New-York tribune., 1901-05-18

Two Essays Prepared for the Toynbee Trustees
duction by Canon Barnett and preface by the
Right Hon. James Bryce NJ 1-I =; WIN IN New New
Croweil & Co '''
The recent large immigration into London of
poverty stricken and prosecuted Jews from Po-
land has caused much discussion and no little
uneasiness. The Investigations contained in this
volume are calculated to aIlay them to no in
considerable extent. They made by two
university men living in the East Side district,
one Mr. Lewis. being a resident of Toynbee Hall
and himself a Jew. Mr. Russell believes that
the present tendency is strongly in the direc-
tion Of absorption and assimilation of the alien
element. and that the economic grievance
against the Jew is. on the whole. unfounded and
unlikely to become a source of permanent
estrangement antagonism. His examination
Of the conditions of the poorest Jewish quar-
ters shows a state of affairs that is closely
paralleled in cis-Atlantic experience Dirt. over
crowding industry and sobrfety are the most
conspicuous features of these foreign settle
ments The worst districts OF Whitechapel,
formerly overrun with roughs and criminals,
are exceptionally quiet and orderly; though
while the foreign Jew avoids grOsser forms OF
crime. he errs in the direction of what his enc
mics would call the meaner and his friends the
less brutal vices
The foreign children sharper and more
intelligent than the English. chiefly. Mr.. Rus
sell thinks, because of their training in Hebrew
and the necessity OF their mastering, at the
same time. English; which has something of
the same effect on a narrower scale OF the
mental discipline of classical study. The strain
is however excessive and the abnormal early
brain development is bound to be followed by a
reaction. The tendency is for the younger gen
Grafton to fall away from the idealistic and en-
thusiastic religious character which the parents
imported with them, resulting. as Mr.. Russell is
bound TO say. in better citizenship. He tells a
story that amusingly illustrates this, taken from
Young Israeli:
This disregard Of the Sabbath in some homes
was never more painfully illustrated than in
reply l received from a child in an infant
school who can tell me why God rested on
the seventh day." l asked. For little while
there perfect silence in the room, but soon
came the answer, Cos it was Sunday"
The Board Of Trade investigations confirm
what this observer has found for himself. that
the facts do not bear out the sweeping asser-
tions TO what pauper competition is doing TO
British labor. The changed character of indus
tries resulting from highly subdivided and spe-
cialized labor which is generally associated with
the Jewish influx is in fact due to industrial
conditions which On LOndon) the Jew has been
the first to see and take advantage OF. The
new conditions AS the foreigner becomes more
thoroughly Angliczed. he is able TO shake off
the reproach of his lack OF solidarity with his
fellow laborers, and at the same time the Jew
has a genius for individual bargaining which
goes far TO counterbalance the lowering effect
which his incapacity for organization might have
the rate OF wages. AS a matter OF fact, the
actual amount Of Ill feeling on the part OF Eng
lish workingmen is much less than is generally
supposed.
Mr. Lewis's contribution is chiefly in the way
OF criticism and comment Mr.. Russelrs
views the value and accuracy Of many Of which
he acknowledges. He devotes much Of his
say to establishing his contention that
The Jewish race, as a separate entity, has a
future; that its mission such is far from
completed. and that ii look forward TO
something better than the painless euthanasia
to which Mr.. Russell apparently condemns it.
Past experience justifies him in believing that
the Jews will be able TO resist assimilation; and
he maintains that when the East Side Jew be-
comes an Englishman he does not cease to be a