The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1911-09-27
SARDAR ARSHAD,

itary leader. Sardar Arshad. Sardar
Arshad's last evening on earth is de.
scribed in the foreign papers by a
Reuter- man. who passed that night in
the camp Of regents troops. He was
treated with every mark Of attention.
A discussion. lasting about three
hours. took place between the pris-
oner and the leaders of the Bakhtiari
t%ribesnlen. who formed the backbone
of the government army. In the
course of this conversation Sardar Ar.
shad burst into an imprisoned de.
fence OF his political views. denounc-
ing the constitutional system as WORTH
less. He was listened to by his CAP.
tors with grave eastern politeness and
attention. Then Sardar Bahadur. one
of the Bakhtiarian captains. replied
with equal warmth for the regents
government.
After these questions of abstract
principle had been duly argued. the
ground was clear for personal con-
s~iderations. Sardar Arshad asked for
his life. He said that he had always
had the greatest admiration for the
Bakhtiaris. and had hoped to reach
Teheran without having to meet them
In battle. Again he was listened to
with grave attention. but his personal
plea was as much of a failure as his
political argument. The conversation
then took a more general turn; and
In fah ~n,,pSa 0T St Cn~So. A,,hoL L.
cideEtally mentioned that on two &C.
casions he and the ex.shah had met
the Russian ambassador Stationed in
Vienna. His account of these meet
ings was as follows:
The ambassador. when asked
whether Russia would countenance
Mohammed Ais return to Persia,
stated that Russia and Great Britain
had pledged themselves not to inter-
fere in Persian internal affairs, and
Russia could give no assistance. finan.
cial or otherwise, but added that II
Mohammed Ali should attempt to
regain the throne Russia would hold
aloof and not impede the carving out
of the plan. Sardar Arshad. in reply
to a question regarding the transport
of his through Russia. said
they passed through the customs la
belled mineral water"
The regent complained to England
that his government had made II
known to st. Petersburg weeks before
the invasion took place that the ex-
shah vas planning to invade Russia,
and that Russia paid no attention to
this information. 1t o. appears that
Russia knew of the matter all along
at first hand-from the ex.shah him.
self. England said that she could do
nothing because she had agreed that
in political matters Russia should have
the sole say in northern Persia; and
it is proved now by Sardar Arshad's
statement-practically his dying state
ment-that Russia was willing that
the ex-shah should trouble Persia as
much az he could SO long az he paid
his. " bills. Russia would not in
vest in the project, but neither would
she make use of her knowledge of it
to place difficulties in its way. Her
own agreement with Persia to see to
it that the ex-shah remained outside
that country went for nothing.
Sardar Arshad. however, thought
very little of Russia's per1dy. He had
made his argument, and his pleas for
mercy. and his revelations. He had
been heard with patient gravity
throughout by the B%akhtiarian cap
tains. but their decision that he must
die remained unshaken: He had gone
through with his last conversation.
The next morning at sever o'clock-it
was the sixth day Of this September
he was taken out and shot. The re-
port says that he faced the firing par
ty without finching. He was not
blind-folded; he stood with folded
arms, his head proudly poised. 1t
does not appear that he had lost his
nerve the evening before. but at any
rate he had 1t now as he waited in the
clear light of a Persian September
morning. He fell at the first volley.
but was not killed. A second squad
of riflemen were called up to finish
him. AS they took their places he
raised himself from the ground, faced
them ,kneeling, and. lifting his right
hand, shouted twice in a clear voice,
"Zindabad Mohammed Ali Shah!'
Long Live Shah Mohammed Ali.'
The rifles spoke, and he fell forward
dead.
1t is not often in these days that this
sort Of a transaction is carried through
under the eyes Of a newspaper report
er. The rule is to transact such bust
ness secretly. -s%neakingly. as II 1t were
a matter to be ashamed of. But these
Bakhtiarian chiefs are primitive men.
Sardar Arshad was a rebel. taken in
fair fight while waging war against
the peace of Persia, and in their minds
the mathematical result was that he
should die. So they had him shot ia
death. He was not a bad fellow, eth
er. this Sardar Arshad; clever ia
speech, If a little audacious: not above
asking for his life. as something Of
value to him, and doing SO with the
fattering diplomacy Of the lear east;
able to put the real relations between
Russia and Persia into a sentence;
diiu' Wien al HiS 1esouICcc Hao oe0H
exhausted and in vain. looking death
in the face with defiance. He lost. but
he played the game to the end. He
lost like a man.
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81 ADJUSTMENTS "
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Sam Bernard.