MISSION BOARD TOLD OF TURKISH HORRORS

September 27, 1915

Committee on  Atrocities Says 1,500,000 Victims Have Suffered Already.

Professor Samuel Train Dutton, Secretary of the Committee  on Atrocities  on Armenians,  made  public  yesterday a  preliminary statement  of   the  committee   outlining  the  result   of  its investigation  of  the  terrible  conditions existing  among  the Armenians.  The committee  says that  the reports  concerning the massacre,  torture, and  other maltreatment  of Armenians  of all ages abundantly are confirmed by its investigation.

Other  members  of the  committee  besides  Professor Dutton  are Cleveland H. Dodge, Arthur Curtis James, Rabbi  Stephen S. Wise, John R. Mott, Frank Mason North, James L. Barton, William Sloane, D. Stuart Dodge, and others.

The statement issued by the committee yesterday is as follows:

"A sub-committee has thoroughly investigated the evidence and has just made  report  to  the full  committee  confirming  in  every particular  the  statement   recently  made  by  Viscount Bryce regarding the  imprisonment, torture, murder, massacre, and exile into the  deserts of Northern Arabia of  defenseless and innocent Armenians, including decrepit men, women, and children, and their forcible conversion to Islam."

"Written testimonies of eyewitnesses whose names are known to the committee,  but which obviously  cannot now be  made public, have been examined with utmost care. This testimony covers hundreds of pages,  and the  character and  position of  the authors  and the positiveness of utterance carry absolute conviction."

"The  witnesses examined  include Armenians,  Greeks, Bulgarians, Italians,  Germans, Turks,  Englishmen, Americans,  business men, travelers and officials of  great variety and rank. Not  a single statement can be questioned  as to the facts reported.  These all agree in the declarations that from Smyrna on the west to Persia, and from the Black Sea to Arabia,  a  propaganda of extermination of  non-Moslems is now being carried on by the Turkish Government far surpassing in ferocity  and exceeding in destruction anything done  by Abdul  Hamid  during his  long  career of  massacre  and extermination."

"The  statements examined, many of which are in the possession of the committee, cover  hundreds of  towns and cities  in which  in many  instances all of  the Armenians have  been killed outright, often after  horrible torture,  or sent to  the desert to  die of starvation, and that too, with diabolical cruelty. The ostensible deportation  of men,  women, and  children toward  Mesopotamia is usually but  a form  of  marching those  starving, helpless,  and frequently naked refugees out  into the mountains to be  outraged and butchered,  sometimes by the  Kurds who gladly  co-operate in the work of destruction."

"Included  among  these  refugees  and  victims  are  pupils  and graduates from  the American  schools and colleges,  teachers and professional men who have taken  degrees in American and European universities, men and women who  have represented the brains  and enterprise of the country for a generation or more."

"The plan of procedure,  which is identical  in all parts of  the country,  seem to  aim at  the complete  elimination of  all non- Moslem  races from Anatolia, and already that  aim is in fair way of accomplishment so far as the Armenians are concerned."

"In several  places American property has  been seized, Americans searched, imprisoned and expelled from the country, their letters and  telegrams,  even   from  United  States  Consular   offices, intercepted and their lives put in jeopardy. This, however, is of trivial importance compared with the work of destruction going on toward the Armenians."

"Evidence seems  to prove that probably  1,500,000 Armenians have already  been murdered or forced  to the desert  where only death awaits them  unless relief is secured  at once. And all  this has taken place since March, and is now at the height of its gruesome fury."

"The  committee is  confident that  if the  press of  the country should, with all the  emphasis at its command, voice  its protest and call upon the Turkish Government  to put an end to this crime against  humanity and return the exiles  who may yet be living to their homes it could hardly fail to produce results."

"In  view  of  the  great  influence  which Germany  and  Austria exercise  over their ally the American people cannot fail to hold them  morally responsible  if these  atrocities are  permitted to continue."

[ Genocide Articles | Genocide | Armenia ]

© Raffi Kojian n_w$$h