The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1883-08-04
THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL.
Glimpses of Their Life in the Worlds
Largest Jewish City.
Their Various Glasses and Caliings-Where
and How They Live-Their Cieanli-
ness, Thrift, Etc.
of the Indianapolis Journal.

is, it has larger Irish population than any
other. don't know how many larger Ger
man cities there are, but certainly the num-
Der is small OF one thing l am certain:
This is by all odds, the largest Jewish city
III the world. More, there is a larger bust
hess carried on by Jews here than in any
other city on earth. More yet, larger pro-
portion of the population is Jewish, and
larger proportion of the business is carried
on by Jews than in any other important
city in the world. Time was-and within
the memory OF young people to-day-when
New York's citizens of Hebrew descent were
mostly congregated in one, or two or three
distinct quarters and were confined to a few
certain lines of business. The Bowery and
Chatham street and Chatham square were
their home on the east side, and on the west
Eighth avenue. They still hold these grounds
But from the Bowery they have spread up
Third avenue, and from Chatham street they
have crossed over to Broadway. To-day the
signs on the most imposing stores along
Broadway faunt Jewish names. Nor are
they mere pawn-brokers' shops Or ready
made clothing stores The Jew deals in all
classes of dry goods from calico to satin bro
sdue, III Jewels, III DardWaTet In Dredu anu
meat. in everything.
Up Fifth avenue, if door-plates do not dis
play Jewish names, it is because door-plates
are out OF fashion. The physiognomies seen
in the windows and in the finest carriages
are Hebraic. The finest church building on
Fifth avenue. except the Roman Catholic
Cathedral, is the Jewish Temple Emanuel.
The total Jewish population of New York
alone is nearly quarter of million, to
which adjacent cities will add many thou
sands more.
TRIBES OF ISRAEL.
From all lands and nations the wandering
Jews have come hither. There are German
Jews, Polack Jews, Russian Jews, French
Jews, Spanish Jews, dozen other kinds of
Jews and, finally, Jews pure and simple
straight from Jerusalem. Among them
selves, however they know no such distnc-
ton. With Jews, Jew is a Jew with one
saving clause. There are two general classes,
and of these one looks down upon the other
The one is composed of de descendants of
those Jews who hocked into the Iberian
peninsula upon the heels of the conquering
Arabs. They came direct from the Orient.
Z When the inquisition smote them, they fled
from Spain into Portugal and England.
where they fought their way upward through
the greatest difficulties, until one of their
number, as Premier of England, awed all
armed Europe in submission to his will.
Some few also settled in France. Others
fingered on the north African shore, and
many of their kindred chung fondly to old
homes in Palestine The children of these
in America, and coming hither from Eng
land they became planters at the South and
rose to high social rank. These Jews may be
known as OrientaIs, although they come
hther from the European countries named.
They compose about one-third of the Jewish
population of New York. The other and
more numerous, though socially inferior
class comes from Germany, Poland Hun
gary, Russia and Roumania. They are the
money making Jews, and in financial and
commercial importance they have long far
outranked their higher-toned brethren. OF
these, if we may subdivide them, the Teutons
are the bankers and merchants, whose treas
ure vaults line Wall street, and whose palaces
of merchandise crowd both sides of Broad
way. The SlavS are the small awn-brokers
and the ready-made clothing dealers on
Chatham street and the Bowery, who so in
dustriously and insinuatingly draw in each
passer-by, to fit him out with clothes-with
a coat which ''fits you shust like de pabers on
de wall, SO hellup me crayshusl"
NEW JERUSALEM.
The Hebrew quarter proper of New York
that is where the Jews have actually
crowded every one else QUITS on the east
side, and is the home of the slavonic or Po-
lack and Russian Jews. It is along Chatham
street, East Broadway, Grand street, Division
street, and the blocks that lie between, and
also Attorney street and Ridge street, where
the Hungarian Jews bear sway. In this part
of the city you may walk for blocks without
seeing aught but Jewish names on the signs
and Jewish faces in the street and in the
houses.
This Jewish quarter is a Clearly spot, COM
paratively speaking. 1t has not the vile
stenches of the Italian quarter, in Baxter
street, nor of the cosmopolitan but princi-
paly African slums of Thompson street. 1t
has not the recklessly dirty and broken-up
look of the Irish streets, nor the shftless,
lazy, reeking filth OF Second avenue, or
Little Germany" If cholera should invade
New York, the death rate in New Jerusalem
would not be large, thanks to the cleanly
habits prescribed by the Mosaic law, and
which, to the Jews credit be it said, are
faithfully kept to the present day
They are busy set, too, these Slavonic
Jews. As stroll along the street, glancing
in at open windows, see every one hard at
work. Here is a house in whose front room
are twenty women operating sewing ma
chimes They are making Undertaking;
and the rattle of the machines fills the air
with industrial harmony all the day long
Here is another shop, every square yard of
space utilized by cobblers, hammering away,
sfitnhin, AWAY ttinn AWAY r.,Iish M Z. ,.a,-