The Detroit times., 1910-01-26
ALL EYES LEVELED
At BOY SOVEREIGN
Shah OF Persia Is Cool and Delhi,
crate Amid Glitter and Pomp
of Parliament.

Sou p'hlhd the scenes and show you
the stage carpenter.
In Parliament Square forty thou
SAND people are assembled. To see
what! To see majesty come and go
IN whirlwiId of magnihcence? TO
see princes and mobiles sweep with
quieter splendor I'm and out of the
embla2oned gates? No; not TO see at
all. To feel This crowd has looked
on the pomp OF mOnarchs and minis
ters often enough and cursed IT, To
DAY all thoughts are for the hundred
plainly dressed. quiet hammered depu-
ties who by their wisdom or their
folly shall lead the nation TO great
ness or bring IL to ruin. Today is a
DAY OF destiny. This is why men
speak together in small groups. urg.
ing their hopes and whispering their
fears, never wasting glance on the
far Hung bunting which llaunts rain
bow colors in the sunlight This, too,
IS why the scratch force of ungainly
policemen, shuhling about In half a
dozen different sorts Of ill-cut uni
forms or in no uniform at all, can by
gentle ad!uration control throng
which outnumbers the constabulary a
lHOuSdnu TO one.
The Persian Army.
Here come the brass bands banging
and tlaring the strains OF European
music They will learn in time 20
balance their energies Behind them
march the guards OF honor-regimen-
tai types OF Persias rabble soldiery,
slouching like sandwich men Oh |
do not mock TO me this martial
mimicry is NOT pitiful. It is inspiring.
Had YOU stood. as have day by day
for hours on end in the Square OF
Exercise. Teheran's great parade
ground. and watched European Off
GERS, fierce and stentOrian, drilling
squads OF stumbling recruits. your
eyes would perhaps water as have
mine For you would understand then
Why those haWk-eyed. STRAIGHTFORWARD
warriors from the west are believing
discipline into a stupid mob, and why
the loose jointed loafers OF the bazaar
are taking an inhnitude OF pains TO
learn 20 form fours You would
realize that Persia yearns for an
army. Also you would perceive. per
haps fearfully. what that yearning por-
tends | shall not predict that Per
sia the tramplcd worm. is going to
become the military Colossus of Asia.
The Persian army. like the Persian
Parliament has a long way TO go. |
only say that the soul OF "A suffering
nation is in the effort
Here come the deputies Mild in
manner and serious In department
these gentlemen enter as unostenta-
tiously as If they had no part in
pageant which is solely 20 honor them
Let 10 one be- deceived by their hnmil
ity Their pride exceeds the pride or
princes: it Is the pride of power But
these men are not OF one mettle All
have Intelligence most have eloquence
some have intellect, few have cul-
ure How many have craftsmanship?
And here come the cabinet minis
ters In fine raiment. Behold the stun
~ starched Sipahdar. the Oliver
Cromwell Of modern Persia. | know
what his enemies say OF him, but /
look at the Roman nose and the fash
ing eye. Aud there goes the Sardar
Assad. n little man with gray mus
tache gentle. amiahle sympathetic,
hiding fury. as Bakhtiaris do, Tor the
dav OF wrath have conversed con
fdentiallv with both these heroes. |
have taken their hands and looked
the Kitchener and the Roberts Of the
Persian revolutionary war.
Coming Of the DIPLOMATS.
Next arrive the members of the
diplomatic corps. displaying cooked
hats with pumes and broad bosOms
of gold lace. They have come To-
honor the Parliament, TO wish 1t well,
DO they mean il we'll? What, all or
tbem2 Mark how the crowd changes
face. now smiling. now scowling, now
looking down doggedly. now glancing
nm ferociously .Hark how the WORD
flies round in changing tones That's
the British minister; that's the Rus
sian. that's the German, the French,
the Belgian. the Italian, the Ameri
can. the Turkish Europe may know
little. care little, what Persia thinks
Persia knows with searching exact
ness what Europe thinks. And Per
STA broods OH what it knows.
And now. amid a blaze of scarlet
heraldry. comes the Shah, little boy
OF eleven, plump. chubby faced, good
looking and bright-eyed accompanied
by the Regent, withered old man.
The crowd cheers; not the deafening
huzza of passionate loyalty, but the
calm hand clapping of reasoned en-
cousagement. Son OF a King Stork
and grandson of King Log, Shah
Ahmed has no shred OF inherited claim
upon popular good will. but as an in.
nocont child he Graves the forbear-
hnce and sympathy of his distrustful
subjects Meanwhile the journalistic
cameras and the music hall cinemato-
granbs under telegraphic instructions
from Europe, are flashing films and
mates nj the imperial procession. so
that London, Paris, Berlin and St
Petersburg may know pictorially how
a persian Parliament is opened.
observe how the Shah COMFORTS
himself inside the house. AS his
majesty enters. the regent, walking
closely behind him, directs him to as
cend the scarlet staircase of the scar
let dais and to go 20 the golden
throne. The little boy goes beyond the
throne. as If not seeing it. The dull
eved Regent cannot understand and
fries to pull his majesty back. His
majesty understands full we'll and de-
cIInes 10 be pulled back, he has
caught sight of the diplomatic corps
drawn up below him to his right, and
moving toward them he bows grave
" obviously this is spontaneous
The aged Regent points impatiently
10 the throne again, The Shah. un
needing. turns front, and seeing the
deputies grouped below the dais
moves forward with another solemn