New-York tribune., 1918-01-21
Germany an Accomphce in armenia
of Conante
Article in
The Ncw York Tribune Foreign Press Bureau

the city seemed imminent "A facctious Ger.
man officer assured me he engaging a
window from which his family might view the
entry of the Allied forces DR.. Stuermer
in Gallpoli for few weeks, and learned to
know and admire the Turkish soldier; he also
made the acquaintance of the few prisoners
that were taken, and began to ask himself
disturbing questions about culture and free
dom.
"He came back to Constantinople soon nf
ter the beginning Of the Armenian tragedy
and discovered with horror that Sin this move
ment OF chauvinistic Destiaity, unique in the
later history Of human development, the Ger
man government was plainly an accomplice
He does not repeat the dreadful details which
he heard from German Red Cross doctors and
nurses, from officials of the Bagdad Railway,
from the American Embassy and occasion
ally from the Turks themselves. They
we'll known in Switzerland, where many Of
the fugitives have found shelter, and from his
own knowledge he considers the worst tales
not exaggerated. Hs occupies himself
rather in explaining the attitude Of the Ger
man government 1t was due, he declares, to
mixture of cowardice and short-sighted stu
pidity-
"tTo cowardice, in the first place We
held the Turkish government financially and
politically firmly in our hands; we could
certainly have constrained them to observe
some elementary principles of humanity
had we wished to do so. Enver and Talaat.
who as Minister Of the Interior and virtu-
ally Dictator Of Turkey was directly re-
sponsible had no longer any choice but to
follow Germany Internationally. If word
had been spoken on behalf Of the Arme-
mans they would have obeyed, with gnash-
ing Of teeth no doubt, but without delay.
There are hundreds Of examples to prove
that the German Embassy never showed the
least consideration for Turkish interests or
sentiment where our own interests were
concerned, and invariably carried its point
Infamy and Stupidity
"But the German government was afraid,
apparently, of putting a finger between the
bark and the tree, and the agony of the help
less victims-they numbered perhaps half a
mllion-left them unmoved. The acquies-
cence Of Germany in crime as Infamous as
any which history records was as stupid as
it was bases
"'The rising tide Of chauvinism was not
hidden from government, and no man
capable of little foresight could doubt
even in the summer Of 1915, that Turkey
would go with us only as long as she need
ed our military and financial help, that
there would be no room for US, not even
economical room, in a victorious, truly
Turkish Turkey. In spite Of the continual
lamentations over this disagreeable but
we'll known fact, we allowed a cultivated
progressive people, numbering million
and half conspicuously open to European
ideas, which would have been the best pos
sible counterpoise to the Young Turkish
clement with its nationalist hatred of for
eigners, to disappear, leaving the remnant
that survived the CHASTITY catastrophe
deadly foes forever. The Armenians have
always been sympathetic toward Germany
and they waited hopefully for US to speak
the word that would have saved them;
hopefully at first, then tremblingly. .
Their hatred Of us now is justly inextin-
guishable, as the German trader in the East