THE ARMENIAN HERALD CONTRIBUTORS' COLUI N FOR JULY NUMBER

Mr. J. De Morgan, in the nineties was est impressionistic poets, appears in our appointed by the French Government as pages, is a regular and much-liked con the head of an important scientific expe tributor to our Review. Born in the dition to the Near-East. He is a thor picturesque city of Van, Armenia, he ough student of the countries and people came to the United States in his early of Caucasus, Armenia, Mesopotamia, and boyhood, and finished his elementary Persia. He is considered an authority in education in Norwich, Connecticut. He France on the Near-Eastern question then entered Massachusetts Institute of and has always expressed himself in most Technology and graduated as an Archi sympathetic terms concerning Armenia tect in 1908. A great deal of his spare and her aspirations toward national self- time since then he has devoted to the government. study and reading of allied Fine Arts, He has lately specialized in the study of English literature at Harvard. Keeping Mr. D. Chambashidze, was tiie secre in touch with both Armenian and English tary of the Russian Chamber of Com literatures he has translated many liter merce in London. He is well acquainted ary gems of Armenian literature into with social sciences and political econ English and of English literature into omy. Lately he has ardently worked for Armenian. the benefit of the national rights of the Georgians and is a warm supporter of Armenian and Georgian alliance. Atom Yarjanian-Siamanto, unques tionably one greatest poets, Rolin-Jacquemyns', fifth part of his of Armenia's whose vivid poem— Starving —portrays minute investigation into Turkish me the tragic situation of the Armenians at thods of administration and government the present time as well as the similar in the Armenian provinces is given in the period of twenty years ago under the im pages which we publish in this number. pression of which it was 'written, is in They conclusively establish that the troduced to our readers in the article pre Turks are unfit to govern any nation or ceding his poem in this number. Our race and that Gladstone's 'Bag and Bag claim and right to an independent and gage' policy should be the political shibio- free development of our national aspir leth of the diplomatists and statesmen ations will gain weight, we hope, when who are to settle all pending matters and our readers are acquainted with purely problems arising out of this great world war. Armenian creative minds, who have en riched the intellectual and artistic wealth of the world. In this class of men Sis- Mr. Aram Torossian, whose study on manto's figure clearly towers above many Atom Yarjanian, one of Armenia's great- of his contemporaries. THE ARMENIAN HERALD VOLUME 1 JULY, 1918 NUMBER 8

ARMENIA—KEY TO INDIA

BY J. DE MORGAN

Although France is, with Belgium, the greatest victim of the formi dable conflict which is desolating the world, and although she is bearing all the weight of the cataclysm and her fields and cities are exposed to the horrors of the great strugggle, it is not however against France that is directed the hatred of Germany. In the eyes of the governing classes of Berlin, France plays a secondary part, Germany is at war with her principally because she is England's ally and her territory is a stepping stone requisite as a base of attack against Albion. Prussian militarism cherished the hope of an easy capture of Antwerp, Ostend, Dunkirk, Calais and Boulogne, and had planned to make these ports points of vantage whence to conduct operations against London, for it is England that Germany considered and still considers, as her great worldly enemy. Mistress of the seas, possessing immense and rich Colonies, supported in her commerce and in the action of her fleets by splendid strategical positions all over the universe, Albion holds in her hands the commercial and maritime hegemony of the world. Of this power Germany is jeal ous and is struggling to wrest it from her. This antagonism is not new. It has developed, in Germany, since this empire has become powerful and rich by the wars of 1864, 1866, and 1870 and the immense strides in her industrial productions which neces sitated the discovery of Commercial outlets for her trade. She met, in all markets, the competition of England and this exasperated her to such an extent that she provoked the present war. For years, Germany had been seeking, in every part of the two hemi spheres, to discover the vulnerable side of the British Empire and she would find fault with all the countries that were opposed to her economic expansion. By all means, she endeavored to create for herself Commer cial and Military bases, in order to be in a position, some day, to impose her will by the force of her armies, her fleets, and her financial strength. 412 THE ARMENIAN HERALD

But she came in too late in the season for the partition of the world what she secured was of a secondary order and her Colonial expansion was stunted in its growth by the very fact that no territories of advan tage were left for colonization. To attain her object, it was therefore imperative to strike hard, to triumph by the force of arms, and compel her rival, to give up to her some of her immense colonies, and in the meantime to snatch from Albion the mastery of the seas. Now there were two ways of crushing England; by attacking her metropolis and her Indian possessions which constitute such a vast source of opulence and prestige for our British Allies. The first part of this program could be realized only by brutal force, by a rapid and ter rific stroke. This implied the conquest of the north of France, a mili tary operation studiously and cleverly prepared on the other side of the Rhine, but the success of which has been frustrated by the battle of the Marne. The second part of the German program was not destined to render such immediate results as the first, because it was aiming at a secondary object and the preparation of which would meet with great obstacles. Prior to the downfall of the Czar, Turkey alone was in a posi tion to offer to Berlin ways and means to enable Germany to reach the Indian Empire of Great Britain. Germany's victories in Austria in 1866 and in France in 1870 had en hanced her prestige and her influence in Turkey. Under guise of Com mercial expansion, she planned to create, vast strategical lines into the interior of Asia, and she secured Turkey's support to this scheme. Eighteen years ago, in 1900, 1 was at Bagdad, and on the instructions conveyed to me by Monsieur Constans, our Ambassador in Constanti nople, I placed myself in communication with the German Engineers to whom was intrusted the task of laying out the famous Bagdad railway line. Starting from the southern shores of the Bosphorus, the line was to cross Asia-Minor and Cilicia, reach Aleppo, then Mossul and thence to Bagdad by keeping to the right bank of the River Tigris. On the south of Bagdad it was to cross over the Euphrates in order to reach Kerbe- lah ; then it was to follow the undulations of the river with Koweit on the Persian Gulf as its terminus. Basserah was not taken into considera tion, because to approach that city—according to the opinion of the enfi- neers—it was necessary to run across the marshy lands of Khor-el- Djezair. In my opinion, however, it was because Basserah, situated on the Chattel- Arab, could only accommodate steamers of a small tonnage; no men of war of importance could find there a safe anchorage and tor pedoes placed in the passes of Fao were able to block access to the Bag dad, Bahn estuary. Koweit, on the contrary, had a good harbor, with a deep anchorage, was a sea-port town, which could easily become in the Persian Gulf, a sort of fortified Bizerta. ARMENIA— KEY TO INDIA 413

The plan moreover, was to build a branch railway from Bagdad to Cars-el-Chirin, Kermanshah, Nehavend, Ispahan and Shiraz and to con nect via Hamadan, Teheran, then Chah-roud, Mero, and Khorasan. These two Persian lines with that of Turkey, were doubtless well con ceived from a commercial point of view, but they could also be utilized for military purposes against India. Through the Koweit arsenal the Turco-Germans were in a position to maintain a naval force capable of attacking the British Indian fleet, and by the use of the two railway lines in Persia they could concentrate troops in the Khorassan and Kerman regions. To reach the Indus a hostile army would only have to go through Afghanistan and Beluchistan. But England found out what the Turco-Germans were aiming at and by occupying Koweit put a stop to these threats to some extent. Both Berlin and Constantinople were incensed on hearing of the Brit ish occupation of Koweit and a break of relations between England and Turkey was feared. Germany preferred however to wait for fourteen years (1900-1914) probably because she was preparing for her great war and desired to single out a more plausible pretext to present to her public before unsheathing the sword. That out of the way borough on the coast of Arabia unknown and ignored, might not have rendered justifiable, vis-a-vis, German opinion, a universal conflagration. With the participation of Turkey, in the present world war, the inten tions of Berlin have not been modified in the least, but they assumed a different line of attack. It was resolved to menace India through Persia, England duly informed, ordered her armies to move on Bagdad, in order to seize the key of the communications of the Turks with Persia. The Turks had already occupied the western portion of the Empire of the Shah, and German influence seconded by Swedish officers in the service of Persia, had incited the nomodic tribes to open insurrection. But the plunder of the sacred sites of Kerbelah and Nedjef aroused the indigna tion of the Persians of the Shiite persuasion and the Russians descending from the Caucasus hurled back the Turkish troops of Kurdistan and sub dued the nomads in revolt. In the meantime the Grand Duke Nicholas was conquering the Ottoman provinces of Armenia. The combined efforts of Russians and British were rendering the tenure of the Ottoman Sultan over those territories a very precarious one. All the lines of access towards India were being hermetically closed. It was at this juncture that the Russian revolution stepped in and in consequence of which the Entente powers lost their Oriental allies and Eastern Asia again reverted to that state of barbarism from which it was redeemed. All the conquests of the Grand Duke were abandoned by the Bolshevik armies, and the Petrograd leaders were not satisfied with this horrible betrayal, but they also ceded Transcaucasia to the 414 THE ARMENIAN HERALD

Turks and consented to the evacuation of Kars, Ardahan and Batoum, all centres of vast importance —bulwarks of the regions extending to the southern slope of the Great Caucasian chain of mountains. As the result of this unspeakable capitulation, Roumania succumbed, the whole of Russia fell under the yoke of the Central Powers and Turkey seized the opportunity to place herself in communication with her co-religionists of the ancient Empire of the Czars. Henceforth the barrier raised by Russia to block the way to India by the North was demolished. But the Austro-Germans, having to concentrate on the western front all their available troops, were not in a position to undertake a campaign against India. It was hence necessary to prepare before hand the ways and means. Turkey was entrusted with this mission. The treaty of Brest-Litovsk had outlined her line of action against the Armenians and the Georgians, who constitute the sole obstacles against her joining hands with her correligionists of the Orient; Tartars of the Caucasus and of Crimea, Turks inhabiting the north of Persia and Turcomans of the Transcaspian. It was in the estimation of the Teutonic powers, of paramount impor tance to crush these two little nations which the Entente were not in a position to help. The Bolsheviks refused to supply them with indispens- ible ammunition for self-defence. Berlin furnished Turkey officers and the latter troops. The Armenian patriots who were defending the sacred soil of their ancestors were treated as "revolutionary bands" and the massacre of these "insurgents" recommenced methodically with the acquiescence of Germany. Armenians and Georgians are doubtless exposed to great dangers for the Kaiser Wilhelm holds the view that the Christian barrier to Pan- Turkism must disappear and it is on the altar of Pan-Turkism that he expects to create in the North of Asia-Minor and in Central Asia, a state which he intends to utilize for his aggressive purposes against British India. To realize this object moreover the Berlin statesmen will have re course to propaganda among the Mohammedans of India so as to bring about an open revolt against British rule. The movement among the Cipays is to be extended, but above all it is necessary to establish a purely moslem state not far from India, from which the Indian insur gents can obtain timely assistance. This scheme is vast, but practical, it is more and more assuming men acing proportions. The news we receive from Transcaucasia and Ar menia are not of a nature to set our minds at rest. Either will the Gov ernment of Tiflis accept the Mussulman domination, or Georgia shall be ARMENIA— KEY TO INDIA 415 conquered and ravaged, her populations massacred as are those of Rus sian Armenia. The Entente powers must at any cost bar to the Turco-Germans the roads to Asia, for vanquished on the western front, compelled to evacuate our northern provinces and Belgium, and having to retire to their frontiers, the Germans will nevertheless continue the struggle; they will defend every inch of their soil, so as to gain time and taking advantage of their successes in the East, create a diversion towards India. This may compel England, her principal enemy, to concentrate her efforts in that directoin. Now if the Caucasus and Armenia could hold on, if the union of the Moslems of Asia could be frustrated, the operation against India would be much more difficult for the enemy. Armenia, under these circumstances, assumes a political importance of the first magnitude. Why do we then neglect her ? Her conquest by the Turco-Germans will contribute to prolong the end of this Cataclysm in which the civilized world is losing the flower of its manhood. And if, in fine, Germany succeeded to sow discord and an archy in India, as she did in Russia, what a disaster for our British allies, what a blow at their prestige ! Translated from the French. GEORGIA AND ARMENIA AS ALLIES

BY D. GHAMBASHIDZE

These words signify a history of several thousand years. Two coun tries, situated in the Middle East, have for many centuries been the bulwarks of Christianity and Christian Civilisation. Both had to struggle with the Mohammedan world surrounding them, and thanks to their indomitable faith, they have survived as nations, although deprived of sovereignty. For many centuries Georgia and Armenia have been very closely related; it could not be otherwise as they were, so to say, surrounded by an ocean of Mohammedans. Georgia has been more fortunate in preserving her political independence longer, but she has not been so fortunate in being known to Western Europe in the same degree as Armenia. In spite of the loss of political independence, both countries have had very clear political aspirations which are bound to be realised when the present devastating war comes to a conclusion. Whatever the animosities of the past twenty years, neither the Georgians nor the Armenians were directly responsible for them. The chief reason for them was that the bulk of the Armenian territory and people suffered for many centuries under the grinding oppression of the Turks, and many of the unfortunate people sought refuge in neigh bouring Trans-Caucasia, where both Georgians and Armenians had to rely on the "step mother" protection of Russian autocracy. This influx of refugees and consequent overcrowding of Georgian provinces, par ticularly Tiflis gave rise to animosity between the Georgians and Arme nians, exclusively of an economic character. It was largely aggravated by the policy of the old Russian Government which created ill-feeling between the races inhabiting Trans-Caucasia. After the restitution of Armenia proper, this economic tension is bound to disappear, and it is therefore obvious that it is of very great importance for Georgians and Armenians to realise their just national aspirations. In the year 1783 Georgia concluded a Treaty of Alliance with Russia, which placed her under the protection of that Empire, but guaranteed her dynasty, political independence and the independence of her Church. This Treaty was violated in 1801 and Georgia was annexed. In 1811 her Church was subjugated to the Russian Holy Synod and vast property belonging to it was confiscated. Georgia, being exhausted through many centuries of war with Persia and Turkey, could not resist this fresh GEORGIA AND ARMENIA AS ALLIES 417

injustice, but from that time to the Revolution of 1917, never abandoned her aspirations. In the second half of the nineteenth century a very strong national movement was inaugurated, and the entire Georgian nation took a very prominent part in the Revolution of 1905. It is true that this movement assumed a socialistic character towards the end of the nineteenth century, but this is not to be wondered at as nearly every small nationality gives great prominence to the social istic ideas, which it regards as a means of defending itself. For example, I could mention the Finns, Letts, Poles, Czecs, etc., among whom the socialistic movement is very prominent. So it happened in the case of the Georgians. Nobody will deny that this movement among the Geor gians has been very beneficial for creating solidarity among the national ities inhabiting Trans-Caucasia. Up to the end of the nineteenth century our Armenian friends always regarded the solution of the Armenian question in Turkey as their chief aspiration. But in 1901, Prince Golitsin —then Governor-General of the Caucasus —inaugurated a very harsh policy against the Armenians. He closed many Armenian schools, confiscated Armenian Church property, and instigated Armenian Tartar massacres. This injustice was very soon remedied when Count Voronstoff was appointed as Viceroy of the Caucasus. The late Count Voronstoff, although in favour of the just treatment of all the nationalities of the Caucasus, like the Georgians, Armenians and Tartars, was very much hampered in his activities by the General Staff of the Caucasian Army. This latter body was transformed by General Griaznoff into a sort of polictical department whose aim was to destroy the just aspirations of the Georgians and Armenians, to increase the colonization of Trans-Caucasia with Russian peasants, in spite of very grave land-hunger of the native population, to persecute the Geor gian and Armenian leaders and to enter into "semi-diplomatic" relation ship with the Kurdish chiefs for the purpose of fostering the persecu tion of the Armenians. As a tragic anomaly it is interesting to note that the General Staff even tried to create an "autonomous" movement among the Kurds in order to embarrass the young Turks and to prevent the restoration of Armenia. It also inaugurated a very oppressive policy towards Persia where the Georgians and Armenians had done so much to foster the con stitutional movement. The world will be astounded one day when the secret archives of the Caucasian General Staff are published. It will see how the old Russian Government adopted Hamidian methods towards various nationalities. It is not astonishing that, for the last twenty years, Georgian and 418 THE ARMENIAN HERALD

