New-York tribune., 1903-05-24
NORMAL CONDITIONS OF THE JEWS IN RUSSIA.
RECENT Personal INVESTIGATION MADE By Il
BRITISH MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT
u,IoR W. EVANS GORDON, IN WORLDS WORK

England, of coarse-and America as well-ottrac's
foreign elements from all parts OF the glooe' IL
line be drawn from Kustendjeh. on the Black sea
to Iibau on the Baltic. and another from hallsch
in Poland to the easternmost point OF the province
of Ekaterinoslav. in Russia. these lines VIII ti"H-
erse the length and breadth of the vast area Ir'i
which comes a of immigrants whonI the f1ns-
lsb and American population, must asslmllale,
England's doors wide open to these peopie' anu
many thousands yearly pass the test OF the lihlii
grafton laws OF the United States The Sums OF
wilma and Warsaw. the Ghettos OF Lemberg ana
Galatz the remote villages in the provinces OF
Minsk and Tchernigov all send their quota to
swell the ever rising tide.
AS a member of the ROYAL COMMISSION Oh amen
Immigration, I have thought 1t most important 10
investigate this question on the spot ana acoo'u
inglv spent the last Parliamentary recess IN Vlslt
inc the homes of all our different aliens propose
to tell here exactly what found
I reached Dvinsk, my first haltlng pIace l" 'Aie
Russian Pale on q mournful rainy Saturday nlorn-
ing The town is said TO have eighty thousand IN
tabi+an+s and some seventy thousand are jews.
Tic nersecuting May laws of 1882 drove many OF
these from the villages and smaller towns INTO tne
larger centres of population. hence the hlsh pro-
nortion Of Hebrews TO be found In the place. hehce
also much Of the misery and poverty lfoIii "Aie
these moor people suffer The preponderance OF tne
Tan.;eb raca was at once apparent. the Saboatn
sending the whole place to sleep. Not shop was
omen not a stroke of business was peiis oolie' ! o
only sign of life was in front d the s!nasosuo'
+b.ra a large crowd of decent io>hing FOLK were
,,5i,o their church parade. promenadins up ana
down. -.
ON the next day. Sunday. was able TO see 'he
town in its business dress, though the RUSSIAN law
forbids the opening of shops by the Jews til p m
on the Christian day OF rest. AFTER that houi ..e
markets were in fun swing. crowded with country
1,t, ord soldiers from the cantonments near oy'
All we're eagerly doing business with the Jews.
neculiar feature that the soldiers were mostly
sellers and the Jews buyers. STRIPS OF elhoio
Russisn cloth old boots. uniforms and mass Oh
roisca1sneous odds and ends were the articles "hich
49,. C,o-,c ..Tomr,ies'' had for sale. Every article
,ras the subject Of protracted bargain ana each
srouD of soldiers in their white Jackets ana caps
was surrounded by a crowd OF Jews. IN iohs Ius''
black coats. with the characteristic stoop VI liio
shoulders and flowing boards. Round the markets
many drinking ana ealiioii'S ~
orderly houses. -.
No doubt the crowding Of the jewish popula .iol
into the towns has led TO a general deteroia'ioi
,,.b moral and physicaL The struggle for life is
= desperate business for many OF theIh' au
~,,,es diminish in proportion to its severity. Inc
bouse accommodation is poor and squallo' Out r
is always light and air and space ano' cols'ueI'
Dvinsk from the purely residential point oi view
personally should prefer II 10 SOME '
name in towns at home
IT, .toeo apxio,s 10 see for themselves what a
Russian ghetto is like at its worst Wouio leO0iiA
mend visit to wilma. There are saio 10 Oe 0--,
eighty thousand Jews here-not bv any means a,
80 Rv far the greater part of the trade ana
,racticallv all the shops, are in the1r hahUs' W
~. .,br,erged tenth is submerged indeed
Tho ghetto is seething mass OF humanity.
Many of the streets and alleys are SO haitU U,
the navements almost touch At Intervals thioush
ont their length are arched gateWays ieadlns INTO
courtyards. around which the oehs anu
which the people live are clustered
snent a whole day visiting them In the corners
or the court one would find wooden trough into
which all the refuse Of the houses was 'h'o"i
The stencil from these receptacles filled the "hoie
air The stucco walls were biistered ana ro'uLs
&c 70 infac+ed by the poisonous atmosphere within
Inside the people were crowded peh NEIL resAIu-
less of health. age or sex IN one foopi ~
l,,r,atic in the middle OF family OF YorHS chiiui
] was followed walked bV cro"d Oh haseaic'
anxious careworE people. staring at me WIN
,o,,rnf,,l ewes Some openly begged aims; others
had trifes for sale MANY seemed TO pass their
time in the synagogues. rocking and chahhhs theli-
selves into oblivion Of their miseres came aci''s
several who had been Whitechapel, and had
been sent back. suppose. as fit for nothins- One
mo-, will, large family wished to make aho'her
trial OF England and asked me- OF al peop'e' Ioi
money 70 help him to get there
There are other towns. however. in the fale
where things better Pinsk IS one Oh nm ,Il-
Here Jewish skill labor and enterprise nave pee"
h;,ad "a good purpose 1t is q picturesque
.,taca Tho streets of wooden houses and cottages
are lined with trees; there are G qnalhl oiu 0i -
and a seminary. and the river banks are Iuii u ~
and color. The population is forty thousaho %
- ,birt,--ee,en thousand are Jews. This dis
rroportion as in OF the towns OF the faie'
WOULD have resulted in congestion IN all employ
,,en+s open to Hebrews had II not peeh LOT 'ie
energy and enterprise or certain ieaU,i -,
.,,rr,,,nity such Messrs- LourIe ana Aiaip'Ii
-, ~, starting factories. have succeeded In pTont-
ably utilizing the labor OF their corehg1onls's lii
Mr. Halperns match factory for instance nt'eeh
hundred hands are employed In all there are