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    "source_title": "Encyclopaedia Britannica (1926)",
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    "chunk_id": "1926:algeria:d0f61c9f10cd",
    "title": "ALGERIA",
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    "verified_text": "french colony in northern africa. its area is 230,000 sq. m. and the population is 5,802,464. i. political history algeria during the war—one of the first incidents of the world war was the bombardment of bone and philippeville by the ‘‘ goeben ” and the “‘ breslau ” (aug. 4 1914). the berbers of kabylie were perhaps thought to be ready for insurrection as in 1871, and the attack was probably intended more to impress the natives than to hamper the transportation of troops from algeria to france. german influence had been growing before the war. about 70% of the annual tourists were of german origin, and many of the large hotels were in their hands, as well as an important portion of the coal trade in algiers. when the turks entered the war, the propaganda against france and the algeria allies took more precise shape, especially in the southeast in the neighbourhood of the senussi and also in the southwest along the moroccan frontier, owing to the complicity of the unsubdued atlas tribes. tracts were distributed and anti-french songs circulated, in which the name of “ el ifadj guilioun ” often re- curred, but the country as a whole remained remarkably loyal. the only notable incidents were a promptly suppressed agi- tation amongst a segregated tribe, the beni-chougran in the region of mascara (oct. 14), isolated outbursts of banditism on the tunisian border and an attack by the touareg azdjer on the distant post of djanet, in the neighbourhood of rhat (april 16). the least trustworthy elements in the population were certain families of turkish origin in the townships of eastern algeria (constantine, bougie, djidjelli, tebessa); and, at the other political extreme, the “young algerians,” newly fledged modernists educated in the modernised medresas (religious schools) and in the lycees and universities, the north african replicas of the ‘‘ young turks,” “ young egyptians ” and their older cousins, the indian babus. the mass of the natives proved to be more loyal; 30,000 of them were already enrolled in the tirailleurs and the spahis at the beginning of the war. before the end 155,000 more had joined the colours, 75,000 by free enlistment and 80,000 by con- scription. “the total number killed was 19,000. in addition, 110,000 algerians, largely recruited from the kabyles, served as non-combatants in france in factories or on the land. in all, about 300,0oco algerian natives, about 6° of the population, assisted in the war. the french population in algeria (of french stock and naturalised), which stood at 570,c00 souls in 196.4, provided 155,000 soldiers, of whom 18,500 paid the great price. the colony did not give men only; it supplied food, especially wheat, sheep and wine. with the exception of 1917 the years of the war were, luckily for france, years of good crops. the sea- son of 1918-9 even proved exceptional; it gave 13,500,000 cwt. of wheat, 13,000,000 cwt. of barley, 3,500,000 cwt. of oats, or 30,000,000 cwt. of cereals all told. from 800,000 to 900,000 sheep were bought every year for the army, which also took algerian wool. although certain industries, notably the iron industry and the export of early vegetables and fruit, suffered from the lack of labour and transport, the prospenty of the natives was on the whole increased. salaries rose, produce fetched high prices, and the allowances paid to the families of enlisted natives were on the same scale as those paid to french families. moreover, the moral ties between france and her sub- jects were strengthened.\" political and administrative situation.—the only relatively important change in the administrative machinery of algeria since rotr has been a re-adjustment of the southern military territories which now are four in number; ain-sefra, ouargla (saharian oases), ghardaia (chief centre, laghouat) and toug- gourt (chief centre, biskra). each has at its head a military com- mander who has under his orders, under the authority of the governor general, both the civil and military services. their budget is distinct from that of algeria proper. no steps have been taken to create in paris a consultative council, similar to the india council in london. the tendency is, on the contrary, towards greater decentralisation; though the question of a ‘* ministry of northern africa ” (tunisia, algeria, morocco) is still sometimes agitated in political circles in france. political rights of natives ——the native population of algeria was in 1921 4,971,424, of a total of 5,802,464 inhabitants, as against 4,740,000 in 1911. the berber-speaking population is over 1,000,000, though the berber language, of hamitic origin, is losing ground before arabic. but the fundamental ethnologic stock is certainly berber. the descendants of the arab invaders have the prestige of a literary language and of the mahommedan religion; and the arab “‘ maraboutic ” families, who wield great religious influence, have a berber following. the enrichment of the berbers, especially of the kabyles, hard working peasants 1see, for instance, in the revne du monde musulman, vol. 29, dec. 1914, the addresses, etc., of the leading algerian moslems, algeria with traditions and customs of their own and a deep sense of equality, may have in time its political reaction. a race which includes a terentius afer, or, by his mother at least, a st. augus- tine, and certain great caliphs in spain, deserves its opportunity. in the meantime a fundamental law passed by the french parliament on feb. 4 1919 regulates the political rights of the natives. french citizenship may be acquired by the native who makes application for it under certain conditions. the applicant must be 25 years of age, a monogamist or a bachelor; he must not have been convicted in court, must have resided for two consecutive years in the same township, and must, in addition, have one or other of a list of special qualifications, which are: having served in the 'rench army or navy; reading and writing french; being landowner or farmer or proprietor of an urban building or paying the tax on traders (patentes); being invested with a