Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, With the Annual Message of the President, Transmitted to Congress, December 4, 1893
Mr. Thompson to Mr. Gresham.
Constantinople, April 24, 1893. (Received May 11.)
Sir: I have the honor to inclose herewith copy of a report of Mr. Newberry, the secretary of legation, referring to the late Marsovan incident. In connection therewith I beg to state that an earnest request has been made me by the minister for foreign affairs that I would delay presenting any demand in the case, which request I complied with upon his positive assurances that the demands you have instructed me to deliver would be anticipated by the Porte in a tender to our Government of a sum of 500 Turkish pounds and an Iradé for the school.
I trust to be able to cable you within a day or two of this amicable and satisfactory arrangement, and I sincerely further trust that my action in the matter will meet with the approval of the Department.
I have, etc.,
Mr. Newberry to Mr. Thompson.
Constantinople, April 12, 1893.
Sir: I have the honor to submit herewith a report giving the result of my investigations at Marsovan, Asia Minor, made under sections numbered 1 and 3 of your instructions to me, said investigations being conducted for the purpose of establishing the truth or falsity of a charge made by the faculty of the American school at Marsovan, that certain Turkish officials were directly or indirectly responsible for the destruction by fire of the unfinished girls’ school building, the property of the Anatolian College at Marsovan, said fire occurring about 1 o’clock morning of February 2, 1893.
United States Consul Jewett, of Sivas, who had already proceeded to Marsovan under your orders, acted with me in the several investigations, and I beg to testify that the result of his work, as heretofore reported to you in his several dispatches, proved a hard and diligent labor, and that his assistance to me in the present investigations was most valuable.
As the charge of the college faculty was a most serious one, involving the crime of incendiarism, I deem it proper to call your attention to several events leading up to, at the time of, and subsequent to the fire as tending to establish a motive on the part of a certain Government official for the burning of the building.
(a) It has been known by the Government officials of the province of Sivas, in which Marsovan is located, that for a considerable time a formidable secret Armenian society has existed in the province, with headquarters at Marsovan; every effort has been made by these authorities to ferret out the officers and prominent members of this society. A substantial amount of evidence has been accumulated by them, throwing the greatest suspicion on two of the Armenian professors of the college, Messrs. Thoumayan and Kayayan, Ottoman subjects, that they were prominent members and even officers of this secret society.
(b) On or about the night of January 5, 1893, inflammatory placards were posted in several villages of the province of Sivas. These placards were printed on a cyclostyle, and the only instrument of the kind known to be in the province or even in Asia Minor, is owned by Mr. Riggs of the college.
(c) A street row occurred between several of the students of the college and some town boys. In investigating this matter the Turkish authorities produced evidence that proved to their satisfaction the existence of a storage of arms and ammunition in considerable quantities within the college precincts. (For a report on this incident proving the contrary, see inclosure No. 3.)
So much for the motive for the subsequent attack on the college.
These several incidents seriously disturbed the central government at Constantinople, and orders were sent to one Hosref Pacha, chief of the gendarmery of the province of Sivas, to proceed at once to Marsovan, and to find out and punish the originators of the placards. It will not be out of place to present to you some early history of this Hosref Pasha. He was formerly a noted brigand of the Trebizonde district, with a long record of crimes against his name, was finally arrested, tried, and condemned to death, but subsequently pardoned on account of his betrayal of his uncaptured confederates. He was then made an ordinary gendarme; promotion after promotion succeeded, until to-day he is the chief police officer of the province of Sivas with the title of pasha. He is credited by universal rumor with the burning of two other houses in the province, and his general reputation for thievery and shady transactions is unsurpassed.
Hosref Pasha, with an escort of some thirty zap ties (police), left Sivas, en route to Marsovan. The first authentic information I was able to bring to light that his intentions toward the college were dangerous, came from the city of Amasia situated 25 miles from Marsovan. At this place the zapties of his escort made no pretensions of hiding those intentions. They openly stated that they were going to Marsovan to burn the college. The binbashi (local commander of police) of Amasia telegraphed the minister of police of Constantinople as follows:
“Hosref Pasha is here on his way to Marsovan with the intention of burning the American college.” This officer was immediately dismissed by Hosref Pasha. The telegraphic operator of Amassia informed the German vice-consul, Mr. Krug, of the contents of this telegram. Mr. Krug testified to me that the facts as above stated were true, and as he considered the situation precarious he wired Consul Jewett to come at once to Marsovan, and also wired his embassy at Constantinople to obtain the necessary instructions in order that he might protect the American interests until Jewett’s arrival. This, as you know, was done through the efforts of yourself and Prince Radolin, the German ambassador. Mr. Krug went at once to the governor [Page 629] of Amassia, who also has jurisdiction over Marsovan, and told him he must at once take measures to protect the college.
