Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1896-07-30
CHARGES AeAlSsrREv. MR. KNAPP.

CHARGES AGAINST REV. NIX. kNAIt.
The charges against Rev. Mr.
Knapp, An American missionary o.
Armenia, 81 officially stated, have
now reached the public. II will 10
remembered that he wsa arrested by
Turkish official, and expelled, hut
that he secured a hearing bsfIfc the
United States charge d'afiaires Of
Conslantinople, unwilling TO leave tho
country before having had an oppor.
iunily to state hls side Of tho case.
by the Turks he Ia accused Of being
one Of the chief conspitalop In AT.
menih; according TO their hiiiiaviis
he had n boil In the belify
Of hi. church. and this he
iolled ~ n signal for the rebels to COM
msnce disturbances; he supplied NJ.
iasains with weapons and even hired
his servants to Kill Mussulmans; In hls
sermons no used language calculated
TO inname "the faithful" and the
general tendency Of his labor was 10
inoiie rebellion aud disorder.
To anyone aoquainiei with oriental
conditions It appears quite probable
that tho Turks who preferred these
charges against Rsy. Mr. Knapp fully
believed that they arc true. An init.
crate people necessarily depends
on hoarsay for tho distrlbu.
ton Of news concerning what
IL going on outside tho limited
circle Of personal observation. but II
10 we'll known that n rumor, n story,
cannot travel very far from lip 10 lip
before II assumes fantastic shapes.
This is tho case everywhere, aud par.
tioularly In tho orient, whore imagina-
ton plays such = rolls. A stranger
comes TO town. lie stays for n shorter
or longer period, and after q while
everybody In that town has made up
his mind ~ 10 the anteeedenla, present
purposes and future course OF the Wis.
itor Ia he Christian. the current Of
thought takes n hostile direction, ana
the Mohammedans will soon have him
no, down ne m enemy 10 good order.
In this way II IN quite easy
to perceive how peaceful missionary
should, ut u time when disturbances
occurred in Armonls, In the minds OF
the Turks. be connected with those
sanguinary outrAgos Rs the chief cause
Of them. Tho credullly out there IL 10
great that n m old ahoik should oxptsss
suspicion that Christian misslon aTy's
chief diet is human tiesb and blood, II
would DO looked upon ~ plausible, aud
II would take but few days to assume
all the dignilles OF fact, to which
hundreds would DO willing " testify.
without actual observation It IL
Impossible TO form n correct idea Of the
real condition Of people that has
never been under tho educating In.
nueneo OF free press, free speech aud
some measure OF self.gsvernmcnt.
But Notwithstanding the utter ab.
surdliy OF the special charges preferred
against Rev. Knapp, In general way
II Is true, that tho presence OF Christi
an missionaries In Armenia Ia In
directly responsible for the disturb.
anoos there. II Ia the light from the
HARVEST that has enabled the oppressed
race 10 perceive a possibility OF bot
tor conditions II IL the doc.
trine Of Christianity about
universal brotherhood, that has In.
apired within them hope that by EN-.
braoing those doctrines, western
nations would extend their sympalhy
TO them to the extent Of fighting Tor
their liberty. This was plainly shown
at the late gathering Of Christian En-.
deavoTers, when speakers from Al.
menia appealed 20 Christians here
either to help them IN their struggle
for liberty, or Iako back tho Bibles they
have sent them. They cannot under.
stand brotherhood In religious mat.
ten which ceases At the threshold gfI
temporal affairs
1t viii be well for ChrIstlan mission.
Gry societies TO consider carefully tho
responsibilities they undertake with
their enterprises IN foreign lands. Are
they iu a position to meet those rec.
possibilities to he lull eEleuR
RrveIend MT, Knapp will, OF uoursp,
be- acquitted, provided no obtains %
hearing before m impartial tribunal,
aud probably his experience Will be
seeded Lesson both to his friends eud
opponents.
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