Seattle daily post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, W.T. [Wash.]) 1881-1888, 1882-07-30

L
lis the answer to the riddle
Craven deep on Sphinx's face.
Once more let tbs oldest nation
Lift her head and take her place.
YLYlNG BEFORE TIE STORM.
A Sun reporter had dialogue recent
~ with two Jews in New York. One Of
them was Russian Jew, a graduate of
an agricultural college, who had Just az
Tlved III this country, and the other Was
an American Jew, resident of this
city.
| I'VE are told" the reporter said to the
Russian Jew, that in the anti-Jewish
movement under the Gar Christian in
tolerance plays the chief part"
That is utterly falsen the Russian re-
piled. "The educated Russians don't
care about any religion, and the Russian
peasantry are the most tolerant people
in the world. while Russian law is most
liberal in regard to religion. can give
you here out of my note book the full
text of the law on that point. This is
article 45, volume l.
Religious liberty is granted not only to
the Christians of various foreign denOm-
nations, but also to Hebrews. MOham-
medans, and heather. Let all the ma
tionalities living in Russia glorify God
| Almighty in their various tongues
according to the law and faith of their
ancestors, in order to bless the reign of
| the Russian mOnarchs, and to pray the
| Creator of the world to increase the
prosperity and strengthen the power of
the empire.
And this law" continued the Jewish
| agrlculturist, ''is not dead letter
either, at least SO far as the Hebrews are
| concerned. True enough, the various
Christian scots known under the name Of
Old Believers and Catholics, don't enjoy
| on account Of their political tendencies,
| obnoxious to the Cars authority
What is, then. the trOuble!' asked
the reporter.
THAT is curious thing" said t. Q
Russian jew, land, to make a long story
short. l will say this: Russia is already
in state of revolution, and this revolu-
ton is political as we'll as an econom-
ical or social one. In such a state of
| things, the middlemen, who serve the
| ruling classes rs tool for expressing
| the people, are usually first to suffer
from the wrath of the oppressed. In
happily our people in the Cars coun-
| try-that is, the great majority of them,
| are the middlemen. Please mark this
| we'll: While the educated Russian revo-
| lutiOnists deal deadly blows at tho head
| Of the Cars Government, at the same
time the revolutionary peasantry strike
their blows at another part of the Gov
eminent, namely, the middlemen, who
happen, as have said, in this case to be
Jews. A Gar il killed. and the Jews are
forced to fly. Thus two important steps
are won, and two revolutionary extremes
the Nihilists and the peasants. are
brought nearer to each other. When
they have united in their work, and that
| time il nsar at hand, then q revolution
will be accomplished in Russia"
'.And in order to escape the horrors of
revolution your people fly from Russian"
inquired the reporter.
Il would be wrong if I gave sweep
| ing affirmative answer" said the Rus
sian emigrant. I'VE; the educated Rus
sian Jews, have taken an active part in
| the revolutionary movement, and You
must be aware that among the Nihilists
| who have been hanged or who are dying
| in the Siberian mines, and in the Cars
| political prisons, there is a good proper
ton OF Jews. But now We are not need
| cd by the Nihilists, for this reason:
Their cause is of course political and
national one, and the fact that there
were Jews among them. they fear, might
divert IL into q race struggle, which is
exactly what Minister lgnatieff is trying
his best to do. OF course We could not
stay idle in Russia, waiting perhaps our
chance to he mObbed, aud 50 the major
ity Of our people have no choice but to
| emigrate."
"Are there many Jews in Russia ready
to emigrate to this country?"
There are in Russia about 5000, 600
Jews, that is, nearly half of all the Jews
now in the world, and the word 'Ameri-
| ca Is oftener on the tongue of every
one of them than even the word 'rouble.'
America, in their opinion, is the verita-
ble land of promise, full of mama and
of dollars, in which everybody but the
lazy can have plenty, and the Russian
Jews are not lazy. have heard that
there is scheme to bring here this year
about lO,Cc0 Russian Jews. Indeed, the
only question is how to raise money for
the expense of the voyage"
"What about the Jewish agricultural
colonies hereY" the reporter asked.
"Now you strike the main point" in
terposed the American Jew. THAT Is Q
funny story. Here is my friend who,
though graduate Of the Imperial ARri-
cultur al College, never held'in his hands
q rake, a hay fork, or q scythe, and prob.
ably never saw plough IN actual use.
"Yes, on the college farm" answered
the agricultural.
well. that IL queer boss for Jew
| ish agricultural colony to DO established
l x1n vm-Lo< <opsxnn IN thA 00ct
And who Is he 70 drill IN the farming
evclutions? Why, the medical students,
| druggists, boOkkcepers, clerks. drum
mors, peddling traders, and the like-in
short. everybody except farmers. Think
| Of horse race between a man born and
grown mp on the deck Of q vessel and .
Cossack born. almost, and grown up on
horseback. Yet my friends, the dream
| ing agricuiturists.are going 30 undertake
some such job. They intend 10 beat our
Yankee farmers and besides to reform
our life ON some Russian s0ciAlistic-
commuuistic plan, and thus TO open
new era in the history of the people OF
Israel. Plans Of child, nothing else.
| Are the Russian Jews starting agri-
| cultural colonies here?" asked the repor-
ter.
"Yes, there ia one colony" said the
citizen. recently established on the
Mississippi, but the spring floods down
there have already cooled tho xeal Of the
Russian reformers. There are also two
other jewish groups-one from Odessa
and tho other from Kie6-who are herr
looking for land to settle upon. and
understand they have at command plen-
~ Of money. But / firmly believe that
all the money Of the Rothschiids could