JEWISH IMMIGRATION.
In this chapter I propose to consider the nature of the immigration. At
the outset of this particular aspect of the question, it is necessary
to make it clear that one is animated by no sentiments of racial or
religious animosity. Nothing could be more undesirable than to treat
this question as a sectarian question, or to cast any slur upon the
Hebrew faith. Nothing would harm the movement more than to create a
_Judenhetze_ in England, the home of religious liberty; and therefore
whenever the term "Jew" is used throughout this volume, it is used
merely to distinguish between other races and nationalities, and from
no desire to arouse the _odium theologicum_. This disclaimer may seem
unnecessary to some, but it is important to emphasize it, because
if there is one thing hateful to the people of this country, it is
religious intolerance; if there is one thing dear to them, it is that
liberality which in matters of this kind recognizes no distinctions of
faith or creed. It is perfectly true that a large proportion of these
undesirable visitors are Jewish by race and religion. But that has
nothing to do with the objection to them; it would be just the same
if they were Christians, Mahommedans, Buddhists, or sun-worshippers.
The objection to them is simply this, that by coming into certain
trades and industries in this country, they subject our own people to a
constant and unfair competition, which renders it impossible for them
to obtain a decent livelihood, and tends directly to militate against
their physical, financial, social, and moral well-being. In this
matter there is nothing of race, nothing of religion, except so far as
this, that we recognize that our first duty should be towards our own
nation, our own flesh and blood. Nor is this objection by any means
confined to destitute foreign Jews; it holds equally good with regard
to vagrant and vicious Italians, idle Hungarians, degraded Chinese, and
all the other undesirable specimens of those nationalities which go to
make up the motley horde. Still it is idle to deny, in dealing with
this question, that though the immigrants are of all nationalities,
by far the greater part of those objected to is composed of Russian,
Roumanian, and Polish Jews, drawn from the class which goes to swell
the poor-houses and penitentiaries of Eastern Europe.
In the previous chapter I have dwelt upon the numbers of this
particular class of alien immigrants. It is not necessary, therefore,
to go over the same ground again. It suffices to point out that this
increase, which would be undoubtedly serious if it were distributed
impartially throughout the United Kingdom, assumes a far more
formidable aspect when we consider its distribution in particular
localities and particular trades. The invading hordes of destitute Jews
appear to flock chiefly to our great centres of population, such as
the East End of London, and to the great manufacturing cities of the
North--Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle-on-Tyne,
Glasgow, Edinburgh, and some other Scotch towns. Now it is evident
that thickly-populated districts do not require immigration, but
emigration. It is evident also that the Jew in England is not pastoral,
but gregarious. Experts, whose opinions must be listened to with
all deference, tell us that many of the foreign Jews have in them
the making of good colonists and admirable agriculturalists. It may
be so; but those who come here appear to show a marked distaste for
agricultural and all pastoral pursuits. No one in England ever comes
across a Jewish farmer, or a Jewish agricultural labourer. These
immigrants invariably turn their backs on thinly-populated districts;
and wherever our people are most closely huddled together, wherever the
struggle for existence is keenest, there will the greatest number of
foreign Jews be found, with the inevitable result that the conditions
of life become even harder than before. It is very necessary to
consider the distribution of this unlimited immigration, if we are to
form an adequate idea of the injury it works upon our own people.
It is impossible not to feel compassion for these poor Jewish
immigrants, when we consider the condition in which the great majority
of them land upon our shores. They are often of poor physique, and
always scantily clad. In most instances, they are without money at all;
others have a few thalers, or roubles, or marks, as the case may be;
and of these they are quickly eased by the loafers, touts, and rascals
of all descriptions who hang about the docks waiting their arrival, and
professing to show them where to lodge for the night, or where to find
employment.
