Evening star., 1919-03-11
RULED
BY TACTFUL BR|T0N
All Nationalities Appreciate
the Sympathetic Attitude
of Gen. Storrs.
HOLY CITY is PRESERVED
BY MARION wEINsTEIN.

BY MARION wEINSTETN.
| JERUSALEM, January 81 tby mani
British progress in Jerusalem, as
reviewed for me by Gen. Ronald
Storrs, its military governor and now
acting chief administrator of Paies-
| tine, shows rapid strides in punlie
health, justice and education. But
more striking than these foundations
of sound civilian life is the spirit that
marked every change.
! 1t is the spirit that moved Gen. Al
lenby to enter the Holy city on 1ooI
1t is a reverence for the hoariness OF
Mount Zion that is perhaps best eX-
pressed in the work of the "pro-Jeru-
salem committee"
While the Turks lay intrenched lasS
| September, one hundred thousano
strong, before the Samaritan footnllIs
the governor of Jerusalem mob'llzeu
| this committee. The grim reailties ol
military occupation were still ms our
den-the huddled refugees, tue nun :
cry, ailing city, the steady stream oi
munition cars and khaki columns.
| In the midst of these cares he thus
addressed this committee of natlFe
| Christians Moslems and Jews:
I'VE must preserve the character U.
the Holy city. The repose OF It's sact u
sites the coiorful beauty of its vamit-
ed streets must not be disturbed. Ihe
sentiment that brings thousapds OF
pilgrims here is our trust, the to[ce
| by which Jerusalem attracts the nom
age of the whole world. We can Ne
| a sound and yet an ancient clly.
With the help of the committee, the
governor then proceeded 10 "Iap
4 fro
efficiency of the present, IN the pt1-
!turesque guise of the past.
Streets Are Kept Clean.
Take Jerusalem's street cleaning
denartment" The new city has IT'S
| scayenging carts. But down Ihe
stony steps of David street sham pies
a donkey. two open sacks on ms pa :.
tient back filled with the refuse OF
! the old city's main market way. AZ
Arab boy, under the watchful eye Oh
an overseer, makes the narrow stars
between the motley baZaars as clean
fas any European street.
Or. the FIVE public latrines: Bullr
hastily by. a military administration,
hardened to the ugiiness OF war. tney
are nevertheless low, square, artistic
buildings of rough hewn stone. They
might be some ancient piles that saw
horde after horde sweep the Juoean
hills in conquest.
In the same spirit reverent hands
have cleared David's citadel and the
| Via Dolorosa Nor has the so-called
Mosque of Omar been neglected A
craftsman is now In Jerusalem.
brought from Damascus to heal the
wounds in the outer walls or the
Moslem sanctuary. He is expert
menting with the very furnaces in
which it is believed the original tiles
of this Dome of the Rock were baked
Thirteen centuries ago. in the days of
! the peaceful Caliph Add Ell Melek.
/. New City Is Laid Outs
Gen. Storrs has been mindful, too,
tof the Holy Cify,s future. AS soon as
| its people began to seek permits to
repair or build for the needs of nor
NAL life he drew ND town planning
scheme Old Jerusalem. made sani-
third. city is to grow up. not haphaz-
ard like the second COLONIES" c1us-
fering. about the ancient wall. but on
broad streets. green belt of parks
dividing the old from the new.
It is not only in his delicate con-
cern for the frame of the Holy City
that Gen. Storrs has shown the spirit
of Difference Jerusalems medley of
souls has come to know his sympa-
thy and tact. Fifteen years expe-
rience with the east as oriental sec
retary of the British agency in Egypt
has taught him to understand the
observation-disclosures or Jew. He can
speak to both in their native tongues
At Hebrew celebrations it is strik
ing sight to see him, commanding
figure. Enthusiastically the British gem
tleman, addressing the gathering
with ease In the language of the book.
Deals Fairly With All.
| Between Arab unrest and Jewish
aspiration the military governors
| position has been a challenge to all
his skill. Mindful of the Balfour dec
| laration and because of his own sym
pathy with Hebrew hope. he has tried
in every legitimate way possible to
| further Israefs interest At the same
| time he has bent every effort to deal
| fairly with the majority under his
rule-the Arabs. All public procIa-
| nations. despite Moslem objections.
have been printed in Hebrew as well
as in Arabic, in English and in
| French. His documents bear two
seals, one Hebrew, the other Arabic.
| The governorate of Jerusalem un-
| dertook TO provide for civilian well
| fare. Gen. Storrs explained, be-
! cause the municipality with its Arab
| ndu pttn crippled IN the war.
| The military administration organ
| lied gendarmerie and police of
! more than twelve hundred natives of
the three faiths established food
control, reopened schools and hos
pitfalls and purged the courts of Turk
ish graft-the blight of "baksheesh b"
| Fearing the danger of paternelism.
however, the governorate is grad
| ualiy devolying as much responsible
fty as 1t can upon the municipality
Ever since the British forces en-
tered Jerusalem the administration
has been furnishing grain and sugar
at government cost to the people
through the acquisitions of their sep
arate religious communities. Nine
hundred tons of food had to be
| brought no by rail from Egypt those
| early months for the whole OF the
| Judea district when every pound
| meant so much less fighting force.
! Now that produce is beginning to
! come through from across the Jor-
! dan and by sea, and prices are grow
! ing normal. food control soon will be
discontinued
When 1t becomes possible to OBJ
tain supply of pipes. Jerusalem s
| water system will be extended to al
! most every private home. Just now
it supplies all public institutions and
! from the numerous taps throughout
| the city the housewife can draw her
juefu,, direct from the spring at
| Birket Arrub or the huge cistern
built near it by Pontius PLATE Or
| she can use her own cistern with
! safety. for it has been purified by
the administration with petrol.