Omaha daily bee., 1909-03-13

pifAnA among Nhe NEAR ana
Far Nations OF the Earth.
The latest and greatest achievement In
irrigatiou works Is the Nile barrage or
dam at Esneh, built under British super
vision, and recently inaugurated by the
khedlve OF Egypt. 1t stretches across the
river at a height of thirty feet above low
water mark, is almost 5000 feet long and is
pierced by 100 doors having openings of
some of some fifteen feet apiece. At the
western extremity Of the dam there is a
lock 800 feet long by fifty feet deep. Along
the top runs a public road twenty-five feet
wide connecting the banks Of the river.
The Esneh dam is the fourth of the stu
pendous controlling works built within ten
years. The first was the huge dam at
Assuan. which is now being heightened
TO Increase Its capacity from 1000, 900, 600 to
2,SO0,0O0,0 % tons; the second at Assault. 235
miles north of Esneh. and the third at
Zifteh, on one of the arms of the river.
These irrigation works" comments the
New York Sun, constitute the most males
tic benefaction ever conferred on one coun-
try by another. Never in the a~ge-long days
which preceded the earliest recorded en-
croachments of the western desert on the
ribbon Of arabic soil-was such capacity OF
production attained as will have been rem
dered possible when the huge engineering
scheme undertaken by the British govern
ment shall have been wrought out. There
is reason to believe that many centuries
hence, when the British occupation shall
have faded from the native mind as utterly
as that of the Assyrians. the inhabitants
OF the Nile valley will continue to bless
the tremendous dam at Assuan and the
massive supplementary barrage intended
to regulate the flow of the life-giving
waters.'
The general election held throughout Italy
last Sunday resulted in a triumph for
Premier Giolitti, whose ministry will have
a two-thirds majority In the m OF
Deputies. The most significant feature of
the election was the active participation
of Catholics, with the sanction of Pope
Plus X. Ever since 1870, when Plus TX, as
a protest against depriving him of temporal
power, commanded the faithful to abstain
from political activity. supporters of the
vatican held aloof from elections and from
holding office. AS a means of upholding
the principle involved, the course pursued
was admirable. But it did not produce any
beneficial results. On the contrary, it
prompted radicals and anti-clericals to ex-
cesses, and left the church supporters with
out a defensive political weapon. The well
known friendly feeling existing between the
present pope and the r~eigning king served
to soften the asperities Of the past. The
growth of socialism and it's anti-clerical
program materially aided in bringing into
closer relations the conservatives of church
and government. These and other causes,
doubtless. induced the pope to suspend
the papal mon expedit" in seventy-two dis
tricts. and the clericals actively supported
the conservative government candidates,
contributing handsomely to the majorities
rolled up for the ministry.
The uncomfortable position Of those who
put up a bluff and fail to show down
when called, is illustrated by the present
awkward fix of the Servlan ministry. For
weeks past the ministers have been issuing
warlike p~roclamations, calling on every
ablebodied Servian to rally around the
standard of their fathers and prepare to
svenge the insults and asgressions of Aus
tria. The people were worked up to a
fighting pitch. Young and old, of both
sexes, only dWdlleu the WOTu " mdTtH
across the border and smite the Austrian
hip and thigh, But when Austria sub
mitted a proposition to arbitrate the diff
ferences, supplemented with word from
neighborine powers to cool off, the minis
ters find themselves stamping in a powder
magazine with a peace program. The con-
cert Of two powers proceeds on one side,
martial music on the other. Resignation
or flight are the alternatives. But the
ministers have a week to devise means Of
escape from the fury Of the populace,
which may not be as fierce as the servian
Hobsons paint it,.
Forecasters Of the trend of British poll
tics quickly seized the result of two by
elections. recently held. as convincing
proof the doom OF the liberal ministry.
This is a stretch OF imagination hardly
warranted by the facts. The Glasgow dis
trict, where the election of a conservative
is hailed as a great triumph, has been
represented for years by a member of that
party. with the single exception Of the over
turn which brought the liberals into power
three years ago. In South Edinburgh the
liberal majority was cut from the high
water mark of 400 to 1000, a severe re-
duction, II may be conceded, but not an
Astonishing one. considering the adverse in
fluence of widespread Industrial distress.
Aside from local causes which Influenced
the result, the elections furnish striking
evidence OF the growth Of tariff sentiment
in Great Britain. forced to the forefront
by not only national necessities. but by
the ever increasing tariff walls Of France,
Germany and other importing nations. The
last bulwark of free trade seems tottering
to its fall.
One of the curious effects of the exodus
OF nuns from the converts of France owing
to the new law regarding religious assoc
Citations is that false hair has gone up
tremendously in price. One OF the fore