Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1896-03-12
Tn ordsr to fDIlv understand the situa-

In order to fully understand the situa-
ton now in Turkey. both as to the danger
| that threatens in Armenia and the relation
of Turkey TO the rest of Europe, little
Turkish history must be repeated. The
story of the Ottoman Empire, its remark
able spread over Europe, TO be followed by
its miserable collapse, is one of the most
| romantic chapters of the annals OF the
world, As Rome began to decay, Con-
stantine set Up anew the Roman capital at
the Bosphorus and the ancient town OF
| Byzantium, rechristened, became Con-
| stantinople, in honor OF the Emperor
Although Constantine accepted the new
religion of Christianity more as superstlto on
| than as a religion, he was an instrument
| in spreading the doctrine, which through
Bvzantium snd the Eastern empire passed
over into Russia, where the Greek Catholic
| Christian church is TO day the religion oi
the State and the people.
In the latter part of the sixth cent t1ry OF
| Christianity, Mohsmmed, son of q poor
merchant, was born in Mecca. He was
reared in obscurity, but later married a
wealthy widow, and about the year 500 A
| d. he began to preach q new religion. Ii
| is unfortunate that the Christians of the
| early day in Persia we're not of the most
| upright type Their corrupt practices, to-
| gether with the dislike OF the Jews, made
| converts 10 Mohammed's religion not q
| difficult matter, and the doctrine OF Islam,
which means resignation to the will OF
God, spread Where il did not take root
sufficiently fast Mohsmmcd's followers
planted it with the sword.
The rise of the Turk begins about 1900,
] with 0thman, the first, and for almost 7OO
| years the descendants of this prince eaVe
| sa: on the throne of the Ottoman empire.
| The dynasty is unbroken, thing unpar-
| alIeled in the histofy of nations. In the
hands of this fam lily Of Ottomans, Turkey
rose from a handful of barbsrisns 10 be
| the most important and powerful empire
ON the u lobe al the time, her rule reaching
from the Persian gulf into LAZY and
| Austria, and controlling the Medlter-
fanean TO Gibraltar. Rome fell, the East
ern empire went to pieces, western Europe
was divided into petty prlnclpalltleS.
Turkey alone prospered, and extended her
| duminions.
Up to 1850 Turkey ruled the entire Esst
and rnreated thu West, but &c this period
| Hungary, Poland and Austria had put d
dsmper on Turkey, and province after pro
visDce that had been held by Turkey were
| accum ulated by them.
|
The Turk is not the only excellent neigh
| Dor 10 help the ArmenIans along in their
wretc 1edness and sorrow. Another fellow
| nearly as bad as the Turk is the wild tree
| booter, the Kurd. The Kurd is OF pat
tern similar to the Apache Indian OF
| America He is merciless, cruel, reeog-
| nizing no law, amenable TO no government.
| He is worse than our Indians, because he
| is more enlightened, and thus can bring to
| the furtherance of his refined deviltry a
| broader range of torture and greater fel
| tiiry of resource in discovering methods.
TT Kurd, unlike the Turk, bears no in
| tense hatred toward the Armenian. He
| swoops down upon the Wretched peasant
| and carr es off his cattle and meagre crops
| because they are useful, not because OF a
| fondness for destruction. His motive is
the same as that of the trapper who wants
| the fur, but has no enmity toward the
animal that wears it,. He outrages the
| wife and daughter of the Armenian peas
ant because it suits his lrutal pleasure.
| If the Armenian peaceably submits his
wife and family TO the Kurd, the latter
| Looks upou it as good sense. Ii the Ar
menian resists, he is killed for his annoy
ances. The Kurd is robber and bri
ga1d he murders only to expedite his
business of pillage. The Turkish govern
ment encourages the Kurd to some extent.
Nor particularly because it needs to have
| him kill Armenians, for the time has not
vet arrived when the Turk cannot kill all
the Armenians necessary; but II the hurd
didn't plunder the Armenian IN comfort he
would taye to plunder the Turk. which
would have its drawbacks to the Turk.
So the Ottoman government supplies the
- ,sk El4a or
dier 0. him, and turns him loose to rsvish
and despoil.
The case of the Armenian seems almost
as hopeless now as it did ON the day when
the Turk first overran his country and set
the crescent above the cross. For the
only power that can defend the poor Great
ures must be one strong enough to awe the
Turk into merciful behavior. Were the
Turk the only man tc deal with that would
not be the most difficult thing tor any one
of several of the Christian nations of the
world. But the Turk is the smallest fact
or IN the International problem. Russia
has probably within her boundanes as
many Armenians as Turkey has, but Rus
ria tolerates no such outrages as are re-
ported continually from the cities of Asia
Minor. At the close of the Bulgarian war
Russia had proposed to protect the Chris
tian in the Ottoman empire, and with her
.raops ot tnc wAHs UfZBTOum Sne acted
! as if she meant business. That she annex
cd large block OF Turkish Armenian ter
ritory to her own possessions, projecting
the Christian in that annexed portion ever
since, is good enough evidence of what
she would have done if she had been let
alone.
But England particularly, and the other
| Europeal powers acting in concert, insist
ed tnat all of them should take band in
the protection of the Christian in the Tlrk-
ish dominion. The actuating motive was
no fear tnat Russia would not take ample
| care OF the Christian. 1t was Jealousy OF
| the growing power of the czar. Russia,
| from an Insignificant handful of bar )arians,
| had pushed out in all directions, until she
| had established herself from the Arctic
ocean to the southern most points OF the
! Black sea, and from the Atlantic CULTS Oh
| the west down through Siberia TO the Paci-
fic ocean. She had gown TO be far the
largest empire in point of territory in the
world, comprising about sixth of the
area oC the land Of the .obe. She had be-
come the most populous Of modern nations,
and her ambition had become apparent To
all of Europe
The Black sea is one of the most i'm
portant commercial routes Of the world.
| From Persia and all of the Asistic country
| as far east as the Chinese and East India
frontiers come long camel caravaLs laden
| with the product of the soil, of the loom
and of the bazar The wheat OF the STEP
pes is carried to the Black sea for shipment
TO Western Europe. Samsun, Kerasund,
Trebizonde, Batum, Odessa and other
ports swarm with shipping carrying the
products of the Orient to the modern En-
rope, or bringing back for the myriads ut
inhabitants Of the far East the manufac
tured goods OF civilization. These ships
fly the flags Of England, France, Austria
and other nations The Golden HON al
Constantinople il full Of crafts moving up
and down the Bosphorus, to or from the
Black sea- The Black sea Is a rival to the
Suez canal for the commerce of the East.
England could not for moment calmly
entertain the idea OF any further Russian
advantages in Turkey. The Crimesn Wal
was fought to check the advances of the
Russian bear, and it was largely q failure
To permit Russia TO remain at Erzeronm
meant to permit Russia TO exercise jnris-
diction over all of the overland traffic, and
possibly to push farther south and east
Farther east would menace the English
possessions in India. To go south would
be to hold control Of the Euphrates and
Tigris valleys and the broad plains thai
open to the Persian gulf and the Red sea
II meant Jhe possession ny Russia of d
strategic point from which she could com
mand by short and easy marches the COM
merce of the Suez canal. With Russia es
tabIished at Erzeroum England feared fol
her Asistc possessions and tor her connec-
tion bytthe Mediterranean, either overland
or through the canal.