The Republic of Armenia 1919 – Memorandum

In the spring of 1917, after the outbreak of the Russian revolution, the then temporary government of Kerensky created in and for Transcaucasia a special administrative body, styled as the commissariat of Transcaucasia; But in November, 1917, when the Bolsheviki overthrew the Kerensky government and established the soviet rule in Russia, Transcaucasia declined to recognize the authority of the Bolsheviki and the commissariat of Transcaucasia on November 28, 1917, declared itself the supreme authority in Transcaucasia.

In February, 1918, the Seim, or the legislative assembly of Transcaucasia, convened in the city of Tiflis, accepted the resignation of the commissariat and in its place instituted a temporary government composed of several ministries.

Thus, in effect Transcaucasia separated herself from Russia, though there was no appropriate declaration and she was still considered as a part of the Empire. But the external and internal political conditions took such a course that they made it necessary to change the de facto to a de jure separation, and on April 22, 1918, the Seim declared the independence of Transcaucasia from Russia and her constitution as an independent state, under the name of the federal democratic republic of Transcaucasia.

The three principal peoples of Transcaucasia—Armenians, Georgians, and the Tartars of Azerbaijan, became parties to the federation, with their respective territories. The Seim and the government were composed of the representatives of the political parties among these three nationalities, almost in equal proportions.

This federal republic of Transcaucasia scarcely lasted five weeks. The cause of its instability was the fact that the political tendencies of the three constituent nations were different, even conflicting with each other.

The point at issue was the attitude of Transcaucasia to the war then still raging.

Since the beginning of the war the sympathy of the Tartars of Azerbaijan was wholly with their kin and coreligionists, the Turks. In the latter part of 1917, when the Russian armies abandoned the Caucasian front and the Turkish forces began their victorious advance on to the north, the Tartars, almost without disguise, went to the side of Turkey. They not alone were unwilling to continue the war against Turkey, but also did all in their power to help Turkey to conquer Transcaucasia.

The Georgians had for a long time been in communication with Germany. They were seeking the protection of Germany and were at all times ready to withdraw from the war, provided the independence of Georgia was recognized and her external and internal situation made secure.

But the Armenians, on the other hand, elected to remain and did remain loyal to the cause of the Entente and associated powers, and continued to war against Turkey till the end, as more fully set forth hereinafter.

These internal conflicts, daily becoming more emphatic, made it impossible for Armenians, Georgians, and Tartars to work in harmony within the sphere of a single state.

On May 26, 1918, the Seim declared the termination of the federal republic of Transcaucasia and relinquished its authority. The same day Georgia declared her independence; and after two days, namely, on May 28, 1918, Armenia and Azerbaijan likewise declared their own independence.

From that day began the existence of the republic of Armenia.

II. The Constitution of the Republic.

The republic does not yet have a written constitution, that important task having been reserved to the future constitutional convention which is expected to assemble when the State of united and integral Armenia shall have been instituted and when the present republic of Armenia shall form a part of that united and integral Armenia.

Pending that event, the Armenian republic is based upon and is operating under a democratic-republican form of government.

The republic has a legislative branch, consisting of an elected parliament, and an executive branch, consisting of a cabinet.

The republic does not have a president. The powers of the president are now exercised in part by the parliament and in part by the cabinet.

Sovereignty resides in a parliament of one house. The parliament consists of deputies elected by the entire people. The right to vote and to hold office is common and equal to all the people. Every citizen of Armenia of full age has an equal right to participate in all elections without regard to sex, race, or religion. The method of voting is direct and secret, and the elections are based on the proportional principle.

The parliament now in session, composed of 80 members, was elected in June, 1919, and commenced its session in August of this year. The composition of the parliament will, in the future, be extended to give representation to the people of the new territories that are to be added to the present republic, in proportion to the number of the population.

The cabinet contains eight ministries: (1) Foreign affairs; (2) interior affairs, including public health; (3) public works; (4) posts and telegraphs; (5) army; (6) finance, including commerce and industry; (7) education; (8) supply and relief, the latter being of a temporary kind.

The prime minister is at the head of the government and the president of the council of ministers.

The prime minister is elected by parliament. lie designates the ministers and presents their names, as well as the platform of his ministry, to the approval of the parliament. The approval given by parliament to the platform so presented acts also as approval of the proposed ministers.

