Republican farmer., 1919-05-30
CHRISTIANS ARE mASSACRED BY
 TURK SOLDIERS

Copyright 1919, by The Internation-
 al News Bureau, Incl
 Constantinople, May 26.-A striking picture of existing conditions in the interior of Asia Minor Is given in a report for the month of March, which nave received from the Archbish- op Of Anna ssia, whose residence is at Samsoun- Throughout this diocese the Turkish population is armed An AL banian, Yashar Effendi, when dis trfbuting rifles to the Turkish com ftadjis in his district made them swear on the Koran to use these arms against the Christians. .umbers of Lazes, the most fanatical and anti Christians in Asia Minor had been imported into the district and dis tributed abongst the MussuIrnan will lages. The Samsoun district has been divided into twelve sub districts, and each of these has had it's Mussulnlan band.
 The Villages in the immediate vicini- ty of Samsoun are terrorized by a band led by Lag chief, Ekrem Bey In the third district a. band of fifty members is led by a Kurd, Mehmed Olou Redjeb. A fifth band is com manded by Fethi, a son of the chief of the gendarmerie of Inepoli The band operating around Ainoi is two hundred strong, and is commanded by Yasbar Effendi. The ninth district headquarters at Vizir Keupru has a particularly mobile band to fear. This is led by a Turkish officer with ten soldiers, reinforced by a score or more or Villagers with two machine guns In Samsoun itself the chief terrorist is Kara Oglou Kassif. These twelve bands are the principal cutprits on a r eli hut l>1 little bands are formed in the villages on the spur of the moment when news Is received that any Greeks are migrating.
 Greek Bands
 Against these bands five Greek bands have been organized under Batchakis, the other four leaders be- ing Kara Dimitri, Kara Sara. Kara keyaya- and PandeIi. The Greek bands were the outcome of the famous de- portations from Samsoun. These men took to the forest and mountains not only to save their own lives, but also to protect the Greek women and children left behind in the villages by the deported Greeks. They claim to be the protectors of the countryside. When they receive notice through their spies that a. Turkish band is moving in any particular direction they cut across country to reach the threatened villages first and protect them, but in all they number only a hundred and fifty men.
 In the difficult endeavor to keep the balance between these warning clements are 200 Indian soldiers, but from all reports 1t would appear that since the arrival of the British troops the Turks in the district have become arrnRanf than Gh a ago the English commander invited the Greek bands to demobilize, hoping that they would follow suit. After a consultation the Greeks decided that they would demobilize half their bands and watch the results on the Turks, thus showing good will to the British authorities. Within two days two leaders of the Greek bands who had come in were killed in the streets of Samsoun, with the result that the other Greek comitadjis returned to the forests and sent a message that when the Turkish population were entirely disarmed they would place themselves at the disposal of the British author ities. but till that time they must take their own measures for the protection of the Greek inhabitants.
 Wholesale Murder.
 During the month of March sixteen villages were ra1ded by Iurk1Sh bands In one village a hundred and fifty women and children were killed or mutilated. and in another thirty-nine men and eight women were killed Five cases of kidnapping for ran- som occurred. The largest cattle raid resulted in 330 head being taken from one village, and sixty-two attacks on individuals resulted in, loss of life The cases of simple assault and high way robbery are too numerous to tab ulate. Such is the record of one small corner of Asia Minor during thirty days. and 1t shows the condition ol the interior. where mixed races re- side.
 The Archbishop closes his report by stating that he has now come to an end of his powers of persuasion. He feels like Pontius Pilate, and un- lees help comes from elsewhere he