Omaha daily bee., 1910-02-16
HOLD Jew" MEANS RELIGION
Judge Mack and Simon Wolf Want
Immigrants Classified by Countries.
THOUSAND GIRLS ARE LOST
Assertion is Made that Young Women
Disappear on Way to Chi
cHEO from New
York,

WASHINGTON, Feb. 15.-Is the word
Jew descriptive of a race or a religion /?
That is one of the questions that the i'm
migration commission will have to answer
In one of Its forthcoming reports It has
been put squarey up to the members of
the commission by two OF the distinguished
members of the race, or religion, namely,
Judge Julian Mack of Chicago and Simon
Wolf, president OF the B'nal Birth
II may or may not seem strange to the
members Of the Jewish faith--or race-that
both Judge Mack and Mr.. Wolf argued to
the commission that the Jews are not a
race but that the word applies to a re-
ligion only. They made their statement in
one of the most interesting sessions the
commission has had as a protest against
the classification Of immigrants as Jews
instead OF as Germans, Russians, Austrans
Roumanians, etc., by countries.
In other words, Mack and Wolf argued
that as race the Jews are extinct, but
that they. survive as the, members of a
religious sect. ....
All Hebrews Called Jews" s.- -.
The argument grew out of the custom
Of the United States immigration bureau
in classifying ali members Of the Hebrew
Tace-or faith-as Jews, no matter what
country they come from. Mr., Wolf quoted
Cyrus Adler, one of the most eminent Of
Hebrew scholars, to the effect that the
word Jew does not mean a race, but refers
to religion.
Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, who is some
thing of a scholar himself came right back
with a quotation from the Jewish encyclo-
pedia, of which Adler is one of the editors,
stating that Jews" means a race and not
a religion
Take the case of Disraeli," said Sena-
tor Lodge. He changed his religion. yet
he was still Jew and was known as one.
and the Jewish people claim him"
True" said Judge Mack, but IL Dis
raeli had come to America after he be-
came famous in answer to the questions
put to him at the port where he landed he
would have said, I am an Englishman.' t"
Poles No Longer Nation.
1t was figured by members of the COM
mission that the Poles are no longer ma
tion, but that they are still classified as
Poles, and Senator Lodge said:
Take the Irish. They are not a ma
ton either, yet all who come here as immi-
grants come as 1rish," and he cited sta
tistics of the immigration bureau showing
that immigrants of Irish blood arrive from
France from Sweden and from other coun-
tries. but that all are classified as Irish.
'They probably claim to be Irish because
they are proud of the fact" said Mr.. Wolf.
do not infer from that statement that
the Jew is not proud of the fact that he
is a Jew; he is" said Judge Mack who
saw Mr. VOLTS slip.
The commission has not yet come to any
decision.
Another thing that Judge Mack and Mr.
Wolf urged upon the commission was to
provide some protection for immigrants
after they arrived in the country until
they reach their destination
Judge Mack stated that in the last two
years the league for Protection Of Immi-
grants Of Chicago, and of which he is the
president, had tried to find 1000 girls
who had disappeared between New York
and Chicago and without avail.
The girls could be traced to trains start
ing for Chicago, but after that they were
lost.