The Penn's Grove record., 1919-08-22
PERSIA'S BAD PLIGHT
People Starving and Eating Each
Other For Want of Aid


Aimee Vanneman Hogdon, daughter
of DR.. William S. Nanneman. who
went to Constantinople and thence to
Persia with her husband, both of whom
were with an American Relief Expe-
dition, wrote April 5th from Tifis,
Russia, to relatives in America, telling
the horrible condition the Armenian
Christians are suffering. She met her
father a few hours, she on her way to
Turkey and he on his way to America.
He is at Poughkeepsie, n. Y, recuper-
ating from his CONSERVATION and wor-
ry while a prisoner Of the Turks last
September.
Mr.. and Mrs. Hogdon, both of whom
were teachers in the University of
Texas at Austin, before he enlisted in
the L. S. Army, left Constantinople
for Caucasus, March 31st. As Mrs.
Hogdon was born in Tabriz, had a
Turkish nurse and was educated in
French Literature, she could converse
readily with the British, Turks and
others. They took train at Baton on
the Black sea for Tifis, thence by
train to Tabriz. When DR.. Vanneman
first went there about thirty years
ago he and his wife rode on camel's
backs.
Mrs. Hogdon says: I'VE stopped
three n four hours at every station of
Importance when we got out and had
q social conclave with our British
friends who We're all exceedingly
courteous. We certainly have a high
opinion Of the English. They have a
fine organization Of the Relief work in
Caucasus. Commissioner Main will
leave April 18th for America to stop
at the Peace Conference and to tell
the American people the terrible ref
ugee situation here which no one at
home (America) can ever begin to IN
derstand until they hear it from his
lips. We should have a hundred or
more workers at once. The thirty
two allotted to the Caucasus can not
begin to cope with the situation.
These have been divided into ten
units. John and have full charge of
Nakhchivan and Djoulfa. We ought
to have ten or fifteen men for each sta
ton. If you can rake up anybody, put
them in communication with the New
York office.
In Alexandrople each day 200 bodies
of starved refugees are picked up from
the streets and carried away in carts
or buried in pits.
We attended an Armenian Art Ex-
hibition in Tifis and talked with the
most noted painters for an hour in
French about the various pictures.
There were two magnificent paintings
of Ararat which | would like to pos
sess. We also went to the American
Consulate which is a handsome place.
We went to the Armenian Ethnologi-
cal Society where we were received by
all the high Armenian officials in
Titiis. They made speeches and drank
toasts to america, the greatest ma
ton of the world" l met a wealthy
Armenian who use to be in Tabriz
where he was a prominent Persian Of
fetal. | had a long conversation with
him and his wife and learned that
father had treated her a year ago
when she was very sick. They spoke
highly of him and seemed glad to see
me. We talked Turkish a blue streak
| for half an hour much to the amaze
ment of those around.
Erivan, March 10. We are now in
the lovely airy headquarters of the
American Relief, looking ros mud
walled gardens to snowy Ararat.
Alexandropol is in a terrible condition.
I The worst is Ikdir where the houses
| are full of unburied dead. The other
day a mar carried a sack thru the
street. On examination it was found
to contain the body of a freshly killed
man which the bearer was taking
home to eat. In another family the
cook was found roasting half the body
of a baby. In other places children
have been eating marrow from human
bones. | really can hardly stand the
sights | see of famished children or
the streets. l feel like crying all the
time. We haven't half enough to feed
them and not half enough relief work
ers. If the American people could
I realize that it is a common sight al
thru Armenia to see children lying
dead in the streets and houses and thai
people are forced to eat each other
! they'd Just hate themselves for any
surplus money they wouldn't offer t.
save these poor people. In some
places the orphans are gathered to-
gether in a big open courtyard anC
given one bite of bread. They have tt
sleep on the ground of course with ne
covering but this is better than the
street.
The following morning they are
sorted over and the little dead one:
put aside until the oxcart comes tt
gather them up. Meanwhile the won.
derful fertile fields are all plougheC
by survivors, of the massacres but there
is no grain to SOW. The fields are
waiting but the Tartars and Turk!
have carefully taken away all gooC
grain so as to make it impossible fol
the Armenians to have a harvest this
year. Just to think that these won
derful black soil valleys and hill side.
must go barren. That is the dis
| couraging thing about it. 1t looks a
| though this same famine must con
| tinue all next year too, and this ricl
country is doomed to bear nothing
Things like that just make ones BLOOD