The Denver Jewish news., 1924-10-16

or visa chicnneries, nor suffer violence
nor robbery. At the border another
leader takes his place who accom-
panics and protects the group to Its
final destination. This is n fact of the
deepest Significance. -.
Our Warsaw leader Is model of
quiet efficiency. In half an hour he has
his people In their proper coinpnrt
mcnts. No bundles must be lost and ne
children misplaced. For only one-third
Of today's group consists Of young met
and women, of Chalnzim, or pioneers
The rest are families who have the
necessary minimum of capital which
entities them to go to Palestine. The
heats OF the families are carpenters
locksmiths. expert workmen in tho
building trades. They are more than
that. They are idealists and, in a sense
scholars. For they are all speakers Of
Hebrew, in addition to Polish and Yid.
dish, and they have all liberated theiI
minds from the restraints and in
hibtions of the current orthodoxy and
have seen an unhcard-of vision and had
the hardihcod to break through thou
sand shackles, overcome a thousand
difficulties on their way to this trc'
mendous adventure. -.
We leave the ladies Of our party
tucked in snfe corner and DIR. Korn
gruen of the Palestine Office and
make our way through the crowd and
go into one packed compartment after
another to speak to those who are go
ing. The third-class compartments are
barren and comfortless and the long
journey, followed by the steeragc pas
sage on the cmigrant ship, is in itself
enough to appai the Western mind
And these emigrnnts are not tire Ellis
island type. Here are no fugitiyes
Let that be made ms clear as possible
touch the heads fchildren. These
people will suffer on the trip, and the
hardships of the land to which they
are going will he real hardships to
them. But they are sustained by what
is within; they are sustained by the
thought that their children Will not be
the helots of barbarians.
A single carriage OF first-class com,
partments heads the train. The doors
are still open, and outside of them
stand the Polish officers who are to
occupy the compartments. They try
to keep their faces expressionless. But
as they stand there or walk up and
down trailing their long swords you
get from them an indefnable moral
atmosphere. They are contemptuous
and yet amazed. Something here does
not fit in with their calculations
Something. {. . What is it? 1t is this
that the outcasts and the hunted and
the oppressed that are here have un-
dergone a profound change. They are
as powerless physically as ever. Nor
ally they are no longer SO. For from
the middle of the train flutters little
flag of blue and white-a flag that
represents no guns or battalions OF
frontiers or force or fraud, flag that
represents no aspiration after power
only hope, only an act Of spiritual
self-recollection. But that is enough
The flag is there. And with the flag
the song. And slowly, little hoarse'
ly at first, then with rising energy
and fervor, the crowwd sings the
"Hetikvah," the song of that hope, Of
that aspiration. -.
The Polish officers enter their com
partments; the doors of the othei
compartments; the doors of the Other
compartments are closed too. Against
the panes of the windows, close to the
panes, are the faces of our people
men and women and little children
The faces on the platform, silentl.
turned to those others ARE strained
but calm and self-controlled. From
an open compartment-window yount
Chaluz is quietly saying few wordl
in Hebrew to those who must remain
behind in Galuth, in the terrible Ga
luth of Poland. But there is'no sen
timentality, no excess of feeling. TIL,
hour is too tremendous for that. Twt
thousand years are gone, are swep
away. "This year here" the father
have said for generations and gen
erations, "this year here, next year il
Jeruschelayimw That next year ha
come. e. Slowly the train pulls ou
of the dim station. A single sob i
heard from woman on the platform
Then no more. Only the strains o
the "Hetikvah," only the restraine
melody of the song of hope, and her
and there final word of both fare
wwell and salutation, the best WORD
the only Shalom, which mean
/ peace.