Show TURKS RANSACK RUSSIAN PARADISE Treasures Stolen and Sent to Turkey CONSTANTINOPLE Nov 20 Pil 20 Pil Pillage lage lago by the Turks of the Imperial Russian Russian Russian Rus Rus- sian watering place of ot Abbas in the Caucasus mountains Is being In Investigated investigated investigated in- in here bere A large quantity of ot the furnishings and paintings belongIng belonging belong belong- ing to the luxurious villas of this little city where many of the aristocracy of bf Russia used to pass their vacations has been discovered In Constantinople Some of these furnishings are In the palace of Enver Pasha formerly Turkish Turkish Turkish Turk Turk- ish war minister on the now occupied by the French general staff The pillage of ot Abbas is one of ot the untold stories of the rapacious Turkish pashas and Abbas Is unknown outside of Russia Yet it was one of the little paradises with which countries lying near the Black sea are blessed Nestling in the mountains of ot Georgia it possessed one oneat of at the beautiful and lengthy driveways for which the Caucasus is famous During During During Dur Dur- ing the hot summer months the Im Imperial imperial imperial im- im Russian family used to pass a no afew afew few weeks among the pines of ot this rich center of ot museums villas and churches Up the beautiful roads from Batum to TUBs Tiflis came in the spring of ot 1917 the Turkish army following on the retreat of the thEl Russian army which had gone bolshevik The The Turks were amazed at the riches of Abbas The commandant of ot the thirty-first thirty brigade s sealed aled up all the valuables he could find Then came the signing of ot the treaty by which Abbas was left to Georgia No sooner had the Turkish commander commander commander com com- mander learned of this treaty than he gathered up before leaving all valuables valuables valuables bles and hurried them to Batum He notified Essad Pasha at Constantinople that this booty should be offered to the sultan Meanwhile as his army withdrew withdrew with with- drew it ft Is charged that he systematically systematically systematically cally robbed churches and convents and sent these treasures also to Batum Two other Turkish commanders are al alleged alleged alleged al- al to have shared in the loot Finally the three men sent their relative relative relative rela rela- tive shares to Constantinople when Enver Pasha demanded to have a look at the three lots As minister of ot war he took his choice and sent some of ot the tho furniture and pictures to his marble-faced marble palace on the where they still remain I |