The Wenatchee daily world. [volume] (Wenatchee, Wash.) 1905-1971, 1910-08-17

and closer to Teheran. Now it's rail-
road rests 1T Julia, south of the Cas-
plan. and very near Teheran. And
from Resht to Teheran the Russians
have built a magnificent stage road,
costing them some millions of dol
lars. When the time suits, they will
lay their steam railway to Teheran.
For fifteen years-followlng 1889
they kept all other Powers from
railway enterprises in Persia by the
famous Railway Protocol which wOr-
ried the British so much. I believe
that note expired in 1905, however
Yet even now Russian influence is
strongest in Persia, and from all
over the Middle East, Englishmen
are calling loudly to their govern
ment for firm policy in Persia.
Mark Twain believed the Bible re-
ferred to the English when it said,
THE meek shall inherit the earth"
But for once it seems the English
do not really want to grab the coun-
try. Russians in India has been
their nightmare for years, and all
they plan to do in Persia is to keep
the country whole, and keep Russia
out. AS a buffer state, Persia like
Turkey, may be kept intact indefi-
nitely. The British are nervous and
upset at the mere thought of Russia
building a railroad through Persia,
and thus securing port and naval
base on the Persian Gulf Lord
Curzon once said he would impeach
the Minister who stood by and per-
mitted the Russians to build a rail-
way from Teheran to a port on the
Gulf The British seem to think
that if any railroad is built that
runs down from the North to the
Persian Gulf, either from Teheran
or through Mesopotamia from Bag
dad, that it must be under British
control. 1t was some similar senti-
ment that impelled them to balk the
Germans after the Bagdad railway
convention of 1908. The Germans
of the Persian Gulf at a town called
Koweit, which boasts of the finest
natural harbor in the Gulf. No soon
er did the British learn this than
they approached the Arab Sheik Mo-
barak at Koweit, induced him to
throw off his 50-year-old allegiance
to Turkey and became ''independ-
ent," his independence to be guar
anteed by England. This coup head
ed off the astounded Germans, and
SO far as is known they have not yet
decided on a southern or Gulf ter
it will be ten years before the road
reaches Bagdad, and there is plenty
of time to choose a southern termi
nal station. And in the meantime.
Russia goes quietly on, fostering
her trade in North Persia with pre-
miums and government banks, etc,
and drawing the Persians closer to
her. Her whole policy in Persia has
been one of infinite patience,
stretching over a hundred years.
The Slav mind meets the Asiatic
in full sympathy, with little friction
f,,l
there is generally harmony between
Persian and Russ when there is tur-
mOil in all the other Legations at
Teheran. The British, for instance.
pay the Shah $4,000 year for the
privilege of running bank in Te-
heran; and this same banks shares
are worth less now than 20 years
ago. The Russians run bank, too;
but they pay nothing for the privi-
lege. They even use telegraph line
maintained by the latter, l am told
Teheran is full of Russian officers;
Russian troops are common sight in
North Persia, and from the very ma
ture of things it is Russia whose in
fluence in Teheran most predomin-
ates.
AS a paradise for the tourist Per-
STA has absolutely nothing to offer,
save some very commonplace noun
tain scenery. The country is barren
of vegetation; the people are un-
speakably dirty and not at all pic
turesque or interesting. The few
women one sees are homely, and
those who go yelled are probably
the same Even the tomb of Omar
Khayam, near the city of Nishapur,
is neglected and in ruins. For that
matter, Persians hate the name of
Omar, and deride his writings. It
is not unlikely that among all out
siders Omar's great fame is as much
due to Fitzgerald's masterful trans
lation as to the original alcoholic
songs of the Persian bard.
Nishapur, besides being the burial
place of Omar the Poet, has one
more claim to fame; 95 per cent Of
the worlds supply of Turquoise
comes from deposits near this old
city. Yet, travellers say, it is easier
to buy a good turquoise cheap in
| London or New York than it is to
| find one at Nishapur. The good