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THE JEWISH CHRONICLE
PAGE FOUR
Jews in Dilapidated Austr ia a
,
f All Jews were excluded from being advocates. In 1868, they were
i
excluded
from
the
medical
profession,
but
this
was
later
changed,
Company
Issued Even' Friday by The Jewish Chronicle Publishing
(Continued From Page One.)
President no doubt, because the medical knowledge of the Jews was indis-
•
•
•
.
•
•
l,NTON KAUFMAN
pensable to the Roumanians. They were prevented from being does not include farms owned by
MICHIGAN'S JEWISH HOME PUBLICATION
druggists, except where there were no non-Jewish druggists. Con- nobles of which the Jews are tenants.
Offices 307-306 Peter Smith Building.
trary to the Roumanian agreement of 1818, according to which all Now 116,000 Jews are engaged in
THE JEWISH CHRONICLE
i oen
a" D
t i Lrs, h
citizens of Roumania were to be free in their practice of religion,
A Happy New Year
The Death of a Great Scholar
Ile was a man of singular courage and of high ability. :\ large
satisfaction in the consciousness of duty done. May there be given
to those who have suffered heavy losses, the strength to bear them number of Jewish theological students took advantage of the sum-
with brave hearts and to those who have been spared such sorrows, mer sessions of the University of Chicago for the special privilege
that was theirs of sitting at the feet of this eminent teacher. Among
a fine appreciation of the benedictiortliat has rested upon them.
To all men and women, may the New Year bring a deepened those who mourn his passing, these men will be counted.
sense of the obligation that goes with opportunity. Especially in
Dr. Foster, by his grasp upon the fundamental. of religion and
America, may men and women be awake to the blessing of freedom by the courageous statement of his convictions, has written his name
and of justice. May men of every faith and every creed, of every
large among the creators of modern religious ideals.
color and condition, see in this land, humanity's Land of Promise.
And even though at the moment there abound conditions that test
Activity vs. Usefulness
men's faith in human nature, may we be content, like Moses from
his mountain height, to look about, assured that fur our children and
our children's children a better and a. happier (lay is in store.
The New Year-1919—should be a happy one for all of us.
God grant that its blessings be many and great, and may those who
are privileged to enjoy them be ever worthy of them.
The warning sounded some time ago by a well-known Detroiter
against mistaking activity fur usefulness, was timely and much to
the point. As one studies the program of many national and local
organizations—social, religious and philanthropic, he is 'reminded of
the wisdom of this warning. T lit: number of all sorts of societies in
our larger communities is constantly increasing. There is duplica-
A Malicious Book
tion and there is re-duplication of function and activity. One fails
to understand why in these times when co-operation has become a
Among the literature produced by the war is a book under the symbol of power, there should be such a division of effort as is im-
title, "Roumania Yesterday and Today," by Mrs. Will Gordon, F. R. plied in the creation of so many superfluous organizations.
i
a
last long.
The orthodox party organized in
1879 a Machzike Hadass which was in-
tended for the protection of ortho-
doxy, but at the same time took a
political stand which was an alliance
with the l'oles. The law c o nceded
' , ce d ed
them a number of seats in the parlia-
mentary bodies, and the fi'est man
elected on the ground of this com-
promise was the chief rabbi of Cra-
cow, Simon Schreiber, the son of the
famous Moses Soler, but himself of
modest attainments and absolutely
bare of all political knowledge.
Since 1879, when Rabbi Schreiber
entered the Reich•srat, the Poloniza-
lion has made constant progress.
agriculture as their occupation.
The coal oil wells and naphtha mines
Editorial Contributor Jews were declared to be aliens and, hence, subject to a law of of Boryslav owe their discovery to
RABBI LEO M. FRANKLIN,
Abraham Schreiner, a poor Jew.
expulsion.
