The Great Fire (49 page)

   
50
    
“The Bosporus,” wrote a navy intelligence officer . . .”
Robert Dunn,
World Alive; a Personal Story
(New York: Crown Publishers, 1956).

   
50
    
A British tailor custom made
Bristol to Sansom & Bromley, Plymouth, England, April 23, 1919. MLB.

   
50
    
His first caller on Saturday
BWD, Sept. 2, 1922.

   
50
    
In Bristol’s mind, Greeks
Bristol’s dismissive attitude toward the local peoples and his antipathy especially toward the Greeks, Armenians, and Jews has been well established. “The Greek is about the worst race in the Near East.” Bristol letter to Admiral W. S. Sims, May 19, 1919, MLB, as quoted in Housepian. “The Armenians are a race like the Jews—they have little or no national spirit and poor moral character.” Bristol to Sims, May 18, 1919, as quoted in Hovannisian,
Armenian Genocide in Perspective,
105. “If you shake them up in a bag you wouldn’t know which one would come up first but the Turk is the best of the lot.” Hovannisian,
Armenian Genocide
, 105. H.H. Topakyan, former Persian consul, quoted in the
New York Times
Sept. 17, 1922: “. . . I came in contact with Rear Admiral Mark Bristol, who, not suspecting my Armenian origin, but supposed me to be a Persian, deliberately told me once: ‘I hate the Greeks, I
hate the Armenians, I hate the Jews. The Turks are fine fellows.’” Peter Michsel Buzanski,
Admiral Mark L. Bristol and Turkish-American Relations, 1919–1922.
Ph.D. diss., University of California, 1960, 116: “. . . the Greeks failed where ever they tried to rule other people but the evidence seemed to indicate that the Greeks could not even rule themselves.”

   
51
    
Bristol was sure that the British
“Intelligence Report.” STANAV, August 21, 1922, File105-100, MLB. “From two reliable sources it was learned that Sir Basil Zaharoff has bought the controlling interest in the Ionian Bank Limited. . . . Zahaoff intends also to establish a bank of issue at Smyrna with the object of financing the new government.”

   
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Even before arriving
Buzanski,
Admiral Mark L. Bristol,
27, 24–50. Also, Bristol to Lyman April 28, 1919, MLB: “I am practically holding down the ambassador’s job but without the name.”

   
52
    
“Anyway Irving is . . .”
Bristol to Helen Bristol, Jan. 5, 1919, MLB. Bristol had called in chits . . . Bristol to Knapp, August 26, 1919, MLB; Buzanski,
Admiral Mark L. Bristol,
36.

   
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He consolidated his authority “Personnel in Cilicia,” Memorandum to Detachment Commander, USS Sands (243), Jan. 18, 1922, MLB.

   
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A lot of Bristol’s intelligence
Buzanski,
Admiral Mark L. Bristol,
41. H. S. Knapp, vice admiral of U.S. Naval Forces operating in European Waters to Bristol, June 4, 1919, MLB: “The style of the (intelligence) report is, in places, rather flippant. . . . there are two or three very improper expressions in the report that have probably already caught your eye. . . . I am sure you will agree with me that such expressions are unofficerlike and highly improper.” In his June 25 response to Knapp, Bristol, whose fitness report was then being prepared by his navy superiors, distanced himself from his favorite intelligence officer. The report, he wrote, “got by me . . . I feel that your criticism is quite justified and I am glad to say that I had already taken steps to prevent these things from happening again.”

   
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Dunn had a reputation
Buzanski,
Admiral Mark L. Bristol,
41.

   
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She accompanied him
Bristol to Horton October 16, 1919, MLB; Horton back to Bristol, December 11, 1919, GHP.

   
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Armenians present were discussing your party
Horton letter to Bristol, Dec. 11, 1919, GHP.

   
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Helen Bristol threw herself
Robert Shenk,
America’s Black Sea Fleet:
The U.S. Navy amidst War and Revolution, 1919–1923
(Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2012), 77, 83–84, 161.

