The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1896-10-27

Knows Il, and Not All the shifting,
shumIng Diplomats at His Court, With
All Their Collective Notes Count
Against His Intention to Arm His As
sistsnt butchers for the Complete E1-
termination of HIS Christian Subjects
Tho Massacre at Ecin.
Constantinople. Oct. 26.-Via Sonia.
Bulgaria, Oct. 26)-The report that trou-
Bile of a serious nature is brewing here
has so often been sent out that any fresh
announcement to that effect Is looked
upon as having little or no foundation in
fact But, In spite Of this, it is but
right to state once more that everything
points to further and very serious trou-
BILE preparing for all sides throughout
the Turkish empire.
The bail was set rolling on Wednes-
day night last, when the sultan signed
Two trades. which were issued the next
nay, levying a poll tax Of piastres per
head on all Mussulmans and increasing
the taxes on sheep, public works and
Education by one TO one and a half per
cent, the fund so raised to be devoted to
military purposes.
This caused the representatives Of the
bowers to send a collective note TO the
Porte, couched in the strongest language
calling attention to the danger that the
arming of the Mussulmans was certain
to create and pointing out generally the
critical situation of affairs in the Turk
lsh empire. But large purchases Of arms
have already been made and the danger
Increases hourly.
EVASIVE, AS USUAL.
The Porte today sent reply to the
collective note of the ambassadors. As
usual however is was an evasive answer
and in substance simply stated that the
money derived from the additional tax
was only intended to complete the anna
ment of the mustahfuse, or landstrum,
the third and last class of the Turkish
army reserves. and to strengthen the
armament of the other land forces of the
sultan which consisted of the nisam, or
regular army, and It's active reserve, the
redif or lanwehr. and the mustahfuse,
already referred to. ConScripts in Tur-
key serve six years in the niZam, four
with the colors and two with the re-
serves; they then serve eight years in
the redif, four in the first and four in
the second. Then they complete their
twenty years In the mustahfuse.
WHAT TURKEY MEANS BY IT.
The action of the Turkish government
In completing the armament of the mus
tahfuse indicates that the empire IS fac
Ing a situation which may necessitate
calling forth all the military forces az
Its disposal, and it also indicates tina.
the situation Is the gravest since the
Russo-Turkish war. Under these cir
cumstances, il is but natural that con-
siderable uneasiness prevails. OF course,
there Is always in view the probability,
at least, that the sultan by these move
ments is simply seeking to direct the
attention of his subjects from the actual
state of affairs brought about by his
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. and that, seeing that
the powers are really in earnest and
that an understanding between Russia,
France and Great Britain means deci-
sive action, he Is by these ornaments
practically Threatening wholesale mas
sacre of the Christians and announcing
that Turkey viii resist to the utmost
any attempt at armed coercion.
WHERE THE RUB COMES.
Happily, there is one feature OF the
crisis which has soothing influence up
situation. 1t is about as bad as it pos
sibly can be. All negotiations upon the
part of the Turkish government for a
temporary loan have failed, and the con-
dition of the treasury is one of utter
helplessness. On top iii this the price OF
bread has risen 40 per cent, as the price
of wheat goes up. This has decidedly
aggravated the prevailing distress and
its consequent discomfort The police
continue making arrests, and 1t is I'M
derstood that many more bombs have
been found.
THE LATEST MASSACRE.
In Armenia the greatest apprehension
exists. The echoes of the recent massa-
ere in the city of Egin are just reaching
here. in spite of the effort made by the
Porte TO suppress anything but the Of
fetal news.
The Armenian report says that 1000
Armenians were killed at Egin, so far
as known; that no Turks Were killed;
that nearly 1000 houses were burned,
leaving only $50 houses standing for the
Christian population. and that the wo-
men and children were huddled together
In the school house and some of the re-
manning buildings, bereaved, destitute
and hungry, to such an extent that even
the governor general telegraphed that
they were in need Of food.
The official account OF the affair is
that the Armenians remained in the
church on Sunday and Monday so long
as TO excite suspicion and that the gov
eminent representatives sent officials to
investigate. These officials are said TO
have found that the Armenians gathered
In the church had placed a rope around
she neck of the representative of the
Armenian patriarch and were dragging
him AROUND the church and shouting:
why did you not allow US TO make
disturbance before?'
The Turkish officials further claim
that the shot fired on Tuesday, Oct. II,
which precipitated the massacre, was
fired by kassaS Manvog, a prominent
Armenian, and that the Armenians is
sued from their church armed with 800
rifles and with bombs bearing the name
Of their deposed patriarch, IZuirlian,
and marched to the upper part of the
town, where they met the soldiers who
were returning from driving off the
AmRA0A0nnmaNae