The government (the cabinet) is responsible to parliament. If parliament, by a majority vote, should pass a resolution of lack of confidence, the cabinet must submit its resignation to parliament, which then commits the formation of new government to some other person.

The present prime minister and president of the council of ministers is Dr. Alexander Khatissian, who formerly for many years was the mayor of Tiflis, the capital of Transcaucasia. In the preceding cabinet, which was headed by Prime Minister Oh. Kadjaznouni, Mr. Khatissian was vice premier and at the same time held the ministry of the interior, and later that of foreign affairs. The other ministers arc men of university education and prominent in the public and political life of Transcaucasia.

The language of the republic is Armenian, but citizens not acquainted with Armenian are permitted to use their mother tongues or the Russian language.

All religions enjoy entire freedom and equal rights under the republic.

III. Judiciary

The system of Russian jurisprudence and administration of justice is temporarily continued in force, except in so far as it is modified or repealed by acts of parliament or is in conflict with the spirit and order of a democratic-republican system of government.

During its life of 14 months the parliament of Armenia has enacted a number of special statutes, supplementing the body of Russian laws in force at the birth of the Armenian republic.

IV. The Army

The army of Armenia is formed on the Russian system and is administered according to the regulations of the Russian Army. The body of officers have been educated in the technical schools of Russia, and the greater part of the soldiers have served and have received their training in the Russian Army.

The Armenian troops, as well as the people of Armenia, were not affected by the Bolshevist movements in Russia. Discipline in the army is satisfactory, and the morale and the patriotism of Armenian soldiers is exemplary.

The army is composed of all branches of the service. The number of troops under arms in the month of July, 1919, was 18,000. The country needs and has the capacity of raising an army double that number, but the lack of physical equipment, arms, clothing, food, supplies, etc., makes the realization of that number of troops at present impossible. Even the physical equipment of the troops now under arms is inadequate, and is tolerable only because the Armenian is a hardy and sturdy soldier.

For political reasons, military service is not obligatory upon Mohammedans, as it was not also under the former Russian regime. There are no Mohammedans in the Armenian army.

The commander in chief of the Armenian army is Lieut. Gen. Nazerbegian, formerly one of the most brilliant officers of the Russian Army, well known by his deeds of military valor in the Russo-Japanese War and in the Caucasian front in the present war.

Maj. Gen. Araratian, the minister of war, was also one of the learned and experienced officers of the Russian Army, and is very popular with the Armenian army.

The general staff, and the commanders of the line, are disciplined officers who have had a complete military training, and many of whom have high military decorations from the Government of Russia.

V. Finances

The sources of revenue of the republic are the direct and indirect taxes, and income from the properties and enterprises of the state and from monopolies.

Income taxes are now imposed at lower rates than would have been in normal times, and the rates are lower, particularly on incomes from agricultural pursuits. As the country is now in great need of manufactured articles, no duty is imposed on imported goods, excepting goods made at home, such as alcohol and tobacco, on which there is an internal excise tax.

The disbursements are ordinary and extraordinary. Ordinary disbursements include salaries of public officials, maintenance and operation of state properties and enterprises and the expenses of an army on a peace basis.

In addition to these ordinary disbursements, Armenia has been confronted with extraordinary disbursements, due to the existence of a state of war, and the ravages caused by the war. These extraordinary disbursements are for the relief of the sufferers of the war and for the reconstruction of the economic life of the people. Food, clothing and shelter must be provided for orphans and those unable to work, the deported and exiled people must be repatriated, ruined villages must be rebuilt, and seed and agricultural tools must be furnished to the despoiled farmers.

The average monthly gross income of. the Armenian republic during the first five months of the present year was 1,950,000 francs; the average monthly ordinary disbursements in the same period also amounted to 1,950,000 francs, so that all ordinary disbursements were met by the regular revenues of the state.

On the other hand, in the same period of five months, the republic’s extraordinary disbursements amounted to on an average of 4,650,000 francs per month. These extraordinary disbursements were met by the use of Transcaucasian bonds of that amount. These bonds are issued and guaranteed by the three republics of Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan. This large use of bonds caused a depreciation of their rate of exchange, but there was no other available means for meeting those extraordinary pressing disbursements.

The people of Armenia have cheerfully paid all taxes without any compulsory measures. On June 1, 1919, 90 percent of all taxes then due had been paid.