This shows that the Turkish Government was officially notified of the danger, and so far as is known and the subsequent attack shows, the Government took no measures to protect American interests.
While at Marsovan I sent for this binhashi. He denied everything connected with the telegrams. He returned immediately to Amasia and at once began to talk about his examination before me. His remarks were about as follows:
“Yes, I had a great opportunity to get even with Hosref, but when it was known that Mr. Newberry wanted me I was called upon and promised my old position and a present of money if I would deny all.”
At Marsovan I took the testimony of an Albanian who was living in the house of the local governor of the town. He testifies that on the evening preceding the fire he was given a telegram to carry to Hosref Pasha. He found him at the house of one Galeb Effendi, at dinner, at which the treasurer of the village, the president of the municipality, and one or two others were also present. The Albanian remained some little time listening to the discussion of how to punish the college, and distinctly heard Hosref Pasha say, “these Americans are protected, and the only way to punish is to burn them, and it must be done at once.”
Drs. Riggs and Herrick testify that for several days preceding the fire numbers of the citizens of Marsovan, including Turks they had befriended, called and warned them that Hosref Pasha was openly boasting of his intention to burn the college.
The testimony of some 30 citizens of Marsovan, while generally unimportant as showing responsibility for the fire, tends to show that Hosref Pasha was making full preparations to burn the college, and was taking no precautions whatever to hide his intentions.
The college night watchman testifies that the fire broke out about 1 a.m. on February 2, that he gave an alarm and ran toward the building and saw Hosref Pasha and one Gukmen already on the ground; that these two left the grounds while the fire was at its height; that they then placed him under arrest and took him to the Government building, where they tried by threats and bribes and a threatened beating to make him sign a statement that the building was set on fire by students who were smoking therein.
Dr. Herrick testifies that he was one of the first arrivals at the scene of the fire, and as he was leaving his house to go to the burning building he saw two zapties skulking along a broken-down wall within the college inclosure, coming from the burning building and going toward the street. This aroused his suspicions and he walked around the burning building and found tracks in the snow of two men who had jumped over the outside wall and who had walked to the building, and no tracks of any kind going from the building.
This testimony, together with that furnished by Consul Jewett, leaves but one conclusion to arrive at, viz, that Hosref Pasha and his zapties were directly the cause of the destruction of the college building, and that the Turkish Government is responsible for their acts. Direct evidence is always impossible to have in crimes of this kind; the circumstantial evidence I consider strong. No other theory for the fire has been advanced even by the Turks, and all my allusions to Hosref Pasha made to the local authorities have been met with silence.
Statement of loss from the burning of the girls’ school building.
| Total expenditure for the building | £Т. 586 |
| Salvage—estimated value of foundation, timber, and other material not consumed | 86 |
| Loss | 500 |
This does not include any charge for a large amount of time spent by Mr. Riggs and myself in the purchase of material, superintending the work, and taking the accounts.
Treasurer.
Mr. Newberry to Mr. Thompson.
Constantinople, April 12, 1893.
Sir: As will be seen by the section No. 2 of your instructions to me, I was to ascertain the truth or falsity of a charge made by the local government of Marsovan, as submitted to your legation in a note verbale of the Sublime Porte, a copy and translation of which note is hereby appended. This incident, if true, would tend to establish the fact that firearms were habitually kept in the college buildings in sufficient quantities as to be a menace to public security, and that the Turkish officials might with reason suspect the good and peaceful intentions of the college authorities.
At the examination of the several witnesses I invited the presence of the governor of Amasia, and the procureur-general, the last named being the official who sent the report to Constantinople, and upon which report the above-mentioned note verbale was based.
The following is, in all probability, the true facts of the incident:
Two boys of the town were leading a sheep across a field adjoining the college grounds, several boys of the college were playing in the college grounds, the usual town and gown feeling manifested itself, other town boys arrived, and a general scrimmage ensued. In the midst of it Consul Jewett’s kavass appeared, captured one of the town boys, and locked him up in a bakery building in the college grounds. Consul Jewett soon heard of the trouble, released the boy, and reprimanded the kavass.
The first witness called was the only one the Turks had for their side of the case. He testified to seeing 60 boys each armed with a revolver, the kavass armed with a Martini-Henry and several people in the college windows armed with rifles ready for action. A cross-examination of this Ananias was too much even for the Turkish officials, and the governor of Amassia advised him to go home and read his Koran over again.
The kavass testified he was not armed. The officers of the college testified that no arms existed in the college, but that it was possible some few day-scholars might have had pistols on their persons. After a discussion of the matter the procurer-general admitted that he was now perfectly confident that no arms or ammunition were en dépot within the college precincts, and that his witness had grossly exaggerated matters. This statement he made in the presence of Djemal Bey, of the Turkish foreign office, Consul Jewett and his dragoman, and myself.
I have, etc.,