Evening star., 1924-08-03

associated with fire, fourished In the
northwest Of Persia, in AZerbaidjan
(the land OF fire), where oil seepages
exist. In Bacou, which until 1928
belonged to Persia, ancient Zoroastian
! fire temples still exist.
| Herodotus made the first report on
Persian oil when he wrote:
! "Near Ardericca is a we'll which
| produces three different substances,
for asphalt, salt and oil are drawn
up from it in the following manner:
1t is raised by a balance beam to
| which, instead of q bucket, half I
| wine skin is attached. Having dip
! ped down with this, a man raises it
| and pours the contents into a reser-
voir. 1t is then poured from this
into another and assumes the differ
ent forms. The asphalt and the salt
| Immediately become solid, but the
oil they collect, and the Persians call
it raudinance. 1t is black and emits
a strong odor."
| Petroleum being today the lifeblood
Of nations, and Persia one Of the
richest oil-producing countries in the
by the Persian government that it
desired to give the northern oil con-
cessions tp the United States has
been considered a very notable mani
| festation of Persia'S good will toward
| the United States, as well as good
business, since British interests al
iready hold the southern concession.
| The first serious attempt at oil ex-
ploration and exploitation in Persia
was made in May, 1901, when Will
| liam Knox Darcy, an Australian.
backed by the British legation in
| Teheran. obtained a very valuable
concession from the Shah Of Persia.
| Misunderstanding. This concession,
given at time when there was lit
tie regard for the interests of the
Persian nation,- was for so years, OF
which % have expired, and covers
an area of approximately 100000
square miles, or the whole Of Persia
| which lies the concession just nego-
tiated with the Sinclair interests.
y y x =
| DERSIANS of today are entirely dis
concession to British interests and
with the way it has been worked.
DESTROYS of introducing healthier
competition and shaking Off the eco
nomic domination of Great Britain
and Russia. which sought to monopo-
lize Persia's resources, the govern
ment of Persia initiated negotiations
first with the Standard Oil Company
| of New Jersey and later with the
Sinclair company. MIR. Soper. rep
resenting the Sinclair interests, was
able to sign an agreement with the
Persian government on December 20,
1923, binding his concern to accept
the oil concession on basis in ac-
cordance with the provisions of the
new law of Persia to protect its re-
sources. 1t now remains for the
Persian Parliament to ratify this
| contract.
This concession covers the prov
tnces of Nhorassan, in the northeast,
| and Azerbaidjan, in the northwest, ad-
joining the Caucasus, and two of the
three provinces bordering on the Cas-
plan Sea. The fifth province is re-
served by the Persian government
for exploitation on its own account
by a Persian company, with a fair
option to the Sinclair people if the
Persian government should later de-
eide to grant the concession for this
reserved area to any foreign COM
pany.
This award, when ratified by the
Persian Parliament, will end a long
drawn-out struggle for possession of
these northern oil fields. The Anglo
Persian oil Company laid claims to
l this territory by virtue Of an alleged
concession to a Russian named
Koshtharia, but (which was never
approved by the Persian Parliament.
and the terms Of which were never
complied with. The outcome Is re-
garded as victory for the Persian
government and for American oil
interests.
Persia is also showing a strong
preference for the United States in
other lines Of commerce. Although
the aggregate foreign trade carried
on between Persia and the United
States constitutes only a small pro-
| portion of the commerce of each
country. nevertheless it has an I'M
portance not measured by it's phym-
cal volume or money value. From
Persia are obtained the most beau
tiful rugs and carpets which eS.er
into the American trade. whi:e on
the other hand the American market
is all-important to Persia since fully
e-half of all the rugs and carpets
exported find their way here. More
than S., 600 worth of rugs and car
pets from Persia entered the United
States last year.
Persia is now endeavoring to slim
ulate the Industrial development Of
the country and Of its commerce by
providing a better transportation sys.
tenn with American co-opefatisa.