The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1921-06-04
| Demand That
Atrocities Cease
Near East Relief Committee
Calls on Congress to Take
Action to Save Armenians

New York. May 25-The United
States Congress has been asked to ex,
ert pressure on the Allies and upon
Turkey to stop the state of anarchy
in the Near East and to avert impend-
ing disater to the Armenians under
control of the Nationalist Turks
The appeal is made in the form Of q
memorial addressed to Congress by a
committee Of the beard of trustees OF
the Near East Relief. lin behalf of al
least 2o,OO0.000 of the people Of thu
United States who have contributed
to American relief work in the Near
East
The committee is composed et DIR
James L. Barton, SECRETARY of the Am
erican Board of Foreign Missions: DR.
Stanley White. Secretary of the Pres
byterian Board of Missions. and Wal
ter George Smith of Philadelphia.
They ask that congress and the
United States government take i'm.
mediate action and insist that Eng
land, France and Italy shall restore
the Christian minoritiesi in Asia Mi
In addition, the three trustees OF
the Near East Relief have sent an ap-
peal to about 10 0GO contributors to
American relief Work in the Near East
asking them to bring pressure to
bear upon congress to obtain the ac-
ton urged by the committee.
In explaining the action OF the com
East Relief had disbursed over S6O.-
100000 in money and supplies con-
tributed by the American people and,
he added, eve now see that enormous
humanitarian investment Of American
phi!anthrophy in danger of coming to
nothing on. account of continued an
archy in the Near East. We have.
therefore. decided to try to bring the
force Of those who gave this money
to bear upon our own government and
the governmentIs of our Allies In the
late war to put an end to the present
state of affairs in the Levant."
The memorial reviews political de-
velopments in the Ottoman Empire
since the a-mistice. and continues:
I
worthy Americans that Turkish Ma
'tionaIists have proclaimed that the
mosques and minarets destroyed in
their conflicts with the French they
will rebuild with the skulls Of Armen-
ians.
women and children declare that
they would choose death. in whatever
o., ~ 70 q
distress Of hopelessness and Of per-
petual terror. and yet no way OF es-
cape opens before them. Among these
distracted Christian peoples a STAT
Of panic prevails. Their safety seems
to lie in fight. -
There appears to be no protection
for them in territory controlled by the
Turkish Nationaiists and the French
protest their going into Syria. They
seemed condemned by circumstances
beyond their control to certain death.
America is in q position to secure
the protection required. if it acts
promptly ard decisively. We can in
sist that England, France and Italy.
who have incensed the Turk by de-
priving him of much of his territory
and created in him spirit of re-
venge, shall now demand and en-
force the demand that exiled and
menaced peoples be restored to their
homes and protected there"
The memorial states that "all
Europe and the Turk know that the
United States neither seeks nor de-
sires territorial acquisitions or control
in any part of the Turkish Empire;
but they should all be convinced that
the people of America cannot and will
not remain Indifferent when inhu-
manities Of such character are openly
practiced upon helpless and unpro-
tected people.
''This can be done without parti-
sanship. since the recent platforms
of the two great political parties de-
clared in favor Of readiness to render
every possible help to the suffering
Armenians There has never been a
time when that aid was more impera-
tive than it is today. Delay is per-
ilous''
The board Of trustees of the Near
East relief which. the announcement
says. approved this action Of COM
n1ittee. includes former President
Taft. Major General Leonard Wood
Elihu Root, Oscar S. Straus. Ambas-
sador Myron T, Herrick. Henry Nor
genthau. John H Finley. Cleveland H
Dodge. Charles r. Crane. Rabbi
Stephen S. Wise. Vance c. McCor-
mick. Abram I. Elkus, Frank A. Polk
Franklin D. Roosevelt. Major General
James G. Harbord and Hamilton
Holt.