The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1908-03-29
ECONOMIC CONDITION or
THE JEWS IN RUSSIA

A recent Bulletin OF the Bureau Of
Labor (No. 72) presents an interesting
contribution to the study of imn1igra-
ton and its relation to. social and In
dustrisl questions in an article on the
Economic condition OF the Jews IN
Russia" by !. NJ, Rubinow. The art.
Gle lis based on Investigations OF the
Jewish colonizationjso Society and Rus
sian official statistics.
The subject derives Its Importance
in this country, chiefly from the fact
that the Russian Jews constitute ap-
proximately one.tenth of the total
number OF immigrants now coming
into the United States and because
they contribute SO largely. by the con-
ditions under which they so often live
and work. to the problems which are
involved in the greatly congested con-
ditions in some OF our large cities.
According to the latest Russian ofh
cial statistics (thos- of 1870 the i've
and a half million Jews In Russia con-
stitnted about a per cent. of the total
population. Largely because OF the le-
gal restrictions upon the right OF do
micile, "a per cent. of them live with
In the so-called Pale "a territory re-.
presenting less than 20 per cent of the
area of European Russia) where they
| constitute ll.6 per cent. sof the total
population. Even within. the limited
area Of the Pale the Jews are lar Ee-
ly concentrated in urban communities
(also because; of egalt,restrictions,
nearly so per cent. of this entire Jewish
.populatton4of the Pale living1.rin cities
and towns. where they constitute BIT
per cent. of the population.
In the most tcongested provinces fof
the Pale. from which the Jewish Inn
migrants to the United States largely
leone. the proportion of Jews Is much
greater. constituting 57a per cent. of
the population In the cities of north
| western Russia. %
! The occupation of the Jew in Russia
| is much more largely manufacturing
and less largely commercial than is
commonly supposed. According to
Russian Official statistics 37e per cent
of all Jews .gainfully employed were
tengaEed in manufacturing and me-
!chanical pursuits. 1914 per cent. in
| personal service, and only 3i6 per
cent in ommercial pursuits. Moreover,
these 31,6 per cent serve the interests
of a large surrounding agricultural
population, so that the strictly COM
lmercial class. represented less than 4
/ per cent. of -the population of the Pale
1
I The report of the United States Cen
sus Bureau on Occupations in 1900 in
! dicated the same preference among the
/ Russian Jews in New York City for
manufacturing and mechanical pursuits
las against commerce. 6S.3 per cent. OF
| them being employed in the former,
against a combined 81 per cent in COM
merce and transportation. while the
I percentages for the entire population
of New York City were 37,s in manu-
j featuring and 800 in commerce.
I In View of the widespread impress
sion that the Jew is unfit for agricul-
4 tural life, it is interesting to note that
1 the Russian official reports show 40-
| 600 employed in agricultural pursuits.
4 or 10000 all told whef their Deepen
dents are included. The fact that the
numbers are no larger is due to the
i restrictions against the Jew entering
into agriculture. which have been in
i force for many years.
While in Russia. as in this country
4 industrial pursuits claim the greatest
number OF adult Jews, yet there exists
This important difference-that in Rus
STA the independent artisans and their
4 journeymen and apprentices are much
more numerous than factory employees
I. even though the tendency in Russia, as
i everywhere, is away from the small
| artisans shop to the factory. An
4 remuneration OF these artisans by d
|private organization, and therefore OBJ
viously incomplete, showed their num-
Der as more than half a million, OF
whom women and children numbered
more than 900, or 81 per cent. OF
the total number OF artisans, little
more than one half were master work
4 men, about 30 per cent. journeymen
land 20 mar cent apprentices,
The overcrcwded city does not fur
nish a .sufflcient market for the produc
OF these artisans, and the legal re,
strictlons do not permit the contrac
between the artisan and his natura
customer, the peasant. AS q result
!, the, artisans are forced to work for til.
:. distant consumer through the agenc,
OF the middleman. and under harmful
conditions of domestic and sweat-shol
Industry. The conditions OF work arr
unhygienic, hours excessively Nong.
ana wages interestingly low Blu
Through the efforts of the growing
|labor movement there is a distInc
tendency toward gradual Improvement
Under such conditions OF the labor
market, factory production has edeVel
oped in the Jewish Pale by leaps ant
bounds and the INDEPENDENT artisa,
4 has been transformed into the factor,
worker. This lis usually an improve
ment in the economic condition of TIL,
workingman, but several obstacles
) have stood in the path of the Jewisl
worker. sons OF a legal nature, Others
arising from religious or social causes
Tho restrictions in the right OF dom
5cile have closed%to Jewish labor Ger
ltain Industrial fields where work ma,
lbe done In the open mir, and ms a re
= lsult the percentage Of Jewish wage