Morning journal and courier., 1882-02-01
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against the Russian government for failure to protect its Jewish subjects recently pro dueed by Dr. Hermann Adler MeaQre re ports of the riots and massacres occurring in southern and western Russia have from time to time reached the newspapers of western Europe and the United States, but. presented in this disjected and imperfect way, they had failed to adequately impress the public mind. But when these scattered accosnts were col leeted by Dr. Adler and Vouched for as cor roborated by private letters, the picture of fered was appalling, and has naturally caused an outburst of public indignation We be- ieve that when the facts are laid before our Israelite fellow citizens, they will join their coreligionists in England in vigorous effort to put such pressure on the Russian govern ment as will lead it to give its Hebrew sub jects proper guarantees against a renewal of such persecution
 By citing in detail places, dates and figures, Dr. Adler seeks to give us an adequate idea of the barbarities which during the last year have been inflicted in 8 number of Russian towns by infuriated mobs upon the unoffend- ing Israelite inhabitants. We learn, for in- stance, that at Smiela no less than twelve men were killed and twenty-five wounded. In Kief, twenty-two married women and three maidens were dishonored by gangs of rufians ten of the women died from the ef- fects of outrage, and four men were killed In Ehzabethgrad whole streets of houses in the Jewish quarters were literally razed to the ground, all the houses being sacked, and all the shops plundered. These scenes were repeated, we are told, throughout a great part of those towns of southern Russia in which Hebrews are permitted to reside In every instance the sole cause of offence given by the victims of rapine and murder was that of being Jews.
 Dr. Adler goes on to show that these in famous atrocities cannot be regarded only local outbreaks. The Hebrews living in western Russia have also, 1t appears, suffered grievously from the wholesale burning of their houses and property. It is only few weeks since formidable outbreak of race hatred took place in Warsaw. In Minsk nearly 5000 Jews have lost their all. In Ko- retz thirty Israelites perisked in the flames, and 800 families were rendered homeless. In 8 single Austrian town-Brody-notf far from the Russian frontier, not less than 10, 900 Jewish refugees have sought shelter during the present winter. Strenuous efforts were made by their Austrian coreligionists to sue cor them and assist some of them to emi- grats. About 800 of these Brody refugees lately arrived in Liverpool on their way to the United States, and it was found on investigation that not one of them had pursued the calling of money lender. The majority of them were blacksmiths brick
 
 painters, tinkers, locksmiths, saddlers. shoe makers, tailors and agricultural laborers. Some thirty per cent. were traders and mer- chants, who had been robbed of everything These facts dispose of the charge that the Jewish residents in Russia have rendered themselves odious to their fellow subjects by oppressive usury. Other striking data on the same head are furnished by Dr. Adler. Near Gulaipal there is an agricultural colony awnlnoival- of JaUE and ing some 300 families; they certainly could not be taxed with living by usurious extor- ton, yet they suffered with the rest of their corelioionists in the neighborhood How, again, if the talk about Hebrew aversion to mechanical callings is well founded, can we account for the hourishing condition of the Israelte trade school at Kischinew, the chief town of Bessarabia, where Jewish lads are trained to be carpenters, blacksmiths, ma chinists and cabinet makers? Still another test may be applied to the assertions of some Russian newspapers that the Jews ply trades injurious to the community. Let as com pare the state of things in those provinces of central Russia where Jews are not allowed to settle with the conditions of those districts where they are numerous. Dr. Adler points out that among the peasants in the province of Saratow. where out of nearly two million inhabitants only 64 are Jews, there Is no less dram drinking and poverty than in the prov inces of Grodo and MohileE, where the Jews form respectively l3 and 15 per cent. of the whole population.
 There are more than three million Jews in Russia and it is hard to reconcile the pitiable condition of such large fraction of the race with the powerful political influence which their coreligionists are alleged to exercise in Europe Undoubtedly the Israelites settled in France, England and the United States, when they are once made aware { the fright fRl persecution to which their brethren are now exposed in Russia, will do all they cRu to procure from the Czar's government an abrogation of those restrictions and dissbih- ties which make of the Hebrew a Pariah, and are really chArgeabls with the social con tempt and hatred of which he is victim. This is far from being, however, a duty which our Jewish fellow citizens should be left to discharge alone, and we rejoice that prominent men of all parties are joining in the movement. A wholesome respect is en- tertained in Russia for American as well as English public opinion, and it behooves all Americans, irrespective of race or religion, to make their voices heard in scathing and stern rebuke of outrages which disgrace the civilization of Our century.