The Armenians are rich and educated, and the Mohammedans are poor and
ignorant. The Turks have never cared for money or education. They have
always said, "Let the Christians make the money, and we will take it
from them whenever we choose. We will be the rulers, the soldiers,
the police; we will have the sword in our hands. Then their property,
and their women too, will be ours at will, and we can force them to
become Mohammedans." Such being their reasoning, they took good care
of their swords and their guns, which were furnished to them from
Europe and the United States. The Christian Armenians believing that
the great Christian powers would never permit the Turks to wreak their
murderous and shameful will on them, did not risk the vengeance of
the Turks by secretly buying weapons, nor train themselves in the use
of arms. They trained their minds, got education, traveled in Europe
and this United States, enlightened themselves in every way they
could; they sharpened their intellects rather than their swords. They
learned to make money also; they established all the business houses
in Turkey; all the Turks that get employment in the cities get it from
the Armenian merchants. As far as Turkey has any finances, they are
in the hands of Armenians. Go where you will in Turkey, seaboard or
interior, all the money and education belong to the Armenians, poverty
and ignorance are the portion of the Turks. Ninety per cent. of the
Armenians know how to read and write, while ninety per cent. of the
Turks do not. Sixty per cent. of the Mohammedan property has been
sold to the Christian Armenians within twenty years. When I was in
Armenia, the Mohammedans were always selling and the Christians always
buying. One day a Turk was going to sell his field to an Armenian, and
they went to the government office to make the transfer. The officer
in charge said he could not transfer the property of a Mohammedan to
a Christian. This was something new. "Why is that?" they asked. "The
governor forbids it," said the officer, "he told me that hereafter it
should not be done." Finally both went to the governor and asked him
why he forbade it. The governor replied, "Of late the Armenians have
bought up the fields of the Mohammedans, till they own the greater
part of them; if we let them go on they will own everything, and the
Mohammedans will be left without property. Therefore I forbid it; no
Mohammedan shall hereafter sell any property to a Christian." He told
the Turk he might sell his field to another Mohammedan, but not to a
Christian. "All right," said the Turk, "I will sell it to you, then,
at the same price, or maybe a little less; will you buy it? I need the
money to support my family." "I cannot buy it," said the governor;
"I have no money." "I know that," replied the Turk; "and not only
you, but all the other Mohammedans have no money either. They are
all poor. I cannot find any Turk who has the money to buy my field,
and I need money, and I have to sell it to that Christian." Finally
the governor was forced to give the permission, and the Armenian
bought the field. This is only one case, but it is typical. There are
thousands of just such. And this is another cause which aroused the
jealousy of the Sultan and his subordinates to order the massacre of
the Armenians, and the seizure of their property.
I often hear it said in this country, "Let us help the poor Armenians";
and I feel very indignant. Poor Armenians! There are poor among the
Armenians, as among all nations; but the Armenians as a body are not
poor. They are the richest people in Turkey. That is one reason why
they are plundered and killed. I do not want the American people to
help the Armenians as a poor, ignorant, miserable people, but because
they deserve help as a rich, noble, Christian nation being rooted out
by plunder and murder, for the benefit of, and by means of a horde
of savages. I will illustrate by a very little story.
When Alexander the Great reached the mountains of Afghanistan on
his way to India, the Afghan king refused to let him pass through
his country. After a great battle, and the slaughter of thousands on
both sides, Alexander was victorious. The king himself was captured,
and brought before Alexander, who said to him, "You are my captive;
how shall I treat you?" "As a king," said the prisoner. Alexander
was charmed with the dignity of the answer, and replied, "You shall
be treated as one, and a brave one. I leave you on your throne;
but permit me to pass on to India." So the king kept his royalty as
before, and Alexander continued his conquests.
Such is the Armenian question. They are a noble people, an enterprising
people, but captives in the hands of the Turks. But the Turks have not
the magnanimity of Alexander. We need a nation which does have it, to
say to the Armenians, "Remain where you are, in your ancient home, and
rule there; govern yourselves freely as a Christian nation. You have
fought centuries after centuries for home and honor, and now we come
to your help, to establish you on the old Armenian throne." Do not help
the Armenians merely as a poor people, but help them because they were
rich, and now they are stripped and poor, without fault of their own,
from hate of their (and your) religion, and envy of their superiority.