The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1883-10-09
The Jews in New y ork.

New York Times.l
The Jew is by no means newcomer in
New York. He was here in pretty strong
force in the earliest beginnings, and, strange
enough, had seeurrd for himself religious
liberation when Catholics, Quakers, and
Baptists were still clapped into prison for
conscience's sake. Among the earliest set
tiers of Manhatten Island were number of
Jews, principally of Portuguese descent. At
first they worshipped as best they could, not
being permitted to own place in which to
praise God after their own manner; but in
time, and more particularly after some of
their numbers had contributed literally to-
ward the building of the first Trinity Church
in 1886. they were permitted to erect tenn
pie. The Shearith Israel, now worshiping
in magnificent synagogue in Nineteenth
street, near Fifth avenue, (still known as
the Portuguese Society," was the original
congregation, and dates its organization to
1880. The first synagogue was erected at
the close of that century. There are still
numerous descendants of the original stock
in this community, and, true to human ma
ture, they ara disposed to remember their
ancient lineage and conduct themselve ac-
cordingly. The synagogues of New York
are among the city's most notable structures;
and while here and there in the Old World,
as in Prague, for example, specimen or two
may excel those on our avenues, no city can
show SO many of the first order, nor, for that
matter, SO many of any order, since, when
all are counted, there are above 80, some of
them, to be sure, nothing to boast of except
that they bear the name.
1t is characteristic of all Jews that be-
ing children of the world, without any home
of their own, they are ever loyal to the coun-
try of their adoption, and they are intense
patriots and nationalists. The German Jew
is German, the English Jew is an English
man, the Bohemian Jew Bohemian, the
Polish Jew pole, the French Jew French
man, and in less time than any other peo-
pie after arriving on these shores they be-
come full-fedged Americans. None are
more eager to acquire the language, and
none do so more readily-that is to say,
enough to do business with. For the finish
ing touches few as yet can spare the time.
The industry of the Jew is proverbiai. So
is his sobriety, his reverence for old age, his
intense love of family. And no less marked
than any of these traits is his benevolence,
and this is by no means confined to his own
people. The modern Jew is generous Civ
er to all good works His religion is charity
and his practice is as good as his preaching.
Not only does he maintain all manner of
institutions for his own people-hospitals,
orphan asylums, homes for the aged and des-
titute, and the like-but he does great
deal for others besides. Like all other citi-
zens, he pays taxes to maintain State and
city institutions. but it is seldom that he
mo zaa ne of of thpeQ- wi
baud he assists numerous private charities of
non-sectarian character, and again his
people derive no benefit from them. And
above and beyond all this, he maintains a
variety of exclusively Jewish institutions,
all of them of the first order and conducted
on SO extensive scale that every Jew in
the community has place of refuge or is
supplied with the means to keep want from
his door. The Jewish charity work of New
York is admirably systemized and conducted
on generous basis. The Jew gives more
than his money; he gives time, attention,
and sympathy as well, and there is more
than one non-sectarian work, as, for exam
pie, the secular branch of the Saturday and
Sunday Hospital Association, which would
languish and probably 60 under were it not
that it mas the good will of our Jewish pop
ulation, and with that always goes an ac
tive support, personal attention, which
Ll6T CurlSbldu Dr0Gur6u uU uOb always lluu
time or inclination to give.
The picture is, Of course, not yet COM
plete. Only the bright effects have thus far
been brought into notice. There is rather
sombre background, which, however,
through prejudice and lack of proper sense
of proportions, is ordinarily made to play
the part of foreground. No people should
be Judged by their worst aspects but by their
best. There is in New York downtown
Judaism and an uptown Judaism. The
two have little ia common, except that the
uptown mansion never forgets the down.
town tenement-house in its distress. Ignor-
ance and vice and filth are the same things
the world over, with this difference, per-
haps, that whatever there is about Jew be
it diamond or dirt, it is conspicuous. This
is his chief offending. "Why do you insist
on calling them Polish Jews, Bohemian
Jews, or Russian Jews?" remarked a Jew
ess who traces her lineage to the original
Portuguese settlers. "Why not call them
Poles, Bohemians, Russians, in a word, low
class foreigners, no better and no worse than
other low class foreigners" While the lady
was right in one sense she was yet wrong in
another. The generic term foreigner
covers one side only. The other is distinct
i've and equally important. He may be