The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1886-12-13

Z LAND WHERE THE OFFICES ARE
EARNED OUT.

comDeo with Corfu ptlou--Jhs P0oF the
only Taxpayer Condition Of tbs
Lower Glasses Might Re Worse.
Honesty there isn't much Of IL Persia
Political services are always paid foT-ottlcs
on delivery. Here is Tor instance, the son
Of tie present LuOurshesr- sd-dowlsh, Z boy
II !, not quite I've feet high His father
had done the shah Z little service some time
ego, and % tds young fellow got JOB as
governor u GhassriD, important and
fertile province. he didn't rule any wOrss
than his prsdeCes5Ors--that's true AZ z
general thing the Offices are all farIned out
80 much cash down and 30 much every year
as long as the Office holds good, which is not
long For the right divine % nisgoysrn
some u the mora important provinces snor-
NOUS sums are paid. Thus, the lilies ultan
pays his royal papa annually matter Of
~ OJJ tOmaus, and the other prince At
IaDresz pays ZlODJJ The governor Of
Khorassan, although bossing il over
thinIy peopied and sadly impoverished
country exposed % continual inroads u the
TUrcOmans, yet has % find the wherewIthal
~ TepIeui5h the Golfers II his master every
year To the tune Of 5000 toLnans So go,
and 30 IL goes on IN proportion in al the
other Offices down u tie very sculLOns who
lave 70 bribe their superiors % bs allowed
70 stay another term
Everything goes ny bribery, corruption,
and stealing here either direct or indirect.
The whole country. from the complicated
government machinery down % the smallest
business Is 90 honey colnDsd with this thing
that / doubt II q thorough reform could
ever " accomplished here n this slow going,
conservative country, even II some shah OF
a succession Of shahs should attempt Il The
present shah Is, Tor Instance, fully aware Of
this dreary state Of things as numbers Of
his sayings prove. but he Las never tried to
remedy IL Thus he gives the latest Jobs
within his gilt always 70 MS favorites.
Every EOou-Rouz lNew Years. about March
Il, be sends out q number OF them, who
have % bear the khalaus robes Of honor 20
the big ofhcehOIders Ia the provinces This
IS q sign that they VIII " allowed 20 hang
On % their Offices At least one year longer.
/ he messenger bearing this mystic gift trav-
els with almost royal pOmp, and a large
retluue Of servants, horses, mules, cameIs
etc. All this spleudOr and the gigantic
brlbe paid the messenger 70 report 70 the
shah that the province Is in apple pie order,
and that all the inhabitants thereof are as
happy as the day il long, has 70 come out
Of the governor or officer, and indirectly, of
course out Of the poor taxpayer, and when
1 say poor taxpayer" / mean poor tax
payer, for here the only taxpayers are the
pDor-the artisans, the peasants. the small
tradespsople.
NOT a POOR MANS Paradise
The rich don't pay any taxes whatever.
That is why a great many rich folks here,
with whom the fear OF being despoiled Is
greater than their love Of display and that
Is one Of the leading traits Of the Persian
the love Of display live in mud novels, 20
about on the back Of lame donkeys, and
wear shabby clothes. As soon a. a peasant,
for instance, has had a plentiful crop
presto! the thumb screw is applied TO him,
and he Is made 70 pay twice his usual taxes.
Redress, there Is none. A refractory tax
payer is simply bastinadoed till he gives in
1t Is astonishing that there is any people
left here at all 70 raise taxes from. But
century after century Of this misgovern-
ment and oppression has accustomed them
to 1t, 50 that they don't know any better,
and think IL IS as it ought 70 be- Nowhere
else In the world, / do believe, are the PEG
pie such thorough believers in the old saw:
Whatever is, is righti7 Besides, they can't
ant, and have but the filmiest and most
absurd ideas Of other countries They don't
know but what Persia is really the poor
mans paradise as once saw Persia called
in book written by Dr. Willis Emigrate
they can't-there Is a law against it, and
the government prevents it Even the poor
Guebres, tortured and oppressed beyond en-
sly, and those caught were punished cruelty.
In spite Of all this the poor here, as far
as the actual necessities Of life are con
cerned, are really better off than in some
other countries-as in the south Of Italy, for
instance, or even the west Of Ireland. They
have enough TO eat and drink, and the
shelter they have is ample three-fourths Of
the year. The soil, when cultivated, Is usu- .
ally extremely rich, the climate not rigor- /
Gus, and the clothes they wear and food .
they eat can be supplied for neat to moth .
ing. Their wants are not those OF civilized .
beings, but Of poor, down-trOdden slaves. .
who have been under the heel of the con-
4ueror for thousands Of years Who knows .
but what it comes in appropriately here to .
say, Where ignorance Is bliss 'twere folly to .
oe wisef At least, ! musS say that it is
but very seldom that one meets a Persian
no matter how humble, even the beggar by /
The road side-who wears the detected, des-
plate, miserable air one may see so often de-
picted on the faces of the toiling masses Of .
England, France, Germany or Italy. 1t .
seems the gayety Of heart, the elasticity of
mind we find in Hafz, a Saadi, have not
wholly faded out of the national character.
Wolf Won Schierbrand's Teheran Letter.