The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1907-06-18

Vorces both countries would be more
populous than they are now. The
most Of the people are Mohamm cdaf,$,
and their marriage laws are such that
a man can get rid OF his superfluou-
wives far more easily than the Amer
Dakota or Oklahoma. There are now
about fifteen thousand divorces in
Algeria every year, and this is almost
half the number of marriages All
that q Mohamme edan has 10 do TO Sc
cure a separation is to point hts wife
to the door and say. II divorce you,
/ divorce you.i I divorce you,!!" and
or she goes. 1t is not much better
with the Tunisian Jews, the chief dif-
ference being that the Mohammedan
has the right TO four wives while the
Jew can have but one At present
plural marriage is declining In popu-
larity among the Mohamm edans With
the influx OF Europeans living grows
more and more expensive, and II costs
too much TO keep UP a harem with
more than one mistress.
African France.
Notwithstanding all this. African
France, as these two colonies are call
ed, has more and more people from
year to year 1t is big country.
a Algeria, outside the vast territories %
the French Sahara is as large as all
New England, with New YORK. Penn
sylvania, West Virginia and New Jer-
sey added thereto and 1t has q popu-
lation larger than any OF our states
outside New York.
Tunisia Is just about the size OF Ala
bama, and 1t has as many people as
Massa chusetts. The population of the
two countries is fully one-eighth that
of the whole United States, and the
most OF the people might be con-
C4l n uoa
our dear Uncle Sam seems 10 be run
ming his consular business here on
the cheap. We have a poorly paid
consul IN Algiers, and within the last
few months We have reduced the vice
consulate at Tuns To consular
agency This means that the man
who represents US here In this city
OF 25O,OO0 and country Of 100000
and more receives practically nothing
for office expenses, and that his fees
amount to only a few hundred dol
lars year. This Is SO, notWithstand
ing we are paving our consul general
OF Morocco several thousand dollars
a year and have recently raised MS
pred Mr.. Gummere. to the
rank OF minister with a salary sew
eral times as large.
Altogether we spend only three or
four thousand dollars in pushing our
trade in these two r."h PROVINCES be-
longing % France. where the market
is worth many millioc 1ollars a year
and waste three or four tim = that
on the wilds Of Morocco, from which
we get nothing now and can rot hope
for much until far in the future
Similar conditions prevail in some
othe. parts Of Africa.
Up-to-Date Africa.
Tunisia and Algeria are a part OF
up-to-date Africa. They are still be-
hind the times. but they are rapidly
introducing all modern improvements
Life and property in them from tie
NJ Mediterranean 10 far down Into the
Sahara are safe. there are police
everywhere and the people are paying
less taxes than ever before
The facilities Of communication are
rapidly growing. The two countries
have in the neighborhood OF three
thousand miles of railroad, thousands
of miles % good country roads and
hundred OF miles OF electric tram
ways One can now travel through
Tunisia and Algeria for a distance as
great as from Washington 10 Seattle
in an automobile. and that over roads
better than nine-tenths Of the country
roads OF the United states. The soil
IS largely underlaid with lin neztone,
and the roads have been macadam-
lied from one end of the land 70 the
other.
AS TO the telegraphic possibilities.
the wire now in use in Algeria would
make a girdle around the earth. and
the telegraph poles are enough 20
supply a line through its center.
telegraph route across the Sahara has
short time, the French provinces Of
the Soudan will be Joined to Algeria
by twenty-five hundred miles OF wire
There are telephones in all tbs