CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY GIFT OF P i" e s . S churrnan 1 OLIN LIBRARY - CIRCULATION DATE DUE I" (L ^, lAAIi ir 'I"*b^'Hpw4 r -«Bft fists '((MIUlC' "■•■f P CAYLORD II^^^^^H I Cornell University Library DS 135.R9A23 Voice of America on Kishineff, ed. by C 3 1924 028 664 609 Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924028664609 THE VOICE OF AMERICA ON KISHINEFF The Voice of America on Kishineff EDITED BY CYRUS ABLER PHILADELPHIA : The Jewish Publication Society of America 1904 Copyright. 1904, by The Jewish Publication Society of America CONTENTS PAGE INTRODUCTION IX PART FIRST: Meetings, Sermons, Resolutions .... 3 PART SECOND : Editorial Articles 239 PART THIRD: Relief Measures and the Petition . . 467 INDEXES 483 INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION On February i6, 1903, a youth named Michael Riba-- lenko was murdered at Dubossary, a village in the Government of Kherson, Southwestern Russia, not far from the Bessarabian town of Kishineff. Ribalenko was prospective heir to a fortune. The murderer turned out later to be, not a Jew, but a relative of the victim. He was actuated by the desire to secure a part of the fortune, upon which he had a claim after the lad's death. The corpse was found on February 22. Immediately the rumor arose that the Jews had committed the deed to obtain Christian blood for the Passover bread, and the accusation was kept alive by inflammatory articles in an anti-Semitic paper. The Bessarabetz, published at Kishineff by one Krushevan. This journal occupied a favorable position for shaping and controlling the humors of the populace. Not only was it licensed by the Government, but governmental authorization had for some years been denied every other journalistic venture "in the district, although several applications hard been made for the avowed purpose of counteracting the anti-Semitic propaganda systematically carried on by Krushevan in his two papers, published at Kishineff and St. Petersburg. The agitation against the Jews was fomented throughout the month of March and during April, until it culminated, at the Easter holidays, April 19- 21, in a three days" riot directed against the Jews of Kishineff. ' During this period of agitation, secret so- X INTRODUCTION cieties were formed whose object was the extermina- tion or the harassing of the Jews, and hordes of Mol- davian, Albanian, and Macedonian ruffians were hired in outlying villages to come to the town at the time designated for the attack upon the Jewish quarters. That the onslaught upon the Jews was not due to an overmastering impulse of the moment, but had been carefully planned, was obvious from the events of the first day. There was not one mob, but several mobs, operating at the same time in different localities. The police was inactive, and the military was not sum- moned, although representatives of the Jewish com- munity had called upon the Governor before the riots began, and had warned him of the dangers of the sit- uation. Citizens belonging to the upper classes of society permitted it to appear that their sympathies were with the rioters, and on the part of the authori- ties nothing was done until the second day of the out- rages was well advanced. The official report (June 7) of the Central Relief Committee at Kishineff makes the following statement of the depredations committed by the mob: The number of families affected by the outrages is 2,750, of whom 2,538 reported to the Committee dam- ages amounting to 2,332,890 roubles (about $1,190,- 000.00). The number of victims killed on the spot and dying in consequence of injuries was 47; the number of severely injured, 92; slightly injured, 345 (not including those treated by physicians outside of the hospitals). The 47 victims left widows and 123 orphans. These figures do not take into account the temporarily or permanently disabled, nor can statisti- cal inquiry reach those whose business, trade, or po- INTRODUCTION XI sition has been affected, more or less seriously, by the industrial and economic crisis that has ensued. The above is an outline statement of the occurrences at Kishineff as they have been described and analyzed by official and private investigators, by the consuls of several Governments at Odessa, by journalists, and by eye-witnesses, and sufferers. It does not touch- upon t he alleged complicity of the T^nssian Gnvem - rnent through Minister von Plehve's secret circular of rniucir'earlier date; nor does it attempt to deptct^ihe horrors enacted during the three days of the massacre. Only so much of Kishineff history has been set down here as was needed to lead up to the action taken by the citizens of the United States, which it is sought to preserve in the present publication. About ten days after the outrages, at the very end of April, meager dispatches describing what had hap- pened reached the United States despite the vigilance of the Russian press censor. On April 29, the follow- ing dispatch was sent by our Department of State : McCormick, Ambassador, St. Petersburg. It is persistently reported, upon what appears to be adequate authority, that there is great want and suffering among Jews in Kischinew. Friends in this country desire to know if financial aid and supplies would be permitted to reach the sufferers. Please ascertain this without discussing political phase of the situation. HAY. The reply came ten days later : Petersburg, May 9, 1903. Received 9.46 a. m. Sec. State Washn. Authoritatively denied that there is any want or suffering among Jews in Southwestern Russia and aid of any kind is XII INTRODUCTION unnecessary. While offer appreciated in spirit made it is gratefully declined. Mccormick. On May i8, Count Cassini, the Russian Ambassador to the United States, issued a statement to The Asso- ciated Press. It was at once made the text of numer- ous addresses and editorial articles. The widespread attention it aroused was due doubtless to the supposi- tion that Count Cassini was representing his Govern- ment in his explanation and his defense — an explana- tion and a defense which many orators characterized as having added insult to injury. It is reproduced here for two reasons : because without it many allu- sions in the body of the book are unintelligible, and because it presumably presents the case of Russia as Russia wishes it to be presented officially, since it has neither been disavowed nor supplemented by other statements : There is in Russia, as in Germany and Austria, a feeling against certain of the Jews. The reason for this unfriendly attitude is found in the fact that the Jews will not work in the field or engage in agriculture. They prefer to be money lenders. Give a Jew a couple of dollars and he becomes a banker and money broker. In this capacity he takes advan- tage of the Russian peasant, whom he soon has in his power and ultimately destroys. It is when the patience of the peas- ant is exhausted that a conflict between peasants and Jews occurs. Ordinarily the Russian is a patient person, but it is only natural that he should entertain a feeling of resentment for the one who has wrought his ruin. Emperor Nicholas I. sought to help the Jew by ordering the establishment of agricultural colonies in Southern Russia, hoping to induce the Jews to engage in agricultural pursuits instead of money lending, but the effort was not successful ■ nor have other projects establishing Jewish states been suc- cessful. INTRODUCTION XIII The situation in Russia so far as the Jews are concerned is just this: It is the peasant against the money lender and not the Russians against the Jews. There is no feeling against the Jew in Russia because of religion. It is as I have said — the Jews ruin the peasants, with the result that conflicts occur when the latter have lost all their worldly possessions and have nothing to live upon. There are many good Jews in Russia, and they are respected. Jewish genius is appreciated in Russia, and the Jewish artist is honored. Jews also appear in the financial world in Russia. The Russian Government affords the same protection to the Jews that it does to any other of its citizens, and when a riot occurs and Jews are attacked, the officials immediately take steps to apprehend those who began the riot and visit severe punishment upon them. In the past Russians have been pun- ished severely for attacks upon Jews. But, n ojwith stanx^ in g these conflicts, the J ews^^^^ontinue to do the very things which have been responsible for the troubles which involve them. T^he Russian readily assimilates with the people of all other races, and if he. cannot assimilate with the Jew, it is apparent that the fault must be with the Jew and not with the Russian. The Ambassador's attention was called to the statement contained in press dispatches from St. Petersburg to-day to the effect that a ministerial decree had been issued for- bidding the Jews arming themselves for their own protec- tion. " I have received no information regarding the nature of the decree," he said, " but I know when the facts are made known it will appear differently and it will be shown that the decree does not discriminate against the Jews. The fact that Lieutenant-General Raaben, the Governor of Bessarabia, has been called lO St. Petersburg shows con- clusively that the Imperir.i authorities are seriously re- garding the recent occurrences at Kishineflf and are taking prompt measures to punish the guilty and to prevent repe- titions of these disturbances." The earliest public manifestation of sympathy was made in New York on May 2. Day by day almost, for XIV IN TKODUCTiUJM two months thereafter, the people of the United States created opportunities for expressing their indignation. Mass meetings were convened for the purpose, ser- mons were deHvered by ministers of all creeds, editorial articles appeared in the foremost papers, and resolu- tions were adopted by various bodies, religious, legal, and political, conveying sympathy to the survivors and appealing to the Government of the United States to urge upon Russia the necessity of taking steps to ameliorate the condition of her Jews. While the agitation calling upon the Government of the United States to make suitable representations to the Russian Government was at its height, the fif- teenth annual meeting of The Jewish Publication Society of America took place. May 24, 1903, in Philadelphia, Pa., at which the following resolutions were adopted: Resolved, That we deplore the brutal massacre of our co- religionists at Kishineff and extend our sympathy to those who have been maimed and ruined. Resolved, That we respectfully ask the President of the United States to use his good offices in the name of humanity to prevent a recurrence of similar events. Resolved, That we respectfully ask of the Congress and the Administration the taking of such steps as will accord equal rights to all American citizens, without distinction of creed, in all treaties hereafter entered into with foreign pow- ers, and the denunciation of all existing treaties in conflict with this principle. Resolved, That we denounce the heartless attempt made by the Russian ambassador to spread among the American people by means of the public press misleading and calumni- ous statements as to the character of the Jews of Russia and other countries. / Resolved, That a copy of this/ minute, signed by the officers INTRODUCTION XV of the society, be forwarded to the President of the United States, the Secretary of State, and, upon the assembling of Congress, to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. After the adoption of these resolutions, and as the outcome of the discussion upon them, the following motion was passed: " That the Publication Committee be requested to prepare from time to time, and the Board of Trustees to publish and distribute, in such manner and in such quantity as may be most effectual, information bearing upon the condition of the Jews in Russia." As the regular income of the Society was inade- quate to meet the extraordinary situation, the Board of Trustees proceeded at once to collect funds for the proposed series of Kishineff publications, and the Publication Committee made arrangements to gather the material. The first publication was issued and distributed in November, " Within the Pale, the True Story of Anti-Semitic Persecution in Russia," by Michael Davitt, who had been sent to Kishineff, by the proprietor of The New York American and The Evening Journal, to make a report of what he could find out on the spot. His investigations have enabled him to present a graphic description of almost unpar- alleled horrors, with the superadded value of document- ary evidence, all but first-hand, to which the future historian may resort when the time arrives for a phil- osophic and psychologic analysis of the condition of the Jews in the Russia of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.' ' For German readers the heartrending tale of Kishineff has been written by Told, Die Judenmassacres in Kishinew. Ju- XVI INTRODUCTION The present is the second publication issued under the terms of the above motion instructing the Com- mittees of The Jewish Publication Society of America. Its purpose is to give a notion of the feel- ing engendered in the United States by the report of atrocities committed upon Jews in a far-off town. The pamphlet it was first designed to devote to this phase of the ejvent grew into a book, which, in spite of its fair dimensions and crowded pages, does not give an exhaustive account of the action taken and the words spoken in all parts of the United States. The omissions and curtailments, which the most casual reader will discover for himself, are partly in- tentional and partly due to the limitations imposed by circumstances. The town meetings held in the prin- cipal cities, representing as they did the largest bodies of citizens, are reported in detail. A list of sermons preached by Rabbis is not included. Such a list would have been tantamount to a list containing the name of every Jewish preacher in the United States, for the whole Jewish pulpit rang with sympathy and denunciation. The limitations of space will explain the omission of all letters addressed to the press, many of which vie in cogency of argument with the editor- ial articles of the professional journalist and the ad- dresses of polished orators. The same reason oper- ated in the decision to rule out the mention of towns in which the only public demonstration, direct and to the point though it was, was the collection of funds. No more could be done than sum up the praiseworthy discher Verlag, 1903 ; and for French readers, by Henri Dagan, Les massacres de Kichinef et la situation des prolctaircs juifs en Russie. Paris, Cahiers de la Quinzaine. INTRODUCTION XVII result of such demonstration in the general statement made in Part Third of the book (pp. 467-468) . Also the less ephemeral forms of literary demonstration, the pamphlets, the magazine articles, the poems, whose theme was Kishineff, by reason of their length, had to be disregarded/ In part omissions were unintentional. In follow- ing up a contemporaneous occurrence through the newspapers, some of its protean manifestations are bound to elude the inquirer, and it ,was deemed ad- visable to omit the mention of all places in which cor- respondents with control over the facts could not be reached, and brief, unauthenticated press items were the only source of information. On the other hand, the corhpleteness of the book, in so far as it is complete, is due primarily to the generosity of those who, when the appeal for material was made, parted with their collections of clippings, or went to the trouble of searching back files of newspapers. The persons who aided in the compilation of the book in this way are too many to be mentioned by name, but their help is acknowledged gratefully. So much for the omissions. As to what has been included, an analysis of the material here gathered to- gether shows the following to be the contents : ']^ public meetings of protest were held in SO towns situated in 27 States (including the District of Columbia). At these meetings ' Besides Mr. Davitt's, there is another book among the Kishi- neff publications, " Out of Kishineff, The Duty of the Ameri- can People to the Russian Jews," by W. C. Stiles, B. D. XVIII INTRODUCTION 363 addresses were delivered ; among them i by an ex-Presi dent of the United States; 2 by United States Sen ators ; 9 by Members of Congress ; 15 by members o: the judiciary; 3 by governors of States; 3 by mem- bers of State legislatures ; ag by mayors of cities anc towns; 3 by college presidents; S by college profes- sors ; 3 by editors ; 8 by attorneys ; 55 by clergymen 56 by rabbis. 107 letters expressing sympathy with their purpose were reac at these public meetings, among them i from an ex- President of the United States ; S from United States Senators ; 4 from Members of Congress ; 6 from gov- ernors of States ; i from a United States ambassador : 4 from members of the judiciary; i from a cardinal: 3 from archbishops ; 4 from bishops ; 20 from clergy- men; and 2 from college presidents. 29 sermons were preached in 17 towns, situated in 14 States. 24 organizations — clubs, churches, and associations — in meet- ing assembled for the purpose or for other purposes adopted resolutions condemning the massacre. These organizatons met in 16 towns, situated in 12 States (including the District of Columbia). 80 newspapers published in 40 towns, situated in 29 States (including the District of Columbia) printed 151 editorial articles on subjects connected with the massacre. An American Kishineff diary would read as fol- lows: April 29— Dispatch inquiring into the rumors of massacres sent by the Department of State to Ambassador Mc- Cormick at St. Petersburg. May 2 — Meeting in New York City. 3 — Meetings at Milwaukee, Wis. ; New York City ; Philadelphia, Pa. — Editorial article in The Com- mercial Gazette, Pittsburg, Pa. 8 — Meeting in New York City. INTRODUCTION XIX May 9 — Dispatch denying the existence of want or suffering among Jews in Southwestern Russia from Ambas- sador McCormick at St. Petersburg to the Depart- ment of State. — Editorial articles in The Ameri- can, and The News, Baltimore, Md. 10 — Meetings at Brooklyn, N. Y. ; Cleveland, Ohio ; Mil- waukee, Wis. ; and (3) Philadelphia, Pa. II — Meetings at Atlantic City, N. J.; Newark, N. J.; and New York City. — Resolutions adopted by the Hebrew Veterans of the War with Spain, New York City. 12 — Editorial articles in The American and Journal, New York City, and The Public Ledger and Philadelphia Times. 13 — Meeting at Texarkana, Tex. — Editorial articles in The American and Journal, and The Evening Journal, New York City. 14 — Editorial articles in The American, Baltimore, Md., and The News, Milwaukee, Wis. 15 — Editorials in The News, Baltimore, Md. ; The Age- Herald, Birmingham, Ala. ; The Evening Post, Chicago, 111.; The American and Journal, and The Evening Journal, New York City. 16 — Editorials in The Sun, Baltimore, Md. ; The Even- ing Post, and The Record-Herald, Chicago, 111. ; The Times-Democrat, New Orleans, La. ; The Sun, New York City; and The Times, Washing- ton, D. C. 17 — Meetings at Baltimore, Md. ; Boston Mass. ; (2) Chicago, 111. ; Dallas, Tex. ; Hartford, Conn. ; and (2) Philadelphia, Pa. — Editorial articles in The Sun, Baltimore, Md. ; The Chronicle, Chicago, 111. ; and The Times, New York City. 18 — The Associated Press publishes a statement by Count Cassini, the Russian Ambassador. — Meet- ings at Buffalo, N. Y. ; Chicago, 111. ; and Cincin- nati, Ohio. — Resolutions adopted by the City Council of Chicago, 111. — Editorial articles in The News, Baltimore, Md. ; The Evening Post, Chi- cago, 111. ; The State, Columbia, S. C. ; The Times, and The Tribune, New York City; The World- XX . INTRODUCTION Herald, Omaha, Neb.; The Chronicle Telegrapl Pittsburg, Pa.; and The Globe-Democrat, S Louis, Mo. May ig— Meetings at San Francisco, Cal., and Yonkeri N. Y. — Resolutions adopted by the Boards c Aldermen of Jersey City, N. J., and New Yor City. — Editorial articles in The Courier, Buffal( N. Y. ; The Chronicle, and the Inter Oceai Chicago, 111. ; The Evening Journal, Minneapoli Minn. ; The American and Journal, New Yor City; and The Eagle, Wichita, Kan. 20 — Editorial articles in The Citizen, Asheville, N. C. The News, Baltimore, Md. ; The Commercia Buffalo, N. Y. ; The News, Chattanooga, Tenn. The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Ohio; The Rock Mountain News, Denver, Colo. ; The Evenin News, Lincoln, Neb. ; The Times, New Yor City ; The Press, Philadelphia, Pa. ; and Th Public Ledger and Philadelphia Times. 21 — Meetings at Fort Smith, Ark., and Sioux City, la.- Resolutions adopted by the Seventeenth Triennij Council of the Reformed Episcopal Church, Chi cago. 111. — Editorial articles in the Evening Trar script, Boston, Mass. ; The Leader, La Crossi Wis. ; The Independent, The Press, The Sun, an The Times, New York City. 22 — Meeting at San Francisco, Cal. — Editorial article in The News, Birmingham, Ala. ; The Evenin Post, and Hearst's Chicago American, Chicag( 111. ; The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, O. ; The Ever ing Journal, New York City; The Commerci; Gazette, Pittsburg, Pa.; and the Record-Unioi Sacramento, Cal. 23 — Action taken by the American Baptist Missionar Union, Buffalo, N. Y., and the City Council c Detroit, Mich.— Editorial articles in The Jounia Atlanta, Ga. ; The Examiner, Chicago, 111.; Th Outlook, The Sun, and The Times, New Yor City. 24— Meetings at Denver, Colo. ; Des Moines, la. ; Elmir: N. Y. ; Jersey City, N. J. ; La Crosse, Wis. ; Ne- INTRODUCTION ■ XXI York City ; St. Louis, Mo. ; and Wheeling, W. Va. — Sermons preached (2) at Denver, Colo.; (2) New York City; Omaha, Neb.; and Phila- delphia, Pa. — Action taken by Congregation Emanu-El, Birmingham, Ala. ; Calvary Baptist Church, Omaha, Neb. ; and The Jewish Publica- tion Society of America, Philadelphia, Pa. — Edi- torial articles in The Record-Herald, Chicago, 111. ; The World-Herald, Omaha, Neb. ; The News, Wheeling, W. Va. May 25 — Meetings at Buffalo, N. Y., and Newport, R. I. — Editorial articles in The American, Baltimore, Md. ; The Idaho Statesman, Boise, Idaho ; The Evening News, Lincoln, Neb. ; The Journal of Commerce and Commercial Bulletin, New York City. 26 — Meetings at New York City and Norfolk, Va. — Edi- torial articles in The Tribune, N. Y. ; The Vir- ginian-Pilot, Norfolk, Va. ; The Globe-Democrat, St. Louis, Mo. ; and The Gazette, Terre Haute, Ind. 27 — Meetings at Bayonne, N. J., and New York City. — Editorial articles in The Evening Sun, New York City, and The Herald, Topeka, Kan. 28 — Resolutions adopted by Temple Israel, Terre Haute, Ind. — Editorial articles in The Globe, Boston, Mass. ; The News, Des Moines, la. ; The Ameri- can and Journal, The Evening Sun, The Sun, and The Times, New York City. 29 — Meetings at Chicago, 111. ; Jersey City, N. J. ; and La Crosse, Wis. — Editorial articles in The Even- ing Post, and The Record-Herald, Chicago, 111. ; The Gazette, Janesville, Wis. ; The American and Journal, New York City; and The Evening Tele- gram, West Superior, Wis. 30 — Meeting at Salt Lake City, Utah. — Editorial arti- cles in The American, Baltimore, Md. ; The News and Courier, Charleston, S. C. ; and The Outlook, New York City. 31 — Meetings at Boston, Mass., and Richmond, Va. — An address at Minneapolis, Minn. — Sermons (2) at XXII INTRODUCTION Boston, Mass., and (i) at Philadelphia, Pa. — Resolutions adopted by the Chambers-Wylie Me- morial Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia, Pa. — Editorial articles in The Item, New Orleans, La., and The Bee, Omaha, Neb. June I — Meetings at Birmingham, Ala.; Syracuse, N. Y. ; and Wilmington, Del. — An address at New York City. — Resolutions adopted by the Jefferson Club, New York City, and the Union Republican Com- mittee of New Castle County, N. J. — Editorial ar- ticles in The Times, Altoona, Pa. ; The Ledger, Birmingham, Ala. ; and The Plain Dealer, Cleve- land, Ohio. 2 — Meeting at Trenton, N. J.- — Resolutions adopted by the Negro Members of the Louisville, Ky., bar, and by the Common Council of Trenton, N. J. — Editorial articles in The Advertiser, Newark, N. J., and The American and Journal, New York City. 3— Meetings at Philadelphia, Pa., and Worcester, Mass. — An editorial article in The Evening Star, Peo- ria, 111. 4— Meeting at Atlanta, Ga.— Resolutions adopted by the Seneca Club, New York City. — Editorial arti- cles in Leslie's Illustrated Weekly, New York City; The Evening Telegraph, Philadelphia, Pa.; and The Capital, Topeka, Kan. S— Meeting at Washington, D. C— Editorial articles in The American and Journal, New York City; The Inquirer, and The North American, Philadelphia, Pa. ; and The Ledger, Tacoma, Wash. 6— Editorial articles in The American, and The Morn- ing Herald, Baltimore, Md.; The Evening Sun, and The Times, New York City. 7— Meetings at Baltimore, Md.; (3) New York City; and Pittsburg, Pa.— Addresses at Wilmington, Del— Sermons at Albany, N. Y. ; (2) Baltimore, Md.; and New York City.— Editorial articles in The Sun, and The Times, New York City; and The Times, Toledo, Ohio. INTRODUCTION XXIII June 8— Resolutions adopted by the City Council of Colum- bus, Ohio. — An editorial article in The American and Journal, New York City. ID— Editorial articles in The Sun, Baltimore, Md. ; The American and Journal, and The Times, New York City. 12 — Editorial articles in The American, Baltimore, Md., The Times, New York City; and The Call, San Francisco, Cal. 13 — Meeting at New Orleans, La. — Editorial articles in The Picayune, New Orleans, La., and The Times, New York City. 14 — Meeting at Petersburg, Va. — Sermon in New York City. 15 — The Executive Committee of the Independent Order of B'nai B'rith waits upon the President of the United States, and presents a memorandum and the draft of a petition addressed to the Emperor of Russia. 16 — An editorial article in The Evening Journal, Minne- apolis, Minn. 17 — An editorial article in The Press, New York City. 18 — Resolutions adopted by the National Anti-Mob and Lynch Law Association, Springfield, O. — An edi- torial article in The American, Baltimore, Md. 22 — Sermons (2) at Kansas City, Mo. — An editorial ar- ticle in The News, New York City. 25— An editorial article in The Mail and Express, New York City. 26— Editorial articles in The Commercial Advertiser, and The Tribune, New York City. 27— Editorial articles in The Times, and The Tribune, New York City, and The Bee, Omaha, Neb. 2&— An editorial article in The Times, New York City. July I— An editorial article in The Times, New York City. 4— An editorial article in The Times, New York City. S— An editorial article in The Press, Philadelphia, Pa. 7_An editorial article in The Globe, Boston, Mass. ii_Address before the Chautauqua Assembly. XXIV INTRODUCTION July 12 — Meeting at Atlantic City. 14 — The petition to the Emperor of Russia, framed by the Independent Order of B'nai B'rith transmitted, in obedience to the instructions of the President of the United States, to the American Charge d'Affaires at St. Petersburg, with directions to present a communication embodying the petition to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and inquire whether the petition would be received by him to be submitted to the Emperor of Russia. Not re- ceived. IS — An editorial article in The Times, New York City. 17 — Editorial articles in The American and Journal, New York City, and The Evening Star, Washing- ton, D. C. 18 — An editorial article in The Times, New York City. 21 — An editorial article in The Evening Post, Louisville, Ky. Oct. 31 — The petition of the Independent Order of B'nai B'rith, with 12,544 signatures appended, placed in the archives of the United States. In Part First the various sorts of protest, whether m the form of meetings, resokitions, or sermons, have been grouped in chronological order under the towns in which the action was taken, and the towns are ar- ranged alphabetically. In Part Second the alphabetical order of towns is retained, and under each town name the newspapers follow each other in the alphabetical order of their names, and the articles quoted from each in chronological order. In reading the addresses and articles in the book, the reader must bear in mind that they form a contempo- raneous record, in which contradictory statements could hardly fail to find lodgment. They are day by day utterances, which successive dispatches and reports were bound to modify and correct. Hence arise the in- INTRODUCTION XXV consistencies in facts and figures between address and address, and article and article. The sketch of the course of events as they are now known to have happened given in this Introduction, is an attempt to bring together the final results as they appear in the most authentic accounts available. The plan of The Jewish Publication Society OF America was to issue a series of publications on Russian Jewish relations, and there is sufficient ma- terial on hand for works on the condition of the Jews in Russia, on aspects of the passport question, and on documents in the archives of the United States bearing upon these matters. Whether the plan will be fully executed, will depend upon circumstances, chief among them the collection of a fund large enough to enable the Society to bear the expense of printing, publication, and distribution. November 26, 1903. In view of the length of time that has elapsed since the above Introduction was written, the Editor is prompted to address a word to the members of the Jewish Publication Society of America, in expla- nation of the causes of the delay in the appearance of the present book. When the galley proofs were about to be put into pages, a fire broke out, on December 6, 1903, in the printing office of The Friedenwald Com- pany at Baltimore, by whom the book had been set up. Scarcely had work been resumed, after an interruption of nearly seven weeks, when the disastrous fire of Feb- ruary 7, though it fortunately did not reach the above printing establishment, impeded the progress of the XXVI INTRODUCTION book again, by temporarily putting a stop to all activil in Baltimore. Meanwhile reports of the trial of the rioters at Kisl ineff, held in November-December, 1903, and, in par of the trial held in February-March, 1904, have bee received in America. The significant circumstance attending and brought out by the two trials may I summed up briefly thus : At the first trial, out of four hundred prisoners, on was sentenced to seven years' and one to five years penal servitude; and twenty-three to periods of iir prisonment ranging up to a maximum of two years At the second trial (up to the present date) two wer sentenced to four years' imprisonment and one t twenty years ; fifteen to one year's imprisonment, an three to four months. The Court refused to allow the necessary witnesse to be put in the witness box. All the Counsel (except two out of forty) retains for the prosecution threw up their briefs, because tb judges interfered with the freedom of the barristers ii questioning the witnesses. Subsequently one of thesi advocates was banished to Siberia. All civil actions for damages, which naturally wen brought by Jews, were non-suited. Baron Levendal, colonel of gendarmery, came t( Kishinefif three months before Easter with a detach ment of secret police, and emissaries of his accompa nied bands of the rioters urging them to attack th( Jews. March 21, 1904. PART FIRST MEETINGS, SERMONS, RESOLUTIONS PART FIRST MEETINGS, SERMONS, RESOLUTIONS ALBANY, NEW YORK A sermon on the Kishineff outrages was delivered by the Rev. John J. Lawrence, at the State Street Pres- byterian Church, Albany, N. Y., on June 7, 1903. ATLANTA, GEORGIA A benefit performance was given at the Bijou Theater, June 4, 1903. Harry A. Alexander presided over the performance and delivered an address. He said, in part : Never since history began has liberty administered to des- potism a more terrible and stinging rebuke tlian the spectacle of the American repubKc thus welcoming those whom Russian tyranny has found imworthy of its citizenship. This is the mighty protest which the American people make against the crimes of Kishineff. This is the protest that outweighs all that the Secretary of State could say. This is the spectacle that will never fade from the hearts and consciences of men. If the day shall come, as many believe it will come, when the armies of America and England, beneath the shining banner of liberty, and the legions of the Czar, beneath the black eagle of despotism, shall meet in battle to contest the sove- reignty of the world, it is the blood of Kishineff that, crying from the ground, will turn the tide for the soldiers of liberty. ATLANTIC CITY, NEW JERSEY A mass meeting was held May 11, 1903, at which resolutions were adopted protesting against the Kish- ineff massacre. 4 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF The Jewish Chautauqua Society, during its Seventl Summer Assembly at Atlantic City, on July 12, igo.'^ held a popular conference on " The Status of the Jew in Russia." Addresses were made by Honorabli Mayer Sulzberger, Philadelphia, Pa.; Colonel John B Weber, Buffalo, N. Y., United States Commissionei to Russia in 1891 ; Honorable Simon Wolf, Washing ton, D. C. ; and Rabbi H. Masliansky, New York City Judge Mayer Sulzberger, of Philadelphia, acted a; chairman of the meeting. He said : The policy of the Russian Government is to persecute such of its subjects as are not of the Greek Church. The existence of Protestant and Catholic world powers tempers the cruelty with which Protestants and Catholics are pursued. The ab- sence of a Jewish world power aggravates the ill-treatment of the Russian Jew. We who sympathize with the latter must therefore appeal to the conscience of the world — to public opinion. Intangible and invisible, its existence is often doubted and its effect ridi- culed, both by those who are with us and those who are against us. " What good will the agitation do ? " say the former ; " a fig for your noise ! " say the latter. Let the facts of a little month speak: Cassini first brawls, then speaks gently, and now protests friendship. The Holy Synod first smiles at Father John's upbraidings, then dis- ciplines him into recantation. The Russian Ambassador prom- ises London's Lord Mayor protection for Russian Jews if we but keep still. And finally the Grand Duke Vladimir him- self explains to the American public. On the other hand, it is true that Russian semi-officialism blusters and threatens insult to our Government. Both positions show that Russia is summoned to the bar of civilization, appears and pleads, though the appearance is reluctant and the plea quibbling, untrue and self-contradictory. Without hatred or malice toward Russia or its rulers, we must proclaim the wrong that she is doing in pressing the life ATLANTIC CITY 5 out of her Jewish subjects by law and administration and in encouraging outright murder, and worse, by the example of her policy. With firm insistence on our rights as citizens, native-born or adopted, we must present to our Government the claim that Russia must cease to declare him no citizen of the United States who, by virtue of our laws, is one. In so doing we disavow all intention to embarrass our Gov- ernment. The course to be pursued by the administration, whatever it be, ought to satisfy us. We cannot forget that the President of the United States, our first citizen, has ever been mindful of the duties of his great office, of the honor of our country, and of the rights of all its citizens; that he has spoken wisely and justly on this subject, and that his distinguished Secretary of State, with delicately humorous generosity, met the first denial of the Kishineff massacre by contributing aid for its victims. But whatever the official policy or procedure may be, our duty is to arouse public opinion all over the world in the firm faith that it will enter Russia and influence it, despite cordons and censorships. For that purpose we are here to-day. To this campaign of publicity and protest, this peaceful struggle for humanity and justice, " not by might nor by power, but by the spirit of God," we here devote ourselves until the end be attained. Colonel John B. Weber, who was chairman of a special commission to investigate conditions in Europe in 1891, for the United States Government, said: The status of the Jew in Russia, or to state it more aptly, the lack of a status, is no doubt familiar to many of you, through information gained from those who came from there, from reading, and from actual experience as former residents of that country. To all such, what I shall say may not throw new light on a dark subject, but there may be in this audience those who have but a faint conception of the conditions which prevail in that country, and to such I particularly address myself; those whose humanitarian sensibilities have been 6 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF shocked by the recent ebullitions of fanaticism, and who are willing and anxious that some reasonable steps be taken to prevent, or at least to lessen the frequency of similar occur- rences in the future. It is not easy to obtain facts in respect of occurrences in Russia, largely owing to the rigidity of the censor, and the flexibility of diplomatic denials, but, whatever may be denied, they cannot successfully contradict the evidence they them- selves have furnished, in their code of special restrictive laws applicable only to those of the Jewish faith. Besides the special requirements regarding military duties, taxation, pass- ports, property, and commercial rights, agricultural and indus- trial pursuits, civil service, representation, legal procedure, and punishment, they are particularly oppressive in respect of religion, education, and residence. Bear in mind that these laws are not common to the whole people, but applicable only to Jews, and supersede or are in addition to the general laws affecting the rest of the population. These laws in my judgment are responsible for the misery and persecution of these unhappy people. When the government thus openly and officially discriminates, the substrata of society will not fail to emphasize such discrimination by acts of brutality, upon the slightest pretext of provocation. There can be no peace, no substantial relief for the sufferers, until the total disappear- ance from Russia — of either the Jew or the special laws directed against him. I referred to the laws relating to religion as especially ob- noxious and oppressive. I mean by this that because they are so barren of the results aimed at — conversion — they are not only senseless, but become persecution pure and simple. The Jew in Russia at first amazed me in two particulars: the tenacity with which he clings to his religious faith, and the intensity of his desire to educate his children, but later on I found good reasons for both. Persecution invariably intensifies the unity of a people, and when the conditions in life become well-nigh unbearable he must find consolation in the hope of a happier hereafter or give way to a despair culminating in insanity. Notwithstanding that he might greatly ameliorate his condition by embracing the Orthodox ATLANTIC CITY 7 faith, such instances are so rare that it may be said they are practically non-existent. It was easier to understand the craving for education, for that when carried through the higher degrees brought the privilege of residence outside the Pale. The opportunities for acquiring education, however, were limited, and from time to time still further narrowed, by additional restrictions, so that in 1891 but 10 per cent of the scholars in schools and universities within the Pale might be Jews, and but 5 per cent outside of the Pale, except in St. Petersburg and Moscow, where but 3 per cent of the pupils were allowed to the Jews. In my State and in some of the countries of Europe, the laws provide for compulsory education; in Russia, in respect of the Jews, the laws provide for compulsory ignorance. The laws regarding residence are especially harsh, vexatious and tyrannical. In their wording they are contradictory; in their sections, inconsistent. They are promulgated and re- pealed, sometimes permitted to lie dormant, unenforced; some- times enforced before they are promulgated — strange as this will seem to an American, but it is a fact. Construed to mean one thing at one time, and another thing at a subsequent date; to mean one thing in one Gubernium, and in an adjoining Gubernium quite another. In 1865 an edict was issued, inviting into the interior of Russia certain classes of Jews, who at that time had not the right of residence outside of the Pale, among them being hand-workers or artisans. The groundwork of this decree, as was stated therein, was that there was a surplus of artisans in the Pale and a deficiency in the interior, and that it was de- signed to not only relieve the one, but to foster and develop the industries of the other. And this it did. Some came in without being strictly within the defined classes, there being at that time a tolerant feeling toward them, and in 1880 to confirm the right of residence to these another edict was issued giving the right of residence in the interior to all those who were then living outside of the Pale. Two years after, the so-called May laws of 1882 were promulgated as tempo- rary measures, although they are now over twenty years old, which had the eiifect of preventing the further settlement in 8 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF the agricultural districts of the Pale, a right which they always had had, and they also forced them into the towns and town- lets of the Pale. The protests which went up from many civilized countries against the harshness of these measures brought about a temporary suspension, for the Bear is not so indifferent to criticism as is pretended, and the enforce- ment for some time thereafter was of an intermittent char- acter, breaking out in spots. In the fall and winter of 1890 the screws were tightened and the pressure felt in the interior, notably in Moscow. The artisans first experienced difficulty in procuring their annual renewals of certificates of artisan- ship. Then came petty trickery to expedite the movement. Artisans were held to be fraudulently enrolled, because at the precise moment of visitation the inspector did not find the artisan actually at work, perhaps delivering work, or ill at home, but the evidence was always considered sufficient, and expulsion ordered. A watchmaker who had sold a watch-key was held to have violated the rule which forbade the sale by him of any article not the product of his own hand, and was expelled; so also a tailor who sold a suit of clothes, attached to which were buttons not of his manufacture. Finally came the order, about the time we reached Moscow, boldly expelling artisans and others who had been formally invited to come there, and who had settled in the interior, established themselves, married, raised families of children who had never seen the Pale, and now were compelled to go there, to begin life anew among strangers under conditions of extreme competition, in a place already overcrowded, and where the effort to obtain a livelihood was literally a snatch- ing of bread out of the mouths of each other and the survival of the strongest. The sacrifice of property, owing to forced and hurried sales, the inability to collect honest debts from men who felt en- tirely safe to refuse payment to those who were ordered out, the cessation of further credits to those merchants who had to go, the suffering due to the loss of employment, can better be imagined than described. The average realization on goods, manufacturing plants and household effects was about 10 per cent of value, according to careful estimates. The aching ATLANTIC CITY 9 hearts never have been, nor can they be, calculated. The path- way from Moscow to the Pale was substantially the line of Bonaparte's retreat, and in some respects similar; it was strewn with human wrecks, broken hearts and blighted lives. Jews about this time were denied admittance to the hospitals under the jurisdiction of the municipal authorities, although they were taxed to support these institutions. The most piti- able case was that of the man who had been bitten by a rabid dog, and was carried to a hospital on a stretcher, but turned away simply and solely because he was a Jew, notwithstanding the superintendent in charge wrote and signed a certificate to the effect that the man had been examined, that he had the symptoms of hydrophobia, and that his only chance for cure was in being treated at that hospital by the Pasteur method, that being the only institution in all Russia where that sys- tem had been established. I saw in their etape prison, persons who had a perfectly legal right of residence at the time of their arrest, with the evidence of such right plainly available, yet they were ordered to be sent by etape to the Pale — that is, in a convoy with criminals — for not having the right of residence. I saw official documents ordering Jews to be sent by etape in handcuffs, the offense stated in such documents being " without the right of residence." These are but a few sample cases which we set forth in our official report, all of them being verified by undoubted evidence, else they would not have found place there, nor would they be referred to here. This was in 1891, and accounts for the stimulus given to Jewish immigration to this country since that time. That they have not stopped these outrages, let Kishineff answer. Kishineff was but a repetition of the midnight raid on the Jewish quarter of Moscow in i8gi, except that then the authorities prevented a wholesale mas- sacre. And Kishineff is not the last chapter in the story of " man's inhumanity to man." To-day the Jew in Russia is an alien in the land of his birth, one who bears an undue share of the burdens of gov- ernment without the privileges of its meanest citizen. Fettered in his movements, handicapped in his vocation, restricted in 3 10 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF his educational opportunities, unable to protect himself, and powerless to successfully invoke the protection of the authori- ties ; a slave who has not even the master's self-interest to shield him from abuse, he stands helpless, friendless and de- fenseless against brute force, egged on, not only by religious intolerance, but by contending forces which strive to strengthen the government on the one hand, and to destroy it, on the other — the irrepressible conflict of the age, between govern- ment by autocracy and government by the people. This makes the Jew the sport of the rabble, the spoil of the official; the football of fanaticism, the buffer against which strikes the brutal wrath of bigotry, intolerance and savagery. This in brief is the status of the Jew in Russia to-day. I do not believe that the Czar would have more loyal and devoted subjects than the Jew, were he permitted to be a man. Neither do I believe that intelligent Russians are in accord with this policy of proscription. Rather do I believe, that if free to express themselves, they would gladly and emphati- cally echo the sentiments as applicable to the Jew, which were uttered by our own Jefferson regarding the negro, when he said, " I tremble for my country, when I remember the slave, and know that God is just." We frequently hear and read of late that so long as lynching is prevalent in this country, we have no moral right to protest against the persecution of the Jew. I do not agree with this view, for I think I can see a substantial difference between conditions there and here. There are no laws in this country which discriminate against the rights of the negro, in respect of his person, his property or his conscience. Infringement upon his voting privilege is yet to Ije passed upon by our highest court of appeal. And even if this result in the loss of his franchise, it would be but one point of parity with the Jew, and a small matter in comparison with the mountain of discriminations piled upon the Jew in Russia. Again, it must be admitted, that however deplorable are the fiendish mob outbreaks here, the victim is always charged with the com- mission of crime of the most serious nature, which is not the case with the Jew. He has not committed any crime; he is not charged with offense save that of clinging to the faith ATLANTIC CITY 11 of his fathers, and this, if he lives up to, makes him a better man, a better subject of the state, and, were he permitted, would make him a better citizen of the empire. Over and above all this, so far as argument among nations is concerned, regarding the interference in internal affairs, we have the undoubted legal as well as moral right to object to the con- duct of a friendly power which unfavorably affects our economic and political affairs, and upon this ground we stand on an unassailable base, when we protest against the course which Russia is pursuing towards the Jew. We cannot look with unconcern upon the arrival of the thousands of hunted, terror-stricken human beings, who come to us crushed in spirit and impoverished in substance, to enter into competition with our respected and self-respecting labor, and if any government by its acts forces such people upon us, in so unhappy and deplorable a condition, it is clearly within our internatiopal rights to object. Neither is it an answer to say that we have the remedy in our hands by closing our ports against these people. This would violate our every instinct of humanity, and would war against the essence and spirit of our institu- tions, against the policy which has made this country great and prosperous, and which will continue to add to our pro- gress, if the tide of immigration is confined to a flow from natural causes alone. The abnormal immigration which comes to us from Russia being due to the laws and methods of that country, gives us a legal and moral right to protest. Self- interest and humanity unite in a loud call to invoke our rights. Nor is it to be expected that this stream of fleeing people can be diverted in any great proportions to other lands than this. This country is the magnet which attracts the particles of humanity whenever they become detached from their native soil. They know of us, as was evidenced in a statement made by an emigrant at Kovno, in the Pale, when he said, " I am going to America, because in that direction lies hope. Here I have only fears to confront me. The hope inay prove delu- sive, but the fears are a certainty. My great ambition is to breathe, at least once, the free air with which God has blessed the American people." These are the words of an uncultured Jew, and these are the sentiments in the heart of every Jew in Russia. 