The proposal to create in Palestine a government agricultural bank to aid the Arab fellaheen is emphatically rejected by Claude F. Strickland, British expert on rural economics, in his report on agricultural and cooperative conditions in Palestine made public here today.
Mr. Strickland, who last July visited Palestine on the invitation of the Palestine government to study the economic position of the fellaheen in order to instruct the district office about objects and methods of cooperative credit, declares he was deeply and immovably convinced that an agricultural bank dealing on a small commercial basis with the small Arab farmers would be the greatest evil any government could introduce because proper supervision is impossible, repayment would be reluctant and the resultant sale of lands would be unpleasantly frequent.
Such a bank existed before, Mr. Strickland points out, but was closed by the former High Commissioner, Sir Herbert Samuel, thus becoming one of the main points in the anti-Zionist propaganda of the Arab leaders. They claim that the bank would be of relief to the Arab peasants. Strickland’s report also outlines various schemes for aiding the fellaheen with government credits and relief of their debt burdens.
During his visit to Palestine, Strickland expressed admiration for the Jewish cooperative socities. He said, however, that while the Jews are able to finance their cooperatives from their own means it would be necessary for the government to establish cooperative credit systems for the Arabs.
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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.