Taxes are imposed only by acts of parliament. No money can be paid out of the treasury except in pursuance of an act of appropriation passed by the parliament upon estimates submitted by the government.

There is a board of state control which exercises supervision over the legality of the acts and the disbursements of the government. This board is entirely independent of the government. It is under the presidency of the state comptroller, who is elected by parliament and is accountable only to parliament direct.

All revenues must pass to the state treasury and all disbursements must be made through the treasury.

VI. Territory and Physiography.

The territory of the Armenian republic, within its present boundaries, consists of the following parts of Transcaucasia, using the names of the former Russian administrative divisions:

The province of Erivan, in its entirety.
The province of Kars, excepting the northern section of the district of Ardahan.
The southern part of the province of Tiflis, comprising the entire district of Akhalkalaki and the southern section of the district of Borchalou.
Those parts of the province of Elizabethpol (Gantzag), comprising the southern section of the districts of Cossak and Elizabethpol, the entire district of Zangezour, and the upland regions of the districts of Jivanshir, Shousha, and Kariakin (Jibrail), known as the Armenian Karabagh.

The boundaries of the republic are not definitely delimited or settled. Certain outlying regions are involved in disputes with the two neighboring newly formed states, Georgia claiming certain regions lying within the former province of Tiflis, and Azerbaijan (Tartaristan in Transcaucasia) claiming certain regions in the former province of Elizabethpol.

The territory described above contains 67,000 square kilometers, or about 26,130 square miles.

Armenia, generally speaking, is a mountainous country. The extensive high plateau of Ararat in the center has an altitude of 3,500 feet, the highland of Akhalkalaki, Alexandropol, and Kars has an altitude of from 5,500 to 6.500 feet, intersected by valleys and snowclad mountains (Mount Ararat, Aragats, and several other mountain chains). In the northern region Armenia contains the extensive lake of Sevan or Gokcheh. A majestic river, the Arax, flows easterly through the plateau of Ararat, and numerous rivulets and streams cover the land.

The climate of Armenia is continental; dry, with an abundance of sunshine; the summer is comparatively warm, the winter generally long and severe. But the climate is extremely healthful.

VII. Population

According to Russian official statistics, the number of people inhabiting the territory of the Armenian republic in 1917 was approximately 2,159,000, of whom 1,416,000, or 66 percent, were Christians; 670,000 or 31 percent, were Mohammedans, and 73,000, or 3 percent, were people of unclassified religions.

This population was divided, according to race, as follows:

	Number	Percent
Armenian	1,293,000	60
Tartar, Turk, Turkoman and Karapapak	588,000	27
Russian and Greek	110,000	5
Kurd	82,000	4
Yezidi and Gypsy	73,000	3
Georgian	13,000	1

Since 1917, as a result of war operation, a part of the Mohammedan population has emigrated from the Armenian republic, and, on the other hand, 300,000 Armenians from Turkish Armenia have immigrated into or sought refuge in the Armenian republic.

No reliable statistics can be formed concerning deaths and births and emigrants and immigrants during the last two years.

According to the same Russian statistics of 1917, the Armenian population remaining within the boundaries of the two newly formed Transcaucasian states of Georgia and Azerbaijan, numbers approximately 494,000. There are also nearly 200,000 native Armenians and about 70,000 refugee Armenians in the northern Caucasus, the eastern coast towns of the Black Sea and in southern Russia. In Persian Armenia there are 140,000 Armenians and other native Christians.

We may say with confidence that the greater portion of the Armenian population now in foreign countries is awaiting the first favorable opportunity for returning to Armenia.

VIII. Economic Conditions.

The great majority of the people of Armenia (as much as 85 percent of them) are engaged in agricultural pursuits. Large cities and large industrial establishments (with few exceptions) do not exist. Armenian mercantile and manufacturing houses of considerable magnitude have their central locations outside the limits of Armenia, at Tiflis, Baku, Rostov, Moscow, and Petrograd.

On the other hand, all the branches of agricultural industry, such as the cultivation of grain, cotton, garden produce, vines, and the breeding of cattle and other animals, the production of milk and milk products, are in a high state of development. There is also manufacturing on a small scale.

