TEMPTATIONS OF CAIRO

Marlborough Express, Volume XLIX, Issue 136, 11 June 1915, Page 6

TEMPTATIONS OF CAIRO

INTERVIEW WITH A RETURNED

CHAPLAIN.

TRIBUTE TO THE BEHAVIOR OF NEW ZEALANDERS.

DIFFICULTIES OF RESCUE

WORK

The Hot. Guy/ Thortani, one of the chaplains with the forces, who has retm-ned to Auckland from Egypt, and is proceeding to Trentham, preparatory to his return to Alexandria or the Dardanelles, gave some interesting information to a. reporter with regard to the nature of a chaplain's task in 'Cairo. After a reference to the elaborateness of the Cairo Campj both in regard to equipment and the commissariat, Captain Thornton explained that he had mainly been engaged on rescue work in connection with the many temptations that befel oar men when they arrived in Cairo. ".There are three main influences that make for the. existing evil condition of things in Cairo," he continued. "In the first place the.war has caused thousands of undesirable characters 'to iioek into Cairo from Port Said, Alexandria, Paris, and even Algeria. Secondly, the Mohammedan religion has been jargely responsible for the immorality existing there. Mohammedanism stands everywhere for the degradation of womanhood! Divorce is easily obtainable. For instance, if a man finds that his soup bar. too little or too much salt, it is as ground for divorcing his wife. .lie only has- to pronounce ' I divorce you ' three times, amd the divorce is accomplished. Tiio woman has no option but to go, and no means of earning her livelihood, save one. The third oauso is the liquor trade. Almost every shop in Cairo sells liquor in some shape or form. Scotch whisky, made in Egypt, is s'.old at about three-hnli-penee of our money per glusr>. Unfortunately, in a great many instances tire whisky was drugged. I had am analysis made of one bottle, and found it to be an unmentionable product.

"On the whole it was only to be expected' thai among the several thousain<l New Zealand troops there would be a certain proportion of undesirables, but to condemn the whole lot for the conduct of a comparatively small tnumber is absolutely un-

reasonable. Our men's conduct on Lhe «lio:e was splendid. One cannot deny that a certain proportion of the men succi.'inbe<l:ix> the novel temptations t'> which' they were' exposed. Seeing that they earner from the cleanest spot morally on the earth and o-ntered what is perhaps the worst city in the world, the wonder is not so much that many fell, but that so many -fellows came through with their.'reputations untarnished." Speaking of the-drugging of the drink that is systematically carried on in the city, Captain Thornton said that it was, of course, dono 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 Ninety-nine cases out of a hundred of the men who went wrong were due to drugged drink. Hinder those circumstances rescue woik was attended with the greatest difficulties. The chaplains had to literally light their way into the dens •of the bad characters of the city to rescue decent young fellows, declared Captain Thornton, and he grimly pointed to the evidences of conflicts of this character in the healed scars on his hands. ' Asked what steps were taken by the military aulhorities^to warn the troops of the .datngers of the city. I the chaplain said "that everything that could be done in the shape _ of preventing the men becoming victims of the vice of the city was done. The officers, chaplains, and medical men of the city worked to this end. No boy went into trouble through ignorance, but either through sheer "cussedness" 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 iii operation, and had the effect of preventing notion against tho offenders at every tuna. Corruption was everywhere rife, so that it was well-nigh impossible to put a stop to the drink and durggirig evils. Now, however, the position was changed, and at the time he left Egypt the r.nthpl-ities were taking action to cope v with the drink question. Captain!'Thornton /added/ that- ho mentioned' tJjese::-things -'so' that the men who would be leaving the" Dominion for Egypt would be fully warned, and would be wise enough to profit Tby the experience of others. As a tribute to the conduct of most "of the men, he mentioned that the troops were in tbe best of condition before leaving for the Davda-nellr-s. Never theirs?, something should be 'lone to prevent enlistments under the preseriKd age, for mere boys simply .coukl not stand the strain of continuous training.