Mr. Adee to Mr. Thompson.
Washington, April 29, 1893.
Sir: I have to acknowledge the receipt of your No. 69, of April 4, 1893, in which you refer to the anticipated action already taken and reported by you upon the points outlined in Mr. Gresham’s telegram to you of the 1st instant.
I note your statement that the land on which the girls’ school building at Marsovan stood is held in the name of a Turkish subject, while the permit to erect the building thereon was also given to a Turkish subject. There is force in your comment that “There appears to be no good reason why the title should not have been in the name of the college society or in the name of the American professors there, so that the subject could be more directly dealt with.” The imperial rescript of 7 Sepher 1284 (January 18, 1867), expressly grants to foreigners throughout the Turkish dominions enjoyment of the same rights as Ottoman subjects in regard to holding real estate; and the Aarifi-Boker protocol of August 11, 1874, followed by the President’s proclamation of October 29 of the same year, makes the recognition of such right to hold real estate in favor of American citizens a matter of conventional agreement entered into by the U. S. Government in the interest of its citizens and for their due protection.
If any valid reasons induced the American citizens who promoted the educational establishment at Marsovan to forego the rights secured to them in this regard, it may be convenient for your legation to be informed thereof.
I am, etc.,
Acting Secretary.