Evening star., 1939-11-18
Moorish Standard
Of Living Is Rising
Under French
Consumption Of Goods
Boosted as Mines
Produce Wealth
By M. w. FODOR,

CASAbLANCA, MOTOCcO. - NItI-
many once sought Morocco because
Herr Mannesmann, one of the ia
nous Rhenish iron masters, sus-
pected that this North African land
must be as rich in iron ore as Is
Algiers. Mannesmann would be dis
appointed now. The iron ore pro-
duction of Morocco is comparatively |
insignificant. 1t was $1,000 tons in
1897 and less than 100000 tons in
1898.
But a great number of minerals |
were found which are highly i'm
portant not only to France, but even
to the United States. Morocco is
probably the United States chief |
supplier of molybdenum, a rare
metal important for high-speed steel
and certain alloy manufactures. The
biggest discovery were the phos
pilates.
In prehistoric times Morocco was
apparently covered by the Atlantic,
but after cataclysm Moroccan
lands came to the surface and the
phosphorus of the millions of dead |
fishes supplied what are now the
worlds most important phosphate |
resources. The production of these |
phosphates has reached more than |
t50000,000 tons and these phoS-
pilates are even more valuable than !
iron ore
Mines Numerous Near Sai.
extensive and in the harbor of Safl |
the phosphate mills make the sur
roundingS yellow. If one goes down !
to the forbidden military area where !
only wild tribesmen and the Foreign !
Legion feel at home. he will also !.
find these phosphate mines What |
is more, he will find manganese ,
mines. Last year the Moroccan !
mines yielded 10000 tons of this /
valuable ore. Then there is also lead, !
zinc, antimony, molybdenum, cobalt .
and nickel
Huge motor lorries carry these /
ores from the desert into the port
of Casablanca and ships take them
all over the world.
But the French have raised the
standard of the Moroccans in other
ways. The achievements in hy-
giene and sanitation rank among
the finest pioneering works in the
colonial world. Morocco. with her ,
crowded capital, FeZ. and with her !
other large cities, was a hotbed of |
germs and diseases. Arab histories
mention so major epidemics between
the years 1867 The worst of !
these epidemics seems to have been
that Of 1873 when, after an invasion |
OF locusts in the Sous districts of the !
south famine broke out, resulting in
cholera and typhoid fever and caus-
ing the death of 100000 people.
The French have conducted a !
thorough campaign against epidem- |
les. Dlspensaries and hospitals We're
constructed by 1896, the consulta-
tons at these dispensaries had to-
tailed more than 100000. In Is |
years 100000 inoculations against |
smallpox were administered.
Veterinary services attempted to
assure the safety of the cattle and
other animals. About 100000 ami
mails are vaccinated every year
while 100000 sheep are bathed
against parasitic diseases. Today
the Moroccan lands possess over
100000 cattle, 100000 sheep, S.
100000 goats and 100000 camels.
Consumption Of Goods Rises.
Thanks to French colonizing ef-
forts the consumption of goods
among the natives has risen con-
siderably BY 1906 $40 ships had vis
tied the Moroccan harbors. BY 1906
also imports and exports had jointly
amounted to 24000,OOO French
francs. BY 1888 the export total
had reached 100000 900 francs and
imports had risen above 1000, ,O0O,-
600 francs. In 1908 the Moroccan
population consumed four pounds
OF sugar per head per year. Today
this figure has risen to 66 pounds
per head.
An important chapter in Marshal
Lyautey's work in Morocco is the
organization of property rights. Be
Tore the French protectorate had
been established the kadi Geligious
judge decided questions of wills
or lnheritances on the basis of the
Koran and of his own Judgment.
Lyautey in a circular addressed to
the paShas and caids of the dis
tricts established the registrati ton of
properties.
The Habous, or the properties of
Mohammedan church. was another
question which was ingeniously
solved by Lyautey. The heritages
OF Mohammedan saints and of re-
llglolls foundations were wasted in a
terrible way in the old days. The
revenues of the Habous have in
creased from $4,000 francs in 1912 to
almost 100000 francs in our days.
With these increased revenues i'm
portant public works could be car
RED through, such as, for example.
the sewage system in the Medina
quarters) of the Moroc-
cos ancient capital, Fez.
tCopyright. 1889, Chicago Daily News. Inc |
(week Annor