‘Without training and without means
All correspondence to insure publication most be sent In so as to reach this
For the most part, all Jewish children Were refused admission he was unable to develop his discov-
Ace Tuesday evening of each week.
ery.
lie died a poor man, while
to the public schools in Roumania, in one year--1896—as many as
$2.00 per year
Subscription in Advance
11,200 children having been refused. Prk'ate Jewish schools in Rou- wealthy prospectors attracted by his
The Jewish Chronicle invites correspondence on subjects of ntereat to the mania might not be open on Sundays. As late as 1900, a ministerial discovery made a great success of this
industry. As it is, about 3,000 Jews
Jewish people, but disclaims responsibility for an indorsement of the views
circular ordered that pupils receiving instruction in Jewish private work in this section as plain laborers.
expressed by the writers.
Nor is the Galician Jew otherwise
schools must have heads uncovered. In fact, there has been no form
Entered as second class matter March 3, 1916, at the Postoffice at Detroit,
the opulent exploiter as represented
Mich., under the Act of March 3. 1879.
of persecutiOn possible of conception that Roumania has not prac- by the l'olish press. Kolomea has a
ticed against the Jew. Of all this, the author of the book above Tallis industry which employs Jews
referred to, seems to be totally ignorant and with a malice that is almost exclusively. They struck in
1892 for higher wages, revealing the
scarcely to be looked for in an English woman, she writes a descrip-
incredible fact that the average week-
To all the readers of the Jewish Chronicle, we extend our heart-
ly earnings of a man for 15 hours daily
felt wishes for a year of happiness and peace. May the hopes which tion of the Jew that is as brutal as it is false.
It has become quite a habit with a certain class of writers in work were from 50 cents to $125.
they most fondly cherish be fulfilled. May the New Year bring to
Such conditions could not exist, if
humanity the establishment of those principles for which the civil- these last (lays to use the Jew as the target for their poisoned shafts. the country were not poor, impover-
non-Jews
should
be
warned
against
accept-
ished by maladministration. The of-
ized nations have been struggling and may the cause of Justice in- It is well that Jews an d
ing at their face value what these people write. The book in ques- ficials are to a large extent taken from
creasingly triumph.
the Szlachta, the Polish nobility, or
Af ay the period of readjustment, which brings forward so many tion has found a place in the Detroit Public Libraiy, as it has, no their dependents.
those
who
would
They are naturally opposed to a
pressing problems of a social and economic character, be met in that doubt, in other libraries throughout the land. Let
same spirit of courageous loyalty that the people met the sterner read it be well warned in advance of the character of its contents democratic form of government and
to any reform of political conditions
aad more terrifying problems of war. May there come to all groups and the apparent motives of its author.
which would give the masses of the
and classes within our country's domain, a greater tolerance and a
people a vote in public affairs.
When some of the progressive lead-
more genuine appreciation of the rights of those who stand outside
ers agitated in favor of universal suf-
their particular circle.
frage, the Polish officials, seconded
May the tine spirit of co-operation between capital and labor
The public press reported this week the death of Prof. Chas. by the clergy, harangued the masses
to oppose this measure on the ground
that characterized the war period, continue for the greater happi-
Burnham Foster, of the University of Chicago, a man whose schol- that it would benefit the Jews, and
ness of employer and worker alike. May the spirit of mutual under-
arly contributions to the cause of liberal religion placed all religious that it was a French invention, where
standing that has been fostered by co-operative effort on the part
the Jews aided by the infidels, had
teachers under an enduring debt of gratitude to him.
of the various sectarian organizations during the war, be enhanced
plotted to ruin the Church. This is
.\t the cost of a charge of heresy at the hands of his Baptist a language which the Polish peasant
during the days that lie before and may those prejudices and those
brethren, l'rof. Foster some years ago published his very note- understands.
indications of narrow bigotry which have been overcome not grow
In addition a paternal government
worthy book on "The Function of Religion," in which lie showed
like that of Austria has so many stat-
into strength again.
May there come to those who have served well, either in the the fallacy of many of the interpretations of religion which were utes and ordinances that an official can
always make trouble for a merchant
ranks of the fighters or in the ranks of the civilian workers, a great current in the churches.
or a mechanic.
