Bulletin No. 4 . , LATEST NEWS CONCERNING the ARMENIAN AND SYRIAN SUFFERERS April 5, 1916 CONTENTS I. Relief in the Russian Caucasus II. Conditions in Turkey III. News from Persia IV. Summary of Previous Bulletins V. Financial Statement. VI. Map Showing Deportation and Relief Centers The American Committee for Armenian and Syrian Relief 70 Fifth Avenue, New York Samuel T. Dutton, Secretary Arthur J. Brown Edwin M. Bulkley John B. Calvert John D. Crimmins Cleveland H. Dodge Charles W. Eliot William T. Ellis James Cardinal Gibbons Rt. Rev. David H. Greer Norman Hapgood Maurice H. Harris James L. Barton, Chairman Walter H. Mallory, Field Secretary William I. Haven Hamilton Holt Arthur Curtiss James Frederick Lynch Chas. S. Macfarland H. Pereira Mendes John Moffat John R. Mott Frank Mason North Harry V. Osborne Rt. Rev. P. Rhinelander Charles R. Crane, Treasurer Karl Davis Robinson William W. Rockwell George T. Scott Isaac M. Seligman William Sloane Edward Lincoln Smith James M. Speers Oscar S. Straus Stanley White Talcott Williams Stephen S. Wise Chairmen of Auxiliary Committees Rufus C. Dawes Chicago, 111. Moorfield Storey Boston, Mass. Rt. Rev. P. Rhinelander Philadelphia, Pa. Samuel V. V. Holmes Buffalo, N. Y. A. C. Shattuck Cincinnati, O. Washington Gladden Columbus, O. Edward N. Pearson Concord, N. H. Alexis C. Angell Detroit, Mich. Rockwell H. Potter Hartford, Conn. Albert B. Storms Indianapolis, Ind. Edward S. Wood Trenton, N. J. Thomas Perry Westerly, R. I. William L. Prickett Wilmington, Del. E. H. Shanks Erie, Pa. Lucius E. Whiton New London, Conn. Timothy C. Murphy Norwich, Conn. Henry W. Anderson Richmond, Va. William R. Taylor Rochester, N. Y. Almus Olver Syracuse, N. Y. Richard Sharp* Wilkes-Barre, Pa. J. Harvey Murphy Amsterdam, N. Y. James E. Riggs East Orange, N. J. George W. Shroyer Dayton, O. Philo C. Fuller Grand Rapids, Mich. Charles H. . Ellis Camden, N. J. Beaumont Davidson Atlanta, Ga. William Kennedy Joliet, 111. Florence Welles Car- penter Minneapolis, Minn. Charles Milroy Toledo, Ohio. More complete information may be had from Walter H. Mallory, Field Sec- retary, 70 Fifth Avenue, New York. The Committee urges immediate attention to this pressing need, and asks that all contributions be sent to Mr. Charles R. Crane, Treasurer, 70 Fifth Avenue New York. ' BEWARE OF SOLICITORS Since the issue of our last bulletin on the twenty-first of February the American Committee for Armenian and Syrian Relief has received reports from its agents showing that the total number of refugees who are in want exceeds the previous estimates. Certain obstacles to relief work which embar- rassed the operations of the Committees in given districts have been removed and it is now possible to cable credit with the certainty that the relief will reach not merely the great centers but also many outlying districts recently inaccessible. I. Relief in the Russian Caucasus The chief centers for relief in the Rus- sian Caucasus are Tiflis, Erivan and Etch- miadzin. The staff of workers has been strengthened by the sending of Floyd O. Smith M. D. and William Cressy, M. D. to Tiflis under the joint auspices of the American Red Cross and our Committee. They sailed from New York early in March and the Committee is expecting daily to have news of their arrival on the field. Prior to their arrival, the conduct of the work has centered in a commission with headquarters in Tiflis. Its members are Dr. Samuel G. Wilson, Mr. F. Willoughby Smith, American Consul at Tiflis, Rev. Richard Hill, Rev. Frederick W. Macallum and Mr. George F. Gracey, all of whom have appoint- ments under the American Red Cross. All these men speak two or three lan- guages, including Turkish, Armenian and French, and are thoroughly compet- ent to carry on the work of distribution. They will, of course, afford Doctors Smith and Cressy every possible facility for their work of medical relief. The following extracts give vivid pic- tures of the work of the Committee in the Caucasus. Rev. S. G. Wilson, head of the Commission, writes from Erivan, in Transcaucasia, Dec. 29, 1915: "We have just returned from a tour of some of the Armenian villages where refugees are living, and are ready to report on their condition from personal observation. In this district or govern- orship of Erivan there are 105.000 Ar- menian refugees besides Nestorians and Yezidees. Of these 18.000 are in the town of Erivan; of these manv are scattered in the homes of the people and others gathered in large buildings, or- phanages, etc. We visited the barracks where 420 were living. Room after room was full: in some rooms 40, in some half the number. The lucky ones were those that had a plank platform or board floor on which to sleep and sit. Many of them were in the kitchen and storerooms on the bare ground. Most of them had insufficient bedding and many of them scarcely any. Some were lying four under one coverlet, head to feet. One man told us how he sat and shivered in the night, till his teeth chattered. Another man stayed in bed in day time because he had no clothes. One room contained, among others, two Protestant families from Van; the fathers had both died lately of disease, the mother of one group was lying sick. Seven or eight was the num- ber of each household lying in rags on hay and with scarcely enough cover for two people. The atmosphere of the rooms was foul in the extreme. These people were from the city of Van and had lived comfortably. The condition in the villages is even worse. At Somaghar. 