Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1948-05-23

aid to friendly alliances improves
the authority Of the Presi.
ssions to assist foreign governments.
purpose already has been passed by
or operations against foreign en-
envy" The agreement further speci-
fies that the mission will assume
neither command nor staff respon-
sibility in the Iranian Army"
Despite the public character Of
this document, Mr.. Wallace on May
10 asserted that he had Exposed
the existence and nature of this
agreement" in the face Of "conspir-
acy Of silence" about it. By his in.
depreciation it transforms Iran 'into
a military protectorate of the United
States" and he clearly implies his
own agreement with the Moscow
charge that it constitutes "a threat
to Soviet security"
Not a Precedent
In two sharp notes to Teheran
under dates Of January 81 and
March Is, this year. the Soviet gov
eminent attributed most sinister
implications. to this second United
States mission and recalled the
terms Of the Russo-Iranian treaty
OF 1921 by which the former was
authorized to use force in event
third government should attempt to
turn Persian territory into a base
for military action against the U. 8.
S. r.
The Iranian answers, under dates
Of February and April !, were
equally sharp and boiled down to
an itemized repetition that the
Soviet assertions were entirely un-
founded and devoid Of truth"
Interestingly enough, this is not
the first time that the presence OF
American advisers in Persia has
precipxated tension with Moscow.
AS long ago as 1911 the Persian
government asked for American as
sistance In revising its financial
structure. w. Morgan Shuster, a
well known American economist and
financial expert, was designated to
undertake the good will task. He
arrived in the country about the end
Of that year and quickly recognized
that one of the requirements for q
more stable governmental economy
was an improved gendarmerie for
the maintenance Of internal order
and as an enforcement agency for
collection OF duties and taxes.
At that time, British and Russian
influence was strong in Persia to .
point Of being formalized in treaty
Of understanding between those two
governments. The Czarist Russian
government Immediately protested
the American intervention and as q
by-product of the European diplo-
matte maneuvering already going on
in advance of World War /, the Brit.
ish supported the Russian conten-
ton. Russian troops entered North
ern Persia and in the face Of these
circumstances the American mission
was forced to withdraw.
In 1921, Persia again appealed for
American assistance in the field OF
finance and DR.. Arthur G. Mills
paugh, economic adviser to the Sec
rotary of State, headed q mission
which remained in the Middle East
country from 1922 to 1927. This mis-
sion had substantial success but
finally was terminated over dis
pute with the Persian government.
New Series Requested
During World War II the Persian
government appealed for even
broader American advisory assist
ance. DR.. Millspaugh returned with
third financial mission. The pred
ecessor of Gen. Crows military
mission was set up under Maj. Gen.
c. S. Ridley and Gen. Schwartkopf,
then q colonel, established his gen.
darmerie mission. L. s. Thinner.
man, an experienced New York City
police administrator, headed another
group sent to reorganize the city po-
lice of Teheran. DR.. Bennett Avery,
an American public health specialist
and then dean Of the Medical
School at Boston University. went
to Teheran as adviser to the Persian
Ministry Of Public Health. Other
American specialists were detailed
to assist in the fields of irrigation.
petroleum development and educa-
ton.
Aside from the two military mis-
sions, DR.. Avery is the only one OF
these American advisers still In
Persia today.
A third military mission in the
M1QUlC EdoL dlCh ID oPOAopA AS
Saudi Arabia. This group, headed
by Col. Harry Snyder Of the United
States Air Force. is engaged IN
training Arabs in the management
and administration Of airfields and
the operations incident to civil
aviation. BY terms Of wartime
contract, the United States Air
Force is still operating the airfleld
at Dhahran, on the Persian Gulf
coast Of Saudi Arabia. The field
was constructed by American mill
tary engineers for war purposes and
the present operational contract
runs until March, 1919. Both the
United States Air Force and sew
eral civil aviation lines are using
the field and the administrative
training program was initiated as
companion project more than a
year ago.
Actually, most of the United