AFGHAN MUSSOLINI

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 300, 10 March 1928, Page 10

AFGHAN MUSSOLINI

AMANULLAH’S STERN RULE EASTERN MONARCH’S METHODS The King of Afghanistan, who is about to visit England, is learning rapidly the ways of the Western world. When he drove in state through the streets of Cairo at the side of his host, King Fuad, he no longer acknowledged the salutes of the populace by standing his motor-car and waving his ing in his motor-car and waving his he did in Bombay. He sat in the rigidly upright pose of an old soldier, saluting constantly with a smile, but showing the dignity of a European monarch. They say in th© bazaars of Kabul (but in whispers) that Amanullah the King, whose name means “Peace of God,” is more like the lightning of God; one never knows when and where he is about to strike, says Sir Percival Phillips in the “Daily Mail.” They say

also that it is well to be diligent in everyday affairs, for the beggar in rags who pauses inquiringly at the door may be the All Highest himself cunningly disguised for the confusion of loose livers and all lazy men. Whether th© King of Afghanistan actually roams through his capital in disguise, as his people believe, is a question which the Court Circular declines to answer and courtiers dare not. But it may well be so. His Afghan Majesty stops at nothing in his ceaseless quest for information and his desire for national progress. He has shown in some ways many of the characteristics of Haround-al-Raschid. What is more ominous for his easygoing kingdom, he is showing many others which have hitherto been associated with that other worshipper of the god Efficiency—Mussolini. A Model of Efficiency The two have much in common. The same tireless energy, the same implacable hatred of corrupt officialdom, the same ruthless demand for honest effort in public and private life, the same disregard for red tape, the same desire to develop their country industrially, commercially, and agriculturally, the same conviction that every man must “do his bit”—and the determination to-see that he does—the same policy of prompt rewards and swift punishments. In race, religion and mentality they are as far apart as the poles. Yet when they meet in Rome they will find themselves curiously in His Majesty Amanullah is as manysided a man as Mussolini. He not only exercises kingcraft as the East knows it in dispensing justice with an iron hand, he adds to this accomplishment certain Western attributes which astonish his subjects. He has a disconcerting taste for mathematics —witness the new Budget —and for law —witness the new criminal code —he practically edits the only newspaper in Kabul, has made himself an authority on men’s dress, is a real estate agent, runs a hotel for tourists, takes an unusual interest in mineralogy, and can talk knowingly on the extension of trade and industry with any foreign promoter. Too Knowing He is patron of a broadcasting station, yet keeps a Court jester. He breaks a Minister with a word, yet likes to deliver speeches two and a-half hours long to an audience of awed villagers. (Can you imagine any man leaving before he sits down?) He knows all about road building, yet until recently he had never seen a railway train. His knowledge of Western culture and ways is derived entirely from pictures and conversations, yet he ha? as definite ideas on town planning, education and even the construction o£ formal gardens as any life-long dweller in Europe. Little wonder the bazaars regard him with reverence, mixed with fear, as being almost supernatural, or that the official class, which knows better, finds him a baffling and terrifying master. He is too knowing, even for a king! Take the matter of the Budget. The King brooded over old and cumbersome methods of compilation, and finally devised a new one. He summoned all his Ministers from Kabul to Jellalabad (where he was on tour) and set them to work. All the Budgets were compiled under his supervision in less than a week, instead of requiring two months, as usual. The Ministers thanked the King for shortening their labours. He replied dryly that it was a small matter and nothing in comparison with what he intended doing in the near future. Castigating the Dodgers Incidentally the last Budget showed increased sources of income, and the King made liberal allowances to every Ministry for improvements. He is known as the King Who Sees for Himself. Governors quake when he goes on tour, with his imposing retinue, and every official down to the humblest desperately tries to set his affairs in order. He has penetrated to every corner of his roadless provinces, ignoring alike the heat of summer and the bitter cold, interviewing, crossexamining, receiving penitent outlaws, revoking martial law, extending time limits for honest taxpayers, and castigating the dodgers, and keeping open camp for the bearing of petitions and complaints, like the Eastern kings of all time. In many places lie sifts every Government department himself. Where the work is too heavy, his staff is divided into groups which investigate accounts and official actions and make detailed reports to his Majesty. The day of his departure is the Day of Judgment. Promotion or— An Official Gazette publishes the list of promotions and punishments. It is usually one or tire other. Few officials are allowed to remain stationary. A few lucky ones receive a cap with a piume. The King's speeches when on tour have been based on the themes of selfsacrifice, work for the country, devotion to Islam, and, above all, the necessity for education. He is establishing schools everywhere. A recent Gazette announced the opening of another 27 primary schools, a number of secondary schools, several for training in agriculture and telegraphy, and three primary girls' schools. Here is the one snag on which the King’s popularity may be wrecked.

Conservative Islam is opposed to education for women. The Mullahs have denounced it. Modernising Dress No avenue for the development of Afghan industries is being left unexplored. You find the King’s hand everywhere. Electric furnaces have been installed in the Kabul Mint: the Royal Army Medical Corps has just received an X-ray apparatus from the Queen. An order has been issued by the Kabul municipality modernising the dress of the working classes, and giving set patterns and rules for wearing the garments, all of which have been drawn up by the King. His newspaper “urges” Afghans to give up their old-fashioned turbans and cumbersome clothes and to adopt a smarter and more sensible dress.