Evening Star Newspaper, December 23, 1928, Page 8

8 ® SOVIET IS LINKED T0 AFGHAN REVOLT Outbreak Is Disturbing Fac-| tor in London and Mos- cow Relations. BY WARRE B. WELLS. . and the New York By R THbune. CopyFisht 108, LONDON, December 22.—With Af- ghanistan, the land of fanatical priests and fiery tribesmen, and a buffet state between India and Soviet Russia, aflame with revolt against King Amanullah, not only does the fate of the royal reformer and his beautiful consort, Queen Souriya, hang in the balance, but a new disturbing factor s injected into the world-wide clash between London and Moscow. The uprising is a tragic commentary on the reforming zeal of an intelligent monarch. Thirty-six-year-old ing | Amanullah returned to his capital, | Kabul—the historical key city to West- ern Asia, through which all the great conquerors have passed—from his pic- turesque European tour & few months ago with a passionate desire fully shared by his Queen not merely to westernize his still half savage country, but to civilize it and give it a place in the sun. Religious Leaders Fight. Amanullah believed firmly that what Mustapha Kemal had done for Turkey he could do for Afghanistan. But the | royal reformer forgot the great differ- ences in tradition and environment be- tween the Turk and the Afghan. Life | in Afghanistan—a fanatical state—is so bound up with religious customs that every reform introduced is necessarily & blow to the religious leaders. Local mullahs or priests have been for centuries not only the advisers but to a great extent the real rulers of the people. The King’s decrees ordering the wearing of Euorpean dress, the use of seats and the abolition of national and Moslem = headdress, although small changes to the Western eyes, are, in the opinion of the conservative Afghans, most revolutionary and sweeping re- forms that could have ‘been devised. The chief cause of the Islamic die- | hards’ revolt, however, is the abanden- ment of the purdah or seclusion for women, with Queen Souriya herself setting an example. The removal of the seclusion of Moslem womeén aims the greatest blow so far. launched against the rigid teachings of the Koran. The mullahs naturally oppose decrees which if imposed- would break forever their power and influence and even their livelihood. The attempt of Amanullah to make his subjects don hats and take seats instead of squatting while their women coincidentally doff the veil and their daughters are sent to school has run up against another snag which the ‘Turkish dictator, whose methods the Afghan King sought to emulate, had not taken into account. He has not only underestimated the obstinate re- sistance of the semi-independent tribal | chieftains and the immense power of the priestly caste. Army Fails Him. He has also been unable to rely, as could Mustapha Kemal, upon the sup- gun. of the army for the imposition of is will. The Turkish dictator is wor- shiped as a national liberator and he held and still holds the army in the hollow of his hand. The Afghan King, on the other hand, in his zeal for the expansion, education, provision for hos- pitals and medical services, road making and other amenities of civilization, has allowed the army appropriations to fall in arrears and the underpaid troops appear to some extent.to have failed him at the critical moment of the clash between the modernist royal reformer and in the insurgents flying the banner of the conservative Moslem reaction. Britain’s interest in the clash is not limited to a concern for the fate of the forceful and sanguine Oriental monarch and his attractive consort, who seem cast for the role of reformers before their time, but also extends to the pos- sible international reactions from the struggle between the King and his re- volting subjects. This country has learned from bitter experience that the passions which are aroused in Afghan feuds are liable not to be confined to Afghan affairs. There is hostility to the Turks and the Rus- sians, the former of whom are not only credited with being the inspiration of the King's social and religious reforms, but supplied a military mission which is reorganizing the army in connection with the hated conscription, while So- viet airmen are training an air service which has been used to bomb rebellions and tribesmen. S iacuisg DEATH IS HELD SUICIDE. Coroner Detects Poison in Glass by Dead Man's Bed. Because Coroner J. Ramsey Nevitt detected the odor of poison in a glass by the bedside of a dead man, he yes- terday issued a certificate of suicide in the death Wednesday of Crawford Bennie, 57, of 5735 Ninth street. Bennie, a Bureau of Engraving and Printing employe, was found dead in bed by his wife. The family physician refused to issue a certificate. Dr. Nevitt found a glass by Benl’fle'sI bed, which bore the odor of a deadly poison, it is said. Yesterday, a report on the chemical analysis of the dead man’s stomach confirmed Dr. Nevitt's poison theory. He then issued a cer- tificate of suicide. latives of Bennie were unable to ascribe any motive for his act. For the convenience of our friends and patrons we will be open Sunday, Dec. 23 From 10 AM. to 3P.M. ENN Electric Co. 911 7th St. N.W. Main 512 Genuine EDISON Mazda CHRISTMAS TREE SETS $1.75 Lol For Outdoor Decoration $2:10 to #4:20 Set % MUDDIMAN § 709 13th St. N. W. Main 140-6436 Moslem | h m SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C. DECEMBER 923, 1928—PART Y. POLICE BREAKING UP STILL REBELS REPULSED IN AFGHAN BATTLE London Disquieted by Re- of Women From Kabul. By the Assoclated Press. PESAWAR, India, December 22.