Evening Republican, Volume 17, Number 84, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 April 1913 — Page 3

New Era IN PALESTINE

4 HILANTHROPIC work of a new J sort which has been instituted in ' I I Palestine through the 'generosity * J I °* Nathan Straur has reached such j t proportions that Mr. Straus is now I in that country on a special mlsk VaC/ J/ sion to see how he can further and enlarge the humanitarian pro- . jects to which he began to devote attention last /ear. He will spend Z— = "’“ some time in a comprehensive study of the needs and possibilities of the two charitable enterprises he has already established and in directing the formation of still a third, of which he has the highest hope. The institutions which are already in through Mr. Straus’s activities are known as the Nathan Straus Relief Fund and the Health Bureau. The first operates exclusively among the poor of Jerusalem, while the second extends over all of Palestine and concerns some 600,000 persons. Now he proposes to introduce the system which has been so successfully employed here of providing trained nurses to

disseminate hygienic knowledge in districts where modern methods have hitherto been unknown and to teach medical principles so that the ignorance of the people in regard to such subjects may be dissipated. In this way he hopes to supplement the equipment with which for the past year he has been fighting disease and to secure the employment of modern ideas in a campaign for health and the rout of disease-breed-ing habits. Under his direction the first steps have been taken that the dwellers In the city of Jerusalem and the* surrounding country have ever known for the relief of the conditions that have so long Impeded the commercial and social progress of that portion of the Turkish empire. Palestine had until Mr. Straus and some American colleagues became cognizant of the situation been overlooked by the many medical missionary movements that have been started by various countries* in most other quarters of the globe. Now it is proposed to do everything that money and energy can accomplish to push a program of enlightenment and relief there and so good a beginning has been made in the work of the existing movement that Mr. Straus has been inspired to take for the time being personal charge of affairs. , Details of the work that is being —done in Palestine at the present time and of plans for the future are told by Dr. Aaron Aaronsohn, head of the Jewish agricultural experiment station, which is located near Jerusalem and which is conducted in .conjunction with the health bureau started by Mr. Straus. Dr. Aaronsohn came - 1

to thia country to report to the department of agriculture on the results of experiments in the development for industrial purposes of the growing of wild wheat, which- is found in profusion in the farming sections of his .native country. Since he has been here he has made an extended trip through California, Arizona and Texas at the request of the agricultural department to introduce and direct experiments with the wheat in those state's. It was directly through the discovery by Dr. Aaronsohn of wild wheat that the Jewish agricultural experiment station in Palestine was founded. He was born and brought up in that country, the son of a native farmer, and’ after receiving a medical education he came to this country to see what reception he would have for his theories that the cultivation and adoption of the wheat for commercial purposes would tend to cheapen foodstuffs and render usable many arid districts in the west where nothing could grow before. He was favorably received by the federal agricultural authorities and on his trip met the men who ultimately united to form the station of which he is now the head. Julius Rosenwald of Chicago is president of the board of directors of the station and members of it are Oscar Straus, Paul M. Warburg, Isaac N. Seligman and Jacob H. Schiff. The late Isldor Straus was also affiliated with the organization, and so Is Nathan Straus. With a plan for the Industrial betterment of Palestine and its Inhabitants under- way, naturally it became necessary to do something for the physical alleviation of the people themselves, since it had been found that healthy men to do the work were an indispensable requirement The rate of mortality in the country was very high and the general health of so low a standard that it soon became evident that something must be done to Improve conditions if the agricultural movement was to be a success. At the time this need became most evident, something more than a year ago, Nathan Straus was in Palestine on a pleasure trip. He was appealed to, but at first declined to do anything in that country, as he thought his first duty, from a humanitarian standpoint, was to the poor and the suffering of the United States. He consented, however, to investigate the situation personally and soon became so impressed with the conditions that he assured those who had made the appeal that he would do all in his power to relieve them and would also solicit the aid of his numerous friends. Since then his efforts have been unremitting and such improvements have been introduced that Palestine in general and Jerusalem in particular have become modernized from a hygienic point of view to an extent that was not dreamed of a few years ago. 1 It was not only because of his personal expe- { rlence that Mr. Straus determined to lend his aid in Palestine. He believes that all members of the Jewish race owe a peculiar duty and obligation to that country and that wherever feasible no effort should be spared to civilize and bring It to a position where It will bear comparison with any other community In the civilized world. No sooner had Mr. Straus seen with his own eyes the pitiful and squalid conditions In Palestine that so sadly needed relief than he, with the decision and generosity characteristic of him, took Immediate steps to correct them. With the