public function or a government pension; possessor of a french decoration or a public testimonial; being the son, of at least 21 years of age, of a naturalised native. vhe wife can also claim french citizenship. the fees for naturalisation are not very heavy, but the papers are complicated, and in five years the total demands were only 419, of which three-fourths were accepted by the authorities. the reason for the small number of applications is that the algerian native, even before the law of 1919, enjoyed, as a french subject without citizenship, a civil and political status with which, he had every reason to be satisfied. moslem law applies fully or for the greater part according as he lives in the civil or mili- tary territories or in kabylie. the native has representation, by different modes of votation, regulated by decrees, on all public bodies: financial delegations, where they make up a spccial delegation, who vote the annual general budgct; the superior government council; conseils generaux, one for each of the three departements; municipal councils; municipal commissions; dje- maas, native assemblies; the doers, geographical or tribal and administrative units, whether connected with the full townships (communes de plein exercice), or the “ mixed ” townships (com- munes mixtes), but independent in the southern territories. the native members of those diflerent public bodies have the same _ rights as the french members. they vote for the presidents, mayors or aldermen (adjoints). the special ‘‘ arab taxes ’’ have been suppressed. the european colonists no longer enjoy any privilege, and the fiscal law is the same for all. french colonisation.—but the great question for france in algeria, asin tunis and morocco, remains the question of french colonisation in northern africa. naturalisation of the natives has played little part in this, as it is still, as we have seen, almost negligible. twenty-five years ago there were 364,000 french- men, of authentic french origin, in algeria and the birth rate among french algerians was high until recently. the 1921 cen- sus showed a total white population of 814,520, of whom 633,140 were french and the remainder of other european races, chiefly spanish, italian and maltese. it is indisputable that the other latin races in algeria, more especially the people of spanish blood in the province of oran, have accepted without difficulty their new french nationality. their conduct during the war was admirable. in any case it is worth noting that some of the objectors to the french naturalisation laws in north africa themselves hold the jzs solz as opposed to the jus sanguinis. frenchmen in algeria are not, as some suppose, chiefly civil servants. a census taken before the war gave the number of french agriculturists, without their families, as 149,000. they were landowners, farmers, mefayers and agricultural labourers. foreign agriculturists numbered 74,000 only. the surface cul- tivated by european colonists, principally french, as we have just seen, amounted just before the war to 2,660,000 acres; the area under native cultivation was 6,257,000 acres; the total land owned by europeans was 5,793,000 acres, on a total of about 38,000,000 acres appropriated lands in the three departments of northern algeria! under civil administration. 1 total surface, northern algeria—52,000,000 acres. total algeria with the military territories and the algerian sahara, 141,000,000 acres, 2 od appropriation of the land.—a difficult problem in algeria is precisely that of the appropriation of the land. the government spent, from 1904 to 1920, 50,000,c00 fr. for the creation of *“ centres of colonisation,’’ which now number 1,000 in northern algeria. the land conceded, under prescribed conditions, on gratuity amounted to 132,000 acres, and the land sold to 320,000 acres. fifty new villages were built and provided with roads, water, drainage, etc., and 140 already existing centres of french colonisation were increased. the legislation of 1902 on domanial land is on the eve of being amended. for a short time just after the war, especially in 1919 and 1920, the enriched natives were buying back the land from the french colonists, but this move- ment is distinctly on the wane. the natives seem to desire a simplification of the present procedure for private appropriation of the tribal lands still held in common and inalienable (terres “arch,” according to the native term; from 9 to 10,000,000 acres still available) but this change presents many difficulties. defence.—the military forces stationed in algeria constitute the xix. army corps (metropolitan french army). at its head is a general commanding a division who has also under his command the troops in tunisia. a division is stationed in each of the departments of algiers, constantine and oran, comprising, each, two infantry brigades and one cavalry brigade. each infantry brigade consists of two regiments, one of natives (tirazlleurs) and one of algerian frenchmen (zonaves); each cavalry brigade, also of two regiments, the spahis (natives) and the chasseurs d'afrique (frenchmen), there exist also divisional groups of artillery, of the flying corps (6 squadrons) and the medical, transport and commissariat services, technical sections of artillery (oueriers d'artillerie), engineers, the gendarmies (military police), etc. in the southern territories, there are three special camel companies (afeharistes) stationed at beni- abbes, timmimoun and in-salah,. algerian troops being constantly called upon to serve in france, on the rhine or in other colonies (morocco), it is impossible to give the exact number of troops present in the colony. a vice-admiral, commander in chief of the maritime frontiers of northern africa, resides in algiers, with the naval forces in tunisia also under him, including the bizerta arsenal. there are five naval defence “ sectors '’: oran, algiers, bone, bizerta and sfax. concluston.—t he taxes have increased, but so has the national wealth. the native, except for the small, though doubtless in- creasing, nucleus of “ young algerians,” is peaceful and con- tented. communist propaganda jis limited to a few towns and is being taken in hand by the new governor, m. viollette. m. viollette succeeded in 1925 to m. theodor steeg, who had been governor general for four years. his immediate prede- cessors were m. charles lutaud (1911-8) and m. abel (1o19- 21), with a short interim in 1918-9 when m. jonnart, who held the post with great distinction from 1903 to 1911, acted as gov- ernor. the policy of m. viollette appears to be directed espe- cially to the development of algerian agriculture and of the medi- cal and health services of the colonists and the natives, notably in the provision of a body of native midwives. it, economic history finance.