Yale Uou'ersity

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With tKe Compliments
ofthe
Armenian National Union

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Gift of
Prof. Albert S. Cook
19ia

THE ARMENIANS IN AMERICA

The
Armenians in America

BY
M. V ART AN MALCOM ^ " t
With an Introduction by Hon. James W. Gerard
Formerly American Ambassador to Germany
and Preface by Leon Dominian

ILLUSTRATED

THE PILGRIM PRESS
BOSTON CHICAGO

Copyright 1919
Br M. VARTAN MALCOM

All rights reserved

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y

THE PILGEIM PRESS
BOSTON

TO

3Ta%r anJi ii0%r

AUTHOR'S NOTE
It was the lack of a handy book on the sub
ject of the Armenians in America which first
induced me to undertake the preparation of
this volume. My original intention contem
plated a larger edition, containing more ex
tended historical and statistical records. But
the sudden cessation of the war and the conse
quent rise of great national and economic
questions, particularly those touching the
Armenian people, have made it advisable not
to wait any longer.
The primary object of this book, as indicated
by its title, is to present a sketch of the history,
life and activities of the Armenians in the
United States. Circumstances, however, have
incidentally added a greater importance to it.
Those who are competent to judge and speak
of the Armenians have described them as "The
Anglo-Saxons of the East." They are
unanimous in their belief that these people are
not only one of the superior races in South
eastern Europe and Asia Minor, but by far the
most fit and capable of self-government. Un-

viii author's note
fortunately it has been impossible to lay before
the pubhc concrete, unbiased and authentic
facts and figures to sustain these opinions. I
trust that the record of their colony in Amer
ica, based principally on the ofiicial reports of
the United States Government, will add
weight to these assertions.
I wish to acknowledge my thanks to Hon.
James W. Gerard for his Introduction to the
volume and to Mr. Leon Dominian for the
Preface. My thanks are also due to my
classmate, Mr. Henry H. King, for reading
and correcting the manuscript. I am also
indebted to my friend, Mr. Royal B. Farnum,
for the drawing of the cover design, and to Mrs.
Malcom for her valuable assistance.
M. Vaktan Malcom.
New York City,
February, 1919.

PREFAGE
Precious indeed is the piecing together by
Mr. Malcom of the fragments of the story
of Armenian immigration to the United
States. Its early beginning will be a revela
tion to most readers. Few perhaps, among
Americans of Armenian descent, were better
qualified than the author to undertake the
task. A lawyer by training, having acquired
the ability to discern fact from fancy, he has
coupled his professional experience with his
knowledge of the life and social conditions
among Armenians living in America. The
results of his researches have a twofold value.
They show first the Armenians' historical
background, thereby helping to dispel many
of the prevalent errors concerning this people.
Moreover, they portray faithfully the manner
in which the Armenians are being gradually
absorbed by the population of this country.
Their immigration to these hospitable shores
has been eminently free from mercenary mo
tives. They came not at the mere beck of
factory owners, like so many in the foreign

PREFACE

throngs which crowded westbound transatlan
tic liners in the past twenty-five years. Rather,
the outstanding fact of Armenian immigration
is its analogy, in respect to motive, with the
early movements of European population to
our land of freedom. Almost every Armenian
in the country is a refugee from persecution of
the most abhorrent character, in proof of which
the data culled from United States govern
ment reports by Mr. Malcom sufiice when com
pared with the history of atrocities perpetrated
on the Armenians of Turkey.
As the Puritans of old, and in truth with
many simUar traits of character, they came
bringing the same earnestness of religious con
viction, the same willingness to endure hard
ships of pioneer life and the same behef in
grained in their minds that they were traveling
to a free land. In this last aspect the healthy
seed sown by American educational endeavor
in the Near East has borne good fruit. This
in itself was a privilege rarely shared by
immigrants from other parts of the old world.
The potential value of their racial contribu
tion to the American strain will be found in
the picture of their past. The Armenians'

PREFACE XI
proper place in history has hardly yet come
to hght. Enough is known, however, for an
appreciation of the truth that, as a people, they
were strong in all those spiritual elements of
true permanence and depth which alone give
real strength. For at least a thousand years
and probably for twice and thrice that period
they have been subjected to the worst on
slaughts of Asiatic barbarity. Yet their spirit
never faltered and it is because of their in
domitable will to defend at any price the
ideals which they held in common with the
peoples of the occidental world, that they have
survived as a distinct people.
They might have surrendered a thousand
years ago, or else five centuries before this day.
Had this course been theirs, the awful vision
of the Asiatic sink of corruption overflowing
on European soil to its westernmost shores is
quickly conjured, with its foul accompani
ment of eunuchs, concubines and spies. But
the Armenians remained faithful wardens of
Christianity's and western civilization's south
eastern gates. Century in and century out
they defended the mountain passes which led
from Asia into Europe, holding it hght to die

Xll PREFACE
in order that great ideals of humanity might
survive. Amid doleful and corpse-strewn
ruins their bitter sacrifice was consummated.
For this service to civilization, for the fact that
they could neither be tempted nor bribed to
mingle as one with the conquering hordes of
savages released by Central Asia's sandy
wastes, they represent to-day the creditors of
a civihzed world for a debt of culture which is
still impaid.
A strain of such temper is as enviable as any
in the varied racial compos.ition of population.
Analyzing this feature somewhat more deeply
we find that from a strictly scientific stand
point the Armenians form part of that splen
did race of mountain men — the same wherever
it occurs, be it in the hills of Scotland or in the
mountains of Switzerland — to mention these
alone — ^which has always been characterized by
its strong inclination for order and organiza
tion, as well as by high intellectual attainment.
Thus, although having hved among Turks in
Western Asia, the Armenian is related by
blood far more closely to the Scotch or Swiss
than to his conquerors.
Proceeding however farther away from the

PREFACE xm
north than his western cousins he carries in him
a glow of southern chmes which, it is true, is
attenuated by rocky altitude He thus com
bines endurance and steadfastness of purpose
with a lively imagination — plainly a matdiless
blend for the perpetuation of high ideals.
Such, to the common fund of American culture,
will have been the Armenian's contribution.
As far as can be ascertained, few among the
Armenians in America will return to their
native land. As in the case of every well-
meaning immigrant stock, the second genera
tion is thoroughly Americanized. Descen
dants of the small band of early arrivals have
all been assimilated beyond recognition, which
is as it should be. But the pride and conscious
ness of American nationality need not lessen
the sympathy with which they will follow the
endeavors of the three or four millions over
there who, after so many destructive centuries,
are rising anew to the happy prospect of safe
guarded development. Leon Dominian.
Washington, D. C,
February 15, 1919.

INTRODUCTION
The Armenians form one of the smaUer
groups of peoples that have been streaming
into the United States from Southeastern
Europe and the Ottoman Empire during the
last twenty-five years or more. While they
represent only a fraction of our large foreign
population still their importance is recognized
by students of American history. It is esti
mated that about eighty thousand of them
have settled in the United States and Canada.
Investigation shows that Armenians may be
found in all important cities within the United
States and our Dependencies overseas, but
the grealjbulk of them are congregated in the
New England States, New York, Pennsyl
vania, Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan and Cali
fornia. It is not generally known that there were
Armenians in this country prior to the mas
sacres of 1894, 1895 and 1896 which drove
them out of their native land. Mr. Malcom's
historical researches have brought out the
illuminating and interesting fact that Arme-

XVI INTRODUCTION
nians had a share in the early struggles of this
Republic. The romantic adventures of "Mar
tin the Armenian" and "George the Arme
nian" should lead to further research into the
sources of our colonial history, because every
indication points to the probability that other
Armenians may have ventured to seek their
fortune on this continent, and thus be among
the original settlers in America.
There seems to be no doubt that most Arme
nians we meet in the United States to-day
came here within the last twentj^-five years,
and this fact in itself raises an inquiry as to
the reason of their immigration to this par
ticular country. Much has been written and
said concerning the thousands who have been
induced to rush to America through the efforts
of steamship agencies and great industrial
concerns seeking cheaper labor. The Arme
nians happily seem to be entirely free from
these influences. They emigrated in order to
escape persecution from the Turks, but they
chose the United States on account of their
love for the American missionaries.
The record of their character, life and activi
ties in our country brings to light the sub-

INTRODUCTION XVU
stantial qualities of the Armenian people. By
comparison they stand head and shoulder
above all other immigrant races from South
eastern Europe and Asia Minor, which is sur
prising when one considers the fact that they
are geographically isolated from direct con
tact with modern European civilization and
that they are more oppressed than any other.
Over forty per cent of the Armenians ad
mitted into the United States are, according
to the classification of our Immigration Bu
reau, skilled laborers and educated profes
sional men and women — a record which no
other class of immigrants from that part of
the world equals or even approaches. The
average earnings of an Armenian laborer is
greater than that of a workman of other na
tionalities in the same industries. There is
less illiteracy among them, and in one particu
lar locahty, California, the Immigration
Commission makes special mention of the fact
that the average of literates among the Ar
menians is even higher than among the Ger
mans. The zeal with which they have quickly
and tenaciously taken advantage of the edu
cational opportunities in America manifests

xvm INTRODUCTION
intelligence, and one is astonished at the num
ber of Armenian children in our public schools
as compared with the number of chUdren of
other races. In the sphere of their home life
even the ordinary workmen have better quar
ters than those of what are known as older
immigrants. Their desire and ability to be
come good American citizens is surpassed by
none. Were the Armenians a weak people they
would have been assimilated and lost many
centuries ago. They owe their survival as a
distinct nation to-day to their ideahsm, their
courage and to the higher type bf their civUiza
tion which could not be overcome and sub
dued by superior physical force. Their life
and achievements in the United States mani
fest anew the strong national characteristics
which have distinguished them for ages.
I cannot permit this opportunity to pass
without saying that I believe the Armenians
in the United States will play an important
role in the regeneration and reconstruction of
their country. They have here a good number
of educated men and women who can become
leaders of the people in Armenia. There are

INTRODUCTION XlX
editors, teachers, doctors, dentists, lawyers,
engineers, professors, manufacturers and
merchants — ninety per cent of whom have
been educated in our Colleges and Universi
ties and who have received their practical
training in the United States. These men
will contribute materially to rebuUding Ar
menia. Dr. Barton has said: "Give the
Armenian capital and a righteous government
and he wiU turn the whole of Turkey into a
Garden of Eden in ten years." I never appre
ciated the real significance and force of Dr.
Barton's statement until I had before me this
concrete analysis and comparison of the Ar
menian people. In this respect Mr. Malcom's
book is not only a valuable addition to our
cvirrent literature on the problem of immigra
tion, but also a faithful portrait of the char
acter and quahty of the Armenian people. It
contains an inventory of what the ALrmenians
have, not what they have lost; what they are
capable of accomplishing xmder fair oppor
tunities, not what they have failed to do
against insurmountable obstacles^
James W. Gerard.
New Yorh City.

CONTENTS

PAGE
Author's Note vii
Preface by Leo Dominian ix
Introduction by Hon. James W. Gerard xv
Chapter I
ARMENIA AND THE ARMENIANS
Introduction — Armenia ; Map — Area — Population
— Colonies — ^Ethnology — References and notes
on Ethnology — Language, Literature, Music
and Art — References and notes — Religion; The
'Church of Armenia, The Roman Catholics and
the Mekhitarists, the American Missions — His
tory; Armenia's contribution to civilization —
The Rise and Fall of the Ottoman Empire — The
Armenians and the Treaty of San Stefano, the
Cyprus Convention and the Treaty of Berlin — •
Armenia's role in the Great War — Foot-notes
and bibliography on Armenian history — Collec
tion of foreign opinion on the Armenians 3
Chapter II
THE PIONEERS
"Martin the Armenian" of Virginia, 161 8 — Docu
ments — The Court Book of the Virginia Com
pany of London — Sir Dudley Digges and his
two Armenians, 1654 — John Ferrer's Poem —
"George the Armenian" and the Assembly of
Virginia — ^A brief sketch of the Armenians who
came to America between 1834 and 1894 61

xxu CONTENTS PAGE
Chapter III
IMMIGRATION AND DISTRIBUTION
Sources of data — Table showing number of persons
arriving from Turkey between 1834 and 1894 —
Table showing number of Armenians admitted
into the United States between 1895 and I9I7 —
The Approximate number of Armenians in
America to-day — -The countries from which they
came — Table — ^Who furnished passage money —
The Average sum shown by immigrants when
admitted — Table comparing Armenians with
other races in respect to financial status — How
many debarred since 1899 — How many departed
from the United States since 1908 — Table show
ing number and destination of Armenians at the
time of landing — The Armenian colonies in
America — Notes 62
Chapter IV
CAUSES OF IMMIGRATION
The influence of the American Missionaries — Ex
tract from a letter of WiUiam Eleroy Curtis —
The Political distui-bances and the Huntchaggist
party following the Treaty of Berlin — The mas
sacres of 1894-1896 — After the massacres —
Constitutional Monarchy in Turkey and con
scription of Christians — ^Other causes 74
Chapter V
THE ARMENIANS IN INDUSTRIES
Number of Armenian professional men, skilled
laborers, farmers, and laborers at the time of

CONTENTS xxiii PAGE
conung to the United States — Table comparing
them with other races — The Armenians and in
dustrial conditions in America — The industries
in which they are found — The average amount
of the weekly and yearly earnings of Armenian
workmen — Table comparing them with other
races — The Armenian tradesmen — The Arme
nian merchants and manufacturers — The pro
fessional Armenians, lawyers, doctors, en
gineers, professors, artists and actors 80
Chapter VI
RELIGION AND EDUCATION
The Church of Armenia and the Armenian Evan
gelical (Protestant) Church — ^Approximate
number of adherents — ^Where churches are
located — Peculiar features of these churches,
language used, expenses, missions, parochial
schools, the Prelate — Further remarks — Educa
tion. Percentage of literate and illiterate Arme
nian immigrants — Compared with other races — ¦
Table comparing old and new immigrants with
respect to ability to read mother tongue — Ability
to speak English — Number of Armenian children
in the public schools of 37 cities in the United
States — Table comparing Armenians with other
races — The Armenian students in higher institu
tions of learning — Table showing number in 75
Colleges and Universities — ^Conclusion 99
Chapter VII
ASSOCIATIONS, PARTIES AND THE PRESS
Character of Armenian immigrant societies — The
Armenian Colonial Association of New York and

xxiv CONTENTS PAGB
Chicago — The Armenian Educational Society —
The Armenian Students' Association — The
United Armenian Societies — The Armenian
General Benevolent Union. Political Organ
izations. Parties, their names and platforms —
The Armenian National Union. Publications.
Names and remarks on the nineteen Armenian
dailies, weeklies and monthlies — Their general
Characteristics— Notes on the Armenian Asso
ciations and the Press 113
Chapter VIII
CONJUGAL AND LIVING CONDITIONS
Percentage of married, single and widowed Ar
menian immigrants — Marriages — Intermar
riages — ^Homes of the well-to-do — Homes of the
laboring class — Table comparing Armenian
wage-earners with other races in respect to
number of rooms, rent, occupants, etc. — The
unmarried Armenians — Charity seeking — Own
ing homes — Citizenship 125
Chapter IX
THE FUTURE
Depends on the outcome of the Peace Conference —
Some will go back and others come here when
travelling restrictions are withdrawn — ^When
Armenian immigration might increase — Reasons
why an independent Armenia will attract many
from this country — Possible service of the Ar
menians from the United States to Armenia —
Conclusion 135

ILLUSTRATIONS

Map of United Armenia Frontispiece
FACING PAGE
His Holiness, The Catholicos 10
His Excellency Boghos Nubar 10
With the British in Palestine 1 1
Before Van, Armenia 24
The Author 25
Dr. Garo Pasdermadjian 38
Major Varstad H. Kazanjian 38
Armenians in the American Forces 39
Mr. Leon Dominian 48
Chairman of the Armenian National Union 48
An Oriental Gem 49
Noted Armenian Educators 60, 61
An Armenian Sculptor 71
"Long-Wong," a Painting 71
The Most Celebrated Photographer in America 70
A Noted Actress 70
Mr. Philip Bennyan as Rigoletto 78
Mr. Aram Kazanjian 78
A Member of the Metropolitan Opera Company 79
Mr. Shah-Mouradian, Tenor ' 79
A Group of Armenian Engineers 100
Some Armenian Lawyers 101
First Presbyterian Church of Fresno 108
The Pastor of the Church 108

xxvi ILLUSTRATIONS FACING PAGB
The Secretary of the Armenian General
Benevolent Union 109
The Pastor of the Church in New York 109
The Holy Trinity Church 114
The Armenian Church in Philadelphia 114
Bishop Papken Gulesserian 115
The Prelate of the Church of Armenia 115
Editors of Armenian Publications 128, 129
An Armenian's Home in Hastings-on-Hudson,
N. Y. 140
The Home of an Armenian in Pasadena 140
A Homestead in California 141
"The Armenian Castle" 141

THE ARMENIANS IN AMERICA

The Armenians in America

Chapter I
ARMENIA AND THE ARMENIANS
A VOLUME concerning a single race of
immigrants in the United States re
quires by way of introduction a brief but
comprehensive statement of their origin, their
nationality, their language, their creed, their
past and their present position among the
civilized nations of the world. Such a pre
liminary geographical setting and historical
background is especially indispensable in the
case of the Armenians because they are fre
quently considered identical with the Turks,
the Syrians, the Jews, the Persians, the Bul
garians, the Greeks or some other of the many
peoples that likewise immigrate to this country
from Southeastern Europe and Asia Minor.
Armenia: The historic Kingdom of Ar
menia lies south of the Black Sea, extending
westward to the Gulf of Alexandretta on the
Mediterranean, eastward to the Caspian Sea

4 THE ARMENIANS IN AMERICA
and southward to the plains of Mesopotamia.
Topographically it is a high mountainous
plateau. The boundaries of the country are
indicated on the accompanying map by the
black lines. It consists of eleven Provinces
and contains about 151,893^ square miles. The
Provinces of Kars, Erivan and the eastern
portion of Elizabethpol constitute what is
known as Russian Armenia, and is now in
cluded in the Transcaucasian district of
Russia; the Vilayet or Province of Azerbijan,
known as Persian Armenia, is incorporated
with Persia; and the Vilayets of Van, Bitlis,
Erzerum, Diarbekir, Sivas, Mamuret-ul-Aziz,
called Turkish Armenia, and Cilicia, known as
Lesser Armenia, are under Turkey. Thus the
whole of Armenia is divided to-day into three
parts and these divisions are designated on the
map by the dotted lines.
Population: Accurate statistics of the num
ber of Armenians in the world have never been
compiled. The Ambassadorial conference at
London in 1913 estimated 2,103,000 Arme
nians in the Ottoman Empire ; 2,008,000 in the
Caucasus and Russian Armenia; 165,000 in
1 Statemen's Year Book, I91S.

ARMENIA AND THE ARMENIANS 5
Persia and 300,000 in the United States,
Canada, South Ajnerica, India, Africa and
Europe, — total 4,576,000. The most recent
and most reliable figures are those published
by the Armenian Catholicos in 1916 and the
Armenian Patriarchate at Constantinople in
1912. According to these authorities the num
ber of Armenians in Turkish Armenia was
1,018,000 and 1,082,000 in other parts of the
Ottoman Empire, 1,636,486 in Russian Ar
menia and the Caucasus, and about 400,000 in
other parts of Russia; 165,000 in Persia and
300,000 in aU other countries,— total 4,601,486.
It is reasonably safe to say that before the
outbreak of the recent war there were at least
4,500,000 Armenians, of whom 4,000,000
lived in, and territories immediately adjacent
to, their native land. But this number
has been reduced by 1,000,000 through the
deportations and massacres of 1915 and 1916,
leaving a balance of 3,000,000 in or near
Armenia, and a total of 3,500,000 in the world.
There are Armenian colonies in America,
England, France, Switzerland, Italy, Egypt,
India, Bulgaria, Roumania, Greece, Poland,
Galicia, Transylvania and Austria-Hungary.

6 THE ARMENIANS IN AMERICA
The origin of some of these settlements dates
so far back that they have practically lost their
identity with the main body of the nation.^
But on account of their existence it is said, and
too often repeated, that the Armenians, like
the Jews, are the most scattered race in the
world. The common interpretation of this
statement gives an erroneous conception of the
solidarity and unity of the Armenian people.
It is true that there are Armenians all over the
world just as there are American, English,
French, German and Italian colonies in nearly
every corner of the globe. Nevertheless six-
sevenths of the entire Armenian population in
habit their native land — that is, out of a total
of 3,500,000, at least 3,000,000 are in or near
Armenia. The same cannot be said of the
Jews. As a matter of fact, there are compara
tively fewer Armenians living outside of their
homeland than Greeks, Bulgarians, Servians,
or Roumanians.
Ethnology : The fact that Armenia is geo
graphically located in Asia Minor has given
rise to the impression that its native inhabitants
2 See "Histoire Modern des Arm^niens" by K. J. Basmadjian. For an
interesting account of the Armenians in India, see Mesrob J. Seth'a "The
History of the Armenians in India." Lucas & Co., London, 1897.

