The state republican. (Jefferson City, Mo.) 1871-1896, 1894-06-21

OF the great grocery nouSe w SV' i'o"iH
that bears his name. Mr.. Furth is a
ready speaker and clever writer. Ills
article published below is intensely in
teresting.
written Specially for This Paper.
| have been asked to write an
article on "Missouri Hebrews to
appear in connection with Il series
of articles describing the other
religious denominations in our state.
| take it that | am to say something
about that portion of Missouri'S
population that subscrihes to the
faith of the Jew. | am no to write
up a ace or a people, but | am
to give a description of the in
stitutions that exist in Missouri
under what may he termed the
auspices of the Jewish church and
to say something about the per-
sonelle that makes up this portion
of our population. While it is
true that to n great extent the
race question in the jew is almost
inseparablc from the religious ques-
ton, yet the time has come when
Jews must be Judged not as n
separate race or people comprising
a state within a state, but simply
as the voluntary followers of a
religious faith and persuasion Just
as the Methodists, Presbytcrians,
Catholics, Baptists or any other
religious sect are judged. The time
for looking upon a jew as a rare,
archaeological specimen is in my
opinion passed and just because the
Jews happen to intcr-marry among
themselves to n very large extent
there seems no reason for point
ing to them or figuring them as
an e%xtraneous element or onc differ
ent from the other elements that
make up the population OF our
state. ! would have preferred to
head my article the ''Jews of
Missouri I always feel when
my Christian friends speak of me
or of my co-religionists as Hebrews
or as Israelites that they are making
a polite effort "to let me down
easy" as the phrase goes. They
seem to think that to call me or
mine "Jew' would imply an insult.
Let me take this opportunity to
assure those who are really liberal
at heart and who have Invested
themselves of race and religious
prejudice that the modern, thinking
and consistent Jew does not feel
insulted when called by that
name or when his religion is called
by its proper name.
The Jews of Missouri constitute
al important part of her popula-
and are a factor in the develop
ment of her resources. As is the
case with every other denomination,
within our ranks may be found
people of all the various shades
of political opinion and of all the
various grades and strata that make
up the population of Missouri. The
increase in the Jewish population
of the state has comc entirely by
immigration and by natural eNpan-
sion. The Jewish religion rs such
differs from other religions in that
it is not aggressive and that it
does not send out missionaries to
CONVEX heatheus or those of other
religious p%ersuasions. 1t Is not q
religion that seeks to prosolytiH,'
by the usual methods. Being en-
tirely without such organization at
exists in other churches, having
no saints, no popes, no bishops,
no priests, no ecclesiastical author
ity of any kind to dictate to its
votaries, every II il left to Judge
for himself or herself, to accept
or reject, and no effort whatever
is made as above stated to receive
%accessions except from those born
into the faith. Thus the growth
is naturally a slow one unless ac-
celebrated by such violent changes
as were brought about by the
edict of the ear and the consequent
forced exodus of Russian Jews.
So far as | have been able to
learn the first Jews to settle in
our state were a family OF Block
who came sometime in the '30s
or '40s and settled in the south.
eastern portion of the state eithel
at or near Cape Girardeau and st
Genevieve. This family was no.
related to the Blocks that subse
quently settled in Pike county anG
in st. Louis and who have since
severed their connection witt
Judaism AMI inter married with
some of the best Christian families
of the state. The former came from
the northern part of Germany while
the latter were Bohemians. TIL,
first Jewish congregation was organ,
lied in the city of st. Louis in 1887
and the temple now standing
on 21st and Olive SITS. is the legiti
mate outgrowth of that movement
Omitted Hebrew congregation). II
the early 1908 another congregation
WAS Organized which at tho tim