Page 464 - PERSIAN 8 1912_1920_Neat

dO PBB8IAN GULP ADMINISTRATION REPORT
available to do it will be less marked Ilian it lias been up to the present. But
credit will always bo duo to the few pioneers who had to contend with a
plethora of work encumbered by many unfamiliar difficulties.
Endeavours are being made to enlist the most suitable material which tho
Province can supply- The main clement will probably always ho villagers
chosen from the agricultural classes of the healthiest districts. It is difljcult
to get hold of the men of the nomadic or semi-nomadic tribes, but this difficulty
will probably he overcome to some extent in the course of time. Tho city man,
as being generally a weaver or a loafer, and frequently diseased, is now
eschewed, and many enlisted in tho early days are being got rid of. There
is not likely to be much trouble in getting as many men as can at present he
dealt with/and it is moat important to start the force with high standards
so ihat it may come to be regarded as something of a distinction to he admitted
into its ranks. If a low class of men forms an appreciable cloment, the
bettor types may be expected to hold aloof.
More difficult than the question of enlistment or even that of training
and organisation without a trained indigenous staff, are the problems of
accommodation, sanitation, and hygiene.. The great prevalence of syphilis in
the city is proving, and is likely to continue to prove, a very serious drawback
to Kercnan as tho Headquarters and training centre of the force.
The relations of the South Persia Rifles with tho local authorities, and
with the people of the place have beer, very satisfactory, iu pleasing contrast
to those of their predecessors, the Swedish Gendarmerie. Some credit in this
connection is due to the Governor-General and Sardar Nusrat who havo
displayed a very friendly and helpful spirit.
The necessity for telegraphic and telephonic communication a’ong
The Bjn-lor AbUs-Kerraau telega lino aud tile TOUtC to be protected by the South
totor read. Persia ltifles between. Bandar Abbas and
Kerman was represented by General Sykes in April 1916. Anothor proposal
which he took occasion to press at the same time was that of the construction
cf a road fit for motor lorries between the same two points. Ho proposed
that this should follow the Tang-i-Zindan—Baft route. General Sykes laid
stress on the actual importance of Bandar Abbas, and the greater importance
which it might acquire in the future. “It will in the future, I am
confident,” he said, “be the chief sea port of Southern Persia and mav,
through the discovery of oil-bearing strata in the neighbourhood, outvie tfce
ancient glories of Ormuz, its island predecessors.”
In August the question of route to ho followed was raised and General
Sykes again expressed his opinion in favour of that vid Daulatabad and
Baft, and at the end of the month it was intimated that the construction of a
telegraph line following this route had been sanctioned by the Secretary
of State for India and instructions were issued for arrangements to be made
for the protection of the construction party, as also of an engineer who was
to be sent (o examine and report on measures necessary for the improvement
of the road.
With some trouble arrangements were made for the protection of the
telegraph party in Bandar Abbas territory by men provided by tbe South
Persia Rifles and the Deputy Governor of Bandar Abbas, and by guards
to be provided by Ali Khan in Ahmadi territory. These arrangements have
so far worked fairly well and no serious robbery or other trouble has been
experienced, though Ali Khan has, as was to he expected, shown himself
shifty and unreliable and faint-heartedly exacting. About 5 miles of the
line had been constructed by the 11th October and the construction was
pushed on rapidly to Niyam and Bahanah-i-Tang under tbe supervision of
Mr. Pinsent. Beyond this the work was carried out under the orders of
Mr. Blackman, Indo-European Telegraph Department, who had travelled
down from Sistan passing through Kerman early in November. One®
tho Tang-i-Zindan was entered work wont very slowly as, owing to the natur®
of the ground, every post had to bo sunk in rock or set in a masonry base.
In tho meantime Major Rich, It E., arrived and proceeded, in the latt^
half of November, to examiue the Tang-i-Zindan for a road alignment*

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