mode of life of the East we find a western city growing outside the old walls of Jerusalem. Here are comfortable homes of the residents, and a few modern hotels. The King David Hotel, which was built two years ago, is the last word in luxury and is the most up-to-date hotel in the near East.
“The tourist traffic provides an important source of income, but the backbone of Palestine lies in its orange groves. Both Arab and Jews are successful in this highly technical branch of farming. The area under oranges has expanded from 10,000 acres in 1917 to 40,000 acres in 1932. An orange grove of 25 acres contains as many as 10,000 trees each of which is expected to yield one bushel of oranges a year. The planting of such a grove costs about $50,000 spread over a period of six years, at the end of which time the grove is productive. The annual income on this investment varies between 10 per cent and 30 per cent. Accordingly orange growers are prosperous, but they fear that the vast increase of the crop, from two million boxes in 1920 to ten million boxes in the near future, must result in lower profits unless new markets are developed. Water is worse in Palestine. It is pumped from artesian wells, and the large number of additional wells is considered to be a serious menace to the existing supply.
“The statement that the water of the Jordan has been brought into Palestine is premature. As we know the Jordan still runs into the Dead Sea, which is nearly 1,400 feet below sea level, the deepest depression in the world. The mouth of the Jordan is about 4,000 feet lower than Jerusalem.
“Still, this river serves almost the whole of the Esdraeln and coastal plains with electrical power. The Ruttenberg network of distribution runs wherever the rose of Sharon blooms.
“Palestine’s past is the heritage of the whole world. Its present and future belong to the Jews and Arabs alone. Let us hope that they will forget their present enmity and that their co-operation and united efforts will make Palestine once again a land flowing with milk and honey,” Captain Miller concluded.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
