The Maccabaean

The Date Industry

Dates can be raised in the Jordan Valley, and in the future this branch will be very important.

The Cotton Industry

I must say a few words regarding the cotton industry in Palestine. I have seen many enthusiastic about raising of cotton in Palestine, but the gentlemen seem to forget that cotton requires cheap labor and employing them at a short period only.

BY-PRODUCTS PLANTS

With the increase of our fruit products, we will have to build by-product plants so as to make use of any parts of the products which otherwise would be wasted.

THE SIZE OF INDIVIDUAL FARMS IN PALESTINE

The writer's opinion is that each farmer in Palestine ought to possess at least ten acres of fruit trees under irrigation or forty acres of fruit trees without irrigation, together with a few acres, enough to raise vegetables for himself, fodder for his cows, enough space for his barn and stable, his house, and a small flower garden.

The objection raised by many writers to such a farmer was: We see them in Judæa already and they are not farmers but "Guts-besitzer" (landowner), depending entirely upon hired help. This objection will vanish if we introduce in Palestine the methods used in California. One single man

in California can easily work ten acres of irrigated oranges, lemons, etc. (except in time of picking), and still have plenty of time to attend to a few cows, chickens, vegetables, etc. Inter-crops will reduce the expenses during the first few years enormously.

WAGES MIGHT BE HIGH

On the other hand, wages for hired help should be high, if we really want to own the land and be sure the owner will put into it most of his time. You could very often hear the statement made in Palestine by many a colonist: “Why, it does not pay me to do this work. For a few cents I can get ‘Machmud’ or ‘Sahid’ to do it. Why should my daughters work during the harvest if I can get little ‘Ma- bruka’ to do it for a ridiculous price?”

a Er a Ta a a A ri a It is therefore in the interest of our nation in Palestine that conditions should be such that it should pay to work, whether for ourselves or for somebody else. High wages would in no way handicap our competition in the great world markets. It only would favor the small-sized farms. Once and for all, Palestine, if it is to become a sound center for a sound Jewish culture must be a place in which to work and to live and not a place in which to weep and to retire. It must be a place where young ambitious people have a chance to live and not merelv to exist.

Note—Mr. Katzpronsky has lived and studied conditions in both Palestine and California. The above article is based chiefly on the many points of similarity between the two regions.

“Resolved, that the American Jewish Congress instruct their delegation to Europe to cooperate with the representatives of other Jewish Organizations and specifically with the World Zionist Organization, to the end that the Peace Conference may recognize the aspirations and historic claims of the Jewish people with regard to Palestine, and declare that in accordance with the British Government’s declaratiin of November 2nd, 1917, endorsed by the Allied Governments and the President of the United States, there shall be established such political, administrative, and economic conditions in Palestine as. will assure, under the trusteeship of Great Britain, acting on behalf of such League of Nations as may be formed, the development of Palestine into a Jewish Commonwealth, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which shall prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.” —Adopted at the first American Jewish Congress, December 17, 1918.

In an article appearing in the MACCABAEAN magazine for October, 1910, I had the good fortune to use the phrase which is the title of this essay—I believe, for the first time in the history of Zionism. At a later date, in August, 1914, a small group of Zionists who were interested in the land problem of Palestine, organized a corporation, which we called the "Zion Commonwealth," and which is merely the abbreviated form of the above title.

In interpreting the phrase "A Jewish Commonwealth," as endorsed by the first American Jewish Congress, we may utilize the knowledge gained through the use of this

phrase during the last eight years. What is the meaning of the word "Commonwealth"? What does a "Jewish Commonwealth" signify?

The word "Commonwealth" came into current use in the days of Oliver Cromwell, about the middle of the Seventeenth century. Charles I was succeeded by a government known as the English "Commonwealth," with Oliver Cromwell as the "Protector." "Commonwealth" was used by the English people of Cromwell's time in the sense of common weal or common welfare, i. e., the state was to be the guardian of the common welfare rather than the instrument of kings, with their theory about divine right.

The word "Commonwealth," however, has a significance beyond the mere philological connotation of the word. It has a meaning that has been made by history, and perhaps the concrete application of the word by the makers of political history is more important for our consideration. Now, firstly, "Commonwealth" is never used as the name for a monarchial state—it refers always to a Republican form of government. Whether it be the Commonwealth of Cromwell, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, under the Puritans, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, under the Protectorate of William Penn and his successors, or the present day Commonwealth of Australia, the reference is always to a state that is also a Republic, resting upon the basis of "consent of the governed." But Commonwealth signifies more than Republic. A Republic may be also an Aristocratic Republic ruled by a few noble and wealthy families, like the Republics of Venice and Florence, in Medieval Italy. A Commonwealth signifies—in its historical uses—a Democratic Republic, wherein the people have self-