The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1917-11-03
l7romO
Editorial Pages
AGAIN THE UNsPEAKABiE TURK


lola (KasJ Register: Not rated BY
the slaughter OF Armenians and Syrians'
tho Turk has ulso turned against the
| Greek Christians In his dominions and
more than 100000 have fallen victims
TO persecution In the form of death, SUI
ferinc or deportation, according Ia
Frank Jackson, of New York, chairman
OF the relief committee for Greeks of
| Nsin Minor. lie sald the real details OF
these row Turkish atrocities were just
'bcginning 10 leak out
The story of the Greek dcportations
Is not yet generally known" aid Mr.
Jackson, Quietly and gradually the
same treatment IL being meted out IA
the Greeks M to the Armenians. Al
though closely guarded. certain echoes
OF these horrors come out from time "a
time.
There were som. 100000 or 5000
| 000 Greeks in Asia Minor at the out
break of the war in 1914, subject Ia
Turkish rule. According 10 the latest
reliable and authoritative ACCOUNTS some
100000 TO 500 900 have been deported
mainly from the coast regions into the
| interior uf Asia Minor.
The Greeks of Asia Minor have al
ways been law-abiding and perfectly
| loyal to the Turkish government. Under
Abdul Hamid they were wen treated
! hut his successors adopted "a program
/ 20 crush them.
/ AT the declaration ~ the present
var all prosecutions We're stopped, but
the spring of 1915 brought to the stage
| q tragic, novel drama unique in the his
1 tory uf the world as Ia it's horrors and
dcstructiyencss. that is the Armenian
dcporta tion; under that innocent name
the eNtcrminatiOn of Christian race
was started
Along with the Armenians most OF
the Greeks OF the Marmoma regions
and Thrace have been deported on the
pretcHt that they gave information to
the enemy Along the Aegean coast Al.
Valik stands out as the worst sufferer
According to one report some 10000
Greeks there have been deported toward
koria and beyond. At least 1000 have
been slaughtered. The Greek bishop
of Avialik committed suicide In dspair.
The latest account from Trebi2ond
shows the towns along the Black sea
are being emptied of their Greek pop
uiation. From Lyndon. :, Crawford.
missionary of the American board at
Trebizond. We have n letter dated July
-, 1917 IN which he says the following
order came from Turkish headqnarters
ut Sheishchie: by l2, 2j July let no
Greek man over Is and under so be
found in Ordou. Send all such on into
the interior As for the families we will
send further orders later
Mr.. Crawford also\ wrote: First Lot
us once more express our thankfulness
10 tod FOR the deliverance He has sent
US OF the great. grand Russian army
ana people. We are more and more
appreciaiine what the Russiaus hayeI
done for this region. Immediately after
the RUSSIAN occupation of this province
in April. 1916. hundreds of Armenians
began to come out of their hiding places
From the Greek minister 10 the
United States. Georges Rousscs, | have
a letter September 81. 1917, In which he
says:
Hacked by the Germans the Turks
nave put into execution and even or
ganized their wildness. They have de
cided 70 eXterminate the Greek element
winch is the most important
ana most numerous in Asia Minor.
Under pretext of necessities of war
entire populations have been depor,ed.
Members of families have been separnt.
ed. The old. the men unfit for military
service and the women. were sent into
the interior Of the country. abandoned
without the slightest help ard exposed
Ia all sorts of deprivations. The men
1T for military service we're taken bv
iorce into the army despite the fact OF
having paid for exemption; some of the
wealthiest have been called on to pav
TINS exemption fee three times over"
so there it is again. Unutterahle
crimes perpetrated by the hand of the
Turk but with the knowledge and con.
sent Of the German. what score the
civilized world will have "a settle when
the day of reckoning with the barbari.
ans comes