The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-07-20
BRITISH GENERAL RUNS PALESTINE IN
 KA|SER'S CASTLE
o. E. T. A. Established on the Mount of Olives, Where
 Soldiers Rule the
 Holy Land
By CLAIR PRICE

Jerusalem, July 7.-(Special.)-A wide, macadamized road, snow-white with it's thin layer of stone dust, winds out from Jerusalem around the head of the valley or the Kedron to the Mount of Olives, the holiest of all the holy places outside the walls of Jerusalem. If one takes a. short cut from St. Stephens Gate down into the Kedron valley and up the oppo- site slope past the Greek and Russian Gardens of Gethsemane, the Mount of Olives can be reached in 20 minutes from Jerusalem. But by the carriage road around the head of the Kedron, it is three miles from Jerusalem fare, 4d piastres, or $2).
 The Mount of Olives is green and rockqy range, roughly 27O0 feet above sea level, divided by low depressions into several summits. To the west of 1t, one looks down some 300 feet on the hilly, stone-colored blanket of Jerusalem. To the east of it, one looks down 40o0 feet on the Dead sea, a sheet of blue-g green lying 20 miles away in a naked wilder ness, which looks like toy relief map. For the Mount of Olives is the roof of Palesetine and the Dead sea is the eel lar.
 The Russians have annexed one of it's summits as completely as they once an nexed Port Arthur, and have fortified it with hospice for pilgrims, a church and
 D with a tower which affords the most remarkable panoramic view in Palestine and which could not have been better adapted for signal tower if it had been built for the purpose The Germans have seized upon another summit and have developed it with as complete a disre- gard for expense as they showed at Heliloganld. Their buildings, which date back to the Kaiser's visit to Jerusalem in 1898, consist of a huge hospice for pilgrims, of the most showy chapels in the Jerusalem district, tower with bells and an abandoned German search light in it, and a concrete wal with small openings in it put up around the build ings for the purpose of strengthening" them.
 These Russian buildings are, for the time being, an American Red Cross workshop for stranded Russian pilgrims The German buildings are, for the time being, the capital of Palestine. They are headquarters of the occupied enemy territory administration (south), of the Egyptian expeditionary force of the Brit ish army. The chief administrator of Palestine is Mai. Gen. Sir A. w. Money, K. c. M. G., c. s. I.
 During the interim between the crush ing of the Germano-Turkish armies by the Egyptian expeditonary force and the permanent allocation by the peace con- ference of the territory thus liberated. four military authorities are administer ing the occupied country. The occupied enemy territory administration (north) is French authority, having jurisdiction over Cilicia, With headquarters at Adana O. E.. T. "A. (wesD is also French with Jurisdiction over Syria and headuuar- ters at eBirut. o. E. T. A. (easD is an Arab authority, with headquarters at Damasuc and Jurisdiction over the coun- try lying in general east of the Jordan and the Dead sea. O. E. T. A. (south) is British, with headquarters on the Mount of Olives outside Jerusalem and iuris- diction over that S700 square miles of country knc wn to the native inhabitants as Filistin and to all wearing peo- pies as Pa estine.
 All four administrations are part of the command Of Gen Sir Edmund H. H. AL lenby, now special high commissioner for Egypt and the Sudan and commander ln-chef of the Egyptian expeditionary force. Under the laws and usages of war, their function is to administer the existing body of Turkish law until the peace conference has designated perma- : nent authorities to whom the country can be handed over. Never before in the history of armies has there been soldier administration son such scale
 To watch the o. E. T. A. at work is to gain new notion of moderen armies. A modern army at work is like surgeon al work. It cuts, but it cuts to heal In Khaki, the British army cut the Turk like a diseased growth off the body of Palestine In khaki, the British army is