15 miles from here, we were taken about bv the elder of the Protestant Church. " Sad indeed were the sights that we saw. Some, too, indeed were comforting in a meas- ure. This good man had taken into his household, already of sufficient size, two women refugees, who were clothed cleanly and neatly and fed as his own. Many of the Armenian villagers have taken in and cared for the destitute refugees. Others have given them the use of their spare rooms, bake houses, stables and barns. Fortunate are those who are in the bakehouses, for the heat in bread making is a free gift to them, albeit — mixed with smoke. Fortunate too, those who have the stables, for thev have steam-heat from the oxen and buf- faloes; for those in the other store- rooms and outhouses have no stores or fires. These uplands of Armenia have a severe winter. The ground is now cov- ered with snow. Ararat, w'th its two er^nd peaks is alwavs in sierht, and but a few miles away. Cold winds from the Trans-Caucasus ranp-e blow over the plaui. The sight of thes^ multitudes with neither clothing for day nor bed- ding for night is a great draft on our 4 Relief in the Russian Caucasus sympathies, which is intensified by their pititul stories. We enter one bake nouse. One young man appeared among 15 women and children, ihey had been a prosperous patriarchal family of 36 persons — father — three sons and their wives and children. Of them 21 were killed including all the men except this young fellow who threw himself into the arms of a Kurd and was saved in some freak of mercy. This was a Prot- estant family from a village called i'erkhus. We saw families of 13 and 16, mothers, daughters, brides, children with no man. We asked "where are your men"? "They were all killed," or Of 70 men but one escaped," or "We were 100 men in the village, but 20 es- caped." "There were 450 households in our village, but 20 or 30 men escaped," "Were the women taken away?" "Yes, our pretty girls were carried off." "How many?" "Four of mine." "We too were stripped naked." As to the rest of their sufterings and outrage they were silent. We addressed the one surviving man and asked, "How are you here?" He replied, "1 was off as a soldier in the Turkish army. I heard of the massacres. By byways in the mountains I returned to find our village destroyed, I escaped to Russia and found them." Another woman from Arjesh near Van said "All our men were collected from the bazaars, taken before the Government. After the dark, we heard the shots which killed them. We fled in the night." In the village of Kurpaloo, with 300 houses there are 900 refugees. Of these 300 are from the first exodus January to April, 1915, and 600 of the second in July-August. The first were able to bring with them some of their property. Many of the men came safely. The sec- ond was the terrible flight, after the massacres. Of these 40,000 are said to have died of disease after reaching Rus- sian territory. The condition of the later refugees is most heart-rending. Let me give a few glances at conditions in Kurpaloo. A woman surrounded by seven or eight persons, with scarcely a bed for all and rags as their clothes said "I escaped by throwing myself in the mud, a dead child lying over my head. There were 50 in our household. Nine women and boys were taken captive by the Kurds." In the stable the oxen and buffaloes were crowding up close. At the side a flock of sheep was huddled. The air was stifling. Three families of 18 persons were crowded in one end iii a space so small that it seemed impos- sible for them to lie down. Some had improvised a couch in the manger. A hammock for a baby was stretched above on two posts. Of the 18 a blind youth was the only man. In a bake- house were 27 persons, one youth, one very old man. Six men of their house- hold had been taken as soldiers, the rest were massacred. Of the 600 refugees of the second exodus who are in this vil- lage, about 30 are men. Some are es- caped soldiers who were in the army when the atrocities occurred. One had dragged himself out from under a mass of dead bodies. Nor did all the women escape death. Women were wantonly slain; those with child ripped up with swords; the breasts of others cut off. Some threw them- selves and children into the streams and from the precipices to escape outrage. One woman lately arrived who was cap- tured some years ago by a Kurd. She had escaped now, after killing the Kurd, and brought her two children with her. Muanjik — Also many refugees. As in all others great lack of clothing and specially of bedding. 22 persons in one room, two of them men. Mostly sleep- ing on the ground with bedding enough for one-fifth their number. In another room 10 persons, no men, 15 of this con- nection killed, girls carried away, one boy saved by hiding under skirt of mother; clothes in tatters, bedding lack- ing. Veri Ailauloo. This village of 70 houses is sheltering 370 refugees, in wretched condition. Three families of 22 persons are in one bake-house, one side of which is filled with dried manure. Their village in Turkey had 70 men, one escaped alive; 4 girls and 3 brides carried off. Another hut contains four women and some children, the remnant of a family of 24. All the men of their village were killed. They are living in a wretched condition. Bread and water is the chief food of these refugees — for months past. We are doing what we can to relieve this distress, supplementing the work of local and government committees. Ready made clothing in any large quan- tity is not to be found, nor blankets. Comforters we have purchased in smal* quantities. We are organizing some sew- ing circles in Tiflis where we succeeded in buying about 7,000 garments. They