The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1920-07-08
GEORGIANS PREFER
FIGHTING TO WORK
Hugh &. Clark Of Bennington Writes
of Experiences With Near East
Relfaf Workers.


Mr.. and Mrs. Il. NJ. Clark of l21 Put
nam street have received an interest
ing letter from their son Hugh Il.
Clark, who, since his discharge from
the service has been engaged in Near
East relief work The letter was writ
ten in Tiflis, Georgia, and it describes
some Of the interesting experiences Of
the writer in this much disturbed quar-
ter Of the earth. Hugh writes that he
misses his evening clothes as he has
been present at number Of entertain
ments at which full dress" was the
proper thing but at the same time he
has found that the American uniform
/ is always a passport for the wearer
and that IL is accorded large amount
of respect by the people of Asia
Minor.
One OF his diversions was an automo
bile trip made in the companyof sew
eral young men and young women.
When the party left. the city
of Tiflis on a May Sunday morning
the thermometer registered 80 degrees
! in the shade. During the 80 miles of
| the outward journey III young people
Travelled 80 miles into the mountains,
lasceHded to height of 1000 feet and
stopped when the automobiles could no
longer buck the snow drifts. AL the
point on the road where the cars stal.
| led in the snow they were surrounded
lby mountain peaks thousands OF feet
thigh Some OF the peaks of the Cau-
casus rise to heights of 9000 feet and
are covered with perpetual snow.
The entrance Of the bolsheyiki into
the territory OF Azerbagame created a
number of changes in the personnel
| of the Near East relief workers, as or
ders were issued for the larger proper
ton, including all of the women, 10
leave the country Seven, Mr.. Clark
writes, decided to remain in the eX-
pectation Of witnessing something un-
usual They We're disappointed, how
ever, for the dreaded crisis passed
without any excitement
At the time the letter was written
the Georglans had not declared war
with the Tartars but there had been Il
number of clashes between the two
races as the wounded Georgians were
being brought into Tiflis for treat
ment. Unless the continued fighting
ceases the Georgians, in Mr.. Clark $
opinion, are threatened with extinc-
tion. Outside of scrapping with their
lneighbors, the GeoTgians, are experts
in the art Of taking things easy and
the country seems to be oyerrun with
pretty girls.
There seems to be no disposition on
the part of the people to go to work
and starvation to the point of extinc-
ton is only prevented through the eff
forts of the relief workers. In Alex
andrenople in May there was one
camp containing over twenty-thousand
refugees. 1t was weird sight, MIR.
Clark writes to see the poor people
line up for their daily rations which
consist largely of soup and bread which
they are mighty glad to receive If
the crops now in the ground develop
as is hoped the people should be able
to go through the coming winter with
little assistance.
One of the points of interest visited
by the writer was Mount Arraat upon
which Noah landed with his ark. There
are so many mountains of greater
height in the immediate vicinity that
Mr. Clark was unable to understand
why the patriarch and his numerous
human and animal families missed
them all
Before leaving for America Mr.. Clark
intendes visiting the Golden Trail men
toned in the Bible and also hopes tc
make a journey into Palestine and into
IEgypt
The writer is inclined to sympathize
to some extent with the Bolshewki
The poor people were in such straits
that they were forced to take some
kind Of action and in turning to the
bolsheyiki they adopted the only
means they could comprehend. Only
about ten per cent of the inhabitants
can read and write and many are sc
dumb that they can not so much as
count At the present time there /,
an educational movement on foot an(
with good schools the people should
eventually emerge from their presen
state of degradation. When thi,
change comes about Russia, Mr.. Clarl
believes, Is destined to become one o