(a) Agriculture. —The variety of the climatic conditions in Armenia makes the farming industry of all kinds possible, from the cotton and rice of the Ararat Valley to the animals of the rich pasturages on the heights of snow-clad mountains.

The following figures, from official Russian reports, will indicate the broad lines of the agricultural industry and the relative extent of the different uses of the occupied and cultivated lands of Armenia:

	Hectares[1]
Villages and buildings	32,500
Orchards and vineyards	34,600
Farms	1,363,000
Hay farms	214,700
Pasture lands	2,228,500
Forests	113,900

It appears therefore that out of a total territory of 67,000 square kilometers, nearly 40,000 square kilometers, or 59 percent, is used for agricultural industries. Included in the remaining 27,000 square kilometers are lakes, rivers, snow-covered mountains, rocks, and waste lands. These waste lands also can be utilized by irrigation projects, which are entirely feasible but have been heretofore obstructed by the Imperial Russian Government upon political grounds.

During the year 1914 (the last normal year before the war) 734,000 hectares out of 1,363,000 hectares devoted to farming were used for the cultivation of grain. The gross quantity of wheat and barley seed sowed, in the spring and in the autumn, was approximately 150,000 tons.

Besides wheat and barley, the principal products of Armenia are rice, cotton, and grapes.

Before the war the annual production of the farms of Armenia was—in rice, about 10,600 tons; in seeded cotton, about 8,100 tons; and in grapes, 69,000 tons.

The finest grades of wine and alcohol are manufactured out of grapes. The annual production of wine is about 315,000 hectoliters: of alcohol about 1,880,000 hectoliters.

(b) Livestock breeding —This is an important part of the economic life of Armenia, second only to that of agriculture. Before the war there were in Armenia 106,700 horses, 42,800 mules and donkeys, 1,243,100 heads of cattle, and 1,859,000 sheep.

These figures indicate the extent of the agricultural and live-stock industry in Armenia before the war in normal times. In the course of the war the country was ruined to a great extent and industry was destroyed. Many villages have been ruined, orchards destroyed, farms left without cultivation, and the animals driven off into Turkey, or starved or killed to feed the destitute population.

(c) Mineral products -The mountains of Armenia are rich in various kinds of minerals, but they are left without development, owing to the absence of capital and initiative. Thus far copper mines have been developed to a certain extent, the annual production amounting approximately to 6,500 tons of purified copper. Next in importance are the rock salts of an unlimited quantity in the Koulpi and Kagzyman Mountains, but whose development, owing to lack of the means of transportation, has been limited to an annual production of 18,000 to 20,000 tons.

The development of pyrites of iron was begun during the war, but was discontinued on account of the retirement of the Russian Army. During the year 1917 nearly 57,000 tons of pyrite of iron were produced.

Other mineral resources, of which there are 450 known locations, are also thus far undeveloped.

(d) Water power — Armenia, especially in its central district, is poorly supplied with lumber for building and heating purposes. There are coal mines in the region of Olti, out they remain undeveloped. Within the present limits of the republic no petroleum has yet been struck. Consequently, Armenia is distressed for lack of fuel supply. On the other hand, its supply of water power is unlimited for purposes of industry. The streams of the rivers and rivulets thus far explored are capable of furnishing motive power to the extent of nine million of horsepower, which is considerably more than necessary. This water power can be readily utilized to serve all parts of the country.

(e) Highways —Armenia is poorly provided with means of communication. The railways are altogether about 564 kilometers in extent. Railway transportation has been inadequate, by reason of want of the required number of locomotives and cars, and by reason of the difficulties placed by the authorities of Azerbaijan in the way of the transportation of petroleum from Baku to Armenia.

The entire length of macadamized roads is 1,463 kilometers. Communication by means of these roads also is inadequate by reason of the present shortage of draft animals and of motor vehicles.

IX. The life of the Republic in the last 16 months.

The Armenian republic war born, lived and continues to live under extremely difficult conditions.

The long war had devastated and ruined the country. For four years, continuously, the greater part of Armenia was the field of war operations, subject to all the evils that arc inseparable from war, particularly when Turkey is one of the belligerents.

In the course of these years, constructive and productive labor in Armenia almost entirely ceased. Apart from other unfavorable circumstances, we may mention only the absence of laboring men. The whole of the Armenian young manhood for four years was engaged in battles, and the adults left at home could do but little, as they, too, were in the midst of war conditions.