are hard to find, and transport is difficult when they are ready as the army has the first right to the cars. I have not time to tell you of our reception by the Grand Duke Nicolas and his good wishes for the success and progress of our relief work, nor of our visit to the Catholics at Etchmiadzin and his warm thanks for the sympathy and help of the American people for his people in their distress. We were enter- tained by him over night. Governors, Bishops, and Press have all bid us God- speed. Warm clothing and bedding will save many from sickness and death. The Relief in the Russian Caucasus S pitiable condition of these wretched people should appeal strongly to our American people in their comfortable homes ana in ■ the enjoyment of ten thousand blessings. The Council of the Supreme Patriarch and Katholikos of all Armenians writes to the American Committee for Armen- ian ana Syrian Relief from Etchmiadzin, tne Armenian Canterbury, on January 1, 1916 (new style). From this letter, pub- hshea in translation in the "New Ar- menia,'' March 1, 1916, we quote the fol- lowing passages: "At their second retirement from Van in July, the Armenian residents were bereft of all their possessions — houses, agricultural implements, and domestic animals — at the same time having their homes burned up. In the literal sense of the word 100,000 to 120,000 Armenians arrived at Etchmiadzin stripped even of their outer garments. 35,000 to 40,000 of them were . accommodated in Etchmi- adzin. Through the Central Relief Com- mittee funds were secured by which or- phanages, medical dispensaries, and hos- pitals were erected. The need was ex- ceedingly great. Day by day new groups of refugees kept arriving in a more seri- ous and heartbreaking condition. Simi- larly at several other places we erected similar institutions by the help of other auxiliary relief bodies. Because the flight occurred under unexpected con- ditions the numbers of the sick and ex- hausted were exceedingly great, and in spite of all our manifold efforts the Re- lief Committee could not meet the very urgent demand of the time, and as a result of this the number of the dead was very large because of the conta- gious diseases raging among the refugees in Etchmiadzin and the country round about. In Etchmiadzin alone 11,000 people died, and in the country round about it about 40,000 people died. Through the means that the local com- mittee used the disease was gradually checked. The Patriarch of all Armeni- ans put all the buildings at the disposal of this committee to be used as lodgings and hospitals. He even granted his own large house of more than fifty rooms to serve as a hospital. From 5,000 to 6,000 orphans and exhausted and worn- out people found refuge in the orphan- ages. They were like skeletons in human form. Through our care today they are safe and sound in Etchmiadzin, Dipghis, Baku, Erivan, Gharakilisa, and Ashda- rag. We hope that they are destined to be the nucleus of the future Armenian nation. "Among these generous gifts the American contribution was greatly ap- preciated; though they were a foreign nation, they were bound close to us by Christian love and compassion. In this matter it is not the material contribution merely that we Armenians appreciate, but more than that it is the humane and sympathizing spirit of Americans. Thus Americans have been the friends of hu- manity to whom many nations in their critical and destitute hours have stretched their hands for relief and needed aid. "Our Central Relief Committee has to perform many and various duties. Because of the winter now setting in, it has to provide comfortable lodgings, fuel, clotning and a great deal of food. More than that they are in need of new hospitals in order to check the various kinas of contagious diseases; also they need a number of orphanages for the orphans that keep coming in, and for them the Committee needs schools; and fcr the grown people, inuustrial em- ployment." The following letter was written to Professor Dutton by Dr. Samuel G. Wil- son, head of our Commission at Tiflis, dated January 11, 1916: "We were made glad yesterday by the telegram announcing the grant of $50,000 additional from the Committee. We immediately proceeded to make new purchases of clothing and are contract- ing for larger supplies which cannot be purchased ready made. I will return in a few days to Erivan to push the dis- tribution, while Mr. Hill will remain here to urge on the preparations and to forward the goods. "We have an energetic and sympa- thetic associate in the Consul, Mr. Smith. Most fortunately the winter is passing mildly in these parts, so that the refugees have not the ordinary severity of the Trans-Caucasus climate to endure. Should the weather turn cold as usual, it will increase the suffering and lead to much sickness. "We called on Mar Shimun, the Pa- triarch of the Nestorians, who was here on a visit. For some time he has been a refugee in Salmas, Persia, from Tur- key. He expressed his gratitude and appreciation of the aid and sympathy showed by Americans for his people now, as well as by their schools, hos- pitals, press and other good things in the past." An extract from another letter of Dr. Wilson's dated January 14, 1916 says: "We have been busily engaged making contracts for clothing and bedding since we got the telegram granting the $50.