The times., 1899-09-03

error. Indeed, II is now my conviction that
it is responsible for hardly any of 1t.
In this connection l call to mind Genesis,
chapter Xvii
We have all thoughtfully-or unthought-
fully-read the pathetic story of the years
OF plenty and the years of famine in Egypt,
and how Joseph, with that opportunity,
made a corner in broken hearts, and the
crusts OF the poor, and human iberty-a
corner whereby he took a nations money
all away to the last penny; took a nations
live stock all away, TO the last hoof; took
a nations land away, to the last acre;
then took the nation iself, buying it for
bread, man by man, woman by woman,
child by child, till all were slaves; cor
ner which took everything, left nothing;
corner so stupendous that, by comparison
with it, the most gigantic corners in subse-
gent history are but baby things, for it
dealt in hundreds of millions of bushels,
and It's profits were reckoned by hundreds
of millions OF dollars, and it was a dis
aster so crushing that its effects have not
wholly disappeared from Egypt today, more
than 5000 years after the event.
Is it presumable that the eye Of Egypt
was upon Joseph, the foreign Jew, all this
time? l think it likely. Was it friendly?
We must doubt it. Was Joseph establish
ing character for his race which would
survive long in Egypt, and in time would
his name come to be familiarly used TO
express that characteristic Shylocks? It
is hardly to be doubted. Let us remember
that this was centuries before the cruci-
ixion.
wish to come down eighteen hundred
years later and refer to a remark made
by one of the Latin historians. l read it
IN translation many years ago, and It
comes back to me now with force. 1t
was alluding to a time when people were
still living who could have seen the
Saviour in the flesh. Christianity was so
new that the people of Rome had hardly
heard of it, and had but confused notions
of what it was. The substance of the re-
mark was this: Some Christians were
prosecuted in Rome through error, they
being mistaken for Jews"
The meaning seems plain These pa
gans had nothing against Christians. but
they were quite ready to persecute Jews
For some reason or other they hated
Jew before they even knew what Chris
tfan was. May | not assume, then, that
the persecution of Jews is thing which
antedates Christianity. and was not born
of Christianity? | think so. What was
the origin Of the feeling?
In the cotton States, after the war, the
simple and ignorant negroes made the
crops for the white planter on shares
The Jew came down in force, set up shop
on the plantation, supplied all the negros
wants on credit and at the end OF the
season was proprietor of the negro's share
OF the present crop and of part OF his
share of the next one. Before long, the
whites detested the Jew, and it is doubt
full If the negro loved him
The Jew is being legislated out Of Russia
The reason is not concealed. The move
ment was Instituted because the Christian
peasant and yillager stood no chance
against his commercial abilities He was
always ready to lend money on crop and
sell vodka and other necessaries of life on
credit while the crop was growing. When
settlement day came he owned the crop;
and next year or year after he owned the
farm, like Joseph.
In the dull and ignorant England of
Johns time everybody got into debt to the
Jew
For the like reasons Spain had to Danish
him 400 years ago. and Austria about
couple of centuries later.
In all the ages Christian Europe has
been obliged to curtail his activities If
he entered upon a mechanical trade the
Christian had to retire from 1t. If he set
up as a doctor he was the best one and he
took the business II he exploited agri-
culture the other farmers had to get at
something else. Since there was no way to
successfully compete with him in any vo-
cation, the law had to step in and save
the Christian from the poorhouse Trade
after trade was taken away from the Jew
by statute till practically none was left. He
was forbidden TO engage in agriculture; he
was forbidden to practice law; he was for
hidden to practice medicine, except among
Jews; he was forbidden the handicrafts
Even the seats of learning and the schools