NATHAN STRAUS

SCENE IN JERUSALEM

expenditure of both time and a great deal of money he devoted himself to the object, with a result that has now far exceeded even the most sanguine expectations. The first thing he dfd was to start the Nathan Straus Relief Fund, of which he is the sole supporter. Discovering that great numbers of the aged and infirm of Jerusalem were without of support and were frequently in the throes \of starvation because there was no organized means of relief in the city, he started two" soup kitchens. This was a year ago, and since that time the Institutions have been working night and day with great results. Each day from 600 to 800 men and women and children are fed at these kitchens and the food they receive there is about the only subsistence they secure. No lines are drawn and persons of all religions are entitled to the aid. But Mr. Straus was not satisfied with the soup kitchens. They were a remedy for a disease, but he sought a preventive for the ailment that was producing vagrants and beggars in the Holy City. His investigation disclosed the fact that many of the young men and young women were never trained to support themselves in any way and were virtually dependents from childhood on. So he decided to educate them in some useful occupation which would prevent them from becoming useless in old age and would make them creditable citizens. One of the principal businesses of Jerusalem is the selling of small objects of art and other souvenirs to the throng of tourists that flock to the city Overy year. Seeing something to be gained in this, Mr. Straus hired skilled artisans, secured buildings which were fitted with proper machinery and started an Industrial school tof the manufacture of the salable souvenirs of Jerusalem. This venture proved an immediate success and the institution is crowded with the previously neglected youths, who have shown not only a willingness but a distinct desire to learn.

some such useful and lucrative occupation. The • souvenirs that used to 'come from the larger cities of that part of the country, and some even from the continent and America, are now produced right on the ground. The workers get the proceeds of their labor and the undertaking bids fair to be in time one of the biggest and most successful of the kind in the world. At about the time of the establishment of the relief fund Mr. Straus’s sympathies were so strongly aroused by the unfortunate situation in which he found a great majority of the .Inhabitants in regard to hygienic precautions that he determined to do something In that direction. Dr. Aaronsohn and other officials of the agricultural station were delighted with the decision and labored with him to effect his purpose. Such things as sanitation, the scientific battling with disease, proper drainage and even the use of such simple health expedients as soap and water were almost unknown to people in Palestine. Year In and year out hundreds of them had been dying solely because of this ignorance pf the very essentials of hygfena. Mr. Straus set about a campaign of education. The result of this situation was the health bureau, perhaps the most unusual institution of Its kind In the world. With funds furnished by Mr. Straus some empty buildings were secured and an experienced physician found to take charge

STREET SCENE IN BETHLEHEM

of what is the only medical laboratory In all Palestine. With this as a basis the work has been extended from Jerusalem, where It was started,. to every part of the country. Now It is firmly established and growing every day. Money for its continuance is furnished by Mr. Straus and great interest is taken in the work by the Americans who were responsible for the establishment of the agricultural station. The physician in charge of the bureau is Dr. Brunn, a twenty-elght-year-old graduate of the University of Berlin, who* had done work in the German colonies in central Africa and had settled in Jerusalem. He was recommended to Mr. Straus by Dr. Aaronsohn, and in his. hands was placed the organization of the enterprise. The equipment for the laboratory was imported / from Germany at considerable cost and is of the most modern kind, suitable for chemical analyses and examinations necessary in the determination of the nature of disease. Dr. Brunn became acquainted with Mr. Straus when the latter was taken ill as he was about 'o return to this country last spring. The doctor accompanied the philanthropist from Jaffa in Palestine to Naples, reaching there just about the time of the Titanic disaster, in which Isidor Straus lost his life. Nathan Straus’s condi-

tion was made more serious by this loss and the young physician stayed with him until he was able to sail for America. That cemented a friendship and gave Mr. Straus the utmost confidence in the success of the bureau. Returning from Naples to Jerusalem, Dr. Brunn set about the still further extension of the plans. The bureau is modeled as closely as possible upon the board of health of New York, tlje reports of which are sent to Palestine and information in regard to which has been liberally furnished by the officials here. Dr. Brunn has never been in this country, but is planning a trip here in the near future to study local health regulation at close range. Dr. Aaronsohn says that the work of the bureau’s chief has been most remarkable and up-to-date in every way. At the present time Dr. Brunn has two young doctors assisting him and also two nurses. It is not possible to do any actual hospital work, but methods of checking and preventing disease are taught all through the country.