- 000. Today I go to Erivan where I will continue distribution. That district has by count 100.716 refugees (Armenians) besides Nestorians and Yezidees. They are listed for bread allowance. We hope to protect from cold and sickness some thousands of them by our funds. Tens 6 Relief in the Russian Caucasus of thousands are without bedding and clothing- except rags. "Mr. Macallum will arrive to-morrow. He will probably follow me to Erivan." Dr. Wilson writes again, February 4, 1916 from Erivan: "The work of the Committee is going; forward with regularity. The coming of Dr. Macallum and Mr. Gracey made a fine addition to our working force. They are now in the villages in the mountain region of Lake Gokhcha, dis- tributing clothing — which reaches them partly from this point, and partly from Tiflis, where Mr. Hill is purchasing, and Mr. Smith is aiding the work of the Committee in many ways. "Here the sub-committee have done a good work and I am carrying out their plan on the plain to the west of here. They have been and are prepar- ing garments and bedding here and at Samaghar and we will fill the needs of the refugees in the villages of which they have taken the census. The rest of our goods will be distributed in the Lake Gokhcha region. It is colder and therefore calls for more attention to keep the refugees from acute suffering. Fortunately snow has not yet blocked the roads and distribution is easilv pos- sible. The Committee has decided to add soap, tea and sugar also to its ar- ticles for distribution. You understand that the bread allowance from the (Rus- sian) Government barely allows enough bread to sustain health and affords noth- ing else. We are giving something ex- tra to invalids or convalescents. The Government appropriated another mil- lion and a half rubles at the beginning of the ypar for the refugees in the Cau- casus. Both Government and Commit- tees have been active lately in distribut- ing bedding and clothing. Soon thev will have covered the districts, possibly as soon as we have finished the district assigned to us. Latelv a large consign- ment of clothing, old and new. from America reached Etchmiadrin for dis- tribution. Thus the work though tardi- ly is being accomplished. We are doing something also to meet special cases of need, and setting some artisans to earn their living. The latest statistics show the refugees to be 234,400, of whom 182,800 are in the Caucapus, 12.100 in the conquered districts of Turkey and 39,500 in the conquered parts of (the province of) Azerbaijan, Persia." Mr. F. Willoughby Smith, American Consul at Tiflis, writes: "Dr. Wilson is in charge of relief work in the city of Erivan. Dr. Macallum and Mr. Gracey are distributing relief among the villages north of Dilijan and expect to proceed next to the mountain villages of Novo-Bajazat. Their task is a very difficult and trying one. They are being rapidly supplied by shipments collected together by Mr. Hill. Prac- tically all the supplies were bought or contracted for at Tiflis. The original contracts were made by Dr. Wilson and Mr. Hill and are now being followed out by others on the same lines and con- ditions. "I have to congratulate you on send- ing out Dr. Wilson. His services as a buyer, not to mention many other points, have been incalculable. Thanks to him and Mr. Hill purchases have been made in many cases at prices far below those paid by other organizations and the goods obtained were of better quality. You certainly are doing a great work." The American Committee has also re- ceived the following cablegram from Consul Smith, dated March 20th: "Referring my letter February 23rd." (Not yet received.) "Committee under- taking repatriation refugees. Wilson and Hill leaving for Van. Macallum and Gracey following on completion dis- tribution here. Number refugees return- ing to their homes increasing. Governor Van urges immediate provision of cattle, grain, implements, to start cultivation, which would provide for coming of re- turning thousands. Work must be undertaken on large scale. Immediate requirements hundred thousand dollars." These communications show that the Russian Government is taking the lead in returning great numbers of the Ar- menians to their homes, many of which are in the formerly Turkish province of Van. Plans are being made to have them raise crops so that they will have food for themselves and for the multi- tudes who will return in the wake of these agricultural pioneers. But in the months that must elapse before the har- vest they will be dependent on continued relief. II. Conditions in Turkey Direct news of the Armenian situation in the Turkish Empire is not easy to secure. The following items show that assistance is very much needed and that it is possible to send it today in a way that was impossible last autumn. Four reports of relief agents working in con- centration camos in Turkey in Decem- ber, 1915 have been printed in a pamph- let issued by our Committee entitled, "The Deportation of the Armenians De- scribed From Day to Day." These de- Conditions in Turkey 7 pict the sufferings of the exiles from rain and cold, and the terrible mortality from disease. The closing- paragraph of the report of December 13th is as follows: "There is still much work to do on the route to R-S and it seems to me we ought not to give up the work among the distressed as long as anybody of them is left in this place because they would certainly die of starvation." According to a Washington dispatch printed in the "New York Tribune" of February 19, 1916, the United States Government sent on February 18th a, formal protest to Turkey against the continued atrocities on the Armenians. Concerning this protest the Committee has no information other than the news- paper dispatch. On the first of March information reached this country that the Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs