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Show v PEACE ON EARTH FINDS HOLY LAND AGAIN UNDER CROSS Ooryrleht. 1 0 1 S by Pub'.'c Ledcr Co. , .... 2 ,3 i r-" ,- " , ' .- ' ... . ! : t . : . (""-'" x. "i ' 1 us -.. t " i ' ! (,',1 , . , f , X J I .? ;, H - i " I I . " xv ' - ' ' , 1 . t V , r h ' - II ' N v '8n ' "Vi - I v-. ?. ' V Market scene in the citv of Bethlehem in the squure in front of the Church of the fvauvity U) I. r. s. By Charles W. Duke "For unto you Is torn this day in the city of David a Sauiour, Which la Christ the Lord." CHRISTIAN men and women the world over rejoice this Christmas r that the Holy Land, where the Saviour was born, lived, taught, bled and died fter coming to earth as the herald of "Peace on earth. ood will to men." has been entirely reclaimed . from Turkish dominion In the great world war now ending. After nearly seven centuries of Moslem control, the sa-cred sa-cred places of Palestine and Svria that knew Jesus when He was on earth lind themselves this momentous Christmas Christ-mas under the bannersof the Christian Chris-tian nations of the earth the Cross triumphant over the Crescent with all the world on the threshold of peace on earth, good will to men." There is a new enchantment this .year in the Church of the Nativity over there in Palestine that marks the traditional spot where the Son of God was born. Likewise, the Church of the Holy fcepulcher. the traditional Bite of Golgotha, carries a new message to the Crusaders who have come up from the far corners of the earth to bring back to Christendom the home of the Saviour. Every mother who mourns for her son lost In battle may gain inspiration from that reclaimed Via Dolorosa along which Christ toiled under the Cross on the way to death. Our men have died these last few yars that the world might be freed of militarism and go forward to the era of "peace on earth"; and out of the maelstrom of war, as part of the material benefits, has ' come the restoration res-toration of the Holy Land to the place It has not occupied since the days of the Crusaders, nearly seven centuries Capture of Jerusalem ' Hearts were glad at Christmas time a year ago at the proclamation or Uen-eral Uen-eral Allenby's triumphal entry lnt6 Jerusalem as a climax to the campaign s that had been carried on from the banks of the Nile, in Egypt, where Joseph and Mary had fled more than 1900 years ago with their Babe to escape es-cape persecution at the hands of arorod.. The capture of Jerusalem was heralded afar as the augury of Impending Im-pending victory and peace. The joy over its recovery was heightened, too, Ailenby and his crusaders had fought eo carofully and so humanely that not a sacred spot in the City of David had been marred by any ravaging shells. Jerusalem was spared in its entirety, o far as the Allies were concerned, und It has yet to be substantially proved that the Turk mutilated or destroyed de-stroyed the sacred relics before retreating. re-treating. But this year Christmas comes as a climax to the more wonderful deeds of the last twelve months the complete subjugation of the Turk from JufTa to Aleppo; the total collapse of his cruel domain; his abject surrender to the mighty forces of democracy. After Jerusalem came Jericho, in the valley of the Jordan, famous in the days of , Moses and Joshua, the city through which Christ traveled on his last jour- J ney up to Jerusalem. Roman Jericho was the burial place of Herod. It was onco the property of Cleopatra, the Egyptian queen, by whom it was mndo a verltablo paradise. The district dis-trict about Jericho In these modern days has long been the personal prop erty of the Sultan of Turkev but now the flags of Enerland. France and the Allied nations float over It. In the gospels. Jericho figures In the stones of Bartimeus. Zaccheus and the Good Samaritan. The sweep to Jericho from Jerusalem took in Bethanv. where the armies of democracy came upon the traditional tomb of Lazarus, the house of Simon the leper and the home of Martha and Mary. It stands on the Mount of Olives, and was the lodslng place of Christ when in Jerusalem. It was here Lazarus was raised from the dead and It was here, or -over aeainst Bethany, Beth-any, ' as St. Luke records it. that the Ascension took place. Along the Jordan River From the Dead Sea the forces of democracy extended their campaign northward along the line of the River Jordan. Many years before Christ the Jordan knew . Joshua. Gideon, David, Elijah and Elisha. Naaman the Syrian was directed to go wash In the Jordan to cure his leprosy it was at the Jordan that John the Baptist first preached and baptized. Bethlehem next fell into the hands of the deliverers. Here it was the Saviour was born. On the plains where the shepherds watched their flocks by night years ago the outposts of the Allied armies keep vigil this Christmas Eve. In earlier days it was at Bethlehem that Rachel was buried. Ruth settled there with her second husband, Boaz. The Philistines held it as a garrison during the outlawry of David. The birth of the Messiah in Bethlehem was prophesied many years before His coming. After His birth Herod sent here seeking the newborn new-born Christ, and when he could not find Him ordered the massacre of infants. in-fants. Allenby's crusaders found at Bethlehem Beth-lehem the basilica of the Nativity, founded by Conslantine about 300 and restored by Justinian in 500. Here in the old city is