Evening star., 1928-05-06
BRITAIN SPENDS BIG SUM
In PACIFYINC MONARCHS
Entertaining Eastern Rulers to Preserve
Good Will East of Suez Considered
Justified.


Is 10 get his Persian majesty over on q
STATE visit, give him a banquet at Buck
ingham Palace and show him q few Of
the new battle cruisers and concen-
tration of the air force These things
have been found 10 have a wonder
fully persuasive effect on Oriental po-
tentates
What they would like better still is
to see Persia go democratic" Ori-
ental democracies never can organize
a decent army.
Wshsbi Kings Subsidy.
As If Piza Khan, east Of the British
Arab lands, we're not enough, the Wa
habi King, west Of those lands, has
trouble It's cure is subsidy or its
equivalent.
Britain gave him subsidy once. In
fact. he has had s20O0,000 altogether
out of the British taxpayer Britain.
With her hands full with Feisal, Husetn.
Lawrence and the Turks. paid Ion
Saud, then lord of the Neid oases. in
central Arabia, $500 900 a wear to kesn
quiet while war ragged from Mecca to
Damascus. all along the flank Of Brit
aims vital sea communications between
the Indian Ocean and the Mediterra-
mean Sea.
warrior Ion Saud who captured Mecca 4
couple Of centuries ago-but was kicked
out oy the Turkish Sultan, in those DAYS
always ready 70 Jump into action as
Defender Of the Faith-used the ronev
TO arm his warliks tribe Of desert
Puritans.
When the subsidy stopped he retired
to his tent to pray and seek light.
The result of his meditations was the
declslon that his soul could no longer
De torn by the knowledge that there
soJourned IN Arabia men and monarchs
VINO mingled in their prayers the names
Of the prophets and MosIem saints in
stead OF praying to Allah alone, as do
the austere Wanabis.
Wherefore he girded his loins and led
MS tribe and the tribes Of innumerabIs
desert friends south against King
Husein of the Hejaz. father of Feissi
and Grand Sheriff Of Mecca and Keeper
Of the Holy Places.
England would have intervened in
order to save her old friends. Husein
ana Felsal. She didn't want an enir-
matte Moslen Napoleon in possession OF
the peninsula she had been al such
pains to hold for tried and tested pro-
British royalties
But the taxpayers at home were tired
OF paying for wars; and a Labor gov
eminent was in the ofing: so Huseir
was left 70 fight mis- own battles. The
result of that fight vas that Hussir
fed by way of the Red Sea, taking
with him his treasure chest containing
$4,000, ,000-he had saved a lot out Of
his British subsidies.
British Plan Treaty.
The British. when they finally had
seen the late King safely to the French
Riviera. philosophically opened treaty
negotiations with the master Of a new
Kingdom covering two-thirds Of the
Arabian peninsula. and held from fur
tner expansion into British-mandated
Iraq and Trsnsjordania. ruled By
Husein's sons, only by British airplanes
and armored cars.
As Lord Of the Holy Places, the Wa
habi King grabbed at once the most
lucrative source of revenue in Arabia.
Singing the pilgrims had been the
favorite game Of successive masters OF
Mecca ever since Mahonet made the
city the seat and sanctuary Of his new
faith, back IN 62a-the wear 8 IN Ma
honetan ehronology-and enjoine6 al
believers 10 make the pilgrimage tksrs-
20. Tbn Saud has since been buyfr=
largely Of arms munitions, field tele-
phones, motor cars and camels Worried
British war experts estimate that he
can muster more than 100000 weu
armed and fanatical raiders
These have been so much explosive
material lying around since 1925. SUN
cfent of 1t has been scuibbing OF for
the last year TO keep the frontier air
planes from doing. But early II
March the Wahshi King called a con-
ference Of his chief allies to the walled
palace of Neid. and the result of that
conference was the proclamation OF q
holy war against the diSsidsnt Arabs
of IraQ and the other Arab states that
were under British protection.
II being quite clear that once Thr
Saud GOT through the protecting British
frontier guard he could cut his wsy 70
Feisals capital at Bsg6ad as easily as
knife cuts cheese and ruin al Of
Britains fine plans With regard 70 safe
guarding her land and sea con,munica-
tions with the East, the military wires
got busy.
air SquadronS 10 Cairo. the lsndieSt sir
base for reinforcing the Iraq frontier.
niove-up of troops 20 west Indian
ports, ready for rush up the Persian
Gulf 20 Iraq. and pleasant windfsn
of rush orders TO nlunition factories for
the latest pattern air bombs.
The oStenSihle cause Of the holy war
Is the same that took Ihn Ssud at thS
head OF tribssmen down 70 Mecca-re-
ligiouS intolerance. The real trouble.
Of course. is that the wahsbi King
wants better terms FOR remaining o.
friendly terms with Britain than Britain
wants to give
Britain Auneyed.
Britain Is annoyed However. wax
are expensive. especially when they saSs
the form OF rushing IL slrpisnsS ana
arnored cars up and down thousand
mile vulnerable frontier. chasing away
raiders IN force Britsin'S agents.
therefore, have been having o quiet
talk With the agents Of the wahacl
King, and the holy war IS Stil >
proclamation and has not burst yes n
Wild, 6USSy tide aglnSs the frontiers
Of the EritiSh~Nandate6 Arab lands
But what With FeiSal. EuSSm. I'm
Saud and the various Kings Of the oeS-
ert, these Arabian Nights royalties are
costing poor old England an awful lof
Of money
Leaving stout King pla6 cs ESyps
scratching his head n his palace garcsu
over the political complexities created
by Nationalist Parliament in tae
Western democratic manner "a E;ft,
this, nom England, which ne dceS nos
sltogether appreciasel, We come to
Ananuliah
King Amanulish vas Amir until a
year ago, when he fell into the general
line and took the title of King, The
way TO the throne was cleared
for him hv the assassination of his
father in 1919 he had a rival. but. aS
the master Of the army Is the master
OF the Kingdom Prince Anlanullah sat.
Did MS rlval by four 80 one in the mat
ter ef army pay, ana became Amir
He immediately celebrated his al
vent by declaring VAR ON India. R9e
The northwest frcntier Is a most awk-
ward barrier Go set over, and the British
military machine Is always waiting Oh
the other side 70 take the invader at ar