('hone: Cherry 3381.
1,ohnet"r society
b ut t favored t
Two Slav Races.
This created another difficulty. The
population is almost evenly divided
between l'oles (54 per cent) and
Ituthenians (42 per cent). The differ-
ence is only superficial, for statis,ies
also show 3,354,000 Roman Catin , br.
and 3,104,000 Greek CatholL,
l'oles belong to the form,
Ruthenians to the latter group
the majority, shown by the Polr-. ;-•
due to the 10 per cent of Jew s
are for the most part affiliated sal,
then. The religious and racial differ-
ences between the two groups are
intensified by the fact that the Poles
in the Ruthenian districts are the
landed proprietors and officials. 'the
Jews, supporting them, are therefore
considered enemies.
'this was the reason that Grand-
duke Nicholas, as commander of the
Russian army which occupied Galicia
ordered the removal of all Jewish of-
ficials. When the Russian •army was
forced to evacuate Galicia, they
hanged 19 Jews in Sniatyn, June 12.
1915, partly as a matter Muscovite
tradition, partly to humor the Russian
sympathizers, among whom Count
Bobrinsky, whom the Russian: made
governor of Galicia, took a prominent
Petty Tyranny.
.t Jewish storekeeper in a little
town had worked for the election of
a candidate whom the county gov-
ernor (Bezirkshauptmann) desired to
see defeated. The Bezirkshauptmann
found out that the sign over the Jew's
store had become faded, lie ordered
the store closed and fined the owner
heavily for infringement of Section N,
Paragraph X, of the code of commer-
cial law which requires every business
man to have his name and the desig-
nation of his business exhibited in
"legible" letters over the entrance of
his store.
Wolf Blau, of Nadwerna, a barber,
had the honor of shaving the
Bezirkshatimmann three times a week.
1 he official thought that this honor
was as good as pay, but Wolf declared
that he could not support his wife and
children on honor, and refused to wait
on his excellency.
The consequence was that Wolf's
taxes were raised and that he was
tined every week for transgressing
some kind of police regulation. Wolf
complained and stated what the reason
flir this persecution was. Now he was
an out and out criminal. He had
slandered a public official and was sent
rank. •
The friction between these tw o ele -
ments is in all likelihood responsible
for the massacre recently reported.
It may be that the number of vic-
time is exaggerated, as is generally tht
case with reports sent out in a panic.
But the situation is nevertheless quite
critical, and we can form an idea
what will happen when the Poles will
be recognized as a sovereign nation.
Jews have to be very watchful and
autdi o nsh,arf,our,
sthe
y: edsse,an,tilv l o st,tiiricia:,.eei or N T ' , esrymac y
no i sy
do any good.
LAST FALL OF JERUSALEM.
By BOLAND iaATIIBONE.
l'he crescent
Night in Jerusalem.
moon
Drops low, and as her doubtful tire
pales
So pales the Crescent Empire! The
streets
Untenanted, s'ave for the sullen 'rink
Musing his last profane nocturnal
watch
Over a trembling city. But within
A fearful dwelling' kneels a woman
praying.
Her famished babes about her. I.o, the
Certainly, we would not deny that the MOT gathering together
the Queen of Roumania, to whom the book as a whole is dedicated by of men and women of congenial spirit to discuss problems of mutual
the author. The royalties for the sale of the book are devoted, it interest is not without value.. But the constant creation of new
voice
Of modern Hagar!, Hear it, Allenby!
is said in the author's note, to Roumanian Relief Funds.
organizations that overlap the functions of existing ones, the work- to jail.