ARMENIA AND THE ARMENIANS 7
are Asiatics. The testimony of the world's
greatest historians, philologists and anthro
pologists, however, proves beyond a question
of doubt that the Armenians are Aryan and
belong to the same racial stock as all European
peoples. Just as the white man supplanted the
Indian in America, so the Armenians, cen
turies before the Christian era, migrated from
Southeastern Europe into Asia Minor andi
established there the ancient State of Armenia.
Homer and Herodotus refer to them as
Phrygian colonists; Strabo states that they
came from Thessaly; and the late Colonel
Henry F. B. Lynch, the best modern authority
on the subject, says: "All the evidence points
to the conclusion that they (the Ai-menians)
entered their historical seat from the west, as
a branch of considerable immigration of Indo-
European peoples crossing the straits from
Europe into Asia Minor and perhaps orig
inally coming from homes in the steppes north
of the Black Sea." The Armenian language,
too, in the opinion of such well-known philolo
gists as Hiibchmann and St. Martin, is Indo-
European, and this is a strong factor in deter
mining the racial status of the people who

8 THE ARMENIANS IN AMERICA
speak it. Moreover, the studies of ethnolo
gists, based on the most approved scientific
investigation and test, show the Armenians to
be Aryan. Professor Wilham Z. Ripley, in
his notable book on "The Races of Europe,"
declares: "The second racial type in this bor
derland (Armenia) between Europe and Asia
we may safely follow Chantre in calling Ar-
menoid, because the Armenians most clearly
represent it to-day. . . . The similarity of
this to our Alpine races of western Europe has
been especially emphasized by the most com
petent authority, von Luschan. . . . Were it
not for the potent selective influence of religion
(Christianity and Mohammedanism), com
plete rupture by the invading Tatar-Turks
might conceivably have taken place. As it is,
the continuity of the Alpine races across Asia
Minor can not be doubted."
References : Homer's Iliad II, line 862-863 ; Herodotus
i, 72 and 194, V, 49-52, and VII, 73; "The geography
of Strabo," H. C. Hamilton's translation, London, Vol.
IT, Page 272. Lynch's "Armenia, Travels and Studies,"
London, Vol. II, Page 67. This work is by far the
most exhaustive, the most thorough and undoubtedly
the most authoritative on the subject; Heinrich Hiibsch-
mann, "Armenische Grammatik," Leipzig, 1897; Wil
liam Z. Ripley, "The Races of Europe," pages 444-448.

ARMENIA AND THE ARMENIANS 9
Strabo's reference to Armenia is as follows: "There
exists an ancient account of the origin of this nation to
this effect. Armenus of Armenium, a Thessalian city,
which lies between Pherffi and Larisa on the lake Boebe,
accompanied Jason, as we have already said, in his
expedition into Armenia and from Armenus the country
had its name. The dress of the Armenian people is said
to be of Thessalian origin. . . . The tragedians imitate
the Thessalians in their attire. The passion for riding
and the care of horses characterize the Thessalians and
are common to Armenians."

"Like the English, the French and most other nations,
the Armenians have developed a specific type of coun
tenance. There are marked differences of pigmentation,
feature and build between the Armenians of the East,
West, and South and between the mountaineers, plain-
dwellers and people of the towns." Treatment of the
Armenians in the Ottoman Empire (1915-1916), Docu
ments Presented to Viscount Grey of Fallodon, by Vis
count Bryce; G. P. Putnam's Sons (1916), page 596.

Language, Literature and Art: The root
of the Armenian language is Indo-European.
The old theory that it is a branch of the Per
sian, with whom the Armenians have been
neighbors for many centuries, has been dis
proved by recent scientifically conducted
studies. The present Armenian alphabet, con
sisting of thirty-six letters, was invented by
Sahag and Mesrob, in the Sth century, A. D.

10 THE ARMENIANS IN AMERICA
The classical Armenian, like the classical
Greek and Latin, is no longer in use.
What hterature the Armenians possessed in
ancient times was completely destroyed when
the nation adopted Christianity as a state re
ligion in the 4th century A. D. There is no
doubt that they had some written literature
before that because when LucuUus besieged
Tigranagerta, the capital of Armenia, in 69
B. C, he found a theatre there. With the
introduction of the present alphabet a trans
lation of the Bible, described as the "Queen of
Versions," was completed in 410 A. D. This
was followed with a history of Armenia by
Moses of Khorene. From that time up to the
17th century Armenian literature contains
for the most part religious, historical and phil
osophical writings, in all of which it is exceed
ingly rich. Dulaurier, a distinguished French
scholar, refers to these in glowing terms : "The
glory of the Armenian literature is the abun
dance and preciousness of her historical
records. These records, succeeding each
other uninterruptedly from the beginning of
the fourth century to our day, form a golden
chain which connects the old world with our

ARMENIA AND THE ARMENIANS 11
own. Historians describing on the one hand
the heroic resistance, the courage, the self-
denial of a Christian people, on the other hand
the barbarity and cruelty of their victorious
oppressors, form a vivid scene of tragedy."
Armenian music and Armenian art are
closely associated with the Armenian Church.
Besides the beautiful ecclesiastical music, there
are many sad, plaintive folk-songs. In the
field of art, church edifices furnish the best
example of Armenian architecture and mural
painting. Speaking of the ruins of Anni, an
other capital of Armenia where there were
1001 churches. Lynch credits the Armenians
with the origin of the Gothic style. He says :
"These monuments are examples of the Ar
menian style at its very best. . . . The merits
of the style are the diversity of its resources,
the elegance of the ornament in low relief,
the perfect execution of every part. It com
bines many of the characteristics of Byzantine
art and of the style which we term Gothic, and
which at that date was still unborn. The
conical roofs of the domes are a distinctive
feature, as also are the purely Oriental niches.
Texier is of opinion that the former of these

12 THE ARMENIANS IN AMERICA
features was carried into Central Europe by
the colonies of the emigrants from the city
on the Arpa Chai.
"But a lesson of wider import transcending
the sphere of the history of architecture, may
be derived from a visit to the capital (Anni)
of the Bagratid Dynasty, and from the study
of the living evidence of a vanished civUization
which is lavished upon the traveUer within her
walls. Her monuments throw a strong light
upon the character of the Armenian people,
and they bring into pronouncement important
features of Armenian history. They leave no
doubt that these people may be included in the
small number of races who have shown them
selves susceptible of the highest culture." The
exquisite beauty of Armenian laces, mosaic
work, and gold and silversmiths' handicraft are
famous the world over. The late Ohanness
Ayvazovsky, one of the greatest marine
painters in modern times, was an Armenian.
Other artists, sculptors and musicians have
won distinction in American and European
capitals. The most imposing buildings in
Turkey are the works of Armenian architects.
Sir Edwin Pears, an English resident in Con-

ARMENIA AND THE ARMENIANS 13
stantinople for forty years, believes the Arme
nian to be the most artistic and musical race in
the Ottoman Empire.
References: E. Dulaurier, "Literature Armenienne,"
Review de L'Orient, Ser. 3, Vol. Ill, pages 95-106.
"Armenia, Travels and Studies," by Henry F. B. Lynch,
VoL I, pages 390 and 391.
For Armenian Literature, see "Armenian Poems,"
rendered into English by Alice Stone Blackwell,
Boston, 1917. "Armenian Legends and Poems," in Eng
lish, beautifully illustrated, compiled by Zabelle C
Boyajian, London, 1916. This contains an introduction
by Lord Bryce and an excellent essay by Aram Rafii on
Armenian Epics, Folk Songs, ancient and modern poetry.
"L'Armenie, son Histoire, sa Literature, son Role en
rOrient," by Archag Tchobanian, with an introduction
by Anatole France, Paris, 1897. "Poemes Armeniens,"
also by Archag Tchobanian, with an introduction by Paul
Adam, Paris, 1903. "L'Orient Inedit — Legendes et
Traditions Armeniennes," by Minas Tcheraz, Paris,
1912. The following contemporary publications contain
translations of Armenian poems and stories, and articles
of timely interest: "The New Armenia," 949 Broadway,
New York City; "The Armenian Herald," Old South
Building, Boston, Mass.; "Ararat," London, England;
"La Voix de L'Armenie," 30 Rue Jacob, Paris; and
Armenia (in Italian), Carso Reg. Margherita 73,
Torino, Italy.
The following is a partial list of noted men who have
studied and admired the Armenian language and litera
ture: Lord Byron, John Brand, Sir Henry Norman,
William Whiston, George Whiston, Edward Tombe,
F. Conybeare, Longlois, Brosset, St. Martin, Professor

14 THE ARMENIANS IN AMERICA
Macler, Dore, Villefroi, Vetler, Newman, Miller, Peter
man, Hiibschmann and others.
For Armenian Art, see the International Encyclopaedia
and the references there. For Armenian Music, try on
your phonograph some of the excellent records made for
the Columbia Graphophone Co., by Mr. Shah Mouradian
and Mr. Torcom Bezazian.
Religion: Before their conversion to Chris
tianity the Armenians were Zoroastrians.
They had a system of gods and customs
peculiar to sun worshippers about which Pro
fessor M. H. Ananikian of the Hartford
Theological Seminary has a very interesting
and scholarly contribution in the Hastings'
Encyclopsedia of Religion and Ethics.
The Christian religion was first introduced
to the Armenians by the Apostles Thaddeus
(35-43 A. D.) and Bartholomew (44-50
A. D.) . The graves of these Saints are in the
monasteries at Magou and Baschkale re
spectively, "which lie in the western part of
Armenia." In 301 A. D. King Tiridates was
converted by St. Gregory the Illuminator and
the Christian faith established, for the first
time in the history of the world, as a state
religion. It is on the basis of these historical

ARMENIA AND THE ARMENIANS 15
facts that the Armenian Church is officially
known as St. Gregory the Illuminator's Ar
menian Apostolic Church. It is often referred
to imder such titles as The Church of Armenia,
or The Armenian Apostohc Church, or The
Armenian Gregorian Church.^
Some of the distinctive features of The
Church of Armenia deserve special mention
here. In the first place it is absolutely inde
pendent of any other ecclesiastical institution
in the world. It has no connection whatsoever
with either the Greek or the Roman Catholic
Churches, but hke the latter it claims to be
Apostolic. It is unique in the annals of
Church history in that it was founded by an
Armenian, for the Armenians and belongs to
the Armenians, and in this respect it not only
represents a distinct rehgion but the religion
of a distinct people. It has never sought to
proselytize other races or peoples or individ
uals to its faith. Its service to the ALrmenians
cannot be overestimated, for whatever art,
Hterature, poetry, history and national con-
3 The best authority on the Armenian Gregorian Church is Ex-Patriarch
Malachia Ormanian's book entitled " The Church of Armenia. " A translation
of itin English, with an introduction by BUhop Welldon of London, waa
Eubliahed in England, 1912. See also "The Armenian Church-Hiatory,
liturgy, Doctrines and Ceremonies, " by B. F. Forteaoue, London, 1872.

16 THE ARMENIANS IN AMERICA
sciousness they possess is due particularly to
the influence of this great Church.
The supreme head of the Armenian church,
caUed the Cathohcos, is also the chief repre
sentative of the Armenian nation He is
elected for life by the clergy and the people,
and I might add here that the system of elec
tions by popular vote has been used by the
Armenians for many centuries. There are
various sects of the clergy. The ordinary
Parish priests are called Derders and they are
permitted to marry, but once only. The Varta-
beds. Bishops and the Archbishops follow in
the order named. These take the vow of celi
bacy. The general form of worship conducted
in the ALrmenian Church is similar to that of
the Greek but its polity is like the Episco-
pahan. With the exception of the sermon,
nearly the whole of the service is in music. In
the matter of religious dogmas the Armenian
Church adheres to the belief that the Holy
Spirit proceeds fromlGod only; that regenera
tion by baptism is possible and that there is
no purgatory. Prayer to saints to intercede
for the suppliant is practised. Confession is
aUowed, but before confessing one is required

ARMENIA AND THE ARMENIANS 17
to perform certain strict penance. Over eighty
per cent of the Armenian people belong to
the Church of Armenia.
There are about 150,000 Roman Cathohc
Armenians. The Dominican Fathers as early
as the 14th century and the Jesuits in the 17th
century penetrated the heart of Armenia and
established there their missions, some of which
are still in existence. The coming of the Cru
saders was also an important factor in intro
ducing Catholicism to the Armenians in Cilicia.
In 1717 one named Mekhitar of Sivas became
a Catholic and subsequently founded the
famous monastery which bears his name on the
island of St. Lazare, near Venice. It has
been said that this is one of the greatest and
most picturesque institutions among the Ar
menians. Its library contains a fine coUection
of old Armenian manuscripts. It has a picture
gallery containing "many works of art by Ar
menians which have won the approval of Rus
kin." ^ The monastery also has one of the best
printing establishments in Europe. A few of
the most noted Armenian men of letters have
been the Mekhitarist monks: Father Leo
1 " Turkey and Its People, " by Sir Edwin Pears. Page 274.

18 THE ARMENIANS IN AMERICA
Alishan was a distiaguished poet and historian.
Father Arsen Pogradouni was a great lin
guist; he translated into the Armenian Mil
ton's "Paradise Lost," Homer's Iliad, the
works of Sophocles, and writings of Voltaire,
Racine and other French authors. Father
Aitenian is the author of the modern Armenian
Grammar, Father Michael Chamich wrote a
history of Armenia. Father Heurmeuz trans
lated Virgil and the writings of Bemardin
St. Pierre, Fenelon and others, and also wrote
many beautiful religious poems.
About the year 1831 the American Board of
Commissioners for Foreign Missions com
menced its work among the Armenians in
Turkey, as a result of which there are now
probably over 150^00 Ajmenjan Protestants.
This rapid growth of Protestantism is partly
due to the fact that the Protestants formed a
special community under the Turkish law and
on account of the presence of the American
missionaries, they received greater protection
from the government than the Armenian Gre-
gorians. The endeavors of the American
missionaries in Turkey are weU known in
America. Through the individual efforts of

ARMENIA AND THE ARMENIANS 19
certain missionaries a number of schools have
been founded, such as Robert College and
Girls' College in Constantinople, colleges at
Marsovan, Harpout, Sivas, Aintab and Beirut,
which are attended by Armenians as well as
Greeks, Bulgarians, Syrians and other nation
alities. They have also established primary
schools, churches, Bible study classes and medi
cal stations. During the massacres they have
collected money from Americans and have used
the same to alleviate the suffering of the na
tives, French, English, Swiss, Itahan and
German missionaries also have schools and
hospitals. They, too, particularly the French
and the Swiss, have rendered very valuable
educational and philanthropic service to the
Armenians, On the other hand the Armenians
maintain their own public institutions. The
Church of Armenia has thousands of parishes
all over Turkish Armenia, Russian Armenia,
and in other cities in the Ottoman Empire,
These are centers of civic activities. In 1902
the Armenians maintained over 803 schools,
with 2088 teachers and 81,226 pupils.
In so far as the Armenians are concerned
the influence of the American missionaries in

20 THE ARMENIANS IN AMERICA
Turkey has been twofold. They have stimu
lated the Armenians to better their own educa
tional institutions and to introduce some mod
ern ideas and reforms in the Armenian Church.
They have drawn students to American Col
leges and opened America to Armenian immi
gration. On the other hand the introduction
of Protestantism has been a severe blow to
the unity of the nation because the Church of
Armenia has been for centuries the fortress
of the Armenian people. And again this con
stant appeal by the missionaries — ^American,
French, English, German, etc, — for funds to
support their institution in Turkey, has left an
unpleasant impression on the public. The
sympathy of audiences has been aroused by
depicting the massacres perpet|rated on the
Armenians and the misery of these people,
although Syrians, Greeks, Bulgarians and
even Turks have enjoyed the benefits of mis
sionary schools and hospitals. Thus the aver
age man in England, in France, in the United
States, has the idea that the Armenians are
always begging, notwithstanding the fact that
they have had nothing to do with the coUection
of money and are by nature averse to charity.

ARMENIA AND THE ARMENIANS 21
People think that these Christians are
butchered like flocks of sheep instead of put
ting up a manly defense; that they have no
church, no religion, no schools, and in fact
nothing except what the missionaries furnish
them with. Of course all these notions are
absolutely incorrect. It is true that the
standard of the institutions maintained by the
Armenians do not come up to similar institu
tions in France, England and America, but it
must not be forgotten that what the Armenians
are as a nation and what they have as a nation
is far above the standard and quality of any
other race in the Balkans and the Near East.
I cannot close this subject without referring
to another topic. One often hears that the
Armenians are individualistic and disunited.
I disagree. I believe the Armenians are
more united than most other races. What
nation is there whose population has been
divided against its will into three parts
and each part ruled over by sovereigns
hostile to each other and hostile to the!
natives, and yet in every crisis of national
existence that subject race has held to
gether tenaciously? What seems to be dis-

22 THE ARMENIANS IN AMERICA
union and individualism among the Armenians
is only skin deep and due to two things. One,
the division of their country between Russia,
Turkey and Persia; the other, the diverse train
ing of their leaders. Some AoTnenians are
educated in the Armenian national schools,
some in American missionary institutions,
some under the care of the Jesuits and others
under the care of the Mekhitarists ; some go to
Italy, others to France, and stUl others to Rus
sia or to England or the United States for their
education. When these men get together there
is no cohesion of ideas and aims. Thus, while
missionary effort of every kind is appreciated
by the Armenians, on the other hand they
realize the mischief it has unconsciously caused
to the nation. Hence it is the earnest hope of
every thinking Armenian that when their
country regains its independence, the zeal of
the missionaries wiU be subservient to the
measures that must be enforced in order to
guard the imity of the nation and to establish a
common ground for the training of the coming
generation. History: It is beyond the scope of this chap
ter to attempt even a bare outline of the history

ARMENIA AND THE ARMENIANS 23
of the Armenian people, which extends back
to remote antiquity. Suffice it to say on the
authority of the existing records that the
Armenians have lived in Armenia and have
been in possession of their native land for over
2,500 years. During aU these centuries their
country has been subject to many invasions
both from the east and from the west, because
it is the direct highway between Asia and Eu
rope, Their history is connected with the his
tory of Persia, Greece, Rome and the
Byzantine Empire, Their early adoption of
Christianity, their distinct language, and the
rugged mountainous character of their coun
try have been vital factors in developing a
strong nationality which has survived down to
this day. The inestimable services this httle
isolated Christian country has rendered to
mankind are often forgotten, Armenia has
been for ages the frontier of our civihzation.
If it were not for it, the people we caU Turks
would have destroyed the Byzantine Empire
hundreds of years before the 14th century and
would have overrun Europe at a time when
none of the present nations were strong enough
to turn them back as they did at the gates of

24 THE ARMENIANS IN AMERICA
Vienna in 1683. It is an historical fact that the
Armenian people saved modem civilization by
delaying the Tartar- Turks of Asia from invad
ing Europe earlier than they did,
Armenian dynasties: Arsacid 149 B. C. to 428 A. D.,
Bagratid 473 A. D. to 1079 A. D., Ardzrunian 908 A. D.
to 1080 A. D., Rupenian 1080-1393.
Armenian Emperors and Empresses of the Byzantine
Empire; Maurice (582-601), Philip (711-713), Leo
(813-820), Basil (867-886), Leo (886-912), Alexander
(912-913), Constantin (913-920), Romanos (920-944),
Romanos II (939-963), John (969-976), Basil II (976-
1025), and Constantin II (1025-1028); Empresses:
Marianna (788), Theodora (813-820), Euprosina (823),
Theodora I (830), Heghine (919), Theodora II (971),
Theodora III (1042) and Rita (1296).
Other illustrious Armenians. According to P. J.
Aucher, an Armenian named Narsas (542-568) was
Emperor Justinian's great general and a favorite of
Theodora. Another Armenian by the name of Isaac,
says the same historian, "held the destiny of all Italy
in his hand as the Exarch of Ravenna." (625-648.)
Prince Pakradon, an Armenian, fought Napoleon at
Moscow. Loris Melikoff, another Armenian, was the
Commander-in-Chief of the Russian army in the Cau
casus in the war of 1877 and the personal advisor of
Alexander II of Russia. Prince Malcolm Khan has
rendered great service to Persia. Nubar Pasha, twice
the Prime Minister of Egypt, and Lucasz, Prime Min
ister of Hungary in 1913, were also Armenians. Ar
menians who have held high administrative oifices in the

BEFORE VAN, ARMENIA
THE fighting quality of the Armenian has never been a subject that could be used effectively to raise funds for
philanthropic purposes. But it may not be inopportune to note it here. Mr. Morgenthau's account of the de
fense of Van in 1915 is an excellent example. He says on page 299, of his recent book: " The whole Armenian
fighting force consisted of only 1,500 men; they had only 300 rifles and a most inadequate supply of ammunition,
while Djevdet had an army of 5,000 men, completetely equipped and supplied. Yet the Armenians fought with the
utmost heroism and skill; ... I cannot describe in detail the numerous acts of individual heroism, the cooperation of
the Armenian women, the ardour and energy of the Armenian children, . . . and the thousand other circumstances that
made this terrible month one of the most glorious pages in modern Armenian history. The wonderful thing about it
is that the Armenians triumphed."

Photo by Garo
M. VARTAN MALCOM
THE author, was born in Sivas, Armenia, and came to the
IJnited States in his youth. He went to the public schools
in Chioopee, Mass., then to Amherst College and Harvard
Law School. He is now the general counsel in New York City of
a well-known Liability Insurance Company, and of many of the
leading Armenian merchants.

