Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1883-10-05
WHY ARE JEWS PEKSECUTED,
Tribal Exclusiveness, UsurY, and
Trade UnIOnlsnn.

|
WHY ARE JEWS PEkSECuTED
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How are we to explain those outbreak
of hatred against the Jews which occu
periodically in different parts of the world
and which at this moment are only KEEP
in check in Hungary by military force
We have discussed this question on
previous occasion, and, after discardin,
the usual explanations, have suggestc,
the separatism of the Jews as the rea
cause of the dislike in which they are, n
are they constitute foreign element
absorbed into the life of the nation. The.
their separateness by difference of food
dress, but chiefly by refusing to inter
marry outside their own race. These pc
culiarities naturally expose the Jews tc
suspicion and dislike, especially among
an ignorant population, like the peasantry
OF Russia, Galicia, and Hungary. Bd
antipathy to the jews Is not confined tC
ignorant. populations. The recent cru
sade against them in Germany included
all classes and all professions, ami the
agitation in Hungary, although 1t began
among the peasantry, spread rapidly
through the whole population. ltseems,
therefore, that the fact that the jews are
a foreign element In the midst OF every
population where they dwell will not
alone account for the bitter hatred which
now and then breaks out into open vio-
lence. The true explanation, we take it,
| Is that which Is suggested III despatch
| from British consul IN Southern Rus-
sin, and which has beer elaborated i'll some
articles In Modern Thought, by MIR.
Lalster. In Russia, says Consul Wag-
stan, the jews ARE compared to parasites
that have settled on plant not vigorous
enough to throw them OIL, and which is
being gradually sapped of its vitality" "
IL Is not simply that IN lmperfectly organ
lied communities the jews are the bank
ers, money-Yenders, innkeepers, and mid
dlemen but they are all this not as
separate individuals, but as highly or
ganized guild OF foreigners, spreading its
tentacles over the whole country till all
It's material resources are at last i'll its
grasp. 1t is impossible to realize the
rum and misery wrought by this system
IN countries where the Jews are numer-
Gus and the civilization rudimentary.
There exists among them, says Consul
Wagstaif, IA system OF boycotting,' y
which works as follows: The produce OF
farm or vineyard is put up to auction.
The jews draw lots for it, and the man on
whom the lot falls is thus secured against
all competition, and can fix his own price.
In parts OF Russia, Rumania, and Aus
trian-Hungary, this Jewish trades-union-
ism pervades all the transactions OF life.
1ou cannot sell n horse or pig except
on the terms which the Jews choose to
offer and in Galicia, Bessarubia, and
many parts OF Russia, the very labor Of
the peasant is mortgaged to jewish mon
ey-lenders so that if you wish to hiro a
laborer or tradesman you must resort to
the Jew in whose debt the peasant hap
pens to be. "lf the peasant, says Con
sui Wagstaff, gets into the hands OF this
class, he is irretrievably lost. The pro-
prietor, in his turn, from small loan,
gradually mortgages and eventually loses
his estate In this way great deal of
landed property has passed into the hands
of the Jews. In the last F0rtnightiy Re
ricW Captain Conder, of Palestine Ex-
ploration celebrity, supplies incidentally
an illustration OF this Jewish system in
Palestine. The Jews who have goI e
thither from Russia and Austria have es-
tablished Gordon round Jerusalem, by
means of which they intercept all the
vegetables brought in by the country peo-
pie and resell them at an exorbitant price.
Doubtless they will gradually extend
their ramifications till they have got the
peasantry in their grasp, and then we
shall probably hear of al outbre ak against
the Jews in Syria.
This tribal exclusiveness and solidarity
of the Jews, and not religion, has been
the main cause of the prosecutions to
which they have been at various times ex-
posed. SIN the twelfth century," says
the friendly and liberal Milman, "the
Jews had hold upon almost all the es-
tates in the country they had mortgages
on half of Paris, and scarcely any one
but had some article in pawn" Illus
bandry was ruined by the usurions exac-
tions of the Jews" The result WAS pop
ular outbreaks, ending in the expulsion
of the Jews. The same thing happened
in England and other European countries.
We recall these facts for the purpose of
showing that the persecution of the Jews
has always been due in the main to other
than religious motives.
We can see no solution of the problem
80 long as the jews generally believe
themselves to be bound by the Mosaic
WHY WIZ hs 1Apouhuuu ~ .ne luiuluu.
oant;u "n;o .'t no,u ~ ~ .nie oenei Wv! n'nsS