Thou art the Joshta 'of,her supplica-
The postmaster of Przemysl had
However desirous one may be that the relief funds for suffer- ing out of all sorts Of programs of work that is being better accom-
tion—•
some grudge against the Jews. He
ing Roumanians may be assisted according to the measure of the plished by present agencies and, most of all, the seeking out of prob-
C. S. An introduction and two chapters of the book are written by
deferred the settlement to the Jew-
need, one may fervently breathe the prayer that such relief will come lems to justify the continuance of this or that organization or, still ish New Year. lie knew the Jews "God of our fathers/ Fountain of
Mercy,
from other sources than from the sale of this book, for it would be worse, for the formation of some new one, does imply a waste of needed about that time one-cent
Abraham's guide, Judah's protector.
stamps for their New Year's cards.
difficult to find in all the literature produced in recent times, another time, energy and money that can scarcely be justified.
Forth on the stillness, over the
He was out of them. They hail the
mountains.
volume in which ignorance, prejudice and malice combine to paint
The weakness of which we speak is by no means confined to choice of buying two-cent stamps or
Hope to Thy children, soundeth Th y
so horrible a picture of the Jew as the mull& of this book has local organizations. National societies, especially of the philan- refraining from sending cards.
eoice: —
No one could enumerate all the
succeeded in creating.
thropic order, the maintenance of which demands vast sums of
Cometh a new Joshua'
petty and provoking acts of which
A warrior for Israel!'"
To her, the Jew of Roumania is little more than a beast of the money and great groups of workers, can frequently scarcely justify
these combined plotters are guilty.
lower type. She holds the Jews to be ethnographically "intruders their existence. We have in mind in particular as typical.(if such
.lust as a typical specimen the fol-
Fortunate Allenby! 'Tis giv'n to thee
in Roumania." She says that a very large proportion of the Jews institutions, a certain hospital built by a national organization as a lowing ought to be widely known. To lead the new Crhsaders o'er the
Esther Fischer kept a small grocery
of Roumania are "Israelite only in name, not of Semitic blood, but memorial to a man who had done heroic work in its behalf, but
plains
in Cracow. People have to economize
of Mongol-Tartar strain." The Jews of Roumania—she holds—in- which is today actually begging patients to fill the few beds which, and so she bought waste paper at a Where proudest of the ancient Chris-
tian blood
crease more rapidly than any people except the Armenians and, con- at a very great expense, it maintains. For our part, we believe that convent to use it for wrapping pack-
sequently, the menace of them grows constantly. She charges that it requires more courage and more far=sightedness to clearly face
they will not send their children to the national schools and adds the condition that we have too many organizations than that we
that a well-known writer, whose name, however, she does not litton- have\ too feW and to cut loose from those.that serve no real purpose.
tion, has said, "They will not serve or be taught, cultivate or pay; We are over-organized.
they participate in no effort, make no sacrifices and do not even
In these days, there is so much legitimate and necessary work
submit to the orders of the police, to the rules of hygiene, and will to do that it is positively sinful to waste time and ability on efforts
wield neither the plow, the pickaxe nor the rifle."
that serve no vital cause, a fact that should be well borne in mind by
These are but a few of the malicious, lying charges which this those who are ready to criticize others who are not ready 4o link
author makes against the Jews of Roumania, thus repeating the themselves up with th;s or that organization which happens to be
"classic lies" of the Roumanian government and justifying the sus- the hobby of the critics in question.
picion that the chapter in question was dictated by some government
The National Conference of Jewish Charities has rendered
official. That Mrs. Gordon is utterly incompetent to speak of them American Jewry a real service in protesting against some organiza-
is indicated by the fact that she says that the Jews in Roumania tions that have appealed for national support, but which seem to be
were not heard of until the seventeenth century. !lad she even an serving no real purpose, but merely duplicating work that was being
elementary knowledge of the history a the Jews of Roumania, she adequately attended to by existing agencies.
would know that as early as the twelfth century, they had begun
In a community such as this, it might be well if a survey of all
to play a fairly important part in the history of that land, though so-called Jewish organizations were made, their work investigated
almost from the beginning they had been the victims of Roumanian and the necessity of their existence judged. Such an inquiry would,
perfidy, deceit and cruelty. Their story is one of constant persecu-
tion and oppression. More crafty and unscrupulous than Russia in
her treatment of the Jews, Roumania has not been a whit less cruel.