ARMENIA AND THE ARMENIANS 25
government of Turkey are too numerous to mention
here. Most of the treasurers of the Sultans have been
Armenians. When the Turks finally took Constantinople
in 1453 they had already conquered the whole
of Asia Minor, and Armenia, Arabia, Syria,
Palestine and Mesopotamia had passed into
their hands. They now pushed their conquests
westward in Europe and before long added
Greece, Servia, Bulgaria, Roumania, Albania,
Macedonia, Montenegro, Herzegovina and
Bosnia to the possessions. Favored by the
diversity of nationalities, languages, interest
and geographical barriers, the Sultans were
able to keep the native inhabitants of these
countries subdued by brute military force.
They imposed on them a crude form of gov
ernment. First: The non-Moslem population
of this new Mohammedan Empire were
divided into communities, called "Millets," on
the basis of either language or religion, and
each millet was granted the right to maintain,
under certain strict restrictions and at its own
expense, schools, churches, hospitals, news
papers and other institutions of a local char
acter. The adoption of this system was abso-

26 THE ARMENIANS IN AMERICA
lutely necessary because fusion was impossible
between the Turks and the Christian subjects.
Under this system the Armenians were sub
divided into three distinct millets, viz., the
"Ermeni Millet," composed of those who be
longed to the Church of Armenia; the "Katho-
hk Millet," composed of those who belonged
to the Roman Catholic Church, and the
"Protestant MiUet," which was formed upon
the request of the American missionaries and
which further broke up the imity of the
nation. Second: The Christians were heavUy
taxed and any one who refused or was unable
to pay these taxes for any reason was thereby
liable to forfeit all his possessions. Bribery,
blackmail and corruption of every descrip
tion became common. Third: The Christians
received no police protection. Brigands,
thieves, soldiers, tribal chieftaias would rob
the peasants and the shopkeepers in the
viUages, would carry away their flocks and
goods, would commit murder and rape,
and all go unpunished. The Christians
were excluded from the army and forbidden
under penalty of death to carry arms of any
kind and therefore had no means of defense

ARMENIA AND THE ARMENIANS 27
against these outrages. Fourth: The adminis
tration of justice was so deplorable that all
European powers maintained their own con
sular courts for the protection of their own
citizens. But the natives were necessarily
obhged to resort to Ottoman courts where the
testimony of a Christian was inadmissible
against a Moslem, and consequently no judg
ment or satisfaction could be obtained. Ex-
President William Howard Taft, in a public
address delivered in Brooklyn, N. Y., on Janu
ary 10, 1918, very correctly sums up the
character of the Ottoman Government in these
words: "It is a lawless form of medieval
autocracy imposed on subject races by pres
sure from without; sustained by fraud and
force; knowing no law; despising justice;
alien to every instinct of humanity; deaf to
sympathy and glorying in the shame of the
power to injure and destroy."
The first to rebel against these oppressors
were the Greeks (1821), who with the help of
England, France and Russia succeeded in re
gaining their independence (1832). Next
Servia and Montenegro arose against the
Sultan, and Bulgaria foUowed suit. In order

28 THE ARMENIANS IN AMERICA
to check these revolutionary movements of his
subject peoples, the Sultan instigated the
Bulgarian massacres. Thereupon, for the
avowed purpose of protecting the Christians,
Russia declared war (1877) on Turkey, which
terminated by the signing of the Treaty of
San Stefano on March 3, 1878. Article 16 of
that treaty contained the following provisions :
"As the evacuation by the Russian Troops of the
Territory which they occupy in Armenia, and which
is to be restored to Turkey, might give rise to conflicts
and complications detrimental to the maintenance of good
relations between the two countries, the Sublime Porte
engages to carry into effect, without further delay, the
improvements and reforms demanded by local require
ments in the provinces inhabited by the Armenians, and
to guarantee their security from Kurds and Circassians."
. When this treaty was signed Russian troops
led by Armenian generals and composed of
many Armenian soldiers, occupied a large part
of the Armenian provinces referred to and
thereby guaranteed protection to the Arme
nian inhabitants. But in order to undermine
the growing power of Russia in the East, Eng
land, on June 4, 1878, entered into the foUow-
uig alhance with the Sultan, which is known as
The Cyprus Convention.

ARMENIA AND THE ARMENIANS 29
"If Batoum, Ardahan, Kars, or any of them shall be
retained by Russia, and if any attempt shall be made at
any future time by Russia to take possession of any
further territory of His Imperial Majesty, the Sultan,
in Asia, as fixed by the definitive Treaty of Peace, Eng
land engages to join His Imperial Majesty, the Sultan,
in defending them by force of arms.
"In return. His Imperial Majesty, the Sultan, prom
ises to England to introduce necessary reforms, to be
agreed upon later between the two powers, into the
Government and for the protection of the Christian and
other subjects of the Porte in these territories; and in
order to enable England to make necessary provisions for
executing her engagements. His Imperial Majesty, the
Sultan, further consents to assign the Island of Cyprus
to be occupied and administered by England."
It will be noticed that under this contract the
consideration on the part of England is a
promise to defend by force of arms the terri
tories of Turkey, particularly those occupied
by Russia under the Treaty of San Stefano,
and on the part of Turkey the cession of the
Island of Cyprus to Great Britain. Refer
ences to the Christians is only to give the alli
ance an air of magnanimity and to draw the
Armenians away from Russia. Needless to
say that England still occupies the Island of
Cyprus, while many massacres have taken
place under the eyes of the Enghsh consuls.
Great Britain regarded the provisions of

30 THE ARMENIANS IN AMERICA
the Treaty of San Stefano as too severe on
Turkey and forced Russia to a Congress of
Powers, which on July 13, 1878, substituted in
its place the Treaty of Berhn. Under this
treaty, Roumania, Servia and Montenegro
were declared independent. Bulgaria was
made a vassal state; Bosnia and Herzegovina
were put under the care of Austria-Hungary.
But in order to appease the Sultan, ALrmenia
was deliberately turned back to him under
Article 61.
"The Sublime Porte undertakes to carry out, without
further delay, the improvements and reforms demanded
by local requirements in the provinces inhabited by Ar
menians, and to guarantee their security against the
Circassians and Kurds. It will periodically make known
the steps taken to this effect to the Powers, who will
superintend their application."
What occurred since the Treaty of Berlin
is singularly well described by Mr. Morgen-
thau, on page 288 of his recent book: "And
now, as Abdul Hamid, in 1878, surveyed his
shattered domain, he saw that its most dan
gerous spot was Armenia. He believed,
rightly or wrongly, that these Armenians, like
the Roumanians, the Bulgarians, the Greeks,

ARMENIA AND THE ARMENIANS 31
and the Serbians, aspired to restore their in
dependent medieval nation, and he knew that
Europe and America sympathized with this
ambition. The Treaty of Berlin, which had
definitely ended the Turco-Russian War, con
tained an article which gave the European
Powers a protecting hand over the Armenians.
How could the Sultan free himself per
manently from this danger? An enlightened
administration, which would have transformed
the Armenians into free men and made them
safe in their lives and property and civil and
rehgious rights, would probably have made
them peaceful and loyal subjects. But the
Sultan could not rise to such a conception of
statesmanship as this. Instead, Abdul Hamid
apparently thought that there was only one
way of ridding Turkey of the Armenian prob
lem — and that was to rid her of the Armenians.
The physical destruction of 2,000,000 men,
women, and children by massacres, organized
and directed by the state, seems to be the one
sure way of forestalling the further disruption
of the Turkish Empire."
It was this idea which found expression in
the terrible massacres of 1894-1896. It was the

32 THE ARMENIANS IN AMERICA
same idea which the Turks, with the help of
Germany, put into execution in 1915 on a
vaster and more systematically planned scale,
doing away with over a milhon souls.
The important role the Ajrmenians have
played in the recent war has not been brought
to the attention of the public because of the
distance of the scene of operation. Dr. G.
Pasdermadjian,^ the diplomatic representative
at Washington of his Holiness the Catholicos,
gives the foUowing summary of the service his
countrymen have rendered :
"In 1914 both Turkey and Russia appealed to the
Armenians by various promises of a future autonomous
Armenia to secure their assistance in their respective
military operations. Through their long and bitter expe
rience the Armenians knew very well that the imperial
istic governments of both Turkey and of Russia were
opposed to their national aspirations and therefore those
promises had no value whatever. But, realizing the
universal significance of the present war, and consider
ing the fact thaf; justice was on the side of the Entente,
the Armenians, in spite of their distrust of the Russian
government, from the very beginning, unreservedly
bound themselves to the allied cause.
"This decision of the Armenians cost them the sacri
fice of more than 1,000,000 men in Turkish Armenia,
and complete devastation of their native land even in
the first year of the war.
"In spite of this terrible blow, the Armenians did not
_ 5 In his "Why Armenia Should Be Free.'' Published by the Hairenik Pub
lishing Company, Boaton, 1919.

ARMENIA AND THE ARMENIANS 33
lose their vigor, and, even though the autocratic Russian
government, up to the time of the Revolution, created all
sorts of obstacles to impede their activities, they still
continued their assistance to the allied cause. In bring
ing about the failure of the three Turkish offensives in
1914 and 1915 the Armenians gave the allied cause im
portant armed assistance, on both sides of the Turco-
Russian frontier.
"After the Russian Revolution, when the Russian
military forces fled from the Caucasian front and left
it unprotected from January, 1918, to the middle of the
following September, the Armenians were the only peo
ple who resisted and delayed the Turco-German advance
toward Baku. Moreover, the Armenians accomplished
all this with their own forces, all alone, surrounded by
hostile elements, without any means of communication
with their great AUies of the West. As an evidence of
this we may mention the fact that during the last eight
months and a half the Armenians have received from
the Allies only 6,600,000 rubles ($3,250,000) of financial
assistance, and the 2,800 British soldiers who were too
few and arrived too late to save Baku."
Lord Robert Cecil, the British under-secre-
tary of State for Foreign Affairs, in a letter
to Viscount Bryce dated September, 1918,
enumerates Armenia's part in the war in the
following manner:
"One: In the autumn of 1914, the national congress of
the Ottoman Armenians, then sitting at Erzerum, was
offered autonomy by the Turkish emissaries, if it would
actively assist Turkey in the war, but it replied that
while they would do their duty individually as Ottoman
subjects, they could not, as a nation, work for the cause
of Turkey and her allies.

34 THE ARMENIANS IN AMERICA
"Two : Following this courageous refusal, the Ottoman
Armenians were systematically murdered by the Turkish
Government, in 1916 more than 700,000 people being
exterminated by the most cold-blooded and fiendish
methods. "Three: From the beginning of the war, that half of
the Armenian nation under Russian sovereignty organized
volunteer forces and, under their heroic leader. General
Andranig, bore the brunt of some of the heaviest fighting
in the Caucasian campaign.
"Four: After the Russian Army's breakdown at the
end of last year, these Armenian forces took over the
Caucasian front and for five months delayed the Turks'
advance, thus rendering important services to the British
Army in Mesopotamia, these operations in the Alexan-
dropol and Erivan region being, of course, uncormected
with those of Baku.
"Armenian soldiers are still fighting in the ranks of
the Allied forces in Syria (8,000 volunteers, principally
from America). They are to be found serving alike in
the British, the French, and in the American armies, and
have borne their part in General Allenby's great victory
in Palestine." The Armemans claim the absolute inde
pendence of their country on the ground that
they are lawfully entitled to sovereign posses
sion of their native land just as much as
Frenchmen are to France and Englishmen
are to England; and all they ask for is their
own country. Moreover, the AUies have
under various treaties, not only recognized
the justice of her claim but also promised to

ARMENIA AND THE ARMENIANS 35
liberate her from Turkey, although they failed
to carry out these solemn covenants. Further
more, in the beginning of the recent war, the
Armenians found themselves between Russia
and Turkey, but they bravely joined the side
of right and justice and fought as co-belliger
ents with the Allies. They thus sacrificed over
25 per cent of their entire population while the
losses of France are said to be less than 5 or 6
per cent. No nation on either side of the war,
including Belgium, Servia and Roumania, has
suffered more, contributed more and shed more
blood for freedom than the Armenians. And
they are to-day demanding that the Great
Powers shall not again make a paAvn of their
country, but restore it to its lawful owners and
declare its complete Independence in the
forthcoming Treaty.*
6 A good modem history _ of Armenia is yet to be written but there are
excellent passagea on the subject in Lynch's "Armenia, Travels and Studies."
See also "History of Armenia," by Michael Chamich. On the Armenian
Question, aee " The Role of the Turk, " by Frederick D. Green, New York,
1896: "Turkey andthe Armenian Atrocities," by E.M. Bliss; "Turkey and
Its People," by Sir Edwin Pears; "England's Re.sponsibility Toward Ar
menia," by Malcolm McCall, London; " Our Responsibility for Turkey," by
the Duke of Argyll, London, 1896; "Travels and Politics in Armenia," by
Noel E. Buxton, 1914. On the present war " Ambassador Morgenthau's
Story," by Henry Morgenthau, New York, 1918; "Treatment of the Ar
menians in the Ottoman Empire" (1915-1916); Documents Presented to
Viscount Grey of Fallodon, by Viscount Bryce, London, 1916; " The Pan-
German Plot Unmasked," by Andr€ Cheradame with an introduction by
Lord Cromer, London, 1917; "Two War Years in Constantinople," by
Harry Stuermer, German War Correspondent, translated from the German by
E. AUen, New York, 1917; "Armenia and the War," by H. P. Haoobian,
with preface by Viscount Bryce, Landon, 1918.

36 THE ARMENIANS IN AMERICA
Foreign Opinion on the Armenians
"The Armenians are a noble race."
—Dr. Cyrus Hamlin,
Thirty-flve years a missionary in Constantinople and
the founder of Robert College. From a letter to the New
York Herald, Dec. 18, 1894..
"To serve Armenia is to serve civilization."
— ^W. E. Gladstone.

"The more we fathom their distant past,
the more we begin to realize the constructive
and enhghtening role played by the Armenians
in the world history of civilization." — Herr Haupt,
A noted scholar in his "Armenia's Past and Present."

"The importance of the Armenian people
is often ignored. The Armenians have played
in antiquity, and more especially in the Middle
Ages, an important role. As a factor of civil
ization in the Orient, the Armenian is more
important than is generally realized. The
Armenians are, without doubt, inteUectuaUy
the most awake amongst all the peoples that
inhabit the Ottoman Empire. They are supe
rior to Turks and Kurds."
— PRorEssoB Karl Roth,
In his "Armenien und Deutschland."

ARMENIA AND THE ARMENIANS 37
"The Armenians constitute the sole civUiz-
ing, the sole humanizing element in Anatoha;
peaceful to the degree of self-sacrifice; law-
abiding to their own undoing and industrious
and hopeful under conditions which would
appall the majority of mankind. At their best
they are the stuff of which heroes and martyrs
are moulded." _^^ ^ j j^^^^^^
A well-known English writer on the Near East, in his
"Armenia, an Appeal," Contemporary Review, 1896, Vol.
69, page 1.
"The Armenians are a people of large and
noble capacities. For ages they have main
tained their civilization under oppression that
would have crushed ahnost any other people.
The Armenian is one of the finest races in the
world. If I were asked to name the most de
sirable races to be added by immigration to the
American population, I would name among
the very first the Armenian."
— The LATE Andrew D. White,
United States Ambassador to Germany, and founder
of Cornell University, in his Autobiography.

"It would be difficult to find in the annals
of a nation less crime than in those of the Ar-

38 THE ARMENIANS IN AMERICA
menians, whose virtues are those of peace and ,
whose vices are the result of the oppression
they have undergone." —Lord Byron,
Who studied Armenian with the Mikhitarist Fathers
on the Island of St. Lazare.

"They have aU the solidity of the Turk, with
out his immobiUty ; they have the quickness of
perception and acuteness of the Greek, without
his frivolity. In one word, they are the Anglo-
Saxons of the East." — Rev. H. O. Dwight,
One of the first American Missionaries in Turkey, in
his "Christianity in Turkey."
"Among all those who dwell in westem
Asia they (the Armenians) stand first, with a
capacity for inteUectual and moral progress,
as well as with a natural tenacity of will and
purpose beyond that of all their neighbors —
not merely of Turks, Tartars, Kurds, and
Persians, but also of Russians. They are a
strong race, not only with vigorous nerves and
sinews, physicaUy active and energetic, but
also of conspicuous brain power." — Lord Bryce,
Em-Ambassador of Great Britain to the United States.

MAJOR VARSTAD H. KAZANJIAN
DR. KAZANJIAN is professor of Oral Military
Surgery in the Dental School of Harvard Uni
versity. He has been conferred with the Order
of the Companion of St. George and St. Michael
for distinguished services in the war.

DR. GARO PASDERMADJIAN
AN ex-Armenian Deputy in the Ottoman Par
liament and Commander of Armenian Vol
unteers in the Caucasus is now the Special
Envoy of the Catholicos to the United States.

LIEUT. COLONEL H. MALEJIAN
BEFORE the war Dr. Malejian was instructor
in Orthopedic and Genito-Urinary Surgery at
the University at Michigan.

ENSIGN NISHAN DAGAVARIAN
BEFORE enlisting in Uncle Sam's Navy he
was on the engineering staff of the United
States Government at Panama Canal. He
is a Michigan University man.

ARMENIA AND THE ARMENIANS 39
"The Armenians, industrious, sober, and
zealous, occupied principaUy with agriculture,
with raising cattle, and with manufacturing
carpets . . . can be considered the possessors
of the highest civiUzation in Asia Minor.
Thanks to their aptitude and their inteUigence,
the Armenians . . . occupy the highest posi-
tions in Turkey." _^ ^^^^^ J
A German authority, in the Tdgliche Rundschau.
"We may say without exaggeration that
not only in Armenia proper, but far beyond
its boundaries, the economic life of Turkey
rests, in great part, upon the Armenians."
— ^Dr. Paul Rohrbach, V
Another well-known German scholar.

"The Syrians, in spite of their ability, have
so far never been able to push beyond places
of secondary, though considerable, importance.
Armenians, on the other hand, have attained
the highest administrative ranks, and have at
times exercised a decisive influence on the
conduct of pubhc affairs in Egypt."
— Lord Cromer,
In his "Modern Egypt," Vol. II, page :

40 THE ARMENIANS IN AMERICA
"In some respects the Armenians are the
most interesting people in Asia Minor. They
are physicaUy a fine race. ... It is prohfic
and comparatively free from the deadly
maladies of immorality which, unless checked,
will exterminate the Turkish race."
"I believe the Armenian race to be the most
artistic in Turkey. Many paint well and some
have made a reputation in Russia and France.
... I can only judge of the Armenian love
for music from the fact that nearly every
family which can afford a piano has one. . . .
Every observer notes that our best native
companies of actors are Armenians."
— Sir Ed»vin Pears,
For forty years a distinguished member of the Euro
pean Bar at Constantinople, in his "Turkey and Its
People," pages 270-274.
The Armenians are "physically of good
stature, strong features and manly bearing;
industrious and frugal; loyal to their religion
and their nation ;. of marked ability for adapt
ing themselves to any circumstances, whether
of climate, social or political life ; very kindly,
sympathetic, affectionate, with an element of

ARMENIA AND THE ARMENIANS 41
the jovial in their life; intensely proud of their
history and their faith; clannish almost to the
last degree, refusing such association with
other races as might imply the loss of their
own; of exceptionally pure morals among the
Eastern races; intense lovers of home and
family life, and hospitable in the last degree;
with acute minds and suave manners, they
manifest many of the essential elements of a
strong nation." _Edwin M. Bliss,
Of Beirut College, in his "Turkey and the Armenian
Atrocities," page IIS.

"In the modern intellectual revival in
Turkey the Armenians were the first to
respond. They not only eagerly fostered
modern education among themselves and in
their own country, but thousands of bright
Armenian young men and women have studied
in the educational centers of the world and
have won distinction by the superiority of
their intellect and their unconquerable desire
and zeal for education. There is no race on the
face of the earth more worthy, by its inheri
tance, its intrinsic worth, its intellectual

42 THE ARMENIANS IN AMERICA
capacity and abihty, its traditional industry,
its peaceful temper and spirit, its domestic
hopes and purposes, of a free and independent
existence. In no commercial enterprise, no
form of industry, no profession, and in no in
stitution of learning in Turkey or elsewhere
do the Armenians take second place.
"It was at this race that the blow of destruc
tion was primarily aimed by the government of
the Young Turks in the winter of 1914 and the
spring of 1915. This historic, educated and
refined people were maltreated in a thousand
forms, starved and exiled. Its greatest crime
is that, in contact with its Turkish neighbors,
it has far outstretched all the rest in enterprise
and industry ; and in religion it has stood firmly
against the persecution of its Mohammedan
over-lords, refusing to exchange Jesus Christ
for Mohammed." (Jn the World Court, October, 1918.)
"I know the Armenians to be by inheritance
religious, industrious and faithful. They are
the Anglo-Saxons of Eastern Turkey. They
are not inferior in mental ability to any race on
earth. I say this after eight years' connection

ARMENIA AND THE ARMENIANS 43
with Euphrates College, which has continually
from 550 to 600 Armenians upon its hst of
students, and after superintending schools
which have 4,000 more of them."
"Give the Armenian capital and a right
eous government, and he will turn the whole of
Turkey into a Garden of Eden in ten years."
—Dr. James L. Bahton,
The well-known Secretary of the American Board of
Commissioners for Foreign Missions.

