The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1891-08-16
IN ASSYRIA.
A Country Where Men Can Live for SIX Cents
Day Slavery.

Men live on 6 cents day In Assyria.
Assyrlan women, after 100 years of Chris
tan labor, are bought and sold are made to
work with oxen at the plow, and have as
little liberty as in the days of Cadmus. Men
who pay Sc a day to live and ladies' who
ride TO shops in yictorias thought over these
things as they left the Lincoln Park Con-
gresational Church Sunday night. Amen
Rasi, born Oh Mount Lebanon, told these
things in broken English.
Amen Rasi is a tall, handsome Assyrian,
with skin as rich as the cinnamon silks
made at the foot OF the mountain on which
he was born. He looked into the curious,
bright eyes Of girls and told them that, had
they been born Assyrians in Assyria, they
could not 20 upon the streets unless their
faces were concealed that they could neither
receive nor make a call upon women with
out their husbands consent, and that if at
any time, even by accident, they were seen
by any man or in any way recognized, no
one would marry them.
lie said that once two coGples-a tall man
and short woman and short man and
tall woman-stood before priest to be wed.
The priest placed the tall man and the tall
woman and the short man and the short
woman together, and none of the four knew
whether 1t was right or not, neither of them
knowing the other. But the parents hastily
objected, and placed the tall man by the
short woman and the short man by the tall
woman, as that was the way of the con-
tracts.
Then Mr.. Rasi showed how these con-
tracts were made. He left the pulpit and
presently man wrapped up in rich Assyr-
ian raiment went up aud sat upon the floor.
Mr.. Rasi came back and squatted beside
him.
II would very much like" he said, for
girl who is yours 10 be wife to my son,
Isaac"
would be honored," returned the man.
with very unmistakable American accent.
:. how many have you?'
How much years have they?"
"One is 10, one 20 and one 90"
Don't talk to me about the 25 nor the
20; they are never fit to marry. How much
do you charge for the little one?"
and $50"
Bah! 1 can buy 100 women for so
much"
- But no little one"
ION, l think So"
We'll, you can't have mine for cent
less"
- pay"
But even then Isaac did not get the little
one, because few minutes later Mr.. Rasi
returned as another man, and by doubling
the price secured the girl for his son Jacob
Then Amen Rasi looked at the young men.
whose patent feathers cost then 81, and told
them that people in Assyria paid so cents for
suit OF clothes. The common people, he
said, paid % cents a day for house rent. 8
cents for % pounds of cabbage and 4 cents
Tor pounds of turnips. Fifty loaves OF
bread were turned out at baking, anu men
sometimes ate four and five loaveS at meal.
he waited for moment, and then, turning
to a blackboard behind, said: They are SO
Big and he drew a circle that would in
close Thanksgiving platter.
speaking OF Assyrian cities, he said that
when in the gardens of Sidon the rain fen
upon the orange and lemon trees and
knocked the fruit upon the ground a hun
dred could be purchased for cents He
said that in Damascus there ara 10000 Mo-
hammedans, 10000 Christians and 5000
Jews. In the city there is a building
haunted by John the Baptists ghost The
door of the room in which he is said to have
been beheaded is never opened The Mo-
hammsdans say that once long ago some
one opened 1t, and the Baptist's blood flowed
out over the city to depth of five inches.
II WIS the custom of w0rshipers to leave
their shoes outside the temple. There were
sometimes 300 or 400 pairs standing in a row
and the poorer people hurried through their
prayers first and then carefully selected tho
finest footwear in the row, thereby Illus
tratlng the great cleverness of the Assyr-
lans.-Chicago Herald.