A merica "(wish periodical eater
CLIFTON AVENUE - CINCINNATI 20, OHIO
Juno 30, 1944
DETROIT JEWISH CHRONICLE and Th. lual Chronic!.
S
THE CARRYING CAPACITY OF PALESTINE
By WALTER CLAY LOWDERMILK
EDITOR'S NOTE—Dr. Lowdermilk, assistant chief of the Soil Con-
servation Service of the United States Department of Agriculture,
is the author of "Palestine, Land of Promise," published by Harper
and Brothers this spring. He has recently served as adviser on
so il problems to the government of Free China.
I It was during a study of land limit for immigration into Pal-
use id the Qld World, suggested estine. What, precisely, is eco-
eco-
nomicabsorption? Th e answer to
by the Congressional subcommit- no
tee of Appropriations for Agri- this question takes us back to the
culture, to investigate how Amer- basic structure of a civilized so-
ican farmers and stock men could ciety. The carrying capacity of
profit by the experience of the the earth for a human population
Old World, that I became espec- is, n i the final reckoning, as sim-
ially interested in Palestine. For ple as the carrying capacity of
there in the midst of the run- the range for cattle--it is meas-
down, misused, and under-used ured by the production of food.
i the case of human popu-
lands of the Near East, the splen- But , in
did work of Jewish agricultural lations, transportation and ex-
settlements gave promise of a change of food make it possible
ne w day in those old countries, to concentrate people in cities
and of a revival of their ancient beyond the food production of
local areas; likewise, people may
prosperity.
These settlements are some- be concentrated within a coun-
thing new under the sun. Cov- try beyond its food production
ering about 6 per cent of the capacity if that country has goods
total area ranging in location and services which other coun-
from coastal plain malarial t•ies are willing to accept for
marshes to the rocky highland their food export. Thus Britain,
slopes of Upper Galilee and the the first country to be industrial-
salty soils of the lower Jordan ized, now support 40,000,000 peo-
Valley, the Jewish agricultural ple—four times as many as at
villages may be considered a the beginning of the nineteenth
series of demonstration projects century—though it grows only
proving a number of facts of half the food required by this
the highest importance as to the increased population.
future and possibilities of land
The upper limit of the eco-
conservation, not only in Pales- nomic absorptive capacity of a
tine but in the entire Near East. geographic area depends on many
Unused and unwanted lands of factors. Among these are ( 1 ) the
local Arabs have been bought inherent fertility of the land base,
by the Jews at prices five- to (2) easy access to adequate raw
tenfold what we would pay for materials, (3) suitable means for
similar lands in California. Most developing power, (4) access to
generally these lands had been nearby and safe food supplies,
made unsuitable for cultivation (5) the genius and skills of the
by erosion. Much costly prepara- people themselves. In the case
tory work had to be done before of Palestine, what—on the basis
they could be used. Such reset- of the still incomplete data at
tlement of land is clearly no our command—are the answers
commercial venture from which a to these five questions?
First, as to the inherent fer-
10 per cent return can be ex-
pected. This is rather an econo- tility of the land base, the geo-
my of survival aimed at the sal- logic structure, geographic set-
vation of a people, and must be ting, and climate of this small
put into the same economic cate- corner of the Near East have
gory as war.
combined to make it unusually
The Jewish cooperative settle- productive. In climate, natural
me. nts which are redeeming the vegetation, and physiographic
sod' of Palestine are organized in features, Palestine is very like
an elastic fashion which enables California, except for Palestine's
them to absorb great numbers of added advantages of great lime-
refugees quickly and train them stone springs and better solls.
to establish new villages or work The Holy Land was beautifully
industries.
ndustries. This feature of the farmed and conserved for more
agricultural settlements must
than a thousand years, then, for
terest all students of the Eurb- the last thousand years, was al-
pean Jewish refugee problem. lowed to fall into ruin and mis-
Two to four millions of human use. Soils washed from eroding
beings are being hunted down slopes choked stream channels
like beasts, and are hoping and across the coastal plain, causing
trying to flee the scenes of their malaria-infested marshes to form.
misery. They look to the United Grazing of sandy lands into the
Nations for a solution, and they ground along the coast released
press for admission to Palestine. sand dunes that moved inland.
The question arises at once as to But when intelligent measures of
whether Palestine's economic ab- conservation, sand dune fixation,
sorptive capacity is adequate.
drainage of swamps, restoration
The term economic absorption
has been used to set an upper
See PALESTINE—Page 12
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THE
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