Evening star., 1909-05-16
BACK OF MASSACRES
Armenian Wealth Behind Turk
ish Persecution.
VICTIMS OF THE KURDS
Turks Found Armenians Paying
Taxes to Outlaw Tribes.
STARTS DUAL OPPRESSION
VICTIMS OF THE KURDS
STARTS DUAL OPPRESSION
Kurdish Tribesmen Retaliate When
Income Is Cut Of-Christians
Robbed Right and Left.

If all the reports Of massacre and tor
ture that have emanated from Asiatic
Turkey during the last fifteen years were
true, 1t would mean that nearly tenth
of the population Of 100000 had been
put TO the sword and that the survivors
possessed such remarkable staying powers
as to make the victims of the Holy In
qrisition appear like children, Admitting
the exaggeration, however, the posi- .on
of the Armenian and other native Chris
tians has been growing steadily worse
since the early nineties. They are peri
odically prosecuted for two reasons.
which sometimes work in concert and
sometimes separately-religion and pecu-
MARY gain-and by two forces. sometimes
indepen oat and sometimes combined-the
Turkish government acting through the
official wallis. and the Kurds acting on
their own responsibility and for their own
personal gain.
Although Armenia with it's 2.5OO,OOO
population and its vilayets of Erzerum,
Kharput, Bithis and Van is usually
pointed out as the center of the periodical
slaughters and pillagings which result.
Asia Minor, with it's 9,OU0.OO0 people and
Inc vilayets Of Brusa, Smyrna and Cas-
tamuna, and Syria, with its 100000 in
the vilayets of Aleppo, Zor, Syria and
Beirut. t9 say nplIiIllS OI Lie uOTtuSTu
part of Arabia, are similarly afflicted.
Descended From Japhet's Grandson.
The Armenians. who have come in for
such a large share of unsought attention,
believe themselves to be descended from
Eaik. the grandson of Japhet. and. in
their own language, their country is
called Haiasdan. 1t was so called when
Alexander of Macedon captured 1t in 32s
b c. For three centuries succeeding the
Christian era the country came easily
under the influence of Christian evan
geiSts. and this influence the disciples OF
the sword, for obvious reasons, did not
think il worth while to undermine, par
ticularly while the wealth of Arabia and
Persia lay to the south and east. So
the descendants of Haik grew up and
prospered through the centuries
Al length large families and prosperity
made them discontented for their sons.
educated abroad. brought home stories of
the political freedom and individual In
itiative of western Europe. And soon
they were lending ready ears to revolu-
tionary propagandas conceived In Con-
stantinople and published in Paris. and
were induced to foot the bills thereof.
THIS naturally, in the course of years. at
tracted the attention of the Yildiz Kiosk,
and officials were sent into Armenia,
Asia Minor and Syria to investigate
Tribute to the Kurds.
The investigation showed that much
wealth had been accumulated, Of which
the Turkish government did not receive
its proper share, and that the wallis sent
there were in the pay of the wealthy
population. and that further immunity
was obtained by paying tribute to the
kurds.
The Constantinople authorities deter
mined 10 change all that, especially as
complaints began to come in from the
local faithful that the Armenians were
depressing them and put them in prison