Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-07-13
THE C.. E. CONVENTION
Continued from First Page)

we would not desire to trouble you. for we
can endure the utmost poverty. Yea. If 1t
were only the loss of onr lives, l dare say
that could endure that also. We are
accustomed to martyrdom. We are the
descendant of martyrs Armenians' bos-
oms. like the stained fields of Ararat, are
always stained with blood. But l have to
say that our honor and purity are being
trampeled on. This is hard for us to de-
scribe and for you to understand. The
most honorable and delicate young women,
after witnessing with their eyes the slauSh-
ter OF their fathers. husbands and brothers,
yes. and of innocent children, are con-
demned to every kind of brutality. and at
ter unSpeakable outra geS are either cut to
pieces. or, what Is far worse. are taken
away to Turkish harems- If modesty per-
mitted me- l could enUmerGte facts which
would freeze your blood in your veins
After plundering our properties and burn
ing our houses, after destroying the lives
of our most eminent men, merchants.
teachers. ministers and Brave youths, and
after destroying our purity and honor, they
are trying 10 ruin faith.
Because our ministers and teachers will
Tot deny Christ they have been put to
death in the most cruel ways. In almost
every place the choice between the Koran
and the sword has been offered. The ma
jority of our men have chosen death, al
though accompanied with unheard-Of tor
lures. Thank God, not of the fifty
Gregorian priests and sixteen Protestant
pastors who have suffered martyrdom was
willing 10 deny the name of Christ in or
der 10 save his life
The Blood of the Martyrs
More than 10000 mostly heads of fam
iIies died as martyrs, and now more than
3oo.VO. mostly women and children are
perishing from starvation and plague.
The deadenir-g wirds Of last autumn
have deprived the Armenian ma ion of the
blossom of her beauty. The long, severe
winter finished it's work of destruction.
The spring has come All the creatures
clothes and hope and life, but the Ar
nenians are still sitting in ashes and sack
cloth The joyful birds nave come out of
their winter nests and are chirping cheer
Eully among the beautiful hills of Armenia
bat our doomed and starving people are
still signing with uputterable agonies.
And now the summer has come, but not
for us. dear friends. Our fields are not
TILED and SOwed. cur VINEYARDS are not
trained What will be the harve5t?'' A
whole nation is today waiting as sheep
ready to be slaughtered, in the literal mean
ing of the word. Are YOU going to leave
US 10 the mercy of the mercileSS? Will
you see US forced to accept Mohammedan-
ism in despair of help from Christian ma
lions, and will you raise hand to save
us?
the apathy of Christian nations Is causing
the Arnenians to embrace Mohammedan-
ism more than the sword of the Turk In
their distress the Armerians are calling
TO the Christian churches for help. No an
swer! Not even Il single protest against
these atrocities,
The smoke of the burning villages goes
UP In the air fer days in the sight of the
American warships. and the order for
TnassacreS is given and repeated but no
conscience is stirred. Is this Christianity :?
Does this reflect the spirit of brotherhood?
Does this present the type of the Christian
ity and civiIizat ton of the nineteenth CEN
tury?
The unity of the human race is funda-
mental fact If one member suffers, shall
not the other members suffer with it? The
Armenian nation is a member of human
ity. 1t is not enough that other nations
should hear about her sufferngs and know
about them and condemn the oppressors
They must also feel with her in her Suf-
ferings and give relief.
Religion IS a strong tie between the races
OF the earth The Al menians are Chris