7 Sep 1922: Reports the Turks Killing Americans, New York Times

nyt 7sep1922

REPORTS THE TURKS KILLING AMERICANS
Murders Every Day, Says S.R. Harlow, With Our Government Inactive.
WIPING OUT OUR MISSIONS

Deliberate Campaign Is Making Rapid Progress, Says Professor of College of Smyrna.

The New York Times,
Sep 7 1922, p.4.

       The Rev. S. Ralph Harlow, Professor
of   History  and  Sociology in the Amer-
ican College at  Smyrna, arrived in New
York  from Smyrna  yesterday  full of in-
dignation at the cruelties and massacres
of the  Turks,  which  he  said  could be
stopped in a moment if the Allies were
not so interested in their commercial in-
terests as to overlook their obligations
to humanity.
       "The Turks have said that they in-
tend to abolish all Christian and Amer-
ican institutions in Asia Minor, and they
are  rapidly  doing  it,"  he said.   "They
are killing Americans there every day,
and nothing is done. Some of my best
friends  have  been   murdered.  Harry
Holbrook, head of the Manual Training
School, was shot and killed a short time
ago,  and  it was  impossible to do any-
thing  about  it.   An  investigator  from
the American Embassy was sent to look
into the matter, but the Turks attempted
to fix the crime upon an old Armenian,
so that all our energies had to be turned
to saving him from death. We had evi-
dence against the Turks who did it. We
knew him, and knew he had been sent
from Constantinople.
       "The cruelties and tortures that are
practiced on the Greeks and Armenians
are  beyond  words.    The only man in
the world whose voice stands out againt
them is a Jew, Henry Morgenthau.  He
offered to find the means to transport
all the  Armenians  from  the  country,
but the Turks would not let him - they
wanted to kill them.
       "The Turks are so pleased with their
slaughter  that  they  even  have official
pictures taken of their tortures and mas-
sacres. I had a lot of these  official pic-
tures which I gave to an American Con-
sul to send to Washington. They show
the Turkish Governor  of  a province, a
Turkish  General  and  the high priests
and other officials, dressed in their best,
smiling  and looking on at the execu-
tioner  performing his tortures below
them. Think of a people who not only
would l ook at such things, but would
have  officia l photographs  taken  of
themselves watching. These are the peo-
ple  who  are  put  in  power  over  the
remaining Christians of  the  Near East!
"How  do  we  who  have  to  be there
stand  it?   Some of  them  can't.   An
American Standard Oil man committed
suicide recently because the horrors he
had seen had unbalanced his mind. A
member of the American Consulate com-
mited suicide after watching the drown-
ing of hundreds of children on the Black
Sea Coast.
      "It is all due to international jealousy
and  intrigue.  The Turks are supported
by the French,  who have supplied them
with uniforms,  munitions and other aid.
Two French officers  were captured by
the Greeks just before  I  left  and com-
mited  suicide.  Economic  expediency
and moral deficiency - that is the trouble
in the Near East.
       "For more than 100 years American
money  has  gone  ino  the  Near East. It
is true that  this  money  has  not been
for oil  wells  or for mines, it has been
largely  for  schools  and  colleges and
hospitals, but  it  totals  several million
dollars and  several thousand lives.   If
America had put a like sum of  money
and a like number  of  lives  for  purely
commercial and economic interests into
the  Near  East  our  attitude as a na-
tion would be far different toward that
wretched country.
       "Even today, late as it is, and with
thousands  lying dead of torture , star-
vation and murder at the hands of the
Turks, I am absolutely sure that could
popular opinion in the United Stataes be
aroused as  it would if it knew the real
facts, our Government would be forced
to take some action - action which would
be welcomed by Great Britain, which
would assure the people of the Near
East security and safety at least from
the burning of their homes, the outrage-
ing of their women and girls, and ruth-
less stealing of their children and the
continuation of terror in their lives. But
the morning paper says in the headlines,
"American  destroyers  on  way   to
Smyrna. Public assured they are for
protection of Americans only."
     "Where is the humanity for which the
men died whose crosses are still fresh
over the graves in France?"

 

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