One ceases to wonder at the destitute condition in which these
unfortunate people arrive on our shores, when we consider the
discomforts and miseries which they have to undergo before they
arrive at our ports. So far as the Jewish immigrants are concerned,
it may be said that fully 70 per cent. of those who have arrived at
the port of London during the present year have come from Russia
or Poland. The edict in Russia has gone forth for their departure,
but before departing it is necessary for them to obtain a passport
and other official documents, which have to be paid for at the time
of application, and are subsequently required to be shown to the
Russian officials before crossing the frontier. I believe that some
negotiations are now pending with regard to relaxing the severity of
the passport regulations; but at present the possession of a passport
is a _sine quâ non_. To avoid the expense and trouble of obtaining
these documents, many subterfuges are resorted to, to enable the
Jews to leave unnoticed; but on arriving at the frontier _en route_
to Hamburg, and being found without these documents, many of the
emigrants are subjected to the grossest maltreatment and robbery. It
is said that many of them have been robbed of every coin, and almost
every article they possess, and are sent across the frontier in an
absolute state of beggary and destitution. Many cases are known to the
officials of the Jewish Charitable Institutions in London, where whole
families have had, in consequence of being thus robbed, to tramp on
foot through Germany ten or sixteen days, in order to reach Hamburg _en
route_ to London. When once they arrive at Hamburg, the departure of
these persons is by some mysterious means, which I have been unable to
ascertain, directly provided for. It is not an expensive journey, the
passage to London from Hamburg being about sixteen shillings English
money per head for the adults, and the children come half-price. These
are approximately the fares charged by Messrs Perlbach, who do a
thriving trade in bringing these people across. I say "approximately,"
for Messrs Perlbach have met all my requests for information with a
_non possumus_. Of course such a cheap rate does not admit of many
comforts. The emigrant has to find himself all food and bedding. In
most cases the boats are entirely devoid of sufficient accommodation
for passengers; and being under a foreign flag, they do not come under
our Board of Trade regulations here.
The accommodation on board the boats plying between Hamburg and London
is miserably insufficient; and doubtless it is no better between
Hamburg and other English ports. The voyage from Hamburg to London
usually occupies from forty to sixty hours, according to the weather;
and during the whole of this time these poor people are herded together
rather like cattle than human beings. Men, women, and children are
crowded together in the stifling atmosphere between the decks; some
lying on bundles of foul and dirty rags, others squatting on the
bare deck itself. It is a terrible picture of famished and suffering
humanity. No one thinks of taking off his clothes during the passage,
and few have either the inclination, or the opportunity, to wash
themselves or their children. The sanitary arrangements are simply
abominable. The following account, given by the special commissioner
of a London evening journal, which has done much to bring this evil
prominently before the public, and to which I gladly acknowledge
my indebtedness, may with advantage be quoted here. The special
commissioner travelled over from Hamburg as a "destitute alien" on
board Messrs. Perlbach and Co.'s steamship _Minerva_. In his report he
describes his experience as follows[11]--
"By the time I got on deck darkness had set in, and nearly all my
fellow-aliens had stowed away the pocket-handkerchiefs or canvas-bags
containing their belongings in one or other of the two holds, which
were to form their place of residence for the next two nights at any
rate. I saw some scores of eyes peering at me for the first minute
or two; then when curiosity as to the new arrival had abated, I sat
down in a dark corner and quietly examined my surroundings. The
greater portion of the deck was taken up by large boxes covered with
sheets of canvas, and extending to a height in some places of perhaps
eight or ten feet. On the top of these, and in the narrow passages
between them, the emigrants sat or stood, breaking the stillness of
the evening with the hollow laugh or clamorous chatter. Most of them
were young women, wearing shawls on their heads, and clad in soiled,
faded, and torn finery. Some of them were men, young or middle-aged,
but so enfeebled and spiritless that one might have fixed their age at
nearer seventy than thirty. A few were old women, bent, emaciated, and
almost lifeless. All, with few exceptions, were yellow with dirt, and
smelt foully.... I thought it to be about time to go and look after my
sleeping quarters. There were two places from which to choose. One of
these, according to the inscription on the entrance, was constructed
to hold thirty-four persons, the other twenty-nine. The German ships
are subject to practically no regulations as to space; and I inferred
there must be on board about one hundred deck passengers.... I made my
way to the larger of the two steerage cabins. When I got to the top of
the gangway, the stench which issued from the semi-darkness beneath
was pretty nearly unendurable, and it was even worse down-stairs, when
blended with the heat from the bodies of the emigrants. But the scene
which the place presented was still more disgusting. The apartment
was about the breadth of the ship near the narrow end in width,
and scarcely so long. In the centre a single oil-lamp was hanging,
which threw out a feeble, flickering light. On each side a couple of
platforms were erected, one over the other, with about two and a half
feet between them, divided into spaces in some places a little over
two feet broad, and not divided at all in others. Here men, women, and
children were lying on the bare boards partly undressed, some in one
direction, some in another. Young men lay abreast of young unmarried
women, chatting jocularly, and acting indecently, and young children
were witnesses of all that passed. The greater portion of the floor was
taken up with boxes, on which such of the emigrants of both sexes as
had not been able to obtain the ordinary sleeping accommodation were
reclining as best they might."
