ollical eater
CLIFTON AVENUE - CINCINNATI 20, OHIO
THE JEWISH CHRONICLE
N A
Jewish Archbishop
3
James Russell Lowell
of Jewish Ancestry
In his "London Rec011ections of
A whole series of interests ng
canon
law
he
enumerated
coldly
Lowell,"
appearing in the current
having
to
receive
homage
recollections collies back to us
of the
all the restrictions imposed on congregation on the occasion of issue of "Harper's Magazine," Mr.
through the announcement of the
death of the former Archbishop the Jews, an institution whose his golden jubilee. His succes- E. S. Nadal, who served under
validity the Church must recog- sor would never deviate from the
of Olmuetz, Theodor Kohn. The nize,
Lowell as attache to the Ameri-
even if the State does not canon law, which prohibits the can
mere mention of the name, Arch- enforce
embassy in London, gives an
her decrees. It Jp to 1848 —attendance of a Catholic at any
bishop Kohn, sounds like a par-
interesting account of James Rus-
the Archbishop, as a lord of the
ody. TIe was elected to this im- kingdom of Bohemia, had the non-Catholic service. His reply sell Lowell's attitude towards
to the address, sent to him on the
portant sec in 1891 succeeding
Jews.
protectorate of various Jewish
Cardinal Landgraf Fuerstenberg, congregations, prominent among occasion of his election, was
He says: "I should not omit to
His election is said to have been them that of Kremsir, a city fa- rather cool.
say
that no one could have been
It is a fact that a valet stied
due to a rather humorous acci- mous by many historic reminis-
him for part of the salary that much with Lowell without hear-
dent.
scenses, among them being the the - - Bishop refused to pay, and ing him talk a great deal about
Olmuetz, which is one of the seat of the first Austrian Reich-
also that he carried on a litiga- Jews, upon which subject he was
most prominent dioceses in
exceedingly well informed. He
Christendom, was founded in the
eleventh century. It is richly en-
believed that a strain of Hebrew
dowed, and the annual income
blood would dominate all other
of the Bishop is said to amount
strains of blood in a man. He
to several millions of florins. For
saw Jews everywhere. He
fully three centuries the see of
If a little child were starving at
thought, for instance, that Glad-
°linnet v was reserved to mem-
your door,
stone was a Jew. I beljeve, in-
bers of the highest aristocracy,
Would
you
feed
it?
deed,
that Gladstone was of Jew-
who for reasons of personal in-
If an old man were dying of cpld
H.!
descent
; his brother, Sir
clination, or as younger brothers
and exposure,
Thomas Gladstone, was extreme-
in order to leave the feudal es-
ly Jewish in appearance. Low-
tates in one hand enter the priest-
Would you clothe him?
ell's discovery of a Jewish des-
hood. The canons, composing
f a young girl were threatened
cent
the chapter of the diocese, are
in people, however, was not
with danger worse than death
also taken from the ranks of the
so much from an examination of
Would you rescue her?
nobles, and by and by there were
their physiognomy as from their
in the chapters some members of
names. Vernon Harcourt he
plebeian origin so that upon the
thought a Jew because he was
death of Cardinal Fuerstenberg
from the Leveson-Gowers, Lord
they were about equally divided,
Thousands of little Jewish chil-
Granville's family, who were
and both factions contended for
Tews because their name was
dren
are
starving
in
the
War
the election of a Bishop.
Zone;
Leveson. 'There's where Har-
Wishing to wait, until they
Thousands of old Jewish men
court gets his impudence,' he
would see who should be the
favorite candidate, a number of
would say. One day I was walk-
and women are dying of cold
canons voted for Monsignor
ing in the park with him when a
and hunger in the , streets of
Kohn, and to the surprise of eV -
man I knew passed. I said,
Russia, Poland and Galicia;
eryhody, himself included, he had
'That's the new Russian secre-
Thousands of Jewish maidens are
received in the first ballot the
tary, Davidoff; he succeeds Bar-
maiority of votes. Tt was re-
crying to Cod in their terror.
tholomai.'