12 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF Upon you, ladies and gentlemen of the Jewish faith, will fall grave responsibilities growing out of the continued perse- cution of your co-religionists, which you cannot evade if you would, and which I am sure you would not if you could. To provide for the incoming thousands, who flee from the brutalities of darkest Russia, to aid them in establishing them- selves in work or business so that they may become self- sustaining, to protect them against the unscrupulous who would prey upon them here, to distribute them, so far as may be feasible, that they may not by congestion become a menace to us all, to guard in every way possible against the danger of a rebound from oppression to freedom, which so generally accompanies the lifting of the pressure, and so usually inter- prets liberty to mean license, and to instil into their minds correct principles of our citizenship, are the problems which confront you, the solution of which will tax your best ener- gies, demand your best thought, and require your most en- lightened liberality. And in this work I believe you will have the moral and material support of every true American citizen. Be patient with these unfortunates and do not judge them by the ordinary standards. Their lives from the cradle up have been passed under extraordinary conditions. The grown- up generation cannot forget their mistreatment; they cannot banish fear and suspicion on command. But their children can be fitted to enter into our citizenship, and made to glorify your race, and reflect credit upon our American institutions. ■Rev. Dr. Henry Berkowitz then read the following letter from Dr. Walter Kempster, of Milwaukee, who was United States Commissioner to Russia in 1891 with Colonel Weber: It was with no prophetic insight that I remarked on reading a proclamation made by the Czar of Russia some time ago, wherein he granted to his subjects the privilege (so he said) of worshiping God according to the dictates of their con- science, that some action was contemplated looking toward further persecution of the Jews. This came sooner than I anticipated. ATLANTIC CITY 13 There is a phase of this persecution which does not yet appear to be fully understood by persons who have not been on the ground, namely, that the Jew is made a scapegoat for the persecution of other so-called " unorthodox." It is not only the Jew, but the Lutherans, the Baptists, Stundists, and other denominations not in conformity with the Greek Church who are compelled to leave the dominion of the Czar, for the reason that they do worship the Almighty in accordance with the dictates of their conscience. These denominations are not mentioned for obvious reasons; but if you will refer to the report made by Colonel Weber and myself concerning the condition of the Jews in Russia, you will find therein statements to the effect that we ourselves saw many people professing the faiths indicated above who were driven out with the Jews, and in large numbers, but who were not mentioned in the dispatches nor referred to by those who have written upon this subject. It is, however, true. The whole movement is one of religious intolerance. In my opin- ion, it is thoroughly understood by the Russian Government, from the Czar down. You have doubtless seen many references in the press of late to extracts from a newspaper published in Kishineff of an inflammatory character, condemning the Jewish residents. When you take into consideration that go per cent of the Russian peasant population can neither read nor write, it becomes apparent that there must be some other influence at work to arouse the mass of the people to violence aside from editorial attacks made in the newspapers. The remedy for all this is extremely difficult to find. The protests of American people, or any other people, for that matter, have no more weight in the dominions of the Czar than as though they were not uttered. They believe them- selves to be a nation superior to all others on the face of the earth, and the religion of the Greek Church is the only reli- gion, and that all others must be driven out of the kingdom. They stand ready to resort to measures which would not be tolerated in any civilized country, but which I fear will con- tinue there until the Russian dominions will be rent asunder by internal dissensions, which I believe may occur in an 14 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF unlooked-for way and perhaps at a time when least expected, and which will, when they come, astonish the world. The following letter from Andrew D. White, the United States Ambassador to Germany, dated July 7, was read : I have delayed final answer to your kind invitation, hoping that I could make some arrangements to accept it, but, to my especial regret, find myself utterly unable to do so. I regret this all the more, for this is the time of all times, when I would have gladly met you and your organization to utter some word of cheer and comfort to you all, some word of sympathy with your oppressed brethren in faith, and some word of remonstrance with the oppressors. But the fates forbid. Give to your associates assurances of my best wishes. A letter from Mr. William B. Hackenburg, of Phila- delphia, was also read. Hon. Simon Wolf, of Washington, D. C, spoke after Rev. H. Masliansky, of New York, whose re- marks were in Yiddish. Mr. Wolf's address contained the following: There is no occasion, before this or any American audi- ence, to paint the deplorable outrages in Russia. We all know them. We sympathize with the victims and we protest against the atrocities. Meetings have been called by the American people, irrespective of faith and partisanship, to protest against these atrocities. The voice of the American people has thun- dered through the world, and the dark clouds of persecution are beginning to lift. Our government has listened to the voice of the people. Audience was given by the chief servant of the American people, who listened to the voice of the people. The words found an echo in the heart of his chief secretary, John Hay. American citizens of the United States stand on a plane of equality and have the right to demand what every other Amer- ican citizen can demand. ATLANTIC CITY 15 The President said, " I will consider," and he did consider. The President in his letter to me said, " I will send your petition to the Czar. Give it to me as quickly as you can," and, in spite of uncanny influences, he says : " I will forward your petition because it is right, just and humane, and be- cause the American people have spoken, and their voice to me is law." This petition may never be sent or received. But whether sent or received, the moral effect has already been accom- plished, and in the history of the United States there will be no document, outside of the Declaration of Independence, greater in importance than this — the petition of the American people to the Czar of Russia that religious liberty be granted to the oppressed Jews of his domain. I have never been afraid of Russian immigration. I believe that God's inscrutable will is back of the shifting scenes, and that every attack upon the Jews of Russia will redound to the downfall of that land. Mr. Isaac Hassler, of Philadelphia, presented these resolutions, which were adopted : The Jewish Chautauqua Society, in its Summer Assembly, joins in the expression of feeling of the civilized world against the persecution and massacre of the Jews of Kishineff, Rus- sia. The Society believes that in the creation of a strong public opinion and in its expression through appropriate channels, a most effective, practical remedy lies. Accordingly, the thanks of the Jewish people are due to the press, especially the press of the United States, for the search- ing reports and investigations, which have contributed so largely to convey and reflect the feelings of all right-thinking men in condemnation of the outrages. The Society commends the action of the Independent Order B'nai B'rith in giving orderly and proper utterance to the sentiment of the American people, and joins in and en- 16 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF dorses the petition formulated for this purpose by the Order for presentation to the Russian authorities. The Society expresses its thanks and praise for the cour- ageous stand in behalf of liberty of conscience and humanity taken by the President and other executive officers of the United States in agreeing to transmit this petition to the Russian authorities. A copy of this resolution, signed by the chancellor, the president, and the secretary of the society, shall be sent to the Independent Order B'nai B'rith for such use as the Order may determine. BALTIMORE, MARYLAND A meeting, convened under the auspices of the Balti- more Branch of the Alliance Israelite Universelle, was held at the Academy of Music, on May 17, 1903. There were present nearly three thousand persons. The Committee of Arrangements consisted of Dr. Harry Friedenwald, President of the Alliance Branch, Chairman, Simon Dalsheimer, Honorable Lewis Put- zel, Dr. Fabius Fox, and T. Silberman. The meeting was presided over by Dr. Fabian Franklin, and ad- dresses were made by Honorable John V. L. Findlay, Mayor Hayes, Leon E. Greenbaum, Samuel Wollman, and ex-Governor William Pinkney Whyte. The Vice-Presidents of the meeting were as follows: Rev. Drs. A. Guttmacher, William Rosesau, Charles A. Rubenstein, H. W. Schneeberger, Alois Kaiser; Messrs. M. Ades, Samuel Frank, Menka Friedmann, William Frisch, A. Greenstein, D. Kaplan, Matthew Keyser, M. Krakover, J. Krulewitch, Charles London, L. Lesser, M. S. Levy, M. J. Oppenheimer, Samuel Rosenthal, Jr., A. Sauber, G. Schwartz, M. Shakman, M. E. Selenkov, T. Simon, Moses Strauss, Isaac Strouse. BALTIMORE 17 Dr. Franklin opened the meeting with the follow- ing address: In face of the persecution of these unfortunate people and the intolerable oppressions authorized, or at least permitted, by the Russian goveirnment, two things remain to be done — one is to furnish the material help to these people in their struggle to pick up the shattered needs of life remaining to them, and this must be done by generous subscription; and the second is the creation of a potent public sentiment against the acts and the government permitting them that shall spread throughout the world. To the first end there will be a collection taken, and to the latter a set of resolutions will be offered and will be supported by some of the highest members of this State, and that not only Jews, but of various creeds. They represent that ele- ment that loves justice and liberty without regard to birth or religious inclination. We shall hear from the highest repre- sentative of the great Catholic Church, as his long record of humanity and public service would lead us to expect. I have now the pleasure of presenting to you the mayor of your city, who comes from a sturdy old American stock that has always sided with progress and both political and re- ligious freedom — His Honor Mayor Thomas G. Hayes. Mayor Hayes said: To Marylanders whose very atmosphere is impregnated with religious liberty; to those whose very ancestors in 1634 brought with them to these shores religious liberty, it is diffi- cult to believe that these Jews have been murdered in their homes and their women slain after having been robbed of the dearest treasures of womanhood in life. I say it is difficult to conceive that in 1903 in a so-called civilized country such unspeakable atrocities could have been inflicted on law- abiding people and with the practical connivance of the local police. Israel Zangwill's letter can have but one result. It must arouse the manhood of every man to speak out vigorously in behalf of humanity. 18 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF Think of it — in this twentieth century, and in a part of the world that claims the rank of a civilized nation, women and children have been butchered, while the Russian police stood idly by. It is an indelible disgrace to the government that did not prevent it, and will surely raise a protest that will be loudly heard in the imperial halls of St. Petersburg. After the mayor's address, Mr. Hugo Steiner read a number of communications, which are given in part. John Walter Smith, the Governor of Maryland, wrote : I regret, owing to prior engagements, it will be impossible for me to be in Baltimore on the day named; but notwith- standing that I cannot be present I am unable to refrain from expressing to you my sorrow and amazement that such an outrage could have occurred in any country on the earth, and that it should have been caused by religious prejudice; and also my sincere sympathy for those who have been robbed of their property and bereaved of their friends and natural protectors by this outbreak of barbarism, which has shocked the civilized world. Hon. Simon Wolf, of Washington, wrote : My Dear Sir: In answer to your request to be present at the public meeting to be held in Baltimore on Sunday after- noon. May 17, I beg leave to state that owing to a prior en- gagement in the city of Philadelphia I am unfortunately pre- vented from attending. Under the circumstances making it necessary for this meeting, I would, of course, have been only too glad to co-operate with my friends in Baltimore for the purpose of expressing the deep indignation that each and every man should feel at the outrages perpetrated upon our co-religionists in Russia, and to evidence not only by words, but by active contribution, the deep and sincere sympathy we feel for our stricken and persecuted friends. It is high time that we should declare in tones unmistakable to our govern- ment and to the American people that it behooves them to BALTIMORE 19 take active part in bringing about reforms in Russia to pre- vent these outrages and inhumanities, for every outbreak in Russia swells the army of refugees that will inundate our country, making it so much harder not only upon the vic- tims, but upon those who by kinship are compelled to care for them on their arrival. This is no longer a local ques- tion, and cannot and should not be treated in any other spirit than that which is underlying the principles as enun- ciated in the Roumanian note. * * * The Jews of the United States, and, indeed, of the whole world, must be banded together for the purpose of pre- venting similar cruelties, and all other questions, whether of a local, national or international character, should be in abeyance until this one great problem of the century should be solved. ********* In justice to our government I would state that immedi- ately upon the receipt of the cablegram of the outrages, I promptly notified the State Department and asked it to cable to our ambassador in Russia for detailed information and to secure the consent of the Russian government to the distri- bution of funds and supplies, and the State Department has cabled again, not having received a prompt answer, showing that they are in sympathy and anxious to aid us in every way possible not inconsistent with international usage. Dr. Harry Friedenwald. My Dear Sir: I regret that my enforced absence from the city on May 17 will prevent my presence at the meeting you have called to voice your horror at the events that have re- cently taken place at Kishineff. I have no hesitation, how- ever, to express my deep abhorrence at the massacres that have carried to their graves gray hair and innocent child- hood. Our sense of justice revolts at the thought of perse- cution for religion's sake, but when persecution is attended with murder and pillage the brain reels and the heart sickens and righteous indignation is aroused at the enormity of the crime. What a blot upon civilization is this slaughter of inoffen- sive men, women and children! Please convey to the meet- 20 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF ing my grief for the dead, my sympathy for those made help- less by the murder of their natural protectors, and my sin- cere hope that this twentieth century will see the end of all such occurrences, and that peace, good-will and brotherly love may prevail on earth. Faithfully yours, James Cardinal Gibbons. Baltimore, May 8, 1903. After Mr. Steiner had ended reading Cardinal Gib- bons' letter, Dr. Franklin introduced Mr. John V. L. Findlay. Mr. Findlay said: We have assembled here this afternoon without regard to creed, race, condition or nationality, for the purpose of dis- charging the highest duty that man can perform, the duty that he owes to humanity itself. The occasion of our meeting involves a simple, although pathetic and tragical, story al- ready made known to the most of you, as the details have been unfolded from day to day in the columns of the public press. It was the Easter season, at the high tide of the Chris- tian festival, that this unspeakable outrage against every principle for which the name of Christ stands, and which the religion that he taught is supposed to embody, was inflicted upon a peaceable and unoffending class of our fellow-beings in a distant province of Russia. The pretense for the mur- derous assault is too silly for discussion and could only have imposed upon a fanatical mob already inflamed with the ugliest passions of racial and religious animosity. It may not be out of place, however, in passing, to say that this pretense is known historically as the blood accusation, and originated in a charge absolutely without foundation and with not even the color of plausible suspicion to sustain it, that the Jews used Christian blood in connection with their religious ceremonies. This groundless rumor did not start un- til some time about the middle of the twelfth century, and although it was sifted to the bottom shortly afterward in the BALTIMORE 21 thirteenth century by Frederick II. of Germany, who, by public decree, exonerated the Jews fully from the charge, supporting his judgment by unanswerable reasons, such, for example, as the Mosaic law which forbids a Jew to taste blood, it has con- tinued down to our own times, and was the pretended occasion of the outbreak at Kishineff. It belongs to that class of human delusions which led even so good a man as Sir Matthew Hale and our own Puritan forefathers to believe in witchcraft, and to show the sincerity of their belief by hanging and burning witches. It is a pure figment of a disordered imagination, vitalized and made viru- lent by racial prejudice, and has no more real existence than the wildest phantasy of the craziest inmate in Spring Grove. Swayed by these passions, armed with all the weapons of deviltry, this mob was let loose to work its cursed will unre- strained by law or mercy for three days against helpless un- armed men, women and children; yes, even babes at the breast, who were snatched from the arms of pleading moth- ers and hurled through windows into the streets along with the household furniture, and the very cradles in which they were rocked. Old men who in the course of nature must soon have quietly paid its debt; venerable priests with their trembling hands upon the altar and clothed in their sacerdotal robes ; mothers in the midst of their shrieking children ; wives along- side of their husbands were indiscriminately shot down, hacked to pieces, torn and mutilated by these frenzied fanat- ics, as much worse than wild beasts as man in his power for mischief and'^'Bie multiplied instruments of death and de- struction is superior to the lion and the tiger at his best. From April 20 to the close of the 22d these scenes of bloody murder and outrages of a description worse than death were repeated in the streets of the capital of Bessarabia, to the accompaniment of horrors that the Indian savage or the red- handed Septembrists of the French Revolution never sur- passed. The number who were butchered suggests war rather than assassination. The wounded and injured in more or less stages of helpless mutilation amount into the hundreds, and in addition to this appalling loss of life and 22 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF limb there must be taken into account a wanton and wholesale destruction of property which has left the survivors penniless in a land already cursed with poverty. This is the story, the plain, unvarnished narrative of one of the most horrible and revolting crimes against the sanc- tity of human life that has ever been perpetrated within the limits of a civilized country. To go a little more into detail, it would seem from such advices as can be had that the Jewish Hospital in Kishineflf is crowded with the wounded; that vanloads of the crippled and mutilated were sent to Odessa; that 700 houses and 600 stores were looted; that the very air was filled with feathers from beds that had been ripped open and destroyed : that the streets were piled up with the wreckage of furniture ; that prosperous persons who never knew what it was to want for anything were glad to get a crust of bread; that synagogues were pillaged and defiled, and that all this hideous work was carried on to the cry, " Kill the Jews ! " There can be no question as to the motives that impelled these wretches, and there would seem to be as little as to the indifference, if not the positive sympa- thy of the local authorities, who with armed forces near at hand allowed the riot to run on for three days before any for- cible action was taken to put an end to the outrage. The first question raised by it is. Who is responsible? and the second. How can that responsibility be enforced, if at all? Mont Pelee explodes in a ruinous eruption and 30,000 people lose their lives at one fell stroke. We are paralyzed by the immensity of the disaster, but on recovering from the shock can only say it was God. ^jv A ship goes down at sea with all on board and is never heard of again, and here we stand, too, impotent in the pres- ence of the disaster and so there are many calamities in- volving loss of human life that must pass like the storni or the earthquake unquestioned and unavenged. But is this one of them? Is there nothing more to be done than to recog- nize the calamity as one of those unavoidable freaks of fate for which the only possible relief is the repair of the damage as far as possible, just as we rebuild after a fire or a hurri- cane? Dr. Felix Adler is reported as saying that he would BALTIMORE 23 take no part in a public protest against this outrage unless the Czar was excused from all responsibility for it, and in one sense he is clearly right, for the Czar personally had no more to do with it than any one of you before me now. He is usually represented as a kind-hearted and broad-minded man, with humane instincts that have carried him to the length of proposing to get rid of war and bloodshed altogether, and it would be very wide of the mark and unjust to claim that he had any part in actually provoking the outrage or any sympathy with the fanatics who were guilty of its perpetra- tion. But is there no sense in which the American people may lift up their voice in protest against a crime of this magni- tude with the right to believe that it will be heard and heeded even by the governing class of Russia? We have always been on friendly terms with this great power that in her for- ward movement resembles a glacier slowly grinding down with irresistible momentum to the Mediterranean on the one side and the Pacific on the other, and with no desire to in- crease the staying power of the forces that are interested in preventing that stealthy and crushing advance, and particu- larly with no desire to have the United States counted among the retarding forces. The United States, speaking in a gov- ernmental sense, is what the people of the United States de- clare it shall be. Public opinion is omnipotent here, and sooner or later is reflected in the written law and the public policy of the country. No foreign power can long maintain the good-will and respect of the government of the United States that does not enjoy the confidence and respect of the people of the United States, because the people here are in fact the government. Now I was amazed to learn when I was in Berlin last sum- mer that if I desired to make a visit to Russia, which I was then contemplating, it would be necessary for me to make an affidavit before the American consul declaring my religious belief before my passport would be vised by the Russian consul. I could not understand what my views or beliefs in religious matters had to do with the privilege of travel in a foreign land, or why my passport, under the 24 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF great seal of the United States, should be converted into a sort of profession of faith. I was determined to find out the cause of this extraordinary procedure, and finally learned that it was all aimed against the Jews, and that no Jew was allowed to go to Russia except temporarily on business, and that this device of making a traveler swear whether he was a Protestant, Catholic, Mohammedan or what not was simply an invention to prevent a Jew from entering the domain of the Czar. Whoever is responsible for that regulation is responsible in part for the official recognition of the ignorant prejudice that prevails among the peasants and lower classes against the Jews, and to the extent of the encouragement given by that official recognition to this ignorant prejudice Russia is and ought to be held responsible for some share in this out- rage by the enlightened public opinion of the United States and of the world. There was a time when it was fashionable to speak of a Jew slightingly here, and even in tolerant Mary- land he was ostracised and denied the privilege of holding public office until 1826, a period quite within the memory of many men still living. Even in our own day, and in other countries besides Russia, the Jew has been compelled to con- front this prejudice, and perhaps there is no country except our own where he not only enjoys equality under the law, but where he feels himself on equal terms with his friends and neighbors. But other countries are amenable to public opinion, not as brought to bear directly upon the government merely, but upon the people, through the agency of the press and other means of communication. France felt the immense power of this public opinion in the Dreyfus case, but the masses of France are much better educated and are much more responsive to this influence than the people of Russia. The masses in Russia worship two things — God and the Czar — particularly the Czar, and they cannot read. If the whole 75,000,000 of people in the United States could be assembled in one vast mass meeting, with the President of the United States as chairman, and should adopt unani- mously a resolution protesting against such barbarities as we are here to denounce, and the resolution should be published BALTIMORE 25 in every newspaper in the United States, the fact even that such a meeting was held would never become an operative idea in the consciousness of the masses of Russia as they now are. If, on the other hand, the governing powers in Russia (not meaning by this the Czar alone by any means) should make it known through the church and otherwise that the Czar was friendly to the Jews, and that these riots and murders were displeasing to him, and the policy of the gov- ernment toward the Jew should be one of encouragement in- stead of repression, there would be a marked change in his conditions for the better. The point I am trying to make is that the public opinion of the United States must be brought to bear as far as possible upon the governing power in Rus- sia and can expect but little help in the first instance from the masses of the people themselves. The first thing, then, to do is to create this opinion, and this can only be done by an appeal to the sympathies, and at the same time to the interests of the people, and get the con- centrated expression of both embodied in the public policy of the country. It is a comparatively easy thing to arouse sjonpathy with the downtrodden and oppressed, but it is not so easy to make the people understand that great questions of national policy are involved in these anti-Semitic demon- strations that periodically break out in the Old World. A man has a right to live and die where he is born. He comes into this world without his consent, and he leaves it in the same way, and the least privilege he should be permitted to enjoy is the right to spend the time while he is here as a free agent in the place of his choice. A man is like a tree. He gets rooted in the soil, especially with the great tap root of the family, and with all the minor social and business roots, so that his removal involves not only his own displacement, but all his affiliated ties and interests. His transplantation to a foreign soil is always accomplished with a tremendous wrench to his own feelings and expecta- tions in life, as well as to all who are dependent upon him for their stay and support. But the transfer involves conse- quences that spread far beyond his own family and personal welfare and seriously affect the country to which he has emi- 26 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF grated. For these reasons no country has the right to force any part of its decent population to leave their native domi- cile and settle somewhere else. England was enriched by the persecutions in Holland and France; we, in turn, owe Plymouth Rock to the persecutions of the mother land, and in a larger sense the men who made the United States in the first instance and set it going on its w^onderful career fled to escape the " slings and arrows of outrageous fortune." But the time has passed for any phase of emigration which is not the free and unconstrained choice of the decent emigrant seeking to better his condition, and whose coming will be a loss to the country he leaves, and a distinct gain to the land of his adoption. No country has the right to thrust upon another country the homeless and penniles"; victims of its own misgovernment who must either.-.- be taken care of here by the charitable, or sent back to where they came from, or left to starve. This is a matter that concerns deeply the welfare of the United States. It touches the pockets as well as the hearts of our people, and when they come to understand it we may look for effective remonstrance. It may be asked what concern have we with a riotous outbreak in Russia which has re- sulted in the loss of a few hundred lives and the destruction of a few hundred thousand dollars' worth of property? Why not let the Russians manage their own affairs and we attend to our own business? Have we not sins of our own of the same kind, although, thank God, not to the same extent, to answer for? Yes. But when Greece was under the heel of the Turks the Congress of the United States thrilled with the eloquence of Clay and Webster in her behalf, and Byron dreamed aloud of the hour when Greece might still be free. The South American republics broke the fetters of the Spanish thraldom, and again the great heart of the United States leaped up in sympathetic response. The Cubans cried for help and the Stars and Stripes streamed at the head of our advancing columns up San Juan Hill on one side of the globe, and the guns of Dewey thundered at Manila on the other. Armenia sent us a despairing cry and the answer, quick as lightning, flashed under the sea, and only last sum- BALTIMORE 27 mer the State Department sent a timely remonstrance to Rou- mania in behalf of the persecuted and distressed. This is the historical reason, and if you require any other, I reply that the United States is its brother's keeper in a sense that no other country can claim. Into this great ocean of humanity of ours all the tributary streams of the globe have poured. Man, as distinguished from men, is represented here as he never was before. We are Americans above all else, it is true, but Jew and Gentile meet here on a common plane, made up of the representatives of every civilized nationality under the sun, and all constitute the body of American citi- zenship. We are our brother's keeper because all the world is brother to us, and so it will ever be as long as the Capitol stands or the flag flies from its summit. One other thing ought not to be forgotten. Fine words butter no bread, and all the protests that we may make will not bring present relief to the injured and starving victims of this mob. Americans are the "most generous people in the world, and now is the time for them to ihake a deep dive into their pockets and bring up rich stores out of the abund- ance with which the Almighty has blessed them. New York has responded with characteristic liberality. Let not Balti- more, in proportion to her means, fall behind. " Brethren, sisters, mercy, mercy. Grave and awful is the woe; Hasten shrouds to wrap the dead. Hasten to give the living bread." Then Mr. Steiner read a letter from the Honorable Isidor Rayner, as follows : Dk. Haeky Friedenwald. Dear Doctor: I have explained to you and the gentlemen who called on me with you the reasons that prevent me from attending and taking part in the meeting to-day. No one can feel a deeper interest than I do in the cause that this meeting represents. I feel so profoundly upon the subject that it would be almost impossible to express not only ray sympathy for these victims of persecution, but my resentment 28 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF and indignation at the atrocities that are being inflicted upon them. I have tried upon other occasions in vain to bring about some ofiicial action upon the part of the government which would tend to ameliorate the condition of these unfortunate sufferers. Despoiled of their homes, driven from their places of worship, deprived of human rights, robbed of their birth- right and utterly unprotected by law, they appeal to us not only for relief, but to take some concerted steps which will bring to a termination this horrible chapter of affliction. The time has come when temporary expedients should give way to permanent and united effort. I am confident that the free and intelligent people of this country do not fully grasp the situation that confronts millions of innocent beings in a land against whose laws or institutions they have committed no crime, unless it be a crime to worship God according to the traditions of our faith and the dictates of our conscience. The policy of the Russian government is at war with the Providence of God, and if there is any justice in this world some way must be found which will cause its rulers to aban- don their creed of intolerance and oppression, and in place of it establish the principles of justice and humanity. An earnest appeal from this government emanating from its leg- islative branches through the intervention of friendly offices, in my judgment, could bring about the desired result, and every effort ought to be made to obtain this action. It has been done at other times in our history, and it will be done now if a combined pressure is brought upon Congress to take action in the matter. I can only say to you that a thrill of horror fills every impulse of my being as I realize that in this age of progress and enlightenment the liberal governments of this world should stand by with supreme indifference as this procession of human beings marches on to the gates of martyrdom and despair. I am willing in any way I can to unite with you in agitating this subject until the day shall come when this torture of the innocent shall cease and when they shall receive the human rights and human recognition that they are entitled to by every law of justice and humanity. This is all they claim. BALTIMORE 29 God has given them this inheritance, and it ought not in this day of religious freedom to be in the power of any government upon the face of the earth to deprive them of it. Believe me, with the deepest interest in this great and sacred cause. Yours truly, IsiDOR Rayner. Dr. Hodges wrote as follows: Dr. Harry Friedenwald. Dear Sir: Unable to be present with you this evening, may I be permitted to add my voice to the hundreds and thousands, yes, millions, of voices which should be raised in indignant protest, in every land, against the savage and inhuman treatment of the Jewish people in Kishineff on Easter Sunday last. Words fail to give expression to my feelings of horror and indignation as I read the details of robbery, cruelty and bloodshed, rarely if ever surpassed in barbarity. And it is with a feeling of shame that I read of all this being done by those who call themselves Christians. On this account, it seems to me that the strongest and loudest protest should come from Christian people and Christian governments; that the shame and the dishonor thus brought upon the Christian name may be wiped away. With feelings of deepest sympathy for those who have been subjected to these atrocious crimes against humanity per- mit me to express the hope that the protest of all men, in every country, and of every creed, may be so loud, so strong, and so prolonged, that never again such crimes shall be possible, much less permitted. J. S. B. Hodges. St. Paul's Rectory, Baltimore, May l6. When Mr. Steiner had finished reading the various communications, Dr. Franklin introduced Mr. Leon Greenbaum, who said, in part: This is indeed a noteworthy gathering. Remarkable both for the character of the men who have addressed this meeting and remarkable for the spirit in which it has 30 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF been held. I take it that there is no country in the world in which such a meeting could have been held except the United States of America, nor any time except in the nine- teenth or twentieth century. The cause is the cause of hu- manity and the spirit is the spirit of civilization. Though the protest in this particular instance has been against the conduct of the Russian government, and though the imme- diate desire has been to relieve the poor unfortunates of Kishineflf, if the outbreak had occurred in Armenia and the church had been destroyed; if mob violence had asserted itself on the Pacific slope and the Chinaman had been mal- treated and the josshouse demolished; had the negro cabin in the far South been fired, or the miner's home in Penn- sylvania been stoned by lawless rioters, the same enthusiasm should be manifested as is displayed at this gathering, and the same spontaneous expression of sympathy should be found. While our concrete purpose is to remonstrate against anti- Semitic riots in a land of despotism, our larger aim is to create such a sentiment in every community that nowhere shall a lawless majority coerce a helpless minority. This is a meeting to wipe the torch, the stone and the shotgun from the list of modern implements. It is fundamentally a law and order meeting; a protest against the revival of medieval doctrines ; a plea for the enforcement of modern ideals. It is not a sectarian gathering, nor held for the purpose of ad- vancing the interests of any particular religion. We stand on the common religious platform of Judaism and Christi- anity. The whole fabric of modern civilization is based upon the theory of the supremacy of law and order and of the equal right of all to protection from lawlessness and disorder, and this meeting is, therefore, not merely a protest against a particular exhibition of unrestrained violence, but is an illustration of the spirit of modern civilization, and is an indication of the desire of American citizens that all men in all places shall be subjected to no restrictions or limita- tions save those created by just laws fairly administered. And yet may I be permitted to say that if there be any people to whom this doctrine of universal brotherhood ap- BALTIMORE 31 peals with peculiar force, it is to the American Jew. For centuries the Jews' persecutions had no limits as to place, no bounds as to time. And yet, in spite of inquisition and ghetto, in spite of expulsion and apostasy, in spite of the relentless Spaniard and the implacable Russian, the Jew has survived. The following resolutions were introduced and adopted : Whereas, The cumulative reports of barbarous murders and atrocities committed upon the Jewish inhabitants of Kishi- neff and its vicinity no longer leave room for doubt that a state of things prevails there which is without a parallel in the his- tory of our times, and which has driven many thousands of persons from their homes in terror of their lives; and Whereas, These outrages are but the natural outcome of the oppressive and ciuel laws which for almost a quarter of a century have weighed upon the Jews of Russia, acting as a constant incitement to the evil passions of the populace; and Whereas, The Russian government, in spite of ample warning of the impending trouble at Kishineff, failed to take measures to prevent it, allowed the massacres to go practi- cally unchecked for three days, and, so far as is known, has taken no steps for such adequate punishment of delin- quent officials as is essential for the prevention of similar outrages in the future; and Whereas, The sufferings of the victims of these barbari- ties and the perilous situation of those threatened with similar visitations urgently demand on the part of those liv- ing in more fortunate countries, the exertion of all possible influence to bring about a remedy; therefore, be it Resolved, That we express our profound sympathy with the victims of blind and cruel religious hatred and intoler- ance, and our abhorrence of a condition of law and govern- ment which makes such excesses possible. Resolved, That failure to take the most prompt and effec- tive measures to stop the spread of these barbarous out- 32 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF breaks, and to give effective protection to the innocent Jews who are objects of them would constitute an indelible disgrace to Russia, in the eyes of the whole civilized world, the more so in view of the identification of the Czar of Russia with beneficent projects of peace, tolerance and reform. Resolved, That in accordance with the traditions of hu- manity with which our own country has ever been associ- ated, it is the duty of the United States government in all available ways to bring such influence to bear on the Rus- sian government as may tend to bring about a cessation of these inhumanities. Resolved, That we appeal