—the special algerian budget, which exists since 1900, is prepared by the governor general under the control of the french minister of the interior. it is discussed and voted by the financial delegations—a tripartite body consisting of: (1) colonists; (2) tax- payers other than colonists, 7.e., the liberal professions, public serv- ants, etc.; (3) natives, z.e., arabs and kabyles—in plenary session, and afterwards by the conseil superieur, a public body consisting of 23 high fonctionnatres; 16 delegates elected by the financial delega- tions; 15 members elected by the consetls generaux; three native notables and four public officers designated by the governor-general, who, besides, can alone propose expenses for the personnel. the budget is approved by a decree of the president of the french re- public. the french parliament authorises the taxes, but does not discuss the budget itself. just prior to the war (1913) the algerian revenue amounted to 252,000,000 fr., or £6,300,000. the “ordinary” receipts of the budget for 1924 were 394,894,000 fr., the ‘' extraordinary,” 141,051,- ooo fr., z.¢., a total of 535,946,000 fr., or, taking the mean exchange of 85 fr. =£6,305,253, but the transformation into sterling is decep- tive. the algerian debt amounts to 860,000,000 fr., and the charges for interest and amortisation to about 13% of the budget. the budget before the war regularly showed an excess of income over expenditure. the war deficit amounted to 372,000,000 [r., which was covered, by a law of march 30 1922, to the extent of 330,000,000, by a special loan. productton.—the year 1924 was a bad one except for the vintage. _ wheat did not give more than 494,000 metric tons, barley 450,000 96 tons, oats 115,000. research is being made in the government agricultural institute at maison carree, near algiers, and in differ- ent experimental farms on selected or new species of wheat. the average production on the colonists’ farms is about double that on a native farm. the 1924 output was of 9,782,000 hectolitres or about one-tenth of the output in france itself. the quality improves steadily. early vegetables and fruit growing have, as already men- tioned, become an important factor, especially in the suburbs of oran and algiers, thanks to french, italian, spanish and maltese growers. much suitable land for both the above crops is available near the coast. the principal early vegetables are artichokes, tomatoes, french beans, green peas, early potatoes, etc. “the pre- war figure was 45,000 tons. the best olive trees and nearly all the orange, citron and mandarine trees in the blidah, bonfarik and other districts are in the hands of french colonists, who have started of late the plantation of cotton, producing 18,000 cwt. in 1924, and the area is being increased. french companies have undertaken well boring and the plantation of date palms to the south of biskra. the exploitation of cork for- ests of the environs of bougie and philippeville is also in their hands. the export of alfa (esparto grass), principally in the hands of brit- ish concerns, is slowly returning to its 1913 level (109,000 tons in 1923), and there are large natural alfa tracts left on the high table- lands. the export of iron ore has begun again on a large scale, 1,775,000 tons in 1924. the splendid ouenza deposits are at last being worked, and england remains the principal buyer. the ex- port of lead, 45,000 tons, and that of phosphate of lime, 456,000 tons, as against 370,000 in 1913, is also increasing. industry.—algerian industry is growing, already employing about 30,000 hands. among the principal factories are flour mills, cement plants, sandal and esparto goods factories and tobacco factories, about one-half of the output of manufactured tobacco is exported. there is a rising industry in carpets, smal! but interesting, becausc it gives occupation to women. commerce.—-account being taken of the fall of the franc, it is interesting to note that the estimated value of algeria’s general com- merce reached 5,085,000,000 fr. in 1923 (imports, 2,912,000,000; exports, 2,173,000,000).! the amount of the special trade, 7.¢., goods consumed in algeria and exports of algcrian products proper, was 4,402,000,000 fr. (imports, 2,545,000,000, exports, 1,857,000,000 in which france accounts for 2,039,000,000 fr. as seller and 1,329,000,- ooo fr.as buyer. the part of foreign countries is 506,000,000 fr. in the imports and 528,000,000 in the exports. in 1913, algeria’s total special commerce was of a value of 1,168,400,000 francs. the tonnage weight of goods exported by sea amounted, in 1923, to 4,678,000 metric tons; imported, 2,235,000 tons; total, 6,913,000 tons. the ships’ tonnage reached 13,285,000 tons (measurement) for all algerian ports, algiers heading the list and occupying the fourth place among all french ports. banking.—an estimate made in 1922,? ascribed a value of 2,547,000,000 fr. to the french north african stocks and bonds, to which algeria brings by far the greatest contribution, though part is subscribed in france. the banque d’algerie (bank of issue) has a capital of 25,000,000 fr., the compagnie algerienne, 100,000,000, the credit foncier d’algerie et de tunisie (mortgage bank) ,125,000,000. railways.