New-York tribune., 1920-03-15
American COMMITTEES :.
Meeting Tonight to Urss
Steps Be Taken to p
vent Partition of Na,;os
Gerard One of Speakers
Balfour Tells Ex-Ambass.
dor Britain Believes sJTS 6
Should Take Mandata..'

Hall tonight, under the auspices ~ !,
American Committee for the Inden.,.
ence of Armenia. fs'a-
First hand data about condition. :.
Armenia will be presented by Ws,..as
George Smith and Captain Geor,.
Hyde, who recently have returned s,.o
the Near East. Other speakers arr avh =.
be James w Gerard, chairman ~ .. =
committee; DR.. William 7. Mann;,saNs ,as
Senator King, of Utah; Samuel :.rs' Gn,ss
pers and Governor Bartlett Of M. M
Hampshire. -'ss
Preliminary to the meeting Mr. O..
rard yesterday made public cablerrsm.,
between himself and Arthur ]. Balfons
In response to inquiries Mr.. BaNn-.
said Great Britain had made no treat;ss
looking toward the partition Of 4.
menia. His country, he said. had tab,
the position that the United Stat.s
should assume a mandatary over 4,
menia.
Asked to Consider L. s. Opinion
On February ~ Mr.. Gerard cabled h
Mr.. Balfour:
Treaties for partition Of Armsnis
have been concluded during your in.
t
lister and at a time when Allied
leaders and statesmen had adopted
principle Of self-determination nj
We attached particular Significance
to reference to six Armenian yilav,t.
in British Turkish armist;ce and Wa
are naturally distressed over new
that Allies may cut up Armenia. We
Britain to state that 10000 minis
ters, IS bishops, 25O college and uni.
versity presidents and 20 Governors.
who have gone on record in favor
of integral Armenia, will be asked to
join in condemnation Of decimation
of Armenia.
"Americans have already given
s3O,000,000 and are now being asked
another S30,000,O00 for Armenian re.
lief. There exists here preponder-
ant opinion favoring Americas aid
Armenia during her formative period.
Ten members OF our committee, in
cluding Hughes and Root and with
approval of Lodge, telegraphed the
President that America aid Armenia
We are earnestly anxious that Brit
ain seriously consider American
opinion on Armenian case
No Treaties Concluded, He Says
Replying on February 26, Mr.. Bal
four said:
"In reply TO your telegram ofFeb-
ruary Is | should observe that the
first paragraph seems written under
q apprehension. ] concluded no
treaties about Armenia at all. do
not understand why Great Britain
Will be held responsible By 10000
ministers of religion. eighty-fye
bishops, 250 university presidents
and forty governors if greater
Armenia is not forthwith created, in
cluding Russian Armenia on the
north and stretching to the Mediter-
ranean on the south. Permit me TO
remind you of the facts: Great Brit
ain has no interests in Armenia ey-
cept those based on humanitarian
grounds; in this respect her position
IS precisely that o. the UEst-d
States.
Il have always urged, whenever |
had an opportunity, that the United
States should take its share in the
burden of improving conditions in
the pre-war territories of the Turk
ish Empire. and in particular thatit
should become the mandatory in Ar
menia. Events over which Grea.
Britain had no control have prevent
ed this consummation and have de-
layed with most unhappy results the
settlement of the Turkish peace.
There appears to- be great msconcep-
tion as to the condition of affairs in
Armenia.
Cannot Aid Armenia
or make appeal in your first
sentence to the principle OF scf-de-
termination. If this is taken in its
ordinary meaning as referring TO the
wishes of the majority actually IN
habit'ng a district, ii must be re.
membered that in vast regions Of
greater Armenia the ,nhabitancs are
overwhelmingly Mussu,man, and if al
lowed to vote would certainly vote
against the Armenians do not
think this conclusive, but it must not
be forgotten whoever undertakes, In
your own words, to aid Armenia dur
ing her formative period must, fear,
be prepared TO use military force.
Great Britain finds the utmost dE-
hcuity IN carrying out the resnonsb-
ltles she already has undertaken. She
cannot add Armenia to their number
America, with her vast population
and undiminished resources and no
fresh responsibilities thrown upon her
by the war, is much more fortunately
situated She has shown herself most
generous toward these much oppresssd
people, but | greatly fear that ever
the most lavish charity unsupported
by political and military assistance
Will prove quite insufficient to d.a.
with the unhappy consequences 81
Turkish cruelty and misrule- If am
right in inferring from your ts'e-
gram that my attitude on this qdes,,
ton has been somewhat misunderstood
in America. shall b. grateful y
you viii give publicly - this reply
Urges Aid in Reconst ruction
In his reply to that message M
Gerard said he had the Syhes-Pico'
contract in mind in referring 70
treaties for the partition of Armenia.
Turks and Kurds were barred nom
claiming the eif-determinasion pm
ciple because they had killed so many
Armenians, he said, adding that in isis
Armenians constituted about ~ Pc,
cent of the population, and Turks anu
kurds combined about as per CEN:
Since then, he said, 50 per cent =;
the Armenians had been killed s'1
about 30 per cent Of the Moslems. -.
When refugees had been repaTria.eoii
restored to normal aas
Russian and Turkish Armenia uni.ss'
Armenians would outnumber innsp.-
tants of any other nationality. ne o.
clared. He expressed the belief tns.
the Armenian situation since 1873 VIZ
mot unrelated" to series of aIrahss
ments undertaken under British d'I's
ton. :.
Any provisional arrangement n.1s
Armenia should give .ns s
country access to the Black sea an an