— Fighting was going on today in the vi- cinity of Kabul, capital of Afghanistan. It is believed that the rebels were re- pulsed. Communications were restored this afternoon between this city and the British legation, just outside Kabul, which apparently had been within the sphere of military operations during the last few days. All is quiet in Dakka City, but Jalala- bad still is closely besieged. The dis- orders in the vicinity of the capital have prevented the relief of Jalalabad. The Siks at Lalpura brought their sacred book, the Granth Sahib, here today for safe keeping. At New Delhi today it was said that For correct time D JEWELERS ADOLPH KAHN President ports Concerning Evacuation | Officers E. H. Rhue and D. J. Murphy breaking up a still at 210 Taylor street which was disclosed when fircmen responded to a fire alarm from the —Star Staff Photo. STILL BLAMED FOR FIRE. Officers Discover 1,500 Gallons of Mash After Blaze. An exploding 'still was blamed for starting & fire at 210 Taylor street yesterday afternoon. After the flames had been extinguished, police of No. 10 precinet discovered 1,500 gallons of mash in barrels. Firemen of No. 24 Engine Company, who responded to a phone call that the building was on fire, succeeded in con- fining the flames to one room on the second floor. No one was in the house when the firemen arrived. legation tomorrow by the British air forces. London Disquieted. LONDON, December 22 (#).—A brief dispatch from New Delhi, India, to- night, announcing that the Afghan government had consented to tthe evac- uation of British and Indian women by air from Kabul, revived disquietude concerning the actual situation in the capital of Afghanistan. All previous dispatches had repre- sented the staff of the British lega- tion as safe and not especially anxious, which seemed to agree with the Afghan official reports reaching London that the rebels had been driven from the capital toward the north. While a dispatch from Pheshawar today said the Afghan government had agreed to | that renewed fighting had occurred at the removal of all British and Indian | Kabul, again it was said that the rebels women and children from the Kabul had been repelled. tune In on Station WMAL at 7:30 P.M. ea uring the ‘dsy iclepbone Frankiin sgo Cch eTenin® PLATINUMSMITHS DIAMONDS AND Other Precious Stones Members of Amsterdam Diamond Exchange of.ofahncIne. Thirty-siz Years at 935F Street J. 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Ex- sellent quality—all colors, for 79¢ $1.25 Extra Size Rayon Bloom- ers. Attractive color assort- ment, for 98c 98c Silk Brassiere and Garter Set in lovely pastel shades, for 49¢ Children’s Gloves e e Wool Gloves, for .... 340 service 12th and G Streets N. W. (Entrance 1202 G Street) PAST AND PRESENT AGES LINKED IN SMALL SOUTH AMERICAN AREAS Wide Variety of peoples Inhabit Continent. U. S. Natives Have Colonies in Many Cities. By Cable to The Star and the New York Between some countries we visited and erald Tribune. BUENOS AIRES, December 22. Except that we have cut across the southern end of the continent by land, the Hoover party has come close to cir- cumnavigating South America. Of the many impressions one of the most per- sistent is its size, its variety, its gamut, so to speak, and consequently the im- possibility of speaking about Latin America as a whole and the danger of making generalizations about it. The reader at home can visualize the con- | dition by applying it to a situation closer to himself, by considering tl_\e frequently unrealized variety of his own continent of North America. Imagine circumnavigating ~North America. Imagine starting at the tip of the Aleutian Islands, where the Indians live by hunting and fishing. Imagine going down our West Coast, past Alaska, Canada, Oregon, Califor- nia, on past Mexico and Central Amer- ica 'to the tropical Panama Canal. Go- ing north on the east side, imagine passing Nicaragua, Vera Cruz, Florida, New York City, on past the mouth of the St. Lawrence and Quebec, up be- yond Labrador to the land of the Eskimos. People Are Not One. The reader at home who visualizes that picture will understand the im- possibility of thinking of “North Amer- icans” as a whole or as a type. In fact, | South America has a greater area and more difference than North America. indeed between some parts of the same country there are differentes of 20,000 feet in altitude, of 50 degrees in lati- tude, of 100 degrees in the extremes of temperature, and of more than 1,000 years in civilization. An airplane pilot who reguiarly starts at the sufficiently modern city of Lima to carry mail to the eastern border of Peru complains that at the close of his day's journey he is annoyed by the