6 INTRODUCTORY

the demand for a cotton free from dust and

extraneous particles ? The Arab character cannot be compared with

that of the indigenous races. Tenacious, intelli-

gent, commercial, and experienced, as are the more

developed classes and the Arabs of purer blood,

none are more eminently capable of appreciating

immediate advantage, notwithstanding the custom and prejudice which are so antagonistic to progress.

Whatever may be the Arab's vices and shortcomings, however hardened and callous where the sufferings

of others are concerned, he has a power of initiative,

an impelling and organizing force which takes him much farther than the mere production of hardly

sufficient to live on, as is the case with so many

of the negroids.

History has given examples of great powers of

organization, and of an influence in which, whether

exercised for good or for evil, intellect has taken

chief place. The subconscious momentum of a

ruling and dominant race, inherited from Asiatic

forefathers, has carried them onward, and from

the east to the west and far to the south they

have conquered and spread. They have the imag-

inative power which permits of a highly developed

religious system, a docility to its teaching and

an extravagance in its translation born partly of

elementary fanaticism, and partly of an unshakable

belief in the safety of their own eternal future,

involving a general reliance on unadulterated

selfishness.