The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-01-11

them, to appreciate their terrible po-
sition; to receive for oneself the COM
viction, which some of them express,
of their living on the edge of a vol
cano, not knowing from day to day
where and how the blow of affection
will next fall; to recognize that they
are in very truth too broken even to
make outcry or protest, for fear of
the consequences which any further
complaint may bring on themselves or
those on whom they are dependent.
Killing .(of a jew is no murder, ex-
tenuating circumstances being always
admitted, and the utmost punishment,
even where the crime is aggravated by
robbery, being fine (Which the suf-
ferer's family dare not enforce) and
nominal term of imprisonment The
police offer no protection against male
factors unless their good offices have
been first secured for a consideration;
and it is generally believed that pro-
motion in "the force" is most easily
obtained by evidence of activity in the
persecution and ill-treatment of Jews.
Words fail to describe the heart
rending sights to be witnessed in the
suburbs of opulent Bucharest itself,
the Brussels of the East, where whole
colonies of these outcasts are relegat-
ed to wait their return for relief, or to
take breathing time for some further
flight to an unknown world outside,
which, at worst, cannot be so cold and
pitiless as their own inhQspitable coun-
try. There, in sheds and in pits, fam
lilies and groups of families may be
seen huddled together, waiting for the
help to live, which, alas, is deuied to
them by all but their own impoverished
co-religlonists, and hoping, yes, hop
ing, many of them, for death.
The conscience of Europe, which
gave to the RoumanianS their 'Hber-
ties is not vet sufficiently stirred by
these and other worse misfortuneS of
the hapless Jews; but the catastrophe
which may move it to action is on it's
way, the avalanche which may bring
difficulty and trouble to people outside
the sphere of operations of these local
prosecutors, has already started
" The new artisan law, which came into
operation last month (the 1st-14th No
vember. of the year of grace, 1902. adds
the last stone to the pile gradually heap
ed up within the last thirty years by
Roumanian politicians from John Brati-
ano to StourdZa, wherewith to destroy
the remnant OF Israel, whose moral, intel
lectual and moral qualities have raised,
as has been the case time out of mind in
other countries, the most serious obstacles
10 the selfish and Short-sighted schemes
Favored by these statesmen for the en-
richment of their constituents From 1885
doWnWards a course of legislation has
been adopted. which first excluded the
Jews from the exercise Of the liberal pro-
fessions, then gradually limited their
spheres OF operations as producers, dis
tf1butOrS or cultiVatorS, then deprived
their children of the general liberty Of
education, or the right Of admission to
the secondary or technical schools or the
universities, the bulk of the growing gem
Grafton being thus artificially reduced to
mere laborerS or handicraftSmen; now the
law of March, 1902, prohibits work, ex-
cept on terms and subject to conditions
which 1t Is impossible for the Jewish ar
tisans to fulfill. All avenues of employ
ment being thus closed the result is that
they must move out Of the country or
starve.
THE Ubiquitous laws which have led
up to this consummation are not, by far,
the worst part Of the mischief. The
reign of law, which is the citizens real
guarantee OF liberty and security in every
free state, has only a pretense of exist
ence under the s1mulacrum of constitu-
tional government installed at Bucharest
The rights of individuals are not deter
mined by the law, but by the interpre-
tation of 1t which particular ministers
decree from time to time by their circu-
lars to the magistrates, projects, and 9TH
er officials charged with it's administra-
ton. Where the law is ambiguous in
expression, as Is the case with nearly
the whole of the diabolically Ingenious
code directed against the Jews the ad-
ministrat1ve order, or circular. comes in
to give the necessary defniteness of aim
and method to the executioners of the
ministerial DEGREES. who never fail to i'm
prove on the example OF their official SUI
perlors. This artisans law, nomina1ly di-
rected against foreigners (the name by
which Jews are always designated) has
been explained by ministerial circulars,
and the pecuniary and other conditions
left to be exacted by the corrupt bureau
crazy charged with it's administration are
already such as to make compliance i'm
possible for any but small proportion Of
the intended victims.
The position to which the 20, 900 strong
and active men, constituting the Jewish
artisan class, are thus reduced is ter
r1oie to contemplate They are for the
most part heads of families, and repre-
sent population, thus thrown into the