Evening star., 1893-09-20
THE JEWISH CITIZEN.
Mr.. Simon VOLTS Address at the Eighth
Street Temple
The Jewish People Have No Sympathy
with Anarchy-TO Make Useful
Cftfzens OF the Refugees.

Mr.. Simon VOLTS address at the sth
street temple today was interesting and
impressive After referring to the perse-
cuuons which the Jewish people had suf-
fered, he said:
Is II, tnen. to be wondered that the VIC
tim OF persecution for conscience sake the
outcast and pariah from moral obligations.
should want to come to this land of abso-
lutte freedom and be like a blind man, who
mas been for years staggering In the dark,
never believing in the blessed dawn of
light. and all at once is surrounded by thar
freedom to which he had been denied. en-
Joying the blessings which he never
dreamed Of possessing, and unconscious Of
the motives and the genius that permits
this happiness. Imagine some of our
Christian friends, born on American soil.
to go to Russia and be there subject to the
restraints and animosities and the thou
sand and one acts Of devilish persecution.
How would he or she feel under like cir
cumstances?
And SO these unfortunate immigrants.
brought here under stress OF weather,
driven here by no act of theirs. compelled
to seek an asylum in which to live. are like
children who need the government of pa
rental authority, with whom you have to
be patient, Incapable as they are of speak
ing the English language In fact scarcely
able TO speak any, except broken 5argon,
and having no faith in man. scarcely any in
themselves, for they have been morally
broken on the wheel of Russian inQuisitions
and look upon everybody as their enemy
lshmaelites, they regard every one as
being against them. and they, In turn, are
against every one else. Even we, who have
been their best friends, suffering with them
as kindred in faith, sympathizing with
them as human beings anxious we are
not only for their own sake. but for our
own. to improve their condition, yet they
regard us with more or less aversion and
treat us almost with the same fear TO
confidence that they treat non-Israelites.
Jewish People Not Anarchists.
But this very condition. lamentable and
deploreble as 1t is. should cause all men
and women to unite together for the pur-
pose Of improving the condition OF these
unfortunates, for their elevation does not
only reflect upon one, II is bound to reflect
upon all. Their degradation or low status
is. after all, no fault Of theirs. 1t has been
brought about by their enemies, and what
it has taken centuries to implant cannot be
eradicated in a day. We as Jews are do
ing all in our power and the criticism in
Obliged in by superficial writers and shallow
thinkers Is incorrect The bulk of the
Jews, whether to the Kramer born. resident
here for a long period. or only Of a recent
date, are painstaking to SO conduct them
selves as to invite the best and most favor
cause a few idle wage workers, tortured
into despera ton by hunger and enforced
idleness and because they have fallen. In
their ignorance. victims to tie blandish-
ments of paid blarherskites. just as the
best element Of the wage earners. who for
years have been victims of paid inte med
dlers, ranting, pretending Misunderstanding
papers denounced the Jews a class. in
flaming head lines displayed the names Of
the leading agitators. as IL the Jew had not
the right to be hungry and say so, or as II
laborer Of Jewish faith had not the right
to express in a peaceable manner his opin-
ions and convictions.
Not one Of us have had or ever will have
any sympathy for those who preach anarch-
ism. nihiiism or socialism in the United
States. for the moment the foot touches the
soil of the United States the gaunt figure
of hate and persecution is lost in the brine
and haze of the Atlantic ocean, the spirit
OF fraternity reigns over all and the figure
of Liberty, welcoming the immigrant at the
gate of the noble bay in the city of New
Iork,is typical and emblematic of the spirit
that prevails throughout our land. And We
Jews have told these Immigrants that we
have no sympathy with them in their un-
holy ignorance. or stupid vaporings. We
have tried to instill into them better ideas
knowing as We do that the first thing to
do Is to make them understand the Ian
guage Of the country. which is not only an
Incentive to comprehend, but also a weapon
for defense"
Mr.. Wolf said the Baron de Hirsch fund
was being used to make Jewish refugees
who come to this country. good and useful
citizens He spoke eloquently OF the great
Jewish charities, whose operations Were not
confined to the church, and to the efforts
made by Jewish citizens to advance not only
their people. but to promote the interests
OF their country.
Their Citfzenxhfp ON Trial.
In closing he said: There never has been
a time in the history Of our people when
we. as citizens of the United States. are
so much on trial as at the present moment
Europe has set the bloodhounds OF prejudice
and persecution at the heels of everything
that Is Jewish. A footing on the same lines
has been and is sought for in this country
and the only way to stem this onward
march Is to prove by our conduct as citi-
zens the nobility Of our character. the gen.
erosity Of our purpose. the lberality of our
acts. in short. that We are of the highest
type Of citizenship. and that we have no
grander motive than to contribute whatever
Is just and honorable to the higher elevation
of the best interests among the nations OF
the earth.
There is no reason why we should not do
this. Every incentive has been given to
us to accomplish this mission, for,
as DR.. Hirsche Of Chicago, I'm a recent
sermon. has truly said: We are not a mar
velous archaeological specimen, We are not
the great attraction in history's dime mu-
scum. we are not witnesses to the truth of
somebody else's religion and therefore must
be preserved in alcohol But we simply
worship God according to the dictates of
our own conscience, without infringing upon
the rights OF any one; at the same time
our religion, instead of being a hindrance
Is an aid and stimulus leading to a better
and more patriotic citizenship. The nom
Israelite may as well become aware of this
fact. that whatever We do as citizens we
do as Americans, and We do not thank
them for any recognition or tolerance, Our
lives, our happiness. the lives and happiness
Of those dear and near to U.S. the happiness
and prosperity of the whole human race
are as much concern to us as to others
and whatever We do we do from motives
inspired by the consciousness of duty based
on common sense and fellow feeling
1T is our mission to impress the ignorant
and the pre1udiced. which terms are
synonymous, that the day has gone by
when citizen of the United States of Jew
ish faith can be told with a familiarity
that Is as contemplate as IL is ridiculous
Why. my dear sir, some of the best friends
L have are Jews or the other familiar
term, He is pretty good fellow. although
he is Jew Expressions OF this kind can
originate only in shallow minds or in
those whom blind fortune has favored with
more money than brains, and thus arrogate
to themselves a dignity which they do not
possess. Judgment which is as warped as
the utterances are uncalled for. / have no
defense to offer on account of my faith. AS
Webster said Of Massachusetts. so 1 say of
the Jew, There he stands look at him
from every standpoint. and you will find
him your equal. There is no longer any
sense or reason to bring out the second
hand stock of the parrot orators to
what the Jew has done In this or That de-