to the people of the United States to call upon their representatives in Congress to give vigor and effect to the well-established traditions of this country in a proper protest against the violation of the principles of humanity and civilization involved in the out- rages to which the Jews of Russia have been subjected. After the resolutions had been read and adopted, Dr. FrankHn introduced Mr. Roger W. Cull, who said, in part: The time has come, in view of the recent events at Kishi- neff, when civilized nations must pronounce upon the posi- tion of Russia as an aspirant to the consideration and treat- ment due in international intercourse to all civilized powers. That pronouncement must be that by her continued resort at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries to the principles and practices of the Dark Ages, the Russian Empire has forfeited its place among the civ- ilized governments of the earth. Beginning with the legal proscription of the Jews in the early 8o's of the century just closed, Russia has brought the persecution and murder of great numbers of the race since the promulgation of the May laws to a culmination in the massacre of Kishineflf, in the presence of whose horrors the civilized world to-day stands aghast. Russia in Christian Finland, by breach of national faith, without example in modern times, not forgetting even BALTIMORE 33 the partition of Poland, is crushing out the constitutional liberties of a peaceful, industrious and loyal people, prohib- iting the use of the native tongue not only in the public ofBces, but in the schools, where the youth of the country are being educated, ultimately aiming at the suppression of the Protestant religion, to which most of the Finns are devoted. Only to-day a dispatch from Berlin informs the world that the Russian government is taking all possible steps to op- press Roman Catholics in the province of Volhynia, on the Polish border. Catholics are not allowed to buy or inherit real estate. Schools using the Polish language are being closed, and the Napoleonic code, which had prevailed in the province, has been abolished and oppressive laws substituted for it. Nevertheless, while these measures have character- ized Russian domestic policy, that nation has constituted itself, with incredible impudence and hypocrisy, the guardian of the lives and property of the Christians of Turkey, and the Czar sends from his soldier-protected seclusion messages of peace and good-will to all the world, along with mysteri- ous hints and suggestions of religious tolerance, while his government is crushing out by its ethics all religions within the borders of the empire which are not in accord with the faith of the Greek Church. What, then, must be the consideration given by civilized nations to a nation pursuing such policies as these, and yet seeking, as Russia does, admission into the society of civilized peoples, and claiming a position of equality among them? The answer to this question is plain. If the civilized peoples of the earth regard either conscience or self-respect as factors in their policies, they must demonstrate to Russian states- manship that it is interposing against the interests of the Russian people obstacles which cannot be overcome until the Russian government furnishes uniformity of protection and treatment under her laws to all of her people regardless of race or religion, and that from these laws racial and re- ligious hatred and discrimination must be eliminated, and, above all, that the cruel clutch of the director of the holy synod shall be released from the throats of Russian subjects whose conscience cannot subscribe to the creed of the Greel^ 4 34 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF Church. I do not know whether Russia can be taught any- thing, but if she can she must be taught such a sense of her responsibility to the opinion of the civilized world that her statesmanship and policies shall be alive and responsive to that opinion. The American people are an acknowlefdged world power, fortunately situated not only to share, but to take the lead- ing part in the discharge of the duties imposed upon civil- ized nations by the conditions in Russia to which I have re- ferred. The United States cannot, from the geographical position of its territory on this side and beyond the seas, be justly or reasonably suspected by Russia of ulterior and selfish designs, if she protests against the failure of that empire to perform the obligations incumbent upon every civilized power. The protest, therefore, of this government would go to Russia unimpaired by any suspicion of selfish purpose, and such a protest would not, in my judgment, fail to have effect upon the Russian government as a striking evidence of the profound impression wrought upon the peo- ple of this country by the events which have taken place in Russia during the last quarter of a century. Indeed, the opinion of the whole world has become so inimical to Russia as to constitute a serious and growing question of her title to the position and rights of a civilized power, and an impairment of her national prestige certain to effect ultimately her national interests. Russia has emerged from the barbarous interior of Asia, in contact with whose people she has formed her policies, and on all sides come in contact with the civilization of the world. She must, there- fore, hereafter reckon with peoples who have and respect law and order, who are brought up to a love of justice and right, among whom public opinion makes laws and treaties and national policies, and who will not tolerate in their govern- ments policies toward foreign nations based upon the pre- vailing diplomatic assumption that in the game of inter- national politics all nations are alike, all equally without conscience and all equally a law unto themselves. But we are told from Washington that the United States cannot interfere in this matter; that, unlike the Roumanian BALTIMORE 35 incident, there exist no treaty rights with any European power through whom we could bring Russia to an accounta- bility for the crimes which she has committed. It might be sufficient to answer this objection by reminding the authors of the Washington dispatches of the fact that this country has been recently and justly proud of having written by the hand of Secretary Hay a new chapter in the book of world diplomacy, and that if we could write a new chapter in that book for the sake of trade, we might much better, and with more credit to ourselves, write another chapter therein for the sake of conscience and humanity. And, for my part, as an American citizen I do not hesitate to assert that that answer is enough to such an objection as this when ad- dressed to the American people, whose traditions have been those of a people not afraid to be humane and bold enough to demand humanity of other nations. Can it be true that since the United States became a world power we have lost our national conscience in order to fit ourselves for the dignities and rewards of our new po- sition? If so, the American people have not advanced, but deteriorated, and their international policies hereafter must be a mere echo of policies wholly foreign to the long-estab- lished traditions of this country. I do not believe such to be the fact. Mr. S. Wollman was then introduced by the chair- man, and said, in describing the traits and conditions of the persecuted Jews : You have listened to the appeal for charity, and you have not been unmoved by that appeal. But think not that your duty to your brethren is now fully absolved. No doubt your offerings can do more than better the conditions of those you seek to help, and wretched as is the economical situation of the Russian Jew, his sufferings assume an even darker hue when viewed from another aspect, for not only is he subject to the same despotic rule beneath which his Chris- tian neighbors groan, but both the ruler and the ruled, the oppressors and the oppressed, forget their natural enmity 36 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF and join in common revelry if only they can light a fiercer flame beneath the nearer-dying, ever-tortured martyr. Your money may be sufficient to buy him bread, but who can tell how long he shall enjoy even that poor crust in peace? For him there is no peace. The day of quiet is merely an anxious day of waiting for that which has come with unfail- ing regularity for him and his fathers before him. Every unusual clamor is to his expectant ear the voice of his neighbor thirsting for his blood. Is there any peace for a mind ever laden with such fears? Certainly not as long as he continues to make his home on the brink of volcanoes. Safety by flight is his only resort. And whither shall he direct his pilgrim steps? That is a question which concerns not only him, but one over which you also must ponder. For there may be many of you who, although willing to give something of your wealth to help the Russian Jew, do not look with a welcome eye upon those same Jews if perchance they seek refuge at our own door. It is no longer a matter of whispered talk that the large influx of immigrants into this country is re- garded by many as a phenomenon which is, to say the least, undesirable. One fears that wages will be lowered, another that our high standard of life will be endangered, a third that our political party will suffer pollution. Now, I am not going to discuss the general question of immigration, but I must state as my opinion that as regards the Russian Jew you have by no means done your full duty when you send him alms to Russia and bestow upon him a scowl when he comes to seek comfort here. You owe him charity and a welcome. And the reason for such a welcome I shall briefly indicate to you. The provisions of nature are such that continued manual labor leaves a man with not . sufficient energy or time to minister to the wants of his in- tellect. Therefore, we find that many who are on the verge of hunger are likewise suffering from mental starvation. Surely it is no disparagement to the hewers of wood and drawers of water to say that as a class they cannot, in the nature of things, attain a high degree of culture, but when we observe the life of even the poorest of Jews in Russia BALTIMORE 37 what amazement must seize the beholder's eye, how squahd their surroundings, how meager their comforts, how scanty their fare and with how much exhausting toil is even that little attained. Surely you might say, Not here need we seek for thought's dominion. Yet look but a little closer. Do you see that group of men talking together? We recognize in them the very ones who have just risen from a day of dreary labor. But with what talk are they diverting themselves? Not with tales of the bar-room, nor with the story of a cock fight, or of the prowess of a pugilist. No ; they are dis- cussing some pe;rplexing sentence of Moses' law, some acute suggestion of a learned commentator, some mystic metaphor of a rabbinical legend. Their recreation consists in the propounding of legal puzzles, in the solution of knotty problems of theology. The knowledge which they bring to bear upon this discussion may seem to you antiquated; their bearing useless. Their fervor is so much beyond the grasp of their Christian neighbors as the Bolaulus of Newton is above the grasp of him who cannot use his fingers to count three times five. It is but rendering meager justice to the Russian Jew to say that he is the most intellectual of races. When a Rus- sian Jew seeks a husband for his daughter, it is the cham- pion of the school who commands the largest dowry. For his is the only community where learning and learning alone ob- tains the letters patent of noble work. No more sacred title can he bestow than that of rabbi — teacher. What an index is all this of the intellectuality of the Russian Jew ! You see that by his very speech he is exalted before you. ******* Dr. Franklin presented ex-Governor Whyte as the last speaker. Ex-Governor Whyte said, in his address : For the last few days we have been inexpressibly shocked through private letters, individual communications and stray reports from the press, which have percohted through the barrier of international diplomacy, at the recital of the horrible outrages committed at Kishineflf upon the Jewish 38 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF people. Such brutalities, whether committed under the guise of doing God's service and in the perverted name of re- ligion, or through the savage instincts which are the fruits of unrestrained license, rouse the abhorrence and condem- nation of the guilty and invite the warmest sympathy with the victims. These conflicting emotions of righteous indig- nation and sympathetic sorrow belong to no race or nation, no sect or division of the church of God. It is the divine instinct that lies at the root of the brotherhood of man. Persecution can never be used in a righteous cause. The Christian owes the Jew a debt of love and compas- sion. We of the Christian household of faith must never forget that the first Christians had been reared among the noblest traditions of the Hebrews. They had been educated to render, with strictest scrupulosity, unquestioning obedi- ence to the law and a ritual. They had been taught amid the lax morals of their times the absolute duty of leading a holy and religious life. Whatever superstructure they built thereafter it was upon the solid foundation of the moral character of their early life. We are here to express, with the Jewish residents of this city, our horror at the massacre in Bessarabia and to unite, as best we can, in the relief of the sufferers in that awful tragedy. Life has been a battle with the Jewish people since the time of Nehemiah, when the Jews returned to build Jerusalem, for while they worked upon the walls every one with one of his hands wrought upon the work and with the other hand held a weapon. It was the pursuit of the arts of peace under the panoply of war. In the seventieth year of the first century the cap- ture and destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, under Titus, exceeded in horror all other records of human sor- row. It was at the great annual feast of the Passover; a million of souls had gathered in the city. The slaughter was enormous. Eleven hundred thousand people had been slain by the plague and the sword. Such human misery has no parallel in history. In the fourteenth and fifteenth cen- turies armed assaults had been made against the Jews, in which thousands had perished. In the sixteenth century innocent persons, almost without number, were butchered BALTIMORE 39 by a furious mob, and a vast territory fell under the con- tagion of fanatical slaughter and was steeped in human blood. The air was made hideous with the wailings of the dying and the mournings for the dead. We had supposed that the persecutions and plunder which marred the rec- ord of the Middle Agefs was a thing of the dead past, al- though we have not forgotten the ill-treatment which the Jews of Russia received in 1881 and the three years that followed. The fugitives in great measure looked to America as a harbor of refuge and of peace, and since th"ey turned their faces thitherward our cities have been increased by the arrival of new recruits, constituting a busy element in our thriving municipalities. We were not prepared, however, for the catalogue of facts which Israel Zangwill has just given us, nor for the melan- choly story from the lips of Jacob Friedman, which prove beyond disputation that the barbarities of the Russians dur- ing the recent celebration of their Easter was more like the ferocity of the lion and the tiger or the wild animals in the jungles of darkest Africa than the work of human beings. Such a people should be blotted from the family of nations. Sermons on the Kishineff massacre were delivered, in Baltimore, by Rev. Madison C. Peters, Baptist Tab- ernacle, May 24, 1903, and by Rev. Anthony Bilkov- sky, Universalist Church, on June 7, 1903. A mass meeting was held in Baltimore, on June 7, 1903, at Convention Hall, East Baltimore street. Speeches were made in Yiddish, German, and English. The speakers were Rev. James C. Hogan, pastor of Emanuel Meeting House; Dr. Joshua Ros; Louis Michael, editor of the German American (in Ger- man), and William Toole. Mr. Maurice Korf pre- sided, and also spoke in Yiddish. 40 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF BAYONNE, NEW JERSEY A meeting to protest against the Kishineff massa- cres was held at the Democratic Clubhouse, at Bay- onne, N. J., on May 27, 1903. The meeting was called to order by Congressman Allen Benny, Chairman of the Committee of Arrangements, who explained the objects of the meeting, and introduced Mayor Sey- mour, who presided over the meeting. Hugh H. Mara was then chosen secretary and Councilman Cronin selected to take charge of the subscription list. The speakers were Rev. Father I. P. Whelan, of St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church; Rev. Horatio Watts Maguire, rector of Calvary Episcopal Church; ex- Judge Thomas F. Noonan ; Rev. W. H. Boocock, pastor of the First Reformed Church ; Rev. S. J. Betts, pastor of the People's Baptist Church ; Recorder Laza- rus ; and Colonel Charles W. Fuller. The following resolutions were passed: Whereas, The Jews resident in Kishineff, Bessarabia, Russia, have been subjected to the most horrible persecution, to tortures unnamable, to death itself in its most cruel, awful and revolting forms ; and Whereas, Russia seems altogether insensible of her duty to protect the weak and oppressed, therefore we do express our abhorrence at the massacres that have thus aroused our deep indignation and profound sympathy; that we express our grief for the dead, our sympathy for the living, our de- testation of persecution of all or any kind, and our deter- mination as opportunity arises to influence public opinion against all acts of tyranny and oppression and thus form a public conscience of the world to ensure peace, good-will and brotherly love among all men; Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be forwarded to the Secretary of State of the United States, that he may BIRMINGHAM 41 use the same in any way he may be warranted in expressing this nation's abhorrence and detestation of the Kishineff massacre. BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA The following resolutions were adopted by Congre- gation Emanu-El, Birmingham, Ala., May 24, 1903. Whereas, It came to knowledge of the entire civilized world that on last Easter Sunday the Jews of Kishineff, Bessarabia, were assaulted by their fellow-citizens, which ended in riot, robbery, arson, murder, and the violation of the person of their wives and daughters ; Whereas, The civil and military authorities permitted these outrages to continue for three days, without an effort to check the mob, and Whereas, The Russian Government sought to make it ap- pear, that the said outrages were nothing more than a blood- less affair, representing it as such to Mr. McCormick, our ambassador at St. Petersburg, and Whereas, Count Cassini, the Russian ambassador at Wash- ington, in an interview to The Associated Press, is reported to have made certain allegations, which, if made, we declare them untrue, and if so, were made with the intention to mis- inform and mislead the American people, therefore be it Resolved, That Congregation Emanu-El of Birmingham, Ala., make a most solemn protest against the deception prac- ticed upon our ambassador in St. Petersburg. Resolved, That we believe and so charge, that Count Cas- sini, the Russian ambassador at Washington, is guilty of wil- fully and maliciously misinforming the American people. Resolved, That we also consider this an opportune time for the United States Government to demand the right for Amer- ican citizens, to travel in Russia without any discrimination whatsoever on account of religious belief or conviction. Resolved, That if these acts were committed as charged and specified in the foregoing, we declare that Count Cassini, the Russian ambassador, has forfeited the respect of our people and therefore request our Government at Washington to demand his recall. 42 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF Resolved, That Congregation Emanu-El, of Birmingham, Ala., in the name of humanity, enters its solemn protest against such atrocities, which were permitted to occur in the recent massacre at Kishineff. Resolved further, That these preambles and resolutions be forwarded to the Honorable Simon Wolf, of Washington, chairman of Board of Delegates for Civil and Religious Rights, with the request to submit them there, to our State Department. Respectfully submitted, THE COMMITTEE, By M. Newfield, Chairman. Sam'l Ullman, Mrs. Sidney Hart, Mrs. M. Lenk, A. B. Loreman, Bertram Jacobs. At the call of a committee of citizens a mass meeting of the citizens of Birmingham and of the Birmingham district was held June i, 1903, at the Jefferson Theatre. Nearly a thousand persons were present, among them, seated on the stage, Rufus N. Rhodes, chairman of the meeting ; Mayor W. M. Drennen, Dr. A. P. Montague, president of Howard College ; Dr. J. H. Phillips, super- intendent of the Birmingham public schools ; Rev. J. P. McFerrin, pastor of the First Methodist Church ; Rev. Father P. A. O'Reilly, of St. Paul's Catholic Church; Hon. J. H. Miller, Rev. Willis Barnett, Baptist min- ister and editor of the Alabama Baptist, the organ of the Baptists in Alabama and throughout the South; Honorable John B. Knox, of Anniston, president of the last constitutional convention ; Joseph B. Babb, managing editor of the Birmingham News, secretary of the meeting; Robert Jemison, president of the Birmingham Railway, Light and Power Company; BIRMINGHAM 43 Samuel UUman, member of the Birmingham board of education ; Rabbi Morris Newfield, of Temple Emanuel congregation, all of whom addressed the meeting. Letters were read in the course of the evening from Judge Samuel E. Greene, Rev. Dr. Thomas J. Beard, ex-Governor Joseph F. Johnson, and Colonel T. G. Bush, and a telegram from Major Frank Y. Anderson. Mr. Rhodes, in calling the meeting to order, said: We have assembled to-night, as is our right in this land of liberty, that our sentiments and convictions, under our con- stitutional privilege of free speech, shall find expression and go to public record concerning the outrages and atrocities recently perpetrated upon an unoffending people at Kishineff, Russia. The hearts of the people of Birmingham and the Birming- ham district throb in unison with the great heart of civilized mankind, in generous sympathy with the oppressed and dis- tressed of every clime, whatever their nationality, creed or condition. This sympathy is one of the precious legacies be- queathed to the American people by the fathers of the Republic who conceived and created this government under the inspira- tion of an unquenchable love for liberty and an insatiable greed for justice for all men everywhere. It is our birthright to heartily despise injustice and tyranny, oppression and per- secution by law or lack of law, by government or mob. As a free people, we defiantly resent interference with any one of God's children, however humble, in the manner of his worship of his Creator, or lawful endeavor to earn an honest livelihood. Words can not be harnessed together strong enough to translate the righteous indignation of the American people over the infamies of the Kishineff riot. Mr. Knox said, in part : I esteem it a privilege to participate in this meeting, and to express my hearty sympathy with the broad spirit which inspired it. This meeting and similar meetings which have 44 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF been and are being held in different parts of the country, show how each year the world is drawing closer and closer together in all that stands for the protection, as well as the better- ment and elevation of humanity. The attitude of Russia towards its Jewish population has always been incomprehensible to me. The Jew is condemned there by Count Cassini, the Russian ambassador to this coun- try, because he would not ply the avocation of agriculture, and yet an inspection of the laws of Russia shows that the Jew in that country is barred from the ownership of land. And so it seems in Russia the Jew is to be damned if he does, and to be damned if he don't. Why, in our government, and in every government, the Jew is the greatest conservative force— he stands for law and order. Talk about your old families, here is the greatest aristoc- racy the world ever saw — a people who can trace their lineage back through a period of 4000 years. The world is indebted to the Jew for Moses, not only the greatest of lawgivers, but the highest type of the patriot and statesman — a man who was great enough to choose rather to suffer affliction with his own people, than to feast upon the fleshpots of Egypt — or, to quote the text more accurately, to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. The South can never forget that she owes to this wonder- ful race the gift of Judah P. Benjamin, a man, who with splendid ability stood at the helm of state, during the hours of her sorest trial and greatest need. Mr. Chairman, it is impossible to estimate our debt to the Jewish race — through them we get our Bible, our religion, our civilization, and our knowledge of our Maker. It is our privilege, and should be our pleasure, to stand up in their defense whenever opportunity offers. The following resolutions were unanimously adopted : Whereas, It has come to the knowledge of the entire civil- ized world that on last Easter Sunday the Jews of Kishineff, Bessarabia, were assaulted by their fellow-citizens which ended BIRMINGHAM 45 in riot, robbery, arson and crimes too horrible for description, and Whereas, The civil and military authorities permitted these outrages to continue for three days without an effort to check them; and Whereas, The massacre perpetrated during this time was so heartrending and appalling that civilization stands aghast and right-thinking people of every nationality shudder with horror; and Whereas, The American people have always stood for humanity; ever ready to extend the hand of succor to those in distress; ever alert to protest against wrong and injustice wherever committed; wedded to the principles of religious liberty and the equal rights of all men; and Whereas, The people of Birmingham and the Birmingham district, in common with their countrymen, share the indig- nation excited by this foul blot upon civilization and this out- rage upon humanity; therefore be it Resolved, In mass meeting assembled, that the people of this community express their unstinted condemnation of the brutal outrages committed at Kishineff and enter their protest against persecution in every form and especially where inno- cent blood is shed; and not only extend their heartfelt sym- pathy to the victims of the riot, but call upon the Czar in the name of humanity and civilization to punish the perpetrators of the atrocities, and to extend protection alike to the people of every creed, and bestow the blessing of religious liberty upon all his subjects. Be it further Resolved, That we earnestly urge our govern- ment at Washington to act in consonance with the true Amer- ican spirit of humanity and justice by sending a remoilstrance to the Russian government against the outrages perpetrated at Kishineff and appeal to that government to extend protec- tion to its people in the civil, religious and political rights. Be it further Resolved, That we also consider this an oppor- tune time for the United States government to secure the right for American citizens to travel in Russia without any discrimination whatever on account of religious belief or con- viction; and 46 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF Be it further Resolved, That a copy of these preambles and resolutions be sent to the Honorable John Hay, secretary of the department of state for the United States government at Washington, D. C, and to each of our senators and repre- sentatives in Congress, with the request to urge such action as to make them operative. BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS A mass meeting was held in Faneuil Hall, May 17, 1903, under the auspices of the Boston joint relief committee, to raise funds for the suffering Jews in Kishineff, and to protest against the massacre of inno- cent men, women and little children in Russia. Mr. Meyer Bloomfield, chairman of the relief committee, presided, and addresses were made by Rabbi H. Mas- liansky of New York, the Rev. Charles G. Ames, the Honorable George E. McNeil, Representative James F. Carey, H. B. Blackwell, Max Mitchell, the Honor- able M. F. Murray and others. On the platform were the Rev. C. F. Dole, Samuel F. Hubbard of the North End Union, Mr. and Mrs. Julius Andrews, Mrs. Max Mitchell and Rabbi Charles Fleischer. Representative Carey of Haverhill said that the poor, ignorant man who, in his rage, might kill his brother, though of another race, might well be pardoned, but that the mighty ones of the earth, the men who hold in the hollow of their hands the power of the government of Russia and seek to raise race and religious preju- dices, are the ones most at fault. Mr. Max Mitchell followed with an urgent plea to contribute to the relief of the sufferers in Russia. BUbTON 47 Christian people all over the world, said he, condemn the outrages, and the best way for them to show it is by coming forward and helping this cause. Mr. H. B. Blackwell said : The complicity of the Russian government in the spolia- tion and massacre of its Jewish subjects is one of the blackest crimes of the age, and should arouse the indignant protest of every civilized community. It seems incredible that a nation which owes its religion to the Hebrews, which accepts the Hebrew scriptures as divinely inspired, which reveres Moses and the prophets, which worships a Jew as the Son of God and as God himself, should select as its unofifending victims the race to which it owes so much. The causes of this savage outbreak seem partly theological bigotry, partly jealousy of the thrift and superior financial ability of the Jewish people, and partly a determination of the authorities to crush out every form of non-conformity. Cath- olic Poland, Lutheran Finland, Gregorian Armenia, the Ma- hometans of central Asia, and the disciples of Confucius in northern China must all be Russianized or exterminated. And now the Jewish people throughout this vast empire are being driven out or destroyed. They are hated because they are industrious and prosperous, and because they are loyal to their race and religion. Their success is regarded as a crime, and their best qualities are the grounds of accusation. Let us demand of our state department an official remon- strance against the oppression which drives thousands of impoverished exiles to our shores! If we cannot directly in- terfere to prevent these atrocities, let us help these fugitives to make their homes in this new world. The Honorable George E. McNeil spoke next, and he was followed by the Rev. Dr. Charles G. Ames, who said, in part : I am tired and sick of the religion that does not restrain human vice and hatred; I am tired and sick of the religion 48 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF that rolls its eyes to heaven and doesn't care who it steps on down here; I am tired and sick of the religion that does not know God from the devil. If my Christianity leaves me free to hate a Jew, and your Judaism leaves you free to hate a Christian, whai is the meaning of any religion? The Rev. H. Masliansky of New York, the main speaker of the evening, followed, and addressed the avidience in Yiddish. In their native tongue he elo- quently recited to them a tale of horrible cruelties per- petrated upon helpless women, young girls and chil- dren, which brought tears to the eyes of many of his audience. He told of a mother, outraged and insulted by Russian soldiers, whose 1 8-year-old son attempted to interfere, and was killed on the spot ; of fathers and mothers forced to witness the outraging of their daughters, and the brutal torture of their young chil- dren; of young women tortured and put to death be- fore the eyes of their sweethearts, and appealed to them to do what they could to relieve the sufferings of these poor people. " What irony ! " he exclaimed, in closing. " The Czar, the peacemaker of Europe and the butcher of his own subjects, turning a whole city into a butcher shop! Long live those young revolutionists suffering in Siberia and in Petropolevska prison. Long live they, and may their cause be ever strengthened." The following resolutions were adopted: Whereas, The massacre of Jews in Kishineff is a most direct and flagrant violation of those sacred principles of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for which this country bled and fought a century and a quarter ago, and BOSTON 49 Whereas, This country has in that great hour been materi- ally and morally aided by another liberty-loving republic, which sent its best fighting men freely and voluntarily to help win our victory; therefore, We Americans, in mass meeting assembled in our sacred his- toric hall of liberty, protesting against the atrocities of Russia, which it has perpetrated on a helpless people, resolve that it is, this day, the sacred and imperative duty of the United States government to raise its voice of protest against Russia, and to intercede on behalf of our suffering Russian brothers. A mass meeting was held on May 31, 1903, in the Dudley Street Opera House, Boston, Mass., under the auspices of the Zionist Council of Boston. The Chairman of the meeting was Isaac Harris, President of the Zionist Council, and it was addressed by Con- gressman Sullivan of the Eleventh District, Michael J. Murray, Henry B. Blackwell, and the Rev. A. H. Plumb, pastor of the Walnut Avenue Congregational Church, Roxbury. The following resolutions were adopted: Resolved, That the citizens of Boston, in mass meeting assembled, believers in the fullest freedom of conscience and abhorrent of outrages upon men because of their religious opinions, view with alarm and indignation the recent mas- sacre in Kishinefi by an ignorant and fanatical populace. Resolved, That we call upon the United States Govern- ment, as the world's greatest exponent of liberty, to protest against this barbarous assault upon human life and to de- mand of the Czar of all the Russias protection against a repe- tition of the calamity. Sermons on the Kishineff massacre were delivered, on May 31, 1903, by Rev. Charles A. Crane in the 50 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF People's Temple, and Rev. Herbert S. Johnson in the Warren Avenue Baptist Church, Boston. BRADFORD, PENNSYLVANIA A sermon on the Kishineff massacre was delivered by Rev. S. Berney, at the Universalist Church. BROOKLYN, NEW YORK A mass meeting was held under the auspices of the Israelite Alliance of America, in Temple B'nai Sho- laum, Brooklyn, N. Y., on May lo, 1903. " The persistent and consistent policy of Russia," Nissim Behar said, " has been to discriminate against the Jews, not only against their own Jews, but also against those coming from other countries, even against American citizens of the Jewish faith, al- though armed with passports. Russia may officially deplore the massacres, but by her conduct toward the Jew she is morally responsible for their occurrence." Other speakers were Rabbi Alter Abelson, Lewis B. Michaelson, and A. H. Simon. The following reso- lutions in condemnation of Russian massacres and in favor of calling for aid upon the Christian world were passed : Whereas, The civilized world has been shocked by the recent massacres and outrages committed at Kishineff on a defenseless people, because they worshiped the faith of their fathers; and Whereas, These outrages were committed because of racial and religious hatreds that have no foundation in rea- son or in morals; BUFFALO 5] Now, therefore, We, the Israelite Alliance of America, at a meeting held in Brooklyn, on the loth day of May 1903, do Resolved, That we protest against these outrages in the name of humanity and in the name of eternal justice; and be it further Resolved, That we call upon the Christian world to regis- ter its protest against these outrages, committed under the guise of religious fanaticism, and receiving its stimulus from outworn and vicious blood accusations. BUFFALO, NEW YORK A meeting was held on May 18, 1903, which was addressed by Rabbis Franklin and Aaron, and Police Justice Thomas Murphy. Dr. I. Aaron said, in part: This violence in Russia is the fault of the government, the fault of the aristocracy, the fault of the police, the fault of the soldiers, but we know that the real cause is the lack of strength, the lack of the fear of heaven. Everything is in the power of these cruel tyrants ; it would seem that not even God could change these brutal hearts. They are ignorant, and must be uplifted by education, by religion, by high moral doctrine, which, alas, are lacking in Russia. Russia has no fear of heaven, and we have no power to stay the hand of the Czar. And the worst of it is, it is not all over. We have been bowed down by the terrible atrocities that have been com- mitted, but we are in terror of what is to come. " A handful does not satisfy the lion," and I fear this handful of victims of the massacre will not satisfy the Russian bear. We must aid those who remain in a practical way, by giv- ing them money, giving them the sinews of war to resist the war that has been made upon them. And there is one other thing: There is a refuge for the downtrodden — America, the 52 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF land of freedom, of honest hearts, of noble minds, this mag- nificent country filled with men whose hearts rise to heaven day after day. We must make America a place of refuge for our downtrodden brethren, make it a place where Jews will act so, live so, labor so, that they may lift their heads in honor and be above reproach and criticism. The American Baptist Missionary Union, at a ses- sion held in Buffalo, New York, on May 23, 1903, adopted a set of resolutions, signed by the presidents and secretaries of the Baptist national societies, to be transmitted to the Secretary of State: The recent massacre of the Jews in Russia calls for our sympathy, our prayers and our protest. So far as the Amer- ican public knows, these terrible atrocities were committed with the knowledge, if not the guilty connivance, of the Rus- sian authorities, both in Church and State. Speaking for more than four and one-half millions of American Baptists, whose spiritual ancestors suffered persecution even unto death, through centuries, in every European country, and whose brethren are enduring persecution and social ostracism in many countries to-day, we lift up our voice against these latest hor- rors in Kishineff. As the advocates in all ages of complete religious liberty, we plead for it now, at least to the extent of insisting that innocent men, women and children shall not be butchered for their religious beliefs. We ask for the pray- ers of all our people to this end, and ask that our govern- ment let it be known that the convictions and sympathies of the citizens of the United States condemn the Kishineff out- rages upon the common rights of humanity and of a helpless race. Resolved, That a copy of this memorandum and protest, duly signed, be transmitted to the Secretary of State of the United States, and a copy to the ambassador of the United States at the Court of St. Petersburg, Russia. Lemuel Moss, Albert Coit, a. c. osborn. BUFFALO 53 At a meeting held in Buffalo on May 25, 1903, the following resolutions were adopted: Whereas, A certain horrible and cruel massacre of Jews has occurred at Kishineff, Russia, and, whereas, one Count Cassini has seen fit to take up the cudgels of defense in behalf of Russia, Now, therefore, we, a body of men and women, residing at Buffalo, N. Y., do hereby record our protest, and do resolve upon the following facts : First — It appearing from all reports that the police of Kish- ineff not only failed to protect the helpless Jews, but pre- vented the able-bodied from self-defense, we do charge the Russian police with a guilty complicity in all the murder and pillage which occurred at that place on that occasiori. Second — It being proven by reliable information, that the vice-governor of Bessarabia hid himself in his palace and re- fused protection to the Jews during the murderous riot, after having first deliberately lulled to sleep any suspicions of im- pending danger, we do hereby openly charge the said vice- governor with a full knowledge of and a criminal assistance in the said slaughter and pillage. Third — It being the only defense of Count Cassini that the cause of the riot was not the hatred of Russia against the Jews, but the personal odium of the peasant against the money- lender, we do hereby charge the said Count Cassini with a singular weakness and insincerity in his defense. And we do further charge him that there can be upon this mortal earth no justification or palliation of such sickening crimes as were recently enacted in his land. Fourth — We do openly avow that the cause of the riot can be traced directly to Russia's hereditary animosity against the Jew as creed. And we do further charge Russia with a par- tial, unscrupulous and unfair treatment of its Jewish inhabi- tants, as is unequivocally proven by its refusal to admit a Jew to full rights of citizenship, its debarring him from nearly all the professions, its excluding him from living in certain places, its restricting him from holding land or tiljing the soil, save in a few special districts, and lastly, by its cruel expulsion 54 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF of whole masses of Jews from time to time, without any reason whatsoever save the arbitrary work of a tyrannical Czar. BURLINGTON, VERMONT A mass meeting was convened by Mayor Hawley. CAMDEN, N. J. dsee PHILADELPHIA, PA.). CHAUTAUQUA, NEW YORK On Jt:ly ii, 1903, Rabbi Moses J. Gries addressed the Chautauqua Assembly, in the Amphitheater, on "The Jew, Past and Present." In the course of his address, he said: We are reminded of the "traditional friendship" between Russia and America. Therefore nothing must be said in America, and surely nothing done in America, that may mar this friendship. At the same time, we are bluntly reminded that with little grace can we protest against Russia, when north and south our own land is guilty of race riots and negro lynchings. Russian Jewish persecution and American negro lynchings are not the same. The negro lynchings are race riots, north and south — are not condoned by the govern- ment, and are not justified by those in the high places. They are not applauded and defended by intelligent, thinking people throughout the land. Lynchings occur in the United States, not because of, but in spite of, the law of the Republic. The anti-Jewish riots in Russia are applauded and de- fended by those in authority. They occur in Russia because of anti-Jewish laws, cruelly enforced. There is no real sympathy between America and Russia. Whatever be the traditional friendship of the past — whatever be the truth of the story of Russia's saving the Union, Ameri- ca and Russia in principles and ideals have little in common. There can be no real sympathy between democracy and despotism. CHICAGO 55 Russia is not a civilized nation. She is the barbarian of Europe. The civilized world has not forgotten the horrors of Tien-Tsin, and the Russian brutalities in China. You remember the looting, the destruction of property and life, the unspeakable brutality to women, the slaughter of children — babes being tossed on bayonets in inhuman savagery. Tolstoi, the most distinguished and the most humane of Russians, has said : " The French people will lose prestige by becoming the allies of the most despotic, retrograde and cruel government of Europe." The persecution and hatred of the Jews is due chiefly to religious fanaticism. The anti-Jewish riots in Eastern Europe, break forth at the Easter season, not because of a chance coin- cidence. Anti-Jewish riots come at that time because effect follows cause. The Jew is hated and persecuted for the crime — the sin — of being a Jew. Know you the story of the blood accusation, almost every year brought against the Jew — that for the Passover, the Jew needs the blood of a Christian child, to make the Passover cakes? The story has circulated from mouth to mouth, round the world, for hundreds of years; it is believed by ignorant people, aye even by judges sitting in the seat of judgment — the story is false, without a shadow of truth — and priests still treasure in their hearts the old hate against the Jews charged with responsibility for the death and crucifixion of Jesus. CHICAGO, ILLINOIS A meeting was held on May 17, 1903, in the syna- gogue of the Congregation Anshe Kalvaria, Union and Twelfth Streets. The speakers who addressed the meeting were Leon Zolotkoff, Esq., Grand Master of the Knights of Zion; Julian Mack, Esq., Rabbi Glek, and B. Horwich, chairman of the Relief Committee. Bishop Samuel Fellows, St. Paul's Reformed Epis- copal Church, and Dr. A. R. White, Stewart Avenue 56 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF UniversaHst Church, delivered sermons on Kishineff, on May 17, 1903. The Chicago City Council, on May 18, 1903, passed the following resolutions: The preliminary clauses of the resolutions, which were introduced by Alderman Jozwiakowski, recite that American citizenship recognizes the right of all people to worship God in whatever manner they see fit; that men in all countries should be allowed to " work and to pray " without interference ; and then continue, in part: Whereas, We hold that any effort to crush the religion or national sentiments of the people is not only dangerous to the people at home, but is injurious to the world at large, and strikes at the root of peace, harmony, and happiness of nations; and. Whereas, The entire civilized world is appalled at this re- volting horror in far-off Russia, and every American's heart is made sad by the reports of the cruel and merciless murders of innocent women and children; and. Whereas, True to the principles and traditions of this coun- try, the people of this country have always been the champions of liberty and opponents of oppression, and inasmuch as the slaughter of the innocent Jewish people in Russia is an attack upon religious and civil liberty and is an insult to civilization and humanity; Be it Resolved, That it is the spirit of this representative body of the city of Chicago to most earnestly deplore the hor- rible massacres of the Jewish people in Russia, to most em- phatically protest in the name of humanity against their con- tinuation, and to most heartily support all efforts to allay the suffering of the victims of the bloody atrocities, and to hereby publicly arraign the massacres as brutal and criminal. CHICAGO 57 Be it also Resolved, By this city council, That we take part in the efforts now put forth by many citizens of tliis city to give both moral and substantial support to the suffering Jew- ish people in Russia ; and, further, that the city clerk forward a copy of these resolutions to President Roosevelt and to the Secretary of State. A meeting was held on May i8, 1903, at the Star Theatre. The speakers were Miss Jane Addams, Peter Sussman, Esq., and Clarence Darrow, Esq. Miss Addams said, in part : The laws of Russia have kept the Jew away from the soil. As a result the Russian peasant has been the producer of the harvests, while the Jew has been forced to a commercial life. To him the peasant sold his harvests, and he often found that the Jew not only bought present harvests, but had a lien on future harvests. The animosity engendered in the fact that the one led an agrarian and the other a commercial life was further increased by the distinction made between them in Russian laws. There was no justice in the court for the commercial Jew against the Russian peasant, and the distinction was noted in other ways, sufficient to keep the two classes apart and antagonistic. This was due primarily to the laws, which failed to give the Jew an opportunity for legitimate life on the soil. We are here to express our disapprobation of Russia's cowardice in failing to protect her citizens from massacre, and we are here also to seek a remedy. Perhaps the saddest part of this all is that it has broken down the sentiment that all over the world was leveling ranks and obliterating race prejudice. It has put civilization back to that extent. Let us hope that it will also react, by calling attention to this un- just prejudice, in assisting to remove it; In addition to the sorrow we feel for the poor victims and sufferers let us also turn to the mystery in which these outbreaks had their roots. 