The age-herald., 1900-04-26
MINISTER TERRELL
 ON TURKEY TROUBLE a
 He Says the Sultan Will Stick
 to His Promise. THE ARMENIAN AFFAIRS People of the United States Have Been
 Misinformed as to the Real Cause-Sultan an Hon. est Man
THE ARMENIAN AFFAIRS

Austin, April 25-When asked today for an expression as to the merits of the United States claim against Turkey for in- demnity for the burning of missionary property during the Armenian troubles, ex- United States Minister Terrell, now resid- ing in this city, gave out the following interview:
 II earnestly agreed with General Lew Wallace on the sultan of Turkey. There Is much ignorance about the nature of our claim against Turkey. We claim indem- nifty for the burning of missionary proper ty at Harpoot and Marash, places then dominated by Kurds and fanatical popu- lace, and remote at the time from consular protection. Missionaries claim that the burning was done with the aid or con- nivance of Turkish soldiers. The porte has insisted that 1t was done bS Kurds, and by an ungovernable mob. Our claim is sus- tained by circumstances resting on mis- sionary evidence; the denials of the Turks is sustained by official reports made by Turkish officers and pashas, and the issue of fact has not been settled by any i'm partial tribune. The burning was done during the Armenian massacres, and the Kurds have been the enemies of the Ar menians from the time of Xenophon.
 Under quasi RrOtectoraie
 Turkey, by the treaty of Berlin, is un- der a quasi protectorate of the six great European powers. The claims of Russia and several other powers for indemnity on account of spoilations are far greater than ours and it would seem that while these powers refrain from enforcing their demands, we should hesitate long before disturbing the peace before resorting to force. General Wallace, while minister to Turkey, and long before our buildings were burned, demanded a large indemnity from Turkey because two missionaries who had entered without protection into region known to be dangerous, had been beaten by the natives
 That claim has never been recognized by Turkey. Unfortunately for us, Eng land had gone far to establish the inter- national doctrine that government is not liable under such circumstances.
 We should not forget that although Father Saloietre, an Italian priest, and subjects of other Christian powers, were slain during the massacres, no American citizen was hurt. Though they were liv- ing in their missions from the sea to the Persian border, Turkish soldiers, placed over them by the Sultan, protected them.
 "The spirit of commercialism in its new career of forcible expansion Is dangerous enough, but the spirit of religious intoler- ance is even more dangerous. Four years ago it was demanding the bombardment of Constantinople. Until New York news paper sent the Rev. Hepworth to Turkey to find out and report the cause of the Armenian massacres, our people were taught to believe that the Armenians were killed because they were Christians and that the sultan was a devil incarnate. Since Dr. Hepworth reported that the massacres were caused by the plots of the Arpenians to destroy the Turkish govern meht we have heard no further abuse of the Turks. The oldest Christian churches in the world are in the Ottoman empire and while the Turk must pay tariff on every imported article, our missionaries there import free of duty everything they need.
 "A healthy public sentiment should pro- teet the president in his foreign diplomacy against the spirit of religious intolerance. I pressed our claim for indemnity to the utmost limit of friendly diplomacy while in Turkey. If the sultan has ever promised to pay it he will keep his word and if he ever made the promise he will not deny it. I regard him as an honest man. know him we'll and believe he was the most intellectual man I met while in Europe"