Επιστολή του <Ε.Βενιζέλου> προς τον <Dr.R.Burrows> σχετικά με τη διερεύνηση των γεγονότων που συνέβησαν ανάμεσα σε Έλληνες και Τούρκους στη Σμύρνη.

carrying out of the mixed investigation. I was obliged to conform with M.Balfour's recommendat- ion and I have accordingly commissioned Col. Masarakis -- who has been with me as a military adviser for the last eight months and whom I trust absolutely -- to proceed to Smyrna and dconduct a thorough investigation on the spot. I still believe, dear Friend, that the real truth will prove the alleged accusations as greatly exaggerated. As you will see from the enclosed copy (Annex B) of General Paraskevopoulos' cable, which contains the conclusion of Lt. Gen. Leonardopoulos' report, it can be deduced, that on the whole the conduct of our soldiers has been beyond reproach and that"only very few of them got out of control". As regards the question of the killing of Turkish prisoners, the report states that a detachment of the Fourth Infantry Regiment, which did not part- icipate in the conflict, protected them against the infuriated populace. It is of course true that Lt. Gen. Leonardopoulos' report was written at a time, when the accusation against the Greek soldiers, ha having participated in the killing of prisoners, had not been made, and owing to this, one cannot definitely express himself as to the veracity of this accusation from the above report, since this particular phase of the question did not figure prominently in the investigation. Moreover, I can surmise from a recent cable of M.Sterghiades that although the Greek soldiers generally protected the prisoners from the aggression of the populace -- as is also stated in Lt. Gen. Leonardopoulos's report -- still, the possibility is not alto- gether excluded that they may have tolerated these murders, or