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TURKEY : THE BLIGHT OF ASIA

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MASSACRE OF THE FRENCH GARRISON AT UFRA

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    The above story is given precisely as received by me, without alteration, even of punctuation. The characteristic features of this incident are:

    The breaking of the agreement; the use of so-called "irregulars" by the Turkish authorities to escape responsibility and the presence of regulars in case of need; the killing of the wounded and of those giving up their arms.

    There were present in Urfa during the siege Mrs. Richard Mansfield, widow of the famous actor; Mr. G. Woodward, accountant of the Near East Relief; and Mary Caroline Holmes, a heroic American lady who wrote a book on her experiences, entitled "Between the Lines in Asia Minor", published by the Fleming H. Revell Company.

    The part played by Italy and France, which so greatly contributed to the extermination of the Christian population of Turkey, and the fearful events at Smyrna, are well summed up by George Abbott in the work above referred to, in the following words:

    "France, who since the Armistice had displayed a keen jealousy of England’s place in a part of the world in which she claims special rights, presently concluded a separate agreement with Turkey—an example in which she was followed by Italy—and gave the Turks her moral and material support against the Greeks; while England, while refusing to reverse her policy in favor of their enemies, contented herself with giving the Greeks only a Platonic encouragement, which they were unwise enough to take for more than it was worth."

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The Blight of Asia in Print