The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1915-01-28
+CLEVER MOVE BY
BRITISH WAR OFFICE
By P. M. sarl


! Omitted Press Staff Correspondent
LONDON, Jan. (bv mail to New
York )-One of the eleverest moves
made by the British war office during
the present war, was the landing of
only Moslem soldiers from India, for
the defense of Egypt. Among the
1O0,0 900 odd Indians drafted to differ
ent parts of the war area there are,
perhaps, a hundred different religions,
and a little less tact on the part of
the authorities might have meant much
trouble for the British.
The Brahmins, Hindus, Parsees, wor
shippers of Vishnu, Kali, silva and
other creeds, were sent to France, East
Africa, China, and in fact anywhere
but Egypt. Only Mohammedan regi-
ments put foot on Egyptian soil, and
the effect on the population was imme-
diate. The Australians, New Zealand
ers, and English Territorials which re-
placed the regular garrisons, were ac-
cording to the Egyptian mind of all
"Giaours,' and as such not to be dis
tinguished from the regular army, but
when the brown men arrived from Tn
dia there was considerable speculation
as to what kind of pagans the new ar
rivals were.
When a body of Bengal lancers made
for the principal mosque of Alexandria
there was some alarm and Indignation,
but the dusky troopers had no Difficult
| ty in proving to the priests that they
too were of the "Faithful. - and there
was much wonderment when it was
| learned that all the soldiers from India
We're ttrue believers. This made the
Egyptians "furiously to Think for
the Indians were quite satisfied that in
fighting for the British Kaiser-i- Hind
against the Padishah and "Hadii Mo-
hammed William of Berlin, they were
in no way acting to the detriment of
their religion. The Egyptians have
never loved Turkish rule, and when
good Moslems were ready to fight the
Turks for the British, the Importance
of the Shiekh-ul-Islam s holy war pro-
clamation begain to diminish.
The Indians made a tremendous inn
preston on the native soldiery, par
ticularlv the Maharaia of Bikanir IS
Camel Corps, which was reckoned as
good as the camelry maintained by the
British, only better mounted. The Be
douins from the desert were particular
ly struck by the beautiful animals
brought by this corps, and their respect
for Gel Lord So (Kitchener) country
was considerably increased that the
millionaire Maharaja himself had ia
ken the field in person. The horses of
the cavalry also impressed the Be
douins, who fancy themselves as judges
of horsefesh.
There appears to be little danger of
an invasion of Egypt, particularly via
Palestine. a road which has never been
successfully negotiated by an army of
any size. The coast route taken by Ma
poleon on the retirement of his invad
ing forces, is commanded from the sea,
and would prove a veritable death
trap, while the British and French war
ships in the Suez canal could easily
annihilate an attacking force from
that direction. There are only two
desert routes into Egypt, one is south |
from the sea coast to Ismalia, and the |
other via Akaba and across the Sinai |
Peninsular, but wells are few and far |
between, and the problem Of transpor- |
tation of supplies for an invading ar
my by these two routes is practically |
insuperable.
Apart from the arrival of the In |
dians, the never-ending procession of |
troopships and warships through the |
Suez canal, and the number of the
troops sent to replace the old garrisons
have practically convinced the popula-
tion that this is no time to rise against
the British. Despite the activities of |
Young Egyptian" and Young
Turk revolutionaries, the great mass
of the people are contented under the |
British rule, and see no reason for
changing it for the rule of CONSTANT |
nople, and the unknown Kaiser in Ber- |
lin.
"My neighbor on one side is Rus |
sian-born American, naturalized Eng |
lish, domieiled Polish Jew writes an |
English clerk serving in the French |
foreign legion. ''The other is an old |
Bisquard in the legion, an Alsatian |
with fifteen years. service, and the |!
China. Tonquin, Mads gasear, Dahomey, |
Sahara, Algeria and Morocco medals, |
and the Medal Militaire. We are a Gu
rious mixture in the legion. Every con-
ceivable people. The majority are Al |
saee-Lorraine fellows, dying to have
pot at Germany"
Sven Hedin' s book relating to his |
visit to the German front has arrived |
here and is on sale at the bookstalls. |
The publisher in an advertisements |
says: "The author has been in the /
firing line, and has risked his life elev-
en- times. He has been with the Kaiser |
on several occasions, and for three |
days lived with the Crown Prince and |
officers of the German general staff. -
The advertisement declares that with |
the exception of the Kaiser and the |
STAFF, DIR. Hedin has a wider personal
experience of the war than any other
person.
BUSINESS CHANCES