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Show Maine Man Head of Persian Police. Soldier of fortune In the truest sense of the word is MaJ. John N. Merrill of Skowhegan, Me . who has just been appointed organizer and . ommander of 1,000 gendarmes in Southern Persia, which probably has a worse reputation than any country in the world. Major Merrill Is only a little over SO years of age, but he has crowded more adventures into his short lifo than often falls to the lot of the av-erage av-erage man who lives to bo an octo-gena octo-gena rian. His new job bids fair to furnish him as many "thrillers" as he has experienced during the lime spent in the Philippines, first as a private in the regular army, and later with the ir-'-i'.id constabulary. , Major Merrill first went to Persia, , when Morgan Shuster went to that country to try to help straighten out Its tangled financial affairs Before that time Mr. Shuster had become acquainted with Merrill in the Philippines. Phil-ippines. When Mr. Shuster left Persia. Ma-1or Ma-1or Merrill was the only one of his American staff left. His force was incorporated In the regular gendarmerie, gend-armerie, but the oung man with his love of adventure found little or nothing to do. His new Job, however, promises to keep him extremely busy. His. body of 1.000 men will be recruited at Shlrza, Persia, for the Governor General of Fars. It will be Independent Inde-pendent of the Swedish body, but w ill co-operate with It In even way. The berth which has been made for Major Merrill gives him practically prac-tically charge of that portion of Southern Persia whose reputation is so unsavorv. Here, those who know the country say there are more outlaws and desperadoes to the square mile than any other given area of equal size In the world. Years ago, when he was a boy on his father's farm in Skowhegan. Me.. Merrill made up his mind that js soldiering was the only career for him. The quiet life of a 100-acre farm in Maine had no lure for this youth who pined for adventur. He went through the public schools In Skowhegan and at last so- cured his appointment at West Point. Thero was never any question ques-tion as to the young man's qualifications qualifi-cations as a practical lighting man. but the modorn army officer that Is trained at West Point must qualify as an expert mathematician, and it w.i.q in this branch of his studies' thi.t .Merrill failed. Mis inability to obtain a passing mark in this Important branch of' the military academy's curriculum forced him to leave West Point. But Merrill wae determined to become be-come a soldier. He was as firmly Convinced of that as back in the days vvhen he played with a toy gun In the woods back of his 'father's 'fath-er's farm. So, If he couldn't begin his military career as an officer, ho figured that the next best thing was to enter the ranks as a private and take a chance of working his wy |