has emphati- cally asserted that "All deportation of the Armenians had ceased and that no more would take place, and that Protes- tant and Catholic Armenians who have been deported would be allowed to re- turn to their homes." In Constantinople it was reported that some amelioration of the Armenian deportation was evi- dent and that Armenian relief was now being distributed among the Armenians without local interference. On the 17th of March information reached the State Department from the Charge d' Affaires at Constantinople relative to additional funds for Armeni- an relief. A paraphrase of the dispatch is as follows: "The American Consul at Aleppo re- ports that half a million Armenian refu- gees are now in the districts of Damas- cus, Zor and Aleppo. All of these are within reach of the relief committees at Damascus and Aleppo. All relief committers strongly urge larger remit- tances. Peet declares that the relief al- ready received has worked wonders, and if prooerly continued, will help save a Christian nation from extermination. According to his information there are three hundred thousand refugees in Turkey who need help besides the half million referred to. Present sums are inadeauate to bring these people through the winter, and one million dollars can be very profitably employed." Mr. Peet is the business agent and treasurer of the four Turkey missions of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, with headquarters at Constantinople. The dispatch shows that the number of survivors is greater than has been stated in former estimates, which varied between three hundred and five hundred thousand. Now it is cabled that there are five hundred thousand in the dis- tricts of Damascus, Zor and Aleppo alone. The total number of Armeni- an refugees in Turkey who need help is at least 800,000. As there are 800,000 refugees today in Turkey and. as re- ported above, 182,800 in the Caucasus and 12,100 in districts of Turkey con- quered by the Russians, at least one mil- lion Armenians are still alive. If the fig- ures in the dispatch do not include the 150,000 Armenians who have not yet been deported from Constantinople and the Armenian population still in Smyrna, we can, perhaps, estimate the number of survivors today at between 1,150,000 and 1,200,000. At the outbreak of the war the total Armenian population in Turkey was esti- mated at between 1.600 000 and 2,000,- 000. Various members of the Committee have assessed the deaths caused by massacre and deportation at from 800,- 000 to 1. 000,000. The latter figure is un- doubtedly too large. These estimates may now be revised so that the number of deaths w'11 probably ranrre between 450.000 for 600000) and 800.000: depend- ing on which figures one adoots for the Armenian population of Turkey before the war. Though the situation- from the point of view of human life is not quite so black as it seemed, the increased esti- mates of the number of survivors throw all the greater burden on the facilities for relief. Ambassador Morgenthau . On the 22nd of February Ambassador VToreenthau arrived at New York on his furlough. He has told to member 1 ; of the Committee of the great need in Tur- key and has authorized the publication of the following letter: "T again want to xirge upon vour Com- mittee the great necessity of their se- curing additional funds to enable us to render further assistance to the Armen- ian sufferers. "If you could onlv bring home to the oubl'C the 1ar°-e amount of rood done bv the expenditure of the funds already sent us and the number of oeonle that we were able tn save from dire distress, 1 feel convinced that there would be a generous and prompt response. "On behalf of the Armenian sufferers, as well as the Missionaries and Consuls who have distributed the funds. I want to heartily thank the Committee for their untiring efforts and ready compliance with my past requests." s News from Persia III. News 1 Relief work in Persia centers in the cities of Urumia, Salmas and Tabriz. The racial elements who needed help were chiefly Nestorian Christians. Hun- dreds of years ago the Nestorians lived in Syria and their language is Syriac, but since the 13th century they have lived in several groups near the bound- ary of Turkey and Persia. In the mountains of Kurdistan be- tween Van and Urumia there were, per- haps, 50,000 of them. Of these fifteen to twenty thousand survivors, including Mar Shimun, the Nestorian Patriarch, found an asylum on the plains of Salmas, Persia, in October, 1915. Of the perhaps 30,000 more Nestorians living in the val- ley of the Tigris near Mosul and north- west of that city no tidings have as yet come. The third Nestorian group con- sisting of about 30,000 of the residents of Urumia in Persia suffered terribly during the Turkish occupation of that city from January to June, 1915, as thrill- ingly -described in "The War Journal of a Missionary in Persia," edited by Mary Schauffer Piatt (published by the Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church in the U. S. A.; 156 Fifth Ave., New York). When the Russian army returned to Urumia in June, the refugees were allowed to leave the mission prem- ises. Of their subsequent adventures the following report gives a convincing picture: 1. Report of Relief Distribution on Urumia Plain. June 1 — December 31, 1916 At the beginning of June, 1915, when the people emerged from our premises emaciated from sickness and malnutri- tion and crushed by the blow that had fallen upon them, they were confronted by a seemingly hopeless situation. Prac- tically all of their