The Penn's Grove record., 1919-03-07
Extract From Letter of F. N. Jessup
November 10. 1918

The three weeks since getting out
of Jail have been one perpetual jump
getting places and things ready for
the Urumia missionaries, seeing guam
titles of visitors, trying to do some
thing for the deluge of poor, hungry
people who had just been waiting for
us to get out of prison in hopes OF my
being able to supply them with help.
1t is pitiful. And tt have to turn
away so many and to give such a pit
lance to those we do help, because of
lack of funds and of the way to get
more until the roads open up and
business resumed is heart-rending. l
regularly give out money and inter
view the poor on Fridays but other
days and all the time they are coming
to me for help and with pitiful stories.
Last week / estimated the money
should have reached 1900 Tomas, but,
of course, | didn't see so many indi-
viduals-only n member of a family.
But a great many more have to be
turned away. And yet this is but a
drop in the bucket to what ought to
be done.
A week ago Saturday the major
part of the troops quartered on US
left, but enough stayed on to continue
the work of destruction and to make
one enough when awakened
every morning before daybreak by the
sound of splitting wood, knowing it
was probably furniture or woodwork
of our house that was going. At last.
November 5, the last soldiers went,
taking with them the mule and the wo-
men they had kept in two adjoining
rooms of the school and leaving be-
hind them many evidences of their
stay. l had already urged the Consul
to hasten the investigation and proto-
coils so we could get the necessary re-
pairs made and at once notified him
of the departure of the troops and got
masons and carpenters to begin re-
storing the buildings. In our own
house all the shelves and woodwork
they could get hold of OF the first
story was smashed and burned and
much on the second story. B. Marcos
estimates it will take hundreds of to-
mans to replace it for they made a
clean sweep. In the stable yard,
doors, windows and their frames, and
even some of the roofs were torn down
and burned, also all fuel and boxes,
ETC., found. And so in the yard
much shrubbery and some trees have
gone, and lots of other trees are
gnawed or girdled by the horses,
mules, donkeys, goats, etc., they turn
ed loose there. In the school, doors and
windows and all shelving, besides half
or two-thirds of our frewood are gone.
Of course things were in a filthy
condition-for example u w house
will need to be re-whitened throughout
and floors repaired or remade and in
some cases the existing woodwork and
plastering torn out in the hope QfAget-
ting cleanliness. However, it light
have been worse, and we can't be too
thankful that they didn't stay on till
winter, for then all the trees and all
the woodwork would have gone. The
representatives of Spanish, Turkish
and Persian governments finally got
here yesterday morning and | accom-
panied them around while they made
notes preparatory to a protocol. |
forgot to mention that while we were
"jugged," DIR. Vanneman's dining
ROOM, where the Clifford, Wells and
Fleming things are stored were
broken into and all bureaus and desks
broken open and ransacked in search
of treasure apparently. We don't
know what was taken, if anything,
but the commission sealed the room
awaiting the arrival of those who own
the things. Tomorrow, l have the
pleasure of going with DR.. Dodd to the
hospital property to go over all the
buildings there with the same COM
mittee. In a way the work will be
simpler for the place has been so COM
pletely looted that it won't take long