The morning journal-courier., 1908-01-18
JOURNAL COURIER SATURDAY JANUARY 18

far prevented the signing of the con- stitution by the shah.
 And it is in this spirit that justice is administered. One instance will serve as an illustration. A Syrian Christian recently put away his wife. with whom he had lived for many years, and mar ried young woman in her place. All the Christian sects united in demand ing the punishment of the offender; and under the old order it is almost certain that he would have been made to suffer heavy penalty, for Moslem law almost universally recognizes the jurisdiction of Christian ecclesiastical authorities in such mat@rs. The gall ty man. however, found friends in the anjuman. To their perverted ideas it was rank justice for man to be fore ed to live with an old wife. In their desire to regulate everything, the an- juman tried to assume control Of this case also and undertook to judge it according to the base. conceptions @of
 
 Even one of the most enlightened pop ular leaders declared that with the ad- vent of liberty into Persia, everyone should be allowed to marry as many wives as he pleased. How seemingly hopeless is all liberty when there are no more exalted principles with which to govern mems actions.
 A third difficulty is one not peculiar to conditions in Persia; but is com mon to all times of transition It is that of divided and irresponsible au- thority. It would be hard indeed for anyone to say who are the real rdIers at the present. The power of the To- cal governors is almost gone; they are little better than figureheads. and their ability to maintain themselves in office depends wholly on their tact in dealing with the conflicting elements. The governor of Tabriz was driven out of the 'ity and then recalled by the populace. The governor of Khoi has fled from a mob and is now in hid ing, no one knows where. In place of
  the anjuman; but back of the anjuman is a comm lice of repres Etatives of the trades, which scrutilligas and even revises it's decisions; and ba,k of all are the patriotic societies. called s0me- times the mujahidin, that is, the strug- glers or champions. and sometimes fe- dias.. that IS, the devotees. As slere are two rival societies Of this character we have in tnis city five sources of au- thority, anl it is often tn, one which is least responsible whiSh exercises the most power. As a result we seem to be drifting toward anarchy, and at times we feel as if We had actually reached that unfortunate stage. The assdssiu- ation of the prime miuis:sc and of a number of provAcial governors, to say nothing of lesser officials, are lurid it. lustrations of present conditions. It was probably inevitable that we should pass through a reign of disor- der; but how long that period of an archy will endure in any time of tran sition always depends upon the inher- ent love of law and order and the strength of right principles among the people at large.
 There are, however, on the other hand many encouraging features and many signs of promise. First and chiefest Persia Is awakening Nothing is so fatal to all good, in the life of a nation as truly as of individuals, than the sleeping sickness" We have prayed for quickening of the life of this people, and. now-it~has come. The new found energy may be crudely eS- erted, it may even be used for self-de- structioni but there can be no for ward movement without 1t. If any one really questions whether Persia is indeed arousing. from the slumber of centuries, he ought to make us a visit. We could take him to a mass meeting numbering many thousands harangued by travelling political agitator. who denounces tyranny, exposes abuses, points out the road of progress and demands liberty with as much free dom as in any western land. and with a great deal more of picturesoueness We could show him a political demon stration in the capital of this pro vince, in which an even larger number of men armed with Mauser rifles march in procession, and behind them little boys carrying wodNn guns on their shoulders, while criv for free dom and the constitution fll the air. We could carry him outside the city to help welcome a poular hero of the