"In the Armenians we have a people who are
peculiarly adapted to be the intermediaries of
the new dispensation. They profess our re
ligion, are familiar with some of our best ideals,
and assimilate each new product of European
culture with an avidity and thoroughness
which no other race between India and the
Mediterranean has given any evidence of being
able to rival. These capacities they have made
manifest under the greatest of disadvantages,
as a subject race ministering to the needs of
Mussulman masters. They know well that
with every advance of true civilization they are

44 THE ARMENIANS^IN AMERICA
sure to rise, as they will certainly fall at each
relapse. "The fact that in Turkey they are vigorously
precluded from bearing arms has disposed
superficial observers to regard them as
cowards. A different judgment might be
meted out were they placed on an equality in
this respect with their enemies the Kurds. At
all events, when given the chance, they have not
been slow to display martial qualities both in
the domain of the highest strategy and in that
of personal prowess. The victorious com
mander-in-chief for Russia in her Asiatic cam
paign of 1877 was an Armenian from the
district of Lori-Loris Melikoff. In the same
campaign the most brilliant general of division
in the Russian army was an Armenian —
Tergukasoff. The gallant young staff-officer,
Tamaieff, who planned and led the hair-
brained attack on the Azizi Fort in front of
Erzerum, was an Armenian, and paid for his
daring with his life. At the present day the
frontier police, engaged in controlling the
Kurds of the border, are recruited from among
Armenians. These examples may be suflBcient
to nail to the counter an inveterate he, from

ARMENIA AND THE ARMENIANS 45
which the Armenians have suffered, at least
in British estimation, more, perhaps, than from
any other supposed defects.
"If I were asked what characteristics distin
guished the Armenians from other Orientals,
I should be disposed to lay most stress on a
quality known in popular speech as grit. It
is this quality to which they owe their preserva
tion as a people and they are not surpassed in
this respect by any European nation. Their
intellectual capacities are supported by a solid
foundation of character, and, unlike the
Greeks, but like the Germans, their nature
is averse to superficial methods; they be
come absorbed in their tasks and plumb
them deep. There is no race in the Nearer
East more quick of learning than the
Persians; yet should you be visited by a Per
sian gentleman accompanied by his Armenian
man of business, take a book down from your
shelves, better one with iUustrations, and the
conversation turning upon some subject
treated by its author, hand it to them after a
passing reference. The Persian will look at
the pictures, which he will praise. The Arme
nian will devour the book and at each pause

46 THE ARMENIANS IN AMERICA
in the conversation you will see him poring
over it with knitted brows. These tendencies
are naturally accompanied by forethought and
balance; and they have given the Armenian
his pre-eminence in commercial affairs. He
is not less clever than the Greek; but he sees
further, and, although ingrained with the petty
vices of aU Oriental traders, the Armenian
merchant is quick to appreciate the advantages
of fair dealing when they are suggested by the
conditions under which his vocation is pursued.
A friend with a large experience of the
Balkans, with their heterogeneous urban popu
lations, has told me, as an interesting fact, that
in the statistics of bankruptcy for those coun
tries the proportion of the Armenians impli
cated is comparatively low. Inasmuch as such
bankruptcies are usually more or less of a
fraudulent nature, the fact indicates not,
perhaps, so much the greater integrity of
Armenians, as their power to resist an imme
diate temptation and their promptitude in
recognizing the monetary value of commercial
stability. "But in order to estimate this people at any
thing like their true worth, one shotdd study

ARMENIA AND THE ARMENIANS 47
them not in the Levant, with its widespread
corruption, but in the Russian provinces of
Armenia. . . . For what was it that I saw?
In every trade and in every profession, in busi
ness and in the Government services the
Armenian was without a rival and in full pos
session of the field. He equips the postal
service by which you travel, and if you are so
fortunate as to find an inn the landlord will
be an Armenian. Most of the villages in
which you sojourn are inhabited by a brawny
Armenian peasantry. In the towns, if the
local govemor attaches to your service the
head of the local police, it will be a stalwart
Armenian in Russian uniform who will find
you either a lodging or a shady garden in which
to erect your tents. If you remark on the way
some well-buUt edifice which aspires to archi
tectural design, it will be the work of an Arme
nian builder from Alexandropol. In that city
itself, where the Armenians are most numer
ous, the love of building, which was so marked
a characteristic of their forefathers, has blos
somed again among kinder circumstances;, a
spacious cathedral and several large churches
stand among new stone houses fronted with

48 THE ARMENIANS IN AMERICA
ambitious fa9ades. . . . The monetary trans
actions of the country are in the hands of
Armenian bankers. The skilled workmen —
jewellers, watchmakers, carpenters — ^are Ar
menians. , . . Indeed were it not for the fact
that the govemors and chief police officials of
large districts are Russians, and that Cossacks
and Russian regular soldiers may here and
there be seen, the traveler would not suspect
that he was in a Russian province, and would
go the way he listed with the most serene com
posure until he was rudely awakened by some
abrupt collision with the Russian system and
brought to his proper mind. As it is, the
Armenian has edged out the Russian, and, if
peace were allowed her conquests unhindered,
he would ultimately rule in the land."
— CoL. Henry F. B. Lynch,
In his "Armenia, Travels and Studies," Vol. I, page
46&. 
"The Armenians of the present day are the
direct descendants of the people who inhabited
the country three thousand years ago. Their
origin is so ancient that it is lost in fable and
mystery. There are still undeciphered cune
iform inscriptions on the rocky hills of Van,

MR. LEON DOMINIAN
THE author of " The Frontiers of Language
and Nationality in Europe," wrote the
splendid Preface to this volume.

MR. MIRAN SEVASLY
THE chairman of the Armenian',National Union
of America is a lawj'er, linguist, lecturer and
author.

AN ORIENTAL GEM
NINE out of every ten oriental rugs which one sees iu American
homes, clubs and stores throughout the United States was in all
probability purchased by Armenians in the East, shipped to this
country by them, and distributed for the retail trade through Armenian
merchants. The Armenians introduced in this country these beautiful
products of the Orient and they contjg"

ARMENIA AND THE ARMENIANS 49
the largest Armenian city, that have led certain
scholars — though not many, I must admit — ^to
identify the Armenian race with the Hittites
of the Bible. What is definitely known about
the Armenians, however, is that for ages they
have constituted the most civilized and most
industrious race in the eastem section of the
Ottoman Empire. From their mountains they
have spread over the Sultan's dominions, and
form a considerable element in the population
of all the large cities. Everywhere they are
known for their industry, their intelhgence,
and their decent and orderly lives. They are
so superior to the Turks intellectually and
morally that much of the business and industry
has passed into their hands. With the Greeks,
the Armenians constitute the economic
strength of the empire. These people became
Christians in the fourth century and estab
lished the Armenian Church as their state re
ligion. This is said to be the oldest Christian
Church in existence.
"In face of persecutions which have had no
parallel elsewhere these people have clung to
their early Christian faith with the utmost
tenacity. For fifteen hundred years they have

50 THE ARMENIANS IN AMERICA
lived there in Armenia, a little island of Chris
tians surrounded by backward peoples of
hostUe religion and hostile race. Their long
existence has been one unending martyrdom.
The territory which they inhabit forms the con
necting link between Europe and Asia, and
all the Asiatic invasions — Saracens, Tartars,
Mongols, Kurds and Turks — have passed over
their peaceful country. For centuries they
have thus been the Belgium of the East.
Through all this period the Armenians have
regarded themselves not as Asiatic, but as Eu
ropeans. They speak an Indo-European lan
guage, their racial origin is believed by scholars
to be Aryan, and the fact that their rehgion is
the religion of Europe has always made them
turn their eyes westward. And out of that
westem country, they have always hoped,
would some day come the deliverance that
would rescue them from their murderous
masters." ' —Henry Morgenthau,
Ex-United States Ambassador to Turkey, in his "Am
bassador Morgenthau's Story," pages 287-9.
7 For the quotations from German authors I am indebted to Mr. Arshag
Mahdeaian, the Editor of "The New Armenia."

Chapter II
THE PIONEERS
(1618-1894)
THERE were Armenians among the first
settlers in America. We are indebted
to the records of the Virginia Company
of London for the interesting information that
"Martin the Armenian" ^ was a member of the
Colony at Jamestown, Virginia, as early as
1618 or 1619. The exact date of his landing,
the name of the vessel that brought him here
and the circumstances that induced him to cross
the Atlantic are unknown. But all the bits of
references to him put together lead to the con
clusion that he came here as one of the servants
of Governor George Yeardley.^ While in
_. _1 Bancroft Papers, Virginia (New York Public Liljxa^yi, Vol. II, pages
197-199. "" Heis probably the'John Martin listed as'bne orthe Adventurers'
in the Company's Book. See Force's Tracts, Vol. Ill, pamphlet called
" A Declaration of the State of the Colonie and Affaires in Virginia; with
the Names of the Adventurers."
2 On September 25, 1629, Edmund Rossingham, a nephew of Governor
George Yeardley, filed a claim against the latter's estate for services
rendered. It appears that Yeardley had employed Rossingham in 1618
as his agent to look after his plantation in Virginia. The Privy Council
referred the matter to Sir Dudley Digges, Sir Maurice Abbott and Messra.
Thomas Gibbes and Samuel Wrote. The Referees report and findings
Btate: "and also the testimony of John Martin, servant to said George
Yeardley, and then resident in Virginia, testifying the petitioner then
to have had fewer neate beaste " etc.. Certificate of Thomas Gibbs
and Samuel Wrote. British State Papers, Colonial, Vol.V, No. IS, 1, page 98.

52 THE ARMENIANS IN AMERICA
Virginia he acquired British citizenship which
undoubtedly entitles him to the distinction of
being the first naturalized person on the Amer
ican continent. After remaining here for
about four years he returned to England in
1622 with a "parcell of tobacco" which he had
raised in Virginia. Upon his reaching Lon
don the customs officers imposed double the
amount of the regular duties on his importa
tion because he was a foreigner by birth.
Thereupon Martin appealed to the Company's
Court for a reassessment. His petition, dated
May 8, 1622, reads as follows:'
"John Martin the Persian makinge humble
suite for the Companies fauor to the ffarmors
of his Mats Custome to free him from payinge
double Custome wch they required of him
beinge a Stranger notwithstandinge he was
made a freeman in Virginia by Sr. Geo:
Yeardley then Gouernor as by Certificate
vnder the CoUonies Seale appeared Answeare
was made touchinge his freedom that none but
the Kinge could make him a free denizon of
England, and for the Custome demaunded
3 In the beginning of the 17th century a large part of Armenia waa
invaded by Shah Abas of Persia. Legally speaking Martin must have been
a Persian subject.

THE PIONEERS 53
the ffarmors themselues could not nowe re-
mitt in reguard they had already entred the
parcell into their booke and charged it vpon
Accoimt, wherevpon it beinge taken into con-
sidera9on howe he might be releiued, he was
at length aduised to peticon vnto my Lo:
Trear for remittinge the said imposicon in
reguard he was a freman of Virginia and
intended to returne thither againe wth some
servante out of the proceed of that smale par-
cell of Tobacco he [here] brought ouer to
supplie his wante."
On May 20, 1622, the Court, which was
presided over by Lord Cavendish, rendered
the following decision:
"The Courte takinge into considera9on the
request of Mr. Martin the Persian touching
the double charge imposed vpon his Tobacco
by the ffearmors in reguard he was a Stranger
and havinge informed themselues of the
priuiledge of their Patent, that giues them
power to enfranchies Strangers and make
them capeable thereby of the like imunities
that themselues enjoy: Haue therefore ordered
that the Secretary shall repaire to the ffarmors
of the Custome with a Coppie of the said

54 THE ARMENIANS IN AMERICA
clause and that with the Courte speciali comen-
dacon of Mr. Martin vnto them, and to en
treat their fauor towarde him rather in respect
of his good likinge to the Plantation whither
he intends to goe againe, wch may happily
encourage other strangers to the like resolucon
to go ouer thither." *
The valuable records of the Virginia Com
pany of London contain a number of refer
ences to this Armenian. It appears that he
became a member of the Company's Standing
Committee and attended many of its important
sessions. He is mentioned in the minutes of
an "extraordinary" meeting held on October
20, 1623, as "Martin an Armeanean." When
the question as to whether or not the Company
should surrender its charter to the King was
put to vote, "Martin the Armenian," with
Lord Argall and seven others, raised his hand
for the affirmative. "Martin Armenean"
was present at an important deliberation of
the Committee held on November 12, 1623.
He is again referred to as "Martin ye Ar-
4 The Recorda of the Virginia Company of London. The Court Book.
Edited by Suaan Myra Kingabury, Vol. I, page 633, Vol. II, page 13.

THE PIONEERS 55
menia" in another meeting that took place on
January 14, 1624.'
The next two Armenians came to America
in 1653 under the most interesting circum
stances. There was at this time a great deal
of enthusiasm to produce silk in Virginia.
Unsuccessful experiments had been made in
the care and raising of silkworms and mul
berry trees which furnish the chief nourishment
for these caterpillars. Edward Digges, one of
the leading members of the Colony, having
heard through his father, then the English
Ambassador to Russia, that the Armenians
were expert cultivators of silkworms, brought
over at his own expense two of them "who
enjoyed a high reputation in their native land
for their skill and experience." ® The result
of the work of these men was so promising that
in 1654, John Ferrer, an eamest supporter of
the Company, wrote a poem dedicated "To the
Most Noble Deserving Esquire Digges : Upon
5 Bancroft Papers, Virginia, (New York Pubhc Library), Vol. II, pages
197-199. The Records of tbe Virginia Company of London; the Court
Book. Edited by Susan Myra Kingsbury, Vol. II, pages 473, 477 and 498.
See also British State Papers, Colonial, Vol. II, page 53. AlexanderiBrown, in
his " The First Repubhc in America," page 554, suggests that the real name of
Martin might have been Martian, which has all the elements and sound of a^
good Armenian name. The Armenian of John is Hovanness.
6 " Economic History of Virginia in the 17th Century," by Philip A.
Bruce, Vol. I, page 365.

56 THE ARMENIANS IN AMERICA
the Arrival of His Two Armenians out of
Turkey into Virginia." A part of the poem
reads as foUows:^
"But noble Diggs carries the Bell away
(Lass ! want of eggs made so small the essay)
His two Armemans from Turkey sent
Are now most busy on his brave attempt.
And had he stock sufficient for next yeare
Ten thousand pounds of Silk would then appeare
And to the skies his worthy deeds upreare.
Courage, brave Sir: Sith Ayde from God is sent
Proceed, go on, drive forth thy great intent."
In December, 1656, the Assembly of Vir
ginia passed the following Resolution:
"That George the Armenian for his encour
agement in the trade of silk and to stay in the
country to follow the same have four thousand
pounds of tobacco allowed him by the
Assembly." *
It cannot be ascertained whether "George"
was one of the Armenians brought over by
Digges, but the evidence seems to be in favor
of that presumption.
History is silent concerning other Arme
nians who may have drifted to the New World
7 Force's Historical Tracts: Pamphlet called the "Reformed Virginia
Silk-Worm," Vol. Ill, pages 34-35.
8 Henning'a Statutes, Vol. I, page 425.

THE PIONEERS 57
in quest of prosperity during the rest of the
17th and 18th centuries It is not at all im
probable that through the influence of the
Armenians already in Virginia others may
have come here, particularly from HoUand "
and India where Armenian merchants were
constantly in touch with England.
The Armenian pioneer immigrants began
to come to the United States about three years
after the American missionaries planted
(1831) at Bebek, a suburb of Constantinople,
the nucleus of their present great enterprise
in the Ottoman Empire. According to the
best accounts, it was Khachadoor Osgangan,
a pupil of the new mission school, who started
the movement towards America. He is said to
have landed in New York in 1834. He was
followed by another student (1837), who ob
tained a medical degree from Princeton and
then returned to practise in Constantinople.
In 1841 one of the servants of Dr. Dwight, a
missionary, settled in Brooklyn. In the same
year Rev. Haroutoon Vahabedian, who later
became a Patriarch, entered the Union Theo
logical School. Through the influence of other
9 The Armenian version of the Bible was firat printed in Holland in 1666.

68 THE ARMENIANS IN AMERICA
American missionaries two more students came
to this country in 1843 and went to Yale. One
of them, Christopher der Seropian, is said to
have inaugurated the Class Book custom at
Yale, and he is also credited with having dis
covered the black and green colors now used
on all United States paper currency. In 1845
Serop Alishan, brother of Father Alishan,
the distinguished Armenian poet, reached
America. Between 1848-1849 an Armenian
merchant", another student and two other
Armenians came to the United States.
The number of Armenians arriving in
America during the next twenty years (1850-
1870) totals about fifty-five. A few of these
were students, but the majority came here to
learn trades. This notable change of purpose
was probably due to the late Dr. Cyrus Ham
lin, founder of Robert College in Constan
tinople, who was a strong exponent of teaching
the natives in Turkey modern methods of in
dustry. The student class studied medicine
and dentistry, and in this connection I might
mention Doctors Simon Minasian, Calousdian
and B«Kiig Mataosian, who served in the hos
pitals in Philadelphia during the Civil War.

THE PIONEERS 59
There are also accounts of some Armenian
volunteer soldiers and an orderly who fought
in the ranks of the Northem Army. Most of
the Armenians of this period, however, devoted
themselves to leam trades. The well-known
Hagop Mataosian, whose printing and pub
lishing house in Constantinople is the largest
and best in Turkey, was one of them. It was
at this time, too, that for the first time three
Armenian girls came to the United States.
An old Armenian resident in New York states
in a letter that in 1863 (fifty-five years ago),
there were about ten Armenians in America
who, with the exception of two or three, lived
in New York City. In 1875 this number in
creased to about seventy, most of them being
in New York and the rest scattered in
the following cities: Jersey City, Worces
ter, Boston, Providence, Troy, Springfield,
LoweU and Rochester, and one had gone as
far as the Pacific Coast.
The next twenty-four years (1870-1894)
brought a noticeable increase in the number
of Armemans coming to this country. By this
time the American Board of Commissioners
for Foreign Missions had gradually expanded

60 THE ARMENIANS IN AMERICA
its activities throughout Turkey. It had
founded colleges, high schools, primary
schools and churches not only in Con
stantinople but also in other cities like Smyrna,
Adana, Marash, Diarbekir, Harpout, Marso
van and Sivas. The increase of American mis
sionary work brought with it a corresponding
increase of Armenian immigration to the
United States. A total of between thirty-five
and forty Armenian students, at various times
in this period (1870-1894), were enrolled at
Yale, Princeton, Union, Andover, Amherst,
Wisconsin, New York University and Clark
University. During this period, too, the
United States became a place of sanctuary for
Armenian political refugees. The Hunt
chaggist movement was started in 1883 and
many of its leaders fled to America to escape
persecution. From the foregoing brief account covering
a period of 60 years (1834-1894), certain in
teresting conclusions are to be drawn. In the
first place, it is quite evident that the first Ar
menians who came here were not immigrants
in the real sense of the word. They belonged
to the wide-awake, ambitious and educated

THE PIONEERS 61
class. They came here to go to school, to learn
trades, to engage in commerce, and a few to
escape political persecution, but with the in
tention of returning to their country within a
short time. The second important conclusion
is that the idea of coming to the United States
was due wholly to the American missionaries.
The third point to note is that there were not
more than three thousand Armenians actually
residing in the United States in 1894. These
came from a dozen or more different localities
or cities in Turkey and founded small settle
ments in New York, Worcester, Boston,
Providence, Hartford, Philadelphia, Ho
boken, Troy, Chicago and Fresno, Cal., which
cities in later years, as we shaU see in the next
chapter, became centers of the present great
Armenian colonies."
10 For the names, dates and accounts of the Armenians who came to
the United States from 1834 to 1874, I am especiaUy indebted to Arch
bishop Seropian.

Chapter III
IMMIGRATION AND DISTRIBU
TION
IN this chapter we shall consider the num
ber of Armenians in Arnerica to-day, the
countries from which they came, who
furnished the money for their passage, how
many have been debarred, how many have
voluntarily departed from the United States,
and in what proportion those remaining here
are distributed in the various states of the
Union. The principal sources of data on the specific
topics enumerated in the preceding paragraph
are the statistics of the Bureau of Immigration,
the reports of the Immigration Commission
and the eleventh census of the United States.
While the information contained in these ex
haustive volumes undoubtedly meets the essen
tial requirements for which they were intended,
yet they are deficient in respect to facts on
particular immigrant races. In the absence of

IMMIGRATION AND DISTRIBUTION 63
anything better, however, we are obliged to
rely upon them constantly.
Up to 1898 the Bureau of Immigration
classified immigrants according to the country
of their birth or origin and not according to
their race or language. For example a Turk,
an Armenian, a Greek, a Jew or a Bulgarian
coming from the Ottoman Empire was put
down as an immigrant from Turkey. Conse
quently there are no accurate statistics touch
ing the Armenians as a distinct class of immi
grants prior to 1899. The figures employed
here by me for the period between 1834 to and
including 1898 are based upon a careful analy
sis of such general statistics as are available,
together with an eye on surrounding historical
circumstances and the opinions of the oldest
members of the various Armenian colonies in
this country. The task of compiling figures
for the years following 1898 has been made a
little easier because since that time the Depart
ment of Immigration, pursuant to an Act of
Congress, estabhshed the practical system of
classifying immigrants by their race.

64

THE ARMENIANS IN AMERICA

IMMIGRATION PROM TURKEY TO THE UNITED
STATES (1834-1894)1

Year
1834

Turkey Turkey
in in Year
Europe Asia
I 1865

Turkey in
Europe 14

Turkey in
Asia

1835

1866

18

1836

8

1867

26

1837

1868
4
1838
1869
18
2
1839
1
1870
6
1840
I
1871
23
4
1841
6
1872
20
1842
2
1873
63
3
1843
5
1874
62
6
1844
10
1875
27
1
1845
3
1876
38
8
1846
4
1877
32
8
1847
2
1878
29
7
1848
3
1879
29
81
1849
9
1880
24
4
1850
15
1881
72
6
I85I
2
1882
69
1862
3
1883
86
1853
15
1884
150
1854
7
1886
138
1855
9
1886
176
15
1856
5
1887
206
208
1857
II
1888
207
273
1858
17
1889
252
693
1859
10
1890
206
1126
1860
4
1891
265
2488
1861
6
1892
1331
1862
11
1893
625
1863
16
1894
298
1864
II
Total from Turkey in Asia, 4777
Total from Turkey in Europe, 4695
Grand Total 9472
IMMIGRATION AND DISTRIBUTION

65

NUMBER OP ARMENIANS ADMITTED INTO THE
UNITED STATES (1896-1917)2

Year
1895

Admitted
Male Female
a a

Total
2767c

Debarred b

Departed b

1896

2915

1224

4139c

b

b

1897

3203

1532

4732c

b

b

1898

2615

1624

4275c

b

b

1899

471

203

674

30

b

1900

748

234

982

22

b

I90I

1364

491

1856

21

b

1902

946

206

II51

18

b

1903

1424

335

1769

59

b

1904

I3I6

430

1745

48

b

1905

1389

639

1878

80

b

1906

1423

472

1896

64

b

1907

1874

770

2644

86

b

1908

2097

1202

3299

146

234

1909

2596

613

3108

94

561

I9I0

4686

822

5608

327

621

19II

2648

449

3092

319

901

I9I2

4476

746

5222

280

718

1913

7893

1460

9358

348

676

1914

6538

1262

7785

415

1250

I9I5

685

247

932

67

199

1916

775

189

964

49

659

1917

1017

204

I22I

5

138

63,078 16,140 70,980 2477

6862

1 It will be noticed that from 1834-1894, a period of 60 years, the total
number of immigrants from 7?urkey is 9472. What were the nationality of
these is not known. They may have been Greeks, Bulgarians, Syrians, as
well as Armenians. My opinion is that of thia number about 4,000 only were
Armenians, of whioh 1,000 retumed to Turkey, leaving about 3,000 in the
United States in 1894.
2 Compiled from the annual reports of the United States Commission of
Immigration, (a) Sex not given, (b) number not given, (o) race not given; but
no doubt they were Armenians leaving Turkey on account of the massacres of
1894-96.