58 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF Let us daily do what we can to allay this horrible race hatred which has been at the bottom of so many horrors in the past. Mr. Darrow said, in part : What can we do for those who have suffered and who may suffer because of this prejudice against the Jew in Russia? This nation cannot interfere, except by moral suasion. The Seventeenth Triennial Council of the Re- formed Episcopal Church, at a meeting held in Chi- cago, May 21, 1903, passed resolutions appealing to the Czar to prevent suffering among his subjects. A meeting was held on May 29, 1903, by the North Chicago Hebrevir Association at the synagogue at La Salle Avenue and Goethe Street. Addresses were de- livered by Rev. Dr. E. Schreiber, Rabbi Hirschberg, Bishop Fallows, and others. Bishop Fallows said, in part: It is on such an occasion as this that we should call a halt to the despotic nations of the earth, and in the name of humanity demand that this death-dealing anti-Semitic spirit cease. I do not know what the United States can do in this case, but I know that this government will exert its powers and privileges to the utmost in the interests of a downtrodden people. The following resolutions were adopted : Resolved, By the members of the Jewish community of the north side of Chicago, in mass meeting assembled, That our government at Washington be requested to use its good offices with the authorities of Russia in order that the hand of per- secution be stayed, as well as to redress the wrongs done to our co-religionists; also that they exercise their control over their subjects so that the terrible scenes of the last few months may never be repeated. CINCINNATI 59 Copies of the resolutions will be forwarded to Presi- dent Roosevelt, to Secretary of State Hay, and to the chairman of the committees on foreign relations of both the House and Senate. CINCINNATI, OHIO. A meeting was held by the citizens of Cincinnati, on May i8, 1903, at the Chamber of Commerce. About one thousand persons were present. Captain J. D. Ellison, president of the Chamber of Commerce, introduced General Michael Ryan as Chairman of the meeting, who said, in part: It is eminently proper that from this city, where the He- brew has grown to the full stature of patrician manhood and patriotic citizenship, a voice should first be raised de- nouncing the Russian barbarities, and our expressions here to-day will be joined in all over the country, and no doubt will be effective, thus adding another achievement, which will redound to the honor and glory of Cincinnati. General Ryan then called upon James T. McHugh to read the report of the Committee on Resolutions, which was as follows: Whereas, The newspapers of our country are daily re- ceiving and presenting accounts of horrible and unprovoked massacres of Jewish people in certain parts of Russia; and Whereas, The detailed statements of these tragedies are so appalling and heartrending as to make civilization stand aghast and to cause us to doubt that such things could hap- pen in a so-called civilized country in the light of the twen- tieth century; and Whereas, The authorities of the government of Russia have failed to check these cruel outrages on a peaceable and inoffensive people, and from Kishineff, where 200 are re- ported as having been murdered and at least 500 wounded, 60 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF others having escaped such fate only by fleeing from homes, we are advised that the soldiers did little to protect the unfortunate from the fury of the mob, seeming to be in league with the perpetrators of these acts ; and through a despatch from Odessa to one of our daily papers comes the statement that for the extent of the outrages, for the cruel- ties practiced and the tortures inflicted on the hapless people the inactivity of the soldiers is largely responsible; and Whereas^ We class the Jewish people as among the best, the most useful and the most patriotic of our citizens— a people who have contributed their full share to make our nation what it is to-day — broad, liberal and tolerant in their views, and staunch upholders of civil and religious lib- erty; therefore, in view of the cruelties practiced upon their brethren in Russia, we join with our Jewish fellow-citizens in expressing horror of the awful massacre and of surprise that the Russian government has not promptly applied the most strenuous measures for protection from mob violence the lives of innocent and peaceable people ; therefore, Resolved, That as American citizens we abhor persecu- tion, violence, and the shedding of innocent blood, and that the recent occurrences in Russia, which are a stain on mod- ern civilization, justify and call forth our most earnest pro- tests, making it imperative to urge upon the Russian gov- ernment prompt action in securing to these injured people all the protection which civilization recognizes as belonging to all persons everywhere and punishment of the perpetra- tors of such atrocities. Resolved, That we urge our government at Washington to act in the interest of common humanity by sending to the Russian government a remonstrance against the occur- rences here recited, and that we request civil, political, social and commercial organizations of the country to join in a protest which will voice the sentiment of this great free nation against the inhuman practices now prevailing in parts of the Russian Empire toward the Jewish people. After the speeches the resolutions were adopted by a rising vote, with an amendment that a copy of them CINCINNATI «1 be sent to the Russian patriot and philanthropist, Count Tolstoi. Letters of regret at their inability to be present, but expressing entire sympathy with the objects of the meeting, were read from Bishop Boyd Vincent, of the Episcopal Church ; Archbishop William Henry Elder, and Rev. Frank Nelson, rector of Christ Epis- copal Church. The next speaker was Judge Rufus B. Smith: The occasion which calls us together to-day is one that requires extended discussion in order that it may be treated satisfactorily; but the unavoidable circumstances under which we meet forbid such discussion. As the meeting is held in the middle of the day, with an attendance in large numbers of business men, and with a number of speakers to be heard from, it would be a violation of the proprieties of the occa- sion for any speaker to occupy more than a few minutes of your time. Riotous outbreaks have not been uncommon in the his- tory of the world, and are not unknown to us in our day and generation. They are confined to no one country, nor to any particular locality. If, therefore!, the recent events in Russia were to be classed among those riotous out- breaks merely temporary in their character, and seeking the redress of some; real or fancied grievance, with which it was supposed the law could not deal adequately, while the people of Cincinnati, living thousands of miles from the scene of the occurrences might deplore the occurrences and abhor the results which followed them, they would scarcely feel called upon to assemble in public to take action with respect to them. But the recent events in Russia differ in important re- spects from ordinary riots; and to understand this fact it is necessary to understand, in a general way, at least, the position of the Jew in Russia. The number of Jews in the world is estimated at ten mil- lions, of which number about one-half reside in Russia. 62 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF They are not permitted, however, to live in any part of the Russian Empire they may select, but are compelled to live in certain designated territory known as " The Pale of Settlement." This territory includes a part of Poland and certain territory extending along the Western and Southern boundaries of the Empire. But they are not permitted to live in any part of this lim- ited territory they may select. They are not permitted to engage in agriculture, and are forbidden to live anywhere in the Pale of Settlement except in the towns and cities of the same; nor are all of these towns and cities open to them, but only such as the government may designate. And, having once made a settlement in these designated towns and cities, they have no assurance that such settle- ment will be permanent, and in obedience to some new governmental order they are frequently and abruptly ordered to leave, rendered homeless, financially ruined and sent helplessly adrift. As they are not permitted to engage in agriculture it would naturally be supposed that all the crafts and profes- sions in the cities and towns in which they live would be open to them, but even such right is denied them because a limitation is placed upon the crafts and professions in which they may engage. Cooped up in city ghettos, with a competition that is ruinous, they are submerged in a degrading poverty, from the vitiating effects of which they are protected only by their temperance, endurance and religious faith. The right to receive an education is also denied them, as only a small percent of them are allowed to attend the schools of the country. They live, too, under a special code of laws, and, while they are compelled to bear all the burdens of the ordinary Russian subjects, they are also compelled to bear many addi- tional burdens, and yet are denied the civic rights to which such ordinary subjects are entitled. Nor is it possible for them to know with certainty what the law is under which they live. The code is a jumble of inconsistencies, and is supplemented from time to time, 3^ CINCINNATI 63 the government wills, by ministerial instructions and secret circulars. The recent atrocities are but the culmination of a series of atrocities which have been occurring periodically in the Russian Empire, and that will continue to occur unless a public sentiment can be created in the civilized world which even the merciless government of Russia must heed. I shall not dwell upon the details of these atrocities. Their character is almost unspeakable and their horrors almost indelscribable. They have caused the death of thous- ands, crippled thousands more, and despoiled the living and the dead of millions of dollars of property, gathered together by a self-denial and a self-sacrificing that is the wonder of the world. What is the cause of this persecution of the Jews? Many excuses and pretexts are made to justify it, but they are all lies. The persecution is a religious persecution, as is shown in the fact that if the Jew is willing to renounce the doc- trines of his church, and to be baptized in the Russian Church, he is given the rights of the ordinary Russian sub- ject; but if he is not willing to commit this apostasy he is regarded as a pest and treated as a criminal, and his per- secution often permitted, and sometimes even promoted by the Russian officials. But we are to be told that the press reports of these atro- cities have been exaggerated. The truth is that they have been understated. No press report comes out of Russia without passing under the scrutiny of the official censor, and when the press reports which come to us are such as to appall us with the brutality, inhumanity and savagery of these atrocities, what must the real truth be? We are also to be told that the Russian government is unable to suppress these atrocities. It can suppress free speech. It can suppress a free press. It can control with an iron hand every action of its citizen from his participation in public affairs to the minutest detail of his private life, and yet we are asked to believe that in the city of Kishineff, where either the military or the officials outnumbered the rioters, the government was not able to do otherwise than 64 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF to throw into the hands of these bloody and savage Muscovites unarmed men, helpless women and children, and babes at the breast. But we are asked — are we not powerless to prevent this persecution of the Jews in Russia? So far as physical in- tervention is concerned, we are powerless. But we have the right to protest against it, and by that protest help to create a moral sentiment in the world which even Russia cannot ignore. We have the right to have our protest sent to the authorities at Washington, and we have the right to request such authorities, in the manner which international usage permits, to have our protest called to the attention of the Russian government. In voting for the adoption of the resolutions of protest each person will doubtless find in his own mind and heart sufficient reasons. For myself, I find many. When George III. undertook to subjugate the American colonies, Edmund Burke declared that it was impossible to indict a whole people ; and I protest against the attempt of the government of Russia to indict five millions of Jews as criminals. I protest against the persecution of the Jews in Russia because I see in it the same persecution which for centuries has pursued the Jew. The time has come not to continue, but to cease the persecution of the Jew, and by fair and honor- able treatment to make amends, in part, at least, for the monstrous injustice the centuries have inflicted on him, Neither the thumb-screw nor the rack, the torch nor the sword ever changed a man's religious opinion. They never will, and they never should, because a man's religion is a matter to be settled by him, not with some other man, but with his conscience and his God. I protest, too, because I believe in the separation of church and state; that no religious test should be required of a man to entitle him to the rights of citizenship, and that it is no part of the function of government to tell a man how he shall worship God. So long as a man by his religious professions and prac- tices does not disturb the good order, peace and safety of CINCINNATI C5 society, the law has no right to molest him either in his person or his property. I protest against the government of the Jews in Russia because it violates those eternal truths announced in the Declaration of Independence, that all men are born equal ; that they are endowed by their creator with certain inalien- able rights, among which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; and that to secure these rights governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. I hold these truths not only to be eternal, but universal in their application, and limited neither by nationality, race, religion, nor climate. I protest on grounds transcending all questions of govern- ment and religion— on grounds of simple humanity and sim- ple ju.stice. I do not believe men were born to be murdered, women to be. violated and murdered, and children to have their brains beaten out against the wall ; and that what a man has justly earned that he may not justly enjoy. And, lastly, speaking with all reverence, I protest in the name of the great Jehovah himself, God alike of Israel and of Russia — God alike of Gentile and of Jew. Rabbi David Philipson was the next speaker. He described the awful scenes at Kishineff as follows: It is Easter morn in the Russian town of Kishineff. The church bells are pealing loudly, the cathedrals are thronged with the crowd of worshipers celebrating the most gladsome day of the Christian religious year. The people greet one another with the words, significant of the season, " Christ is risen ! " With the name of their Lord on their lips one would think that they had love in their hearts for all men, for He, whose resurrection they were celebrating, had come to preach peace on earth, good-will to men. In the light oi what occurred in that city on that very Easter day, what 1 mockery seems that greeting, what a farce that salutation! Their lips uttered the name of Him whom they glorify as 6 66 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF the Prince of Peace, their hearts harbored hatred and thoughts of murder, rapine, spoliation and violation against those of whom He, their Lord, was the brother in the flesh, whose fathers were His fathers, whose faith was His faith, whose God was His God. What a paradox! What a con- tradiction! What an anomaly! Jesus the Jew they bow down to and worship, to Him the clouds of incense ascend. His glory the choir chant, His perfection the priests extol; the brethren of Jesus, the Jews, they kill, their homes they loot, their children they tear from mothers' arms and dash to death on the stones; their helpless elders they mutilate; their daughters they violate. And of what unspeakable crimes are these victims of animal ferocity and inhuman atrocity guilty? Have they murdered? Have they robbed? Have they betrayed their country? Have they broken the laws of God and man? Are they dangerous enemies of society? Are they wild beasts in human form that prey on their fellow-men? Nay, none of this. Their crime lies in their being Jews, brethren of Him whom the Kishineff mob had hailed as Saviour on that gladsome Easter morn. Dr. Philipson said that the world would show that humanity is not an empty phrase, that in this land we can rise above the lines of creed and sect; can put our individual prejudices aside and meet together on the high platform of humanity, forgetting the man-made diiiferences in the God-made resemblances. WilHam B. MeHsh followed Rabbi Philipson. He said, in part: The awful, unjustifiable, shameless slaughter of the Jews in Russia, merely because they are Jews, by a class of Russians who are besotted, depraved, lawless barbarians, and seemingly upheld by those in authority, calls for the indignation of the whole civilized world. The butchery of little children, the outraging of innocent maidens, the murder of parents and grandparents, the reducing to poverty by pillage and fire of those who were industrious, peaceable citizens, must excite the CINCINNATI 67 horror of every one who has a heart in his breast that contains any of the milk of human kindness. But indignation, no matter how strongly expressed, or resolutions, no matter how sympa- thetically worded, are cheap forms of relief. Pass your re- solutions, brethren, but don't forget to pass a list for sub- scriptions for the relief of these oppressed and destitute people. Rev. Charles F. Goss dwelt on the tendency of the influence of public opinion to rule the world better than the sword. He noted with pleasure that the time will come when there will be a great cosmic tribunal, which no ruler will dare disregard, and whicli will prevent such crimes against civilization as the massacres at Kishinefif. Rev. John M. Mackey, as the personal representa- tive of Archbishop Elder, spoke as follows : When Daniel O'Connell, the Liberator of Ireland, was in the height of his agitation for the emancipation and free- dom of the Irish Catholic people from the last vestige of England's penal laws, and for the repeal of the union of Ireland with England — the shark with its prey — a number of planters and merchants at Charleston, South Carolina, held a meeting and subscribed a large fund of money to help O'Connell win the liberties of Ireland, and they wrote him a letter of encouragement, announcing the amount of gold in readiness, and subject to his acceptance. O'Connell re- plied to their communication : "Gentlemen: The subscribers to the fund subject to my ordefr, I note, are slave owners. With all due respect for your feelings, I have the honor to reply to your letter that consistency with the principles of liberty which I champion for the people of Ireland demands that I refuse the aid of gold wrung from the unpaid labor of slaves, and co-opera- tion and sympathy from men whose heels are resting on the necks of slaves." There was a time when we could not with propriety pro- 68 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF lest against oppression abroad, but now, thank God, con- ditions are changed. The flag of freedom, the Star-Span- gled Banner, floats over the greatest repubHc the world has ever known — over the best nation on the face of the globe- over the mountains and the plains of the American republic, from the Gulf of Mexico to the St. Lawrence and Behring Straits — from the Atlantic to the Pacific oceans. Our laws protect all men in their civil and religious liberties, in the right to worship God publicly as well as privately, accord- ing to the dictates of each one's conscience. We are one and all prepared to defend this principle of our government with every means at our command. And we have the right to defend an oppressed and persecuted race wherever found- wherever they may be. Thank God for it ! The occasion which calls us together to-day is one which should appeal to every liberty-loving inhabitant of the globe, and most particularly to us American citizens, enjoying as we do liberty in its widest sense. The civilized world is horrified at the atrocities recently perpetrated against the Jews in Kishineff, Bessarabia, Russia. What is the use of protest- ing against a great power like Russia? Twenty-five years ago Michael Davitt protested against English land feudal- ism in Ireland. The bill to abolish it is awaiting the proper amendments before third reading in the English Parliament. The lands for the people and the landlords must go, is the title of the act, and Davitt is still living. Twenty-five years will see the Jews free in Russia. The descendants of Eber or Heber, of the city of Ur in Chaldea, to which Abraham belonged, were called Hebrews, until the children of Jacob, who was distinguished by the honorable title Israel, went over into Egypt in the time of the great famine in 1he land of Canaan and were reduced to slavery in the land of Goshen, with all their descendants, for over four hundred years. In this time, despite the laws that sought their extirpation by the destruction of their male children, they multiplied and became a nation of 600,000 men, the women and children not counted, at the time of the Exodus. They were known as the Israelites in Egypt, and up to the time of the Babylonian Captivity. After Cyrus, CINCINNATI 69 king of Persia, conquered Babylon, he allowed the captive Israelites, who had sat and wept by the waters of Babylon, to return to their own country. The exiles who returned to Palestine belonged, for the most part, to the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. They settled in Jerusalem and its en- vironment, and took the name of Jews from the dominant tribe of Judah. The Jewish people, instead of being placed by their law in antagonism to all other races, were, in fact, the help and the hope of the whole world, and could be considered as the nucleus around which, at some future day, all nations would be aggregated. Custodians and guardians of the " Word that God spoke to man," amid the lightning flashes and the reverberations of the thunders of Sinai — theirs was the mission to man- kind to make known the unity of God, His almighty power, His omniscience. His infinite being — absolute Being, Source and Creator of the universe — the remunerator of good and evil. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is the one true and living God, who will reward obedience to His law with temporal and eternal blessings. Reverence to God was taught by the homage of sacrifice, morning and evening, in the temple, by daily family prayer; in the homes of Israel by the great festivals, when millions assembled at the Holy City to participate in the homage of worship as a nation, when one thousand trained male voices, accompanied by instruments, wafted the incense of the heart's devotion in the harmonies of song to the throne of God Almighty, while the altar of holocausts smoked with the victims of sacrifice, and the aroma of incense filled the sacred place. The mil- lions camped around the temple and the city, and at the same time lifted up their hearts in loving adoration to Jehovah. The Hebrew nation kept alive in the world the knowledge of the one true God, the unity of God, the dogma of the Pro- vidence of God. The one true and living God cares for men, and has His ends in view, and gains them in the course of human events. The Jews were exiled in Egypt, Babylon and Assyria, and dispersed throughout the Roman Empire and the world, and preserved by the Providence of 70 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF God in spite of the trying vicissitudes of their fortunes, for they had a plenty to discharge, and a mission to fulfil in the idolatrous pagan world; aye, and in the agnostic, ma- terialistic, pantheistic, indifferent, irreligious and irreverent modern world. The atheists of our time do not deny God; they deny only His Providence and His concern for men. The beautiful climate of Ireland is said to be due to the proximity of the gulf streams to its shores. The gulf stream flows onward from the equator without mingling with the bands of cold water that wall it in, and without losing itself in the ocean of waters that encompass it. It flows on at an elevation superior to the surrounding waters, and at a higher temperature. So it is with the Hebrew nation. It is the only nation in the world that has preserved its identity, the purity of its blood and of its race. It has never been merged and lost in any other race or nation ; it has followed the current of human history from the vocation of Abraham without being swallowed up in the ocean of humanity. The plane of its elevation was superior, for it knew God, worshiped God, and looked to God for guidance and support — temporal and eternal blessings, for the nations were immersed in idol- atry and vice. The temperature of the Jewish nation was higher than that of other nations, for they were in posses- sion of the full and clear laws of nature, as set forth in the decalogue. They loved God, and their neighbors for God's sake. The children of Abraham were the most enlightened, the most civilized, progressive and virtuous people of anti- quity. The nations of the world owe a debt of undying gratitude to the Jews for the services which they, as a nation, have rendered humanity in the discharge of the mis- sion assigned them, to keep the knowledge of the one true and living God from perishing in the world. Our religion we have received through the Jews. The greatest saints in the Christian calendar were Jews. Can we forget our origin, the source of all that we appreciate, and disregard the womb that bore us? Professor H. Graetz' History of the Jews, issued by the Jewish Publication So- ciety of America in Philadelphia, 1894, says (Vol. Ill, p. CINCINNATI 71 25), as to persecutions of the Jews in all countries: "It is remarkable, however, that the Roman bishops, the recog- nized champions of Christianity, treated the Jews with the utmost toleration and liberty. The occupants of the Papal Throne shielded the Jews and exhorted the clergy and the princes against the use of force in converting them to Chris- tianity." And on page 639 it says: "Pope Innocent III. (1216 A. D.), like his predecessors, protected the Jews." " In thee shall all the kindred of the earth be blessed " (Gen. xxii., 18), are the words addressed to Abraham by Almighty God, when he was called to be the father of this historic race. The great fact of the unity of the human race proceeding from one single pair has been preserved to man- kind by the Jews. From them the race has derived the knowledge of the brotherhood of man. Is it any wonder, then, that our sympathies and our hearts should go out to them in the day of trial and suffering, and that we should extend to them the helping hand of fraternal friendship? Is it matter of surprise that we should lift up our voices in one great national shout of protest, to be caught up at Wash- ington and sent in flashes of light over the Atlantic to arrest the sword of the oppressor and the cruel scourge of the barbarous, murdering, plundering canaille of Bessarabia? The Czar of Russia had better extend to the Jews equal civil and religious rights, and equal protection to the Jews as to all other citizens of his vast empire, or the scream of the American Eagle may remind him that he has interests in the Orient, and that the greatest world power the world has ever known has a mission to fulfil — the elimination of oppression from human society. The last speaker of the meeting was Rabbi Louis Grossmann. He said, in part : The shame that has come to the fathers and the homes in that fatal village in Russia has come to every man and every woman in this peace-loving and honorable Cincinnati. And if these villages in Russia have dared to invoke religion 72 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF as the source of their hate and vice, then, before God and man, my faith, your faith, and every holy, pure thought and inspiration in this country and wherever a tower raises its symbolic head to the Father of Men has been desecrated, and we charge the Czar of all the Russias for having let go unpunished the besmirching of the altars of every nation and of every faith. CLEVELAND, OHIO All the Jewish societies of Cleveland united in a mass meeting at the Council Educational Alliance, on May ID, 1903, to protest against the occurrences at KishinefiE. The speakers were Martin A. Marks, chairman, Rabbi S. Drechsler, Rabbi M. Machol, Rabbi Moses Gries, Jacob Furth, treasurer, Jacob Steinfeld, and Jacob Laufman, president of the Jewish Relief Society. The following resolutions were adopted : Whereas, The Kishineflf massacre is unparalleled in the his- tory of even Russian cruelties, where hundreds of innocent men, women and children were brutally tortured, violated and murdered, for no other reason than that they are Jews; Whereas, Russia by her inhuman policy, restrictive and discriminative measures against the Jews, and by its anti- Semitic official press, incites and abets the Russian people to these outbreaks; Whereas, This country has ever championed the cause of humanity and shown its love for justice by espousing the cause of the Cubans, and has thrown the weight of official opinion in behalf of the oppressed in Roumania ; therefore be it Resolved, That we, the Jews of Cleveland, in mass meeting assembled, at the Council Educational Alliance, (i) express our heartfelt sympathy with the victims of the Kishineff out- rage, and pledge ourselves to show it substantially by contrib- uting to their immediate relief; (2) that we protest, with all our might, against the' heinous crimes perpetrated on Russian COLUMBUS 73 soil and for which the Russian government should answer at the bar of an enlightened public sentiment; (3) that we call upon Americans to join in our protest against these wrongs, and liberty-loving people everywhere should denounce these crimes against humanity. COLUMBUS, OHIO The City Council of Columbus, Ohio, adopted the following resolutions on June 8, 1903: Whereas, The story of the recent outrageous massacre of the Jews at Kishineff furnishes unquestionable evidence of the inhuman policy of the Russian people if not the govern- ment, toward the Jewish people who are among the most industrious, capable, thrifty and law-abiding of the citizens of that vast empire toward which our own government sus- tains most friendly relations, and Whereas, This great cruelty is but another proof of the unfriendly policy of that government which has been for twenty years growing up in its laws and regulations respecting the civil and religious rights of the Jews, and Whereas, These savage abuses of an inoffensive but most energetic and intelligent people seem to be based on no other reason or excuse, upon the part of the people of that govern- ment, than a sullen and revengeful hatred of religious and economic liberty arising out of wicked bigotry in matters of church and state, which in that nation are inseparably bound together, and Whereas, This barbarous procedure upon part of the Rus- sians has the inevitable effect of driving these terror-stricken people in great numbers to foreign countries and especially the United States for refuge, and Whereas, The disabled and pitiable industrial, financial and social conditions of these helpless refugees, when arriving at our shores, brought about by a continual experience of unjust and extreme suffering at the hands of their oppressors in their own country, renders them unable to comprehend and assimi- late the spirit of our laws and institutions and become inde- 7 74 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF pendent and useful citizens of our republic as readily as they would otherwise do, and Whereas, The policy of the abuse tolerated if not encour- aged by the Russian Government is a gross violation of all of the principles and rules of political, religious and social jus- tice, as between even despotic rulers and their subjects, recog- nized throughout the world, which policy has in the past and must in the future result in great loss and discouragement to all of the interests of enlightened government and life, and Whereas, This exhibition of tyranny at the hands of the Russian people is most revolting to the people of this country who enjoy untrammeled political, religious and industrial liberty and are interested in promulgating and establishing the same privileges throughout the world, and Whereas, All over our country there is a feeling of pro- found sympathy with the Jews of Russia, and their countrymen among us, in this great racial calamity which to be effective should have definite, forcible and official expression, therefore be it Resolved, That the people of the city of Columbus, Ohio, through and by its Common Council, do hereby protest against this cruel and unreasonable policy and conduct toward the Jews at the hands of the Russians and by the tolerance of the government of that country, and do hereby extend our sincere sympathy to that suffering and oppressed people in this time of distress. Resolved, That we believe the friendly offices of this and all other liberty and justice loving nations of the world should be exerted in behalf of the Jews in Russia to the end that justice shall be done them, and that a duly certified copy of this minute and resolutions be forwarded by the clerk of this Council to Honorable John Hay, Secretary of State of the United States, to be used or communicated by him as the justice and dignity of the situation may suggest to him to be proper. The following resolution was adopted by the Min- isters' Association of Columbus, Ohio : DENVER 75 Resolved, That the Ministers' Association of Columbus, Ohio, hereby expresses its abhorrence of the recent assault upon the Jewish community in Kishineff, Russia, as a violation of the spirit of our common Christianity and registers its earnest hope that the protestations of so many civilized and Chris- tianized nations will be effectual in preventing all such atro- cities in the future. The above resolution was passed by the Presbyterian Union and the Methodist Association, and was then endorsed by the City Ministers' Union participated in by ministers of all denominations. DALLAS, TEXAS A meeting was held May 17, 1903. DENVER, COLORADO A meeting was held at Temple Emanuel, Denver, Colo., on May 24, 1903. Rabbi William S. Friedman presided, and addresses were delivered by Senator Tel- ler, Senator Patterson, C. J. Hughes, Jr., J. B. Belford, and Rabbi C. H. Kauvar. Letters expressing sym- pathy with the purpose of the meeting were read from C. S. Thomas and F. J. Stanton. Rabbi Friedman, in opening the meeting said, in part: We have met in the cause of humanity, regardless of creed, to protest against the crime against the Hebrew race in Russia. For some decades, the Russian government had practiced a persecution, aimed to exterminate 5,000,000 people. It had deprived them of means of livelihood, had shut them up, had saddled upon them despicable and menial employment. These outrages had been systematically inflicted until they culminated, April 21, in the greatest wrongs since the middle ages. Women were outraged, tongues were torn out, hands 76 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF were cut off and the greatest outrages conceivable were com- mitted. Senator Teller said : I join heartily in the protest. I am convinced, much against my will, that it will require much more than our protest to prevail against these acts. If it is done effectively, it must be done by universal deprecation by the American people of these horrible occurrences. It is almost impossible that the greatest nation in the world will be influenced by a simple protest from a peaceful nation like ours, but if by meetings of this kind we can arouse a condemnatory sentiment here and throughout the world it will do some good. This matter will come before the Congress of the United States, and I have no doubt it will condemn these outrages. It is well for meetings like this to say to the government of the United States that such outrages must be stopped. No man can say what is the cause of this persecution — whether the indifference of the Russian govern- ment or the connivance of those in high authority. So far as my official influence will go, it shall be given against the occurrences of the last few weeks. I am glad that the ports of the world are open to the oppressed people, and that they can come to this country and have absolute safety and absolute justice. I am glad that here there is no racial prejudice. There is no people who have conducted themselves better in this country than have the Jews. Senator Patterson, during his address, remarked: I believe it only remains for the people of such countries as Great Britain and the United States to make their detestation of such deeds known throughout the world to make the pos- sibility of such acts absolutely vanish. I deny that Russia is a civilized nation. Russia is a nation of barbarians. C. J. Hughes, Jr., declared that the expressed indig- nation of the American people over Jewish persecu- tions would awaken the fear of the Czar, and eventu- DENVER 77 ally would render safe the lives of the Jews under the despot's domain. He continued: Are we to be silent for fear a protest will estrange the nation? The mighty opinion of intelligent people is more powerful than a Krupp gun or any engine of war. There is no nation powerful enough to commit crimes against civiliza- tion. Can it be possible that a nation could continue to progress while it went on committing crimes? Russia is not strong enough to resist the cry of protest going up from all the civilized world. America became a world power when it declared her independence. It has power enough to-day to reach across the sea and strike terror to the Czar. I believe the government of the United States will send the message the people would have it send. The people are the government. They have a right to meet and protest. Should it be said that the voice of the whole American people was frailer than the voice of Gladstone? Mr. Hughes introduced the following resolution and after its adoption the chairman of the meeting was in- structed to telegraph its contents to the Secretary of State at Washington: Resolved, That we, the citizens of Denver, in mass meet- ing assembled, having heard with horror of the atrocities re- cently perpetrated in Russia against Jewish citizens of that country, urge upon the United States government to protest in the name of the indignant American people against the crimes which blackened Russia in the eyes of the world, and violate every principle of civil government and humanity, with the hope that these utterances and this action may stay this savagery and bring relief to this suffering and persecuted people. Sermons on the KishineflE massacre were delivered by Rev. Charles Henry Andras, at the Episcopal Church, and Dean Peck, Central Christian Church, Denver, Colo., on May 24, 1903. n AMERICA ON KISHINEFF DES MOINES, IOWA A meeting was held in the Mirror Theatre on Eas Locust Street, May 24, 1903. Mr. S. Engleman callec the meeting to order, and presented Governor Cum mins as the chairman of the meeting. The Governoi said: The infinite cruelty and horrible atrocity lately occurrinj in a certain part of Russia have become so familiar to th( people of the United States in the last ten days that I woulc be cruel myself if I would attempt to harrow up your feeling; in again describing or attempting to describe the indescribablf suffering and wrong inflicted on a certain part of the popu- lation of that great country. I shall not attempt it. It ha: been said frequently in my hearing that meetings of this kind cannot be helpful. I do not agree with those who entertain such sentiments. It is indeed true that those who have suf- fered these great cruelties have gone beyond aid, into the hands of God, the Ruler of the Universe, and He in the ful- ness of time will inflict a judgment upon those people and that country guilty of these atrocities before which the judg- ment of men will fade into insignificance. I do not stand here to speak for them. I am here to-day to speak for civiliza- tion, for those that yet live, in the hope that liberty-loving America may do something to lift a little higher in every land the conception of right and wrong and prevent a repetition of these occurrences. We have a principle fixed in this country that permits no foreign influence to make itself felt in this land, and for which every American ought to be willing to lay down his life if need be. And we have another and a grander principle, crystallized in the Declaration of Indepen- dence, that is or ought to be the accepted doctrine of the peoples of the earth. You know what it is, that every human being, be he Jew or Gentile, white or black, rich or poor, is entitled to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. And whenever that immortal principle is invaded it is the business of the people of this great land to lift up their voices against such injustice. I do not know just who are responsible for DES MOINES 79 this tragedy that has shocked the whole civilized world. It may be that the Czar and his counselors and his army as such are not wholly to blame. But I refuse to divide govern- ment in that way and to consider the government apart from the civilization for which it is responsible. I only know that here, where men and women have the right to their lives and their liberty and the pursuit of happiness, this civilization and this government have refused to protect these people in their rights. The civilization has failed of the high work assigned to it, and it is the function of the civilized peoples of the world to lift up their voices in indignation, so that, taught by the deep feeling of injustice of great masses of people everj-where, those responsible for these massacres will see to it that they are not repeated. And as you resolve here in protest against these outrages, so ought you to resolve as a criterion for your conduct for all time, in this, our own countrj-. The United States leads the procession of the world, and we ought to see to it that the civilization of which I speak does not fail here. I know there have been instances, even in the happy borders of our own countrj-, in which men were not allowed their liberty because they belong to a race hated by some as inferiors. Let us raise our influence against this sort of thing and hold fast to the principles of which I speak. The other speakers were Chief Justice Charles A. Bishop, Judge Smith AlcPherson, Rev. J. Everest Cathell, Dr. H. O. Breeden, Lafayette Yoting, and E. A. Xye. The following resolutions were adopted: Whereas, The civilized world stands appalled in the pres- ence of the awful exhibition of barbarity which in the Rus- sian province of Bessarabia has resulted in the wanton mas- sacre of thousands of innocent people of the Jewish race; and Whebeas, The only indictment brought against the said Jewish people is that of fidelitj- to the faith of their fathers and to the religion which is to them even more precious than life itself, and industry which recognizes no obstacles as 80 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF insurmountable, and ability which only needs opportunity to win renown in the highest fields of human endeavor ; and Whereas, The Christian nations of the earth cannot keep silence in the face of said massacre without shame; therefore be it Resolved, That we, the citizens of Des Moines, Iowa, in public mass meeting assembled, do