Mr. Tyler to Mr.
Hay.
American Legation,
Teheran, July 1,
1904.
No. 56.]
Sir: I have the honor to inclose for your
information copies of correspondence relating more especially to the
accomplices of the murderer of the late Mr. Labaree and his servant.
From a perusal of these papers it will be painfully evident that,
notwithstanding the presence of the English consul-general in Urumia,
the strong representations of a very capable locum tenens in Tabriz, the
persistent efforts of the English minister in Teheran, the repeated and
urgent requests, oral and verbal, of this legation, how little progress
has been made since the murderer was arrested, and even his criminality
has
[Page 662]
been denied, in obtaining
hardly a show of justice or a serious attempt to apprehend these
culprits.
* * * * * * *
Before communicating your telegram of the 24th of June I went into the
country on the 27th and had an interview with the English minister, who
agreed with me that it would be advisable that I should personally take
a translation and copy of the message, which he thought excellent, to
the minister for foreign affairs, and insist that, as the President’s
name was mentioned, he should present it to His Majesty the Shah, and
obtain the strongest possible order on the Crown Prince, governor of
Azerbaijan, to arrest the accomplices. His excellency also authorized me
to say that unless the culprits were arrested with little more delay we
should send in an identical note, and if that were not sufficient ask
for joint audience of the Shah.
In my interview with the minister I told him that the Government of the
United States was in earnest, that in its eyes the case had assumed very
grave proportions, and that it required that the guilty parties to this
barbarous murder, whoever they might be, should be arrested and
punished. I told his excellency that we had been frequently advised that
the most stringent orders had been given and all necessary measures
taken to this end only to find that nothing had been done. I added that
I did not ask that any more orders should be issued, but rather that he
should insist that such as had been given should be executed, for this
repetition of commands and instructions had ceased to have any effect
with the authorities or to inspire any confidence in us. I mentioned my
interview with the English minister, and conveyed to him the message as
to an identical note and a joint interview with himself and an audience
of His Majesty the Shah. I pointed out to him the dangers to which
United States citizens were exposed, the natural dread in which they
were living, and that the responsibility for all this rested with the
authorities. In leaving a copy of the telegram I asked his excellency to
present it to the Shah on the very first opportunity, and to let me have
a reply as soon as possible, as I was expected without delay to transmit
an answer by telegraph.
I was assured that the strongest orders had been sent, only two days
before, to the crown prince to arrest these men, and there was to be no
more excuse, for the Government demanded them and required that they
should be presented as prisoners.
He told me that he had done all he could, and that now the Government had
insisted that nothing but the apprehension of the criminals would
satisfy their demands. The minister told me that he should certainly
present the telegram to the Shah, and asked me to telegraph that the
strongest orders had been issued, and his intention to have them
enforced.
I propose, however, before complying with this request, to see some
practical effect of the new orders, in default of which I shall probably
telegraph, not, however, to give assurance, but rather to ask for still
further instructions.
I have, etc.,
[Page 663]
[Inclosure 1.]
Mr. Tyler to
the Mushir-ed-Dowlah.
American Legation,
Teheran, June 2,
1904.
Your Excellency: In the conversation which
I had with you on the 30th of May with reference to the arrest of
the accomplices of Mir Ghaffar in the murder of Mr. Labaree, I
informed your excellency that the Government of the United States
had written very strongly, and had shortly before sent a peremptory
telegram indicating that in accordance with the commands of His
Majesty, the authorities of Azerbaijan should be ordered, without
fail, to arrest these criminals, and at the same time urging me to
make the strongest possible request to have this carried out.
You asked me to furnish you with the names of these accomplices, but
I beg to remind your excellency that with the dispatch of the United
States minister of the 27th of Muharram a translation of a letter
from Doctor Cochran, of Urumia, was sent to you, which contained the
names of these men, with certain other particulars regarding the
crime, and in reply you stated that a copy of that letter had been
sent to the government in Tabriz. As your excellency has required a
repetition of the names I beg to inform you as follows: Seydi, son
of Gehanger Beg, of Ambi; Timur Beg, Khosruki Changis Beg, son of
Hassan Beg, of Derbend, near to Ambi, and Mir Mohammad, of Bedri,
with eight others of the village of Sheikh-Shamo-ed-din, who,
including Mir Ghaffar, number 14.
