The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-07-30


the American board of commissioners
for foreign missions, the Rev. George
P. Knapp, who was arrested at Bitlis,
eastern Turkey, on the charge of con-
spring against the Turkish govern
ment, has arrived in this country from
the east. Mrs. Knapp left her husband
in Constantinople TO stand trial upon
the charges which have been preferred
against him. :,
After Mr.. Knapp's arrest in Bitlis,
where he was missionary, he was
taken under a guard of soldiers to
AleXandrette, his passports having
been stamped expelled" at Aleppo.
The government officials gave him per-
mission to leave the country in safety
and were, apparently, anxious that he
should leave
HE DECLINED TO DEPART,
however, until he had been accorded
a formal hearing upon the unjust COM
plants against him, and given suf-
ficient opportunity to defend himself
Upon his insistence, the government
Immediately proceeded to secure eX
parte affidavits and dispositions as to
his alleged wrongdoing, with the re-
suit that charges were drawn from the
sworn statements of twenty-five per-
sons, whose names are attached to the
legal documents. These charges were
presented by the Turkish minister of
foreign affairs to the United States
charge d'affaires at Constantinople
Following IS a copy of the officials
translation of the charges upon which
the American missionary will be tried
before a Turkish tribunal:
This missionary, who was one Of
the principal mainstays of the hunt
chagist GevolutionisD committee, at
Bitlis INDUCED in
ALL SORTS OF INTRIGUES.
menian agitators provoked disturb
ances in the province. In fact, this
missionary was always in correspond
ence with Armenian leaders, among
whom was Hampariscom, alias Moorad,
chief Of the Sassoun and Telori insurg-
ents. in order to stir up trouble, with
a view of creating an Armenian
principality in Asia Minor and used
to send to Sassoun and elsewhere,
under the pretext of distributing aid,
emissaries who were charged with' the
mission of giving most pernicious
counsel to the inhabitants.
'Incited by him, Agitator Horsep,
son of CARRIED, and several of his Ar
menian companions, had attempted, in
the open streets of Bitlis, TO forcibly
abduct Kurdish girl from her par
ents, at the same time calling the
latter by the most abusive names and
disappearing the imperial government
and the Mussulman religion. This mis-
sionary in company with certain agi-
tators, held meetings at his house, or
in the churches. or at the bishops
residence. in order to prepare the
Bitlis incident. 1t is he who had
MIGRANTS IN. HIS HIRE
and armed them, that troubles might
be provoked.
HE encouraged the credulous Ar
menians to attack the mosque during
Friday prayer and kill the faithful, to
assassinate Mussulman officials and
notables whom they met in lonely
places, and to urge such of their own
nationality as were faithful to the inn
perial government to refuse to pay
their taxes and to address such
language to the Mussulmans as would
tend to excite them.
I'm one word, he did his utmost to
disturb order and peace. He acted as
intermediary of guilty correspondence,
ideas, and spread abroad sensational
rumors. Refusing to conform to the
regulations governing public instruc-
ton he tried to inculcate subversive
principles into the minds of his pupils
and sought to induce the Armenians
to embrace Professionalism. He per-
suaded those OF them who occupied
public places not to go to their posts.
ct was by the alarm signal, given
by means of a bell which he had in
| stalled near his house, that the Ar
menians shut their shops and
ATTACKED THE MOSQUES
at the time of the Bitlis disturbances.
The Armenians Panazep, Zerpe and
Momprey, the latter Mr. Knapp's SER
want, who wounded a certain Kavork
Aghua Bakalia, have testified before
the examining magistrate that they
committed this crime under orders
from Missionary Knapp, who promised
to give f100 to whoever succeeded in
killing one or more members of the
Bakalia family, and to provide for the
future Of his wife and children. They
have further testified that it was
George Knapp himself who furnished
the revolver used in preparation of the
crime
1T is also stated in their dispositions
that this missionary was aware of a
revolutionary plan on the Armenians
and that he had advised them to as
sassinate some of their fellow Chris
tfans in order that the crime might be
attributed to Mussulmans. Quite re
Gently Mr.. Knapp has used abusive
language toward the Mussulmans
passing in front of his house and has
sought TO provoke the Mussulman
population into fresh troubles. All
these facts are established by judicial