Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-02-18


| Questions reason of their familiarity
| with their Arab constit-
uents' customs and language, are able to
| lead their colleagues inteilgently. indeed
4 the hall where diplomats and journalists
assemble in the evening resembles a lee
| ture room in which the more experienced
delegates have amicably assumed the role
of instructors in explaining the mysteries
OF the various Moroccan tax questions
now before the conference, Zekat, Achour.
| Naiba, tertib. etc. The subject presents lit
| tie interest to the reader, and little. II any,
| to the Disguised diplomat, who now COM
prehends the farce of attempting to reform
| a system which is intricately woven into the
| spirit of the Moroccan government. There
are certain things that may not be changed
| 1.-The Ethiopian his skin and the leopard his
| spots. and 1t should be added, the Moroc-
| can system of taxation.
The attitude of the Moroccan delegates on
several occasions has been characterized by
| a tone of mockery and insolence toward
| the foreign delegates. which has been re-
| marked by every one, and with impatlence
They have likewise caused much time ID pc
| lost by the introduction of futile PROPOSE
| tons. among these ito establish a tax upon
| fisheries.'' when, for fact, the treaty
| with Spain of 1861 exempted fishermen in
| categoric terms from all taxation. The
| proposition opposed by Spain and
| unanimously rejected. Nevertheless a prof.
| ect containing eight articles has been elab-
Grated and the principle of an augmenta-
| ton of taxes accepted.
There is isagreement between Mo-
| BANNED ell Torres, the chief of the Mo-
roccan mission, and Ell
Moors at Mokri his second. The
Variance. former is offended by the
officiousness of his colleague.
| who, it seems to him, has undertaken to
I ignore his cEief. No doubt this state of
| things exists in all of the foreign dele
cations so general is the jealousy but the
| Arabs are like children, and have no tact
or intention, indeed, of concea lment IN Such
a case Mohammed el Torres has openly de-
clared that he had no interest whatever IN
the conference. and gave manifest PROOF
of his indifference by falling asleep a rev
DAYS ago during the session, accentuatlls
the fact by loud snoringi A correspondent,
amused at the incident asked distln-
guished delegate if it was true that MO
manned el Torres had slept and he was
told: Yes, certainly; and, to be frank
there were three other distinguished dei-
egates who slept also and Kept time WIZ,
the snores of the venerable Mohammed-
What will you? "Qui dort ne peche Pas
He who sleeps sins not. ~
Npropos to the divisions between MO-
manned el Torres and FL Mokrl, IL Is
actually a question with the sultan wnether
he will not send to Algeclras Ben Sliman'
n,iristar of foreign affairs. who is familiar
with European etiquette, ana tneIeioie'
better able to conform TO certain eie
mentary principles OF courtesy "iitSH -
Mokr has defed
Ell Mokr is much younger than MS COZ
league. and being fond of domestic society
he sent for his harem, which Is estap-
lished at Algeciras. doubtless under the I'M
pression that the conference VIII nave
| long soiOurn in Spain.
Certain correspondents of french Jour
To \.
formerly sugar merchant. now His MAJ,
esty Jacques l, Emperor of the sahara,
has addressed a serious protest 10Y inter
mediary of his minister Of foreign a1alTs'
against the unjust and scandalous eXclu-
sion of his delegates from the conference
| jacques Lebaudy. his claims to majesty
aside. from having made colossal fortune
in sugar has recently invented a balloon
automobile which has attracted the serious
attention of the French ministry OF war
He aspires to convert the sands or MS
Saharian empire into vast sugar cane fields
and If he succeeds, as he WILL 1t ls SAID,
the title of emperor may yet be taken to
mean something more than vulgar pre-
tension.
x
The political status quo may be briefly re-
sumed thus: Germany understands that she
has almost all Europe ar
Germany's rayed against her pretension
Attitude to disturb, If not destroy, the
good intentions of all Eu-
rome. save herself TO deal with Morocco
In such a manner as to preserve the inter-
ests of others. n war surprise Is no longer
possible Germany is not seeking war now,
but is maneuvering for a digniied retreat
The Suddeutche Rechscorrespondez organ
of the German ministry of foreign affairs,
on that head says significantly:
symptoms are increasing that even in
the question of the police, shoals on which
the conference might be wrecked may be
avoided. 1t is thought that general man
date will not be the subject of general
discussion 1t appears that it is the inten-
ton to avoid it because of the spirit of con-
citation which now reigns in the confer
ence.
Due to that spirit. confidential action has
been taken. but until now no precise propo-
sitlons have been made by any of the pow
ers. The idea of confiding the control of
the police to Italy was emitted without au-
thorization. Germany would not have OPP
posed it if the idea had correspondent with
the wishes of Italian diplomacy, but 1t
would not have been encouraged except she
had been requested by Rome. Our repre-
sentatiyes have not advised giving the con-
troll to Italy, and they have not even for
mulated another proposition. The reports
spread about the intentions of Germany are
only air balloons. We shall see later that
among the possible solutions those which
have been announced up to this time viii
not be chosen. One will be chosen very
different and which in any case cannot be
other than compromise.
lie Temps OF Paris of the I'd instant re-
plies to this officially inspired dispatch,
which may be read both ways. as follows:
Since Germany admitted, when 1t was
question of Italy. the possibility of a sin
gle control, it is our duty to ask her also
to say loyalty what she wishes and what
she proposes, in place of observing a ST.
lence which retards the work of the con-
ference. 1t is for French opinion an i'm
perious obligation to recall to any one who
may be tempted to forget 1t, that we will
not yield at Algeciras more than we have
yielded already by the agreements of July
and September; to affirm that we repudiate
the pretended engagement by which our
liberty of action and that of the plen-
ipotentiaries of the powers were inter
fered with; to say finally, openly. that If
we frankly accepted the conference we
have never admitted that it should or
could create at our doors an international
organization which one day would prove
to be a perpetual danger"
The Suddeutsch Reichscorrespondez cam
not fail TO comprehend this language be-
cause eategoric. France has had time to
| recover from the shock of surprise occa-