MILLION ARMENIANS KILLED OR IN EXILE - THE NEW YORK TIMES, DECEMBER 15, 1915
January 11, 2015
American Committee on Relief Says Victims of Turks Are Steadily
Increasing ________________________________
POLICY OF EXTERMINATION
________________________________ More Atrocities Detailed in Support
of Charge That Turkey Is Acting Deliberately.
December 15, 1915
In a statement issued yesterday from the offices of the American
Committee for Armenian and Syrian Relief at 70 Fifth Avenue, further
atrocities committed by Turks upon Armenian Christians were detailed
and additional evidence was given to support Lord Bryce's assertion
that the massacres are the results of a deliberate plan of the Turkish
government to "get rid of the Armenian question," as Abdul Hamid once
said, by getting "rid of the Armenians."
Professor Samuel T. Dutton, Secretary of the committee said:
"According to all the best evidence which the American Committee
has received, it is probably well within the truth to say that of
the 2 million Armenians in Turkey a year ago, at least 1 million
have been killed or forced into Islam, or compelled to flee the
country, or have died upon the way to exile, or are now up on the
road to the deserts of Northern Arabia, or are already there. The
number of victims is constantly increasing. Surely there can be no
greater need of immediate help, even in these troublous times, then
the desperate need of the Armenian refugees. The American Committee
has already done much in collecting and sending funds, as has also
the English Committee, but there is still the direst need of generous
contributions. All contributions should be sent to Charles R. Crane,
Treasurer, 70 Fifth Avenue."
Walter H. Mallory, Executive Secretary of the American Committee, said
that the committee was in close touch with the Lord Mayor's committee
of London and that "daily authentic reports of almost unbelievable
atrocities" were received. In the statement made public there was
an excerpt from a letter received by the American Committee from the
English committee, which read:
"The committee knows that there are 180,000 refugees still in the
Caucasus besides 30,000 who have died there, and 70,000 who have
returned to parts of Turkey and Persia.
A large part of the statement is taken up with a letter received by
the American Committee from a missionary stationed in Konia. In part,
the letter read:
"Soon after the great deportation that preceded the arrival of the new
Vali, Miss C. and I drove out to Kachin Han, the first station of the
railroad toward Eregli. Just to follow the crowd, as a large number had
been driven off on foot with the expectation of taking the railroad
later on. Kachin Han is about three hours from here by carriage,
and even so near to Konia as this we found about one hundred people,
sitting and lying about the station in utter desolation. They had
been there three days: most of them had eaten up all the provisions
they had and looked haggard and emaciated, veritable famine victims
such as one sees in pictures of a scene in India.
"The train from Konia arrived while we were there, and the greater
number of the of the people dragged themselves to the cars in an
effort to get on board, but were pushed back by the gendarmes, partly
because they had no tickets and partly because there was no room:
so the poor people were forced to turn back.
http://www.horizonweekly.ca/news/details/58567
January 11, 2015
American Committee on Relief Says Victims of Turks Are Steadily
Increasing ________________________________
POLICY OF EXTERMINATION
________________________________ More Atrocities Detailed in Support
of Charge That Turkey Is Acting Deliberately.
December 15, 1915
In a statement issued yesterday from the offices of the American
Committee for Armenian and Syrian Relief at 70 Fifth Avenue, further
atrocities committed by Turks upon Armenian Christians were detailed
and additional evidence was given to support Lord Bryce's assertion
that the massacres are the results of a deliberate plan of the Turkish
government to "get rid of the Armenian question," as Abdul Hamid once
said, by getting "rid of the Armenians."
Professor Samuel T. Dutton, Secretary of the committee said:
"According to all the best evidence which the American Committee
has received, it is probably well within the truth to say that of
the 2 million Armenians in Turkey a year ago, at least 1 million
have been killed or forced into Islam, or compelled to flee the
country, or have died upon the way to exile, or are now up on the
road to the deserts of Northern Arabia, or are already there. The
number of victims is constantly increasing. Surely there can be no
greater need of immediate help, even in these troublous times, then
the desperate need of the Armenian refugees. The American Committee
has already done much in collecting and sending funds, as has also
the English Committee, but there is still the direst need of generous
contributions. All contributions should be sent to Charles R. Crane,
Treasurer, 70 Fifth Avenue."
Walter H. Mallory, Executive Secretary of the American Committee, said
that the committee was in close touch with the Lord Mayor's committee
of London and that "daily authentic reports of almost unbelievable
atrocities" were received. In the statement made public there was
an excerpt from a letter received by the American Committee from the
English committee, which read:
"The committee knows that there are 180,000 refugees still in the
Caucasus besides 30,000 who have died there, and 70,000 who have
returned to parts of Turkey and Persia.
A large part of the statement is taken up with a letter received by
the American Committee from a missionary stationed in Konia. In part,
the letter read:
"Soon after the great deportation that preceded the arrival of the new
Vali, Miss C. and I drove out to Kachin Han, the first station of the
railroad toward Eregli. Just to follow the crowd, as a large number had
been driven off on foot with the expectation of taking the railroad
later on. Kachin Han is about three hours from here by carriage,
and even so near to Konia as this we found about one hundred people,
sitting and lying about the station in utter desolation. They had
been there three days: most of them had eaten up all the provisions
they had and looked haggard and emaciated, veritable famine victims
such as one sees in pictures of a scene in India.
"The train from Konia arrived while we were there, and the greater
number of the of the people dragged themselves to the cars in an
effort to get on board, but were pushed back by the gendarmes, partly
because they had no tickets and partly because there was no room:
so the poor people were forced to turn back.
http://www.horizonweekly.ca/news/details/58567