Beverly banner. [volume] (Beverly, N.J.) 1877-1964, 1925-01-16

prepared by the National Geographic SO
ciety, Warrington. D. CO
The recent difficulties with Great
Britain which have brought Egypt
prominently into the news have accom-
plished little new in this. Ever since
the plauge of frogs, since Pharaoh's
hosts were swallowed by the sea, since
Cleopatra drank dissolved pearls,
broke up Roman homes and got herself
bitten by snake, Egypt has been in
the eyes of the world.
Nothing in this strange land is
commonplace" Lord Miner has told
us; and Napoleon, in his first talk with
the governor of st. Helena, declared
Egypt to be "the most important
country in the world" For sixty CEN
turtles she has been invaded and oecu-
pied ruled and misruled, and ruined
and rebuilt by assorted enemies of
alien race, religion and speech. Now,
under brand-new king of her own,
she has begun new era in her event
full, tumultuous history.
No land is older in sin and civiliza-
ton than is Egypt; few peoples are
more mixed in race and religion than
the modern jewellers along the Nile;
and no region anywhere offers more
puzzling problems or more curious con-
trasts in politics, economics and ma
tional ambitions than does modern
Egypt.
She was civilized and knew the Gull
ture of fine arts and science when
hairy cavemen were yet clubbing their
grey and eating it raw on that island
where classic Oxford now stands; yet
today nine-tenths of her people are
illiterate; many are blind from dis
ease; and probably half of the real
Egyptians are mere day laborers, for
the wealth of Egypt is mostly in alien
hands; half of the native farmers, or a
million and half families, own no
land at all. Still, in this "Proverbial
Land of Paradox" the people along the
Nile, thanks to British aid, are bet
ter off than they have been in genera
tions.
The fact that the population doubled
in the AZ years of British rule is sig
niiicant wonderfully developed ir-
rigation system and a vast network
of communications, both so necessary
10 agriculture in rainless land, are
hers.
In the last seven years land has
trebled in value rich farmers have
grown richer; Nile traffic has increased
four-fold; into the dusty desert horizon
new tracks of steel have penetrated;
and away up on the Blue Nile another
great dam is being built to impounG
water for irrigating yet vaster cot
ton-growing area.
Profited by the War.
Egypt. more than any other land
then under British protection. waxed
fat off the World war. 1t is said that
England paid out over billion dollars
an Egypt for foodstuffs, camels, mules.
and supplies for the use Of her armies
in the Middle East
With this access of wealth and tho
break up of the Moslem East that fol-
lowed the war. Egypt gained enormous
by In political and religious Importance
Gone forever is the "changeless,
dreamy East of a decade ago! Growl-
ing motor trucks have crowded crawl
ing camels from historic caravan
trails; desert Arabs who used to read
the future in the stars now read 1t in
the passing planes of bold airmen
blazing a sky trail from Rome to
Tokyo, or London to Sydney.
A through train, 1.-THE Milk and
Honey Express" has been running
from Cairo to Jerusalem, save for
break at the Suez canal, where the
passengers walk across a floating
bridge at Kantara
Geographically, Egypt comprises all
the land between the Red sea and the
Sahara, and runs from the Mediter-
ranean south to the Nublan border, in
Guiding the Sinai peninsula; in fact. 1t
is about as big as Arizona and Texas
combined. But. except for about 12,-
900 square miles along the Nile banks
and in the delta Tor region about
equal TO Connecticut and Massachu-
sefts). Egypt is practically desert.
Its people. including fellaheen ina
tive peasants), Copts. Arabs. Greeks,
Syrians, Turks, Persians and Euro
peans. number over twelve millions.
Quickly told. the story of modern
Egypt is that Napoleon Invaded It in
1893: then the Albanian adventurer.
Mehemet All. and bis successors held
mastery till It went bankrupt Ia 1879.
To protect creditors, France and
England interviewed, deposed Khedive |
asmnii. and set up dual control"
Against this rule Arab Pasha led d