Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1874-06-11
The Jews as Merchants and Money
Lenders.

Tho Jews as Merchants and Money
| Lenders.
Iii one instance only, says writer il,
Hnrpers' Magazine, have tho Jews con
scented to change their habits of life, and
in that we discover anew the marks of
their perpetual suffering. From active
and successful huslnlI,dmcn and tillcra
Of the soil they have been transformed
into merchants and money lenders.
They seem to have wholly lost that love
for mature and TINT agricultural skill
that made Palestine u land Of plenty
In Babylon and Persia, under u com
rarativcly gentle rule, they were rather
farmers tha,l traders. Even late in the
Roman period, and probably until near
the sixth century, they were chiefly III
agricultural people. The Talmutl
almnnds in illusions l." tho cultivation
Of fields and gartlcis, of oil, vino, and
wheat, fruit and flowers. Its nice aud
varied rules of conduct relate chiefly to
tho people of rural districts rather than
of cities. When the great schools Of
Babylon and Pumbetlitlla were flourish
ing, and tho vivid intellect Of the Israel
tics WAS expanding into literature Of
commentators and professors, the raco
WAS marked 10y I'LL intense love for the
Oriental lands they cultivated. But
when tho universal persecution fell
upon them, when they were hunted
from B,s',ylonia and Persia, and began
that remarkable series Of .wal,deringB
from city to city, and from realm to
realm, that has l,rstctl for more than
thousand years, the manners Of tho race
changed. They became nation of
traders. Industry, thrift, learning,
and rare acutcncss they never lost, but
they were never again to become tillers
Of the soil. They were forced to snatch
opportunities Of gain from tho midst of
their w,,ldcringa. They became the
Their wares nn1 their profits were such
as could be easily handled and secured.
They supplied tho barlmro'ls princes Of
Germany with the mnstcostly drugs and
spices Of tho East. They dealt in Jewels
that they could easily conceal or swallow,
and in Oriental cloths that were of price
less value. They were tho most active
slave traders of the Middle Ages, and
the church vainly hcapcd its malc.lic-
tions on tho Jew who should dare to
purchase christian slaves. Their capital
in money propably grew from ago to
age. They were the common money
lenders of the early period. The Jews
seem to have concentrated the wealth of
tho Middle Ages among themselves !;
they lent their money ut MI enormous
interest, and upon ample security; they
accumulated immense fortunes, which
they were oblidgctl to hide from their
prosecutors in an aspect of extreme pow
erty. But their home was never again
to be amid the soft landscapes Of Baby
lonia and Persia. and crowded together
III miserable Ghetto, living apart &C
cursed and forsakcn III the walled, forti-
fled, and secure cities of Western Eu-
rope, they counted their secret gains,
and sometimes displayed III their OBJ
scurc dwellings, suspicious and Oricn-
tai splendor. Their daughters were clad
in the rich silks Of Persia, and sllone
with the gold and gems Of the East.
Count Wrangel in Berlin.
A Berlin correspondent Of the London
Telegraph remarks that the Emperor
William no longer rides on horseback,
but has to review his troops from his
carriage. He is how i'll his 18th year.
-" It is true" adds this writer, that
Count Wrangcl, who is nearly thirteen
years his senior, may still be seen from
timo t" time threading the paths Of the
Thiergarten upon Il steady-going hack,
to the saddle Of which he is carefully
strapped and that the grandfather Of
the Prussian army promenades the Lin
den with feeble jauntiness, chucking
servant girls under the chin, returning
eagerly all the solutations paid to him,
and distributing new silbcrgroschcn to
tho little boys and girls who follow him
in glecful groups, and look upon Papa
chen Wrangcl as certain, though if
regular, source Of revenue. This lively
and supplemented old gentleman has a
tragical past behind him, too, and was a
very terrible fellow in his day; besides
which he has been wounded dozen
times-moro than once scvcrcly-and
has achieved rs many victories in the
boudior as in the field; yet he bears
himself rs though tho idc, Of death ncv-
er crossed his mind, and even dcfied the
laws Of nature 50 utterly as to recover
entirely from IL sharp stroke Of paralysis
ut lightweight years Of age. But tho
cares and Responsibilities that Cypress
crowned heads have been unknown to
him. Hc has ever been soldier pure
AMI u,nsdulttratcd !; no politics, ]itera-
tnrc, or other p,lzzliny matter Of that
sort has he over allowed to bother his
brains. As II subordinate to carry out
to the letter his Ortlers--;ss q chief to SEQ
that his own commands were accurately
fulfilled these have been the solo cares
and prescriptions Of his public life.
Private gricls Of the most stupendous
and crushing nature he has met with
tho stoical courage of q hero, aud has
dealt with them invariably in n manner
dictated hy the honor of u soldicr-lnorc
| than once with the most tragic;ll results,
but in s,lcl, sort that ones admiration
for him, though II slight shud.lcr may
pcrmcatc it, can never for 4: moment l,c
qualified by the remembrance Of any
word or action Of his in the least out of
keeping with the maintenance in unsul-
lied brightness of his personal and pro
f.msional honor. A rcgimental cadet
when King William WIS horn; IL dc
core for valor in the field, of the first
days Of the present century ; u Colonel
at Waterloo, and General fifty -onc year:
ago, it is very possible that this extra
ordinary veteran, Of whom the Bcrlincr
say that 'he has forgotten the way how
to die, may outlivc his sovereign, whom
he little less than worshilm-hc has III
ready outlivcd four Prussian kings!'
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