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File 357/1919 Pt 2 ‘RAILWAYS IN PERSIA’ [291r] (586/1150)
The record is made up of 1 volume (573 folios). It was created in 5 Dec 1921-28 Jan 1931. It was written in English. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
LThis Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty’s Government. [
l
PERSIA. [j uly 192 5 ]
CONFIDENTIAL. Section 6.
[E 3990/110/34] No. 1.
Sir P. Loraine to Mr. Austen Chamberlain.—(Received July 7.)
(No. 334.,)
» Sir, . Gulheh, June 19, 1925.
I HAVE the honour to inform you that the Bill for the appointment of an
American road engineer in replacement of Mr. Mitchell, who is returning to the United
States on the expiration of his contract, was presented to the Majlis by the Minister of
Public Works on the 16th June last. Mr. Hadow, in his despatch No. O.T. (B) 54, dated
the 2nd April, 1925, laid stress on the importance which Dr. Millspaugh attaches to
this appointment, to which a considerable opposition was manifested by the Deputies,
however. The latter eventually refused to vote on the Bill, which will be brought up
again in the near future; the _ Government, in the meantime, may be able to smooth
down the Opposition. The chief grounds for opposition seems to have been economy,
it being objected that whereas the Government wished to contract for an American
engineer at a salary of 1,000
tomans
10,000 Persian dinars, or a gold coin of that value.
a month, a German specialist could be found at
half that price. It is difficult to judge to what a degree German propaganda and the
desire that other Departments besides that for finance should not become a happy
hunting ground for American overseers played a part, one speaker suggesting that an
American was being contracted for because the fashion ruling at present was for
Americans. The objection founded on reasons of economy seems to be justified, but
there is also much to be said for the arguments of the Government and its supporters
that there would be a better chance of foreign capital being attracted to Persia were an
American rather than a German employed for the roads, and for the suggestion that
[ there would be in that case better co-operation between the experts in Government
| service.
2. But, unfortunately for the success of the Bill, the Minister of Public Works
went so far as to hint that Dr. Millspaugh would be more likely to view with favour
the schemes of an American engineer, which tactless remark made the Deputies cry at
American hegemony.
3. In the course of the debate the Minister for Public Works did not hesitate to
declare that roads were even more necessary than railways for the country, which is
significant in view of the opposition during the readings of the Sugar and Tea
Monopoly Bill to a clause that the revenue accruing from the enforcement of this
: monopoly should be applied to the construction of both roads and railways, so much so,
that eventually it was stipulated that a special fund for railways alone would be formed
l (as was reported in my despatch No. 311 dated the 6th June last'. This statement on
• the part of the Minister of Public Works does but confirm Colonel MacCormack’s
assertion made to the acting commercial secretary recently in private conversation, that
it was unthinkable that the Government should undertake the building of a railway
before the country had been opened out by a network of metalled roads.
4. The same Minister also declared that the intentions of the Government were to
employ American engineers for railway construction, but that these engineers could
not be expected to start operations before three or four years owing to the preliminary
surveys that would be necessary. It seems, however, that public opinion will lorce the
Government to start construction on the Mohammerah—Khuramabad—Tehran route
when the revenue for the first year following the enactment of the Monopoly Bill
mentioned above has been computed, that is to say, in May of next year or shortly
afterwards. The first section wdll presumably be the Mohammerah—Dizful section
which was surveyed by the Persian Railway Syndicate who have kept the data secret,
and for which the Persian Government will probably make a bid in the near future.
I have, &c.
PERCY LORAINE,
About this item
- Content
This volume contains papers relating to the construction of the Trans-Persian Railway. It contains material relating to:
- The Persian Railway Syndicate’s attempt to enlist the aid of Rabbi Joseph Saul Kornfeld, the United States Envoy to Persia [Iran], and the British Foreign Office’s subsequent unfavourable attitude towards the Syndicate
- The Persian Railway Syndicate’s proposal to invite American companies for the construction of railways in Persia
- The concessions for the Mohammerah [Khorramshahr]-Khanakin [Khanaqin] and Khanakin-Tehran railways
- The proposed railway from Khanakin to Tehran and the estimated cost for the three principal divisions of the railway
- The restrictions of the British Government on the Persian Railway Syndicate’s grant of a loan to the Persian Government
- The possibility of a ‘fusion of interests’ between the Persian Railway Syndicate and the Stronach Dutton System of Road Rails Limited
- The possible extension of the American Chester Group’s railway concession from Turkey into Persia
- The plans of the Prime Minister of Persia [Rezā Khān Sardār Leader of a tribe or a polity; also refers to a military rank or title given to a commander of an army or division. Sepah] for a railway line extending from Ahwaz [Ahvaz] to Khorramabad, Dizful [Dezful], and Sultanabad [Arak] to Tehran
- The endeavour of an American group to obtain a concession for a line from Mohammerah to Khorramabad and Tehran
- The expenditures of the Persian Railway Syndicate for the Khanakin-Tehran and the Mohamerah-Khoramabad surveys
- The possibility of forming a Railway Syndicate with the Anglo-Persian Oil Company and Standard Oil Company
- The Persian Government’s decision to carry out a survey of the Mohammerah-Tehran-Bandar-i Gez [Bandar-i Gaz] railway line with the assistance of a German engineer
- The Consortium industriel pour l’Orient’s proposal to build a railway connecting Meshed [Mashhad] to the Tripoli-Homs Line
