Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1913-04-04

I department
agriculture on the results of experiments in the
development for industrial purposes of the grow.
ing Of wild wheat" which Is found in profusion
in the farming sections of his native country
Since he has been here ha has made an extended
trip through California, Arizona and Texas at the
request of the agricultural department to intro
duce and direct experiments with the wheat in
those states.
1t was directly through the discovery by DR..
Aaronsohn of wild wheat that the Jewish agri-
cultural experiment station in Palestine was
founded He was born and brought up in that
country, the son Of native farmer, and after
receiving medical education he came to this
country to see what reception he would have for
his theories that the cultivation and adoption OF
the wheat for commercial purpos es would tend
to cheaper foodstufs and render disable many
arid districts in the west where nothing could
grow before He was favoraby received by the
federal agricultural authorities and his trip
met the who ultimately united to form the
station of which he is the head. Julius
Rosenwald Of Chicago is president of the board
of directors Of the station and members of 1t are
Oscar Straus, Paul NJ Warburg, Isaac N. Selig
man and Jacob H. Schiff. The late Isidor Straus
was also affiliated with the organization, and SO
IL Nathan Straus.
With a plan for the industrial betterment of
Palestine and it's inhabitants under way natural
ly it became necessary to do something for the
physical alienation Of the people themselves,
since it had been found that healthy men to do
the work were an indispensable requirement
The rate of mortality in the country very
high and the general health of so low standard
that it soon became evident that something must
be done to improve conditions II the agricultural
movement to be success.
AT the time this need became most evident,
something more than year ago. Nathan Straus
was in Palestine pleasure trip. He was APP
pealed to- but at first declined to do anything in
tat country, as he thought his first duty, from
o humanitarian standpoint was to the poor and
the suffering of the United States. He consent
ed however, to investigate the situation person
ally and soon became impressed with the con-
ditions that he assured those who had made the
appeal that he would do all in his power to re-
Heye them and would also solicit the aid of his
numerous friends. Since then his efforts have
been unremitting and such improvements have
beeu introduced that Palestine in general and
Jerusalem in particular have become modernized
from a hygienic point of view to an extent that
was not dreamed Ola few years ago.
It was not only because OF his personal expe-
rience that Mr.. Straus determined to lend his aid
IN Palestine. He believes that all members of
the Jewish race owe peculiar duty and obliga-
tfon to that country and that wherever feasible
M effort should be spared to civilize and bring
n 10 position where it will bear comparison
with any other community in the civilized world.
No sooner had Mr.. Straus seen with his own
eyes the pitiful and sQualid conditions IN Pales-
tine that so sadly needed relief than he, with
the decision and generosity characteristic Of him.
took immediate steps to correct them With the