AMANULLAH

was a foreign financial adviser, who acted as a sort of
inquisitor into the expenses of the State Ministers, and
was highly unpopular in consequence. Persian script
was abolished by Royal decree, though the enterprising
firms had bought typewriters equipped with the com-
plicated language for all their future bookwork. Latin
script was substituted for general use. And as one of
the final blows to tradition, there came, soon after the
fateful Parliament, an order enforcing the wearing of
European clothes in every public street in Kabul.

The Kabul tailors were not miracle workers. They
had done fairly well over the huge order for the making
of " European clothes " for the Members of the first
Afghan Parliament. They were completely vanquished,
however, by the flood of orders that deluged them when
the King's decree was made known. And the conse-
quence was that in order to comply with the command,
many€inancially depressed young men of Kabul had to
go to the local dealer for real European clothes and pay
extortionate sums for suits which had their prices doubled
by the stern Afghan Customs. It seemed a delicious
case of turning out Peter's pockets to pay Paul.

And hardly was that order enforced, to the general
anger of every citizen who disliked making a fool of
himself, than new laws appeared governing his eating
habits. This seemed going a little too far, and it is
certain that the mullahs made full opportunity of the
religious objections to the new order.

It was still officially emphasised that the trouble in
the south was unconnected with these measures, and
that the people of Kabul were still enthusiastic about
the modernity craze that had overtaken them. At last,
however, the pretence could no longer be maintained.
Amanullah himself went to Jallalabad, there to conduct
the operations against the Shinwaris.

200