diff options
Diffstat (limited to 'old/62816-0.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | old/62816-0.txt | 4269 |
1 files changed, 0 insertions, 4269 deletions
diff --git a/old/62816-0.txt b/old/62816-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index c8a7c0d..0000000 --- a/old/62816-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,4269 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Jews in the Eastern War Zone, by American -Jewish Committee - - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - - -Title: The Jews in the Eastern War Zone - - -Author: American Jewish Committee - - - -Release Date: August 1, 2020 [eBook #62816] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - - -***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE JEWS IN THE EASTERN WAR ZONE*** - - -E-text prepared by Richard Hulse, Quentin Campbell, and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images -generously made available by Internet Archive (https://archive.org) - - - -Note: Images of the original pages are available through - Internet Archive. See - https://archive.org/details/jewsineasternwar00amer - - -Transcriber’s note: - - Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_). - - Text enclosed by equal signs is in bold face (=bold=). - - Small capitals in the original text have been transcribed - as ALL CAPITALS. - - See the end of this document for details of corrections - and changes. - - - - - -THE JEWS IN THE EASTERN WAR ZONE - - -[Illustration: Emblem of the American Jewish Committee] - - - - - - -The American Jewish Committee -New York -1916 - - - - - THE AMERICAN JEWISH COMMITTEE - - - _Officers_ - - LOUIS MARSHALL, _President_ - JULIAN W. MACK, } - JACOB H. HOLLANDER, } _Vice-Presidents_ - ISAAC W. BERNHEIM, _Treasurer_ - - - _Executive Committee_ - - CYRUS ADLER, _Chairman_, PHILADELPHIA, PA. - ISAAC W. BERNHEIM, LOUISVILLE, KY. - HARRY CUTLER, PROVIDENCE, R. I. - SAMUEL DORF, NEW YORK, N. Y. - JACOB H. HOLLANDER, BALTIMORE, MD. - JULIAN W. MACK, CHICAGO, ILL. - JUDAH L. MAGNES, NEW YORK, N. Y. - LOUIS MARSHALL, NEW YORK, N. Y. - JULIUS ROSENWALD, CHICAGO, ILL. - JACOB H. SCHIFF, NEW YORK, N. Y. - ISADOR SOBEL, ERIE, PA. - OSCAR S. STRAUS, NEW YORK, N. Y. - CYRUS L. SULZBERGER, NEW YORK, N. Y. - MAYER SULZBERGER, PHILADELPHIA, PA. - A. LEO WEIL, PITTSBURGH, PA. - - - OFFICE: - 356 Second Avenue, New York City - - - - - CONTENTS - - - PAGE - - INTRODUCTION 7 - - RUSSIA - - JEWISH DISABILITIES IN NORMAL TIMES 19 - - THE PALE OF SETTLEMENT 20 - Recent “abolition” act a half-way measure, - dictated by military necessity. - - OTHER RESTRICTIONS 31 - 1. Residence restrictions.—2. Occupational - restrictions.—3. Property restrictions.—4. Fiscal - burdens.—5. Educational restrictions.—6. Military - burdens. - - THE WAR AND THE JEWS 36 - - OUTBREAK OF WAR 36 - Manifestations of loyalty.—Jewish patriotism. - - THE WAR IN POLAND 41 - Renaissance of Polish hopes.—Polish anti-Semitism. - —Spy stories instigated by Poles, accepted and - circulated by Russian military authorities. - - MILITARY REPRESSIONS 66 - Extraordinary conduct of military censor. - —Stifling of Jewish press and speech.—Expulsions. - —Demand for hostages.—Widespread misery.—Unfair - administration of relief. - - THE PEOPLE VS. THE RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT 70 - Anti-Jewish policy of the Government not approved - by the people.—DUMA protests.—Resolutions of - CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY.—Protests of - MUNICIPALITIES, PUBLIC OFFICIALS, ETC.—Protests of - TRADE AND PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS.—Protests of - WRITERS and PUBLICISTS. - - OTHER COUNTRIES - - AUSTRIA-HUNGARY 84 - Russian atrocities in Galicia. - - ROUMANIA 89 - - PALESTINE 93 - - APPENDIX - 1. Report of Russian Jewish Relief Committee 98 - 2. Speech of Deputy Friedman in the Duma 111 - 3. Speech of Baron Rosen in Imperial Council 117 - - - - - THE JEWS IN THE EASTERN WAR ZONE - - - INTRODUCTION - -Of all the people that have suffered deeply from the present war, none -have borne a greater burden than the Jews—in physical and economic -loss, in moral and spiritual torment. - -Jews are today fighting each other in all the armies of Europe. Russia -alone has over 350,000 Jewish soldiers; Austria has over 50,000; -altogether there are probably one-half million Jews in the ranks of the -fighting armies. - -The Jews are bearing the brunt of the war’s burdens, not only on the -field of battle, where they suffer with the rest of the world, but also -in their homes, where they have been singled out, by their peculiar -geographic, political and economic position, for disaster surpassing -that of all others. - -When the war broke out, one-half of the Jewish population of the world -was trapped in a corner of Eastern Europe that is absolutely shut off -from all neutral lands and from the sea. Russian Poland, where over -two million Jews lived, is in a salient. South of it is Galicia, the -frontier province of Austria. Here lived another million Jews. Behind -Russian Poland are the fifteen Russian provinces, which, together with -Poland, constitute the Pale of Jewish Settlement. Here lived another -four million Jews. - -Thus seven million Jews—a population exceeding that of Belgium by -one million—have borne the brunt of the war. Behind them was Holy -Russia, closed to them by the May Laws of 1881. In front were hostile -Germany and Austria. To the south was unfriendly Roumania. They were -overwhelmed where they stood; and over their bodies crossed and -recrossed the German armies from the west, the Russian armies from the -east and the Austrian armies from the south. True, all the peoples of -this area suffered ravage and pillage by the war, but their sufferings -were in no degree comparable to those of the Jews. The contending -armies found it politic, in a measure, to court the good will of the -Poles, Ruthenians and other races in this area. These sustained only -the necessary and unavoidable hardships of war. But the Jews were -friendless, their religion proscribed. In this medieval region all the -religious fanaticism of the Russians, the chauvinism of the Poles, -combined with the blood lusts liberated in all men by the war—all -these fierce hatreds were sluiced into one torrent of passion which -overwhelmed the Jews. - -Hundreds of thousands were forced from their homes on a day’s notice, -the more fortunate being packed and shipped as freight—the old, the -sick and insane, men, women and children, shuttled from one province -to another, side-tracked for days without food or help of any kind—the -less fortunate driven into the woods and swamps to die of starvation. -Jewish towns were sacked and burned wantonly. Hundreds of Jews were -carried off as hostages into Germany, Austria and Russia. Orgies of -lust and torture took place in public in the light of day. There are -scores of villages where not a single woman was left inviolate. Women, -old and young, were stripped and knouted in the public squares. Jews -were burned alive in synagogues where they had fled for shelter. -Thousands were executed on the flimsiest pretext or from sheer -purposeless cruelty. - -These Jews, unlike the Belgians, have no England to fly to. The -sympathy of the outside world is shut off from them. They have not the -consolation of knowing that they are fighting for their own hearths, -or even for military glory or in the hope of a possible reward or -indemnity. The only thought they cherish is that after the struggle -shall be over they may at last achieve those elementary rights denied -to no other people, the right to live and move about freely in the -land of their birth or adoption, to educate their children, to earn -a livelihood, to worship God according to the dictates of their -conscience. - - - RUSSIA - -Nearly half of the Jewish population of the world lives in Russia, in -the immediate area of active hostilities, congested in cities, which -are the first point of attack. The dreadful position of the Jews of -Russia in normal times is well known. Forbidden to live outside of -the enlarged Ghetto, known as the Pale of Settlement; burdened with -special taxes; denied even the scant educational privileges enjoyed -by the rest of the population; harried by a corrupt police, a hostile -Government and an unfriendly populace—in brief, economically degraded -and politically outlawed—their condition represented the extreme of -misery. It was the openly expressed policy of the reactionaries who -ruled Russia to solve the Jewish question by ridding the country of its -Jews. “One-third will accept the Greek Church; one-third will emigrate -to America; and one-third will die of starvation in Russia”—so ran the -cynical saying. Some did abjure their faith, tens of thousands did -starve in Russia and hundreds of thousands did emigrate to America. - - - Loyalty of Russian Jews - -Then came the war. The Jews saw therein an opportunity to show the -Christian population that in spite of all the persecutions of the -past they were ready to forget their tragic history and to begin life -anew in a united and regenerated Russia. Thousands of Jewish young -men who had been forced to leave Russia to secure the education which -their own country denied them returned voluntarily to the colors even -though they knew that all hope of preferment and promotion was closed -to them. On the field of battle the Jewish soldiers displayed courage -and intelligence which won the respect of their fighting comrades and -gained for hundreds of them the much desired cross of St. George, -granted for distinguished valor in the face of the enemy; while those -who remained at home opened and equipped hospitals for wounded soldiers -without distinction of race or creed, contributed generously to all -public funds, and, in brief, gave themselves and their possessions -unsparingly to the Russian cause. - -It appeared at first as though the long desired union with the Russian -people was about to be realized. But it soon developed that the chains -which bound the Jews of Russia to their past could not be broken. -Forces which they could not possibly control doomed them to the -greatest tragedy in their history. The Pale in which they lived was -Polish in origin and population. Poles and Jews were fellow victims of -the Russian oppressor; but instead of being united by the common bond -of suffering, they were separated by religious and racial differences -and above all by dissension deliberately fostered among them by the -Russian rulers until it developed into uncontrollable hate. - - - Russian Atrocities - -Immediately before the war the struggle had assumed its bitterest -form—that of an unrelenting boycott waged against the Jews. When the -war broke out the political status of the Poles changed overnight. Both -the Russian and the German armies found it politic to cultivate the -good will of the Polish population. Many Poles seized the opportunity -to gratify personal animosity, religious bigotry or chauvinistic -mania by denouncing the Jews, now to the one invader and now to the -other, as spies and traitors. In Germany the animus of the attacks -was to some extent uncovered and the lies refuted. But in Russia they -found fertile soil. The Russian military machine had met with defeat -at the hands of the Germans. To exonerate themselves in the eyes of -their own people the military camarilla eagerly seized the pretext so -readily furnished them by the Poles and unloaded the burden of their -ill-fortune upon the helpless shoulders of the Jew. Men, women, even -children were executed without the shadow of evidence or the formality -of a trial. Circumstantial stories of Jewish treachery, invented by the -Poles, were accepted as the truth and circulated freely through the -Russian press and on the local government bulletin boards; but when -official investigation proved these stories false in every particular, -the publication of the refutation was discouraged by the censorship. -The authorities gave the troops a free hand to loot and ravage, -even encouraging them by the publication of orders which officially -denounced all Jews as spies and traitors. The result was a series of -outrages unprecedented even in Russia. A million Jews were driven from -their homes in a state of absolute destitution. - - - Protest of Liberal Russia - -All of the liberal elements of Russia protested against this campaign -of extermination, but were powerless in the face of the military -Government. Hundreds of municipal bodies, trade and professional -organizations, writers, publicists and priests, petitioned the civil -government to admit the Jews to human equality or at least to suspend -its policy of persecution. These memorials, together with the speeches -delivered in the Duma, constitute a body of evidence from non-Jewish -sources, which must condemn the Russian Government in the eyes of the -world. (See pages 70–83; 117–120.) - - - GALICIA - -During the ten months of the Russian occupation of Galicia the Jews of -that section suffered even more severely than did the Jews who dwelt -in the Russian Pale. For here the Jews were the subjects of the enemy -and no pretext was needed for their maltreatment. The Ruthenians and -Poles who occupied the land were friendly to Russia, which promised -them independence and power. But Russia could expect nothing from the -Jews of Galicia, for they were already in the possession of rights and -liberties not enjoyed by the Jews of Russia, and the weight of the -Russian invasion fell upon them mercilessly. Here thousands of Russian -Jewish soldiers were forced to give up their lives in an attempt to -impose upon the free Jews of Galicia the servitude from which they -themselves so ardently longed to escape in Russia. They were forced -to witness the desecration by their Russian companions-in-arms of -synagogues, the outrage of Jewish women and the massacre of innocent -and helpless civilians of their own faith. - - - ROUMANIA - -Though Roumania is not yet a belligerent, some of the Jews of that -country have been vitally affected by the war. In July of 1915, the -Ministry of the Interior issued a general order expelling the Jews of -the towns near the Austro-Hungarian frontier into the interior. Though -this order was later alleged to have been designed to prevent the -operations of Jewish grain speculators from Bukowina, many Jews who had -resided in the border towns for generations were summarily expelled. - -This action of the Government was bitterly criticized by the liberal -press and in a memorial addressed to the King by the League of -Native-born Jews, and the order was finally revoked. - -Whether the present Balkan situation may or may not result in the -entrance of Roumania among the belligerent nations there is no doubt -that upon the termination of hostilities the question of Roumania’s -treatment of the Jews should be reopened. - - - PALESTINE - -At the outbreak of the war Palestine contained, according to reliable -estimates, about 100,000 Jews, some of whom were economically -independent agriculturists, but the great majority of whom were aged -pilgrims dependent upon their relatives and the good-will offerings of -their pious co-religionists in Europe. The war cut them off completely -both from the markets of Europe and from their relatives and friends; -nearly the entire Jewish population was thus left destitute. Their -position was further aggravated by the severity with which Turkey, upon -her entrance into the war as an ally of the Central Powers, treated -the nationals of hostile countries. About 8,000 Jews who declined to -become Turkish subjects were either expelled or departed voluntarily. - - - JEWS IN OTHER BELLIGERENT COUNTRIES - -In all the countries where the Jews have heretofore enjoyed freedom -there has been no special Jewish problem during this war. The Jews -have identified themselves completely with the lands of their birth or -adoption, and have shared the trials and glories of the peoples among -whom their lot was cast. - -In England, the Jewish population, according to estimates prepared -by Lord Rothschild, furnished more than its share of recruits to the -British army, its quota of 17,000 comprising about eight and a half per -cent. of the total Jewish population as compared with the six per cent. -furnished by the non-Jewish population. The Lord Chief Justice, Baron -Reading, a Jew, mobilized the financial resources of the country and -was called upon to head the Anglo-French commission which negotiated -the $500,000,000 credit secured in the United States. Lord Rothschild -is treasurer of the Red Cross organization. Hon. Herbert Samuels is -a member of the Coalition cabinet. A Jewish battalion organized by -Palestinian fugitives rendered exceptional service to the allies in the -Gallipoli Peninsula. Many rewards, including the bestowal of Victoria -Crosses and promotions, are listed in the Anglo-Jewish press every week. - -In Germany the Jews, although without complete social privileges, have -borne their full share of the burdens of war. To Herr Ballin, the -head of the mercantile marine, was given the task of organizing the -national food supply, and other Jews have been prominently identified -with every department of the industrial mobilization of the country. -In France and Italy, Austria-Hungary and Turkey, Jews are to be found -in the ministerial cabinets, in command of troops in the field, and -prominent in charge of the medical service of the armies. - - * * * * * - -Thus the present war has again demonstrated the great truth that, in -times of struggle as in times of peace, the Jews constitute a most -valuable asset to those nations that accept them as an integral part -of their population and permit them to develop freely, but wherever an -autocratic government demoralizes its people by confronting them with -the spectacle of an unprotected minority denied all human rights, the -government itself feels the reaction and the moral tone of the nation -is thereby impaired. - - - RUSSIA - - - NOTE ON SOURCES OF INFORMATION - -For the purposes of this report it has been deemed advisable to select, -from the mass of material available upon the present status of the Jews -in Russia, only evidence based upon: - - 1. Official and semi-official reports of the Russian government - published in its official daily newspaper, “Pravitelstvenny Viestnik,” - in its semi-official organ, “Novoe Vremya,” or in its several military - organs. - - 2. Debates and Proceedings in the Imperial Duma and in the Council of - the Empire, particularly evidence furnished by non-Jewish deputies or - evidence of Jewish deputies that has passed unchallenged or has been - challenged unsuccessfully by the Right benches. - - 3. Statements in the Liberal Russian press and the Jewish press - published in Russia, all of which have been rigorously censored. - - 4. Protests and manifestoes of non-Jewish organizations, parties - and leaders against the anti-Jewish policy of the government. These - protests have been made publicly and have passed unchallenged by the - Russian Government. - -In brief, the present report is based exclusively upon evidence -furnished by the Russian government itself, officially in its own -press, or countenanced by reason of the revision applied, through its -military and civil censorship, to the opposition press, or in public -speeches and declarations that have passed the government benches in -the imperial legislative chambers unchallenged. - - - RUSSIA - - INTRODUCTION - -Russia acquired the great bulk of her Jewish population through the -partitions of Poland, from 1773 to 1795. Strongly medieval in outlook -and organization as Russia was at that time, she treated the Jews with -the exceptional harshness which the medieval principle and policy -sanctioned and required. By confining them to those provinces where -they happened to live at the time of the partitions, she created a -Ghetto greater than any known to the Middle Ages; and by imposing -restrictions upon the right to live and travel even within this Ghetto, -she has virtually converted it into a penal settlement, where six -million human beings guilty only of adherence to the Jewish faith are -compelled to live out their lives in squalor and misery, in constant -terror of massacre, subject to the caprice of police officials and a -corrupt administration—in short, without legal right or social status. - -Only twice within the last century have efforts been made to improve -the condition of the Jews in Russia; and each interval of relief was -followed by a period of greater and more cruel repression. The first -was during the reign of Alexander II; but his assassination in 1881 -resulted in the complete domination of Russia by the elements of -reaction, which immediately renewed the persecution policy. The “May -laws” of Ignatieff (1882) which enmesh the Jews to this day, were the -immediate product of this régime. The second period, a concomitant of -the abortive revolution of 1904–5, was followed by a “pogrom policy” of -unprecedented severity which lasted until the outbreak of the present -war. - - - THE PALE OF SETTLEMENT - -At the beginning of the war the number of Jews in the Russian Empire -was estimated at six million or more, comprising fully half of the -total Jewish population of the world. =Ninety-five per cent. of these -six million people were confined by law to a limited area of Russia, -known as the Pale of Settlement,= consisting of the fifteen Governments -of Western and Southwestern Russia, and the ten Governments of Poland, -much of which territory is now under the German occupation. In reality, -however, residence within the Pale was further restricted to such an -extent that territorially the =Jews were permitted to live in only one -two-thousandth part of the Russian Empire.=[1] No Jew was permitted to -step outside this Pale unless he belonged to one of a few privileged -classes. Some half-privileged Jews might, with effort, obtain special -passports for a limited period of residence beyond the Pale; but the -great majority could not even secure this privilege for any period -whatsoever. A tremendous mass of special, restrictive legislation -converted the Pale into a kind of prison with six million inmates, -guarded by an army of corrupt and brutal jailers. - - - The Recent “Abolition” of the Pale - -In August, 1915, the Council of Ministers issued a decree permitting -the Jews of the area affected by the war to move into the interior -of Russia. This act has been supposed in some quarters to constitute -the virtual abolition of the Pale, this interpretation being chiefly -attributable to the extensive publicity given the measure by the -Russian government; but the evidence, official and otherwise, clearly -indicates that far from being a generous act of a liberal Government -toward an oppressed people, it is in reality only a temporary -expedient, dictated mainly by military necessity and partly by the need -of a foreign loan; it is evident that it was granted grudgingly, with -galling limitations which served to emphasize the servile state of the -Jews; that it is in practice ignored or evaded at the convenience of -the local authorities; and that it has been utilized, if not designed, -to mislead the public opinion of the world. - -Evidence in support of this view will now be considered: - -=1. It is a temporary measure dictated by military necessity. It does -not remove any of the disabilities to which the Jews in Russia are -legally subject.= - -This is admitted officially in the Minute of the Council of Ministers -for August 4 (17), 1915, at which session the abolition decree was -promulgated. This Minute reads as follows: - - “It has been observed, of late, in connection with the military - situation, that Jews are migrating _en masse_ from the theatre of - war and are gathering in certain interior governments of the Empire. - This is explained, on the one hand, by the endeavor, on the part of - the Jewish population, to depart in good time from the localities - threatened by the enemy, and, on the other hand, =by the order, - issued by our military authorities, to clear certain localities in - the line of the enemy’s advance.= The further concentration of these - refugees, whose number has been growing ever greater, in the limited - area now available to them, is causing unrest among the local native - population and may lead to alarming consequences in the form of - wholesale disorders. This excessive accumulation of Jewish refugees - also impedes the Government seriously in its efforts to provide - food, work and medical attention for them. Under these circumstances, - deeming it urgently necessary to take prompt measures to avert - undesirable possibilities, the Acting Minister of the Interior has - made a representation with respect to this matter before the Council - of Ministers. - - “Taking up this immediate subject for deliberation and =without - touching upon the question of the general revision of laws now in - force concerning Jews,= the Council of Ministers has found that the - most advisable way out of the situation created would be to grant the - Jews the right of residence in cities and towns beyond the Pale of - Settlement. This privilege, =established because of the exigencies - of the military situation,= must not, however, affect the capital - cities,[2] and the localities under the jurisdiction of the Ministries - of the Imperial Court and the Minister of War.” - -The appalling facts back of this dry official statement were already -known to all Russia. =Hundreds of thousands of Jews had been expelled -from their homes overnight by act of the military authorities.= At a -previous session of the Council of Ministers, Prince Shcherbatoff, -himself a Conservative, had presented the terrible condition of these -refugees. He pointed out that they were perforce driven into forbidden -territory, that it was difficult to direct them anywhere, each one -naturally seeking some place where he had friends or relatives in the -hope of finding some means of livelihood, and that because of the -residence restrictions they found themselves outlaws against their -will, and poured in petitions and telegrams in tremendous numbers, -begging for official permission to reside legally in their new homes. -These people, he pointed out, cannot be turned away from places beyond -the Pale, because they cannot possibly go back to their old homes.[3] - -As was shown by Duma Deputy Skobelev, “the question of the Pale was -brought up in the Council of Ministers =only when the wave of Jewish -refugees had already swept away this medieval dam!”=[4] Another deputy, -an Octobrist, Rostovtzev, declared in the Duma: =“What Pale is this you -are speaking of? There is no Pale; Kaiser Wilhelm has abolished it!”