Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - IX. New plans for irrigation. Echmiadzin
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
Below is the raw OCR text
from the above scanned image.
Do you see an error? Proofread the page now!
Här nedan syns maskintolkade texten från faksimilbilden ovan.
Ser du något fel? Korrekturläs sidan nu!
This page has never been proofread. / Denna sida har aldrig korrekturlästs.
218 ARMENIA AND THE NEAR EAST
proceed on the assumption that the Armenian Government
agreed that at least 15,000 of the settlers on this new land
should be Armenian refugees brought by us from Europe.
We held that it would be a very good thing to begin,
preferably as soon as possible, by draining the swampy stretches
of country, which, besides being the work that was easiest,
would do a great deal to diminish the prevalence of malaria.’
We further proposed that the Armenian refugees in Europe
should be utilized to the fullest possible extent as labourers
in these enterprises ; and we assumed that by so doing at
least 2,000 refugees and their families could be employed from
the outset, with the possibility of doubling this number
within a short time.
All this was comparatively plain såiling, and the Armenian
Government quite agreed with our views. But now came the
most difficult problem of all : how were we to raise the
money that would be needed for carrying out the plans ? So
far as we could see from the estimates submitted to us, the
amount needed to pay for draining the marshy country,
making canals, and constructing the whole irrigation system,
both in the Kirr districts and in the marshy tracts, would
come to at least 6 million gold roubles ; and in addition to
this, we should need a good deal of money—round about
3 million roubles—to defray the cost of settling the refugees
on the new land and giving them a good start. This meant
a total of 9 million gold roubles, or in round figures a million
pounds. There seemed to be three possible ways of raising
the money : by an international appeal for private subscrip
tions, by grants from European and American Governments,
or, failing these, by a loan. We did not think that, in the
economic conditions now prevailing in Europe, there was
any hope of raising such a large sum in the form of contribu
tions from private donors or Governments ; the only remaining
alternative, therefore, was a loan.
I gave an account of what we had done to get the loan for
settling the Greek refugees in Greece, and cxplained how it
was secured, on the recommendation and with the aid of the
League of Nations, in face of great obstacles. In the present
case, involving a similar loan for Armenia and for settling
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
