Jacob De Haas, Executive Secretary Palestine Development Council, Sails for Palestine

Mr. Jacob De Haas, Executive Secretary of the Palestine Development Council, sailed to-day on the SS Belgenland, on his way to Palestine.

Asked for the purpose of his trip, Mr. De Haas stated:

“I believe that Palestine is today a problem of the successful settlement of the individual. In plainer English, Can I or you, with such intelligence, ability and resources as we have, settle in Palestine and rear our families? That question can only be answered on the spot. I have been fairly successful in the last twenty years, in helping men in this country to find themselves. A little ingenuity, a little knowledge of the twists and turns of trade, some understanding of mechanics, have enabled me to place me in industry without great capital outlays. I am going to try to bring to bear just that ability on the problem of settlement in Palestine, for there is no country which can be built up either by retired merchants or agricultural pioneers. The alphabet of industry is larger than that, and it is my intention to see whetheror not through experiments in different directions openings can be created and opportunities found for Jews and Jewesses.

I hold fast to the thought that the economic policy is the lever to Palestinian Jewish development, and I intend spending my energies and efforts to discover whether I am right, and if I am right-what the road to success is. For the rest, I remain loyal to the fundamental ideals set up by Theodore Herzl. I think I understand something of the methods he would have employed. If we are right, I shall proclaim it from the housetops, -if we have erred, I shall be equally frank.