   
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“A nasty pair . . .”
Domvile Diary, July 2, 1922.

   
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Helen Bristol was the daughter
Biographical details on Helen Bristol are drawn from her correspondence, which is included in MLB; also from the
Mobile Register,
“R. Moore Is dead; End Very Sudden,” June 30, 1916; “Personal and General,” Aug. 27, 1901; “Mobile Woman Is Given Recognition As First Lady in Constantinople,” November (date illegible) 1920. “Funeral of Judge Bailey Thomas Is Held at Athens,” Aug. 5, 1901,
Atlanta Constitution
. Thomas W. Reed, “William Bailey Thomas,”
History of the University of Georgia 1866–1874
, Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Georgia.

   
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Bristol’s career was not without
Philip Anorans, Bureau of Navigation, to Bristol July 15, 1912, MLB; Bristol to Vice Admiral Adolphus, Sept. 3, 1912. MLB.

   
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He also got into a dispute
George Van Deurs,
Wings for the Fleet: A Narrative of Naval Aviation’s Early Development, 1910–1916
(Annapolis: U.S. Naval Institute, 1966), 147, ff.: “Mark Bristol was an ambitious officer, who was awaiting orders after having been court-martialed for grounding his ship in a fog off the China coast. He had no aeronautical experience, no desire to fly and no curiosity about planes, but he was known as a good administrator, and he wanted a job that would enhance his service reputation.” Also: Ryan D. Waddel, “United States Navy Fleet Problems and the Development of Carrier Aviation, 1929–1933.” Master’s thesis, Texas A&M University, August 2005, 10.

   
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The rancor he stirred at Pensacola
Dunn to Bristol, Dec. 20, 1922. MLB.

   
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In 1916, after working
“Bristol, Mark,” NPRC.

   
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Only days before, Bristol
“Intelligence Report,” 103–100, August 10, 1922. STANAV. MLB.

   
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At the same time, Bristol
Bristol to State, August 28, 1922. MLB.

   
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“The afternoon was . . .”
BWD, Sept. 2 1922.

CHAPTER 7: WASHINGTON RESPONDS

   
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The message had moved
Carl H. Butman, “Secret Lines of Radio Communication,”
Radio World
2 (1922): 18.

   
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It had rained furiously
“Sox Advance at Tribe’s Expense” and “City
Emerges from Wrack of 40 Year Record Storm,”
Washington Post,
Sept. 3, 1922.

   
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Allen Dulles, a promising
James Srodes,
Allen Dulles: Master of Spies
(Washington, DC: Regnery, 1999), 116–133.

   
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Phillips was a lean
William Phillips,
Ventures in Diplomacy
(Boston: Beacon Press, 1953); “William Phillips, Former Ambassador, Dies at 89,”
New York Times
, Feb. 24, 1968.

   
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“Too many of his evenings”
William Phillips, Ventures in Diplomacy, Boston: Beacon Press, 1953, 115.

   
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The U.S. Embassy in
Sheldon Whitehouse to State Dept, August 23, 1922. NA 767.61/258.

   
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“. . . I respectfully request,”
Horton to State, Sept 2. NA 761.68/274.

   
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The two men stood poles apart
Their differences appear throughout their correspondence. See, e.g., Horton to State Dept., April 18, 1921, regarding Horton’s disagreement with Bristol over Aristides Stergiades. NA 868.48/74. Also, Marjorie Housepian Dobkin, “George Horton and Mark L. Bristol: Opposing Forces in U. S. Foreign Policy, 1919–1922,”
Bulletin for the Centre for Asia Minor Studies
(4) (1983).

   
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In May, a public debate had broken
Robert A. Hohner,
Prohibition and Politics: The Life of Bishop James Cannon, Jr.
(Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1999), 139–141.

   
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Also, in June, the British
“American to Join European Powers in Turkish Inquiry,”
New York Times
, June 3, 1922.

   
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He was happy to defer
Harding to Hughes, May 20, 1922, 867.4016/ 498 The entire string of correspondence is instructive: United States Department of State /
Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, 1922
, 919–983. http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/FRUS.

