Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-12-08
PROGRESS OF THE PEOPLE
) Revolution Largely Due to Influence
of American Missions.
PS GROWTH OF TOLERATION
Increased Tendency to Respect the
knowledge and Experience Of
Other Countries.
BY WILLIAM f. CURTIS.


Written for The Star and the Chicago Record
Herald.
Political storms have been disturbing
nearly all the non-Christian nations dur
ing the last year or So. Three Mosem
autocrats have been overthrown, and two
of them have been succeeded by liberal
monarches, with parlaments and consti-
tutions, while China is gradually ap
preaching representative government by
slow and cautious steps. 1t is a question
of absorbing interest how much this
movement has been Influenced by Ameri-
can missionaries, who have been the pio-
neers of political and social advancement
in every country they have invaded and
L asked DR.. E. T. Lawrence. of Missis-
sippi. who has been living in Persia for
six or seven years, for his opinion
Influence of Americans.
The revolutionary movement in Per-
STA, he replied. for a constitution and
parliamentary government, is direct re-
fex of similar movement in Turkey, the
two countries being more closely asso-
ciated than with any others In both the
! liberal movement and the overthrow of
the autoCrat have been the natural and
! irresistible effect of modern ideas and
progressive spirit which has been acquired
by travel in foreign countries and by edu-
cation at home. The American mission
aries by their schools and their influence
and example have done more to produce
these conditions and inspire this progress
than any other agency This is particu-
larry true in Persia, because COMPARE
lively few of the population of that king
dom have ever been outside it's limits
and the light had TO be brought in to
them.
american missionaries have been work
ing in Persia since 1897 The first were
representatives of the American board,
who went over from Turkey. and thirty
or forty years later, when the non
| Christian world was apportioned by mu-
tual agreement among various Prot
eStant evangelical denominations north
ern Persia was assigned to the Ameri-
can Presbyterians: and southern Persia
TO the Church of England. We now have
fiourShing missionary stations at Te-
heran. Hamadan, kasbin. Resht. Tabriz.
trmia and several other places. We
! have three hospitals, and diSpensaries at
all the stations where our doctors put
UP an average of thirty prescriptions
day Tor outdoor patients, not including
those i'll the hospitals, and we have both
man and woman physicians who go out to
visit the sick in their homes. They are
patronized by the rich as we'll as the
poor. They are called into the most
prominent families. DR. Wishard a Pres
byterian medical missionary in Teheran.
was the consulting physician of the late
Shah of Persia
''The medical work is the most impor-
tant of all, for it is the opening wedge
| for everything else among the Moslems
and without it here would be great diff
hcultles III reaching people in their homes.
Revolt in Boys School.
There is a very important school for
girls in Teheran in charge of Miss Bart
lett, which is patronized by the leading
families of the city and school for
I boys. under DR.. S. NJ. Jordan, which is
/ attended by go of the sons of the most
prominent families. and is educating the
future leaders of Persian thought and in
dustry in American ideas and methods
During the revolution last year there
was miniature revolution in the school,
little 'Sad'-as they call a descendant
of Mahomet-insisted that they should
ostop teaching the Bible. Liberty had
been granted to the people of Persia by
the new constitution and his idea of lib
erty. like that of the majority of the
! people. was TO do as he liked. He or
ganized about forty other boys into a
mutlny against the rules of the school,
and they submitted their demands to Mr.
| Douglass. who was then in charge He
| treated the situation with great tact and
| when the little Said and his followers
| withdrew from the school because their
| demands We're not complied with he let
| them go. After they had been given an
opportunity to think the matter over and
had discovered that Mr.. Douglass was not
at all frightened and saw that the school
was going on just the same without them
they wanted to come back. but the older
mutineerS were denied admission. Only the
| younger boys. who were not responsible
| for the rebellion. were taken back. This
incident created quite a sensation. 1t was
great advertisement for the school and
elevated the teachers i'm the respect and
confidence of the community
There was a similar incident at the
American College at Beirut. Syria. where
number of Turkish students organized
mutny after the constitution was pro-
claimed and attempted to dictate to the
faculty. Their demands received no no.
tice whatever. The mntineers were en-
tirey ignored and after a while they
skunk back to their places without say
ing d word.
Advance of the Persians.
There has been a gradual change i'll
tie customs and habits of the Persians,"
said DR. Lawrence. "The people are
abandoning and modifying the ancient
tradition Of the race and are slowly
Introducing modern ideas. They used to
think. like the Chinese. that they We're
the only cultured people on earth, and
that all other nations We're barbarians.
They used to believe that their habits
were perfect and that their knowledge
tn change their minds AS they learn
about the customs of other nations from
travel. from books, or from foreign
visitors and residents, and becom-
ing more liberal and more tolerant and
are accepting foreign information. Iii
the recent revolution Mussulmans and
ArmenianS worked together on an equal
ity which was something new. They
were never known to mix before. In
Turkey this fact was even more notable,
for there Jews Greeks, Armenians Cir
ca ssians and representatives of every
other race III ted with the Moslems for
the common good. All these different
races are NJ represented in the Turkish
parliament IN equal terms
Who is the controlling spirit in Persia
today" | asked
The great leader, now prime minister,
and regent of the kingdom during the
minority of the new shah, who is a mere
child. is called sphidar. He was COM
ma nder- chief of the army under the
old shah. He has seen a good deal of
the world has travelled extensively in
Europe is a man of great ability and
force of character. and the richest man
in the kingdom. He owns immense
tracts of land around Resht, which is the
seaport of Teheran. and owns at least
fifty villages near kasbn. where | live.
That is one of the largest and one OF
the most important towns in the kingdom.
and is on the main highway about half
the distance between the capital and the