Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1922-06-08
PLAN TO RESTORE THE HOLY
LAND.


prophecies which lead them to believe
that the hour OF the foundation Of their
New Zion is about to strike, and with
many Of them actually planning return
to the land OF their forefathers, the
question Of the potential ability Of that
land to support a greatly increased
population at once arises.
There is no possible doubt that the
Palestine of Biblical days, with rain
fall not greatly in excess OF that of the
present time, supported an almost ex-
clusiyely agricultural population of
many millions.
Yet il is because some kind Of pow
er is indispensable to any extensive
reclamation in Palestine, that these
normally prohibitive limitations have
not been allowed to bar completely the
door of the future. One source of
power, though hitherto untried one,
still remains-the sea. do not mean
tidal power, for the Mediterranean is
practically tideless; but rather the
utilization of the difference in elevation
between the surface of the great Mid
die Sea and that Of the deeply sunk
valley of the Jordan. As the Dead Sea
is almost 1900 feet lower than the
Mediterranean, and as tine supply of
water from the latter is inexhauStible,
it follows that the principal problem
in connection with such project will
be an engineering one-the construc-
ton of the necessary works at rea-
sonable cost. Given the power that
can undoubtedly be developed through
such an installation, the restoration OF
Palestine to a productiveness that will
support a population of many millions
may be reckoned as an absolute GER
tainty.
There are several extensive areas in
the world that are below the level of
the sea-notably in the western Sahara
and the Colorado Desert of our own
Southwest-but none where such a
project as has now been put forward
in Palestine could be advanced serious
ly. Yet, this boldest of modern engi-
neering projects, unexampled though it
is, is quite simple in its basic con-
ceptions. A 37-mile tunnel through
comparatively soft rock, a turbine in
stallation to develop tens Of thousands
OF horsepower, transmission line
to great pumping plant 60 miles
away, couple of main canals to carry
the lifted water, and the usual sys-
TEN Of laterals and ditches-censtruct
these at cost that will not leave too
heavy an interest charge against the
land reclaimed, and Palestine can be
made to provide milk and honey to
say nothing Of grain and fruit, for
population in excess of that ruled over
even by King Solomon Without it, arry
attempt to found New Zion througfs
greatly ausmenting the present popuL
lation of Palestine would be almost GER
tam to result in failure.
No one with the least interest i'm
hydroelectric, development can ever
have visited Palestine without remark
ing the power possibilities latent in
the proximity of the Mediterranean to
the Dead Sea depression, but the fact
that the Turk vas in control of the
country put even a tentative study of
the engineering side of such a project
out of the questiaT
Doubtless the drst thing an engi-
neer would investigate in studying
power developments and irrigation for
Palestine is the possibility of turning
to advantage the fall of the Jordan be-
tween the foot Of the Sea of Galilee
and the head of rhe Dead Sea. AS
the latter is 1892 feet below sea level
and the former S82 feet, the Jordan
will be seen to have a fan of 6lO feet
in its SINUS course of 1875 miles.
AS the river is very winding, canal
of something like 90 miles in length
would suffice to carry water to a point
above the head of the Dead Sea-
The details of the project do not
appear to have been worked out to a
point where more than an approxima-
tion Of the acreage reclaimable has
been arrived at, and this, of course,
varies greatly according to the areas the
water is carried to. IL the plains of
Esdralon and Sharon are included in
the scheme, this might well run to
several hundred thousand acres. The
water available from the Jordan drain
ona .rao 3, Tho I;-,;,;nn oo,.;Ioro,;o.