66 THE ARMENIANS IN AMERICA
Armenian immigration to the United
States, in the strictest sense of the word,
commenced immediately after the massacres
of 1894. Before that time I think there were
not over three thousand "Armenians actually
residing in this country. The United States
Government statistics show that prior to 1895
there were very few persons coming here from
Turkey in Asia where the majority of the
Armenians lived. But suddenly in 1895,
2,767 were admitted from that part of the
world, 4,139 in 1896, 4,732 in 1897 and 4,275
in 1898. Although these figures do not in
dicate the nationality of these 15,913, still
there cannot be any doubt that they were
nearly aU Armenians leaving their homes on
account of the massacres. Beginning with the
year 1899 a system of keeping immigration
records by races was installed. These records
show that 55,057 more Armenians have come
to the United States between 1899 and June
30, 1917, making 70,980 in aU since 1894. To
this figure should be added 3,000 for those who
were here before 1894, making a total of
73,980. Of this number about 5,000 should be
deducted for those who have died during this

IMMIGRATION AND DISTRIBUTION 67
period (1894-1917), and about 6,000 for those
who have departed from the United States,
leaving a balance of 62,980. And if we add
to this number about 15,000 children born in
this country of Armenian parents we would
have a total of 77,980 Armenians in the United
States to-day.
ARMENIANS ADMITTED INTO THE UNITED
STATES FROM SPECIFIC CO,UNTRIES
BETWEEN 1899 AND JUNE 80, I9I7
Austria-Hungary . . 43 Switzerland  19
¦Belgium  12 Turkey in Europe. . 2,806
Bulgaria  168 Turkey in Asia  43,668
France  377 Great Britain  914
Germany  41 China  10
Greece  276 India  88
Italy  40 Africa (Egypt) ... 894
Netherlands  2 Australia  4
Norway  3 Canada . . • ¦  1,677
Portugal  4 Mexico  8
Roumania  95 South America  822
Russia  8,034 West Indies  18
Spain  6 Other Countries .... 139
Sweden  I
Compiled from the annual reports of the Commission
of Immigration, 1899-I9I7.
One of the tables in this chapter denotes the
countries from which the 55,057 admitted into
the United States, between 1899 and 1917,

68 THE ARMENIANS IN AMERICA
came. These figures indicate that the influx
of Armenian immigration has been principally
from Turkey, with 43,668 to her credit.
Russia is next with 3,034. There were
1,577 from Canada, 914 from Great Britain,
694 from Egypt, 822 from South America,
327 from France, 275 from Greece, 158 from
Bulgaria, and less than a hundred each from
Germany, Austria- Hungary, Spain, Sweden,
Switzerland, India, Australia, Mexico, West
Indies and other countries. I believe that the
majority of those reported as having come
from Canada, Great Britain, Egypt and
France merely passed through these countries
on their way to the United States.
Considerable importance is often attached
to who fumishes the money for the transporta
tion of immigrants to the United States and
what is the financial status of an immigrant
at the time of his landing in this country.
According to the statistics 79.8 per cent of the
Armenians pay their own expenses, 19.6 per
cent receive aid from relatives and .5 per cent
from other sources.^ The form of the question
asked by the Immigration examiners on this
3 Report of the Immigration Commission. Statistical Review. Vol. Ill,
page 361.

IMMIGRATION AND DISTRIBUTION 69
matter does not usually elicit the correct and
desired answer. Technically speaking, most
immigrants pay for their own passage, but as
a matter of fact a large percentage of them
borrow the necessary funds from friends and
relatives in America. The table below indi
cates the average per capita amount of money
shown by immigrants when they come to the
United States.*
Armenian $81.67
Bulgarian and Servian 19.23
Croatian-Slovanian 16.14
Greek 24.10
Hebrew 29.09
Italian (South) 17.14
Polish 14.76
Roumanian 16.82
Ruthenian 14.39
Slovak 16.64
Syrian 45.42
In the last ten years about 5,852 Armenians
have departed from the United States for
other countries against 40,484 adinitted in the
same period, or an average of about 14 to
every hundred. Among other races the aver
age number leaving this country for every
hundred coming in is as follows: Bulgarians,
4 Reporta of the Immigration Commission, Statistical Review, Vol. Ill,
page 350.

70 THE ARMENIANS IN AMERICA
28; Greeks, 25; Syrians, 26; Turks, 69!" It
would seem that among the principal races
of immigrants from the Near East and the
Balkans, the Armenians show less disposition
to leave the United States.
A certain number of immigrants are de
barred for a variety of causes, such as insanity,
disease, prostitution and contract labor. It is
to the credit of the Armenians to say that there
are practically no prostitutes among them.
The contract labor and padrone system are
not known. Nearly all of those deported are
returned because of Trachoma, an eye disease.
During the last nineteen years only 2,477 Ar
menians have been refused admission.
I have had personal experience with immi
gration authorities on deportation cases. They
give too hasty, too severe, and too technical in
terpretation of the Laws. Many immigrants
have been sent back on the charge of prostitu
tion or contract labor, whereas a broad, com
mon sense understanding of the facts in each
particular case and a knowledge of the cus
toms and habits of each particular race, would
have resulted in a different conclusion.
5 Reports of the Immigration Commiasion, Statistical Review, Vol. Ill
page 383.

0

MR. JOHN H. GARO
F Boston is the most celebrated photographer
in the United States.

MRS. RAYMOND HITCHCOCK
rs known on the stage as Flora Zabelle.

A

N example of the work of Mr. HaiglPatigian,
one of the foreniost sculptors inj this Icoun-
try.

F

" LONG WONG "
ROM a painting by Hovsep Pushman of
Chicago and Riverside, California.

IMMIGRATION AND DISTRIBUTION

71

NUMBER OF ARMENIANS WHEN LANDING
INDICATING INTENTION OF GOING TO
THE STATES SPECIFIED*
(1899-1917)

Alabama

68

Montana

5

Alaska

3

Nebraska

13

Arizona

3

Nevada

1

Arkansas

I

New Hampshire

522

California

2,664

New Jersey

2,115

Colorado

61

New Mexico

I

Connecticut

1,580

New York

17,391

District of Columbia

28

North Carolina

8

Florida

18

Ohio

401

Georgia

3

Oklahoma

7

Hawaii

I

Oregon

15

Idaho

8

Pennsylvania

2,002

Illinois

3,313

Porto Rico

4

Indiana

167

Rhode Island

. 4,923

Iowa

82

South Carolina

I

Kansas

II

South Dakota

13

Kentucky

II

Tennessee

3

Louisiana

10

Texas

263

Maine

547

Utah

66

Maryland

43

Vermont

41

Massachusetts

14,192

Virginia

133

Michigan

1,371

Washington

71

Minnesota

67

West Virginia

28

Mississippi

6

Wisconsin

1,184

Missouri

649

Wyoming

2

Before an immigrant is permitted to leave
the port of landing, he is required to state
where he intends to go directly. Out of a total
6 Compiled from the annual reports of the Commission of Immigration,
1899-1917.

72 THE ARMENIANS IN AMERICA
of 55,057 Armenians who have come here since
1899, 17,391 indicated their intention of going
to New York State, 14,192 to Massachusetts,
4,923 to Rhode Island, 3,313 to Illinois, 2,564
to Califomia, 2,115 to New Jersey, 2,002 to
Pennsylvania, 1,580 to Connecticut, 1,371 to
Michigan, and 1,184 to Wisconsin, and less
than 1,000 each to other states. While those
figures give some idea of the principal states
where Armenians congregate, they must not
be taken as showing the actual number of
Armenians in each such state. There is always
7 The following ia a more complete list of Armenian colonies in the
United States having more than 100 persons:
California — Fresno, Reedley, Yettem, Salema, Los Angeles, Sanger,
Fowler.
Connecticut — Hartford, Thompsonville, New Haven, New Britain,
Bridgeport.
Illinois — Chicago, Waukegan, East St. Louis.
Indiana — Indianapolis.
Kentucky — Louisville.
Maine — Portland.
Massachusetts — ¦ Boston, Worcester, Lynn, Lowell, Lawrence, Haverhill,
Ho^edale, Middleboro, Maiden, Newton Upper Falls, Newburyport,
Wnitinsville, "Watertown, Chelsea, Brockton, Bridgewater, Salem,
Somerville, Springfield, Peabody, Cambridge, Fitchburg, Franklin.
Minnesota. — St. Paul.
Missouri — St. Louis.
Michigan — Highland Park, Detroit, Grand Rapids.
Maryland — Baltimore.
New Hampshire — Manchester, Nashua.
New York — Schenectady, Yonkers, Niagara Falls, New York, Binghamton,
Brooklyn, Syracuse, Rochester, Messina Springs.
New Jersey — Union Hill, West Hoboken, Jersey City, Summit, Paterson,
Newark.
Ohio — Akron, Toledo, Cleveland, Cincinnati.
Oregon — Portland.
Pennsylvania — Philadelphia.
Rhode Island — Providence, Woonsocket, Pawtucket.
Vermont — Winooski.
Virginia — Richmond. Hopeville, City Point.
District of Columbia — Washington.
Washington — Seattle.
Wisconsin — Madison, Milwaukee, Kenosha, and Racine.

IMMIGRATION AND DISTRIBUTION 73
a shifting of population, and among the Ar
menians there has been a steady and growing
migration to California, where there are more
of them than in any other state. The largest
single Armenian colony is in New York City,
and the next largest is in Fresno, Cal., and then
follow Worcester, Boston, Philadelphia, Chi
cago, West Hoboken, Jersey City, Detroit,
Los Angeles, Troy and Cleveland.''

Chapter IV
CAUSES OF IMMIGRATION
IT was the presence of and contact with the
American missionaries in Turkey that
started the movement of Armenian emi
gration to the United States. Before Doctors
Goodell, Dwight and Schauffler of the Board
of Commissioners for Foreign Missions set
tled in Constantinople hi 1831, we have no
record of any Armenians coming to the United
States, except those who were in Virginia back
in the seventeenth century. In 1834 one of the
students of the Bible study class formed by
these missionaries at Bebek (a suburb of Con
stantinople) reached New York. From that
time up to 1874 the seventy or more who fol
lowed him to this country were in some way
connected with the newly established Protes
tant communities and schools of the American
missionaries. In the beginning they came
chiefly from Constantinople, but as soon as
the Americans extended their operations to
other cities such as Nicomedea (near Brousa),

CAUSES OF IMMIGRATION 75
Smyrna, Aintab, Adana, Marash, it soon re
sulted in stirring Armenians from these
places also towards the New World. Aside
from the fact that the going of the Americans
to the various cities in Turkey preceded the
coming of the Armenians ;from those cities to
the United States, there are also the reports,
publications and correspondence of the mis
sionaries in which one frequently meets with
the names of the early Armenians who came
to this coimtry.
Up to about 1880 there were so few Arme
nians in the United States that it has been
possible to prepare a more or less complete
list of their names. But when the Sultan be
gan to persecute the Huntchaggist, a so-called
revolutionary society, there was a decided in
crease, and while this increase was due to the
prevaihng political unrest that culminated in
the massacres of 1894, 1895 and 1896, stiU the
reason why those who fled chose the United
States as a place of refuge instead of France,
England or Switzerland is unquestionably
found in the influence of the American mis
sionaries. ~'
. Immigration of the Armenians to the

76 THE ARMENIANS IN AMERICA
United States, in the real sense of that phrase,
commenced immediately after the massacres.
During the preceding sixty years (1834-1894 ) ,
I believe a total of about four thousand Arme
nians had come to this country. But in 1895
over four thousand were admitted in one year,
and this number has since steadily gone up
ward, until it reached nearly eight thousand
for the fiscal year ending January 30, 1914,
Mr. Wilham Eleroy Curtis, the distinguished
correspondent of the Chicago Herald, writing
from Turkey under date of September 11,
1910, gives the following graphic account:
"The congregation of the American
Churches and especially the pupils of the mis
sionary schools, are usually reduced from 25
to 80 per cent every year by immigration to
the United States. Having leamed from
their teachers of the advantages and the oppor
tunities that exist across the water; having
acquired the English language and being able
to get good advices as to location and often
letters of introduction, they have decided ad
vantages over ordinary emigrants and for that
reason they make the best sort of citizens when
they reach their new home.

CAUSES OF IMMIGRATION 77
"A dozen missionaries have told me that the
brightest and most promising young men and
women in their district, and especially the best
teachers in their schools have emigrated. For
example, the church at Harpout had 3,107
members one year and 2,413 the next. The
balance had gone to America. One-fourth of
the congregation of the mission church at Biths
emigrated almost in a body last year. It would
be a great deal better for Turkey if these
people would stay at home and use the
knowledge and principles they have gained
in the regeneration of their country; but it
cannot be denied that they are among the most
valuable immigrants of all the aliens that go
to the United States."
Another incident contributed materially
towards increasing the volume of Armenian
immigration after the massacres. The cold
blooded murder of over 100,000 Christians
aroused the sympathy of the American pubhc
to such a degree that their kindness towards
Armenians already here and the welcome
the refugees received were unprecedented.
Churches, clubs, charitable societies vied with
one another to clothe and feed them and to find

78 THE ARMENIANS IN AMERICA
suitable homes and profitable employment for
them. The immigrants wrote home describing
the wonders of the New World and the gen
erosity of the American people. The effect of
these letters was dynamic. Friends, relatives
and neighbors, hearing of the luck of those who
had come here and having before them the
unsettled condition of their own country, de
cided at once to emigrate to the land of "gold
and honey."
There is stiU another cause. In 1908 Sultan
Abdul Hamid was dethroned and a Constitu
tional Monarchy established in Turkey. Be
fore this change took place Christians were
excluded from the army and a tax was imposed
on them in lieu of mihtary seryice. Under this
new law Christians were inducted into the
army. For obvious reasons the Armenians did
not look upon this with favor or pride and
therefore many young men of military age left
the country and came to America.
The causes of Armenian immigration from
Turkey to the United States may be summar
ized as follows : It was started through the in
fluence of the American missionaries. Subse
quently the inauguration of persecution by the

T

MR. PHILIP BENNYAN
HE distinguished baritone, as Rigoletto.

¦jj^H

^

.^^^H^^^'

<k H^^^^H

¦"¦'" <i.'^'

V sPIIH

H

0

MR. ARAM KAZANJIAN
F New York, the well-known photographer.

0

MR. POALO ANANIAN
F the Metropolitan Opera Company,
York.

New

0

MR. ARMEN SHAH-MOURADIAN
F New York is a noted tenor. He made his
debut in Faust at the Paris Opera House.

CAUSES OF IMMIGRATION 79
Sultan of Armenian leaders and the Arme
nians in general upon the pretense of suppress
ing a "revolution" added largely to the annual
number of those who were coming here. The
massacres of 1894-1895-1896 finally forced
thousands to seek the United States for safety.
The welcome and comparatively better and
brighter opportunities found in this country by
the refugees encouraged others to emigrate
also. In particular the young men came here
to escape military service, or to go to school
or to engage in some business. The young
women came principally to marry. There
were those, of course, who immigrated because
of the unsettled and unsafe political conditions
and general poverty in their native land. A
few have come to join friends and relatives, and
still others because it had become the "style"
in certain localities to go to America.

Chapter V
THE ARMENIANS IN INDUSTRIES
THE statistics I have tabulated from the
reports of the Commissioner of Immi
gration disclose certain valuable data
concerning the industrial character of the Ar
menians. They show that among these people
the percentage of skilled laborers and profes
sional men is greater than among any other
race of immigrants coming from Southeastern
Europe and the Ottoman possessions in Asia.
Since 1899, 55,057 Armenians have been ad
mitted into the United States. Of these, 14,020
were skilled workmen representing forty-nine
kinds of trades ; 1,281 were farmers ; 782 were
professional men, teachers, lawyers, doctors,
clergymen, engineers, artists and writers, and
1,161 were merchants, manufacturers, bankers
and agents. The next table presents more
forcibly the relative superiority of the Arme
nians in this respect when compared with other
so-called newer immigrant peoples.

THE ARMENIANS IN INDUSTRIES

81

Profea sional

Skilled
Laborers

Farm
Laborers

Laborers

In other
Occupations

Armenians

2.3

39.5

23.5

17.8

17.1

Bulgarians

.1

3.3

47.7

44.3

4.6

Greeks

.3

7.7

19.4

66.8

6.8

Irish

1.3

12.6

4.6

30.6

50.9

Polish

.2

6.3

30.6

44.8

I8.I

Roimianians

.2

2.7

59.4

34.4

3.3

Syrians

1.2

22.7

29.7

21.1

26.3

Reports of the Immigration Commission Statistical
Review, Vol. Ill, page 96.

OCCUPATIONS OF 55,057 ARMENIAN IMMI
GRANTS WHEN ADMITTED INTO THE
UNITED STATES

(1899-1917)

PROFESSIOXAL
Actors
18
Musicians
17
Architects
17
OflBcials (Government)
7
Clergy
107
Physicians
35
Editors
20
Sculptors & Artists
32
Electricians
17
Teachers
334
Engineers
42
Others
84
Lawyers
12
Literary persons
40
Total
782
SKILLED
Bakers
445
Cigarette makers
3
Barbers
718
Cigar makers
3
Blacksmiths
720
Cigar packers
1
Bookbinders
22
Clerks & Accountants
423
Brewers
I
Dressmakers
120
Butchers
205
Engineers
71
Cabinetmakers
20
Engravers
11
Carpenters
I4I9
Furriers
11
82

THE ARMENIANS IN AMERICA

Gardeners 80
Halters 5
Iron & Steel Workers 474
Jewelers 195
Locksmiths . 72
Machinists 110
Mariners 47
Masons 254
Mechanics (not speci
fied) III
Metalworkers 176
Millers 25
Milliners 10
Miners 28
Painters & Glaziers 141
Photographers 68
Plasterers 6

Saddlers & Harness
makers 35
Seamstresses 211
Shoemakers 3594
Stokers 52
Stonecutters 43
Tailors 2267
Tanners 106
Textile makers 35
Tinners 149
Tobacco 60
Upholsterers 20
Watchmakers 96
Weavers 960
Wheelwrights 3
Woodworkers 16
Other skilled 337

X luuiucrs
Printers

62

Total

14,026

MISCELLANEOUS

Agents

28

Manufacturers

8

Bankers

9

Merchants

1,117

Drymen

18

Servants

3,386

Farm laborers

10,697

Others

416

Farmers

1,281 17

Hotel keepers
Laborers
10,829
Total
27,806
No Occupation
Women & Children
12,443
Grand TotaP
55,057
Even though the Armenians come here well
equipped for industrial purposes, still the
1 Compiled from the annual reports of the Commissioner of Immigration.
THE ARMENIANS IN INDUSTRIES 83
task of finding suitable employment under
the conditions existing in the United States is
beset with many difficulties and hardships.
The skill and experience many possess in some
particular trade or handicraft is not usually an
asset in earning a livelihood here. In the old
country all commodities, if not imported from
England, France, Germany and America, are
made by hand, while here in America practi
cally every article in daily use is produced by
machinery with which the Armenians are
absolutely unfamiliar. They are further
handicapped because they are regarded as
"foreigners," many are excluded from Trade
Unions, and their ignorance of the English
language as well as of the customs of the
country so unlike those to which they had been
accustomed for centuries, aggravates the dif
ficulties they are bound to encounter. On the
other hand those who have a small capital dare
not start a business of their own, as they might
have done in their native land, on account of
the serious competition and disadvantages
they must face. The educated and the pro
fessional class also discover that their learning
is not only a drop in a bucket but far inferior

84 THE ARMENIANS IN AMERICA
to the standard required here. Thus with rare
exceptions all Armenian immigrants are
obliged to commence life in the New World
by undertaking some sort of manual labor.
Whatever success they attain in future years
is due purely to their native ambition and in
telligence. We have seen in a preceding chapter that
while Armenians have settled in nearly every
state in the Union, still ninety per cent of them
are located in New York, Massachusetts,
Rhode Island, Connecticut, Pennsylvania,
Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and Califomia.
It is therefore to them that we must turn our
attention. In the New England States, in Boston,
Lynn, Lowell, Haverhill, Brockton, Salem,
Peabody, Nashua, Springfield, Worcester,
Whitinsville, Hartford, Providence, Woon
socket, etc., they work in the shoe factories, in
the iron foundries, in the machine shops, and
in the woolen mills. Almost the entire colony
in Troy is engaged in the shirt and collar in
dustry. In Paterson and West Hoboken,
N. J., they are employed in the silk mills. It
is difficult to say what is their principal occu-

THE ARMENIANS IN INDUSTRIES 85
pation in New York City. Some are in the
oriental rug repairing trade, others work in
mercantile houses, many are waiters in the
best hotels and restaurants; the Pennsyl
vania Railroad Company uses a large num
ber as porters, and a still larger number
of them are scattered in hundreds of
other occupations so abundant in such
a city as New York. Throughout Pennsyl
vania Armenians have been found not only in
the mills and factories in Philadelphia, but also
in the bituminous coal mines. In the cities of
the middle west such as Cleveland, Akron,
Grand Rapids, St. Louis, East St. Louis,
Chicago, they work in the great iron and steel
shops, in the automobile and furniture manu
facturing establishments and in the slaughter
houses. ^
The Armenian workmen in these industries
have rightfully earned the reputation of being
among the most industrious in our heteroge
neous la?5oring population. Years of oppres
sion and struggle for existence against untold
economic barriers have made them accustomed
to hard work. Temperance is the prevailing
habit among them because beer, whiskey and

86 THE ARMENIANS IN AMERICA
other forms of expensive intoxicating liquors
are unknown in Armenia. Moreover, every
Armenian immigrant has some dependent to
support, such as a father, mother, sister or wife
and children. All these things add to their
efficiency as laborers and explain the reason
why they stand foremost in their capacity to
earn comparatively high wages. The Immi
gration Commission reports^ that in the manu
facturing industries the average weekly earn
ings of an Armenian is $9.73; of a Greek,
$8.41; of a Syrian, $8.12. The table below
shows by races the annual average income of
workmen.
Armenians $454 Roumanians $402
Bulgarians 265 Russians 400
Greeks 300 Servians 212
Lithuanians 454 Slovak 442
Magyar 396 Syrians 370
Polish 428 Turks 281
The average annual income of an Armenian
family composed of wage-earners was found
to be $730; that of a Greek family, $632; a
Hebrew family, $685; North Itahan, $657;
South Itahan, $569; Servian, $462; Lithua-
2 Reports of the Iramigration Commission. Abstract of Reports Vol. I,
pages 367, 375, 407 and 412. These figures relate to conditions prior to
the war.

