Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-02-23
IN FRENCH ALGERIA
One of the Richest Provinces in
Northern Africa.
METHODS OF DEVELOPMENT
Now the Wine Bottle and Bread Bas-
ket of Paris.
ONCE THE GRANARY OF ROME
Has Hundreds of Thousands of French
Colonists and Over Four Million
Mohammedans.
Copyright 1907, by Frank G. Ca-pcnter.)


OOpyrlGNi, iJbi, hy FRANK U. Na"pcnIerD
DRAM Western Algeria.
I have left Morocco and am now travel
Ing in African France. l landed at Oran
three weeks ago. and have already made
my way through the rich lands of the Tell,
across the high plateaus which are upheld
between the ranges Of the Atlas mountains
and down into the Desert of Sahara. l
am now back in OrGn. the chief seaport of
Western Algeria, and am about to start
on a two-hundred aad sixty mile railroad
journey eastward to Algiers, the capital.
Before l begin describing my travels,
want to tell you what the French have in
Africa Their possessions include more
than one-third of the continent, a territory
several hundred thousand miles larger than
the whole United States, together with
Alaska and our outlying colonies. Practical
Iy the whole of the Sahara west of the
Libyan Desert belongs to them, and that
alone is half as big the United States
proper. They have an enormous district
south of the Sahara which is known as
French Central Africa, and several col
ones along the gulf of Guinea. The
French Congo, which is north of the Bel
gian Congo, runs northward so as to take
in part of Lake Chad, and covers, all
told, an area ten times large as the
state of Illinois 1t Is Inhabited by fifteen
million people, the most of whom are Jet
black negroes or the most ueDdSeu types.
The richest of the French possessions,
however, are along the south coast of the
Mediterranean sea, comprising the two
great states of Algeria and Tunisia. OF
these Tunisia is protectorate. 1t is al
most absolutely governed by the French,
and they are rapidly developing 1T. AL
geria on the other hand, is now a part of
the French republic. 1t is a French state,
senators and six deputies in the parlia-
ment at Paris. Its governor general Is
Frenchman and most of Its officials are
natives Of the French republic
Best French Colony.
Indeed, Algeria is by far the best piece
of property France has outside her own
boundaries. 1t is her great winter gar
den, which furnishes. the chief vegetables
for all the French cities and the granary
which supplies a large part of her flour.
Fast steamers carry the garden stuff across
the Mediterranean IN day and in thirty
six hours it is for sale in the Halles
General In Paris Some of the best wines
used In France are made in this country
and Algeria gives France imports to the
amount of sixty odd million dollars year.
France. herself, annually sends forty or
fifty million dollars worth of her wares
to Algeria and the trade between the two
countries steadily grows.
Many lock upon Algeria a little strip
of mountain and desert The truth Is, that
part of II lying along the Mediterranean
and running back up the foot hills of the
Atlas, has some of the richest soil upon
earth. 1t is only from thirty to one hun
dred miles wide, but is several hundred
miles long, including territory about as
large New York and Massachusetts
combined. 1t has more good land by far
than both OF those states. This land is
known as the Tell. 1t runs clear across
Algeria and on into Tunsia. 1t has been
for centuries the granary of this part of
the world. The Phoenecians and Carthagin-
ians built empires upon it, and it was
for long time one of the principal bread
baskets of imperial Rome. 1t was fought
for by the Vandals, the Greeks and in the
eighth century was conquered by the