March 26—­Turks force their way into the compound of the American Mission at Urumiah, seize some Assyrian Christian refugees and kill them; Turks beat and insult American missionaries; American and British Consuls at Tabriz, near Urumiah, have joined in appeal to General commanding Russian forces at Tabriz to go to relief of American Mission at Urumiah, which is described as practically besieged by Turks and Kurds; United States State Department is active and asks Ambassador Morgenthau at Constantinople to urge the Turkish Government to send protection; Persian War Relief Committee cables funds to American Consul at Tabriz for relief at Urumiah.

March 27—­Turkish Grand Vizier issues orders that Christians in disturbed Persian regions be protected and uprisings be suppressed.

March 28—­Turkish regulars are due to arrive at Urumiah to protect Christians and suppress disorder; Turkish War Office says that “no acts of violence had been committed at Urumiah”; Grand Vizier states that reported atrocities are “grossly exaggerated.”

March 30—­Turkish Government gives renewed assurances to Ambassador Morgenthau that protection will be given to Christians at Urumiah.

RUMANIA.

March 6—­Parliament passes a law empowering Government to proclaim a state of siege until the end of the war, if such a step is thought necessary; military representatives of the Government are seeking to place large orders for arms and ammunition with American firms.

March 12—­Prime Minister Jonesco is quoted in a newspaper interview as saying that he is sure the Allies will force the Dardanelles, the result of which will be that Rumania will join the war.

March 15—­Rumania’s war preparations are causing uneasiness in Austria-Hungary.

March 18—­Government seizes a large quantity of shells in transit from Germany for Turkish troops.

RUSSIA.

March 1—­Paris Temps says that the Allies have reached an agreement by which Russia will have free passage through the Dardanelles.

March 4—­Village women capture and bind a detachment of German soldiers.

March 24—­Congress of Representatives of the Nobility, in annual session at Petrograd, passes resolutions stating that “the vital interests of Russia require full possession of Constantinople, and both shores of the Bosporus and the Dardanelles and the adjacent islands.”

TURKEY.

March 9—­American missionaries, arriving in New York from Jerusalem, say that the fall of the Dardanelles will probably mean a massacre of Jews and Gentiles in the Holy Land.

March 11—­There is a panic in Constantinople and many foreigners are leaving.

March 15—­All Serbs and Montenegrins have been ordered to leave Constantinople within twenty-four hours.