Armenian officers have been entirely removed from the above-mentioned staff. Such was the treatment of the serious aspirations of the Georgians and Armenians by the old Russian Government. Unfortunately, the Liberal Russian Intellectuals have not paid any attention to this question. Whilst many of them have carefully consid ered the position of Finland and Poland, they have not troubled about Georgia and Armenia, and each attempt on the part of the latter to raise the question was always stamped as the policy of "separatism." Nobody in Russia troubled about the history of these two ancient nations. All one could hear were tales about Georgian picnics, and Armenian anecdotes. For the last forty years the Georgians and Armenians have been try ing to establish a University in Tiflis, for which large funds were pro vided; but this plan the Government persistently obstructed. The policy of russification, i. e., obliteration of national individuality, has been vigorously pursued. When Turkey declared war on Russia the Georgians and Armenians justly expected that they would be sent to defend the Caucasus, instead of which they were sent to Poland and Galicia. It is not to be won dered at, therefore, that the Turks made a very rapid advance in No vember, 1914. When the Tsar, Nicholas II, visited the Caucasus in the Spring of 1916, everybody expected that he would definitely promise to the Georgians and Armenians something in the shape of political reforms; but not a word was mentioned and the visit fizzled out in endless ban queting and compliments. After the appointment of the Grand Duke Nicholas as Commander-in- Chief and Viceroy of the Caucasus, an attempt was made to pat the Georgians, Armenians and Tartars on the back, and these people were asked to exert themselves, some of the Georgian and Armenian reserves really being sent to the Turkish front. This soon brought satisfactory results in the way of occupation of substantial territories in Turkey; but no sooner had this happened, than General Judenich conceived the dastardly plan of creating a huge Cossack Colony in Turkish Armenia something similar to the Cossack settlements in the North of Caucasus. This is the way General Judenich realised the noble-minded declaration of the Allies, regarding the liberation of small nationalities; and who can deny that had autocracy remained in power this aim would have been accomplished ! The only reform which was attempted, but not quite accomplished, during the reign of the Grand Duke Nicholas was the Zemstvos reform which, in itself, does not amount to anything but the right to mend GEORGIA AND ARMENIA AS ALLIES 419 roads, and to open schools and hospitals, which "right" was denied to the Caucasus for the last fifty years. When the Revolution broke out the Georgians and Armenians were naturally in full sympathy and co-operated actively to preserve order, fully expecting, from the high-sounding phraseology of the Petrograd Liberals, consideration of their just aspirations. But they were very much deceived in their expectations. Instead of carefully studying the aspirations of nationalities inhabiting Russia, the whole of Russia was covered with a net of Soviets, which bodies were busily discussing the position of the proletariat in Buenos Ayres and in other places, the introduction of socialism under primitive conditions in Russia, and other beautiful things —everything except the nationality question, which seemed to be rather a small matter compared with their high-sounding programme. We can see now what the result of this agitation has been. The Caucasian front was the only one which remained intact in the whole of Russia almost up to the signing of the Brest-Litovsk "Treaty." In order to gain support the Bolsheviks proclaimed the high-sounding principle of "self-do termination of nationalities," but actually did their utmost to fight evei. y nationality inhabiting Russia. In the early montns of the Revolution, the Georgians and Armenians realised that, unless they looked after themselves, nobody was going to trouble about them, and they developed their national movements with the utmost vigour. The Georgians restored the independence of their Church and the Catholicos-Patriarch Kirion II was consecrated head of the Autocephalous Church of Georgia. This historical event was wel comed by the head of the Armenian Church and by the Armenians. Georgian and Armenian National Supreme Councils were created. They undertook the realisation of many national problems like the organisa tion of national schools, the organisation of the Georgian and Armenian armies, chiefly composed of those units which were incorporated in the Russian armies. The necessity for, such armies was urgently dictated by the turbulent state of mind of purely Russian troops on the Turkish front who, under the influence of Bolshevik agitation, began to desert the front in great numbers and engaged in looting the local population. At this time the Georgians, Armenians and Tartars formed a separate Trans-Caucasian Republic, following the example of the Cossacks, Uk rainians and other nationalities of Russia. The Cabinet of the Trans- Caucasian Republic consisted of three representatives from each nation ality. With the conclusion of a separate peace with Germany on the part of the Bolsheviks and the Ukraine, Trans-Caucasia was entirely isolated, and this government was obliged to sign an armistice with the Turkish Government and subsequently to engage in peace negotiations. Meanwhile Georgians and Armenians have learned with the greatest astonishment and indignation that the Bolsheviks, behind their back, 420 THE ARMENIAN HERALD had agreed to cede to Turkey, Batoum, Ardahan and Kars districts- that is the territory which Turkey occupied as invader up to the Bella Congress of 1878, which territory, being entirely populated by Georgians and Armenians, cannot be claimed by the Turks either ethnographically or historically. This was a heavy blow to both Georgians and Arme nians, the more so as the Armenians were deprived of the liberated territory in Turkey. The Turkish Government was quite willing to negotiate with the Gov ernment of Trans-Caucasia, providing that the latter recognised the cession of the above-mentioned territory as an accomplished fact. This was absolutely refused and Georgian and Armenian National Councils, it conjunction with the Trans-Caucasian Government, mobilised their armies ready to defend their integrity and honour. For the past few weeks the Georgian and Armenian Armies have been at death grips with the Turks. The Turks claim some progress, but there is no direct information from the Trans-Caucasian Government. It is very difficult to foresee what the end will be—isolated from the Western allies, faced with Tartars in the East who are in sympathy with Turkey, the Caucasian Mohammedan Mountaineers as their neighbours in the North and the Bolshevik Black Sea Fleet against them, the Geor gians and Armenians have to undergo a supreme ordeal. The entire civilised humanity must consider as its duty the preserva tion of two heroic and ancient Christian races surrounded by a Moham medan ocean, from destruction. Should the outcome of the struggle not be too crushing for the Geor gians and Armenians, they have to stick together as they are the only barrier to the Pan-Turanian movement across the Caucasus and the Middle East. Their political future can only be a subject of vague speculation Very much depends upon what the future of Russia is going to be Should Russia become a Federated Republic, then Georgia and Armenii could join her as autonomous units; otherwise, the Western allies will have to create the independent State of Georgia and Armenia under their protection, in which case both of these States would be the medium for spreading European civilisation in the Middle East and, in this way, would make enormous contribution towards preserving the peace of the world. At present, all the Georgians and Armenians have to think about is to defend themselves and to preserve their race, as no small nation has ever been in greater danger than they are today. Let us hope that the Georgian and Armenian alliance, which has been welded in the storm of battle, will survive for many generations to come, as united they can defend themselves, but separated they will be crushed. It is with this belief that both nations have grasped hands ! Reprinted from the Ararat, April, 1918. ARMENIA, THE ARMENIANS AND TREATIES

BY G. ROLIN-JACQUEMYNS V REVIEW OF CONSULAR REPORTS

Whatever indignation may be inspired by the acts reported in preced ing papers, and the impunity enjoyed by their perpetrators, it may be asked whether they do not arise from exceptional and temporary cir cumstances. Let us therefore inquire what Turkish government is in its normal state. Let us search the official reports, and see how, from 1878 to 1881, in the provinces under Treaty protection, the finances of the Empire were managed; how justice was administered; how the police guarded the security of the citizens; how, in short, central and local government was conducted in these provinces. We shall have to inquire subsequently what Europe has done to alter this state of things, and whether since 1881 there have been any signs of improvement. First: Financial Administration. The Consular reports mention on all sides crying abuses in the collection of the taxes, particularly tithes. Captain Everett, Vice-Consul at Erzeroum, writes on this sub ject as follows :

"With regard to the collection of the taxes, it is only patience, or fear, or the want of coherence between the different factions, that can have prevented the people in the Eastern districts from rising to a man against the Government during the last year. Half ruined by the war, and lately reduced to beggary and starvation by the failure of the crops, the unfortunate people have nevertheless been inexorably pursued by the taxgatherers, and imprisoned by the authorities when unable to pay, and this notwithstanding that the Government owed many of these same people considerable sums of money for supplies furnished during the war. True it is, the Porte ordered this to be paid. Tempted by this order, one or two villages handed their receipts to the local authorities, and received about one-fifth of the amount due to them. "Both last year, and again this year, the tithes of the districts of Thortum, Giskin, and Ispir have been bought by a company, members of the Government at Erzeroum. This wheat will be sold in the winter as it was last year, at exorbitant rates. 422 THE ARMENIAN HERALD

. "The collection of the sheep tax in the present year was a notoriously iniquitous proceeding. Enormous numbers of sheep perished in the spring owing to want of food, but no allowance was made for them. "The blame for this unjust and merciless taxation rests principally with the Supreme Government. The Porte perpetually sends to the Vali for money. The request is passed on to the Mutessarifs, and from the Mutessarifs, to the Kaimakam. The demand is generally accon- anied by a threat, that if the money is not forthcoming the official is likely to lose his position, and the latter, perfectly aware of this method of procedure, guards against it by making as much as he can from the people and the Government during his uncertain tenure. To rob the people is no crime, for every man's hand is against them. To rob the Government needs only discretion and money. So long as sufficient pay ment is made in the right place there is seldom any objection. No* and then an official pushes matters a little too far. He then, if he is

wise, gives in his resignation, pays a handsome bakshish out of his ill-

gotten gains for another appointment in a neighboring vilayet, and re commences on a new sphere of action.'"

All who know Turkey are aware that if the inhabitants had merely to pay the net amount of taxes levied, the burden would be endurable under an honest and intelligent administration. But the people, particu larly in the Armenian provinces, are ground down by the supplementary exactions of all kinds to which, in addition to the robbery of the Kurds and the tyranny of the Aghas, they are subjected by the Government itself, or its agents. Thus, particularly in the vilayet of Erzeroum, soldiers, zaptiehs and officials, when travelling, do not scruple to quarter themselves on the inhabitants, and take food and what else they require. if is As a rule no receipt given in exchange for these requisitions, or a one be given, it is irregular, either bearing no signature, or being for considerably less amount than the value actually supplied. Moreover, generally speaking, the tax collectors will allow no deduction to be made from the taxes due during the war for the requisition receipts given to the inhabitants by the troops in the field, or they will only allow for them at the same rate as the depreciated paper currency." Still worse, they themselves do not always give receipts for the taxes they collect, time, and avail themselves of this omission to claim payment a second of course to their own profit.'

During the winter of 1879-1880 a terrible famine devastated Asia Minor, and particularly the Armenian provinces. In addition to all the other causes of the impoverishment of the rural populations, the sum of mer was exceptionally dry, and in several districts there was a plague locusts. The Kurds having stolen considerable quantities of cattle, ARMENIA, THE ARMENIANS AND TREATIES 423 agricultural implements, and hard cash, less land was cultivated, and as in this restricted area the ordinary natural or artificial sources of irri gation were wanting, only a very insignificant part of the crops came to maturity. With the onset of winter, the effects of the dearth made themselves felt with unprecedented severity. Entire districts were literally wanting bread. The poor were compelled to wander about the mountains gathering wild herbs and roots, and the rich to slaughter and salt a portion of flocks which formed the best part of their farming capital. Disease, the inevitable result of this state of things, broke out. The mortality was frightful. People died of starvation at first by hundreds, but afterwards by thousands. Some fell by the roadside, and their bodies could be seen by wayfarers, unburied, and half devoured by dogs.' A terrible outcry of distress was raised, and reached the charitable circles of Constantinople and Europe. Relief committees were formed amongst the Armenians and Turks of Constantinople. At London, Lady Strangford started a subscription, which realized a large sum, the dis tribution of which was undertaken by the English Consuls and mission aries.' But these praiseworthy impulses of charity, the effects of which could only be felt after the lapse of several months, only sufficed to miti gate to a small extent the ravages of the scourge. Before any aid had arrived it was announced that, besides others, there were six villages, between Van and Bashkaleh, where fifty-five persons had died of star vation ; and another group of nine villages, in the district of Alashgerd, where 109 persons had succumbed.' A Consular document of October 2nd, 1880, estimates the number of victims of the famine at least at 10,000 in the district of Bashkaleh, at 2,000 to 3,000 in the neighborhood of Bayazid and Alashgerd, and the same number or more (the precise figures are wanting) at Midiad, Bohtan and Djerzireh, besides several hundreds who perished on the roads, after leaving their villages in quest of food.' This is the moment chosen by the Turkish Government to demand three years arrears of taxes from the districts which had suffered most by the war. "Everywhere," writes one Consul, "the Zaptiehs are busy in the villages collecting every piastre that they can lay their hands on.'" At Bashkaleh, the Government even tries to raise the taxes in advance. It demands the sheep tax from the owners of sheep that have been stolen by the Kurds," or of land that has been appropriated by the immigrant Circassians.10 "Money given for relief has been many times seized for taxes.'"1 That is not all ; the Government decrees that from the first of March 1888, coins of five piastres —beshlik —and metal or bronze money shall not be accepted in payment of taxes, except in the 424 THE ARMENIAN HERALD

proportion of five per cent to each payment. The immediate consequence of this measure, following so closely upon the withdrawal of the comes or paper money, is the infliction of an enormous loss on peasants and small shopkeepers, whose stock of coin consisted almost exclusively of money of this description. This loss is estimated by Consul Biliotti at eighty and even ninety per cent of the national savings." If these proceedings are considered in conjunction with the encourage ment given to the disastrous invasion of Circassian immigrants, the singular toleration shown to Kurdish brigandage, is not the conclusion irresistible that there is something more at work than stupidity or administrative greed ? Do they not once more suggest the idea of a settled plan to slowly exterminate the Christian element for the sake of the Moslem ? During this time the Turkish Government tries as usual to deceive Europe, by fostering the belief that its officials are zealously undertak ing the best means of insuring the welfare of the Populations. One example will show the truth of these assertions. The following is an exact transcript of an official note sent to the Porte by the British Am bassador (Sir A. H. Layard) on December 23, 1897:"

