PERSIA: Oh, Dr. Millspaugh!

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being all-important, Dr. Millspaugh tightened that screw first. For example, His Highness the Sipahdar-i-Azam, onetime Prime Minister, was pressed for payment of millions in back taxes. Soon His Highness committed suicide, first proclaiming that his sole rea son for this act was "unendurable American extortion." Other nobles paid. Progress was made -slowly.

Even today the problem of "honesty" has barely been at tacked. Rather indeed it has been dismissed in suave words, attributed to Dr. Millspaugh: "We find that many Persian officials are endowed with great potential honesty."

By steady plugging and with the co-operation of the Shah (whose revenue has been larger under Dr. Millspaugh than ever before) sufficient progress has been made so that the present budget shows a surplus. Time and again the Majlis (Parliament) has been ready to oust the U. S. Administrator-General of Finance; but many flukes have saved him. For example his dismissal was thought certain in 1924, just before the murder (TIME, July 28, 1924) of the U. S. Vice Consul Robert W. Imbrie. That incident so fired U. S. wrath that the Persian Government dared not further inflame U. S. opinion by the discharge of Dr. Millspaugh. Recently the Doctor's dismissal has again been rumored; but the extension of his contract last week, seemed to augur that Persians are beginning to value at true weight his ponderous and growing achievement.

*Regions bounding Persia are (in clockwise order) ; the Republic of Turkey; the Socialist Soviet Republic of Armenia; the Azerbaijan Socialist Soviet Republic; the Caspian Sea; the Socialist Soviet Republic of Turkmenistan ("Turkestan") ; the Amirate of Afghanistan ; the Kalat State of Anglo-Indian Baluchistan; the Gulf of Oman ; the Persian Gulf and (completing the clockwise circle) the Kingdom of Irak, a British mandate.