Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1917-04-26
rson County, West Virginia, Thursday, April 26. 1917
Jerusalem the Goal.

II is now about four centuries since the
old wall of Jerusalem was threatened,
for in 1917 the Egyptian Sultans were
driven from Jerusalem by the Ottoman
Turks, and then capturedthe city. Now
the English are battering their way to-
wards its gates, and for the firsttime since
the invention OF gunpowder the wall may
tremble TO the sound OF the cannon's roar.
II now seems that another race may
write its name in the long list OF those
who have held possession of the ancient
Holy City, whose history, which covers
an authenticated period OF thirty-five cen
turies, has been held in turn by Jews,
Pagan, Christian and Ottoman.
The British are expected to have little
difficulty in taking the city, for the de-
lenses, the last OF which was built by
Agrippa ten years after the Crucifixlon,
are not modern ones and the Turks pos
sess no weapons which could be used TO
consistently defend the city.
The National Geographic Society de-
scribes the defenses ofthe city as follows:
geographically, however, Jerusalem
should be capable of being put into con-
dition for prolonged tense. The city
possesses five notable hills within its
limits, it is surrounded on every hand by
fairly deep valleys, the most noteworthy
being the Valley OF Kedron which lies
between the city precincts and the Mount
OF Olives, lying to the east, and from
which descends the road TO Bethany.
"The heights of the Mount OF Olives
only slightly exceed in elevation those OF
the five hills within the city, the highest
of which is Mount Zion, standing at z, ,529
feet above the sea level and overtopping
the surrounding Valley OF Hinnom by ex-
actIY 500 feet, while Mount Moriah, little
farther to the east. rises nearly 300 feet
above the valley Jehoshaphat.
1.-The most practical OF all the endeav-
ors to modernize and ameliorate The con-
ditions OF life in Jerusalem are those pro-
iected and financed under the leadership
OF philanthropic American, Nathan
Straus, whose enterprise embraced not
only the establishment of beneficent
charities but also undertook the develop
ment of industrial activity suitable to The
environment
"Modern Jerusalem lies substantially
within the lines OF the old walls, though
an extra-mural community has been de-
veloped in which are TO be found The
homes OF the more affluent of the city's
population, the foreign consulates, the
more important Of the monasteries,
schools and hotels. Neither here nor
within the walls, however, can moderr
conditions ofcity life be found, due chiefly,
of course, to the fact that Jerusalem is
without any natural water supply, The
principal dependence in this regard being
upon the rainfall which is husbanded in
csterns, the numoer OF which for private
use have increased so greatly that the
public pools are left with but scant supply
and are used only in case OF necessity by
the poorest of the people.
Railway connection is had with the
seaport of Jaffa, but there are none but
the most primitive of means OF commune
cation within the town, where only few
streets are suitable for wheeled convey
ance of any kind. The population is
about 81, 900, the majority OF whom are
Jews. while the Moslems and the Chris
tians of various sects number about 5000
in each group.
There is little love lost among the
Christian sectaries, il must be said, and
their jealousies, especially as regards
their privileges at the Church of the
Sepulcher, have long been jest TO the
Mohammedan ruler, who has seen at the
Savior's tomb striking example of the
envles and ambitions which so long have
enabled the Turkish conqueror to hold in
subsection the masses OF Christian people
in the Near East whom he has been able
to divide and rule"