"Her Majesty's Ambassador had the honor to receive an official com munication from the Sublime Porte, on the 16th instant, of a telegram from the Governor-General of the vilayet of Erzeroum, in which it is stated that the Mutessarif of Bayazid had arrived at his post on the 21st of September last, and that he had not ceased from that time, in pur suance of his instructions, to occupy himself with the amelioration of the condition of the inhabitants of that district, to watch over the pub lic security, and to punish the guilty. "Her Majesty's Ambassador regrets to state that the British Vice Consul at Ezeroum, in a dispatch dated the 5th instant, writes as follows with regard to the district of Bayazid and its new Mutessarif; " 'I have received a very unsatisfactory report from the Bayazid dis trict, where the distress occasioned by the dearth of wheat is very great When my informant left Bayazid no order had been received by the Mutessarif to distribute from the Government stores. People who could so afford have offered as much as two and one-half Turkish liras for siz gots, or the almost unheard-of price of 600 piastres the somar, but with out being able to obtain it. There is no wheat sown in the district. In Alashgerd things are not quite so bad, but the destitution is very great; and at Mollah Suleiman thirteen families are literally starving. " 'The new Mutessarif does not appear to be talcing any steps to restrain the depredations of the Kurds, or alleviate the distress of the' ARMENIA, THE ARMENIANS AND TREATIES 425 people. In short, the sandjak appears now to be in a worse state than when I visited it in the autumn.' "Her majesty's Ambassador leaves it to the Sublime Porte to reconcile the discrepancy between the report furnished to it by the Governor-Gen eral of Erzeroum and that of Captain Everett. He regrets to say for himself, that all the accounts he has received from the district of Bay- aizd unfortunately tend to confirm the statements of the British Vice- Consui."

Nobody could be told in more diplomatic terms that his informant is an impudent liar. About the same time, and at Erzeroum itself, whence the Governor- General telegraphed this false information, things were happening which were still more serious than the mere inaction of the authorities. The wheat in the Government stores was bought up wholesale for specu lative purposes by the officials, who held it with the view of profiting by the rise. They thus contributed to increase the misery which it is their business to relieve." But all was forgiven provided that luxury contin ued to reign at Stamboul, and that the havales or orders to pay, issued by the Central Government on the provincial treasuries, were duly hon ored. These havales which absorbed, and do so yet, the greater part of the Imperial revenues, are issued for the most various purposes, such as payments to bankers or financial companies, of preferential claims on certain kinds of taxes, payments to contractors for supplies to the pal ace or Government offices, and payment of salaries or grants to high officials of the Central Government." The provincial officials are com pelled to meet these payments before any other, and the last order issued takes precedence of all the previous ones. One day in 1880, urgent orders were received at Erzeroum to find 15,000 Turkish pounds (337,500 francs) , intended to provide for the maintenance of the troops. But when the sum was ready, a fresh order directed the Vali to send it direct to the palace. Simultaneously orders were received by the Treas ury at Trebizond to send 10,000 pounds (220,500 francs) to the palace, and 5,000 pounds (111,250 francs) to the chief of the eunuchs." As the requirements of the Seraglio and the chief of the eunichs take precedence of those of the army, the order given in May, 1880, by the Minister of Finance to suspend the payment of salaries to the provincial employes until further orders requires no explanations." And nobody will wonder why they, as well as Magistrates of judicial rank and Zap- tiehs when, as sometimes happens, their salaries or pay are several years in arrear, at last resort to theft. This last observation will serve as an introduction to what I have to say concerning the administration of Ottoman justice. 426 THE ARMENIAN HERALD

Second: Administration of justice. In 1881, Earl Granville, For eign Secretary, laid before Parliament a collection of Consular reports specially relating to the administration of justice in the civil, criminal, and commercial courts of the Ottoman Empire, and the question as to what extent the evidence of Christians is admitted by the Turkish tri bunals. This collection of 150 pages, forms the Blue-Book, Turkey No. 8 (1881). The other Blue-Books contain a quantity of information on the same subject, which I have also consulted, and it is on this evidence the following criticism of the working of the Turkish tribunals in Asia Minor is based. Turkish tribunals are of two kinds: Those of the Sheriat, which decide according to the Sheri or religious law of the Moslems, founded on the unchanging precepts of the Koran, and on quite a number of pre cedents, traditions, decrees, and decisions—fetwas —the basis of which is always the law of the Koran. The composition of these tribunals is purely ecclesiastical. They are specially competent to try questions of marriage and inheritance amongst Mussulmans, as well as some matters relating to real property. The Nizamieh tribunals, which administer the law of Nizan. The lat ter comprises two great sections, viz. : The Medjele' or civil law, based on the Koran, and on the additions which have been made by Mussul man jurisprudence, as shown in numerous codifications and comment aries ; the Destur, which includes the Tanzimat, the Tashkeelat, or code compiled according to the code Napoleon and the French codes of civil and commercial procedure, with further numerous additions and modifi cations. Amongst the latter there is a re-organization of the tribunals, decreed in 1879, separating the executive from the judicial power. The composition of the Nizamieh tribunals is mixed, as well as then- jurisdiction. They decide generally in civil matters all disputes between Christians and Mussulmans, or between Christian Turkish subjects, and try criminal and commercial cases- If this legislation, with all its apparently modern formulas, could be taken literally, it would still doubtless be very much open to criticism. Nevertheless, considered as a whole, the conclusion would be that, as regards at least this order of institutions, Turkey had at last entered the path of reform. Unfortunately, it is not so. Just as the European dress and prepossessing deportment of a Turkish Pasha, in nine cases out of ten, ony mask an ignorant and corrupt fanatic, so this Legislative structure, with its chaste outlines and honest air, only serves to conceal from the inquisitive eyes of Europe the existence of shameful and odious abuses. It is astonishing that even the principle of the separation of the judicial and executive functions —a principle which, in Western Europe is rightly considered as the surest protection of the liberty of the sub ARMENIA, THE ARMENIANS AND TREATIES 427 ject— has produced in Turkey nothing but bad results. Such is the opin ion of all the Consuls, and the reason they give is, that if the independ ence of the judge is a good thing, it is on condition that the judge be honest. Otherwise, he only uses his independence to practise more unbridled corruption. Before 1879, it happened sometimes that a well- meaning Vali tried to reform the staff and practises of the courts of jus tice. He can do so no longer. Hence an aggravation of the regime, which Mr. Wilson, Consul-General in Anatolia, describes as follows :

"There has probably never been a time in which the prestige of the Courts has fallen so low, or in which the administration of justice has been so venal and corrupt. The most open and shameless bribery is practised from highest to lowest; prompt, even-handed justice for rich and poor alike is unknown ; sentence is given in favor of the suitor who 'places' his money most judiciously; imprisonment or freedom has in many places become a matter of bribery; robbers, when arrested, are protected by members of the Court, who share their spoil; a simple or der may send an innocent man to prison for months ; crime goes unpun ished, and all manner of oppression and injustice is committed with impunity. The Cadis, especially those in the cazas, are as a rule ignor ant men, with no education, knowing little of law, except the Sheri, on which they base their decisions, and sometimes not over-much of that. As to the members, it is sufficient to say that they are nearly all equally ignorant of law, and that probably not 25 per cent, of them can write Turkish, or read the sentences to which they attach their seals. In the Commercial Courts, the Presidents are frequently entirely ignorant of the duties which they have to perform. The low pay of the Cadis, the short term—two years —during which they hold appointments and the manner in which they obtain them, render the receipt of bribes almost a necessity. The first thought of a Cadi who buys an appointment in the provinces is to recoup himself for his outlay ; the second, to obtain enough money to purchase a new place when his term of office is finished. Even under this system men are to be found who refuse to receive bribes; and there are others who, whilst giving way to temptation, de plore the necessity to do so.""

Can we not picture the frightful demoralization which such a regime must involve ? If corruption prevails amongst the judges, how can it fail to exist amongst the parties interested and the witnesses? If the sources of the law are contaminated, will not those of truth be so like wise? The following is a remarkable case in point- To prove any act, Turkish law requires at least two witnesses. For the purpose of com plying with this requirement, perjury has been organized in Asia Minor. 428 THE ARMENIAN HERALD

In every town there exists a cafe or bathing establishment, where false witnesses can be procured at any time, ready to swear, for a considera

tion, anything that may be required. These individuals are known all over the town, and consequently to the Court, which, however, does not

prevent the latter from listening gravely to their evidence, noting it.

and deciding accordingly. Consul-General Wilson, from whose report I take these facts, adds: "From the peculiar value of Moslem evidence, of a most of the false witnesses are Turks ; there is, however, proportion Christians.""

This "peculiar value," which really attaches to Moslem evidence, L< directly opposed to Turkish law, which makes no distinction, at all events in the Nizamieh Courts, in reference to the religious belief of the 'wit a nesses. It is different in the Sheriat Courts, where the evidence of

Christian is not admitted at all. But, as we have already seen, the juris

diction of these Courts, which are of an ecclesiastical nature, is very limited. In conformity with the principle of the equality of all before the law, the Tanzimat therefore proclaims the legal rule that the evi is a dence of a Christian as good as that of Moslem. This rule, more

over, has received international sanction in Clause 63 of the Treaty of Berlin, where we read "All (the subjects of the Ottoman Empire) shall be allowed to give evidence before the Courts without distinction oj creeds."

Let us see how this clause is applied in the administration of the lav to the Christians of Asia Minor- The English Consuls shall tell us.

Mr. Biliotti, Consul at Trebizond, writes :

"Christian evidence is accepted in the town of Trebizond, but I am

assured in the districts that though the same principle is admitted, do so Mussulman has ever been condemned on the testimony of Christians ; much so, that the latter are in the habit of having their bonds witnessed only by Mussulmans.""

Mr. Wilson, Consul-General in Anatolia, writes :

"In the greater portion of Anatolia, though Christian evidence may be

received, no weight is attached to it. When Moslem and Christian in evidence are opposed to each other, the latter is disregarded. For

stance, three Christians are travelling along a road, and one of them is a ensues, robbed by man well known to all of them ; in the action which the robber has only to prove an alibi by two Moslem false witnesses to gain his case."" ARMENIA, THE ARMENIANS AND TREATIES 429

Mr. Chermside, Vice-Consul at Sivas, writes :

"As regards the acceptance of Christian testimony, theoretically it is accepted in all Nizam Courts. Hearing testimony, however, and at taching the relative importance to it that from its tenor and consistency is entitled to, are very different matters; and there is no doubt that, especially in civil cases, tradition, sympathy, and education prejudice the Hakim" against it—sentimental considerations, however, that are not proof against the love of gain.'"4

According to the latter part of this quotation, the spirit which ani mates the Courts of Asia Minor may be denned as fanaticism tempered by corruption- Such is also the opinion of Mr. Everett, Vice-Consul at Erzeroum, except that he assigns the first place to corruption. Although rather long, the extract appears to me too interesting to warrant its omission here:

"The evidence of Christians is admitted in all the other Courts (except those of the Sheri as fully as the evidence of Mahommedans, but such admittance does not ensure them equal justice. "The first consideration of the administrators of justice is the amount of money that can be extorted from an individual, and the second is his creed, for it is an established principle —which, in fact, guides the con duct of a Court throughout a trial—that a favorable decision shall be given to him who will pay the most for it, some abatement being allowed under certain circumstances to a Mahommedan when engaged in a suit with a Christian. Thus, in a lawsuit between wealthy Mahommedans, success will lie with him who can afford and is willing to pay the most, but if the suit is between a Mahommedan and a Christian whose means are the same, the Christian will have to pay high for the difference of religion in order to ensure success, and if he should be in a position of prosecutor, will hardly succeed, even though he should outbid his antag onist, the Court being in such a case willing to forego a larger sum rather than convict one of their own creed. Where a rich Christian is pitted against a poor Mahommedan, the latter will have no chance. The case of the poor Christian against the wealthy Moslem needs no demon stration ; with everything against him, success is impossible. "In addition to bribery, which affects all classes and creeds, and which is practised to-day more frequently than at any time heretofore, there are three circumstances due to the present relations between the Chris tian and the Mahommedan which tend to place the former at a disadvan tage on entering a court of Justice with a case against a Musselman. These are: 1. Enmity between the Christian and the Mussulman — 480 THE ARMENIAN HERALD and enmity greatly increased of late by reason of the pressure which foreign Powers are placing on the Mahoramedan in order to procure reforms for the Christians. 2. The acknowledgement of the necessity for reforms, which would be implied by the conviction of a Notable or Bey in a case with a Christian. 3. The fear which the Christian has of his oppressor, causing a prosecutor great difficulty in obtaining wit nesses to support his case.""

