The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1913-10-03
EDITORIAL NOTES

The drst great conflict betw cen
Christian and Moslem. took place on
the memorable field Of Poitiers on this
date, October ard. in the year 7S2- The
followers of the Prophet had con-
quered Spain and established a Moor
iEh kingdom in the peninsula. Ihen
they crossed the Pyrenees and invaded
GauI. their purpose being nothing less
than the conquest OF all Europe, the
overthrow of Christianity and the sub
stitution OF the crescent for the cross,
OF the worship Of Allah and Moham-
med FOR that of Jehovah and Jesus. A
great army Of Frankish and German
warriors. under Charles, afterward
called The Hammer confronted the
Saracens at Poitiers. Here was fought
one of h1story's most important bat
ties since It hxed the religious status
OF Europe. The conflict ragged furi-
ous1y All day. The Arabian cavalry
CHARGED so audacious1y that for a time
the cause Of Christianity seemed lost
On the following day, however, the
MoRlern hosts retreated and were or1v-
an bayond the Pyrenees. Thus, within
a hundred years of the death of Mo-
BANNED the tide of his conquests in
the West was forever rolled back.
TP wuw should have occasion to ad-
Dress q letter to the Maharajah OF BIZ
kzner, The proper form would be:
Colonel His HighneSs Raj Ra5esh-
qsnr Harendra. Shiromaui Sri Sir Gan
"a singh Bahadur, MaharaJah Of BIZ
kaner Bfkzner. Ra5putana, India
Moreover, the young ruler of Bika-
ner, who VIII celebrate his thirty-third
btrShday today, Is entitled to write af-
ter his imposing name the magic let
tiers. q G. L E.s x c. s. L, K. c. 1.
E. and A d. c
The Maharajah rules. with the as
sistance OF British officials. over a
country of a. 600 square miles in ex-
tent Bfkaner Is in RaJputana, south
OF the PanJab, ana has a population of
about a million. While the Maharajah
Is surrounded by grandeur and pomp,
most Of his subjects are desperately
POOR. They live chiefly by pasturage,
breeding camels and horses that are
famed throughout India. The Mahara-
jah's army consists OF 1,097 men, of
whom 7s1 are mounted on eamels and
SIS on horses
His Hizhness was born Oct g, 1880,
and succeeded to the throne at the
age OF seven, although he was not in
vested with full ruling powers until
his eighteenth birthday. He served
with the British army in China in
command of the famous Bikaner camel
corps. for which he was decorated
He was also awarded decoration for
his public service in India following
the great famine of 1S9S-1900. The Ma
harg5ah is we'll educated, and thor
ough .@porfsznan Polo, TENTS and mo-
tor1rx. a. well as big game shooting,
are among -his recreations.
6ftch across the istfmus of Panama,
hey were defeated by grafters at
home send ''skeeters'' at the scene of
operations In those days the mos
quito was recognized as a pestiferous
Insect. butc1f was not known that she
fn n
gsr0w@was engaged in the transport
alton business as common carrier OF
The gems OF yellow fever and, tropical
malaria When Uncle Sam undertook
the dfech-d1ggfng Job he was fully in
6oRned OF the evil prOpensities Of the
&mxu9n4nS mosquitoes. Wherefore he
called Col William Crawford Gorgas
cE1 .G9Srcaxpet. and said, William, you
50 r4gh4 down there and kill those pes
Ays@kae4arHs And William did. Col
CorEzss a native Of Mobile, where he
was born dnty-nfne years ago today,
OF G 1Ss4- He graduated from the
uufvers9ty OF tina South in 1875, from
BsI1ev1e Hospital College in New York
four years. later, and In 1880 entered
KheeCnfted States army as a surgeon
Inschoosanga 9. military career he was
TuzYyw1ng in@[hs footsteps of his father,
WHO was q distinguished general in
Th9p Cou2sderAte army. His first big
Job was In stamping out the yellow
Fewer In Havana, and in 1907 he was
made chief. sanitary officer of the 18TH
Gn1En Canal Zone. He went about
@Fa1nfng gwamps, and fumigatfng
houses. and covering mosquito breed
aug pools with 1arvicide and screening
ne houses occupied by the canal
workers. and preaching sanitation day
IN and day out, until the ease-1ovins
Central Americans caught the SANTA
ton fever and began to clean up on
their own account AS the result of
Col. GorgaS' war on insects and rats,
and his campaign for cleanliness, the
zone has been transformed from the
worst pest-hole in the universe to a
health resort, visited by many thous-
ands of trippers during the winter
months Col Gorgas has recently ac-
cepted q commission from the Ecua-
dorian government to clean up Quay
zquil. which will become an impor-
tant port when the canal is opened.
a great patriotic festival, beginning
today and extending over Saturday
and Sunday, will be held in Lisbon to
celebrate the third anniversary of the
overthrow of the monarchy and the
establishment of the republic.
Portugal is now a republic in fact
as wei as in name. The futile raids
or the monarchists have served only
to strengthen the republican regime.
Now that Spain has refused further
refuge to the invading armies" there
II nothing left for the royallists to do
but engage in printed propaganda.
Most significant fact of all is the
falling on in the circulation and inf1u-
ence of the monarchist press. In all
Portugal there is not a single power
full newspaper that advocates the re-
storation Of the Braganzas- The few
royalist papers, although not subject
81 u 1R7rfaI frferfarencH ha