The Palatka news and advertiser. [volume] (Palatka, Fla.) 1908-19??, 1915-10-08

are more likely to dwell in the towns
than in the country. They are mer.
chants, artisans, craftsman and the
backbone of the communities.
1t may have been their Jewish
strain that caused them to persist
through the centuries in their religion.
The Armenians were the first people
to be converted as a nation to Chris
tianity, which happened some 1000
years ago, and they are still Chris
tianS.
Held Fast to Faith.
Because of their religion they have
been subjected to prosecutions. Yet
Their faith was not to be shaken.
Those Armenians who are today filing
into the desert in the direction of Old
Nineveh en- the one hand, and Deir-
For, west of Euphrates, on the other,
might remain in their homes if they
would give over their Christianity and
declare themselves Moselems. But
they will not.
1t is rs years since American mis-
sionaries first began to establish
schools among these Christians dwell
ing among the wild tribes of Asia Mi
nor. Today, there are six large col
leges maintained in the region by
these Americans missionary associa-
tions, and a thousand young Armeni-
ans have been attending each. Aside
from these, there are several hundred
common schools Altogether 10000
Armenian youngsters have every year
been studying in these American
schools. They have learned English,
have in turn become preachers, mis-
scenarios, merchants, engineers, de-
V, 'opers of the rc"'m, The one gfln
Of enlightenment hat has stclen into
tire whole reGitn has thus been e gel
dered by Americans.
SO has Armenia become a sort of
stepchild of Uncle Sam. When in
1896 the Turks gave the Kurds a free
hand to surfet themselves with
Strengthening Armenians, the Ameri-
can missionaries were present and
saw $4,000 of them killed. Again in
1909 the demon of bloodshed was un.
leashed and these same AMERICANS
saw their Christian charges killed to
the number of 10000. At Van and
Mardin they have recently seen the
men and the old women murdered and
the young women borne away by the
hundred to the harems of the Turks.
They are today witnessing the driv-
ing out of the whole people
Missionaries and Armenians.
These missionaries have led a tu-
multuous life. Many of them have
died in their attempts to save their
people. Many of them have attempt
ed to prevent their massacre and
have succeeded. The embassy at Con-
stantinople has been kept buster with
missionary pleas from Armenia than
with all their other duties combined.
When chaos has ragged throughout
this lawless. isolated and the govern
ment at Washington has eXerted vast
pressure in the interest Of its citizens
who were conducting American
schools there.
They are a people who respond
readily to an intellectual opportunity
A youngster in one Of the missionary
colleges showed such promise that he
was sent to America to finish at Yale
He showed such mentality that Yale
refused to let him return to Asia and
he is now a professor of mathematics
at the American institution, the au-
thor of books, master of many Ian
guages.
The Armenians of the mountain re-
gions are tall, handsome, sharp-faced
men. Their hair is coarse and black
and their noses are apt to have a de-
cided hook. Nearer the coast they
are shorter and coarser. They live
in the same sort of houses. half under
ground, in which their ancestors dweIt
5000 years ago.