The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-01-18
SLAVES I'm CAIRO.
British Authorities POwerIess In the
Abolition of the Harem

| In Cairo there are women who are
nominally free, yet practically slaves.
That Is to say, there are forms Of slav-
| cry of which the British officials in
Egypt know, or profess to know, moth
Ing, or which are difficult Of proof.
| or course, no open slave traffic is
tolerated; severe laws against the in
PRODUCTION OF black slaves for the har-
ems have long been in force; vet such
slaves are secretly introduced into the
| country every week, affirms a CORE
| spcndent Of London Woman
! The poor creatures do not know that
they have only to appeal to the courts
to be set free at once
| Egypt passed a law as long ago as
1873 declaring that no more white
| slaves should be imported for the har-
ems or the country. But this was done
simply to quiet Western criticism. and
| 1T was a dead letter. The influence of
Turkey Is great in Egypt, and Turkey
looked with d1sfavor on any attempt
10 break up the harems in the land Of
the Pharaohs. After the English got a
good footing in Egypt they began to
nDerate the CircaSsian women from the
harems, which gave great offense to the
high Egyptian functionaries
Few Western people ever understand
the real social position of a "slaye girl
In harem. The Circassian beauty who
mas been sold as slave Is not an abb
| 1ect and Servile creature, trembling be-
fore brutal master. She Is an ambi-
tious and cunning beauty, constantly
plotting to rise in the social scale. Mar
rage brings her up in the world at
once.
To this rapid change of position To
winch all CfrcasSians are liable and
which fills Turkish harems with CIR
casslan ladies as well as slaves, may
De traced the real cause of the want of
power felt by the Turkish girls. For
mefly Turk rarely married his coln
trywoman. He would marry a Circas-
sian woman slave. and give his sister
TO Circassian man slave or to some
pennies C1rcassian subaltern in the
turkish army. A Turkish girl welded
to her equal would, by the laws of re-
l1g1on, feel obliged to treat her hus-
oand With nearly servile respect. while
Wnen welded to one so decidedly her
inferior she would be mistress in her
own house, and, reigning supreme over
hef husband and slaves, would never
fear a rival
The English have been careful to
ineudIe as little as possible while this
intricate system Of domestic slavery
They know that the opinion of the
whole upper class would be aroused
against them if they did more than an
hounce the letter Of the law 1t will be
century before the complete reform
can be accomplished.
me terrible exposures made by Cor
oon IN 1879 Of the cruelties practiced in
the slave caravans aroused all EuroDe
and compelled the dealers to be moro
clrcumspect. Still, no year passes with
out the entry of great numbers of eb-
ony-sk1nned slave girls into the harems
or cairo and Alexandria. Once within
the Enclosure of the mysterious harem
tney are secure from European ewes
NO English authority dare set his feet
upon the sacred threshold.
When a European doctor is admitted
ana the case is rare, to see a sick wo.
man IN the harem, he finds her covered
with black sheet, so that only her
eyes and mouth are visible. MANY of
the beauties die because the doctor is
not allowed to diagnose their SWIM
TOMS
II a visitor calls on an Egyptian per
sohage rich enough to have several
wives he does not enter the inner apart
ments He is shown into little wood
oox or drawing room, generally isolat-
ed from the main structure. where
co11ee is served. And no woman ever
enters there