Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-06-29
Must Wait for Returns.

mOSC w 0lC
As soon as the military restriction
on the sale Of land Is removed, gov
eminent tracts made available and
the Arabs convinced it is safe to sell
such holdings as they do not want,
be needed. Such colonists. l learned
from many pioneers. must bring with
them from eight to twenty-five thou
sand dollars. II they buy unculti-
waited land. they must be prepared to
wait at least Ave years for returns.
enough in city and colony. 1t is a
common sight to see colonist who
is a black smith. shoemaker or a
tailor and a small shopkeeper on the
side. There 10 also a liberal supply
Of doctors. lawyers. dentists and many
MISUNDERSTANDING experts. !
was told. however. that there are good
opportunities for modern Hebrew
teachers, with q genuine respect for
the Torah and with tact and SYM
pathy There is an evident need. too,
for proficient social workers. espe-
cially women. TO help straighten out
the tangles Of Jewish philanthropy in
the Holy Land. in home and institu-
ton, under the direction of able ad-
ministrators.
Teachers Are Real Leaders.
The lot of the Hebrew teacher in
Palestine, by the way. Is a striking
one. He does not suffer, as even the
public school teacher in the most pro-
gressive cities of America suffers.
from an Indifferent social status and
the Holy Land, men and women. in the
new settlement are considered the
elite of the population. They are the
leaders Of new movements" and
parties" They mold public opinion
And their wages, under the admins
the Zionist commission. are decidedly
liberal. 1 was often amused to hear
bank officials and well-to-do colonists
speak enviously of the role of these
"Melamdim," these teachers.
With 80 many Of the conveniences
of modern life lacking in the Holy
Land, 1t is obvious there are few
the Palestine agencies for American
manufactures, such as the best known
automobile tractor plows and other
agricultural Implements. typewriters
"a fifty dollar American machine sells
in the near east now for one hundred
and twenty-five dollarsl. electrical
supplies. household inventions. etc.
Many Trade Openings.
There is a chance, too. to I'LL the
important place occupied In ove-war
Germanys hold is said to have been
due to a system of long creditS. To
this day, household utensils SOLD In
the bazaars and stall-like shops in
Austria supplied cheap, ready-made
clothing minus quantity now In
Palestine.
Egyptian dealers have already
tried to negotiate with American
firms for promising agencies in the
looking into commercial possibilities
not only in Palestine but in Syria and
Mesopotamia.
To the corporations the opportuni-
ties open are overwhelming.
Transportation Facilities Poor.
The first corporation necessary in
the Holy Land is one whose business
will be the development of public
utilities. In January. when the local
Jewish commission, headed by David
Yellin, left for the peace conference,
the main plank in Its platform was
the formation Of just such chartered
Zionist organization, with headQuar-
tiers either in Europe or America.
OF these public utilities Transports
ton Is the crying need. The only
railway in the country runs from
Kantara on the Suez. connecting with
Port Said and Cairo. up through GAIA
to Judd. the junction for Jaffa, Haifa
and Jerusalem. At Haifa it connects
with Damascus via Samekh on the
Sea Of GaliIee; There h is no ,,f direct :St
new railway from Kantara to Haifa
and Jerusalem. built by the British
as a military necessity, is a splendid
one. the others are narrow gauge and
inadequate.
Roads Broken With bitches.
The Palestinians suggest. too, motor
bus lines on improved roads between
Jerusalem. Hebron, Jericho. and the
Dead sea, Nazareth. Tiberias, etc. The
roads between the colonies. except
the one leading from Rishon to Rech-
oboth. financed by the settlers them
selves. are broken with bitches. On
drawn mostly by mules: A rainy
! day ties up traffic and often drivers
have to drag their wagons out of
great mud holes. The most COM
mon means Of freight transportation
| among civilians is still the camel car
| avan and the heavily laden donkey.
The country is full of winding trails
and pack tracks.
Telegraph and telephone and cleo
trio lighting facilities need to be pro-
ytded. Tfberias IL the only city with
electric street lights. Jerusalem and
other centers using acetylene lamps.
While the telegraph Is open to civilia n
use. the telephone service up to April
was exclusively military. connecting
the British general headquarters with
the various governorates and camps.
Outlook for Agriculture.
The colonists look forward to a
corporation that will apply Intensive
&c Is of agriculture 10 the land.