THE ARMENIANS IN INDUSTRIES 87
nian, $636; Polish, $595; Russian, $494;
Ruthenian, $569; Slovak, $582, and Syrian,
$594. Next in importance to the Armenians work
ing in the manufacturing and mining indus
tries in the eastern states, there are the Arme
nian farmers in California. The Immigration
Commission made a special study of the colony
in Fresno which deserves to be quoted.
"The Settlement and Progeess of the
Armenian Farmers^
"More interest attaches to the immigration,
activities and progress of the Armenian
farmers than those of any other race, save the
Japanese, found ia Fresno County. The
extent of their holdings and the place they
occupy in the agricultural industries have
already been noted and do not call for further
comment ia this place.
"The Armenians about Fresno differ from
other immigrants found there in that they have
not been drawn from agricultural classes to
3 Reports of the Immigration Commission. Immigrants in Industries,
Part 25, Vol. II, page 633.

88 THE ARMENIANS IN AMERICA
any great extent, nor have they been drawn
from the class of common laborers. These
classes have been oppressed in their native land
but have generally been able to emigrate.
The emigrants have been for the greater part
merchants, commission men, craftsmen, small
shopkeepers, shoemakers, silk weavers, dyers,
coppersmiths, and men of that type ifave been
most numerous who in their native land com
bined handicraft manufacture and small shop-
keeping, a system still prevalent in Armenia.
"These Armenians brought with them any
wealth they had accumulated. In some cases
this was sufficient to constitute a working capi
tal and enable them to start in business. In
the majority of cases, however, they came with
little or nothing. Such immigrants usually
found employment in shoe factories in Massa
chusetts, in silk mills in New Jersey, or in iron
and steel mills. Those who migrated directly
to Fresno found employment in the packing
houses and as farm laborers for the most part.
But such persons were exceptional. The vast
majority migrated to Fresno after spending
years in Armenian colonies in the eastern in
dustrial centers. However, they sooner or

THE ARMENIANS IN INDUSTRIES 89
later desired to leave the factory life which was
undermining their physique. Those who
moved West were attracted to the new Ar
menian colony which enjoyed favorable climate
and good opportunities. Many of them, like
the Danes, purchased land and at once became
independent farmers upon setthng in the new
community. The Armenians have, in fact,
shown a desire for land not less strong than
that of the Japanese. Being ambitious, dis-
hking the wage relation, and being compelled
to stand apart as a race, they have had as their
goal the establishment of a business or inde
pendent farming. Furthermore, hke the Jap
anese, they are quite willing to take great risk
where profit may be made.
"In 1900 the number of tenant farmers in
Fresno County was very large. White men
had the tenure of 3,214 farms. Of these 436
were leased for a share of the crop and 294 for
a cash rental. A considerable number of these
tenants were no doubt Armenians who had
begun to farm on their own account and who
then leased a larger percentage of the land they
farmed than they do now. In some cases this
was a stepping-stone to the purchasing of

90 THE ARMENIANS IN AMERICA
farms. But at present the Armenians rank
next to the Japanese as leasing farmers.
Much of the land leased, however, is in
addition to farms owned and cultivated by
them. "The Armenians have invested much of their
savings in various enterprises in the City of
Fresno. More of them have been invested in
farm lands, however. They have been so de
sirous to purchase, in fact, that they have at
times bid up prices beyond what the land was
really worth as a means of making a living and
accumulating property. This fact and the
further fact that they have usually bought soils
good for viticulture, and frequently if not
generally, with bearing vines, explain the fact
that the Armenians have paid a higher price
per acre for the farms purchased by them than
any other race investigated. For 16 farms
they paid from $39.38 to $300 per acre, the
average price being $179.94.
"The Armenians, like other races about
Fresno, have usually paid cash in part and
have given a mortgage on the land for the
larger part of the purchase price. Taking 16
of the farms investigated as typical . . . the

THE ARMENIANS IN INDUSTRIES 91
total of the purchase price of $143,950. . . .
Of this $52,150 was paid in cash, $91,800 cov
ered by mortgage. In one instance the full
amount was paid in cash. At the other ex
treme $200 was paid on a purchase price of
$4,500. Thus most of the Armenian farmers
have begun independent farming deeply in
debt. "All members of the Armenian family work
on the ranch. They economize and save care
fully. Some add to the profits of the farms
the earnings obtained in packing houses or
near-by ranches. Yet such labor is not general.
Little of the surplus made is sent abroad ; little
is used to improve their houses. On the con
trary, the savings are used to pay off mortgage
indebtedness, or to buy more land, or is sunk
in improvements in the land. They are most
successful in developing farms, making money,
and paying off mortgage indebtedness.
"By working hard, by living frugally, and by
good management, the Armenians have usu
ally succeeded better than any other race in
accumulating property. Not even the Japa
nese about Fresno have succeeded as well as
they. The 16 farmers who reported complete

92 THE AEMENIANS IN AMERICA
data (and they are believed to be typical of
the land-owing Armenians of the country)
had properties with a gross value of about
$300,000, The value of the real estate was
estimated at $246,150, against which there was
mortgage indebtedness aggregating $79,825,
or roughly one-third of the somewhat exag
gerated estimate values.* They have few
other debts, however, so that the net value of
their property was $185,337.33 or an average
of $11,587 per farmer. Of the 17, four had
property valued at less than $5,000 (net) , 5 at
between $5,000 and $10,000, 5 between $10,000
and $25,000; 2 more than $25,000, while one
did not report the exact amount. Settling
in the immediate localities and purchasing land
at various dates, beginning with 1900, in 1908
4 The following account is given in another part of the Reports of the
Immigration Commission:
"Tfte Armenian Farmers, The chief Armenian colony In the West is
in Fresno County, Cal. The members of this race have been settling here
for twenty-five yeara, and including the native-bom element, now number
more than 4,000. About one half live in Fresno, the others in the coimtry,
where the majority are tenant or land-owning farmers. Ambitious and
disliking the wage relation, they usually quickly establish themselves in
business or as farmers. At present it is estimated that they have the
tenure of possibly 25,000 acres of land, at least_ three-fifths of which they
own. They have usually purchased or leased vineyards and orchards. It
is estimated that they control between 16,000 and 20,000 acres, or
roughly one-sixth of the acreage devoted to the production of raisin grapes.
They grow some fruit, and from 5 to 10 per cent of the watermelons shipped
from the county. They have shown an even greater ambition to secure
land than have the Japanese, and have frequently * bid up ' the price of
land in order to secure possessions of desirable farms. They are very
industrious, and by business shrewdness, — economy, have made rapid
process in the accumulation of wealth." Reports of Immigration Com
mission, Fart 25, Vol. 2, Immigrants in Industries, page 296-7.

THE ARMENIANS IN INDUSTRIES 93
the selected farmers had between three and
four times as much property as tbey had at the
time of their settlement."
Since this report was made the Armenians
have more than tripled their holdings in Cali
fornia. Besides the workingmen in the mills
and factories, and those engaged in agricul
tural pursuits, there is a third important class
of Armenians, viz., the small tradesmen. In
all Armenian centers there are the grocers,
tailors and shoemakers. It is reported that in
the City of New York there are over 500 re
pairing and tailor shops, about an equal num
ber of shoe-repairing stores (shoe-shining
"parlors" are conducted ahnost exclusively by
the Greeks) , and over 500 grocers. The same
situation is true in other cities where Arme
nians have settled in large numbers. There
are, of course, scores of clothiers, jewelers,
barbers, restaurant keepers, etc.
I have pointed out in another part of this
book that ninety per cent of the Armenians in
the United States to-day have come here within
the last twenty-five years. They have not,
therefore, had sufficient time to undertake

94 THE ARMENIANS IN AMERICA
great business enterprises. But what individ
uals have accomplished in the line of commerce
and manufacture is really worthy of mention.
Armenians have commenced to enter the
clothing manufacturing business. There are
Armenians engaged in making candies, in the
printing business, in manufacturing jewelry,
machinery, tools, shoes and in the cleaning and
dyeing business and in laundry work. Some
of the best photo-engraving establishments in
New York City are conducted by Armenians.
Zoolak, Matzoon, Fermilac and other forms
of fermented milk called under different names
was first introduced in the United States by
Armenians. Armenians are also interested in
the manufacture of silk goods, machine-made
embroideries and carpets. There are a con
siderable number engaged in the export and
import business.
The oriental rug business has attracted the
attention of many Armenians. A half dozen
Armenian merchants in New York City im
port annually into the United States nearly
seventy per cent of these carpets into this
country. Although some Greek and American
capital has been invested in recent years in this

THE ARMENIANS IN INDUSTRIES 96
business, still the Armenians are the leaders.
They have factories in New Jersey where the
rugs are washed so as to subdue their original
brilliant color and thus make them marketable
in America. They are the best buyers in the
Eastern markets because they know and under
stand how to deal with the natives there.
Beside the large Armenian importing houses,
there are the small retail traders in nearly every
city of importance throughout the country.
These concerns usually purchase from the im
porters a stock of rugs either for cash or on
consignment and sell them to the public. The
reputation of some of these smaller oriental
carpet or rug dealers has suffered, I think,
unjustly. An oriental rug is a work of art;
it is like a painting. Its value depends not so
much upon what it originally cost the buyer,
but more upon its value to the purchaser. One
buys a rug for a certain price, say $250, and
subsequently shows it to some one who says it
is worth $200 — that is the value of the article
to him; but the purchaser thinks he has been
deceived. There are also Armenians in the professions.
I believe there are in this country over one

96 THE ARMENIANS IN AMERICA
hundred Armenian Protestant clergymen and
at least fifty of these preach in English to
American congregations. The number of
Armenian doctors and dentists in the United
States exceeds two hundred and a large num
ber of them have a good American practice,
in fact the very best of these doctors and
dentists do not have many clients among the
Armenians. Armenian lawyers now in active
practice number about fifteen. These are
located in New York, Boston, Providence,
Philadelphia, Jersey City, Los Angeles and
Fresno. Two or three of them have succeeded
in building up a lucrative practice among
American or non- Armenian clients. There
are a great many engineers, chemists and
architects. There are about eight Armenian
professors and instructors in American col
leges and universities. The Professor of Oral
Military Surgery at the Harvard Dental
School, one of the Associate Professors of
Organic Chemistry at Lehigh, an Assistant
Professor of Physics at the University of
Pennsylvania, the assistant Librarian and
Lecturer on oriental languages at the Hart
ford Theological School, an instructor of

THE ARMENIANS IN INDUSTRIES 97
chemistry at Yale, an instructor in the medical
school of the University of Michigan, are
Armenians. Two of the most noted photog
raphers in the United States are Armenians.
There are well-known Armenian painters and
sculptors in New York, Chicago and San
Francisco. There are Armenians on the stage
and distinguished operatic singers, one of
whom often appears at the Metropolitan
Opera House in New York.
Mr. Arshag Mahdesian, the editor of Netso
Armenia, has fumished me with the following
interesting memorandum relative to Arme
nians who have won distinction in America.
"The Armenians have not been less prom
inent in the United States: witness the late
Governor Thomas Corwin,^ of Ohio, also at one
time Secretary of the United States Treasury;
the late Dr. Mihran K. Kassabian, the distin
guished scientist of Philadelphia, and one of
the foremost Roentgen rays investigators in
the world; Dr. Menas Gregory, the eminent
psychiatrist of Bellevue Hospital, New York ;
Mooshegh Vaygouny, a graduate of the Uni
versity of California, who developed a syn-
5 With reference to Governor Thomas Corwin see "Diversions of a Dip
lomat in Turkey," by Samuel Cox, page 182.

98 THE ARMENIANS IN AMERICA
thetic method of converting grape sugar into
tartaric acid; Mugurdich Garo, the famous
photographer of Boston, unquestionably one
of the greatest in America, who originated the
Garographj M. Mangassarian, of Chicago, the
eloquent exponent of liberal thought in Amer
ica; Haig Patigian, the distinguished San
Francisco sculptor, who was awarded the prize
for executing a monument to commemorate
the rebuilding of San Francisco ; and Dr. Sero-
pyan, the inventor of the green color of the
American paper dollar. Even the first Amer
ican soldier to land at Manila, in the Spanish-
American war, was an Armenian, according
to Nessib Behar, Managing Director of the
National Liberal Immigration League."

Chapter VI
RELIGION AND EDUCATION
THE Armenians in the United States
have brought with them their religious
institutions. These institutions fall into
two principal groups, namely, the Armenian
Apostolic Church, often spoken of as the
Church of Armenia or the Gregorian Church,
and the Armenian Evangelical (Protestant)
Church. The latter in turn is divided into
Congregational and Presbyterian denomina
tions, with the Congregationalists in the
majority. It is estimated that about eighty
per cent of the Armenians in this country be
long to the Church of Armenia, about fifteen
per cent are adherents of the Protestant
churches and the rest compose the Cathohc and
other sects. These figures are not authentic
as no statistics are available to verify them, but
they are confirmed by the opinion of well-
informed Armenian clergymen.
It has been noted that the Armenian immi
grants have congregated in certain industrial
centers along the Atlantic coast, around the

100 THE ARMENIANS IN AMERICA
Great Lakes and on the Pacific. In all these
centers the Armenian Gregorian and the
Protestant communities each have their sepa
rate churches. For example, in Boston,
Worcester,"^ Lawrence, Lowell, Providence,
Troy, New York, Hoboken, Philadelphia,
Chicago, Los Angeles, Fresno, Fowler,
Parlier and Yettem (Cal.), there is a Gre
gorian as well as a Protestant Church and
with two or three exceptions the church build
ings in all these cities are ovnied by their
respective congregations. A large number of
smaller and less prosperous communities have
missions and still smaller outlying districts are
visited from time to time by Armenian pastors
and rectors.^
1 The first Armenian Apostolic Church and the first Armenian Protestant
Church were built in Worcester, Mass.
2 Rev. Mihron T. Kalaidjian, Secretary of the Armenian Missionary
Association of America, haa given me the following memorandtmi:
" The Protestant Armenian churches, a great majority of which are
Congregational, are governed according to the polity and principles of the
Congregational church, and at the same time are enjoying the oenevolent
care of the home missionary secretaries and societies. However, among
these churches there are two organized bodies for the purpose of fellowship
and mutual help and inspiration. One is the Armenian Evangelical Al
liance of America, which takes in all of the Eastern and Middle Western
States. At present it is composed of ten regularly organized churches and
fourteen missions. Of these, one church and three missions are Presby
terian, one church is independent and the rest are Congregational. The
other organization is the Armenian EvangeUcal Alliance of California,
comprising six regularly organized churches and several missions. Two of
theae churches are Presbyterian and the rest Congregational. Five of these
churches have their own houses of worship, and in this reapect the Ar
menian churches of California are very fortunate. We see from the fore
going that the organized evangelical forces among the Arra.eniana in this
country consist altogether of fifteen churches and about twenty missions.
The number of Gregorian churches in this country is fifteen, and occasional
church services are held by visiting priests."

MR. GARABED H. PAELIAN
IS an Automatic Telephone En
gineer. He received his degrees
from Oberlin and Worcester
Polytechnic Institute.

MR. ARMEN H. TASHJIAN
IS consulting engineer for 14
concrete ships now being con
structed by the War Depart
ment. He graduated from Massa
chusetts Institute of Technology.

MR. JOHN BOYAJOHN
IS one of the structural engineers
of the American International
Shipbuilding Corporation at
Hog Island. H^^is a Cornell man.

MR. EDWARD V. BARON
ANOTHER Cornell man of the
class of 1910, is an engineer
in the reclamation eervice of
the United States Governinent.

MR. GEORGE S. KEBABIAN
OF New York, was the first
Armenian admitted to the
Bar in this country. He is
a, Yale man.

MR. VAHAN CARDASHIAN
OF New York, also a Yale grad
uate, is a lawyer and the well-
known Director of the Ar
menian Press Bureau.

1

1

'€Bl '•BS^ \ 1

¦

MR. JACOB K. TERZAG
IS a lawyer in BostoK. Before
coming to the United States
he served in the American
Consulate at Harpout.

MR. JOHN OUZOUNIAN
GRADUATED from the Law
School of Temple University,
and practices in Philadelphia.

RELIGION AND EDUCATION 101
Some of the peculiarly local features of
these immigrant churches will naturally in
terest a great many readers and I mention
them here casually. Services of course are
conducted in the Armenian language. For a
few Armenians who come from Adana and
Csesarea, and speak Turkish only, a special
mission (Protestant) has been organized in
Boston, and in other cities the Armenian
Protestant churches hold services once a month
or less often, in the Turkish language. Each
church, whether Gregorian or Evangelical,
elects by popular vote its trustees or deacons,
as well as its rector or pastor as the case may
be. Each Gregorian community pays the ex
penses of its church, but the Protestant
churches receive substantial financial assistance
from the State Home Missionary Societies and
that is one reason why the Protestants, al
though constituting only fifteen per cent of the
Armenian population in the United States,
still have as many well organized churches as
the Gregorians with their far larger member
ship. Some of the Armenian Apostolic
Churches conduct a parochial school where
children are taught their mother tongue, but

102 THE ARMENIANS IN AMERICA
these are rather poorly attended. Moreover,
the Gregorian churches are under the authority
and guidance of a Prelate,^ who is elected by
the members through a representative assem
bly. The Prelate is the recipient of consider
able prestige and power. He is the supreme
head of the Armenian Apostolic Church in
America. The Armenian people have always been
warm supporters of religion in general and
their venerable church in particular. But here
in the United States they manifest an apparent
lack of interest. In this respect it is only fair
to say that the Protestant churches are better
attended. That is probably due to the fact
that the pastors of the Protestant churches are
better educated. Every one of them is a grad
uate of an American college and speaks Eng
lish fluently. They have superior facilities for
organization. Their sermons are well pre
pared and they have succeeded in making their
churches centers of considerable religious and
civic activities. On the other hand there are
3 The following have been the Prelates of the Armenian Apostolic Church
in the United States, Hovsep V. Sarajanyan 1899, Makhakia (Vartabed)
Deroonian 1894, Maalitotz (Vartabed) Papazian 1897, Sarajyan (Yebisgobos)
1898, Moushed (Yebisgobos) Seropian 1911, Arsen (Vartabed) Vahooni, and
the present incumbent is Shahen (Vartabed) Kasparian. The official resi
dence of the Prelate is at "Worcester, Mass.

RELIGION AND EDUCATION 103
only two or three of the higher clergy of the
Gregorian Church in this country, and the
Derders (parish rectors) , with few exceptions,
are not as well educated as the pastors of
Protestant churche§. These Derders come
here at an advanced age and never seem to
grasp the changes that have taken place in
the temper, outlook and demands of the
Armenian immigrants, and so adapt them
selves and the churches to meet these changes.
The people love their church, but cannot
endure the long services, poor sermons and
"church troubles" resulting from bad man
agement and organization. They will pay
their annual dues and if need be more; they
will rally around their church when something
threatens it, but will not attend services except
on special occasion such as Christmas and
Easter. The younger members of both Gre
gorian and Protestant families take little in
terest in their native ecclesiastical institutions.
I believe more Armenians, both young and old,
go to American churches than to their own.

