The Industrial Future of Palestine

THE INDUSTRIAL FUTURE OF PALESTINE By H. C. Singer Prior to the war and the relief of the Holy Land from the regime of the Turks, the manufacturing industry of Palestine was but little developed. Indeed the Turkish Empire, surrounded by powerful anx- ious and intriguing powers, had but little opportunity to develop the resources which will make of Palestine in future years, a land of milk and honey. Political intrigue, inefficient transportation, and defective legislation, have greatly hindered the development of industry in the past. These coupled with lack of capital and the spirit of enterprise, not to mention the curse of the Turkish government, have kept Pal- estine from being a nation among nations. Palestine has much yet to accomplish, to set her house in order to speed away to industrial prosperity. Her political questions must be settled, the Arab and the Jew must settle their differences amicably, and a market must be found for her wares, the old primitive methods must be modernized and, as Palestine is too small for the installation of large- scale factories, she may yet be important as a nodal point between the East and the Old World. Eastward of the Jordan lie fertile plains, now only deserts, the hills are susceptible to afforestation, eastward and southward of the Dead Sea. The lands are rich in minerals, yet it cannot be denied her waterpower constitute the biggest asset that she now possesses. It may be that trade with Arabia and India, via Akabah, will compete more favorably with the heavy freight rates of the Suez Canal; and, as trade is largely done with the Bedouins, from whom Palestine buys her cattle, camels, wool, butter and hides, and to whom she sells cereals, tobacco, sugar, wool, etc., trading centers will probably be formed along the border of the desert. At present, her Jewish colonies are settled along the border of the sea from Haifa down to Gaza, while inland, Galilee seems to be the chosen spot for colonization. Of course, there is a large colony at Jerusalem, Mazah and Artuf, but south of Hebron, only little or no colonization. Statistics prove that 25,000 to 30,000 immigrants have poured into Palestine since 1920-1923. Upon the arrival of the immigrants they are met at the ports by an official who attends to their wants, putting them on trains for central points. Upon arrival at these, they are again met, lodged, and fed until as- signed to their respective fields of labor. Coming from all parts of the world, they mix and mingle, and the exchange of ideas must be of great worth to the Holy Land. From Akka in the north to Gaza and the desert border, there is one railway, while from Haifa eastward one hundred miles, another

THE INDUSTRIAL FUTURE OF PALESTINE 247 branch line joins Jaffa (the principal port) to Jerusalem, and Afale to Nablus and Tulkeram. There are, of course, many more projects under construction, such as Haifa and Tiberias, through Rosh-Pina, Metula and Rajaka, linking Haifa with Constantinople. The Cairo to Bagdad railway will also traverse Palestine, connecting the Palestin- ian system at Akabah. This cannot but be a source of wealth to Palestine. Of her natural resources, not the least is her mines of quarrystone, lime, gypsum, salt, carnallite, bromide and sulphur, phosphates, as- phalt, bituminous limes and petroleum. The country literally abounds with quarystone, once the important industry in the days of classic antiquity; still at Jasim may be obtained splendid paving stone, which industry, well developed, might be of great wealth. Lime will be needed for building purposes, and, in the days of reconstruction, will be a lucrative field, while it may easily be prepared and exported as cement and hydraulic lime. Gypsum produced near Damascus will be in demand during the days of building; while there is but little of it produced, quantities have been found at Jebel Gipsin. From the waters of the Dead Sea, comes salt in enormous quan- tities, while at Jebel Usaum rock-salt contains the standard of purity to 99%. Salt springs are found in abundance along the shores of the sea and in the Jordan valley. Carnallite is also obtained from the Dead Sea — crude carnallite containing 26% of potassium-chloride, forming an ingredient of artificial manure, it will be of great value to many parts of Palestine soil, while it may be used in potash, nitric acid, soap and glass. Yielding more treasures, the Dead Sea gives bro- mine as a product for export, and sulphur has been found in its en- virons and in the Jordan valley. Professor Blankenhorn asserts that on the floor of the Dead Sea there is a fissure containing pure asphalt, while at Hasebeiga it was mined for five years. Experts declare that underground oil fields are very extensive in Palestine, and companies are drilling there on a very large scale. Being situated in the petroleum zone, between Mesopotamia and Egypt, with petroleum to the south, Palestine bids fair to be a land of petroleum enterprise. At Haifa, Baron Rothschild's flour mills have been working for a considerable time, but are not so modern as those found at Damascus, and Beirut. Mostly they are driven by water and a few by mechanical power. Of course, the milling industry depends on the production of sufficient quantities of Palestinian wheat, while at present the greater bulk of wheat used is imported from abroad. Despite the primitive methods used, the olive oil industry in Palestine flourishes, producing within the last two years, 7,000 tons of oil from 600 mills in the villages. Soap factories use the oil chiefly, therefore but little being exported, but to Egypt by way of Jaffa, have

