Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1899-01-05
JEWS BEING
PROSECUTED
Are HOOted and Stoned in
New York City.
APPEAL TO THE PRESIDENT
MIR. COhn Cites a Number of Cases
That Have Come Under His
observation,,of Late.
APPEAL TO THE PRESIDENT

New York, Jan. 5.-The alleged anti
Semitic prejudice existing in this coun-
try and displayed in a steadily increasing
of acts of violence toward the Jews in
the poorer quarters Of Manhattan and
Brooklyn was made the subject of a
lengthy letter sent on New Years day to
President Mckinley by Leopold Cohn of
rabbi, but was converted to the Chris
tan belief seven years ago in this city
and joined the Baptist church. He is now
conducting missionary work among the
people Of his race and has charge of the
interests Of three missions.
Mr.. Cohn, in his communication to the
president states hat in the prosecution
of his missionary work he has continue
ously thrust upon his notice the ever-in-
~creasing hatred displayed in this city to-
ward the Jew, until he has found it his
imperative duty to sound a note of warm
ing. The letter continues:
Peaceful Jew walking the streets of
this city are habitually called by oppro-
brious epithets or are loudly hooted and
insulted, as though they were mounte-
banks or criminals and when the threat
ening shout will not attract response,
then the throwing of mud and stones is
resorted to, n I repeat, not in an iso-
lated instance, but constantly as the
weeks pass and as a result of which many
have been injured, sometimes seriously.
When a street car is passing through the
Jewish quarter. hooting, Kissing and
calling Of names from it's platforms are
customary incidents and within these
public cars l have seen Jews pulled by
the beard and pushed from one mar to
another and back again like a football
and in which horse play the conductors
themselves have participated and in some
cases which 1 am ready to prove, have
crippled their victims for life.
"A Jew with a push cart is everywhere
esteemed as a legitimate object to be
mobbed and robbed. On one occasion I
saw a Jewish peddler with horse and
wagon set upon by a mob Of large boys
with stones, the man trying to protect
himself by drawing his coat over his
head. On running to his defense 1 was
myself attacked; on appealing to a group
Of citizens and admitting, upon their
questioning that the victim was a Jew
they laughed boisterously adding with
eViueIlC SueeI. lildC L was myself OF the
same despised race, and upon appealing
to a policeman, he cOolly replied, after
great elaboration, that the affair was not
on his beat. In the meantime, with head
bleeding the peddler was driven from his
wagon and it was looted and overturned.
another case, similar except hat the
wares We're scattered about the street,
though not stolen, occurred in front Of a
boys high school where young emile
men are prepared for college at the pub
lie expense largely paid from Jewish
taxes. The aggressorS were the students
and the teachers viewed the scene from
the windows. These incidents-a few Sc
lected from many coming unsought I'M
der my personal ObserVation-must not
be esteemed merely as occasional disor-
ders liable to occur under the best pro-
durable condition, but rather as mani
festatlons of a prevalent, widespread
deepening and expanding public senti-
ment fraught with the gravest conse-
uences to the we'll being of the nation"
Copies of the letter to the president
were sent to the board of education and
to Mayor VanWyck by Mr.. Cohn, with
the suggestion that the growing faint of
anti-Semitism be made the subject of a
series of lectures in the schools. Mr..
Cohn stated hat he did not expect re-
plies to either of the letters, but that he
intends to address communications from
time to time to the leading men of the
city, state and nation calling attention to
the threatening growth of anti-Semitism.