hereby express our un- qualified horror over the unspeakable tragedy which has taken place; that we tender the assurance of our profoundest sympathy to the friends and surviving relatives of the dead; that we regard it as the imperative duty of the Government of the United States to make the Russian Government a formal expression of the righteous indignation of the Ameri- can people. Be it further Resolved, That we stand ready to encourage, not only with voice and pen, but with financial aid, every effort which shall be made to carry relief to the suffering Jews of southern Russia. Be it further Resolved, That as the Jews of America have ever been true to the duties of citizenship, loyal to her institutions and defenders of her flag, the Jews of southern Russia, longing for a haven of refuge from persecution and a land where freedom to toil is permitted and the fruits of labor guaran- teed, are hereby assured that America offers them a home. Be it further Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be forwarded to the State Department at Washington, and that copies be also furnished the various newspapers of Des Moines for publi- cation. A sermon on the Kishineff massacre was delivered by Rev. Dr. L. T. Gould, at the Methodist Church, Des Moines, la. DETROIT, MICHIGAN In Detroit, Mich., a special committee of the Com- mon Council met with the Mayor and the Citizens' Committee, and at a special session of the Common DETROIT 81 Council summoned for May 23, 1903, the following action was taken : To THE Honorable the Common Council: Gentlemen: Your special committee, appointed to consider the communication of His Honor the Mayor, as to the action of the citizens' committee, regarding the persecution of the , Jews in South Russia, heg leave to report that the committee took up with the citizens' committee and the Mayor the ques- tion of giving expression to our protest against persecution for religion's sake of any people, and knowing it to be un- American as well as unjust and unfair, we are united in our recommendation that a formal protest be sent to the Secre- tary of State of the United States, urging him to take such action as may seem proper to end these persecutions, or at least to intercede with the Russian Government in this regard. Your committee therefore recommends the adoption of the following preamble and resolutions, and would suggest that they be forwarded to Senator Alger and Congressman Lucking, both of whom are to be in the city of Washington during the early days of the ensuing week. These representatives and fellow-citizens can avail themselves of the opportunity to present our protests to the Secretary of State in person. The resolutions are appended herewith. Respectfully submitted, Wm. Gutman, David E. Heineman, Max C. Koch, Alois A. Deimel, Accepted. Wm. Nagel. The following is the preamble and resolutions : In pursuance of the resolutions of the citizens' meeting, submitted to this body by His Honor the Mayor, and having reference to the persecution of the Jews in South Russia, it is unanimously Resolved, By the Common Council of the city of Detroit, That the massacres of the Jews in South Russia fill the civil- ized world with a sense of horror and detestation, and the sufferings of that people under the fearful cruelties inflicted 82 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF upon them, because of their religious faith, arouse the deepest sjTiipatliy and pit\- of the American people. Resolved, That we denounce these atrocities and the perpe- trators and abettors thereof, as wholly outside the pale of Christian civilization. Resohcd, That on behalf of tlie united people of Detroit we solemnly protest against the persecution of these people, and appeal to the Government of Russia to suppress such out- rages and to visit upon the perpetrators tlie punishment they so richly deserve. Resolved, That we urge upon the State Department at Washington that the protest of die American people be laid before the Government of Russia, to the end that that Gov ernment may be fully advised of the attitude of tlie American people in this most serious matter. Resolved, That these resolutions be certified by the City Clerk with the city seal, and signed by the Mayor, the special committee of this body and the special citizens' committee, and forwarded to Senator Alger and Congressman Lucking, with the respectful request that they present the resolutions in person to the Secretary- of State of the United States. Unanimously adopted. ELMIRA, NEW YORK A meeting was held in the Lyceum Theatre, in El- mira, N. Y., on J\lay 24, 1903. The committee of ar- rangements consisted of jMa^or Daniel Sheehan, chair- man ; John Brand, treasurer ; Samuel J. Friendly, Ben- jamin F. Levy, Henry L. Rosenbaum, Theodore Lande, Dr. Jonas Jacobs, John Levy, Rev. Dr. Jacob L. Marcus, Seth Winner, Honorable Roswell R. Moss, and Thomas J. Leyden. The spealcers who addressed tlie meeting were IMa)-or Sheehan, Colonel David C. Robinson, Rev. Samuel E. Eastman, pastor of tlie Park Church, and Rabbi Jacob L. Marcus. A letter was read from Congressman H. j\L Goldfogle. ELMIRA 83 Mayor Sheehan said : We are assembled here this evening for the purpose of entering strong and solemn protest against the atrocities perpetrated upon the defenseless and law-abiding Jews of Kishineff, Russia, and to express our deep sympathy for the unfortunate victims. And on behalf of the committee in charge of this meeting I express deep gratitude to each person for coming here to-night. The Mayor introduced Honorable David Robinson as chairman of the meeting. Mr. Robinson said : For the honor of presiding over the deliberations of so magnificent an audience as this I give you hearty thanks ; also for the higher honor of participating in the good work which you have met here to perform, to enter the voice of protest of a civilized community against atrocities almost unheard of in modern times, and to send some substantial reminder of our sympathy to those who have been so outraged, pillaged, bereft and left desolate. The speaker then compared the scenes in Russia at Easter time with those met with in this country, and spoke of the spirit which characterized the people of this land of freedom as compared with that found un- der the despotism of the Czar, and expressed the hope that the protest of this community might be heard across the sea. After the Rev. Samuel E. Eastman's address, the Honorable Roswell R. Moss presented the following resolutions, which were adopted : By the people of Elmira, New York, in mass meeting as- sembled. May 24, 1903: Resolved, That we have heard with sorrow and horror the reports of the recent atrocities perpetrated upon Jews in Russian Bessarabia, the bare recital of which causes mankind 84 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF to shudder, and which reflect the barbarism of past ages, disgrace humanity and impede the progress of civilization; that our sorrow is intensified when we recall that the country in which these persecutions have occurred is one with whose people and government our relations have been of traditional and historical friendship, marked by many expressions of re- gard for our welfare, in times of our distress, which call for our lasting gratitude; one whose government clothed itself with glory by the emancipation of its serfs ; by its defense of helpless Christians from Turkish oppression; by joining in concert with other great powers in the suppression of similar outbursts of brutish cruelty in China and restoration of tran- quillity to that vexed nation; which initiated the establish- ment of the International Tribunal at The Hague for the arbitration of disputes between nations; and which has added new luster to its renown by the very recent promulgation of the imperial ukase, by which, barely a month before the fiend- ish outburst of religious intolerance at Kishineff, there was inserted into the basic law of all the Russians, for the future, principles of tolerance, granting to all the subjects of that mighty empire and to all foreign persuasions within its bor- ders, freedom of creed and worship. That its friendship for the United States has been no less marked by the courtesy with which the Russian Government has heretofore received diplomatic representations of our in- terest in their internal affairs, as when this Government found occasion to express in a friendly spirit, but with much earnest- ness, to the Government of the Czar, its serious concern be- cause of the harsh measures enforced against the Hebrews in Russia during the Presidency of Benjamin Harrison, who, in his message to Congress in 1891, said that the suggestion of humanity furnished ample ground for the remonstrance which his administration has presented to Russia, which our historic friendship for that government could not fail to give assurance that the representations were those of a sincere well- wisher; and as when President Arthur, as he reported to Congress in his message of 1882, prompted by our long- established friendship with Russia, proffered the earnest coun- sels of this Government that measures be adopted for suppress- ELMIRA 85 ing the proscription which the Hebrew race in that country had lately suffered, with the additional statement that there was reason to believe that the time was not far distant when Russia would be able to secure toleration to all faiths within her borders. That representation of our interest in the internal affairs of other nations, when they affect subjects of our common humanity, is within diplomatic precedent, as when in 1840 the American Secretary of State instructed the Minister to Turkey to represent to His Imperial Majesty the Sultan, that the President had learned with profound feelings of surprise and pain, of the atrocious cruelties which had been practiced upon the Jews of Damascus and Rhodes, and that he was to do everything in his power consistent with his diplomatic charac- ter to mitigate the horrors, and that the President was of opinion that from no one could such generous endeavors proceed with such propriety and effect as from the representa- tive of a friendly power whose institutions, political and civil, place upon the same footing the worshipers of God, of every faith and form, acknowledging no distinction between the Mohammedan, the Jew and the Christian; and as when in 1872, Secretary of State Hamilton Fish, in connection with the reported expulsion of Jews from Russian Bessarabia, in- structed our Consul-General to that country to represent to the Principality of Roumania the intense feeling of Israelites in this country by recent intelligence of grievous persecutions of their co-religionists there, which feeling had naturally been aug- mented by the contrast presented by the position of members of that persuasion here, who are equals with all others before the law, which sternly forbids oppression on account of religion, persecution for which cause anywhere it may be said the people of this country universally abhor, whose Government sympathizes with such popular instinct and which, while it had no disposition or intention to give offense by interfering in the internal affairs of Roumania, it deemed it due to humanity to remonstrate against any license or impunity which might have attended the outrages in that country, which in- structions contained directly to do all that could be done discreetly, with reasonable prospect of success, toward pre- 86 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF venting a recurrence or continuance of the persecutions ad- verted to. That in this enlightened age, at least every civilized people can but be interested in offenses against mankind wherever occurring, and whatever one people is interested in, it may respectfully express that interest to any other nation, within the precedents of courteous diplomatic intercourse. That the recently promulgated ukase abolishing discrimi- nation for race or creed is both a fulfilment of President Harrison's expressed hope and an augury for the future, under which no longer, as in the past, can an American citizen be refused entrance, sojourn or residence in Russia, for purpose of business or pleasure, because he is a Jew, upon the ground that he is deprived of no treaty right if he be subjected to the same proscriptions enforced against Russian subjects of the same race, a doctrine which Secretary of State Blaine pro- tested against as violative of the spirit of our treaty rights with Russia, and as to which Acting Secretary of State Hill has recently said that it has always met with our dissent, for, in the new era of abolishment among Russians of religious dis- crimination, it becomes the unquestionable treaty right of every American to equal freedom from intolerable proscriptions. And that for all the sufferers from those outrages we have great sympathy, and for the relief of the distresses of the survivors we make, according to our means, offerings of material help. Resolved, That we request with all the earnestness of a demand, of our Government at Washington, that in the light of the cited diplomatic precedents, our strong feelings be expressed to Russia, and its Government urged to bring the Jew-hating perpetrators of the Kishineff outrages to no less condign and exemplary punishment than it helped the Gov- ernments of Germany, Italy, France, England, and the United States to require the Government of China to mete out to the Boxer insurgents of that country for their outrages upon native Chinese Christians. That it be represented to Russia that such punishment would be an assurance to the nations of the world of the sincere purpose of that Government to rescue its country FORT SMITH 8T from the possibility of a recurrence of such a world-startling horror as the Kishineff massacre. And that such steps be taken by the State Department as will insure for American citizens of the Jewish faith in Russia the same rights as are there enjoyed by all other Americans. Resolved, further, That copies of these resolutions be sent to the Honorable John Hay, Secretary of State; Honorable Thomas C. Piatt and Honorable Chauncey M. Depew, Sena- tors from this State, and Honorable Charles W. Gillet, Repre- sentative in Congress from this district, and to the almoners of the relief fund to whom our coritribution is sent. FORT SMITH, ARKANSAS A meeting was held May 21, 1903, in the Circuit Court, at Fort Smith, Arkansas. Mayor Kuper presided over the meeting, and addresses were deliv- ered by Rabbi Emanuel Kahn, who refuted Count Cas- sini's statements to the Associated Press, Colonel James Brizzolara, I. Isaacson, and A. Mayer. Mayor Kuper appointed as the committee on resolu- tions A. Mayer, P. C. Fisher, Mr. Mehlburger, Dr. Hynes, and I. Apple, who submitted the following resolutions, which were unanimously adopted : Whereas, There are being perpetrated in the southern provinces of Russia the most inhuman persecutions and the most barbarous massacres of innocent and inoffending people that the annals of crime have recorded for many years ; and Whereas, Such persecutions and massacres are inflicted upon a class of people who are poor and downtrodden already, and made so by those whose duty it is to uplift and protect them; and Whereas, Our sense of justice and right as lovers of liberty and freedom of conscience, and as American citizens, is shocked thereby beyond the power of words to express; therefore be it Resolved, That we as American citizens and lovers of justice 88 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF and right extend to the Jews of Southern Russia our sincerest sympathies in this their present hour of misery, and we pray to the God of Israel to have mercy upon them in their afflic- tion, and to soften the hearts of their oppressors and perse- cutors; that we take this occasion to express our deep abhor- rence at the massacres that have carried to their graves gray hairs and innocent childhood; that in the language of the great American Roman Catholic Cardinal, James Gibbons, Archbishop of Baltimore, " Our sense of justice revolts at the thought of persecution for religion's sake; but when persecu- tion is attended with murder and pillage, our brain and our heart sicken; and our righteous indignation is aroused at the enormity of such a crime." Resolved, further. That we will in our limited way do whatever lies within our power to aid these poor, down- trodden and persecuted people; and that the Honorable the Secretary of State of the United States be requested to bring to bear such influences as lie within his power on the Czar Nicholas, who is reputed a man of peace and justice, as may tend to bring about a cessation of the persecution, inhumani- ties and massacres that are now being inflicted and perpe- trated upon the Jews in his empire; that the Congress of the United States be petitioned to protest by formal resolution against the inhuman treatment to which the Jews of Southern Russia are now being subjected by those who under God and the law should be their protectors; and Resolved, further, That copies of these resolutions be fur- nished the press for publication, and that additional copies be sent to each member of the Arkansas delegation in Con- gress, and especially to our own, John Sebastian Little, and the Honorable John Hay, Secretary of State, Washington, D. C. FORT WORTH, TEXAS A meeting was held in the City Hall, presided over by J. W. Spencer. Addresses were delivered by Mayor Powell, Congressman O. W. Gillespie, Cap- tain B. B. Paddock, and Judge R. R. Webb. Gov- HARTFORD 89 ernor Lanham wrote expressing his sympathy with the purpose of the meeting. A sermon on the Kishineff massacre was dehvered by Rev. S. H. Werlein, of the First Methodist Church. FRANKFORT, KENTUCKY A sermon on the Kishineff massacre was dehvered by Rev. George Darsie, of the Christian Church. GALESBURG, ILLINOIS Mayor George Shumway issued an appeal for a pubhc meeting. HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT A mass meeting of five hundred persons was held Sunday afternoon, May 17, 1903, at the Hartford Opera House. Addresses were made by Mayor Sulli- van, Rabbi M. Elkin, of Congregation Beth Israel, Professor J. J. McCook of Trinity College, the Rev. Joseph Waite of Unity Church, Abraham Tulin, and Abraham Litman. The meeting was called to order by W. I. Rufkess, chairman of the Committee of Ar- rangements, who introduced Joseph Schwab as chair- man of the meeting. The first speaker was the Rev. Joseph Waite, who said, in part: There is nothing an American should be more proud of than that his country is a refuge for the oppressed. I know how to sympathize with a race which has furnished the civil- ized world with, a religion and has been repaid by ages of persecution. The idiosyncrasies of the Jewish race do not explain this persecution. I hope that the scenes at Kishineflf will never be repeated, and that Russia, sluggish and dull- 90 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF eared, will awaken to the voice of public opinion and learn that Jew-baiting is not calculated to gain friends for the race or nation. Professor McCook said, in part : The only remedy I know of is to show Russia that such things cannot be done in a corner, and that people cry out in protest at acts of violence, wherever they are committed. Mayor Sullivan believed the object of the meeting appealed to every civilized person and that it was right that public meetings should voice public sentiment. He continued : " The massacre, in a measure, is due to the centralization of power in a single in- dividual, for when law is virtually centered in one man the majority of men are likely to offend. I hope to see the day when Russia will be sensitive to public opinion, and all the subjects of the Czar will enjoy religious freedom. Meetings such as these will show Russia that the world is small and the wrongs of one people or the residents of one city are known throughout Christendom." The Rev. Mr. Elkin said, in part : A mass meeting is to be held here to-day, and I was invited to address it in connection with some other speakers. The subject on which we are to speak is of the deepest interest to Jews and to Christians, and to all who have a feeling of sympathy in their hearts for the sufferings of others. I there- fore expected that the audience would be of a mixed multi- tude of people of different denominations and creeds; never- theless all united in the principles of true humanity. My expectation seems fully realized in the people before me; I see men and women, irrespective of creed or belief, stirred JERSEY CITY 91 up in their feelings of humanity by an outrage committed against the common principles of justice and morality! A cry of woe and suffering has reached us from Russia that curdles the blood in the human heart — men, women and children have been subjected to most inhuman tortures and put to death, not because they had committed any crime against the government of the land, or against their fellow-creatures, but because they dare to believe in the same God in whom for thousands of years their fathers believed; the God whom we all recognize as the Father of all. A meeting was held under the auspices of the Sisters of Zion, Sunday evening, May 17, 1903, at the Hebrew Institute, Hartford, Conn. The exercises consisted of a stereopticon lecture by Henry M. Mayer, vice-prin- cipal of the Brown school, and a musical number by Cantor Koppleman of the Congregation Adas Israel. Addresses were delivered by Chairman David Kemp- ner, Abraham Tulin, Henry M. Mayer, and Nathan Rosenthal. HOBOKEN, N. J. The Young Men's Hebrew Association of Hudson County held a reception for the benefit of the Kishineff sufferers. The speakers were Rabbi H. S. Stollnitz, N. M. Goldram, Jacob Caspar, and B. Werner. JERSEY CITY, N. J. The Board of Aldermen passed resolutions con- demning Russia, on May 19, 1903, as follows : Whereas, The civilized world has been shocked by the reported atrocities committed on an inoffensive and helpless people whose only offense consisted in worshiping God ac- cording to the dictates of their conscience; and 92 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF Whereas, A large number of these people were mercilessly butchered under the apparent cognizance of the Russian Governor : Resolved, That the members of this Board elected by the people, express their horror of such deeds at the beginning of this the twentieth century and condemn the Russian Govern- ment for permitting such outrages. Resolved, That a copy of this resolution be forwarded to our representatives in Congress, and that they be requested to urge the President of the United States to take such means as he may deem best to show this country's protest against such barbarous work. The Democratic Club of Jersey City passed resolu- tions of sympathy and protest. A meeting was held at the synagogue of the Tifereth Israel Congregation, May 24, 1903. A letter from the Rev. John L. Scudder was read expressing sympathy with the purpose of the meeting. A mass meeting was held May 29, 1903, at the Bijou Theatre, Jersey City, N. J. Joseph E. Bernstein, the chairman, and the following gentlemen occupied seats on the stage : Aaron Wolf, James F. O'Mealia, I. M. Shackter, Myron C. Ernst, Dr. B. S. Pollack, Peter F. James, Congressmen Allan L. McDermott and Allan Benny, Street and Water Commis- sioner Anthony Hauck, Maurice Marks, I. Hayman, Police Judge Edward Hoos, ex-Sheriff Ruempler, H. Weisberg, Sam- uel Heyman, John Dennin, Undersheriff John J. Heavey, Andrew J. Corcoran and Harry Davis. The speakers were Congressman Allan L. McDer- mott, Dr. B. S. Pollack, Counselor Peter James, Joseph E. Bernstein, Congressman Allan Benny, Myron Ernst, Street and Water Commissioner Anthony Hauck, JERSEY CITY 93 Maurice Marks, ex-Mayor Hoos and Samuel Hey- man. Honorable Allan L. McDermott said, in part: I have no sympathy with that kind of religion which devotes six days of the week to the persecution of one Jew and the seventh day to the worship of another. I fail to sympathize with that religion that persecutes the Jews and the doctrine that no man can enter heaven except through the shedding of the sacrificial blood of the son of a Jewish mother. Street and Water Commissioner Anthony Hauck offered the following resolutions, which were drawn up by Counselor Peter James : Whereas, The citizens of Jersey City have learned with intense sorrow and indignation the news of the recent out- break against the Jews of Kishineflf, Russia, and the shocking atrocities committed by the ignorant, brutal and misguided populace, resulting in the massacre of many men, women and children, and the wounding and maltreatment of hundreds of victims; therefore be it Resolved, That as citizens of a republic, friend of Russia, we earnestly urge the claim of the Jews resident in that em- pire to just and impartial treatment, and to protection against such outbreaks as the Kishineff massacre. We protest against the spirit of medieval persecution which has been revived in parts of Russia. In this century the recognition of the equality of all men before the law, whatever their race or creed, is a principle which in practice assures their devotion to the land of their birth or adoption. This is eminently true of the Jewish immigrants from Russia who have settled in the United States in large numbers, and who, as a body, have become industrious, faithful and law-abiding citizens ; and be it further Resolved, That we sympathize with our fellow-citizens of the Hebrew faith in their grief and anxiety because of the affliction of their co-religionists in Russia, and in their ener- getic efforts for the relief of the Jewish people of Kishineff; and be it further 94 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF Resolved, That the people of the United States should exer- cise such influence with the Government of Russia as the ancient and unbroken friendship between the two nations may justify, to stay the spirit of persecution, to redress the injuries inflicted upon the Jews of Kishineff and to prevent the recur- rence of outbreaks such as have amazed the civilized world. The resolutions were carried by acclamation. KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI Sermons on the Kishineff massacre were delivered on June 22, 1903, by the Rev. William Carter, of the First Presbyterian Church, and by the Rev. James Fifield, of the First Congregational Church. LA CROSSE, WISCONSIN At a meeting held at the synagogue on May 24, 1903, the following resolution was adopted : Resolved, That it is the sense of this meeting that a com- mittee of three be appointed to call upon the Mayor and pre- vail upon him to call a mass meeting of all citizens to formu- late and adopt resolutions to be sent to the Secretary of State at Washington, asking the Government to use its best efforts and influence upon the Russian Government to make amends for the lives taken and property destroyed at the recent riots at Kishineff, and to issue such orders to subjects as to forever stay similar massacres. Thereupon a mass meeting was held at Association Hall, on May 29, 1903, presided over by Mayor I. Wil- liam Torrance, and attended by about one hundred persons. The speakers were J. J. Hirshheimer, Rev. Vance, Father Murphy, Rev. Faville, George M. H. M'Millan, Dr. A. W. Anderson, and B. L. Strouse. The committee on resolutions reported and offered the following resolutions : LOUISVILLE 95 Whereas, We, the citizens of La Crosse in mass meeting assembled, have heard with horror of the inhuman cruelties practiced upon the Jewish people of Russia, and Whereas, This is revolting to our sense of justice among men, a reflection upon our common Christianity and a blight upon our civilization. Be it Resolved, That' we hereby protest against these atro- cities and that we request the government at Washington to use the utmost of its influence to bring such evils to an end- George H. M'Millan, Rev. Faville, . Rev. Vance. A motion was then made by Dr. W. A. Anderson that the Mayor be instructed to send the resolutions to Secretary of State Hay at Washington. LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY A meeting was held and addresses were delivered by L. N. Dembitz, Louis Shapinsky, Benjamin F. Washer, Alfred Selligman, Dr. Leon L. Solomon, and Rabbis Enelow, Mueller, Salinger, and Zarchy. At a meeting of the negro members of the Louis- ville bar, held June 2, 1903, the following resolutions were adopted: Whereas, Having known oppression ourselves, we sympa- thize with the oppressed in all lands of every nationality. Our S3niipathy and indignation have been deeply moved by the indignities and barbarities practiced upon the Jews in Russia. This people, known the world over for their thrift, energy and moral and peaceful lives, are entitled to and should receive the friendly countenance and generous aid of the civilized and Christian world, thus rebuking the spirit and the people who murder men, women and children indis- criminately and outrage helpless women because of their race. Therefore be it 96 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF Resolved, That we, the negro members of the Louisville bar, often occupied in defending the unfortunates of our own race — acquainted with sorrow, and knowing the poig- nancy of the oppressor's wrongs, do most solemnly enter our protest against the aforesaid outrages and tender our sym- pathy and moral support to any movement looking to the amelioration of the hapless condition of our Hebrew breth- ren, and trust that the representatives of this enlightened Government may inaugurate steps to offer an asylum to these people in such a dignified manner as to command the attention of the civilized world. A. S. WhitEj Isaac E. Black, J. W. Head, J. Allen Ross, J. H. HENnERSON, N. R. Harper. MACON, GEORGIA On May 17, 1903, a meeting was held at the syna- gogue of Congregation Beth Israel, v/hich was ad- dressed by Rabbi Marx, of Atlanta, Ga. At the close of his address, the following resolutions were unani- mously adopted : Resolved, That in the name of liberty and humanity, we, citizens of Macon, of the Jewish faith, in meeting assembled, call the attention of all right-minded people, regardless of creed, to this our solemn protest against the barbarous and fiendish massacre of the Jews in KishinefT, Russia, a massacre not surpassed in cruelty by the most atrocious crimes of the Dark Ages. We believe that in the interests of a higher humanity the United States should take such diplomatic action as is con- sistent with the principles for which this Government stands, to make known to the Russian Government that such out- rages are a disgrace to the civilization of this country and an insult to the religion in whose name they are perpetrated. MILWAUKEE 97 We respectfully petition our Senators and Congressmen to use every means within their power to make such representa- tions to the Russian Government, through the proper channel, as shall tend to secure an amelioration of such conditions as now exist in the Jewish settlements of Russia. On May 20 a meeting of citizens was held at the Chamber of Commerce, Rabbi I. E. Marcusson in the chair. The following resolutions were adopted as the sense of the meeting: Whereas, The story of the bloody massacres in Kishineff has come to the attention of the American people; be it Resolved, That the citizens of Macon, without reference to caste or creed, race or country, in mass meeting assembled, do hereby express their condemnation of the atrocities that shock the very soul of man, and cry out in thunder tones to the heart of civilization, wherever freedom has a temple or humanity a votary. Be it further Resolved, That we call upon the American people to unite in a request to the American Government to give the aid of its great moral support to the adoption of such agencies as will prevent a repetition of these bloody butcheries, which do such violence to our twentieth century civilization and our boasted brotherhood of man. Resolved, further. That the citizens of Macon hereby pledge themselves to give their financial as well as moral support to any movement that may be inaugurated for the relief of these sufferers, and designed to offer them protection against the recurrence of their persecution. E. L. Martin, Eugene Anderson, G. Bernd, Jr., Committee. MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN A meeting was held, on May 3, 1903, at the syna- gogue of the Congregation Ansche Sphard. The 8 98 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF speakers were Rabbi S. J. Scheinfeld, Rev. B. Berco, and J. Gartenstein. A mass meeting was held, on May lo, 1903, at the synagogue of Congregation Beth Israel, presided over by H. Kramer. The speakers who addressed the meet- ing were Rabbis Julius H. Meyer, Victor Caro, S. J. Scheinfeld, and J. Lieberman, and Max Landauer, Leopold Hammel, and A. W. Rich. In concluding his remarks Mr. Rich offered the fol- lowing resolutions, which were unanimously adopted: Through Associated Press dispatches, as well as through private sources, information has been received during the past ten days of most horrible atrocities committed by a brutal mob of religious fanatics at Kishineff, Russia, a city of about 120,- 000 inhabitants, where defenseless men and women and inno- cent children were murdered by the score, and hundreds more were maimed, many of whom will die from their injuries, while many that may recover will be crippled for life. The world shudders at the thought that, in this age of enlighten- ment, such heartless, inhuman violence would be possible, even in darkest Russia. A shadow of doubt has been thrown upon the press reports of the bloody deeds by a recent dispatch from St. Petersburg, but, while the prayers of thousands are offered to-day that the contradiction may be based on truth, the hands of Russia have too often been stained with blood, and the cunning of her offi- cers is too well established not to leave room for suspicion that the denial was created by the censors of the press to check public denouncement; be it therefore Resolved, That this mass meeting, representing American citizens, independent of creed or nationality, hereby desires to express heartfelt sympathy for the victims of this horrible tragedy. Resolved, That we contemplate with abhorrence the con- dition of a nation and its government where such inhuman NEWARK 99 atrocities can be enacted without prompt suppression and the punishment of the leaders. Resolved, That the influence and power of all civilized nations be invoked to take some action tending to prevent the recurrence of such atrocious scenes, which are a disgrace to civilization. Sermons on the Kishineff atrocities were preached by Rev. Thomas Edward Barr, of the People's Pulpit, and Rev. James C. Hodgins, of the First Unitarian Church, on May 24, 1903. MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA A benefit concert was given at Minneapolis, Minn., on May 31, 1903, by the Newsboys' Band, at the Lyceum Theatre. The program was opened by Mayor Ha3'^nes with a brief address. NEWARK, NEW JERSEY A meeting was held on May 11, 1903, in the syna- gogue of the Anshe Russia Congregation, at the call of a committee composed of Max Stern, Charles Loe- bel, Meyer Pennis, and Samuel Acher. There were about fifteen hundred persons present, and the meeting was presided over by Meyer S. Hood. Addresses were delivered by Rev. Hyman Brodsky, Assistant Prose- cutor Louis Hood, and Rev. Dr. A. Radin. Letters regretting their inability to be present were received from Mayor Doremus, Samuel Kalisch, Prosecutor Chandler W. Riker, and Robert Parrod. The Ministerial Association of Newark appointed a committee of three to wait on Mayor Doremus and urge him to call a public meeting of protest. 100 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF Rev. Robert Scott Inglis, of Third Presbyterian Church, Newark, delivered a sermon on Kishineff. NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA A mass meeting was held at the Crescent Theater on June 13, 1903. Mayor Paul Capdevielle presided over the meeting, and letters of sympathy were re- ceived from Governor Heard, Archbishop Chapelle, Bishop Sessums of the Episcopal diocese, and Rev. W. H. La Prade, Presiding Elder of the New Orleans District of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Addresses were delivered by Rev. Dr. Beverley E. Warner, of Trinity Episcopal Church, Edgar H. Farrar, Esq., and Dr. E. A. Alderman, President of Tulane University. Page M. Baker, editor of The Times-Democrat, was chairman of the committee of arrangements. The following vice-presidents had accepted invita- tions to occupy seats upon the stage : Page M. Baker, Albert Baldwin, Rev. A. G. Bakewell, Rev. J. C. Barr, Judge R. T. Beauregard, F. E. Bishop, Judge N. C. Blanchard, Captain J. E. Bloom, Albert Bloom, Judge A. Breaux, O. F. Briede, A. Brittin, E. F. Buhler, W. H. Byrnes, A. Capdevielle, W. C. Chevis, Judge F. D. Chretien, Louis Cucullu, Rev. Gilbert Dobbs, Hon. R. C. Davey, Major T. E. Davis, J. C. Denis, Hon. Chas. Dickson, Rev. W. W. Drake, Judge L. Dufour, Judge T. C. W. Ellis, Robert Ewing, Rev. E. J. Fallon, H. L. Frantz, Rev. H. W. Foote, S. L. Gilmore, R. J. Goebel, Charles Janvier, J. Watts Kearny, Judge F. D. King, Dr. Q. Kohnke, J. A. Lautenschlaeger, Rev. H. Wilkin- son, Henry McCall, Honorable S. D. McEnery, James Mc- Racken, Rev. R. Q. Mallard, Rev. J. P. Malone, Louis Mathis, Wm. Mehle, Honorable Adolph Meyer, R. G., Memory, E. Mil- tenberger, Judge F. A. Monroe, Rev. J. W. Moore, Judge I. D. Moore, A. T. Moss, T. J. Moulin, Rev. J. H. Nail, Judge F.T. Nicholls, A. P. Noll, G. W. Nott, Rev. C. L. Nourse, Charles NEW ORLEANS 101 O'Connor, Judge Clias. Parlange, Ashton Phelps, Judge O. O. Provosty, T. G. Rapier, Dr. M. V. Richard, W. B. Rogers, Thos. Sefton, Dr. E. Souchon, B. C. Shields, E. S. Stoddard, Judge G. H. Theard, E. Toby, G. W. Young, Norman Walker, R. M. Walmsley, Jas. S. Zacharie, Rev. E. Hunter, Rev. E. W. Lott. Mayor Paul Capdevielle called the meeting to order. He said, in part : The people of this city never fail to come forward on the side of right and justice, and upon this occasion they seek the opportunity to express their sympathy with the abused and stricken Jews of Russia, and to endeavor to find some way in which to put a stop to this barbarity. Secretary Mayo read a letter from Archbishop Chapelle, as follows: New Orleans, June ii, 1903. Mr. Page M. Baker, Editor The Times-Democrat . My Dear Mr. Baker: Please accept my sincere thanks for your kind invitation to the mass meeting that will be held to lament over and protest against the horrible massacre of the Jews at Kishineff. Being almost on the eve of my departure for Cuba, many pressing engagements will not permit me, much to my regret, to express viva voce my sorrow and indignation at these outrages. I have already done so by way of the press a few days ago. I trust that the horror manifested by the civilized world may induce the noble-hearted Czar to insist upon his subordi- nates guilty of these barbarities being punished and put into execution the great promises he lately made with much solem- nity, to secure to all in his vast dominions the blessings of religious, racial and political liberty. I rejoice that the chil- dren of Israel, that strong race which God has made immortal as the witness of His revelation to men, a race which is now a world power as it never was before, perhaps, should protest I against persecution and injustice perpetrated against its mem- .bers. Christians should unite and denounce more strongly than they have done heretofore massacres of missionaries, 102 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF Chinese, Christians, Armenians, and last but not least, the abominable persecution of defenseless, holy, good women in France, and the destruction of the liberty of association and of education which is being wrought in that country by a short-sighted and fanatical government. Sincerely yours, P. L. Chapelle, Archbishop New Orleans. The next letter was from Bishop Sessums: Let me acknowledge your note and thank you for the invi- tation to make one of the addresses at the proposed mass meeting in connection with the recent massacre at Kishineff. Surely the terrible savagery and cruelties which have been there enacted, if the accounts be correct, must fill the civil- ized and Christian world with horror, and the profoundest sympathy must be universally felt for the sufferers and the utmost condemnation must be universally passed upon their oppressors. I regret that I shall be unable to attend the pro- posed meeting, as I shall be leaving the city on the date named in order to meet important appointments for the fol- lowing day outside of New Orleans. That such atrocities could be committed in a country whose government is included amidst the civilized powers of the earth is staggering and bewildering. That in this age in any one of the so-called Christian countries any part of the popu- lation should be so ignorant and superstitious and savage as to be guilty of persecution of any sort and especially of reli- gious persecution, and for them to think that they deserve the name of Christians when they are engaged in such persecution, is frightful to contemplate. While it is not thinkable that the central Russian Government directly incited or encouraged these horrors; still, if it has unjust laws, it inevitably has a responsibility for the degree of education in injustice which its population receives from such laws. It also has a responsi- bility to bring to justice the perpetrators of these cruelties; to make restitution to those who have suffered and to the families of the victims; and to compel its civil and religious agents to counteract and eradicate fanatical religious preju- NEW ORLEANS 103 dices and the dreadful and false accusation against the Hebrew population. Again thanking you for your invitation and regretting that I cannot attend the meeting, I am Sincerely yours, David Sessums. Letter from Dr. La Prade: New Orleans, June ii, 1903. Page M. Baker, City. Dear Mr. Baker: On my return from an absence of several days from the city, I found your kind favor of the 6th instant on my desk, in which you do me the honor to invite me to be one of the speakers on the evening of Saturday, the 13th instant, " to protest against the recent massacre of Jews at Kishineff, Russia." I regret exceedingly that important business connected with my ecclesiastic office will make it necessary for me to be out of the city at the hour of the proposed mass meeting. I assure you that my convictions and sympathies prompt me to accept your invitation. The unchristian, wholly barbarous action of Russia should meet with world-wide protest, and New Orleans should certainly make her voice heard in the general utterance. As my name has appeared as one of the invited speakers of the occasion I would be glad if you will explain my neces- sary and reluctant absence. Very sincerely yours, Wm. H. La Prade. Rev. Dr. Beverley E. Warner said, in part : Russia desires to be regarded as civilized, but she knows that the truly civilized nations look upon her with contempt. Two things she can do to undo the evil she has done to her standing in the congress of the nations. First: She can force the ecclesiastics of the empire to authoritatively deny the truth of the awful and shameless story of the ritual of blood which has been cast against the Jews since pagan days. No man believes that story to-day, no man in all the civilized world believes it was ever true 104 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF of the Jews. It is an old lie, used once against the Christians themselves. Whenever the story comes of massacre in Russia, or the smaller kindred states where they kill king and queen as we kill flies, where there is no regard for life, and where the brutality and the cruelty of the people find expression in deeds that bring the blush of shame and horror to all the world — then we may know that it is due to this old falsehood, which dates back to the first feast of the Passover. Second: The Russians can make Russians of the Jews, make them citizens of the land. Here in New Orleans the Jews are citizens, good citizens, and do their part of the work and bear their share of the burdens, thus earning the right to enjoy the blessings and partake of the pleasures. When Rus- sia repeals the 300 pages of restrictive law which she has enacted to hedge about the Jews, then she may expect the Jews to become loyal and loving citizens. Then, and only then, can she expect the mass of ignorant peasants, egged on to hate the Jews by the anti-Semite press, and taught by the ecclesiastics to believe the Jew but a clod, to refrain from breaking the clod when it suits his convenience. Now comes the question: By what right do we inter- fere? I know not what has impelled the others who have spoken against this disgrace to the age; but we speak and interfere in behalf of the right of eminent domain ; for that ideal of brotherhood of man for which we stand ; for the right of the strong to protect the weak. For this we interfere and raise our voices in protest. Were ten thousand Germans dead in a foreign land, the young " War Lord " would have more than a note in protest Were ten thousand Englishmen beaten and branded in another land, John Bull would send more than a word of regret Were ten thousand Americans the victims of such an outrage. Brother Jonathan would raise his hand, and it would be the sign for all our people to rally, join together and wipe out the doers of the crime. The Jew has no nation. He assembles his wise men in no great capital. He marches his armies under no flag. There- fore we will lift for him the standard of the Stars and Stripes, We lift for him our voices — and they must be heard. Because NEW ORLEANS 105 the Jew is without these things, we raise, not the arm of right, but the voice of might. We send it across the ocean and the land, postmarked, Washington, D. C. That flag we raise for him, forgetting not as we raise it, the symbolism of the colors and the stars. The red marks the nation united forever after the double baptism of blood ; the white, the peaceful unity bound for a common and noble destiny; the blue — of the union, enfolding the forty-eight stars — signals our destiny, our purpose, ever at the call of the oppressed. The whole combined is the standard of the United States of America — the world's best hope for the future. The Honorable Edgar H. Farrar said, in part: The question was asked me yesterday what practical good can be accomplished for the Russian Jews by mass meetings in the United States and the passage of resolutions condemn- ing their wholesale robbery and murder in their own country. Can we expect, by these means, to restrain the outbreaks of a brutal, ignorant and superstitious peasantry, goaded on by two of the most violent passions that have lodgment in the human breast — race prejudice and religious bigotry? I find an affirmative answer in these facts : 1. That the Russian Government attempted to conceal from the outside world the horrors of Kishineff. 