Until 1909 the domestic lines of the Persian Government were ordinarily farmed out to individuals under contract, but since that date they have been operated directly by the Ministry of Posts and Telegraphs for the Government. There were in 1928 about I5o offices in the country with a total length of nearly io,000 miles. Persia became a member of the International Telegraph Union as far back as 1860.
Wireless.—In the spring of 1925 a high power wireless plant purchased by the Ministry of War from the Soviet, was erected outside Tehran. This developed into "The Pahlavi Radiotele graph Station" notified by the Persian Telegraph Administration in December 1927 to the International Telegraph Bureau at Berne, as having been installed and opened for international telegraphic correspondence. It is understood to work on the continuous wave system with a wave-length of 4,000 metres.
Telephones.—A Persian limited company has held a monopoly from the Central Government for some 25 years past for the establishment of telephone systems in the towns of Persia, except those of the Gilan province wherein telephones have been installed by a local firm. Tehran, which boasts of some 1,50o subscribers, and the other principal towns are now equipped and the service generally is being improved. In addition to these urban services communication has also been established in some localities be tween one town and another, but ioo miles is about the limit of distance in these cases.
The British telegraph lines are of course fitted with telephone attachments for use between control stations.
Currency and Weights and Measures.—The coinage of the country is a silver one, and it fluctuates in value according to the market price of silver.
The monetary unit is called a "Kran," with its decimal varia tions, of higher and lower value, viz., the "Toman" ( = io krans) and the "Shahi" ( kran). The superscription in Persian is "Yek Hazar dinar" ( = i,000 dinars), a conservative employment of the ancient title appearing on the coin when first established in the country.
The subsidiary coins to the kran are the r-shahi and 2-shahi pieces: One shahi —05 of a kran (5 cents) ; two shahis = •Io of a kran (io cents), there being 20 shahis to one kran. These are represented by a good type of nickel coin struck in Birmingham.
Two-kran "Do Hazar dinar" and 5-kran "Panj Hazar dinar" silver coins are also in circulation, the 2-kran piece being more universally in demand.
The kran weighs one miscal or 71.04 grains, and is of goo fine ness, and taking silver at its present (1928) price of 260. and allowing for all charges of minting, etc., it would bring the present day intrinsic value of the kran in sterling to 4.8d.
In recent years the currency has been greatly improved, a good deal of it being struck in Russia and in England, while through the good offices of the Imperial.. Bank of Persia in assisting the Government, the currency has been cleansed by persistent with drawals from circulation of the short weight, short value and badly minted coins struck at the Tehran mint.
For all practical purposes there are no gold coins in circulation, though a few gold coins are specially minted each year.
Note Issue.—Supplementary to the silver coinage, a cumber some medium of currency owing to its weight, is the note issue of the Imperial Bank of Persia. These circulate throughout all the large cities of the country in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 5o and ma tomans.
Weights and Measures are not uniform throughout the country. The Tabriz maund is the unit more universally in use, and is equal to approximately 6 lb. 9 oz. or 2.970 kilogrammes. For weigh ing heavy solids the Kharvar (donkey load) is generally com mercially used, equivalent to about 65o lb.
There are various new weights and measures under an act passed by Parliament on May 31, 1926, based on the decimal sys tem, to be brought into force within three years of its passing, the Government to create the machinery necessary for its enforce ment four months previously, by giving notice in every district of the impending change.
Finance.—Of recent years the Persian Government has de voted much attention to the reform of the methods of collection of its revenues and to the presentation of annual financial state ments on the lines adopted by all European States. Considerable progress has been made in both directions, and even more would have been achieved but for frequent changes in the administration of the Ministry of Finance. Doctor A. C. Millspaugh, a U.S. citi zen nominated in 1922 at the request of the Persian Government by the U.S. Government, as administrator general of Persian fi nances, was the third westerner to hold that office. On the expiry of his contract in 1927 his place was taken by a German citizen, who was simultaneously appointed as treasurer general.