Mr. Newberry to Mr. Foster.
Constantinople, August 20, 1892. (Received September 5.)
Sir: I have just seen a private letter from Mr. Bartlett to Dr. Dwight, of this city, in which he states the following:
On the 9th of August, Mr. Bartlett undertook to repair the inclosing wall of his premises at Bourdour and to build a gate therein, the said gate being about 20 feet in front of the house whose completion has been interfered with. The repair of this wall and gate was necessary for the preservation of the property, and under the municipal laws was a right belonging to Mr. Bartlett. Soon after commencing the work the police arrived, tore down the scaffolding and arrested the seven men engaged in the work. Mr. Bartlett called on the governor, who charged him with trying to resist the order of the authority and to work on the house which he had been forbidden to finish. In order to secure the release of his innocent workmen Mr. Bartlett was required to pay [the sum] of 25 piasters per head, and did so. The men were then released.
By this action the premises were left open to access from the street, and the proper protection of the house was rendered impossible. Mr. Bartlett is of opinion that the interference of the authorities in the work upon the wall was due to representations of certain Armenian and Greek notables to the effect that the workmen were engaged upon the house itself. As I considered this a good point as throwing the blame on the Turkish authorities I deemed it of importance enough to cable you as follows:
On the 9th of August, Bartlett, by right of the municipal law, began the repair of wall surrounding house. Police arrested workmen, prohibited further work, and destroyed work done, rendering proper protection of premises impossible.
To show the feeling of the Armenian community against American missionaries, I will state that about a year ago, a native Protestant died; permission was asked and refused to bury him in Armenian cemetery; the governor was appealed to, who decided he should be buried in Armenian cemetery, and sent guard of soldiers to protect the funeral procession. The same night a mob of Armenians resurrected the body, dragged it about the town by a rope and left it in front of the missionary’s house, and no punishment was inflicted, although the perpetrators of the outrage were well known.
I shall present this affair of the attempted repairing of wall as a prelude to any demand I may be instructed to make as throwing the blame on Turkish authorities for destruction of house in leaving perfectly unprotected and encouraging any enemies Bartlett may have had in destroying his property.
I have, etc.,
Chargé d’Affaires ad interim.