These 13 criminals I consider to be in every respect as culpable as
Mir Ghaffar, for while he could plead that he was, on account of
these murders, a fugitive from the dwellings and neighborhood of
men, these criminals were under no apprehension of the punishment of
offenses, and therefore could have no motive for the perpetration of
the crime but lawlessness, robbery, cruelty, and murder.
With reference to Mirza Hussein Aga, who is not only an executor of
the law, but is also one of the chiefs of the nation, and by his
position ought to promote order and concord among the people,
instead of, as can be seen from the above mentioned translation,
being a protector of Mir Ghaffer and other criminals, I have no
doubt His Majesty’s Government will, under these circumstances,
consider the advisability of his being punished and removed from the
city.
It is reported that the Madjdes-Suttaveh has received orders to go to
Tiflis, but as he is the only official thoroughly conversant with
the particulars of these crimes, and the one man capable of
arresting these men, until this matter is settled I have to strongly
request that he should not be suspended. In the furtherance of
justice in this case success or failure depends on the knowledge or
ignorance of the person to whom it is intrusted.
I beg to appeal to you as strongly as possible to have the case
settled before Mr. Pearson reaches Washington, so as to obviate the
necessity for a damaging report.
It is notorious that in the province of Urumia the Kurds, from
natural habit and custom, periodically perpetrate murders,
robberies, mannings, and other outrages, and that the only safe
method of preventing these is to deprive them of their arms and
ammunition, and to ordain that any members of the tribes who shall
be found with firearms or other weapons shall be fined and otherwise
punished; only thus will people be able to move about without fear
and attend to their business without molestation. If His Majesty’s
Government can see its way to take this step, there can be no doubt
but that it will be of great advantage to the people of these
regions.
In the present state of uncertainty, when any of our subjects have to
leave their homes they are obliged to send out scouts to examine the
roads and other places to assure themselves that no one is lurking
in ambush with sinister intentions, and even then with much
preparation and under the protection of guards go out and attend to
their business.
I have received information that on the 9th of this month 40 Kurds
raided a Mussulman village only a mile from Urumia, and carried off
200 sheep. If such an offense can be committed within so short a
distance of the city, with what impunity can it be carried out when
distance insures protection.
I have on many occasions when reporting occurrences to the United
States Government had much pleasure in noting my appreciation of the
alacrity with which His Majesty’s Government have attended to my
requests, and I hope that on this occasion I shall have no cause to
complain.
I have, etc.,
[Page 664]
[Inclosure 2.]
Mr. Tyler to
the Mushir-ed-Dowlah.
American Legation,
Teheran, June 11,
1904.
Your Excellency: At your request on the
17th of this Persian month I communicated to your excellency certain
particulars regarding the accomplices of Mir Ghaffar in the murder
of Mr. Labaree, but up to the present time I have heard nothing of
the results.
* * * * * * *
It is, moreover, with extreme regret and disappointment that I learn
from other sources that notwithstanding the urgent and persistent
appeals of this legation, arid the numerous orders issued from the
government to the authorities in Azerbaijan, no practical and
decisive steps have been taken.
It is now more than three months that the legation has urged with the
greatest emphasis that the high authorities of Tabriz and Urumia
shall, in obedience to the Imperial commands and the orders of the
central government, exert themselves to the utmost to arrest the
perpetrators of these murders.
From the successive replies received from your excellency, the
minister of the United States was persuaded of the ultimate success
of the measures which he believed had been adopted, that he assured
the United States Government that the authorities would relax no
efforts put forth for the satisfaction of justice.
I am now apprehensive that after these representations, when I shall
inform it that the authorities in Tabriz and Urumia, notwithstanding
the orders which have been sent, have done absolutely nothing, a
most unfavorable impression will be produced.
It is evident that if the commands and orders that have been sent to
those provinces had been carried out, the subjects of foreign States
would not now be in such a state of terror, anxiety, and danger,
insomuch that they can not go out of their houses with any assurance
of safety.
I have, therefore, again most urgently to request your excellency, in
the name of the United States Government, whose citizen has been
wantonly and cruelly murdered, that you will use your commanding
influence to compel the authorities in Azerbaijan to execute the
order which His Imperial Majesty and his Government have considered
necessary for the arrest of these criminals and restoring confidence
in the city and districts of Urumia, where our citizens, men and
women, reside.
* * * * * * *
I have, etc.,
[Inclosure 3.]
The Mushir-ed-Doivlah to Mr. Tylery.