= - -If any further evidence were needed to demonstrate that the abolition -decree was not a voluntary act of emancipation but was forced upon the -government by conditions beyond its control, the inspired editorial -in the semi-official government organ, the “Novoe Vremya,” of August -9 (22), 1915, supplies this evidence. It declares flatly that the -reception of the measure by the general press as “the first rays of -a new dawn” is entirely unwarranted; that =the question of removing -all Jewish disabilities was never discussed; it is not particularly -important anyway; it was not even worked out for presentation to the -Duma.[5] Certain conditions, created by a state of affairs already -existing, had made it necessary to modify some of the regulations with -respect to the Pale. That is all. No permanent statute will be enacted=. - -=2. The decree was issued in the hope of facilitating a foreign loan.= - -Count A. Bobrinski, a Conservative member of the Imperial Council, -declared, in a statement to the editor of the “Dehn”:[6] - -“The conservative members of the Imperial Council raised no objection -whatsoever against the recent Government measure granting permission -to the Jews to reside outside of the Pale. I believe that we shall -have to become accustomed to the idea of seeing the Jews dwell in all -parts of Russia after this war is over. There can be no return to the -old conditions. - -“The necessities of the war must lead us also to sanction future -concessions toward the Jews whenever the need thereof will be -recognized by the Government =in order to be able to place a -Government loan in America.”= - -The attitude of “Kolokol,” the organ of the Holy Synod, reflects this -with perfect frankness: - -“Power has gradually passed from the mailèd knights, from heroes of -the battlefield to the counting house, because in gold there is more -power than in fearless argonauts. If Germany excels us in armament -and was better prepared in every other way it is because her nation -is older than ours, older in its culture by several hundred years. -Herein lies our weakness. But the Jews are the oldest people on earth. -Their cult is the cult of gold and of brains. It does not matter -that they have forgotten their glorious epoch of military heroism, -have forgotten how they defended their Jerusalem. It does not matter -that they are no longer accustomed to bear arms and to decide with -the sword their differences and quarrels. This people has learned -to draw to itself the gold of the world. It is like a sponge.... It -has learned caution and foresight and is organized into a powerful -international force. Under the conditions of the present war the Jews -are a power not to reckon with which is to be politically blind. -Would it not be advantageous to Russia to throw into its scales these -nuggets of gold, these billions of the international bankers?...”[7] - -The naïveté of these statements is ridiculed by the liberal press, led -by the Petrograd “Retch,” with the comment that “It is difficult for -the anti-Semites of yesterday to pour new wine into old flasks. The -scare-crows of ‘Jewish freemasonry,’ the ‘universal Kehillah’ and other -myths still terrify the editors of ‘Kolokol’; but instead of screaming: -‘The Jews are strong; crush them!’ the cry now is ‘The Jews are strong; -yield to them!’ =It does not seem to occur to these new converts that -the Jewish question is merely one of elementary civic decency.”=[8] - -The significance of this will be appreciated when it is recalled that -the liberal press reflects the ideals of the Russian masses just as -“Kolokol” reflects the hopes and fears of the Russian government. - -=3. The measure was granted grudgingly, with galling limitations which -emphasize the humiliating position of the Jews.= - -The Jews are even under the provisions of the new decree still debarred -from all villages, from the two capitals Petrograd and Moscow, from -the vicinities where royal residences happen to be located and from -the districts of the Don and Turkestan which happen to be under the -jurisdiction of the ministry of war. These restrictions were denounced -as senseless by all the liberal elements of the Empire. “Russkoe -Slovo,” August 13 (26), 1915, declares: - -“Hereafter a Jew may live in Kaluga, but is excluded from Tashkent; -in Yekaterinodar he may not live; in Nizhni he may. It is very hard -to find any sense in such distinctions, even from the point of view -of the Black Hundreds. If you should ask Markov 2d [the leader of the -Black Hundreds.—Tr.] into what cities we ought to admit Jews—whether -into Nizhni, or into Tashkent, he would answer at first, of course, -that we ought not to admit them into either; but confronted with ‘dire -necessity’ he would hardly give preference to Tashkent, already full -of alien nationalities. - -“And yet to whom, except Markov 2d and his kind, would all these -exceptions and limitations give any aid or comfort? Suppose we do -allow the Jews perfect freedom of travel within the country; suppose -we do find villages where so much as a whole Jew—and not a fractional -Jew—exists statistically per hundred of peasant population; suppose -we do find a Jewish tailor, a blacksmith or a merchant in a Russian -village—would that be such a calamity?” - -=4. In practice the act is often ignored or evaded by local officials.= - -The Governor of Smolensk has continued to expel Jews entering his -province, entirely regardless of the law. The government of Kiev -even refused to permit the publication of the ministerial decree -until the middle of September, some six weeks after its official -promulgation, and has consistently ignored it since. In practically -all the other governments of the Empire the administration of the act -is entirely dependent upon the whims of the local governors. Late -advices bring reports of the expulsions of Jews from the Caucasus, -Tomsk, Vladivostok, Siberia, and many other cities and provinces in -which, under the terms of the abolition decree, Jews are permitted to -reside.[9] - -In many places the local authorities have even taken advantage of the -new decree to deprive the Jews of rights possessed by them under older -statutes. In Saratov, for example, a small number of Jewish merchants, -professional men and artisans have been permitted to live and engage -in gainful occupations since 1893, under the terms of a special Ukase -issued in that year, although the city, being outside the Pale, is -closed to Jews in general. The regulations, however, required that the -Jews obtain special passports from the police department certifying -to their right of residence in Saratov, and special permits from the -local license boards, based upon the police certificates, authorizing -them to engage in their several occupations. But now that the Pale has -been “abolished” the police officials have discontinued the issuing of -special certificates, claiming that since all Jews have been granted -the right of residence throughout the Empire the need for issuing such -certificates to individual Jews no longer exists. Yet the license -boards persist in their demand for such certificates from the Jews and -have, to date, absolutely refused to grant them the necessary licenses -without which they cannot continue in their occupations. In other -words, the Jews of Saratov now have the legal =right to live= in that -city, but are denied the legal =right to secure the wherewithal to -live.=[10] - -=5. The promulgation of the abolition act, designed to mislead the -public opinion, and thereby to win the sympathy, of the civilized -world, has not misled the people of Russia.= - -This is clearly indicated by the typical expressions of editorial -opinion which follow; and at this point it may be well to remind the -American reader again that in Russia, more than in any other country, -the press must weigh its words carefully, since editorial missteps have -serious consequences. - -The “Russkoe Slovo,” August 13 (26), 1915, condemns the measure as a -half-way measure, as a substitution of one Pale for another, “even -though it be granted that the new Pale is larger than the old.” It -demands =the full abolition of the Pale—“that greatest misfortune of -Russian life.”= - -“Unfortunately,” it continues, “we tend to repeat our mistakes only -too often. When we do ‘submit’ to the demands of life we do so either -too late or with such indecision and so grudgingly that in the end, -instead of evoking real satisfaction, we not infrequently evoke a -feeling of misunderstanding or produce an effect which is the very -opposite of the one intended. Yet an act can be valid and precious and -achieve its highest aim only when it is done in good time, cheerfully, -frankly, straightforwardly and with decision—as befits a government -that is strong and sure of itself.” - -The Petrograd “Retch,” the great liberal daily, August 20 (September -2), 1915, points out that the measure is merely tentative and must be -legalized by statutory enactment within six months. It hopes that this -enactment will not preserve the absurd limitations of the original -decree. - -“If it has at last been recognized as expedient to remove that -shameful blot, the Pale, we ought to leave not even a small speck of -it. From a moral point of view,—and even an empire must have a point -of view—it matters little whether a man is held by a long chain or a -short one. =There should be no chains at all=....” - -This is echoed by the Petrograd “Courier”: - -“If there is only one corner of Russia left to which Jews may not be -admitted, the Pale still remains, no matter what arguments may be -used, and no matter what promises of future ‘privileges’ may be made. -A principle cannot be measured quantitatively. The step taken so far -is merely a beginning, and life demands that it should be completed. -Besides the ‘right to live’ there are other rights derived from it:—the -right to attend school, to do business, to own property, to choose -one’s occupation freely.”[11] - -Even the extreme reactionary organ, “Kolokol,” which has hitherto been -most insistent in its demand that “True Russians” be protected from -Jewish competition by the confinement of Jews to the Pale, now declares: - -“Abolish the Pale entirely. Even now it is, in fact, nothing but a -sieve. All of real ability in Jewry, every Jewish faculty sharpened -for the struggle for existence, easily escapes the Pale. But this -constant necessity for circumvention of the law only corrupts the Jews -and exasperates them.”[12] - -The persons most affected, the six million Jews of Russia, received -the “Emancipation Act” with deep mistrust. They were chiefly concerned -lest the news of this act should deceive their co-religionists abroad. -At a national conference of Jewish publicists and relief workers at -Petrograd these resolutions were adopted: - -=“We are unwilling that our brethren in other lands shall gain a false -impression from our attitude toward the abolition measure.... The -permission to reside in cities outside of the Pale in no way remedies -the evil, nor does it relieve the pressing needs of our times, nor -does it affect in any way the legal restrictions in force against -Jews.... In expressing our profound indignation at the humiliation and -persecution to which the Jews have been subjected since the beginning -of the war, we declare that the State can do justice to the Jews and -prevent further persecutions only by the total and unconditional -repeal of all special restrictions.”= - -The leading Russian Jewish Weekly, “Evreyskaya Zhizn,” of August 23 -(September 5), 1915, declared editorially: - -“If this measure had been passed in July or August of 1914 we would -have met it with faith and joy. Then the Jewish people were ready to -appreciate any political measure of relief and looked upon everything -as the beginning of a new era. That new era came, but, alas! of what -a different nature! Periods of accusations and horrors, of Kovno -expulsions and Kuzhi[13] slanders came and the people grew desperate. -This half measure of the Ministers, in spite of its practical -importance, cannot vitalize the Jewish people, and the main reason -lies in the fact that this measure does not carry with it any new view -upon the real subject matter of the Jewish question. This measure is -only a slight relief in the condition of citizens who have no rights -and who remain without rights.... The Jews are considered, in the new -order, as citizens of the second class. We remain the same pariahs, -from whom something has to be kept back, to whom the villages must be -closed with fear, and to whom the chosen centers must be closed with -a feeling of loathing.... The element of distinction between Jews and -other citizens remains and is even more emphasized. =The principle -of equality of rights for Jews has not been realized and without it -no material benefits promised by the new act will find their way to -the soul of the people. Only acknowledgment of the right of Jews to -all rights of Russian citizenship will melt the ice of that cold -disappointment which has seized all Russian Jews.”= - -Finally, the eminent Jewish historian, Simeon Dubnov, in an impassioned -article in “Evreyskaya Nedelya” (September, 1915), denounced the -hypocrisy of the government and demanded the immediate abolition of all -Jewish restrictions: - -“It is fully a year since the terrified faces of the ‘prisoners’ -appeared through the bars of that gigantic prison known as ‘the Jewish -Pale.’ Part of the prison was already enveloped in the flames of war, -and the entire structure was threatened. The prisoners, in deathly -terror, clamored that the doors be thrown open. They were driven from -one part of the prison to another part that seemed in less danger, -but the prison doors remained shut. The warden’s answer to their -prayer was that it was impossible to ‘release them,’ even in war time, -because later it would be difficult to ‘recapture’ them! - -“Ultimately the keepers were compelled to open the doors slightly -and to let out a part of the dazed and half-asphyxiated inmates; but -even then they were quarantined within three governments, which were -immediately congested with refugees; and only now, when the largest -section of the Pale, with a Jewish population of two million, has -become foreign country—only now are the gates of the overcrowded -prison thrown wide open and the prisoners cautiously permitted to -leave.... - -“=Should our further emancipation proceed at the same pace, we shall -attain full freedom only after our complete annihilation.=... The -sop is thrown to us under conditions internal and external which -sharply emphasize its enforced character. This measure is not one of -restoration; rather it is like a rag thrown to the victim after his -last shirt has been taken from him. This belated, partial, privilege -must remind the Jew that of all nationalities in Russia—not excepting -the semi-savage tribes—he alone needed _such_ a favor. - -“At this time of profound mourning, upon the graves of thousands of -our brothers who have fallen victims not only to the sword of the -enemy, but because of outrage within our own borders, amidst the ruins -of our cities, our weary hearts cannot rejoice over the beggarly dole -tossed out to us. In silence shall our people accept the miserly gift -from those from whom it is accustomed to receive only blows; but, as -ever, it will demand aloud that those rights of which it has been -deprived should be restored to it.” - -It is apparent, therefore, that the legal status of the Jews in Russia -has remained substantially unchanged by the war. - -The restrictions normally imposed upon the Jews of Russia (with -the exception of certain specially designated—and numerically -negligible—fractions) subject them to the following principal -disabilities: - - - 1. Other Residence Restrictions - -(a) WITHIN THE PALE. Although originally granted the right to live -anywhere within the Pale, the privilege was gradually restricted until -the Jews were, in effect, confined to the cities and larger towns. -By the law of May 3 (15), 1882, the Jews were forbidden to settle in -the villages of the Pale. By the law of December 29, 1887 (January -10, 1888), they were forbidden to move from one town to another. -By judicial and administrative interpretation “towns” were often -designated as villages and the Jews expelled from them overnight. The -net result has been the congestion of the Jewish population in the -cities and larger towns. Although they constitute only 12 per cent. -of the _total_ population of the Pale, they form 41 per cent. of the -_urban_ population. As this congestion tended to create a ferocity in -competition which reduced incomes and standards to the lowest limits, -many Jews of necessity attempted to escape into the interior of Russia. -But their illegal stay was possible only with the connivance of a -corrupt police. Even then the numerous police raids at midnight or -early dawn (_oblavy_—literally “hunts”), accompanied by an excess of -brutality, made the life of these illegal residents one of fear and -torment. - -(b) OUTSIDE THE PALE. The privileged five per cent. that was granted -the theoretical right of free travel and residence throughout the -Empire, was also continually harassed by arbitrary police and judicial -measures which practically nullified their privilege. This class -comprises: - -_Artisans_, permitted free residence by the law of 1865; but constant -restrictions and new interpretations of the term have reduced the -number of Jews enjoying this status to a bare fraction of the Jewish -population. - -_Merchants of the First Guild_, allowed to leave the Pale after five -years’ membership in their guild, and on condition of the payment of an -annual tax of 800 roubles ($400) for ten years, after removal from the -Pale. Numerically insignificant to begin with, this class was further -reduced by police blackmail until it became almost negligible. - -_Jewish graduates of Russian institutions of higher education._ The -operation of the “percentage” rule, however, reduces these to a -minimum. (See pp. 33–34.) - -_Prostitutes._ Jewish women who have become prostitutes are permitted -to live outside the Pale. - - - 2. Occupational Restrictions - -The public service of the Empire, or of any of its political -subdivisions, is practically closed to Jews. Jews may not be teachers -(except in Jewish schools), or, as a rule, farmers. These artificial -restrictions operate to drive the Jews into the occupations permitted -to them, chiefly trade and commerce, thus overcrowding the ranks of -tradesmen and artisans. - - - 3. Property Restrictions - -Jews may not buy or sell, rent, lease or even manage land or real -estate outside the Pale or outside of the city limits within the Pale. -The artisans privileged to practise their handicraft outside the Pale -may under no circumstances _own_ their homes. The ownership, direct or -indirect, of property in mines or oil fields is also forbidden to Jews. - - - 4. Fiscal Burdens - -The Jews pay, in addition to the normal taxes, a candle tax, designed -for the support of Jewish schools, and a meat tax, originally destined -for Jewish religious purposes; but in practice these funds are diverted -to general, non-Jewish, purposes, and even used, in part, for the -enforcement of police measures against the Jews. - - - 5. Educational Restrictions - -Jews are not admitted to the secondary or higher educational -institutions and universities, except in proportions varying from 3 -to 15 per cent. of the entire number of non-Jewish pupils. (For high -schools: 10 per cent. within the Pale and 5 per cent. outside the -Pale, except in the two capitals St. Petersburg and Moscow, where it is -only 3 per cent.; and for universities all over the Empire, about 3 per -cent.) - -=A ministerial decree issued in August, 1915, permits the children -of all Jews actively connected with the war to enter any educational -institution in the country regardless of the percentage norm; but in -practice this decree, like the decree abolishing the Pale, is entirely -subject to interpretation and modification by the local authorities, -who have, so far, virtually ignored it.= - -The result of the percentage norm applied to the admission of Jews -to secondary schools and universities is that in the towns to which -the Jews are restricted by the domiciliary regulations and where they -constitute in many cases a very large proportion of the population, -=the great majority of the Jewish youth are denied the means of a -higher education.= In Warsaw, the Jews constitute 36.30 per cent. of -the population; in Lodz, 47.59 per cent.; in Lomza, 39.42 per cent.; -in Kovno, 54.60 per cent.; in Vilna, 40 per cent.; in Grodno, 52.45 -per cent.; in Bialostock, 65.62 per cent.; in Brest Litovsk, 78.81 per -cent.; in Pinsk, 80.10 per cent.; in Berditcheff, 87.52 per cent., -etc., yet in all these towns only the stipulated percentage of Jewish -students may be admitted. - -In addition to this restriction, many secondary schools (School of -Military Medical Hygiene, School of Railroad Engineering, School of -Electricity, etc.), are entirely closed to Jews. Even commercial -schools, maintained by Merchants’ Guilds, admit Jews only in proportion -to the Jewish membership of the Guilds. - -=The Government also restricts the establishment of higher schools -under Jewish auspices.= In 1884, it closed the Technical Institute of -Zhitomir (founded in 1862), on the ground that, in the southwestern -Pale provinces, the Jews contributed a majority of the artisans, and -a special Jewish technical school would increase this disproportion. -In 1885 it closed the Teachers’ Institute (a noted center of Jewish -learning) because “there was no further need for it.” - -As a consequence of these limitations and restrictions there has been -a scramble among Jews to gain admission to these institutions. Parents -have employed every expedient to have their children enrolled. Another -consequence is that many Jewish young men emigrated to Switzerland, -Germany and France, to obtain a higher education, and thereafter to -return to Russia to enter professional life. A recent calculation shows -that about 3,000 Jewish students from Russia annually exile themselves -in order to attend foreign universities. - - - 6. Military Service - -The Jews constitute only 4.05 per cent. of the population of the -Empire, but the proportion of Jews in the annual army contingent was -estimated, at the outbreak of the Japanese war, at 5.7 per cent. This -is due to the fact that a great many exemptions which the law provides -for non-Jews are made inapplicable to Jews. =In the army the Jews can -achieve no rank higher than that of corporal.= A penalty of 300 rubles -($150) is placed upon each Jewish defection, and the whole family, -including parents and relatives by marriage of the person accused, is -held responsible therefor. - -The results of these repressions and persecutions are known. -Politically outlawed, socially and economically degraded, the -Jewish population imprisoned in the Pale has festered in misery. -The merchants have been obliged to resort to fearful competition. -Workingmen, overcrowding their industries, have been compelled to work -for starvation wages. Most of the Jewish homes in Russia are miserable -hovels, with little air or light. In the great cities, the proportion -of paupers approximates a fifth of the Jewish population. In Odessa -in 1900, of a population of 150,000 Jews no less than 48,500 were -supported by charity; 63 per cent. of the dead had pauper burials, -and a further 20 per cent. were buried at the lowest possible rate. -In the Governments of Ekaterinoslav, Bessarabia, Pietrikov, Chernigov -and Siedlets, the number of charity cases at the Passover festival -increased from 41.9 per cent. to 46.8 per cent. in four years. - - - THE OUTBREAK OF THE WAR - -It was against this background of ever-spreading persecution and misery -that the great war broke upon the Jews. They accepted it as loyal -Russian citizens, and not without hope that it might lead to some -improvement in their own conditions. - -The Kehillas (communities) of Petrograd, Odessa and other cities -officially sent large sums in gold for the reservists, established -hospitals for the use of the wounded without distinction of race or -creed, held great patriotic demonstrations in the synagogues, at -which the Rabbis urged the Jewish youth to render their full share of -military service, and in other ways, presented, as the Mayor of Odessa -said, “an example of readiness to sacrifice everything for the army.” - -The spirit of the Jews of Russia at the outbreak of the war is well -expressed in the appeal which the Jewish community of Vilna, the -oldest in Russia, at the very heart of the Pale, issued in connection -with the establishment of a military hospital: - -“Our beloved Fatherland—the great Russian Empire—has been provoked -to bloody, terrible conflict. It is a struggle for the integrity and -greatness of Russia. All true sons of Russia have risen as one man to -shield their country, with their own breasts, against the onslaught -of the enemy. Our brothers of the Jewish faith, all over the Russian -Empire, have also responded to the call of duty ... and many have -voluntarily joined the army which has gone forth to the field of -battle. But circumstances now demand that those of us who have not -been fortunate enough to be called forward to fight for our country -with weapons in our hands should also make whatever sacrifices we -can. We owe a sacred obligation to those who have left their families -behind, those who are defending our country, and us, with their -blood and their lives. It is our duty to assume all responsibility -for the families of the reservists. It is our duty to take care of -those who will fall wounded or ill in the war. No doubt this sacred -duty will be assumed by the entire Jewish population of the Empire, -by individuals no less than by entire communities. The history of -all past wars, especially those of the nineteenth century, beginning -with the war of 1812, shows that the Jews have honestly and sacredly -fulfilled their duty as citizens and were ever ready to sacrifice upon -the altar of their country their wealth, their blood and even their -lives.... In like manner, at this great crisis in the life of our -country, we, the representatives of the Jewish community of Vilna, the -oldest in Russia and at the very heart of the present conflict, take -the liberty of appealing to our co-religionists to begin at once the -work of organizing relief for the wounded and for the families of the -reservists. =We must care equally for all the soldiers of our glorious -army, without distinction of race or creed, for all are brothers, sons -in common of our great Fatherland....”