—algerian railways measured 3,715 km. in 1921; 1,820 km. are under construction or projected; 6,651,000 passengers and 4,155,000 tons of goods were transported. more than 5,000 km. of fine national roads are in working order. thousands of foreign tourists travel over them, some in special motor cars, during the winter months, and up-to-date hotels have been built for the tourist traffic. to these roads can be added more than 30,000 km. of by- roads. important irrigation dams are being raised in the valley of the chelif and others are planned. the department of algiers has an area of 54,540 sq. km. with 1,788,857 inhabitants; that of constantine, 87,302 sq. km. with 2,162,512; oran and three small ‘ territoires de commandement,” 65,897 sq. km. with 1,305,051, and the southern territories (milt- tary), 367,550 sq. km. with 546,044 inhabitants. the principal towns are algiers, 206,595 inhabitants; oran, 147,105; constantine, 78,220; bone, 45,171; themcen, 37,000; blidah, 35,800; philippe- ville, 33,300; bougie, 19,400; setif, 18,500. the population in each case is for the urban district of that name and figures are those ot the census of 1921. ill, education and culture the university at algiers specialises more and more in mahom- medan problems, linguistic, ethnological and geographical; in berber folklore and customs; in mussulman law and its adaptation to modern north african conditions. the field is immense. in 1924 there were 59 native students; 23 students of law, 22 of literature and only 14 for medicine and science. the proportion is unfortunate, as there are already too many native lawyers and journalists. the arab record of scholarship in medicine and science in the middle 1the average exchange of 1923 was 75 fr. to the pound. the sterling values are not given, as they cannot be usefully compared with pre-war statistics. -?#see henry blondel, l'interet de la france dans les placements coloniaux. | alimentary system ages might well be invoked to reverse the present fashion in studies. primary education, which includes the teaching of french, is still in its infancy, but the number of school places is being increased as the budget permits. the total number of primary scholars in 1924 was 150,052, more than one-third of whom were natives. french and native children are allowed to attend the same schools. in the towns the proportion of french to native children is nearly io to i; in certain country schools the proportion is the other way and french children form a small minority. the number of native girls attending the primary schools is increasing, as also the total number of natives in those schools since the war (gain: 14,400 since 1914). technical instruction is provided for the natives, but more requires to be done, especially in agriculture. in the lyvcees and colleges there are 545 boys and 60 girls belonging to the mahommne- dan population, out of a total roll of 9,391. binliograrny.— cifictal publications: documents statistiques sir le commerce del algerie (published by the algerian customs); algiers annual, expose de la situation de l’ algerie (the governor general's report), annual; m. brunel, la cofontsution frencaise en algerie; report, in vol. 2 of cengres de porganisation colontale (marseilie, institut colonial, 1922); th. steeg, g. gl. d’alger (1922-3), les territoires du sud, 3 vol. (the ard bibliography); statistigue general de l’ algerie, vol. for 1915-21 (1924). general: l'indicateur general ifavas (algeria, tunisia, morocco) annual (algiers); e. f. gautier, la conguete du sahara (1910); e. chantre et l. j. bertholon, recherches anthropologiques dans 11 berberie orientale (lyon, 1912-3); s: g. sell, lfistoire ancrenne de l'afrique du nord, 4 vol. (1913-20); v. piquet, les civilisations de afrique du nord (1917); j. melia, l’ algerie et la guerre (1918); h. basset, fssat sur la litterature des berberes (alger, 1920); r. bazin, charles de foucauld (1921); f, falk, guide economique de t' algerie (1921); j. germain et s. faye, un fils de france, le general laper- rine (1921); m. morand, introduction a petude du droit musulman algerien (alger, 1921); v. demontes, l’ algerie economique (2 vol.) algiers (1922 and 1923); e. f. gautier, structure de l' algerie (1922); a. bernard et r. de flotte de roquevaire, ailas d'algerie et de tunisie, 5 fasc. (1923 and 1924); jacques bourcart, un vovage au sahara (la mission danoise olufsen 1922-3) (nov. 1923); e. f. gautier, le sahara (1923); g. m. haardt et l. a. dubreuil, le raid citroen, la premiere traversee du sahara en automobile (1923;eng. trans. 1924); m. monmarche, les guides bleus (1923); r. peyron- net, le probleme nord-africain, vol. 1 (1924); c. kilian, au /zoggar, mission de 1922 (1925). (1. br.*) alien: see naturalization. alimentary system, diseases of the (sce 1.663).—the advance in our knowledge of these’diseases during the period 1910-26 may be attributed chiefly to three factors: (1) the oppor- - tunities of observation afforded by the performance of surgical operations on the abdomen—the study, as it has been termed, of “the pathology of the living”; (2) an improved x-ray tech- nique; (3) the introduction of biochemical tests for estimating the ‘‘ physiological efficiency” of important organs such as the stomach, pancreas, and liver. the information gained by these methods has rendered diagnosis of diseases of the alimentary system more precise (see diacnosis), but has not proportionately advanced their treatment except by surgical operation. the oesophagus.—in no section of the alimentary canal have the x-rays (sce rontgen rays) proved of more value in diagnosis than in the oesophagus, and the indications they afford have been rendered more precise by the direct inspection of the interior of the gullet by the oesophagoscope. the commonest symptom of disease of the oesophagus is difficulty in swallowing (dysphagia) which results from its obstruction. this is most frequently due to cancer, which chiefly occurs in men and is generally situated at the lower end of the tube where it joins the stomach, though it may also occur at the entrance or at an intermediate point opposite the bifurcation of the trachea. functional obstruction is much rarer and occurs at the lower end, being due either to a spasm of the muscular sphincter at the entrance to the stomach, or to a failure of the muscular ring to relax as the food passes on (so-called ‘ achalasia ’’). however brought about, the obstruction leads eventually to “ idiopathic dilatation ”’ of the oesophagus (oesophagectasia). this variety of obstruction occurs in women perhaps oftener than in men and is compatible with comparatively good health. it is treated by dilatation with bougies passed through the mouth or, sometimes, by stretching the lower end of the oesophagus by means of instruments introduced through an incision in the stomach. diverticula or pouches are a still rarer cause of obstruction which can be recognised by x-ray examination. | alimentary system the stomach.