'Report on the Persian Army' [‎78v] (156/170)

146
Compositiou
of depart
ment.
Distribution
of medical
officers.
Note.
the junior appointments, the exaction of percentages, and by
the confiscation of the monies set aside in the budget for the
purchase of medicines, etc.
The department bears on its rolls many hundreds of doctors,
surgeons, apothecaries, who draw their pay from the Pay
master-General. Some thousands of men and boys, with
nominal rank in the department, also draw their pay or
pensions from the Minister of Finance. Most of the latter are
pensioners pure and simple; they have no pretensions to be
anything else.
A certain regulation number of medical men are supposed to
be attached to the infantry and artillery in the garrison towns
at the expense of Government. In practice only such
regiments have doctors attached as can afford to pay for them.
In Tehran, for instance, where the garrison usually consists of
two Taifas (tribes) of artillery and seven battalions of infantry,
only two doctors are regimentally employed.
There are no regimental or garrison hospitals, but medicines
are dispensed from a shop or shed in the vicinity of the
barracks. As a rule, if a man is ill, he addresses himself to a
civilian doctor and pays for his medicine and advice.
Out of an annual budget of from 20,000 to 30,000 tomans 10,000 Persian dinars, or a gold coin of that value.
for medicines and necessaries, it is said that not one-tenth is
spent in a legitimate manner.
The payment of officers of this service is extremely irregular.
The amount of income drawn by an individual depends
entirely on his status or the length of his purse; an old grey
beard will be drawing 200 tomans 10,000 Persian dinars, or a gold coin of that value. per annum, a young
student 2,000. 'The irregularity in payment loads to great
abuse, and officers are often found hawking their bills in the
market, where they are sold at from 30 to 80 per cent,
discount.
The officers of the service beai*' military rank, though such is
not always the case, many of the older school still preferring to
be known as Hakims or Hakim llashis, etc.