= - -The Jewish press also gave resonant voice to this spirit of loyalty and -devotion. The “Novy Voskhod,”[14] one of the leading Jewish organs in -Russia, issued this call: - -=“We were born and brought up in Russia. Our ancestors are buried -here. We Russian Jews are bound to Russia by ties which cannot be -broken, and our brothers who have been driven beyond the ocean -by cruel fate cherish their memories of Russia all through life. -Custodians of the commandments of our forefathers, nucleus of the -entire Jewish nation, we, the Jews of Russia, are nevertheless united -inseparably with the country in which we have dwelt for hundreds of -years, and from which neither persecution nor oppression can tear us -away. At this historical moment, when our country is threatened by -foreign invasion, when brute force has taken up arms against the great -ideals of humanity, the Jews of Russia will bravely go forth to battle -and will fulfil their sacred duty....”= - -The Jewish contingent in the Russian army numbered from 350,000 (an -estimate made by the Mayor of Petrograd before the Conference of -Russian Mayors in August, 1914), to 400,000 (the estimate made by the -Jewish Colonization Association, Petrograd). The thousands of Jewish -students who have matriculated at foreign universities because the -“percentage rule” had closed the Russian universities to them, returned -to enroll under the colors, even though they knew that there was no -hope of preferment for them. - -On the field of battle the Jewish soldiers distinguished themselves for -valor. Over one thousand received the Medal or Cross of St. George. -From the many letters of appreciation and affection written by Russian -officers to the relatives of Jewish soldiers under their command who -had been disabled or killed, it was evident that the Jews had won -the affection and respect of the fighting men in the field. But it -was their eternal misfortune that the war, by the logic of military -geography, had to be fought out, on the Eastern side, in Poland; for -between the Poles and the Jews there had long been a state of open -conflict—and the developments of the campaign in Poland foredoomed the -Jews to disaster appalling and almost irretrievable. - - - POLES AND JEWS - -The conflict between the Poles and Jews dates back to the earliest -period of Jewish life in Poland. - -In its early stages it was purely religious. The Church Synod of 1542 -declared that: =“Whereas the Church tolerates the Jews for the sole -purpose of reminding us of the torments of the Savior, their number -must not increase under any circumstances.”=[15] - -The Synod of 1733 reiterated this gospel of hate by declaring that the -reason for the existence of the Jews is: - -=“That they might remind us of the tortures of the Savior, and by their -abject and miserable condition might serve as an example of the first -chastisement of God inflicted upon the infidels.”=[16] - -In its later stages the struggle was chiefly political and economic. -When Russia acquired Poland, through the several partitions in the -eighteenth century, it frankly adopted the old Roman principle of -DIVIDE ET IMPERA. It persistently fomented hostilities between the -Polish and Jewish population by crowding them together in a restricted -area where neither could make a decent livelihood, by pitting them -against each other in an economic struggle conducted on the lowest -possible plane and on the most hopeless terms, by playing off -religious and racial prejudices and by every other device possible to -a government with unlimited power and an unprincipled policy. And the -Poles, politically undeveloped, instead of combining with the other -victims of Russia against the common oppressor, turned upon their -fellows with a ferocity truly unparalleled in European history. - -Several years before the war broke out this struggle came to a climax -over the election of a deputy to the Duma. The Jews of Poland felt -that they were entitled to at least one member to represent them in -the Duma, particularly in the city of Warsaw, where they constitute -nearly half of the population. It happened, however, that in the city -of Lodz they unexpectedly elected one Jewish deputy, Bomash. The Jews, -therefore, seeking to conciliate the Poles and not to wound their -national pride by insisting upon the election of a Jewish deputy from -Warsaw, the ancient Polish capital, offered to compromise, stipulating -only that the Polish candidate be not an avowed anti-Semite. The Poles, -however, insisted upon putting up a notorious anti-Semite. The Jews, -equally unable to support such a candidate in self-respect or to elect -one of their own, united on a Polish Socialist candidate, electing him -to the Duma. This led to retaliation in the form of a boycott directed -not only at Jewish tradesmen, but even at Jewish physicians, artisans -and other workingmen, which soon spread destitution throughout Poland, -affecting, as it did, Jews and Poles alike. So ugly and bitter a form -did the boycott assume that at times even the Russian government was -compelled to take the part of the Jews as against the Poles. - - - Anti-Semitism in Poland - -A significant observation upon the economic character of the -Polish-Jewish struggle was made by the well known Russian journalist, -Madam A. E. Kuskova. - -“I found red-hot anti-Semitism everywhere in Poland. We have -anti-Semitism in Russia, but of a different kind.... Anti-Semitic -papers like ‘Dva Grosha’ accused all Jews of all sorts of crimes, -without protest from the Progressive press, and succeeded in arousing -the Polish people. In Pyasechna, a ruined place near Warsaw, where -ten-day battles took place, I spoke to many peasants who accused the -Jews of many of their troubles, but could never explain what they -really blamed them for. We Russians held a meeting to try to find the -causes of this feeling.... =We came to the conclusion that ... the -Polish-Jewish question is really a Russian-Polish-Jewish question, and -touches us as much as the Poles. They have not room enough to live,= -and more and more Jews are coming there. Even democratic organizations -are compelled to take cognizance of this. One peasant organization -expresses through its organ the idea that it is true that the Jews are -a burden to Poland, but it warns the peasants against anti-Semitism -nevertheless.”[17] - - - THE WAR IN POLAND - -When the fighting armies overran Poland, the Poles saw their chance and -seized it. The dream of a free Poland had never been absent from their -minds. When the world catastrophe came the Poles saw in it not only an -opportunity to regain their land, that had been dismembered more than -a century before, but also an opportunity to avenge themselves on the -hated Jews. Just as the Russians had always played the Poles against -the Jews, so now the Poles hoped to play Russian, German, Austrian and -Jew against each other. It was indeed to the interest of both Russia -and Austria to court the sympathy of Poland. And the Poles seized the -occasion to denounce the Jews, now to the Russians, now to the Germans, -as spies and traitors. - -The position of the Jews under this cross-fire became unbearable. Here -are several cases, selected at random, showing its effect upon the -Jewish population: - -One of the first towns in Russian Poland captured by the Austrians was -Zamosti, near the Hungarian frontier, taken by a detachment of Sokol -troops in September, 1914. They were soon driven out by the Russians; -and at once the Poles of the town denounced the Jews to the Russian -commander, accusing the Jews of having given aid to the enemy during -the Austrian occupation of the town. Twelve Jews were arrested. They -denied their guilt but were sentenced to death. Five of them had -already been hanged, when, in the midst of the execution, a Russian -priest, carrying an image of the Virgin, appeared and with his hand on -the image took oath that the Jews were innocent and that the accusation -was merely a product of Polish vindictiveness. He proved that the Poles -of the town themselves had supported the Austrians and that even a -telephone connection with Lemberg could be found. The seven remaining -Jews were then set free. But five had already been hanged.[18] - -At Lemberg, in September, 1914, the Poles accused the Jews of firing on -Russian troops; as a consequence a great many Jews were arrested, and -nearly seventy were attacked and wounded; but an investigation proved -them all innocent, and Drs. Rabner and Diamond, the Jews who had been -taken as hostages, were released.[19] - -At Kieltse and Radom the Poles plundered many Jewish shops and when -the Russians returned after the German retreat the Poles denounced the -Jews as German sympathizers. Here also those Jews who were arrested -were found to be innocent and released after investigation.[20] - -At Mariampol, near the East Prussia frontier, because of a similar -accusation, the entire Jewish male population, with their Rabbi, -Krovchinski, at their head, were compelled to work the roads for three -days—September 22–24 (October 5–7), 1914 (the first two of these days -falling on the Sukkoth holiday.)[21] - -In this town, also, one Gershenovitz was sentenced to penal servitude -for six years =because he acted as Mayor during the German occupation,= -although the inquiry held by the Russians showed that =he had been -forced by the Germans to accept the office.=[20] - -At Jusefow the Jews were accused of poisoning the wells. Seventy-eight -were killed outright, many Jewish women were violated and all the -houses and shops plundered.[22] - -In Drsukenihi a mill owner, Chekhofski, was accused of having given -a signal for the German bombardment of the town by blowing his mill -whistle. When the Russians reoccupied the town he was brought to -trial before the Military Tribunal and the charge was proven to be -groundless.[23] - -These are only a few instances, taken at random, of Polish slanders. -=In not a single known case were the charges justified; on the -contrary, their gross absurdity was demonstrated on numerous occasions -before military tribunals that could not possibly be charged with -prejudice in favor of the Jewish side of the issue.= A perfect -illustration of this is furnished by the story of the villages of -Groitsi and Nove-Miasto, near Warsaw. - - - The Case of Nove-Miasto - -The Germans, in their first advance on Warsaw, in September–October, -1914, occupied these villages for a few days. When the Russian troops -recaptured the towns the Poles at once denounced the Jews as having -welcomed the German troops and having aided them in every possible -way—whereas the Poles, according to their own account, had accepted -the German rule passively, doing only whatever they were forced to do -by the military authorities. They pointed out seven persons, five Jews -and two Germans, who had demonstrated such devotion to the invaders as -to merit trial for treason and the death penalty. One Jew, Goldberg, -it was charged, had revealed to the Germans the hiding place of ten -Russian soldiers, resulting in their capture; another Jew had shown -them where they might requisition horses and food, and had acted as -guide. - -The case was brought to trial before the military guard, and there, -under strict examination, it assumed an entirely different aspect. A -priest, Zemberzhusky, testified that Jews and Poles had acted precisely -alike toward the Germans; that their reception of the Germans expressed -no joy, that all alike had complained of the invaders’ requisition -and pillage, and that it was only due to the tactful conduct of the -citizens that the town of Nove-Miasto was not entirely demolished. It -was shown that not a single Russian soldier had been captured by the -Germans and that the Goldberg charge was entirely false. All the other -charges were similarly disproved. It developed that they were based on -two facts. In the preliminary investigation the trial officers, being -ignorant of Polish, were compelled to employ interpreters. One of these -interpreted the statement of a Polish witness to the effect that he had -seen a certain Zilberberg walk the streets arm in arm with a German -officer. The fact brought out in the new trial was that =the witness -had actually seen the German officer seize Zilberberg by the neck!= In -the second place, the story had been started in sheer malice by two -notorious gangsters, whose evidence was unworthy of any consideration. -All of the accused were therefore acquitted.[24] - -The significance of this episode lies in the fact that the Colonel -in command in this particular case happened to be a kindly man, who, -being unwilling to see injustice done, went to the trouble to have the -case carefully investigated. Hundreds of other cases based on equally -groundless accusations came to court without the possibility of such a -fair investigation. - -Another case of this sort is reported from Suvalki. It was charged -by the Poles that the Jews of Suvalki had met the Germans with bread -and salt (the national Russian custom in welcoming guests). The facts -were that practically the entire population of Suvalki had fled at -the approach of the Germans. The Germans, however, had, with their -usual thoroughness, made out in advance a list of the leading citizens -of Suvalki who were to be appointed to the deputation that was “to -welcome” the Germans. Only one Jew was on this list. - -Not all the Poles were bitterly hostile to the Jews, as may be seen -from the following story, reprinted from the Polish paper, “Novo -Gazeta,” in “Rasviet,” February 8 (21), 1915, p. 36: - -“An army officer, a Pole, reports this: Where our detachment was -stationed, I found a group of soldiers surrounding a muzhik, who was -telling them that the Jews had cut the telegraph wires. The soldiers -were furious and ready to take revenge on the miserable Jews. I -approached the group and said to the muzhik: ‘I am glad to see that -your patriotic impulses urge you to expose these Jew traitors. You -must take me to them at once. You say you know the guilty ones. Show -us how we can capture them and dispose of them.’ - -“The muzhik became confused at once. He stammered: ‘I didn’t—say -anything about them. I didn’t see them myself. I didn’t see anything -myself. People say so. Everybody says so.’ - -“I assumed a severe attitude and said to him: ‘You know these people -perfectly well, but you don’t want to expose them. You are trying to -shelter these traitors. You must take me to them at once!’ After more -evasions, the muzhik broke down completely. Thereupon the soldiers -turned upon him, and wanted to beat him, but I took him under my -protection. He confessed completely to me and I sent him off and told -him to beg his priest to preach on the following Sunday on the text -‘Love thy neighbor as thyself.’ - -“Another instance was this. In a Warsaw street car filled with -passengers, I saw a Polish woman physician looking out at a Jewish -automobile ambulance. ‘Look here,’ she cried, ‘These Jews also have -motor ambulances. I think they must be stolen.’ I took it upon myself -to ask her for an explanation of this. She was decent enough to admit -that she knew nothing at all about it and that she had said these -words without thinking. - -“In these two cases it happened that I came out as a Pole defending -the honor of Poland, because I believe that Poland does not require -such outrageous falsifications and slanders for its regeneration. If -they were not so painful to relate, I could give you a whole series of -such incidents.” - -Even the Polish clergy, usually anti-Semitic, felt compelled to protest -against the excesses of their followers. Thus in January, 1915, the -priests of Plotsk, headed by Archbishop Kovalsky, interceded on behalf -of the Jews with the Russian authorities who had made numerous arrests -upon the denunciations of Polish agitators. - -So outrageous was the attitude of the Poles that at a Conference of -Progressive Deputies of the Duma held at Petrograd in January, 1915, -resolutions were passed to extend no help whatever to the Polish -Deputies in any of their nationalist projects in the Duma because of -their attitude toward the Jews. - -The Polish weekly, “Glos Polsky,” published in Petrograd, contains an -interview with Professor Milyukov on the Polish question: - -“Our point of view is that along the River Vistula live not only -Poles, but that there also lives another people, the Jewish people, -which has a right to be recognized.... - -“When the Polish question will be taken up in the legislative -chambers, we shall demand that the fundamental act should guarantee -the rights of the Jewish minority as well....”[25] - -At several conferences of Russian, Polish and Jewish communal workers -which took place in Petrograd and Moscow in January, 1915, =the -majority of the Russians expressed their solidarity with the Jews in -this matter.=[26] - -Even the most reactionary Russians foresaw danger to Russia in the -Polish campaign of vilification against the Jews. Thus the “True -Russian” (anti-Semitic) leader, Orloff, after a visit to Poland, -declared: “I have seen nothing bad on the part of the Jews, although -the Poles made up all sorts of accusations against them. But in these -Polish reports you feel prejudice, vindictiveness, hatred, nothing -else.... =The Jews are loyal and brave, and it is most inadvisable -to pursue a policy which might convert six million subjects into -enemies.”=[27] - - - The Kuzhi Case - -But the Russian military authorities, seeking a scapegoat for their -own failures, eagerly seized upon the Polish stories, and gave them -official standing and wide circulation. The notorious Kuzhi incident -illustrates the methods used. The story, as first published in the -military paper “Nash Viestnik,” the official organ of the northwestern -army, on May 5 (18), 1915, in the official daily newspaper issued by -the Russian government, the “Pravitelstvenny Viestnik,” May 6 (19), -1915, and elsewhere, ran as follows: - -“On the night of April 28th, in Kuzhi, northwest of Shavli, the -Germans attacked a detachment of one of our infantry regiments resting -there. This disclosed the shockingly treacherous conduct of a part -of the population—especially the Jewish part—towards our troops. -The Jews had concealed German soldiers in their cellars before our -troops arrived, and at a signal they set fire to Kuzhi on all sides. -The Germans, leaping out of the cellars, rushed to the house which -our regimental commander was occupying. At the same time two of the -battalions, supported by cavalry, attacked our outposts and captured -the village. The house in which the commander had his headquarters -soon fell in. Colonel Vavilov ordered that the regimental colors be -burned, and, refusing to surrender to the Germans, was killed. Our -reinforcements then arrived, drove the Germans out of Kuzhi at the -point of the bayonet, and saved the remnants of the burning standard. -All the local inhabitants who had taken part in this terrible affair -were brought before a court-martial and the ringleaders will be sent -to Siberia. This sad incident again demonstrates the need of keeping -constant guard, particularly over all those Jewish towns which have at -any time been held by the enemy.” - -This story, in all its circumstantial details, was spread broadcast -throughout the Empire, in all the official and semi-official organs of -the government, on the bulletin boards, wherever the Russian populace -congregates. By military order it was brought to the attention of -every man in the army, down to the last private. Country editors were -ordered to reprint the story under threat of prosecution. Not a hamlet -in all Russia but shuddered at the monstrous treachery of the Jews. In -Tashkent the clergy offered a prayer in the Cathedral, petitioning God -to deliver the Russian army from the machinations of Jewish traitors. -Even the Liberals, usually sympathetic toward the Jews, were silent, as -no defense was possible in so black a case. - -Then it occurred to someone to make an investigation. Three deputies of -the Duma went to the spot in person and discovered that =in the entire -village of Kuzhi there were only six Jewish families—all but one living -in miserable huts without cellar space; that the one cellar in a Jewish -house was only nine by seven and too low for a man to stand upright in; -that it could not possibly hide enough German soldiers to attack, much -less annihilate, a Russian detachment; that the few Jews of the town -had left it, with the permission of the military authorities, on April -27th, the day before the town had been attacked by the Germans, and -were known to have spent the night of April 27–28 at another village, -Minstok; and, finally, that no Jews had been tried, convicted or -executed at Kuzhi; in brief, that the story was, from beginning to end, -an absolute fabrication.= - -This Kuzhi story was branded as a lie by the Jewish Deputy Friedman -in the Duma on July 19 (August 1), 1915. He was supported by the -non-Jewish Deputy Kerensky, who denounced the fabrication in these -words: - -=“I declare now from this rostrum that I personally went to the town -of Kuzhi to verify the accusation that the Jewish population of Kuzhi -had committed a treacherous assault on the Russian army, and I feel it -my duty to reiterate that this is but an ignominious slander. There -was no such case, and under local conditions there could be none.”= - -But the refutation of the lie was not spread throughout Russia. It has -been consistently suppressed by the military censor, and to this day -the great majority of the Russian people, in the absence of disproof, -fully believe the story. - - - The Shavli Case - -Another spy story widely circulated in the anti-Semitic press was that -the Jews of Shavli had been expelled from Kurland because they were -detected in the act of leading the German troops on to Shavli. This -also was printed in all the military and semi-official newspapers of -Russia and from there reprinted in the general press. The newspaper -“Dehn” pointed out the absurdity of this and similar charges:[28] - -“Accepting the story as it stands, without demanding the names of the -Jews found guilty, or any other details, let us simply examine the -map. Shavli is not in Kurland at all. It is in the province of Kovno, -and is 50 versts from the nearest point in Kurland, and more than 50 -versts from the nearest point inhabitated by Jews. The Germans, we -know, moved to Shavli, not through Kurland, but from the opposite -direction. =The charge, if true, would therefore mean that the Jews -of Kurland went 100 versts out of their way in an entirely strange -territory in order to commit treason by communicating with Germans. -This is obvious nonsense. Nor is it less obvious that this fiction -has been manufactured out of whole cloth.= And this is how it was -manufactured: Reports reached the newspapers that the Jews of Kurland -were being expelled. The anti-Semitic papers at once argued that if -the Jews were being expelled they must have committed some treason, -and since the line of the German advance was known to be in the -general direction of Shavli, =and since these people were too lazy to -consult the map, they promptly decided that the expulsion must have -been due to the fact that the Jews of Kurland had guided the Germans -to Shavli.”= - -And so this preposterous story was started on its way. - - - Other Spy Stories - -No story was too absurd to be given credibility and systematic -circulation. It was reported, and seriously believed, that at a place -unnamed and a time unknown some Jew had enclosed a million and half -roubles in a coffin and shipped the coffin to Germany. The chief Rabbi -and the Jewish community of Warsaw telegraphed to the “Novoe Vremya” -and several other leading papers, protesting against this monstrous -slander against the Jews at a time when their sons were shedding their -blood freely on the battlefields. The “Novoe Vremya” declined to -publish the telegram.[29] - -The Jewish community of Petrograd appealed to the Grand Duke Nicholas, -then Commander-in-Chief of the Russian armies, in these words: - - “The entire Jewish people would cast out, with scorn and indignation, - those base criminals who, forgetting duty and conscience, would, in - this year of universal sacrifice, break their sacred vows of loyalty - to the fatherland. Such treachery is alien to our faith and was never - known to exist among Jews to any greater extent than among other - peoples. =And never yet, in the course of the centuries, no matter - to what persecutions the Jews, under the influence of prejudice - created by their devotion to their ancient faith and customs, may - have been subjected, has any government denounced ALL of its subjects - as traitors to their country. This is the first time in all history - that such an attitude has been assumed by any government toward the - Jews. At the very time that our sons are fighting in the ranks of the - Russian army for the honor and glory of Russia, we, their fathers, - are held responsible for the acts of a few criminals and are being - persecuted for their vile deeds, aimed at the betrayal of our own - sons. Never has any man or any people been subjected to torment - greater than this, to humiliation less bearable or more offensive to - honor or self-respect....= Your Imperial Highness! In this sad hour of - trial we long to implant in our people faith in a brighter future, we - long to preserve that tie of loyalty towards our common country which - is so essential for the welfare of all the peoples inhabiting Russia, - and which was demonstrated so powerfully when the insolent enemy first - threw down the gauntlet to Russia. We do not wish to admit discord, - despair and sorrow where should reign only unity, harmony, hope. =And - we dare to appeal to your Imperial Highness in the hope that measures - insulting to us will cease to be applied, that the stamp of outcast be - removed from our faces and that we may be permitted, as loyal sons of - our country, freed from all suspicion, to use our whole strength in - the struggle with the common enemy.”= - -No reply was received to this appeal; on the contrary, the policy of -fastening upon the Jews all the blame for Russian defeats was carried -out consistently by the military machine. The “Russki Invalid,” -the official journal of the War Department, in the spring of 1915, -definitely accused the Jews of disloyalty to the State and of sympathy -for Germany, and openly attributed Russian disaster to this cause.