River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1884-04-10
STONE PiSHA ON EGYPT.
Tribute to Egyptian Soldiers and Charges
Against England
From the New York Herald

battlefield General Charles ?. Stone,
| late chief of staff to the khedive of
Egypt. talked for two hours about MD
itary affairs in Egypt to an assemblage
of regular army officers in the museum
of the military service institute, on Gov
errors island, Yesterday. General Han
cock presided, aud among those present
were: Generals Crittenden, Fry, Reeve,
Rodenbough, Sickles, Sweeney, Morris,
Clarke, Jackson, Tower, Perry, Whip
pie, Davis and Wilson; Colonels Hamil
ton, Taylor, Lawrence. Beck, McFar-
land, Conrad, Story and DePeyster;
Majors Boehm, Wetmore, Mckee,
Frincke, Randolph. and Price; Captains
Fessenden. Wharton, Catlin. Merriman.
| Willard. Hyde, Jackson, Pyne and AIer-
rill and Lieutenants johnson, Reilly,
SAWYER. Zabinski, Whipple and
Barber.
General Stone was applauded when
| introduced and began his work by
sketching the military history of the
country up to the time when the cohorts
of Caesar and Mark Antony garrisoned
| its forts. In the present century on q
nucleus of 10000 men Mehemet Ali
built up an army 10000 strong which
finally placed Constantinople at the
| mercy of the Egyptian viceroy.
SIN 1869 the khediye called to his
staff American officers. They were
sworn to uphold the cause of Egypt
against any nation but the United
States. No change in European politics
could effect the loyalty or embarrass
the service of these officers. In 1870 he
(Gen. Stone) arrived in Egypt. He
found there not more than third OF the
officers in the army could read or write
and not one in ten of the rank and file
could do either. With the exception of
few Armstrong guns there were no
arms but old smooth bores in the har
Dor forts. and the coast defenses were
abont as bad as those OF the United
States" At this sally the assemblage
roared with laughter, and Gen. Han
cock nodded in affirmation.
The lecturer told how he had es-
tablisheda military college on the basis
of the military school at West Point for
staff officers, and how the army was
gradually instructed up to the standard
of the best European troops The forth
fications were also equipped with the
best arms and artillery.
"My advice to the khediye about the
forts at Alexander was" he said, "that
since it was almost an European city,
and from its position almost indefens
ible, the best thing to do was to establish
at that point strong torpedo service to
be operated both by boats and electric
ity. As three-quarters of the property
iu Alexandria was owned by Europeans
I suggested to the khedive that no
European power was likely to attempt
to injure it"
an an evil hour for Egypt the
Khedive Ismail, trusting in the honor
of European governments, allowed two
European ministers to enter his cabinet,
each in charge of very important
ministry. An English minister of ii
nance and French minister of public
works entered his service, but really
they, while holding portfolios in an
Egyptian cabinet, were representatives
of the interests of their respective gov
ernments. Each one worked to secure
to his own government the commanding
power in Egypt This unhappy change
occurred in the summer of 1878"
Gen. Stone depicted the money grab
bing policy of the two foreign ministers,
how they abandoned the military col
lege and did everything in their power
to deprive the soldiers of money and
put it in the pockets of civil employees.
at seemed to those who looked on and
saw the civil employees regularly paid,
and the soldiers thus badly treated,
that it was the object of the new govern
ment to crush out everything like mil
itary spirit in Egypt. All military per-
sons were left unpaid, and neglected,
while the new ministers had their sala-
ries increased from $4,000 to $50, 900.
Soldiers who had more than year
of pay due them, and whose officers had
families nearly starving at home, guard
ing buildings in which were daily store
immense sums of gold, coming from the
taxes and going to pay foreign bond
holders, the Turkish tribute and the
civil employees. Yet so firm was the
discipline that in no instance was there
failure in the duty of soldiers guard
ing the public edifices or guarding or
escorting treasure. Applause. He who
addresses YOU knew officers who APP
peared daily in their places for duty in
clearly uniforms, and who, after strict
performance of their duty during the
day, returned to their houses, put care
fully aside their uniforms, and then, in
peasants dress, labored half the night
asporters to earn enough to give their
families bread. [Applause.] Yet this
army spoke not of revolt
through months of this oppres-
sion, for the officers knew that it was
not the will of the knedive which placed
them in such position, but the will of
foreigners, who held the power over the
treasure which they saw drawn from
their fellow countrymen at the rate of
millions of dollars per month. And this
is the army whose discipline is so light
ly and contemptuously spoken of by
British officers and statesmen What
European army would remain quiet I'M
der one month of such treatment?
What British or French ministry would
dare to apply such test to the disci-
pline of their own army"
Gen. Stone told how the officers re-
volted against the ministers, and how
the khedive authorized measures favor
able to the people. Well would it have
been for the Egyptians, for the bond
holders and for the British govern
ment if that action had been frankly
received by England and France. Well
for the British government, for it would
have been spared an act Of frightful in
justice and cruelty which has already
cost it blood, treasure and humiliation,
and which seems likely to cost yet more
of each.
The lecturer disclaimed all sympathy
with revolt of Arab Pasha, to suppress
whom he had risked even more than
life, as he regarded the success of Arab
certain disaster for Egypt. when
it came to the destroying by lombard
ment the second commercial city of the
MEDITERRANEAN coast, France withdrew
from the contest for supremacy and left
to England, whose fleet had with hers
entered the harbor as friend, the part
of destroyer, which was effectually pre-
formed.
1.-The first action of the British after
success was to insist upon the issuance
of decree by the kedive disbanding
entirely the Egyptian army. Not the
disarmament of the rebel regiments and
corps, but the disarmament of the entire
army, including the faithful troops who
1911 H. o,1 fba I-aJix-a