2. That after concealment could no longer be practiced, the Governor of the province was removed in disgrace, and steps taken to arrest some of the rioters. 3. That in yesterday morning's dispatches from Russia the Government declared that it needs no assistance from America to provide for the helpless Jews, and that it resents foreign suggestion. These facts show sensitiveness. They show respect for the opinion of the civilized world. ********* Therefore, my fellow citizens, who are assembled here with- out reference to race or creed, Jew and Gentile, Protestant and Catholic, freemen all, who own no master except God and Father, whom we all worship, speak out the promptings of your hearts and swell with your voices the cry of outragejl 9 106 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF humanity that is ringing around the earth in protest against a so-called Christian government that persecutes and denies protection to its own children. Dr. Edwin A. Alderman, of Tulane University, in part, spoke as follows: Thomas Jefferson declared that "he had sworn eternal hatred against every form of tyranny against the mind and soul of man," and he nobly lived up to that oath. That im- pulse is woven into my soul, too, and I am here to-night to protest against the exercise of these passions, and I would protest, whether they occurred in Russia or in France, or America, or whether in my own home, or whether ten thou- sand leagues across the sea, or whether they were directed against the brown man, the yellow man, the black man, Jew, or Gentile. I have nothing to say against the Czar or the Russian Min- istry — they are doubtless kind and gentle people in their families and to their friends. The central fact is this : Russia has two mighty passions — conscious and unconscious — the Russification of its 180,000,000 of people, and the constant ex- tension of its territory, and whatever stands in the way of those two things must take the consequences. In order to develop the moujik, the Russian feels it necessary to oppress the Jew. To me it is stupid policy. The Jew has ten times the gifts of the moujik, and with freedom and opportunity he would become a great Russian citizen, as he has become a great American citizen. And the public opinion of the world ought to say to the Russian, certainly the public opinion of America ought to say, that under its policy there is no better class of American citizenship than the loyal, patriotic, produc- tive, public-spirited American Jew. Practically the Russian will not do this. It is asking him to change his entire govern- mental policy. It is asking him to change the structure of his mind. It is asking him to be an American and not a Russian. He wants to see the Russian peasant become an efficient man. The Jew outwits and dwarfs him. Therefore he oppresses the Jew and debases the peasant by giving him the opportunity to become a tyrant. If he would consent to NEW ORLEANS 107 educate the peasant and give opportunity to all, then the Russian would grow great indeed. The public opinion of the world can only hope, therefore, to prevent savage cruelty to the Jew within the Pale and the Jews of the world, better advantaged, should see to it that their fellow-countrymen leave the Pale and come to a land like this, where democracy declares that every man has a right to make the best of himself and to enjoy the fruits of his labor. I do not fear Russian Jews as an element in our population. I believe that under the American policy of opportunity they will develop, as I have seen them develop, into useful and forceful citizens. I know no such tragedy in the world as the tragedy of the Jews. I once stood upon the hill of Zion in Jerusalem and looked out over that mountain city, now in- vested with the pathos of the centuries and wrapped in the very tears of things. I saw its gray desolation, its great misery, its solemn sadness, and realized that the Jew had been a highlander, a mountain agriculturist, a fierce lover of his home. I saw him scattered about the world. I saw him preyed upon by all the fierce passions of men. I saw him shut up in Ghettos for centuries, and then accused of clan- nishness. I saw him deprived of land, and then blamed be- cause he was not an agriculturist. I saw him robbed of his earnings by tyrants, and because he grew unscrupulous and developed uncanny power to get more earnings, accused of cupidity and greed. I have seen his vices grow as the result of his oppressions, and, yet, I have seen him hold on with an endurance and a courage and a steadiness that makes the Swiss, or the Dutch, or the Pole look trifling, indeed, to his ancient faith, to his national pride, to the dignity of his home, to virtues of sobriety and thrift with patience and public spirit. I have seen him grow eminent in every field of life, ruling great nations, pre-eminent in every art, unweakened in vitality, either intellectual or physical or racial — one of the great forces to be reckoned with in the civilization of the world. We are Hebraic in our consciences, in the ethical content of our minds, in our notion of heaven and hell, and right and wrong, and, so far as I am concerned, whenever the Jew is 108 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF oppressed, I feel that oppression as if it were the oppression of a brother; and whenever that great historic race is belittled or disadvantaged, I would resent it as I would resent an injury to a brother. This democracy of ours, so strong and triumphant, must protest, therefore, against such deeds as the deed of Kishi- neff and the cause for it. It is the protest of the modern against the medieval, of the democratic against the autocratic, of light against darkness, of opportunity against privilege; and democracy has no choice but to take its stand and to speak its word. Hence, I am here as a democrat and a man and an American to protest against this medievalism, to wel- come these people to our shores, if need be to ask that we look into our own life for any creeping manifestations of any such injustices, and to work for the infusion into our young life of that wide spirit of brotherhood, and of opportunity, which lay so fair before the eyes of Robert Burns, that gifted child of poetry and sorrow, when the century was yet young. " Then let us pray that come it may, As come it will for a' that; That sense and worth, o'er a' the earth, May bear the gree, and a' that; For a' that, and a' that. It's coming yet, for a'that That man to man, the world o'er. Shall brothers be for a' that." Secretary Mayo read a telegram from Governor Heard, as follows: Am heartily in accord with the purposes of the mass meeting, and favor the adoption of strong resolutions con- demning the massacre at Kishineff. W. W. Heard. Secretary Mayo then read the resolutions as follows, which were adopted by a rising vote of the entire audience : Whereas, We, the people of the city of New Orleans in the State of Louisiana in the United States of America, have, NEWPORT 109 in common with all Americans, read with a sense of indigna- tion reports of the awful tragedy at Kishineff, a town in the province of Bessarabia, in the Russian empire; and Whereas, Our sense of justice and of humanity has been inexpressibly shocked by the brutal and bloody persecutions of innocent men, women and children of the Hebrew race resident in that city; and Whereas, We believe that this deliberate murder of Jewish men and this wanton violation of Jewish women is a crime against both human and Divine law; therefore, be it Resolved, That we, the people of the city of New Orleans, in mass meeting assembled, do hereby record our emphatic protest against this inhuman and barbarous persecution of Jews in the Russian empire; and be it further Resolved, That recognizing the ties of human kinship that bind us to all the peoples of the earth, we do hereby express our profound and abiding sympathy with those members of " the scattered nation " who have been the innocent victims of the Kishineflf atrocities ; and be it finally Resolved, That we do hereby solemnly invoke his imperial Majesty, Nicholas II, the Czar of all the Russias, to adopt measures that will safeguard all his people from religious persecution, and will vouchsafe to them, irrespective of nation- ality, race or creed, " the blessings of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND A meeting was held in Touro Synagogue, Newport, R. I., May 25, 1903. Mayor Patrick J. Boyle presided, and addresses were made by Rev. Dr. Porter, rector of Emanuel Church; Rev. T. Calvin McClelland, pastor of the Congregational Church; Rev. Henry N. Jeter, of Shiloh Baptist Church ; Rev. Byron Gunner, of the Union Congregational Church ; Rev. Israel Derrick, of Mount Zion Church; Rabbi Jacob M. Seidel, and Julius Engle. 110 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF The Mayor, in assuming the chair, said, in part: There is hardly a country in the world in which the Jewish people are not persecuted. There was no cause for the mas- sacre in Kishineff, and as an American citizen, I am pleased to be here to give utterance to my indignation. I am here in my oiBcial capacity and I think I voice the sentiments of the citi- zens of Newport when I say that we are in sympathy with the victims of this massacre, and then I am here as a member of the Christian world, to give utterance against this horrible act. Mr. Max Levy was then unanimously elected secre- tary. Rev. Dr. Porter said, in part: There has been no time in the last thousand years when the Jews have not been persecuted and driven from one city to another. It is the hatred of the Jew that exists to-day. We know how they have suffered in some cities as a race and how they suffer to-day from deprivation. And to think that Russia, which pretends to be civilized, should allow such a massacre to take place! The Russian authorities sat still, and not until word came to St. Petersburg, was the word sent to stop the affair. Word has come from Washington that the Russian government will do all in its power to remedy the evil. How can you remedy the lives of the hundred people who were killed? Displace the governor of Kishineff? What does that amount to? Our hearts go out to this community so far away, who were so terribly mutilated be- cause of the lust for wealth and power. Who are these Jews? They stand for all that is noble and best. We Christians base all our knowledge of God upon what this Jewish people have done to preserve the Old Testament. We are here to-night to add our voice of protest, and have the Jews in this com- munity take action, to show Russia that we have not one bit of sympathy for her hatred of the Jewish race. The following resolution was read and unanimously passed : The Israelites and their Christian brethren in the city of NEWPORT 111 Newport, state of Rhode Island and the United States of America, where men are equal, be their creed what it may, where justice and righteousness prevail and are extended to all alike, in mass meeting held this 2Sth day of May, 1903, do hereby express our sympathy for the victims and sufferers of the recent riots in Kishineff in Russia, where on the 19th day of April and the succeeding days during the present year, the most cruel persecution has been waged against the Israelites, where hundreds of our brethren have been ruthlessly slaught- ered and cruelties too terrible to be mentioned have been perpetrated upon them by a raving mob incited by bigotry and urged by the love of plunder and the hatred of the Jewish name. We, gathered at this meeting, would deem ourselves traitors to brotherly love and the rights of outraged humanity were we to withhold our expressions of "sympathy for the suffering of our brethren so ruthlessly slaughtered and cut down. We regret that in the present century in a land disguising under the name of Christianity and civilization such barbarity should be permitted to exist, and therefore be it Resolved, That we express our deepest emotions of sympathy for the sufferings endured by our fellow-men who have so suffered the tortures and injuries inflicted upon them by the merciless and savage persecutors and that we mourn for these upon whom such cruel enormities have been heaped; and be it further Resolved, That we co-operate with such persons or bodies as may be deemed expedient in affording pecuniary aid, and to act in such other manner as may be deemed advisable to mitigate the suffering of our fellow-men; and be it Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be forwarded to the president, and to the secretary of state of the United States of America, that they enter their protest against the perpetration of this terrible crime and they use their good offices and influences through the proper representative of this government to the Russian authorities seeking their co-opera- tion, that they punish the perpetrators of these vile acts and that they use their influences and authority to prevent a repeti- tion of such atrocities. 112 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF NEW YORK CITY A meeting was held at Cooper Union, May 2, 1903. It was addressed by Louis Miller, Joseph Barondess, Herbert Casson, Edward King, and Abraham Cahan. A meeting was held, May 3, 1903, at Teutonia Hall, under the auspices of the First Bessarabian Society. At a benefit performance for the Kishinefif sufferers held at the Windsor Theatre, May 8, 1903, Mayor Low said, in part: I am happy to think that the Jews and Christians are able to live happily together as citizens of one great city. In New York there are many languages, but one kind of citizen. The great poet Shakespeare says, " One touch of nature makes the whole world kin," and when the tidings came from Russia I felt a genuine sympathy and fellow feeling for you. I am here, fellow-citizens, without race or creed considered, and honor you for your show of sympathy. I thank you for this warm and hearty greeting, and with all my heart I wish your cause well. The Hebrew Veterans of the War with Spain, at a meeting, at which five hundred members were pres- ent, adopted resolutions, May 11, 1903, as follows: Whereas, In the city of Kishineff, Bessarabia, in the Rus- sian Empire, the world, in this era of the brotherhood of man and the fatherhood of God, is confronted by a spectacle which blackens the escutcheon of the twentieth century, and Whereas, The recent massacre of our Jewish co-religionists in Kishineff, with its accompanying incidents of arson, rapine and murder, the torture of infants, barbarous cruelties to the aged, and the desecration of women, so horrible, as to silence description, had no provocation but the creed of its homeless maimed or slain victims; and Whereas, Our Republic, by the precedents of its past, has NEW YORK CITY 113 responded to the call of suffering humanity, whether stricken by the act of man or the visitation of God, now therefore be it Resolved, That we, the Hebrew Veterans of the War with Spain, incorporated under the laws of the state of New York, composed of veterans of every branch of the military and naval service of our Government during the recent war with Spain, Xtitif" ^''' 'P^'-'"""'-]'. T"'^°"'^"-° -D^^.^-r^u p,-^-;. dent of these United States, to evprri'sf; hU omnH r^fflr^c h .-,, ' "^'f!^^'"^ - ^^-^: govprninpn^ nf the Emnire of Russia vig(} r- nuslv to nrnsemtp the nernpfrptnr^ nf fhW IpHpr-^pv ,';t Bartholomew, in order to prevent a recurrence of the orgy of assassination; and be it furthermore Resolved, That the Adjutant forward this resolution forth- with to His Excellency, Theodore Roosevelt. The Chinese merchants of New York Citv., held a benefit performance at the Chinese Theatre, on May II, 1903. The performance was arranged by Joseph A. Singleton, President of the Chinese Empire Re- form Association, Guy Maine, Chu Chu, and Dek Foon. Addresses were deHvered by Guy Maine, Rev. Joseph Seflf, and others. On May 19, 1903, the Board of Aldermen of New York City passed two sets of resolutions, one set in- tended for the President of the United States, the other for the Secretary of State: Whereas, The forces of bigotry, prejudice and intolerance are repugnant to the emancipated intelligence of the modern world and antagonistic to the conscience of free institutions; and Whereas, The citizens of this imperial municipality are appalled by the crimes against civilization, committed in the fair name of religion at Kishineff and Tiraspol, with their incidents of the desecration of women, barbarities to the aged, the massacre of infants, the mutilation of the dead and the in- discriminate butchery of an unoffending people ; now therefore be it 114 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF Resolved, That we, the Board of Aldermen of the City of New York, petition His Excellency Theodore Roosevelt, Pres- ident of the United States, in the name of humanity to protest to the government of the Empire of Russia against these un- speakable outrages; and be it furthermore Resolved, That the clerk of the Board of Aldermen mail this resolution forthwith to the President of the United States. Whereas, The recent atrocities perpetrated on the men, women and children of the Jewish faith in Kishineff, Province of Bessarabia, in the Empire of Russia, have stirred the na- tions of the world to righteous indignation and call for earn- est protest in the name of humanity against the massacre of a people the only reason for which is based apparently upon religious hatred; and Whereas, The outbreak which resulted in these gross out- rages, prompting as they do the uprising of all Christendom in denunciation of acts which are a blot upon civilization and a crying shame to the religion of the country in which they happened, has roused the peoples of the world generally, irrespective of creed, against the wholesale butchery of in- offensive human beings ; therefore Resolved, That we, the Board of Aldermen of the City of New York, the direct representatives of nearly four millions of people, many of whom are of the Jewish faith, do hereby make protest against the barbaric outrages committed on the Jews of Kishineff, in the Province of Bessarabia, Empire of Russia. Resolved further. That the Honorable John Hay, Secretary of State, be and he is hereby respectfully requested and urged, in the name of the United States of America and humanity, to protest with all power at his command under such provisions as usage, treaties and the laws of the nations will warrant, against any repetition of the outrages committed against Jews in Kishineff, Province of Bessarabia, in the Empire of Russia. A meeting was held, May 24, 1903, at the Metro- poHs Theatre, at One Hundred and Forty-Second Street and Third Avenue, under the auspices of Con- gregation Hand-in-Hand of the Bronx. There were NEW YORK CITY 115 sixteen hundred persons present. The meeting was called to order by M. Pollock, who introduced N. A. Alexander as Chairman. Samuel Muller was chosen as Secretary. Letters were read from Bishop Potter, Justice David Leventritt, Honorable Jacob A. Cantor, Wil- liam Travers Jerome, Senator Piatt, Governor Odell, Professor Felix Adler, Rev. Newell Dwight Hillis, Judge Tierney, and others. Addresses were delivered by the Rev. George T. Donlin of St. Jerome's Roman Catholic Church, and Louis F. Haffen, President of the Borough of Bronx. On May 24, 1903, Mr. Henry Frank, leader of the Independent Liberal Church, and Rev. Dr. Isaac Hal- demann. First Baptist Church, delivered sermons on Kishineff. A meeting was held on May 26, 1903, at the Har- lem Casino, under the auspices of Mount Vernon Lodge, No. 71, Independent Order Free Sons of Israel. Addresses were delivered by Honorable Henry M. Goldfogle, Rev. Dr. Joseph Silverman, General James O'Beirne, and Rev. Madison C. Peters, of Baltimore. The last said, in part: I need not tell you that the Jews never crucified anybody. It was not their mode of punishment. And Christ would not have _ been crucified unless the Roman Governor had ordered it. My ancestors, the Gentiles, were just as much to blame as yours. I wish Russia could appreciate that, for its attitude toward the Jews is based principally on a miscon- ception in this respect. The persecution is carried on with- out historical reason in the name of religion. 116 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF Concerning the statements of Count Cassini, the Russian Ambassador, who said the Jews in Russia would not engage in agricultural pursuits but were money lenders, Dr. Peters said: Now, the Ambassador from Russia either doesn't know what is going on in Russia or else he didn't tell the truth. The Jews in Russia are not allowed to own land, and where they are permitted to live in rural districts the land is so poor that even a Russian couldn't feed a cow on it. About the only way Jews are allowed to make a living in Russia is by trading with the poor class of peasants. And when a Russian has borrowed from a Jew and does not want to pay back the loan, it seems the proper thing for him to wipe the entire family of the lender off the face of the earth. A meeting of the citizens of New York was held on Wednesday evening. May 27, 1903, at Carnegie Hall. About 3500 persons were present. Mr. Paul D. Cravath, Chairman of the Committee of Arrange- ments, read the call, as follows: A meeting of citizens, without distinction of creed, is here- by called, and will be held on Wednesday evening. May 27, 1903, at 8 o'clock, at Carnegie Hall, to give expression to the abhorrence and indignation universally excited by the recent outrages upon the Jews of Kishineff, Russia. [Signed] John A. Stewart, Levi P. Morton, John C. Brown, R. Fulton Cutting, C, Schunz . John S. Kennedy, Lyman J. Gage, William E. Dodge, Robert W. De Forest, Morris K. Jesup, J. G. Carlisle, Charles R. Flint, Henry Clews, Joseph F. Daly, Joseph Larocque, William G. Choate, William D. Guth- rie, David McClure, Thomas F. Ryan, Francis Lynde Stet- son, A. S. Frissell, Charles Scribner, Au gust Belmp nt. John F. Dillon, Wheeler H. Peckham, John E. Parsons, Eugene A. Philbin, George Foster Peabody, Edmund Wetmore, Edwin Langdon, C. A. Griscom, Jr., James G. Connor, Charles C. Burlingham, Everett P. Wheeler, John De Witt Warner, William F. Stonebridge, William H. Baldwin, Jr., NEW YORK CITY 117 James Stillman, Spencer Trask, Ashbel P. Fitch, Bird S. Coler, Gustav H. Schwab, Cephas Brainerd, John D. Crim- mins, Henry W. Taft, G. L. Rives, Paul D. Cravath, William P. Dixon. He then announced that Honorable Seth Low, the Mayor of New York, had been designated as Chair- man of the meeting. The Mayor was thereupon escorted to the chair. The following were nominated as Vice-Presidents of the meeting: Cornelius N. Bliss, John A. Stewart, Lyman J. Gage, John S. Kennedy, Charles S. Fairchild, J. Crosby Brown, Anson Phelps Stokes, Richard Watson Gilder, Alexander E. Orr, James C. Carter, William G. Choate, John E. Parsons, John D. Crimmins, James Talcott, William B. Hornblower, A. S. Frissell, R. Fulton Cutting, Gustav Schwab, A. D. Juillard, Abraham R. Lawrence, Charles A. Moore, Charles H. Van Brunt, Morgan J. O'Brien, John F. Dillon, William D. Howells, Smith Ely, John Harsen Rhoades, Charles C. Bur- lingham, William D. Guthrie, Wheeler H. Peckham, David B. Ogden, C. A. Griscom, Jr., Thomas F. Ryan. The Committee of Arrangements, Mr. Cravath, Mr. William H. Baldwin, Jr., and Mr. Henry W. Taft, acted as secretaries. The Mayor, on taking the chair, addressed the meeting: About 250 years ago, indeed, the year after New Amster- dam became a city, some Spanish and Portuguese Jews found their way here and were made welcome. From that day to this, the Jews have beeti made to feel at home in New York, until to-day this city probably contains more Jews than any other city in the world. This circumstance gives us warrant to say two things, out of our own experience : First, that the Jew is a quiet, orderly and industrious citizen ^ and, 'second, '^hat i± treated with kindness mstead of with 118 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF cruelty, he becomes a source of strength to a nation and not a weakness. It also entitles the citizens of New York to protest vigorously against such horrors as those of Kish- ineff. It is a noteworthy thing that this movement of protes t in "New York began iinon ^^'^ F.fiRt '•^''^e- Before even tF ie pr ess had taken ^reat r mtiVe nf the long-contmued Ki sJi- meff rioting , our fellow-citizens of Jewish birth, many of whom know by experience what a Russian riot is, had be- gun to raise a fund for the relief of the sufferers, and to protest against the outrages. Nearly three weeks ago I addressed an audience on the Bowery gathered for that pur- pose, and I told them, what I gladly repeat here, that their fellow-citizens of every name and creed are as one with them in detestation of this horror, and that we honor them for the prompt and effective steps they have taken to send relief to their friends. But here I can say what I did not say there — for this is a meeting held under Christian auspices — that in the name of our religion we grieve that such a stain should be cast upon it. Russia is a friendly Power to the United States, and there are especial reasons why Americans think kindly of her; but not for this cause should we be silent now. Nay, rather, because we desire that the two nations may continue to be true friends, we beg her so to deal with those who are to blame for this shameful outrage as to make it impossible for such a thing to happen again within her bor- ders. We beg of her to give more liberty to her Jewish subjects; for we may properly say that in freedom of oppor- tunity, and not in restriction of privilege, for Christian and Jew alike, has been found, here in New York, a cure for such, disturbances as those that in Russia have recently shocked the world. What New York has done for 250 years Russia can do, if she will. May God put it into her heart to do so. Mr. William H. Baldwin, Jr., read a number of letters and telegrams from persons necessarily absent, NEW YORK CITY 119 I regret that I shall be out of town on May 27, and there- fore unable to attend the meeting to be held at Carnegie Hall on that evening. No community is wholly indifferent to public opinion, and I should have been very glad if it had been possible for me to be present and so testify to my interest in this endeavor to arouse public opinion not only against the recent outrages upon the Jews of Kishineff, Rus- sia, but also against the religious prejudice which has in- cited them. Yours sincerely, Lyman Abbott. I deeply regret that I am unable to be present at the Kish- ineff indignation meeting. I hope the meeting will utter two notes so loud and clear as to be heard around the world, one of indignation for the atrocities on human nature itself in- Russia and one of welcome and hospitality to our country for the victims of these medieval barbarities. John F. Dillon. No one could entertain a stronger feeling of abhorrence than I over any such exhibition of intolerance on the part of one adherency of a religious system toward the followers of another. I must assume, of course, that the published reports of the outrages are true. Without knowing the de- tails or the provocation I have been disposed to hold my judgment in suspension, but no one, of course, can for an instant excuse or tolerate such a flagrant disregard of the ethics that ought to be the genius of the brotherhood of humanity. Thomas C. Platt. Bolton Landing, Lake George, 25 May, 1903. His Honor Mayor Low, Chairman, etc., etc. My Dear Sir: I am sincerely sorry I cannot attend the meeting called to express the indignation of American citi- zens at the horrible atrocities recently committed at Kish- ineff. I hardly need assure you that I am heartily with you in your purpose. 120 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF While those outrag'es in Russia stand pre-eminent in th savage cruelty, it should not be forgotten that they oi present one of the natural upshots of a widespread mo^ ment which in our days has put a peculiarly repulsive b upon our vaunted civilization. The persecution and maltreatment of human beings account of their race or their religious belief is always offense not only unjust to the victim, but also degrading the offender. But the persecution and maltreatment of t Jews as mankind has witnessed it, and is now witnessi it in several countries, has been not only especially barb; ous in the ferocity of its excesses, but in a singular degr self-debasing and cowardly in the invention of the reaso adduced for its justification. The Jews are accused of various offensive qualities a dangerous propensities. If we mean to do them anythi: like justice, are we not in duty bound to inquire how the qualities and propensities, so far as they may really exi appear in the light of history? For centuries the Jews were penned up in their ghett and otherwise forcibly shut off from the rest of humanii and then they were gravely accused of being clannish. For centuries they were in most countries arbitrarily i stricted in the right to hold land and to follow various ci^ callings, and then they were gravely accused of not takii to agriculture and of preferring trade. For centuries they had to defend themselves against t lawless rapacity of the powerful and against the want( hostility of the mr.ltitude, being robbed and kicked and cuffi and spit upon like outcasts having no rights and no feelin: entitled to respect; and then they were accused of havii become crafty and unscrupulous in taking advantage of tl opportunities left open to them. For centuries — and even down to our day — whenever Jew did anything conspicuously offensive, be it in the wi of business unscrupulousness or of social ostentation, tl cry has been — and is: "Lo, behold the Jew!" While, wh( a Christian did the same thing, or even ten times wors nobody would cry : " Lo, behold the Christian ! " NEW YORK CITY 121 And now, to cap the climax, even in this age of light and progress, and in countries boasting of their mental and moral culture, we hear apostles of anti-Semitism, even persons be- longing to the so-called upper classes, insist with accents of profound alarm that if the Jews be permitted the same rights and privileges as other people, that despised race, forming so infinitesimal a part of the world's population, will surely outwit us all, and rob us of our property, and possess them- selves of all the controlling forces of society; and that, therefore, the Jews must be shackled hand and foot with all sorts of legal disabilities, if not e xterminated , in order to save Christendom from ignominious enslavement. Nothing could be more absurd and at the same time more cowardly than such reasoning and such appeals. But it is to agitations inflamed by just this spirit that we owe horrors like those of Kishineff, in beholding which humanity stands aghast. These horrors are only one more revelation of the ulterior tendency of a movement which here and there even assumes the mask of superior respectability. Here is the whole question again brought before the tribunal of the con- science of mankind. May this event serve to put in clearer light the fact that the history of the world exhibits no more monumental record of monstrous injustice than the perse- cutions inflicted upon the Jews during so many centuries. We may then also hope to see the other fact universally recognized that wherever the Jewish race, with its wonder- ful vitality and its remarkable productiveness "of talent and energy, enjoys the equal protection of just laws and a due appreciation of its self-respect, it will, far from remaining a race of aliens, furnish its full contingent of law-abiding, peaceable, industrious, public-spirited and patriotic citizen- ship, vying with the best. y^^^ ^j.^Iy y^^^g^ C. SCHURZ.*"" Rev. Dr. Newell Dwight Hillis, being unavoidably absent from the city, expressed his regret, as follows : The whole world is indebted to the noble Jewish race for the teachings of its prophets and sages and apostles and 122 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF martyrs, and every man who loves his fellows must sytr thize with the meeting called to protest against the outra visited upon the helpless Hebrews in Kishineff. With 3 I cherish the hope that this event, that has shocked the wl civilized world, will bring about a reaction, and end with a cree proclaiming religious liberty, toleration and charity to the people of Russia. Mr. Beecher's old people last w passed resolutions of sympathy with the objects of y meeting. Rev. W. C. Bitting wrote as follows: Please be assured of my interest in the protest aga: the horrors that contradict the claim of Christian and 1 late all humane consideration. No utterance of wrath be otherwise than righteous when directed against such al cities wherever committed. Mr. W. D. Howells said: I wish your good cause^ — the cause of humanity — all s cess. Mr. Baldwin then presented the following reso tions : Resolved, That the citizens of New York have heard v\ intense sorrow and indignation the news of the recent c break against the Jews of Kishineff, Russia, and the she ing atrocities committed by the ignorant, brutal and r guided populace, resulting in the massacre of many a women and children, and the wounding and maltreatment hundreds of victims. Resolved, That as citizens of a republic friendly to Rus we earnestly urge the claim of the Jews resident in the 1 pire to just and impartial treatment, and to protect against such outrages as the Kishineff massacre. We f test against the spirit of medieval persecution which been revived in parts of Russia. In this country the rec nition of the equality of all men before the law — whate their race or creed — is a principle which, in practice, assu their loyal devotion to the land of their birth or adopt: NEW YORK CITY 123 This is eminently true of the Jewish immigrants from Rus- I sia who have settled in the United States in large numbers, and who, as a body, have become industrious, thrifty, faith- 1 ful and law-abiding citizens. Resolved, That we sympathize with our fellow-citizens of the Hebrew faith in their grief and anxiety because of this affliction of their co-religionists in Russia, and in their en- ergetic efforts for the relief of the people of Kishineff. Resolved, That the people of the United States should ex- ercise such influence with the government of Russia as the ancient and unbroken friendship between the two nations may justify— to stay the spirit of persecution— to redress the injuries inflicted upon the Jews of Kishineff and to prevent the recurrence of outbreaks such as have amazed the civilized world. A vote on the resolutions was postponed until after the addresses. v^Ma3'or Low introduced as the first speaker Honor- able Grover C leveland , ex-President of the United States, who spolse as follows: I have only a word to say, but I wish to be counted among those who are in hearty sympathy with the purposes of this meeting. The influences which have called us to- gether to-night grow out of our recognition of the prompt- ings of Christian civilization and our dutiful devotion to the best and deepest of our national characteristics. This de- monstration furnishes cheering and reassuring evidence that our American sympathy for the oppressed and abused, wher- ever they may be, our American love of humanity, and our attachment to justice and right, are still active and unim- paired. There is another American trait inwoven with the warp and woof of our national character, which is here ex- hibited in most gratifying freshness and strength. Our peo- ple, when their sympathies are touched, when their humane instincts are challenged, and when their hatred of oppres- sion is aroused, are not afraid to speak; and in such circum- stances it is not their habit to smother or cautiously soften their words. 124 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF Every American humane sentiment has been shocked by late attack on the Jews in Russia — an attack murderou atrocious and in every way revolting. As members of th family of mankind, and as citizens of a free nation, we ar here to give voice to the feeling that should stir every tru man, and ervery American worthy of the name. There i something intensely horrible in the wholesale murder of ur offending, defenseless men, women and children, who hav been tacitly, if not expressly, assured of safety under th protection of a professedly civilized government. Sucl things give rise to a distressing fear that even the enlight enment of the twentieth century has neither destroyed no subdued the barbarity of human nature, nor wholly redeemei the civilized world from " man's inhumanity to man." We, and all our countrymen, protest in the strongest Ian guage at our command, and with all the moral force whicl our American citizenship gives to us, against these murderi and outrages, and we insist that swift and condign punish raent ought to be visited upon their barbarous perpetrators Nor is this all. We will, in a fashion quite American, am with an open-handedness always displayed when human dis- tress appeals to us, assist the families made headless anc robbed of support by murder, and those who, wounded anc terrorized, and in hunger and want, have been driven froii their homes. 1 know how easily our indignation prompts us to the us( of strong language, and I know how naturally we are tempted to indulge in overdrawn statements and extrava- gant demands on such occasions as this ; but I am sure thai in our characterization of the crimes we here; contemplate, and in expressing our detestation of the criminals, we cannot go too far. I desire to avoid sounding a discordant note, but yet I cannot refrain from the suggestion that the moral effect of our protest, and the usefulness of this demonstra- tion, will not be lessened if we require indubitable proof before we accuse the Government of Russia of guilty compli- city in the crimes committed within her borders; and it seems to me we may well consider the proper relationship between nations before we unreasonably demand too pro- NEW YORK CITY 125 nounced interference on the part of our government. I do not say that the Russian Government may not, by sins of commission or omission, be justly deserving of our condem- nation; but we should not be swift to assume this when , w e r emember that we our selves have found it impossible to pre - vent mob violence and murderous assault upon the Chine se i n Wyoming and Italians m Louisiana . I am distinctly and unequivocally in favor of informing our government in un- mistakable terms of our indignant and deep condemnation of the late outrages upon the Jews in Russia; but I hope that in obefdience to the dictates of American conservatism and moderation, which are never long obscured, we may be even now just and fair, and that we will be content to forego perplexing and extreme demands upon our government for violent action. Our public servants should hear us speak; but we certainly ought to be justified in trusting the care of our national honor and duty in the premises and the enforce- ment of the humane instincts of our people, so far as this may be within governmental action, to those charged with the responsibility of managing our public affairs. In the meantime, let the people of the United States, gathered together in such assemblages as this, in every part of the land, fearlessly speak to the civilized world, protesting against every pretense of civilization that permits medieval persecution, against every bigoted creed that forbids reli- gious toleration and freedom of conscience, against all false enlightenment that excuses hatred and cruelty towards any race of men, and against all spurious forms of government protection that withhold from any human being the right to live in safety and toil in peace. t^^Dr. Jacob G. Schurman, President of Cornell Uni- versity, then addressed the meeting as follows: If you seek to stir up the pity and indignation of the American people and to move them to censure and protest, you need nothing but the plain facts of the Kishineff atro- cities. In the presence of those scenes of incredible horror appeal is superfluous and oratory tawdry and impertinent. The events themselves will shake the stoutest heart. Listen I 126 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF to the bald figures: Forty-five persons killed outright, & severely injured, maimed and mutilated; 500 other personi somewhat injured, but less dangerously; 600 shops sacked 700 houses demolished, 10,000 men, women and , childrei homeless and destitute, and altogether 20,000 suffering di rectly and indirectly from the consequences of this murderou; attack. I mention the effects only and pass over in silence thi inhuman deeds by which they were accomplished — tongue; torn out, ears and noses cut off, the cruel severing of limbs nails driven to the brain, and other barbarous forms of kill ing; the desecration of womanhood by vile murderers, anc the unpitied agonies of little children. Let us draw the vei over this ghastly and ghoulish carnival of robbery, butcher; and hellish passion. And who were the unhappy victims? The Jews of Kish ineff. What offense had they committed? None. Wha provocation, then, had they given? None whatever. Thii is passing strange. Here is a piece of diabolical work whicl outvies the savagery of Dakotahs or Apaches, and it wai wrought in Russia — civilized and Christian Russia! Anc is there no — I will not say justification — but no excuse, nc mitigating circumstance? The historian must declare thai it was an unprovoked assault and butchery of inoffensive anc unprotected Jews by the Christian mob of Kishineff. O Christ! What crimes have been committed in Th) name against the race which gave Thee to the world! Thj gospel of peace and good-will to man has brought the Jews at the hands of Thy unworthy followers too often only ha- tred, pillage and massacre. I t was nn accid ent that- thMt Kishineff horrors fell at the Easter season. That blessec occasion was used only to accentuate religious differences to foster outrageous misrepresentations regarding the reli- gious rites of the Jews, and to intensify the spirit of bigotry superstition and intolerance, which easily produce, not onlj hatred, but strife and murder. Thus religion, or rather the perversion of religion, undoubtedly played its part in bring- ing about the massacre at Kishineff. But difference of religion had always existed. And it NEW YORK CITY 127 Kishineff Jews and Christians had long dwelt together in peace, most of the Jews, indeed, being natives of the soil, But of recent years anti-Semitic agitation, which, unhappily, has spread over much of Europe, reached Kishineff also, An anti-Semitic newspaper was established in the city and, while the censor authorized this, he disallowed any other journal which might refute its libelous misrepresentations or antagonize its policies. The burden of this paper was thai the Jews must be got rid of. And when the mob finally fol- lowed the thinly-veiled editorial advice of sack and murder they were, from the moral point of view, not more blame- worthy than the editor. And the Russian administratior which officially authorized and conferred a monopoly upor this anti-Semitic journal will find difficulty in exculpating itself from responsibility for- the terrible, but natural and in- deed inevitable, results of its teachings. I see it stated in high quarters that the Jews of Russia art idlers and exploit the Russian peasantry. If this be true, ] have yet to learn that it is a justification of pillage and mas- sacre. Our neighbor is lazy and given to usury; shall we therefore, kill him — him and his family? This diabolica! reasoning adds insult to injury. But the premises themselve: are false. Jewish exploitation of Russians, forsooth! Why under the laws of Russia, Jews are not permitted to buy lease or rent real estate, whether rural or urban; they darf not do business with the peasants or lend them money; thej are disabled from engaging in agriculture or (except undei onerous restrictions) in mechanical pursuits ; and the educa- tion of Jewish youth is rendered extremely difficult and ofter impossible. And a population thus legally cribbed, cabin'c and confined is accused of idleness and usury! Murder i; hard enough, but what shall we say of this palliation of murdei by lying and hypocrisy? The trouble is in the Russian official 'attitude toward th( Jew. He is not treated as a fellow-man; he is denied thi rights of a citizen. Official Russia giving the tone, Individ- ual Russians — undoubtedly of the baser sort— carry it to th, extreme of insult, cruelty, pillage and murder. Would Rus sia protect the Jew? Then emancipate him from galling re y 128 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF strictions and unjust disabilities and enfranchise him as I is enfranchised in the United States. I see no adequate ai permanent security for the Russian Jew except the oppo tunity, now denied him, of being a man and a citizen. An even in the midst of the present gloom and horror, I am m without hope that the Czar, who, I believe, is animated I a noble idealism, may yet confer the full rights and priv leges of Russians on his now oppressed and suffering Jev ish subjects. If not, America is still another name for o] portunity, and a race of such capacity and endurance as tl Jews is not only assured of triumphant survival, but, by vii tue of its contributions to our highest civilization, is entitle to universal welcome. Rev. Dr. Robert S. MacArthur was the next speak er. His address was as follows: To the words which have just been spoken, I give a Ion and loud Amen! We meet under the shadows of atrocities committed < Kishineff, shadows which darken the sky of the civilize world. The agonizing cries of Jewish men, women and chi dren ring in our ears and almost rend our hearts. Th cruelties inflicted by brutal Russians on helpless Jews hav shocked civilized humanity. These cruelties are caused b racial hatred and religious bigotry. They carry us bac to the Middle Ages, while we thought we were in the twer tieth century. We were flattering ourselves that the days c such