The Denver Jewish news., 1919-10-22
Herman Bernstein Presents Documents of Bureaus and Ur
Needed Orders to Troops to Show MstTeatnent of Semitic
Race, Denied by Government Press Representatives.

|of the gendarmerie and the prison guards
III know nothing whatever.
Il For the District Government Commits
Isary. TT. KoWAL.SKI"
I Anti-Jewlsh Excesses Explained.
Anti-Jewish excuses We're explained in
the following document prepared by the
press department of the Ministry of the
INTERIOR
1.-The press has recently given us infor-
Imation of a series of riots of a more or
less tumultuous character. which were
supposed 20 be directed chiefly against
the Jews.
/ ANY of the facts brought forward by
the press are subjected. according to in
formation obtained from official circles,
Ito very minute inquiry by the Central
lGoyernrnent authorities. The Central
Iauthorities receive information from the
local authorities. also from independent
ide putations OF citizens. In addition the
government very often sends high off
lcials to conduct an inquiry on the spot
with the object of making n thorough in
lvestieation of given case through all It's
Istages.
! las result OF the material so obtained.
by grouping the various facts into one
logical whole. we must come. so we are
Informed, to the following concusion:-
1.-THE cases brought forward by the press
lhave generally originated in localities
lwhere numbers of men without work are
concentrated. The lack of bread, provid-
ing of badly baked bread. and perhaps
lchiefly the sudden rise of. food prices
brought abou. by unhealthy speculation.
stirs up these elements.
terminal Individuals, always to be found
lin such a crowd. have clear field In
Influencing the multitude and urging II
toward revolt and disturbances. always
directed against the small shop owners
land the representatives of authority ny
4 these means they are personally not re-
lsponsihle for any robbery in which they
Itake part: also they are at liberty to pay
off old debts against the organs of pub
IIic security. Very often the same inuN
liduals. whom the local police are 'unatia
Ito keep in custody, incite trouble in neiSh-
boring localities. The victims OF These
TROUBLES are always small tradesfneh anu
spectators.
l TT has been proved that when the
lagents of public security are very sewers
l and tactful. the crowd can be easily
|been avoided. Unhappily. i'm some OF the
cases. the police lost its head. when y
unavoidable in n new and Inexperienced
Administrations. The latter cases are those
drought forward by the press. often spe.
IcinIIy illustrated by the reporter. This is
to be regretted, because instead OF hrire-
ling appeasement, the opposite Is uss &c.
tsult. In such case where the blame was
1fiyed on the local police authorities thes
were severely punished by the Central au'
4 liberties" - AK -
have auoted above from documentl
lgiyen to me by the Polish Department o.
the Interior in defence OF its adininistr2-
Ition of affairs in regards to tue sew'sh
incubation. Comment is unnecessary on
this collection nf unheeded warninss m
defective threats and naive explanations
/! of .'insignificnrt offences"
| The various press agents OF foishG,
4 IL
1.-THE world that all was serene In Po,ana.
hut the Polish government. IN the anore
documents, has officially veritiea the ~.
Iports of conditions which her press agents
denied the existence OF. ,.. a .
| .the Jerusalem OF I.ithuanis. the seat Oh
IRusso-Jewis.i culture. which Inquired IN 'ne
newspapers several months ago because OF
I'm. pogroms that took place there mime,
ldjately after the Polish troops had entered
the city.
The reports of the pogron,s were con-
| flicting. From Jewish sources came a
| counts of n terrible jewish massacre
From Polish sources came denials- fousu
press agents in foreign newspapers oe-
| clared that there had been no pogroms In
wilma. Polish officials described the Wilma
occurrences as conflicts between Polish
ltroops and Bolshevist Red Guards. They
declared that Jews had fired on the Poisp
troops from the windows of their houses.
and therefore II huihper u Jews "s
killed,
Then came the Investigation by the
American Minister to Poland. Hugh Glib
son. who was accompanied on his trip TO
wilma by Colonel Bailey. formerly Com
missioner for Poland. representing Amer
lean Red Cross, and by DIR. Bogen. repre-
sentative of the American Jewish Joint
distribution Committee II Poland.
According to the American Minister'S re-
ports. as they appeared in the press. the
laccounts of the Wilma outrages had been
Exaggerated The American newspapers
quoted the American Minister as reporting
that there had been no pogrom in wilma.
How Jewish Pogr0ms start.
In the military train bound for Wilma a
Polish officer. speaking of pogroms in Po-
land. said to me- ra
Were there any pogroms in Poland: y
saw one in cbestohow. 1t was a real Rus
sian pogrom. although only a few Jews
were killed there. A Jewish doctor who
risked his life to save the life OF 81
wounded Polish legionnaire was torn to
pieces by the mob. A rumor was spread
that Jews fired upon Polish troops. and
then the pogrom started. That Is the way|
pogroms started in many places in Pol
land"
A prominent member of the Jewish conn.,
munity of Wilma said to me.--People are
always talking about the great centres
where Jews have been murdered by POLISH
troops. But it is much worse in the prov
inces. in the little places. There are as
many victims there. scattered all over the
land. But nobody speaks of them. There
is no record kept of them. The little CONF
munities are mute. Their cries are not
heard
I arrived in wilma OH Thursday, July III
Wilma was preparing to honor the memory
of Dr. Theodore Herzl. the Zionist leader
on Friday. the fifteenth anniversary OF his
i'death Jewish girls were selling flowers
and photographs OF Dr.. HerzI. Jewish
ps were decorated with flowers and
white and blue Zionist flags. Jewish chill
dren dressed in white and blue were carry.
ing flowers and Herzl pictures in the
streets of wilma, 1t was solemn. silent,
eloquent protest against the pogroms.
/ went to the Jewish community and
spoke to the Representatives Jews OF Wilma.