Evening star., 1925-11-01
The Story the Week Has Told

find there relics of the mother set
| tlement OF that AuriEactan (Cro-
Magnon} culture of whose profound
influence on Mediterranean civiliza :
| ton we have accommodating proofs.
| and for which some find an Attain
| team provenanCe. My UNDERESTIMATE e
| is that the expedition is headed by
| the famous Count dc Prorok. the
| eXcavator of Carthage and Utica
that the second in command is
! AlonZo B. Pond, the DISTINGUISHED
! anthropologiSt of the Logan Museum
of Beloit College. and that the expe-
dition was made possible largely
through the munificence of Mr.. Frank
Logan. founder of the Logan
1t is hoped to scale the loftiest
mountain OF the Ahaggar range, up
ward of 10000 feet high. One of the
members of the expedition is
Maurice Reygasse. reputed to be the
| leading expert on North African
anthropology. The Count de Prorok
does we'll to take with him the best
of Tuareg interpreters. for the
| Tuareg tribesmen of those parts are
kittle folk to deal with. The
French government furnishes an
escort Of 100 Algerians on camels
|
| see soon on the screen photogra phs
| of those rumored Ahaggar cave
drawings and sculptures sambling
the Aurignacian art of France and
Spain.
The expedition is named the
| Logan Sahara Beloit"
| Incidentally. it is foped to discover
| the mountain of precious stones
| legendary source Of the Carthaginian
emeralds, and to strike oil.
Syria.-Accounts coming in Of the
affair in Damascus of October 1920
compel the opinion that the French
! authorities badly muffed the hand
ling of that affair. There has long
been bitter criticism in the French
press of Cen Sarrail as high COM
missioner for Syria. His admins
| tration. goes the frequent charge
has been lamentably conspicuous
for lack of the tact and good judg
ment so brilliantly displayed OF
recent years by the French admins
trations in Morocco and Algeria
That charge is driven home by most
of the accounts of the Damascus
| episode.
The rebellion of the Hauran Druses
has aroused sympathetic excitement
! throughout Syria and has led to a
considerable increase of the endemic
brigandage. On October II ESQ dis
patches relate). a few score brigands
entered Damascus and, Joined by
| baser elements of the populace, pro
ceeded to loot and shoot and other
wise act like 24-carat brigands.
The French military authorities
imagined a general insurrection and
sent tanks to shoot up the baZaars
thereby creating a real inSurrection
though a minor one. And now
| comes the worst feature. On the
evening of the eighteenth the French
| military, making no provisions fol
the security of native Christians Oh
Armenians or any except French
| aliens, proceeded to lombard the
famous old city. causing considerable
loss of life and great destruction
continuing the bombardment for sc
hours.
1t is to be hoped that full authentic
revelation Of the three days terror
| a less discreditable light than as
above. Indeed, this writer thinks II
quite likely that the dispatches cited
convey a good deal of eXaggeratior
and misconception to the prejudice
of the French. But. supposing the
above to be altogether true. it does
not follow that French policy re-
specting Syria is not benevolent
nor that the French administration
there has not been on the whole
beneficial. The situation of the
French In Syria has these many