hatreds and bigotries had passed away forever. The re port of these atrocities, therefore, fell upon us like a thur derbolt out of a clear sky. Every Christian pulpit, ever humanitarian platform, and the entire newspaper pres should ring with denunciation of these indescribable an inconceivable cruelties. These barbarians who call them selves Christians are utterly unworthy of the Christian nami They are a dishonor to Christianity and a reproach to hu manity. They have brought the persecutions of the Dar Ages into the clear light of the twentieth century. Napo leon said, " Scratch a Russian and you find a Tartar ; " w NEW YORK CITY 129 may say truthfully of each Russian engaged in these recent massacres, " Scratch a Russian and you find a demon." Russia is the Great Bear among the nations. Russia, so far as the murders at Kishineff represent her, is the me- dieval barbarian in modern civilization. Russia slaughtered so many Chinese, and then threw their bodies into the River Amur, that the wheels of steamers were impeded in their pro- gress by the bodies floating in the stream. Russia, with her " peace rescript " at The Hague and her atrocities toward the Jews, is the gigantic contradiction among the nations. Ever since the coronation of Ivan the Great, in 1462, the Czar of Russia has posed as God's viceregent. Since that time Rus- sia has claimed a divine right to be the world's master. Russia is now aiming to rule the world. Her deepest thought is that one day the world's mastership will be hers. She wanted Siberia, and she took it. She wanted Central Asia, and she took it. She wanted Manchuria, and she is taking it. She wants India; she wants the universe, and she hopes to get both; but she may have to listen to the voice of Bri- tain and America and Japan before she can claim possession. The foolish story which perhaps was the immediate cause of the outbreaks at Kishineff, the story of the murder of a Christian child for the sacrifice of the Feast of the Pass- over, is a story that was told against the early Christians by pagan Roman persecutors. Similar charges were often brought by the superstitious and bigoted Christians of the Dark Ages against the Jews. The possibility that such a story could now be believed in Russia shows that some of the people are as illiterate and superstitious as if they lived in darkest Africa or in most heathen China. Jews have been the victims of persecutions by so-called Christians in different lands and ages. The Christians guilty of these persecutions, in the name of the God of the Jew and the Christian, were demons rather than Christians. In the name of the God of Love they manifested the most murderous hate. They brought unspeakable reproach upon Christianity. They were disciples of Sataninity rather than of Christianity. Christians of this character make atheism 10 130 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF respectable and even commendable. If such conduct were consistently Christian many of us would repudiate the Chris- tian name. God would be better pleased with us did we doubt or even deny His existence rather than that we should invoke His name and then murder His children. In Spain the Jews have had numeirous colonies since the time of Hadrian, but even eight centuries before the establishment of the Spanish Inquisition their fortunes were confiscated and their bodies were tortured. They afterwards endured all the horrors of the Inquisition in many parts of Spain. Violent conversions, the tortures of the Inquisition and thousands burned at the stake — these are the awful records of the fifteenth century in Spain. The incidents of their de- parture from that land are heartrending. Autos-da-fe hap- pened in Portugal as late as 1776, and in South America as late as 1812. The story of these terrible persecutions is writ- ten in the blood of God's ancient children in many lands and centuries. In Poland similar persecutions have been en- dured. Religious bigotry and superstition are the prolific progenitors of agnosticism and atheism. Such atrocities are Satan's most eflfective agent. Racial hatred and religious bigotry are twin relics of barbarism. They transform earth, so far as their influence goes, into Hades. The Jews to-day, in their patient endurance of unspeakable wrongs, more nearly incarnate and illustrate the ideal character set forth by Christ than do the persecutors who falsely bear the Chris- tian name. It is not remarkable that many Jews almost hate the name of Christianity, because all through the centuries many who bore its name were their Satanic persecutors. It is marvelous that men calling themselves Christians should be so false to the spirit of the Christ and of the apostles. Such false Christians forget that the Christ was a Hebrew of the Hebrews, and that the greatest of the apostles rejoiced in his Hebrew blood and training. I would rather be, at the bar of God and man, the persecuted Jew at Kishineff than the persecuting Christian at Kishineff. America lifted up her voice in remonstrance against the persecution of the Jews in Roumania. There is no mightier voice issuing from any palace in Europe or Asia than the NEW YORK CITY 131 voice that issues from the White House. There is no throne of Czar, Kaiser or King higher than the Presidential chair at Washington. The foremost man in all the world to-night is the President of the United States; and the fore- most private citizen in all the world is the ex-President of the United States. Russia listened when we protested against her trade policy in Manchuria. We stood with Britain for the " open door " for trade. Is not religious liberty more important than any com- mercial opportunity? Shall we remain silent while Russia is attempting to murder a race? Shall not our national con- tempt for her cowardice and brutality find national expres- sion? We protested against Spanish barbarism in Cuba, and we finally drove the Spanish bigots and barbarians out of the Western Hemisphere. No diplomatist in the world is more capable of dealing with the delicate and difficult ques- tion involved than is our accomplished Colonel John Hay. He has already declared that the Golden Rule is the funda- mental principle in American diplomacy. He will assuredly find the means of voicing the righteous indignation of the American people and of enunciating the higher law of the righteous God. America publishes to Russia to-night this ukase: The zone of barbarism must decrease, and the zone of civilization must increase. All the governments with which Russia desires to maintain relations ought to utter their protest. No nation can long endure if its acts are con- demned by the conscience of mankind. If Russia is to avoid the contempt of the civilized world she must discover and punish the savage perpetrators of these foul crimes. If our government will emphatically inform Russia on what conditions she can enjoy the respect, or even the recognition, of the American government, such action by the administra- tion will be endorsed by the American people irrespective of political creeds or religious faiths. America, if true to her- self, must rise above the barbarism of racial hatred. She must grant equal justice to all men of all creeds and all colors. Then and only then shall her voice be resistlessly potent in rebuking the atrocities of Russia, and then shall our beautiful America be fair as the moon, clear as the sun 132 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF and terrible as an army with banners against all forms evil wherever committed .against men of whatever color creed on this broad earth. Standing beside the blackened homes of slaughtered Je in KishineiT, sympathizing with widows and orphans a weeping over new-made graves, I denounce, in the name civilization, and in the name of Christianity, and in the nai of humanity, this atrocious crime. It is blasphemy to asi ciate the name of Christ, the keynote of whose birth-sb: as chanted by a celestial choir was : " Glory to God in t highest, and on earth peace, good-will toward men" — t Christ who arose from Olivet to return to his vacant throi His lips speaking benedictions and His outstretched han dropping blessings — with cruelties toward the people I loved and whose blood filled His veins. Notwithstanding ; these racial hatreds in Russia, and to some degree in Ame ica still, as I believe in America, in liberty, in humanity, brotherhood, in a true Christianity and in Almighty God, know a day of millennial blessing to rich and poor, black ai white, Jew and Gentile, is surely coming. So I sing wi Burns : " For a' that, and a' that It's comin' yet, for a' that. That man to man, the warld o'er. Shall brithers be, for a' that." Mr. Edward M. Shepard then addressed the meei ing: If I had my way this meeting would end with the nob and thrilling words which you have just heard. For m indeed, it is utterly impossible to reach the mountain heigl of that eloquence, to stir or reach your hearts or your imag nations, after all that you have heard from those who ha\ gone before me. What can I do except, perhaps, to sa another amen, or, perhaps, to put before you the reaso and the use of any expression on the part of America citizens? It was a Jew and a Christian who told us that God ha NEW YORK CITY 133 made of one blood all the nations of men, to dwell on all the face of the earth. And when this dreadful record of an Easter day came to us under the ocean, perhaps nothing struck one who thought more than this: how nearly one is this civilization of the world! Whether we call it Christian or Jewish, or by any name whatsoever else, we see and we hear and we know that "one touch of nature makes the whole world kin." The misery, the murder, the hardship and the ostracism of the Jew in Kishineff or the Jew any- where else, or of any other race or of men of any other re- ligion, is your care and my care, is the care of every nation, or ought to be, and the care of every creed, or ought to be. Here in the Russia of Tolstoi, here in the Russia of the Czar, who as the noble sentimentalist that I have loved to believe him to be, could establish that court of arbitra- tion at The Hague — here in that dominion comes a crime almost the worst of civilization. And yet the crime, as has been so well said here to-night, the crime is not merely indicative of the recrudescence of barbarism the world over, the hate that I am to have for the man of another or an alien land, the hate that you will have for the man of an- other religion, the hate some one else is to have for the man of another color or another race — I tell you that it is all of a piece, I tell you that the true note of civilization is that note, whether we shall sound it in defense of the Jews in Russia or in defense of any other oppressed race the world over. But what, friends, can we do here? Over in Bessarabia, over against Moldavia, that part of the world whose poli- cies are dark, blood-stained and dubious, there is a small city, a city like New Haven, or like Syracuse in our own State; there you have a population peaceful, industrious, law-abiding — and they are trampled and murdered as if they had been guilty, as they never were, of crimes such as those of their oppressors. What can you and I do? These Russians in Bessarabia, if they ever hear of any who are here to-night, or ever hear of New York, will they listen to what we say? Yes, they will listen. They may be made to listen by those whom we can help to make listen. There sits upon no throne a man so powerful that he himself is not 134 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF largely a creature of this public sentiment of the wor Therefore it is that you and. I may utter a voice which sh be heard in St. Petersburg, a voice which shall say the " We are prepared to believe you, O Czar, and you, Russi Ministers, to be innocent. We are prepared to believe, if t feet of justice shall be swift and unerring. Let us see yc administration of justice. Let us know that not only ■n the Governor of Bessarabia be sent to some other principaH that this official or that official may be removed or censure that this ukase or that ukase may go down in chancery St. Petersburg, but let us know and see a condign punis ment visited upon the malefactors. Give us that, Czar, a you, his ministers, help him; and when you do that, th shall we believe that your sympathies are our sympathies, ai that the Christians in America and in Russia are at one all that is essential to Christianity. But until then— i say it with pain — -we are in doubt, and you will leave us doubt so long as you leave these outrages unpunished. Yo skirts can be cleared only in one way." And that thing, fellow-citizens, Americans, that thing \ can say. And believe me, friends, no power on earth wi its military and naval forces can override for one moment t sentiment of humanity to which we here to-night give voic When this same anti-Jewish mania was illustrated in t republic of France in the Dreyfus case, every wise man kne that France for the moment was weakened to its centi Every time we know of a persecution in Russia directi against Jews, because they are Jews, we see beneath t! veneer of that rapidly extending but imperfect civilization. Mayor Low said a true thing, and it seems to be ve largely to my mind the immediate lesson of this dreadf calamity and crime. You find the Jews over in Bessarab under legal disabilities. Of course they do not vote, i the Russians themselves do not vote. Of course, where the is no liberty and equality of privilege, inevitably there is tl darkness of medievalism. They tell us that the Russii peasants, those who are the most degraded, believe the absurd and horrid stories of Jewish wrong-doing. Of cour they do this. As we were told a moment ago, the Romai NEW YORK CITY 135 believed the stories of the early Christians. Here in New York, and here in this republic of ours, the fact that we have this universal suffrage, the fact that every man, of whatever race, the moment he becomes an American, has the right to assert his manhood and take his full share in political power, that it is that gives the Jew or gives any other race or sect or creed in our land access to public sentiment, its share of public power, its assurance that public officers will be more or less in awe of the public power which that element may exercise. Therefore, my wish is to see no harm to Russia. Of the four millions of Jews who are in Russia, you know, and I know, that most of them must remain there. Their roots are in the ground. There are their wives and their children and their occupations; and their bread and their butter there is earned by them, be it with tears and sometimes in sight of blood. There they must be. I wish well to Russia, and my best wish to Russia is that she shall give to every portion of her populace the right to be heard, that there shall be no misery and no darkness and no oppression. I would love to see Russia basking in the sun of freedom, such as Dr. Mac- Arthur has so eloquently described as being our privilege here in America. That is my best wish. The hour is late, but one word more. How shall we best test a government, or a civilization? Believe me, the crucial test is always to be found in its treatment of the minorities. Where the majority in faith, in power, in fashion; where the majority respects the minority — those who look differ- ently, those who live differently, those who believe differently from them — there is the highest civilization. Where you have a government to protect the minority, to protect the un- popular, to protect, if you please, those who without crime or wrong are odious, that government is the best government. And I say that, not by way of further rebuke to the tyranny of Russia, which we declare to-night, but I say it of any land. May we here to-night take our lesson. In our land is there no form of persecution of Jews? Is there none? In the western nations of Europe, is there none? There is. Is there no persecution here of minorities, or of creeds, or of 136 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF races that are in minorities, that for one reason or ano are unpopular? Yes. Have we Americans never ourse shared, or seen other Americans share, in like persecuti How many weeks ago is it that when, south of Grand sti in this very borough, on the occasion of the funeral c revered rabbi, followed with grief by thousands and thousands of our most useful citizens, you had an outbv not bloody, but as infamous in its lesser way, as the cr which we condemn to-night? Let us all remember, those who are in fashion, those i are in places of social prestige or power, all who si directly or indirectly in this persecution or depreciation any race, or of any creed, because it is not their race creed, they take upon themselves some measure of the sponsibility, even if it be a bloody one, for their hate press occasions of this kind the world over. We are here to respect one another ; whatever be the cr( whatever the race, whatever the belief, we are of one blc one before God and humanity. And when that law, whet in greater things or in lesser things, is violated, there crime and there is wrong-doing. Friends, may this voice New York go to Russia and to St. Petersburg, and to ev corner of civilization, and may it, of all things, penetrate the heart and the mind of every American citizen, that more we read of wrong-doing in other lands, we shall mi it certain that nothing in any way resembling it shall disgr the Stars and Stripes, nor disgrace American sovereignty ' world over. At the conclusion of Mr. Shepard's address, t resolutions were put by the Mayor and carried unai mously, the Mayor saying that if all the citizens New York had an opportunity of voting they wov have expressed themselves with Hke unanimity. The meeting then adjourned. The East Side Merchants' Committee, New Yo City, on June i, 1903, arranged a benefit performan NEW YORK CITY 137 for the Kishineff sufferers, at the Grand Theatre. Between the acts addresses were delivered by Bishop Henry C. Potter, John De Witt Warner, Justice Samuel Greenbaum, of the Supreme Court, Honorable Jacob A Cantor, President of the Borough of Man- hattan, and James B. Reynolds, Secretary to the Mayor. The meeting was presided over by Julius Blumberg. Letters of regret were read from Gov- ernor Odell, District Attorney Jerome, and Eugene A. Philbin. Bishop Potter said, in part: This is the first opportunity I have had of expressing ray deep sympathy and profound interest in what you and others are doing to voice your indignation and the horror of the American people at the great wrongs which have recently been perpetrated against your race in Russia. To do so is a responsibility which belongs to us all alike. There is a class of gentlemen, and sometimes, I am afraid, of women, who, not having the courage of their convictions, send you a clipping from a newspaper, pasted on a postal card, with certain sentiments thereon expressed underlined with red ink; call your attention to it, and ask your opinion. The other day I received such a postal card bearing such a clipping, with certain phrases underscored. This article told that last autumn there were certain in- dustrial eruptions resulting in violence and loss of life, and that there had been no public meetings of protest against them. It further said that there was a great incongruity that I should express my protest against that violence that happened in another country, in contrast to silence on what was said to be a similar occurrence here at home. The logic of the person who sent the clipping to me, and of the person who wrote the article, was that two wrongs make a right, and that because we may have been indifferent to wrongs in this country, we should be indifferent to wrongs II 138 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF committed in others. Many things happen in the Unit States which are wrong and against which we should prote But whatever has happened in Kishineff, there is no dot that the maintenance of law and the establishment of 1 rights of the weakest is not a concern of one man or one la alone, but of all men and all lands. Bishop Potter told a story of a Scotchman who ; tended a funeral in a church and was asked by a wee ing person who sat at his side, " Why don't you cry i " Because," the man responded, " I don't belong this parish." " Now we don't belong to the Russian parish," said t Bishop, "but we belong to a republic that stands for t rights of the weakest and justice to all sorts and conditio of men." " Homo sum ; humani nihil a me alienum puto " — " I ; a man, and nothing human is alien to me." In that gre conception of citizenship I beseech you to lift up your voic in protest against the wrongs you are now seeking to rep; in so far as you are capable, and when those people come our shores, let us make them welcome and give them understand that this is a land of freedom and righteousness f the weak and for the strong. John De Witt Warner said he felt that he w; needed not so much in the cause of the sufferers Kishineff, in whose behalf the world had be( aroused, as in the cause of Christianity attacked 1 men who had kissed the cross, and of civilization a tacked by a people posing as representatives of civi ization. The Kishineff massacres already had brought aboi a changed condition in the Czar's empire. The mal factors, he said, had been brought to bay in the doin of their crime, and to-day those oppressed there wei NEW YORK CITY 139 more safe than they have been for years. He re- ferred to the expulsion from Russia of The London Times correspondent because he told the world the facts, and pointed to that incident as one of the rea- sons why the Russian Government should be ad- judged responsible for the crimes. Borough President Cantor said that he had not come to make a speech, but to voice the sentiment of the people of the Borough of Manhattan in protest against the Kishineff massacres, and at the same time to urge upon the officials of the United States Gov- ernment that it was time for them to speak and to speak in no uncertain tones. Justice Greenbaum, of the Supreme Court, spoke on the legal phase of the question. He declared the right of this Government to protest to Russia to be based on the fundamental principle of the Constitu- tion, that all rrien are free and equal. He said that diplomacy might prevent an official protest at this time, and that the question should be left to the exec- utive authorities. He believed, however, that as individuals all had a right to express their convictions, and his inference that the Russian Government was responsible for the outrages on the Jews was based on what he pro- nounced " indubitable causes " : unequal public laws, and the restraint of speech and the press. He sug- gested a remedy, or a protection against a recurrence of such barbarities, in a universal organization, a great, v^6j^Jld^lpl^j;;ia.5ing -brotherhood, based on the prindpfeioJi'the'' Soflstitution of the United States. 140 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF Resolutions were adopted protesting against t\ brutalities at Kishineff, and declaring the Russia Government to be guilty of " passive assistance, not actual connivance " writh them, and asking " oi National Government to protest in the name of hi manity against such inhuman practices." The Jefiferson Club of the Sixteenth Assembly Di; trict, New York City, at a special meeting held Jur I, 1903, adopted resolutions condemning the Kish neff massacre. The resolutions were offered by Pa rick Keenan, ex-City Chamberlain. An address ws delivered by Alderman Donohue, of the District. Resolutions of sympathy for the Kishineff victim were passed, June 4, 1903, by the Seneca Club, th Tammany organization of the Twenty-fifth Assembl District, New York City. A sermon on the Kishineff massacre was delivere by Rev. Dr. Robert S. MacArthur, on June 7, 190; at Calvary Baptist Church, New York City. A meeting was held, June 7, 1903, under the aus pices of the Independent Order Free Sons of Israe at Temple Beth-El, New York City. Grand Maste M. S. Stern presided. Dr. George E. Lorimer, of Calvary Baptist Churcl said in part: I am here that I may join with you in protest again; this terrific, terrible, and I was about to say, unparallel'ed- but, alas ! your own history proves otherwise — wrong again; your race. And not only against your race, but against hu manity. There has been a massacre; what are we going t do? Maybe there will another to-morrow for all we knofl NEW YORK CITY 141 Is this not an occasion when we should rise above charity and declare for justice, and should not go out from this meeting to-night until we have done more than protest against these outrages, but rather have taken organized action which shall confront Europe and demand another state of things? I have all regard for Theodore Roosevelt, our President, and the men who may be associated with him; but I know something of the limits of diplomacy. I know that if an American ambassador or other official representing the gov- ernment should be sent to Russia to inquire of Russia about these late happenings, he would be received with all seem- ing gladness and assured that it was only a little matter after all, which had been grossly exaggerated through the wicked newspapers. Then he would be offered a glass of wine and asked to drink to the health of the Czar of all the Russias. And in five years we might well again be meeting here to consider a repetition of that which has just disgraced civili- zation. In five years we will be called upon so to meet, unless we take determined action and say that we are done with gold- lace ambassadorships. The only way is to appoint here to- night a committee and then to form throughout the country an association, to the end that a commission of Jews and Gentiles may be sent to speak, not for our government, but for the people of the United States. You say that such a commission would not reach the Czar? True, but it would reach the press of the world, and make people everywhere understand that there is on foot a humane movement for hope to the Jews of Kishineff, but it would show that this sort of thing must stop everywhere, and that if it is necessary to take the Jew out of Russia we will take him out without his being massacred, without his being maimed and without his women being violated, and will bring him to our shores to learn of real civilization and freedom. Such a commission can be appointed to reach the Czar, directly or indirectly. I believe that this Jew massacre may sound the death-knell 142 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF of tyranny, and if the Russian, who is not hard-hearted nature, the student class and the peasant class and t noble class can be made to feel that he is in the eye of 1 world, and that it is in our hearts to pity and help him, will come to a different state. And you Jews to-night, beginning this movement, will be lifting up the banner freedom for humanity and for the world. The Rev. Samuel Schulman said, in part: It seemed to me that after the first outburst of horror Jewish ministers, it were better for Jewish congregations remain silent and let Christian men and women make prote Let the conscience of Christendom speak truly and fearless and authoritatively, so that the force of its speech may per trate even the skin of the Russian, and that he may remo the causes of the outbreak — causes that lie not as the skilf and ingenuous ambassador of Russia would have it, in tl nature of the Jewish people, but as the prophet of Russ has it, in the medievalism of the empire. It is not, as the ambassador says, seeking to throw dust our eyes, that the Jewish people are usurers, when most ( them are poor; but that the Russian government, seeking i divert attention from itself, had endeavored to incite its ow people to massacre. A church of the strength' of the Russia church owes it to itself to remove from the minds of i worshipers falsehoods as foul as those concerning ritualisi which were the directly exciting cause of the outbreak. Dr. Newell Dwight Hillis said that when he though of the events of the past few weeks, he trembled fo the future of the Czar and the Russian Empire. Th Russian character, wherever in evidence, was marke( by brutality, as witness the treatment of the Finnisl people in the north of Russia and the action of th( Russian soldiery in China. He said in part: I hold that the time has gone when any nation can say " We will have civilization without the Hebrew," becausi NEW YORK CITY 143 the Hebrew is thrifty and industrious, because he makes money and saves it, because he has superior brains ; and these are the real reasons why Russia is oppressing this people. The five-talent man always hates the ten-talent man. Dr. Hillis paid a high tribute to the bravery and good faith of President Roosevelt, and compared the Secretary of State to Benjamin Franklin. He said he had understood from ex-Minister Straus that the Government was doing everything that was judicious in the matter of the massacres. He referred to an energetic message sent by Oliver Cromwell to a European monarch whose people were committing excesses, and he said: " I don't say that I would like to have an Oliver Cromwell for President, but, re- membering that President Roosevelt once wrote a life of Cromwell, I say, ' Would we had thirty minutes of Oliver Cromwell.' " The Rev. Madison C. Peters declared that the ex- planation made by Count Cassini, the Russian ambas- sador, added insult to the injuries done at Kishineff. The Russian ambassador has said that the massacre of the Hebrews was brought on through their money-lending and because they would not till the soil. Does he not know that the Hebrews are only allowed to settle in just no towns, within the Hebrew Pale, among the ignorant, fanatical and demoralized peasants, who rob and plunder them at will? The only realty the Hebrews can acquire at all is that which is so poor that even a Russian could not raise a cow on it. About the only means of subsistence! for the Russian He- brew is trading with the ignorant masses. Is not the Russian Christian to blame for the money-lending characteristics of the Hebrew? Did not Russia drive him from almost all other branches of trade with a price on his head and place his home at the mercy of others? Is it right now for Count 144 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF Cassini to insult the Hebrew race because of that fact and sneeringly call the Hebrew a usurer? The anti-Semitic editor in Russia has said that the Jews should become Christians so as to come under all the bene- fits of the Russian laws The Jew has a double claim to consideration in America — that of his rights as a man in the twentieth century and his rights to protection under our flag. The other speakers were Gen. James O'Beirne and the Rev. Dr. Rudolph Grossman. A large number of letters expressing sympathy with the objects of the meeting were received, among them letters from Felix Adler, Bishop Henry C. Potter, Senator Chaun- cey M. Depew, the Rev. Dr. W. R. Huntington, the Rev. Dr. David J. Burrell, Louis F. H. Haffen, the Rev. Dr. Robert S. MacArthur, Carl Schurz, the Rev. Dr. Robert Collyer, Mayor Low, President Jacob Gould Schurman of Cornell, and the Rev. Dr. Merle St. C. Wright. A meeting was held on June 7, 1903, at the Acad- emy of Music, in New York City, under the auspices of the Central Relief Committee. The chief speaker was William J. Brewer, President of the Albert E. Hall Company, who said, in part: In the sickening rays of the villains' torch, lighted during those two awful days at Kishineflf, the Peace Conference at The Hague, suggested by the present Czar of Russia, seems a hollow mockery, and the Bible, which he professes to hold as his guide of faith and morals like a book of blood, No speaker can add to the strength of the protest this meeting sends forth to the world against those atrocities ordained in high places. He can only be the mouthpiece giving expres- sion to the feelings of shame and sorrow that are bursting for utterance from your heart of hearts. The terrible plight of those far-off suffering people would still appeal to us were NEW YORK CITY 145 their present condition caused by the havoc of pestilence, or drouth, or cyclone, or other natural phenomena, but the well of sympathy within the heart is sounded to the very depth when we remember that they suffer by the decree of those who should be their protectors. We may differ in many things, we may be of different po- litical faith, we may not kneel at the same altar of worship, but no creed of politics, no code of ethics, no religious senti- ments can keep human hearts apart in the face of such a catastrophe as that of Kishineff, which has brought unspeak- able suffering to so many of our fellows. The Jews are more numerous in Russia than in any coun try in the world, and strange to say that there they are more harshly and cruelly treated than anywhere else on the globe. They are oppressed by special taxes and limitations established by special laws that work untold hardship upon them. Long since have they been excluded from Russia proper, and are still confined to overcrowded provinces, which in itself is a hardship that we in this land of the free can but feebly comprehend. They are excluded from many vocations, but in spite of it they have prospered, and wherever they have been brought into competition on anything like an equal footing with others in Russia, either in the arts, sciences or professions, they have shown a superiority that has made them the object of envy. Will the sons of the Puritan turn a deaf ear to their cry? No. Did famine-stricken India call to you in vain? No. Then will not Kishinefi's appeal go unheeded. Your assist- ance to the sufferers will also act as a great moral force upon Russia. The moral effect of American intervention and sympathy is of no small moment. One of our editors well spoke when he said: " When Cubans suffered from Spanish atrocities the United States drove Spain out of Cuba. When Christians are mas- sacred in Turkey the powers can threaten to drive the Turks out of Europe, and if they are in earnest they can make good their threat. 146 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF " But when horrors worse than the Inquisition and as awful as anything that ever emanated from the perverted soul of bashi-bazoi:k are perpetrated upon the Jews in Russia the criminals may be expected to say to the world, 'What are you going to do about it ? '" It is with a sickening sense of impotence that humanity looks at the huge, impregnable mass of barbarism that stretches across the Old World, and of whose black bulk the civilized nations of Europe form only a little fringe of light. The methods that could bring Spaniards and Turks to order are useless against Russia. No foreign army can police those vast, inhospitable wastes, in which Napoleon was engulfed. But Russia is not proof against the moral force of pub- licity. She can suppress or censor her own newspapers, but not those of the world. She can defy the military power of the nations, but not the contempt and detestation of mankind. A protest meeting was held by the Ohavei Zion Society on June 7, 1903, at Cooper Union. Deputy Controller N. Taylor Phillips presided, and addresses were delivered by John S. Crosby and Dr. Moses Mintz. Resolutions to the following effect were adopted: That the recent Kishinefif massacres had proved the Rus- sian Jew was doomed to martyrdom as long as he remained in that country; that there had grown up in the United States an unwarranted tendency in some quarters to restrict immigration, and that, therefore, all Jews ought to help the Zionist movement, and ultimately settle Palestine with Jews. Mr. Phillips, in his opening talk, said: Not since it was dispersed 2000 years ago has the Jewish race had anything happen to it that has touched its heart as a united people more than the outrage at Kishineff. We are stirred more especially because the crime has been committed in the name of religion. The whole American nation has been made more nearly kin on the subject of liberty and human NORFOLK 147 rights by such expressions of sentiment as those of the Christian ministers who have declared from their pulpits that if this crime was committed in the name of Christ they themselves would prefer to be Jews. As to this question of immigration, I blush for those of my race who agree with the ones holding the view that the doors of this country should be closed to future comers. They should not be closed, even partially. I say that the ap- plicant for citizenship, whether he be a Jew or an Italian or a German ought to find our country great enough to welcome him. Let them all come. Rev. Dr. Minot J. Savage, Unitarian Church of the Messiah, delivered a sermon on Kishineff, on June 14, 1903. The United Irish-American Societies of New York held a meeting at Lidwith's Hall, and passed resolu- tions, which were ordered sent to President Roose- velt, Count Cassini, the Russian Ambassador, and the members of the committees on Foreign Relations in the House of Representatives and the Senate of the United States. The Lithuanian Alliance of America, a Catholic organization composed of immigrants from Lithuania, at its annual convention passed resolutions calling attention to the laws against the Jewish people of Rus- sia, and to the Kishineff massacres, and charging the Russian Government with incapacity. NORFOLK, VIRGINIA A meeting was held at the B'nai Israel Synagogue, on May 26, 1903. Upon the platform were Mayor Riddick ; Rev. B. D. Tucker, D. D. ; Judge J. M. Keel- 148 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF ing ; ex-Mayor N. Beeman ; City Treasurer H. S. Her- man; Judge A. R. Hanckel; Judge W. B. Martin; City Collector William L. Baker; Major Alex. Hart; Rabbi Cohen; Rabbi Benmosche; Rabbi Price, and Preacher Goldberg. Mr. M. Umstadter, a prominent merchant and member of the Common Council, pre- sided. Rabbi H. Benmosche, rabbi of Congregation Beth- El, opened the meeting with a prayer and an address. He was followed by Rev. Dr. S. R. Cohen, rabbi of Ohev Sholom Temple, Rev. B. D. Tucker, rector of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Rev. Carl E. Crammer, Judge Keeling, and Mayor Riddick. Mr. Umstadter then read an address to the President of the United States and Congress, which was adopted by a rising vote of the whole assembly. It reads as follows : An address to the President, the Senate and the House of Representatives of the United States. Adopted at a meet- ing held at the synagogue of the Congregation of B'nai Israel, Norfolk, Va., May 24, 1903. The sufferings of the Jews in Bessarabia and other districts of the Volga provinces and in South Russia, cry aloud to the civilized world for sympathy and material aid. Driven from the lands where they have dwelt for generations, in undis- turbed peace; old and young indiscriminately slain by a drunken mob incited to lawlessness by those who sought re- venge, or spoils, their property destroyed and their wares and household effects thrown into the streets and stolen — these are some of the evils inflicted upon men, women and children whose lives are spent in honorable, peaceful vocations, in- fringing on no man's rights and following the highest pre- cepts of strict morality. When the Mohammedan Turks arose and massacred the Christians in Armenia, the civilized world cried aloud against NORFOLK 1*9 the outrages, until the governments of Europe and America made Turkey heed the cry of common humanity. The Russian Vodky-soaked Cossack and their corrupt dis- trict governments are no better than the Turk in his attempts first to rob and then to slay his victims, and we, the Jews and Gentiles of this city, state and country, appeal to our fellow- citizens, irrespective of religious belief — in the name of civili- zation, of morality and as children of the one God, we all be- lieve in — petition the President and the Congress of the United States to appeal to the Russian government to cause a cessation of the infamous crimes which the local govern- ments have made no attempts to prevent or punish. The sudden order of expulsion of more than thirty thousand Jews from Kiev is simply another means of robbing the poor victims of all they have, and we appeal to the government at Washington to remonstrate with the proper officials of the government of the Czar to stay the order, so that those who are only too willing to seek homes in other lands may have time to gather together their possessions, or to properly dis- pose of them. Recognizing the fact that nearly all of the Jews of Bessa- rabia and South Russia are of a class who, as a rule, are moral, industrious, thrifty and educated, and who therefore would, when familiar with the laws and language of any country — where observance of law and rectitude are honored as supreme virtues — make the highest class of citizens, we invite as many of them as choose to make their homes in America, to locate on the broad acres of this immense land, and pledge ourselves to do all we can to aid them to success- fully start life anew in this the " land of the free and the home of the brave." Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be sent to His Excellency, the President of the United States, to the Sena- tors from Virginia, and to the Representatives of this district in Congress, and that we respectfully urge on each of them to appeal through our Department of State to the highest au- thorities in Russia to stay the hand of those who aim this great and further wrong against an inoffensive people, and this great blot and smirch on the civilization of this century. 