Mr. Olney to Mr. Terrell.
Washington, November 22, 1895.
Sir: Your dispatches Nos. 655 and 656, of October 29 and 30, ultimo, in relation to disturbances in the interior of Asiatic Turkey, have been received and read with interest.
The painful forebodings of your informants appear to have been more than verified by subsequent events of which the Department has been informed by cable, and it is only at this late day that a more reassuring aspect is given to the situation by the announced purpose of the Porte to accept the reforms which the treaty Powers have urged upon it and to take effective steps for the restoration of order and the administration of good government in Asia Minor. Meanwhile I have to appreciate the evidence which these and other of your late dispatches afford of your earnest endeavors for the protection of American life and property in that region.
While I am inclined to think that the temporary withdrawal of our missionaries in the Sassoun district should be voluntary and not in obedience to any apparent injunction or constraint on the part of this Government, all measures for their protection, including adequate guard in the event of their removal to such place of safety as they may elect, will doubtless be taken by you, and in so doing you would have the sanction of the Department. Your warning to the Porte that Turkey would be held responsible for the safety of every American missionary was timely and commendable, and it is trusted that by the reassertion of Imperial authority that Government is now in a position to fulfill the grave responsibility which rests upon it in this relation.
I am, etc.,