| Show 1 JEWISH emancipation DAY A VERY important anniversary in the history of the jewish race is at hand tomorrow the day of september a full century will be completed r since the national assembly of prance france removed from the statute books all laws relating to civil and political disabilities in the case of the hebrew people on this day 1791 the full privileges of french citizenship were conferred on the children of abraham then resident in france 06 it was the first glimpse of free political daylight which that unhappy people V 1 had experienced since the fall of their great city A D 70 it was the entering wedge which sundered the iron shackles that for eighteen centuries bound the jewish race in civil social and nd political bondage today russia alone of cf all the european countries countr iee is a persecutor of the jews and strange to say russia and france are allies one the first modern nation to recognize in this way the divine majesty of humanity the other the last in the disgrace of religion bonaud and civilization by its brutality ferocity and Iri intolerance tolerance it is true there is still a lingering dislike of jews in germany austria and perhaps italy but except in russia the jew is in a freeman in every country in europe and the pioneer day of this freedom in the of september 1791 it remains to be seen whether the race to which this day means so much will dully observe its centennial anniversary it to is a matter which concerns the jews of every land and clime and the celebration of the day should be terminous coterminous co wath the bounds of the scattered people As to the condition of the jews in russia roseia we have heard so much during the past few years that the situation there is yet shrouded in gloom in the national review C B roylance Boy lance kent has a very instructive article on this thin subject he investigates the problem calmly wisely and philosophically he says that in the view of tha the jew is nothing less lea than a pest peat a sort of mischievous death bearing microbe to be crushed out at any cost Accordi according bg to the jewish apologist the situation is different with him the jew is a useful citizen persecuted out of jealousy for his very virtues mr kent strikes a course midway and investigates according to material and tangible evidence in russia with few exceptions the jews are confined to a district known as the pale it consists of the provinces of old poland western russia little russia and south russia within the limits of these four provinces jews are pent up it is estimated that about others live outside the pale the late Emp emperor bror alexander the second decreed that certain jewish ardi artisans sans could settle outside the pule pale he also gave permission to university jew graduates to dwell beyond the hated line there is also one other privileged class clase a merchant who has paid 1000 roubles coubles annually for five years while within the pale and promises to pay it in future could live outside even then conditions were attached he coull only take children under 21 with him the privileges granted by Alt alexander xander are today completely annulled obstructions are placed in the way of students entering universities artisans who move abroad are harassed and persecuted and even the merchant guild above members pay enormous taxes in order to obtain the right to travel to is hampered so BO that the original concessions avails nothing the russian however gives reasons for his treatment of the jews ewe it is charged that the jew is not a producer that he la in a usurer that he lives apart from the people that he is a promoter of drunken drunkenness neso that he is ie a smuggler a forger and a coiner that he is a shirker of military service and a conniver of nihilists nihilisms lists mr kent takes up these charges consecutively and deals with them in order that the jew is not a producer in the political economy sense may be partly true because he has always been a trader but trading is 18 not dot ground for persecution that lie fie is a moneylender arises from the fact that he was or is at any moment liable to expulsion but he lends at less interest than russian bankers that the jew does not coalesce with the people may arise from his sabbath observance and festival celebrations shylock shy lock tells jessica to ignore the carnival to look lock up the doors doom and not to gaze on christian fools with varnished fac faaee v he ii probably the same in russia as an in inh italy but that is not a plea for bersee tion g in reply to the charge of drunken drunkeR wl ness mr kent admits that thourl thoung thou gl the jew is remarkable for temp erane cei yet the vast majority of russi liquor dealers are jews there mav be some truth in the smuggling cj charge ar ga because the jew is confined to th the 06 frontiers frontiere and people t there he re naturally 1 take to smuggling any frontier people would do this where rigid krotec tion laws prevail but they should be met with law and not persecuted As aa to the charges of coining disincline tion to military service and nihilism mr kent says if they are true t the russian is to blame fo for r it that Rus russians sias policy is ig cruel immoral and inexpedient and add that by expelling the jews russia ld lw working her own ruin edward the 2 first of england expelled them and 1 lived to regret it in 1492 ferdinand ferdinand and isabella expelled jews from spain and from that time spain datar date its decay russia would do well to ponder over the expediency part of the question 4 it seems that the saying of shy look i ferance auf is the badge of all watt tribe is as true today in russia aa was in venice three centuries ago wa or in pagan rome under Veep Ves was 5 when each jew had to pay a poll t half a she okel would it not be for russia to take a lesson lemon from frana now that a feelis g of amity and will prevails between both countr country the latter by its treatment of JW jw marked an epoch in european t history bator why should not russia mark another by abolishing its anti jewish policy |
