Coll 28/111 ‘Persia. Kermanshah – Political diaries.’ [‎38r] (76/751)

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after the third tine a toafcar cauld be •aapendal by th« Mayor#
avar SIO b&kera hat of Jfaatad el^ht or tea timaa a id were at ill
allowed to go an. vhe ;>ir«etor of .Flnanoe# wia who i» always
i\ill of ingeniona ^cheraea and >ro->esala f but without aiiy drive
vnr eriorgy to a^o thaia oarriod out, than ooggeotet th»it hia
depart me at should lioaaae balers uixder elgaed oo^trKete whioh
could be temuiatea at a first offence, aenerel ^hahhauhti f a
more forthright vie* me that fraudulent banare should be beaten
by the police In iron! of their shops, as a rrult o the di»-
ouaaion the quality oi broad imiroved, and the /v kireator of
^inaiiae haetened to try ana ferliig la nee wheat irom the ijawadlate
neighbourhood of ^errannahah, though the auppllee there bad
been already earmarked ior transport to the capital oj the Miii-
istry oi InaAoe who, oit«a reported b»#iore f think, only of
piling up stouua la Tehran (ehich curiously a i^ajh etill eceme '
to he as short a* tbs provincea thus aeprivedj.
8. The proposal a made early in oune lor enetxring a
supply oi ghee to the town a-people oi ;.emf*n»nah remain a»
theoretical as ever. M-erehante are allowed to ^nd out ghee to
Tehraui and other uuntrea Without aarreadarlng the stipulated
16 a at a fixed -rice, merely cat their si^iliig iLiaertaxinge to
produce the said percextag« inter If called a,pen - hoping# or
more probably knowing# that the corruptible officiala will not
' call upon anyone who arrange a matter* exltaeiy. The scheme in
:. xet was * eyewash" to impre** the ^ritieb vane • late here wh*n
j it became too critical* yust ae the copious Ai.iti- T ia*r4iag Laws
appear to have been similar "eyewaah ^ to eatialy the i*r iti eh
authorities in Jebrsa# aiiic*# owvlouely so lr*i4,laa official ha*
any intent ion so iar of carrying them out, at least in this area#
where esaugglliig lu^d beardine: are ao rile.
9. Ihc new price offered by the boverc e -t for wheat is
1,400 rial* «^tr ton, or 4feQ rials or kharvar. A .. *w iandlorda
upon ^hois preetoure can be brought h ve agi*eed to hand over \%heat
at this price# but the oor^ inflnentlei »rd the >e*wants general
ly are mwllliag to do so, feeling that in the present uncertain
state of this yart of the world prises should certainly go higher
this winter. The >easanta are aiao incenaed by the failure or
refusal oi the conoicic iep&rtmsatfs officials to supply them with
tea, sugar and cloth, which fire uietributed ir* the towns at of
ficial prises# but for the eeuetry population can only be obtained
«t limposaible ^tree’ prices# in which the said official* ere
said to have a highly remunerative interest. reparations arc
being made to hide grain, and a lot of boarding is undoubtedly
going cm# in which officials thestselves end most oX the monied
niiddle-cla^aes ci'e suspected to bw taking nrt. Armenian buyers
sent under Britieh auspices to bJty wheat isr th^ iabourerc on
road-btillciag ssbemws at the begiaoing of the mouth failed to
obtain sheet at 1,600 rinls or even 1,7 >0 rials tan.
1 . ,hilc thi; nsw official j^rioe of wheat i« 4&3 rials
er kharvar as ab-vo# the price /tt which i- chanx*:» hu.ids in
most places is from b ;o riels to 46 f rials# and at ,asr-i-ohiria
(near the Iraqi frontier) 749 rial* sad more. ith a little
iasrs trouble end expense it can ue smuggled over the Xroittier
ana fetches 1,&60 rials at heal jin. This is only £3& per ton,
where** the black market rat# in Iraq i« over ^4- . -bile the
Iranian ruts is fixed at little over £1 > oer ton, msugglintf is
istpoeslble to stop, \mless scure^cous « a honest > r on tier U uards
can bo found, #hich it even raor# impossible. .Kvsa from districts
keet of Kermsnshah carevaas of wheat for Iraq ^mwealiig urcbaoly
Turkey