TURKS TURNED AGAINST GREEK; 700,000 SUFFER
THE SAME TREATMENT THAT THE ARMENIANS RECEIVED IS METED OUT TO THE GREEKS.
GREEKS ARE LAW-ABIDING AND LOYAL TO GOVERNMENT
Stories of Greek Deportation Just beginning to Leak Out, Says Frank W. Jackson.

The Evening Independent
17 October 1917.

   NEW YORK, OCT 17. - Not  satisfied
by the slaughter of hundreds  of thous-
ands of Americans[Armenians] and  Syrians, the
Turk has also turned against the Greek
Christians in his dominions  and   more
than   700,000  have   fallen  victim  to
a persecution in the form of death, suf-
fering or deportation, it was    declared
here today  by   Frank W. Jackson,  of
this city,  chairman  of the Relief  Com-
mittee for  Greeks  of   Asia Minor.  He
said the real   details   of   these new
Turkish atrocities were just beginning
to leak out.
     "The story of the   Greek  deporta-
tion  is not yet generally known," said
Mr. Jackson.   "Quietly  and gradually
the same treatment  is   being meted
out to the Greeks as to the Americans[Armenians].
Although   closely   guarded,   certain
echoes of these horrors come out from
time to time.
    "There were some  two  to   three
million  Greeks in Asia  Minor  at  the
outbreak of the war in 1914, subject
to  Turkish   rule.  According  to  the
latest  reliable  and  authorative   ac-
counts some seven to eight hundred
thousand have been deported, mainly
from the coast regions into  the inte-
rior of Asia Minor.
    "The  Greeks of  Asia Minor  have
always been law-abiding and perfectly
loyal to the Turkish government. Un-
der Abdul Hamid they were well treat-
ed, but his successors adopted a pro-
gram to crush them.
    "At the declaration  of  the present
war all persecutions were stopped but
the Spring of   1915 brought  to   the
stage a tragic, novel drama unique in
the  history of   the  world   as  to  its
horrors  and  destructiveness, that   is
the Armenian deportation; under that
innocent name the extermination of a
Christian race was started.
    "Along with the Americans[?] most
of the Greeks of the Marmora regions
and   Thrace have been  deported on
the pretext that they gave information
to  the  enemy.   Along   the   Aegean
Coast Aivalik stands out  as the worst
sufferer.   According  to  one   report
some 70,000 Greeks there have been
deported toward Koria [Konya] and beyond.
At least 7,000 have been slaughtered.
The  Greek  Bishop   of   Aivalik   co-
mmitted suicide in despair.
   "The latest account from Trebizond
shows the towns  along the Black sea
are being emptied  of their  Greek po-
pulation.   From  Trebizond we   have
a letter  dated July 24, 1917, in which
he says the following order came from
Turkish  Army  Headquarters  at Sheis-
hehie:  'By  12:25 July  let   no   Greek
man over 16 and under 50 be found in
Ordou.   Send   all  such  on  into  the
interior. As for  the families,   we   will
send further orders later.
   "Mr.  Crawford   also   wrote:  'First
let us express once more   our  thank-
fulness to God for the deliverance. He
has sent us by the  great  grand  Rus-
sian army and  people.  We are  more
and more  appreciating what the Rus-
sians have  done  for  this  region. Im-
mediately  after  the  Russian  occupa-
tion of   this   province in  April   1916,
hundreds of Armenians began to come
out of their hiding places."
   "From   the   Greek  Minister  to the
United States, George Rousses, I have
a letter September 21, 1917, in which
he says:
   "Backed by the Germans, the Turks
have put  into execution and  even or-
ganized   their  wildness.  They  have
decided to exterminate the Greek ele-
ment which is the most important and
numerous in Asia Minor.
   "Under pretext of necessities of war
entire populations have been deported.
Members of Families  have been sepa-
rated. The  old, the  men unfit for mili-
tary service and the women, were sent
into the interior of the  country,  aban-
doned without the   slightest help and
exposed  to   all sorts  of  deprivations.
The men  fit  for military  service were
taken by  force  into  the army  despite
the fact of having  paid  for exemption:
some of the wealthiest have even been
called on to pay this exemption fee
three times over."
   The Relief Committee for Greeks of
Asia Minor, Mr. Jackson said, has been
organized  for  non-politic and  purely
humanitarian purposes  and  aims  at
securing means to  aid  these  Greeks
reduced by sudden  persecutions to a
state of want.

Turks Turned Againt Greek; 700,000 Suffer. The Evening Independent, Florida. October 17, 1917. Source