Omaha daily bee., 1902-12-13
OTHER LANDS THAN owns.

On a map of Egypt the fertile lands
might be represented as a green rib
band, a mere fringe bordering upon the
river Nile. All the rest would be col
ored brown, the hot and ~rainless desert.
The alluvial lands comprising an area Of
10,5OO square miles support a population.
Of nearly ten millions Of people, more dense
than that Of any part Of Europe. Three
hundred and ninety thousand square miles
are a barren and unproductive waste, the
abode Of neither man nor beast. Natural
irrigation has been obtained by the mum
dalton OF the low lands at the time Of
high water in the river During the season
Of agricultural activity the overflow Of the
Nile would be excluded from the farming
lands by means Of dykes and earthen dams.
Primitive machinery of crude construction
has also been employed for elevating the
water from the stream by the use Of buckets
and by manual labor. The Assouan dam will
impound waters, forming a reservoir 140
miles long, extending south towards the
tropical sources Of the Nile. With a suit
able system of irrigating canals It is esti-
mated that $500 square miles will be added
to the productive area OF the country, and
that the value Of the newly formed agri-
cultural lands will be S1OO, OoO, 900.
M. Jauries, in La Petite Republique, has
some significant remarks upon the treaty
between France and Siam, which has been
the cause Of 30 much political uproar. He
says: This treaty excites the wrath Of
the colonials. There is a great tempest
In the Hobbies, threatening, II is said, to
knock down everything. The groups headed
by M. Doumer, whose watchword is un-
limited expansion and aggressive imperial
ism, are astir. What will result from all
this? Nothing. Nothing will result be-
cause the chamber will refuse to be draw
into a policy of adventure and provocation.
The treaty is excellent because It settles
disputes between Siam and ourselves which
were daily becoming envenomed, because
it is the only way Of settling them, and
because it allows the hope that mutual
confidence will supersede the sullen, ag-
g~ressive and precarious peace which for
ten years has placed France aAd Slam In
conflict This is the view taken by tho
most experienced French correspondents OF
English newspapers. They hold that II
NJ. Delcasse holds firm he is safe of a
substantial majority for the treaty In the
chamber. It is the colonial group that
has raised all the agitation, and their object
is the upsetting not Of the treaty, but the
cabinet.
Two large. ships have lately been
launched for the Russian navy, the first
the Kniaz Suvarov, a battleship Of the
Borodino type, which was laid down last
year. She carries a battery OF four twelve
inch guns In two %turrets, and twelve six
inch guns in six %turrets, these latter being
so arranged that eight six-inch guns will
4 n - -. .Aa-a Oh ill hA fnI1nNuad
on the stocks by a battleship Of a new
and far more formidable type, the displace-
ment Of which is reported to be about $4,000
tons, and which will carry as her secondary
armament the eight-inch quick hrer. The
Suvarov will form part of the Baltic fleet;
the other Russian ship launched, the
Otchavok, of the Black sea feet. The
Otchakov is a replica Of the Bogatyr, whose
| fine qualities have often been noticed.
Though Of only $500 tons displacement, she
is to steam twenty-three knots, carries a
battery more powerful than that OF the
British Hyacinth class, and has considerable
| armor protection in addition, her tunnels
being cased with two-inch steel to the level
of the upper deck. and eight of her six-inch
guns mounted behind four-inch plate.
zee
The Vatican is preparing for another
jubilee, beginning a year from the 18th
Of next month, which will mark the half
century OF the Holy Fathers cardinalate.
Thus 1t is now the firm belief Of Catholics
in Rome that Leo XIII will live to celebrate
all possible ~jubilees as priest, bishop, car
dinal and pope, a circumstance without a
parallel. Although 1t is stimate that this
years pilgrimage will not number more
than 20. 900. as against so, 900 during the
49, 49, annA rnoglf will hn nTn-
portionately greater, because at the pope's
wish few gifts have been given, money
being more acceptable. In the Holy year
the pope received 10, 900, 900 lire in personal
contributions from pilgrims. This year the
amount will probably not fall much behind
this sum. The audiences in which every pill
grim brings his offering in a closed white
envelope, are among the most character
istic. Spanish pilgrims are the most gen.
erous and enthusiastic. On one occasion, so
great was the rush to get at the holy father
and present their envelopes to him that
they almost upset the Sedia Gestatoria,
which was shaking ominously when the
Swiss guards forced back the enthusiasts
It is a very curious circumstance that
Irish p~ilgrimages, which are always notable
for their generous offerings, never receive
a single line of mention in any OF the
papers published under the auspices Of the
vatican.
According to a French writer, who has
taken great care in tracing the descent
of the royal houses of Europe, the crowned
heads are mongrel monarchs and possess
few claims to race Relationship with the
people whom they govern For instance
King Alfonso of Spain is four-hfths Aus
trian; King Victor Emanuel III is more
Austrian than Italian; Emperor Francis
Joseph and his p~resumptive heir are for a
large part Bavarian and Italian; the king
of Sweden and Norway is Of Bearnafse and
French source; the king Of Greece is a
Dane; the king of Servia is half Russian
the prince of Bulgaria has no Bulgarian
blood in him; the emperor Of Russia is
very much Danish or German; the king
OF the Belgians has no Belgian blood In
him; the king Of England is saxe-Hanover,
Norman and French.