That was the first night of the voyage; the second is described by the
commissioner as follows:--
"My second night's experience in the hold I need say little about; the
horrors of the place were increased by the accumulation of filth, which
had taken place by the ever-increasing indisposition of the passengers
the longer we were at sea.... Through the long weary hours I sat
there sleepless, I was only too glad when the light of morning made a
promenade possible on deck."
Such are some of the miseries of the journey. It is small wonder then
that under such circumstances, when the vessels reach London, these
unfortunate people present a most squalid, dirty, and uninviting
appearance. The journey is a wretched one; and at the end of it things
are no better; for when London is reached, these poor creatures are
cast adrift to fight for themselves, in a population already teeming
with starving, dying thousands.
The steamers that bring these aliens to London always land them at one
of three places--Tilbury Docks, the Upper Pool, or St. Katherine's
Docks. Wapping is the worst of the three places of landing. Here the
steamers lie out in the middle of the Thames; the passengers are
bundled into boats, the watermen in charge of which will endeavour
before landing to get as much out of them as they possibly can. They
are landed in different places, their luggage is thrown out of the
boat, and they find themselves alone in a strange land unable to make
known where they wish to go. But they are not left long in their
loneliness. A number of human sharks, generally foreign Jews also,
surround them, anxious to see in what way they can take advantage of
their ignorance and friendlessness. The worst foes that have to be
contended against are some of the East End boarding-house keepers.
These men will meet the new-comers, address them in "Yiddish," say
that they are connected with some of the Jewish charities, and tell
them that they must allow their luggage to be collected. When this is
done, they get together as many as possible before being stopped by the
real agents of the Jewish Homes, and march them off, not to where the
unfortunates think they are going, but to some of the boarding-houses
in Spitalfields. Arrived there, the aliens undergo a process of
sifting. Those who are absolutely destitute, and without money or
baggage, from whom there is nothing to be got, are quickly dismissed,
and sent in charge of a child to the Poor Jews' Temporary Shelter in
Leman Street. But those who have money and baggage are advised to stay
a day or two until they can "look about them." Then the fleecing
commences. A charge is made of from two shillings to five shillings
a week for a wretched shake-down bed; but the lodger has to pay the
full week if he only stays one night. Food is charged in proportion.
The next morning, as soon as the lodger has finished his breakfast, a
man is deputed to go with him in search of employment. This man will
tramp his victim all round London, it need scarcely be said with no
success; in the evening he will bring him back to the boarding-house,
saying they must try again the next day. The following morning the
same routine is gone through, and with the same result. For each day's
service a charge of five shillings is made. These gross charges are
made day after day until the unfortunate individual has nothing left
but his luggage. The boarding-house keeper sympathizes with his dupe;
he tells him he is not an unkindly man, and will lend him a trifle on
his luggage. This little is soon swallowed up in the cost of living,
and when it is all gone the boarding-house keeper informs him he is
very sorry, but he must have his room for some one else. The man is
turned into the street, friendless, penniless, and homeless, and finds
himself in very truth a "destitute alien."
Thus such an one becomes in a few weeks precisely in the same plight
as those who arrive with literally nothing at all. Of those, said the
Bishop of Bedford in his evidence before the House of Lords' Committee,
"They almost stand in the market after arrival with barely any clothes
to cover them, and without a penny in their pockets." In this veritable
slave-market they hang about in droves, waiting for the sweater to come
and hire them, which he does sometimes in person, sometimes by means of
an agent, and sometimes by means of his wife. (What a terrible type of
womanhood must be a sweater's wife!) Of course these poor creatures
are at the sweater's mercy. They are ignorant of the country, of its
language, of its laws, and are compelled to take any terms he may offer.
To call the place where these transactions are carried on a
"slave-market" is perhaps an abuse of terms, since, in a strictly
literal sense, nobody buys and nobody sells; but that it is a traffic
in human beings cannot be denied. Almost any Sunday morning during
the spring, summer, and autumn months, at the corner of Goulston
Street, Whitechapel, for instance, may be seen a varying number of men
drawn up in a line against the wall. In front of them stands a man
who engages--I will not say sells--them to the sweater, who gets his
victims to sign a paper, binding them to work for so many weeks and
at so much money in the sweating dens. It is a pitiful sight. Most of
these men are newly-arrived foreign paupers, chiefly Polish Jews. The
boat from Hamburg arrives every Saturday at the docks, and the agent
who meets them conveys them to some Jewish shelter where they remain
until Sunday morning, when he leads them to this place. Most of them
as they stand there have the high boots and fur cap distinctive of the
Russian peasant. Want and long service are plainly written on their
emaciated forms, and along with these a certain patient and dogged
intention of purpose. Often the sweater will give them at first only
their food and lodgings, such as it is. The salary given them varies
from two to three shillings per week; their food is horrible, so is
their lodging. They will work fourteen, sixteen, and eighteen hours a
day, and they will sleep in the den in which the work is done. They
suffer hunger, cold, heat, and vermin. They are without the help of
relations, acquaintances, or protection. They agree to pay back a
certain sum if they break their engagement; and as this is impossible
for them to do, they remain practically slaves, working for nothing, or
next to nothing.
