The Washington herald., 1908-06-21

sian or Polish homes. and they refuse 10
go out into the strange heather land. as
they feel a Christian country to be.
As YOU walk down Hester street and
look at the vendors Of socks and suspend-
ers. with their long boards and peculiar
clothes. you little guess that they have
received Talmud training equal. accord
Ing to DT. Blaustein. formerly Of the
Educational Alliance, 20 two years OF our
law school courses Some have even been
to the Russian University.
Often these people are very poor: they
have arrived with little more than their
SO in their pocket and can find work only
In those lines in which their friends and
relatives can help them-that is. IN most
cases, tailoring, which IS conducted SON O.
times In the big tailoring establishments.
simetimes in loft under the synagogue.
sometimes ''sweated" work in their very
homes. The Jew is a true business man.
and If he can save a few pennies each
day, even by the use Of most Of his family
in this work, he soon digs his way out TO
an independence, which is we'll shown by
the records Of the Hebrew charities. He
Is not alone in his struggles. either.
Groups Of men connected with the syna-
gogue or charitable societies are ever fry
ing 70 relieve his wants and put him on a
basis Of independence, and the Industrial
Removal Society will place him in a job
in the West as soon as ne can overcome a
prejudice against the great unknown
Christian land which lies behind New
York. Thrift is the word. and as long rs
he retains his Hebrew rights and religious
consciousness no money is wasted on
wine or tobacco, nothing in the frivolity
OF the theater or dance hall
The danger TO the country from the
East Side is not that which comes from a
nest Of crime and vice. The danger is a
too rapid Americanization Of these people.
mean Americanization OF the wrong
type. Go 70 q great play center in a pub
lie school and you will see that every boy
and girl who has been In the country one
year would die Cor the flag and all are
extremely fond Of playing that they are
doing So But the tendency of contact
with the wrong type of American Is to
produce a type of Jew which Is extreme
ly boorish and admittedly vulgar. II Is
this type which has broken too rapidly
from the rigor OF the old faith and the
strict confinement of the Russian pale"
that reacts into the radical anarchist and
socialist-whichever way their radicalism
leads them.
The congestion OF the East Side Is an
acknowledged fact. several Of the districts
being the most densely populated in the
world. Yet this fact is more easily ex-
planned when we know the history OF the
JEWS ghettos which have formed part OF
the history OF every great city Of Europe
and have become tradition among these
people. No matter what the wealth Of
the first generation Of Russian Jews in
this country. it is well-nigh impossible 10
get them to break with their friends and
traditions and TO leave the congested dis
tricts TO go elsewhere.
The advertising of the needs OF the
South and West In regard TO immigrants
Will do much 10 defect the current Of i'm
migration which Is yearly pouring into
the district. and will tend more rapidly TO
draw out the younger generation to the