Show HIL philanthropic work of a new sort which has been instituted in palestine through the generosity of nathan straus has reached such proportions that sir straus Is now in that country on 4 special mis slon to see how bo can further and enlarge projects to which he begin to devote attention last year he will spend some time in a comprehensive study 0 the needs and possibilities of the two charitable enterprises ho has already established and in directing the Uon of etall a third of which he has the highest hope the institutions which are already in existence through air straus s activities are known aa the athan straus relief fund and the health bu reau the first operates exclusively among the poor of jerusalem while tho second extends over all of palestine and concerns some persons isow he proposes to introduce the tern which has been so successfully employed here of providing trained nurses to disseminate hygienic knowledge in districts where modern methods have hitherto been unknown and to teach medical principles so that the igno ranee of the people in regard to such subjects may be dissipated in this way he hopes to supplement the equipment with which for the past ear he has been fighting die case and to secure the employment of modern ideas in a campaign for health and the rout of disease breed ing habits under his direction the first steps have been taken that the dwellers in the city of jerusalem and the surrounding country have ever known for the relief of the conditions that have so long impeded the commercial and social progress of that portion of the turkish empire palestine had until mr straus and some american colleagues became cognizant of the situation been over looked by the many medical mission ary movements that have been start cd by various countries in most oth er quarters of the globe now it Is proposed to do everything that money and energy can accomplish to push a program of enlightenment and relief there and BO good a beginning has been made in the work of the exist ing movement that air straus has been inspired to take tor the time being personal charge of affairs details of the work that is being done in palestine at the present time and of plans tor the future are told by dr aaron aaronsohn head of tho jewish agricultural experiment sta alon which Is located near jerusalem and which Is conducted in conjunct alon with the health bureau started by air straus dr aaronsohn came to this country to report to the department of agriculture on the results of experiments in the development for industrial purposes of the grow ing of wild wheat which Is found in profusion in the farming sections of his native country since he has been here he has made an extended trip through california arizona and texas at the request of the agricultural department to intro duce and direct experiments with the wheat in those states it was directly through the discovery by dr aaronsohn of wild wheat that the jewish aarl cultural experiment station in palestine was founded he was born and brought up in that country the son of a native farmer and after receiving a medical education he came to this country to see what reception he would have for his theories that the cultivation and adoption of the wheat tor commercial purposes would tend to cheapen foodstuffs and render usable many arid districts in the west where nothing could grow before he was favorably received by the federal agricultural authorities and on his trip met the men who ultimately united to form the station of which he Is now the head julius rosenwald of chicago Is president of the board of directors of the station and members of it are oscar straus paul AI warburg isaac N bellg man and jacob H the late isador straus was also affiliated with the organization and so is nathan with a plan tor the industrial betterment of palestine and its inhabitants under way natural ly it became necessary to do something for the physical alleviation of tho people themselves since it had been found that healthy men to do the work were an indispensable requirement the rate of mortality in the country was very high and the general health of so low a standard that it soon became evident that something must be done to improve conditions it the agricultural movement was to be a success at the time this need became most evident something more than a year ago nathan straus was in palestine on a pleasure trip he was ap pealed to but at first declined to do anything in that country as he thought his first duty from a humanitarian standpoint was to the poor and the suffering of the united states he consent ed however to investigate the situation person ally and soon became so impressed with the con that he assured those who had made the appeal that he would do all in his power to relieve them and would also solicit the aid of bis numerous friends since then his efforts have been unremitting and such improvements have been introduced that palestine in general and jerusalem in particular have become modernized from a hygienic point of view to an extent that was not dreamed of a few years ago it was not only because of hla personal experience that mr determined to lend his al in palestine he believes that all members of the jewish race owe a peculiar duty and obliga alon to that country and that wherever feasible no effort should be spared to civilize and bring it to a position where it will bear comparison with any other community in the civilized world no sooner had mr seen with hla own eyes the pitiful and squalid conditions in pales tine that so sadly needed relief than he with the decision and generosity characteristic of him took immediate steps to correct them with the aal yal as ot what Is the only medical laboratory in all palestine with athla as a basis the work has been ex tended from jerusalem where it was started to every part 0 the country now it Is firmly established and growing every day money for its continuance Is furnished by mr straus and great in terest Is taken in the work by the americans who were responsible for the establishment of the aarl cultural station the physician in charge of the bureau Is dr brunn a twenty ight year old graduate of the university of berlin who had dona work in the german colonies in central africa find had settled in jerusalem he as recommended to mr straus by dr aaronsohn and in his hands was placed the organization of the enterprise the equipment for the laboratory was imported from germany at conald erable cost and Is of the most mod ern kind suitable for chemical analyses and examinations feces sary in the determination of the nature of disease dr brunn became