Evening Republican, Volume 15, Number 173, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 July 1911 — WHEN THE SHAH TRAVELED [ARTICLE]

WHEN THE SHAH TRAVELED

• - - Each time the shah of Persia went to Europe, where he spent large sums, he procured the money needed for his journey not only by raising a loan, generally in Russia, but also by another method, which was both ingenious and businesslike. "Before leaving his possessions,” writes M. Paoli in McClure’s, “he summoned his chief oflicers of state —ministers, provincial governors and the like —and proposed the following bargain to them: Those who wished to form part of his suite must first pay him a sum of money, which he fixed in accordance with the Importance of their functions; It varied between ‘50,000 and 300,000 francs. In return, he authorized them to recoup themselves in any way they pleased. “Here we find the explanation of the large number of persons who accompanied the shah on his travels, and the quaint and unexpected titles they bore, such as that of ‘minister of the dock yard’ (though Persia has never owned a navy), and one still more extraordinary, that of ‘attorney to the heir apparent’ “Although they sometimes had romantic souls, they invariably had terribly practical minde. Eager to recover their outlay as quickly as possible, they practiced on a huge scale and without scruple or hesitation what I may describe as the bonus or commission system. This explained how on each of his trips to Prance the shah was able to spend from eight to twelve million francs In pocket money. - "He always carried a loaded pistol in his trousers pocket, though he never used it. On one of his v journeys In France he even took it into his head to make a high court official walk before him when he left the theater carrying a revolver pointed at the peaceable sightseers who had gathered to see him oome out. As soon as I saw this I ran up to the threatening bodyguard. “'Put that revolver away,’ I said. It is not the custom here.’ \

“But I had to insist pretty strongly before he consented to lay aside his weapon. “The shah, for that matter, was no less distrustful of his own subjects. I observed that when the Persians were in his presence they adopted a uniform attitude, which consisted in holding their hands crossed on their stomachs, no doubt as evidence of their harmless Intentions. It was a guaranty —of a very casual sort, we must admit. “For the rest his ‘alarms’ displayed themselves under the most diverse aspects and In the most unexpected circumstances. For Instance, there was no persuading him to ascend the Eiffel tower. The disappointment of his guides was increased by the fact that he would come as far as the foot of the pillars; they always thought that he meant to go up. “But no, once below an immense iron framework, he gazed up in the air, examined ,the lifts, flung a timid glance at the staircases, then suddenly turned on his heels and walked away. They told him in vain that his august father had gone up as far as the first floor; nothing could induce him to do as much. “The instinctive dread of darkness and solitude was so keen in the Persian monarch that he required his bedroom to be filled during the night with light and sound. Accordingly every evening, as soon as he had lain down and closed his eyes, the members of his suite gathered round his bed, lighted ill the candelabra and exchanged their impressions aloud; while young nobles of the court, relieving one another in pairs, conscientiously patted his arms and legs with light, sharp little taps. \ “The king of kings imagined that he was In this way keeping death at a safe distance, if perchance it should take a fancy to visit him in his sleep; and the extraordinary thing is that he did sleep, notwithstanding all. this massage, light apd noise.”