I shall have occasion subsequently to revert to the first of the peculiar causes of enmity against the Christians to which Mr. Everett alludes, and to show the grave responsibility which it throws upon the Great Powers. For the present let us merely bear in mind that only doubt as regards the morality of the Turkish magistrates in Asia Minor appears to be whether they are more corrupt than fanatical, or more fanatical than corrupt- The answer varies according to the individual. We know, moreover, that in every country, in every religion, and under all Govern ments, fanaticism and corruption go hand in hand. The task of purging the Turkish magistracy belongs by right to the Department of the Minister of Justice. Unfortunately, according to Consul-General Wilson," this department is reputed to be "the most corrupt, and in every way the worst, in Turkey." Third: Police and Gendarmerie. After what has been said any further observations with regard to the manner which according to the Consular reports, the officials specially entrusted with maintenance of public security discharge their duties in Armenia might almost be dis pensed with. Even at Constantinople, where the best-attested facts are denied, nobody dare dispute the assertion that, as regards the police and gendarmerie, nothing has yet been done. They confine themselves to promising a reform —ever expected, but never realised. Moreover, if there is neither honesty nor incorruptibility amongst those who col lect the taxes or administer justice, how can we expect to find such qual ities amongst the guardians of order? How is it possible to prevent the Gendarmes and Zaptiehs, who are kept waiting months and years for their pay, from fleecing those whom they should protect? Badly armed and equipped, and ridiculously few, they are only feared by the peaceable and inoffensive part of the population. It is true there were in 1879, in consequence of Consular pressure, and thanks to the good-will of cer tain Commissioners (promptly dismissed), a few attempts, more or less successful and temporary, to create an effective police force in a small

number of towns ; but the mass, the Consuls write unanimously, remains as undisciplined, insufficient, and corrupt as ever." The great want is good officers, who should be Europeans, or placed under European command. On one occasion the Porte appeared inclined ARMENIA, THE ARMENIANS AND TREATIES 431 to take the same view. The Turkish Ambassador at London forwarded Lord Salisbury a dispatch from the Foreign Minister of the Sublime Porte, announcing the appointment of two English officers, engaged under contract, as Inspectors-General of the Gendarmerie of the vilayets of Bitlis and Erzeroum." But it was all a farce, as in so many other cases ; for if we turn to the page of the Blue-Book where this first dis patch is given, we find another sent by the British Ambassador to Lord Salisbury, as follows :

"Colonel Coope has received orders to proceed to Erzeroum, and Col onel Norton to Bitlis, 'to inspect the gendarmerie' in those vilayets. In the instructions given to the former, which I have seen, he is called 'Mr. Coope' no rank in the Turkish army being accorded to him. He has asked for travelling expenses in the discharge of his duties, to which he says he is entitled by his contract ; but Osman Pasha, to whom he went for instructions, refused to authorize their payment, and was not disposed to treat him with much civility. / fear that there is no serious intention on the part of the Minister of War to avail himself of the services of these officers, and that they are merely sent on their present missions in order to enable the Porte to say that they are employed."

Thus, several months afterwards, Lieutenant Chermside writes with reference to the Gendarmerie and Zaptiehs, that "the old system, with all its abuses, obtains. Badly equipped, and often badly armed Zaptiehs, numerically few, in arrears of pay." In short, "all that has been hitherto done is a hollow farce."" By way of conclusion, let me give the picture which is drawn of the in security of the vilayet of Ezeroum, by Vice-Consul Everett, in the report from which I have already quoted an extract :

"In addition to the great poverty of the Kurdish tribes, caused by the loss of their cattle last winter, and the depreciation of the metallic cur rency, there are three circumstances tending to encourage brigandage, which exists at this moment to an unparalleled extent all over the coun try. Firstly, there are not sufficient police ; secondly, there are no good officers ; and thirdly, there is collusion between the local authorities and the robbers. As regards the first cause, it is almost needless to remark that, if any increase is contemplated, money must be forthcoming to pay the men well and regularly. If the officers of the Gendarmerie sit quietly in their houses, never leading an expedition or assisting person ally in the capture of a brigand, it can hardly be expected that the men will work well. Yet this is precisely the case. Everything is left to the subordinate officers, who, being most irregularly paid, are always 432 THE ARMENIAN HERALD ready to accept a bribe ; and being, moreover, unsupported by their supe riors, are often afraid to capture offenders. The third cause influences them also. It is not likely that a man will risk his life to capture a rob ber, who will be released from prison two or three weeks after he is taken. This is no uncommon occurence, for the local Kdimakam is either a sleeping partner in the business, or lets his prisoner escape for a con sideration. "This is the existing state of things so far as this vilayet is con cerned. But to fully comprehend the distressing condition of the people. such a description will not suffice Nothing short of being brought in direct contact with the officials, as we are, can convince you of their apathy and laziness, of their corruptness, of their utter want of consid eration for the welfare of the people, and, finally, that measures are useless unless men can be found who will loyally execute them.""

Let us remember this declaration, unfortunately too true elsewhere besides Armenia. "Not measures, but men," is the cry of all those who have seen in practice, as applied by the Ottoman Administration, the pseudo-reforms so often announced in Turkey. This is one of the points to which I shall have to direct attention when I inquire what this great Liberal and Christian Europe can and ought to do for those countries to which she has promised, and to whom she owes, at the very least, tolerable government. Fourth : Working of the Central and Local Administrations. The great drawback of Turkish Administrations, both central and local, lies in the fact that the motive of the continual changes which they have undergone for some thirty years has generally been, not a desire to do well, but a hypocritical desire to continue to do evil, whilst trying to make Europe believe the contrary. In this way there has arisen an unprecedented state of things, in which we find a monstrous agglomera tion of evils and vices of the most varied character: extreme arbitrari ness, extreme weakness, prodigality and avarice, reckless luxury and abject misery, excessive pride and extreme meanness; in a word, the worst products of civilization and barbarism. What can be expected in the shape of reform from the mischievous creatures who swarm in the Government offices at Constantinople, and whose first care should be to abolish themselves? All their efforts are employed, all their ability consists in gaining time, in throwing dust into the eyes of the Ambassa dors and Consuls, and in shielding one another from the discovery and chastisement of their misdeeds. In this respect they are past-masters. Even when claims are presented by the Ambassadors of the Great Pow ers on behalf of their countrymen, there is nothing so difficult as to get a settlement. In 1879, Sir A. H. Layard wrote to Lord Salisbury that

< ARMENIA, THE ARMENIANS AND TREATIES 433 the most unimportant question had to be laid before the Cabinet, which, according to the Foreign Minister, Said Pasha, had 3,600 questions before it awaiting discussion and settlement. In most cases, all is not termin ated when the Cabinet has decided. The papers must be sent to the pal ace, there to await the Sultan's examination and Irade. Another diffi culty arises from the confusion and disorder which prevail at the Porte. In all the departments the pay of the employes is in arrear, some of whom are literally on the verge of starvation. The consequence is they neglect their work, and are undisciplined. Documents are constantly being lost and the people concerned are compelled to get fresh ones, which is not always possible.'' The manner in which the Palace or the Central Adminis-officials is often quite a scandal. To prove their guilt avails nothing. If they are in favor, instead of punishment and disgrace, fresh dignities await them. If the fact is too patent, the lower officials are punished, instead of the culprits in high places. The Blue-Books give a lot of instances. I will only select two at random. A military commander had been accused of dishonesty in the manage ment of the funds with which he was entrusted. The inquiry proves that he has committed considerable frauds, but for good reasons the Com missioner entrusted with the investigation hesitates for a time as to what course to adopt. However, happening to be an honest man, he exposed the facts in their nakedness, and, in consequence of subsequent orders from Constantinople, placed under arrest the subordinate officers, who were compromised in the frauds perpetrated by their superior. But whilst these subordinates were sent under arrest to the capital, one of the Sultan's yachts entered the port of Trebizond, and took on board the commander in question, who was appointed to a high position in the palace itself. One of the most odious officials of the Porte in 1878, was the Vali or Governor of Aleppo, Kiamil Pasha. In consequence of the revolting cruelties and extortions which had been practised, mainly towards the Armenian Christians at Zeitoun, the Porte, urged by the British Ambas sador and Consul, consented, with very bad grace, Fo open an inquiry into the alleged facts. The result of the inquiry was overwhelming. To punish the Zeitounites for some disturbances which had taken place when taxes were being levied which they considered new and unjust, Kiamil Pasha had taken as hostages from the mountain at Aleppo nine teen women, one of whom died on the way, and he had thrown into pri son 150 Christians at Marash, and forty-five at Aleppo, against the greater part of whom he could not even bring a definite charge. The British Consul himself saw at Zeitoun fourteen Christians in chains, 434 THE ARMENIAN HERALD standing with their necks, hands, and feet in iron rings, fastened to the wall, so as to prevent them from moving. This same Kiamil Pasha had been, moreover, accused of receiving bribes, and of having forged, or helped to forge, letters intended to libel the Consul who had denounced him." At last the Porte was ob liged to give a definite undertaking that it would dismiss him, and, as a matter of fact, in the month of April, 1879, he resigned his post, to the great joy of those under his authority." Nevertheless, in the month of November of the same year an indignant dispatch from the Ambassa dor, Sir A. H. Layard, informed Lord Salisbury that this very Kiamil Pasha had just been appointed Mustershar, that is, Under-Secretary in the Ministry of Interior, and President of the Commission for the Ap pointment of Public Officials." That is not all. In the month of May, 1880, a fresh dispatch from the same Ambassador states this same Kiamil Pasha has just been appointed by the Sultan Minister of the Evkaf, or Pious Foundations, and decorated with the order of the Medjidie of the second class." After that, can any one be astonished that Turkish Armenia, which is naturally one of the richest countries in the world, should be now, owing to the manner in which it is governed, one of the poorest and most wretched? An independent Mussulman writes from Boulandjik to Consul Billiottie that "it is impossible to give an idea of the state of things." Tyrannized over, robbed and driven from their lands by Gov ernment officials and Aghas, Mussulmans as well as Christians "shed tears of blood."" The aspect of the country is desolate. No care is taken to preserve or re-stock the forest. The villages are only colla tions of mud huts, in plains devoid of trees, water, gardens, or vegetables. The inhabitants are coarsely fed and coarsely clad. Neither roads nor bridges are in a serviceable state. The remains of the old roads and the ruins of ancient bridges and public buildings in themselves attest at once the former prosperity of the country and the depth of its present decay. There hardly remains a single public building whose interior or exterior is not partially in ruins. The proportion of the nomad popula tion is constantly increasing. Even the use of certain modern inventions, such as steam navigation and telegraph, benefits the Government almost alone, by providing it with enormous facilities for stifling every inclina tion to resist its oppressive measures." The proof that this state of things is exclusively owing to the misgov- ernment of the country, lies in the fact that that part of Armenia which was annexed to Russia in 1878 has presented since 1880 a striking con trast to the part which remained Turkish territory. On this subject we possess the unimpeachable evidence of the English Vice-Consul who ac companied the Commissioners entrusted with the delimitation of the ARMENIA, THE ARMENIANS AND TREATIES 4SS

frontier. He compares the condition of two villages one hour and half's distance from each other. At Kara-Kilissa which remained under Turk ish rule, the people complained bitterly of the oppression of the soldiers, who took everything from them without payment; whilst Bashkeui, which was ceded to Russia, was in a flourishing condition, and the Cos sack detachment which occupied it got on admirably with the people. At Sarie-Kamish, another frontier village on Russian territory, very great improvements were visible everywhere. Barracks for the regi ment quartered there were in course of construction, and several shops were being built. In the country round, Circassian brigandage still exist ; but the Cossacks were making praiseworthy efforts to put it down, and the English Consul has reported that no doubt they will succeed."

NOTES

REVIEW OF CONSULAR REPORTS

'Report sent from Erzeroum on the 23rd of Sept., 1880, by Vice-Consul Everett. Blue Book No. 6 (1881), page 185. I shall again have occasion to quote from this remarkable report, for which the author was specially complimented by the Foreign Secretary, Lord Granville. Blue Book, Ibid, page 215. 'Blue Book. Turkey, No. 4 (1180), pp. 105 106. Ibid No. 23 (1880). p. 113. 'Report of Captain Stewart. Blue-Book. Turkey, No. 23 (1880), page 76. Ibid, from Mr. Biliotti, Consul at Trebizond, No. 6 (1881), page 102. 'See reports on the famine by Major Trotter, Blue-Book, Turkey, No. 23 (1880), page 12; ibid, 6 (1881), pp. 82-84. Captain Everett, Blue-Book, Turkey, No. 23 (1880), pp. 22, 62, 76, 113, 145. Captain Clayton, Blue-Book, Turkey, No. 23 (1880). pp. 23, 49, 103, 131, 134. Blue-Book, No. 6 (1881), page 180. Report by the Rev. Robert Chambers to Captain Everett, Blue-Book, Turkey, No. 23 (1880), page 78. Ibid, by the Central Armenian Committee, Blue-Book, Turkey, No. 6 (1881), page 134. 'According to a letter from Major Trotter to Lady Strangford, dated July 23, 1880, the funds received from the English committees up to that time amounted to £4,350, or 108,750 francs. This sum does not include considerable amounts sent by the Turkish committees to the Vali, and by the Armenian committees to local relief societies, nor 2,500, francs sent by the Jewish Alliance of Paris and by Baron de Hirsch, to be specially devoted to the relief of the Jews in Armenia. [Blue-Book, Turkey, No. 6 (1881), page 821. Referring to the Armenians, Captain Clayton writes from Van on the 7th of May, 1880 : "I think it right to say that the Arme nian Charitable Committee here have been working extremely well, and the meas ures taken by them seem to me to be very judicious." IBlue-Book, Turkey, No. 23, (1880), page 234]. According to a report of the Central Armenian Committee to the Patriarch Nerces, that body distributed more than 500,000 francs, of which one quarter was devoted to the relief of distressed Syrians, Chaldeans, Greeks, Turks, and Kurds. 'Blue-Book. Turkey, No. 23 (1880), page 111; ibid, page 145. 'Blue-Book. Turkey, No. 6 (1881). page 197. See a very interesting and patriotic lecture given at Tiflis in 1880, by an Armenian, Dr. Gregory Arzruni, on the famine in Turkish Armenia, its causes and effects, published at the time in the Armenian newspaper Mschak, and translated into German, under the title of "Die Hungerenoth in Turkish Armenien. Ein Vortrag von Dr. Gregor Arzruni, gerdruckt erschienen in der armenischen Zeitung Mschak ubersetzt von A. Amirchanjanz". (Tiflis, 1880, 30 pages). It appears from this pamphlet that considerable aid was also received from Russia, viz.: 70,000 roubles sent by the Armenians in Russia, 15,000 436 THE AMENIAN HERALD roubles from religious and charitable societies in St. Petersburg, Moscow, Ac. The same writer, who is the editor of the Mschak delivered a lecture in 1879 at the Tiflis Working Man's Club, on the economic condition of the Armenians in Turkey. Vide "Die aekortomische Lage der Armenien in der Turkei, offentilicher vortrag gehalten am 11 Marz im Tifliser Handwerhsverein in armenischer Spache von Dr. Gregor Arzrumi ubersetzt von A. Amirchanjanz." (St. Petersburg. Buchdruckerei der Kaiserl. Academie der Wissenschaften, 1879, 36 pages.) "Captain Everett. Blue-Book, Turkey, No. 23 (1880). page 23. 'Captain Clayton. Ibid, page 103. "Memorandum presented to the Porte by the English Ambassador, August 6. 1880, Blue-Book, Turkey, No. 6 (1881), page 119. "Clayton. Blue-Book, Turkey, No. 6 (1881), page 40. "Blue-Book, Turkey, No. 23 (1880), pp. 146 and 153. Ibid, No. 6 (1881), page 21 Mr. Biliotti relates the following occurrence, a heartrending example of the despair to which an entire class of the population is reduced: "A poor negro, a liberated slave, had contrived, after years of hardship and privation, to put together £200, which secured for him comfort for the rest of his life. The withdrawal of the caimtt, of the copper coin, and lastly the depreciation of the silver currency, having deprived him of his hard-earned savings, he decided to put an end to his life, which had lost all its charms. He repaired to the principal entrance at the Seraglio, armed with a cutlass, and there deliberately cut open his belly. His self-inflicted wound was so ghastly that his intestines dropped on the ground, but he lived long enough to state the motive of his act of despair." "Blue-Book. Turkey, No. 23 (1880), page 15. "Report of Captain Everett, January 30, 1880. Blue-Book, Turkey No. 23 (1880), page 62. "Report of Vice-Consul Gatheral, of Angora. Blue-Book, Turkey, No. 6 (1881), page 3. According to Mr. Wilson, Consul General in Anatolia, the system of havelu is one of the worst that has ever been adopted. Blue-Book No. 23 (1880), page 75. "Report of Vice-Consul Biliotti, of Trebizond. Blue-Book, No. 6 (1881), page 25 "Blue-Book. Turkey No. 4 (1880), page 181. "The name of Tanzimat, which is the plural of the Arab word Tanzim, signifying order, organization, is given to the mass of reforms promised in the Hatti-Sherif of Gulhane (November 3, 1839). "Report of Mr. Wilson. Blue-Book, Turkey, No. 8 (1881), page 57, No. 48. "Same report, page 58, No. 51. "Blue-Book. Turkey, No. 8 (1881), page 47. "Same Blue-Book_ page 58, No. 52. "The Hakim, who" is a member of the religious body of Ulemas, presides over the lower court, Bidayet, which is to be found in every caza and also over the Sandjok or district court. "Blue-Book, ibid, pp. 71, 72. 'Blue-Book, ibid, pp. 109, 110. "Ibid, page 64, No. 108. "Blue-Book, Turkey No. 4 (1880), page 70 (Cooper), 171 (Gatheral) No. 8 (1880), pp. 104 (Clayton), 189 (Chermside) ; No. 6 (1881), page 25 (Biliotti), etc. "Blue-Book, Turkey, No. 23 (1880), page 26. "Ibid, page 28. Dispatch of January 28, 1880. "Blue-Book, Turkey, No. 6 (1881), page 91. "Blue-Book Turkey, No. 6 (1881), page 186. "Dispatch from Sir A. H. Layard, December 26, 1879. Blue-Book, Turkey No. 4 (1880), page 189. ^Report from Consul Biliotti, July 9, 1880. Blue Book, No. 6 (1881), page 25. "Blue-Book. Turkey, No. 1 (1880), pp. 2, 4, 5, 9-11 20, 26, 28, 127, and passim. "Ibid, page 60. "Dispatch from Sir A. H. Layard, November 9, 1879. Blue-Book, Turkey, No. 1 (1880), page 127. The matter in question is of such a serious nature that I con sider it incumbent on me to quote the exact words of the British Ambassador1! dispatch : "Therapia, 9th November, 1879. "My Lord : I regret to have to state to your lordship that Kiamil Pasha, who was removed from his post of Vali of Aleppo on account of my representations against his conduct in the Zeitoun affair has been named 'Musteshar' or Under-Secretary of the Ministry of the Interior (a place, I believe, created for him), and President of the Commission for the appointment of Public Functionaries. NOTES 437

