Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1922-10-06
BELFAST
Belfast Boy in Navy Writes Of
Conditions in Near East and
the Unspeakable Turk

the UnSpeakable Turk
In series of letters written in
/ the Near East to his mother in Bel
| fast, Fred w. Wiley. son Of Mrs
| Ethel Wiley, tells of the atrocities
! of the unspeakable Turk as he has
seen them while a gunner, a mate on
the U. s. S. Lawrence. which has
been in the waters of the Black Sea
protecting Americans and carrying
Near East workers from Turkey to
Smyrna. He writes under date of
Sept. 18th:
1--WE are now in Smyrna, Asia came
to bring some Near East Workers
| down from Turkey and also to pro-
tect American property. There has
| been g. lot of fighting between Turks
| and Greeks but it is more quiet now.
This place is worse than Russia.
There are about 5000 Greek refu-
gees in barges tied up near us and
none Of them have had anything to
eat for the last three days. The
Turks took the place the day we ar
rived, killing the Greek soldiers right
and left. Civilians. women and kids,
rowed out to the ship and tied up to
| the stern for protection. but we could
do nothing for them
| The Turks kill the people on the
street and someone will come along
and push their bodies into the water.
We are only few yards from the
Main street, which Is on the water
front, and we see everything that
goes on. The Turks recently killed
| a.,
Lots of women and girls drown them
selves to escape the Turks. Every
! other night we go to the Dardanelles
to send wireless messages to the Uni
ted States.
! Sept. IS
| 1--WE are still in Smyrna and the
| fighting must be nearly over as tho
place is burned up. There We're about
two million people here before the
war began. 1 have seen things I
never want to see again In my life.
Greeks We're killed in every imagin-
able way by the Turks.
| Papers in the United States stated
that only about one thousand were
| killed. but it seems to me as If it
must be nearer seven or eight thou
sand. The only way the refugees can
get out is by ships and there are
only two or three of them available
now. We have two boat loads now
at our stern, waiting for a ship.
The Turks are a bunch of heathens.
When the buildings We're burning
they would take four or five hundred
Greeks and march them into the
fires We could not sleep on account
of the women and girls screaming.
A very few old ladies managed to
reach our ship. We gave them dry
clothing and sent them to the STAN
dard Oil docks where they could STAY
until the arrival of some ships. IT
was all we could do for them
ConstantinopIe
Tn an earlier letter he writes:
IT think that Constantinople is
about the lowest ard toughest place
in the world. 7 have been on shore
two or three times to see the city.
Conditions in Russia are certainly
all YOU read about and then some.
Everyone seems starving and they
are dying by the hundreds. We were
tied up at the docks when young
girls and old women would come
down early every morning with cans
! for scraps, but We were not allowed
10 give to them as they would crowd
the ship if we did.
Eat Anything
"The people here will eat anything
and all of our scraps go to the hos
| pitfalls. There is no use for money
| for there is nothing to buy. We give
away lots of our clothes to the kids
who live under the dock We get
| liberty three times week until mid
night and we take soap ashore to
swap for wine as We have to drink
that instead of water which is filled
with cholera germs The Bolshe-
visits are cruel all right. they burn
large buildings and factories. put
! women in Jail for not having jewel
~. and do most everything. ] want
ed TO send some cards from Odessa,
| but the Bolshcvists will not allow it.
AT Samsun we found the ruins,
where the Greeks tried to take the
place from the Turks. but all is quiet
now. We got fresh vegetables here
as that is all they do raise. The people
here are more prosperous than in
Russia. even if they are fighting all
| the time"