, 1896-05-27

relioionists in Austria, Hungary, Roumania,
and Russia, Thus the Hirsch Fund In Aus.
tria disposes of a sum Of IL, 900 ,OOOf. for the
purnose of educating the children OF INDECENT
1Ialician Jews and teaching them trades.
There are no less than fowty-one such schools
in existence here at present, and their success
s'unouestioned They are rapidly humanlslng
thousands of unfortunate Jews whom centu-
ries of cruel persecution had brutalised. He
assigned about 10, 600, 000f, to his co-rellgion-
ist in Roumania, and he offered SO, 900 ,000f.
for the purpose of transplantlng Russian
Jews to America. But owing to the refusal
of the Russian Government this plan IN Its
primitive and grandiose form had to be aban-
doned. Still, it is mainly to his energy and
generosity that thousands OF Russian Jews
owe the facilities afforded them or emlgrat-
ing to the United States and Argentina. In
all this Baron Hirsch acted on the reasonable
conviction that Jews are quite as capable
as Christians of becoming artisans and
successful agrlcuiturists, II only they obtain
fair play; and before his death he had the
satisfaction Of knowing that he had complete
fy proved his case. But 1t would De d gross
mistake to fancy that Baron Hlrsch's gene
rosity was sectarlaIl. lie was a pnli"htnro-
MIST in the noblest and most catholic sense Of
the WORD. ana buOuSNtINAo ny S
men and women OF all Christian churcheS Will
bitterly bewail his death.
In Vienna. for example, he established a
committee FIR supplying needy artisans and
In bourers. without discrimination OF creed,
with loans for the pmchase Of trade nipple
ments. and for this object he allowed the
committee 1O.OO0A. monthly. A similar com
mittee in Budapest was Ill receipt OF the
same monthly allowance. In LemberS and
Cracow he paid l2,U00A. monthly for ar
identical nurOose. while his committee III
New York disposed of $4,000 per month.
When the fire in the city OF Stryra, III Gall
cha, left large Numbers OF people %rootless,
Baron Hilsch sent theR a chcque t"r lO0,OOO
guldens. All these and many other acts or
princely generosity We're by their very ma
ture made public, but millions o. francs
found their way from The HIrsch Bank to
the huts and garrets of the suffering poor, no
penny of which was ever recorded. 1t is eS-
timated that he spent altogether in works Of
pure philanthropy about 100000. 0O0f. or
one-third of his capital. He was busy draw
ing up further grandioss plans of philanthro-
py when death closed his career.
On the occasion Of his last visit to Austria
he complained to a friend OF the high legacy
duties in this country. Are You anxious
about your heirs, then p asked the friend.
.'My heirs replied Baron Hirsch, ''are suf-
fering humanity. My one desire is TO capt
talisS all my benevolent foundations 50 that
they may live and work for ever" Thou
sands of the poor and wretchsd in all quar-
ters of the globe regarded Mauric3 Hirsch
as an earthly Providence, Every year in
Carlsbad he was followed at q respectful
distance by hundreds Of Polish and Russian
Jews, who regarded the ground he trod on as
holy. Every post brought him countless
begging letters. One was couched in the
following terms IF you are a man OF hon
our help an unfortunate lady in trouble.
Send 20,000f by return pest to b. G., Poste
Restante. and never seek to learn my name"
Another was as follows: "MesSiah OF the
Jews. You, who like a second Moses, seek
to rescue us from slavery, help me, your
servant, out of my present trouble. One
youth in Budapest wrote a begging etter and
received from Baron Hirsch, who never saw
him, 100000. A few days before death he
sent one such letter to a committee in Vienna
telling them to pay the writer of it 1000
forms, If the facts she alleged were true.
It is difficult to realise the crushingly pain
ful impression produced throughout the
Hapsburg monarchy by the sudden demise
OF the beuefcent millionaire, who consl-
dered himself as the trustee of the poor and
suffering, and who was the noble master
not the sordid slav e-0f his millions.