"I learn, upon good authority, that this appointment has been forced upon Mahmoud Nedim Pasha, notwithstanding his strong objection to it. It is scarcely credible that a man who has been recently proved guilty of treating the Christians of Zeitoun with great cruelty, and who is under the accusations of having received bribes, and of having forged, or connived at the forgery of, letters in order to mis represent the conduct of one of Her Majesty' Consuls, should be named to a place of so much importance, which ought to be filled by a man of known integrity and of liberal views —I have &c," (Signed) "A. H. Layard." "Dispatch from Sir A. H. Layard of 24th May, 1880. Blue-Book Turkey, No. 23 (1880), pp. 193. Ibid, No. 6 (1881), pp. 173; a dispatch from Vice-Consul Clayton states that one individual, who had been dismissed by the Reform Commissioners from his position as judge of the Criminal Court of Bashkala, has just been re-ap pointed to the same post, in pursuance of special orders sent from Constantinople. "Blue-Book. Turkey, No. 23 (1880), pages 193, 194. "See account of journey through Kurdistan, sent by Lieutenant Chermside to the Ambassador, Sir A. H. Layard, and by the latter to Earl Granville. Blue-Book, No. (1880), page 193. Ibid, No. 6 (1881), page 173; a dispatch from Vive-Consul Clayton "Report of Vice-Consul Everett to Major Trotter, September 7, 1880. Blue-Book, Turkey, No. 6 (1881), page 174. ATOM YARJANIAN-SIAMANTO

BY ARAM TOROSSIAN

Atom Yarjanian-Siamanto, with the possible exception of Daniel Varoudjan, was the brightest poetical star in the heavens of contempo rary Armenian literature, whose disappearance has appreciably dark ened the firmanent and whose place will not be easily filled for many years to come. He was one of those rare poets who write only under an inspiration when the voice from within speaks to assuage the anguish of a sensitive soul. He was taken from us in the horrible year of 1915 when he had just reached the age of 37, but he will forever live for those who have known the lofty creations of his imagination in which his im mortal spirit, an armed knight mounted on a gallant steed and holding high the burning torch of Hope, will forever hover and keep alive tk emancipation of Armenia, his ideal as well as our own. Atom Yarjanian was born of wealthy parents at Akn, Armenia, in 1878. While still a lad, he came under the influence of Karekin Servante- dian, the most prominent disciple of Mekertitch Khrimian, the Hairik (Little Father) of all the Armenians, who, perched at the top of Mount Varak, in Van, inflamed the hearts of his countrymen by his fiery writ ings and sent his disciples throughout Armenia to carry enlightenment to his brothers and sisters. Servantzdian was so fond of Atom that he gave him the pseudonym, Siamanto, which he kept ever since. We do not know the many other influences which may have molded Siamanto'; youthful nature except the certain one of the lovely atmosphere of hi* country and home. From a few of his poems we learn how deeply he must have loved his home and its surroundings, 'the fountain which sang in the court-yard,' the willow and the mulberry tree of the garden, and the 'brook which flowed among the trees.'

I have not forgotten thee, thou distant and brotherly fountain, I recall when I came to moisten my happy boyish eyes and bright brow In thy thoughtful waters, And thou, like the thought of freedom, Affectionately sweetened my sun, my life and my soul.

Thus, companioned by the fountain and the mulberry tree, Atom passed his first twelve happy years, so fondly remembered in his mature life. ATOM YARJANIAN-SIAMANTO 439

In 1890 Atom and his family left the peaceful native home to enter the seething, turbulant life of Constantinople. There Siamanto fre quented schools and very soon showed marked interest and ability to write, and particularly to write poetry. His sensitive and sympathetic nature responded even at so early an age to all the melancholy and har rowing emotions of Armenian life with which he came in close contact, and which later he was to interpret in such unique and symbolic style. In the early days of Hamidian massacres and persecutions, when the Red Sultan roused and encouraged the fanatic Turks to slaughter the Armenians, Atom, unable to stand the shock, left Constantinople with a rather poor health. He went to Alexandria, Egypt, and for a little time freely served as a teacher in an Armenian school. About this period his father became bankrupt and was drowned in the Sea of Bosphorus while out in a boat. Whether his death was an accident or not is not known, but it left a profound impression on Atom's sensitive mind. To the end of his life the memory of his father's death would not permit Siamanto to take a pleasure trip in a boat. Yarjanian became a wanderer now and had to think of making his own living. From Egypt he tramped through different countries of Europe. For a time he intended to study botany in Switzerland; he thought in that way he would be able to obtain a pleasant occupation, but when he discovered what a difficult science he had chosen, he lost his interest in botany and devoted himself to literature. During the years between 1890 and 1908 Yarjanian studied very deeply and began to write. At first he went to Paris, mastered the French language and became an assiduous attendant of the lecture courses. He read both the old and the new literature. Libraries, muse ums and galleries became his customary haunts. Physically delicate and mentally sensitive and emotional, he was attracted by the writers who express their emotions by a mystic and dreamy vagueness but at the same time in a free and unshackled style. He read Paul Verlaine, Emile Verharen, Stephane Mallarme, Henri de Regnier and Charles Baudelaire. Through Baudelaire's translations he became acquainted with Edgar Allan Poe. At this time he also came under the spell of another Ameri can poet, Walt Whitman, whose free and original manner of expression and broad and all-embracing democratic nature could not help but find a ready response in Siamanto. Yarjanian, however, did not forget his fatherland in the midst of this western civilization. He kept in touch throughout his studies in Paris with his countrymen; followed closely and intently every phase and event of Armenian life and dedicated nearly everything he wrote at this time and later to his afflicted race. With the exception of a few poems which recall his boyhood impressions, it is difficult to find among his 440 THE ARMENIAN HERALD writings an emotion or a thought which expresses his personal emotions and thoughts. Even in his dreams he finds himself among the valleys of his native land; his breath dies suddenly from 'awakened memories'; he takes up his 'sweet-voiced flute,' but his lips recognize it 'as a kiss of days of long ago.' He cannot banish from his sight the sweet pic ture of his native land, and is unable to recall without sobbing the 'silvery voice of the proud cock,' the click of the kotchnack\ 'the white voice of the flour mill, the ever moving body of fertility and labor.' It is inevitable to find a slight tinge of melancholy in his poems of this period, for his hard financial straits had told on his delicate frame and his health was at the lowest ebb of his life. His friends feared his lungs were effected and hastened to remove him to a sanitarium in Switzerland where he stayed long enough to eradicate from his system the germs of tuberculosis. After his cure he continued to stay in Switzerland where he spent many happy days during which he wrote a number of impor tant poems including one of his great masterpieces, The Song of the Knight. In 1908, immediately after the declaration by the Young Turks of their sham constitution, Siamanto returned to Constantinople and after an absence of fourteen years once more joined his mother. He became one of the contributors of Azatamart, by which means he was able to un dertake ungrudgingly the care of his brother and sisters. But only for a short time was he able to enjoy a peaceful family life. The Young Turks showed their true colors and instigated the horrible massacre of Adana, before the long-wished-for sound of the constitution had ceased to thrill the hearts of the Armenians. Siamanto was deeply shocked by that frightful event and the intensity of his bitter feeling is clearly revealed in the series of depressing poems which he wrote at that time, entitled The Bloody News From My Friend. After that national disaster Siamanto once more left his home. This time he started for America to undertake the editorship of Hairenii an Armenian newspaper published in Boston. He was bound for at unknown country and felt gloomy about his indefinite future. He later related that on the steamer at such despondent moments he consoled himself with the thought of seeing, on his landing on Boston, the paint ings of Puvis de Chavannes. And indeed, his first visit was to the Boston Public Library where he passed a good deal of his stay in Boston. Be wrote many of his poems in Bates Hall of that library and he so loved the paintings of Chavannes that hardly a day passed when he did no; long and intently study those incomparable panels set into yellow arches of Sienna marble. Besides those paintings there were three other things

'The kotchnak is a small wooden board that is beaten with sticks to arouse the sleepers. ATOM YARJANIAN-SIAMANTO 441

he wished to see before leaving America —the graves of Poe and Whit man and Niagara Falls. He saw Niagara and wrote to me, "I loved and worshiped the indescribable Niagara. It is the power of all powers; no limit or words to my wonder ; from this time on all beauties are meaning less." Whether his two other desires were fulfilled or not I do not know. After a year's stay in America he again returned to Constantinople and once more joined his family. Shortly after his return the Armenians' cast aside for a moment their sorrows and cares and enthusiastically commemorated the fourteenth hundred anniversary of the founding by St. Mesrop of the Armenian alphabet. Siamanto echoed the spirit of that enthusiasm by writing his poem of Saint Mesrop, which, steeped in the spirit of Narekatsi's florid style, is able for a moment to return us to the golden period of Armenian literature "when faith, ecstacy and prayers were able to move the mountains from their foundations," as Martiros Haroutunian puts it. Hardly had the Armenian nation recovered from the thrill of that enthusiasm when again it put on its black clothes and mourned for that large-hearted and truly patriotic Armenian, Simon Zavarian, who was taken away by sudden death. Siamanto accompanied Zavarian's body to the Caucasus and then returned to the fateful city of ancient Con- stantine. On the day when Turkey entered the war, Siamanto was among the group of intellectual Armenians who were seized and kept by the Turkish authorities and were later sent to barren deserts and were, without doubt, ruthlessly murdered. We have tried to present the nature and spirit of Siamanto's soul, which is the soul of the Armenian race. An understanding of this blend ing of the individual and racial natures is necessary for a true under standing of his symbolic poems. For he constantly expresses the emo tions, passions, ideals and pangs of the Armenian people. Individuality is merged here into the individuality of the race. "The complete and " pure art," says Zartarian, is that which is the mirror of the entire soul of the race. That is why Atom Yarjanian's sad and at the same time angry voice is expressive of the racial characteristics." Herein lies the significance of Siamanto's imaginative and symbolic poems. Siamanto's literary recognition commenced with the publication in Paris of a series of poems, called Heroically, in which he sings praises to our martyrs and heroes, and voices the hope that their self-sacrifice will sometime make possible that,

Yonder, on the boundless and distant plains, Our young and broad and huge plowers of our future plains, Their mad oxen, tied to steel plows, stubbornly, Plow the diamond-like fertile Dawns. 442 THE ARMENIAN HERALD

