CAIRO.

Feilding Star, Volume XI, Issue 2740, 11 June 1915, Page 4

CAIRO.

ITS EVILS AND TEMPTATIONS,

WHAT A RETURNED CHAPLAIN SAYS. TRIBUTE TO BEHAVIOUR OF NEW ZEALANDERS. DIFFICULTIES OF RESCUE WORK

Tlio Ror. Ciuy Thornton, one of the chaplains with the forces, who has roturned to Auckland from Egypt (ho proceeds to Trenthanj preparatory to his return to Alexandria or the Darnolles) gave some interesting information to a Star representative with regard to tho nature of a chaplain's task in Cairo.

After a reference to the elaborateness of tho Cairo Cam i>, both in regard to equipment and the commissariat. Captain Thornton explained that ho had mainly been engaged on rescue work in connection with the many temptations that befell our men when they arrived in Cairo. "There are three main influences that make for tho existing evil condition of things in Cairo," ho continued. "In the first place the Avar has caused thousands of undesirable characters to flock into Cairo from Port Said, Alexandria, Paris, and even Algeria. Secondly, tho Mohammedan religion has been largely responsible for the immorality existing there. Mohammedanism stands everywhere for tho _ degradation of womanhood. Divorce is easily obtainable. For instance, if a man finds, that his soup has too little or too much salt, it; is a ground,for divorcing his wife. He only has to pronounce " I divorce you ' three times and the divorce is accomplished. The woman has no option but to go, and she lias no redress, and no moans of earning her livelihood, save one. Tho third cause is the liquor trade. Almost every shop in Cairo sells liquor in some" shape or form. Scotch whisky, made in Egypt, is sold at about three-halfpence of our money per glass. Unfortunately in a great many instances the whisky was drugged. I had an analysis made or one bottle, and found it to be an uiimentionablo product.

On the whole, it was only to he expected tlmt among the several thousand New Zealand troops tliero wot , .'! bo a certain proportion of undesirables, Imt to condemn the whole lot for the conduct of a comparatively small number is absolutely unreasonable. Our men's conduct on the whole was splendid. One cannot deny that a certain proportion of them succumbed to tlio novel temptations to which they were, exposed. Seeing that they came from the cleanest spot morally on tho earth and entered what is perhaps the worst city in the world, tho wonder is not so much that many fell, but that so many fellows came through with the>ir reputations untarnished. Speaking or the drugging of the drink that is systematically carried on in the city, Captain Thornton sa'id that it was, of course, done with a. specific object. One drug used was for the purpose of assisting the traffic in another form of vice. Others quickly made men mad drunk or rendered the victim partly unconscious, and made him an easy prey to robbers. N'inoty-nine cases out of a hundred of the men who went wrong wore due to drugged drink. Under those circumstances rescue work was attended with the greatest difficulties; Tho chaplains had to literally iifiht their way into the dens of the bad character's to rescue decent young fellows, declared Captain Thornton, and he grimly pointed to the evidence of conflicts of this character in the healed scars on his hands. Asked what steps were taken by the military authorities to warn the troops of the dangers of the city, the chaplain saiid that everything that could bo done in the shape of preventing the men becoming victims of the vico of the city was done. The officers, chaplains, and medical men of the pity worked to this end. No boy went into trouble through ignorance, but either through sheer 'enssedness' or drink, in nearly every case through the latter. Unfortunately the_ authorities were not in a position to adopt root remedies at tho outset, owing to the fact that the capitulations were still in operation, and had the effect of preventing action against the offenders at every turn. Corruption was everywhere rife, so that it was well nigh 'impossible to put a stop to the drink and drugging evils. Now, however, the position was changed, and at the time he left Egypt the authorities were taking action to cope with the drink question.

Captain Thornton added that he mentioned these tilings so that the men who would bo leaving the Domi'i.on for Egypt would be fully warned, and would be wise enough to proiit by the experience of others. As a. tribute to the conduct of most of the men, he mentioned that_ flic troops were in the host of condition before leaving for the Dardanelles. Nevertheless, something should lie clone to prevent enlistments under the proscribed age, for mere boys simply could not stand the strajn of continuous training.