The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-10-06
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that of all China It is oyer $2OO ,OO0. coo a year. and of this siOO.000OOO is brought in from abroad. As to the exports, we take all and more than our share. But of the imports we get hardly a smell. In other words, we buy of Egypt from seven to ten million dollars a year and sell her less than one-tenth that amount. We do not sell her l per cent of all that she buys and we take from to 10 per cent of all that she sells.
 Moreover, our tourists annually go up the Nile by the thousands and they leave in Egypt every winter as much as s4050 0o0 Sixty per cent of all the profits of the Egyptian hotels come from Ameri- cans, and we ought to get our share of the trade in return.
 What Uncle Sam Should Do.
 It would seem that Uncle Sam ought to wake up and put his men on the ground. He ought to establish d more extensive consular service, ought to build a lega- ton building al Cairo, and urge some of his financial nephews to open a bank or so here, with branches in New York and in other American ports. He should send out a commission to study this trade. and should establish exposition warehouses fin Alexandria and Cairo, filled with the goods we make we'll but which the Egyptians are now buying from Es gland ana Oinef countries or Europe.
 As il is now, our consul general to Cairo is acting as our diplomatic agent as well. The duties should be divided and a man who will do nothing else but push Amer lean trade should be added to the lega- ton force. As this country nomnally belongs to Turkey, we cannot send q min ister pleniopotentiary to il, but our consul general is given practically the same powers as an ambassador has elsewhere and this part of his work is enough for one man to handle.
 Our Diplomatic Agent at Cairo.
 Our present diplomatic agent at Carlo, who bears title of consul general, IS Lewis NJ. Iddings, who was formerly one of the editors of the New York Times and later on serH ed as first secretary To our embassy at Rome. He is by training and experience more q diplomat than q consular officer although he understands the United States well and has had d journalistic training before he took up diplomacy. As diplomatic agent he is the guardian of the rights of all Americans who come 10 Egypt. None of them can be arrested without his consent, and any such arrest must be made by one of his own policemen. who known as the consular cavasses. These caVasses attend the consular general on all state occa- sions, and act as lieutenants about his front door. They are Turks or Egyp- tians. Each wears a fez cap, a gorgeous uniform embroidered with gold braid and and a great sword at his side. These men are subject to Consul General Id dings and they have the right to enforce his commands.
 What Egypt Sells.
 In order to understand this trade one should know what Egypt sells. The Nile valley is almost altogether agricultural. Egypt has 12000,000 people, and two-thirds of all those over ten years of age are en- gagged in farming. The great money crops are cotton and sugar, and just now cot ton forms nine-tenths of the exports. There is so much money in cotton that those who raise it do our planters do when cotton Is high They put all their land into their crop and buy their meat and corn out of the proceeds. The Egyp- tian cotton sells for much more than ours. It is of a peculiar staple, and is so valua- ble for mixing with other cottons that we often buy from seven to ten million dol lars worth of it ourselves. In 1906 the crop sold for S90o00,O00, and the bulk of this went to England As it Is now 1 Russia is annually taking five or ten mil l lion dollars worth France five or six ] million dollars. and Germany about the 1 same amount of Egyptian cotton. The cotton seed is also sold, most of it going to Great Britain and France.
 Indeed cotton is fast crowding out su- gar and the sugar sales are not as large now as they have been in the past. They amount to about &, ,O00 900 per annum. Of late Egypt has begun to raise vege- tables for Europe The fast boats which go from Alexandria to Italy carry green stuff, and especially onions of which the Nile valley Is now exporting several mil