The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-03-17

Copyright, 1907 by Frank G. Carpenter)
 Algiers, Algeria. I AM in the blazing white, many-ter-
 raced city of Algiers, the capital of 1 African France. My hotel is the de la Regence, on the Place du Government, next the mosque of Diana el Djedid, within stone's throw of the great pal acc which holds the government offices and just off the Boulevard de la Repub- lique, in the very heart of the city.
 From my window I can look out over the Bay of Algiers and the wide Medi- teranean, with it's ships going out and coming in. The foothills of the Atlas mountains line the opposite side of the harbor and the queer African capital rises up from it, in terrace above terrace, until 1t reaches the great white citadel, which formed the residence and chief for tif1cation of the piratical days of the past.
 Down at the wharves. where the city begins, are mighty breakwaters which extend out like arms at each end, em- bracing steamers and sailing vessels from all parts of the world. More than four thousand big vess els, and twelve thou sand coasters, aggregating over three million tons, pass in and out of those arms every year. There are great At lantic liners, which call hore on their wa from New York to Naples and Genoa, big steamers from China and Japan, and also fast ships from Mar seilles, which bring the mails on their five-hundred-nile voyage across the Med
 
 These boats give Algiers a daily commu- nication with It's mother country, and they are always loaded with passengers and freight. Their rates are so low that French laborers and mechanics cross over by hundreds. A steerage passenger pay3 only two dollars and twenty cents and the third-class travellers pay less than five dollars.
 Rich Country.
 Come with ma down to the wharves and see something of tho enormous trade that Algeria does with all parts of the world. It's commerce is worth having, for 1t amounts to more than one hun dreI and twenty-five million dollars a year. Four -dfths of this Is with France Algeria buys from fifty to sixty million dollars worth of goods Of her mother country every year, and her sales to France are only about ten million dollars less. So far the balance of trade is with France, but the resources of the colony are being rapidly developed and in time Algeria will be in the lead.
 Running back from the harbor for distance of perhaps five hundred feet is a level space covered with acres of ware houses. We reach this by stone steps and make our way in and out through mountains of cargo. Enormous wagons, hauled by from three to six horses, are moving about, directed by drivers in tur- bans and gowns: the railroad engines are shunting cars this way and that, and an army of bare-calved, big-trousered Bisl1- ris are loading and unloading all kinds of goods. Cork bark, which is one Of tke chief exports, is stacked up like cord wood hogsheads of wine numbering thousands are piled one on top of the other, and there are great mounds of bags of wheat and other grain ready for shipment. There are. boxes of dates packed for Paris, and there are also enor- nous quantities of goods coming in.
 Both on the wharves and out il the harbor are immense loads of coal. AL giers is one of the chief coaling stations of the Mediterranean and nearly all the ships which call here take on fuel. The shipping arrangements are of the best. The harbor has steam cranes and trains