—cancer still remains the most scrious disease of the stomach (see cancer) and has increased rather than di- minished in frequency in the last few years. it is commonest in men in the fifth and sixth decades of life and may be situated at the pylorus, which is the most frequent site, at the cardiac orifice (rarest), or in the body of the organ. its early diagnosis, in time to afford a chance of cure by opcration, is still a matter of difficulty, but improved x-ray technique is helping to solve the problem. the so-called “ leather-bottle stomach ” (initis plastica) is now known to be generally due to diffuse cancerous infiltration. our knowledge of the next most serious disease of the stomach (gastric ulcer) has been rendered much more precise in recent years mainly by the work of the surgeons. ulcer occurs in two forms, the acute and the chronic. acute ulcers are usually mul- tiple and may appear in the course of any septic infection, but when developing “ idiopathically ” they are most often met with in young women; chronic ulcers, on the other hand, are commoner in men of middle age, and are nearly always solitary. acute ulcers are apt to perforate and may also cause profuse haemor- rhage; chronic ulcers rarely perforate; but they, too, often bleed. the older statistics according to which ‘ gastric ulcer ” was chicfly a disease of women, were the result of including al) the “ acute ”’ cases; the term as now usually employed refers to the chronic ulcer, chiefly a disease of men. the acute ulcer of young women is less often met with in recent years than it was formerly. the chief symptoms of the acute variety of ulcer are pain immediately after taking food, vomiting and, not uncom- monly, haematemesis, with comparatively little disturbance of the general health. the chronic ulcer causes pain which occurs very punctually from one to two hours after meals whilst vomit- ing and haematemesis are less often met with. some degrees of weakness, wasting, and anaemia are apt to be present. the symptoms of the chronic ulcer recur in bouts or attacks lasting a few weeks with long periods of more or less complete freedom from discomfort between. when the chronic ulcer is situated at the pylorus it leads to gradual occlusion of the latter with consequent dilatation of the stomach; when situated in the body of the organ it may bring about an “‘hour-glass” constriction. the most serious change which a chronic ulcer can undergo, however, is its conversion into a cancer. the frequency with which such a transformation occurs is disputed, but that there is a real risk of it, all surgeons are now agreed, and its possibility is one of the chief arguments for the surgical treatment of all cases of chronic ulcer. on the other hand there is no place for surgery in the treatment of the acute ulcer unless perforation has taken place. jiaemorrhage from an acute ulcer is rarely fatal and is now never treated by operation; the question of operation in bleeding from a chronic ulcer is still sab 7udice, but opinion is moving in favour of it, transfusion being performed first if necessary. chronic ulcer of the duodenum is closely akin to chronic gastric ulcer. over 80°, of the cases are in males. asin gastric ulcer the symptoms occur in attacks lasting a few weeks and often sepa- rated by long intervals of complete freedom. pain is the chief symptom and tends to come on when the stomach is empty and to be relieved by taking more food—hence the term “ hunger pain’ applied to it. vomiting is very rare and the chief com- plications are perforation, which is much commoner than in chronic gastric ulcer, and haemorrhage which may lead both to vomiting of blood and its passage from the bowel (clacna). the ulcer is usually situated on the anterior wall of the first part of the duodenum and is apt, after it has been present for a long time, to lead to narrowing of the outlet of the stomach. on the other hand chronic duodenal ulcers—unlike gastric—never become malignant. | gastric and duodenal ulcers are sometimes spoken of together as “peptic ulcers,” and our knowledge of the patho- genesis of the peptic ulcer has advanced considerably, as the result of the work of bolton in great britain and of rosecnow in america. the first stage in the development of an ulcer is the formation of a small area of necrosis in the mucosa in conse- quence of the lodgment in it of pathogenic streptococci. these ne 97 organisms appear to reach the stomach or duodenum by the blood stream, either being swallowed or entering the blood from a focus of sepsis in the teeth, tonsils, appendix, gall-bladder, or some other source. according to rosenow, the ulcer-forming organisms exhibit an “ elective ”’ affinity for the gastric mucous membrane whilst others may show a similar affinity for, say, the gall-bladder. be this as it may, the result of the formation of an area of necrosis in the mucous membrane is that auto-digestion of the dead tissue takes place and a small acute ulcer forms. most of these heal quickly, but in certain circumstances—for example abnormally high gastric acidity—one of them fails to heal, grad- ually enlarges, and becomes a chronic ulcer. the remaining or- ganic affection of the stomach (gastritis) is now of iess frequent occurrence than was formerly supposed. the functional disorders of the stomach which are responsible for.a great deal of what is commonly called “dyspepsia” are still but ill-understood although, by means of x-ray examinations and the use of “fractional ’’ test meals, light is gradually being thrown upon them. ‘two chief types of functional dis- order occur, secretory and motor, and euch of these may be affected in the direction either of excess or defect. secretory disorders —it is now known that the gastric juice as secreted has an acidity of about 0-5%, but that this is re- duced to the optimum acidity for digestion (0-2°>) by dilution and neutralisation in the stomach, and that the most powerful factor in neutralisation is the regurgitation of duodenal contents through the pylorus. an excessive acidity of the stomach con- tents therefore (“ acid dyspepsia,” hyperchlorhydria) may be due either to over-production of gastric juice or to deficiency of neutralisation, or to both, and can no longer be regarded as a definite “‘ clinical entity.” deficient acidity on the other hand (avpochlorivdria, achylia) may be due cither to defective se- cretion or to excessive neutralisation. the secretion of gastric juice is controlled