The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1918-09-06
THE TIMES: SEPTEMBER 6. 1918

progress of General Allenby's army. They saw that little army foot by foot and mile by mile drive back the Turk and the Hun. Their joy grew as they beheld 1t move forwarr from Gaza to Bethlehem, from Bethlehem to Jeru- salem, from Jerusalme to Jericho. When Jerusalem fell, the delight or the Jews was unbounded, for Britain had already gone on record, through the speech of Balfour, as favoring the establishment in Palestine of g. na- tional homeland for the Jews.
 Jews Migrate Back to Palestine.
 The story of the return to Palestine of the Jews during the last 40 years Is as amazing as that of our Pilgrim fathers and in many ways a remarka- ble parallel to it. This migration, too, was born of persecution. The first great series of n1assacres of Jews in Russia began in 1882. Scores of thou sands of them fled to America. A few turned toward Palestine.
 Every great movement of the Jew ish tribes has had it's prophets and l leaders. The Moses of the modern Zionist movement was Theodor Herzl Herzl dreamed of national home 1 land for his race. His pamphlet Fin Judenstaat" GA Jewish State) was a call to the Jewish people to or 1 ganize themselves on a national basis l and create for themselves a home state. Herzy spoke of that home state vaguely as "Over There" He knew little of the history of his peo- pie and he knew nothing of what was transpiring in Palestine. Still, so re- markable was the effect of his pamph- let that inside of year the first Zion. ist Congress was held in Basel, Switz. 1 erland.
 The Joshua of the Jews today is Dr. Chaim Weizman, resident of the 1 Administrative Commission. He is g i chemist. He was born in Russia, bu later became a British subject. Zeal | ous in the cause of the Zionist move ment, he nevertheless has a strong practical sense that appeals to the British. Early in the war, Great Brit ain lacked a certain combination o1 chemicals for making explosives Weizman in his laboratory worked out that combination. He acquired z reputation and made infiuentia friends. Balfour was one of them Thus championed, the Jewish aspira tions moved into the realm of practi cal politics.
 Land MiracuIously Developed. The pioneers in Palestine in 1871 found a land that was arid, barren full of Miasma, and surrounded b! hostile tribes. These first immigrant were professional men. They knev nothing of agriculture; yet they re conquered the land for their race. Th' scientific achievement of the Jewish agriculturists in Palestine have point ed the way for all regions in thu : world of similar soil and climate tC increase their productiveness. Pales tine increased in prosperity. At Pc tach-Tkvah, the oldest of the colonies founded on the banks of the Rive Auja, northeast of Jaffa, in 1878, anC developed under innumerable difficul ties, an acre of irrigable land wa worth pounds, 10 shillings in 1890 In 1914, it was worth 36 pounds Again, between the years of 1904 ant
 1912, the annual volume of trade a the port of Jaffa rose from 760, ,00
 pounds to 2,080,000 pounds.
 Within generation, this land o
 desolation was the home of 15,00
 Jewish farmers organized in co-opera
 tive societies. Towns began to de
 velop. The Jewish population in Je
 rusalem grew from a handful to 60,
 900. The little colonies were operate'
 under managing boards which wer
 elected annually by universal suffrage
 Banks were established, trust com
 panies financed, and schools built
 Every village has it's Hebrew schoc
 and a Hebrew Kindergarten. HebreJ
 was the chosen language of all tn
 schools.
 Germany InterfePes.
 But already the Pan-Germanists ha turned their gaze to these strugglin Jewish colonies. Here, they thought
 was a gateway to the Orient Ac cordingly, they began laying thei
 plans to get possession of it.
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