104 the armenians in america^
Education
There are fewer illiterates among the Arme
nians than among any of the other so-called
newer immigrant races. This remarkable fact
— I call it remarkable because the Armenians
have had no government of their own for five
hundred years and any attempt they have made
for advancement has been suppressed by the
Sultans— is disclosed by the statistics of the
United States Government. Of all the Ar
menians, men, women and children admitted
into this country between 1899-1910, only 23.9
per cent could not read or write. The percent
age of illiterates of other races of immigrants
for the same period is as follows:* Bulgarian,
41.7; Greeks, 26.4; Hebrews, 26.0; Rou
manians, 35.0 ; Southern Italians, 53.9 ; Polish,
35.4; Portuguese, 68.2; Russians, 38.4, and
Syrians, 53.3. A few years ago the Immigra
tion Commission made an exhaustive study of
500,329 workmen employed in a large number
of manufacturing and mining industries all
over the United States in which there were
representatives of over two dozen races. This
4 Report of the Immigration Commission. Abstract of Reports, Vol. I,
page 99.

RELIGION AND EDUCATION 105
investigation shows that among the Armenian
laborers 92.1 per cent could read and 90.5
could read and write; among the Bulgarians
78.1 per cent could read and 76.8 could read
and write; among the Greeks 80.5 per cent
could read and 79.5 per cent could read and
write; among the Syrians 63.6 per cent could
read and 62.0 per cent could read and write.^
Certain classes of immigrants are well repre
sented in California and the data collected
there by the Immigration Commission on the
subject of literacy is, therefore, quite com
plete. The Commission reports that "The Ar
menians, Germans and North Italians each
show more than 95 per cent literates, or
somewhat more than the average among
the foreign bom (91.4 per cent)."® Among
the farm laborers the report states that
"of the other numerically important races,
the percentages of those who can read
and write their native languages are
as follows: North Italians, 95 per cent;
Armenians, 94.7 per cent; Greeks, 91.9 per
cent; Germans, 87 per cent; Chinese, 84.6
5 Reports of the Immigration Commission, Abstracts of Reports, Vol. I,
pages 438-442.
6 Reports of the Immigration Commission Immigrants m Industries.
Part 25, Vol. 2, page 69.

106

THE ARMENIANS IN AMERICA

per cent ; South Itahans, 66.3 per cent ; Mexi
cans, 50.5 per cent; East Indians, 44.9 per
cent; and Portuguese, 41.4 per cent." ^
Among the females, "those having the largest
percentages of literates were the Armenians
with 84.9 per cent ; the Germans, 75.3 per cent
and the Japanese, 73.1 per cent." ^

OLD AND NEW IMMIGRANTS COMPARED
WITH RESPECT TO ABILITY TO READ ^

OLD

IMMIGRANTS

NEW IMMIGRANTS

Percentage able to read

Percentage

able to read

Canadian
(French)
88.1
Armenian
92.1
Canadian
(others)
98.9
Bulgarian
78.1
Dutch
97.6
Greek
80.5
English
98.8
Lithuanian
77.3
German
98.0
Polish
79.9
Irish
95.8
Portuguese
47.5
Scotch
99.5
Roumanians
82.6
S.wedish
99.8
Russian
74.5
Welsh
98.1
ServianSyrian
71.363.6
With reference to ability to speak English
among the farm laborers in California, and
employees in the boot and shoe factories in the
eastern cities, the Armenians were found to be
ahead of other races. For instance, in Cali-
7 Reports of the Immigration Commission. Immigrants in Industries.
Part 25, Vol. II, page 65.
8 Ibid., page 70.
9 Ibid. Abstracts of Reports. Vol.1, page'443.
RELIGION AND EDUCATION 107
fornia 64.9 per cent of those examined could
speak English, while the percentage among
other races was as follows: Greeks, 59.5 per
cent; Germans, 43.5 per cent; South Italians,
40 per cent; North Italians, 22.6 per cent; and
Mexicans, 21.7 per cent. The Armenian
workmen in the boot and shoe industries
showed even a greater percentage of those able
to speak English with 82.9 per cent; Greeks,
65.5 per cent and Polish, 50.6 per cent.^"
I believe it was J. Gordon Browne who once'~
said that "The Armenian passion for education
is astonishing. There is probably no people
in the world who will make such sacrifice for
this object." Here in America there is con
crete illustration of the foregoing opinion. I
have yet to meet Armenian parents, who, no
matter how poor and ignorant they may be,
do not regard the education of their children
of the utmost importance. In 1909 there were
1,031 Armenians in the pubhc schools of 37
American cities." Unfortunately Hoboken,
10 Reports of the Immigration Commission. Part 25, Vol. 2, page 58;
also Part 8-10, page 439.
11 Number of Armenian pupils in the public sohools ot 37 cities (1908-
1909): Boston 133, Chelsea 28, Chicago 15, Cincinnati 2, Cleveland 3,
Detroit 4, Fall River 2, Haverhill 20. Los Angeles 37, Lowell 29, Lynn 63,
Manchester 2, Milwaukee 2, Newark 9, New Bedford 3, New Britain 38,
New York 190, Philadelphia 74, Pittsburg 2, Providence 153, St. Louis 9,
San Francisco 3, Scranton 1, Worcester 197, Yonkers 12. — From the Reports
of the Immigration Commission on Immigrants in the schools.

108 THE ARMENIANS IN AMERICA
N. J., and Fresno, Cal., where the Armenian
colonies are very large, are not included in
these cities. The table below shows the num
ber of immigrants in the United States by race
in 1910, the total number of children of each
race in the public schools of 37 cities and the
number of students in colleges and universities.
I call the reader's special attention to the re
markable showing of the Armenians."

Approximate
number in the
U. S. 1910

Number of pupils
in public schools
of 37 cities 1908-9

Number of students
in colleges and
universities 1908-9

Armenians

26,498

1,031

29

Bulgarians

97,391

504

10

Croatians

335,543

497

1

Greeks

216,962

1,002

13

Roumanians

82,704

1,265

9

Ruthenians

147,375

511

7

Syrians

56,909

1,281

17

The report of the Armenian Students' Asso
ciation for the year 1916 shows over 250 stu
dents enrolled in the leading colleges and
universities in the United States. While the
Greek, Bulgarian, Servian, Roumanian and
Syrian populations in America outnumber
the Armenians by many thousands, still none
12 Reports of the Immigration Commiasion, Abstracts of Reports. Vol. 2,
pages 10-16.

REV. M. H. KNADJIAN
IS the pastor of the First Armenian Presby
terian Church of Fresno, California.

THE FIRST ARMENIAN PRESBYTERIAN
CHURCH, FRESNO, CALIFORNIA

MR. DIRADOUR A. DIKIJIAN
IS the general secretary of the Armenian Gen
eral Benevolent Union in the United States.
He received his Ph. D. from Chicago tfni-
versity.

REV. A. A. BEDIKIAN
MR. BEDIKIAN is the pastor of the Ar
menian Protestant Church in New York
City. He was formerly an instructor at
Robert College, Constantinople.

RELIGION AND EDUCATION 109
of them have anywhere near as many students
in the higher institutions of learning as the
Armenians. Yale, Harvard, University of
California, Chicago, Wisconsin, Michigan,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
Valparaiso, Columbia, Brown and Amherst
are the principal colleges and universities that
attract these young men and a few young
women. Medicine seems to be their favorite
profession. Architecture, chemistry, law,
pedagogics, electrical engineering, agriculture,
theology, mining, political economy, philos
ophy, dentistry, pharmacy and forestry follow
in the order named. As a general rule most of
the Armenian students in these universities
work their way through. A few receive as
sistance from "home" or from relatives, but
ninety per cent of them depend upon their own
earnings. They wait on table, clean labora
tories, work in kitchens, wash windows, clean
house, work in stores and undertake all sorts
of jobs. They are a hard working lot of boys
and are liked by their fellow students and mem
bers of the faculty. Their struggle for an edu
cation wins the admiration of all those who
come in contact with them. They are success-

110 THE ARMENIANS IN AMERICA
ful competitors for scholarships and prizes. As
a whole, the Armenian students in our Amer
ican colleges and universities are a credit to
their nation.
NUMBER OF ARMENIAN STUDENTS IN
AMERICAN COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES
IN 1916
I Academy of Music (N. Y.) I
2 Albany College 1
3 Amherst CoUege 2
4 Art School (N. Y.) 1
5 Auburn Theological Seminary I
6 Bible Teachers' School 4
7 Boston University 1
8 Bridgewater Normal School 4
9 Brown University 1
10 Chicago Art Institute 2
II Chicago Medical School 1
12 Chicago Dental School 3
13 Chicago Musical College I
14 Chicago University 3
15 College of Pharmacy (Boston) 3
16 College of Physicians and Surgeons 4
17 Columbia University 16
18 Connecticut Nurses' Training School 2
19 Cornell University 4
20 Drexel Institute I
21 Dewitt Clinton 1
22 Episcopal Theological School I
23 Hartford Theological Seminary 2
24 Harvard University 14
26 Jefferson Medical 1
26 Lehigh University I

RELIGION AND EDUCATION 111

27 L. A. Normal (Cal.)

2

28 Massachusetts Institute of Technology

12

29 McCormick Theological School

1

30 Michigan University

II

31 Minnesota State College

1

32 Moody Institute

2

33 National University

3

34 Nazarine University

1

35 New England Conservatory of Music

2

36 New Hampshire Agr. College

1

37 New York University

3

38 New York Law School

2

39 Neft College

1

40 Northwestern University

4

41 Oberlin College

I

42 Ohio Northern University

1

43 Ohio State University

9

44 Oklahoma College

I

45 Pacific Medical College

1

46 Philadelphia Dental

I

47 Philadelphia Fine Arts

1

48 Pratt Institute

3

49 Princeton University

1

50 Rensselaer Polytechnic

2

51 Rhode Island CoUege of Pharmacy

I

62 Rhode Island School of Design

1

63 Rutgers CoUege

1

54 Swarthmore College

1

65 Simmons CoUege

1

66 Syracuse University

I

67 Temple CoUege

7

68 Trenton Normal School

I

69 Tufts Dental CoUege

6

60 Union College (Neb.)

1

61 Union Seminary

2

62 Union University

1

112 THE ARMENIANS IN AMERICA
63 University of CaUfornia 22
64 Umversity of Georgia 1
66 University of Illinois 6
66 University of Iowa 1
67 University of Pennsylvama 6
68 University of Vermont 1
69 University of Wisconsin 2
70 Valparaiso University 2
71 Virginia Polytechnic 1
72 Westchester Normal 1
73 Worcester Polytechnic 5
74 Worcester Art School 1
75 Yale University 20

Total 234
The above table was compiled principaUy from a re
port of the Armenian Students' Association (1916).
Unfortunately the list is not complete. My personal in
vestigation of the number of Armenian students in the
public schools, and in CoUeges, Universities and other in
stitutions of learning is not, I regret to say, ready for
publication at this time. I can state, however, that no
other class of immigrants in the United States have taken
greater advantage of the educational facilities and
opportunities in this country than the Armemans.

uM

.-j^BKSia,.,

_^^X^3

Ul

k_

fc

rni

irit'

^z^"^ * I^^^^Hs^^l^^^BH

 ^^^ ¦ - ¦f-rr-m-'^' ¦  ~  .^^  1

0

THE HOLY TRINITY CHURCH
F Fresno, Califomia, was built in 1904 by the members of the Church
ot Armenia.

THE CHURCH OF SAINT SAHAG AND MESROB
[N Philadelphia was completed recently.

w

BISHOP PAPKEN GULESSERIAN
HO is now in the United States, is one of
the prominent clergymen of the Church
of Armenia.

I

SHAHEN VARTABED KASPARIAN
S the Prelate pro tem of the Church of Armenia in
this country. ,

Chapter VII
ASSOCIATIONS, PARTIES AND
THE PRESS
THE numerous societies, clubs and asso
ciations maintained by the Armenians
in the United States are, in most in
stances, educational and philanthropic. In
every colony there is always some sort of
movement to support a school or a hospital
back in the old country. As a general rule
immigrants from a certain city or village in
Armenia form a society under the name of
their native town; for example, the Orphans'
and Hospital Society of Sivas, and send the
funds derived from initiation fees, annual dues,
donations and gifts to that institution,^ There
1 The following is a partial Hst of these societies: — The Armenian
Library Union of !Fresno, organized in 1897; the Armenian Academy,
organized in ISSS but no longer in existence; the Persian Armenian Edu
cational Society, 1910, New York; Ararat Club, New York, organized in
1890 for military and physical culture; the Armenian Red Cross Society,
New York, 1910; the A. B. F. Library, New York, 1890; the Armenian
Educational Society of Pashaghaggee, 1893, New York; the Educational
Society of Hooaenick, 1888, Worcester, Mass.; the Educational Society
of Momick, 1890, Worcester; the Armenian Gregorian Educational Society
of Hokhe, 1892, Lowell; the Educational Society of Armenian Gregoriana
of Dodem, 1891, Providence; Educational Society of Hazaree Village, 1903,
Lawrence; Progressive Club of Philadelphia, 1899 (not afSIiated with the
Rooseveltlan Progressive Party — this is merely a library club); Educa
tional Society of Arapker, Philadelphia, 1907; Educational Society of
K-Khee Village, 1897, Boston; the Woman's Church Club, 1906, Boston;
Women's Orphan's Society of New Britain, Conn., 1905; the Educational

114 THE ARMENIANS IN AMERICA
are also literary clubs in Boston, Worcester,
New York, Providence and Fresno, with
libraries containing Armenian books and cur
rent literature. The total annual income of
all these organizations is placed at seventy-five
to one hundred thousand dollars, and practi
cally the whole of this sum is apphed directly
to the objects intended.
It will serve no practical purpose to give
here a detailed account of all the associations
that have sprung up from time to time among
the Armenian immigrants in America. A
brief reference, however, to the work of a few
of the most important and active ones will be
interesting. The Armenian Colonial Association of New
York City with a branch in Chicago is a very
useful institution. It was started in 1909, and
a group of well-to-do Armenians pay its entire
expenses. The Association renders valuable
service to incoming immigrants at Elhs Island,
finds employment for those seeking work,
Society of Pazhnashen, 1892, E. Watertown; Educational Society of
Dikranagerd, 1905, Chelsea; Mesrobyan Educational Society of Everigg
Village, 1906; Educational Society bf Moor Village of 1909. The Armeno-
American ^Educational Society of Kghi-Khoupsetui; the Armeno-American
Educational Society of Artaghan; the Armeno-American Educational
Society of Koshmat; the Armeno-American Society of How-ow; the
'Armeno-American Educational Society of Perry. There are also dramatic
clubs.

ASSOCIATIONS, PARTIES AND PRESS 115
gives financial help to those in dire circum
stances, and conducts a free public lecture
course during the autumn and winter months.
The Armenian Educational Society was
founded in 1906 by an" Armenian merchant of
Chicago in memory of his daughter. It lends
money to needy Armenian students taking
professional and technical courses in recog
nized American colleges, theological schools
and universities. Its present endowment is
$25,000. The annual income from it, together
with occasional gifts from various sources and
collection of loans, now amounts to about
$6,000. On account of a very large demand
for assistance this sum is not sufficient to render
substantial help to more than a limited few at
a time. During the first ten years of service
(1901-1916) it has distributed in form of loans
the sum of $18,585.50 to 72 students.
The Armenian Students' Association was
formed in 1910, although prior to that many
spasmodic attempts were made to bring about
a similar society. At the present time the
Union has about 250 members. It has a num
ber of commendable aims, such as publishing a
good monthly, revising the curriculum of the

116 THE ARMENIANS IN AMERICA
schools in Armenia, preparing modern text
books in the Armenian language, and sending
properly equipped and educated Armenians to
teach school in the old country. As a general
rule Armenian students are financially poor
and lack of funds has made it impossible for
the Union to realize those of its objects that
require money.
The United Armenian Societies, organized
in 1880 at Constantinople, constitutes one of
the foremost educational institutions in
Turkey. It estabhshes and maintains pubhc
schools for the Armenians in Armenia and in
all parts of the Ottoman Empire. Many of
the educational associations in the United
States that I have mentioned in a foot-note
donate their money to this organization.
The Armenian General Benevolent Union
was founded in 1906, at Cairo, Egypt. It has
78 branches in the United States and Canada,
63 in Turkey (before the war), 29 in Europe,
5 in Africa, 3 in India, and 1 in South America,
a total of 179 branches with 11,000 active mem
bers. "The Society's capital amounts to
$253,950 of which sum $156,595 is a statutory
fund and is inahenable under the terms of its

ASSOCIATIONS, PARTIES AND PRESS 117
Constitution; and about $97,355 constitutes
a special fund composed of legacies and
donations. Since 1906 the total income of the
Union derived from the interest on its capital
and from special gifts, membership dues and
fees amounted to $515,420.
"The funds of the Society are used solely
for the benefit of the Armenians in Armenia.
This object has been carried out with notable
success by founding or endowing schools, hos
pitals, orphanages and other public institu
tions; by distributing seeds, cattle and agri
cultural implements to the peasants; by
rendering relief to those who are in distress
because of famine, fire or massacre.
"The Union aims to accomplish two objects :
one is to bring under one head every Armenian
regardless of creed, sex, political belief or place
of residence. This is very vital because the
Armenians are more or less scattered all over
the world and divided among themselves by
religious and political differences, and this
separation and division of opinion has been
their worst enemy. The other aim of the
Union is to keep the Armenians in Armenia,
conserve what is left of them there, help them

118 THE ARMENIANS IN AMERICA
to retain title to their native land, and maintain
their national integrity. Any one who knows
the history of these people, their struggle for
existence and their aspirations wiU at once
appreciate the necessity and significance of this
great world-wide Association." ^
The Armenian political parties occupy an
important place in the life of these people. It
must be understood that these parties have no
connection with and take no direct interest
whatever in American politics. They are
solely concerned with their own national af
fairs, the main issue of which is the liberation
of the Armenian people from the oppression
of the Turks and the realization of absolute
Independence. There are four of these
parties, the Huntchaggist, the Dashnagtzagan,
the Reorganized Huntchaggist and the Con
stitutional Democrats. The Huntchaggist
Party is the oldest, having been formed about
1880, or soon after the treaty of Berlin. The
Dashnagtzagan Party was established in 1890
by a group of Russian Armenians, and the
2 From a pamphlet prepared by the author for the New York City
Branch of the Umon.

ASSOCIATIONS, PARTIES AND PRESS 119
Reorganized Huntchaggist is an offspring of
the old Huntchaggist Party.
As I have stated before, the principal aim of
all these parties is one and the same, but their
general platforms differ from one another in
certain respects. The Dashnagtzagans and
the Huntchaggists have socialistic tendencies.
The platforms of the others are less radical
and tend to follow a moderate course. The
total membership of all these parties in the
United States is about ten thousand. Each
one maintains a newspaper for propaganda
work, which I shall take up presently. Each
has branches or clubs all over this country.
The total amount of money collected from
their members in America exceeds $100,000 a
year. The Armenian National Union was created
since the commencement of the war at the re
quest of His Excellency Boghos Nubar, the
diplomatic representative of his Holiness, the
Cathohcos, the supreme head of the Armenian
Church and the Armenian nation. The head
quarters of the Union in the United States is
in Boston. It has twenty-one members com
posed of three delegates each from seven of

120 THE. ARMENIANS IN AMERICA
the largest Armenian organizations, namely
the Huntchaggist Party, the Dashnagtzagan
Party, the Reorganized Huntchaggist Party,
the Constitutional Democrats, the Church of
Armenia, the Armenian Evangehcal Church
and the Armenian General Benevolent Union.
The Union has succeeded in bringing about a
certain amount of unity among the various
Armenian factions; it has become a semi-
diplomatic channel through which the claims
of the Armenian people have been presented
to the Government of the United States ; it has
done considerable work in setting forth the
demands of the Armenians before the Amer
ican public; it has collected over a milhon
dollars from Armenians in America and has
distributed this sum not only to relieve the
sufferings of those in distress in Russia,
Turkey and Mesopotamia, but also to help the
Armenian army that is fighting on the side
of the Allies in the Caucasus, in Palestine and
Syria. At the present time there are nineteen news
papers and periodicals published by the Ar
menians in the United States. Seventeen of

ASSOCIATIONS, PARTIES AND PRESS 121
these are in the Armenian language and two
in English. I mention them in their alpha
betical order. Asbarez (The Arena), an
organ of the Dashnagtzagan Party, is a weekly
published in Fresno, Cal., since 1809. Azk
(The Nation) , published in Boston since 1907,
is owned by the Constitutional Democratic
Party. Bahag (The Sentinel) is the mouth
piece of the Reorganized Huntchaggist Party
and is now issued twice a week in Boston.
Cihcia, a rehgious weekly with Armenian
characters but in the Turkish language, is
printed in New York. Janasser (The En-
deavorer) is pubhshed by the Armenian Chris
tian Endeavor Union in Fresno. Eritassart
Haiasdan (Young Armenia), the chief organ
of the Huntchaggist Party, is published in
Chicago. Etchmiadzin, another religious
monthly allied with the interest of the Arme
nian Apostolic Church, is printed in Fresno.
Gotchnag (The Church Bell), an independent
weekly, was originally intended to be the
organ of the Protestant Church in America,
but it is not a religious paper notwithstanding
its name and the fact that its editors have al
ways been ordained ministers. Hairenik (The

122 THE ARMENIANS IN AMERICA
Fatherland), organized in 1899, is the prin
cipal organ of the Dashnagtzagan party and
is now published daily in Boston. Housharar,
New York, is issued three or four times a year
by the central American Committee of the Ar
menian General Benevolent Union. Nor Ginke
(New Life) is another independent weekly
issued in Fresno. Punig, a literary monthly,
is edited in Boston. Pem, Fresno, is a religious
monthly controlled by the Armenian Congre
gationalists ; Siswan (Fresno) and Taurus
(Boston) are independent weekhes. Veradz-
nootun (Renaissance) is a monthly issued in
Boston and Yegheghetzi (The Church) is pub
lished in New York by the Armenian Evan
gelical Union. The two periodicals in the
English language are, "The Armenian
Herald," a well-edited monthly published by
the Armenian National Union, and "The New
Armenia" (New York) , issued once every two
weeks by its editor with the support of sub
scribers and friends. Both of these periodicals
contain good articles on historical and con
temporary subjects touching the Armenians,
and excellent translation of Armenian stories
and poems.

