The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1892-07-24

Shah. and effordinE q level surface 70 admit OF
the eouipages that transport the royal harem.
These offer tho only possible drives to the
residents OF the capital. Among minor
routes accessible to vehicles, for the construo-
ton or repair Of which an effort has from time
to time been made. may be mentioned the
roads from Reshd to Pir-i-Bazaar and from
Tabriz to Julia What are known asst postal
or chapdr routes are In no sense
made roads. They are merely superior
caravan tracks. commonly strewn with
stones. and In tho mountain-passes little
moro than burrows or ruts- The remain
ing highways OF Persia may DO divided into
two classes: caravan or mule tracks upon
which some. however slight. labor has ut one
or another time been spent, and those to
which no labor at all has ever been devoted.
Tho sole examples OF the former class are the
mountain roads leading from Teheran to
Meshed.i-S Ser. on the Caspian. and the exc
CRADLE ladder-road from Bushire to Shiraz. To
the second class belongs every other track In
Persia that has been moro or less worn BY the
feet OF beasts OF burden passing from town
to town or village to village So much for
tho existing routes. Under the auspices OF
the Imperial Bank an attempt Is now being
made to supply Persians not merely with
carriageable road and transport service by
carts. but with new highway OF entry into
the country. penetrating as far as tho capital.
from the Southern Sea. This Is the long pro-
jectcd and now finally begun road which leads
to Teheran from Shusthar or Ahwaz on the
Karum. A concession for this road for sixty
years was granted by the Shah In 1889. and
workmen are now engaged upon II.
We como now to railways. and the first point
to be noted In connection with them is the
geographical situation Of the country. Every
- 81 trNt
from the sea level to the elevated plateau.vary-
Ing from 5000 to 1000 feet In height, which
constitutes tho bulk OF Persia. upon which
all the great cities are placed. The passes
conducting to this plateau are commonly OF
great altitude and steepness. being as . rule
80 precipitous that even mule traffic Is not I'M
attended with danger. Herein lies tho pre-
liminary obstacle. conauerable indeed by en-
gineers but only at . hazardous cost to the
pocket either Of tho Government or OF the
shareholders. 1t 10 not. however. tho mpedi-
m ents OF nature so much as the rivalries and
intrigues OF diplomatists which are account
able for the fact that no Bradshaw" has yet
been able to devote q page to the time table OF
Persian railways. Tho famous Reuter- concos-
sion in 1872 was not tho first railway grant
that had been made by tho Persian Gov
ernment Between 1865 and 1871 French.
German. Austrian. and English syndicates had
successfully been authorized to proceed. These
schemes. lika the notorious Reuter- agree
ment, came to nothing. and the concessions
were eventually revoked. Among the oonces-
sions. however. made to NJ Boital In 1882 was
one for small Decauville railway from Tehe-
ran to the famous shrine Of Shah Abdul Aim.
situated about six miles south OF the city.
This concession was sold to a Belgian syndi-
cate: the engines were built In Brussels and
brought In pieces by the way Of Baku to
Teheran. and the rails were transported at
tho cost OF twenty dollars a pair from the
Caspian to the capital An eighty-centimetre
gauge was adopted. and in July. 1888 the limo
was opened by the SHAH The traffic on this
little road has not answered expectations.
and financially the speculation Is believed to
DO failure. 1t Is hoped that this company
may ultimately procure concession FOR an
extension southwark. In the meanwhile. be-
ing anxious to recruit itself for the losses In
CURED. 1t bought in 1899 tramway conces-
sion. the lines Of which, stretching at present
for about five miles through the streets Of tho
capital. were opened to traffic during Mr.. Cur
zon's stay In Teheran. Persia's second rail-
way runs twelve miles from the roadstead Of
Mahmudabnd to the town OF Amol. which is
only six days march by caravan from
Teheran. This line. which has gauge
OF four feet eight and half inches.
was badly engineered and abominably laid
with rotten sleepers and rickety bridges Hav-
ing been left in Persian hands. the rolling
stock consisted. when Mr. Curzon was in the
country. OF dozen uncovered trucks and one
locomotive. nominally driven by an African
negro. which. in fact. had either been blown
up or broken down.
The hitherto unsurmountable obstacle to
tho Introduction OF railways In Persia Is the
antaconism OF Russia The influence OF the
Cars representative at Teheran is steadily
cast against all lines except such as would
facilitate Russian ascendancy. In 1890 the
Russian Minister secured a prohibition OF
railway building for ten years from 1888.
",
Let us now see what Mr.. Curzon has to tell
us about Persian education. 1t appears that
in every town. city. and village there is some
sort Of school. In the small villages this is
often no moro than class instructed by a
mullah In the parish mosque. Here the chill
dren are taught the Persian equivalent to the
three RS. i. e.. the Persian alphabet, the rudi-
ments OF arithmetic. and q parrot knowledge
OF the Koran. BY parrot knowledge Mr.. Cur
zon means that the children are taught to
pronounce the Arabic OF the Moslem scrip
lures WITHOUT the slightest mixing as TO
its meaning. Though all arrive at the
power Of reading the Persian alphabet. only
few attain to that OF writing it. Among the
latter primary education is carried step fur
ther inasmuch as it will embrace slight
knowledge OF the national poetry and an nc
qunintance with the rounded phrase and swell
ing trope In which the Persian Imagination
loves to expand its wings. In the majority OF
cases the repeating from memo DRY OF a few pray
ers and passages from tho Koran. with some
shreds OF poetry is all that OF his school
days to villager Elementary education OF
the kind described is. however. very cheap.
amounting only to from II cents to 43 cents
per month for each child. There are no
high schools or grammar schools In the
English sense OF the torn. Tho only
form Of secondary education open to the
masses and that only to u limited section OF
them. Is provided In tho madressohs. or re-
ligious colleges. which are irequented by can
ddates for the three learned professions OF
the church. law. and medicine. Hero the cur
riculum is Of peculiarly narrow character.