The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-01-07
REV. JAMES P. WELLIVER.

Sioux City, Iowa. Jan. 6.-Rev. James
P. Welliver, Of the missionaries i'm
prisoned In the city Of Fee, Morocco, re-
fused to flee from danger. He began
his ministerial career by hewing the logs
FOR a church in the pine woods Of north
ern Minnesota, and shortly after his ar
rival in Morocco almost precipitated an
international dispute by insisting upon his
rights.
Six years ago he went into the wood
logging camps of northern Minnesota
sent by no denomination. He received
little encouragement, but took an ak,
felled trees, split them into slabs and
built a little log church In the year he
remained there he collected congrega-
ton Of seventy-five.
From there he went to Kansas City
and was sent to Morocco by the Arneri-
can Gospel Union.
BY International treaty Morocco had
agreed to allow missionaries to live in
any part of any Of the cities of the king
( dom. Rev. Mr.. Welliver was stationed
: in the native quarters at Tangiers Tires
years ago, when the governor ordered all
tho missionaries removed to the foreign
: quarters. Few but Jews lived in this
part Of the city and here practically all
the efforts of the missionaries were
vitiated. The MOors were equally anx-
ious to keep from them the opportunity
of working with the natives. Rev. Mr..
~
tive quarter. and several times they were
hauled back to the Jews.
Z Finally the governor ordered them Ill
: arrested, and they were told they would
be kept there until they consented to re-
main III the foreign quarter. Rev. Mr.
Wr]'iver was confident of his rights and
appealed to the American consul at
Morocco. The matter was taken up by
the state department at Washington. the
government at Morocco was notified 1t
must protect the rights Of the mission
aries, and Rev. Mr.. Welliver led his lit
tie band back to the native part Of the
city.
Causes Of the War.
Mr.. and Mrs. NJ. Welliver of Cherokee,
his parents, have just received letter
from him, of which the following are
excerpts explaining the causes which led
up to the present war, the first thorough
statement of the situation:
Fee, Dec. 3, 1oO2.-Our station at Mequinez
the center of the disturbances is vacated the
brethren being in Fee for the present. and our
friends, Mr.. and Mrs. Taylor, who were approach
ing Mequinez on their return from itineratlng
tour, have returned to Larache after being in the
= midst Of disturbances about days journey from
Mequinez, In the which the governor of the dis
trict was killed. -.. 5'.0
The sultan Of Morocco, Moolai Add All .Aziz
began his reign eight years ago, at the age of
16 his grand vizier, Abu Hamid. at once assum-
ing fun control. He was an unusually stern and
unrelenting character, with little love for any
+ thing foreign. Under his administration for
e1gn powers received, with but one or two ex-
eeptions no favors of any Importance and treaty
rights generally, If at all, obtained only
after show. Of force. ) 81
Upon the death Of Abu Hamid, twoand-a half
years ago, the country knew him so we'll and the
sultan little that conservative people feared
the tribes might rebel when his strong hand
relaxed. But the sultan proved to be no figure
head and assumed the reigns of government at
this juncture just as completely he had turned
them over to the vizier at his accession.
8 Two important facts affect the whole
story. One that the sultan had developed the
most remarkable liking for everything foreign
and the other that during the winter preceding
the death of the grand vizier, France, whose
possessions In Algeria lies on the eastern border
of Morocco, had by force Of taken. pos
session OF district the Morocco frontier