Omaha daily bee., 1908-07-18

When the pretender Mulai, Hafid, cap
tured the royal palace at Fez. the Moorish
capital. and dislocated Sultan Abdul
Aziz's connection with the ancient throne.
the paraphernalia Of modern civilization re-
ceived a serious setback. The receding
sultan provided himself with automobiles,
pianolas. cameras, steam launches, stage
coaches, glass bedsteads, stove pipe hats,
hammocks. a printing press, bird cages and
stuffed birds. besides mechanical devices Of
various kinds. These were his signs OF
progress. The newcomer gathered the
signs together and smashed what he could
not burn, to prove he stood pat for
Morocco with the mass on. II interna-
tional commercial agents have any tears
In stock, Abdul is entitled to a shower.
He was an ideal buyer in his day.
The r~eigning house Of China is UP against
a bunch Of trouble more annoying than the
activity Of the Japs in Manchuris. Dalai
Lama, thirteenth ruler of the Buddhist
church. self exiled from Tibet, is moving
on Pekirg with a retinue of 1000 faithful
servitors. determind to lay before Queen
Ana protest against the dissertation Of
the Holy City Of Lhasa by the feet Of in
fidels. Suggestions to send his protest by
mail or a picture post card and ave foot.
wear pass u%nheeded. The Dalai insists on
a personal call, and as he is only 80 and
needs the exercise. It is likely he will cover
the journey of 1900 miles in due time. 1t
costs about $500 to entertain him and his
follower for a single day, and as the
Chinese treasury is not opulent, the trou-
bles Of the administration take on the
gloom an unwelcome visitor scatters on the
premises.
The events in Teheran which resulted in a
Temporary check TO constitutional govern
ment, are symptomatic of the growing
unrest in the far east, which is bound to
produce some degree Of liberty and relief
from monarchical tyranny, Russia, much
stronger than Persia, was forced to yield
and grant a Parliament. 1t was a step
forward. The recession in Persia is as
certain to produce a larger decree of popu-
lar government there as that revolutions
never go backward"
Made in Germany is a commercial
sign rivaling that of the United States in
the conquest OF the world. Next to the
quality OF goods, made to suit all tastes
and purses, the empire has millions Of
Teutonic trade boosters living in other
countries. The number Of Germans or
German speaking people outside of Ger
many is as follows: Austria, 9,Do,00Oi
Hungary, 100000; Switzerland, 2,So0.o 900;
Russia, 1,171,SS rest of Europe, 9.564,S9I
Asia, 131, 22T; Africa, ga, 600; Australia, 124.-
600; America, North and South, HOGS, 900,
making the total German population Of the
world nearly 1OO,OOO,OOO strong.
Some consolation may be derived by vic
Tins Of high living from the fact that
govt is shown to be a royal as we'll as a
venerable affliction. Recent examinations
of the foot of an Egyptian mummy re-
suited in definite evidence of the antiquity
of the disease, and OF its existence in the
days of Pharoah. The information will
not ease the refined fortunes of modern
victims Of govt, but there is some comfort
in possessing an aristocratlc twinge instead
of the plebeian rheumatism.
The latest statistics just published In the
French Journal Offlciel indicate that the
continued decrease in population Is almost
entirely due to a progressive diminution of
the birth rate. In seven years the total
number of births per annum has diminished
by one-eighth OF a million. The birth rate
has dropped from 2S0 to 207 per 10000 of the
population. This is accompanied by an in
crease in the number OF marriages. 1t is
stated that never b~efore-unless 1t was in
the days of the revolution-were so many
marriages registered. The number of
divorces, too, has ncreased-las year II, 900
were de~creed-but this is not thought seri-
ously to affect the population.
The French minister of justice has started
and is now enforcing a reform that many
Americans would be pleased to have I'M
dertaken in their own country. He has
changed legal phraseology. An eminent
lawyer himself, he was we'll aware OF the
absurdities of legal lore, but did not under
take to accomplish the reform until he
had carried through a sort of unofficial
referendum. Eight hundred and eighty
five lawyers throughout the republic ex-
pressed a preference on the question SUBJ
mitted and of this number 727 were favor
able. A commission prepared the sub
stitutes for the Anticipated verbiage that
had come down from past ages and Min
lister BRAND has directed the court of ep-
peals to make and enforce them.
sRs
II % easy 10 understand why the Black
sea fleet OF Russia made such a spectacle
OF itself In the last days of the Japanese
war and afterward. The maneuvers OF the
fleet in the last week Of June produced
three collisions, one boiler explosion. one
gun explosion, and two mutinies on account
OF bad food; and a drunken captain was
hurt by falling from the bridge. while the
target practice was disgracefully poor.
No navy is free from accidents; but the
occurrence of so many in a single fleet in
the course OF a single set of maneuvers in
dicate incompetence and Generalization.
CONVOY MAYOR WARNED.