Show ARE AFTER THE MISSIONARIES Turks Again Getting in Their Usual Work I CONSTANTINOPLE April 18 Telegrams Tele-grams from Bitlis eastern Turkey state that the houses of Rev George P Knapp and Rev Royal M Cole Armenian Ar-menian missionaries for the American board of foreign missions Boston have been Blockaded by the Turkish government gov-ernment and the servants are not allowed al-lowed to go to and come from the markets On March 15 orders were given by the Turkish government requiring that they and their families should all leave Bitlis by the southern route The roads were then impassable The missionaries mis-sionaries heartily acknowledged the activity ac-tivity of Mr John W Riddle the United Uni-ted States charge daffaires in dafaires securing secur-ing the nullification of the order issued is-sued March 26 for the expulsion of Messrs Knapp and Cole and their I families and the zeal of Sir Philip Currie the British ambassador in Britsh supporting sup-porting Mr Riddles demands > portng I Sir Philip Currie told the Turkish minister for foreign affairs that the I American missionaries cooperated j with Great Britain in the distribution of relief and that he would not see them driven away I is further learned that on February Febru-ary 27 fiftyseven Armenian prisoners at Bits were released after being confined most of them four months With few exceptions all were leading I men Among them was the oldest and foremost Armenian Protestant His brother and son who was the head teacher Jn the Boys High school of the American board were both killed and for four months he had not been allowed to see his family He was the only one who could not be forced to sign the address of thanksgiving to the sovereign saying that the only thing he could express himself as thankful for is that he rest of them had not been killed When they were released and were called on to pray for the long life of the sultan with cheers he kept silent saying ihat his heart was broken and that he coulo not join 0 J > < ff f The depositions that hjave been made against the Rev George P Knapp charge him with having planned and led an attack on the mosque with haying hay-ing used the school bel for giving signals sig-nals for the attack ad that on October Oc-tober 25 1895 he was responsible for the slaughter of 500 or more people and for the plunder of thousands upon thousands of lires wocth of property from the markets of Bitlis A timely telegram fijbm the United State minister Alex W Terre a few weeks ago saved him from being forcibly bly seized and cast intoprison Should the Turkish government decline to fol declne < low up the case then it would be feasible for the United States to demand de-mand damages for libjl 1 The claim for indemnity for the Assault in 1883 of Mousa Bey on Rev George O Knapp father of Rgv George P Knapp and upon Dr JEleynolds now of Van eastern Turkey was made but i has never been paid Indemnity for the mprder of Mr Lenz the American bicyclist is another an-other unsatisfied claim |