The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-01-23
AMERICANS HELD
 PRISONERS BY
 FIERCE TARTERS
Tells cf Terrible Scenes and Conditions In Far
 East.

Another American boy, unsatiated with his war experiences in France and Iured to the Near East by a de- sire for further adventure, is back with a story adding to those already told of the horrors inflicted by the MosIerns upon the Armenians and with a tale of Americans mistaken for spies by the fierce Tartars and held prisoners for days awaiting sum- mons to death.
 He is E. H. Miller, a Detroit boy. who during the World War served with the aviation section of the American army in Trance. Mustered out, lover there' he heard of an op- portunity for service and adventure with the American Relief Commission in the Near East and went to the Caucasus where he admits he got his full of adventure, for the time being at least He has just returned and has gone to Northern Michigan for a hunting trip in an endeavor to forget some of the horrible scenes in and around Eriyan ~nd other places in Armenia.
 Familiar with automobiles since his early boyhood, Miller who is not much past 25. was placed in charge of the transport of the relief work CTS in the Erivan district. Later he was with; the American Commission for Armenian and Syrian Relief and when that was succeeded by Near East Relief he continued his work in the district.
 Suffering in Caucasian Armenia has been relieved to a large extent in the Erivan distric.'' said MT. Mill Ter, "but there is still enough to wiring the stoutest heart. The worst problem of all is the seemingly end less stream of refugees which pours into the city, now headquarters for the government of the Armenian Re- public.
 "The Government has no funds for pubic works on which to employ those of the refugees able to do a little work. It has but little money to buy food. The refugees drift in, find little or nothing and after a time, those who are able, drift some where else, always seeking food enough to maintain life.
 "Outside the city, conditions are much worse. Along every road are the refugees, most of them wander ing aimlessly in the hope of getting something to eat. Four years ago they were prosperous farmers, shop keepers, or business men, Now they have nothing and they ana their ktr are dying by scores daily. Near 1 East Relief Is doing splendid work 1 but it must do more and more foi ! the need is great
 Belgium and Northern France 1 suffered much during the War bur not as Armenia has suffered. In tho 1 country districts there are scores o1 ! ruined villages and houses, some l completely destroyed, others so dam i aged as to be almost beyond repair 1 On the farms, trees were wantonl. cut down. crops unrooted. building | wrecked and tools carried away.
 ''This Is what the survivors arr l coming back to. Decimated families l ruined homes, wrecked farms, n' food, little work, no prospects. Un less America aids promptly and gen ] erously starvation and disease vii furnish the work of exterminatiol begun by the Turks
 Miller's adventures began soon af ter he was assigned to the headquar
 ters in Erivan. Automobile trip i were not a delight. The roads, o
 what passed for roads, were in de
 cidedly bad shape, only one, that iron J Erivan to Tiflis, being m fair class No tires were obtainable at any price gas was high and scarce and every | thing else needed was either impossi
 ble to get or at prohfbit1ve price. i In Constanttnople, Miller had repIac
 ed his war-worn American uniferr
 for new English one, Sam Brown
 belt and all. This change, eommo to all Americans in the Near East 9
 the time, caused trouble for him an a party of Americans he was driv;n
 to Tfflis on relief mission, for g Nachievan, the party was halted Tartars and arrested as British spie from Persia.
 Under heavy guard and expectin
 to be shot at sunrise the party sper
 a sleepless night. but after a confer ence with the Tartar governor tn
 following day they were released. 4
 Boshanars came a repetition of th
 arrests and threats. This time the : were held for three uays with deat l hanging over their heads. Proof ths
 the party was all-American final won them through and they returne ] with eleven Americans and F'renc
 citizens who had been held by tt
 Tattars.