Most of them have to learn a trade at first, during which period they
earn nothing, and are glad to submit to any terms the sweater may think
fit to impose. The slang term for such persons is "greener," and in
many respects the condition of a "greener" is worse than that of a
slave. By and by when he has learnt his business, which in the cheap
tailoring trade, for instance, would be the machine work, he receives
a small wage, from six to seven shillings a week, barely sufficient to
maintain existence. As a rule the "greeners" are very quick to learn,
and as they progress they earn a little more; but their position is
precarious, being liable to be discharged at a moment's notice. The
work is precarious too, and the wages are irregularly paid. Sometimes
there is nothing to do for weeks and weeks. Their food is of the
scantiest, the refuse of fish and a little bread being the principal
articles of diet. The length of hours for which they work--I speak now
of the cheap tailoring trade--averages from fourteen to fifteen hours a
day, or 100 hours a week. The Bishop of Bedford said:--"I have myself
seen these poor creatures at work up till two in the morning, and I
have found that they were again at work, the same people in the same
room, at seven o'clock in the morning." Again he said:--"You can tell
work is being done on the Sabbath, by the blinds being drawn. There is
no holiday at all." Moreover, the surroundings amid which they work are
deplorable and filthy in the extreme. That, however, will be touched
upon more fully in a subsequent chapter.
Again, in the cheap boot trade, the "greener" is at first put to work
as a "sew-round hand." If he does well at this, in a short time he
will proceed to "finishing," and he is advanced to other branches of
the work as his proficiency may warrant. The master bootmaker, who
in nine cases out of ten was once a "greener" himself, is called a
"boot-slosher." The "greener" will generally lodge at the house of the
"slosher" who employs him; and as many as sixteen or seventeen of these
"greeners" have been known to lodge in his house at the same time. The
daily food, as a rule, consists of a piece of hard stale bread, dipped
in salad oil. The bread is bought from a barrow in the street, and
consists of the stale unsaleable loaves collected from various bakers'
shops in the neighbourhood. The "greener" may supplement this possibly
with a little weak coffee or cocoa; or, if he wishes to indulge in an
unusual extravagance, he will invest in a piece of dried cucumber,
pickled in salt and water; or perhaps two or three "greeners," by
way of a treat, will go shares in a few Dutch herrings, also pickled
in salt. The dried pickled cucumber is known as "Wally-Wally," and a
herring is known as a "Deütcher." These articles are sold in large
quantities in the East End.
It must not be supposed, however, that these men remain always in this
position. When they have learned to speak the language and to know
their way about, they will make better terms for themselves. By degrees
they gradually get on. After being in the "slosher's" shop for six or
eight months, they learn sufficient to enable them to go into the boot
manufactories kept by foreigners, and to apply for work to take out in
large quantities. By a process of gradual development, the "greener"
becomes a "slosher" himself, and in the fulness of time he may be seen
walking about the East End, accosting and offering employment to the
first batch of recently-arrived immigrants he sees. More probably he
will meet them at the railway-station and waterside; or if in a more
extensive way of business, he will write to Hamburg to some of the
agencies there, stating that he can find work for so many men. When he
gets them into his clutches he treats them in precisely the same way as
that in which he himself has been treated. Thus does this evil system
go on and flourish.
