The Fargo forum and daily republican., 1909-06-19

meet with realization-such is not the
ambition and the hope of sordid ma
terialists.
The present meeting of the Zionists
which opens tonight with mass meet
ing in Cooper Uunion, viii doubtless
be fuller of portent than any previous
session in the history OF the federation
Abdul the Damned, the Turkish auto
crat of the cruel heart and the fear
filled brain, who stood as a rock in
the path of the Jewish naturalists, is
fallen, and another rules in his stead.
In this fact the Zionists see great for
greater hope Rabbis and wise men Of
the chosen people discuss the change
in the political complexion of the Turk
ish empire as mile stone marking a
great advance in the march of the
Jewish hosts to the promised land.
Hope long deferred had made the heart
sick, and until the recent Turkish rev.
olution, many among the Zionists were
almost tempted to abandon the cru
sade as a lost cause.
Louis Lipsky, editor OF a New York
Jewish publication, is firmly of the be-
lief that the deposition of Abdul in
wolves the speedy fruitition of the
Zionist programme. In an interview
he said:
with the passing of Abdul Hamid,
the greatest stumbling block in our
plans has been removed. Zionists may
now face the future with a smile, DIS
they have never had a better oppor-
tunity for carrying out their wishes.
The movement was started, in a po-
litical sense, about twelve years ago by
Dr. Theodore Herzi, a Viennese jour
nalist DIR. Herzi tried to enter into
negotiations, before his death, with
Sultan Abdul Hamid to open the doors
of Palestine to the Jews, and to grant
AUTONOMY to the territory. He was
unsuccessful In his efforts, but he in
itiate a widespread movement.
, THE opponents of Zionism do not
measure the amount of work which
has been done in the really short time
we have been organized. Not only
have we in Palestine these thousands
of colonists, but we have a national
fund, collected from the small contri-
buttons OF poor people all. over the
world the money of which is being
used for the development of land. We
have a Palestine Development com
pany, a Jewish Colonial Trust, and a
bank with headquarters in London and
branches in Palestine which assist
Jewish settlers in their colonization.
We have cultural organizations estab-
Iished in the Holy Land, and our peo-
pie who are there do not speak Turk
Ish or Arabic or Russian or Yiddish,
or any Of their immigrant tongues, but
they have learned the pure old Hebrew
of their forefathers, and speak and
write it as living language. I con-
slider that as perhaps the most aus
picious phenomenon in this movement,
for if there is anything that is the
basis of a nationality 1T is to have a
distinct native language.
THE present circumstances which
make this convention more important
than any that have preceded 1t, con-
sidering the success of the movement,
is the political state Of affairs in the
Turkish empire. Turkey was hither-
to non -committal in its attitude tow
ard the Jewish immigrants, but now
1t is publicly, and with the certainty
of constitutional guarantees, friendly
to Jewish hopes. It's new leaders have
formally invited Jews to come into
their land and make themselves at
home in the territory of their choice.
The land of backwardness and oriental
immobility has moved forward; 1t is
modern, up to date, and it appreciates
the value of the Jews as factor In
the progress of Turkey"