To comprehend the situation in the country two facts must be borne in mind.

First. The Armenians of Russia not only gave to the Russian Army nearly 160,000 soldiers under the draft laws, but also from the beginning of the war formed special Armenian volunteer contingents; and after November, 1917, with the breakdown of the Russian Army, the Armenians alone held the fighting front against Turkey. Thus, for four years the youth of Armenia was constantly engaged in fighting.

Second. In Transcaucasia the war was being waged not only on the front against Turkey but also in the rear, in the interior, against the native Tartars. The Tartars of Transcaucasia, under Russian law, were exempt from conscription; consequently, the Tartar youth, capable of bearing arms and well equipped with arms, remained in their homes, in the rear or in the midst of the Armenians, while the Armenian youth had gone to the war fronts. The Tartars, in order to impede the operations of the front, led by the secret emissaries of Turkey, kept the country in the rear in constant turmoil and apprehension, raided the Armenian villages, killed the people and looted their movables. So that the Armenians remaining at home, instead of devoting themselves to constructive labor, were obliged to defend themselves against these attacks and to carry on a small factional warfare with their Tartar countrymen. So that while the Russian Army, aided by Armenian volunteer troops, was conquering the vilayets of Erzerum, Van, and Bitlis, Caucasian-Armenia was being devastated in the rear by the Tartars.

In November, 1917, when the Russian forces, infected with Bolshevism, abandoned the Caucasian front and without order began to return to Russia, the Tartars openly made common cause with Turkey; the Georgians engaged in negotiations with Germany and assumed a neutral position toward the belligerents, and the Armenians alone actually held the ground against Turkey.

From November, 1917, to May, 1917, for six months continuously, the Armenian forces, hastily collected and organized in the midst of a state of confusion and anarchy, fought the Turkish armies in the front and the Tartars in the rear. Yielding before superior numbers, the Armenians retreated step by step, carrying on a rear-guard fight from Erzingian and Mamakhatoun, through Erzerum, on to the former Russo-Turkish frontier, at the same time protecting the Armenian civilian population who were fleeing to the north from the menace of Turkish massacres.

The victorious Turkish Army, strengthened by two divisions from the Syrian front, did not stop at the frontier, but rushed on to the Caucasus. The Armenian forces retreated and fortified themselves at Kars, when they received orders from the then Transcaucasian government, of which the Georgians had then seized the supreme power, to surrender Kars to the Turks and, in accordance with the treaty of Bres-Litovsk, to hold the line at Alexandropol.

With the retreating Armenian army moved the refugees from Turkish Armenia and from Kars, and overcrowded the district of Alexandropol. But Turkey, disregarding the terms of the treaty of Brest-Litovsk, did not stop at the frontier therein described, but pressed through Alexandropol in two directions; to the east, toward the plain of Ararat, and to the north, toward Bambak and Lori. The Armenian forces and the Armenian people, men and women, stubbornly resisted the advance of the Turks. In May, 1918, two severe battles were fought, at Karaklissa (Bambak) and Sardarabad (Ararat) in which the advance of the Turkish forces was decisively checked, and in consequence thereof the Turkish Government recognized the independence of Armenia within a much-restricted territory.

Turkey was obliged to take that course by reason of the resistance organized by Armenians beyond the limits of Armenia; namely, in the city and Province of Baku. In the early part of 1918, there had been gathered at Baku about 10,000 Armenian officers and men, who, after the rise of Bolshevism, had left the western front of Russia and were returning to Armenia by way of Baku. But the Tartars having cut the railroad lines, the Armenian returning soldiers had been obliged to remain at Baku in a state of siege. In March, when Turkish forces had begun their advance from the south, the Tartars, instigated by the Turks, attempted to disarm the Armenian soldiers as well as the Russian garrison at Baku. The Armenians, in union with the Russians, rose and destroyed the Tartar forces and conquered the city of Baku, as well as the oil district. The armed Tartars, though many times the number of the Russo-Armenian forces, finding themselves unable to overcome them, were imploring the aid of the Turkish Army. The Turks, on the other hand, were anxious to occupy Baku and the oil district, and were urged on by Germany, who was then in great need of fuel supply. The stubborn and desperate resistance of the Armenians in Armenia had impeded the advance of the Turkish Army on Baku. Turkey was obliged to protect the rear of her army in order to reach Baku.

