Wriggles & Wangles

The British Admiralty were in course last week of transferring their main historical Mediterranean base from Malta, which belongs to the Empire, to Alexandria, which belongs to Egypt. "Alexandria," cried British President of the Board of Trade Walter Runciman, "is now the strategic centre of the world!"

Rimmed with British anti-aircraft guns, the mouth of Alexandria's harbor was crammed with British war boats. From England and from India brigades of infantry poured in. Squadron after squadron of British battle planes arrived via Greece to settle down on the well-sandbagged British air base back of Abukir Bay where Lord Nelson demolished a French fleet and "the boy stood on the burning deck."

To the Egyptian populace these British arrivals were as welcome as Italians in Ethiopia. British troops surged up from Suez and Alexandria, through Cairo all week on their way to reinforce British garrisons in Western Egypt and the Sudan.

In the Egyptian waters of the Red Sea loafed 16 British submarines.

As an example to Benito Mussolini of how to bear the white man's burden, all this was superb. Egypt has not been permitted to join the League of Nations and therefore cannot squawk at Geneva. King Fuad is a fat, docile puppet. The farce that Egypt is an "independent kingdom" has been played so long that everyone has his lines pat (TIME, Dec. 10). But last week Egyptians boiled with demands that their lickspit Premier Tewfik Nessim Pasha should at least make the turning to Alexandria into Britain's main Mediterranean war base the occasion for wangling some heavy palm oil out of his and Egypt's master, Sir Miles Wedderburn Lampson. British High Commissioner to the Inde pendent Kingdom of Egypt.

Wangling his hardest, Premier Nessim chattered to reporters: "These matters of defense and politics have reached then most delicate stage."

Another Egyptian lickspit, if possible more heartily detested by his people than the Premier, is Ismail Sidky Pasha. He once made a fine puppet Premier for Britain (1930-33) and itches for that palmy job again. In an effort to shake Britain down and make it seem necessary to buy his silence, Statesman Sidky abruptly flew into a rabble-rousing rage last week, roared out part of what any Egyptian leader would say if he tried to speak for the long-oppressed and today spunkless Egyptian people.

"Italian intervention in Ethiopia does not affect seriously our interests cried Sidky Pasha. "We received all kinds of assurances that Italy would not touch our ancient rights. ... We do not feel an; danger from Italy. ... We must realize with sad hearts that our country being treated in this affair as a colony populated with primitive peoples who have to bow without an understanding of everything imposed upon them! Ready enough to start bowing himself Sidky Pasha larded into his speech coy hints that Egypt must continue under Britain's thumb but should have her official "free and independent" status improved by concluding between Cairo and London a reciprocal "military alliance on an equal footing."

Concluded Sidky Pasha, fairly wriggling to be bribed, "We would like such an alliance, if we got compensations."

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