The Coolidge examiner., 1935-11-29

men opportunities of advancement
and adventure, beyond that border
land known as the Zone Of Securi-
ty. One can imagine the attrac-
tiOn of such a life for man
grown tired of his bOulevards and
the charms of an overripe civiliza
ton: but it is closely sealed.
1t is not very difficult to have
your throat cut if you cross that
line. The rekkas, or secret mes
sengers of France, faithful to their
salt, frequently endure that fate.
Nameless, unknown, they perish,
leaving no ripple behind them.
But the sands of this colored and
attractive life are running out, and
short of another European war or
some violent uprising in Asia, the
triumph of France seems assured.
None the. less, these last pages of
her story remain romantic enough !;
telling a tale of policy and arms,
fanaticism and pride; of resistance,
surrender, and swift revolt, that
await a scribe.
But France in Morocco has not
produced her Kipling. One doubts if
she ever will. One great traveller
she has produced, the Vicomte de
FOucauld; and one administrator
of genius, the Marechal Lyautey,
grown white-haired and old in the
service of France.
Those Who Serve France.
All kinds of people have taken a
hand in this adventure; crafty and
ambitious chieftains and fighting
prophets; smooth diplomatists and
hard-hitting commanders of the For
eign Legion; Christians, infidels
and Jews; generals as lean as their
swOrds-trempes, as they say-tem-
pered, by life in the Sahara
friends in their youth of De Fou-
cauld and Laperrine; realists yet
mystics like the people of the desert
themselves, and quite the best kind
of man you can hope to meet In
northern Africa; meharists of the
camel corps who swagger about in
their vast white pantaloons; flight
commanders who cross the Atlas,
dropping bombs upon the gathering
tribes, and making new maps from
the air; royal princes with an urge
for adventure drummers and army
contractors out for pelf; ladies of
high rank and great virtue, and la
dies of many charms who possess
neither; innkeeperS and cantiniers :;
French children who become the at
tached companions of retired die
hards; drivers of armored cars and
lorries sprung from half the ma
tions of Europe, with weird person
al histories, and a knack of eXtri-
eating themselves from every ad-
venture, or dying game; literary
gentlemen whose home is in Paris
and whose public resides in France; +;
ons-scientifiques; hydrologists; !;
deputies of the French Republic,
shepherded in flights; newspaper
men, unwelcomes; marshals of
France, with famous names; the
resident general Of Morocco him
self, carefully guarded and sur
rounded with pomp and ceremonial
observance; and something like 30
600 legionnaires (mostly Germans)
who, having no country of their
own. fight for that strange thing
the Honor Of the LegiOn-and do
the work of France for a few cents
day; Ishmaelites all.
Berbers in Opposition.
Upon the other side, and almost
as quiXotic, is their friend the Dis
sident, who provides the occasion
and the battle ground for all this
adventure; a queer chap, with an
odd love of freedom and of his ma
tive hills, a bit of a trOubadOur ;
somewhat of a patriot and fighter
for the Faith; gallant, truculent,
treacherous, and cruel; but always
very much of a man, with a keen
sense of humor allied with a strict
attention to business. Awhile ago
he raised a laugh throughout Mo-
rocco by stealing two carefree gen
tlemen of the resident generals
household with their respective la
dies; and returning them, little
damaged, in exchange for five mil
lion francs and a gramophOne of
the very latest design, with all re-
cent improvements, duly specified.
The Berbers, to whose category
he belongs, have always been 'agin"
whatever government there has
been in the land; willing, as gentle
men, to follow any great leader
to plunder and war; unwilling to
follow anyone for long; the real
nucleus of the Moslem armies who
conquered Spain, and near of kin
to those who marched across thp