Ministry for Foreign Affairs,
Teheran, June 16, 1904.
Sir: I have to acknowledge the receipt of
your dispatch, dated the 26th of Rabi-ul aval, June 11, 1904, in
which you implicate certain Kurds as accomplices of Mir Ghaffar in
the murder of Mr. Labaree, and in reply have to state:
- Firstly. Doctor Cochran’s letter, a copy of which you
inclosed, can not on the evidence of one Christian, whose
statements admit of any possible construction, be considered
as proof of the complicity of Gurgin Beg in the murder of
Mr. Labaree. The facts of the case can not be deduced from
this narrative.
- Secondly. The Government of the United States is fully
aware that previously to the arrest of Mir Ghaffar, both it
and the legation urged the Persian Government to direct all
his energies to the arrest of the murderer of Mr. Labaree.
Moreover, it is clear to what an unusal extent this
Government has undertaken labor and incurred expense in the
arrest and imprisonment of the accused. And now that he has
been secured you have imported into the case certain
accomplices; but the authorities in Azerbaijan having
instituted the fullest inquiries have made it plain that Mir
Ghaffar had no associates, and proved that in this case the
Kurds are free from all responsibility, For why?
[Page 665]
These Begzadehs in
the pursuit of Mir Ghaffar gave the authorities every
support and in his arrest and delivery into prison rendered
much service. And now after all the efforts put forth by
this Government to procure the arrest of Mir Ghaffar, its
expectations are at variance with the arguments of the
Government of the United States, as set forth in this
dispatch.
Furthermore, it has become evident that the measures adopted by this
Government and the authorities of Azerbaijan to bring this matter to
a conclusion have assured to foreign subjects in that region the
greatest personal safety and freedom from anxiety. It is, again,
indisputable that when it is clearly manifest to what extent the
forces of the Government have been put in motion for the arrest of a
single murderer and the bringing to justice of offenders, such
persons as are the object of suspicion can not and will not allow
themselves to betray their evil propensities and their inherent
villainy.
As these Begzadehs have in this case supported the views of the
authorities of Azerbaijan, and rendered considerable service in the
arrest of Mir Ghaffar, it should be made an opportunity for
recognizing and appreciating the services which they have rendered
to the State rather than to visit them with punishment, that might
in the future be a source of regret.
The Government of the United States should be made acquainted with
this aspect of the case; for to pursue the Kurds without sufficient
proof of their complicity would lead to a state of enmity between
them and the Christians, and probably be a source of further trouble
and difficulty. This is certainly far from being advisable, and any
measures which might have this result could not be satisfactory and
it is possible that in their obstinancy and resentment they (the
Kurds) might find an excuse to create fresh troubles.
In the arrest of Mir Ghaffar and the absence of proofs regarding
accomplices, it is not just to bring forward this charge, which
might produce animosity between the Khans of Dasht and the
Christians, and bring on a result not now foreseen or
anticipated.
It is to be hoped that the Government of the United States will,
after considering the statements of this dispatch, agree with its
conclusions.
I take, etc.,
(Sealed)
Mushir-ed-Dowlah.
[Inclosure 4.]
Mr. Tyler to
the Mushir-ed-Dowlah.
American Legation,
Teheran, June 18,
1904.
Your Excellency: I have just received from
his excellency the Secretary of State a dispatch instructing me to
bring to your notice the unexpectedly long delay which has
intervened in the arrest of the accomplices of Mir Ghaffar for the
murder of Mr. Labaree and his servant and to urge you with the
greatest emphasis to see that, all necessary and possible measures
be taken for the arrest and punishment of these criminals.
In my conversation on the 23d of May and in my dispatches of the 2d
and 11th of June I have impressed upon you as forcibly as I could
the absolute necessity which exists for the arrest of these men,
whose names and places of abode I have sent you, but up to the
present it does not appear that a sufficient force, with imperative
orders to effect this purpose, have been given by the
authorities.
I beg to tell your excellency that nothing short of the punishment of
these culprits will satisfy the Government of the United States, and
I therefore request that no further excuses or delays be suffered to
interfere with the course of justice.
I inclose translations of extracts from letters just received from
Urumia giving accounts of robberies and murders in the very
neighborhood of the city of Urumia.
I have, etc.,
[Page 666]
[Inclosure 5.]
Mr. Tyler to
the Mushir-ed-Dowlah.
