The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-01-12

RICHNESS OF MOROCCO.
Its Mountains Are Full of Minerals
and Valleys Fertile as a Garden.

ana Valleys FERTILE as a Garden.
Henry M. Fields in New York Graphic.
But is Morocco worth fighting forl It
is the greatest prize in the world One
has but to look on the map to see the ex
tent of the country. 1t is larger than
Spain, larger than France larger than
the whole German empire. Nor is it a
barren waste. Though bounded on the
south by the Desert of Sahara, it is not
desert itself. On the contrary, IL is the
ancient Mauritania, which in time Of the
Caesars was the granarY of Rome. That
fertility it retains in spite of all the waste
and neglect of 1000 years. The surface
of the country is as diversified as our
own. 1t is crossed by the Atlas noun
tains in three great ranges, between
which are boundless valleys and PLAINS
whose fertility is like Minnesota and
Manitoba with a soil Of FIVE, six and even
ten feet of black loan. Those who have
travelled III the interior have told me of
riding through fields where the long
stalks were above their horses head
Even with the wretched cultivation Of
the Moors, who barely scratch the surface
of the ground, it yields enormous har-
vests.
Equally rich is the country In minerals.
II is a land of silver and gold. The hills
bring forth brass and the mountains
bring forth iron. 1t has enormous de-
posits of copper. The luxury of salt need
not be denied to the poorest, while in the
interior the natives have long been IA
miliar with what they call 1.-THE fat of the
rock which is nothing but petroleum,
gushing out in springs, or bubbling up from
wells so deep and iuexhaustible as to be
sufficient to light up the whole of the Dark
Continent.
And what the country can produce it
can transport. The mountains are so
many reservoirs of what they gather from
the clouds and murmur with the streams
that trickle down their sides and form
rivers that flow through the valleys, by
which the riches of the interior can be
carried TO the ports of commerce, while
on the open sea Morocco has a coast line
of hundreds of miles, both on the Atlantic
and on the Mediterranean.
A country of such magnificent proper
tions ought to be the seat of an empire
Not only should it be the head and front
of Africa, but il should be one of the most
powerful kingdoms in the world. Why is
it not so2 Are its people enervated by
pestilential climatel On the contrary,
although it is farther south than Europe,
the heat is so tempered by breeZes from
the sea that towns on the coast are re-
sorted TO for health wherever it is safe for
Europeans TO reside If there be coun-
try in the world where men should not
suffer from the extremes of heat or cold
ii is Morocco. Nor should any be hungry
or naked in a land which brings forth
everything for the service of man.
And yet this country, so rich by nature,
is one of the poorest in the world. 1t is
not that the curse Of God has fallen upon
it. but only the folly and the wickedness
of man. One cause is enough the gov
eminent is an absolute despotism-all
power, even to that of life and death, is
held ia one iron hand
No man on earth is fit to be entrusted
with such power lest he become a tyrant
in spite Of himself. And yet those who
have had some opportunity of studying
the character Of the Sultan of Morocco
tell me that he is by no means cold. pitt
less and cruel. Mr.. Perdicaris thinks
him the best ruler that ever sat upon the
throne of Morocco He describes him as
q man of majestic figure and of a noble
countenance not defaced by passion, by
hatred or revenge, but softened as well
as saddened, by the melancholy express
sion that is common in Orientals, with an
eve that indicates anything but q cruel
nature. This can well believe in looking
at the likeness that / have reason 10 think
is the only one in existence that gives any
just impression Of the man.
The kindly spirit Of the sultan shows
itself in private intercourse. The Italian
minister told me that when he was about
TO 6LnDdFh LOT lbdly anu came 10 Jake
leave the sultan asked why he went and
being told that sit was to see his moth
er, =" he answered in his soft voice, "If
had the honor to know your mother,
should tell her how proud she ought 10 be
TO be the mother of such son, +" and he de-
sired 10 be remembered to her. "And,"
said the minister, "when he sent an en-
bassy to Rome he directed them to seek
out the home of my mother and TO pre-
sent TO her the respects Of the Sultan of
Morocco" This is not the manner Of
barbarian.
But whatever may be the natural in
stincts of the man, the form of government
Of which he is the head is too strong for
him. It's iron mask hides all human fea-
lures, and its coat of mail stiles all
human sympathies.