248 IMPROVEMENT ERA gone 7,000 tons of soap annually. Sesame and hemp-seed is also largely exported, while the butter industry has made surprising strides in recent years, Ethereal oils have been extracted from a number of plants, but with little success from roses, geraniums and orange flowers; but anis seed and oil of thyme, are prepared in Galilee, olive oil from the Jordan valley and bay oil at Antioch. These industries will be of great proportions in later years. Sugar refineries and vast factories of cocoa, and chocolate are now under production. Starch is now prepared from wheat grown at Damascus and is prepared mainly as an article of diet. Concerns are interesting themselves in saw and paper mills, tex- tiles, tanneries, building materials and glass works; while on a small scale, macaroni and cereal foods are now produced. Fishing in Galilee, tobacco from the eastern plains, textiles from Syria and wooden fur- niture from Beirut, such are some of the minor industries of Pal- estine. Let is be remembered that primitive methods prevail at present, in most of the enterprises, but under efficient management the modern- ized production will be greater and the fields of enterprise of wider expansion. Nearly four hundred mills are driven by water, and systems of canals are being utilized for irrigation purposes, and it is asserted that "Not a drop runs to waste in the swampy lakes of Baret-el Ateihe." At the same time, the slime from the waters and the sewage from the cities fertilize all the environs. Plans for dams and gigantic barrages to hold the rain in the mountains have been prepared, with the view that the water flowing down the ravines in the winter months could be stored up for irrigation of the plains in the summer. A great deal of land is to be levelled and water from mountain reservoirs conveyed wherever required. Additional supplies of water are to be secured by drainage of swamps and morasses and by regulating the flow of rivers. By lowering the level of the waters of Merom, the Hule Plain could be watered by means of an overflow canal. The right of the rivers of the Jordan and Anjau were ceeded to Mr. Pinhas by the British government in 1921 for use and development. At the head of the Jordan river there is now under construction a gigantic hydro-electric plant. It is estimated that the rivers of Pal- estine can supply an energy of 500,000 horsepower. Such a thing as electric mountain railways would prove useful as a means of com- munication between the hot, low-lying valley regions and the cool hill stations. Many are the complexities and peculiarities of the country. Leaders of industry and colonization may be led away with extravagant ideas, but foresight, caution, prayerfulness, an abiding faith, and the hope that has shone like a beacon light through years of lonely exile, will gradually be realized so that the desert will blossom as the rose, and Palestine may someday "become the garden of the world." Lethbridge, Canada.

PROPHECY AND HISTORY A Study for the Advanced Senior Class M. I. A., 1924-25 Prophecy — The Book of Mormon INDRODUCTION The second part of the course of study consists of twelve lessons, the titles of which are as follows: (1) The Book of Mormon as a Fulfilment of Ancient Prophecy; (2) Of Prophecies within Itself; (3) Of Modern Prophecy; (4) Prophecies in the Book of Mormon Already Fulfiled; (5) Being Fulfilled; (6) Yet to be Fulfiled; (7) Prophecies in the Book of Mormon with Promises to the Individual; (8) With Promises to Communities or Nations; (9) Proph- ecies in the Book of Mormon not Found in Other Scripture; (10) Of Most Vital Interest to the Indian; (11) Of Most Vital Interest to Our Nation; (12) Of Most Vital Interest to Us as Latter-day Saints. It is hoped that the members of the class, as a rule, will at least read the special references with a view of being prepared on the "Questions and Problems." Bringing the book most needed, and also the Improvement Era or Young Woman's Journal, to the class will greatly aid in making the lessons instructive and interesting. To the text and its explanation is a good class slogan. The teacher who perpares and teaches a lesson is entitled to some self-effort on the part of the members of the class, and in cases of special assignments to individuals the acceptance becomes a pledge to do ones best. The questions and problems are so presented that each may be disposed of within five minutes. Lesson XIII — The Book of Mormon as a Fulfilment of Ancient Prophecy I. Special References for Class Study. 1. Pearl of Great Prices, Moses 7, about 3,000 B. C. 2. Bible, Psalms 85:11, about 1,000 B. C. 3. Isaiah 29:11, about 750 B. C. 4. Isaiah 45:8, about 750 B. C. 5. Ezekiel 37:15-20, about 560 B. C. II. QUESTIONS AND PROBLEMS. 1. (a) How does the prediction recorded in Moses 7:62 point to the coming forth of the Book of Mormon? (b) By whom was the prophecy made? (c) About how long was it made before its fulfilment? 2. How did we get the prophecy recorded in Moses 7:62? (See Pearl of Great Price, title to chapter one.) 3. Quote Psalm 85:11. Name the author and give approximate date of his writings. j