Unable to crush the resistance of Armenia, Turkey was obliged to agree to an armistice with and to recognize the independence of Armenia, so as to be able to concentrate all her forces at Baku. Baku resisted until the middle of September, 1918, when the Turkish Army of 24,000 men under Khalil Pasha, aided by the Tartars, occupied the city of Baku and the oil fields.

When the Armenian government was established at Erivan (May, 1918), the following was the situation confronting it:

The Turkish Army had occupied the greater portion of Caucasian Armenia and had placed her quick-firing guns only within 7 kilometers from Erivan.

Azerbaijan (Tartaristan in Transcaucasia), relying on the presence of the Turkish Army, was pressing the eastern and northern frontiers of Armenia and was threatening to put the Armenian people to the sword.

Georgia had accepted German protection, had welcomed German troops, and by their aid, had occupied in northwestern Armenia two exclusively Armenian districts, Akhalkalak and Lori.

Armenia was left alone, surrounded by hostile armies, without any external aid or support.

The internal condition of the country was desperate. More than half of the people were refugees, without food, clothing, or shelter. The villages and farms had been ruined and farm labor had ceased. The peasants were obliged to consume their grain seed and to kill their yoke animals for food. Famine in all its horrors, with the accompanying contagious diseases, particularly typhus, began to scourge the people. Drugs were already scarce, and drug stores were empty.

Communication with the outside world was altogether cut, because the Turks held the only rail line. Importation of goods had ceased, because all tits had been cut with Russia, Persia, or Europe, and the bordering lands of Georgia and Azerbaijan had no surplus to export.

There was scarcity of goods of all kinds. There was shortage of even petroleum for lamps and of paper for the use of the government offices.

The state mechanism of the Russian regime hail altogether broken down, all administrative functions being demoralized. There was complete chaos and anarchy. It was necessary to start from the beginning and to erect a new national life on the ruins of the old one.

In December, 1918, in pursuance of the conditions of the armistice with the allied powers, the Turkish Army was compelled to evacuate Transcaucasia, including the territories of Russian Armenia. The Turks departed, but in their wake completed the destruction of the partly devastated country. They carried away with them everything they could carry (grain, fodder, cotton, leather, domestic animals, wagons, automobiles, telegraph and telephone instruments, tools and machines from the factories and workshops, even doors and window sashes from houses), and what they could not carry away they burned or demolished.

With the departure of the Turks the territory of the Armenian republic was greatly enlarged and the danger of external complications diminished. But new cares were piled upon the government because it was necessary to establish order and peace in the new territory, and to give relief to the people in that territory who had been looted and made destitute.

It was under such conditions that the republic lived the first year of her life.

The Armenian government, with the native enthusiasm and virility of the Armenian race, met those conditions.

During the flourishing stage of the Russian revolution the socialist watchwords of the revolution were very disturbing to the life of the newly formed states. The government of Armenia was not impressed by those watchwords, but from the beginning realized the actual and pressing demands of the people and maintained a steady and realistic policy, namely, to save the people from extermination, to establish an elementary state organism, and to secure the foundations of the independence of Armenia. This was the conception of duty which the government brought before the parliament and received its approval.

In pursuance of that program the Armenian government in the course of one year (1) organized central and local police forces to protect life and property and the means of communication; (2) reorganized the judicial system and recommenced the regular sessions of the law courts; (3) reorganized the army, small in number, but great in morale and discipline; (4) reopened the schools; (5) as far as possible put in order the postal, telegraph, and telephone communications; (6) in a measure restored rail communications which had become almost impossible by the destruction wrought by the Turks, and by inadequacy of locomotives and cars; (7) put the finances in order, organized a system of taxation, and the machinery of collection: (8) reorganized and established medico-sanitary institutions to fight against epidemics; and (9) devoted its greatest energy and effort to the relief of the famished and incapacitated people and the reconstruction of the ruined economic life of the people, more than half of its budget being appropriated for that purpose.

The results of the labors of the government are far from being sufficient. There are still numerous crying needs awaiting attention. But considering the exceptional conditions surrounding the government, it is no exaggeration to say that these results were greater than could be asked or expected. The one-year life of the republic is convincing proof of its stability and of the capacity of the Armenian people for self-rule.

