The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1915-04-17
RUSSIAN CRUELTY
Have Treated Jews With Severity Of
Barbarism,


Five American Jewish working.
mems organizations issued joint
statement at New York Yesterday
branding as false the recent denial
by the Russian official press bureau.
in behalf of the Russian government
of charges that Jews in Russia had
been prosecuted during the war. The
statement asserts that the facts
prove that Russian Jews have been
the victims of cruelty by the Russian
soldiery and calls upon the civilized
world, ito protest against the policy
OF the Russian government which
has only one aim in view-to exter-
inmate the Jewish race OF this, the
Russian people themselves, it is ex-
planned, are not accused
The five organizations are the Unit
ed Hebrew trades, Jewish national
workers alliance of America, Jewish
socialist labor party, Jewish socialist
federation Of America and the work
mems circle, who represent they
say, 100000 workmen in the United
States
Thousands of Jewish citizens in
New York have received private let
ters in which detailed descriptions
of the most cruel deeds of the Rus
sian soldiery were reported" says
the statement, which also asserts
that facts which have been published
in the newspapers. especially in Rus
sian. Polish and Russian-Jewish news
papers under the severest Russian
censorship" are alone sufficient to
refute the denials of the Russian gov
eminent. AS instances. the state
ment cites the following:
Jews who fed from their homes
near the war zone and sought refuge
in towns outside the pale OF settle
ment were expelled by the police and
compelled to return to their war
stricken places
Jewish wounded soldiers who
were brought from the battlefield to
hospitals outside the pale Of settle.
ment had to return to the pale of set
Element as soon as they could crouch
along on crutches, In many cases
they were transported to the pale of
settlement on the third day after the
amputation of one of their limbs.
"Russian-Jewish newspapers which
have reached New York recently
confirmed the report that the Rus
sian Observation-Disclosures has expell-
ed all jews from the Polish townlets
within 40 miles of the border. In
ordering their expulsion tens of
thousands of Jews had been com
pletely ruined and dozens of whole
Jewish communities devastated.
The reason for these Wholesale ex-
pulsions were the terrible general
charges brought against the
Jews that they are German-Austrian
spies. These ill-founded charges
We're made publicly by the Russian
authorities with the result that the
Russian masses and the Russian sol
diery became infuriated against the
Jews
"The official Russian press bureau
in denying the accusations, refers to
the singular report of a Russian Jew
ish newspaper, in which it was said
that a prominent Jew when visiting
the Russian battle line did not see
anything that could be characterize
ed as ill-will against the Jews But
the press bureau omits to mention
that all Jewish newspapers in Russia
are subject TO the most severe cen
sorship and thus have no opportunity
of publishing truthful reports.
Russian censorship makes it i'm
possible for the Jewish press to
place on record pogroms and persecu
lions of Jews in Russia. But on the
other side it must be recognized that
the general American press and
even many French and English pap
ers are very well informed OF what
is going on in Russian. Poland and
Gaiicia and to what an extent the
Jews suffer there from Russian
and barbarity."