The Maccabaean

T is a truism that those organizations which develop in I response to a felt need are of more vital significance than those which are created to fit into a planned program. In the second case they may be so much deadwood, whereas in the first, they bear within them the seed of life which inspired their being. The Palestinian Survey is interesting for this reason. When the group of people who planned the reports which have since come to the oflice of the Survey drew up their program, it was with no thought of starting a bibliographic bureau of any kind. It was only as the work progressed that such a bureau became a necessity to them, and since its initiation it has grown into some- thin» annroachins a center for information about Palestine.

As long ago as when the first enthusiasm engendered by the Balfour declaration was kindled the importance of collecting material on Zionist aims became present to a group of Washington Zionists. Accordingly they drew up an outline of questions which would be of major significance when the problem of Palestine offered itself for solution. A report upon each question was solicited from men who are experts in their given fields. Such subjects as the boundaries of Palestine, the geography of the country, its present financial, political and economic condition, and its potentialities, were to be thoroughly considered and presented in a manner at once scholarly and immediately practical. Obviously this work entailed careful reading and a search among sources which is a time-absorbing business. For the sake of saving the writers all possible time and energy for the constructive matter of the reports themselves, a bibliographic bureau was established, under the competent and devoted leadership of Miss Nellie Straus.

Faced with the question of compiling a variety of thorough bibliographies, the very nature of the work assisted the Bureau in assorting a vast body of material on Palestine, agricultural, legal, geographic and political. It was natural, moreover, that a number of unorganized questions should develop into a demand for further reports; that casual contacts should create something in the nature of a “personnel catalogue; that co-operation should ensue between contributors and in many cases between people able to offer valuable suggestions rather than formal reports. In short, the Bureau rapidly became not merely the place where an exceptional catalogue of books, periodicals, and unpublished data was in the process of being assembled, but it became an information center about Palestine.

A great deal has been written in recent months about the importance of establishing public information centers which have all the qualities of public libraries with none of their defects. Such centers should have to tap the most recent literature, especially unbound and unpublished material of immediate import, on topics of practical interest. They should enjoy the support of a number of experts, who could be called on to furnish information and assistance. Finally, they should be managed in the interest of the public, as real mechanical aids, rather than as museums or storehouses of ancient knowledge. The Palestinian Survey, called into being for just such a purpose, has developed into a center of this type. Engaged in procuring the most recent material of whatever nature and in whatever form at all related to the future disposition of Palestine, it availed itself of all the channels such a center could use. It was alive

to every possible source of help, whether it came through missionary society bulletins or visits with private persons interested in any phase of Palestine. But it emphasized the need for obtaining not only the most recent, but the most adenmnmate and camnrehensive data.

as air: Ysera aaa Ser a re re fra nee er ei En en un As the work progressed many of the original contributors were forced to resign, owing to pressure of government duties. But it is a tribute to the Bureau that it was able to call upon excellent substitutes to carry on the reports, and even went so far as considerably to amplify the outline and to enlist new ro-oneration.

a re an a a ne er ne The armistice was signed very much sooner than had been hoped for. But if the reports were not in final form for the use of delegates to the Peace Conference, suflicient material had been gathered to afford them a rich beginning. It is especially noteworthy that many of the reports which were sent to Europe were written by men who had not been previously interested in the Zionist movement, but who gave of their time, energy and enthusiasm to composing excellent and pertinent reports on subjects of first importance in the estahlishment of the Tewish commonwealth.

Among the reports which have already been handed for are those dealing with the geography and mineral resources of the country, with its meteorology, with its archeological treasures and its agricultural possibilities, with the problem of small industries, with aspects of the political questions involved, with the fiscal system and financial distribution of Palestine, and not least, with the problem of sanitation. Needless to say, every one of these topics, which are fairly representative of the intention and scope of the work, is of large importance in any discussion concerning the future of Palestine.

There are almost daily requests for copies of the reports in hand, and others of equal significance are in preparation. It is, however, not only the reports for which material was collated that are in large demand. In the course of assembling it, a great deal of other valuable data was discovered, translations were made from Hebrew, Turkish and Arabic books and pamphlets, and these were made available to a group of readers to whom they came as fresh and illuminating material. It is for this accessibility, this broadness of scope and generosity of interest that the Bureau is to be valued.

Copies of the reports already obtained were sent not only to Europe, but were also given to those men who have embarked for Palestine itself. The cordial reception accorded to the reports by the men chosen to represent American Zionism is a token of their value. The position of the Bureau in this connection is typical. It is the bond between those in America who have given scientific attention to the problems of the New Zion and those who are studying conditions at first hand in Palestine. It has brought over one hundred men of scientific reputation into correspondence with the Zionist Organization, and this is only the beginning of what should be a progressive and developing movement in this direction.

For the creation of the Palestine toward which we are looking we need both mental and physical energy and enthusiasm. We need professional men and women who will make scientific studies, and give abundantly of their accu- (Continued on page 43)

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