partly by the vagus nerve and partly by chemical hormones, and may therefore be affected either by variations in the excitability of the nervous system or by the quality of the food. excess of secretion is perhaps commoner in men, defect is more often found in women, but over-acidity 1s more prone to cause symptoms than under-acidity. motor disorders —these are of greater importance as a cause of dyspepsia than disorders of secretion. the stomach has two motor functions (peristalsis and “ tone ’’) and these may be dis- ordered independently. both are much under nervous influence, the vagus increasing tone and peristalsis, whilst the sympathetic has an opposite etfect. diminution of tone (ay po-miolility, alony) is a commoner cause of symptoms than excess and is specially apt to occur in women. emotional disturbances are prone to bring it about. excess of tone and peristalsis are often asso- ciated with over-acidity, whereas deficiency of tone and acidity often, though by no means always, coincide. the symptoms of the functional disorders of the stomach differ notably from those of the more serious organic discases. pain, vomiting, and wasting are absent, and the patient’s chief complaints are of discomfort, flatulence, acidity, and so forth. as disorder of function ts largely nervous in origin, treatment must be directed in great measure to the central nervous svstem, but acidity can be corrected by antacids, atony by strychnine, and so on. ‘the diet of the patient must also be adapted to the weakened organ. the colon.—tthe investigation of diseases of the colon has been facilitated by the introduction of the methods of exam- ination by the x-rays after an opaque enema and by the sig- moidoscope. cancer is still the most serious affection, the sig- moid and pelvic colon being its commonest sites. treatment is by operation and, if undertaken early enough, is often successful. ulceration of the colon is now divided into (a) dysenteric and (b)non-dysenteric. dysenteric ulceration(see dvsentery)may be caused either by the amoeba histolytica or by dysenteric bacilli of the shiga or flexner type. the distinction between these different forms can be made by a bacteriological examination of the stools and by the serum agglutination test. non-dysen- teric ulceration (ulcerative colilis) is not very uncommon as a 98 primary disease in great britain. its symptoms are the same as those of the dysenteric variety (diarrhoea with the passage of blood and mucus, some fever, pain and tenesmus) and it can be recognised by the use of the sigmoidoscope. nothing is yet definitely known of its bacteriology. antidysenteric serum is a powerful aid in the treatment of acute bacillary dysentery whilst emctine is a specific for the amoebic form. non-dysenteric ulceration is treated by lavage and, in severe cases, by the oper- ation of appendicostomy. the frequent occurrence of little pouches (diverticula) in the wall of the colon has been established by modern methods of investigation. sometimes these become inflamed when the con- dition termed “ diverticulitis ” arises. it is not without danger. much attention has been devoted in recent years to the alleged stagnation of the contents of the large bowel (colon stasis) with consequent absorption of poisons into the blood (auto-intoxica- tion). such stagnation is believed to be promoted by dropping or displacement of the colon or by the undue mobility of sec- tions of it, and extensive operations have been undertaken for the correction of these conditions. whilst, however, auto- intoxication may sometimes take place, it is beginning to be realised that it is not nearly so frequent as was supposed and that operation for it is rarely necessary or advisable. the pancreas——vhe pancreas is still very largely the ferra incognita of the abdomen, mainly on account of its inaccessible position. the introduction of tests for “‘pancreatic efficiency,” however, has helped to make the diagnosis of its diseases easier. amongst these tests are loewi’s adrenalin mydriasis reaction, the urinary diastase test, and the estimation of the unsplit fat in the stools. glycosuria, also, is often an indication of the failure of the internal secretion (insulin). new-growth (cancer) is the most serious disease of the pan- creas and one of the commonest. it specially affects the head of the organ and usually shows its presence by the production of obstructive jaundice. acute pancreatitis (haemorrhagic necrosis of the pancreas) is one of the conditions which produce what is termed an “‘ abdom- inal catastrophe.” it is difficult of diagnosis and is only curable by laparotomy. chronic pancreatitis, an interstitial inflammation or fibrosis of the organ, may result from partial obstruction of the duct, c.g., by gall-stones, or from an ascending infection of it. the symptoms are very much the same as those produced by cancer. the liver —recent work has thrown a good deal of light on the nature of jaundice. it is now known that bile pigment is not produced in the liver cells but is derived from the breaking down of red blood corpuscles in the “ reticulo-endothclial system ’’— a network of cells widely diffused in the body but especially in the spleen. the pigment so produced is picked out of the blood by the hepatic cells and transfcrred to the bile. two chicf varieties of jaundice are recognised: (a) obstructive, (6) non-obstructive. the former is due to any gross obstruction in the bile ducts such as may be caused by cancers or other tumours pressing upon or involving the ducts, impacted gall-stone and so forth. it is characterised by the complete absence of bile from the stools and its presence in the urine. ; non-obstructive jaundice, as it is usually called, is of two varieties—the haemolytic and the toxic. the former is due to increased destruction of red blood corpuscles and occurs to some extent in addisonian (pernicious) anaemia and also in the rare disease known as “ family jaundice ”’; toxic jaundice on the other hand is brought about by severe damage to the liver cells ren- dering them incapable of transferring bile pigment from the blood to the bile. many poisons act on the cells in this way, such as arsenic and phosphorus, as well as the toxins of certain organisms, c.g., those of yellow fever and some septic infections; poisons of “‘ endogenous ” origin may act similarly, as in acute ycllow