The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-10-23


attempted. He was a true reactionary
and opposed every form of progress. No
recommendation for the Improvement
of the condition of the people of the
Ottoman empire ever received his at
tention for more than moment and usu-
ally was promptly rejected. a.. -
Since the change of government, how
ever, the project has been revived; a
small appropriation has been made for
surveys and estimates. and Sir William
Wilcock, the most celebrated irrigation
engineer in Europe, was invited from
Egypt to take charge of the work and
advise a plan. Sir William has been
in charge of irrigation projects in the
valley of the Nile and in India for many
years as a consulting engineer and in
spector for tho British government. He
built the dam to Assuan on the upper
Nile, and designed the vast project for
the reclamation of the upper section of
that valley. The physical conditions of
Mesopotamia are similar to those of
Egypt, and most of the features OF the
problem were. therefore, familiar to him.
| Reclaim SIX Million Acres
Mesopotamia is that portion of Turkey
| lying between the Euphrates and the
Tigris rivers-an area about 800 miles
long and varying from 50 to 200 miles
wide Within the oval, according to the
estimates of the engineers, are about
Il, 900 acres, of which 100000 are desert
and 100000 fresh water swamp, and
they estimate that 100000 acres can be
RECLAIMED. There are several large shall
low lakes fed by the annual overflow
of the Euphrates and Tigris. Both are
large rivers, having their sources in the
lakes and mountains of Armenia and
emptying into the Persian gulf, about 50
miles below the town of Kurna, where
they join their waters and become one.
Between those rivers is the oldest habi-
tation of men; the birthplace of the hu-
man race; the supposed site of the Gar
| den OF Eden and the ruins of the capt.
tails and commercial cities of the dozen
extinct civilizations 1t is the most in
| teresting field for Psychologists on the
earth's surface. and exploring parties
| from American, British, German and
French universities and scientific soci-
cites have been constantly at owrk for
half century or more uncovering the
remains of the imperial magnificence of
Babylon, Nineveh, Palmyra and other
cities.
| Sir William Wilcox has contributed
some interesting theories in connection
with biblical history and archaeology In
addition to his recommendations for an
| irrigation system. He locates the Gar
den of Eden at Hairlah a lovely and
flourishing oasis in delta Of the Eu-
pirates about 200 miles northwest of the
oitx Of Rou cd atrt ba
rivers of Eden, mentioned in the book of
Genesis, have been identified by him, and
other typographical features which he be-
| lieyes to be indisputable.
Theory Conserving Deluge
| Sir William also gives US an interest
ing theory concerning the deluge, which
he believes was merely the flooding of
| the plain between the Euphrates and
| the Tigris by the overflow of those
rivers which Is caused by the sudden
melting of SHOWS and the heavy rain
| fall In the latter part of March and
early April. These floods occur an
nually, and on the particular occasion
referred to In the Book of Genesis, Sir
| William believes an unusual volume of
| water came down because of a sudden
spell of hot weather and an unusually
heavy rainfall.
Sir william thinks Noah was inspired
| to build the ark In anticipation of such
| a food, and foated around in 1t until
he ran aground-not on the mountain
or Ararat, but near the town of Ur, of
the Chaldees in the province of Ararat
and part of Armenia He believes
| that a careful reading of Ole scripture
story of the flood will justify this
| theory, which, indeed. is not new Many
biblical sch GLARS reject the tradition
that the ark landed on a mountain and
| hold that the word "Ararat" in the
| Book of Genesis refers to the province
and not the peaks of that name.
He declares that If Noah had been
| hydraulic engineer he would have done
much better by cutting channel for
the escape of the waters through the
bed of the river Pison, for he might
| thus have saved the entire population.
| The Pison is one of the four rivers of
Eden. the Gihon, Hiddekel and Eu-
pirates being the others. All Of them
are really branches of the Euphrates,
formin ga delta, In which the Garden
of Eden Is believed to have been sit
uated.
Nearly the entire area Of Mesopo-
tamia was once under irrigation, and
the first known dams and canals were
built by Nimrod of the Bible, Who is
identified as the Hammurabi of the in
soriptions that are frequently found
among the ruins. Cyrus the Great and
Alexander the Great saw Mesopotamia
In it's greatest prosperity
Wrecked Dams and bitches
The decay the country bagan with
the invasion of Genghis Khan and his
MongoI horde, and Timor who
destroyed the dams and the bitches
and plundered the people of all their
wealth, so that they had no means to
restore the irrigation system. Hun
dreds of miles of the ancient canals can
be easily Identified. and Sir William
testitfes to the rema rkable degree of
genius shown by the engineers who de-
signed and constructed themIn his re-
port to the Turkish government he REQ
ommends that the old canals be re-
stored as far as possible. which can
be done at half the cost OF construct
ing new ones.
The Babylonians. Modes, Persians.
Greeks, Romans. Saracens and Caliphs
AIDED to the number of reservoirs and
extended the canals that were built by
the patriArchs OF tho scriptureA The
fabulous wealth of Babylon. Nineveh.
Palmyra, Nippur. Kufa and other great
cities of ancient times was largely de-
rived from agriculture in a territory
that is now desert; from the culti-
walton Of soil which for thousands of
years has been celebrated for fits ex-
treme fertility. Sir William Willcock
declares that the greater part of the
valleys Of the Euphrates and the Tigris
and Of the area between these rivers
is as rich as any In the valley of the
Nile.
In his report he says:
"Of all the regions Of the Earth, none
is more favored by nature for the pro-
Tigris. Cotton sugar cane. Indian corn.
ana III fhe asImvner e.orealn lenrfu13r1 MI Z