The Washington times., 1894-12-27
THE THIRD ANNUAL MEETING
Gathering Of Eminent lsraelites at
the Arlington Hotel.
President straus Annual Address-He Re-
fers to the Excellent Work Of the Anglo
Jewish Historical society-Investigation
Suggested Which Will Throw Light
Upon the Early Commerce ofThis Country


Hotel yesterday morning. The association
Jews in the United States. and among those
present at the opening session were noted the
following: Oscar S. Straus, ex-minister to
Turkey during President Cleveland's first ad-
ministration; Prof. Richard Gottheil, Rev.
DIR. G. Gottheil and Mr.. Barnet Phillips, OF
New York; DIR. Herbert Friedenwald and Mr..
Henry S. Morias, of Philadelphia; Dr. Cyrus
Adler and Mr.. A. z. Wolf. of Washington,
and Messrs. Mendes Cohen and Meyer Cohen,
of Baltimore The total membership OF the
society is 1873.
In his address of welcome to the members,
President Straus said he was glad to note the
increased attendance over previous annual
meetings. Without any doubt the society
was accomplishing great deal OF good. Al
though the members are not writers OF his
tory. he hoped that the historians would soon
make good use of the materials secured by
the society and give the general public more
facts in reference TO the settlement OF this
country by the Spaniards and Portuguese than
is now known.
The object of the society, when founded,
was to collect and publish material bearing
upon the history of the Jews in the United
States" said the speaker, ''but these have
been extended so as to comprise the
ENTIRE AMERICAN CONTINENT.
'It had been known for many years that the
Jews OF Spain and Portugal participated in
some degree in the voyages which led TO the
discovery of America, and that there were
Jews from Holland, Great Britain. Jamaica.
and other countries among the earliest set
tiers of several of the colonies There were
also a number of Jews in the Continental
army ana others contributed literally to de-
fray the expenses of the Revolutionary war.
Since The foundation OF the government quite
number of Jews have held important public
positions. Their genealogy and the records
OF their achievements, when gathered to-
gether viii be OF value and interest TO the
historian and contribute materially TO the
history of the United States.
In conclusion President Straus said the OBJ
iects Of the association were not sectarlan,
but American, and the members earnestly de-
sire the cooperation OF the students Of his
tory and persons who have An interest III the
welfare of the Jews.
The report of the secretary. DIR. Cyrus Ad-
ler. showed that the society had sustained
two losses by death during the year, those OF
! Rev. DR.. Kohut and Mr.. Jesse ,Seligman, OF
/ New York. The total membership IS now
/ 1873 active three honorary and seven corre-
/ spending members
Treasurer Richard Gottheirs report of the
/ finances of the association was es follows:
Balance on hand at last report. S300.35; re-
ceiyed from membership. dues, etc.,
| 1,12O. "a; expenses, S5lS.72; balance On hand,
| 1902. 81.
President Straus appointed the following
committee to nominate officers for the ensu-
! ing term Mr. Barnet Phillips, Rev. DIR. Gott-
/ he'll. of New York, and Mr.. II. S. Morias, OF
1 Philadelphia. The corresponding secretary.
Dr. Herbert Friedenwald, read letter from
/ the governor OF Jamaica, in which that Off
cial promised his cooperation in the fur
| therance oil the
OBJECTS OF THE SOCIETY.
This letter viii be placed In the archives oi
The society.
Prof. Gottheil, OF New York, showed the
members a medical publication now owned
4 by Columbia College. of New York, which
was written by DR.. Zacuto Lusitani, who was
/ driven out OF Lisbon during the inquisition ID
| the seventeenth century. The publication
was edited by Isaac de Malai Aovard, g
! leader of the first colony of Jews that settled
! in Brazil.
Shortly before o'clock the association
took recess until o'clock.
President Straus annual address was the
! feature of the afternoon session. After refer
ing at some length o'the objects and growth
of the society, the prohibition of Jews from
! settlement here in the seventeenth century,
the president said:
"Mr. Lucien Wolf, the president OF the
Anglo-Jewish Historical Society, whose
/ scholarly researches have thrown much new
light on the reSettlement of the Jews II
! England under the commonwealth, shows
that the navigation act. which the long par
/ lament passed in 1851, had direct effect
/ upon the Jews who were settled in the DHtct
and English colonies. The object of thi;
famous measure was to exclude foreign ma
tions from the colonial trade. and to supplan
the Dutch in carrying and distributing the
4 traffic of Europe. The sugar industry o
! Barbados ana the vanilla trade of Jamaict
! were almost exclusively in Jewish hands
The principal trade of our New England colo
nies was with Barbados, Jamaica, Surinam
and Brazil-almost exclusively with thos'
( communities whose trade was largely con
trolIed by the Spanish and Portuguese.
REFUGEES AND THEIR DESCENDANTS.
at is quite probable we will find that i
was largely due to the navigation act, coupled
with the liberal laws of the Rhode Island col
ony, that in 1853 fifteen Jewish families from
Holland settled in Newport. They were il
good circumstances and the heads of thes
families were chiefly merchants Of education
and experience in transmarine commerce.
"The persecution of the Jews in Spain ant
Portugal and their dispersion to the four cor
ners of the earth, which presents such darI
picture, had bright side in its consequences
in that it fostered International commerce
for these refugees in the several countrie
wherein they settled soon established mercan
tile correspondence with one another, thereb,
building up profitable trade between sucl
countries. Thus in measure is due the trad
between the italian republics and the Leyan
and between Holland. England, and Ney
England with Surinam, Barbados, Jamaica
and Brazil.
''Our confreres of the Anglo-Jewish His
torical Society are searching the records o
England with excellent results. and woul,
recommend cooperation wherever possible
as they can only prove OF mutual help an,
| advantage.
Il have every belief that carefuI investiga
ton will reveal q very much larger immigra
ton to America and the contiguous island
than history has taken note of. The elosin.
chapters of the history OF the Jews in Spail
and Portugal are the opening chapters o
their history on this continent and are closel
connected with the early settlements Il
America. 1t is for this reason that hav'
deemed 1t proper on this occasion to conhn
my observations to what appears to me to b.
the most important phase OF the work VI
have before US, and because this line of in
quIry will throw much light upon the earl
commerce OF this country, which brough
Rupture Permanently Cured
That's the result of every case we unde,
| take. The ROBERTS PROCESS knows n