Here, all the elements of poetry —the language, the words, the form — were new in our literature. In these early poems the human element is rather meager, figures of speech are not clear and his expressions do not always create definite impressions. In Starving, one of his later poems, where he speaks of 'the white voice of the flour-mill,' he does convey to us a definite impression of a mill-atmosphere; but when in the above quotation he speaks of plowing 'diamond-like fertile Dawns' it is difficult to grasp just what he means. He feels his material but has not yet fashioned it into a coherent poetic speech. Criticism was inevitable; but it oftener attacked his new style of writing and his departure from traditional forms rather than offered an analysis of his poetic power and ideas. Siamanto's critics argued like the opponents of Wagner, when they said that Wagner was undermining all the elementary laws of music because he did not compose by the customary rules of harmony ; or as the defenders of classic poetry argued against the romantic poets, simply on the grounds that romantic poets did not use the regular rythm and drawing-room themes of the pseudo- classic poets. In the same manner the conventional poets of our day maintain that it is impossible to write poetry without a definite rythm or rhyme; they insist that such writing is not poetry but a kind of jargon, But such criticism may be dispensed with, since it is now an accepted fact that poetry is not limited by any definite or regular rhythm or rhyme, but is an imaginative and pictorial expression in words of emo tions and thoughts. This idea is as old as Aristotle who expresses sub stantially the same view in his Poetics. The Elizabethans held the same view, if we discard their too obvious insistence on the didactic element of poetry. Sir Phillip Sidney, for example, in The Defense of Poesy, says, "It is not riming and versing that maketh a poet . . . but it is that feu> ing notable images of virtues, vices, or what else, with that delightful teaching, which must be right describing note to know a poet by." So it is not altogether a new idea that the poet is his own law, may choose any form he wishes in which to express his thoughts. If he brings to us a new message or a new viewpoint of an old message to thrill our hearts, he will become immortal, but if he reiterates the customary platitudes without touching our emotions, he will pass into oblivion no matter what his chosen form of expression. Thus thought Siamanto. He wrote as he felt, and as the free-verse form suited his purpose and temperament better than other forms he did not hesitate to adopt it and fail to recognize the adoption as his privilege. Distinctly an impressionistic poet, he does not pretend to be anything else. Unlike his great contemporary —Daniel Varoudjan—the classic poet, Siamanto does not create definite, plastic pictures which in turn, awaken the desired emotions, but arouses in us directly the emo 1

ATON YARJANIAN-SIAMANTO 443 tions themselves through his vivid imagination and great poetic power. For example let us analyze for a moment the poem called The Vision of Death. This extraordinary poem begins with the words, "Slaughter, slaughter, slaughter." From the beginning he conveys to the reader the feeling of dread and prepares him to encounter the awful vision of death. After revealing to us a series of horrible phantoms he introduces other motives and closes the poem with the original motive:

Hear, O hear, O hear, The roar of the tempest among the waves of the sea, Slaughter, slaughter, slaughter, The fateful howling of the frightful hounds, Approaching me from the valleys, and grave yards, Oh, close thy windows and thine eyes, too, Slaughter, slaughter, slaughter.

After reading this poem the reader may not remember any definite picture but he cannot banish from his sight the horrible impression of death or forget the crimson motive of the thrice-repeated 'slaughter' which will sound in his ears like the awful death knell. We feel Sia- manto is always searching for the one word or the one expression which, like a flash of light, transmits to us the desired impression and awakens in us the desired emotions. Without being disheartened by the hostile criticisms, Siamanto con tinued to write in this manner and gradually perfected his rare poetic irt. After Heroically he published in succession Sons of Armenia (1906), Torches of Death and Hope (1906), and a second volume of Sons

~lf Armenia (1908),—all three written during his student life in Europe. tVe have already spoken of Bloody News From My Friend (1909), writ ten after the massacre of Adana, and Appeal From the Fatherland (1910), twelve poems written during his stay in America. All these sear the same strong spirit and lofty flight of poetic imagination. These Joems have impressed us so deeply with their angry intensity that we )rdinarily call him the poet of anger; but he has delicate and sensitive

poems among these collections that make him worthy of being called a yric poet also. Such are My Tears and Thirst, both from Torches of Death and Hope. The poet, exhausted after his mighty and angry blows, is calmed by these mild lyrics, as the threatening thunder is softened by the subsequent echo. These are not, however, love lyrics by which our poet soothes his troubled soul. .They are composed of sweet memories of his beloved

native land. He cuts a branch 'from a willow's body slim' to make a magic flute with which to sing and fill 'the gentle breezes and airs of 444 THE ARMENIAN HERALD dawn' like his 'sister's soft embrace,' but when his old memories re vive, his breath straightway fails and instead of songs his tears begin 'drop after drop to flow.' Siamanto, as we have seen, has never sung the passion of love. In this respect he is unique among the poets of Ar menia, certainly among the contemporary poets. Occasionally when he does chose a love theme it is very close to the themes of the folk-songs describing life of pilgrimage. He relates in glowing colors the despond ent mother's outpouring for her wandering and home-sick sons or the newly-wed wife's ardent and passionate feelings of love for her husband roaming in distant lands, as in his incomparable poem entitled, The Young Wif's Dream. "Return!" she cries to her husband in a last burst of emotion, "My longing has no end,

When the black night comes thus to unfold its shrouds, When the owls in the courtyard shriek with one another. When my sobs end and my tears become bloody, Lonely in my dreams of a despairing bride, With my hands, like a demon, I begin To sift upon my head the earth of my grave, which is drawing near to me."1

But he never plays the lover. He persistently refuses to think of his

personal happiness or to indulge in erotic musings while yonder his brothers and sisters are groaning under the tyrant's yoke, and heroic

boys are sacrificing their lives for liberty. Perhaps it is for this very reason,—because, like Keats, he has left his personal affairs, the absorb ing passions of his life out of his works, —that his poems have such in tensity, fire, and tingle so with passion. Witness that matchless poem called Starving (reproduced in this number of the Armenian Herald), in Walt Whitman's vein, where every word vibrates with emotion it and seems to have been inspired by a divine fire. Is possible, we hear our poet say, to drown oneself in love feasts or stretch lazily in balmy bowers, however one may wish to do so, when, in place of the beautiful and idylic pastoral Armenian life (described in rapturous terms in the first part of the poem in order to make the second part more harrowing

in contrast) ; when,

In place of the infinite goodness of ears of wheat, yellow thistles have sprung up,

And over the fruit-bearing gardens the dark crowing of black crows i! dying away, With their arms outstretched against the horizon, guant and frail trees,

"From the Armenian Poems by Alice Stone Blackwell. ATOM YARJANIAN-SIAMANTO 445

With the rising of the winds are crushed against one another, like the skeletons of countless dead. The ill omened tempest flies along the paths by night with roaring as of a forest. Demolishing half-ruined villages and roofs beneath the anger of its sweep, Opening earth-mounds and graves, strangling birds in caves. Meanwhile from the caves as the howling of the devouring wild beasts tolls the knell of death.'

This portion of the poem was written under the impression of the Ham- idian massacres of 1896 but it applies to the frightful conditions of today even better than to the horrors of twenty years ago. Our poet is so possessed by the fierce and titanic forces drinking the life blood of our race that he fails to remember the erotic muse or to indulge in personal happiness. Siamanto often employs allegory in most effective manner. We can not cite a finer example than The Mother's Dream, one of the twelve exquisite poems he wrote in America and dedicated them to his afflicted race.

Let me write and tell you of my dream. It was upon the midnight of All Saints. Sudden before me your four brothers knelt.'

These four shroudless and fleshless phantoms, which are the embodiment of Armenia's past sufferings, came before their mother 'to tell their memories of other days.' And those memories are full of the same har rowing and wild forces, working havoc among the innocent and peaceful Armenian life, as the unchained, savage forces in the Starving. How, they ask their mother, is it possible to live among such ruins ? They had often come and found the door closed, —Armenia has often been on the point of losing hope, —but this time they found it open. They wonder whom she expects. What is left, who is left, to give her hope and strength to sit on those ruins and wait? The four brothers knew not of their young brother who still lives, —our passed martyred race is uncon scious of the fact that the Armenian nation still lives, that a young re generated Armenian nation exists, —and when they heard their brother's name, "they wildly, with bent heads, began to weep."

Oh! a brother, a brother, we have a brother in the world, Oh, mother, mother —the misery of coming days, of coming hopes, How can we again to earth return, how can we return ?

'From the A rmenxan Poems by A. S. Blackwell. 'Ibid 446 THE ARMENIAN HERALD

Siamanto's most typical work, however, which contains most of the delicacies of his art and most of his healthy ideas is, The Song of the Knight, which he wrote in 1907 while in Geneva under rather favorable circumstances soon after he had been cured of consumption. It is a wonderful compound of allegory and epic poetry, in which at early dawn, perched like an eagle on the quivering and palpitating body of his swift steed, he flies toward his aim.

Let us grow drunk with our rapid course like heroes, 0 my steed. And infinitely winged like the wind, drink in the blast.

The boundless space before thy pace recedes and disappears, The sinful cities with all their crimes bow down beneath thy tread. Black flocks of crows that tremble thy swiftness to behold Are seeking shelter in the clouds, the thick clouds overhead.4

The road is rough, the obstacles are many but no obstacles, no rock can impede his steed's flight, for he is impatient to 'attain the summit of the Aim.' With all his might he spurns and hates a needless halt. Even his yearnings for his native valleys cannot slacken his pace.

Who knows, perchance a maiden fair by the side of the running brook Might hand me a cluster of golden grapes, and proffer a draught of wine; My soul might understand her, and she like a sister smile on me— But I do not wish to be lost in dreams ; halt not, swift steed of mine !'

How he yearns for the 'rose-scent' he has 'dreamed of many a year' but refuses to stop and muse. He shudders 'at the ruins and at the barren, helpless pangs' ; 'Oh, tears, the tears of others' choke him 'without ruth';

'the woe, the grief of others' drive him mad. The fatherland with all he its passed agonies rises before his eyes but he is unable to halt, for cannot bear the death of his 'dear native land with anguished eyes to see.' He passes by his birthplace and his eyes fill with tears,

But yet I would not shed them, nay do not pause or stay, My steed, my steed of swiftest flight! My Aim no weaknses knows.' a It is autumn and a yellow leaf falls on the brows of the Knight and for moment he wavers. J ? Is it my death it stands for, or the crowning of my faith What matter? On, my neighing steed, sweep onward with the stream.'

echo the He is encouraged however when from four corners of the earth

words :

'From the Armenian Poems by Alice Stone Blackwell. ATOM YARJANIAN-SIAMANTO 447

Ideal, 0 free born ideal, halt not, halt not, nor stay !'

From ruined huts and cities reach their ears the sounds of wailing, en treaties and laments and his steed begins to weep, but the Knight cheers him saying:

But ah ! What use in pausing all powerless before pain ?

Our task is to relieve it ; then do not halt nor stay.

From this time onward, I will burn Hope's torches blazing bright, To halt means death to us ; pause not, 0 gallant steed of mine !4

He hears bones crackle beneath the hoofs of his steed and 'skulls with empty sockets' gazing at him from the dark but he is dumb and speechless.

I will bury my sobs and sighs of grief in my souls abysmal depths, Let nothing live but my anger hot ! Pause not, but onward speed !

Oh, pause not, falter not in thy course, wild creature of marble white ! Tears will not banish the Pain of life, nor drive out its woes and wrong. Nay, the Ideal shall toll, shall toll the bells of glowing wrath,

The cranes, far flying, will call to us ; oh, follow their distant song !

Once more he behold's ashes, plains of ashes, and ruins, but he spurns on his steed crying, 'tear thy way through these frightful mounds.'

Halt not ! What good would it do, my steed, to pause here with useless sighes ?

Ah, once, accompanied by my griefs, my lyre shed tears of blood ; Weeping I hate from this time on ; thou only art my soul.4

Thus, Siamanto allegorizes the life of an individual and of a race. To him life is worthless without an ideal, but to attain the ideal is a difficult task. He knows that countless difficulties and temptations must be over come. Dangers must be encountered with the strongest of weapons. One must not waver on the road, 'useless sighs' are not to be tolerated, tears and wailing are signs of weakness. One must halt only when time comes to be useful. Thus one must continue his road battling until the aim is reached, until the 'sound of the wind' is winded like a horn far away and the forests, 'ranged like troops of war', stand ready and 'old laws are crushed old tears are shed, old sounds are dying fast.' This

'From the Armenian Poems by Alice Stone Blackwell. 448 THE ARMENIAN HERALD poem inspires and inflames any individual or nation to ideal tasks. How prophectic these lines sound in these days of trial when super- strength is needed to fight for the freedom of the world as Siamanto's Aim is battling for the freedom of Armenia. One last bound and the Knight will reach his aim. He already sees the spectacular procession.

Tis Freedom's pioneers, their swords flash out life-giving rays. And Brotherhood they celebrate in morning's glorious light.4

And finally he reaches the goal.

Here may'st thou halt. Be blest, my steed! Worthy of God art thou! Tears fill my soul as mine Ideal I gaze on and admire. Thy triumph is the mighty law of beauty infinite. Lo, there six sombre centuries are standing, armed with fire !

I, armed already, will arm thee. O'er my shoulder burns thy torch. They like the tempest wish to walk, under the dawning's glow, Laden with justice. Oh, the land is barren and athirst ! Lo, from our flight the giant Hope sparks in the path will sow !'

Thus, as soon as we reach our aim, as soon as we realize an ideal ire must prepare for the next one. Life is a continuous struggle for the reali zation and liberation of ideals. Fortunately—or unfortunately —life is rich in ideals which must be fought for and defended. During the stormy voyage of life we must be true to two ideals, Freedom and Justice, while the torch which will illumine our way is Hope. Hope gives us strength to fight and to battle against difficulties. Hope has preserved our unhappy but proud race and led her safely through many seas of blood and carnage. Hope gives every living Armenian inspiration and enthusiasm to fight for freedom and to throw off the yoke of Turkish rule. These are only a few of the thoughts and ideals which Siamanto his condensed and embodied in this poem and expressed them with such beautiful and consummate art. It is so condensed that the reader will find it difficult to exhaust all the vista which open up before his eyes each time that he may re-read it. Siamanto's unyielding ideal, symbolized in this poem, was the emancipation of Armenia. It is a personal grief that he was not destined to witness the realization of his ideal, but it is a con solation to know that this immortal poet has lodged his ideal in every Armenian who has come in contact with his vigorous and lofty poetry and who may be privileged to witness the realized ideal for which Siamanto so ardently and so splendidly hoped. THE STARVING

BY ATOM YARJANIAN-SIAMANTO

fE ancient and undisturbed Armenian plains of kind mornings, d ye, golden fields, rich orchards, and pastures smiling with life, valleys covered with marble, flower-beds and kind and fruitful gar dens— that create wine, which causes self-forgetfulness, and eternal, sacred daily bread ! : indescribable paradises of plants, birds, flowers and songs !

