Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1905-08-19
OTHER LANDS THAN OURS.

the people to the old government they have
Instituted reign of terror throughout
whole provinces Their meetings are held
In the graveyards at night. Orgies take
the place Of debates. without religion and
without morals, they think only Of salts
flying the animal passions which have 30
long been suppressed by the iron hand OF
law. At these graveyard conferences the
victims are picked and committees Of ex-
tortion appointed. Then by twos and threes
the Uligani make their dreaded calls. The
demand in every case is the same-money
or your life. No man who owns property
is safe No man who refuses has a chance
OF escape unless he deserts all and fees to
another land. The troops and the police
are powerless. Pitched battles have been
fought between them and the Uligani and
the men in uniform have always got the
worst of 1t, the courage OF despair con-
quering over the unwilling bravery that is
only prompted by duty and discipline.
s<s
A newspaper correspondent, writing from
Blackpool, England, says the Lancashire
Coney island u a long stretch OF sea beach
with three piers, a we'll constructed prom
enade along the front and busting streets
behind, filled with shops, theaters and side
shows A lofty tower is afiame with cleo
trio lights at night; there is a wheel with
a mighty span; an enormous winter garden
accommodates thousands of saHnterers, and
scores Of theaters and music halls OFFER
entertainment of high and low degree, from
Mime. Bernhardt and Mrs. Patrick Camp
bell in romantic drama to the fat woman
and the living skeleton in the silent pose
of torpid content or penslve melancholy
There are hotels of every grade and there
1
seekers. A medley of fantastic architec-
ture, garish paint and flashing lights,
Blackpool is not picturesque until the 1OO,-
900 trippers have been emptied into 1t from
excursion trains and are disporting them
| selves in the streets and on the sands Then
It is a wonderful scene of surging throngs
and rollicking good nature, for the In
dustrial classes of the north do not spare
, themselves when they have a holiday, but
go everywhere and do everything with a
passion for amusement and a frenzy of ex-
| element which one would hardly expect
from the stolid, careworn faces.
The irrigation Of Mesopotamia, with the
view of making 1t once more one of the
granaries OF the world, has become the sub
ject of serious discussion in London and
| Constantinople. Sir William Willcocks, the
late director-gener of reservoirs in Egypt,
has brought the gigantic scheme within the
| sphere Of practical politics. He has made
exhaustive inquiries in the land of the Twin
Rivers, has collected most OF the necessary
| data, and has divided up the country be-
| tween Tekrit and the head of the Persian
gulf into some fifteen sections, which can
| be dealt with one after another, or stimuli
| taneously, according to the amount of cap
| ital available. The whole area includes
over 10000 square miles of alluvial soil,
| every square yard of which is capable Of
being irrigated and cultivated. The general
scheme includes the Improvement Of the
| Tigris and the Euphrates as means Of
| transportation and the utilization Of canals
for the same purpose. At the present mo-
ment only an inconsiderable part of this
rich delta is under cultivation, and the
means OF transportation are altogether in
adequate. To carry out Sir Williams
scheme, all that is required is capital and
the permission of the Turkish government.
l The supply of capital is, of course, depend
| ent upon the granting OF the concession.
! The Turks are said to be well disposed
| towards the scheme, but inasmuch as part
\ of the territory lies along the line of the
| proposed Bagdad railway, determined po-
| litical opposition may be looked for from
Germany unless England should consent
to modify its attitude toward that pet en-
terprise Of the emperor.
|
The government OF Chile has lately been
| giving some special attention to the pro-
posed longitudinal railway, which is ex-
pected to connect the northern and south
ern provinces. Its greatest necessity is to
the northern part of the republic, because
OF the great distance which separates these
provinces from the central and southern
portions of the country, and the expensive
and inadequate maritime communication.
The people OF the north of Chile have Pc
titioned the president with reference 70
this railroad and have demonstrated the
benefits to accrue by giving transportation
to section rich in agricultural products
and valuable minerals. The industrial de-
| velopment that would result would so in
crease the value of all property in the
northern provinces for purposes of taxation
that millions of dollars would pour into the
| CHILEAN treasury. The country has many
rich and fertile valleys and plains, and is
rich In metalliferous ores OF many kinds
and such mineral deposits as nitrate, sui
phur, borate salt and potassium salts. The
railroad is to be a government enterprise
and is now under partial construction. Sur
| veys and extensive reconnoissances are I'M
der way, and in due time Chile will be trav-
ersed from end to end by a railway paral-
leling the shores Of the Pacific and reaching
the numerous harbors at many points along
the route. Such transportation line must
have a profound effect on the development
Of that rich and favored country.
Distress and consequent disorders in the
south OF Spain appear to be mounting
every day. Painful stories OF starvation
and of a sort OF reign Of terror seem to be
only too true. The state OF things was
clearly foreseen, however, months ago. A
practical failure of crops in Andalusia,
Estremadura and in parts OF Aragon was
made certain by the unprecedented drouth
through the winter and early spring The
worst fears have now been realized. Hun
dreds Of thousands are reduced TO misery,
A couple of weeks ago, In the city of Cadiz
no less than 10000 out OF total population
Of 20, 900 were asking for public assistance
Since then affairs have grown worse
through all that region The kilograms
report that the rich are fleeing from their
homes in dread. There is a peculiar reason
for this Most of the land in Andalusia
is held In vast estates, the peasants being
practically tenant farmers. This system OF
latifundia tends both 10 unseientihc agri-
culture and TO intensified class feelings
When the famine comes, the peasants, who