Lowell answered,
ported at that time, that when
Will you help them?
'Davidoff,
Bartholomai
— both
the humor of Kohn's election
Jews.'
He said tlfat he himself
reached the Reichstag, which
was a Jew because he was des-
Ivas just in session, a member
cended from people named Rus-
approached Premier Count
Taafie, asking him whether the
sell—Russell being a Jewish
Detroit
Committee
for
the
name.
rumor was trite. Taaffe, who
He said that I was a Jew
For
was quite a humorist, replied, "T
because my name means Christ-
Relief of Jewish War
have heard it, too, and T only
Information
mas, though he admitted, grudg-
Sufferers
hope that the man is baptized,
ingly, 'You haven't the nose for
'Phone
for else T shall get in trouble
it.' The province of Natal was so
Offices:
with the anti-Semites if T con-
named because it was discovered
Cadillac 7G02
firm him."
314 Washington Arcade
on Christmas day; the 't' is soft-
Kohn was the son of a convert
ened into 'd' in Spanish and in
ed Jew, who was baptized by his
the Venetian dialect of Italian.
father at the age of three. Th-
Lowell insisted that my earliest
grandfather is said to have con •
converted ancestor wanted to
verted to Christianity because of
show how good he was and took
the cruel restrictions on mar- stag, in
the
most Christian name he could
1881.
It
may
be
said
that
ri age , prevailing
in Moravia. ill' the old proverb, "the crozier is a tio`'n in court against the treasury find. \Vhen I reminded him that
to 1818. lie had, like many other
department for a rather small there was
benign scepter," held true in the
a family of my name
sum, but usually the interest in \vim
Jews, married without license. case of the Jews of Kremsir.
had
been,
from father to son,
maintaining episcopal authority
and the congreg - ation to Ivhich
During the War of Thirty would protect a prelate tinder ) in the Cold Book of Venice since
he belonged opposed his petition Years, Cardinal Dietrichstein,
12 io„with their device—the star
such conditions.
for making his marriage legiti
the head of the diocese, and af-
of
ilethlehem on a blue field—and
It seems rather likely that
mate it(1 therefore he converted ter the expulsion
typo claimed descent from one of
from
Vienna
in
to olftain his aim without the 161 . 0,,
counts and barons, forming the
a number of exiles found chapter, did not fancy the idea the Magi, there was further chaff.
consent of the trustees.
He lived long enough to Cath- shelter in Kremsir. Landgraf of kissing the hand of the son of I should explain that Lowell had
Unerstenberg showed the con- a Jew. The diplomacy of Leo no dislike of Jews, but a great in-
olicism. to prove that he could
gregation kindness in many re- X III succeeded in avoiding the terest in them. He had an abun-
witness the first mass said by spects and
attended services in unpleasantness of an ecclesiastic dance of curious and amusing in-
his grandson, and the latter's, thc
synagogue.
This attitude trial on malfeasance in office, and formation about them."
parents enioved the rare privi
however,
did
not
help
to protect Archbishop Kohn was induced to
lege of seeing their son head of
him against anti-Semitic attacks, resign voluntarily. It is said that
the archdiocese, usually resided
over by members of the highest which compelled his resignation he was promised an office in
in 1902.
A SMOKER'S CREDIT
Rome, but he never became Car-
nobility, including a grand uncle
The story of this resignation, dinal, and after having lived in
of Emperor Francis Joseph.
has never been completely told.
Rome for some time, he retired
To the Jews, Arcl+ishoo Kohn Officially he WaS
with to one of the estates, the income
did not display any friendly having incurred the charged
ill will of his
disposition. Tn a text book of clergy by overbearing and with of which was assured to him un-
CIGAR
der the compromise.
RG,p,:ux