New-York tribune., 1922-11-05
Can We Quit Mesopotannia
And Palestine?'' British Ask
Reappearance of Turkey World Stage Shows
Need of Buffer Between India and Seat
Of Moslem Power

Syria, in which case the abandonment
Of the mandate for Palestine would be
only matter Of time, and the posi-
ticn Of Great Britain on the Suez Canal
graveiy impsrilled.
aNor Is the position In Central
Arabia more promising. The abandon-
ment in Mesopotamia Of the mandate
by Great Britain would be the signal
for further acts of aggression on the
part of the Wahabis against the
Euphrates towns. which are defense
less against an invasion from the
desert. So long as we have force at
Bagdad. Najaf and Karbaia, they will
not be seriously attacked"
Those who agree with this view also
assert that British trade with the
Middle East would be seriously affected
by the abandonment of the mandates.
Sir Arnold does not attach much I'm
portance to the matter of Mesopota-
maian oil, which. he says, is 500 miles
! from the sea and present in unknown
quantities; but makes the point that
the development Of agriculture, which
Is mainly a problem Of irrigation,
would be fatally arrested should the
British leave Mcsopotamia. He esti-
mates that, given irrigation, the coun-
try could produce billion bales Of
best long staple cotton annually. and
that dates. wheat. barley, skins and
wool could be exported In increased
quantities.
The commercial argument (Which 10
disputed by many writer's here) prob
ably carries less weight than that Of
possible loss of prestige. There ,s In
this connection the fact. which to-day
counts far more heavily than it would
have done before the Turkish victory
over the Greeks, that a Turkey whose
frontiers reached the Persian gulf
would be getting uncomfortably close
to India.
| The British position in Palestine has
naturally been again brought into the
limelight In the last few weeks. Here,
again, arguments have not been lacking
that Eve cannot afford to get out"
Referring merely to the material prog
ress made under British direction Ar
thur D. Lewis, we'll known writer on
zionism, says:
There are now fifty-fve Jewish col
| onies in Palestine where in 1914 there
were forty-three. The colonies COM
prise about 10000 acres Of land.
These settlements have introduced no.
table improvements in agricultural
methods and in housing conditions. In
Jewish colonies we see the ox-drawn
plow replacing the man-drawn plow of
the Arab. We find the Jews using for
the irrigation Of their orange and
lemon groves motors driven by oil or
gas instead of the chain pumps worked
by camel or mule used by the Arabs.
Cattle breeding, dairy farming and ro-
tation of crops enable less wasteful
, system of agriculture to be introduced
than that which has hitherto been
used"
In order to prevent the sand dunes
from spreading, says Mr.. Lewis, the
Jews have planted trees on them.
"They have literally made the desert
blossom" The productivity Of the
Jewish colonies, he asserts, is consid-
erably greater than that Of lands cult-
waited by the Arabs, and their houses
are much superior to those in most of
the villages.
Other industries in which the Zion
lists have engaged are land drainage,
wine production. olive growing, brick
making, -four milling and soap making
Then, Of course, there Is the famous
Rutenberg concession for providing
electric light and power.