[30] - -Military orders like the following were common: - - ORDER No. 89. - - ISSUED TO THE SOLDIERS OF THE FORTIFIED REGION, FORTRESS - NOVOGEORGIEVSK, NOV. 27, 1914. - - “The German newspapers print articles declaring that among the Russian - Jews the Germans find reliable allies who, besides supplying them with - food, are often the best and unpaid spies, ready to enter any service - injurious to the cause of Russia, and that in German victory the Jews - see their salvation from Imperial oppression and Polish persecution. - Similar information continues to come in from the army. - - In order to protect the army from the harmful activities of the Jewish - population, the Commander-in-Chief has ordered that the forces of - occupation take hostages from among the Jewish population, warning - the inhabitants that in case of treacherous activities on the part of - any one of the local inhabitants not only during the period of our - occupation of a given inhabited point, but also after our leaving it, - the hostages will be executed, which order is to be carried out in - case of necessity. - - Upon occupation of inhabited points, careful searches are to be - made to find out whether there are any arrangements for wireless - telegraphy, signaling, pigeon stations, underground telegraphs, and so - forth, and the full penalty of the law is to be meted out to anyone - connected with this. - - Reference: Telegram by General Oranovsky of this year under No. 3432. - Signed, Chief of the Fortified Region. - - General of the Cavalry, BOBYR.” - -This order was issued from the press at six o’clock in the evening, -December 2, 1914, and immediately proved profitable to the dregs of the -Russian soldiery, as was demonstrated at a court martial held in Lomza, -where it was proven that three members of a signal corps had “planted” -a telephone in the motion picture theater of a Jew named Eisenbiegel, -and had then arrested him and demanded 5,000 roubles blackmail. In the -course of the trial it developed that =one of the men was responsible -for the hanging of no less than seventeen innocent Jews as spies solely -because they were unable or unwilling to pay the blackmail demanded by -him.=[31] - -Even the loyalty of Jewish soldiers was officially questioned. Order -No. 1193 of the General Staff, dated April 27–May 10, 1915, commands -all the troops “To watch the Jewish soldiers—especially their readiness -to surrender as prisoners—and in general, their entire conduct.” - -But the publication and circulation of orders like these reacted -disastrously upon the Russian arms. By branding the entire Jewish -population as traitorous the military authorities encouraged the Poles -to fabricate new slanders, the spread of which only served to heighten -the distrust of the populations and to make the fighting area of Poland -a quagmire for the Russian armies. The troops did not know whom to -trust or distrust. Instead of fighting on friendly ground, welcomed -and supported by the moral and economic resources of the civilian -population, the Russians fought on ground undermined by hatred, -dissension and distrust. - -When they began to realize this state of affairs some of the Russian -commanders made desperate efforts to check the spy mania. - -General P. Kurlov issued the following order in the Baltic provinces on -February 25, 1915: - - ORDER No. 27 - - “Of late, more and more anonymous denunciations and reports concerning - crimes and actions closely connected with the peculiar conditions - of war times are coming in in the provinces given over to my - supervision. Such reports not only lack confirmation in most cases, - but investigations prove that they are caused in the majority of cases - not by a patriotic desire to help the military authorities, but by - personal reasons of revenge, not only not admissible in war time, but - also particularly criminal. By distracting the attention of officials - from their necessary duties, these reports promote disorder and - excitement among the local population. - - “I have asked the various Governors to order the police officials - under their supervision not to institute any investigations on the - basis of anonymous denunciations except in extraordinary cases - (Article 300 of the Criminal Code), but to forward these denunciations - to me and wait for orders. - - “In the case of signed denunciations and reports, the police officials - must first of all question the denunciator, warning him of the - consequence of a false denunciation, and if any signs of crime should - be established in the courses of the examination, he should be dealt - with according to Articles 250 to 261 of the Criminal Code, or the - Governors should impose penalties in their administrative capacity. I - order the police officials to strictly follow Article 254 of the Code - when making an investigation. Witnesses found to bear false reports - shall be subjected to criminal prosecution according to Article 940 of - the Code. - - “In view of the particularly criminal character of false denunciations - in war time, I shall apply the most rigorous measures to those found - guilty of this offense. - - “I have asked the Governors to make this order public to all.”[32] - - - SUPPRESSION OF YIDDISH PRESS AND SPEECH - -It appears also that the similarity of the Yiddish and German languages -further laid the Jews open to distrust. The use of Yiddish, in -conversation, in correspondence, over the telephone, in the theatre, -etc., was prohibited by legal, military and civil authorities under -penalty of heavy fine and imprisonment. In Lodz, Vilna, Riga, Warsaw, -and other Jewish centers, the performance of plays in Yiddish was -prohibited and theatres closed. - -Letters from foreign countries to Russia, in any language except -Yiddish were generally passed by the censor after scrutiny, but letters -in Yiddish were as a rule not delivered at all. - -In July, 1915, the commander of the Russian forces issued the following -absolute order: - -“On the basis of the power entrusted to me according to Paragraph 6, -Article 415, Section 6, I prohibit postal and telegraph communications -within the district occupied by the army entrusted to me, in the -Jewish, German, and Hungarian languages.”[33] - -By this order the Russian government not only branded the entire -Jewish people as spies and traitors, but also prevented hundreds of -thousands of Jewish soldiers at the front from communicating with -relatives and friends, because many of the soldiers had been prevented -by educational restrictions from learning to read and write Russian. -To the Jewish soldier unable to read or write was thus denied even -that scant comfort which his Russian comrades might derive from the -stereotyped communications checked on the regulation postal card and -mailed by field-post. - -At the beginning of the war the military censors assumed command of -the entire press of Russia. That they used their power with the utmost -unfairness against the Jewish press was charged without contradiction -in the Duma by Professor Milyukov, Deputies Bomash, Suchanov and -others, who pointed out that if the aim of the censor was to suppress -every truth and encourage every lie against the Jews, they could not -possibly have pursued a more consistent policy. Deputy Bomash furnished -the following concrete instances of perversion of facts by the -censorship. - - 1. It systematically expunged or mutilated the names of Jews to whom - the cross of St. George had been awarded.[34] - - 2. When the Mayor of Petrograd congratulated the Jewish community - upon the heroic conduct of a lad of 13, named Kaufman, the censor - suppressed the fact that Kaufman was a Jew, and that the community - referred to was the Jewish community. - - 3. Stories in the Russian press of the valor of Jews in the French - armies are either suppressed or the Jewish names cut out. - - 4. A news item referring to the fact that General Semenov, whom Jewish - soldiers had saved from capture by the Germans, was treating Jews - kindly was suppressed by the censor. - - 5. Letters of regimental commanders to the parents of Jewish hussars - congratulating them on the valor of their sons, or notifying them of - medals of honor bestowed upon them, were suppressed by the censor. - - 6. The military censorship also suppressed news of an absolutely - non-military nature, whenever it might in any manner have been - construed as friendly to Jews. Thus, a news item referring to the - non-sectarian activities of the National Relief Committee, headed - by the Princess Tatyana, daughter of the Czar, was suppressed. A - news item regarding the disapproval of the Council of Ministers of - the policy of expelling Jews _en masse_ and of wholesale charges of - treachery was also suppressed. - - 7. Even the official declaration of Count Bobrinski, Military-Governor - of Galicia, referring to the correctness of the conduct of the Jews of - Galicia, was suppressed. - - 8. But—outrageously false items published in the notoriously - anti-Semitic papers were generally passed by the censor without - hesitation. The “Novoe Vremya,” the “Russkoe Znamya,” and other - anti-Semitic organs, systematically published reports of wholesale - Jewish desertions, treachery, spying, etc., without at any time - producing an iota of evidence. Thus, “Russkoe Znamya,” declared that - the loyalty of not a single Jewish soldier could be depended upon. - The “Novoe Vremya” declared that the Jews were without exception - embittered enemies of the Russian army, and that during the Japanese - war 18,000 out of 27,000 soldiers voluntarily surrendered as prisoners - to the Japanese. Stories without name, date or place to the effect - that small Polish boys warned the Russian soldiers to take nothing - from Jews because everything they would furnish was poisoned were - passed by the censor, and made much of by the press. The notorious - Kuzhi canard was not only passed by the censor and printed in the - official and semi-official press of Russia, but the censors even - hinted to that section of the press which hesitated to publish a tale - so manifestly absurd that future relations with the censorship might - be imperilled if the story were not given proper publicity. Editors - received a continuous stream of circulars forbidding the touching of - questions which had absolutely no relation to the war. - - 9. When the great writers and publicists of Russia decided that it - would be desirable, for the honor of Russia, to speak a good word - for the Jews and thereby indirectly deprecate before the world the - merciless governmental policy, the pamphlet containing their symposium - was suppressed by the military censor. Even the preliminary letter of - inquiry sent out by these eminent Russians, soliciting information as - to the participation of Jews in the war, was suppressed. The Jewish - weekly, the “Novy Voskhod,” was fined 2,000 roubles and ultimately - suppressed because of the publication of this letter. - -In spite of these suspensions, however, the six million Jews of Russia -still continued, in a measure, to inform themselves as to the conduct -of their sons in the field, and as to matters of Jewish interest in -general, through the half dozen, or more, Jewish newspapers, which -managed to struggle on in spite of the repeated fines and suspensions -imposed by the censor. But on July 5, 1915, the entire Jewish press -was suppressed. Lately several papers have been revived in new form, -but today the Jews of Russia are practically in the dark. They have no -effective means of communicating with one another or with the Russian -public. They can neither prevent the instigation of calumnies nor -refute them when spread abroad. They live in a constant state of terror -lest some new Kuzhi slander set the country aflame against them. - - - WHOLESALE EXPULSIONS - -This public official distrust of the Jewish population of Russia -increased with the Russian reverses, and the assumption by the -authorities that the loyalty of all the Jews was open to suspicion -gave added impetus to the spy mania, set the Jews apart as a dangerous -people and delivered them helpless into the hands of the Cossack -soldiery and the hostile Poles. The atrocities committed upon the -Jews in Poland and Galicia have already been referred to. But a more -disastrous, though less spectacular, consequence of the governmental -attitude towards the Jews was the systematic expulsion of the entire -Jewish population from the war zone, an act which assumed the character -of a merciless war by Russia upon its own population. - -From the very beginning of the war there were individual cases of -Jews, who, being suspected of bad faith, were ordered to leave a -given locality. There were also sporadic expulsions, or rather a -forced exodus, of the entire civilian population of localities which -the authorities desired to clear for military operations. But it was -in March, 1915, that the authorities began systematically =to expel -Jews from all the Polish provinces, even those not occupied by German -troops,= and from the governments of Kovno and Kurland, thus affecting -about 30 per cent. of the entire Jewish population of the Empire. Even -the Jewish deputy from the Kovno district, Friedman, was expelled, in -spite of his constitutional privileges as a member of the Duma. - -The first sufferers were the Jewish inhabitants of the smaller towns, -because these were readily segregated. In a very brief space of -time the region where the Jews constitute over eighty per cent. of -the population of the small towns was absolutely denuded of Jewish -inhabitants.[35] It was only the rapid invasion of this territory by -the Germans which prevented the complete expulsion of every one of -the two million or more Jews who inhabited this area. And those who -have remained in this territory for the present have been promised, -by decree of the supreme military authorities of Russia, immediate -expulsion as soon as the Russian troops regain a foothold here.[36] - -The enforcement of the expulsion orders was carried out ruthlessly. The -time generally allowed was twenty-four hours, rarely forty-eight hours. -The Jewish inhabitants of the governments of Kurland and Kovno were -given from five to twenty-four hours’ notice.[37] - -The Jews of the city of Kovno were notified on the evening of May 3 -(16) to leave not later than midnight of May 5 (18), 1915. - - - Cruelty of Officials - -In a speech delivered in the Duma the non-Jewish deputy Dzubinsky -declared: - -“As a representative of our 5th Siberian division I was myself on the -scene and can testify with what incredible cruelty the expulsion of -the Jews from the Province of Radom took place. =The whole population -was driven out within a few hours during the night. At 11 o’clock the -people were informed that they had to leave, with a threat that any -one found at daybreak would be hanged. And so in the darkness of the -night began the exodus of the Jews to the nearest town, Ilzha, thirty -versts away. Old men, invalids and paralytics had to be carried on -people’s arms because there were no vehicles.= - -=“The police and the gendarmes treat the Jewish refugees precisely -like criminals. At one station, for instance, the Jewish Commission -of Homel was not even allowed to approach the trains to render aid -to the refugees or to give them food and water. In one case a train -which was conveying the victims was completely sealed and when finally -opened most of the inmates were found half dead, sixteen down with -scarlet fever and one with typhus....= - -=“In some places the Governors simply made sport of the innocent -victims;= among those who particularly distinguished themselves were -the governors of Poltava, Minsk, and Ekaterinoslav ... who illegally -took away the passports of the victims and substituted provisional -certificates instructing them to appear at given places in one of five -provinces at a given date. When they presented themselves at these -designated places they =were shuttled back and forth from point to -point at the whim or caprice of local officials.= - -=“In Poltava the Jewish Relief Committee was officially reprimanded by -the governor for assuming the name ‘Committee for the Aid of Jewish -Sufferers from the War,’ and ordered to rename itself ‘Committee -to Aid the Expelled’ on the ground, as stated explicitly in the -order, that the Jews had been expelled because they were politically -unreliable—and, therefore, presumably, deserved no help.”=[38] - -No distinction of age, sex or physical condition was made. As most of -the able-bodied young men were at the front, those affected by the -expulsions were the persons least able to bear up under the suffering -and privation entailed—old men and women, children, the sick from the -hospitals, the insane from the asylums, even wounded and crippled -Jewish soldiers—all were driven out en masse, without the slightest -regard for human comfort or decency. Women in labor were given no -consideration and many births occurred along the route. Mothers were -separated from their children, entire families were broken up and -dispersed all over Russia. The Jewish and liberal Russian press is -filled with long lists of victims seeking their lost relatives. Where -transportation was provided, the exiles were packed in cattle-cars and -forwarded to their destination on a way-bill, like so much freight. -In many places thousands of them were forced for weeks at a time to -stay in congested villages which were absolutely unable to afford them -a roof and shelter, or to sleep in the freight cars or in the open -fields. And tens of thousands were forced to tramp weary distances -along the open road, or, in the fear of the soldiery, to take to the -back roads, the woods and swamps, there to die of hunger and exposure. - -The total number of Jews who have been expelled to date is unknown. -Expulsions are still going on. At the beginning of June, 1915, at the -deliberation of the Petrograd Central Committee for the Relief of -Jewish War Sufferers, which was participated in by the most prominent -provincial committees, it was calculated that the total number of -homeless Jews ruined by the expulsion—in Poland and the northwestern -district—is 600,000 at the least.[39] After the Kovno-Kurland -expulsions there collected in the Vilna government alone some 200,000 -exiles.[40] In Riga there gathered, by May 18 (31), some 9,600 families -or 42,000 persons.[41] Up to August 6, 1915, there collected in the -government of Volhynia upwards of 250,000 refugees.[42] - - - Hostages - -There is evidence to indicate that the Russian government, overwhelmed -by the consequences of the expulsion policy, has suggested to the -military authorities the advisability of repatriating the exiles; -but these authorities have refused to consider the suggestion except -on condition that the Jews voluntarily give hostages from among their -own ranks, these hostages to include the Rabbi and other leading -Jews. This proposal has been universally rejected by the Jews through -their representative in the Duma, Deputy Friedman, in a letter to the -President of the Council of Ministers: - -“As a deputy from the province of Kovno, from which I, together with -all other Jews, have now been expelled, I consider it my duty to call -the attention of your excellency to the following:— - -“According to the latest decrees of the authorities the Jews who -have been expelled from their homes are to be allowed to return on -condition that they give hostages. =This monstrous condition, which -the government aims to impose upon its own subjects, the Jewish people -will never accept. They prefer to wander about homeless and to die -of starvation rather than to submit to demands which insult their -self-respect as citizens and Jews. They have honestly performed their -duty toward their country and will continue to do so to the very end. -No sacrifices frighten them and no persecutions will make them swerve -from the path of honor. But neither will any persecutions force them -to accept a lie, to give testimony, through base submission, that -the monstrous accusations against them are true.= When the insolent -enemy threw down the gauntlet to Russia the Jews arose to shield their -country with their breasts, and I had the honor to appear at the -historic session of the Duma as their spokesman in the expression of -this spontaneous, inspiring enthusiasm. =The Jews gladly assumed all -the sacrifices demanded of them by their country because of a feeling -of duty to the land to which they are bound by century old, historic -bonds, and also because of a sincere hope for a brighter future. And -I may say with deep conviction that even now, after all that we have -gone through, this sense of duty is as strong as ever.= But with -the very same deep conviction I consider it my right and my duty to -declare that =no privations will shake our firm conviction that as -Russian subjects we cannot be made the victims of measures applicable -only to enemies and traitors; that we consider ourselves and shall -never cease to consider ourselves above all suspicion of treason to -our duty and our vows.= If the authorities really desire to return -the Jewish people to the places from which they were driven away by -order of the authorities they must take cognizance of this feeling -which I can testify under oath, on the basis of many conversations and -observations, is universal among us. =This permission to return under -shameful conditions is only a new and senseless insult. So the entire -Jewish population feels, and this feeling is shared by me, their -representative.”= - - - Misery of Refugees - -This sudden uprooting of an entire people from the land in which it has -dwelt for centuries has brought irretrievable disaster to the Jews of -Poland and Russia. It has been estimated that nearly three of the six -million Jews of Russia and Poland are now without means of support. - -Overwhelming and incalculable as the economic loss may be, the moral -losses far exceed them in intensity. Jewish communal life is disrupted. -Many of the cities and towns from which the expulsions took place were -centers of Jewish culture. Most of the Jewish colleges and schools -have been closed and many of the buildings and synagogues have been -destroyed. It is safe to say that these losses cannot be repaired for -generations to come. - -The demoralization and pauperization of the individual refugees is -painfully noticeable everywhere. Beggary, which was practically unknown -among the Jews, is now only too frequent. - -The appalling misery of the refugees is fully described in the -appended report of the Russian Jewish Committee for the Relief of War -Sufferers (see p. 98). The Jews of the Empire living outside of the war -zone, have assumed a system of self-taxation which, added to their -normal—or rather normally excessive—burden of taxation is practically -impoverishing them. The small Jewish community of Moscow alone gives -about 85,000 roubles a month, ranging from an average of 200 roubles -per month imposed upon 265 manufacturers down to the 10 roubles per -month imposed upon their poorest clerks. Other cities are contributing -in proportion but they cannot possibly keep pace with the ever-growing -need. - - - Unfair Administration of Relief - -And in the midst of this catastrophe the old struggle between the -Poles and Jews has continued with unabated ferocity. The local relief -committees refused to accept Jews as representatives, denied Jews any -help whatsoever and even drove them away, by intimidation and force, -from the relief stations supported by their own people. Of seventy-one -relief committees operating in Poland, fifty-two contained no Jewish -members, although the Jews constituted nearly one-half of the urban -population and thirteen to fourteen per cent. of the rural population -in these places. In the other nineteen committees the Jewish membership -constituted scarcely ten per cent. of the total, although the Jewish -population ran from thirty-five to sixty-eight per cent. of the total -population in the cities and from ten to fifteen per cent. in the rural -districts.[43] And =in most of these places the Jews had contributed -the major part of the relief funds.= Even institutions supported solely -by Jewish contributions were expropriated by the Poles. - -Thus “the magnificently equipped Hospital for the Wounded, in Warsaw, -created at the expense of the Jewish Kehillah, which had refitted -the Roman Hotel for the purpose, has been running until now under -the official name of the Warsaw Local Relief Committee. But this has -turned out to be an anti-Semite organization without a single Jewish -representative, its board being made up of rabid Judeophobes, who feel -no scruples in the methods and means of their anti-Jewish policy. -Private donations, the personal labor of Jews—all this has gone into -Polish institutions, all this has disappeared in the Polish river-bed,” -declares “Novy Voskhod,” Sept. 11 (24), 1914. - -The present attitude of the Jews of Russia toward this problem is well -reflected in a letter, published in a recent issue of “Evreyskaya -Zhizn,”[44] from a Jew, the owner of a salt mine, who had been invited, -among others, to contribute salt for the poorer people of Warsaw, -without distinction of race or creed. He replied, in effect, that the -proposal met with his deepest sympathy, but he took the liberty of -inquiring as to who would have charge of the distribution of the salt. -“Everybody knows,” he wrote, “the intolerant attitude of the Polish -Relief Committee toward the Jews. This makes us doubt whether your -high principle would be carried out conscientiously if administered -by Polish hands. The Warsaw Committee is particularly distrusted, and -it would be extremely unpleasant for me to feel that the necessaries -that we contributed should be withheld from our own fellow Jews. On the -other hand, we would welcome gladly every effort on the part of Russian -organizations to undertake to cooperate with Poles and Jews in this -matter to insure an equitable distribution.” - -When the Central Citizens’ Committee of Warsaw was dissolved by the -German governor of Poland, in September, 1915, its accounts showed -that it had distributed over eleven million roubles ($5,500,000) -since the outbreak of the war, =of which the Jews received scarcely -100,000, although they constitute one-sixth of the population and -the funds had been gathered with the express understanding that the -distribution be absolutely without discrimination between Poles and -Jews.= The Liquidation Commission which disposed of the balance on hand -at the time of the dissolution of the Central Committee—some 1,290,000 -roubles—allotted it all to Polish institutions. =Although there are -300,000 Jews in Warsaw, the majority of them in dire need, not a rouble -was offered for their relief.