ASSOCIATIONS, PARTIES AND PRESS 123
It will be noticed that six of these publica
tions — Asbarez, Etchmiadzin, Jannasser, Nor
Ginke, Pem and Siswan are printed in
Fresno, Cahfornia; seven of them — ^Azk,
Bahag, Hairenik, Punig, Taurus, Veradznoo-
tun and the Armenian Herald are published in
Boston. There is one — Eritassart Haiasdan
— issued in Chicago, and the remaining six —
Celicia, Gotchnag, Housharar, Yegheghet|zi
and the New Armenia — are in New York.
The general character and contents of these
pubhcations in the Armenian language have
something in coinmon. In the first place each
is controUed either by a party or a religious
organization or a group of individuals. The
Asbarez, Azk, Bahag, Veradznootun, Yerit-
asart Haiasdan and the Hairenik are party
papers, financed by their respective organiza
tions and exist primarily for the purpose of
promulgating their ideas and maintaining
their constituents. The Gotchnag is financed
by a few weU-to-do business men and mer
chants. Nor Ginke, Siswan and the Taurus
have no organized following, but have some
individual supporters. All the others are
maintained by various rehgious organiza-

124 THE ARMENIANS IN AMERICA
tions. In the second place none of these pub
lications are commerciaUy successful proposi
tions. Not one of them could exist long upon
its income from subscribers and advertise
ments. They have about the same style and
contain about the same news and are about the
same in standard and quality. The daihes and
a few of the weeklies are printed on four to
eight large sheets in the manner of American
newspapers. Most of the weeklies and month
lies are bound like a small magazine. AU the
dailies and periodicals contain one or more
editorials, articles, letters, foreign and domestic
news items, reports from various Armenian
settlements, announcements and advertise
ments.^
3 The first periodical or newspaper, in the Armenian language, called
Arekag (The Sun) was issued in 1888, in Jersey City, N. J. In 1889 the
name of it was changed to Soorhantag and in 1890 it appeared monthly
under the name of Azadootun (Freedom) and continuea for two years.
The next two publications, Ararat, survived two years, and the Haig, ap
pearing off and on for about six years. Yeprad and Dikris came out in 1897;
the former was discontinued within a short time, the latter was changed
to Tzaiyn-Hairenyatz and became the organ of the old Huntchaggist
Party. It ceased in 1907, when there was a rupture between the membera
of that party. Other weeklies and monthUes such as Loosnag, Shant,
Looys, Arak, Artzive, Zoorna, have appeared from time to time and have
been discontinued after a brief existence.

Chapter VIII
CONJUGAL AND LIVING
CONDITIONS
THE Immigration Commission has gath
ered considerable data from 419,347
wage earners relative to their conjugal
and hving conditions. Six hundred and fifty
of those examined were foreign-born Arme
nians and the statistics compiled upon the
information collected shows that 58 per cent
of these Armenians were married, 2.2 per
cent were widowed and 39.8 per cent were
single. Of the married class 49.2 per cent had
their wives in the United States and 50.8 per
cent in the old country. I believe these figures
fairly represent conjugal conditions among the
Armenian immigrants, except that the number
of the widowed must be larger at the present
time. It is interesting to note here the dif
ference between the Armenians and other races
with respect to the number having their wives
abroad : Among the Armenians it was 50.2 per

126 THE ARMENIANS IN AMERICA
cent; Bulgarians, 90.0 per cent; Greeks, 74.7
per cent; Macedonians, 96.5 per cent; Rou
manians, 73.9 per cent and Servians, 64.5 per
cent.^ As a rule Armenians marry in their own
race. Thfe ratio aanong them of female to male
immigrants is 1 to 10. Consequently an
Armenian girl, regardless of her beauty or
station in life, need have no fear of becoming
a spinster. Scarcity of suitable girls obliges
many a young man to bring over a former
sweetheart, or a schoolmate or family acquain
tance from the old country. In such cases
negotiations are conducted through his and
the girl's parents or relatives. This manner of
securing a wife, which is prevalent in all Euro
pean countries, may seem strange to Amer
icans; but it nevertheless has its advantages.
The Armenians handle these matters with the
strictest regard for the welfare of the parties
concerned and on the highest moral principles.
Of course some of these matches prove to be
unhappy and sometimes lead to separation and
divorce, which is rare among these people ; still
1 Reports ot the Immigration Commission. Abstracts of Reports. Vol.
1, pages 449, 459-460

CONJUGAL AND LIVING CONDITIONS 127
marriages contracted on the American style
do not do away with family troubles.
Inter-marriage with American girls of Irish,
Swedish, French, English, Jewish and real
Yankee extraction is not uncommon. It oc
curs more frequently among the educated and
long resident Armenians. I am personally ac
quainted with many of the Armenian lawyers,
doctors, dentists, instructors in coUeges, en
gineers, clergymen and pastors, and a great
many successful merchants throughout the
United States, and I know that more than half
of these have American wives. These marriages
turn out very happily, judging from what I
have actually seen in their homes and from the
fact that I have heard of only one divorce in
this class. On the other hand intermarriages
by the Armenian workmen are not so satis
factory and should be discouraged. Unless a
foreigner has acquired a good command of the
English language, lived here long enough not
only to be able to discriminate between good
and bad American girls, but really come to
know and understand American ways and
habits, he should not attempt to marry other
than a girl of his own nationality.

128 the]^armenians in America
Living conditions among the Armenians in
this country do not differ materially from those
of Americans. The wealthy and the weU-to-do
hve in the best quarters of the city where they
enjoy aU the comforts and luxuries that
money can provide. Many own their
homes. Their children attend the best private
schools. Families with moderate incomes also
maintain homes in the better sections of the
town. The only foreign evidence, perhaps,
that one might find in Armenian homes of the
rich and well-to-do class is the food, if the wife
or the cook is Armenian.
Armenian wage-earners are necessarUy
compelled to hve in the poor sections of our
great industrial cities. Immigrants are often
blamed for the way they hve, but the blame
should be placed on the American municipali
ties which allow the erection of unsanitary
tenements and permit the streets to remain con
gested and dirty. It is a significant fact, how
ever, that Armenian immigrant families of this
class have been found to have an average of
more rooms per family, to pay more rent and
to have less congestion than any of the other
newer immigrant races.

I

MR. ARSHAG MAHDESIAN
S the well-known editor of The New Armenia

REV. KHACHODOOR G. BENNYAN
[S the editor of the foremost Armenian weekly. The
Gotchnag. He received his degree from Clark Uni
versity.

MR. HERATCH YERVANT
THE editor of Bahag, is a grad
uate of Boston University
Law School.

MR. K. S. PAPAZIAN
THE editor of Azk, the leading
tri-weekly newspaper in the
United States, received his
education at the University of Wis-

'''|''^l

% V
i.
V ,1 S
MR. M. MINASIAN
THE editor of Siswan, was
formerly the superintendent
of the Armenian National
Sohools in the District of Van. He
is a Yale man.
MR. SAHAG M. CHUCHIAN
THE editor of Hairenik, the
only daily Armenian newspaper
in this country, received his
deffrpp fr,-»w vTr.„ TT-.J  -^ — " ¦"-•
CONJUGAL AND LIVING CONDITIONS 129
The table below, to which I caU the reader's
special attention, shows the average number of
rooms per apartment, the average monthly
rent paid for the same, the average number of
occupants in each such apartment. A casual
study of it wiU bring out the fact that hving
conditions among the Armenians are f arjbetter
than those of a dozen other races which I have
chosen at random.

Average
number of
rooms per
apartment

Average
monthly rent
paid

rent per
capita

Average
number of
occupants per
apartment

Armenians

4.83

II.I7

2.25

4.98

Bulgarians

2.41

5.91

.97

6.19

Croatians

4.01

8.55

1.09

7.65

Greeks

4.13

9.02

1.47

6.13

Italians (North) 3.89

7.66

1.40

5.60

Lithuanians

4.08

8.81

1.47

5.89

Polish

3.82

7.30

1.24

6.06

Russians

3.33

7.46

1.27

5.93

Servians

4.88

9.78

1.03

9.62

Slovaks

3.68

6.84

1.18

5.87

Syrians

4.19

9.80

2.09

4.80

The next table compares old and new immi
grant races with respect to congestion. It will
be noticed that among the Armenians there is
not only less congestion as compared with
other new immigrant races, but they are even
better than so-called old races.

130

THE ARMENIANS IN AMERICA

OLD IMMIGRANTS

NEW IMM

IGRANTS

Number ot
persons
per room

Number
of persons
per sleep
ing room

Number of
persons
per room

Number
of persons
per sleep
ing room

Canadian

1.17

2.07

Armenians 1.03

1.97

English
German

.87
1.02

1.89
2.15

Bulgarians 2.53
Greeks 1.48

3.202.13

Irish

1.02

1.98

Polish 1.68

2.77

Scotch

1.08

2.18

Roumanians 2.67
Slovak 1.62
Syrians 1.15

3.722.66 1.87

Old and new immigrant races compared with
respect to the number of boarders or lodgers
for each 100 household.^

OLD IMMIGRANTS
English 185

German Irish

316 169

NEW IMMIGRANTS
Armenians 196
Bulgarians 829
Croatians 639
Polish 301
Roumanians 1223
Slovak 322
Syrians 339

The unmarried men and those whose wives
are abroad lead the usual bachelor's life.
Many who are financially well off live in hotels,
others keep apartments and still others find
quarters in high-class "furnished" rooms. In
smaller communities the well-to-do and edu-

2 Statistics compiled from the Reports of the Immigration Commission.
Abstracts of Reports. Vol. 1, pages 420-421, 426, 429, 432.

CONJUGAL AND LIVING CONDITIONS 131
cated Armenian boys get in with good Amer
ican famihes. The laboring class, especially
in our great cities like Boston, Providence,
New York and Chicago, settle in the less de
sirable sections of the town, eat in Armenian
restaurants and become habitues of "Orien
tal cafes," where the evenings are spent in
playing backgammon — a game in which Arme
nians are very proficient — cards and billiards.
Armenian leaders often speak disparagingly
of these cafes because they are the resort of the
idle and the low, still I think they are far better
than the bar-rooms. In the small industrial
towns hke Whitinsville, Mass., where many
Armenians are employed, the bachelor class
live in groups of twenty, thirty and fifty. A
large house is hired, the first floor of which is
used as a dining room and cafe and the upper
parts for sleeping quarters. An Armenian
cook with his helpers prepares the meals and
take general care of the premises at a very low
cost. There is practically no charity-seeking
among the Armenians. The records of
charitable societies in cities like Boston,
Worcester, Chicago, Providence, Philadelphia

132 THE ARMENIANS IN AMERICA
and New York and others show a total average
of about 50 a year and these are often taken
care of by some individual Armenian or or
ganization. Arrests on criminal charges, espe
cially among the lower classes of unmarried
young men, are sometimes made. Judging
from my personal experience in courts, I think
the number of Armenians arrested for one
thing or another is insignificant compared with
Italian, Polish, Russian, Greek, Jewish and
Syrian immigrants.
The reports of the Immigration Commission
contain tables regarding the percentage of
immigrants owning homes. This investigation
appears to have been very limited, but it shows
that out of the number from whom data were
obtained among the Armenians 8.6 per cent
owned their homes; among the Greeks 1.5 per
cent; Roumanians, 2.6 per cent; Russians, 1.2
per cent; Syrians, 4.7 per cent. I believe the
percentage for the Armenian is too low, par
ticularly in view of the situation in California
where seventy-five per cent of the colony,
which is the largest in the United States, are
owners.'
3 Reports of the Immigration Commission. Abstracts of Reports, Vol. 1,
pages 468 and 487.

CONJUGAL AND LIVING CONDITIONS 133
The Armenians appear to be one of the fore
most races to accept American citizenship.
The investigation among immigrant employees
in the manufacturing and mining industries
shows that over 58 per cent of them
are fully naturahzed. This is an excellent
record when compared with other races,^ as
shown in the following table :
Per cent.
Armenians 58.2
Bulgarians .0
Croatians 19.4
Greeks 3.7
Hebrews 24.1
Italians 32.9
Lithuanians 21.9
Magyar 15.0
Polish 21.6
Portuguese 5.3
Russians 8.3
Ruthenians 14.7
Slovaks 17.1
Syrians 20.0
It must be borne in mind that an Armenian
born under the Ottoman flag, when he becomes
an 'American citizen forfeits aU his property
rights in his native country, and if he ever re
turns there the United States Govemment will
in no way protect him as an American citizen.

134 THE ARMENIANS IN AMERICA
These disadvantages are well known to all
Armenians. But I mention them here for the
benefit of my readers and to disperse the notion
that it is some selfish motive which induces
these people to make this change. Armenians
who become American citizens do so because
they love America, and because they believe it
to be not only a duty, but a rare privilege to
adopt as their flag the "Stars and Stripes" of
this great Commonwealth.

Chapter IX
THE FUTURE
IT is obvious that in the future immigration
to the United States will depend to a great
extent upon the outcome of the Peace
Conference at Paris. Possible legislation by
Congress and by the various governments in
Europe on this problem will undoubtedly have
an important effect on the movement of popu
lation from one country to another. It is
generally recognized that the world is entering
upon a great economic struggle. Enormous
national debts must be paid. Oppressed races
that have hitherto migrated westward to Amer
ica in large numbers are to-day facing the
dawn of freedom and independence. At the
threshold of all these changes it is difficult to
say with reasonable certainty what the Arme
nians will do after the Treaty of Peace is
signed. There are, however, certain eventualities
that are apparent. In the first place, the
moment all restrictions for traveling are with-

136 THE ARMENIANS IN AMERICA
draAvn a great many Armenians will undoubt
edly take immediate advantage of the oppor
tunity and visit their native land to search for
their loved ones, to adjust property rights
rising from the death of their next of kin, and
to acquire first-hand knowledge of conditions
there. On the other hand, hundreds of Arme
nians who have gone through the awful expe
rience of war and deportation are feverishly
waiting to leave their devastated homes and
seek the United States. Thus for the next few
years there will be a constant stream of Arme
nians either departing from or coming to
America. Just what the Peace Conference will do for
Armenia is not known at this writing. If the
practical application of the provisions they
agree on leaves the country in the hands of a
Power to be exploited by it for its own self-
interest, then Armenian immigration to the
United States will increase. America has
opened the eyes of these people. They know
what democracy and independence mean.
They are now capable of discerning real free
dom by comparison with one that is mort
gaged for the benefit of a mortgagee. I do

THB FUTURE 137
not believe that Armenians who have lived in
the United States even for a few years — and
ninety-five out of every hundred have been here
at least five years because very few have come
since the beginning of the war — will ever sub
mit to or be satisfied with conditions which
they endured formerly. Those who journey
to Armenia after the conclusion of the Treaty
of Peace and find that the ultimate indepen
dence of their country is as uncertain as in 1878,
wiU at once return to America and their
example wUl be followed by thousands of
others. It is hoped that through the presence and
influence of the United States at the Peace
Conference, the fate of Armenia will be de
cided justly and honorably. Armenians
demand nothing except what they are entitled
to. They ask that the boundaries of their his
toric kingdom shall be unequivocally defined
and settled; that their country be detached
completely from Turkey, Russia and Persia;
that its independence be declared and a Com
mission of Englishmen or Americans be ap
pointed to assist in the organization and de
velopment of their national institutions. What

138 THE ARMENIANS IN AMERICA
they want is not sympathy, but liberty. And it
is the common expectation of these people all
over the world that the United States, Eng
land, France and Italy, by virtue of their supe
rior power, wiu not deprive them of their
righteous heritage and the right of self-
government. An independent Armenia will naturally at
tract many Armenians who are now in the
United States. I say naturally because of
many considerations. It is impossible to ex
pect a grown-up man who is suddenly trans
planted from a far-off country into a shoe
factory in Lynn, or a cotton mill in Lawrence,
or a slaughter house in Chicago, or a coal mine
in Pennsylvania, to blot out from his memory
the face of his dear mother, the hills and val
leys of his native land and the fond associations
of childhood days. As the years go by and he
finds himself shackled to hard, humdrum fac
tory hfe, his longing for the old home becomes
stronger. We must recognize, further, that
about seventy per cent of the Armenians in
the United States are single or widowers or
else have their wives on the other side. In other
words, they have no home here. Armenian

THE FUTURE 139
girls are scarce and for most of these men to
intermarry with foreigners would be very
unwise. But there are hundreds of Armenian
orphan girls and widowed women back in Ar
menia who are absolutely destitute. Who is
to take care of them if not the unmarried Ar
menian men? And if there is security of hfe
and liberty, it would be best, economically and
politically, for these people to live in their own
native country. Moreover, the Armenians in
the United States, farmers, workmen and
those engaged in business have saved up some
money. These individual savings, however,
are too smaU to undertake enterprises in Amer
ica, but quite suificient to be profitably invested
in Armenia. We also have hundreds of Arme
nians in professional life. These lawyers,
doctors, dentists, engineers, editors and
teachers, all graduates of American colleges
and universities, believe that they will have op
portunities for service and leadership in
Armenia which are denied them in this country.
These, I think, are the chief reasons which
will influence all classes of Armenians to
return to Armenia.
Let us not forget for a moment that should

140 THE ARMENIANS IN AMERICA
at least two-thirds of the Armenians now in
this country — that is about 50,000 of them —
go back to Armenia, they would contribute
materiaUy to the industrial, political and social
reconstruction of their country. The Arme
nians in America have money. They have
acquired skill not only in manufacturing
machinery and tools, but in the use of them
for productive purpose. With these men in
Armenia and with abundance of raw material,
the capitalist will encounter no difficulty in
securing labor to make machines and in manu
facturing shoes, automobiles, silk goods and all
sorts of commodities. Also, the Armenians
have come in contact with American pohtics
and government. In order to illustrate the
lessons they have learned, I might cite here as
an example the fact that on February 1, 1919,
25,000 Armenians of voting age, both men and
women, throughout the United States chose by
ballot patterned after the American system of
election, four delegates to the Armenian Con
gress in Paris. Moreover, the Armenians in
America have become accustomed to American
habits, and American ways of thought, manner
and living. Their association with American

AN ARMENIAN'S HOME AT HASTINGS-ON-HUDSON, N. Y.

RESIDENCE OF AN ARMENIAN AT PASADENA, CALIFORNIA

THE HOMESTEAD OF AN ARMENIAN FARMER IN CALIFORNIA

' ^TT™'^^'*''''^^

illi

THE FUTURE 141
institutions has broadened their vision and
outlook, has made them more tolerant and has
taught them that it is possible for people
differing in color, creed and race, to live to
gether happily. Thus when they go back to
Armenia, they will demand American-like
homes, American clothing, American railroads,
telephones and roads. They will carry with
them something of the spirit of America. It is
no exaggeration to say that the Armenian
immigrants from this country, with the skill,
knowledge and experience they have gained
here in the sphere of education, industry,
government and living conditions, together
with the aid of the American missionary forces,
and let us hope with the mandate of the United
States, will constitute an invaluable asset in
the development of the coming Armenian Re
public. And they will not only furnish the
necessary medium through which American
products wiU find a vast market throughout
the East, but will also help to implant and
diffuse American ideals and American democ
racy in that part of the world.
I do not wish to convey the idea that just as
soon as an Armenian State or Republic is

142 THE ARMENIANS IN AMERICA
established every Armenian in the United
States will rush over there. Armenians who
have married American girls will hesitate long
before transferring their families to a foreign
country. Childreii born in the United States
of Armenian parents, who go to our public
schools, who, unlike other races, attend Ameri
can churches and associate with American
children and who do not read or write Arme
nian and who constantly use the English lan
guage at home, will exert their influence on
their parents to persuade them to remain in the
United States. There are those, too, who are
too old, those who have estabhshed business
connections and those who are property
owners, who will likewise be very slow
to take such a step. And those of us who came
here in our early youth will find it as hard to go
to Armenia as it is for a native-born American
to go to China or Brazil. My personal opinion
is that if conditions in Armenia are very
promising, about two-thirds of the Armenians
now in the United States will return to their
native country within the next five years. The
rest will remain here and their descendants
will become absorbed in the great "melting-
pot."

M

MR. HAROUTOUNE M. DADOURIAN
R. Dadourian was instructor of Physics at
the Yale Sheffield Scientific School from
1906 to 1917.

H

PROFESSOR DICRAN H. KABAKJIAN
E is the Assistant Professor ot Physics in
the University ot Pennsylvania.

PROFESSOR MARDIROS H. ANANIKIAN
THHE Assistant Librarian and Instructor _in
X OflHiria'l' »uau'gftag(it! al'The-~HartfoTd Theo
logical Seminary is the author of scholarly
essays in the Hasting's Encyclopaedia of Religion

 ] TTlil- ¦

PROFESSOR VAHAN S. BABASINIAN
HE is Associate Professor of Orgainii.' Chcia-
istry at Lehigh University. He is also the
author of twenty-one articles in the forth
coming edition of the Encyclopsedia Americana.

HIS HOLINESS GUEORG V
THE Catholicos is not only
the head of the Church
ot Armenia, but, for
centuries, haa been recog
nized as the head of the
Armenian nation.

HIS EXCELLENCY BOGHOS
NUBAR
IS the President of the Ar
menian National Delegation
in Paris. His father, Nubar
Pasha, was twice the Prime Min
ister of Egypt, both before and
after British occupation.

A

RnTTT«nnnA - , . WITH THE BRITISH IN PALESTINE

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