Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-06-06
BY WILLIAM f. CURTIS.

puDic subscription among the Jews of the
United states, and committees will be ap-
pointed IN every city, town and village
Where Jews are living. The form of this
memorial has not as yet been decided UPON
Numerous suggestions have been made, and
are now under consideration by the COM
mlttee of fifteen 1t Is desired to make If
a perpetual token of gratitude and thanks
giving from the Jewish people to the Ameri-
can republic. 1t may be monument; it
may be an educational fund, or some in
| sttution of charity may be founded for the
| benefit of the entire world
The committee consists of Jacob H Schif
chairman; DIR. Cyrus Adler, Samuel Green
| baum, David Guggenheim Prof Jacob H
Hollander, Max j. Kohler, Edward Lauter-
bach, Adolph Lewisohn, Lewis Marshall
rev Or. Pereira Mendes N. Taylor Phil
| lips, Simon w. Rosendale, William Soda
mon, Isaac n. Seligman Louis Stern Oscar
>. Straus and Mayer Sulsberger.
Nearly S0O,OOO New York Jews.
According to Phillip Cowen, editor of the
American Hebrew. there are altogether l..
100000 Jews in the United States, of whom
nearly 100000 may be found within the
limits of Greater New York and that num-
Der has increased from 100 900 during the
last twenty years. There used to, be only
| one Ghetto in this city. Today there are
| hVe. IL one of them, in the southern part
| OF the city on the East Side, between the
BoWery and the river, are not less than
4OO,0o0 Jews; in another. in the northern
part OF the city. west of Sth avenue and
ABOVE poth street, are $4,000; in a
settlement In the Bronx are $4,000; in VIII
Ilamspurg $4,000, and on Long Island. in
east New York. there is a community of
IooOo people known Brownsville, of
whom 80 per cent are Jews For a y,iIa
in one direction and half a mile in tbe otbar
every building is occupied by Jews. most
| ~ russians. The greater part of them IL
| employed IN the city of New York and goes
back ana forth daily on the cars In addi-
ton to those L have mentioned Mr. Cowen
estimates that there are at least * es0.
jews scattered outside of the Ghettos In
dlHerent parts of the city go -.
| The Rev Walter LaidIaw secretsrv of tho
Presbyterian Church extension committee
| told me the other day that there are liz
| ooo more Jews in New York CITY than in tha
who're German empire, and twenty times as
many as there are in Palestine He bases
| MS estimates upon the death rate biy.t
rate ana marriages, and says that the lew
lsh population of this city exceeds that of
and Russia. 1'i 10
The people of German parentage in the
city of New York" said DR.. IaidIaw
numbered 7s9,7s2 by the census of 1906
city are pure-blooded Americans who MINI
bered 737,477 The third are Irish with
iz1,olI; the fourth are Russians 296 266:
the Italians come next, with 220, 4O8 and the
Austro-Hungarians have POI 971''
Or. Laidlaw thinks that the next census
VIII show million Jews in New York city
In October, 1903, there were 500 100
Professionals, 1.25O, 900 Roman Catholics and
$4,000 Jews in New York.
chicago stands second in the number of
Jews, having about 100000. According to
the Jewish Year Book there are Jews in
every state and territory of the United
States.
The tax lists of New York show that SOL
9lS.2o0 worth of real estate belonging to
Protestant denominations Is exempt from
taxation; $34 ,419, 100 Roman Catholic prop-
erty, and So, AS, 800 worth of Jewish prop
erty, which includes real estate actually
used for religious and benevolent purposes
Jews Aided Columbus.
A recent publication asserts that Jews not
only furnished the discoverer of America
with important astronomical books and In
struments, which helped him to guide his
ship through unknown seas, but they bore
most of the expense of the first and second
voyages. The quadrant which Columbus
used IN taking his observations was the in
vention of Levi ben Gerson. and was called
by him Jacobs staff. The money to pay
for the first voyage was furnished by Louis
Santangel, Jewish merchant of Valencia,
who had contract with the government to
collect taxes. When Queen Isabella pro-
posed to offer her jewels In pawn. Santangel
assured her that he would advance the
funds without interest and he did furnish
about 100000 of our money. The famous
letter of Columbus, describing the events
of his voyage, and which was sent over
land from Lisbon after his return from
America, addressed to Santangel. Six
Jews accompanied Columbus on the first
voyage. They were Louis de Torres AL
fonzo de la Gala, Rodrigo Sanchez, Gabriel
Sanchez, Marco and Bernel- The two lat
ter were the ships doctors. Rodrigo
Sanchez was the first to see land: Louis de
Torres was the first to tread American soil.
The expenses of the second voyage came
also from the Jews. being paid from the
proceeds of the sale of confiscated lands
and other property under the expulsion
edict of Ferdinand and Isabella.
The only Jews allowed to remain In Spain
after this edict were little colony in
Toledo. who claimed exemption on the
ground that their ancestor was member
OF the sanhedrim before which Christ was
tried and voted against the crucifixion.
First Jewish Arrivals,
The first Jews to arrive in New York
were refugees from the expressions of the
Roman Church in Portugal, and they came
by way of Brazil and the West Indies,
where they had sought an asylum In vain
The party numbered twenty-three AS
some of them had no money to pay their
passages, their baggage was seized and sold
at auction, and two of the leaders We're i'm
prisoned as hostages pending the payment.
They. behaved well and prospered. and at
tracted others of their race so rapidly that
Gov. Stuyvesant took alarm and recon-
mended their eviction in letter to the
Dutch West India Company. But his rec
concentration was rejected. The directors
wrote him that such action was impolitic,
because a large number of shares in the
company were held by Jews and on April
49, 1855. a formal permit was issued for
them Ito sail to and trade in New Neither
lands, and to live and remain there. pro-
vided the poor among them shall not be-
come burden to the company or the COM
munity. but be supported by their own ma
ton The Jews have faithfully observed
this condition.
They were, however. subjected to much
humiliation. They were not permitted to
own land, they were prohibited from SELL
ing goods at retail: they were not allowed
to build synagogue and were refused
the privilege OF the cemeteries. However,
when OF their number died Gov. Stuy-
vesant laid out separate burial ground