PENNSYLVANIA. 



cision of the court, was declared in violation of 

 the Constitution in so far as the exemption of 

 fiduciaries is concerned. 



Trial of Matthew S. Quay. The trial of Sen- 

 ator Quay on one of the indictments in which he 

 was charged with conspiring with John S. Hop- 

 kins, B. J. Hay wood (then State Treasurer), and 

 R. R. Quay, his son, to use State money unlaw- 

 fully (see Annual Cyclopaedia for 1898, page 

 621) took place in April, and resulted in acquittal. 

 Mr. Haywood, who was also under indictment, 

 died Feb. 23. 



Political. A State Treasurer, two justices of 

 the Supreme Court, and a justice of the Superior 

 Court were to be chosen in November. 



A Democratic State convention was held in 

 Harrisburg, June 14-15. The resolutions were 

 in accord with the position of the party on na- 

 tional issues. In regard to State affairs, they 

 denounced the unnecessary increase of offices and 

 salaries, favored revision of the tax laws, fail- 

 assessment of franchises, and ballot reform; and 

 said further: "We denounce the indecent haste dis- 

 played in the disrespect shown the people by the 

 Governor of the State in the appointment to the 

 vacancy in the United States Senate of M. S. 

 Quay, who, to prevent a full investigation be- 

 fore a jury of his country, pleaded the statute 

 of limitations against the most serious charges 

 of crime. In this appointment, in the unwar- 

 ranted reduction of the appropriation to public 

 schools, and his unauthorized veto of the con- 

 stitutional amendment resolution he has violated 

 the Constitution, usurped authority nowhere 

 granted him, and perpetrated wrongs against the 

 people and the State that demand his condemna- 

 tion." 



The nominations were: For Judge of the Su- 

 preme Court, S. Leslie Mestrezat; for Judge of 

 the Superior Court, Charles J. Reilly; for Treas- 

 urer, William T. Creasy. 



The Republican convention met in Harrisburg, 

 Aug. 24. The platform approved the administra- 

 tions of President McKinley and Gov. Stone, 

 commended the State executive for his appoint- 

 ment of Mr. Quay to the United States Senate, 

 and pledged the party to a reduction in the ex- 

 penditures of the State government. The so- 

 called anti-Quay delegates objected to the reso- 

 lution commending Mr. Quay and thanking the 

 Governor for appointing him after the Legisla- 

 ture had failed to elect a Senator; and, as the 

 resolutions were voted upon as a whole, they 

 voted against them. The ticket follows: For 

 Judge of the Supreme Court, J. Hay Brown; for 

 Judge of the Superior Court, Josiah R. Adams; 

 for Treasurer, James E. Barnett. J. R. Adams 

 withdrew Oct. 19, and Judge Mitchell was made 

 the nominee. 



The People's party nominated J. H. O. Steven- 

 son for the Supreme Court, N. I. Atwood for the 

 Superior Court, and Justus Watkins for Treas- 

 urer. 



The Prohibitionists named Agib Ricketts for 

 the Supreme Court, H. L. Robinson for the Supe- 

 rior Court, and John M. Caldwell for Treasurer. 



The Socialist-Labor party filed the following 

 nominations: For the Supreme Court, Edward 

 Kuppinger; for the Superior Court, Harry C. 

 Parker; for Treasurer, Hermann Kreimer. 



Nominations were made also by the Union 

 Reform and Antitrust parties. 



The election resulted in the success of the Re- 

 publican ticket. The vote for Treasurer stood: 

 Barnett, Republican, 438.000; Creasy, Democratic, 

 327.512; Caldwell, Prohibitionist, 18.072; Wat- 

 kins, Populist, 1,988; Clark, Socialist-Labor, 375; 



PERSIA. 



691 



Wood, Union Reform, 500; Creasy, Antitrust 

 G57. 



As there were two vacancies on the Supreme 

 Court bench to be filled, owing to the death of 

 Judge H. W. Williams, Jan. 25, and only one 

 could be voted for by each elector, the nomina- 

 tions of the two larger parties were equivalent to 

 election; and J. Hay Brown and S. Leslie Mes- 

 trezat are therefore justices of the court. 



PERSIA, an empire in central Asia. The 

 power of the Shah, or Emperor, is absolute in 

 so far as he conforms his acts to the precepts 

 of the Koran and the principles of the Moham- 

 medan religion. He has full control of the pub- 

 lic purse and the power of life and death over 

 his subjects. The reigning Shah is Muzaffereddin, 

 born March 25, 1853, who succeeded his father, 

 Nasreddin, May 1, 1896. The heir apparent, called 

 the Valiahd, is Mohammed AH Mirza, born in 

 1872. The Grand Vizier at the beginning of 1899 

 was Mirza Ali Ashgar Khan, appointed Aug. 

 11, 1898. The ministers were as follow: Minister 

 of the Interior, Amin el Mulk; Minister of For- 

 eign Affairs, Mushir ed Dowleh; Minister of War, 

 Amir Khan Serdar; Minister of Finance, Nizam 

 es Sultaneh. 



Area and Population. The area of Persia is 

 about 628,000 square miles. The population is 

 believed to be about 9,000,000. The chief cities 

 are Teheran, the capital, with about 210,000 

 inhabitants; Tabriz, with 180,000; and Ispahan, 

 with 80,000. 



Finances. The revenue is about 54,500,000 

 krans a year, equal at the present price of silver 

 to $7,500,000. About 18,000,000 krans are ex- 

 pended on the army, 10,000,000 krans for pensions, 

 5,000,000 krans for the Shah's household, 3,000,- 

 000 krans for allowances to princes, 600,000 krans 

 for allowances to the royal Kajar tribe, 800,000 

 krans for foreign affairs, 500,000 krans for col- 

 leges, 1,500,000 krans for civil administration, 

 2,600,000 krans for local government, and the 

 remainder is paid into the Shah's treasury. About 

 15 per cent, of the revenue comes from customs 

 and 3 per cent, from posts and telegraphs, fish- 

 eries, mining concessions, etc., while 82 per cent, 

 is assessed on towns, villages, and districts, and 

 collected almost entirely from the laboring popu- 

 lation. 



The Army. The standing army is about 24,- 

 500 strong. The effective war strength of the 

 Persian army is estimated at 35,400 trained in- 

 fantry, 3,300 irregular cavalry, 2,500 artillery, a 

 camel corps of 90 men, 100 engineers, and 12,130 

 untrained levies. 



Commerce and Production. Wheat, barley, 

 rice, fruit, and gums are staple products of Persia, 

 and silk, of which 606,100 pounds are produced 

 annually, besides 390,000 pounds of cocoons, val- 

 ued at $160,000, which are exported to Europe. 

 Opium has been an important article of export 

 for ages, and the annual shipments to Europe 

 and China are now about 13,000 cases, valued at 

 $3,750,000. The annual exports of tobacco are 

 5,500 tons; of cotton, 9,934,400 pounds; of wool, 

 7,714,000 pounds. Persian rugs and carpets are 

 sought for the European and American market. 

 The mineral resources of Persia are great, but 

 the mines supply only local needs. Copper, lead, 

 silver, tin, gold, iron, manganese, cobalt, nickel, 

 and sulphur are found, and near the south coast 

 petroleum is found in abundance. The turquoise 

 mines of Persia have supplied the world from 

 ancient times, and about $40,000 worth of the 

 gems are sent out from Khorassan every year. 

 Dates are the most important of all the exports, 

 opium, wool, cotton, silk, carpets, pearls, tur- 