household furnishings and food supplies had been plundered; the same was true of their domestic ani- mals on which they depended in large measure for their subsistence; their houses were without any doors and win- dows and probably a full third of them had been demolished. They were in terror about going back to their vil- lages; they feared their Moslem neigh- bors who had despoiled them of their property, outraged their wives and daughters, and killed many of their rel- atives; they feared too lest the Russian troops might again withdraw and leave them to the mercy of their enemies; and they were anxious lest the mission- aries who had sheltered them for the previous months, might forget them when they were out of sight. Every- rom Persia thing tended to make them cling to our Mission compounds or their vicinity. To permit them to do this was of course out of the question. Our efforts, how- ever, to scatter them to their village homes formed one of the most pitiful phases of our relief work. The people had to go; but as long as they received their bread from our yards they would not; and so we had no choice but to cut off the food supply, after giving each fami- ly sufficient flour to support them a week. At the same time with the help of the newly arrived Russian Consul pressure was brought to bear upon the landlords of the Christian villages to support their tenants until harvest. Some of these could not, because they themselves had been plundered; others would not, in spite of Consular pres- sure; and others promised to give the needed assistance, but delayed it from day to day with all the ingenuity of ex- cuse for which the Orient is notorious. The result was that our yards were thronged daily with hundreds of people clamoring for food. To give way would have nullified all our efforts to get the people on their own feet; and only when it was absolutely clear that nothing could be gotten from the landlords of any one village did we assume any de- gree of support for the people of the village. Little by little progress was made, and although the villagers were wretchedly miserable, the approaching harvest made subsistence by their own effort possible, and virtually all food dis- tribution ceased for a period of three months. There was another form of relief how- ever, that was imperative. In the vast majority of villages there was not a spade to use in repairing their houses, in ridding their vineyards of weeds or in burying their dead, and there was not a scythe or sickle with which to reap their harvest. The best and surest way to help the people was to give them these implements, and so for upward of a month we virtually subsidized all the blacksmiths of the city, in our endeavor to get these instruments in time for the harvest. When we closed this depart- ment of our relief work, we had distri- buted 2,661 scythes and sickles and 1,129 spades at a cost of 18,909.90 krans. (The exchange value of a silver kran is ap- proximately 8^4 cents.) By the beginning of August the situa- tion was considerably more hopeful. The people with Consular help had suc- ceeded in collecting a good deal of their, plundered property, including bedding, household utensils and a few cattle; the harvest was good although the acreage was below the average, and the promise of the vineyards was excellent. Then News from Persia 9 fell another blow, what seemed an in- explicable Providence. Events in an- otner section of the war, necessitated orders for a sudden withdrawal of the Russian troops, and the evacuation was actually carried out with the exception of a small force which remained with the 1 Consul on the hills outside of the city. With the going of their protectors the whole Christian population of the plain, with the exception of some 200 sick and aged who again took refuge in the Mis- sion yards, Hed, some only to the north- ern edge of the plain, but many to Sal- mas and Khoi and even Julfa. Fortu- nately it was summer time; but even so the misery was intense, and cholera and want and hardship claimed many vic- tims in those few weeks. Worse still much that the people had reclaimed of their stolen property and gathered from their helds was taken once more by their Moslem neighbors: and so after nearly a month of miserable hardship and un- certainty, the poor Syrians and Armen- ians returned to .their twice plundered homes. Very little relief, however, was given during the next few weeks; for from the fields and vineyards much still could be secured in the way of food. At this time we calculated that about 10,000 to 15,000 of the Christian in- habitants would have to be supposed during the winter months, and we were making our plans accordingly, when a new and overwhelming burden descend- ed upon us. For months the Syrians of Kurdistan had been holding their own in their mountain fastnesses, hoping for succor from the Russians. When this failed and their enemies increased on every hand they had to flee, many many perishing in the attempt. Some 30,000 of them arrived at last in Salmas and neighborhood in almost absolute desti- tution. A few succeeded in bringing a part of their sheep but most came with nothing, half naked and without any means of livelihood. This army of wretchedness was halted by the author- ities on the plain of Salmas and on the hills surrounding it, until their location should be determined upon. Mr. Mc- Dowell of our Relief Committee who has had years of experience among these people, left at once for Salmas, and grappled with the serious problem of their immediate relief. But for the as- sistance given by our Committee