Los Angeles herald., 1909-12-30
THE HOLY LAND
lX--A MODERN ZION
: Bv Frederic j. Haskin

wagon reached stretch of well mac
adanized highway which betokenea
the fact that they had arrived within
the limits of the colony. The road
wound up the mountain side TO the
cioan' village which Is the center Of tho
colony.
The wagon stopped in front of
building which displayed the sign
"lIotel Graf" The travellers were
wondering how they would ask for
dinner in the sign language, whsn sud-
denly the door of the hotel opened and
gave forth a bustling little man, who
she uted. Welcome to our city. [
know you are from America, and |
will feed you right. Get right out and
so in the parlor. You will find the
New York papers in there. l take the
Joinal. / think William Randolph
Hoist is the greatest man In Ametiea
since George Washington"
The surprised and delighted travellers
instantly knew that they were at home
with a product of the melting pot of
the east side of New York. Mr.. Graf,
for he was the proprietor of the hotel,
explained that he had left Roumania
for New York at the time his fatherA
Joined the colony which came to Pal
estine. His father died and left the
Graf of New York came to Palestine
to manage. He took great pride in
showing the Americans about the col
ony, but he constantly interrupted him.
self by asking questions about New
York and expressing the hope that
Mr.. Hearst might yet be president OF
the United States.
1t was evident that this particular
colonist greatly preferred Lorber's res
mi. AHaa.
east side to the Plain of Sharon, tho
Promised Land, the Talmud and the
Torah. But not so the majority of
the thousand souls who made up the
colony. For here they have found
peace and plenty instead Of persecution
and poverty. The government of the
colony is an absolute democracy of the
form OF the old-time New England
town meeting with just tie same
flavor of theocracy. The synagogue
and the school epitomize the purposes
and ambitions of the people. In the
one the old men are constantly at
prayer for the coming OF the Messiah
and the restoration of the kingdom OF
the Jews. In the other the children
are being taught to read and write and
calcuate, after the fashion of modern
children In modern schools, with tho
strange distinction that the only Ian
guage used Is Hebrew. Not Roumanian,
not French, not that strange jargon
known as Yiddish, but the Hebrew of
the pure classics, the Hebrew of the
Talmud and the Rabbinical books of
the law.
The streets are we'll paved, lighted
by gas, there Is a waterworks system,
and many more evidences of twentieth
century civilization than one would ex-
pect to find. The hospital, the gift of
Baron Rothschild. not only provides for
the members of the colony, but ex-
tends its ministrations to the Arabs.
Syrians and Bedouins Of the neighbor-
hood. The stores and shops look like
those of n small rural village in Amer
lea, and If II were not for the queer
dress Of the old men and the ear-locks
which proclaim the eastern Jew. 1t
would be difficult for one to realize
that he is standing under the shadow
of the flag of the shield of David.
In this colony the principal income
is derived from the vineyards. The
sgine produced is owned by the COM
munity in common, and the colony's
public expenditures are made from
the proceeds of the sale of the wine.
The remainder is divided among the
heads of families. The wine presses
and watts are sheltered by a huge
building which resembles an American
factory building. Underneath this are
the largest wine cellars in Asia. Mr..
Graf showed the American party
through It's dark and cavernous scor-
ridors, proudly proclaiming that there
was nothing like It in America, and
thriftily explaining that this wine
could be had in New York or Chicago
under the label Samaritan Society,""
The Americans enjoyed the visit to
the colony not only because it afforded
the opportunity to see the working of
a practical experiment I'm Zionism, but
also because 1t was the most pros
porous place they saw in all Palestine.
Here the people were well fed, we'll
clothed, clean and contented. It is
only in the Zionist colonies and in the
German colonies that one finds such
conditions In Palestine. And yet Mr..
Graf was living proof that TO the
average Jew the United States of
America, and not Palestine. is Zion.
TomorrOw-Tho Holy Landf
X-A Crusaders Castle.