The morning journal-courier., 1908-01-18

men, strong men. and above all true men-they are not to be found It is this lack which makes the present sit uation so critical. The old system was rotten enough, but if the official high and low bought their offices and lived by oppression, if the judges accepted bribes openly and unblushingly, if the one dominant political idea of each man was to fleece the fellow below and cheat the one above, it was all that was expected, and it was accepted with true oriental resignation. But with the advent of new ideas there was a universal ouucry against this corrup- ton. The local governing assemblies, or Anjumans, as they are called, were established with large promises and a great show of zeal on the part of the chosen representatives, and with the brightest of hopes on the part of the people. Here in our own city there were signal acts of justice, that were refreshing in the extreme. The land-
 
 their exactions, and in more than one case miserable ryot won his suit agalnst member of the nobility. The oihclal Who has charge of all non-Mos- len sects, and who notoriously en- couraged all sorts of wicked litigation that he and his army of servants might fatten on the litigants, virtually had to close up shop. Even the governor was forced to disgorse a heavy fine that he had unjustly exacted. No wonder that some of the poor people thought that the millennium had come But it did not require many months or even weeks to reveal the sad fact that mem bers of the Anjuman were more jeal- ous in fighting others than in keeping themselves unspotted Charges of bribery began to be made, against these so-called reformers. One of the worst offenders was forced out of the Anjuman by public sentiment but others just as bad remained in their positions of power. As a result some of the judgments and decisions of the Anjuman can rival in outrageous injustice those of the old regime. Two representative cases may be mentioned. IA leading Syrian Christian was only recently bled of large sum of money on trumped-up charges supported by openly false evidence, for the sake of Moslem who stood high in the fav- or of the anjuman. Our Persian Mir ga, who has large property interests, has been for several years the object of unjust litigation, during which two of his relatives were killed in cold blood. His case has been repeatedly settled, as we thought, by those high est in authority; and the murderers were caught and held for punishment, just before the aniuman came into power. Because the litigants however, had influential friends in the commit tee, the whole case was reopened and the smurderers set at liberty; and now the Mirza is not only in danger of los ing his property. but he has even planned to leave the vicinity because of possible violence to his person. Many have by such acts of injustice become disilMsioned, and they are beginning to fear that no matter what the form of government is, tho corruption will re- main.
 Another feature of the situation, which is oftentimes disheartening though not at all strange, is the bond age of the great majority of the people to the false principles of life which have been current for centuries. The law of the land is of course, the Mo hammedan religious code. The Koran and the traditions still govern every department of life in way wholly in applicable to westerner. One has but to know the infiexibility and obso- leteness of these regulations, sanction ed by religion, to realize how utterly incompatible they are with any new so- cial or political ideals. And yet only a few of the more broad-minded Per- sians seem capable of recognizing this fact as yet; and even this, they do only in secret. The great mass of the peo. pie still cling to the old principles of | life; and inasmuch as politics and re- lfgion are inseparable, with the quicken ing of the patriotic spirit there has
 been an increased loyalty In many l quarters to Islam The ecclesiastics and 1 descendants of the prophet, are stil the most influential class in Persia;
 and they have no thought of relin- 1 quishing any of their supremacy ovel the minds of the people. It is the hos.
 tility of this great body which has SC