Mr. Lloyd George, in reply to a question in the
House on Monday, stated that the Armenians slaughtered by the Turks in and near Marash numbered 15,000, but not 18,000. The French garrison which was driven from the town, leaving the Armenians to their fate, lost over 600 men in the fighting. Mustapha Kemal, who attacked the French and killed the Armenians, is the head of the party which controls the Turkish Parliament and the Turkish Government. A powerful British fleet is anchored off Constantinople, and the Allied garrison is being hastily reinforced. But so long as Mr. Montagu and his Moslem friends dictate the policy of the Allies, the Turks need have no fear of punishment for their crimes. Nevertheless, most people will agree with Mr. Asquith, who said on Tuesday that this ought to be the last chapter of Ottoman misrule. A number of prominent Americans, including Cardinal Gibbons, Mr. Gerard, and Mr. Straus, have sent an appeal to the British and French peoples, asking for the expulsion of the Turk from Europe despite " the so-called exigencies of statecraft and high finance." The President, however, remains silent.
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