Baraboo weekly news. [volume] (Baraboo, Wis.) 1912-197?, 1921-04-07
CLUB DISCUSSES
THE AREMENIANS
Mrs. H. C. Brown Presents Paper
On Situation in the Far East
,Armenians Prosecuted

eminent" was the subject discussed
sat the Catholic Woman's club on We'd
gnesday afternoon. Many interesting
Facts were brought forth and Mrs. H.
C. Brown presented very able pa
ger describing conditions of those
Suffering people. She said in sub
stance:
"sWhen one hears the name Ar
menia, he usually associates it with
Turkey because of the terrible afro
cities committed by the Turks upon
9hese unfortunate people.
Armenia is in Asiatic Turkey, with
6he Black sea on the north and Syria
and Mestopotamia on the south. 1t is
like Belgium-suffering the penalty of
being a buffer state with the Russian
holshevicks on the north and the Tur-
kish nationalists on the south. The
Turks and Russians have already met
an Armenian soil. Long before the
World war began, the Armenians suf-
Tered the most cruel treatment from
the Turks. The kingdom of Armenia
(4) centuries afterwards was a happy
and prosperous state, containing
population of thirty million 100000
aJO0) people. The census of 1914
showed a population of three and one
half million (3,50O000).
Their fate now hangs in the balance
Whether they are to be destroyed or
survive depends on the aid they get
from other countries particularly the
United States. After the fall of the
Russian empire, the territory lying
south of the Caucasus mountains de-
clared itself independent under the
name "The Trans-Caucasian Fedora
ton" Later it was split into three
republics, Armenia being one of them.
4&E the peace conference Armenia
Eoeing one of them. At the peace con-
&8rence Armenia made an appeal and
"a proposition, but seemingly to no
purpose In a recent address given in
Milwaukee by DR.. Isaac Yonan of the
Near East Relief he said: For 600
years the terrible Turk has been our
master, his program has been to an
initiate and eXterminate us. When
the World war began, we gave our
selves to the Allies. They made ex-
&Eawagant promises to us. We did our
part. We did so per cent more than
the British We gave 100000 men to
light for the Allies. After six months
we never heard from the Allies. In
the seventh month of the seige one
morning we saw a British airplane
coming. What a joy, we all thought
at was Captain Pennington from Mes
TopOtamia and he was with us II
hours He told us he was very sorry
but that the British could not come to
a0ur rescue. We watched him mount
higher and higher the next morning,
and with the disappearance of that
Sairplane, our last hopes died.
Armenia is the oldest Christian
state. For the past 16 centuries this
little band of Christians, ever perse-
Cuted by the barbarous hordes sur
rounding them, has held aloof the
&orch of Christianity, though success
Gu1ly overrun by Persians, Turks and
'Tartars but have somehow managed
go survive Literature has had a
marked development in Armenia,
Trom early times. The early Chris
&ian writings are valuable and date
from the invention of the national
alphabet in the fifth century. They
also translated the bible, and produc-
led valuable historical works.
Russia whose denomination would
Sar least have given protection to the
Armenians was opposed by England
in the Crimean war The unhappy
people were again left to the mercy
s0f the Turks. Eighty-five per cent Of
tthe Armenians are engaged in agbi-
culture Many of them are noted
doctors, lawyers, engineers and chem
lists. They are the leading people of
energy and endoWments in the Near
East and their success, whenever at
tanned, has been the result of thrift,
industry and temperance, virtues I'M
known to their Turkish oppressors.
The cause of this persecution is not
Mar to seek. 1t lies in the peculiar
character of the Turk His incapacity
Scr INTEL; gent political rule, and the
stringent requirements of his religion.
He has remained century after CEN
Gury essentially unchanged. For four
and one half centuries he has camped
on Asia Minor and some of the most
fertile lands of Europe. He found
there great cities, well watered lands,
capable of supporting a dense popula-
SEiun and now it is all, pasture for
mis- sheep and cattle which from his
main holdings. The Turkish peasant
is content with the scantiest farming,
and lives in poverty without the
least ambition. He is kind to the
poor of his own race. fond of children
and takes good care of his animals.
He cannot amhracp any other rel oeinn