Omaha daily bee., 1903-01-03
BERBERS DISLIKE PROGRESS
Rebellion in Morocco Due to Attempt to
Introduce Modern Ideas.
PARTY OF SURVEYORS START TROUBLE
Rev. James p. weHiver, sioux City
Man Now serving as n Missionary,
Writes About the Events
Leading Up 10 roubIe

Leuuing I'D TO IEOuules
SIOUX CITY, Ia, Jan. 2,-(special.) 1.-THE
following letter from Rev. James p. Well
liver, formerly Of this city, gives the most
completes account OF the causes Of the re-
bellion in Morocco that has been made pub
lie. Mr.. Welliver, his wife and two chill
dren, are members OF the party Of mission
aries nov at Fec, where the sultan is be-
sieged by the p%retender. He has been in
Moroccoshearly six years and was formerly
a newspaper writer in Sioux City, before go
ing into the ministry. The letter follows:
FB3, Dec. 8, 1902-In view of the many
reports which have been in circulation re
Gently. regarding political conditions in Mo-
rocco, a few lines concerning matters as
they really are may not De uEdppreciated.
serious has occurred, and the missionaries
are all safe, sound and well. Our station
at Mequinez, the center Of the disturb
Fee Cor the present, and our friendsi Nj.
and Mrs. Taylor, who were approaching
Mequinez on their return from an timer
ating tour, have returned to Larache, afte"
being in the midst OF disturbances about. d
days Journey from Megpinez. IN r Which the
The sultan of Morocco, Moolal Add AL
Aziz. began his reign eight years ago at
m nS Of S ouT Mission is 5 work in this
land. His grand vizier. Familiarity known
Dy the name or ADu Hainiu, AT. once as
slmed full control of the young sultan's
dominions and affairs. He was an un-
usually stern and 'unrelenting character.
der his administration foreign powers re-
eeived. with but ore or two exceptions, no
were generally, II at all, obtained only
after a show of force.
sultan No, FIgurehead.
Upon the deathfof Abu Hamid. two and
a half years ago, the country knew him so
well know the sultan so little, that
rise up and rebel when his strong hand
relaxed Its hold, | was, myself, detained
a little while by this fear, In leaving Me-
quinez for Fec and Larache at the time Of
the last visit of our general director to
Morocco But the sultan proved to be no
igurehead. and assumed the reins of gov
eminent at this J~uncture just as completely
as he had turned them over to the vizier
Two Important facts now affect the
whole story. One, that the sultan had de-
everything foreign, and the other, that
during the winter preceding the death of
the grand vizier France, whose possessions
In Algeria lie on the eastern border of Nc
rocco, had by force of arms taken posses q.
sion of a district on the Morocco ~frontie-,
known as Tuat, and 1t seemed as IL further
invasion of Moroccan territory was immi-
nent. The Moorish government found 1t
necessary to send strong warnings to the
lelt to prevent the execution of plans for
an attack on the French, as holy war
ndu Dttn proclaimed IN Ine pubic mar
kets. Had such a thing taken place there
would probably have been a preteXt for
further Impressions on the territory of the
sultan for the ostensible purpose OF ~restor-
ing order, and possibly a sufficient pretext
for war would have been found. At the
same time that efforts were made to check
the movements OF the tribesmeI. of Tahlelt
a protest TO France and an appeal to the
principal EuroPeap powers, were made.
The case, however, seemed complicated,
and zone OF the powers seemed inclined to
interfere with ,ithe French in their free
hand on the frontier.
.iq, Takes Progressive Course.
. Shortly after this time, the public mind
. was considerably exercised at the arrest
I by. the sultan Of the vizier, Al Hal Mokh-
tar, who had Succeeded Abb Hamid. What
this meApt5sSs not understood, as such oc-
! currences were said to be rare in recent
e years But 1t tfd not remain entirely a
, mystery, .for;i IN an exceedingly short time
the Yizier who was appointed to succeed
3 him. was sent on a special mission to Eng
. land. 'ostensibly' to congratulate the king
on his accession, but probably in fact, as
later developments seemed TO show, TO
I make a stronger appeal than ever before to
| ments' of the French. 1t is said that the
embassy sent at this time was dealt with
e in a very straightforward manner by King
. suit that the vizier carried back to his
master the intelligence that Britain was
3 ready to help him hold his empire together
= providing the old she'll of exclusiveness
> should be broken and reform5 in govern
: ment made which would insure an open
. door to all European nations, and which
would make ,ttEno longer to the people
themselves "a terror to be rich and a dan
c ger to be poor In short, the young sui
e tan seemed to be in a state of mind to be
q convinced that Morocco must either go for
T %%e ara W Tp| by tH Them. And it soon G beeamS,
evident that ne preferred the former, fol
o he had surrounded himself ~-th a corps o.
foreign assistants, such as no previous
sultan had ever had-drill masters, ma
t chinists. scientific men, surveyors, physi
clans, etc.-and 1t looked as IL the day o
reform in Morocco had daWned. FOremOS
I among the improvements In the admins
%tration was the Institution Of systematit
people from the burden of belni
n squeezed" or made to pay taxes at tn,
though no official announcement has her
: aided the fact, the sultan has had In MINI
dc facilities, and a small model railroad /
in the process of construction in Fec. Tn
free transportation Of grain by sea ha
been allowed, relieving greatly the higl
n prices in the northern part OF the empire.
Innovations UnweIcOme.
But while these innovations were wei
coined by a large class. their meaning wa
ID not understood by the masses, and jeal
course put them in further disfavor. In
stead of understanding that the sultan ha
taken the only course left for the preserva
ton o. the crumbling empire. they treate
with disdain the idea that foreigners wer
y to be feared or to be listened to, and a
lie sorts OF rumors and stories were circulate
ts about the government. 1t was no pleasan
medicine for many proud Mohammedan
to swallow, when, on the sultan's arrive
n at Fee last spring, a score or more of tn
best houses and gardens had to be Vacate
for the foreigners In the employ of tn
government. Fanatcism and ignorance 9
Ia the real situation were the reasons for thi
Id strong feeling. but the crisis, II such
y be, came unexpectedly. The sultan ha
~ planned 70 have a wagon road constructe
from Fee to Mequinez, and sent out Ell
Rineers to locate it,, In SO doing signS
poles were used after the fashion of SUI
OF veyors. and these were taken to be the hae
Of of the nations, and were at once torn dow
NJ by indignant Berbers, VINO supposed ths
= the foreigners had really taken the countr!
1t was shortly found that the feelin
at among the Berbers was of no transfer
rs character, and soon their dissatisfactio
- found vent in an uprising OF the tribes {
We Zimmoor and Girwan, west OF Mcguire
m The public markets within their reach wei
- looted, roads became impossible, and
~ was strongly rumored that they had e.
TO bected. except for the timely arrival OF n
mt Inducements for the small body of trooI
a al MequtneZ, 20 make an EFFORT to emit
that city by force, release the sultan
as brother. Moolai, Mohammed, who Is a pri
oner there, and to proclaim him sultai
These plans, II they we're really laid, we
happily foiled.
Plans witch had been evidently mat
e. for the sultan 20 remain in Fec for the WI
ter were thus interfered with, and he
70 now said TO be gathering an army, ana nj
a 80" \. L--.-NaFNnn 90 IaaNrNnU z