After a time the foreign Jew begins to accumulate money; and though
he still continues his frugal diet of "Wally-Wally" and "Deütcher,"
he launches forth a little in other ways. The long Russian coat is
discarded, and with it the Hessian boots and fur cap. He bedizens
himself out with a quantity of cheap flashy jewellery, and possibly
goes in for mild theatrical amusements. There is a small theatre in a
certain small court in Whitechapel, where well-known English plays are
acted in "Yiddish." Here may be seen the smart young foreign Jews and
Jewesses, arrayed in all their glory, on every night of the week except
Friday, when the Hebrew Sabbath, which nearly all Hebrews outwardly
respect, commences. He may also perhaps join the "Chovevi Zion"--Hebrew
for "lovers of Zion"--a society which sprang into existence in the
East End of London about twelve months ago; or he may possibly--very
probably--join one of the many little gambling-hells so greatly
affected by the foreign Jew. Worst of all, he may drift into one of
the secret socialistic or foreign revolutionary societies which abound
in that part of the metropolis. That such societies exist cannot be
doubted. They are formed of the class of men who marched to Hyde Park
the other day, with a banner inscribed "Down with the Czar." These
societies have papers of their own circulated among themselves, written
in "Yiddish," breathing the vilest of political sentiments--Nihilism of
the most outrageous description.
Thus whole districts in the East of London are as foreign as in Warsaw,
or the Ghetto--when there was a Ghetto--in Rome.
In considering the nature of Jewish immigration, allusion should
also be made to a species of infamy which, I am credibly informed,
has been carried on for some time past at the London Docks. Many of
the immigrants are young women, Jewesses of considerable personal
attractions. Men-sharks, and female harpies of all descriptions, are on
the look-out for them as soon as they disembark. The young women are
approached, and asked in "Yiddish" whether they are in want of work.
The answer of course is in the affirmative, especially as many of these
young Jewesses arrive in a friendless condition. "Then," comes the
suggestion, "you had better come and stay with me until you get it,"
or "I can put you in the way of obtaining it." Of course this dodge
does not always succeed, for many young Jewesses are by no means so
guileless as they appear to be. But in two cases out of three it does.
The girl, friendless and unprotected, goes off with her interlocutor,
and then the old shameful story is repeated. She stays in the house
until the little she has is more than due for board; her efforts to
earn an honest living are in vain; and when she is destitute, she is
told she must either leave the place, minus even her little baggage,
or earn money at the expense of her virtue. Such a dilemma, in nine
cases out of ten, presents only one means of escape; and the girl goes
to swell the number of the lost and degraded of our great cities. One
of the worst features of this system is, that the decoy is largely
carried on by Englishmen and Englishwomen, and by no means confined to
foreigners alone. Happily, a Jewish Ladies' Rescue Society has been
recently formed, and its efforts have done something to mitigate the
evil. An official from this society goes down to the docks for the
purpose of warning female immigrants, and advising them where to find
employment. But the difficulty still remains, and a very serious one it
is.
When we come to inquire into the causes which bring so many of
these foreign Jews to our shores, we find that in addition to the
two principal reasons--the persecutions in Russia, and the American
Immigration Laws, which render their admission to that country
impracticable--there are other agencies at work as well. The existence
of these agencies is a disputed question; but from inquiries which
have been made, there is every reason to believe that many of the
East End sweaters have agents abroad working on their behalf. The
victims are caught by advertisements in the obscure Continental papers
inserted by the "greener slave-agent," who sends batch after batch
of poor Jews to this country, and they soon find their way into the
sweaters' dens by means of the addresses given them. This method of
advertisement is perhaps not so extensively carried on as formerly,
but it still exists. Again, there is also the suspicion, which deepens
almost into a certainty, of the existence of what is known in America
as "steamship-solicitation." It is highly probable that some of the
steamship companies principally concerned in bringing these people
to England, have agents on the Continent engaged in persuading poor
Jews, and poor foreigners generally, to come to this country with the
delusive idea that they will find plenty of employment, and plenty
of pecuniary assistance here. The notices which the Government have
recently caused to be posted up at some of the European ports, may
do something to nullify this; but the fact remains that there are
several German steamship lines doing an enormous business in bringing
these Jewish immigrants to our shores, and there are owners of British
vessels also engaged in the same traffic. In America, where it had
reached a very great extent, this "steamship-solicitation" has been
declared illegal. How far the steamship agencies act in collusion with
the sweaters' agents in England, it is not possible to say--or, indeed,
if they are in collusion at all. One can only notice that all things
work together in a very remarkable manner. A slight clue to the puzzle
is afforded by the fact that in Leeds (according to the Report of the
Chief Commissioner of Police) there exists a firm of money-lenders who
advance money to Jewish applicants having friends in Russia and Poland,
which is employed for the purpose of bringing them to this country.
This will explain how some, at any rate, of these destitute immigrants
manage to pay their passage-money to England.
