[ILLUSTRATION: HAIFA]
CHAPTER IX
A ROBBER BARON OF PALESTINE
Beirut is a city of about two hundred thousand inhabitants, half of whom
are Christians and the rest Mohammedans and Jews. The pinch of hunger
was already felt there. Bread was to be had only on tickets issued by
the Government, and prices in general were extremely high. The
population were discontented and turbulent, and every day thousands of
women came before the governor's residence to cry and protest against
the scarcity of bread.
The Allies' warships often passed near the town, but the people were not
afraid of them, for it was known that the Allies had no intention of
bombarding the cities. Only once had a bombardment taken place. Toward
the end of March, 1915, a French warship approached the bay of Haifa and
landed an officer with a letter to the commandant of that town giving
notice of his intention to bombard the German Consulate at 3 P.M. sharp.
This was in retaliation for the propaganda carried on by the consul,
Leutweld von Hardegg, and chiefly because of his desecration of the
grave of Bonaparte's soldiers. The consul had time to pack up his
archives and valuables, and he left his house before three. The
bombardment began exactly at three. Fifteen shells were fired with a
wonderful precision.
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