A Holy Triple Alliance

IMPROVEMENT ERA. Vol. XIII. MAY, 1910. No 7. A Holy Triple Alliance. BY A. A. RAMSEYER. In the 19th chapter of Isaiah, entitled "The burden of Egypt," is found the following prophecy: 19. In that day shall there be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt 21. And the Lord shall be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians shall know the Lord in that day, and shall do sacrifice and oblation; yea, they shall vow a vow unto the Lord, and perform it. 22. And the Lord shall smite Egypt; he shall smite and heal it: and they shall return even to the Lord, and he shall be entreated of them, and shall heal them. 23. In that day shall there be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria; and the Assyrian shall come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria; and the Egyptians shall serve with the Assyrians. 24. In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land. 25. Whom the Lord of hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance. On a Sunday morning, October 24, 1841, Apostle Orson Hyde, upon the Mount of Olives, offered to the Lord a prayer, which can be read in Vol. IV, pp. 456-59, Church History. He asked the Lord "to remove the barrenness and sterility of this land (Palestine); to let the land become abundantly fruitful, when

578 IMPROVEMENT ERA. possessed by its rightful heirs; to let it again flow with plenty to feed the returning prodigals who come home with a spirit of grace and supplication; to let them come like clouds and like doves to their windows," and to "restore the kingdom unto Israel — to raise up Jerusalem as its capital, and to constitute her people a distinct nation and government, with David, thy servant, even a descendant from the loins of ancient David to be their king." Since that memorable day, three other apostles of the Lord have visited Palestine and, standing on the same Mount of Olives, dedicated the land for the return of the Jews, viz., Presidents George A. Smith, Anthon H. Lund and Francis M. Lyman. More than fifty years elapsed before the Jews organized to regain possession of their fatherland, but the Zionist movement has now made such headway that it is clearly designed to accomplish what it started for, the regaining of Palestine for the Jews. Since the deposition of Abdul Hamid, an immense step forward towards that object has been taken, for the Jews are gathering in great numbers to Jerusalem and near-by places, and buying tracts of lands, which will yet furnish in abundance the proverbial milk and honey, as in ancient times. With the degree of liberty granted in the new Turkish constitution, the children of Judah will surely gather to the land of their fathers, and work out their social and political independence. Farther north, in Anatolia, or Asia Minor, there are great changes going on, too. From the late sultan, Abdul Hamid, the Germans got a concession to build a railroad from Scutari, on the Bosporus, to Bagdad in Mesopotamia, and hence to the Persian Gulf. With this railroad concession is granted a tract of land twelve and a quarter miles wide, along the entire length of the line, fifteen hundred miles long; in other words, a land grant of eighteen thousand six hundred square miles, equivalent to nearly one half the area of Oklahoma or Ohio, was given the German company, with permission to use all waters along the route for electric purposes. This line will pass through lands rich in asphalt and petroleum. But the greatest value of Mesopotamia, or ancient Babylonia, lies in the fact that when it was artificially irrigated, this was one of the principal granaries of the world. The ancient irrigation works decayed, through neglect and depopulation. Now

A HOLY TRIPLE ALLIANCE. 579 the British engineer, Wilcocks, who built the great Nile dam at Assuan — has been entrusted by Turkey with the restoration of irrigation in Mesopotamia; this region he divides into two sections, Upper Chaldea, with an area of 1,280,000 acres of first class land, and lower Chaldea, with an area of 1,500,000 acres of excellent land, though not quite so valuable as the first section. The cost of the works is estimated at forty million dollars. When reclaimed these lands will eagerly be bought and cultivated by European farmers, possibly by German Jews. The railroad once completed, the settlers would feel quite near their old home, for the two great German railway lines from Hamburg and Frankfort unite at Budapest, passing through Macedonia to Constantinople. This new line will pass through Anatolia to Angora, over the Taurus mountains to Adana and Aleppo, in Syria; thence through Southern Kurdistan to Nineveh and Bagdad, on the Tigris. Nor is it improbable that from Aleppo this line might branch southward through Palestine to Egypt, thus furnishing the highway which Isaiah prophecies of. Since the British took hold of Egypt this country has steadily progressed, politically and socially. Education is advancing, agriculture is being developed, stability of affairs has been secured; in short, the elements of good government are present on every hand. What has been accomplished in Egypt can be repeated in Mesopotamia, also in Palestine. When sufficiently advanced in civilization, the commercial relations may terminate in political combinations, perhaps, to offer a strong, united front to outside opposition. At first sight such a triple alliance may appear purely visionary, yet history furnishes us ample ground for the fulfilment of Isaiah's prophecy. The Jews were in constant relations with the Egyptians; great numbers of them settled here before Christ's birth. Surely their descendants must be scattered in Mizraim. Again the ten tribes were carried to Babylonia, and afterwards Judah and Benjamin, too, were transplanted into Assyria; although the ten tribes thence traveled to the northern countries, and the Jews, after seventy years of captivity, returned to Jerusalem, it is evident that not a few Israelites chose to remain among their captors, for various reasons, a successful business, together with religious

580 IMPROVEMENT ERA. and racial toleration, being the anchor to restrain them in their new home. The same is true of the modern Jews. Hence we may expect to find the blood of Israel scattered in Assyria, as well as in Egypt. When the "times of refreshing" shall come, these will hearken to the voice of the shepherd, and be one in heart and mini with their brethren at Jerusalem. Agricultural supremacy was not thought much of formerly, but now far-seeing statesmen point out the imminent danger of a world-wide famine,caused by an ever increasing industrial population, with which the farming population does not keep pace. It has been said, perhaps very truly, that the Jews (the Rothschilds) control the world's purse-strings. Who knows what other factors may yet shape the destiny of the nations? The agricultural products of Egypt, Palestine and Asia Minor could easily insure to these countries a supremacy not dreamed of. The wonderful development of the arid western regions of the United States and Canada, during the last sixty years, speaks volumes. What was done here may be repeated in Asia Minor. Recently the telegraphic news mentioned a report from U. S. Consul Sempich, at Bagdad, which says that "four thousand coolies, and the necessary engineers, "are already at work on the initial projects in northern Mesopotamia, and agricultural benefits are expected to follow in two or three years. About 12,500,000 acres of land are to be irrigated, the work (of reclamation) to occupy six or seven years. Wheat, barley and cotton can be grown upon the land, and the present population of two million souls is expected to be greatly increased as the project progresses.'' The consul adds that "if the plan should succeed only in part, it promises to revolutionize commerce and shift trade balances and traffic in this part of the world." In conclusion, the reader's attention is called to a series of articles which will appear shortly in the Deseret News. They come from the pen of that indefatigable traveler, Frank G. Carpenter. In the near future he is to take us across Egypt, Palestine, and perhaps farther north, describing, as he goes, the trend of modern civilization in the oriental countries. Let us watch the birth of a new empire ! Forest Dale, Utah.