Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 299, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 December 1918 — Afghanistan-A Buffer State [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Afghanistan-A Buffer State

Afghanistan is a buffer state and a prize Germany would like to control. Ifor it lis a broad door -to India. The entente-versus-Teuton contest for its adherence is a gamble as delicate as the spin of a wheel. This contest may turn on a single throw of the dice. It is not a question of Influencing public sentiment through a thousand and one approaches, any one of which may be abandoned if proved a mistake without jeopardizing the other thousand, writes Basanta Koomar Boy in Asia. The stakes are laid on the personality of one individual —the Amir of Afghanistan. He is astute, ambitious, conscious of the balance of power he holds, and not unlearned in the art of watfhing the turn of world events. If this is soil for intrigue and influence, pretty gamble between the Briton and the Germap, which at one period Of the war was at high tension, can hardly be considered finally settled, though the British claim that the game is much in" their favor at the present time. Next to Turkey, Afghanistan is the strongest country in the Mohammedan world. It is, like Switzerland, a mountain fastness, and this has given it its independence as a buffer state. Its people are fierce fighters, a quality the British Baj had occasion to test in the two Afghan wars of 1840-41 and 1878-79. The dangerous nature of the country’s topography was also discovered at this time. Afg6anistan ? has an area of 250,000 square miles, inside which both Germany and Bulgaria could easily be placed. The population is 6,000,000, or as , large as that of Holland. The Aimaks, Ghllzais, Hazara, Kafirs, Pathans, Tojjks and the Uzbegs are the principal races of the population. The great majority of the Afghans are Mohammedans of the Sunni sect, but there is no such bitter animosity between the Shias and the Sunnis as between these sects in India. The . Afghan chronicles call the people BenlIsrall, and the people claim descent from Saul, whom they call Talmut. Nine years after the proclamation of the mission of Mohammed, the Afghans sent a deputation under Kais to Medina. The members of the deputation were converted to Mohammedanism. On their return home, the Afghans embraced the new faith, And even today high-caste Afghans feel proud to claim descent from Kais. Afflhah Has Fine Characteristics.

The Afghan is of a remarkable race. With long beard and flowing hair, he walks with majestic step. He is kind, hospitable, grateful. He will do anything for- a benefactor, but is correspondingly severe with the treacherous, or avowed ehetnies. He is hand- 4 some, hard-working, ahd capable of during long He has tne desperr*e fearlessness oYThe'Uurkah —a terrible fighter—amj the strong, sinewy and stalwart physique of the Sikh. He is a-bornrttbrseman, an excellent shot, and uncompromisingly fatalistic. He is exceedingly and guards the freedom and the honrir of his country as guards the honor of hisvn/ewjywives, as the case may be. H(s fatalism, physical strengfaHP' Patriotic fervor make him. a spfijhdid soldier. / Agriculture is the main occupation of the people. They have a remarkable system of irrigation, and every acre of fertile land is under cultivation. The products of the farms include Wheat, barley,, rice, lentils, tobacco, millet, sugar Cane, lumber, cotton, grapes, castdr-oil seeds, berries. Industry is undeveloped, yet the country is rich in mineral resources, particularly iron and coal; gold, silver, copper and lead; antimony, sulphur. Th.- industries include the making of carpets, felts, silks and articles from goats* and camels’ hair. Afghanistan Imports every year from India a total of $2,721,000 worth of goods; her imports from Bokhara alone reach to $2,000,000. Exports to India amount to $4,035,000. ’ >. < it is a Paternal Monarchy. The government of Afghanistan is an absolute, but a paternal, monarchy. The Amir is the executive and the judicial head of the state. He has a council which is composed of Mohammedan priests, noblemen and the representatives of the people. This council is divided Into an upper and lower house. He has cabinet ministers, but none is permitted to give any advice unless asked for it But, quite unlike

the custom of the kings of the West, this absolute monarch of Afghanistan is accessible even to the humblest peasant of the kingdom for redress of wrongs. The Kazis act as judges. It may be noted here that drinking liq■uor .is absolutely forbidden in Afghanistan, and violation may be punished by death. _ • Afghanistan has no outlet to the sea and hence no navy. But the paramount factor in it* life is its state of military preparedness. Out of political and military chaos a new Afghanistan has been created by the supreme genius of Abdur Bahman, the, late father of the present Amir, He fought his way to the throne of Afghanistan, and immediately after his recognition set himself to reorganizing the scattered forces of the army. He hired Turkish officers to train his officers and to drill his men. He built forts all over his kingdom, especially along its frontiers. He established arsenals, two of which, those at Kabul and Herat, were under German military experts for some time. Abdur Bahman used his subsidy money in buying guns, rifles and munitions of war from the British. He built storehouses throughout his kingdom for storing foidstuffs to be used only in cases of emergency. He built strategic roads—though there Is not a single mile of railroad in Afghanistan—over some of the almost impassable parts of his mountain kingdom.

Fortified Pass Near Afghanistan Border.