There is another cause also, which is more controversial, but which
must be touched upon all the same, since it is a very potent one in
attracting destitute Jews to England. I allude to the well-known
munificence of the wealthy English Jews, who are ever ready to
help their poorer brethren. The admirably organized system of
benevolence which they have gradually built up by means of charitable
organizations, shelters, and similar institutions, constitutes nothing
less than an open advertisement to the poor Jews all over Europe to
come to England and have their wants supplied. I admit that these
institutions are not intended to have that effect, and that many
leading English Jews endeavour to discourage this immigration; but all
the same they tend to have the result of drawing people here.
In Leeds, for example, the Jewish Board of Guardians give the new
arrivals a small grant until they have obtained work, and if they know
no trade, and are willing to learn one, the Jewish Board will make them
an allowance until they are able to earn something for themselves. In
London, as I have before stated, the number of cases relieved by the
Jewish Board of Guardians in 1890, _exclusive_ of Loan and Industrial
Departments, was 3351, representing with dependent families 12,047
individuals, and this at a cost of £21,648. Of course, this refers to
the resident Jewish population as well, the operations of the Russian
and Board Conjoint Committee not being included in this statement.
In fairness it should be stated that the Jewish Board of Guardians
also assist many to emigrate, and generally endeavour to reduce the
mischievous effects of charitable agencies to a _minimum_. But there
are other _institutions_ whose philanthropic activity assumes a more
questionable shape. Such, for instance, is the "Poor Jews' Temporary
Shelter," which it can hardly be doubted attracts many destitute Jews
to this country, since in 1888 it provided board and lodging for a
period of from one to fourteen days to 1322 homeless immigrants.
A similar charge has been brought against the "London Society for
Promoting Christianity among the Jews." I have gone very carefully
into this charge, and find that it is a groundless one. Not only is
the Society opposed to the wholesale influx of foreign Jews, but the
number of Jews converted through its influence is incredibly small.
For instance, we learn from the last Annual Report that only 145 "young
Hebrew Christians" were presented to the Bishop for Confirmation by the
Chaplain during the ten years of his chaplaincy, or an average of about
five a year. The annual income of the Society is £35,000!
I write of what I know. There are agitators in the East End of London
who could arouse a _Judenhetze_ to-morrow by merely holding up a
finger. It is only the moderating influence of others which restrains
them. But this influence, already strained to its utmost, will not
avail for ever. If the ceaseless immigration of Russian and Polish
outcasts is not brought to an end, there will be an anti-Jewish
movement in Whitechapel, in Leeds, and the other centres of population
affected by this evil. The irritation will develop. This would be a
great social calamity, and one above all others to be avoided.
These are the principal considerations which occur to one in writing on
the subject of Jewish immigration. Again let me repeat, in endeavouring
to sift this apparently endless influx, there need be no anti-Semitic
feeling in the matter. There is a German proverb, "Every nation has
the Jew it deserves." We have these our native-born English Jews,
of whom we are all proud. Sober, thrifty, industrious, law-abiding
and patriotic, they are a valuable and an integral portion of our
community. But with these destitute foreigners it is widely different.
They bring bound up with them all the vices and habits generated by
centuries of oppression and degradation. Something must be done to
divert this stream before it swells into an overwhelming flood. How
long is this invasion to go on? Until Russia has emptied half--the
worst half--of her Jewish population on our shores? The question is
one for English Jews themselves. If an anti-Semitic feeling breaks
out in this country, it will be because of this Russian influx, which
apparently is being allowed to go on unchecked. What are the wealthy
and powerful English Jews doing to check it, to focus public opinion
upon it, to urge the intervention of Parliament? Apparently nothing.
Surely it is not too much to expect that a movement for judiciously
restricting and diverting this alien influx, should have the support
of the wealthy English Jews; and this not only because of their poor
co-religionists who come here to find only fresh misery awaiting them,
but also in gratitude to the country under whose enlightened rule they
have amassed their wealth, and attained their present influence. There
is another reason also for urgency. No one who has had any practical
experience in this matter can be blind to the growing dislike and
antagonism with which these destitute immigrants are viewed by the
native working population with whom they come in contact. This feeling
is gathering in intensity day by day.
An outbreak of this nature would be a disgrace and a reproach to our
vaunted civilization, and it would be almost certain to be followed by
that most dangerous phase of popular excitement--panic legislation.
Surely it would be wiser statesmanship to do something now, while the
matter can be considered reasonably and dispassionately, than to wait
until the smouldering embers of discontent burst into a blaze, the
flames of which it may be difficult to check.