Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1882-07-20
What is all the Fuss About {?

most comprehensive and clear account of
the Egyptian question yet given, 1t is
as follows:
The immediate cause of the trouble
is financial embarrassment occasioned
by the extravaganza of the khedive
Ishmael. The present khediye is an
illegltimate son of Ishmael.
The origin of the trouble is somewhat
remote, and antedates Ishmaels reign
by several centuries. In fact, the
Egyptian question:" as "Subsoliber"
calls il, is older than history. 1t has
been ostensibly settled score of times
since the beautiful Cleopatra ruled
and wooed, lost lover and life,' and
her kingdom fell into Roman hands,
but it refuses to stay set led.
Egypt lost her independence and be-
came province of Turkey in 1917.
Bonaparte Led the French invasion
and broke the Turkish power there in
1898, and was in turn expelled by the
Turks and British in 1901. Since that
time Egypt has been province of
Turkey. The power OF Turkey has,
however, been suspended, or bought,
from time to time, until at the present
time the khedive is al independent
and absolute sovereign so far as Egypt
is concerned, but nominally
owes allegiance to the 1ultan
of Turkey, on the tenure
of tribute or military aid in case of war.
These different suspensions of Turkish
power has led indirectly to the present
trouble. The last suspension was by a
trman Of the Sultan, issued June s,
1873, when Ishmael, father of the pres
ent ruler, was khedive, which made
the khedive practically an absolute
sovereign. 1t gave Ishmael the power
"to contract, without any sanction from
the porte, foreign loans in the name of
the Egyptian government" and the
khediye was to make all laws and reg
ulations which he might at any time
deem necessary. Thereupon he went
deeply into debt England and France
being the principal creditors, and his
extravaganza is the immediate cause
of the present trouble.
He was man OF excellent education,
and having obtained his education in
Europe, attempted to Europeanize
Egypt. He vas man of vast ability,
but deficient in practical judgment, and
went further in this direction than all
his predecessors together. He built
railroads, bridges, roads palaces, public
works Of all kinds. He made immense
Improvements in and around Cairo,
Alexandria and other places. His
lighthouses on the Mediterranean and
Red Seas are as serviceable as they are
astonishing. He constructed railways
and canals, built Partisan boulevards
in Cairo, and squandered vast sums
upon his palaces, his harem,
his gardens and opera houses.
His palaces, built by Euro
pean architects all added to the
burdens of the people. He made
Cairo and Alexandria semi European
cities; and to induce foreigners to
build there, he gave Europeans land to
build upon. The population of Egypt
proper is about 100000, and four.
tifths of the people are fellaheen, who
are peasants of the lowest class,
scarcely u remove above slavery-igno-
rant, superstitious, fanatical, degraded.
Under the system of forced labor which
is one of the ancient institutions Of
Egypt, when the khedive wants u
railroad built, or q canal dug, or work
done on his lands, he sends out an or
Ger for the requisite number of men
to do it; and they work slave-like from
morning till night, without pay and
without food. They are obliged to be
fed by their wives and children and
parents or starve. 1t is by this con-
scripted labor that all the imp ovements
of modern Egypt were made. Every
European idea that has seized upon q
khedive has taken so much unrequit-
ed toll out of the muscles and bones of
these unclothed and only half-fed fella-
heen. Some Of them have land; but
one-ffth of all the land of Egypt proper
belongs to khedive, and the tax upon
the rest of the land amounts to about
S12 an acre, with an additional tax on
every fruit bearing tree. The govern
ment not content with taking por-
ton, stops ali. When the tax-gatherer
enters a village he is received with
horror. If an unfortunate holder of
anything happens to be unable to pay
the tax, he is beaten until he dies, UNI
less his neighbors club together and
make up the deficiency. And the
biggest part of the tax goes to pay the
interest on the national debt of over
$500 600 900, contracted very largely
for European Improvements and lux
uries for the rulers.
Ishmael soon become unable to pay
even the interest On this colossal debt.
Creditors became clamorous and ruin
stared him in the face. In this dilema
he readily entered ints an agreement
with France and England, whose citi-
zens were the owners of the debt. An
arrangement was made for reiunding
it, ard in order to secure the bond
holders, two comptrolers of finance,
one selected by France and one by Eng
land, were appointed to regulate the
levy of taxes and see that the revenue
was properly applied. In other words,
Egypt being in debt, and having no
means of keeping herself, was run by
foreign Office holders, representing the
creditors. The administration of the
government passed under the control
r