The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-11-18
TEE RUssrAN FAMryE.
An Appeal TO Jews co succOr Their Bro,h.
ers In Distress, the starving MuuLx


To THE EDITOR OF The Sun Sir: Tn
Sun being good enough for me. ] confess .,
having reached Mr.. Kellogg Durland's M.
thetic description of famine stricken Ru,.i.
in one OF the recent issues of another nam
by the somewhat circuitous way Of a Mpster,
Jewish periodical.
After reading Mr.. Durland's horrfyn,
tale I turned to the editorial page Of m.
Jewish periodical in question. expecting :.
find there u warm appeal In behalf of tn
Innocent victims of a cruel climate and n stIi
more cruel Government. To m great aston.
ishment. all | found was this hard and opI,.
un-Jewish comment. for the jew has O colder
heart for other u~nfortunates but a very bad
memory for hks own sufieriues:
The report from the famine stricken district a,
Russia presents two points worthy Of paltirul,,
notice. OF which one is thai the whole Of the stricken
district Is outside OF the pale where Jews are al.
lowed to live or carry on business. and the other
that. while all of the usurers that are taking adj.
vantage OF the starving peasants are Christians.
the most merciless of them are priests OF the Grees
Catholic Russian Orthodox Church. II Is a fact
beyond dispute that In whatever part Of Russia
Jews have been allowed "a live and do business
the lot Of the peasantry has always been vastly
improved and that the latter have bencutcd hv
Jew sh foresight and ~Shrcwdness and enlightened
self interest. However. In the eyes Of the Russian
bureaucrat the people are less than cattle and
consideration for their interest has llttlc weight.
Nobody who did me the honor to read
either my book Russia at the bar Of the
American People" treating OF the Kl-hnrf
massacres. or my letters on the Je wish uues.
ton in The sun will accuse me Of ~ovcrten.
derness toward Russia. where my coreligiou.
lists have been treated worse than dogs for
nearly 1870 years by an Infamous Government
and its cursed han gmen. But "a new epoch
a., fha htatarv ~ eha world md ,aVtat,1. -.
the history OF Jewish emancipation. va.
opened on May 10. 1905, when the first Duma
convened. and although its sessions were.
after an existence OF hardly three months,
brutally closed. there is not the slightest doubt
in my mind that the second or. If need be, tho
third or fourth Duma will free III" Russian
people. including in the act of liberation tho
1000, 0oo Jews whose martyrs fell by The
thousands in the Japanese wAr and it, rolt-
ical sequel, the Russian revolution.
This being my conviction. and believing
that most OF our scparatistiC. and
philanthr0pic efforts Will have henceforth no
real rdison d'ftrc, I wish TO appeal 20 nv
! 500. 900 coreligionisis in this country 10 ale
viate the misery Of the poor unfortunate
mujik, since the Russian Government and
aristooracy seem to have neither the time nor
the money nor the heart TO attend 10 this
business.
Accustomed MS I am to plain talk. J DO not
hesitate TO say that the COMMITTEES of City
Jewish notables would do a noble. bumani-
tartan work to collect sIOO, 600 for The millions
Of starving men. women and children in
darkest Russia before. sending a similar
amount to the city of honest Mayor Schmlli
and his chum Ruef for the reconstruction NJ
two or three syns gogues which were DESTROYED
in the great confagration of April last.
IsIDoR SINGER.