The New York herald., 1922-10-22
~ Persia Takes the 10 Grade

ledNeheu Ddtter OF pdrley, pouIeu oNel d
stone set slantwise and with a fire under
meath. When it comes off it is merely
thin sheet, about the thickness and con-
| sistency, as some one once said, of a cob
| bler's apron. When it's fresh you can fold
it, and the little Persian weaver boys, on
their way to the caravanserais where the
great looms were. stopped in the gray Of
the dawn and bought these sheets.
The lads folded the bread into small
compass and tucked it into the skirt pock-
cts of their long, black ministerial coats.
which are the national costume established
by the Kadjar dynasty, and which took
the last touch of grace or beauty out OF
Persian life When noontime came there
was half an hour to eat this repast and
here's about the water:
All through Persia there's an under
ground system, built in the days of Persias
glory; nobody knows just when, for the
Persian race has forgotten nearly an the
details of its history, living only in the
large outline These tunnels take up all
the water that comes down from the hills
and carries it over-or, better, under-end-
less miles of country. The farmer gets 4
little if he's lucky, to wet down his grain
or tobacco field. In the cities it runs in
open bitches through streets that, have no
pavements and no suspicion of drainage
and that have lain accommodating filth for
thousands of years. People 90 and wash
everything in it-clothes. dishes, children,
goats and whatever other live stock they
may possess-then the water boss" pulls
a plug in the mud wall and lets the tide
down into your garden. If you have one.
1t irrigates your flower beds and your
salad patch and then runs into your cellar.
If you're Persian you drink it and live.
If you're European you distil it and then
mix it with Jamaica rum. which, despite
the inhibitons of the Koran. can be had
at the corner in the bazaars for somewhat
less than it used to cost in Brooklyn even
in the most lenient and idyllic of days.
Now and again, to be sure, the plague
comes along-or some dire form of dysen-
terry or typhoid-and eliminates some thou
sands OF people, who. being good Moham-
medans, don't mind dying. to vary the gray
monotony of Persian existence
That is Persia in the mass-a people
with minds as keen as razors who look ON
life melancholy kind of joke perpe-
trated on them by Allah and his vicar
Mahomet, for the good of their souls, and
who. drawing in fatalism with the maternal
milk, have never learned to think of them
selves as martyrs.
You may know the Persians and not like
them, but if you have in you the leaven
of love for superb tradition-in art in let
tiers, in military grandeur, in almost any
line of human accomplishment-you
bound to take off your hat to what they
have been, and if there's any virtue in
being good loser, the Persian through
the last century or two has been entitled
TO large measure of respect He went
right on living the nothing that was
left him, looking pleasant and blithely re-
fusing TO be swallowed up even by the two
biggest and land hungriest nations on
earth. He made the air purple with
bombaSt when it was needed, he shook the
green flag of holy war when the whole
army wouldn't have been able 10 stand off
the New York police force in a catch as
catch can; he used his subtle wits TO plav
England off against Russia and Russia
against England decade after decade get
ting money enough from each or both IN
meet the payroll of the hungry dependents
and while he looked serious laughed inside
at the situation. 1t was the greatest cross
ruff in international history.
IL