Norwich bulletin., 1921-11-14
IN THE DAYS NEWS
KHORAsAE.

Tt Is not surprising that Khorasan. the wild east of Persia, should be effected by banditry because. remote as it k from the western front, the world war pro- foundly disturbed it's peculiar govern ment and social system" says a bulletin from the National Geographic Society concerning dispatches telling of the sur render of Khorasan insurrectionists and the death of their outlaw leader.
 'Khorasan is world famous among connoisseurs of rugs, carpets and silks beyond that fact to many 1t is but a name Yet this least known of Persia's five great provinces suffered from the alliance of Great Britain and Russia. 1t sustained a severe shock when Russia fell under Soviet way, and it experienced some of the most crass forms of Ger man intrigue.
 Through a long distance political lens the statesmanship of the governors of Kain, Khorasan sub-province and rug making center, commands high admir- ation Their succession was hereditary. but their line hdld sway neither by right of blood nor ancient tribal choice. They ruled by force of leadership. First of all they had to please populace many of whom were not more than genera tion or two removed from nonandisnl. They had not only to be ward politicians but international diplomats. Their prob lem was to play Russia, which reached out to their northern borders through ! Turkestan, against Great Britain. whose influence touched their eastern boundary through Arghanistan. And even before 1914 the insidious activities of Germany had to be taken into account. In addi- ton an eye had to be kept On Tehe- ran.
 'For a time. but for time only. dur ing the world war, Amir Shoukat ul Mull1 was deposed, and his successor rode into Biriand, kissing the Koran. suspended acrrSs the roadway at the l gates of the c;u-. and thousands of his | followers did likewise. The occidental observer might be particularly im- pressed with the hygiene of that cere- mony, and he usually is distraught when when he ipds that etiquette demands he accept from host a cigarette which that host has lighted in his own mouth. | If a number of guests are present the | host is likely to insert one for each guest, applying one light to all and get ting all started with one prodigious pull | Annoying to the other extreme, however is the meticuious care of the servant who always must stop to cleanse his hands before answering the summons Of | his employer.
 "Birjand lay on the main trade route of the camel and mule borne commerce between Russia and India. Before Rus sia broke down economically thousanqs of tons of wool were sent there from Khorasan, along with shawls and rugs and much of this ultimately reached Marseilles. The animal transports brought from India yarn and dyes, raw material for carpet making. and also coffee, tea | and spices Both the disturbances in In1 dia and the chaos of Russia have hamp- cred Khorasan.
 'The name. K.horasan. is apt, mean ing land of the sun' Formerly it ap- piled to a large. region. The province of that name. nearly as large as Cali fornia, now clearly delimited. is furrow- ed by mountain ridges, the Asiatic end of system that binds eastern Europe physically to central Asia. The FL 1 burg range. which rises in northwestern Persia to form the Persian Olympus