acquainted with mr straus when the latter was taken as he was about to return to this country last spring the doctor accompanied the philanthropist from jaffa in pales tine to naples reaching there just about the time of the titanic als aster in which isador straus lost expenditure of both time and a great deal ol 01 money be devoted himself to the object with a result that has now far exceeded even the most sanguine expectations the first thing he did was to baart the nathan straus relief fund of which be Is the sole supporter discovering that great numbers of the aged and infirm of jerusalem were without means of support and were frequently in the throes of starvation because there was no organized means of relief in the city he started two soup kitchens this was a year ago and since that time the in hava been working night and day with great results each day from to men and women and children are fed at these kitchens and the food they receive there Is about the only subsistence they secure no lines are drawn and persona of all religions are entitled to the aid but mr straus was not satisfied with the soup kitchens they ft ere a remedy for a disease but he sought a preventive tor the ailment that was producing vagrants and beggars in the holy city his investigation disclosed the fact that many of the young men and young women were never trained to support themselves in any way and were virtually dependents from childhood on so he decided to educate them in some useful occupation which would prevent them from becoming useless in old age and would make them creditable citizens one of the principal businesses of jerusalem la the selling of small objects of art and other souvenirs to the throng of tourists that bock to the city every year seeing something to be gai this mr straus hired skilled artisans secured buildings which were fitted with proper machinery and started an industrial school to the manufacture of the salable souvenirs of jeru salem this venture proved an immediate sue cess and the institution Is crowded with the pre neglected youths who have shown not only a willingness but a distinct desire to learn bome such useful and lucrative occupation the souvenirs that used to come from the larger cities of that part of the country and some even from the continent and america are now pro deuced right on the ground the workers get the proceeds of their labor and the undertaking bids fair to be in time one of the biggest and most successful of the kind in the world at about the time of the establishment of tho relief fund mr strauss sympathies BO strongly aroused by the unfortunate situation in which ho found a great majority of the inhabitants in regard to hygienic precautions that he determined to do something in that direction dr aaronsohn and other officials of the tural station were delighted with the decision and labored with him to effect his purpose such things as sanitation the scientific battling with disease proper drainage and even the use of such simple health as soap and water were almost unknown to people in palestine pearln and year out hundreds of them hid been dying solely because of this ignorance of the very essentials of hygiene mr straus set about a campaign of the result of this situation was the health bu reau perhaps the most unusual institution of its kind in the world alth birds furnished by mr straus some empty buildings were secured and an experienced physician found to take charge bis life nathan strauss condl alon was made more serious by this loss and the young physician stayed with him until he was able to call tor america that cemented a friendship and gave mr straus the utmost confidence in the success ot the bureau returning from naples to jerusalem dr brunn bet about the still further extension of the plans the bureau Is modeled as closely as possible upon the board of health of new york the reports ot which are bent to palestine and informs alon in regard to which has been liberally furnished by the officials here dr brunn been in this country but Is planning a trip here in the near future to study local health regula alon at close range dr aaronsohn says that the work of the bureau s chief haa been most remarkable and up to date in every way at the present time dr brunn has two young doctors assisting him and also two nurses it Is not possible to do any actual hospital work but methods of checking and preventing disease are taught all through the country whenever an epidemic starts a temporary camp Is established at the spot with one of the bureau physicians in charge and the people affected are directed in their fight against the trouble in one settlement of sixty persons it was found that days of illness had been the average each month in one year this average had been cut down to thirty six days an accod which has been characteristic of tho work in every place where it has been put into operation not only does the bureau educate in alon methods but the physicians BO far as they are able treat afflicted persons and best of all distribute medicines free of charge malarial fever has long been the scourge of palestine and the fight against this has been carried on in two ways first by sanitation and second by quinine the bureau experts have shown the natives how to get rid of the disease breeding and bac arla laden pools and the marshy grounds sometimes by the simple application of a few shovel fuls of dirt they have used modern methods in fighting the plague of mosquitoes the germ carriers and then where the disease has still existed they have introduced quinine dr aaronsohn says it Is no uncommon sight to see a line in front of the dispensary in could be found not only natives of the country but groups of arabs from far away who have been attracted by reports of the marvelous work of the white doctors the fight against the mosquito which abounds in palestine Is one of the most interesting features of the work of the bureau dr brunn and his assistants have studied the methods used in this country particularly in the state of new jersey and have adapted them to the situation in the holy land kerosene Is poured in the pools where the insects breed and every other scientific weapon Is employed against them with all this charity and benevolence among them after so many years of neglect the people of palestine are taking new heart they who have been a downtrodden and discouraged race aro now hopeful and cheerful hand in hand with their moral and physical welfare goes industrial welfare betterment of one means am provement pro of the other and both are on the forward march there la a new era in the holy land |