The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1921-02-26
Nearly Everyone Is Consistent One Thing Usually 1t
20septl9

| OLtNli lIltb VIC NONAh llbell AllG (5lllh
Of the British battle ships firing on
the enemy, and sometimes the Nation
alists came so near TO our camp that
few OF our Armenian teachers were
scared enough to go back to Constan-
tinople. The British army was en-
camped at Bostandjk only two miles
/ from our lines and the "Tommie"
/ used to come to special cinema shows
in our tent hall.
| The railway line was closed most Of
the summer beyond Tousla and | was
one Of the last to leave Ismid after
the city had been surrounded with a
barbed wire fence. had been there
to see about some camping material
and to visit friends made last year.
! But so long as the British soldiers
were on guard near our camp we had
no fear and regarded the occasional
maneuyers Of the fleet in the Sea OF
Marmora and the firing Of guns over
our heads " the hills far away as
interesting incidents in summer out
Ing. Constant'nople was quiet as the
frowning guns in the Bosphorus were
q good object esson TO the Turks.
I had as assistants two fine Amerf.
can fellows and about twenty Robert
college students from seniors to fresh
men.
After the camp had been running
successfully for two months ! was
invited by our senior secretary, Mr..
Staegar who had recently arrived
from New York, to take our dear Mr..
! Perry's place (who had been brutally
murdered by the Turks on his way to
Antab to visit me and my work. to
serve as spec al representative of the
"Y' committee, in the Caucasus and
the interior Of Asia Minor. My mis-
sion was TO go to the newly establish
ed republics Of Georgia and Armenia
N the Russian Caucasus and then
proceed nto the interior Of Asia Min
or for the purpose Of investigating
social, moral and religious conditions
among the people and reporting on
the probable strategic C centers where
1t would be advisable to organize an
American 'Y'
I left Constantnople In an Ameri-
can destroyer on August eth through
the special orders Of Admiral Bristol
our American high commissioner in
Turkey. Among the few special pas.
sengers we had on board the Whpple
were the mother and daughter of Gen
eral Wrangel who was then in South
ern Russia, driving the Bolsheyks
across the peninsula OF the Crimaa
and attempting 10 succeed IN the work
IN which General Deniken had so pity
fully failed. This necessitated the
destroyer going TO the port of Sebas-
topol for the purpose OF landing the
Wrangels Here Lady Wrangel lived
and it was from this point that press
correspondents and supplies left for
the front IL was a very interesting
city especial'y in connection with the
h storic associations of the CHmean
war. With a fellow traveller on
board we landed to see the city and
entered an open air restaurant to get
luncheon A great many Russian
refugees were at the tables. who evi-
1eutlv beonged to the Burgeois class
ias they were we'll dressed and appar-
emily were not short OF money. Not
tefng able to speak Russian We called
in French for as good a lunch as could
ha furnished for reasonable amount
We were brough roast chicken. French
fried potatoes bread, spinach and for
dessert ice cream and Engl sh bis
cults On asking for the bill was
STAGGERED 10 find that the two Of US
had incurred a debt OF $4,000 Toubles
7 was dumbfounded and thought ]
should have to telegraph back to
headquarters for more money. | pro.
'duced a roll Of Turkish paper consist
ing of perhaps OF 100 hounds and told
the waitress that was all | cou'd snare
and suggested that she helD herself.
To NV infinite relief and surprise she
selected a Turkish paper pound note
which according TO the rate of eH
change at that time was equivalent
ia one dollar in T. 8. money and 70
$4,000 Russian roub'es of the then
current Wrangel issue OF course
the decline Of the Kerensky and the
Depiken notes had made Russian
rouh'es except the Romanoff roubles,
which we're not in circulation, of very
little value.
found the same uncertainty about
other kinds of roubes in the Caucasus
and Armenia: although the Georgian
roubles were selling 1400 to the Turk
ish paper mound and the Armenian
roubies 5000 This Of course reduced
the price Of commodities and mer-
chandise to those who had Turkish or
American money The Turkish pap
er mound before the war was equival-
ent to one pound gold, Today one gold
pound is worth five paper pounds
After leaving Sebastopo and sailing
by the sun crowned heights of Bala-
clava recalling one of the most thrill
ling incidents in English history we
came to "Yialta" the summer rest
dence region of the Gar, and the
grand dukes of old Russia. It was a
reached the harbor we sailed by mag
niicent estates and great parks IN
which we could see sheltered behind
trees Of a hundred years old imposing
baronial halls, and acres of vineyards
and miles OF excellent roads where
one could read ly see the nob'es of
the court could spend weeks of leisure
and recreat'ou, surrounded by all the
beauties of the landscape, and all the
charm of the coast that makes the
Black Sea one of the most enchanting
bodies Of water in the Near East. 1t
was rather pathetic to go into the
Cars private residence and to walk
through the beautiful rooms Of the
palace where the royal family had
been wont to sit around the dining
table, or to gather around the grand