= - -Finally it must be noted that the occupation of Poland by the German -forces has afforded little relief to the Jews, as the scarcity of food -in Germany precludes the shipment of any considerable quantities of -provisions to ameliorate the distress of the starving Jews of Poland. - - - PROTESTS OF LIBERAL RUSSIA - -The cruelty of the government’s policy toward the Jews has not received -the support of the Russian people, as the numerous protests uttered in -the Duma, in public assemblies and in the press clearly indicate. When -it is remembered that those non-Jews who, in Russia, dare to utter a -word in favor of the despised Jews, risk their position and prestige -to a degree unparalleled in any other country, the following calendar -of protests and manifestoes constitutes a body of evidence against the -Russian government which must compel conviction. - -These protests have been grouped, for convenience, into four classes: - - - THE VOICE OF THE DUMA - -Early in the session of the Duma the Left groups proposed an -interpellation of the Government with respect to its illegal acts -against the Jews. After some debate the proposed questions were -referred to the Committee on Interpellations, which reported them out, -on August 30, 1915, in this form: - - I. Do the president of the Council of Ministers and the Ministers - of the Interior and Justice know of the illegal conduct of their - administrative officers with respect to the following: - - =1. That officers of the prison administration received persons - taken by the military authorities as hostages from the local Jewish - population of Riga, Prushkov ... etc.?= - - =2. That the prosecuting attorneys took no steps to obtain the - immediate release of these persons, accused of no crime and illegally - imprisoned?= - - =3. That the expelled were driven by agents of the police in - Vilikomir, Zhagory and Shadov into freight cars inadequate for the - accommodation of one-tenth of them, and that the remainder, including - children, aged men and women, and invalids were compelled to follow - afoot?= - - =4. That the officers of the local governments took no steps to check - the repeated robberies by the local population of the property left by - the exiles?= - - =5. That the officers of the Gendarmerie of Homel prohibited the - supplying of food to the exiles, even though they were at the point of - exhaustion from hunger and thirst?= - - =6. That in Novozybkov individuals who sent telegrams appealing for - help were arrested?= - - =7. That the officers of the Gendarmerie, with armed threats, refused - to admit to sealed cars persons who brought food to the expelled at - the station of Bielitsa, on the Poliess railroad?= - - =8. That the police officers locked the exiles in sealed cars for - several days at a time?= - - =9. That in the shipment of these exiles from Zolotonosh to Kovno and - back some of them were kept in the cars ten days?= - - =10. That the local government administration of the cities of Minsk, - Samara and Rostov required the reprinting in the local paper of the - story of Jewish treason in the village of Kuzhi, first published in - “Nash Viestnik”?= - - =11. That the local administration of Tashkent ordered prayer for the - delivery of the army from the treachery of the Jews?= - - II. If the illegal acts of the authorities are known to the indicated - individuals what steps were taken by them towards the punishment of - the guilty and the prevention of similar breaches of law in the - future? - -The significance of this interpellation cannot be overestimated, -insofar as the facts implied in these questions are officially accepted -by the great standing committee of the Duma as worthy of cognizance. -Had the questions originally proposed by the Left groups been without -foundation they would have been rejected without reference to the -Committee on Interpellations; and had the Committee on Interpellations -found, upon examination of the evidence underlying each question by -both the Right and Left deputies on the Committee, that the evidence -was defective or inadequate, the interpellation would never have been -reported out in this form. =The fact that it was so reported indicates -that the evidence was incontrovertible, and was so accepted by the -Liberals and reactionaries alike.= The report of the Committee is dated -August 30, 1915, but as the Duma was prorogued immediately afterwards, -the Government’s answer to the interpellation is not known. - -In the course of the debates on these and other questions affecting the -Jews the expressed attitude of the representatives of the great bulk of -the Russian population left no doubt of their absolute opposition to -the Government on the Jewish question.[45] - -Professor Milyukov, the leader of the Constitutional Democrats, -declared on July 19 (August 1), 1915: - -“The strongest factor in the disruption of our national unity was -the government’s policy toward our alien subjects. =The foul play -upon the obscure racial prejudices of the masses, with the customary -weapon of this kind of strife—anti-Semitism and the persecution of -all dissenting nationalities or religions—has been exercised with -unparalleled effrontery. Under the mask of military precaution, -measures worse than credible are taken against crimes that are -imaginary.... At a time when nations are struggling for the liberties -and rights of small peoples, such terrible deeds embitter our friends -and evoke joy among our enemies.”= (Loud applause from the left.) - -=Deputy Kerensky.= “We are fighting this war in a territory occupied -by non-Russian nationalities. But =did not our government, this very -year, cause these peoples to doubt the wisdom of the path they took a -year ago, when they linked their destiny with ours?”= - -=Deputy Tchkheidze.= Aug. 3 (16), 1915: “It is well known to you that -the Government régime has been based on Jewish oppression and that at -all critical moments =it aimed its blows first of all at the Jews, -because they were in the line of least resistance....= - -“A year ago the war began and at once accusations of treachery against -the Jews were started by the Government. To-day Russia and the whole -world knows who is to blame for the condition in which Russia found -herself. The guilty ones were not at all the Jews, as the whole -country will confirm, but those who stuffed their pockets with the -money which they made on Government orders for army supplies (shouts -from the left: “That’s true!”) The guilty ones were those who, with -the aid of men like Myasoyodyeff, Grotgus and other traitors, betrayed -Russia.... - -“This is supposed to be a war for liberty, fraternity, and equality, -but what justice is there in making a whole nation answer for the -crimes of individuals, granting that there are any? - -=“In the name of what truth is the Kuzhi slander being published in -the ‘Pravitelstvenny Viestnik?’= - -=“In the name of what truth are the various periodical publications -ordered to reprint this communication under penalty of a fine?= - -=“What justice demands that a Jewish volunteer who has several times -been wounded be expelled within twenty-four hours when he tries to -find a place in Russia to recover from his wounds?= - -=“In the name of what humanity is it forbidden to hand food to -starving Jewish refugees cooped up in freight trains? In the name of -what brotherhood is one part of the army aroused against the Jewish -soldiers who are in the trenches side by side with our own soldiers?= - -=“We accuse the Germans of breaking the laws of warfare, of using -poison gases and mutilating prisoners. Such acts can call forth only -indignation and protest. Let these acts be a stain upon the ruling -classes of Germany. But, gentlemen, in the name of what laws of -humanity are orders issued to the Russian army to drive peaceful Jews -ahead of the troops and to expose them to fire?= - -=“In the name of what laws of humanity are Jewish-Russian subjects -taken as hostages and put into prisons and tortured and shot?= - -=“We denounced the Germans for having destroyed Louvain and the -Cathedral of Rheims; but I ask you in the name of what ethical -or esthetic principles is a Jewish woman who seeks refuge in the -synagogue violated?”= - -=Baron Rosen, former Russian Ambassador to the United States,= also -protested outspokenly against the continuation of the anti-Jewish -policy of the Government in a speech before the Council of the Empire, -Aug. 22 (Sept. 4), 1915. (See Appendix, p. 117.) - - - RESOLUTIONS OF CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY - -The leading political party of Russia—the Constitutional Democratic -Party—officially voiced its sentiments on the Jewish question at a -national convention of the Party, held at Petrograd on June 19–21 -(O. S. June 6–8), 1915, at which the Central Committee of the Party -submitted a comprehensive report which was adopted unanimously, and -which, summarized in the form of a resolution, was ordered published. -This resolution, after citing the loyalty and patriotism of the Jews at -the outbreak of the war, continues: - - “This intense spirit of patriotism manifested by the Jews in the hour - of Russia’s danger seemed for a time to have broken down the rooted - prejudices of the Government and to have cleared the way for the - recognition in Russia, of that civic equality which is accorded the - Jews throughout the civilized world. But this would have deprived - our reactionaries, those champions of an outlived past, of their old - and well-tested weapon of black demagoguery—anti-Semitism. And so we - see that under the direct influence of these notorious Jew-baiters - measures were early adopted by the Government to set the army and the - people against the Jews. Every advantage was taken of the exigencies - of war. Isolated cases of espionage, likely to occur among the border - populations of all nations, were seized upon as a basis for universal - accusations and furnished the occasion for the invention of incredible - myths and rumors circulated exclusively to the injury of the Jews.... - The Jews have been held collectively responsible for the acts of - individuals among them—a policy which outrages the most elementary - sense of justice, a policy which is no longer sanctioned by the laws - of any civilized land, a monstrous survival of the remote past.... - Needless to mention the spread of discord and hatred, the growth of - mutual suspicion and distrust among the races inhabitating Russia - which must of necessity follow such a policy.... - - =“Not only in the name of brotherhood; not only in the name of that - harmony so necessary where different nationalities are fated to live - under the shelter of a common government; not only for the sake of - keeping alive among the Jewish people, now being driven to despair, - some hope of a brighter future, and some faith in that progress - of which they have ever been the valiant champions, but also for - the sake of the attainment of that ideal of the Russian people—the - elevation of our beloved Fatherland to the status of a truly - enlightened empire—must we offer united opposition against the forces - of reaction.... Our adversaries hope to continue, even after the war, - to use the poisoned weapon of primitive race hatred which they have - used until now. It is our task to demonstrate to the masses of the - people that they are again being duped, that their base passions are - now being aroused in order to distract their attention from their own - vital interests. We must continue, as before, to point out, firmly - and persistently, that there is only one path to a brighter future - for Russia, the same path along which the entire civilized world has - traveled, and that along this road there is only one solution of the - Jewish question—a solution demanded by the most elementary principles - of civilized government—and that is to grant them, as individuals, - full civic rights, and as a people, the right to free racial and - cultural self-development.”= - -A striking incident occurred during the debate upon this resolution. -One of the leaders of the party, Maklakov, a brother of the former -Minister of the Interior, advanced a plea in extenuation of the alleged -Jewish treacheries. - -“The Jews have suffered such cruel persecutions in Russia,” he -remarked, “that they might well be excused even if these spy stories -were found to be true.” - -=“We spurn this right to baseness,” cried out former deputy Vinaver, -a Jew. “Our loyalty is not for sale. We are not newcomers here. Our -ancestors have lived here for hundreds of years. We are patriots -because we feel ourselves bound to Russia. We believe in Russia even -more than you do.”= - - - PROTESTS OF PUBLIC OFFICIALS, CITIES, ETC. - -Various municipalities outside the Pale have petitioned the government -to give equal rights to the Jews. - -The Municipal Council of Smolensk, at its session of December 19, 1914 -(January 1, 1915), passed a resolution, with only two dissenting votes, -petitioning the government “to abolish all measures which restrict the -rights of Russian subjects of the Jewish faith, and, in particular, -to abolish the Pale of Settlement.” At this session Councillor P. V. -Mikhailoff said: - -“We are referring not only to those families of Jewish soldiers at the -front, to families fleeing from devastated Poland, but even to the -soldiers themselves who are placed _hors de combat_ because of their -wounds, after having valiantly served in our ranks. Thus, for example, -a Jewish soldier wounded in the hand and in the breast, having parents -in this city, obtained permission _only with the utmost difficulty_ -to stay here three months. At the end of this period he must go -back to the Pale and live there without means or medical attention, -although he is threatened with tuberculosis.... This is merely one -case in thousands which prove to us the horrors of the situation in -which Jewish soldiers and their families are placed because of their -deprivation of civic rights. Those families whose members have shed -their blood for Russia are ruined by the invasion of the enemy. They -arrive here to find a refuge from starvation and death, from ruin -and violation. We must remember that nearly a half million Jews are -fighting side by side with our brave warriors against the common -enemy. As to the civilian Jews, they have no less patriotism or -enthusiasm than the other inhabitants.... His Majesty, the Emperor, -in passing through Lublin, Grodno, and Tiflis, has deigned to express -his thanks to the Jews for their faithfulness to our common country. -The conclusion from this is clear: =There is no serious reason to -maintain any longer those measures of restriction so futile and so -pernicious and so malevolent.... But the Jewish question is not merely -a question of abstract justice. The economic and moral development of -our city life is seriously retarded by the restrictions placed upon - one part of the population....”=[46] - -In August, 1914, a meeting of municipality, Zemstvo, Stock Exchange, -and University officials and merchants, at Odessa, resolved that the -country would benefit by the abolition of all repressive laws and the -opening of educational institutions to all citizens.[47] - -In August, 1914, the Moscow Conference of Mayors also forcibly -condemned the expulsion policy of some governors and resolved to use -its influence to ameliorate the position of the Jews.[48] - -So also the Congress of Delegates from cities of Western Siberia -petitioned for the abolition of all Jewish disabilities.[49] - -Within the past few months the municipalities of Samara, Saratov, -Ekaterinoslav and other important centers; the Siberian Municipal -Conference, and the Conference of twenty Zemstvos held at Yaroslavl, -all petitioned the government and the Duma to remove the disabilities -affecting the Jews of Russia. - - - PROTESTS OF TRADE AND PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS - -The Military-Industrial Committee, organized in May, 1915, to integrate -the economic resources of the country on a war basis, met on August -25, 1915, and condemned the incompetence of the government openly. In -his presidential address P. P. Riabushinski deplored the tardiness of -the government in calling upon the social forces of the country. “This -leadership of the country has been attempted by persons incapable of -leadership, and it is now evident to everybody that a =new personnel -is needed within the government....= We have observed the workings of -the government departments from the very beginning of the war, and have -come to the conclusion that these departments are unable to cope with -the situation. The supply of war material is altogether unorganized, as -the army well knows.... The government will from now on transfer to us -more and more of its functions. =But the longer this is deferred the -less benefit will result....= This work cannot be done through a poorly -organized government.... The State is a huge business enterprise, -whose parts must work harmoniously.... The war has now changed from a -struggle of will and spirit into a struggle of machinery. =Therefore, -the persons entrusted with the defense of the country must know -the country....= It cannot be denied that Russia is at the present -moment facing a great danger, and we fear that the time may come -when our courage will sink.... (_censored_). Our army is suffering -heroically.... (_censored_). We know that after a while, with the war -continuing in the same poor fashion as at present, the government will -be ready to meet us half-way, but we also know by experience =that -it will then be too late and even the very best man called by the -government will be unable to accomplish anything.”= - -This address was met with thunderous applause. Another speaker, Prof. -E. L. Zubashov, referring to the Jews, declared that: =“The sons of -the Jewish nation are now fighting side by side with the Russians for -their country. Unfortunately this country has until now been only a -step-mother to them. Let us express the hope that it may now become -a mother to them.”= He therefore proposed a resolution favoring the -abolition of all restrictive laws against the Jews. His proposal was -met with prolonged applause and was accepted by the convention.[50] - -At a meeting of the Free Economic Society—the foremost economic -organization of Russia—on January 16, 1915, the following resolution -was adopted unanimously: - -“The Commission ... has taken into account the exceptionally difficult -position in which the Jewish population finds itself, in view of the -residence restrictions to which they are subject. - -“While they are suffering all the terrors of war together with the -rest of the population, the Jewish population, being mainly urban, has -suffered particularly from the general disorganization of economic -relations not only within the immediate region of military activities, -but far beyond. - -“Under these conditions it would be a great relief to the suffering -population if measures were adopted which would make it easier -for them to move about in search of work. In view of the size of -our country and the unlimited economic resources of its regions, -especially those of the interior, have hardly been touched by the -miseries of war. There are regions in the interior of Russia where -economic conditions have even improved somewhat, since they have -assumed many of the industries abandoned in Poland, and since the -commissary department placed large orders here. - -“At the same time the Jewish population is even at this exceptional -time artificially confined to the cities of Poland and the western -provinces by force of existing legal limitations which increases the -hardships of war for them. =If in time of peace these restrictions,= -which are economically harmful and morally degrading, =are recognized -as a relic of barbarism that must be abolished, it is all the more -difficult to reconcile ourselves with them at the present time, when -hundreds and thousands of Jews serve under the Russian banners on the -battlefield.= - -“In view of these facts the Commission has decided to request -the Council of the Free Economic Society to communicate with the -government and members of the society who are members of the -legislative bodies:— - -=“To immediately stop the functioning of all restrictive laws relating -to the Settlement rights of Jews,= and - -=“To abolish them immediately and permanently by legislative -enactment.”=[51] - -Numerous commercial and technical associations have passed resolutions -declaring that the main cause of Russia’s economic backwardness lay in -the restrictions placed upon Jews, and that the sole means of combating -German predominance over Russian industry and trade is through the -abolition of these restrictions. Among these organizations are the -national grain, lumber, fur and gold trades; the Chambers of Commerce -of Moscow, Petrograd and the leading cities of Russia and Siberia, -and the national Congress of Bourses; the Russo-American Chamber of -Commerce, etc. Practically every national convention of every industry -has petitioned the government to liberate the economic talents of the -Jews by the removal of all legal restrictions. - - - PROTESTS OF RUSSIAN WRITERS AND PUBLICISTS - -Just as the commercial and industrial elements of Russia demand -equality for the Jews on economic grounds, so the intellectual elements -of Russia demand it on broad human grounds. - -The great manifesto issued at the beginning of the war by 225 of the -leading publicists and writers of Russia, declares: - -“Russia, in the present great war, is straining all her physical -and intellectual forces to an extraordinary degree. All the peoples -of Russia are taking part in the war, sharing equally in all the -labors. We believe that the blood of the fighters is not being shed in -vain. We believe that after having borne the horrors of the war, the -population will return with increased energy to the work of building -for a better and brighter future. This we believe, and we hope that -the relations between the different peoples that inhabit Russia will -be built up in the future on the eternal foundations of wisdom and -justice. - -“But at this moment, so important in history, we see with sorrow and -consternation that to the sufferings of one of the nationalities -inhabiting Russia new distress and new vexations are added. The -limitation of the right of education is now felt with particular pain -by the Jewish youth. As the Western frontiers are closed the usual -exodus to the foreign schools is checked, while in Russia itself the -percentage limitations against the Jews in the schools are maintained -in force. The Jews of the destroyed towns have no right to leave the -Pale of Settlement, a measure which often leads to a disintegration -and a division of members of families, wives and children of wounded -soldiers not being allowed to visit their husbands and fathers, -and being at the same time exposed to all sorts of chicanery. =The -sorely-tried Jewish nation which has given to the world such precious -contributions in the domain of religion, of philosophy, of poetry; -which has always shared the travails and trials of Russian life; which -has been hurt so often by prejudice and insult; which more than once -has proven its love for Russia, and its devotion to her cause, is now -again exposed to unjust accusations and persecutions.= - -“The Russian Jews, who are industriously working with us in all -spheres of labor and activity that are accessible to them, have -given so many convincing proofs of their sincere desire to be with -us, to render service to our cause ... that the limitation of their -right of citizenship is not only a crying injustice, but also reacts -injuriously upon the very interests of the State. The Russian Empire -can, and must, draw its strength from the complete union of all -the nationalities inhabiting Russia, and only by the placing of -all citizens upon an equal footing will the power of Russia become -indestructible. - -=“Russians, let us remember that the Russian Jew has no other country -than Russia, and that nothing is dearer to a man than the soil on -which he is born. Let us understand that the prosperity and power of -Russia are inseparable from the well-being and the liberty of all the -nationalities which constitute its vast Empire. Let us understand -this truth, act according to our intelligence and our conscience, and -we may be certain that the ultimate disappearance of persecutions -against the Jews and their complete emancipation will form one of the -conditions of a truly constructive imperial régime.”= - - - AUSTRIA-HUNGARY - -The total estimated Jewish population of Austria-Hungary is about -2,250,000, of which nearly one million were, at the beginning of the -war, in the border province of Galicia, in the immediate area of -hostilities. - -Here, as elsewhere, the Jews manifested their keen loyalty by trooping -to the colors even when they were normally exempt, as in the case -of the students of the Budapest Rabbinical Seminary, many of whom -volunteered, although not required to do so. The Government recognized -this loyalty in many ways, particularly in the granting of special -privileges with respect to the observances required by the Jewish -religious ritual. Thus the Emperor, in his own name, sent 20,000 -Tallithim (prayer shawls) for the soldiers in the field during the -holidays. When, at Passover, it was discovered that the matzoths for -the Jewish troops had been improperly prepared, the Government, at -the instance of the Chief Rabbi of Vienna, authorized the wholesale -distribution of potatoes to Orthodox Jews. - -Hundreds of Jewish soldiers have been decorated on the field of battle, -and many were given officers’ commissions. - - - GALICIA - -It was the million Jews of Galicia who were made to feel the full -burden of the war. Although their economic condition before the war was -greatly inferior to that of the general population, their political -condition was one of equality. But the Russian invasion of Galicia, -in September, 1914, changed their status overnight. The Russian -Governor-General, Count Bobrinski, a notorious anti-Semite, found the -political status of the Jews in Galicia most abhorrent to him. He at -once proceeded to degrade them to the status of the Russian Jews, and, -if possible, still lower. He proposed to his home Government that -all Jewish landed property in Galicia be confiscated and the Jews -be forbidden to own, lease or rent land; and this, he added, was an -immediately imperative step, to be carried out even before the formal -annexation of Galicia was announced! - -On February 13, 1915, the Grand Duke Nicholas issued an order declaring -that “in view of the increase of spying on the part of the Jews, it is -decreed that: - - =1. No person of Jewish nationality may enter Galicia.= - - =2. No persons of Jewish nationality may pass from one district of - Galicia into another.= - - =3. Infractions of this decree will be punished by a fine of three - thousand roubles ($1,500) or by three months’ imprisonment.”