A corporation with a capital of $5,
000,000 to finance the project of Pin
has Rutenberg, the well-known Rus
sian engineer, to harness the water
falls of the Jordan River for the pur
pose of generating and distributing
electric light and power in Palestine
is to be organized in England. The
Palestine Development Council, of
which U. S. Supreme Court Justice
Brandeis is honorary chairman, and
Judge Julian W. Mack, Chairman, is
taking immediate steps to aid in the
financing of this great undertaking,
This project, based on concessions
to Mr. Rutenberg by the British Gov
ernment, the mandatory power in Pal
estine, for the utilization of the wa
ters of the Auja, the Jordan and the
Yarmuk rivers and their affluents,
even outside the present boundaries
of Palestine, has been described in the
British House of Lords, by the Gov
ernment spokesman, the Duke iff
Sutherland, as the most practical, sub
stantial contribution so far made by
Judaism to the restoration of pros
perity in Palestine.
The concession, which includes
Trans-Jordania as well as Palestine
as at present constituted, covers a
period of seventy years, includes the
exclusive right to build the generating
stations, transmission and distribu
tion lines, electric tramways, rail
roads, telegraph and telephone sys
tems. Under the terms of the con
cession no other electric installments
will be permitted and no similar con
cessions granted in Palestine during
that time.
The first undertaking of the planned
corporation will be to build dams and
generating stations to utilize the falls
of the Jordan between Lake Tiberias
and Jisr-el-Mujamyah, a distance of
eight miles in which there is a fall of
40 metres. Generating stations and
power-houses are to be erected at
Jaffa, Haifa and Jerusalem. It is es
timated that 70 million killowat hours
can be made available by the initial
project, or three times more than the
present needs of the country.
This first phase, alone, of the Ru
tenberg plan, which has been checked
up and endorsed by leading engineers
of four countries and has been ap
proved by the British and Palestine
.Governments, will give direct employ
Anent to 3,000 men, and indirect em
ployment to many thousands more.
•It will make possible the carrying out
»f many industrial undertakings, for
|pany of which capital has already
peen subscribed in private corpora
tions, or contemplated by private in
'dividuals, which could not be carried
ut because of Palestine's lack of fuel,
will materially solve the problem
in Palestine caused by the influx of
thousands of "Chalutzim" and will
help toward lowering the immigra
tion barriers set up by the Govern
ment because of prevailing lack of
employment.
Rutenberg's plans have been check
ed up by Dr. L. C. Loewenstein, con
sulting engineer of the General Elec
tric Company, of Schenectady, N. Y.,
and other engineers on the staff of
that company by the Electricity Com
mission of the British Government, by
Dr. I. W. Majerczik, consulting engi
neer of the German Electric Company,
known throughout the world as "Die
Allgemeine," who made his investiga
tions in Palestine, and by the experts
of Baron Edmond de Rothschild, of
Paris.
Speaking in the House of Lords on
two occasions, in response to inter
pellations addressed to the Govern
ment, the Duke of Sutherland said:
"The Rutenberg plan is the most sub
stantial practical contribution so far
made by Judaism to the restoration
o o s e i y o a e s i n e
The whole scheme has been examined
with the greatest care by the depart
ments of the Palestine Government
who are particularly concerned and
also by the technical advisors of the
Secretary of State for the Colonies of
this country, and it is generally
agreed that from an engineering
point of view the scheme is thorough
sound."
Dr. L. C. Loewenstein of the Gen
eral Electric Company, officially in
formed Judge Mack on April 28th
that the engineers of that company
have gone into the project with ex
treme thoroughness and that they had
found:
1—That the amount of available
water is far in excess of the present
demand for energy
2—That the costs of the develop
ment are estimated very liberally and
will probably be lower than antici
pated
3—That the demand for electrical
energy will probably exceed the esti
mated figures, thus increasing the an
nual income expected.
Dr. Loewenstein adds: "I person
ally wish to add that I consider the
entire scheme feasible."
The concession provides that the
corporation, which is to be registered
in Palestine, is to be recognized as a
public utility body under Government
control and its installation and prop
erty will receive protection as such.
