The public ledger. [volume] (Maysville, Ky.) 1913-1968, 1916-08-08

. AbpNs
This il large contract. In several
! of the most powerful European ma
lions, the Jew is not on a footing Of
equality, and until the war broke out
+ in 1914 there was not much prospect
that he ever would be. In the present
conflict, however, the Jews see their
opportunity; because the European
Jews have had a chance TO Demon
strate hat they are loyal subjects of
whatever flag they happen to be born
under, because in the general reorgan-
izatlon that will come with peace, one
radical change more or less will be
much more practicable than it would
coming alone; and because they be-
lieve that the European powers at the
conclusion of the conflict will be In a
mood to listen to them.
The large significance of the situa-
ton should not be overlooked. is
the frsttime that any such number Of
Jews have gotten together to pull for
common end. They have yet to prove
that the national Jewish Congress will
get through its sittings without split
ting on the rocks of factionalism that
almost prevented ITS meeting, but II it
does, it will mark a new epoch in the
history of people five thousand years
old, and 1t may foreshadow the rise of
new influence to be recokned with in
world affairs.
A good many years ago prominent
Jew wrote TO Mark Twain and asked
him some questions on the Jewish
problem. In his reply, Mark Twain
indicated that he thought the Jews
would occupy larger place in public
and political life II they worked to-
gether more smoothly. with vote
Ike the Jewish vote in New York, "
said Twain. or words to that effect,
THE Irish would control the Kingdom
of Heaven"
The Jewish racial bent does not lie
toward politics, however, and it is
probably just as well that the Jews
do not organize and vote as a body
But ii is also true that Mark Twain
laid his finger on one of the funda-
mental weaknesses of the Jews as "A
race in their dealings with different
nations.
The position of the Jews has been
one of the curious anomalies OF his
tory. They have always held a good
measure of power. if only financial
power; yet they are the stock illustra-
ton of a prosecuted people, and in
many places they are still prosecuted
today. Their power apparently does
them no good as a weapon of defense I;
and the reason seems to lie, as Marx
Twain implied, largely in the fact that
they do not work together. The power
of one Jew is limited to his individual
strength, instead of being rooted in
the strength of his section of the body
polite.
Thus the emancipation of the Jews
in progressive lands has come always
from without rather than from within
In England today the Lord Chief JUS
tice is a Jew; in the United States, a
Justice of the Supreme Court is a Jew;
they enjoy, of course, in these coun-
tries every right and privilege that
everybody else does. But their status
reflects the degree of enlightenment
of the reflects the degree of enlighten-
ment of the nation they live in, rather
than any struggle towards the freedom
of their own. They have equality in
England because England gives them
equality. They have not got equality
in Russia because Russia has not
given them equality. They serve thus
as the barometer of national con-
scienc; but while they have their
roll of martyrs they must go back sew
eral thousand years in their search
for an anniversary of Independence
won by their efforts.
Viewed in this light, the congress
scheduled for the near future where
the duly accredited representatives of
three million American Jews will con-
vene in order to demand equal rights
for their European brethren is seen to
be unique phenomenon. II is un-
on the part of such large section OF
usual, too, that the first united action
the community should not be on its
own behalf, but on that of scattered
foreigners.
Considerable interest has been at
tTacted by the internal disputes which
almost resulted in the Congress idea
exploding, or at least in the calling
of congress only partially represen-
tatiye. A considerable party was OPP
posed to holding the congress until
after the war was over, ON the ground
THAT an earlier move would be pre-
mature and that II would be poor pol
icy 10 formulate demands until the
terms Of peace could be forecast with
some accuracy. This opinion was
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