American Legation,
Teheran, June 22,
1904.
Your Excellency: I beg to acknowledge the
receipt of your dispatch, dated the 16th of June, with reference to
the accomplices of Mir Ghaffar in the murder of Mr. Labaree and his
servant.
In reply I regret to observe that it appears from the tenor of this
communication that the whole of the correspondence on this subject
with your excellency, the telegrams of the authorities of
Azerbaijan, the telegrams and letters of the English consul-general
at Tabriz, and the translations of intelligence from other sources
from the date of the perpetration of this crime on the 21st of
Zeehejjeh, the 9th of March, 1904, until to-day has been obliterated
from your memory. Your excellency remarks that “The Government of
the United States is fully aware that previously to the arrest of
Mir Ghaffar both it and the legation urged the Persian Government to
direct all its energies to the arrest of the murderer of Mr.
Labaree, * * * and now that he has been secured you have imported
into the case certain accomplices.”
I beg most respectfully to remind your excellency that from the date
of the commission of the crime until the present day there has been
no vacillation on this point by the legation. The contention when
not stated in exact terms has always been implied by the use of the
plural number to signify the culprits.
This is more especially emphasized in the letter of the United States
minister, dated the 27th of Muharram, 14th of April, inclosing a
translation of a letter from Doctor Cochran, a copy of which you
sent to Tabriz for the information of the authorities of Azerbaijan,
in which fourteen persons were charged with the crime. And in the
telegraphic reply of the Emir-i-Nizam, a copy of which your
excellency sent to the legation, it is categorically stated that the
murderers are Mir Ghaffar and three men of the Dasht Kurds, who must
be Mohammadis, and these miscreants are in hiding among this tribe.
From this statement of the governor it is quite evident that Mir
Ghaffar was not without partners in the perpetration of the outrage;
and this attempt on the part of the authorities of Azebaijan to
exonerate the Kurds from all complicity is a perversion of the
plainest facts.
I beg, moreover, to report for your excellency’s information that
previously to the departure of his excellency, the minister of the
United States, on the 4th of May, the whole of the correspondence,
from the first intimation of the murder until the latter date,
including translations of telegrams and letters sent and received in
Persian, with a report on all the circumstances of the case,
indicating the measures adopted and the efforts put forth by His
Majesty’s Government was sent to the Secretary of State at
Washington.
It is in consideration of this complete knowledge of the facts of the
case that I am urged to press upon the attention of your excellency
the absolute necessity for the arrest of the accomplices of Mir
Ghaffar, as stated in my dispatch of the 4th of Rabi-es-Sani, 18th
of June. As therein intimated, the Government of the United States
can not be satisfied with less than the arrest and punishment of the
accomplices in these murders.
I need not tell your excellency that human credulity can not admit
that a single person in the plain of Dilmakan, unless he were
inspired by the utmost confidence in his accomplices, would dare in
broad daylight to stop two horsemen, murder and strip one, and then
taking his clothes and horse, compel the other to go a distance of 6
miles to a lonely place, stand unresistingly while he was hacked to
pieces, and then load up the plunder and lead two horses back to his
hiding place. Such a supposition is utterly incredible, but the
result is the strongest possible proof of the presence and
diabolical cruelty of the accomplices.
After three and a half months’ correspondence, in which every
possible detail and occurrence has been reported, indicating as an
indubitable certainty that a number of men were implicated in the
perpetration of the crime, I feel it extremely difficult to report
to the Government of the United States these statements, so
fallaciously in conflict with all opinion on the subject.
If it were not for the dispatch under consideration, I should not
think it necessary to indicate to your excellency that no one
connected with the United States in Persia would think of bringing a
charge not founded on fact against
[Page 667]
any person and demand his punishment for a
crime of which he was innocent. Immunity from the effects of
complicity will be gladly conceded when the plea of not guilty is
established.
From the translations of extracts from Doctor Cochran’s letters,
inclosed in my dispatches of the 26th of Rabi-ul-aval and the 4th of
Rabi-es-sani, it can be seen how well grounded are the suspicions
directed against these people, whose lives are spent in robbery,
plunder, and outrage. If you will carefully examine these papers I
feel sure you will admit the truth of the statements.
I beg still once more to request that your excellency will close your
ears to these misleading reports and insist upon the arrest and
punishment of the guilty parties to this disgraceful murder without
any further delay.
I avail, etc.,
