The Coolidge examiner., 1932-10-21

Society. Washington. ID. u
ONNU Service)
FRENCH Morocco is becoming
oil conscious. Preliminary bOr-
ings near the town of Mekinex
nave shown such promise that mod
ern machinery which will drill to
great depths has been ordered.
French Morocco, though streaked
with the rugged heights of both the
High Atlas and the Anti-Atlas noun
tains, and dotted with vast dry
plains and deserts which give a
large part of it's area a forbidding
aspect, has several large cities of
great commercial and political i'm
portance in northern Africa.
Casablanca and Rabat are the
leading coast towns and handle a
large part of the colony's sea trade.
Casablanca was founded by the Por-
tuguese about a decade before Co
lumbus discovered America, but the
newcomers held it only a short time
until the natives routed them and
set up a Moslem stronghold. Casa
blanca was occupied by the French
in 1907 and began Improvements
that have made it the show city of
Morocco.
From a city with a population
equal to that of Elgin, ILL.,, Casa
blanca has grown by leaps and
bounds until it now has nearly as
many inhabitants as Kansas City,
Mo. The pedestrian could easily i'm
agine himself in a European city
were it not for the Africans of the
midnight black, chocolate brown and
tan compilations. One-half the in
habitants are Moslems; slightly
more than a third are French, Span
ish and Italian, and other Europe
ans. and the rest are Jews.
The price of a room in one of
Casablanca's hotels not only affords
European comforts but also the
equivalent of a ring-side circus seat.
An automobile rolls by with a pros
porous French business man or
fez-bedecked Turkish merchant;
wealthy Sheiks stroll along in their
flowing white garments and tight
turbanS, holding each others hands
dignified French officers in medal
bedecked uniforms are OuSted from
the paths of little grain-laden don
keys with barefoot MoOrs astride.
and now and then. plOdding along
in awkward fashion, three or four
mOth-eaten, cud chewing camels
pass by, often followed closely by a
small future 'ship Of the desert"
Thickly sprinkled among this
seething mass of humanity of vari-
Gus breeds and blends, are the ever
present noisy street hawkers, dart
ing here and there with their home
made rugs, sweetmeats. hammered
brassware. and "whatnots."
Bad Harbor Was Made Safe.
Why France poured a fortune
into Casablanca was a mystery to
Europe. 1t had one of the worst
natural harbOrs on the coast. The
low rocky shore lay open to the
strong west winds and the lashing
waves of the Atlantic. No river
runs through the city to the ocean.
But the appropriation was partly
used for the construction of break
waters and harbOr improvements
that have been dominant factors in
the city's development to the second
largest city in the prOtectOrate.
Ocean-going vessels that anchored
perilously off the coast can enter
Casablan:a's port today.
Casablanca also has electric lights
and power and modern waterwOrkS.
Railroads now connect the city with
Morocco Marrakesh), the capital
Of the prOtectorate and North At
rican points. Daily air service is
maintained between CaSablanca and
Toulouse, France, and planes fly
every two weeks to Oran.
Rabat was built almost 800 years
ago by the labor of 10000 Chris
tian slaves. The city is located on
the northwestern coast adjacent to
the old city of Sale, former lair of
cnrSairs.
There are two present-day Ra-
bats. French Rabat and the native
town. French Rabat is like hit
of transplanted Europe. It has wide
streets and smart little villas like
those of the Riviera In its streets
are women wearing Partisan clothes.
business men in sack suits and