there hundreds of them would have perished from hunger. As it was cholera, typhoid and pneumonia did their worst among a people wasted by hardship, unprotected from the cold and without shelter. Shortly the streams of suffering human- ity began to pour across the pass that separates the Salmas from the Urumia plain, and to scatter themselves in the villages of this section. A few weeks before we had been wondering how the inhabitants of the plain would And shel- ter for themselves in their half ruined villages; but from the accompanying statistical report it will be seen that they have made room for nearly 16,000 refu- gees from other districts. For example the village of Geogtapa has doubled its population having received as many of these guests as it had inhabitants of its own. About the middle of October we began to take steps in preparation for our win- ter relief work. The first thing was to buy up all supplies of wheat that we could secure while the price- was low — the lowest in years — for the purchasers were few, and the owners anxious to turn their crops into cash before any more untoward events might transpire. The wheat thus secured was stored in dif- ferent parts of the plain, accessible as distributing centers. The doing of this required quite a force of reliable men who could act as wheat buyers and weighers. The next step was to get accurate lists of the actually destitute in every village. This was no easy task, for many felt themselves entitled to assistance, who were not wholly destitute, and to discover who were really in want, among the hundreds of poverty stricken plun- dered inhabitants of each village re- quired both tact and firmness. The task was made doubly hard by the constant stream of new arrivals from Salmas. On the basis of these lists tickets were issued for bedding and for food — the two most crying needs. For bedding it was decided to issue large wool quilts large enough to cover several persons. These we found could be made for three or three and a half tomans ($3.26) per quilt. Under the efficient direction of Miss Lewis and later of Miss Lamme a quilt factory was started, which in time employed over a hundred needy women in carding wool and sewing the quilts. This factory in its three months existence consumed over 84,000 yards of calico, 35,000 pounds of wool, and some 1,500 pounds of cotton, and expended over 18,000 to- mans; it taxed the resources of the dry goods merchants to supply our demand and it quite exhausted the wool supplies of the city. Our plan was to give only one quilt to four persons, families of over four to receive two or more ac- cording to the number of members, but after the issue of tickets we found that we could not possibly supply the need, and so regretfully we had to limit our giving to one quilt to a family. The inade- quacy of this relief was seen when we began to distribute to the families of mountaineers; for with them all the brothers and their wives and children from one family, and it was. not uncom- mon to have families of over 20, one as io News from Persia high as 35. But in spite of their inade- quacy, the 5510 quilts issued have saved the lives of many, for literally thousands were facing the rigors of winter with- out any bedding whatever. Our wheat distribution too had to be of the most economical nature. We is- sued what was supposed to be a two months' supply at one time, giving a Russian pood and a half per capita for this period, that is about 50 pounds. To the widows and orphans and to the new comers from the mountains we gave flour instead of wheat. The actual cost of this assistance in food at current prices being two and a half shahis per day to a person, or about one cent and a quarter. But even with this small gratuity, the total amount given of wheat and flour was 4,000 poods or about 140,000 pounds, costing about the same as the quilts, that is about 18,000 tomans. With these small gifts to individuals amounting in the aggregate to large fig- ures, and with the similar work that has been done in Salmas and Khoi. and even for the district of Albak our funds have been exhausted, and we are waiting now what the generosity of America will do about it. Had it not been for this gen- erosity many would have died of hunger and cold the last two months, for aside rrom what our Committee has done ver v little has reached the people from any t r , sour , ce : We are grateful indeed to acknowledge the receipt of consider- able sums from his Lordship, the Arch- bishop of Canterbury for the Syrian refugees from the mountains, but still the largest part has come and must S e f from Al ? er jca. We shall have to look to our^ friends in America for their continued aid, if this unfortunate people, the victims of Mohammedan .hate are to be kept this winter and established in their homes once more. 2. Extracts from Letters from Urumia, Persia, Written in January, 1916 "Conditions here are terrible. Mos- lem villages by the score have been abandoned and the people crowded in the city. Many of the villages have been plundered. The Sunni villages of Dole and Barenduz have been wiped out after massacre and plunder. Naban Sunnis are now being fed by us in the Sunni Mosque. They say the Armenians did it, but an investigation is supposed to be in progress to find out the facts. I am weary of trying to do anything under existing conditions." "I came to Salmas two months ago in order to help here, esoecially in quilt making. Mr. McDowell had come sev- eral weeks previously and Mr. and Mrs. Pittman came the same time I did. We have given out in Salmas, Khoi and