The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1921-02-26

lie OF Armenia and to Tabiz an I'M
portant city Of Persia. Owong TO the
Bolshevik activities N Baku, and on
the Persian and Armenian frontiers.
was very ser ously handicapped in
my movements through the Russian
Caucasus. In Tiflis ! was especially
delayed. For three weeks | had to
wat before | could proceed to the
Persian frontier, and then the means
Of travel we're so distressing that |
was six days on the road before | (
reached Eriyan, the hardships and
troubles enroute being akin to the d e.
ticulties that the poor refugees had
TO endure when being deported. The
people In the Caucasus are very poor
and both republics that have recently
been organ zed are In need Of men and
money; the money in both cases be-
ing printed daily by the millions of
roubles, and many OF the men with
brains escaping as soon as possible to
other more propitious lands.
In Tiiis and in Britain | met many
Of the pubic officials including sever
al members OF the cabinet and the
m mister of war They impressed me
as men who were trying 20 make
bricks without straw, and as men who
had been given colossal task, but
had been left without the where with
al to. accomplish it.
The Armenians especially are hard
pressed. In and around Alexanderpol,
Kars and Eriyan there are 25000 or
phans boys and girls in the care OF
the American Near East relief. The
orphans are the hope OF the new ma
ton and but for these waits and
strays" who are being gathered to-
gether from a'loyer the interior one
might despair of the future of the re-
pubic. The Near East is planning TO
train and educate these boys and rls,
physically, industrially, morally, intel
lectually, and religiously for ten years
to come, and ten years Of American
training will do more OF upbuilding
of the character and the discipline OF
the mind and body than twenty five
years Of oriental schooling.
While In Tihis | met several very
fine Russian families, among them the
Princess Madevani and her children.
The Russ an princess is the wife OF
the Georgian governor general of Ia
toum and is very cultured and
charming lady Mr. Crane. the com
missioner Of President Wilson, stayed
in her house during h S V sit to Tifis
and when he returned to America he
took " Tn him her two sons to be edu
; Gated in American colleges at the eX
pense Of the government I think
one Of them is in the M. l. 7. \
daughter Is also in an American col
lege and the governor and the pr n
cess are both leaving for the United
States very soon to visit their chill
dren and TO see the country.
On my return TO Batoum found tht
city in the throes Of the black plague
one OF the workers (native) OF the
Near East relief in the house where
> stayed becoming victim Of T.
On Wis ting a Greek refugee eaml
q, with the attendent physician ont
night to see q man who had beer
smitten with the plague we founI
that he had been dead ha'f an hour
! and the attendept had been fighting
!, with a club i've jackalls who ha'
come into the building to make pre-,
! of the body. ! was inoculated thu
/, next day and after strenuous meas
! ures taken by the city government
: the plague seemed IN a fair way {
die out
The Greek refugees were in a pitt
FIJI condition owing to the Greek gov
eminent promising to transport then
to their own country and then aban
! don ng them to their fate. They ha,
left their homes in the Caucasus TN
T. der Tn promise and then when the,
reached Batoum they found that tn
Greek government was so busy trans
. porting soldiers to take up the often
sive against the Turkish nationalist
that they had no transports to spar
for the poor refugees.
For some weeks | was travelling
I with press correspondent. a MI
i Waldo of the Phi adelph Public Led
. ger. and he was so indignant over tn
/ tuation that he wrote an article 70
the outlook on what he called TN
q Greek Crime" Perhaps you hav
seen IL. or IL not that another articl
!, Of his on Climbing Mt. Ararat" A
l the time he wrote tn y last article
! was with him In Er'van. He had jus
I returned from his adventure with Dr
! Fossum and II was most interesting 4
sit down and talk with them bot
! about it, We we're both guests o
Dr. FoSsum at the same time. If
9 had arrived N Eriyan two weeks eai
< Ter think Ishoud have tried TO max
: the ascent with them I had won
q derfu drive to Etchmiadzin al
, through the Ararat valley, with MI
= Alaguer lifting its mighty peak 1900
!, feet in the ar as If to reach the sun
u NIT of Ararat 1000 feet higher.
Have YOU read the adventures q
\ Hail Bahia? If no, read them as 500
$ as possible. They are as thrilling a
Z "The Arabian Nights" and give woI
derful descriptions of people, countr,
il customs. cities and old me habit
with which one becomes more or les
- familiar in the PAGES have mel
toned. Perhaps the book mean
more to me, reading it in the Nea
East, than H. may to you N the Yves
as The Last Days OF Pompli." mean
more to me years ago reading it o
the Bay of Naples and amid the ruin
of Pompeii than It did to those VIII
read it in the luxury of an easy chat
IN an cd New England home.
It was several days before | coul
Lget a boat from Batoum and when
did left for Treb zond. Trebizond
an interesting Turkish city and is tn
Rlnck Sea rnfeMAv To Armenin nm