Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1915-07-29
PALESTINE UNDERGOING
GREAT TRANSFORMATION
Turks Have Given 1t Better Railway
Service, Roads and Sanitary
Conditions.
PREPARING FOR CONQUEST
1t Is Proposed to Use Ancient Coun-
try as Base for Campaign to Wrest
Egypt From 'England-Suez Canal
Is Mined,

BERLIN, July 2S.-Palestinc is un-
derSoing great transformation in the
matter OF railway communication, inn
proved highways, and better sanitary
conditions. This is evident from n
letter to the Frankfurter Zeitung from
its correspondent In Jaffa. the seaport
or Jerusalem, who has been inter-
viewing Djcmal Pasha. the military
governor of Syria. This work has all
been undertaken since Turkey went to
war. and is largely in preparation for
extensive military operations against
Egypt. Already according TO Djemal
Pasha, the Suez Canal has been mined
and one ship sunk.
Immediately after my arrival in
Syria" said Djemal who is one of the
leaders of the dominant Young Turk
party. my first work was to tnke meas
urcS to improve and extend the roads,
Many battalions or workmen were or
RaniZcd for the purpose of building
important new roads and putting into
repair old ones that had become use
less. Formerly you could not go fur
Their south in a carriage than Hebron,
but already | can ride In my automo-
ble through Hebron and Bcersheb;l
out into the desert"
Here the correspondent remarks that
no spent Il whole day last year riding
horseback from Hebron to Beershcba,
where the distance can now be cover I'll
by automobile In one hour.
within n short time" Djemal went
on, we have built over 100 kilometers
of railway and have connected Jeru-
salem with the Hejaz Railway (the
road that runs south from Aleppo and
Damascus, over the plateau to the east
of the Jordan, and on southwark to
Mecca). You doubtless know how
anxious the English were to prevent
the building of this connection They
n OIL hn
allies. the right to carry this road
through Ramleh because they were d.
termined under any and all circum =
stances to, prevent a land connection
from Syria and Anatolia to Egypt.
Now we want to carry these roads still
further. and hope that we shall soon
be able to transport our troops 3y rail
to the Sucz Canal. After our troops
enter Egypt, an event which i conf
IDENTIFY expect, these railways Will be
connected with the Egyptian system OF
roads"
The correspondent thinks that this
railway building will prove of epoch
making Importance for the develop
ment OF Palestine.
DENIAL went on to show what the
Turkish troops have already accom-
plished In preparing for the conquest
| of Egypt. I'VE have pushed forward
our frontier. which formerly ran in a
StTdlSnl line from lcl-cl- kaua on the
Mediterranean to Akaba Con the gulf
OF that name) up close to the Sucz
Canal, and we are trying by all posi-
bic means to open up this conquered
territory. We have dug numerous
wells there, which will supply our
troops with water. and we have taken
all steps necessary to enable our
troops TO stay there and also to go for
ward. This means also that we have
opened up this wilderness for settle
ment by fixed population. AS the
English. in disregard of all existing
treaties that guarantee the neutrality
OF the Suez Canal have built fortified
lions to the east of it and have THIS
drawn the canal into the sphere OF
hostilities, we were no longer able "a
regard the canal as neutral territory.
We, therefore, put mines at VARIOUS
places in 1t, and these have already
caused the sinking Of one ship.
Sanitary conditions. said Djemal.
were satisfactory. in spite of the
mobilization of troops. The fight
against epidemic diseases had been
facilitated, he said. by the international
health office established at Jerusalem
some years ago by Nathan Straus. Of
New York, and number Of German
philanthropists.