=[52] - -The spirit of these documents, communicated to the troops, produced -a series of outrages against the Jewish population more horrible -even than any perpetrated in Russia. As each town was invaded by the -Russians the troops first sought the Jewish quarters, and here they let -themselves loose in an orgy of pillage, sack and rapine. - -In the town of Bohorodczany there appeared, in January, 1915, a -detachment of Austro-Polish troops. They demanded food and quarters and -were, of course, supplied. After a brief stay they departed. But the -act of the Jews was reported to the Russian commander in Stanislau. -He immediately sent a “punitive” expedition of four hundred Cossacks -to the town. They set the town on fire, routed out the Jewish women -and girls from their places of concealment, assembled them in the -square and there held an orgy under the open sky. After their lusts -were satisfied they drove the victims under the crack of the whip, -half naked and starving, along the roads to Stanislau. One woman, who -had risen from childbirth only a few days before, died on the way. One -of the physicians of Stanislau, Dr. B., testifies that he alone treated -ten cases of women and girls who had been violated.[53] - -In Szczerzec, Galicia, the Russian soldiers caught one Jacob Mischel, a -town councillor, poured oil over him and burned him alive.[54] - -In Dembica, Cossacks raided a synagogue to which the Jews had fled for -refuge and prayer, robbed and imprisoned the men, and outraged the -women. Those who escaped through the windows were caught by the guards -below and men and women were knouted to death. Then the troops set fire -to the synagogue.[55] - -These are typical cases of outrages perpetrated against the Jewish -population of Galicia. Scarcely a town in the line of invasion escaped. -The Jewish population fled before the invaders in vast numbers. - -There are about 175,000 Jewish refugees in Vienna; 70,000 of these -are destitute. There are about 70,000 living in barracks in Bohemia; -8,000 of these are in Prague. There were about 52,000 in Budapest. All -fugitives who have settled in Hungary, however, have been removed to -Austria proper. Dr. J. Bloch of Vienna, estimates that the total number -of Jewish refugees from Galicia is about half a million. The situation -of these refugees is somewhat better than that of the Jewish refugees -in Russia, inasmuch as the Government has placed them in concentration -camps, attends to their minimum wants and gives each one an allowance -of 70 heller (14 cents) daily. With the rise in the prices of food, the -daily allowance has risen to about 90 heller (18 cents) per capita. -They are treated well by the population, and in many cases are provided -with some work. - - - ROUMANIA - -The future of Roumania is of interest to the Jews for two especial -reasons: first, because the Jews of Roumania are deprived of their -rights as citizens in contravention of a solemn promise made by -Roumania to the Great Powers at the Berlin Congress in 1878; -secondly, because it will no doubt be Roumania’s aim to win back from -Austria-Hungary certain large territories, including Transylvania and -Bukowina, in which the bulk of the population is of Roumanian descent, -thus, if successful, incidentally, increasing the number of Jews under -Roumanian rule from about 250,000 to more than one million. - -During the present war Roumania has given evidence of its hostile -attitude towards the Jews. Thousands of Jewish refugees who fled before -the savagery of the Russian army which invaded Bukowina, sought refuge -in Roumania. These were treated with great brutality by Roumanian -officials in the border towns. At the beginning of July, 1915, the -Government issued an order to the administrative authorities of all -the districts bordering on Austria-Hungary to expel all the Jews from -the localities near the frontier, and to send them to the interior of -the country. The officials took advantage of this edict to expel not -only the refugees, but also hundreds of Jewish citizens of Roumania -who had been living in the border towns for generations. The order -of expulsion was executed summarily, and the Jews were forced to -leave within forty-eight and in some cases with all their goods in -twenty-four hours. As a rule, they were not permitted to take their -belongings with them, and even under the most favorable circumstances -they had perforce to leave them behind because they knew neither their -destination nor their fate. - -This action of the Government caused a great deal of adverse comment in -the press. “Vitorul” the official organ of the Liberal Party, now in -power, met these attacks, in its issue of July 12, 1915, as follows: - -“Some of the newspapers pretend that the Ministry of Internal Affairs -has given orders that the native-born Jews established in the towns -bordering upon the northern frontier of Moldavia be sent into the -interior of the country. This news is inexact. The Minister of -Internal Affairs was not aiming at the Jews established in the towns -near the frontier or in any other place when he issued his order -of expulsion. The order given by the Minister of Internal Affairs -concerns only the alien subjects of a foreign country, and the -native-born Jews who, though not living in frontier towns go there on -business, acting as cereal brokers. And the purpose of the order is to -prevent such people from committing acts dangerous to the interests -of the population of the state. The peaceful Jewish population -living near the frontier is not the object of any hounding, as the -irresponsible newspapers would have it.” - -The Bucharest “Adeverul” (Truth), an independent organ, and one of the -two newspapers in Bucharest which sympathize with the Jews, replied: - -“In answer to the attacks of the Government organ upon the -‘irresponsible’ newspapers, we are in a position to publish a list of -the ‘peaceful Jewish population’ which has been the subject of the -most terrible persecutions by the authorities. =We can give the names -of the reserves, mobilized at the very moment, whose children have -been driven from their homes.= It is possible that the Minister of -Internal Affairs did not mean to ‘aim,’ as the official organ says, -at the Jews. If the Minister is innocent of the charge, we would like -to know what punishment to inflict upon his subordinates who wilfully -misrepresented his order. - -“But it is not we who are irresponsible. It is the Government that -tries to mislead the public with ambiguous statements. It says that -the order referred only to the brokers, who may commit dangerous -acts. We know that the law punishes crimes and delinquencies which -_have_ been committed, but does not anticipate crimes that _may_ be -committed. Then again, the law provides strict punishment for each -delinquency and not a general and preventive punishment, such as -deportation. Why is it that those who have committed the infraction -have not been arrested and peaceful people are being punished instead? - -“Even the Government recognizes that this preventive punishment is -applied to the alien and such Jews as are only doing business though -not living in those places. It means that the suspicion rests equally -upon the alien and the Roumanian Jew, because the Jew, although not -an alien, is of another religion. The suspicion then falls upon all -the native-born Jews. Thus we see, that even if the official organ’s -public interpretation of the law be correct, it is still the Jews who -will suffer. But we cannot accept the explanation. It is false. - -“It is an absolute fact that not transient traders but people who are -innocent, who are paying taxes in those localities have been expelled.” - -It is idle to speculate as to what Roumania may do if she becomes -involved in the war. But it is well to consider whether, if she does -not become involved, it will be possible to bring to the attention of -the belligerent powers at a future peace conference the question of the -status of the Jews of Roumania. These are in the anomolous position of -people virtually without a country. They are subjects of Roumania, pay -taxes and support the Government. But even the native-born and those -whose parents and grandparents were native-born subjects of Roumania, -cannot become citizens, and are also discriminated against by the -Government. In this respect, Roumania may be called “Little Russia.” - -The situation of Roumania as a nation is exceptional. She was made an -independent country by the European Powers, meeting at the Congress of -Berlin, after the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–8. In a treaty which was -then signed by all the great Powers of Europe, the following articles -were inserted: - -XLIII. The High contracting parties recognize the independence of -Roumania, subject to the conditions set forth in the two following -articles. - -XLIV. In Roumania the difference of religious creeds and confessions -shall not be alleged against any person as a ground for exclusion or -incapacity in matters relating to the enjoyment of civil and political -rights, admission to public employments, functions and honors, or the -exercise of the various professions and industries in any locality -whatsoever. - -“The freedom and outward exercise of all forms of worship shall be -assured to all persons belonging to the Roumanian State, as well -as to foreigners, and no hindrance shall be offered either to the -hierarchical organizations of the different communions, or to their -relations with their spiritual chiefs. The subjects and citizens of -all the Powers, traders or others, shall be treated in Roumania, -without distinction of creed, on a footing of perfect equality.” - -Roumania having become an independent nation upon its recognition -by these Powers, and upon the conditions set forth in the treaty of -Berlin, it may be possible at the conclusion of the war that the -violations of this treaty on the part of the Roumanian Government may -be considered by the Powers whose honor is thus flaunted by an open -violation of a treaty to which they solemnly became parties. - - - PALESTINE - -The Jews of Palestine were among the earliest victims of the war. The -greater part of them are dependent, wholly or in part, upon their -co-religionists in Europe and America. With the outbreak of the war -all the normal channels of communication were temporarily interrupted. -Even had this not occurred the complete stagnation of trade in Europe -would have made it impossible for the Jews, who were themselves in -difficulties, to continue to afford material assistance. - -The difficulties of the situation before Turkey became a belligerent -are briefly set forth in the following extracts from a report, dated -October 21, 1914, made by Mr. Maurice Wertheim, who was entrusted -by Ambassador Morgenthau with the distribution of a fund of $50,000 -contributed by American Jews. - -The colonists themselves did not stand in actual need of assistance, -as they are largely men of certain means and can help themselves. -Furthermore, they are able to obtain their bank deposits in the -following manner: the Anglo-Palestine Bank, with which most of the -Jews in Palestine do business through their various branches in -Jaffa, Jerusalem, Haifa, Safed, and Tiberias, etc., are registering -or certifying for their depositors checks down to the smallest -denominations. These checks are made payable to the drawer, endorsed -by him, and the registration stamp of the bank is equivalent to a -notice that the check will be cashed by the bank after the moratorium. -With these checks the colonists are able to supply their immediate -needs and harvest their crops. - -The only pressing requirement of the colonists was to exchange some -of these checks for gold in order to pay Government taxes and military -exoneration fees, and this was arranged. - -Further than this, the two great needs of the Jewish colonies, -generally speaking, were: (a) to take care of Jewish laborers thrown -out of employment by existing conditions, and (b) to secure new -markets for their products to take the place of those that had been -affected by the war. - -There are about 2,500 Jewish laborers in the colonies. It is -impossible to determine the exact percentage of unemployed amongst -them, but even if we assume that only half of them are out of -employment, it is easily seen that the amount of money we were able -to divert to this purpose will not go very far. I might say here that -in dividing the fund amongst the various districts in Palestine, we -allotted to the colonies a somewhat larger proportion than their -population justified. - -The opening up of new markets for Palestinian agricultural products -(oranges, wine and almonds, are the chief articles of export), is -probably the most pressing need of the colonist movement in Palestine. -Colonists feel that the chief market for the oranges which in the past -has been England, will be greatly interfered with, and if they are not -able to dispose successfully of their products, their entire future -and very existence will be threatened. - -The situation in the larger centers of population is very bad. -Almost no currency enters the country and foreign checks that do find -their way there are not realizable. This naturally places in great -want those who depend on the “Chaluka” contributions and also the -large class who depend on money sent by relatives. Furthermore, the -industries of manufacture of antiques and souvenirs are completely -stopped, owing to want of customers, and there is no money to conduct -industries such as building, carpentering, tailoring and shoemaking, -in which large numbers of Jews are employed. I found that the better -class of Jews had themselves organized temporary relief, but their -possibilities of assistance are rapidly drawing to a close. People who -had, a few weeks before my visit, contributed to the maintenance of -soup kitchens, stood in need themselves upon my arrival. One Jewish -hospital had already closed. - -The food situation in Palestine was precarious, for while prices had -not risen to any large extent, yet the source of supply was limited. -The introduction of wheat from the East of the Jordan had been -prohibited by the Government (which restriction through the efforts -of the Ambassador we have endeavored to have lifted). In order to -guard against possible shortage of food and also to offer food at the -cheapest possible price, our Committee will purchase from time to time -as large quantities of food as it can, have bread baked itself, and -will sell same at cost, or possibly a little less. - -When Turkey entered the war as an ally of Germany and Austria-Hungary -the situation of the 50,000 Russian Jews, who constituted half of the -Jewish population of Palestine, became precarious. As nationals of an -enemy country, they became liable to any restrictions or deprivation -of rights which military necessity or international animosity might -dictate. Thus these thousands of Jews were to suffer because they -technically bore the nationality of a country which had virtually -exiled them. - -Upon the intervention of the German and American Embassies, however, -the Ottoman Government made special concessions to these Jews. Several -weeks’ time was allowed for those who so desired to become Turkish -subjects by naturalization. Upon the expiration of this period, -those who had not availed themselves of this offer were ordered to -leave. About 600 were forcibly expelled and about 7,000 others left -voluntarily. Most of the fugitives took refuge in Egypt, whence a -number emigrated to the United States. In the spring of 1915, however, -the Council of Ministers decided that the deportations be discontinued. - -The difficulties of the economic situation of the Jewish population -were further increased by Turkey’s entrance in the war. The Government -confiscated most of the crops, and a great many of the settlers were -either drafted into the army or compelled to buy immunity. - -In March, 1915, the American Jewish Relief Committee and the -Provisional Zionist Committee were enabled, through the courtesy of the -United States Government, to send a food ship to Palestine. Although -considerable portions of these supplies were diverted by the Turkish -Government into non-Jewish channels, the food question was to a great -extent solved, and conditions have been steadily improving. The -present situation is briefly described in the following extracts from -a report of the Provisional Executive Committee for General Zionist -Affairs, dated August 10, 1915: - -The _economic_ situation has also shown some improvement. The arrival -of the relief food ship “Vulcan” has been partly responsible for this -result. After considerable discussion with the government authorities, -the following ratio of distribution has been agreed upon; 55 per cent. -for the Jews, 26 per cent. for the Mohammedans, and 19 per cent. for -the Christians. - -The sending of the relief ship has had the important effect of -lowering considerably the prices of food. The gathering of the harvest -is now in full swing. The crops are satisfactory, especially in -Galilee, which is principally a corn growing country. Our farms, in -particular, have proved an important factor in the present crisis by -supplying the colonies and cities with grain at reasonable prices. -There is reason to believe that Palestine will now be able to hold its -own in the matter of food, without depending on further shipments from -America. There is still some shortage felt in sugar and in some less -important groceries, of which small quantities may still be procured -from Egypt. - -The economic prospects would be considerably brighter were it not -for the _locust_ which has swept over Palestine in large numbers. -In corn-growing Galilee the danger is less palpable than elsewhere -where plantations are the principal feature of agriculture. The fight -against the plague has been taken up energetically and systematically. - -The danger of a shortage in grain was another problem that needed -careful consideration. While in normal times Palestine is in a -position to export grain abroad, the outbreak of the war, owing to the -heavy requisitions of the Government and the difficult communications -with the North of Palestine and the Hauran, the granaries of the -country, brought an alarming situation. To deal with it, a special -committee was organized. A number of well-to-do Jews bought up -quantities of grain and had them milled, offering the flour to the -public at cheap prices. In this way the danger threatening the -population from unscrupulous speculators was averted and the prices -were kept down. Thus, when, shortly before Passover, the price of -flour had soared up as high as 65 francs, the action of the committee -had the effect of reducing it to 48. The committee also supplied -public institutions with cheap flour. - -As another means of relief, public stores were opened by the committee -for the sale of provisions. In spite of the fact that some of the -goods were requisitioned by the government, the stores served a good -purpose, helping, among other things, to circulate the checks of the -Anglo-Palestine Company. - -From the very beginning of the crisis, the Palestina Amt made it a -rule that no workingmen were to be dismissed, as such action might -subject them to the danger of starvation. To supply all the workingmen -with employment, public works were undertaken, such as road building, -canalization and water supply. Several builders who had been forced -to discontinue their building operations were assisted with loans to -resume them. - -Finally, a Public Loan Association was organized to meet the needs of -those who had formerly received remittances from abroad, and, owing to -the discontinuation of these remittances consequent upon the outbreak -of the war, found themselves in pitiable circumstances. Some 900 -persons took advantage of the facilities offered by the Association. - -According to the statistics compiled by the Palestina Amt and embodied -in a separate report, some 8,000 Jews left the country during the -crisis. Of these, 4,000 were from Jaffa, 2,000 from Jerusalem, 1,500 -from the Judean colonies and 500 from the colonies in Galilee. The -estimated number of Jews at present in Palestine is 88,100, of whom -13,500 are to be found in the colonies. - -The requisitions and the war contributions levied upon the Jews during -the war, amount to 152,805 francs. - - - APPENDIX - - I. - - REPORT OF THE RUSSIAN-JEWISH RELIEF COMMITTEE - - _NOTE.—The following report was issued by the (Russian) Jewish - Committee for the Relief of Sufferers from the War, to its members - in Russia, in May, 1915, since when conditions in Russia and Poland - have steadily grown worse. The authoritativeness of the report is - guaranteed by the personnel of the committee, numbering among its - membership the foremost Jews of Russia, among whom may be named: Baron - A. de Gunzberg, H. Sliosberg, M. Ginsburg and B. Kamenka, chairman of - the Executive Committee; M. A. Warschavsky, chairman of the Organizing - Committee; and D. Feinberg, L. Bramson and M. Kreinin, Secretaries._ - - -=Terrible disaster has befallen the Jewish population of the Pale of -Settlement and of Poland. Hunger and thirst and disease and death, and -moral sufferings beyond the power of human pen to describe are the lot -of hundred thousands of Jewish men, women and children whom the war has -driven from their homes, whose houses and hearths have been plundered -and destroyed. Hundreds of thousands of our unfortunate brethren are -staring in hopeless despair into a future that seems to spell nothing -but new tears and sufferings....= - -According to the data collected by the General Polish Relief Committee, -=in Poland, alone there are at least 200 towns and about 9,000 -townlets and villages that have suffered from the war, the material -damage amounting to the gigantic figure of over a milliard roubles -($500,000,000).= Besides the terrible losses sustained by the rural -population, the whole industrial production, amounting to nearly -800 million roubles a year, has been ruined. About three million -townspeople are destitute, and of these three million at least half, -i. e., 1,500,000, are Jews. To this number of unfortunate victims we -have to add the population of the provinces of Kovno and Grodno in the -northwestern region of the Pale, the provinces of Bessarabia, Podolia -and Volynia in the southern and southwestern regions. These provinces, -bordering upon Germany and Austria, have a Jewish population of at -least 500,000 people. =Thus the total number of Jews that have, in one -way or another, suffered immediately from the conditions of warfare -equals over two million people, representing one-third, of the total -Jewish population of Russia.= - -Besides, there are hundred thousands of destitute Jews in Galicia -(within Russian occupation) looking forward to relief from this country. - -To the utter ruin of their material welfare there are added the -unspeakable sufferings that the population of the war area has to -endure. In the most favorable of cases the inhabitants of the border -places escape from the zone of fire, taking refuge in the inner parts -of the country; while a large proportion of those unfortunate Jewish -families have remained in the ruined places, facing the phantoms of -starvation and disease that gather a rich harvest among them. - -Such is the devotion and love of the Jews to their native places, to -their own corner, that they prefer to stay in the devastated towns -and townlets and villages, if only permitted to do so. And those who -have fled from their homes take the first opportunity of returning, -heedless of the terrible disasters lying in store for them. A vivid -example, typical of many other instances, is given by the Jews in the -villages of Vissiltsy, District Busak, province Kielce. Our delegate -found the place razed by hostile shells. The population—mostly Jews—for -over three months had been huddling together in cellars, where they had -taken refuge. They were not to leave their shelter by day; no food was -to be cooked, no fire lighted at night—such were the stringent orders -from military quarters. A humane military chief permitted them to -crawl out of their dingy holes by night and feed out of the soldiers’ -cauldron. But soon another chief took his place and the unfortunate -Jews were left to starve in their cellars. =Those that succumbed were -buried in holes that the survivors dug for them in the very same -cellars....