- The preference of the British Army Council and the Air Council for an East-West rather than a North-South railway in Persia for strategic reasons
- The exploitation of coal and iron deposits in Mazanderan [Mazandaran] for the construction of railways in Persia, and the concerns of Russia about a Trans-Persian Railway connecting the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. to the Caspian Sea
- The Act of the Persian Majlis [Parliament] for the construction of the Persian Trunk Railway
- The Persian Majlis’s Passage of the Bill for Railway Survey and Construction
- The Persian Majlis’s passage of the Railway Construction Bill, from Mohammerah and Bandar-i Gez to Tehran
- The Persian Majlis’s passage of a law for constructing a railway between Khor Musa-Mohammerah-Bandar-i Gez;
- The Persian Majlis’s authorisation of the Minister of Public Work to employ foreign experts for the construction of the Railway;
- The inauguration of the Bandar-i Gaz-Tehran-Ahwaz Railway in the presence of the Shah of Persia [Rezā Shāh Pahlavi]
- The British concerns and preference for a British rather than an American firm to build the Southern Section of the Railway
- The passage of the Railway Survey Law by the Persian Majlis and the contract between the Persian Government and the American company Ulen, and two German companies, Philipp Holzmann and Julius Berger-Siemens Union [sic., Siemens Bauunion] to carry out a complete survey of the Railway
- The contract between the Persian Government, represented by Minister of Public Works [General Ḥabib Allāh Khān Shaybānī], and the Persian Railway Syndicate, represented by MD Carrel and MNS Mavrogordato
- The contracts between the Persian Government and the Persian Railway Syndicate for the constructions of ports at Bandar-i Qays and Khor Musa (Bandar-i Shahpur) and a dam over the Karun River at Ahwaz
- The plans for building the line from Bandar Shapur north of Ahwaz, and revival of the line from Hamadan to Tehran
- The construction of the railway lines from Bandar Shah and Khor Musa, the diversion of German resources to the construction of electrical and cement works, and the postponement of building a port at Khor Musa
- The reservations of the British Minister in Persia [Robert Henry Clive] about the construction of the Railway as opposed to motor roads in Persia, and the subsidisation of the enterprise through the tea and sugar monopolies
- The increase in the cost of the Southern Section of the Railway and predicted opposition of the Persian Government
- The visit by the Shah of Persia to the Southern Section of the Railway, his unfavourable impression of the state of the railway, and the American Minister in Persia’s advice to Ulen and Company to stop working on the railway in case of difficulties with the Persian Government
- The cancellation of the contract between the Persian Government and the Persian Railway Syndicate over delayed payments, and the agreement between the German and Ulen groups within the Syndicate to work on the Northern and Southern sections of the Trans-Persian Railway respectively
- The Anglo-Persian Oil Company’s concerns about the Railway providing greater access and mobility to the Russians
- The dispute between the Persian Government and the German-American syndicate for the construction of the Railway
- The negotiations between the Persian Government and the German companies Julius Berger Konsortium, Philipp Holzmann, and Siemens Bauunion for the construction of the Northern Section of the Trans-Persian Railway
- The possible takeover by the Batignolles Construction Company of the building of the Southern Section of the Trans-Persian Railway from the American and British companies Ulen and Company and Stewart and McDonnell
- The Persian Government’s appointment of Suzuki Hajime from the Japanese Railway Department’s Engineering Bureau
- The breakdown of negotiations between the Batignolles Construction Company and the Government of Persia, and the latter’s decision to proceed with the construction of the remaining sections of the railway
- The proposals of the Batignolles Construction Company to the Government of Persia in the absence of a contract
- The extension of the Southern Section of the Railway from Khor Musa to Dizful, Hamadan and Kazvin [Qazvin], and the Northern Section from Tehran to Sari and the southern coast of the Caspian Sea.
The volume also includes the following sketch maps:
- A sketch map of the Trans-Persian Railway, from Khor Musa to Sari and the coast of the Caspian Sea, showing the ‘Line Completed’, ‘Line Surveyed’, and ‘Division between the Northern and Southern Sections’ (f 14)
- A sketch map of the Northern Section of the Railway, showing the routes to Pahlavi, Semnan, and Balfurush [Barfurush], with a second map of the Southern Section, showing alternative routes and termini, running either from Mohammerah or Khor Musa to Dizful and Hamadan (f 156)
- A sketch map showing the existing and projected railways in Persia (f 204).
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (573 folios)
- Arrangement
The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume.
The subject 357 (Persia: Railways) consists of two volumes, IOR/L/PS/10/793-794. The volumes are divided into two parts, with each part comprising one volume.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: The foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 573; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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File 357/1919 Pt 2 ‘RAILWAYS IN PERSIA’ [291r] (586/1150), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/794, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100110106181.0x0000bb> [accessed 9 June 2026]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/10/794
- Title
- File 357/1919 Pt 2 ‘RAILWAYS IN PERSIA’
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, 2r:13v, 15r:18v, 19v:23v, 24v:31v, 35v:38v, 39v:42v, 45v:48v, 56v:57v, 58v:62v, 64r:98v, 99v:106v, 110r:117v, 118v:122v, 123v, 125r:126v, 128r:148v, 150v:155v, 157r:163v, 165r:169v, 171r:173v, 175r:181v, 182v:188v, 190r:203v, 205r:206v, 208r:226r, 227v:266v, 268r:489v, 490v, 494v, 498v, 502v, 507v:523v, 524v:526v, 534v:544v, 545v:546v, 547v, 548v:552v, 553v:555v, 557v:572v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence