The Bryan daily eagle. (Bryan, Tex.) 1895-1898, 1897-02-11

The worst Cty in the wona-cr,ms
and vice suprsms.

The Worst CIiy Ia the Worid-crims
and vice suprems.
A writer TO the Lopdon Daily Mail
says: "On the baking sands At the
southeast corner Of the Mediterranean.
just where the sucz canal gives berth
10 tons OF steamers. ships and every
sort Of craft. lies Port Said, the worst
city IN the wor' Ut n not lightly that
this dirty. unatfAcilye town on the
borderland between lsia and Africa,
half mud walls and half brick. has been
given this name. for II ever q locality
deserved such an opprobrious designa-
ton II ia Port Said. Not In any single
particular has Port Said any advan-
tagea. commercial or atmospheric
Seven months In the year Il IL baking
hot and fever breeding. and the other
1--WE months hardly leaa dangerous TO
health. Trading or business there IL
almost none In the ordinary way. not
even OF the Oriental sort Few cities,
indeed. have 20 little to offer In The way
OF shops and goods for sale. Port
Said's sole business importance. In fact,
is simply that Il serves % q port Of
call for vessels Just entering or Just
leaving the suez canal. There are IT,
900 or 10000 people In the town who
are permanent residents. but there not
being any business 10 speak OF. four
tftha Of these lead idle. wandering. dis
sipated llyeA Their numbers are con-
stantly added TO. for. with the arrival
Of every ship IN the roadstead--a ship
Is always hound 10 stay here ten or a
dozen hours at least-crew and passen-
gers come ashore for s,rolls through
the dirty stnSe;s. and a number Of
them drink ana gamble In the dens
that dot the town on every hand.
Under these conditions there has
sprung up a most alarming state Of
continued debauchery. which never les
sens, but Increases yearly. No Law. no
regulations. no police force hold Il IN
check. All Il open and free. No other
city offers a like soll for vice 10 grow
In. lrregularly. Port Said has sprung
up since the opening Of the suez canal
when Il was only a handful OF mud huts
on the Mediterranean shore. until the
present time. when Il IL a populous
city. While stiil a struggling Oriental
village. Of miles OF crooked streets.
narrow lanes. with many a turn. and
grim looking byways between dirty
walls. Hardly a street In the whole
town can boast OF such a thing AZ a
pavement Even the chief avenue. the
Rue de Commerce. ls ankle deep In
dust and sand. and seems more like a
Stun quarter Of a European city than
the chief artery Of any metropolis.
however small Two things 20 10 keep
Port Said the worst city in existence,
one being the climate. which invites
hard drinking on the part OF the resi-
dents. and the other the fact that for
some reason or other the scum Of eli
the nations near by pour themselves
into H. Italians. Russians. Austrlans
, Turks. Abyaalnlans. Egyptians. Arabs
Spaniards. Frenchmen and degraded
, Engllshmen are to be found In even
} corner OF this pronigaie settlement. al
! Of the worst types their respective ma
= lions can produce. blacklegs. swindlcrs
r gamblers. forgers. murdercrs and pro
r fcssional beggars. whose arts hay'
failed elsewhere. II h common say
e ing that ave cut Of every six men VII
y 90 TO live AZ Port Said die either Of De
e lirlum tremens or ever within a fe'
r years. Most Of them succumb quiekl
o 10 the temptations Of the place. an
. Join In the great professions Of dlssipa
. ton and riotous living. There are.
4 IL true. many respectable people livinl
!. on the outskirts Of the town. but the
e make no impression upon the great an
[ leavcncd mass.