Los Angeles herald., 1909-12-22

ia %# the world, and IL it does not
kaEEeN ranl, first in disease and pow
erty 1t is because other cities
take more effectual measures to hide
these twin disgraces. The paVements
! of Jerusalem which were trod by Jesus
and his disciples lie buried beneath
thirty feet of the accumulated Nth and
| debris of nineteen centuries One of
the few clean and sweet places WITHIN
the walled city of Jerusalem today Is
the Roman Catholic church built over
| the Ecee Homo arch which still STANDS
over the judgment seat upon which sat
Pontius plate when he said: Il ma
no fault in this man."
| After a days journey through the
dark and Shiny streets of the Holy city
! it is indeed IA relief to enter this
church. One is received by a sister
of the Order of Zion, one who used to
| teach in a convent in st. Joseph. Mo-,
and who is particularly cordial IN
| greeting Americans. Everything in
the church and it's neighboring convent
! Is immaculate, and for the first time
! one gets a breath Of air uncontam-
mated by Jerusalem's dirt. The good
sister shows one down a flight OF stairs
! into the chapel of the Ecce Homo arch.
! Just behind the arch is a section of
| the paved street of the Via Dolorosa
along which Christ carried the burden
of his cross toward Calvary. The
| stones of the pavement are cut in cor
rugatlons to prevent slipping on the
sharp incline, and on one side of the
roadway, cut in the paving stones, Is
hop-scotch diagram upon which the
| Roman soldiers amused themselves
| with the same game which American
children play on the asphalt streets of
| our modern cities. This is one of the
few bits of the actual Jerusalem of the
i. mi
inal form. One cannot help but be
glad that this particular portion of the
ancient city of David was found and
preserved by good Catholics who be-
lieye in keeping things clean.
At the same time depressing and
fascinating. one of the principal sights
of Jerusalem is the wailing place of
the Jews. Here remain few of the
foundation stones of the platform upon
which stood the temple of Solomon.
| They are the only remaining relics of
| the temple and as such are most holy
to the Jews. Not being permitted to
| enter the temple area, now sacred
place of Mohammedanism, the Jews
| come to these stones to weep and
mourn for the departed glory of Israel.
The majority of the inhabitants of
modern Jerusalem are Jews. Some of
| them are descendants of that remnant
which escaped destruction at the hands
| of the Romans, who were not included
| in the dispersion, and who have lived
| always in Judea. Their number has
| been greatly augmented at various
| times, and is even now receiving many
accessions from the Jewish colonies in
all parts of tho world. Many Jews
| come to Jerusalem TO die, and the city
is crowded with the old and inflrm of
that faith, who have come back to the
city Of their fathers to await the end.
The native Jew of Jerusalem is dis
tinguished by his long cloak or gabar-
| dine and his fur-trimmed turban. The
Jew from eastern Europe is distin-
| guished by the absence of the turban
and by the two curly locks of hair,
one falling In front of each ear. A
| few of the native Jews are well to do
and their gabardines are gorgeous gar
ments of purple satin, but the vast
majority are the victims of abject and
| hopeless poverty. The rich and poor,
the Oriental and the Occidental, all
Jews of orthodox faith come together
| at this wailing place. There is rarely
a time when there is not a half dozen
| sons of Israel here to mourn for their
departed nationality. On Friday even
| ing, the beginning of the Sabbath day,
/ the narrow street Is crowded to sut-
location. One of the chief rabbis in
tones the prayer, because of the pal
ace which is deserted we sit alone and
| weep. Because of the temple which
| is destroyed we sit alone and weep.
| We beseech thee to have mercy on
Zion and gather together the children
| of Jerusalem Make speed make
speed. o Deivcrer of Zion; speak after
the heart of Jerusalem" No one can
fail to be profoundly affected by the
'pathos of these prayers.
But at the same time ones eyes
and nose and ears are offended by the
horrible sights, the noisome odors and
the raucous voices all about him. Two
Catholic priests from Buffalo, n. Y,
stood by the wailing wall with barred
heads in silent prayer for the miser-
able beings before them. A horribly
misshapen and disease-ridden hag
begged them for aims. One of the
good fathers felt in his pocket for a
coin. and unfortunately brought up a
| silver piece worth 20 cents. This was
such a great amount of wealth that
| the old hag screamed with delight
when she felt II i'm her hand. But her
joy was short-lived, for huge, strong
man struck her in the face with his
fist, tore the coin from her hand and,
! kicking her bleeding head, fled away.
The horror stricken priests were be-
sieged and literally jammed against
| the wall by a horde of repulsiVe beg
gars. Fighting for breath, one of the
! Americans struck the shoulder of n
one-armed boy, only 10 find that there
was a perfectly good arm on the other
side concealed under the boys Jacket
The two priests were happy TO escape
without bodily injury. 1t is very diff
fcult to remember that one is in
! holv MACE under such circumstances
If the regeneration of the Turkish
empire under the new constitution
means anything at all it should mean
a reformed municipal administration
| in Jerusalem. Here exists today the
| ruins of the most wonderful system
of water works ever devised by man,
here is the center of the religious in
| terest. of the civilized world, and here
| is what could be made a beautiful
! CITY. New water works, a sanitary
| sewer system and an adequate police
! force would make New Jerusalem
| indeed.
Jerusalem outside of the walls is
modern and comparatively clean. 1t
| is made up of converts and hospices
| housing the holy orders of several
| churches, of Protestant colonies and
| schools, of business houses and hotels.
| 1t has nothing in common with the
| Jerusalem within the walls. Outside,
the streets are broad and well paved
| and carriages are much used. Inside.
! the streets are so narrow, so steep
and so often cut up by steps that the
use of any sort of wheeled vehicle is
| impossible. There is, outside the wall,
| an American colony populated princi-
pally by the devotees of a religious
| eeo+ founded in Illinois, which offers