The age-herald., 1897-09-03
ETCHINGS FROM
 CURRENT TOPICS

Dr. Theodore Herzl, the 1eadsr of the 1 Zionist movement, is eithsr an eeclesias- l tical adyentlrer or an impractical ssn- 1 timentalist He is usrmed the s'New l Moses" by his followers, but his enemies
 are not inclined to deal with him in so
 approving and Complimentary man.
 ri-F Dr. Hegzl is t41s most prognin snt
 and active figure in the effort to colonize
 the Hebrews of Europe and America on
 Palistine, and to make of that country a
 great and prosperous Jewish republic. It 1 is intended by the Zlonists to purchase
 ancient Palestine from the sultan of Tur-
 key, who thus far has thrown TO obstacle
 in the pathway of the Jews. who are anxi-
 ous to renew all their past grandeur amid the scenes made rich with the glori-
 ous traditions of long gone centuries. This movslment dces not receive the sanc-
 tion or encouragement of the majority of
 the Jews, who are scattered far and wide
 over the civilized globe, and many of whom have attained to positions of great
 eminence in the various walks of life. | At Basic, Switzerland, the Zien,sts
 have just heId a congress and the two
 hundred delegates present were erT,Ihusi-
 astic, and hopeful of an early consurnma-
 tion of Dr. HerzPs plans for the Hebrew
 r@ee. The policy and purpose of pr. l Herzl were given by him at Basic to the
 Jews, who regard him as the New Moses. IIa ft.-f 4o I3n1a tr,xa
 from the Turkish sultan, and as the pri-
 mary steps in that direction, resolutions l were forwarded to the sultan thalking | him for his Urea tment of the Jews in all parts Of his empire. After Palestine be-
 comes the property of the zionists it is | intended to have the country overhaulsd,
 as it were before it is co,ondzsd; telegraph l and telephone wires will form network
 ousr the picturesque hills and through
 the verdant valleys and only the most 1 approved and successful modern methods
 of colonization will be employed. There
 will ta two powerful agents organized l the Society of Jews and the Jewish com
 parry. The first will big a political organi-
 zation for the spread of the Hebrew faith;
 the otfJzr will be limited Inability cen- pany controlled by English laws. This latter company will attend to the econo- mic conditions and will have it's head quarters in London. Bridges viii be built in Palestine, streets laid out, rivers im- proved and railroads constructed. Only voluntary colonists are desired by the Zionists. T
 pr. Theodor Herzl, as president of the 1 Zionist congress, was striking person. ality. Ills is tall, handsome and very 1 courteous, and tactful. He has already achieved reputation as literary man, l in Austria, his native country; he has l been la newspaper correspondent, but
 has only of late become promin=n nt as the leader of this new movement Cor speak ing explicitly, this revival of an old move. ment) the re-establishing of the Jews in Palsstine Dr. Herzl says of the social problem: T am not in favor of any thing savoring of the Utopian element, and the socialists dream. Personally I incline to a democratic monarchy, and | very much of what is best in English in I stitutions. But the Jews in their new 1 country will know nothing of their Flu I ropean surroundings
 
 Dr. Hsrzls plans are opposed by the | strongest and most infiue ntial Hebrews | of America, who with their practical, | commercial minds, realize the utter fu- | tility of such a project, for those JEWS l who have established themselves in bus | mess and have made for themselves the | happiest homes, in all parts of Europe and this country. For generations, for l centuries, the Jews left behind them the | pastoral lives of their ancestors, who 1 tended sheep, and cultivated vineyards | in Judea's beautiful hillsides, and in l her green meadows. For centuries they | have fought their way, inch by inch in | the busy marts of trade, they have ac- l quired wealth; have surrounded them- | selves with the luxuri=s and comforts of
 western civilization, and they are no ] more fitted for the Arcadian existence l proposed by Dr. Herzl than would be any l other exponent of the push and pluck
 of this nineteenth century, be he born | Gentle or Hebrew. Dr. Theodor Herzl l is dreamy, sentimentalist, or an ad- 1 ventursr, who is using the beautiful tra- | dftions of an ancient people to make | large dividends for an English financial l concern.
 FThe R. T. Wilson family, of New York.
 but originally of Tennessee and Georgia. l flas way of affording much amusement
 and diversion TO well-bred people. What 1 with aheir matrimonial ambitions, which l seem to deprive them of all the pride
 which usually belongs to the average
 southerner: their desire to keep up with l other New York swells. and their recent
 airing i'm the newspapers, because of cer-
 tain letters and eerIafn unfaithful valets, the public is constantly diverted with a l Wilson episode. But the latest incident l in their fashionable career is one of the II raOSf ahs1I1l1 and ID ps