The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1920-06-24
FOR SUFFERING ARMENIA.
Native Armenian Presents Appeal to
Baptist Congregation.

n. A. Boyajian, native Armen-
ian, addressed the congregation Of
the Bamberg Baptist church Sunday
morning in the interest of the cam
paign for the assistance of that strick-
en- country. AS result Of his address
a splendid contribution was realized
for the Armenian relief fund, which
is to be expended in giving succOr
to these people who are in many re-
spects the worst sufferers of the late
war.
Mr.. Boyajian is most attractive
speaker and personality. The Armen-
ians are a pure Caucasian race, but
because of the location Of their home
land in the midst of Hindus, Budd-
hists, Turks, and others of this kind ,
the Armenian country is little known
to the outside world.
The speaker began his talk by
relating his troubles in trying to mas
ter the English language, which he
described as the hardest of several he
had studied. His description of his
battle with our native tongue was
most amusing, but going from the
ridiculous to the sublime, Mr.. Boya-
jan soon had many members of the
IN O 70 RI
the sore circumstances of his fellow
countrymen.
His own father was killed in a
general massacre by the Turks some
years ago. Later his mother and
sister were included among the hum
dreds of thousands exiled to a desert
country. Two of his cousins were
buried alive in a Turkish raid, and
others of his near kinsmen were
tragically dealt with.
Since the beginning of the war, he
related, more than two million Ar
menians have been massacred by the
Turks in an. endeavor to force them
to renounce the Christian faith, which
they have steadfastly refused to do
during all the centuries they have
been under Turkish domination and
control.
Armenian history, he said, goes
back to $500 years before Christ,
which is 1900 years back of the earl
lest Jewish history. At the time
Christ was preaching on earth the Ar
menian kingdom was in existence, and
in the year "a Christian missionaries
preached in Armenia. Since that time
the Armenians have adhered strictly
to the Christian religion. For the
last five hundred years Armenia has
been controlled by Turkey, which is
Mohammedan, and systematic effort
has been made by the Turks to either
exterminate the Armenian race or
force Armenia to follow Mohammed
In 1915 an official order was issued
by the sultan of Turkey to once and
for all get rid of the Armenians, and
the effort was made to either kill or
exile all over II years of age Only
about one million Armenians surviv-
ed this massacre.
Mr.. Boyajian stated that in the
famous Russian campaign in the early
stages of the war there were 1875, 900
Armenians with the Russian army,
and he unhesitatingly said that this
accounted for the wonderful victories
the Russians attained, and that while
the Russians time after time wanted
to retreat or give up, the Armenians
pushed onward, realizing what retreat
or surrender meant to them.
This young man has just gradual
ed in law from the University of
South Carolina. He is spending the
summer months in the Armenian re-
lief campaign. Next fall he will open
law Offices in Columbia for the prac-
tice Of law