'GAZETTEER OF PERSIA. VOLUME II' [‎316v] (637/706)

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TEHRAN
it is not, however, exported. (See under Mazandaran.) For Consular
Trade report of the Caspian Provinces (1909-1911) see under “ Rasht. ”
Military .—In the reign of Nasir-ud-Hin there was a small cartridge fac
tory in Tehran, under the supervision of a Monsieur Horwart, established
as a branch of the Arsenal. This factory An East India Company trading post. could turn out from five to ten
thousand cartridges per diem, and Monsieur Horwart declared that at
a pinch double this number could be turned out. The cartridges were sold
to civilians or Government by the contractor.
Sine? the accession of Muzaffar-ud-Din, this institution suffered
from neglect and w T as closed in 1899, but the workmen are still paid by
Government and employed on other work, and so it might possibly be
re-opened. The machinery is very dirty, and a considerable sum would
be required to put it in proper working order. General Weth comment
ing on the state of the plant said that as neither Cossacks or Persians fired
a single cartridge from year’s end to year’s end there was no need for
a cartridge factory An East India Company trading post. at all, but this, however, is a coloured exaggeration.
The Military College of Dar-ul Fanf.n was started at Tehran in 1850,’
and after a chequered existence was remodelled by the Russian officers
Weth and Felmar, under whose direction it has become a recognised train
ing ground for military cadets. The students number nominally 75 ;
thirty for the artillery and forty-five for the infantry, they consist of Tur’s
and Persians, and enter at the age of fourteen after passing a very elementary
examination. They receive one free meal a day, two suits of uniform
and a small salary varying from twelve to fifty tumdns per annum. A
sum of 27,000 tdmdns is annually siet aside for this institution. The curri
culum embraces the following subjects :—For infantry :—Tactics, for
tification, surveying, military exercises and science of arms. For artil
lery :—Science, drawing and military exercises. Civilian classes also were
formed for the study of geology, medicine, mathematics, Persian, Arabic,
French, English, Russian, music, physics and geography. A complete
course lasts eight years, but though the instruction is good the interest taken
by the students in their work is greatly discounted by the fact that there
is no guarantee of employment, and a considerable percentage of the stu
dents fail to obtain their commissions after passing through the army course.
This was changed in 1910, under the scheme of reorganization.
General Weth, one of the professors, remarks, “ Since the accession of
Muzaffar-ud-Din, the military college like all other institutions has fallen
into decadence. The school has not been paid for three years and the
Naiyir-ul-Mulk, the director, has had to meet most of the expenses out of
his own pocket. The school was entirely closed from May to October
1899, when it was partially re-opened.
The work and prestige of the school has suffered greatly and both pro
fessors and students are turning their attention to other means of earn
ing their living. It has of late years been almost impossible to find young
men of sufficient instruction to follow the usual course of study, and many
of the classes have had to be abandoned. The discreditable state of the
army does injury to the school, in that it has under present conditions
no need of properly trained officers.