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Show MFJ0P0TAiA"AS i PRLDGIUNARY1 Country Beyond Bagdad One of the Valuable Stakes at Issue in War. ENGLISH CLOSING DOOR Richest Land on ''Earth When Under Irrigation Two Harvests Yearly. CHICAGO, April 12. Possession of a source of wheat supply, capable of feeding the entire world, is one of tho sUikes at issue in the fighting in Mes; opotamia and on the adjoining fronts, asserts Professor John Adams Scott, of' the Northwestern University, Chicago, Chi-cago, who is an international authority author-ity on the Oriental countries. In describing the commercial and military possibilities in the country beyond Bagdad, Prof. Scott said: "There is no doubt that the English Eng-lish are now trying to close the door by which any new troops can reach Mesopotamia. It is computed that ancient Babylonia and the territory under Its control covered only about one-fifth of Mesopotamia, yet tho soil was so fertile and free from defects which produce famine that it is supported sup-ported in wealth a population greater than the State of New York now possesses. pos-sesses. When Darius was defeated by Alexander, there was found In the vaults of Darius gold and silver to the value of $650,000,000. Richest Land On Earth. "If all of Mesopotamia can come under the control of one great nation so that there can be a comprehensive and unified development of reservoirs and irrigation, it is safe to say that It will be tho richest land on earth, since no other land has soil made in alluvial deposits and which contains fifteen per cent of lime. It is this llmo beyond all else which makes this country so valuable, and which makes rust, mildew, and kindred evils impossible. im-possible. Two harvests can bo garnered gar-nered each year, one from rain and one from irrigation. The one from rain is the only harvestnow. "The movement from Egypt is Intended In-tended to shut off all access from Europe by land, since the Russians are now in control of Armenia and the overland pass, so that the Turks are forced to send troops through the Issus pass, or by tho Alexandretta Gulf. This Is tho route of tho Bagdad Bag-dad railroad. Asia Minor has a double dou-ble series of most difficult mountain ranges, Taurus and Anti-Taurus, so that armies must skirt them to the north or to the South. Russia now closes the route to the north so that if England can close the ono to the south, she will be as secure In Mesopotamia Meso-potamia as she is in South Africa, since there Is no avenue by which an army could come. The great difficulty difficul-ty in coming in or out of Egypt has been the Intense heat of the desert south and west of Gaza, but tho papers pa-pers speak of a railroad having been built across this desert. This desert is cool at night, so that trains need nm through it only by night, since the distance is not great. Tho English already al-ready have a naval base at Cyprus, so that they control the sea and can thus assist the army moving by land. The English are about 400 miles from their goal and must cross the high mountains moun-tains of Lebanon or swing to the east where a railroad has already been built through Damascus. If they swing to tho east they will withdraw from the protection of the fleet. They may have so completely demoralized the Turks that this protection is not necessary. neces-sary. Game of War Board. ' "This seems to me the board on which the game of the war is being played. Already Germany is helpless in Armenia and Mesopotamia and if English forces can get Aleppo then the power and influence of England will have been doubled by this war and the immense resources of Egypt and the entire valley of the Euphrates Euph-rates and Tigris will fall into her lap. This will mean a railroad from Capetown Cape-town to Bombay and a future for the world which has never entered into the mind of the most enthusiastic dreamer." Incidentally, It Is pointed out that the British forces in their northward march through Palestine toward the ancient pass of Issus must cross the supposed field of the battle of Armageddon. |