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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



sixth the size of England, and before the 

 war had a population that has been esti- 

 mated at about seven hundred thousand. 



Due to the unjust Turkish rule of the 

 past four hundred years, the population 

 is in a wretched condition. Four years 

 of war have devastated the land beyond 

 belief. 



Under a capable government, it is be- 

 lieved that Palestine can support a popu- 

 lation running into the millions, but large 

 sections of the country are now almost 

 completely depopulated. 



the: tortures of warfare: in the: 

 jordan valley 



The Jordan Valley today lies practi- 

 cally uncultivated. In earlier periods the 

 valley was well tilled and produced large 

 crops. With a proper system of irriga- 

 tion, no part of Palestine would yield 

 more bountiful harvests, for the soil is 

 fertile and the climate is subtropical. 



At the same time, there is no part of 

 Palestine where the British troops have 

 suffered more severely than in the Jordan 

 Valley. During the summer the dust and 

 heat are terrific. The thermometer goes 

 booming up toward 120 0 to 130 0 F., while 

 the dust is suffocating, in many places 

 being over a foot deep, not alone on the 

 road, but over the valley. It is as fine 

 and foamy as the finest wheat flour, and 

 rises in great clouds as the motor plows 

 through. So completely does it hover 

 over the car as it is stirred up, that time 

 after time the occupant of the back seat 

 cannot see the windshield. The motor 

 drivers are often forced to stop to find 

 their way, as the blinding, baffling clouds 

 roll about them. 



BRITISH FOUGHT FOR ALL CHRISTIANITY 



Just how the problem of government 

 will be worked out is a question for the 

 Allies to settle ; for, of course, the coun- 

 try will need to be so handled that Jeru- 

 salem will be kept not for the Jews only, 

 but for all peoples. 



It is wrong to speak of Palestine as the 

 national home of the Jews alone, for the 

 native Christian can make the same claim. 



It seems that General Allenby has 

 taken a very sane view of the problems 

 involved. He insists that he is not com- 

 manding a British army, but is in com- 

 mand of a detachment of the Allies, and 



so strongly does he feel this that I was 

 prompted to say: "You must realize that 

 in all your force in Palestine there are 

 possibly only a few hundred French and 

 Italian troops, and in all of your fighting 

 here in Palestine, so far as I can learn, 

 there has not been one single soldier who 

 has given up his life who was not a Brit- 

 isher." 



He replied : "Possibly that is true, but 

 you must remember that while all of the 

 men under me have been British soldiers, 

 yet that is merely an incident ; for the 

 men who were fighting here might have 

 been used on the Western Front. The 

 other Allies have used their men there, 

 and this is as much a part of the Allied 

 show as is France, and I am carrying 

 forward the campaign on the basis that 

 the future of Palestine should be left to 

 the Allies to settle, the same as in other 

 conquered territory. However, I am, of 

 course, trying so to administer the coun- 

 try that it can be handed over in the best 

 possible condition to whomsoever it is en- 

 trusted after the war." 



As I went from one part of Palestine 

 to the other, and rubbed shoulders with 

 the Indians, the Australians, the New 

 Zealanders, the Scottish, and English 

 troops, and talked with these men and 

 their commanding officers, I came to see 

 the secret underlying the success of the 

 Palestine campaign. This success is 

 evolved from the dynamic personality of 

 one of the greatest military leaders of the 

 war, General Edmund Henry Hyman 

 Allenby. 



He has inspired confidence and trust 

 in every man of his command. From his 

 highest general down to his most humble 

 private, there is a reliance in his leader- 

 ship which knows and looks only for suc- 

 cess. 



The recent capture of Damascus stands 

 out as one of the brilliant military 

 achievements of the war. In spite of the 

 mountainous country between Jerusalem 

 and Damascus, the British forces were 

 moved forward so rapidly and with such 

 strategic skill that practically the entire 

 Turkish army opposing them was cap- 

 tured. 



Palestine today is beginning a new 

 chapter of her history, which is entirely 

 due to the courageous and wise adminis- 

 tration of her British liberators. 