   
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In 1922, America was having
George Otis Smith, “Where the World Gets Its Oil but Where Will Our Children Get It When American Wells Cease to Flow?”
The National Geographic Magazine
37.2 (1920): 181–202. Also see “The World’s Oil Supply,”
New York Times
, Jan. 7, 1920.

   
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In 1900, there were hardly
For a history of popular automobiles on the period, see “Ford Model T History and the Early Years of the Ford Motor Company.” History of the Ford Model T, Henry Ford and Ford Motor Company Background, History and Facts, http://www.modelt.ca/background.html. “Chevrolet’s Classic—1920 Chevrolet FB-50 Touring.” Classic
Cars for Sale, Collector Car News and Auction Coverage, http://www.hemmings.com/hcc/stories/2005/08/01/hmn_feature12.html.

   
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In the first decade
For this history of the oil industry, I am deeply indebted to Daniel Yergin’s masterwork,
The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, & Power
(New York: Free Press, 2009).

   
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He sent it along to the White House
Phillips to Harding, Sept. 5, 1922. NA 167.68/276

   
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Before becoming president
, For the basic outline of Harding’s life and his administration, see John Dean,
Warren Harding
as well as
The Harding Affair: Love and Espionage during the Great War.
(New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009).

   
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Harding’s response to Phillips
, Harding to Phillips, Sept. 5, 1922. NA 767,68/274.

   
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As these White House messages were sent
Horton to State, Sept 4. NA 767.68/27.

   
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“It seems to me it would be wiser . . .”
Phillips to Harding, Sept. 5, 1922. NA 767.68/276.

   
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Yet another cable came in from Horton
, Horton to State Dept, Sept. 5, 1922. GHP.

   
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Amid this flurry of cables
Phillips to Acting Navy Secretary Roosevelt, Sept. 5, 1922. NA 767.68/274.

   
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The twenty-foot-wide hallways
Details on the interior space of the building provided by Kristen Fusselle, fine arts specialist, General Services Administration in an interview with the author.

   
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Roosevelt immediately cabled Bristol
Roosevelt to Bristol, Sept 5, 1922. MLB.

   
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Finally, Phillips responded to Horton
Phillips to Horton, NA 767.68/274.

   
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“Department is not inclined to do more . . .”
Phillips to Bristol, Sept. 5, 1922. MLB.

CHAPTER 8: JENNINGS’S SUGGESTION

   
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The Jenningses had been settled
Jennings to Darius. Davis. April 8, 1923. KFYA.

   
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Most of his neighbors
Sara Jacob to D. Davis, Sept. 14, 1922, KFYA. Annie Gordon to Mrs. Lamson, Sept. 14, 1922. GHP.

   
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The house that Jennings
Various sources describe Paradise and the college
setting: MacLachlan, 124; the memoirs of three members of the Caleb Lawrence family, Helen, his wife; Dorothy Lawrence Smith, his daughter, and Arthur, his son. The first two can be read at Levantine. com and the third, “Barefoot Boy from Turkey,” is in CLP.

   
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He had spent his boyhood
Asa Kent Jennings, Boyhood Diary, AJKP.

   
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Asa Jennings had brought something else
Amy Jennings to Schneider; “Interview with Amy Jennings,”
Orlando (Fla.) Sunday Sentinel-Star,
Jan. 11, 1953, KFYA; Author’s interview with Roger Jennings, Queensbury, NY, May 7, 2011.

   
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Early in 1918, while he was
AKJ’s YMCA history in Europe comes from his file at KFYA and Springfield (Mass.) College Archives. About the YMCA in Europe, see
YMCA Yearbook 1920
, 64–77; and “The YMCA in Czechoslovakia,”
The Sphere,
1 (1920), 34–43.

   
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In Paradise, Jennings had
E.O. Jacob, “Jacob’s Ladder.” Unpublished memoir, KFYA.

   
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Don’t you know?
D. A. Davis to Henrietta Harrison, October 16, 1951. KFYA.