= - -Infinitely tragic too is the fate of those Jews who, by rigorous -orders of the military authorities at a notice of from three to -twenty-four hours are expelled from whole provinces of Poland, their -presence near the area of hostilities being considered “a danger to -the safety of the Russian arms.” Leaving their homes and belongings, -the fruit of years of hard toil, an open prey, the unfortunate exiles -by the thousands wend their weary way to towns and villages, thirty or -more miles distant, that have not yet come within the decrees of the -military authorities. Old men, sick women, clasping little children in -their arms, carrying bundles with some scanty belongings that they had -snatched up in haste, fill the silent roads with the sound of their -moans and sobs. Here an old man breaks down, breathing his last sigh in -the middle of the road. There a woman kneels by the roadside staring -in despair too deep for tears, at the child that lies dead in her -arms.... Many are those who succumb on their way; indescribable are the -sufferings of those who survive. Scarcely have they found shelter in a -hospitable town or townlet when—alas! too frequently—the prohibition -of the authorities is a few days later extended also to these places, -and again the Jewish population must start upon its weary pilgrimage.... - -The total number of refugees from the war zone and of exiles can -scarcely be calculated with precision because large numbers have -made their way to numerous small townlets throughout the Pale, thus -frustrating systematic registration, while, at the same time, the -progress of the war tends to swell the host of refugees daily. - -Some idea of their number is given by the following approximate figures: - - Warsaw 75,000 people Radom 2,000 people - Vilna 12,000 people Gussiatin 1,000 people - Kielce 3,000 people Shakvi (Suvalki) 1,500 people[56] - Konsk 4,000 people Lomzha 5,000 people - Minsk 2,000 people Khmelnik - Prassnysh 1,500 people (Prov. Kielce) 1,500 people - - -And yet these figures only show the number of refugees who have applied -for assistance; hundreds of thousands of others are meanwhile living -upon their savings and do not come under the registration. But they -also will be at the end of their scant resources one of these days and -will join the ranks of the destitute.... Thus, for the above-named -places and for many other dozens of towns and townlets the number of -refugees within their walls may be doubled without fear of exaggeration. - -While numerous towns and townlets have, in generous hospitality, opened -their gates to the unfortunate refugees and exiles from the war area, -the native Jewish population of these places is itself suffering a -severe economic crisis, an acute attack of unemployment, which as a -matter of fact, is further intensified by the influx of refugees eager -to offer their services, for the smallest remuneration. Thus poverty -and misery are growing in these places too, the burden of relief -becoming too heavy for the local community to bear. - -We have already stated that the industrial life of Poland and in a -large part of the Pale has been laid waste as a consequence of the -war. Hundreds of factories have been destroyed, hundreds others have -had to stop work for want of capital, raw material, fuel and—first and -foremost—for want of a market for their articles of production. Many -thousands of workmen who were formerly employed by these factories have -remained without bread. - -Whole branches of trade have been shattered, burying the welfare of the -artisans under their ruins. The tailors, weavers, bootmakers, builders, -trades, normally sustaining a large percentage of Jews in Poland and in -the Pale, are dead; the artisans are left to starve, unless something -can be done to save them. - -Commercial life also has been laid waste. The merchants—great and -small—are ruined; hundreds of merchant’s clerks are thrown out of work -and have to apply to public charity. - -There is yet another class of sufferers whose wants and needs have -to be attended to. About 300,000 Jews are fighting in the ranks of -the Russian army. Their mothers, wives and children are receiving but -scanty support (about 2 roubles a head) from the Government. About -half of them, however, are not getting any Government aid at all, -their marriages, although legally solemnized, not having been entered -in the official marriage registers. (It is a well known fact that the -uneducated Jews of Poland and in the Pale frequently omit to have -their marriages registered, failing to realize the full importance -of this formality.) Rent and food having become considerably dearer -with the outbreak of the war, the soldiers’ families often suffer -acute want, which necessitates immediate help lest these people become -charges on their community. Many of the soldiers will never return from -the battlefields; others will come back as cripples, unfit to support -themselves or their families. They will all want support of some kind -or another.... - -It is a boundless sea of troubles that has to be coped with and the -full weight of the task is falling upon Jewish shoulders. The gulf -dividing the bulk of Russian society from Jewish life and needs and -sorrows has not been bridged over by the horrors of war. Though now -and again a voice of sympathy is heard from Russian quarters, here -and there a Russian hand is extended to feed a starving Jewish child, -both moral and material assistance offered by non-Jews to our stricken -people is but infinitesimal as compared with the magnitude of the -distress. - -Nor do we now wish to dwell specifically on Polish-Jewish relations, -it being too well known to what extent they have become pointed during -the recent months, bearing in their train infinite, yea, unbearable -sufferings for our Jewish brethren. - -In order to unite the efforts of Jewish society towards the relief of -the Jewish sufferers from the war, at the very outbreak of the European -conflagration there was formed at Petrograd a General Jewish Relief -Committee, with the sanction of the Russian authorities, to act as a -center for the collection and distribution of funds to the destitute -and needy Jews. At the very beginning of its activity the General -Committee issued an appeal to the Jewish public calling it to its duty -to the unfortunate sufferers, just as the Jewish soldiers fighting and -distinguishing themselves in the ranks of the Russian army are doing -their duty by their mother country. - -Jewish society at large has shown its usual responsiveness and material -support has been forthcoming in as large a measure as individual means -and circumstances would permit. - -Committees, similar to the General Committee, working on the same lines -and in close unity with it have since been organized in prominent -centers of the stricken area and outside of it—e. g., in Warsaw, -Moscow, Kiev, Odessa, Kharkov, and in addition the existing Jewish -organizations, such as the Central Committee of the Jewish Colonization -Association, the Society for the Promotion of Education in Russia, -the Jewish Health Society, the Society for the Promotion of Trade and -Industry among Russian Jews, etc., etc., are taking active part in the -relief work. Representatives of the various committees and societies -working in the war zone and outside it meet periodically in order to -discuss new measures and schemes for the alleviation of the terrible -distress. - -The conditions and extent of distress in towns, townlets and villages -of Poland and of the Pale are being ascertained through delegates of -the General Relief Committee working actively and energetically towards -the organization of various forms of relief in the several districts. -In a number of places the local Jewish community has readily joined in -the relief work, doing its utmost to meet the demand for food, shelter, -clothing; the local philanthropic and communal Jewish institutions -thus becoming valuable agencies of the General Relief Committee. On -the whole, however—particularly as far as Poland is concerned:—=the -organization of assistance to the war sufferers is meeting with endless -difficulties, due largely to the fact that the suffering population is -in such a state of frantic terror, that many Jews do not even dream of -applying to anyone for assistance. In many instances the first terror -has given way to complete apathy.= - -Often our representatives have to seek these people out in their hiding -places, to rouse them from their lethargy, to exercise moral pressure -on the more prominent members of the community, before anything -can be done for the sufferers. This attitude of the people becomes -intelligible when we consider the conditions that they live in under -ordinary circumstances—their poverty, their lack of education, the -contempt they are accustomed to meet with on the part of the non-Jewish -population. - -Similar conditions prevail in the Galician Provinces within Russian -occupation: - -=“I found them huddling together in damp and dark cellars, half-naked, -sick and starving”=—these are the words of one of our representatives -who visited some of the places that had witnessed all the horrors of -the war. =“They showed complete apathy, appeared to be in a trance -of terror. Only a madman—he had become insane because of superhuman -suffering—followed me into the street, shrieking for bread. I handed -him a coin, but he threw it down and clamored for bread....”= - -The ever changing conditions of war, that open up new regions for -relief work today, and close other districts tomorrow, that throw ever -new crowds of sufferers upon public charity—these, to a large extent -baffle all our efforts towards relief, destroying today what was -organized yesterday. Add to this the peculiar circumstances of Jewish -life in Russia, the unfavorable attitude of the authorities towards -the Jewish population in the war area—and the difficulties that the -organization of relief has to cope with will stand out in their full -significance. - -Owing to these and other conditions the General Relief Committee up -till now has had to concentrate largely on extending “first aid,” -this term being here used to comprise feeding and sheltering of the -sufferers. Distribution of food (at low rates or free of charge), of -fuel, clothes, foot-wear; organization of feeding centres, amelioration -of sheltering and housing conditions, of sanitation and hygiene among -the war sufferers—are the chief forms relief has taken so far. - -At the present moment there are being equipped by the General Relief -Committee two so-called “sanitary and feeding expeditions” whose -object it will be to offer medical assistance and provide free food -to the sufferers in the war area of Poland, irrespective of religious -denomination. (The money for this purpose has been received from London -with the express condition that no distinction be made between Jews and -non-Jews). - -Moreover, insofar as this has been possible, efforts have been made -to secure work for the refugees and for those who have lost their -employment as a result of the war. Thus in Warsaw there has been -opened a workshop where refugees are employed in manufacturing various -articles of underclothing for distribution among the war sufferers. -In Vilna there has been established a workshop for bootmakers who are -filling Government orders for army boots. Similar workshops have been -organized at Dvinsk, Fastov, etc. Further, there has been opened at -Warsaw a labor-bureau which is obtaining work for a considerable number -of artisans. - -A large number of small merchants and artisans being in urgent need -of credit to enable them to re-establish and operate their business -and to prevent them from lapsing into utter destitution, credit is -being afforded them through the medium of the Jewish cooperative -credit societies that are working throughout the Pale of Settlement -and Poland. So far, by way of experiment, about 23,000 roubles have -been invested in this operation; however, should this useful form of -assistance be enlarged, considerable means will be required for the -purpose. - -At the present moment the General Relief Committee, working in close -cooperation with the committees in Moscow, Kiev and Odessa, is -extending relief to over 300 centres of population situated in the -following provinces: - - Approximate Number - =Poland—= of Populated Centers - Province Warsaw (including city of - Warsaw where a large number of - refugees are concentrated) 46 - Province Vilna 18 - Province Kovno 40 - Province Suvalki 20 - Province Liublin (only part of it - being accessible to relief work) 25 - Province Kielce (only part of it - being accessible to relief work) 12 - Province Radom 15 - Province Grodno (now included in - sphere of activity of Moscow - Committee) 5 - Province Lomzha (now included in - sphere of activity of Moscow - Committee) 10 - Province Plotsk (now included in - sphere of activity of Moscow - Committee) 8 - Province Kholm (now within activity - of Kiev and Odessa Committee) 10 - - =Southwestern Province—= - Province: Podolia, Bessarabia and - Volynia (Border districts) 10 - - =Galicia—= - Petrograd Committee (cooperating - with Kiev and Odessa Committee) 75 - - =Outside War Area= 10 - ——— - =Total= 304 - -Some idea of the expenditures of the General Relief Committee in -Petrograd is given by the following figures: - - - FOR GENERAL RELIEF - - =Poland—= Roubles - Warsaw 350,000 - Province Warsaw 10,000 - Lodz 1,500 - Province Lomsha 12,000 - Province Suvalki 7,000 - Province Liublin 75,000 - Province Radom 45,000 - Province Cholm 4,400 - Province Kielce 40,000 - —————— 545,000 - - =Southwestern Province—= - (Border Places) 14,000 - Radzivilov 14,000 - Chtin 5,000 - Volotchisk 5,000 - Gorokov 1,000 - Novosselitsy 500 - Various small places 5,000 - —————— 31,000 - - =Northwestern Province—= - Province Kovno 55,000 - Province Vilna 30,000 - Province Bialystock, Minsk, etc. 10,000 - —————— 95,000 - - =Galicia= 112,000 - =Assistance to Jews in Palestine and Syria= - (through representative in Alexandria) 10,000 - =Assistance to Russian-Jewish Refugees from - Abroad= (when passing Petrograd) 1,500 - =Assistance to Wounded and Recovered Soldiers - returning to the Front= 15,000 - =Purchase of Matzoth for Soldiers at the Front= - (subsidy to the Rabbinical Committee) 15,000 - =Subsidy to Various Educational Institutions= - (Yeshiboth, Jewish teachers, etc.) 16,000 - =Organization of cheap credit to Jewish artisans, - workmen and merchants= (through Jewish Cooperative - Credit Societies) 22,000[57] - =Assistance to clerks of Jewish Cooperative - Societies= (affected by the war) 1,000 - =Organization and support of sanitary and feeding - expeditions= (two expeditions) 50,000 - ——————— - =Total= 914,000 - - Expenditure of the Moscow, Odessa, Kiev Committees 350,000 - ————————— - 1,204,000[58] - -According to approximate estimates within the next months the -General Jewish Relief Committee, working conjointly with the Jewish -Committees in Moscow, Kiev and Odessa, =will require the following -sums to satisfy the most urgent needs of the organizations now in -full operation and yet to be started:= - - =Poland and Northwestern Provinces—= Roubles - Warsaw From 150,000 to 200,000 - Province Warsaw From 15,000 to 20,000 - Province Liublin From 20,000 to 25,000 - Province Suvalki From 12,000 to 15,000 - Province Radom From 20,000 to 25,000 - Province Kielce From 20,000 to 25,000 - Province Kovno From 25,000 to 30,000 - Province Vilna From 10,000 to 15,000 - Province Grodno From 8,000 to 10,000 - Province Lomzha From 15,000 to 20,000 - Province Plotzk From 6,000 to 8,000 - Province Cholm From 10,000 to 12,000 - - =Southwestern Provinces—= - Province Volynia From 20,000 to 25,000 - Province Podolia ... ... - Province Bessarabia From 40,000 to 50,000 - - =Galicia—= - =Outside war area= From 10,000 to 15,000 - =Restoration of trade and industry - among war sufferers= From 100,000 to 150,000 - =Extraordinary expenditure= From 10,000 to 15,000 - ——————————————————————— - =Thus= =From 484,000 to 650,000= - -=[Expressed in United States currency, the sum of $242,000 to $325,000 -per month will be required, according to this early estimate, to -satisfy the most urgent needs of the sufferers.]= - -As already pointed out, the sphere and extent of distress are -ever increasing with the progress of the war. The Jewish relief -organizations in Russia thus stand before the alarming problem: whence -to obtain adequate funds to satisfy the ever growing demand. This -problem becomes the more urgent as new forms of relief must be devised -as the time goes on. It will not do merely to feed and shelter the -stricken population. Many of the sufferers are able and willing to -work, if they but had the possibility of doing so. - -The attention of the Jewish public will therefore have to be -concentrated on a new problem: to help the ruined artisans to -rehabilitate themselves, to rebuild their shattered homes and to -restore their ruined business by means of cheap credit provided for -them. The solution of this problem will, however, require infinitely -larger means, which Russian Jewry is unable to raise.... - - - II. - - SPEECH OF DEPUTY FRIEDMAN IN THE DUMA - - (August 2, 1915) - - (Translated from Petrograd “Retch,” of August 3, 1915, and - published in the New York “Times,” September 23, 1915) - -In spite of their oppressed condition, in spite of their status of -outlawry, the Jews have risen to the exalted mood of the nation -and in the course of the last year have participated in the war in -a noteworthy manner. They fell short of the others in no respect. -They mobilized their entire enrollment, but, indeed, with this -difference, that =they have also sent their only sons into the war.= -The newspapers at the beginning of the war had a remarkable number of -Jewish volunteers to record. =Gentlemen, those were volunteers who -were entitled through their educational qualifications to the rank -of officers. They knew that they would not receive this rank; and -nevertheless they entered the war.= - -The Jewish youth, which, as a result of the restrictions as to -admission to the high schools of the country, had been forced to study -abroad, returned home when war was declared, or entered the armies -of the allied nations. A large number of Jewish students fell at the -defense of Liege and also at other points on the western front. - -The Zionist youths, when they were confronted with the dilemma of -accepting Turkish sovereignty or being compelled to emigrate from -Palestine, preferred to go to Alexandria and there to join the English -army. - -The Jews built hospitals, contributed money, and participated in the -war in every respect just as did the other citizens. Many Jews received -marks of distinction for their conduct at the front. - -Before me lies the letter of a Jew who returned from the United States -of America: - -“I risked my life,” he writes, “and if, nevertheless, I came as far -as Archangel, it was only because I loved my fatherland more than my -life or that American freedom which I was permitted to enjoy. I became -a soldier, and lost my left arm almost to the shoulder. I was brought -into the governmental district of Courland. =Scarcely had I reached -Riga when I met at the station my mother and my relatives, who had -just arrived there, and who on that same day were compelled to leave -their hearth and home at the order of the military authorities. Tell -the gentlemen who sit on the benches of the Right that I do not mourn -my lost arm, but that I do mourn deeply the self-respect that was not -denied to me in alien lands but is now lost to me.”= - -Such was the sentiment of the Jews that found expression in numerous -appeals and manifestations in the press, and finally also in this -House. Surely these sentiments should have been taken into account. One -should have a right to assume that the Government would adopt measures -for the amelioration of the fate of the Jews who found themselves in -the very centre of the war-like occurrences. Likewise, one should have -taken into account the sentiments of hundreds of thousands of Jews who -shed their blood on the field of battle. - -Instead of that, however, we see that from the beginning of the war -the measures of reprisals against the Jewish populace were not only -not weakened but, on the contrary, made much stronger. =Banished were -Jewish men and women whose husbands, children, and brothers, were -shedding their blood for the fatherland.= A wounded soldier named -Alexander Roskhov, who had been shot in the eye, came to Charkof for -further treatment. On his passport were the words, “To be sent to a -settlement.” The private soldier Godlewski, one of whose legs had been -amputated, and who found himself at Rostof on the Don for recuperation, -they tried to send to his native village in the Government of Kalisch, -already under German occupation; and it was only due to the activities -of the Rural League that he was permitted to stay. An apothecary’s -helper, who likewise had been wounded on the battlefield, was not -allowed to remain in Petrograd for his cure, and it was only by virtue -of special intercession that he was later allowed to sojourn two months -more at Petrograd, with the notice, however, that at the expiration of -this period no further extension of his sojourn would be granted. - -In a long war lucky events alternate with unlucky ones, and in any case -it is naturally useful to have scapegoats in reserve. For this purpose -there exists the old firm; the Jew. Scarcely has the enemy reached our -frontiers when the rumor is spread that Jewish gold is flowing over -to the Germans, and that, too, in aeroplanes, in coffins, and—in the -entrails of geese! - -Scarcely had the enemy pressed further, than there appeared again -beyond dispute the eternal Jew “on the white horse,” perhaps the same -one who once rode on the white horse through the city in order to -provoke a pogrom. The Jews have set up telephones, have destroyed the -telegraph lines. The legend grew, and with the eager support of the -powers of Government and the agitation in official circles, assumed -ever greater proportions. A series of unprecedented, unheard of, cruel -measures was adopted against the Jews. These measures, which were -carried out before the eyes of the entire population, suggested to the -people and to the army the recognition of the fact that the Jews were -treated as enemies by the Government, and that the Jewish population -was outside the law. - -In the first place these measures consisted of the complete -transplanting of the Jewish population from many districts, to the very -last man. These compulsory migrations took place in the Kingdom of -Poland and in many other territories. =All told, about a half million -persons have been doomed to a state of beggary and vagabondage. Anyone -who has seen with his own eyes how these expulsions take place, will -never forget them as long as he lives. The exiling took place within -twenty-four hours, sometimes within two days. Women, old men, and -children, and sometimes invalids, were banished. Even the feebleminded -were taken from the lunatic asylums and the Jews were forced to take -these with them.= In Mohilnitse, 5,000 persons were expelled within -twenty-four hours. Their way led to Warsaw through Kalwayra. Meantime -they were forced to travel across fields through the Government of -Lublin, and were deprived of the possibility of taking along their -inventories. Many were obliged to travel on foot. When they reached -Lublin, the Jewish Committee there had provided bread and food for -them; but they were not allowed to tarry, and they had to travel on at -once. - -On the way an accident occurred; a six-year-old child was killed by a -fall. The parents were not permitted to bury the child. - -I saw also the refugees of the Government of Kovno. Persons who only -yesterday were still accounted wealthy were beggars the next day. Among -the refugees I met Jewish women and girls, who had worked together with -Russian women, had sewed garments with them and collected contributions -with them, and who were now forced to encamp on the railway embankment. -=I saw families of reservists. I saw among the exiles wounded soldiers -wearing the Cross of St. George. It is said that Jewish soldiers in -marching through the Polish cities were forced to witness the expulsion -of their wives and children. The Jews were loaded in freight cars like -cattle. The bills of lading were worded as follows: “Four hundred and -fifty Jews, en route to ——.”= - -There were cases in which the Governors refused outright to take in -the Jews at all. I myself was in Vilna at the very time when a whole -trainload of Jews was stalled for four days in Novo-Wilejsk station. -Those were Jews who had been sent from the Government of Kovno to -the Government of Poltawa, but the Governor there would not receive -them and sent them back to Kovno, whence they were again reshipped to -Poltawa. Imagine, at a time when every railway car is needed for the -transportation of munitions, when from all sides are heard complaints -about the lack of means of transportation, the Government permits -itself to do such a thing! At one station there stood 110 freight cars -containing Jewish exiles. - -Another measure which likewise is unprecedented in the entire history -of the civilized world, is the introduction of the so-called system of -“Hostages,” and, indeed, hostages were taken not from the enemy, but -from the country’s own subjects, its own citizens. Hostages were taken -in Radom, Kieltse, Lomscha, Kovno, Riga, Lublin, etc. The hostages were -held under the most rigorous régime, and at present there are still -under arrest in Poltava Jewish hostages from the Governments of Kieltse -and Radom. - -Some time ago, in commenting upon the procedure against the Jews, the -leader of the Opposition, even before the outbreak of the war, used -the expression that we were approaching the times of Ferdinand and -Isabella. I now assert that we have already surpassed that era. No -Jewish blood was shed in defence of Spain, but ours flowed the moment -the Jews helped defend the Fatherland. - -Yes, we are beyond the pale of the laws, we are oppressed, we have a -hard life, but we know the source of that evil; it comes from those -benches (pointing to the boxes of the Ministers). =We are being -oppressed by the Russian Government, not by the Russian people.