Oil!

Colonel Merian C. Cooper, quondam U. S. War aviator, quondam Colonel in the Polish Air Service, quondam prisoner of war in Bolshevikland, now an explorer of note, had much to say upon the great oil fight which has sporadically raged in Persia under various guises for many a long year:

"Russia is determined to have the concessions in the five Northern Persian departments which were controlled by Russian interests before the war. An Armenian who is a Russian subject and the holder of a large interest in these pre-war concessions sold his interests to English investors. At the same time the Sinclair interests have practically tied up the Persian Government in a new concession in the same district. Russia, however, refuses to recognize either of these concessions as valid and is demanding that the rights be given her. And certainly she appears to be in the strongest position. The moderation of the treaty she made with Persia after the invasion of 1920 and the fact that she has chased the English out of the Northern Provinces have given her the greatest prestige there and she is using her best diplomatic efforts to take advantage of this.

"It is also the Russian aim to prevent American capital from building a railroad across Northern Persia. England, too, is fighting the Americans in this, and the British Government is using the loan made to Persia in wartime as a very effective weapon."