The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-08-25

A@ HEN in March, four years ago.
 ANV the governor of New Jersey
 ]" signed the charter creating the borough of Woodbine, 1t is doubtful if he realized that the thing he did was historlc' even epoch-making. That Woodoine was interesting he must have known, TOT farming settlements of Russian Jews oo not plentlfully dot the landscape any where. but Woodbine Is more than mere ly unueommon. The governor who signed the charter was giving Jews their nrse chance at civic government slhce Titus, more than eighteen centuries ago. left not one stone upon another In the Holy City and the long tragedy Of Jew ish exile began.
 There are certain phrases that die hard among the very large class which secures it's thinking ready made. One of these pleasing and senseless combinations or sound is "The Jew is non-producer' that is at the bottom of all antlpathy 10 Jews" As matter of fact, the Jew mas not hesitated, in any country, to leave the old enforced trades of the ghettos as fast as other occupations were thrown open to him, and now, at last, after peihS penned in cities for all these centuries ne is making d beginning toward a return lo the old pastoral life of Palestine. That the children of the ghetto do not rush back in d body to the land, and become instantly prosperous farmers is hardly to be wondered at by any one except pro- fessional anti-Senite. The Jew has eV- ervthing to learn in such matters, since the holding of land has been long legally forbidden him-indeed, still Is forpldden in Russia and Rumania-but his progress is steady and hls inspiration is in tne thought that he is merely taking up the cruelty broken traditions of his race
 In reply to the overcoming demand for restricted immigration a great organ ized effort, headed in Europe by the Rothschilds and in America by Jacob H. Schiff. is being made to turn the tide of Russian emigration from the congested ports of the north to the young lands of the west and south. Is America likely to find in ten or twenty years from now, little towns of self-governing Jews throughout the great west as result Of the new scheme of landing Russian Jews in Galveston. Tex. instead of New fork or Boston or Philadelphia? There are hundreds of thousands of Jews in Russia to come over, there is plenty of money to help them in the way of loans when they come here and there is an object lesson for them in the communities now estao- ished. Galveston took the matter se- riouslv enough to receive them by it's mayor, who made them a very cordial
 ..f, on such subject is useless. It ls' on the other hand, very important to set forth the facts and let them speak for themselves.
 No one can accuse these immigrants of not having grasped the American spirit. The town is genuinely Jewish, but there are sixteen gentle settlers, who live in all peace and friendiness with their neighbors. The local laws were so framed for their benefit that any one may work on Saturday. the towns legal day of rest, if he cannot conscientiously work on Sun day. Of all the laws of any part of the United States this is probably the most unique.
 The dwelers in Woodbine are mostly Russian Jews, with some from Galatia and Runania, but they are not all of the same pattern They came from various stations in life and brought with them many different views on politics and re- ligion. They were all one, however, An their desire to keep out of the large cities and to help others to keep out. When it was found that the soil would not sup port al lthe settlers industries of various kinds were started. and now Woodbine has nearly everything that could be found in representative American town. Ev erything has grown naturally. and al- though the Baron de Hirsch fund supplied loans at the beginning these have been nearly all paid back.
 Woodbine was founded in 1891 by the trustees of the Baron de Hirsch fund in connection with a committee of immi- grants. Several little Jewish communi- ties were already prospering in southern New Jersey, or they were at least holding their own, so these seventy-five Russian immigrants were minded to follow suit. They bad 5SOo acres of land covered with