The Chattanooga news. [volume] (Chattanooga, Tenn.) 1891-1939, 1919-06-17
HEJAZ
BY FREDERIC }. HAskIN

Washington, June l6.--One OF tn,
most interesting OF the half-dozen o
more new nations. 10 which the wa
gave birth. Is the kingdom OF Heiaz
bordering on the Red sea in the Arabian
peninsula.
dependent Arabian kingdom by tn,
/ great powers OF Europe. inasmuch al
Prince Falsal. third son OF King Hus.
sien, has been admitted as a delegate
| TO the peace conference at Paris. :.
This establishment OF an Arabian
Towering of political ideal thirteen
| centuries old; for the "ArabiN for the
Arabians" movement was started by the
| prophet Mahomet and has been kept
alive by his followers and descendants
ever since. King Hussien claims to be
| lineal descendant of the prophet.
There was an Arabian nation long be
fore Mahomet one Of the first known
Arabian sovereigns having been the
beautiful queen of Sheba" who visited
and captivated Solomon. Some OF the
Jews in Hejaz are said to trace the ar
rival OF their ancestors In Arabia back
II was Mahomet who first unified
Arabia. After his death, various dy-
nasties rose and fell in this ancient
land, and it finally came under the
power Of the Ottoman empire. which
retained control until the war. The
Turkish rule was never accepted by the
Arabians, and was especially repugnant
to the wild desert tribes OF the Be
douins. who have always been q free
and unconquered people.
In 1915 Sharif Hussien, emir OF Mecca.
took the title OF. king. He Joined his
forces to those of the allies. and helped
England defeat the Turks in Asia
Minor. In return for this service, Eng
land recognized the independence of
Hejaz and the British delegates were
q delegate from Hejaz to the peace con-
ference.
Before the war, members OF the Hus-
sien family. while having the honorable
title OF Sharif were practically held as
hostages in Mecca by the Turks. Mecca
the only parts Of the country which the
Turks really controlled.
Senator Reed, in his famous speech
in which he tried to shock southern
democrats by proving that the black
races would control the league of ma
was hardly fair. as the majority of the
Inhabitants of Hejaz are of Semitic
stock. no darker than most Italians and
Spaniards, and not of negro blood. They
belong to a race which built some OF
the first civilization. They had a phil
ogophy and a literature when the ma
tives of the British Isles were savages,
and they are one of the few peoples in
the world which the Romans failed to
But Hejaz is undeniably a
very primitive country today. largely
due to its arid climate and remote stu
alton. Its future as a kingdom will be
with interest rather than as
surance.
Senator Reed said, without quoting his
that there are only 800, 900 |
people in Hejaz. zone hundred and
fifty thousand of these" he added, ''are
the wild Bedouins of the desert, wan |
1erers on the face of the earth, crea- |
lures who follow the camels and sleep |
under the skies. who live as their /
fathers lived 10000 years ago, and who |
nave not accumulated an idea since, ex-'
,ept that they have adopted Moham-
Friends of the new kingdom claim
hat it has a population of / 900, 600.
Part of these people live a settled life
n the few fertile valleys of the Hejaz
which is mostly desert and mountain;
'art live in the towns, of which Mecca