Whenever an epidemic starts a temporary camp is established at the spot, with one of the bureau physicians in charge, and the people affected are directed in their fight against the trouble. In one settlement of sixty persons it was found that 150 days of illness had been the average each month. In one year this average had been cut down to thirty-six days, an accomplishment which has been characteristic of the work in every place where it has been put into operation. Not only does the bureau educate in prevention methods, but the physicians, so far as they are able, treat afflicted persons, and, best of all, distribute medicines free of charge. Malarial fever has long been the scourge of Palestine- and the fight against this has been carried on in twe ways, first by sanitation and second by quinine. The bureau experts have shown the natives how to get rid of the disease breeding and bactria laden pools and the marshy grounds, sometimes by the simple application of a few shovelfuls of dirt. They have used modern methods in fighting the plague of mosquitoes, the germ carriers, and then where the disease has still existed they have introduced quinine. Dr. Aaronsohn says it is no uncommon sight to see a line in front of the dispensary in which could be found not only natives of the country but groups of Arabs from far away who have been attracted by reports of the marvelous work of the white doctors. The fight against the mosquito, which abounds In Palestine, Is one of the most Interesting features of the work of the bureau. Dr. Brunn and his assistants have studied the methods used in this country, particularly in the state of New Jersey, and have adapted them to the situation in the Holy Land. Kerosene Is poured in the pools where the insects breed and every other scientific weapon is employed against them. With al! this charity and benevolence among them, after so many years of neglect, the people of Palestine are taking new heart. They who have been a downtrodden and discouraged race are now hopeful and cheerful. Hand in hand with their moral and physical welfare goes their Industrial welfare. Betterment of one means improvement of the other, and both are on the forward march. There is a new era in the Holy Land.

CIVIL WAR FIFTY YEARS AGO THIS WEEK

March 30, 1863.

President Lincoln issued a proclamation Betting apart Thursday, the thirteenth of April, as a national day of humiliation, fasting and prayer. Correspondence between . J. M. Mason, the Confederate agent in London, and Earl Russell, minister of state for foreign affairs, concerning the question of the blockade of the Southern ports and foreign intervention in the affairs of America, were made public.

A battle was fought near Somerset, Ky., between a National force under General Gilmore, and the Confederates under General Pegram, with advantage to the Federal arms. 7 Washington, N. C., garrisoned by two thousand Federals, was saved from capture at the hands of a force of Confederates under Pettigrew and Hill by the Federal gunboat Commodore Hull, which opened on the attacking Confederates when they were pressing an advantage given them by their numbers. Mount Pleasant, Va., garrisoned by a coihpany of the Thirteenth Virginia loyal volunteers, was raided by a band of Confederate partisans under Captain Jenkins. The garrison made a stubborn stand in the courthouse, and eventually persuaded their assailants to) leave them alone, after considerable fatality on each side. General McClernand occupied Richmond, Miss., after a fight of two hours. The Confederate schooner Expedition, with salt from Nassau, missed the channel in the dark when attempting to run the blockade into Savannah, and got into Calibogue sound, where she was captured by troops sent in a boat.

March 31, 1863.

Capt. Jabez C. Rice, of Gorham, Me., of the Confederate marine corps, was arrested in his home town and conveyed to Fort Preble by Provost-Mar-shal Elliott, under orders of the secretary of war. He claimed to be a paroled prisoner. . The legislature of Virginia passed a bill authorizing the impressment of the salt works in Washington county, Virginia, to be worked on state account. Major General Herron was assigned to the command of the NatlonaLarmy. of the frontier. A large Union meeting was held in Washington, D. C., at which speeches were made by Admiral Foote, Green Adams, of Kentucky, Mayor Wallach, and others, and resolutions were adopted in support of the National government and for the vigorous prosecution of the war against traitors, at home and abroad. President Lincoln issued a proclamation declaring all commercial intercourse not licensed and conducted as provided by law between citizens of the states now in rebellion and those of the loyal states of the Union, to be unlawful, until such rebellion should cease, notice of which would be duly given by proclamation. The colored Union soldiers that had been occupying Jacksonville, Fla., evacuated the place, after setting fire to it and completely destroying the town. April 1, 1863. Admiral Farragut, with the Hartford, Switzerland and Albatross, enpasslng below them without material was organized by M. Sanford and associates, to begin business <on May first. Captain Moseby, of the Confederate irregular cavalry, made a raid near Broad River, Va. His force was encountered by a portion of the First Vermont cavalry, and a fight ensued. The Confederates took up a position behind a fence, which the Union cavalry could not get over, and from which they were'unable to dislodge the Confederates. During the fight Captain Flint of the Vermont regiment, and a lieutenant, were severely wounded. The Federal General Stanley attacked the Confederate force under General Morgan at Snow Hill, Tenn. April 2, 1863. 7 There was a bread riot In Richmond, Va. Women, forming a mob, broke Into the Confederate stores and took bread, clothing, and what they needed. The militia dispersed them. Eight regiments of General Crufts's and Hazen's brigades, General Palmer's division, failed In an effort, commenced the night before, to capture a Confederate brigade stationed at Woodbury, Tenn. The Confederate pickets discovered the advance .early in the morning and prevented a surprise, upon which the success of the undertaking depended. The Confederates, heavily outnumbered, withdrew hastily, but in good order. Admiral Farragut, with the entire Union fleet in the Mississippi, passed from Grand Gulf to the mouth of the Red river, destroying all small boats encountered on the way. Maj. W. C. Ransom, of the Fifth Kansas cavalry, annihilated the band of Confederate Irregulars that had raided ttye steamer Sam Gaty a few flays before, in Missouri. Seventeen of the band were killed In a fight, and two were hanged. Many of the negroes who had been taken from the steamer were recovered. The National gunboat St. Clair was rendered unmanageable and nearly tell

