The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1923-01-21
By MARK o. PRENrIss


were responsible for the fire which
added the final touches of tragedy
to the Smyrna horror. The unan-
unity and formness of this conviction
surprised me. at first. as | believe
it would have surprised anybody else,
of whatever nationality or political
allegiance, who had recently come
from the scene of the disaster. The
motive. usually considered of SUI
preme Importance in crimes of this
sort, does not clearly point toward
the Turks. They had captured
Smyrna. The city. as 1t stood was
one of the greatest prizes ever taken
in oriental warfare. The Turks had
unquestioned title to its foods, it's
commodities of all sorts, its houses
1t was store house Of supplies
most urgently needed for their peo-
plies and armies. Why destroy it2
1t was a matter of common knowl-
edge, on the other hand that the
Armenians and Greeks were deter
mined not to let this booty fall into
the hands of their hated enemies.
There was a generally accepted re-
port in Smyrna. for several days be-
fore the fire, that an organized
group of Armenian young men had
sworn to burn the city il it fell to
the Turks. They certainly had mo-
tive enough, and if this was their
plan. ruthlessly carried out, they
paid terrible price. No Armenian
man, woman or child who was in
the Armenian quartz ~sser the fire
started escaped alive. They were
either burned or shot down by Turk
ish soldiers. The Turks committed
atrocities enough without credtins
them with others, to which they
haven't a clear title.
Evidence gathered by Paul Gresco-
yich chief of the smyrna fire de-
rartment and carefully checked by
myself, together with information
which came to me from other sour
ces. points to the Armenians as the
authors of the fire. The series of
events which led up to final terror
on the Smyrna waterfront. as
was enabled to follow them. began in
the first days of September. when
Rear Admiral Mark L. Bristol United
States high commissioner at Con-
stantinople, organized the Smyrna
emergency relief committee in an
ticipation of what mi ght happen in
the city IL IT fell, as then seemed
inevitable. to the Turks.
American Relief Unit in smyrna
The U. S. S. destroyer Lawrence.
under command of Captain Wolleson
proceeded TO Smyrna carrying this
committee, of which / was a member.
We arrived on the evening of Friday,
September s, In time to see the last
of the Greek army leav~g the city
Early in the morning of the ninth,
We went ashore and Immediately or
ganized relief committee which
consisted of practically all of the
American residents there, together
with representatives of the Near
East relief and the American Red
Cross from Gonstantinople Admiral
Bristol had sent his chief of staff,
Captain Hepburn, as his personal
representative to serve as chair man
Of this committee
One of the most serious situations
that confronted the committee was
tho nossibilitv Of fire. This sltua-
,fon develoned into one of extreme
anxietv whcn va learned thar the
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uSSsitTu eneii Poe's @Hu iieu , a'e e.ts
IN rear OF Tue Approaching luFh'sh
army
maze IL my business 10 make
general survey OF the SITUATION, ana
/ found that the fire fighting forces
consisted of approximately so men
with two small station houses. Hound
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