Land needed by the corporation for
its installations and operations is to
be expropriated by the Government
by due process of law. The eventual
corporation will be formed as a re­
THE AMERICAN
JEWISH WORLD
Weekly Journal of Modern Jewish Life and Labor*
VOL. St. Paul and Minneapolis—Friday, June 2,1922. No. 39
Rutenberg to Harness Jordan
$5,000,000 COEPORATION TO BE LAUNCHED. BRANDEIS-MACK GROUP TO AID. MOST SUBSTANTIAL, PRACTICAL CONTRIBUTION BY JEWS
FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF PALESTINE
sult of negotiation between organ
ized groups in several countries, but
as the need for action presses, the
Palestine Development Council has
undertaken to issue trustee certifi
cates in units of $50 to be exchanged
for preference shares bearing inter
est up to 8 per cent non-cumulative,
with the right to share in the sur
plus profits up to 12 per cent.
The corporation's common stock
will be held by quasi public bodies to
insure continuity in office and man
agement and to protect the public in
terest in the connection as a whole.
Baron Edmond de Rothschild, act
ing through the Jewish Colonization
Association (ICA) of Paris, has sub
scribed $500,000 toward the proposed
corporation the Joint Distribution
Committee had made a conditional in
vestment of $200,000, and the Jew
ish Colonial Trust subscribes $500,000."
The London Economic Board for Pal
estine will also subscribe.
WARNS AGAINST MONOPOLY
FOR BRITISH GOODS IN
PALESTINE.
London (J. T. A.)—Commenting on
the criticism against P. Rutenberg,
author of the Palestine irrigation and
electrification scheme, who is now in
New York to finance the project, for
having purchased in Germany part of
the machinery necessary for his
scheme, the "Daily News" declared
that in imposing upon Rutenberg a
condition giving the monopoly for
British goods required for Palestine,
would constitute a discrimination
against competing firms of other na
tions. Such discrimination, this paper
declares, will bring trouble between
Washington and Whitehall and result
in a breach of the terms of the British
Mandate for Palestine, guaranteeing
an open door to the United States in
mandated territories.
The "Daily Mail," one of Lord
Northcliffe's papers, continues the
campaign against Rutenberg. Refer
ring to the order given to German
firms for 10,000 pounds worth of ma
chinery, the "Daily Mail" quotes lead
ers tf the Palestine Arab Delegation,
that the Arabs are opposed to the
concession given to Rutenberg to har
ness the waters of the Jordan because
it is a "purely political affair."
RUTENBERG AUTHORIZATION
ISTS AND "BRANDEIS GROUP"
TO FINANCE HIS SCHEME
New York (J. C. B.)—Pinchus
Rutenberg, author of the famous irri
gation and electrification scheme for
Palestine today authorized the Zionist
Organization and the Palestine De
velopment Council (Brandeis Group)
V
to proceed independently in the col
lection of subscriptions for the financ
ing of his project. The statement he
gave the Jewish Correspondence
Bureau reads:
"As the financing of the plan for
the utilization of the water power of
the Jordan must in the interest of
Palestine be undertaken immediately.
I am authorizing every group, and or
ganization approved by me that is
willing to aid in this financing, to take
action at once. Every such effort will
be made in the manner most convenr
ient to each particular body.
It remains my belief that it is nec
essary that those undertaking to sup
port this task should get together for
common action. But even if the work
be done for the present independently,
I am certain that the Various groups
in American Jewry would do their
outmost for the success of this econ
omic undertaking, which is the most
urgent and vital task of Jewry for
the development of Palestine.
The Zionist Organization of Amer
ica and the Palestine Development
Council are hereby authorized to pro
ceed with the collection of subscrip
tions in accordance with their own
specific plans." *.
SAMUEL REPORTS ON
PALESTINE
London (J. T. A.)—In an address
before members of both Houses of
Parliament, presided over by Lord
Cecil, Sir Herbert Samuel, High
Commissioner for Palestine, said
that Palestine will be the National
Home of the Jewish people, even if
it is not the kind of home extremist
Zionists expected. Jews are bound
to increase in numbers until they be
come the majority in the country, he
said. The Jewish immigrant pio
neers are making good.
Denying the Bolshevik "bogey,"
the High Commissioner declared that
the number of Jewish Bolsheviki in
the country is more than insignifi
cant, the usual view of the Jewish
laboring element being similar to
that of the labor party in England.
Sir Herbert expressed himself as
hopeful of an agreement being
reached between the Arabs and the
Jews, who come to rehabilitate the
country. He defended the concession
granted to Engineer P. Rutenberg
providing for a monopoly in the ex
ploitation of Palestine's water re
sources, saying it would be impos
sible to raise capital otherwise than
by a monopoly. Self-determination
for the Arabs would prevent coloni
zation of Palestine, he declared. ,1