the Grotto of the Nativity, marking the traditional spot where the Holy Virgin gave birth to the Saviour, formed into a crypt with Us two columns of steps leading down to the bottom of the grotto, the crypt lighted by fifty-three lamps. Fine white marble covers the floor, and into the paving is fitted a shining vermilion ver-milion star. Surrounding it are the words, "HIc de Virglne Maria, Jesus Christus natus est." General Ailenby, after capturing the various cities of the Holy Land, gave orders not to disturb their customs. cus-toms. In return for the liborality of the Moslems In permitting the Christians Chris-tians to share Jerusalem with the Turks, the Allied commander permitted permit-ted the followers of Mohammed to retain re-tain their stronghold in the Mosque of Omar. It is to be presumed the same condition of affairs maintained elsewhere, else-where, and so on this Christmas it is likely that In the Grotto of the Nativity Na-tivity in Bethlehem the lamps about the star of the Holy Crypt still burn In tho same order four for the Latins, live for. tho Armenians and six for the Greeks. Bethlehem of Today Here in America one can ponder at length on the thoughts In the minds of the Allied troops as they stand this Christmas by the oratory of the manger man-ger in Bethlehem, where the Virgin laid her new-born Son on the straw, and where the shepherds, directed by angels, came to worship the Messiah; or by the altar of the Magi, that com- r memoratcs tho visitation of the Wise c3Eg7rr;ira' I . 5 - i J?cc i . - '' f- i & I i 4 wnw . , j, .rf - n7I - h v. . ..--rV-. - i y Vs a iff I ' k s A - , . , . I irV7 ? A t . ; ' j J Vi- r A" 1 : y v-:?l'v.i .t ?1 i Liidenvood & Underwood. V. .i.'-; H x.u'.- - a Overlooking the modern city of "j.-. '" S Jerusalem as it appears to the fejl .tourist of today 5j x 1 1 ?f I To the left General Sir Edmund t V f H. H. AUenby, ilie Deliverer of ll J! I'.-. 8 &Ly 4 vj4 ri77:d7v 7""i ; - ! r" -i-'i 7-v i, i - """ 7pvv ; . - '7;, '74 . 7 J k'gx 'i7'316- Cop) right, Underwood & Underwood Jj 7 life Proclamation read to the populace 'fii X f3 fe & 5Jl 'n Jerusalem from the steps of the :"fl MS f S Sfl!j Q Tower of David after tlie British J a occupied the Holy City 'S?. Ji Men from the East, who were guided by a star to the spot where the Babe lay in the stable of Bethlehem. To the Christian Bethlehem means more in 1918 than ever before in the history his-tory of the world. Spreading northward from the line drawn through Jerusalem from the Mediterranean to the Dead Sea the battle campaign of General Ailenby since last Christmas next encompassed the city of Nablus. This Is in tho land of the tribe of Benjamin, that at the disruption of Israel was the only tribe that cleaved to" Judah.. The warriors bound from Jerusalem for Nablus swept through Mlzpah, where Samuel was born, lived and died. They took in also the town of Bethel, where Jacob on his way to Mesopotamia in search of a wife, beheld the ladder reaching from earth to sky as he dreamed while asleep with his head pillowed on a stone. They hurled the Turk back over the site of Shiloh, where the Ark of the Covenant was established. Campaigning Northward While fighting their way into Nablus the twentieth century crusaders passed Jacob's Well and the Tomb of Joseph. Nablus. or Shcchem, as it was known of old, was one of the most picturesque pic-turesque of Palestine cities, standing at the entrance of a narrow defile between be-tween tho basin of the Mediterranean N and the Jordan. It became the capital of the Samaritans. Christianity early took a strong hold in this city. Here some of the disciples preached and were well received. Next came the announcement that the British army had burst forth upon the famed plain of Esdraelon. known 3s the "Battlefield of Armageddon." Great interest was stirred by this announcement an-nouncement in view of the reference !n the Apocalypse (Rev. xvi, 6) as the -.place "where in the final struggle between be-tween good and evil the greatest of all battles would be fought." The Plain separates Galilee from Samaria, and because of its location on a frequented fre-quented highway became a much fcught-over battleground through all the ages. Gideon's "picked army" routed the Midianites there. Saul and Jonathan made their gallant stand against the Philistine army on Mount Gilboa. In the southwest section of the plain King Joseph was defeated and slain by the Egyptian army. Holofernes set up his camp on this plain of Es draelon. Here came also Pompey, Mark Antony and Titus. Vespaaian routed the Jews near Mount Tabor. The last titanic battles of tho crusades were fought over this historic ground by Saladin and his Saracen army. Napoleon came along hundreds of " years later and defeated the Turks, but was so badly battered that he had to retire on Acre without realizing his dream of rivaling Alexander the Great as the conqueror of Asia. In striking comparison was the ease with which Allenby's forces swept over Armageddon, Armaged-don, driving the Turk into Galilee. In Galilee the crusaders of today came into the place whence sprung the human ancestors of Jesus Christ. In Nazareth the boy Jesus grew to manhood. It was here He was brought by his parents from Egypt, to which land they had fled following the miraculous mirac-ulous birth, when advised that Herod sought the life of the child., Writers maintain Nazareth was in reality the home of Christianity, since Bethlehem -r - r n i v f , 1 - 7,7 7 1 ' w ' ' ,., v'i.,.