= Why, -then, is it surprising if we wish to unite our destinies, not with that -of the Russian Government, but with that of the Russian people? When -three years ago there was pending here the Cholm law proposal, did the -thought ever occur at the time to the sponsors of the bill that in a -short time they would have to scrape and bow before free autonomous -Poland? We likewise hope that the time is not distant when we can be -citizens of the Russian State with full equality of privileges with the -free Russian people. - -Before the face of the entire country, before the entire civilized -world, I declare that the calumnies against the Jews are the most -repulsive lies and chimeras of persons who will have to be responsible -for their crimes. [Applause on Left.] - -It depends upon you, gentlemen of the Imperial Duma, to speak the word -of encouragement, to perform the action that can deliver the Jewish -people from the terrible plight in which it is at present, and that can -lead them back into the ranks of the Russian citizens who are defending -their Fatherland. [Cries of “Right.”] - -I do not know if the Imperial Duma will so act, but if it does so -act it will be fulfilling an obligation of honor and an act of wise -statesmanship that is necessary for the profit and for the greatness of -the Fatherland. [Applause on the Left.] - - - III. - - ABSTRACT OF SPEECH OF BARON R. R. ROSEN - IN THE COUNCIL OF THE EMPIRE[59] - - August 22 (September 4), 1915 - - (Translation from “Retch,” No. 231, August 23 - (September 5), 1915) - -Baron Rosen began with the statement that while the question of -supplies for the army and navy was paramount, there was nevertheless -another side to it, and that was the question of the domestic policy -of the Empire. He reminded his hearers that in May, 1913, he had -warned the Council of the Empire of the catastrophe imminent in Europe, -but that his statement had been met with ridicule and skepticism. -The result of such an attitude is now obvious to all. In this great -conflict, it has become clear that neither side will be able to -crush the other, as was expected at the outset of this war. But even -as it is, this war of extermination of the white race must, in the -end, be decided in favor of one of the two parties at conflict. He -thought that certain intangible elements entering into the question -would be of great importance in the settlement of this war. Putting -aside the political, economic and psychological questions that led to -this conflict, he thought that the ultimate issue was the decision -of the world to battle against the dictum of Germany that “might is -greater than right and right is created only by might.” Under the -circumstances, it would seem that the sympathies of the entire world -should be on the side of the allies. But in reality this is not the -case; and for this there are several reasons. - -“It is undoubtedly within our power to do away with one of the factors -militating against us in the public opinion of neutral countries. -In the struggle that we, together with the most civilized nations -of Europe, are waging against the Pan-Germanism, imperialism and -absolutism, and for right and justice, for the liberty and independence -of the weaker nations, =we shall achieve the full sympathy of the -civilized world only when we shall have put our inner front—if I may -use that expression—on a level with the political ideology of our -valiant allies;= for instance, in the conduct of our polity with -reference to the borderlands, and the so-called alien races composing -its population.” - -After stating that there were two diametrically opposed political -systems, one current among the Allies and the other among the Germans, -Baron Rosen continued: - -“To the maximum injury of the true interests of Russia, we have adopted -and have carried out unswervingly the true German system of politics -with reference to our borderlands and the so-called foreign races and -foreign faiths, a policy which has been made even more perfect by the -admixture of medieval religious intolerance. - -“It may be retorted that the fate of a campaign is decided by military -power and not by the greater or lesser sympathy of neutral countries -for the policy of a given state. The German Government does not think -so; for otherwise it would not spend countless millions for pan-German -propaganda in all the countries of the world, even the most remote. -But we, on the other hand, not only fail to oppose anything to this -propaganda, but by the course of our domestic policies we place in the -hands of this propaganda powerful arguments for arousing against us -public opinion of such countries as the United States, the only great -neutral power, and of Sweden, our neighbor. - -=“It is inconceivable that the framers of our policy should fail to -realize that the propaganda directed against us, conducted under -official auspices and equipped with the amplest resources, will -scarcely cause our own interests and the interests of our Allies -one-tenth of the harm which is caused to these interests by our -attitude towards the Jewish population of Russia and our systematic -violation of the legal conscience of the Finnish population—an attitude -which smacks of the dark times of medievalism.= - -“The question now is, why did not the Government find it possible to -put an end to this problem decisively and forever, as it has finally, -and, alas, with such delay, settled the question of the autonomy of -Poland? This may be explained only by the fact that the Government -hesitated to break with the traditional policy so dear to the militant -nationalism. - -“Accordingly the Duma and the Council are in duty bound to come to -the aid of the Government in this regard and take upon themselves -the initiative of introducing a bill for the abolition of all laws -restricting the rights of the Jews and for the abrogation of the law of -July 17 (30) concerning Finland. The passage of these measures would -undoubtedly lighten the heavy task now confronting the Government -in the sphere of international relations and it would be met by our -valiant allies with the liveliest satisfaction. - -=“We must remember that this great European war is not only a struggle -of interests, but is also a struggle of ideas and principles. In the -battle against German militarism, Russia has placed herself on the side -of right and freedom, and for the triumph of the idea for which we are -now fighting, it is necessary that in Russia, too, there should be -no longer any people without rights or any people oppressed.”= - - - FOOTNOTES - -[1] “Legal Sufferings of the Jews in Russia”; edited by Lucien Wolf. -London, T. Fisher Unwin, 1912. - -[2] Petrograd and Moscow.—Ed. - -[3] Petrograd “Retch,” Aug. 8 (21), 1915. - -[4] Petrograd “Retch,” Aug. 14 (27), 1915. - -[5] This has reference to that section of the “Constitution” of 1905, -which empowers the government to issue ministerial decrees while the -Duma is not in session, but requires it to introduce corresponding -legislation in the Duma within six months after the ministerial decree -has been published. - -[6] “Reform Advocate,” Nov. 13, 1915. (Tr. from the French). - -[7] Quoted from “Retch,” Aug. 9 (22), 1915. - -[8] “Retch,” Aug. 9 (22), 1915. - -[9] “Evreyskaya Zhizn,” Oct. 25 (Nov. 7), 1915, Nov. 8 (21), 1915, etc. - -[10] “Evreyskaya Zhizn,” Nov. 8 (21), 1915. - -[11] Quoted from “Evreyskaya Zhizn,” Aug. 23 (Sept. 5), 1915, pp. 10–12. - -[12] Quoted from “Retch,” Aug. 9 (22), 1915. - -[13] See page 48. - -[14] September 24 (Oct. 7), 1914. - -[15] Friedlaender, “The Jews of Russia and Poland,” p. 38. - -[16] _Ibid._, p. 57. - -[17] “Rasviet,” December 5 (18), 1914, p. 12. - -[18] George Brandes in “Politiken,” Nov., 1914. - -[19] “Russkaya Viedomosti,” Oct. 2 (15), 1914, p. 20. “Novy Voskhod,” -Oct. 2 (15), 1914, p. 21. - -[20] “Novy Voskhod,” Sept. 22 (Oct. 8), 1914, p. 20. - -[21] “Rasviet,” Dec. 5 (18), 1914, p. 18. - -[22] “Rasviet,” March 29 (April 11), 1914, p. 20. - -[23] “Politiken,” Nov. 1, 1914. - -[24] “Rasviet,” April 12 (25), 1915, pp. 18–19; “Novy Voskhod,” April -10 (23), 1915, pp. 29–30. - -[25] “Rasviet,” Jan. 25 (Feb. 7), 1915, p. 27. - -[26] “Rasviet,” Feb. 1 (14), 1915, p. 39. - -[27] “Rasviet,” Apr. 26 (May 9), 1915, p. 24. - -[28] Quoted from “Retch,” May 10 (23), 1915. - -[29] “Novy Voskhod,” Aug. 28 (Sept. 10), 1914, p. 22. - -[30] “Novy Voskhod,” April 24 (May 7), 1915. - -[31] “Nasha Slovo,” June 24, 1915. - -[32] “Retch,” May 8 (21), 1915. - -[33] “Evreyskaya Zhizn,” July 19 (Aug. 2), 1915, p. 42. - -[34] Here is a list taken at random from an issue of “Rasviet,” April 5 -(18), 1915, p. 34: - -For saving a wounded Russian officer, presumably under fire, private B. -M. O., of the village of Strumin, of Mohilef Government, was rewarded -with the cross of St. George, fourth class. - -Private S. Y. R. awarded cross of St. George, fourth class. - -Private A. Kh. L., inhabitant of the village of Saxagan, of the -Government of Ekaterinoslav, was awarded third and fourth grade crosses -of St. George, and promoted to be sub-officer. - -For delivering despatches from the Staff to his battalion under the -enemy’s strong fire, private B. S. G. was awarded a medal of St. George -and made a corporal. - -Severely wounded and now in a hospital at Moscow, Abr. B. was awarded -a silver medal which was handed to him by Orloff, Adjutant to his -Imperial Majesty. - -A long list of similar items is published in every issue of this paper. - -[35] “Ziemia Lubelska,” April 23 (May 6), 1915. - -[36] “Retch.” May 10 (23), 1915. - -[37] “Evreyskaya Nedelya,” June 14 (27), 1915. - -[38] “Evreyskaya Zhizn,” Aug. 9, 1915, p. 19–20. - -[39] “Hajnt,” May 21 (June 3), 1915. - -[40] “Evreyskaya Nedelya,” May 31 (June 13), 1915. - -[41] “Evreyskaya Nedelya,” June 14 (27), 1915. - -[42] “Retch,” Aug. 6 (19), 1915. - -[43] “Rasviet,” January 4 (17), 1915, p. 31–2. - -[44] July 5 (18), 1915, pp. 30–31. - -[45] Stenographic report of the Proceedings of the Duma. - -[46] “Novy Voskhod,” Dec. 30, 1914 (Jan. 12, 1915), p. 22–24. - -[47] “Novy Voskhod,” Sept. 4, 1914, p. 15. - -[48] “Novy Voskhod,” Aug. 14 (27), 1914, p. 24–25. - -[49] “Novy Voskhod,” April 24 (May 7), 1915, p. 30. - -[50] “Retch,” July 28 (Aug. 10), 1915; “Birzhevyia Viedomosti,” Aug. 26 -(Sept. 8), 1915. - -[51] “Rasviet”, Jan. 25 (Feb. 7), 1915. - -[52] “Prikarpatskia Russ”. - -[53] “Judisches Archiv,” p. 5. - -[54] “Judisches Archiv,” p. 6. - -[55] “Judisches Archiv,” p. 10. - -[56] At moment of investigation. - -[57] Besides the sums granted to the cooperative credit societies by -the Jewish Colonization Association. - -[58] Towards these expenses Russian Jewry has contributed a little over -a million roubles. - -[59] Baron Rosen was formerly Russian Ambassador to the United States. - - - - - * * * * * * - - - - -Transcriber’s note: - -Obvious punctuation errors in the transcribed text have been corrected. - -Other errors have been corrected as follows: - - Page 3 – “Pittsburg” changed to “Pittsburgh” - - Page 31 – “is it” changed to “it is” (rather it is like a rag thrown - to the victim) - - Page 43 – 3rd and 4th footnotes swapped to correspond with anchor - ordering in text. - - Page 57 – “Miliukov” changed to “Milyukov” (in the Duma by Professor - Milyukov) - - Page 59 – “Japenese” changed to “Japanese” (during the Japanese war) - - Page 62 – “Evreiskaya Nedelya” changed to “Evreyskaya Nedelya” in - footnote 37 - - Page 72 – “Miliukov” changed to “Milyukov” (Professor Milyukov, the - leader of the Constitutional Democrats) - - Page 98 – “lossses” changed to “losses” (terrible losses sustained) - -Source material used in this book has been translated from a number -of languages including Polish, Russian and Yiddish. Hence there are -variations in the spelling of words and this is particularly apparent -in the rendering of place names. The following variations in the -spelling of words and place names have been left unchanged: - - “Bialystock”, “Bialostock” - - “Cholm”, “Kholm” - - “Kehillas”, “Kehillah” - - “Kielce”, “Kieltse” - - “Liublin”, “Lublin” - - “Lomza”, “Lomzha”, “Lomsha”, “Lomscha” - - “Plotsk”, “Plotzk” - - “Poltava”, “Poltawa” - - “Rostov”, “Rostof” - - “Volhynia”, “Volynia” - -Archaic usage, unusual/inconsistent hyphenation, other variations -that have been left unchanged: - - “amid”, “amidst”, “among”, “amongst”, “anomolous” - - “corn growing”, “corn-growing” - - “court martial”, “court-martial” - - “despatches”, “esthetic”, “feebleminded” - - “ever growing”, “ever-growing” - - “half naked”, “half-naked” - - “inhabitated”, “inhabitating” - - “manifestoes” (as the plural of “manifesto”) - - “RUSSIAN-JEWISH RELIEF COMMITTEE”, “Russian Jewish Relief Committee”, - “Russian Jewish Committee”, “Russian-Jewish Refugees”, - “Russian Jewish soldiers”, “Russian Jewish Weekly” - - “scare-crow” - - “today”, “To-day”, “toward”, “towards” - -A redundant column header in a table starting on page 107 and -continuing on to page 108 has been removed. The two pages over which -the table was spread no longer have a physical page break in this -transcribed text. Thus there is no need to repeat the column header, -which was at the top of the second (physical) page. - -Footnotes have been re-indexed using numbers and collected together at -the end of the book. - -The cover image is a restored version using elements from the original -cover and is placed in the public domain. - - - -***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE JEWS IN THE EASTERN WAR ZONE*** - - -******* This file should be named 62816-0.txt or 62816-0.zip ******* - - -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: -http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/6/2/8/1/62816 - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, -and may not be used if you charge for the eBooks, unless you receive -specific permission. If you do not charge anything for copies of this -eBook, complying with the rules is very easy. You may use this eBook -for nearly any purpose such as creation of derivative works, reports, -performances and research. They may be modified and printed and given -away--you may do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks -not protected by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the -trademark license, especially commercial redistribution. - -START: FULL LICENSE - -THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE -PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK - -To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free -distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work -(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full -Project Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at -www.gutenberg.org/license. - -Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works - -1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to -and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property -(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all -the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or -destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your -possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a -Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound -by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the -person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph -1.E.8. - -1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be -used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who -agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few -things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See -paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this -agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below. - -1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the -Foundation" or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection -of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual -works in the collection are in the public domain in the United -States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the -United States and you are located in the United States, we do not -claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, -displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as -all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope -that you will support the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting -free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm -works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the -Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with the work. You can easily -comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the -same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg-tm License when -you share it without charge with others. - -1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern -what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are -in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, -check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this -agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, -distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any -other Project Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no -representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any -country outside the United States. - -1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: - -1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other -immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear -prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work -on which the phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the -phrase "Project Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, -performed, viewed, copied or distributed: - - This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and - most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no - restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it - under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this - eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the - United States, you'll have to check the laws of the country where you - are located before using this ebook. - -1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is -derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not -contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the -copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in -the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are -redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply -either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or -obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg-tm -trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted -with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution -must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any -additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms -will be linked to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works -posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the -beginning of this work. - -1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm -License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this -work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. - -1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this -electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without -prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with -active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project -Gutenberg-tm License. - -1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, -compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including -any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access -to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format -other than "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official -version posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site -(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense -to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means -of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original "Plain -Vanilla ASCII" or other form. Any alternate format must include the -full Project Gutenberg-tm License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. - -1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, -performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works -unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing -access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -provided that - -* You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from - the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method - you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed - to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he has - agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid - within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are - legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty - payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in - Section 4, "Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg - Literary Archive Foundation." - -* You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies - you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he - does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm - License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all - copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue - all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg-tm - works. - -* You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of - any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the - electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of - receipt of the work. - -* You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free - distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. - -1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work or group of works on different terms than -are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing -from both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and The -Project Gutenberg Trademark LLC, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm -trademark. Contact the Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. - -1.F. - -1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable -effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread -works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project -Gutenberg-tm collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may -contain "Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate -or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other -intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or -other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or -cannot be read by your equipment. - -1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right -of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project -Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all -liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal -fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT -LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE -PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE -TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE -LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR -INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH -DAMAGE. - -1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a -defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can -receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a -written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you -received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium -with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you -with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in -lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person -or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second -opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If -the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing -without further opportunities to fix the problem. - -1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth -in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO -OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT -LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. - -1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied -warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of -damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement -violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the -agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or -limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or -unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the -remaining provisions. - -1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the -trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone -providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in -accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the -production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, -including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of -the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this -or any Project Gutenberg-tm work, (b) alteration, modification, or -additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any -Defect you cause. - -Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm - -Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of -electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of -computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It -exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations -from people in all walks of life. - -Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the -assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's -goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will -remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure -and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future -generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see -Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at -www.gutenberg.org - -Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation - -The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit -501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the -state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal -Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification -number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by -U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. - -The Foundation's principal office is in Fairbanks, Alaska, with the -mailing address: PO Box 750175, Fairbanks, AK 99775, but its -volunteers and employees are scattered throughout numerous -locations. Its business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, Salt -Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up to -date contact information can be found at the Foundation's web site and -official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact - -For additional contact information: - - Dr. Gregory B. Newby - Chief Executive and Director - gbnewby@pglaf.org - -Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation - -Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide -spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of -increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be -freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest -array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations -($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt -status with the IRS. - -The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating -charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United -States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a -considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up -with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations -where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND -DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular -state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate - -While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we -have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition -against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who -approach us with offers to donate. - -International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make -any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from -outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. - -Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation -methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other -ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To -donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate - -Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. - -Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project -Gutenberg-tm concept of a library of electronic works that could be -freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and -distributed Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of -volunteer support. - -Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in -the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not -necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper -edition. - -Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search -facility: www.gutenberg.org - -This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. - |