Al- buk, among refugees nearly four thou- sand quilts, the last few hundred are being distributed this week. Mr. Mc- Dowell gave out wheat for several weeks, but has had to stop for lack of funds. The Russians began distributing funds, apparently not systematically, then stopped. This week I hear they are giving again." "We are giving a little flannel for underwear, from funds sent to us indi- vidually; but all that we have done is but a drop in the ocean, the need is so great. The men are fairly well clothed, but hundreds perhaps thousands of wo- men are almost naked, and undoubtedly many will die from exposure and hun- ger, even at the best." "Today is a wet, shivery, snowy dav, the first wintry day we've had, and in every one of the score or more of vil- lages round about us are thousands of shivering, naked children huddled close together in dark, airless cellars, in stables, in partly enclosed balconv-lik*; places, grateful lor a scrap of dry bread. Hundreds are still lying sick with this same dry bread as their only nourish- ment, and these miserable holes as their only homes; until we who have seen so much of it all thru this awful year have almost ceased to feel even a pang at the sight of the long rows of graves in the village cemeteries. Personally, I feel it a cause of thanksgiving that there are several thousands less of chil- dren than there were last New Year to suffer the miseries of hunger, cold, sick- ness and exile." A letter from the Pev. H. A. Muller. dated January 24, 1916, states that over 800 Moslem refugees in the villages w<*re beinrr helned out of relief funds. The number of such refugees was increasing. The report of the Persian Relief Com- mission, which represents us in Urumia and elsewhere, gives the following sta- tistics of refugees assisted between No- vember 1 and December 31. 1915. The great majority received both food and bedding. ■Refugees from Turkey 11,392 Refugees from Persian Border Districts 4,397 Destitute inhabitants of Urumia Plain 13,723 Total receiving relief in plain of Urumia 29,512 The number of refugees from Tur- key, living in other districts, helped by the Persian Commission is approximate- lv as follows: From Salmas 12,000 From Khoi 3,500 From Albak 6,000 Armenians in Salmas 9,000 Total in other Persian districts 30,500 4 Grand total of persons assisted in Persia, November-December, 1915. 60,012 Financial Statement IV. Summary of Previous Bulletins The American Committee for Armen- ian and Syrian Relief has published three bulletins before this one. The first, headed Report of Committee on Armen- ian Atrocities, consisted of twelve gal- leys released for publication in the news- papers on the 4th of October, 1915. It announces incredibly severe treatment of the Armenians in Zeitoun and Marash in April, and the widespread deportations in Asia Minor in July, 1915. Other de- tailed narratives tell of massacres on an extensive scale and describe the heart- breaking fate of the women and children who were forced to travel on foot from their highland homes to the torrid dis- tricts of Mesopotamia. Other letters tell of the sufferings of exiles through in- sufficient food and clothing and call for relief on an unprecedented scale. The second bulletin, entitled "Latest News" was issued January 26, 1916, deals with the relief work as reported chiefly by cables and letters from Persia and the Caucasus. There is appended a long and significant account of the exile of the Armenian inhabitants of on unnamed Turkish town. The third bulletin, dated February 21, 1916, continues the news of relief. The Committee has also other free literature for distribution including cir- culars, posters and a pamphlet entitled, "The Deportation of the Armenians De- scribed from Day to Day by a Kind Woman, Somewhere in Turkey." There is in preparation a comprehen- sive booklet describing the origin and course of the massacres and deporta- tion of 1915, and giving a summary of the relief work. V. Financial Statement Ambassador Morgenthau estimates the sum necessary to be raised in Amer- ica for the relief and rehabilitation of the Armenians at five million dollars. As is evident from the financial state- ment submitted herewith, it is neces- sary to make renewed and persistent effort to save from extinction the sur- vivors of the deportation. TREASURER'S REPORT, MARCH 20, 1916 Total receipts from Subscriptions $433,141.35 Relief rendered to date: Constantinople $190,000 Constantinople (Armenian Patriarch) 10,000 Cairo 6,374 Tiflis 138,200 Tiflis Medical Supplies 825 Tiflis Medical Supplies 922.96 Persia 75,000 Special Relief 210 421,531.96 Balance to be appropriated $ 11,609.39 The expenses of the campaign in America are not included in the above summary, as they are borne by members of the American Committee, so that one hundred cents of every dollar contri- buted by the public may be transferred by cable. If you want to secure speakers or hints on organizing campaigns write to Walter H. Mallory, Field Secretary, 70 Fifth Avenue, New York. He can also supply free literature including com- prehensive pamphlets, news bulletins, circulars and posters. Write to him today! Everybody must help. All contributions should be sent to Charles R. Crane, Treasurer, 70 Firth Avenue, New York. What your gifts will do : In Persia— $5.00 will keep 400 people alive a day or 13 people a month. In Turkey— $5.00 will keep 83 people alive fa day or 3 people a month. HOW MANY LIVES ARE YOU WILLING TO SAVE? DEPORTATION AND RELIEF 1915-1916. The arrows show the direction of deportation. The chief centers of relief work are underlined.