Nife Row

Communiques poured from the respective fronts in the opera bouffe war on the banks of the Nile (TiME, Feb. 25). Howard Carter, a modern Achilles sulking in his bungalow, and Mahammad Pasha Zaghlul, Egyptian Under Secretary of State for Public Works, glared at each other over towering barricades of words and made alternate gestures of ferocity and conciliation. Skirmishes:

P:Carter, holding the keys, visited the Valley of the Kings to examine the state of the tombs. He was met by an inspector of the Antiquities Service with a written order denying entrance to Carter or anyone else. The Egyptian Cabinet approved the action of the Government officials, holding that Carter had broken his contract by ceasing work.

P:Carter warned the Government that the lid of the sarcophagus was suspended only by a temporary arrangement, that damage might result if he were not admitted. Cairo disclaimed responsibility and issued an ultimatum to Carter threatening to cancel his excavation license if he were not ready to resume operations within 48 hours.

P:British Prime Minister Ramsay Macdonald, when interrogated in the House of Commons as to the British Government's attitude toward the Luxor controversy, replied that he was not prepared at present to join in a suggested British-American protest to Egypt.

P:The London Times announced that its contract with Lord Carnarvon was in no sense a monopoly, that it had sold news of the discoveries at cost to all leading-newspapers, that the Egyptian papers had been supplied free.

P:Carter replied to the ultimatum that he was ready to continue work provided ample apologies and guarantees of freedom from interference were given him. He commenced legal proceedings on two counts in the Egyptian mixed courts: for an injunction to restrain the Government from entering the tomb; to compel it to share the archeological treasures equally with him.

P:The Government completed preparations to take over the tomb under its own staff of archeologists, who are mostly British. According to Charles Breasted, son of the American Egyptologist: The-Cairo Government has no men at its command competent to conduct the work; offers to co-workers of Carter had been indignantly refused; the Government's aim throughout had been to allow Carter to do all the difficult technical work, and then to seize the tomb.

P:The license of Countess Carnarvon, under which Carter operated, was cancelled by a ministerial order.

P:The Government announced that it would formally open the tomb on Feb. 22 and hold a public view for the Cabinet diplomats and their wives. It would give complete freedom of access, publicity and photography to all correspondents, would assume all expenses and complete control. Gen- eral Allenby, returning from the Sudan, told Carter he could not intervene.

P:The Government assumed control on Feb. 2; Pierre Lacau, Director General of Antiquities, officially broke the locks of the Tomb, entered with a long retinue of district officials and workers. Newspaper correspondents were not allowed to enter as had been promised; but they were assured that no damage was found, that nothing would be removed.