The Washington weekly post., 1899-12-19
new ANTI.SEMITE CRY
A Jew in Austria Charged
with Ritual Murder.
RELIC OF BIG0TRY OF DARK AGES
Allegation that lie Murdered n Christian
Girl Because Her Hood Was Wanted for
Passover Sacrifice IL the Wild
Accusation Against which Jew. All Over
the World Protest - The sfory 0f The
Murder and Subsequent Trial.

Murder and subse suent Trial.
i From The Chicago Inter Ocean.
Anti-Semitism has taken a new turn in
Austria. Recently Jew named Huisner
who apparently was not In good standing
IN the synagogue. was convicted of mur-
dering young Czech girl in Pona, a Bo-
hemian village. The evidence against him
would not be considered strong IN this
| country. As matter OF facs, The testi-
mony adduced did not in any particular
| point to him directly as the murderer
Inc trldl, however, was a complicated af-
fair' and an anti-Semitie ring was formed
| 10 prove ritual murder. In other words
tne Jew-haters formed a conspiracy foS
the sole purpose Of proving to the court
that Hulsner had killed the girl in order
| TO offer a religious sacrifice with human
blood The tactics of the prosecution.
who, without saying so In so many words,
adopted the ritual-murder theory. possess
ed a deyilish cleverness. At no time did
| they charge ritual murder directly. but
| all through the trial insinuated by veiled
word that such was the crime. The de-
| cision which condemned Hulsner left a
mysterious obscurity TO enveIop the act
| which ii punished. The ritual crime was
never plainly affirmed, but the judges
| knew how to make that understood which
| they did not venture 10 say aloud
The ritual murder cry was taken up BY
the anti-Semites Of Vienna, where now It
seems TO he the general belief among
| Christians that Hulsner killed the girl as
religious sacrifice. The Jews OF course
/ deny this with great vigor. and they defy
the anti-Semites to point to any religious
law or custom Of ;heir race which ould
tolerate such a hideous outrage They
point TO the fact that, even II such a
crime were possible, none but religious
fanatic could be guilty of Il, Huisner,
they say. strove to be baptized to fast on
Yom Kippur. This, they say, is pretty
conclusive evidence that the accused man
is far from being religious fanatic.
SCOTS at Theory.
cit ought not TO be necessary for the
Jews in these closing years of the nine
teenth century TO refute such a ridiculous
charge as that of ritual murder" said
Prof GOttheil, of Columbia University.
'What thinking man can for moment
believe that the Jews would murder Chris
tians TO use the blood in the celebration
Of their Passover rites? Popes, bishops,
secular princes. theoiogians. and scien-
| lists from the twelfth century down have
| emphatically declared that all charges of
that kind were utterly uns,unded. And
yet that vilest of all religious calumnies
| has been revived this year in the civil
lied country of Austria. the land which
vies with France In Importance as an
anti-Semitic stronghold.
"A very ordinary murder has given the
enemies of the Jews the chance that they
were looking for. Austria is to-day wild
ly aSltated over wnat many choose to
call a new Dreyfus affair. The Polna
murder has only this in common with
Frances cause celeSe, that in both cases
| the anti-Semites have used the alleged
crime OF an individual to egg the masses
on 10 the destruction of the whole race.
But not even in their widest moments
have the French anui-Semites thought of
going further than 10 charge the victim
OF their rage with mercenary betrayal
of his native country, while their Aus
trian brethren have had the hardihOod to
revive a charge that the intelligent men
of the so-called dark ages considered pre-
pOsterous.
THE story of the crime used as a basis
for the present agitation in Austria is
very simple. A young Czech girl named
Agnes HruZa was found murdered on
March 20 in a wood near the little Bo-
hemian town of Polna, where she had her
home. The suspicious of the authorities
were at once directed toward one Leopold
Hulsner a poor and ignorant jew who
was in love with a Christian girl. and
who had taken steps to renOunce his own
religion in order to be able 10 marry her.
There seemed 10 be no evidence 10 con-
meet him with the crime. much less to
mcke the crime a religious one
The murder had taken place about the
time for the celebration of the Jewish
Passover. and that was enough The
anti-Semitic papers Of Vienna took up the
affair at once and presented II in all seri-
BUSINESS to their readers as q clear case
of ritual crime Their colleagues about
the whole country echoed the cry, until
! the Jews were compelled TO defend them
selves.
Blood Not Prescribed i'm RituaI
'Ai the rabbis of Vienna Joined In n
written statement. declaring that never
had the Jewish religion required or eoun-
teranced such a crime. Protest meetings
were held everywhere, and al one OF
these DR.. Gudemann. chief rabbi of
Vienna, took a solemn public oath that
there was not one and had never been
any foundation for the charge that the
use OF human blood was prescribed in
the Jewish ritual. In defending his own
faith, he referred to some of the crimes
committed by Christians In the name OF
religion. Capital was made of the anti
| have receive two of their leaders have
cited DR.. Gudemann to answer In court
10 the charge of having insuted another
religious society.
The trial of Hulsner did not take place
until september ii. IL lasted for five days.
Several leading anti-Semites were pres
ent. Neither they nor the public used
once the Well-knOWn expression ritual
crime and yet that was constantly hint
ed at during the trial The result was
that the court found Hulsner guilty and
sentenced him to death by hanging.
"A few days later the authorities of
kuttenberg, where the trial was held re-
ported that Hulsner had confessed that
two other Jews, Josua EbeFman, OF Tre-
bitsch. and Solomon Wasserman of Win
dig-Jenikan, had committed the murder
while he kept guard. Ny latest informa-
ton is that the accused men were arrested,
and that each proved an alibi; that Huls-
ner on his first temperance IN open
court said that torture had been EMPLOYED
to force him into confession, and, finally
that the mother and brother Of the dead
girl have been arrested. charged with
having murdered her 10 save the brother
the necessity OF paying her portion OF
their common paternal Inheritance
The case against Huisner has been ap-
pea!ed and Is now pending In the higher
courts. The Jews Of Austria are naturally
anxious 10 see the mans innocence proved
that being the best refutation OF all
charges, but they have all along left the
question OF guilt or cFimlnality 10 be- de-
cided by the court protesting only against
the efforts 10 make the Jewish religion
responsible for the crime"
Gallant Liiile HidshipmIie.
From the New York Press
Among other Improvements In the art
OF war. as attained BY the world In these
later years, is the abolition OF the prae-
tice OF sending children 10 sea. as was
the case when the midshIprnen OF the