atrophy of the liver and the toxic jaundice of pregnancy. in all forms of non-obstructive jaundice bile is present in the stools but it may or may not be present in the ure. so-called “ catarrhal jaundice,” formerly believed to be obstructive, is now, largely as a result of the van den bergh test, known to be alington—allen, sir j. due, in part at least, to direct damage of the liver cells, although obstruction of the ducts from catarrh also plays a part in its production. much work has recently been done on the pathology of gall-stone formation. it is generally agreed that infection of the gall-bladder is a predisposing factor, the infection being usually conveyed through the blood stream in the same way as in cases of peptic ulcer. in addition it is possible that an excess of cholesterol in the blood contributes to their formation. of the other chief diseases of the liver, cancer and cirrhosis, there is nothing new to be said. (r. hu.) alington, cyril argentine (1872- ), british educa- tionalist and writer, was born in ipswich, oct. 22 1872 and educated at marlborough college and trinity college, oxford. after being elected a fellow of all souls college, oxford, and taking holy orders, he taught at marlborough and eton suc- cessively. in 1908 he was appointed headmaster of shrewsbury school and in 1916 succeeded his brother-in-law, edward lytelton, as head master of eton. dr. alington was peculiarly fortunate in commanding the respect and affection of his pupils and, while not hostile to new ideas, sought to maintain rather than modify the public school tradition. his published works include .t schoolmaster’s apology (1914), a brief but discursive expression of his educational ideals; two popular novels, struiucd relations (1922) and mr. evans (1922); some humorous verse, and collections of sermons and addresses. allbutt, sir thomas clifford (1836-1925), british physician, was born at dewsbury, yorks, july 20 1836. edu- cated at st. peter’s school, york and caius college, cam- bridge, he studied medicine at george’s hospital, london, and afterward in paris, subsequently practising in london and leeds. ile carried out much valuable work on the pathology of the nerv- ous system, and made important investigations of tetanus and hydrophobia, devoting, in addition, considerable time, to oph- thalmoscopy and inventing the short clinical thermometer. ife was consulting physician to many institutions and from 1889 to 1892 was a commissioner in lunacy. he was elected f.r.s. in 1880, and later became a member of many other british and forcign scientific societies, and received many honorary degrees and other awards. in 1892 he became regius professor of physic at cambridge, in 1907 was created k.c.b. and in 1920 a privy councillor. sir clifford allbutt was a member of many govern- ment committces, including the home office inquiry into trade diseases. he died at cambridge feb. 22 1925. allbutt’s published works include the use of the ophthalmascope in medicine (1871); on scrofulous neck (1885); diseases ef the tleart ulane lectures, 1896); /tistorical relations of amfedictne and surgery (1905); greek aledicine tn rome (fitzpatrick iectures, 1909-10); diseases of the arteries and angina pectoris (1915); science in the school (1917) and notes on the composition of scien- ific papers (3rd ed., 1923). ile also edited a system of medicine and a system of gynaecology (1896, 1899, 1907). allen, sir james (1855- ), new zealand politician, was born in south australia on feb. 10 1855, his parents settling in new zealand a year later. he was educated in england at clifton and st. john’s college, cambridge, and afterward studied at the royal school of mines, in london. returning to new zealand he was, in 1887, elected a member of the house of representatives. ile was minister for finance, defence and iducation from 1912-5, and, in 1915, when a separate ministry of defence was formed, he took charge of it, retaining the post until 1920. it was largely due to his efforts that, in 1914, the new zealand force was one of the most effective of the british dominion armies. during the absence of mr. massey in england during and after the war he acted as prime minister for two years. iie was made a k.c.b.1n 1917 and was appointed high commissioner for new zealand in london in 1920. his long, practical experience as a dominion administrator and his sym- pathetic understanding of the needs of the empire rendered his presence in london especially valuable both to the dominion and the empire. ile is the author of new zealand and fedcra- tion. the financial aspect (1800), a pamphlet issued by 7he press, christchurch and new zealand’s possessions in the south seus (1903). | allen, j. l-—allotments allen, james lane (1849-1925), american novelist (see ; 1.691), died feb. 18 1925. his latest books include the doctor's christmas eve (1910), the lost christmas tree (1914), sword of youth (191s), «1 cathedral singer (1916), a kentucky warbler (1918), emblem of fidelity (1919) and the alabaster box (1923). allenby, edmund henry hynman, ist viscouunt (1861- ), british field-marshal, was born april 23 1861, and joined the inniskilling dragoons in 1882. he saw active service early in the bechuanaland expedition of 1884-5 and in zululand 1888, and later passed through the staff college. during the south african war (1899-1902) he took part in the cavalry operations leading to the relief of kimberley, in the battle of paardeberg, and in the advance to pretoria. during the later stages of the war he won distinction as a column commander, and his command of the 5th lancers from 1902-5 spread ae reputation throughout the army. then, after command of a cavalry brigade, he became inspector of cavalry in toro and in 1914 went out to france in command of the cavalry division. the work of his troops, mounted, during the retreat from mons and advance to the aisne, ane dismounted, in holding the line south of ypres chive the critical weeks of oct. won high praise in sir john french’s dispatches. when a secon cavalry division arrived, allenby was given command of the cavalry corps then formed, and in oct. 1915 he succeeded sir charles monro as commander of the iii. army. throughout 1916 his army front was relatively quiet, but in the spring of 19t7 it played a foremost rdle in the battle of arras. in june allenby left france to succeed sir archibald murray