Joseph Jacobs, former President of the Jewish Ilistorical Society
of England, has compiled a list of restrictive laws against the Jews
we believe, reveal the fact that many of our co-religionists are giv-
ing valuable time and perhaps large sums of money to causes that
aficird little return in social, civic or even personal usefulness. Were
this fact definitely established, it would be easy enough to put such
organizations out of business; to tie up the energy and the money
in Roumania during the century beginning in km3, when they were thus released to others, whose work is really significant, but which
forbidden to rent farms or own land. To point out only a few of are hampered by lack of workers and of money.
such restrictive laws named in the list, one finds that Jews might
As a first step toward such a program, it might be well for each
not acquire real estate; that they might not be witnesses against organization to ask itself the question suggested in the headline of
Christians; that all Jews must register their occupations and that this editorial, "Are we useful or are we merely active?" Certainly,
those not of proved usefulness, must be expelled. No Jews were usefulness implies activity, but the reverse is by no means of neces-
permitted to enter Roumania after 1850 unless they were possessed sity the case.
of at least 50,000 piasters.
In 1864 a law was passed according to which only those Jews
could be naturalized who had reached the grade of non-commis-
sioned officers in the army or who had passed through college, or
recognized foreign degree or who had founded a factory.
. who had a
ages. Sonic customer discovered that
the Jewess had wrapped some grocer-
ies in a paper which showed the pic-
ture of the Sacred Heart. It was re-
ported and Esther was sentenced to a
week in jail for blasphemy.
To this class of persecution be-
long court and jury sentences which
are an open outrage on the most ele-
mentary principle of justice. One of
the most glaring cases w as the trial of
/loses and Gitel Ritter of Luteza, who
were three times sentenced to death
for a murder of which they were en-
tirely innocent and spent four years,
from 1892 to 1896, in the penitentiary
until the Supreme Court on a plea of
error released them. '
This instance shows how the Jew-
isi: of Galicia were benefited by the
Austrian administration. There was
at least a central authority which
could remedy the grossest cases of in-
justice. The constitution which could
not be •superceded by the provincial
legislation gave them since 1867 full
civic and political equality.
There were indeed Jews who held
high offices on the bench, who were
professors in the universities or held
high rank in the army. At the begin-
ning of the war Adolf von Kornhaher,
a native of Drohobycz. held the rank
of lieutenant-field marshal, which- is
equal to that of brigadier general in
the U. S. army. The wide difference
between the constitutional theory and
the position of individuals on one
hand and between the sentiment of the
masses on the other created different
policies.
In 1868, a year after the nomulga-
lion of the constitution a Jewish So-
ciety, Shomer Israel was organized,
which leaned towards centralization
and Germanism. Ten years later a
Flowed free in fruitless ventures!
Thine the hand
To wrest forever front profaning
grasp
That which the Old World lost! Ii
thou shalt kneel
A victor at the Sepulchre, then great
As are the valiant chiefs of Saxon
arms,
The name of none shall live bej•ond
thine own)
Above the tumult rings for thee her
prayer:—
"God of our fathers, Fountain 0.
Mercy,
Abraham's guide, Judah's protector,
Forth on the stillness, over the
mountains.
Hope to Thy children, soundeth Thy
voicee-
'Cometh a new Joshua!
A warrior for Israel!'"
—New York Herald
WOMAN LAWYER AND
LABOR EXPERT IS IN
NEW YORK OFFICE
Mn.
Moscowit: Cross Assistant Cor-
poration Counsel.
NEV YORK.—Corporation Coun-
sel Burr of New York announced the
appointment of Mrs. Anna Moscowitr
Kross as assistant corporation counsel
at a salary of $3,240 a year.
Mrs. Kross is the first woman to be
-
appointed an assistant to the corpora
tion counsel. She is a graduate of the
was ad-
University Law School. and
-
mitted to the bar in 1912. She return
where she
ed recently from France,
was engaged in war work.
an auther -
Mrs. Kross is considered
ity on labor questions.