Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-08-26
Kush Beg Forced Out.

Last August delegations from the pOliti-
cal secret societies In Bokhara notified
the emir that his prime minister, the
kush beg, must go. They submitted
list Of charges against him with evidence
to prove them.
The emir promised to comply with their
demand, but asked for time on the ground
that the affairs of the khanate were so
complicated that he could not make
sudden change in the administration. The
time was up in February.
The same prime minister remained In
power. having in the meantime. strength
ened himself IN some respects and weak
ened his authority in others by arresting
and putting to death several most active
agitators and throwing others into prison.
A demonstration was provoked January
"a by the. arrest of several more sus-
poets. Friends attempted to rescue
them. Having failed, they attacked the
residence of the prime minister. defacing
IL with filth, smashing the windows and
manifesting their hostility In other ways.
The troops were called out, and fired
into the mob. About sixty citizens were
killed and several hundred were wounded.
The emir was SO badly frightened that
he relieved the offensive prime minister
and let him down easy by sending him
on a mission to ST. Petersburg. There
he is expected to secure the approval and
support of the Russian government for
drastic measures to exterminate the ad-
v0cateS OF q more liberal government ala
strengthen the hands of the present ad-
ministration.
Enmity Of Mohammedan Sects.
The riot was declared to be a religious
demonstration, in order to deceive the
people of Bokhara province and the pub
lie generally. The two sects Of Moham-
medans here. as in Persia, Arabia and
other parts of Islam, are bitter in their
hostility. Frequent collisions occur be-
tween them.
The late prime minister was a Persian
by birth. and a conspicuous member of
caused him to fll most Of the ofiices
with his fellow-believers. All members
Of the emir's cabinet are Shiites.
Most of the agitators and the leaders In
the political societies are Sunnites. There
Is undoubtedly a good deal of sectarian
feeling mixed up In the liberal move
ment.
Nearly all the men who were killed in
the riots by the soldiers were Sunnites
This circumstance furnishes a justifica-
ton for the claim that the demonstra-
ton was religious rather than political.
The new prime minister is also a men,
Der or the Shiite sect. which continues in
control Of the government The leaders
Of the opposition continue to be Sunnites.
A few weeks after the riots the secret
societies formulated other patitons, which
were submitted to the emir, and have
much greater significance than the first
They demanded a constitution, q legisla-
ture, free press. freedom of speech and
the privilege of electing. by ballot, mu-
nicipaI and provincial officials
They submitted the form of a constitu-
ton similar to that of Turkey and gave
the emir six months more to answer and
act. Thus far nothing has been DONE
The time will be up next month, I'm Au-
gust. Then. IL the emir has not complied
with the demands, there is likely to be
another uprising.
Character Of the Emir.
The emir, whose name is seid Abdul
Ahad. is an easy-going, luxurious and
lazy oriental. who has all the vices and
virtues Of his predecessors on the throne
He is glutton. INDUCES himself in every
form Of intemperance and extravaganza.
and requires his subordinates to extort q
suficient amount of money from the peo-
pie to pay his bills.
He dare not live in Bokhara. but spends
about sixty miles distant from his capt.
tai. He has winter residence at Yalta,
In the Crimea. the most fashionable wa
tering place In Russia. and spends the
He has practically nothing to do with
his government. He farms out the taxes.
ana SO long as his purse Is filled does
not inquire into the measures that have
been taken to raise the money
lie mas lost good deal Of his prestige
by submitting to the Russian invaders.
His person is no longer considered sacred,
as that OF the Emperor of China used TO
be. His subjects have discovered that he
Is only human being. made OF very or
binary clay.
Formerly. when he sraciously granted
an audience, II was customary for the
master OF ceremonies to seize the person
to be presented and drag him violently to
the foot of the throne. This comedy was
INTENDED to natter the emir into the delu-
sion that everybody who approached him
was overcome with awe and fright by
his majestic appearance. But since the
Russian conquest this and every other
pretense OF the sort has been abandoned.
Crown Prince Travelled.
The crown prince is said to be an i'm
provement upon his father In some re-
specfs, He has had the advantage of
European travel and observation and has
spent several months in st. Petersburg on
several occasions.
| he has met many Europeans during his