Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1907-05-31
MAY solve MYSTERY
OF MURDERED PRIEST
TROUBLE IN REVOLUTIONARY
SOCIETY MIGHT HAVE COST
FATHER KAsPAR's LIFE.
ARMENIAN MEMBERS
FEARED TURK SPIES
Foreigner Acquitted with Organize.
ton Says One Would Have Been
Killed If Discovered - Uprising
Had Been Ordered.

New York, May 29.-Notwithstand
Ing that the motive for the murder OF
Father Kaspar Vartarian, the Arme
MAN priest whose body was found on
Sunday damned into trunk in
West Thirty-seventh street house, ia
not yet clear, some facts have been
learned which may dispel all doubts
as to why the priest was slain. Father
Kaspar, according to some witnesses
who have been found, was politician
as we'll as clergyman, and was identi.
fed with an Armenian secret revolu.
tionary society in this city. ltappears
further that recently the revolution.
aries in the local Armenian colony
split and that much bad blood was en-
gendered by the division.
Vahram Serpossian, an Armenian
restaurant proprietor at 1877 East
Twenty-sixth street, who knew Father
Kaspar well, and is an educated man
and versed in several oriental Ian
guages, hints that the affairs of the
New York branch of the Honchekis so
society may bear some relation to the
murder of Father Kaspar This so
ciety has for its object the liberation
of Armenia and other Christian coun.
tries in the near east from Turkish
rule. Throughout Europe and the
United States, wherever large Arme
MAN colonies are found, branches OF
the Honchellis have been organized
Split in Honchekis Society.
The New York branch of the society
was formed some time ago, Serpossian
says, and it's members worked har.
moniously until about two months ago,
when serious schism occurred. What
caused the quarrel Serpossian will not
explain, but he admits that feeling
still runs high between the two fac
lions and great bitterness is rife. Fa
Their Kaspar was one of the society
but Serpossian says that the society
has found some spies in its member,
ship, who presumably have informed
the Turkish authorities of revolution.
airy plans formed by the Honchekis,
with the result that incipient Arme.
MAN revolutions have been suppressed.
Serpossian says frankly that if Father
Kaspar was spy he deserved to die
as other spies have d1ed before him.
uprisings Were Ordered.
The editor of a Slavic paper here,
although not an Armenian, is we'll &C.
quainted with the affairs of the New
York Armenian colony. He says
Americans have no idea of the fierce
jealousies and intrigues among Arme,
MAN revolutionists here. A week ago
last Sunday, he says, members of the
Honchekis held meeting in Lyric
hall to hear speech by Gen. Spiridon.
owitz of the Russian revolutionary
party. The result was the adoption
of resolutions calling upon the head
branch of the society In Paris to order
simultaneous uprising of Christians
in Macedonia. Armenia, Arabia and
Albania.
The editor says that he knew OF
Father Kaspar's being an active poll.
tician, as most Armenian priests are,
and it is more than likely that his po.
litical proclivities led to his murder.
Whether, however, the meeting ad.
dressed by Gen. Spiridonowitz and
the priests death were in any way
connected is food only for conjecture.
The Jersey City police Tuesday made
three arrests of Armenians, who they
believe may be able to throw some
light on the murder of Father Kaspar
One of the men has several blemishes
and marks on his face which CORE
spond with the description of one OF
the men wanted by the New York Pc
lice.