File 3852/1912 Pt 2 'Persia. Conditions in South Persia. German Documents' [‎255r] (141/280)

'2 5'S'
77
Merrill, spealj
3 rganizatafilj:
vassoondteni:
israt-es-Snltet 1
heran, Jan.if
1
reasury baste;?
ided proceeij’si:
irovinces. life
i: rather tit fef
gives them a d®
lieve the report
in his pocfet^
ina! Thesis
all prohahit®"
mized there: ^
dm, Mok 1 , (
l y reservist^
, cll i e { gea^
dr liter*
there was a
has pr acticl
to induce f 0
the
,( w
ne"'
comr
uated’ l 9 u.
van”.
I am hoping Shiraz will be my command once more: I
hope the report I put in about my stay at Shiraz will get the
Moakber-es-saltaneh out of Ears; Sir Walter saw it as did
Churchill. I left little untold; it went to the Ministry of War
to-day; included in the report was a lot re Kazeroon except
that I did not mention the Swedes anywhere in the report
v connection with Kazeroon. Churchill through Persians has
spread word all over Teheran that if the G. G. of Pars does
not resign my report will be published in full in all of the seven
Teheran newspapers and in the papers in England and Europe.
Sir Walter has a (confidential) scheme to put me in charge
of 500 Bakhtiari horsemen here at Teheran but although
it is acceptable still I think it will only be a temporary
command to be discharged once the need of them has
passed
There has been a lot of “fuss” over Tabriz; the Persian
govt, is making desperate efforts to get the Crown Prince
started for there; they got together a ragged collection of miscel
laneous soldiers that are a comic opera troupe and some thirty
or forty thousand tomans 10,000 Persian dinars, or a gold coin of that value. for expenses. The coming of the
Turks to Tabriz has been welcomed by the Persians who say
the Turks have delivered them from the Russians; the Persians
believe the Turks will leave Persia when the Valiat arrives
at Tabriz; a great part of the Valiats’ escort will return to Te
heran after he arrives safely at Tabriz.
The Russian Minister, Korostovetz, has been rather alarmed
for his safety. He is said to have declared that if the Russian
troops left Kazvine that he would not remain in Teheran but
would go to Zergandeh in Shimran as being safer than the
legation in town. A well informed Armenian told Sir Walter 1 )
that one Russian defeat at the hands of the Turks would very
likely precipitate Persia into the conflict on the side of Turkey.
I am trying to get Americans brought here for both the
gendarmerie and Treasury. I have told Sir Walter that the
Persians are decidedly in favor of such a plan but fear Russia’s
opposition
Sincerely yours J- N. Merrill
b Probably Mirzayantz with whom Merrill as he says later on was on
friendly terms.