England and the Jews

ENGLAND AND THE JEWS By J. M. Sjodahl Dean Inge, of the St. Paul Cathedral,- London, has recently ex- pressed pessimistic views concerning the future of the great British empire. According to an Associated Press dispatch, he said, "The omens are at present very unfavorable." "It seems unlikely," he added, "That our position as a world-power will endure much longer." He feared internal troubles, due to the "antisocial and unpatriotic sec- tionalism which is the curse of industrial civilization, especially danger- ous in a country situated as we are." Not only .Great Britain but every big country in the world, to say nothing of the smaller ones, needs an Isaiah to set before the people in the most vivid terms the consequences of the prevalent anti- Christian spirit, and a Jeremiah to weep, in prophetic anticipation, upon the ruins of a Godless civilization. If Dean Inge can arouse the people to a serious contemplation of the dangers ahead, he will have done much towards escaping them. But although the sounding of the foghorn, to indicate the rocks ahead, must be admitted to be timely and necessary, yet I, for one, believe that the Almighty has his protecting hand in mercy over the British empire, and will continue to bless its people, as long as they will befriend the children of .Abraham and carry out the purposes of God concerning them. The promise of the Lord to Abraham, "I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee," is as much in force now, as the day it was given. Great Britain has always blessed the children of Abraham by giving them liberty, under the British flag, to worship God, and to rise to thef highest positions in the state, and finally by proclaiming the policy of the government to be the protection of the Jews in their efforts at making Palestine their homeland. If for no other reason, the Lord is bound, Dean Inge, by his own covenant, to bless Great Britain in return for this declaration of the Balfour govern- ment, which has no parallel in history since the proclamation of Cyrus about 500 B. C. (Ezra 1:1-4.) This is the weightiest reason possible for believing that the hand of the Lord is over Great Britain for good, and will be for a long time to come. Nor do we forget that the English government has always pro- tected the people of God in these, the latter, days in all the rights and privileges of a free country, even against the clamor of mobs. We have seen that the blessings of the Lord have been bestowed upon countries where the Latter-day Saints have found liberty and pro- tection, while misfortunes have overtaken other countries. This, again, is in fulfilment of the promise given to Abraham and his seed.

22 IMPROVEMENT ERA But we, as Latter-day Saints, have one more reason for that belief. When Orson Hyde, on Sunday, Oct. 24, 1847, dedicated Pales- tine for the gathering of the Jews, he prayed the Lord, among other things, to let the nation and the people that labor for the restoration of Jerusalem find grace before him, and protect them against the enemy, famine and pestilence. "Let not," he prayed, "their enemies prevail against them, neither let pestilence or famine overcome them, but let the glory of Israel overshadow them, and the Power of the Highest protect them; while that nation or kingdom that will not serve thee in this glorious work must perish, according to thy word — yes, those nations shall be utterly wasted." This prayer was offered by an inspired Apostle of the Lord. It was offered by a man specially called by the Lord to perform that wonderful mission. It has been, and will be, fulfilled to the letter. Orson Hyde also petitioned the Lord to make the country fruit- ful. "Let," he prayed, "springs water the dry ground; let the vine and the olive flourish; let the skies pour forth life and wealth; let the flocks and herds multiply on the hills; let the big ships of the nations carry the people from far off islands; let them come as clouds, and as doves to their windows." All this is being wonderfully fulfilled before our eyes. During the last few years, the Jews have gathered to Palestine to the number of 20,000 annually, and the present Jewish population is perhaps not far from 150,000. About 1/18 part of the country now belongs to the Jews, and nearly all of this is under cultivation. Vast sums are being spent on improvements, by two great organiza- tions created for the redemption of the land. The Jewish national fund (the Kajemeth Lejisrael) has undertaken especially the work necessary for irrigation and drainage. The counrty has a rainy season from September till March, but the rest of the year is dry, and the hot eastwind burns up all vegeta- tion, seemingly. By storage of the water and irrigation the land in many places could be made to yield two harvests every year. The organization mentioned (Keren Kajemeth) spent during 1924 and the first 6 months of 1925 circa $700,000 for irrigation canals and dams, and about $1,700,000 for draining-canals. These are necessary in many places where the stagnant pools become the breeding places of mosquitos which carry the malaria germs to nearby settlements. The Keren Kajemeth sees to it that all stagnant water is carried away, and that even rain water is properly taken care of, and all draining is through pipes under the ground, instead of open ditches, in order to prevent the mosquitos from breeding. Another feature of the settlement through this organization is that the land obtained through its agency cannot be bought. It can only be leased for 49 years. This seems to be a revival of the ancient law concerning ownership of real estate, according to which the title

ENGLAND AND THE JEWS 23 every 50th year, the year of jubilee, reverted back to the original owner. So the land of this organization always remains its property. But if the lease holder takes proper care of it, he has the right to renew the lease. He can also transfer it to his heirs. For the privilege of using the land he pays two per cent annually on the invested capital for agricultural land, and 4 per cent for city lots. Every colonist is entitled to as much land as he and his family can use, but no more. The funds at the disposal of this organization consists of free-will offerings of Jews and their friends all over the world. It has about a million little savings banks placed in as many homes, and in these coins are dropped for the "redemption of the land." Everyone who sends in as much as five Turkish liras (about ($22.00) receives a neatly printed diploma, and when 20 liras ($88.00) is received, the name of the donor is inscribed in the "golden book" at the headquar- ters in Jerusalem. A recent traveler says there were, when he was there, two such volumes, each containing 5,000 names, representing about $880,000. But the Jews have also another organization, the Keren Hayessod. This body receives the tithes which the Jews are paying, and lends the money to the colonists, at a low interest, thus enabling them to buy the necessary implements, to build houses and establish themselves in various industries. This money is paid back in installments and again lent out to others. It is a kind of perpetual redemption fund. There are at present about 100 Jewish colonies. Some are flourishing cities. Others are rural communities, modern and pros- perous. It is evident that the prayer of Orson Hyde on Mount Olivet, eighty-five years ago, concerning the gathering of the Jews and the regeneration of the country is being fulfilled at the present time. There is no reason to doubt that his petition for the protection of the nations that befriend the Jews is being heard as surely as the other part of his apostolic prayer. Regrets Aye, lad, I know they're hard to bear; And it's hard sometimes to .say, "Don't care;" For regrets have a way of lingering there, Down in your heart where it's hard to bear. Aye, I know a heart is slow to mend, And a broken one may seem the end Of all this world for you, and bend Your head down low, ere it will mend. Aye, it isn't so easy at times to smile. When life seems full of trouble and trial. But brace up, lad, and Jtry it awhile; There's always hope for a man who can smile. George Walter