Martinsburg statesman-democrat. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1906-1921, 1909-04-16

been laboring among MS peoPS
in this city and speaking in the
Protestant churches. He Is 1. Solomon
and though he has been in this eoun-
try but few months speaks our IAN
guage with remarkable clearness ana
accuracy. He has an interesting story
70 Tell and one which VIII hold the
close attention of any audience. de
breaches Christ 10 his people and
places a copy Of the New Testament
in each of their homes before he leaves
the town. His story of the ignorance
upon the part of the average Hebrew
as To the christian religion and the
feelings Of christians towards them IL
enough to rouse the christian churches
from their indifference toward these
people.
There 10 great deal Of ignorance
also upon the part of christian people
generally as to the Jews and this lack
Of understanding upon the part of both
GENTLE and Jew s keeping the two
classes apart.
On the part of christians there is
great deal OF prejudice against the Jews
which cannot stand the light of intel
ligent Investigation aud reason.
We have all read of the terrible per-
secutions Of the christians under the
Romans and later o. the many mar
tyrs who during the middle ages bap-
tised the soil of Europe with their
blood for their faith but all this cannot
compare with the sufferings Of these,
Gods ancient psopls, and principally
from the people who owe not only
their religion but their civilization to
the people whom they hate and perse-
cute. For nineteen centuries tn cir
history has been one almost uninter-
rupted tragedy. Scattered throughout
the nations of the world they have been
seorned and suffered all forms of cruel
ty which the ingenuity of men could
invent. Thousands were put to death
at the stake, by the sword and every
form Of devilish cruelty and even in
Merry England they were robbed and
slain without mercy. Sir Walter
Scott's story of Isaac of York and his
beautiful daughter Rebeeca, in Ivan.
hoe, is mild picture Of this suffering.
We are glad to say that enlight-
eminent which springs from the relig-
ion which emenated from the Jewish
nation has brought about great
change favorable to the Jews and IN
Russia now alone are the persecution
of the Jews still practiced. At the
cruelty OF the Russians Amer
leans are filled with horror but we
may call to mind that all the other
civilized nations have done the same
excepting American where they have
ever found safe asylum.
The ostensible reason always given
for all this cruelty has been that the
Jews cruclfied Jesus which is not true.
1t was the Roman soldiery that drove
the nails and ierced the body of our
Saviour with the spear. 1t is true that
priests and scribes, the Pharisees and
Sadusees,a as a class, seeing that the new
order which Christ introduced, would
ruin their hold upon the people, de-
manded OF PLATE that Christ should
be crucified but we are told in the Cos
pels that the ''common people heard
him gladly" and would doubtless
have accepted him but for the inf1u-
ence of the sects of whom we made
mention above. 1t is unfare to con-
denim a whole people for the acts of
few. No one would think of perseeut-
log Spaniards today for the ipiquities
OF the lnquisition, the Greeks for COM
pelling Socrates to drink the deadly
hemlock or theltalians for the martyr.
thrown to the lions iu the Coliseum at
Rome.
We are apt to forget that our greatest
blessing, the Bible has been given to
us by the Jews, the gospels telling
us OF the life of Christ was written by
Jews, the beautiful Psalms comes to
US from the Jews and the unparalleled
eplstles were written by Paul, "a He
brew of the Hebrews" Jesus himself
Jew, of the purest blood.
In all ages and in all nations they
furnished many of the greatest men
IN state-craft, in finance aud In the
arts and sciences. During the dark
ness of the middle ages when the
lamp of science and literature seemed
almost extinguished the Jews preserv-
ed that light sfor the nations OF the
world.
Spain's most eloquent speaker and
writer, Emilio CASTELAR,, was Jew.
LORD Daconsfield, Premier OF the Queen
OF England, Disraeli, the greatest man
of hif age was Jew.