--, -.. - :....:::. - , f . . - ; " ' its, j; , s 1 , ",' v 9 " . ij. , 1 i i . i v t y " l 1 j 1 - j ' ' ' 1 -1 , , I vxtew: s : :C, :''1;-.- . . . -r -. ; . ! t: ......7. .:;: , : v.'.V. ' "ru . W ' :- ' ". f . "V J i The Holy Sepulchre, considered the holiest of till the holy places in tho ; Holy Land U) I. F. S. ' was tha accidenta.1 birthplace of the Saviour and Jerusalem the city of His death simply because it was the political and religious center of the Jewish world. It was not long after the battle of Nazareth that the world heard of the capture of Damascus and the occupation occupa-tion of Beirut- Damascus, the capital of Syria, was captured October 1 and occupied by British and Arabian forces. With French naval forces in the seaport city of Beirut the stage waa set for the advance on Aleppo, the Turk stronghold of the north, connecting con-necting up with the line running from Bagdad to Constantinople, the famod Berlin-to-Bagdad railway. Damascus ever was a great trade center and therefore a prize fought for in many hard battles dating back to the days of David. Paul was converted at Damascus, escaped there from Aretas by being lowered over a wall in a basket and later returned after his Arabian retirement. The Crusaders never succeeded in getting a stronghold strong-hold in Damascus and it has remained through the ages a Moslem center. Damascus disputes with Hebron the title of the oldest city in the world. It' flourished in the brilliant and fascinating fas-cinating scenes of the Arabian nights. In the city is the tomb of Saladin, upon which the former Kaiser of Germany Ger-many hung a wreath some few years ago when he was dreaming as Napoleon Napo-leon and Alexander the Great dreamed of a world empire. The Fall of Aleppo At Damascus the troops of General Gen-eral Ailenby had reached the end of what has generally been known as the Holy Land, -extending from the sands of the Nile in the south to the cedars of Lebanon In the north. But military exigencies called for the continued con-tinued advance, of the British armies in the direction of Aleppo, the great Turco-German base, and since the capture cap-ture of Damascus and occupation of the entire northern Syrian district made the fall 6f Aleppo inevitable, the general public was not surprised to learn shortly before the armistice that Aleppo had fallen in the conclusion of a mighty campaign that had hurled the Turk completely out of the Holy Land of Palestine and Syria. Now that the war has ended and the Hold Land has come under the protectorate pro-tectorate of the Allied nations, the question of the future Jerusalem looms in many minds. When the hosts of Islam overran Persia, Syria and Palestine Pales-tine they took possession of the temple tem-ple area in Jerusalem and transformed I the church Into the beautiful llosqu of Omar, leaving the Christians in possession pos-session of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Mohammed had drawn . much of his teachings from the Christians Chris-tians and Jews. During the four centuries cen-turies from the Moslem conquest of Palestine until the crusades, Christian, Chris-tian, Jew and Moslem lived together in peace. Then along came Peter the Hermit and the Crusaders. The second coming of Christ had been forecast for the year 1000. The passing of this year without any catastrophe awakened an era of Christian piety that held the world safe through the year 1033, the anniversary of the Crucifixion. Peter the Hermit prevailed pre-vailed upon Popo Urban II to sanction the first crusade. It proved a successful success-ful venture, for Jerusalem was captured cap-tured July 14, 1099, and Godfrey at Bouillon elected King of Jerusalom. At the Peace Conference Saladin became master of Egypt and Syria toward tho end of the twelfth century, alter defeating the Crusaders at the battle of Hattin, in 1187. capturing cap-turing the most treasured of relics, a piece of the true Cross. This provoked pro-voked the third crusade, led by Richard Rich-ard Coeur do Lion, and commemorated in Scott's novel, "'The Talisman." The Crusaders captured Constantinople for the Venetians, but failed of tjie entire conquest of Palestine. The fifth crusade, cru-sade, under Frederick II, regained pos. session of Jerusalem, only to be driven out by tho Moslems in 1244. Moslem power over Palestine was completed before the dawn of another century, and since that time the Crescent has held the balance of power in the Holy another Christmas tho momentous mo-mentous question of the future of Palestine will In all likelihood be settled. Turkey has been whipped, and the universal cry Is for the banishment banish-ment of the Turk. It has been proposed pro-posed to make of Constantinople an international in-ternational center, and to set up a Jewiiih State In Palestine under an autonomous au-tonomous form of government. These things are to come out of the peace conference, and will likely be determined de-termined by another Christmas. In the meantimo, the minds of men are speculating on the new and free archeologlcal explorations In the Holy Land that are likely to follow In the wake of Christian rule, the jossiblllty of Solomon's temple being restored and the many secrets of tho ages revealed, re-vealed, now that the hand of tho barbarian bar-barian has been set aside for the light of the new civilization of democracy. |