The Ouachita telegraph. [volume] (Monroe, La.) 1865-1889, 1882-08-26
DISAPPOINTED IN AMERICA.
Letter to New York SUM-

OF RUSSIAN Jews, after OeloS mOODeu
and otherwise maltreated here, crossed
the United States would prove to be
their true land Of promise. The.
dreamed of enjoying their political and
religious freedom and material pros
perity. About year has passed since
the movement began, and now the
Jewish emigrants are returning to
Russia by hundreds. The experience
of those who come back from America
! is particularly interesting. They say
they have discovered that Russia and
the United States belong to two differ
ent worlds, and represent two different
civilizations. In Russia over 80 per
cent. of tho population are illiterate.
while in the United States hardly 10
per cent. are illiterate; in Russia there
Is an autocrat who rules, and in the
United States the sovereign people
hold their destinies in their own hands;
In Russia industry and trade are unde-
veloped, while the United States in
this respect stands among the foremost
nations of the world.
The Russian Jews being, as a rule,
educated toa certain degree, can al
ways find easy and profitable occupa-
ton among the millions of ignorant
Russian peasants. In Russia the Jews
constitute large percentage of the
merchants, professional men, land
agents, trade agents, and SO on. But
when they arrived in the United States
they discovered that, as regards educa-
ton and business experience, they were
far below the average Americans, and
that they were not in position to
choose the easiest and most profitable
occupations, but must take up any
work offered to uuskiiled laborers.
Moreover, on account of their foreign
ways and habits they could not success
fully compete even with common
American worlSingmen. In short,
when they come face to face with the
Intelligent and industrious Americans,
the Russian Jews realized that, in or
der to succeed in the new world, they
must begin life from the beginning.
But that seemed hard task. In the
meantime their brethren in Russia
heard glad tidings from the Cars new
Minister, and the emigrants, learning
that times were likely to be better for
them in Russia, began to long to get
back again.
els there no hope for your people in
the United States?' asked a returned
Jew.
"There is hope" he replied, Hbut on
the condition that our journey thither
shall take not fourteen days but forty
years. 1T is useless to try to str;,ighten
an old crooked tree,' runs Russian
saying. If we should send only our
young twigs and branches, the Yam
KEGS in proper time would make good
timber of them.''
Another Jew, au assistant surgeon,
who has also tried his luck in the
United States, thus related his expe-
s'They told me it was a free country,
but when got there they did not al
low me to practice medicine. Get first
a doctors diploma they said. What
an idea! No diploma, no practice. Is
that freedom? Then my vito was
obliged to cook, wash, and do all the
housework herself, while here in Rus
STA she never did anything of the kind.
In short, l felt more comfortable in
Russia, and so here am again"
A jewish mechanic said: "Fhoush
failed to compete with the American
workingnen, yet 1 am glad l have
been in America. Before seeing the
American factories and farms l had
an entirely wrong idea of what is called
hard and thorough work. What we
here consider hard work, or good
work, the American work m en-
would call child's play, or fools frolic.
An American mechanic or farmer at
his work is sight worth seeing. tell
you an American workingman is worth
four Russian Workingmen. If the
Russians were as industrious as the
Americans are, there would be no richer
country in the world than Russia. Peter
the Great used to send his subjects to
Germany and Holland to learn trades
Lis successor now would do great
thing by sending his subjects to the
United States to learn how to work.
The Judophobe Journals here are
cracking jokes about "the newly ar
rived Americans" as they call the re-
turning Jews, and congratulating them
on their transatlantic experience
immigration gives no evidence of
declining. Last week 1000 Dutch inn
migrants came into Castle Garden.
The majority wero farmers and labor
ers, and few were mechanics. The
ihnux OF future American citizens of
foreign descent is so great that the
Castle Garden officials are put to it to
provide accommodations for the stran
gers. Exchange.
Mr.. Edmund Yates, in commcntinr
on the English scientific corns ,,,nn