The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1894-03-01
WHO ARE THE GORDoNS!
a sCoICBHiN's CElIH DISPUTED BT
RUSSIAN JEWS.

atefn Does Not Lack bcfen1ern % Reply
To the Enron OF THR sux-!sir; In repl,
70 Mr.. Alfred Wallerstcin Of the University o
Pennsylvanis. who thinks that to ask viii
Polish and Russian jews mlsappropriste tn,
name OF Gordon IL Ike asking how mani
tons Of iron II would tako to make an appl,
pie" wish to say this. among other things
Nobody ever heard OF an iron apple pie anC
nobody ever heard Of Polish or Russian Jew
really and truthfully named Gordon. A Polist
. or Russian Jew nam cd Gordon II Just as pre-
posterously impossible as an iron apple pie
Perhaps that is what Mr. Wsllerstein means.
scotchmeD. as n rule. are unprovided with
copies OF that nowadays. no doubt. usefu
work. the Dibliotheca Judaica, ~ blished By
EnRlemsun In Leipzic." I. at least. am alto
sether destitute Of it-nor. to be frank. has II
ever been recomm ended to me By any body
other than tho erudite young Hebrew Of the
University Of snnsyIvsnIa At the same time.
from what have seen Of the Jeipzicers. who
have replaced Christianity on Broadway and
elsewhere. 1should think It would be treasured
as household word-in LEIPZIG.
Naturally. I am debarred from referring
to page $685. and learning therefrom
that the name OF Gordon 10 very COM
mon lby misappropriatlonl among Polish
and Russian Jews" which Is the very
est and burden Of my complaint. 1t il.
beyond question. very common" Just as the
name OF George Washington is very common
among the negroes OF the South. Admiral
Gordon in n great measure laid the foul
tion OF the modern Russian empire. OF all
the non Russian historical characters OF
Russia, his vocsble is. as tbs Sun says. the
most easily pronounced and the least Russian.
In the next place. even the Russian and Polish
Jew occasionally learns something. lie has
heard. most likely that the anti Catholic
crank. Lord George Gordon. crowned his
extraordinary career Of insanity by becoming.
nomInaily. q jew. The Polish and Russian
Jews return the doubtful com pliment By be-
coming. also nomlnally, Gordons. 1t lie only
fair. however. to rsiterate In behalf OF Lord
George that he was q lunatic. The co-reliR-
ionists and compatriots Of Mr.. wallerstoin
will hardly care to lnterposs the same defence
in their own behalf.
Again. am ashame ell to have to confess that I
am utterly ignorant OF the dramatic literature
OF wilma. and an not only more ashamed but
unspeakably hurt TO learn from Mr.. Waller
stein that It includes a solitary drama written
In 1895 By an altogether pse anonymous A. y.
Gordon. or course the Polish jew who wrote
IL under the alias of Gordon had no moro right
70 the name ho signed than 1 have to the play
So. far as Mr. wallers,ein's Rabbi Israel
Gordon is concerned. 1 refuse to accept him on
stsS n% S.nn 1' u1 sS f:' . SS the +:
belongs to the category Of the ba.llisk and the
bsnylp; In the PANE Of the Clan gordon
free to conioss that I never heard OF the great
him and all hi, works as altogether and abso-
lutely ipcredible. and protest that great
and poet he may have been Judah Leb he un.
doubtedly ,wask but Gordon. never. IA to
a n al m IN y iy nran la
The damage which these pseudo. Gordons do
Is. indssj. widespresd am o even u,
now doubtful as to the origin Of julien Cor |
be possible that this charming writer Is also |
an emlgre from wilma? |
and aggravates my complaint. He says SIM |
ply. that this particular variety OF name steal |
lug; AGAINST which I protest. is not new. Polish
unriESteousls called tSsm.eiues GORDON as as
far back as 1886. Is 4. possible that he ex- |
patronymical grand larceny to which We call |
attention. L was popular among his co;religion:
soften Mr.. Tiffany ward a culprt found steal.
,n ns, ne watches by calling attention to the
On Mfss onns Gf the lar
md Russian Jew who called himself Gordon
iren who have quasi right TO boast in 1874
hat their fathers name really was Gordon. In
iobaa% VIII have SfSss Swallow OF rIrSt to
board with pious and arectlonate solicituds
ncnds Which passed ED into her eei Possession d,a
lcross her counter.
,,Ir .sSEld llt' 20 get glimpse Of tn. yituper
erestlnR lntens incation OF the usual type Of
polaekHof the rachitic. neurotic mYops. full
Il order into which tn. perssc9tsdd S1 er.sa a
Gets Of the Car are usually developed BY the
md ssary sstasshe n. s iasn sGisg
u his species when he Iustihes the Efforts OF
ueh nomadie creatures to pass themselves on
caring folly Of the Scottish Highlands who not
'niy love their ain eountris." but do it honor
Let me add that, so far as know, the only
,iSii sIn .Judaiea Of any great interest to
; TO be found at Quarsntine. In care Of Health
,.9,. ,E Easlia' Of Polish JSiaIc.
There is a. smaller and less sensational mon
graph to be discovered In the archives OF
. .s isiAno' "hieh deals exclusively with
Perhaps II were to meet the virulent and
bid race who signs himself Walersisin /
1ight come across an alternative subject for
he next shipioad Of Russian eIilsS to srr iS
"a IA. .ham n,f,i and whose deporistion; how
the Bason aSa viii aSd one Gr sISd
,lrsSls and now sonswsaf patient i' .csis a
|
ste Mr.. Rosenau
ARCHIBALD DOUGLAS GORDON
PORT RICHMOND. Fob. ~.
To THE EDITOR OF The suN-sr: The
w shines for all, and have no doubt that
III be permitted to make a few remarks in re-
~ 70 the rodomontAds OF A. ID. Gordon CON
srning his alleged name | will atteIn Ut to |
Ike him seriously and as much ssriatlm as |
Pssible. In his opinion there is a mystery"
men the American representatives OF an old
nd super Scottish clan" cannot solve. IT, as
. says. his pAtronymic a historic Gaelic |
ed. Norman. French. GouTdon or Gordon" il
not easy 70 see how u can be SO elannishly
per-scottish. land II Gordon" Is the zap
'llation OF the old and martial SEPT mot
'ottish, but Irish, from which We are SO proud
be descended why doesn't no show what he
1ows about the history OF the name he as
mes % defend, and about his own right and
Ito 20 IT, instead OF making desperate Efforts
ridlculing q number OF biblical. German
hich have after ali. perhaps. as much right c
ID reason Tor bearing them than have the | @
ottish bearers OF the one which lie claims as | I
= own Aud his references To the "fselings n
- tho shades ~ OF bertrand de 0ourdon | I
Goneral-nut Admiral" Gordon who was h
,yeEnor OF Moseow-and 81 Charles Gordon, n
meiently show that he does not know much Il
the origin OF the name GOurdon or Gordon. s