Into the hands of Confederates when she was fired on by some Missouri artillery belonging to Van Dorn’s Confederate army, near Almyra, on the Cumberland river, twenty-four miles above Fort Donelson. A shot broke her steam pipe. She was taken In tow by the steamer Luminous and brought to Cairo. General Wright, in command of the * National forces in California, issued a proclamation containing a warning against the Southern sympathizers in the state. A Confederate camp of infantry and cavalry was dislodged from Snow Hill, Tenn., by a heavy expedition that set out from Murfreesboro. April 3, 1863. Secretary Wells issued an order naming' petty officers, marines and seamen, who were to receive Medals of Honor for conspicuous service at sea. The British steamer Tampico was captured off Sabine Pass, Tex., by the United States gunboat New London. Phillip Huber and three others, ar-, rested at Reading, Penn., on a charge of being connected with a treasonable organization known as the “Knights of the Goldep Circle," were taken to Philadelphia and placed in prison. The arrest and the charge created considerable excitement at Reading. Governor Bonham of South Carolina sent a message to the legislature calling its attention to the spirit of speculation that had made such alarming strides in the state as to call for their interposition. Large sums were Invested in flour, corn, bacon, and other articles of prime necessity, to the monopoly almost of such articles in certain sections, and were withheld from market or exported beyond the limits of the state, to the enhancement of prices and Injury of the consumer. He recommended the passage of an act to arrest the purchase and monopoly of articles of prime necessity, even when it was not intended to export them out of the state. Cap. J. 3. Worthington, with two companies of the First Regiment of Loyal Arkansas cavalry, returned to Fayetteville, Ark., from a scout in Carroll county, in that state. He had four skirmishes with Confederates, and succeeded in killing two and taking seven prisoners. Captains Smith and McFarland Of the Confederates were killed, and Captain Walker taken prisoner. * • V" ' April 4, 1863. An attempt was made by the National force at Washington, N. C., to capture the Confederate battery at Rodman’s Point, commanding the Pamlico river, opposite Washington. A force of two hundred Infantry, under command of General Potter, embarked on the gunboat Ceres. She got aground under the guns of the battery, at a point where the troops were unable to land. The Confederates opened heavy fire, and the. party was glad to withdraw as soon as it got free. ) In retaliation for firing Into and disabling the gunboat St Clair, the gunboat Lexington, under the command of Lieut. Leßoy Fitch, visited the town of Palmyra, Tenn., and after giving the inhabitants time to leave, burned it to the ground. The supreme court of New York, at Rochester, decided that United States legal tender notes were const!- ■ tutlonal as to debts contracted before the passage of the law making such notes legal tender. AH of the judges concurred in the decision. The National steamer Sylvan Shore, which left Beaufort for Washington, N. C., was fired upon by a Confederate battery a few miles below her destination and compelled to put back to Beaufort, with a number of men killed and wounded. / April 5, 1863.

The ship Louisa Hatch was captured and burned on the high seas by the Confederate.privateer Alabama. Eight thousand National troops left Newbern, N. C., by the way of the River Neuse, to re-enforce General Foster, who was at Washington, surrounded by the Confederates; but, meeting a superior force of the enemy, they returned to Newbern. An expedition consisting of infantry and cavalry under General Steele, of the Union army, met a small body of Confederates at a bridge over Black Bayou, Miss., whom they drove across the bayou, but whom they could not prevent burning the bridge. The Federals rebuilt the bridge And proceeded to Yazoo City. The Union gunboats in front of Washington, N. C.» shelled the Confederate batteries on Hill’s Point for two hours, in an effort to relieve the tension of General Foster, surrrounded by Confederates in Washington, but were unable to effect anything against the Confederate works. The English government detained Confederate vessels in the port of Liverpool. (Copyright, 1913, by W. G. Chapman.)

Secret Engagement

“I would like," said the timid lover to the maiden who had just accepted him, “I would like, since we cannot marry at once, to keep our engagement a secret for the present.* "Why?" asked the astonished damsel. "Why, the fact is my parent* would disown me if—” "Disown you? Am I not worthy to be their daughter? Ib my family not as good as yours? Am I not*—" "One moment, darting; one llttlo moment You are mistaken.” “Mistaken! I would not marry Jrou—" “Stay, I implore youl You are my own, you are better than, I. Yog rich; I am poor. My parents would disown mo—ls 1 got jilted this time."’