[9] Since this chapter was written, the following authoritative and
important piece of evidence on this much-debated subject has appeared in
_The Weekly Dispatch_ of March 4, 1917, from the pen of General Sir
O'Moore Creagh, V.C.--
" ... I have experience of the Turk. He is a merciless oppressor, whose
real character is often hidden behind a pleasant manner, and who is
ready to cut your throat with a sort of savage courtesy. Appeal to his
fanaticism, and in the trenches he has no fear of death; but he is very
subject, in case of reverse, to cowardly panic, which to a considerable
extent detracts from his worth as a soldier....
"I know some of our men who have met the Turk both on the Tigris and in
Gallipoli speak of him as a clean fighter. Certainly when he meets his
match he fights fairly enough, but when he is an easy victor he is
remorseless and merciless; and robs, murders, and ravishes with the
unrestrained savagery which lies at the base of his character. The
British prisoners taken by the Turk in the present war have been
disgracefully treated, and, as we know, denied clothing, medicine, and
the ordinary necessaries of life, starved, and even refused shelter in
extremes of heat and cold. The people who are always ready to praise the
Turk as a clean fighter should remember that he has a lot to answer for
in the present war."
[10] See Appendix, p. 188.
[11] See Sir Edwin Pears's article in _The Contemporary Review_, October
1916. (I note this with the deepest regret, for Armenians are under a
heavy debt of gratitude to Sir Edwin Pears for his generous and
authoritative defence of their cause in the past.)
[12] In reply to a question by Colonel Yate in the House of Commons on
February 12, 1917: "Mr. Hope said repeated representation had been made
to the Turkish Government to allow U.S. representatives to visit the
camps, but up to now without success. Efforts, however, would be
continued. Information had reached the Government that the conditions
under which officers were interned were fairly satisfactory, but the
condition of other prisoners was deplorable."--_Evening Standard._
_Truth_ says, in its issue of February 21, 1917: "I have in my
possession a letter written last autumn by a British Army officer, one
of the defenders of Kut, who was then at a place called Vozga, 160 miles
from Tigris Valley railhead. The unfortunate prisoner complains bitterly
of the privations which he and others have to endure at the hands of the
Turks."