The Denver Jewish news., 1924-03-13
BY u. LEONARD COHEN
Copyright 1924. Jewish Telegraphic
Agency

!nnomous Jewish state at the North
crn end of the Crimcan Peninsula
call it Bragin's plan because it was
he who formally presented the scheme
10 the Soviet Government in a mem
orandum submitted last November
catches mt the ina gination and holds
it visc-likc There is Il lure to il; the
thing cOnj,Ircs mp new fancics. On
perhaps the fancics aren't 50 new. hut
rather old ones rcawakcned. Clothed
in new raimcnt, to he sure but old.
very old with that mythical old age
which is ever young-bodicd and al
wart. clcar-oyed and stcrn-visage,l. the
fire Of its youth rekindlcd by the fer
vent hopes and prayers of each, sue
ccedng generation.
The Soviet Government. according
10 cabied dispatches. is ready 10 ne
ccpt the plan and the h'ghcsC nu-
thorities in ProIearian R,issia have
given approval to the scheme which.
according to the first draft of the
proposal, would give to the suggested
'NSi'h an ~
1927 with Jews occupying the high
places. EyckOfr. successor to Lcnin
as president of the Council IF Commits
Sars. and the only slightly lesser dig
nitaries such as Trotzky rchnichcrin
and Kemeniefr have given tacit assent.
The word has gene forth that the Of
fetal decree will he forthcoming with
in few days: it may have already
been pronounced by the time this is
published. 1t seems n go
in New York an extraordinary inter-
est has been cvinced in the project.
one might he cynical and give as the
reason for interest here the fact thai
New Workers. will be called on shortly
10 contribute largely to the financing
cf the scheme after it has been worked
ont in more complete detail. But /
doubt that this is true. For myself
| prefer to believe that New York
a more altrustic reason. 1t is more
comforting to ascribe to il an agc-Old
desire to see n suffering Jewry freed
from The yoke of the "GGlos." And be-
cause the desire is old and because
there have been so many schemes and
plans and projects all the way down
through the ages which have borne
such sickly fruit or no fruit at all,
Jews are examining the Crimcan
scheme with an exaggerated minute
ness. pulling it TO pieces, tearing it to
shreds. in n frantic-almOst frenzied-
effort to find some good in it. They are
fearful of another sell, another fail
ure, and it is for this reason that they
probe so deeply into all the circum-
stances which surround the Bragin
plan.
The Crimean colonization scheme is
not n new one. 1t hnS been discussed
and tossed about for many months
1t is the outgrowth of the recent
Jewish trend in Russia which has
cllled them to return to agriculture
1t might be termed n Russian Jewish
"back-to-the land movement. The
economic situation in Russia has de-
priyed thousands and thousands of
Jews of their previous means of liveli-
hood There is little opportunity for
them today as traders and merchants.
which the result that agriculture beck
ons to them anew with tempting fling
or. The Crmean Peninsula. rich in
the fertility of its sell, has called large
numbers of them and aided by the
Ort and the Idgeskom great areas of
tllable soil have been colonized by
Jewish farmers.
The Bragin memorandum. which
though submitted last November has
hut just now been made public. Sc $
forth that "the Revolution. which has
solved the political problem of the
Jews in Russia, has at the same time
intensified the social and economic dis
treSs of the Jewish working masses. y
Describing the economic struc ure OF
the Jewish masses. the prevalence of
unproductive elements, with the conse-
0ucnt antagonism of the neighbOring
population, the Memorand suggests the
plan for the agricultural colonization
of Russian Jews as the solution of
the Jewish problem.
Mr.. Bragin proposes the ALLEGATION
of Il certain district in Russia for the
purpose of colonizing it with Jewish
farmers and agricultural laborers
Northern Crimea, together with the
adjoining part of the Ukraine, includ-
ing the cities along the Black Sea