»-day, once more, at the lonely hour of my returning memory, of my sorrowful grief and delirium, call on your spirits, in bitterness live your life, and hopelessly weep for you ! it of the blue, boundless space the fiery dawns open their lilies, ndlo! the proud cock makes his silvery voice resound. le kotchnaks1 click from village to village ; n harmonious flute joyously announces invitations ; nd the herds scatter themselves over the hilltops, ith the dance of the industrious and busy bees. ad the peace sings. The flowers tremble. The buds seem to have the glances of saintly women.

rt thou reminded of the white voice of the flour-mill, the ever-moving body of fertility and labor, hich turns its obedient and tireless wheel by the billows of the un bridled torrent of the valley, pportioning the blessing of its flour to the cities and villages, from time immemorial ? he brooks flow through the velvet mosses like children's nakedness ; he morning smoke of fireplaces and chimneys alike pours out its in cense. be beautiful young women with marble breasts go, pitcher in hand, to the springs for the diamond pure water. )thers draw near the rosebush, to sing with the nightingale of their new-born love.

The kotchnak is a small wooden board that is beaten with sticks to arouse the 450 THE ARMENIAN HERALD

It is the happy climate of the harvest, full of good tidings, that is born, Nature is pregnant, and the farmers, who have drunk of the fruit and effort of their skill,

Crowd around the plains. The scythes on their shoulders flash like hope. Andastan' is about to begin. To-day is the dawn of the harvest's bless ing:.

Let a prayer for nature, for beneficent nature, rise from men's lips ! May the soil grant its innumerable ears of wheat to us, and to humanity in the four corners of the earth, — To the neighbor, to the friend, to the enemy, to the evil man and to the

stranger ! Let all hunger be appeased, and let all thirst be quenched with the bright water!

This celebration is solemnized from north to south, from east to west, For the abundance of every race, every class, every caste, every field and every harvest.

Prayers are solemnized, and sweetened, and purified ; and out of the mist of incense Smiles of joy brighten the face of the good peasant with sunny hope.

The ears still standing kiss one another once more with thoughts of the wind; The sickles move, and golden seas, seas, seas, are being mown ; And sheaves, bundle by bundle, through the shadows of the fertile even ing, Like a multitude of stars that have rained down, meditate motionless from field to field.

The day is done ; and with the blooming rose and the songs of early mors, Huge oxen, pair by pair, around the threshing rings will thresh the won derful wheat. The flour mills will work, the thoner' will burn. Behold all significance, all reason, all law, purpose, cleanliness and great ness of incomprehensible life!

O all ye strange thoughts of my suffering, avaunt for this evening!

'Andastan corresponds to our Thanksgiving Day. "The thoner is a round open fireplace built in the ground. THE STARVING 451

My unhappy dream in ashes disclosed its wounded aspect. See ! the endless golden fields of yesterday wear the terrible appearance of graveyards, And the waters of ruined fountains, so like the tears of a dying man, Join the sobbing brooks, and go to moisten the black aspect of the hor rible ruins.

In place of the infinite goodness of ears of wheat, yellow thistles have sprung up, And over the fruit-bearing gardens the dark cawing of black crows is dying away. With their arms outstretched against the horizon, gaunt and frail trees With the rising of the winds are crushed against one another, like the skeletons of countless dead. The ill-omened tempest flies along the paths by night with roaring as of a forest, Demolishing half-ruined villages and roofs beneath the anger of its sweep, Opening earth-mounds and graves, strangling birds in the caves. Meanwhile from the caverns the howling of the devouring wild beasts tolls the knell of death.

There is no harvest, no harvester, no sower and no earth to plow. Hungry oxen bellow mournfully. Vegetation is dying with the flowers. The plow in the corner of the barn awaits the new and never-returning spring. The cock crows no more. The dawn, it seems, like the blood of my race, has sunk into the depths of the earth.

The innumerable caravans of wretchedness, from every side, migrate towards the plains ; Tragically beating their breasts, they frame prayers, hoping against hope, They celebrate the fields of bygone dawns, they implore, they bleed. "O Lord, we are hungry, have pity on us ! Nature, have pity on us! Men, we are hungry! Humanity, we are hungry !"

The current of water carries the corpse of the miller, And the mad flour-mill turns vainly, like an empty coffin. Grinding the horror, the wailing, the death of all that surrounds it, Madly it turns, gnawing at its millstones and wheels. 452 THE ARMENIAN HERALD

The new-born babes, with terrible eyes, suck the dry breast. Oh, the vision of Armenian mothers, the nearly-blinded eyes of the mothers before all these ! Oh, where is the road, where is the abyss, where is forgetf ulness, where is the awful pit? But death does not come, it does not come. Like the longed-for salva tion, it does not come.

The tremulous old women, groaning beneath their head coverings,

Amid the ashes of their ruined homes, at sunrise, with savage blood all around them, Among the ashes of their fallen homes, kneeling diligently before their wooden kneading-troughs, ' Bake in haste a little bread for the starving ones.

And the miserable throng of beggars with shattered bodies Wander along the painful road like phantoms, And, though disheartened with knocking at the doors of enemies, friends and pious folk, They once more return, again shed tears, once more beg, once more suf fer the agonies of death .

Hear this sobbing, supplication, begging! "We are hungry, we are

hungry !" There are those who tear their hair, there are those who shed tears like drops of lead,

There are those who hope they are already dead under cover of a pall of silence, There are those who once more dig the hard earth with their bleeding nails. There are those who fall one upon another in the graves, There are those who still look for plants and roots with stubborn hope, There are those who begin horribly to dance, arm in arm with frightful

madness ; And others, terrible to tell, already approach the corpses, unburied and awaiting burial.

0 ye hostile thoughts of my suffering, avaunt, all of ye, upon this

evening !

From the Armenian Poems by Alice Stone Blackwell. ARMENIAN DOCUMENTS

VI

Mrs. Esther Mugerditchian, the wife of Mr. Tovmas K. Mugerditchian, once British Vice-Consul in Diarbekir, managed to escape with her children from the dutches of Turkish frightfulness during the deportation period. She recently pub lished a circumstantial account of her odyssey and of the abominations she witnessed in Armenia during that terrible year. After reaching Egypt where her husband was residing, she published the narritive which we give below. It corroborates all previous documents published in these pages and what is more she gives the names ind addresses of the principal Turkish ring-leaders who carried out the massacres. These names should be kept on record, for at the peace congress the condign punish ment of these butchers should be demanded as a reparation due to the Armenian nation. The epilogue of Mrs. Mugerditchian is eloquent and touching to the core. "It is true," she says, "that the Armenians were martyred and massacred in the most atrocious manner, and that their tomb is not known. But even as death came to them they had a smile on their lips, for they were steadfast in their faith in a new and Independent Armenia for their countrymen who survived." We will now let her recite her story which was transmitted to us by her hus band with a request that it be published in the Armenian Herald.

FROM TURKISH TOILS

THE NARRATIVE OF AN ARMENIAN FAMILY'S ESCAPE

by esther mugerditchian

My Dear Husband — Before Turkey had declared war you were already on foreign soil. You had taken flight from the hell that is named Turkey, in the phrase of the Russo-Armenians. One hour after you sailed from Beyrout, strict orders were received from Constantinople for your arrest; but it was too late. Jevanian Dikran Effendi, the Government interpreter at Diarbekir, had informed us, through Professor Tenekedjian, that the British Con sulate at Diarbekir had been searched, and that it was most probable that our house would be searched also ; so we had taken the necessary precautions and burnt to ashes in the furnace all the English books, the pictures of the Royal Family, and all the letters bearing your signature which might arouse suspicion. I will attempt to tell you, as plainly as possible, everything that all the Armenians and our own family have undergone, trying to summarise 454 THE ARMENIAN HERALD under various headings the events, the remembrance of which makes u: afraid, even to-day.

THE ARMENIANS DURING THE MOBILIZATION

All classes of Armenians greatly aided the Turkish Government by putting all their physical and mental powers at their disposal and fur nishing them with supplies of all kinds in abundance. The young Armenians enlisted as soldiers and held an enviable posi tion in the army, but the Turkish soldiers would not be reconciled with them, even with those who were serving the army with true self-sacri fice. The following episode is worth mentioning. During some severe fight ing Enver Pasha, while watching with his field-glasses, perceived four men who were fighting bravely and noted them in his pocket-book. The battle was lost. In the evening the Turkish Commander ascribed his defeat to his soldiers, but the four heroes he summoned, and when they came he was surprised to see that they were Armenians. He rewarded them by an aferin (appreciation) and by a money reward of 3 medjidies each.

THE GERMAN CONSUL AT KHARPOUT.

The Armenians were frightened when the Capitulations were can celled. The shopkeepers kept their shops open in fear and trembling, waiting impatiently for sunset to close them. The German Consul, accompanied by two other German officers and guided by Mr. Ehemann, the German Missionary, visited all the vicinity of the market-place. On his visit to the Euphrates College belonging to the American Mission, seeing the Armenian young men crowded in the hall, he was surprised for a minute. When the Director of the school approached him and said, "Do you know English?" he, after a short pause, replied, "I can speak the American language." Then, turning to the Turkish officers, he said, "I am surprised that young men of military age are still lingering in the streets. All the pupils of the school are fit military for active service and the school building is quite well suited for barracks."

Within a few days the buildings were confiscated. Mr. Riggs applied to have the living quarters spared, but his request was refused. He at once appealed to the American Consul.

The American Consul came down from Mezre, sealed the buildings of the the school, and went back. On the day following a Turkish officer, blood-thirsty Kiazim, unsealed the buildings. The American Consul ARMENIAN DOCUMENTS 455

wired the facts of the case to Constantinople, receiving the following reply: "We can do nothing at present; the case is the same with all our schools." The Government began to ask for bedel (money paid in lieu of military service), and demanded the use of the auditorium of the Armenian Protestants for military purposes. Mr. Riggs had willingly assigned the school buildings for that purpose. But finally the church also was confiscated and used as a hospital. The Turkish population were very pleased with the abolition of the Capitulations, and often declared openly, "We are now an independent Government and masters in our own house, and can do whatever we like." • The Armenians were all subdued and, owing to a presentiment of impending calamity, in low spirits.

THE LABOUR BATTALION

The Armenian soldiers had all been formed, in the fields outside the city, into a so-called Labour Battalion, and were employed on the Gov ernment buildings and the construction of roads. They were properly treated at the beginning, but gradually the conditions became very severe. It is reported that the group working in the neighbourhood of the village of Habusi, four hours distant from Kharpout, consisting of young men of from 20 to 21 years of age, was brought down to the "Red Palace" of Mezre and beaten on the way. There were among them the sons of Professor Tenekedjian, who were kept in a building starving and thirsty. The poor fellows cried out : "Water, water," until Mr. Ehemann heard of the affair and sent some water to be given them through the windows. On the day on which they were to be transferred to Diarbekir there were two soldiers waiting in front of the door to give four blows with a cane on the head or neck—wherever they might happen to fall—to' all those who came out. Mr. Tchatalbashian Hovhannes, accompanied by his family, had come to see the departure of their son Nuri. The father and mother witnessed the four blows with the club that fell on their child's head. The son, whose face was deathly pale, cried to his mother, "Could my father do nothing for me?" The mother made no reply, but fell fainting and in tms. ; , -^MI A young man of Huseinig reports how they were bound together in fours and surrounded by gendarmes with fixed bayonets, and how, after two hours' march he cut the ropes with a razor kept in his trousers, and took flight. 456 THE ARMENIAN HERALD

Nishan, the tailor of Huseinig, reports that, after six hours' journey orders were given by their officer commanding, Kiazim, the bloodthirsty beast, to "fall in," and immediately, at a signal given by him, to open fire on them. The orders were carried out and 1,700 young men fell dead on the ground. After a short time he shouted : "Those who are alive get up!" Being deceived by a false reprieve from the Sultan, from 120 to 130 men arose, and for the second time the poor fellows were fired on, The call was made a second time, but nobody moved from his place. Then the gendarmes examined the dead one by one with the points of their bayonets. Those who were still alive attempted to take flight but were shot at, only a few of them escaping alive.

THE PRISON ATROCITIES

Here are the names of the Turkish officers who showed great activity in the atrocities committed : Zabit Bey, the Governor of Mezre, Vilayet

of Mamouret-el-Aziz ; Vahby Bey, the Officer Commanding the Army Corps ; Ferid Bey, the Officer Commanding the Regiment ; Reshid Bey, the Director of City Police ; Ali Riza Effendi, Police Commissary at Kharpout (a bloodthirsty man) ; Asim Bey, the Kaimakam of Kharpout; and Shefki Bey, the Captain of Gendarmerie at Kharpout. It was on May 1st, 1915, that I saw Professor H. Bujikanian, one of the most efficient teachers in the Euphrates College, passing in custody of a body of gendarmes, some of whom were carrying his books. After some time I saw also Mr. Ashur Yusuf and Professor G. Soghikian. In the meantime Yervant, my son, entered breathlessly and said: "Dervartan, the Armenian pastor, Professor Tenekedjian, and some other men of high standing have been or are being arrested, and the whole city will be searched." Let me tell you that Ali Riza Effendi acted as the execu tioner throughout those terrible days. I gathered around me all my children and we began to pray together for those imprisoned and for the whole Armenian nation. No member of the male sex was to be seen in the streets ; most were in prison. The police authorities often declared that they would be released at once, but they remained in the prison for a long time. They were all right for the first three weeks, and were allowed to com municate from the windows by signals and to send greetings to their relations. As the adults were afraid of being seen in the streets, our little Arsen acted as means of communication for them. Later on came the days of terror; Professor Tenekedjian, Professor Bujikanian, and Dervartan the pastor were tortured and maltreated. They hung them head downwards, plucked the hair of their heads and ARMENIAN DOCUMENTS 467

moustaches, and pinched their bodies with pincers, under the pretence of endeavouring to make them disclose some secrets. . . . ' Here are the particulars of the tortures which Professor Tenekedjian underwent. Professor Soghigan declared that his moustache and beard were so pitilessly plucked out that when he was shown to him he could not recognise him, notwithstanding his friendship of over thirty years. There was no limit to the flogging he endured. They crushed his hands and feet in the press, and pulled out his nails with pincers ; they pierced his face with needles, and put salt on the wounds; they forced him to take eggs out of boiling water and put them under his armpits until they cooled. They hung him head downwards from the roof, beating him all day long; they forced him to stand up for eight days in a drain, and they hung him head downwards for three hours in a water-closet. The people outside the prisons knew of what was going on only from the cries and moans which came through the walls; while the food supplied for the imprisoned persons was usually consumed by the warders, the poor prisoners being left to starve. Ad attempt was made, with threats, to induce Professor Tenekedjian to sign a document which read as follows: "The whole Armenian Nation, from the children of five years to the aged of seventy-five, con sists of revolutionists, and the Armenians plotted secretly to massacre the Turkish males by rifles and the females by means of razors." All threats were in vain, so they sent for some scavengers and ordered them to urinate into the professor's mouth; then they put a red-hot copper vase on his head, burning his scalp and hair. Professor Bujikanian was exposed to the same tortures. After the usual torments they pulled off his nails and seared the wounds with hot irons until he went mad. But when they asked him: "Where are the rifles?" and in reply he said, "The rifles are in my head," they cruelly pressed his head under the press. When his wife took his blood-stained shirt to the German missionary, Mr. Ehemann, he only replied: "I can do nothing." Mardiros Muradian was exposed to the same tortures by the Turks.