Indians shooting arrows against the wings of his airplane. Always at each stop in South Amer- ica one event of the ceremonies was a reception to Mr. and Mrs. Hoover by what in each city is called “the Ameri- can colony.” In each city Mr. and Mrs. Hoover stood at the end of the room shaking hands with a moving file of men and women with the features and bearing of the familiar American type, while each spoke a few words to Hoover saying he had come from Connecticut or Ohio or Iowa and that he had been “down here” this or that many years. With each Mr. and Mrs. Hoover ex- change a few words about a mutual acquaintance with some person or some other old association “back home.” Al- ways some one of the American colony announced with pride tempered per- haps with homesickness that he was the “dean of the American colony,” having been down here since 1889 or some earlier or later date. The size of the group from home varied in each city. In Buenos Aires it was estimated to be about 3,500. In Santiago, Chile, it seemed about 200. In several South American and Central American countries, though not in Ar- gentina, the Americans hold posts as employes of the local governments, chosen to introduce expert experience Into the various services. In Ecuador there is an American ex- pert in the collection of customs duties and another in the collection of in- ternal taxes. In several countries there are Americans employed by the govern- ment to inaugurate banking systems or manage the stabilization of the cur- rency. In Peru the navy is administered by [ some former officers of the United States Navy, and a teacher from South Carolina is high in the department of public education. Several South Amer- ican governments have employed ex- perts from the United States tc study their banking and currency systems and suggest reforms. The bulk, however, of each American colony consists of fam- ilies of men who have gone to South America as representatives of busine: firms and corporations. _Practical: always there is a local office of t Standard Oil Co. and such concerns as the United States Steel Corporation, the International Harvester Co., Goodyear and other rubber companies. ‘The General Electric and Westing- house have considerable staffs engaged in the electrification which is going on rapidity in nearly every part of Latin America. In Argentina the General Motors Co. has a staff large enough to include such officials as a managing director, manager of analysis, division manager, acceptance division, sales manager and what not. Several New York banks and trust companies have hn%omm branches manned by large staffs. American Insurance Companies. One learns that some South Ameri- can countries have laws requiring that three-fourths or some similar percen- tage of the employes of business houses from the United States shall be citi- zens of the country in which the branch is located. In nearly every country the oldest il \\\ \.11\1“.‘ " 7 American business is likely to be some one of our insurance companies. Oc- casional representatives of American business have been in South America more than one generation, have raised their families here, ard_feel more at home here than Indiana or other American State of their origin. To some families from the United States there is an awkward complica- tion. Several South American coun- tries require compulsory military serv- ice from their citizens and not infre- quently the question arises whether the son of an American family is of Amer- ican citizenship or is under the juris- diction of the country in which he was ™. Sometimes a boy of American birth is eager for the experience of military training while his American mother may feel otherwise. Apparently there is a necessity for such youths to make a decision about the time they are 18 as to whether they shall’ regard themselves as American citizens or as fifltizem of the country in which they ve. Among the Americans met here I do not happen to have seen any “adven- turer” in the wrong sense, though we met some adventurers in the good sense. The difference between the two types comes mainly down to one word, “pooze.” One runs across American youths of the finest kind who are here on adventure in the good and fruitful sense. One that I met was raised in Oklahoma, sold cash registers in Texas, tired of that, worked his passage to South America, worked a year in a ranch in remotest Pategonia, worked another several months in the timber lands along Bolivia, works now in an office in Buenos Aires and expects to acquire further acquaintance with South America by getting a job in the upper Amazon. Romantic Type Gone. In the case of a well-developed coun- try like the Argentine, with a rich eco- nomic life, it is probably safe for the young American to arrive without any money. But that might be a perilous experiment in some of the west coast sountries where economic life is scantier and less fecund in quick opportunity. (Copyright, 1928.) 18; HOURS Washington to Florida The only Double Track Railroad between the North and Florida FROM WASHINGTON The Miamian Gulf Coast Ltd. 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