wished yoH 10
| have money, he is abundautly able to give
| IL; but he has not seen fit 70 do SO, and now
| you are receiving money from the English
| and forming an alliance with them. We will
| cut you on
| No Christian in Palu dares to receive or
| distribute relief funds. / happen to know
that the Armenian missionaries tried TO
| send money into Palu, and ii was returned
| to them because no one in Palu dared TO
| of the town OF Chooncoush. In some of the
| villages tax gatherers took from the viii
| lagos the scanty pittance they had received
| to keep them alive. They beat them 10
| extort from them the money. One poor
| villager said: 1.-The rod is hard and the
| flesh is soft. We gave IL up
| / see by the papers that the Red Cross
| Is about to take up this work OF relief bur
| / greatly fear that the Turkish governme Il
| viii exhaust all its tactics 10 keep them
/ from entering the country. While n-gotia-
tions are pending the Armenians will be
dying Then, If they succeed in entering
| Turkey, they Will have to encounter a popu-
| lation hostile to their work, who have been
| emboldened by their success In recent raids
It's hard to predict the result. II should
be said that there are some exceptions to
| the hostility OF the Turks TO relief work
Raouf Pasha. the Governor-general Of