First of all he was given 1,600 lashes ; then they put out his eyes, and in this miserable condition led him round the city, and took him again to the prison, where Riza, the Police Commissary, kicked him to death. The day following they sent to his wife the blood-stained carpet on which he was killed. Orders were given to bury him at three o'clock in the morning without a coffin and face downwards, to prevent the pastor seeing his disfigured features. During the burial the pastor saw clearly that his face had been burnt by sulphuric acid. The nails of Professor Lulejian were pulled off, and his fingers were burnt with a hot iron ; he was forced to walk on iron nails, and his but tocks were cut with a razor. (To be continued in the next number) REVIEW OF THE MONTH

The Armenians in the United States are inclined to feel disturbed because the United States Government has not declared war on Turkey, which they consider the most oppressive and cruel government on earth. They feel it is inconsistent that a democratic country like America, as serting that it is committed to the task of making the world safe for democracy and defeating autocracy, should not attack the one Govern ment which is most flagrant in these respects. They are inclined to feel that if war is not declared and Turkey is not classed as a beligerant with Germany and Austria by the United States, she might take advantage of this condition, at the peace conference, and safeguard her hegemony over Armenia, Palestine, Arabia and Ionia. The thought that by the conclusion of a separate peace she might ac complish this is disquieting to the Armenians, as is evident from the articles published in Armenian newspapers. The Bahag, an Armenian bi-weekly gives expression to Armenia's expectation at this juncture in the following leading article :

The question of declaring war against the two allies of the Central Powers —Turkey and Bulgaria —is periodically revived in the American press and in Congress, and we are afraid it has again been thrown into the paper basket. This is a most vital question for the Armenians and it interests them more than it does perhaps any other race. A declara tion of war against Turkey will have a great moral bearing at this junc ture, as it will foreshadow the line of policy to be pursued by the United States in regard to the tottering fabric of what is called "the Turkish Empire" at the Peace Congress, and in regard to the claims of the Arme nians for national self-government. The reason for our keeping silent about this matter and for being con tent only with echoing the most sound and logical opinions of our Ameri can colleagues, is that we do not want to go beyond the bounds of hospi tality so generously extended to us, and place ourselves in the position of those who are interfering with the policies of this hospitable country. But today, being fully conscious of the delicacy of our position w will outline our own opinions about this all-important and vital question. We consider the American declaration of war against Turkey and Bul garia an absolute necessity, because therein lies the justification and vindication of all the moral principles of the Allies, as well as the guar antee for the thorough and unconditional solution of the Armenian ques tion. REVIEW OF THE MONTH 459

1 We do not hesitate to declare that the Allied powers, in order to keep themselves in harmony with their ever professed principles and lofty ideals, ought to keep always erect the walls of morality which separate them from the Central Powers. The Central Powers do not recognize the rights of other nations and have no discrimination for the means they employ to achieve their ends. It is this characteristic that deprives them of the essentials of morality and renders their cause unjust and inhuman. The Allies, on the other hand, have promised to respect the rights of others, and have resolved to succeed by just, humane and righteous methods. It is this characteristic that makes their cause just and sacred, and gives them a moral virtue entirely lacking with their enemy. The Central Powers did not consider it at all immoral to separate Russia from her allies by bribery and by the employment of every objectionable method, and exhausted every means until they successfully achieved their purpose. The CentrarPowers have no respect whatever for the rights and feel ings of other nationalities, and at Brest-Litovsk they compelled the Russian delegates to place the Armenians and Georgians of the Caucasus in the hands of the murderous Turk. The Allies condemned both these acts of the common enemy and and denounced them as utterly immoral, inhuman and brutal. It is impossible to conclude a separate peace with the two Allies of the Central Powers without at the same time committing grievous wrong against the rights of Armenia and other Near-Eastern nations. Is it sound diplomacy to expect that Bulgaria will be willing to con clude a separate peace without compensation for her losses during the present conflict? And if the Allies agree to make such compensation and reparation is it not true that they will be obliged to make this at the expense of Serbia, Greece, and Roumania, a circumstance which will greatly impair the moral strength of the Allies ? Is it sound diplomacy to expect that Turkey will free herself from the German yoke, and without any assurance for compensation conclude a separate peace with the Allies, while Germany has promised not only to return to her all the lands lost during this war, but also has promised the expansion of the Ottoman empire by greater territorial annexations, and as a concrete guarantee for these promises she has already given the Caucasus to her ? It is absolutely impossible for the Allies to remain loyal to their pol icies and moral principles and satisfy Turkey at the same time. In order to satisfy Turkey, the Allies ought to leave her at least Armenia, Syria and Mesopotamia, in other words to keep her statu quo ante bel 460 THE ARMENIAN HERALD lum, even if they refuse to sympathize and encourage her desires foi expansion towards Egypt and Caucasus. If that be the case, how wili they explain the principles of the rights of the small nationalities, how will they fulfill their moral and humanitarian responsibilities to discrim inate the victim from the murderer and to punish the murderer? Nay, neither the Allies nor Americans will ever commit such a crime. And for this very reason the United States Government should declare war against Turkey and thus discredit all those distressing rumors that if Turkey decides to quit the German alliance the Allies and the United States will assume a benevolent and friendly attitude towards her. The United States and her allies do not intend to conclude a halfway peace with Germany. Their decision in this respect is absolute. By virtue of their lofty principles they are bound to be determined and absolute towards Bulgaria and Turkey as well.

Another Armenian paper, Hairenik, takes substantially the same ideal ground and favors war between the United State and Turkey. It says with a depth of feeling : "If the United States has entered the war with an ideal and disinter ested motives; if she values highly the traditions of democracy and sacredness of freedom; if America considers Germany and Austria equally guilty for disturbing the world peace, for being the standard bearer of brute force, and for being the greatest dangers to world democracy ; if the descendants of Lincoln and Washington have a warm spot in their hearts for the cries of suppressed and spurned nations and for the protection of the downtrodden ; if, in a word, the United States is the enemy of all those who are the tools of tyranny, and the friend of those who are martyred under their despotic rule ; if, therefore, democ racy, freedom, idealism, and justice are not empty phrases for this great republic (and we believe that they are not) , then America is obliged to unsheathe its sword and make the thunder of its guns audible to those vipers of the Orient whom centuries have cursed with the name of Turks." Then setting forth the view that economically and politically, war with Turkey would strengthen the hands of the Allies in the East and proportionately weaken the foothold of the Central powers and consequently hasten the ultimate victory, the writer concludes thus : "While we, Armenians, however serious may be our condition today and our hearts full of sorrow, will witness joyfully and enthusiastically every move which will strike at the Turks and give us opportunity to stand once more face to face with the band of robbers and murderers, known as Turks." REVIEW OF THE MONTH 461

This vital question of declaring war against Turkey finds an echo in many leading American dailies. The Boston Evening Transcript has devoted several leading articles to the subject and has recently returned to the fray on the occasion of the sacking of American buildings at Tabriz by the Turkish soldiery. American citizens of Armenian birth and others have contributed letters on this burning problem of the day and we take occasion to single out passages from a contribution in the New York Times of June 23, 1918, by Mr. Vahan Cardashian. It deals with the question from purely the American and the Ally point of view and says :

The question is one of most vital interest to America, to the Entente, and to the winning of the war. The domination of Turkey—now com monly known as the German project of a route from Berlin to Bagdad or the Persian Gulf —was the chief aim of Germany in starting the war. Prince Lichnowsky's memorandum makes this point clear beyond the possibility of doubt or contradiction. A question of so great importance as this must, therefore, be examined dispassionately and more exhaust ively than we have yet done. What, then, are the principal and necessary interests and considera tions that we must examine in order to arrive at an intelligent conclu sion in the premises ? These are, first, the American missionary interests in Turkey ; second, the future relationship of Mohammedanism to Christianity; third, the probability that Turkey may make a separate peace with her enemies, and, fourth, the consideration of the interests of America and the Entente with reference to the winning of the war.

The probable spoliation by the Turks of the missionary property: The value of the American missionary property in Turkey is less than one-half of the daily cost of the war to the United States. If a declara tion of war on Turkey, backed, as it must be, by adequate action, would offer the reasonable hope of shortening the duration of the war by one week or one month, then the consideration of the temporary misuse by the Turks of this property may be rightly ignored. The plain fact is that Turkey has an area vaster than Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Bulgaria combined, and that the Turkish part of the German block is the weakest, and therefore, the most vulnerable part of the Germanic line of defense. If we detach Turkey from the German link, we not only isolate the Central Powers, but we also remove from the German grasp the most precious gain that Germany has achieved in the war. No prudent person can predict as to what treatment the Turks would be likely to accord the few Americans who are now in Turkey, in the 462 THE ARMENIAN HERALD

event of our declaring war on Turkey. It is reasonable, however, to believe that the Turks will not dare to maltreat them, without definitely convincing themselves that the American declaration of war will not break or seriously impair their defensive or offensive power. It is the consensus of competent opinion that the failure of the Dardenelles expedition encouraged the Turks to carry out their long-cherished desire of the murder of the Armenian nation. The important lesson to us, therefore, is that a declaration of war on Turkey would be more than useless —it would, indeed, be dangerous to all the interests involved —if we are not prepared to strike a telling blow even on the day that the President asks the Congress to make such a declaration of war. That Turkey is likely to make a separate peace is most difficult to believe. Great Britain and France officially declared their intention to hold personally responsible those members of the Turk Ministry who are known to be guilty in the Armenian atrocities. Some time ago the Brit ish Prime Minister solemnly advocated the separation of Armenia, Arabia, Syria, Mesopotamia, and Palestine from the Turkish rule. Pres ident Wilson demanded the completest autonomy for these national entities. Now it is extremely unlikely that Talaat and Enver and their colleagues should volutarily deliver themselves to the hangman, or part with more than two-thirds of Turkey. We cannot, without stulti fying ourselves, abate one jot from our claim against Turkey, which is the irreducible minimun. Indeed, if I had the authority to speak for the Armenian on the day of final reckoning, I would decline to be a party to any adjustment of the Armenian case —I have in mind both the Armenians of Turkey and those of Russia, since they now constitute an inseparable entity —that would make it necessary for the proposed Armenian State to have the slightest direct or indirect connection either with the Turk, who attempted to murder the Armenian nation, or with the Russian, who betrayed the Armenian into the hands of the Turk. The most important and the leading reason why we should declare war on Turkey is that the interests of America and of the Entente de mand it. Our cause will be endangered if we do not at once move to meet them. The logical key to the solution of these two problems is the elimination of Turkey from the war. And we can force Turkey out of the war, without interfering with the western front. The Turkish Mediterranean coast is more than 800 miles long. It is not adequately defended and cannot be adequately defended even if it were possible for the Turks to concentrate here all their available forces. The Turkish armies in Palestine and Mesopotamia are supplied by a rail which is forty- five miles from the coast and extends to it. And the Island of Cyprus belong to Great Britain and is about fifty miles off the Turkish coast. FROM OUR FRIENDS AND SYMPATHIZERS 363

It gives us the control of the Black Sea, disarms Bulgaria, and brings us in close contact with the Southern Russia, Rumania, and the South Slavs by land and sea. It removes all the danger to the colonial posses sions of the Allies, and releases 1,000,000 allied troops for service else where. It encircles the Teutonic allies within a close ring.

The Armenian Herald considers it its duty to give prominence to the above and to state that in its opinion, founded principally on Presi dent Wilson's incomparable address at Mt. Vernon on the 4th of July and on other reliable information, the United States intends to watch out fully for the interests of Armenia at the close of the war irrespective of whether this country declares war on Turkey or not. There may be sound reasons not known to the public which militate in favor of Presi dent Wilson's present watchful waiting in regard to Turkey.

FROM OUR FRIENDS AND SYMPATHIZERS

We find in the last number of our esteemed contemporary of London, Ararat, "A searchlight on Armenia," which for many years has kept in the forefront so ably the Armenian cause in England, the following item concerning The Armenian Herald. The Armenian National Union of America, which directs this review, has every reason to congratulate itself, and to claim the congratulations of its well-wishers, on the success which the first four numbers of the first volumne have achieved. To the numbers before us —that of March —Lord Bryce contributes a message of great force and clarity, and Mr. A. J. Toynbee the third instalment of his illuminating articles —Turkey: A Past and a Future. Perhaps the most striking item in a number full of interest is the reprint of the speech delivered by Colonel Edward Little, representative for Kansas, before Congress on February 7th this year. Colonel Little covered a wide field, and introduced some vivid personal reminiscences of Egypt in the early days of the Cromer administration with glimpses of such notable figures as Cromer him self (then Sir Evelyn Baring) Boutrous Pasha, Riaz Pasha, Nubar Pasha, and a young British Major then training the Egyptian Army for the conquest of the Sudan, "which conquest .... was to make for him a name that shall for ever echo to the trump of Fame !" Like most statesmen who have envisaged the Near Eastern problem in its true perspective, Colonel Little sees in the retrocession of the Turks to Anatolia the one possible solution. Mr. Henry Morgenthau, ex-American Ambassador to Constantinople, has written a most valuable paper, under the title "The Greatest Horror in History," and we note with satisfaction that it is printed in the March number of the Red Cross Magazine, as well as in the Armenian Herald. 464 THE ARMENIAN HERALD

A letter from M. Minas Tcheraz, and a translation of the oration delivered by M. Archag Tchobanian to the Armenian Intellectual Unioi in Paris last November complete the contents of the 4th number of the Armenian Herald. We look forward with interest to the ensuing num bers, and with confidence to the effect which they will produce upon public opinion in the United States.

* * *

Editor of the Armenian Herald :

I wish to acknowledge with sincere thanks the receipt of the first numbers of the Armenian Herald and I shall be very glad to place them upon our reading room tables as they come. The magazine is certainly an extremely creditable one and I am sure that not only our Armenian students but others will look at them with interest. Yours truly, (Signed) G. H. Perkins Acting President of The University of Vermont Burlington, Vermont.