Los Angeles herald., 1909-06-06

quite wealthy and always liberal. Inc
record of the work in Egypt is one
of which Americans of every falth
and creed may well be proud, for the
work has been done along American
lines.
The mission was established in 1854.
At that time there was no such thing
as evangelical Christian work in the
country. There were no schools
worthy of the name and there was
only one woman in Egypt who could
read and write. She was member
of the ruling princelv family and
native OF Turkey. The American mis-
sion now maintains 1SO common
schools. three girls boarding schools,
mary There are 10000 boys and 5000
girls now attending these schools.
In addition to these direct benefits
the activity of the Americans has
caused the establishment of numerous
Coptic and Moslem schools, many of
them for girls, an unprecedented thing
in the history of either of the old re-
ligious bodies of Egypt.
Fearing to touch the religion of Islam
with ever so light a hand. the British
rulers of Egypt for many years did not
take any active steps toward fostering
public education. There were so many
other and greater problems to be solved
that Lord Cromer purposely delayed
the educational business in order to
prevent jealousy on the part of the
Mohammedan leaders and the possible
precipitation of a holy war. Through
all that period of more than twenty
years the English government depended
largely upon the American missions to
aid in keeping peace in the country.
The Americans had no political en-
tanglements, and were free to preach
and to teach as they chose The Eng
lish were glad to have them in Egypt.
In the last few years the government
has taken up the educational work with
more vigor, and within a few years
Egypt will have a public school system,
the excellence of which will be due in
a large measure to the American pion-
eers. The public schools, however, are
thoroughly Mohammedan in every re-
spect except that of devoting some at
tention to reading, writing and arith-
metic
OF the 1000 pupils in the American
schools about one-half are Copts and
one-fourth are Moslems. The others
are native Procestants or representa-
tives of other religions. The teachers
in these schools are nearly all native
Egyptians who were educated in the
American schools of the earlier days of
the mission. In ADDITION TO the 1nstruc-
tion in the ordinary public school
courses, Arab sheiks are employed to
teach the Arabic language and litera-
ture. The instruction in most of the
branches is in English, and the pupil
who has been through an American
school in Egypt speaks the same lam
guage as the young European immi-
grant who has been through the pub
lie schools of New York city.
A visit to one of these schools is in
tensely interesting. There is one in
Cairo, less than a block distant from
Sheapheard's hotel. 1t comprises all
grades, from the primary class through
the high school, and is attended by 800
pupils. The boys and girls are taught
in separate classes and only once dur
ing the day do they gather in the same
room. That is at the morning chapel
exercises, and even then the girls por-
tion of the chapel is screened off by
high curtain of red silk. If this Ameri-
can school permitted the girls to go
where the boys could see their unveiled
faces the building would be torn down,
stone by stone, before nightfall. Both
Moslems and Copts share in this in