in charge of the forces in egypt and palestine. his first three months on the borders of palestine, the season being still unsuitable for operations, were devoted to intensive preparations for an autumn offensive, reorganising the command, greatly developing the com- munications, and moving his own g.h.q. from cairo to the front at rafa. complete secrecy and many ruses misled the turks as to the main point of attack. the strong defences of gaza were bombarded from oct. 26 onwards and serious attacks followed, on nov. 1, to fix the encmy’s attention and draw in his reserves. meanwhile, as a necessary preliminary to the real blow, the outlying bastion of beersheba, 35 m. east of gaza, was gained by a convergent manoeuvre on oct. 31, a prelude to the decisive attack on nov. 6 which broke through the enemy’s weakened centre and into the plain of philistia. this compelled a gencral retreat of the turks, anc the pursuit was pressed so relentlessly that by nov. 14 the port of jaffa had been seized, the turkish armies driven apart in two divergent masses, and allenby was able to wheel his forces to the nght for an advance inland on jerusalem. the british troops kept too closely on the heels of the turks for the latter to block the narrow mountain passes, and, despite a stout turkish resistance almost at the gates of jerusalem the objective was gained with the surrender of the city on dec. o. by the time the winter rains set in the position of the british had been improved and their hold on jaffa and jerusalem had been made thoroughly secure. the further aclvance initiated in the spring was interrupted by the crisis on the western front, which forced the dispatch to france of most of allenby’s british troops. the depletion was made up by reinforcements from india and mesopotamia, and the summer of 1918 was devoted to reorganisation and the train- ing of these new units. finally, in mid-sept., the carefully planned and prepared offensive was launched. feinting towards the east bank of the jordan, to distract the enemy’s attention, allenby seeretly concentrated, on the mediterranean flank, the mass of the infantry and behind them the cavalry. in this way | he changed a two to one superiority on the general front into a four to one superiority at the decisive point of attack. on the night sept. 18-19 the forces in the hilly centre had attacked to fix the enemy’s attention, and at dawn on the 1oth the western mass struck; the result was to roll the turks back northeast, ' like a door on its hinges. through the open doorway the cavalry passed, riding straight up the coastal corridor for 30 m. before swinging east to cut the 99 turkish communications, and close all exits of retreat. com- pletely trapped, the main ‘turkish armies were rounded up, while the british cavalry exploited the victory of megiddo by a swift and sustained pursuit, which gained first damascus and finally aleppo. the capitulation of turkey rang down the cur- tain on this brief and dazzling campaign. making all allowances for the british superiority in strength, it must rank as one of the masterpieces of military history, as perfect in execution as in destzn. for his services the victor was promoted field-marshal and raised to the peerage as viscount allenby of megiddo and felixstowe, receiving also a grant of £50,000. though his campaign had been waged beyona the borders of egypt, allenby had been throughout responsible for the protec- tion and internal order of the nile delta, where the military situation and the changed status of egypt had led to consider- able unrest. in 191g he was appointed british high commis- sioner in egypt, and held the post until 1925, through the long sequence of political trouble and disturbances arising out of the agitation for independence. in such conditions criticism of the administration was inevitable, but it is a testimony to allenby’s impartiality and sympathy that it was rather of the velvet glove than of the iron hand. if the ultimate verdict rests with history, it can at least be recognised now that the prestige of his name was 2 unique asset, and indeed made him the only possible choice for the post at such a critical period. see palestine,campaigns in. (bette. le) allenstein-marienwerder, a region composed of dis- tricts of the former prussian provinces of east and west prussia. article 94-98 of the treaty of versailles provided that the east prussian circles (kreise) of allenstein, ortelesburg, osterode, sensburg, johannisburg, lotzen, lyck and neidenburg, in so far as they had not already been ceded to poland, and further the west prussian circles of marienwerder (east of the vistula), stuhm, rosenburg and the section of the circle marienburg sit- uated east of the nogat, should declare by a plebiscite whether they desired to belong to germany or poland. until the plebi- scite should take place the administration of these circles was taken over by inter-allied commissions for east and west prus- sia respectively, supported by allied garrisons. the whole territory has an area of about 15,900 sq. miles. according to the german census of 1910, the east prussian area had a population of 556,000 of which 288,000 were germans; the west prussian area, 24,000 poles, 114,000 germans. in fast prussia 172,000 were masurians, who are slavs, but protestants. the plebiscite held on july 11 1920 was preceded by much agi- tation and band warfare. in the east prussian region 98% of the population voted for germany, in the west prussian 92%. both districts were assigned to germany on the basis of the vote; but, in accordance with the terms of the treaty of versailles, a zone 30 m. broad and some 30 m. long on the east bank of the vistula near marienwerder and four villages with the harbour of kurzebrack on the same river were assigned to poland in order to secure for the polish state, at this point, the sovereignty over the course of the vistula accorded to it by the treaty. the inhabitants of the adjacent east prussian territory are at all ‘times to have access for themselves and their boats to the vis- }is any parcel of land above ‘extent, which is cultivated as a farm or garden, or partly as a tula. three frontier communes in the southwest of east prussia were also assigned to poland. on aug. 16 both the inter-alled commissions left the plebiscitary areas.",
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