The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1910-07-03
auRRELL ON PALESTINE.

has its own sefaculties."
BuRRELl ON PALESTINE.
Howard A. Burrell's latest letter to
the Washington Journal and Press
was written from Athens, Greece
Athenes. they spell it there. All
around him was Pentelic marble. II
is quarried from mountain near the
city and there is enough of it to cover
all Europe with shining white palaces.
II scratch my match Burrell writes,
under handicapped furniture. The
public buildings and the crack private
residences are marble-faced. Many
of the broad sidewalks are marble.
The flights of all stairs are marble,
and the newell posts. The street curbs
and even the cutters are marble, and
all the street markers are Psntellc.
My broad window sill shines like
moonlight. Athens is we'll nigh all
marble, and is wonderfully beautiful,
the loveliest city l have yet seen.
Could | speak the peoples musical
lingo, | could easily be content to live
here and forget U. S. A, and be a
Pagan of old, still reveling in the love
ly old Greek Mythology" The envi-
ronment of the city is declared to be
incompatible. The color of the Medi-
terranean sea is so blue it must have
been brought from heaven. Not even
the location of Constantinople is as
beautiful as that of Athens, in Mr..
Burrell's eyes.
Burrell was disappointed and dis
gusted with Palestine, and he init
mates that some of the ministers in
the party entertain like feelings. He
was not impressed and did not expert
ence a single thrill. For one thing,
he suffered from rheumatism in his
left hip and ankle, after two hard walks
in Constantinople, and he says pain
always makes him mad. This may
have colored his views. He had a
desperately hard weeks ride from Tt
berias on the Sea of Gallilee, to Cana,
Nazareth, Haifa, Sheckem, on to Jeru-
salem, was a week of physical torture
to him, but he pegged along, gritting
his teeth, aided by stout cane bought
in Damascus. Perhaps as conse.
quence he hated Palestine In any
event he thus writes:
Certainly | voted Palestine the
Arabic hell-hole of the universe, and
was never SO happy as on the day
we sailed from Joppa to Port Said
i am glad l saw Palestine, but Rookie
teller hasn't enough money to hire
me to traverse Palestine again.
looking region on earth. It's mountains
are arid, scorched as by the wrath OF
God, and it's towns and cities stink
the poverty, the beggary, the fleas
the mosquitoes, the dogs, the flies, the
sore eyes are appalling and the re-
ligious rancor, imposture, thimbleris
disguised me to the limit. 1t was
always inconceivable to me that God
left heaven and came to such q little
dab of mud as this earth is among
the innumerable consultations Of the
universe, but if He came would he
have landed in Palestine, of all
places? Though, 1000 years Ego
from all accounts, Palestine was com
paratively beautiful; the mountains
were wooded; there We're vendure
flowers, sparkling streams. palaces
on Galilee sea; thou Capernaum
that is exalted unto heaven. shall b.
cast down to hell That's it; that's
where she went, and hell is now dis
tributed all over Palestine under the
mis-rule and blight of the Turk
However, IL we assume that Pales
tine was once comparatively beauti
full. wouldn't God have come to Iowa
instead of SYRIA? | do not mean tc
+ even seem irreverent but only to ex
press my disgust with and abhor
renee of the Palestine that now is
4 It is the infernalest hole / ever go
4 In. And I feel sure that the minister!
4 in our party were quite as much
salivated as l, sinner, was. Limpine
round in the Church of the Holy G?
4 Sepulcher-which is a gigantic piou
fraud had world of Amusement
watching the faces of the cloth al
the guide told us this and that hol,
cock and bull yarn about sacre'
4 places. DR.. Rev Willis, at Tiberias
gazing on the desolation said be wa
sorry re had seen the sea of Galilee
Anyone who wants to, may TAX
Palestine and go to Tophet with il
, for all OF me. The beautiful plain
OF Esdraelon and Sharon, and tn
Phllistine country alone executed.
wouldn't swap Jackson or Seventh
Six township for Palestine. The res
OF 1t is Internal
- But ! didn't set out to write {