The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1904-01-03
RY KARL ALLWOODO

had been crushed by the British,
major Of engineers named Evelyn
Barring was made British agent and
consul general in Egypt. Soon after he
took up his duties Turkish merchant
called at the majors Office in Cairo ard
was astonished to find that it was un-
necessary to. bride him in order to Sc
cure attention and get business done.
Gratified by this fact. he gave the
Ehgiishman what he thought was good
advice
Depart from this country" he said
perceive that you are an honest man
VINO has come into nest Of scoundrels.
GU can do no good here. Everything
m the government of this country is
rotten. Justice is bought al a price
and the very judges are worse thieves
than those whom they punish. The
starving fellabeen' (peasanty} are
Hogged into paying their taxes but the
rich land owners need pay no taxes at
all, provided they bride the officials"
l am here to change all that Bar
aing replied.
You cannot. Every one OF the off,
cials is vampire who lives by drain
1ng our lfe-b4ood. Do you think they
Wiu let YOU spoil their feast? They
viii kill YOU. rather"
Il viii stay and fight them. You fol-
low the prophet, and you must believe,
as I do, that the sword of Azrael falls
when Allah wills"
Allah shuts his eyes to fool.
Snapped the TUr1 quoting a favorite
Alohammedan prove-b within the
year I shall see your funeral pass my
door"
That was twenty years ago. Evelyn
Barring still lives. but he is now the
Earl of Cromer. p. c. O. c. B.. G. c.
N. g.. C.. 5. I-.C. I. E. D. c. l.. and
most Of the remainder Of the alphabet.
During those twenty years he has not
only managed to keep himself alive in
The midst of hundreds Of enemies who
yearned to eliminate him from the
scene, but he has justly earned his
Froudest title, the Maker of Modern
Egypt"
SO far as its government is con-
CeTned. Egypt is an anomaly. The kne-
dive, Abbas Hilmi. is supposed to be its
ruler. under the suzerainty Of the Sui
tan of Turkey, but since 1883 the COun-
try has been practically a dependency
of Great Britain. The khedive, the sui
tan and even the British government
are merely figureheads. Lord Cromer
rules as a benefCent autoCrat, doing
exactly as he thinks best in all the de-
tails of administration and even in
great international crises. He is Egypts
uucrOWned king.
When Barring was made British agent
fa 1889, he was, comparatively speak
ing, unknown. Most people thought a
more distinguished man should have
been chosen for such an important post.
lie was a major of engineers. known
only TO the banking world for his finan-
Fial talent as a commissioner Of the
Egyptian public debt, and financial
fp5mber OF the viCeTOy's council in In
dia
n g.; an, i,,f-,-,..tf-,-- 40, nj, ,,r al,
power Of heredity. His father. Henry
Barring. the we'll known banker waited
him to become great soldier. He gave
him q purely military education and
pat him into the royal engineers as "a
sabaltern IL 1858. But he never rose
above the rank of major, while his sub
SeQueut civilian career, as hUSncier,'
diplomat and ruler. has made him un-
Occasionally one of the greatest men in
the world today.
His first chance came in 1865. when he
had been an humble lieutenant for sew
GA years, and saw very little chance Of
getting much farther. He was appoint
ed secretary TO royal commission sent
cut 10 Jamaica, West indies, to inquire
into negro outbreak. To this day the
ability which he showed or that mis-
sion is remembered in Jamaica.
You could see berry quick dat him
great big somebody, said an old negro
who gave evidence DeIOIe MN. II Vas
no use.fe mex up stories. He could see
de lies at de back of 20 head.
After that successful mission Bar
ing's talent for diplomacy and finance
was discovered, He was taken from
the army. and in turn made private
secretary 10 the viceroy Of India, com
missioner of the Egyptian public debt,
controller general in Egypt, and finan-
cial member Of the council Of the vice
nov Of India. Then, when the British
government needed the strongest and
ablest man Ii could find to undertake
the gigantic task of reforming Egypt,
Barring was selected.
He soon made his power felt TO the
sittermOst ends Of the country An
Oriental country, governed as tyran-
nicaliy and far more c0Truptly than it
had been IN the days Of the Pharaohs,
boneycombed with the spirit of revolt,
practically bankrupt in its finances,
and soon to be fighting for its very
existence against the fanatical hordes
Of the SOUdan-this was the apparent
IL hopeless problem which Evelyn Bar
ing faced. That he has solved il is
proved by the fact that Egypt has now
reached "a condition of administrative
perfection worthy Of any European
state" and far superior 10 that Of some
European states.
He soon found that his Turkish
friend was right. There was graft
and tyranny in every department OF
the government. from the khedive down