There were and still are in Armenia all the conditions which create anarchy and extremist mass movements. But Armenia lived free from both. A legal and regular governmental system is firmly established; the laws are obeyed; the state mechanism is working as efficiently as possible; life and property is better protected now than under the former Russian ride; the people quickly appreciated democrative institutions and are attached to the government. The soldiers though tired out by the endless fighting and deprived of many necessities, are loyal and obedient and not a single instance of discontent or strike has occurred in Armenia.

The people, though in distress, proved their intrepidity and patriotism to an unlimited degree. The idea of an independent Armenia has so far stirred their souls that they were ready to submit to any sacrifice or want in order to consolidate their independence. By an exemplary instinct they realize the great significance of the act being performed and are refraining from tendering the task of the government harder.

Only by this devotion and patriotism of the people can be explained the fact that the Armenian republic passed the first year of its life without internal turmoils and disturbances and the government was enabled to establish order and to engage in its constructive efforts.

In connection with the foregoing it is gratefully acknowledged that the Armenian republic has received a measure of economic aid from America, notably the supply of flour being received since April, 1919, in pursuance of an arrangement with the Hoover Food Administration, also supplies of various kinds from the Near East Relief, which aid has materially contributed to the amelioration of the suffering brought on by the war and cruelty of the enemy.

X. The Present Need for External Aid

The land and people of Armenia have all the requirements for the maintenance of an autonomous state.

The land is rich in natural resources and the people are capable of attaining the highest type of civilization, are law abiding, industrious, enterprising, and saving. There is a sturdy and healthy peasantry, firmly attached to the soil and accustomed to the labors of all kinds of farming. There is a host of artisans and mechanics, who in Transcaucasia and especially in Asiatic Turkey, have for centuries held in their hands almost all the arts and trades in the country. There is an extensive class of merchants and manufacturers of large and small proportions, furnishing proof of the capacity of the Armenians to develop and conduct industry and trade along the same broad lines as among highly civilized nations. There is a numerous intellectual class, thousands of specialists and professional men, educated in the universities of Europe and America, competent to conduct the various affairs of the state. Finally, there are military men and officers of all ranks who have received their training and won their spurn in the service of the Russian Army and are competent to conduct an orderly and disciplined army.

The economic and financial future of the country is safe. The republic under the present most distressing conditions in a devastated and ruined territory has already met its ordinary expenses by ordinary revenues. The same thing was true before the war, under the Russian rule, when the imperial revenues from Armenia were considerably more than all imperial expenses within that territory. According to official statistics of the railroad administration, the gross value of all imports into Armenia was far below the gross value of all exports from her; that is, Armenia was producing more than she was consuming. In recent years, before the war, while Armenia was receiving part of her flour from southern Russia, on the other hand, she was exporting her surplus rice, cotton, silk, cheese, butter, dry fruits, wine and alcohol.

While Armenia has all the resources for a national life, at the present critical period of convalescence and rehabilitation after a terrible war, she is in need of friendly assistance from outside nations in the work of organizing and developing her possibilities.

These needs of Armenia are less than were those of other newly formed states in the past. To-day Armenia is already organized and prepared for national life to a greater extent than were Greece,

Serbia, Bulgaria, or Romania during the first few years of their independence. The present needs of Armenia from outside are more moderate than were the needs of those states during the years of their infancy.

The republic of Armenia is entitled to recognition and to temporary aid from the allied and associated powers, and above all, from the great democracy and Government of the United States of America, and respectfully asks:

That the United States recognize the government of the republic of Armenia.
That the rail line from Batum to the Armenian frontier be held, if possible, by a few thousand American troops or marines.
That the United States lend to the republic of Armenia, or enable it to procure a loan in the United States, for the following purposes:

To purchase in the United States goods, munitions, and supplies for shipment to Armenia for the organization of an Armenian army of 30,000 men; and
To purchase in the United States provisions and supplies for the relief of the civil population of Armenia until the crop of 1920.

The question of the unification of the present Armenian republic with Turkish Armenia is now before the peace conference at Paris. The whole Armenian nation is awaiting with hope and confidence for the decisive word of the United States of America, knowing well that the friendly voice of America will be the greatest guarantee for the favorable solution of the Armenian question.

Respectfully submitted.

Oh. Kadjaznouni.

[1] The hectare is 247 acres

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