250 IMPROVEMENT ERA 4. Which of the events in the bringing forth of the Book, of Mormon fulfiled the prophecy, "Righteousness will I sent down from Heaven?" 5. (a) Quote Isaiah 29:11. (b) Name the man who literally ful- filed this prophecy recorded therein. (c) Relate or read the circumstances of the historical incident. See History of the Church, Vol. 1, p. 20. 6. Discuss Isaiah 45:8 under the following heads: (a) The author, (b) The time, (c) The part of the prophecy fulfiled by the visit of the Angel Moroni, (d) The part fulfiled by the delivery of the plates to Joseph Smith. 7. In the light of The Articles of Faith, by Elder James E. Talmage. of the Council of the Twelve, pages 276-277, 1924 edition, explain the prophecy made more than 2,500 years ago by the prophet Ezekiel and re- corded in Ezekiel 37:15-20. Lesson XIV — The Book of Mormon as a Fulfilment of Prophecies within Itself. I. Special References for Class Study. 1. II Nephi 3:11-12; 2. II Nephi 27 :6-24; 3. II Nephi 29 :6-10. 4. Mormon 8:14, 16, 25, 26; 5. Moroni 10:4, 28. II. Questions and Problems. 1. (a) Read to the class II Nephi 3:11-12. (b) Tell about when, and also by whom, the prophecy was first uttered; and how it came to be in the Nephite records, and what part of the prophecy has been fulfiled since the Book of Mormon was published. 2. Read the testimonies and the names of the three and the eight testators who fulfiled the prophecy recorded in II Nephi 27:13-14. 3. Quote from memory or read the prophecy contained in the Book of Mormon which was fulfiled by the anti-Mormon cry "Joe Smith's Golden Bible," or "The Mormon Bible." (II Nephi 29:6-10.) 5. Discuss the prophecy or promise recorded in Moroni 10:4: (a) The time, (b) The author, (c) The stream of personal testimony con- cerning its fulfilment. Lesson XV — The Book of Mormon as a Fulfilment of Modern Prophecy. I. Special References for Class Study. 1. Doctrine H Covenants 3:17; 2. Doctrine %S Covenants 3:18; 3. Doctrine $5 Covenants 5:15; 4. Doctrine & Covenants 5:23, 24; II. Questions and Problems. 1. Show that the publication of the Book of Mormon in the Ha- waiian language is a partial fulfilment of the prediction recorded in Doc. $ Cov. 3:17. 18. 2. Show how the teaching of English to the Indians in the Government schools is making it possible for the Book of Mormon to become a com- plete fulfilment of the prophecy in Doctrine 8 Covenants 3:18. 3. How does the unshaken testimony of the three witnesses provide for a continuance of the fulfilment of the prophecy recorded in the Doc. SJ Cov. 5:15? 4. Correlate Doc. %5 Cov. 5:24 with the following: Testimony of the Book of Mormon, given at Clarkston, Utah, by Martin Hairis, 18 75 (July) — "Brethren, I believe there is an angel here to hear what I tell you, and you shall never forget what I say. The prophet Josph Smith, Oliver Cowdery,

PROPHECY AND HISTORY 251 David Whitmer and myself went into a little grove to pray to obtain a promise that we should behold the plates with our natural eyes that we might testify of it to the world. We prayed a time or two and at lengthen angel stood before David and Oliver and showed them the plates, but behold, I had gone by myself to pray and in my deepest distress I asked the Prophet Joseph to kneel down with me and pray for me that I may also see the plates. He did so. and immediately the angel stood before me and said. Look.' When I gazed upon him 1 fell to the earth, but I stood on my feet again and saw the angel turn the golden leaves over, and I said, 'That is enough, my Lord, and my God.' Then I heard the voice of God say, 'The Book translated from, those plates is true and translated correctly.' " (See Improvement Era, Septem- ber, 1923, pp. 980-1.) Discuss the following statement: "The Divine Authenticity of no other book is as well attested by human testimony as is that of the Book, of Mormon." The Bird The bird sings out his very best When on the tree, or in the nest; When perched upon a lofty pine, Or nestled 'mid a leafy vine. When soaring high from human sight He sings with all his main, and might, He sings not to be heard of men, Or, that he may be praised by them. He sings because he's made to sing By Him, who gave him voice and wing. If perched upon a steeple high, Or, on a bough where men pass by, Or, on a stately, swaying tree, Or, on a shrub they do not see. He poses, with the same good grace At every time, and every place; Not just where he is seen of men That he may be admiied by them, But just because he is a bird; No matter whether seen or heard. O would that I were like the bird Caring not who saw, nor heard, Just so that I well filled the place God gave to me. And by his grace Simply and truly, just to be Whatever he designed in me. If by my act, my word, my song, Some others have been helped along And made more happy and less sad, Through my weak efforts, I am glad. But let me not exalted be, Just so that men may hear and see The little things I do and say, Things which, like bubbles, pass away. But let me be just like the bird Singing on, though unseen, unheard. Logan, Utah. SAMUEL B. MlTTON.