BETTER DAYS IN JERUSALEM.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 14534, 20 February 1918, Page 10

BETTER DAYS IN JERUSALEM.

BETHLEHEM'S PEACEFUL SURRENDER. WELCOME TO BRITISH TROOPS. (By W. T. Masse v.) ■ ' JERUSALEM, Dee. IT. Our soldiers, whose oxemplaiy behavior is every wbere acknowledged, are held in high regard by all in Palestine. Bethlehem was taken from the Turks* without the necessity of direct attack through the vigorous progress made by the Welsh and Home Counties troops. A f not-sore Welsh soldier, when told by a staff officer he hud better get into the ambulance, replied: "No, indeed; there's Bethleho-m and Jerusalem before me. This sold't'i- had trudged up and down mountains as .4eep and Jugged as his native hills, but toiled on manfully, despite his 'pain, to take his share in fiiisiing the enemy t'voni the. sacred p Laces. . ■ . Welshmen are naturally very proud ot the part they played in these historic victor 'es. They- had their full share of trials and discomforts. Recently they had been fighting at altitudes about equal to the crest of their own Snowden. Before they could get from Khuweilfeh—where in the early days of the advance they beat off tlu* determined attacks of two and a -half Turkish divisions—to the Hebron road they had to make a voa-fl through the mountains in one clay. The- road northwards was-con-siderably longer than that shown m the pre-war' maps, because when the lurks planned their attack on the Canal German engineers, in order to iniprovo the ..radients, made, some long zigzag roads up. the mountains. The road was badly blown up about Hebron. VT "SOLOMON'S POOLS. Tt was typical rearguard-fighting coiintrv where* enemy cavalry could have clolaVed progress. " But though some cavalry Were seen, the march was rapid. The strong lime on the southern end of Ras-es-SherifeH was occupied unopposed and the. troops thus obtained the highest point of Southern Palestine. Thence thev proceeded to water at Solomons Pools, Sherifeh had an elaborate system of defences, with traverses and breastworks beautifully made. In front the hill-road took a bend to the west, tne whole of it exposed to too defences south of Bethlehem, and it oeeame necessary to secure the hills on the east sidte • of the' road before advancing. This was a desperately bad bit ot country, and the battalion which went to it found it impossible to get the moles up The Cheshires went up one mountain without their greatcoats, blankets or rations. Rain fell heavily all night, and the cold was intense. Next day when the battalion was relieved the men marched to their transport whistling, happy but almost frozen, and only one man Vas reported sick. , , From the top of Sherifeh the staff had a beautiful view of Bethlehem and Jerusalem for five minutes at dawn, but a heavy fog enveloped the summit for the remainder of the day. The best use was made of the fog., for, when the force watered at Solomon's Pools they were within - rifle range of the enemy s BETHLEHEM ABANDONED. Guns were in position among the trees 'on the southern outskirts of Bethlehem. The- commander decided it was best to take Jala, a picturesque town on the slopes west <>f Bethlehem, and to ignore Bethlehem itself, thus avoiding fighting around that hallowed spot. With some London Yeomanry Jala was occupied, and after another bad night it was found 1 that the ercemy had left the Bethlehem defences. . The advance on Jerusalem was ordered immediately.' The Welsh troops, by a determined attack down the Jericho road, so threatened the Turkish rear that the. enemy were compelled to leave the Mount of Olives, where they had manv machine guns. Since then the Welshmen have taken an important share, in pressing the Turks back. Duiv ing the last two days, they lm.ve brought in nearly 150 prisoners. From a splendid point vi observation I have seen something of their work, ami far beyond the ridges thev hold, securely, I have looked ' upon the stiver. Jordan and the Dead Sea, the surface of which is occasionally ruffled by Turkish motor boats" conveyhvc stoves. /. .•.■•■ RELIEF" TN THE CITY, .Jerusalem ..to-dny is smiling, -and contented. Food supplies are not abundant. but they .-ire. .sufficient. .Affluent people never were in want, but dtu^tig the war •prices went 'up so hieh and the paper money in circulation was at such a discount that the poor suffered greatly, and I am told there were many deaths from slow starvation. Now the conditions Have undergone :i remarkable change. We sire n>viiV4 employment to all the, men in road-miiking in the suburbs a«t ample rates; of pay. The men are assisted by boys at the light work, and at meal times it is not unusual to see whole families joining the menfolk at their meals. , ■ ' One of- the reasons for -the high price ( f .foodstuffs 'during the war was that Turkish officers bought considerable supplies of wheat and flour from their military depots, the cost being debited ;i«mnst thejr pay, which was paid in fW>oer. They s<d'd the supplies for gold, which-was worth four or five times more than paper. When in the middle of November there M'as a prospect of the Turkish evacuation of Jerusalem the officers sold out their stocks' of provisions, with the result that prices came down considerably. b.ut when it was decided to defend the cifc'y, the cost of food rose again to almost famine price, the Turks, by selling for gold that which was bought for paper and rechanging the gold for paper;- made huge profits, causing further depreciation of paper at the expense of the population. To-day Jerusalem has a mnuieipaL body to assist the Military Governor in working for the good of the whole community. The smiling faces of the. poor tell how much the new system is appreciated.