Omaha daily bee., 1903-05-24

$1,000 o
European arms or customs. Then he
launches into a stream of criticism of saw
age and barbaric races that, to say the
least, is not fattering.
There is another side to the story-the
savage's opinion of his critic. On the whole
h dlsapproves of his critic as much as the
latter disapproves of him.
1t is a mistake to suppose that the aver
age barbarian who visits a big city like
New York or London is overwhelmed by
what he sees. AS a rule, he is Disguised.
He goes back to his skin tent in the desert
or his hut in the forest fully convinced that
his way of living is the best, and that he
that increaseth knowledge increaseth
sorrow"
One of tho most acute critics of ~civiliza-
ton who ever visited in London was Q
Bedouin sheikh named Nicola Eyoub Tams.
He was born and brought up in the
Sahara, and the fierce, free life of the
desert was bred in his bones. But as .
youth he was taken to Cairo and educated
at a M~ahommedan college there, after.
wards spending five years at the UNIVERSE
ties of Heidelberg and oxford. He spoke
Arabic, Turkish, Greek, German, French,
English, Spanish and Persian huently, ana
nowhere could a cleverer or more versatile
man be found. Knowing civilization and
DdTDdTlSIH luOIOuBuly, hS SAOSS Inv ~
and returned to his tribe to spend his life
in the Sahara in preference to European
cities.
At dinner in London one evening, just
before he returned to Africa, he was asked:
What do you think of European civillZa-
tion?"
IT would rather not say he replied. Il
am eating your salt and dwelling in your
tents. 1t would be discourteous to criticiss
you"
But he was urged to speak.
'Oh, go ahead, old fellow said his
hosts. TEL us of our faults. Don't mind
being candid"
We'll, them he began, II came to Eu-
rope with an open mind, expecting to see
much to admire. 1 have been bitterly dis
appointed. Your system of life is all wrong.
in my eyes"
'How's that?" he was asked, and he an
swered:
"Once, according to the legends of my
tribe, there was a wealthy sheikh whS
said: L will not live in a tent like my
fathers. 1 will build me a mighty palace
that all men shall see and admire So no
spent his life gathering marble and stone
with vast toll and cost, and built his pal.
ace in the middle of the desert. 1t was thu
work of his whole life, and, in order to
finish it, he had to sell his slaves and his
camels and waste all his treasure.
AT last it was finished, and he, a de-
crepit old man, said: Now 1 will dwell
therein, and all men shall do me honor
But Allah caused the sirocco to blow, and
in the twinkling of an eye the man and his
palace we're buried forever beneath the
sands of the desert.
THAT is your civilization" proceeded the
.bofLb oftar q nanSa ssYnu toll and strive
and worry and struggle and lose all the
Joy and beauty of life dwelling in smoky
cities-for What? That you may become
wealthy or famous. Usually you fail. IL
you succeed, you find your success worth
nothing. You are too old to enjoy; you
have wasted all your power of enjoyment
Your civilization is a marvel of ingenu-
ity, I admit, but 1t is also a monument or
wasted effort. You do not make a ma
chine, because it will be a wonderful piece
of mechanism; you make 1t to do some
thing. 1t is made to fulfil a purpose, and
its mechanical ingenuity is merely inci-
dental.
But your greatest machine-civilization-
is different. Its procel2@s are wonderful
no doubt, but 1t serves no useful purpose
1t is a colossal waste of. effort and cleveRs
ness-as II 1 were to build a steamship In
the middle of the Sahara.
The only justification of civilization
would be that 1t made mankind happier.
1t does not. So far as 1 can judge, the
Bedouin is a far happier man than the
Londoner. What can a man know of hap-
piness when he lives in a tiny garnet, tolls
all day in a stuffy office or a filthy work.
shop, and is afraid to strike a bullying
foreman lest he should lose his job?
Civilization has made you all slaves to
one another, and therefore civilization is a
failure. n you are not slaves to an em-
ployer, you are chained to a telephone or q
telegraph wire or a stock exchange ticker.
Yesterday 1 was asked to speak at .
meeting of the Anti-Slavery society. called
TO protest against slavery in Africa! The