The independent-reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1909-1955, 1912-08-15
PERSIA NOT So BAD Off
AS IT MAY SEEM
According to Recent Letter Received
Here From Col. j. y. Merrill, Jr.

] John ~ Merrill from his son, Col. John
y. Merrill, Jr., contains many things
of interest to the Colonel's many
friends in this town. He is at pres
ent stationed 90 miles from Teheran
at kazyine, Persia, and his wife is
there with him.
Extracts from his letter read as
i follows: Just back from another trip
] TO the Hamadan that cleaned things
up for @ood Left wake of % dead
brigands and an open road for com
merce. We captured ten horses, ten
rifles and a Mauser pistol from one
band. At another place, three rifles,
later one rife and one horse. The Sa-
i lar Dowleh, about whom you get
such weird reports in the American
papers, is absolutely defeated and in
fight with only 80 men as body
guard.
Eyphrem. the Armenian general OF
the Persian force, was not assassinated
as reported, but killed as he was SUI
perintending an attack on small vii
lage after the main fight with Salar-
d-Dowleh | knew Eyphrem well aud
saw him as he passed here on the way
to the front and his death.
Persian affairs are not so bad as
they may seem to be from the outside.
/ They are decidedly better than WHOM
| first arrived in this country. Now
there is only the trouble between the
Shaseyan tribesmen and the Russian
! in the northwest. | am in no way un-
der Mornard or the treasury. although
/ the corps am in is called the Treas
ury Corps. We do the regular
gendarmie work and a part of the
government gendarmie but in addition
to the regular work, assist in the col
lection of the taxes.
| had a special audience with the
regent about a month ago when ! was
on a trip to Theran. He sent for me
to arrange for guarding the Teherar
to Kazvine road when he went over il
to Europe lie speaks English per
fectly, as he was educated at Oxford
He is also a Mason.
On the 'amadan Road and at Hama
dan, have - horsemen, at Kazvint
II, and on the Teheran road %, th'
rest are infantry. Force of the Teher
an. road -; Hamadan road, 1@7; Hama
dan, -; Kazyine, 1872; Zendjan road
Il, of which % are horsemen. The
Kazyinc to Rasht road is not ye
policed but is in my district and vii
be garrsoned later as soon as we ge
the men trained On the Teheran roat
my men and officers are all from Shus
ter's old corps.
The Sidapar is about the bigges
man in the Persian army, but he i
also believed to be reactionary. Ain
ed-Dowleh is the man the Persian'
themselves want for regent
Hamadan was the home Of Esthe
and Mordicai. and Col Merrill tells o
his visit to their tomb and says: Wen
ont six miles to the hills and saw tn
rock tablets carved by the order o
Darius and his son, NerXes. Tn
tablets were where they Were
carved IT the side of the main roa,
between Hamadau and Babylon Th'
road is now a trail but still in use
Al he bottom of The cliff the chip
cut eli from the stone by the mason'
when making the carving are still ly
in. as they fell over t%o thousan,
years age; the carvings arc in paraI
lei columns and in the uniform char
actcrs which look like small wedges.
That Col. Merrill is determined tC
stay out his regular time is more con
clusiyely proven by a portion Of The
letter which he recently received from
w. Morgan Shuster, the portion whici
reads as follows: 4 believe now tha
all of the original party except yol
have left Persia and you will undoubt
edly achieve great distinction as tn
only man who could neither be rul
out nor be persuaded to leave. /. O
course, maintain the deepest interes
in your personal success and wor
there and in the affairs of the countr
generally