Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1917-05-30
KH|VA IS NEWEST
DEMOCRACY KNOWN

WASHINGTON, D. c., May 30.-The
newest thing under the sun is the
democracy of Khiva. announced from
Petrograd Concerning this dependency
of Russia tucked away in Cetral Asia,
far from the beaten path of travel and
the channels of news, the National
Geographic society issues the follow
ing war geography bulletin:
when popular clamor of the Xiii
vites a few days ago resulted in the
Khan of that country granting con-
stitution to his people one of the few
remaining autocracies passed from the
face of the earth.
"Khivas size is not commensurate
with it's picturesqueness. 1t is scarce
ly larger than the State of West Vir-
ginia, with about two-thirds as many
Inhabitants. More than three fourths
OF the land consists of semi-arid step
pes. while the remaining quarter is a
fertile oasis where fruits grow IN
abundance and cotton, wheat, barley,
oats, fax, hemp and vegetables are cas-
lily cultivated, especially when the land
is irrigated by canals fed from the wa
tiers of the ANU (Oxus) River.
THE nomads of the steppes, who
constitute fully half the population of
the khanate. breed sheep, horses, and
camels.
The capital of the country is Khiya,
walled city of 5000 people. 1t is not
the commercial center of the khanate'
however, for it's three hundred shops
are as a rule. only open on market
days, Mondays and Thursdays. The
chief mart Of the country is Yani-Urg-
ench, 20 miles northeast of Khiva.
s'Tno Khivites living in the town and
villages are chiefly engaged in the man
ufacture of silk. The whole oasis lis
planted in white mulberries and almost
every hut is a miniature silk factory,
where the whole process of spinning,
dyeing, and weaving is carried on by
hand in the most primitive fashion i'm
aginable.
EAST of Khiya is the Turkish state
of Bokhara, while far to the west are
the waters of the Caspian. A thin tongue
OF land of the khnate extends to the
north until it touches the southern wa
ters fthe Aral Sea- Owing to its in
land, desert-surrounded situation the
climate is subject to radical extremes
o. heat and cold, although it is between
the same parallels of latitude as New
York and Pennsylvania.
In ancient and early medieval times
Khiva was a part of the kingdoms of
Bactria, Parthia and Persia in turn.
The great Genghis Khan overran it in
the year 1921 and $50 years later it
fell beneath the ruthless sword of that
most pitiless of Tartar poteLtates, Tam
erlane. AS early as the seventeenth
century the Cossacks had discovered
the wealth of the province and in 1717
Peter the Great, of Russia, made an I'M
successful effort to annex it to his rap
idly growing dominions. A century
and quarter later Tsar Nicholas l al
S attempted to conquer it, but with no
greater success. Finally in 1873 three
Russian columns were set in motion
with the design of squeezing the coun-
try into submission One column
marched to the southeast from Oren-
burg, another eastward from the Cas-
plan and q third due west from fash
kent. In May of that year Khiva cap
itulated and the khan agreed to pay a
war indemnity of $11,000,000, a debt
which is still being liquidated in annual
installments.
when the country acknowledged the
overlordship of Russia there were 80,
600 Persians in the realm and Of this
number $1,000 were held in slavery
The conquerors ordered the release of
all thse unhappy creatures"