150 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF Resolved, That should any of these people reach our shores where the rights of all men aie recognized under the lav we, the Jews of Norfolk, pledge ourselves to care for a du and proper portion of them, so that they may in no way be ; burthen to our government or our fellow-citizens, believini that they will here, as they have everywhere, add to th material property of the communities in which they dwell, anc become here, as they have in all countries, moral, law-abiding self-sustaining citizens. After the reading of the address there were speechei by Commonwealth's Attorney J. G. Tilton and Colone George C. Cabell, now of Norfolk, but lately a membei of the Legislature from Danville, Va. Sermons on the Kishineff massacre were delivered by Rev. Dr. C. S. Blackwell, of the First Baptisi Church, and by Rev. Carl E. Grammar, of the Pro- testant Episcopal Church, Norfolk, Va. OMAHA, NEBRASKA A sermon on the Kishineff massacre was deliverec May 24, 1903, by the Rev. Thomas Anderson, pastoi of Calvary Baptist Church. At the close of the sermon the following resolutions were read and unanimousi) adopted : Whereas, God hath made of one blood all nations of men to dwell upon the face of the earth; and. Whereas, The fiendish massacre of Jews at Kishineff is a gross outrage of this truth and inherent right of every man tc life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for which oui fathers in these United States freely gave blood and treasure; Therefore, we, the citizens of Omaha, Neb., and members and friends of Calvary Baptist church assembled in our public service, raise our voice in protest against such diabolical out- rages and urge our government to do what it can to intercede PHILADELPHIA 151 in behalf of the suffering Jews of Russia, who are our brothers in our common humanity. Resolved, That Mr. I. W. Carpenter be asked to prepare a copy of these resolutions and give it to our representative in Congress to be forwarded by him to the Secretary of State at Washington, D. C. PETERSBURG, VIRGINIA A mass meeting was held June 14, at the Academy of Music, to express the protest of Petersburg against the KishineflE massacre. Mayor William M. Jones presided. The meeting was opened with prayer by Rev. Dr. W. G. Starr. Addresses were delivered by Rev. George E. Booker, Judge J. M. Mullen, Hon. Richard B. Davis, and Hon. Charles T. Lassiter, members of the Virginia Legis- lature. Resolutions were adopted by a rising vote expressing the indignation felt here at the Kishineff massacre and denouncing the atrocities which had been per- mitted by the Russian Government. PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA A mass meeting of several thousand persons was held on May 3, 1903, at the Kesher Israel Synagogue. The meeting was presided over by Dr. A. Gartman, and addresses were delivered by Rev. Hirsch Mas- liansky, Abraham Cahan, Rabbi B. L. Levinthal, and Rabbi A. Ershler. The first speaker was Rev. Hirsch Masliansky, of New York, who told of the sudden up- rising of the rabble against inoffensive citizens; the murder of men and women; the horrible mutilation of children, the pillage and massacre of young and old, 152 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF whose only offense was their Jewish faith. This at tack, he said, would go down in history as one of the most atrocious crimes of which a nation could be guilty, and would add another bloody stain upon the sombre page of Russian history. World-wide had been the horror and indignatior with which this act was viewed and throughout all lands the Jews were raising their voices in protest The speaker described the deplorable condition of the Jews who had escaped the slaughter in Kishineff, and appealed to his hearers for contributions to a fund, which was being raised for their relief. " If we can- not send them a part of the liberty we are enjoying in this blessed land," cried out the speaker, " let us at least send them bread, some assistance to the suf- fering men and women who but a little while ago enjoyed all the blessings of wealth and prosperity." Abraham Cahan, of New York, was the next speaker. He asked that the Jews throughout the world unite in protesting against the outrage which had been committed upon law-abiding and peaceable men, women and children. He spoke of the great meetings that had been held in New York City dur- ing the past few days, and asked that the Jews of Philadelphia unite with those of New York and the rest of the country in asking the Government to pro- test against the iniquity which had been perpetrated. He asked that liberal contributions be made to the National Relief Fund, in order to alleviate, so far as human sympathy could, the sufferings to which the survivors of the massacre were subjected. He alluded to the fact that in such calamities there should be no distinction made between socialist, orthodox or radical. PHILADELPHIA 153 He, the leader of the socialists, known as the infidel, the heretic, stands now in an orthodox synagogue and preaches from the same pulpit with Rev. Masliansky and Rabbi Levinthal. He also recalled the effect of the riots in the early eighties, when young students, who were entirely alienated from their faith, returned to the fold, because of the common sorrow that befell the whole house of Israel. Upon motion of Mr. Cahan, resolutions were adopted, providing, first, for the organization of a fund for the relief of the destitute families in Kish- ineff, and calling upon all Jewish societies, lodges and other organizations to assist in raising money; second, that an appeal be issued to the civilized world to join the Jews in protest against the atrocities which had been committed upon their brethren; and third, that it was the sentiment of the meeting that the Rus- sian Government, which had permitted these massa- cres and outrages to be continued for three days in the large military city of Kishineff without inter- ference, was held responsible. A meeting was held May lo, 1903, at the B'nai Reuben Synagogue, Philadelphia, Pa. The speakers were Nathan Grayev, Rabbi A. H. Erschler, Rabbi Englander, Rabbi Brenner, and Ben Zion D. Oliensis. The last spoke, in part, as follows : I wish to be fair in my judgment. I wish you all to be fair. I would not want to be hasty in condemning Russia. Were there any doubt in my mind as to the accountability and responsibility of the Russian government for the bru- talities in Kishineff I would be delighted to give it the bene- 154 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF fit of that doubt and to brighten our despair by a ray of hopeful sunshine. I would be delighted to be able to say the government in Russia is just, it is fair, it accords every one his due, it guards the rights of the citizens ; the bru- talities were committed in spite of the government. Alas, I cannot. We know but too well how closely guarded every- thing is in Russia. We know but too well that the whole country is undermined by a perfect network of espionage, and the slightest movement, the least word, the most insig- nificant action is at once scrutinized by the lynx-eyed offi- cials, and should it appear in the least suspicious it is im- mediately suppressed by an array of glittering bayonets and stamped out by Cossacks. Knowing all this, and knowing, furthermore, that both the military and civil arm of the government were strong and well equipped in Kishineflf, while the riot proceeded — that more troops and reinforcements were available all the time as the transportation facilities and means of communication were not hampered in any way, and yet, during these three days absolutely nothing was done to suppress the riot, and the only answer the governor gave to the victims, crying piteously for protection from the raging mob, was a sneer and " Help yourselves," is it not an unavoidable conclusion that this stupendous and horrifying crime was committed, if not by the direct instigation, at least with the tacit consent of the Czar's government? Resolutions embodying the protests suggested by the speakers were adopted. A meeting was held May lo, 1903, at the Synagogue of the Congregation Sons of Halberstam. The meet- ing was addressed by Rabbi B. L. Levinthal, Jacob MarguHes, Joseph Gross, Bernard Harris, all of Phila- delphia, and Rev. Joseph Seff, of New York. A meeting was held May 10, 1903, at the Synagogue of the B'nai Abraham Congregation, Philadelphia. PHILADELPHIA 155 A meeting was held at the Synagogue of the Ahavas Chesed Anshe Shavil, on May 17, 1903. The speakers were Rabbi B. L. Levinthal, Rabbi Erschler, and Joseph Gross, and Mr. Smilk Miller presided. A meeting was held at the Synagogue of Congre- gation Poal Zedek, on May 17, 1903. Dr. Benjamin L. Gordon presided, and the speakers were Jacob Miller, of Chicago, Rev. Dr. Marcus Jastrow, of Philadelphia, Professor Richard Gottheil, of New York, Jacob de Haas, of New York, and Rev. Henry M. Speaker, of Philadelphia. A meeting was held at the Synagogue of the Con- gregation B'nai Reuben, on May 17, 1903. M. Weitz- man presided and the principal speakers were Rabbi B. L. Levinthal, Nathan Grayev, and Rabbi Brenner. For the action taken on May 24, 1903, by The Jew- ish Publication Society of America, see Introduc- tion, p. xiv. A sermon on the Kishineff massacre was delivered on May 24, 1903, by Rev. Dr. George D. Baker, at the First Presbyterian Church, in Philadelphia. At the services in the Chambers-Wylie Memorial Presbyterian Church, at Philadelphia, Pa., on May 31, 1903, the following resolutions were adopted: Whereas, Russia seems to be utterly passive in the situa- tion, indiflferent to the atrocities upon her Jewish subjects, and altogether insensible to her duty as a reputable Government among the civilized Governments of Europe to protect the weak and oppressed; 156 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF Therefore, This congregation hereby expresses its sympath with the Jews, not only in Philadelphia, but all over tl world, in this great affliction; deplores the existence of an kind or form of persecution against the Jewish race or of an of the despised ones of this world, and engages, as the oppoi tunities arise, to help all such, to seek to influence publi opinion against all acts of tyranny and oppression, and t pray to Almighty God that He will be to the survivors strength in this, their time of trouble, and soon bring to thei the same blessings of liberty as are enjoyed by the Hebrew in other lands. A sermon on the Kishinefif massacre was deliverei on May 31, 1903, by Rev. Dr. Charles Wood, at th Second Presbyterian Church, in Philadelphia. A mass meeting of six thousand persons assemble( under the auspices of the United Kishineff Relie Committee, on June 3, 1903, in the Academy of Music Philadelphia. The chairman of the meeting was ex Mayor Charles F. Warwick, and the following wen the vice-presidents : Rev. Chas. Albertson, David Werner Amram, Dr. Jamei Anders, Albert Ardis, Abraham Barker, Rev. Dr. H. Berko witz. Rev. Dr. G. H. Baker, Dr. Herman A. Brav, Ralpl Blum, Rudolph Blankenburg, Charles Bailey, George Burn ham, Jr., N. Barnes, Charles H. Cramp, Dr. S. Solis Cohen Dr. Jacob Solis Cohen, John Converse, Richard Y. Cooke A. J. Cassatt, Ralph CuUinan, L. Clarke Davis, Joseph G Darlington, Dr. Da Costa, Henry N. Dechert, J. G. Darling- ton, James Elverson, T. M. Etting, Rev. B. C. Ehrenreich Rev. M. M. Eichler, Rev. James H. Ecob, Maurice Pels, S. B Fleisher, W. W. Foulkrod, Henry A. Fry, T. J. Fernley Herman Fischler, Harry B. French, John Field, James Gaj Gordon, Ellis A. Gimbel, Louis Gerstley, Felix N. Gerson Rev. J. H. Greenstone, George C. Graham, Jacob Gimbel Charles C. Harrison, Wm. B. Hackenburg, William T. Har- PHILADELPHIA 157 rity, Max Herzberg, Thomas B. Harend, Rev. F. A. Hinckley, Rev. Thomas A. Hoyt, Rev. Dr. M. Jastrow, Gabriel Joseph, Ryerson W. Jennings, W. W. Keen, Ernest Kraft, Rabbi B. L. Levinthal, Jacob D. Lit, August B. Loeb, Samuel Lit, Leo Loeb, Ephraim Lederer, Louis Edward Levy, H. M. Lewis, Dr. S. Weir Mitchell, E. Moore, Dr. Martin, Dr. J. H. Musser, Joseph McCurdy, Rev. O'Connor, Senator Boise Penrose, James Pollock, William Perrine, C. Stuart Patterson, George W. Pep- per, M. Patterson, Archbishop Ryan, Morris Rosenbaum, Harry C. Ransley, Judge M. Sulzberger, Jacob Singer, Dr. J. V. Shoe- maker, Justin C. Strawbridge, Frank Stephens, Dr. Kerr Boyce Tupper, Rev. Floyd Tompkins, Horace Traubel, E. L. Tustin, Nathan Tuttleman, Robert E. Thompson, Edgar A. Temis, E. A. Van Valkenburg, John Wanamaker, Clinton R. Woodruff, Herbert Welsh, Thomas Wanamaker, David Wal- lerstein. Dr. J. M. White, S. Burn Weston, Thomas E. White, Edward H. Weil, Rev. Charles Wood, Charles Warwick, Dr. EUwood Worcester, J. Weiss, Louis Wagner. The speakers who addressed the meeting were former Judge James Gay Gordon, the Rev. Russell H. Conwell, Judge William N. Ashman, the Rev. Dr. Joseph Krauskopf, Mayor Joseph E. Nowrey, of Camden, N. J., Judge Mayer Sulzberger, and Pro- fessor I. A. Hourwich, of Washington, D. C. At the back of the stage appeared the sentence from Leviticus, the inscription on the Liberty Bell: " Proclaim liberty throughout the land, unto all the inhabitants thereof." During the meeting a dele- gation of two hundred Camden citizens entered, headed by Mayor Joseph E. Nowrey, Sheriff C. J. Minis, Professor James Bryan, Rev. Dr. William J. Cambron, Samuel P. Jones, Charles H. Ellis, George D. Boston, Edward H. Neiland, J. H. Perksie, Abr. Furman, Herman M. Sorin, and Nathan Furman. Mr. William B. Hackenburg called the meeting to 158 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF order and introduced ex-Mayor Charles F. Warwicl as the chairman of the meeting. Mr. Warwick said Ladies and Gentlemen: It has been a long time since '. served as even a substitute for a mayor, but my choic was probably due to the adage that "once a mayor, alway a mayor." I consider it one of the greatest privileges am honors of my life to preside at this meeting, because : know the heart of Philadelphia speaks in this hall to-nigh to protest against barbarities and inhumanities against ; people whose only crime is a heroic resolve to live and wor ship the God of their fathers. The chairman then introduced Director of Sup plies Frederick J. Shoyer, who, on behalf of Mayoi Weaver, said: I am here to represent as best I can His Honor, the mayor o the city of Philadelphia, and no one more fully appreciates youi disappointment at his inability to be present than I do, but be cause of a previous engagement his attendance to-night ii impossible. The right of the people peaceably to assemble tc petition the government for redress of grievances is vouche( to the people of the United States even as against their owi rulers. The law of nations and of nature, with reference tc certain inalienable rights, makes one family of all the people of the earth. These rights are that life and liberty shall bi and remain inviolate, and that property shall not be forfeite( except by due process of law. The recognition of these prin ciples makes possible the freedom of intercourse betweei nations in time of peace, and in times of war prevents armiei from harboring malice or committing barbarities, and n( breach is allowed to go unpunished. Bearing in mind these rights and their denial to a free outraged and most respectable portion of a community, i people has assembled itself in public meeting in this, thi foremost city of the greatest country of personal, politica and religious freedom. The occasion of this conference is thi news that has reached us that in Kishineff, Russia, certaii atrocities upon a Jewish portion of the community have beei PHILADELPHIA 159 perpetrated which seem incredible. Men have been massacred with ferocious cruelty; women outraged with indescribable horrors; and, as if it were necessary to complete this most heinous work, innocent babes have been offered to ven- geance. It is to discuss this situation in an intelligent and dispassionate manner, that only the American people can ap- preciate, that we are gathered together, and to all of this His Honor, the mayor of the city of Philadelphia, gives his ardent and unqualified endorsement. Mr. Warwick, after the conclusion of Mr. Shoyer's remarks, introdticed ex- Judge James Gay Gordon. Ex-Judge James Gay Gordon said: The carnage at Kishineff is Christianity's contribution to the opening history of the twentieth century of the Chris- tian era. The incident itself — the fact that unoffending Jews have been mercilessly and. cruelly slaughtered by Christians, is novel neither in the extent or barbarity of the massacre. What took place at Kishineff has been taking place with more or less regular recurrence from the time of Calvary. The only unusual fact about the recent slaughter is that it has taken place to-day, at this stage of civilization, and in a country esteemed orderly and law-abiding. In all other re- spects Kishineff is simply a reproduction in the stronger lights of the twentieth century of the treatment of Jews by Chris- tians ever since the latter became a religious body of power sufficient to persecute. This meeting has been called to protest against the barbaric treatment of the Jews within the domain of the Czar of Russia. Upon what logical basis can such a protest be re- corded by us of America? To whom shall the protest be sent, and what shall be its nature? What is it we are called upon to protest against? Surely not merely that a score or more of innocent men have been murdered. Bloodshed is the occupation of most of the civilized nations of the world to-day, and murder is occurring in all the communities of the earth day by day. Who would not protest against murder? The laws of all states prescribe penalties for the crime and 160 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF methods for its detection and punishment. Neither is it the fact that in this little Russian town a mob, setting all au- thority at defiance, committed a number of murders with circumstances of unusual atrocity. This, too, is a matter of almost daily occurrence. Not many months since in our own State local authority was paralyzed by riotous assemblages and blood stained the soil in more counties than one. There must be, therefore, in this Russian incident something more than the mere loss of life and defiance of law in a distant nation that would cause or justify the assembling of this public meeting to protest against facts otherwise so common and unnoteworthy. Considered dispassionately and honestly, an assemblage of American citizens has only one ground upon which to stand in asking that the recent violation of law in Russia should be made the subject of extraordinary attention, and that ground must be plain to every mind not blinded by prejudice or controlled by hate and passion. The Jews who were killed at Kishineff were killed be- cause they were Jews, and were killed by Christians, in the name of Christianity. When the mob set about its work of horror, it made no mistake as to its victims. The object of their cruelty was kept clearly before them even at the very height of their murderous frenzy, and that object was the Jew, and none fell but Jews. And the deadly strokes were all delivered by Christian hands. In other words, Kishineff simply demonstrated that religious intolerance upon the part of Christians to-day is made of the same fiber that it was from the beginning, and that where it exists in the heart it needs only a suitable environment and opportunity for its exhibition in the murderous form it has ever displayed. That is the fact with reference to Kishineff, and to Americans the lesson is obvious, the warning clear and emphatic. An attempt to give a political color to the Jewish slaughter and to cast the responsibility upon the government of the Czar cannot be tolerated by any fair-minded observer of the facts. When we are told that the local authorities at Kishi- neff did not put down the mob and protect the Jews, this proves nothing but the powerlessness of the local authorities, and does not assign the cause of the massacre. How often PHILADELPHIA 161 in the past have mobs taken possession of towns and cities within our own country ; how often within the past few years jails have been broken open, stores looted, citizens shot down in the streets, or lynched at the lamp post, or even burned at the stake, while jailers, marshalls and sherififs trembled and stood still? Would any one think of laying the blame for the atrocities of a mob in Pennsylvania that a sheriff did not restrain at the door of the executive authority at Har- risburg or at Washington? What occurred at Kishineff was in substance not different from this. The hounded and despised Jews were brutally dismembered by an uprising of the native population which the local magistrates neglected or were unable to suppress. To charge the Czar or his gov- ernment with inspiring these horrors would be as just as to charge his Excellency, the Governor of this Commonwealth, with the next outbreak which may occur in any county of this State. Yes, the slaughter at Kishineff should be met with a protest from America. That protest, however, should not go to the Czar of Russia, but to the Holy Synod, the head of the Greek Church, representing organized Christian- ity in Russia. It is Christianity that is on trial, and not the government of the Czar. The Jew comes out of this carnage, as he has always come out of persecution in the past, with a character more Christian than his Christian persecutor. Of all races in the tide of time that have been the victims of religious in- tolerance, the Jew alone has exemplified the doctrine of non- resistance taught by the founder of Christianity in the Ser- mon on the Mount. For now nineteen centuries, he has been the unresisting victim of Christian intolerance. When smitten he has not struck back at his assailant, but has turned the other cheek to the smiter, as the Master whom Christians profess to follow taught that his disciples should do. The Russian barbarities concern the future status of the Jew less than the future status of Christianity. Allied with temporal power, the Christian church has always been intolerant and generally cruel. In this respect the twentieth century is not different from the Middle Ages; St. Bartholo- mew's Day has its modern counterpart in Kishineff. Th? 12 162 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF Torquemadons and Lauds of the past have their successors in the Patriarch of Constantinople and the Holy Synod of to-day. That Christendom, out of its vast wealth, shall send thou- sands for the relief of the victims of Christian persecution will not atone for the murderous deed or blot out the in- famous stigma. We would send our dole of relief to the victims of Hindu barbarity — to the suffering communities of India or China. We exploit our charities upon such occa- sions without regard to the race or creed. We do this from an instinct of humanity common to all peoples of whatever creed. Christianity cannot absolve itself or regain its recti- tude at the bar of conscience by any such mercenary atone- ment. There is one thing, and one thing only, that the fol- lowers of the Nazarene Jew can do that will save themselves from shame and their church from reproach, and that is to assert in terms of unequivocal emphasis not only the denun- ciation of the murder of the Jews, but also the absolute and unqualified rights of conscience to all men of every creed and in every land. Upon this subject no equivocal utterance will suffice. Religious intolerance and persecution, whether it employ the sword or take the form of social or political ostracism, must be denounced by Christians as a crime ab- horrent to the essence of their religion and to the life and teachings of the Jewish founder of their faith. On this sub- ject of religious toleration Americans can hold no equivocal position, neither can Christianity speak with reservation or ambiguity. The quality of tolerance, like the quality of mercy, is not strained. It is either absolute and utter, or else it is intolerance which only waits for the opportunity to burst into persecution. Speaking as one born into an inheritance of Christian faith, to which his heart and maturer mind still render assent, I should abjure that faith and renounce all connection with that church did it not hold and avow the absolute right in all men to worship God according to their own personal con- victions and conscience without suffering the slightest diminu- tion of political, social or industrial equality. I protest in the name of the Master of Christianity against PHILADELPHIA 163 the murder of the Jews at Kishineff. I protest in the name of the doctrine of peace and brotherhood which he taught. I protest finally, as an American living under a Constitution whose chief corner-stone is a guarantee of civil and religious liberty to all men. Kishineff is a warning as well as a lesson. Religious hate in Russia took the form of slaughter because it displayed itself in a land where human life is held cheap, where mili- tarism prevails, where the church is allied with a despotic government and where force and might are the measure of right and law. In other words, religious intolerance in Rus- sia lifted the sword because the sword was near at hand and the known weapon of power. The point to be emphasized is, however, that the motive was religious hate, and that through the gaps in that struggling, murderous mob can be seen the fluttering skirts of the Christian priest. In America the same motive, the same intolerance and hate would employ a different weapon and adopt subtler means to execute its barbarous vengeance. The cruelty of re- ligious intolerance is measured only by its opportunities. Nothing in all its history has shown itself more cruel than the Christian fanatic with a sword in his hand. Kishineff for sheer savagery cannot be exceeded by any massacre his- tory records. Intolerance bides its time and waits its op- portunity. The ostracism of Jews by Christians in America is only Kishineff with a mask on. The religious hate which in this country taboos the Jew in trades, or at the public hotel, or that assails him with sneers and scornful epithets in the street, would drive nails through his head, would cut off the breasts of mothers and dash children from housetops to the pavements in Russia. The demonstration of tolerance de- pends upon its environment, but the motive is everywhere and always the same. Let American Christians, therefore, use this occasion to rededicate themselves to the foundation principles of their government, and let American Christians protest against all forms of religious intolerance under whatever name or guise and against whom or whatsoever faith, and declare Chris- tianity as being the religion of toleration, "as broad and 164 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF general as the casing air." Every form of Christian faith should unite in such a declaration and should join in a pro- test against the outrages of Kishineflf, inspired by religious hate at Kishineff. That branch of the Christian Church, no matter what its name or how numerous or few its members, that would halt or equivocate upon such a subject is neither Christian in principle nor worthy of the trust and liberties of the Ameri- can government. Let Rome and Geneva, cathedral and meeting house, unite in common defense of their faith, against the stain put upon it by Christians at Kishineff. If Christianity does not deny intolerance and persecution in every form, it is an outlaw at the bar of humanity, and it crucifies afresh the gentle Jew who yielded himself up even unto death that gentleness and love, peace and brotherhood, should prevail over all the world even unto the ends thereof. Rev. Dr. Russell H. Conwell, the next speaker, took issue with Judge Gordon upon several points, saying : I want to declare that the outrages were not Christian pro- ceedings. It is impossible for a Christian to persecute his fellow-beings or to be unkind to the Jews, to whom we owe so much. Any cruelty in the guise of Christianity is a sham. I cannot ftel that in this great city there is a single person who would have participated in the recent massacre. My belief was vindicated when, without a dissenting vote, the golden tongued Sulzberger was made a judge of our Phila- delphia courts. Continuing, the speaker said: When I look around and before me and catch a sight of the glorious American flag, the sight inspires me to think that the United States means to interfere and say something by way of protest in this Kishineff matter, and if America does speak, her words will have influence in the remotest quarters of the world. This meeting may inspire our fellow-citizens in other sec- tions to hold similar meetings. We should, therefore, ex- press our disapproval in conservative terms if we wish to PHILADELPHIA 165 make them effective. If you think that what is said here to- night will not reach beyond the boundaries of the walls of this building, you will find that you are mistaken. Russia is a great government, and she knows that to-day the eyes of the entire civilized world are upon her in view of the Kishi- neff horrors, and you will find that she has ways of learning what we are doing here to-night. We have cause to sympathize with all persecuted peoples, for the footsteps of the men who first came to our shores were those of men who had suffered religious persecution in their native lands. The men or mob that committed the outrages in Kishineff were not Christians. Christianity means good character, a loving heart for our fellow-men. As Christians we denounce the affair as unchristian. A speaker who preceded me said that there were some spirits even here in Philadelphia narrow enough to attempt to persecute Jews in a petty way, and he has intimated that if these persons were in Russia they would be soon as bad as the Kishineff persecutors. I do not share his opinion. I cannot believe that there are any such persons in this city. I know that there is a desire on the part of some people in Philadelphia to say harsh things about Jews and indulge in petty persecutions, but I will never believe that this is a spirit representative of this City of Brotherly Love, where the per- secuted of all nations and races have ever found a welcome refuge. Brother Jews, Philadelphia has heartily welcomed you. We will tell the Czar that we hold him responsible for this matter, not as Christians or Jews, but as Americans. What- ever goes out from here, I don't want the Czar to think that we absolve him from responsibility in this affair. We want to tell the Czar that he should do for Russia what he has tried to do for all the nations in the world by establishing the peace tribunal to prevent bloodshed and strife. It may be true that the Jew by his thrift has excited the envy of his shiftless neighbors in Russia as well as elsewhere, but this does not absolve the Czar from blame. 166 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF Judge William N. Ashman followed Mr. Conwell. He said: I do not altogether agree with what was said by that dis- tinguished and eloquent judge, whom I have always admired and whom I admire to-day. I think he was too severe upon Christians and not quite severe enough upon Russia. I am a Christian, but I would not be a Christian at all if I hated a Jew, and we are here to-night to protest against the action of Russia. It is near time, I think, for us to recast the word civiliza- tion. It does not mean rich cities, vast armies and navies. All these may be possessed by a nation and yet there may be something behind it all that may class that nation as un- civilized. Christianity means life because it puts men of all ranks side by side and recognizes in them representatives of all ages having a common destiny in view. That is true Chris- tianity. That is the civilization of the United States. I am sorry to have to say that in that sense Russia is not civilized. This protest which we are making means, perhaps, more than any of us think. It may be called, perhaps, the battle of paper bullets, but these are the weapons that are going to revolutionize the world. Decrees from tribunals will, per- haps, reach Russia, and they will say to that mighty nation, " You are outside of the pale of civilization." The same de- crees will say to her, " We will not have anything to do with you. Your commercial and diplomatic relations with the civilized world are sundered." In face of this decree from the tribunal of the people, Russia could not for a moment stand. Upon the invitation of the chairman, George Mc- Curdy, president of Common Council, read the fol- lowing resolutions, which were adopted by the meet- ing with acclamation: Resolved, That the citizens of Philadelphia heard with in- tense sorrow and indignation the news of the recent outbreak against the Jews of Kishineflf, Russia, and the shocking PHILADELPHIA 161 atrocities committed there, resulting in the massacre of many men, women and children, and the wounding and maltreat- ment of hundreds of victims. Resolved, That we earnestly urge the claim of the Jews resident in the empire to just and impartial treatment, and to protection against such outrages as the Kishineff massa- cre. We protest against the spirit of medieval persecution which has been revived in Russia. In this country the recog- nition of the equality of all men before the law — whatever their race or creed — is a principle which, in practice, assures their loyal devotion to the land of their birth or adoption. This is eminently true of the Jewish immigrants from Russia who have settled in the United States in large numbers, and who, as a body, have become industrious, thrifty, faithful and law-abiding citizens. Resolved, That we sympathize with our fellow-citizens of the Hebrew faith in their grief and anxiety because of this affliction of their co-religionists in Russia and in their ener- getic efforts for the relief of the people of Kishineff. Resolved, That the people of the United States should ex- ercise such influence with the government of Russia as may be practicable to stay the spirit of persecution — to redress injuries inflicted upon the Jews of Kishineff and to prevent the recurrence of outbreaks such as have amazed the civil- ized world. Resolved, That copies of these resolutions be sent to the President of the United States and to the Secretary of State. Mr. Warwick read letters from Archbishop Ryan, Governor Pennypacker, and Bishop Whitaker, ex- pressing sympathy with the purposes of the meeting, and protesting against the massacre. Princeton, N. J., May 23, 1903. Ben Zion D. Oliensis, Esq. My Dear Sir: Since my recent conference with you and your associates, in which you urged me to attend a mass meeting to be held in the city of Philadelphia, to give ex- pression to the feelings aroused by the terrible barbarities to 168 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF which the Jews have recently been subjected in Russia, I have fully determined that there is no way in which I can arrange my affairs so that I can accept your invitation. The object of the meeting is one which naturally stirs the sensi- bilities of every right-thinking man, and I do not wonder that our fellow-citizens in Philadelphia, as well as in other American cities, seek to unite in expressing their deep sense of horror at the cruelties which have recently been called to their attention. I hope that this meeting and the expression of American sentiment attendant thereupon may have the effect of terminating such cruel incidents and at the same time affording relief to those who have already suffered. You will probably be surprised to learn, after my assur- ances to you that it would be impossible for me to attend any of the meetings of this character to which I have been invited, that I have, nevertheless, consented to attend such a meeting to be held in New York, Wednesday, May 27. This invitation I have accepted in consequence of a condi- tion of affairs (not understood by me at the time of my con- ference with your committee), by which I had become so far committed without intending it that it was impossible for me to refuse to answer the expectations which had been aroused. Yours very truly, Grover Cleveland. Archbishop's House, Logan Square, Philadelphia, June i, 1903. Dear Sir: In reply to your request for a copy of my ad- dress on the occasion of the Citizens' Protest Meeting, on Wednesday evening, I beg to say that by an engagement of some months' standing I am obliged to be present at the academic exercises of St. Joseph's College on that evening. I am, of course, in entire sympathy with the object and spirit of the citizens' meeting. I have a profound horror of the wholesale massacre of women and children at Kishineff and believe that the public opinion of the world should be united in condemnation of it. Yours sincerely, P. J. Ryan, Archbishop of Philadelphia. PHILADELPHIA 169 Rev. Dr. Krauskopf was the next speaker. He said : Mr. Chairman: I rise to speak to-night, not as a Jew, but as an American citizen; not as a son of the Hebrew race, but as a member of that larger world-wide family named Humanity. Had the pillaged and outraged and massacred of Kishineflf been Roman or Greek Catholics or Finnish Protestants, I would have raised my voice in protest and de- nunciation as loudly as I raised it from this very platform on diverse prior occasions, at the time when the downtrodden Irishmen clamored for home rule, or when the oppressed Russian Christians entreated for deliverance from the cruel- ties of Siberian bondage; as loudly as on other platforms I denounced the wrongs done the negro, Cuban or Boer. Past is the day in civilized lands when only those were con- sidered of concern who shared one's own creed or blood. The religion that is not broad enough to plead the cause of the wronged of all peoples is in our day regarded unworthy of its name. The widespread demonstration of this truth at the present time is the silver lining to the dark cloud that Russian atrocity has raised across the land of the Muscovite. Through its rifts we catch elimpses of a beauteous beyond, of a time when even such sporadic outbursts of fanaticism and scoun- drelism as recently shocked the world will be made impos- sible by the closely interrelated sympathies of the whole human family. A time there was when, instead of one Kishineff, Jewish history recorded a thousand; when, instead of one ritual blood accusation, ten thousand of them were, at the advent of every Eastertide, made the occasion of pillage and mas- sacre of Jews. A time was when, instead of one Dreyfus, hundreds of thousands of Jews were innocently condemned and degraded and exiled to a living hell on earth. No voice was then raised in the defense of the Jew, no pen then moved in advocacy of his cause. The Jew's suffering then was no man's concern. Far different now. To-day the foremost newspapers of all the world devote column upon column to the branding of 13 170 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF the would-be re-inaugurators of the cruel Dark Ages. Heads of Christian churches cry out their indignation. Christian legislators pass their resolutions of protest; Christian mayors of cities, Christian governors of States, aye, even a Christian ex-President of the United States express in ringing sounds their condemnation of outrages against the Jew. What is all this but an eloquent declaration that justice is not yet dead, that humanity, far from having surrendered its sceptre, rules mightier to-day than ever before, that the cause of right, which mighty Egypt, powerful Babylon, all- conquering Rome could not overthrow, will never be sup- pressed by the hand of the Russian? Yet powerful evidences as these protests are of the growth of humanity, the cause that gives rise to them is no less elo- quent proof that the devil likewise is not yet dead. Had the devil been dead, the recent holy Easter could never have been converted into a modern St. Bartholomew's Day. Had the devil been dead. The Bessarabetz could never have been suf- fered by the lynx-eyed censor to incite the rabble to blood- shed and outrage, nor could its publication have continued to this day, under the same bloodhound editor, while the Voschod is suppressed by order of the government for the crime of publishing an account of the massacre of the other paper's instigation. Had the devil been dead, his minions could never have done his work at St. Petersburg, nor could his wickedness have been extenuated in the capital of our own nation by the mouth of the Russian ambassador. You have read the reason assigned by Count Cassini as cause of the recent massacre, and your blood boiled in the reading of it. What would your feelings have been if, like me, you had traversed, for purposes of study and observa- tion, the very region in which the massacre occurred, and had you with your own eyes seen the facts that give the lie to every statement made by the Russian ambassador? These deliberate falsehoods on the part of an official high in author- ity would probably have afforded you an insight into the ex- tent of the Jews' suffering in Russia. When a Russian am- bassador, in a free land, where the Jews enjoy equal rights, where they are recognized as important factors in the growth PHILADELPHIA 171 and development of the nation, where they have the right to speak, to answer the accuser, to prove the falsity of his charges, dares to give utterance to such an infamous libel, you may well imagine the falsehoods that are charged against the Jew in Russia, where the Jew has not the right to answer his traducers, where the Jew has no recourse to court or free press or public platform to prove his innocence when his accuser is a Russian government official. We blame the mob for its dastardly attack on the helpless and defenseless, when we should rather blame the inciting power back of it. Back of the Kishineff massacre stand years of Russian tyranny and misrule, years of extortions by Russian tax collectors, years of riotous indulgence on the part of Russian officials at the cost of the Russian peasantry. Bade of the Kishineff massacre stands the knowledge at St. Petersburg of the spreading disaffection of the Russian peo- ple toward their government, stands the necessity of creat- ing a vent through which the fomenting discontent might expend itself on another than the government. Back of the Kishineff massacre stands the necessity of making the Jew, the traditionally hated of the orthodox church, to serve as the scapegoat, as the innocent sufferer for the sins of the government. It is the sins of the Russian government and the fanati- cism of the Russian church that incited the mob to pillage, rapine and murder, and not the sins of the Russian Jews, as Count Cassini informed The Associated Press. No Russian would ever have dared to lay violent hands on a Jew had not Russia, by endless cruel enactments against the Jew, by denying him the right of citizenship, by excluding him, for the most part, from the public schools, from the professions, from the other higher callings, by denying him the right to choose his own place of habitation, by huddling him within a restricted area, made manifest that the Jew is held to be the outcast and pariah of Russian society, and that the nation's riddance of him is the highest desire of the Russian government and church. But these are not the reasons Count Cassini assigns for the recent massacre at Kishineff. The Russian Jew is dis- 172 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF liked, he says, "because he will not work in the field engage in agriculture." Oh, the infamy of this charg Oh, the deviltry of first denying to the Jew the right of ow ing or renting or cultivating land, even of living in villag and then charging him with not working in the field or e gaging in agriculture ! Oh, the cruelty of accusing the Je^ of an unwillingness to till the soil when, during my visit the Jewish agricultural colonies in the Gubernias of El terineslaw and Cherson — the colonies founded by Czar ^ cholas, the only Jewish agricultural colonies permitted in i Russia — I myself lived among Russian Jewish peasants, sa them at work, and found their farms, despite the fact th the poorest land had been assigned them, in a far thrifti condition than those of their non- Jewish neighbors! the cruelty of the charge that the Russian Jew is unwillii to till the soil, when almost in every colony I visited — beii taken for a Russian official on account of my long milita: cape overcoat I chanced to wear — women on their knee amid their tear-bedewed kisses on my hands, begged me f( more land to cultivate, that they might save themselves ar their children from starvation ! Oh, the cruelty of that charge, when in the office of tl Baron de Hirsch Committee at St. Petersburg I was show a pile of letters, counting by the thousands, in which Jev from all parts of Russia begged for land to cultivate to ket starvation from their doors ! Oh, the cruelty of the charge that the Russian Jew wi not devote himself to agricultural labors, when I, myself, i the year 1894, at the city of St. Petersburg, after a person! conference with its then and now foremost Minister, M. i Witte, petitioned the government of the Czar for permissio to settle as farmers upon unoccupied lands of the interic those of the overcrowded Jewish Pale of Settlement, wh( for want of room and employment and food, are forced t emigrate to foreign shores. That petition, even though : had the hearty indorsement of the foremost Jews of S Petersburg, even though it was personally presented by ou American Minister, Mr. Andrew D. White, even though th PHILADELPHIA 173 government was promised that Jews of other parts of the world would financially aid these colonies, so that their suc- cess might obviate the necessity of Russian Jews either starv- ing in their congested centres at home or being driven by the thousands to other parts of the world for a livelihood— that petition has remained unanswered to this day. "The Jew prefers to be a money lender," says Count Cas- sini. " Give the Jew a couple of dollars, and he becomes a banker and money-broker." This charge is in falsity a wor- thy companion to the one I have already answered. Count Cassini would have the American people believe that the Russian Jew is bristling with wealth, when the truth of the matter is that greater misery and poverty and wretchedness than among the congested Russian Jews can perhaps not be found upon the face of the earth. I have seen much misery in my life. I have been among the reconcentrados during the Cuban war, but not even their misery can be compared with that which I beheld in that living hell in Russia known as the Jewish Pale of Settlement. What better proof of this misery than the wretched condition of these Russian Jews upon their arrival in this country? What better proof of their intense poverty than the millions of dollars that are annually expended by the American Jews upon these fugi- tives from Russian barbarities before they can be made to be self-supporting? What better proof of the wretchedness and poverty of these Russian Jews than the thousands that annually fall a prey to consumption, by reason of the crowded and starved and overtaxed condition in which they lived and toiled and suffered under Russian cruelty prior to their land- ing upon our shores? Are these Russian cruelties against the Jews to continue forever? Is there no remedy? Wholesale emigration has been suggested. It is impossible for all of them to emigrate. There is no people and no land that could cope with such a gigantic problem as that of housing and caring for five mil- lions of people until able to take care of themselves. There is but one remedy, suggests another, and that is conversion to the Russian Orthodox Christian Church. The 174 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF Russian Jew has demonstrated during the hundreds of years of his misery that he can suffer, that he can die, but that he cannot live a lie, that he cannot accept the faith of that people that on a holy Easter morn can enter a church to worship the Prince of Peace, who gave up his life for the sake of peace and good-will toward men, and then hasten forth from their sanctuary into the quarters where live the very brethren of him they have just worshiped, and com- mit fiendish outrages among them, massacring and butcher- ing men and women, sparing neither the gray-haired nor the infants at their mothers' breasts. Our distinguished fellow-citizen, the Honorable Andrew D. White, who was Minister to Russia at the time of my visit to St. Petersburg, told me an interesting story that well bears repetition here. It is the custom for Russians to as- semble in the streets to greet the Easter dawn with the ex- clamation " Christ is risen ! " and to greet and embrace one another with the same salutation. On one of these morn- ings the Czar, upon returning to his palace, addressed the sentinel at the entrance with the Easter greeting, " Christ is risen ! " Not receiving an answer, the Czar repeated his salutation, upon which the sentinel replied, " Your Majesty, the Messiah has not yet risen ! " He was a Jewish soldier. The Czar paused a moment as if about to say something, but held his peace and passed into his palace meditatively. He had recognized the truth of the Jewish soldier's answer— the Messiah had not yet come — the Christ had not yet risen. When the Christian shall have learned to practice the religion he professes, when he shall love his neighbor as himself, and do to others as he would have others do unto him; when he will give glory to God in the highest by spreading peace and good-will among men, then will the Christ have risen, then will the Messiah have come. Mayor Joseph E. Nowrey, of Camden, was the next speaker. He said, in part: I esteem it one of the greatest privileges I have ever en- joyed, in representing the people of Camden, in joining witli PHILADELPHIA 175 this municipality to extend our sympathy to victims of the horrible massacre at Kishineflf, and to join with them in uttering a protest in order that such a tragedy may never occur again. We have been admonished by the speakers to be cautious in what we have to say, to voice our protests in a mild man- ner. This is not my idea of protest. I believe that such protests should be made with vigor and in no uncertain tone. A feeble protest to the Czar of Russia will result in but little benefit. A feeble protest is no protest whatever. About 200 of the people of Camden came here to enter their protest against this great crime which has been com- mitted in the name of Christianity. The Christianity of our own beloved country would not for an instant encourage the crime which has been commit- ted against the Russian Jews. It rests with us to exert every honorable means and to use every influence we have at command to induce our government to send such a mes- sage to the Czar of all the Russias that we may never again have a recurrence of a crime such as has horrified the civil- ized world. We desire, as citizens of a municipality numbering about 80,000 souls, to express to the Czar of Russia the horror we feel at this outrage. It is our wish that our sympathy be expressed to the rela- tives and friends of the victims of Kishineff. Judge Mayer Sulzberger said: " I appeal for assistance for the thousands of orphans of massacred parents." To these words of Michael Davitt, jour- nalist and statesman, cabled to a great American journal from the scene of carnage, I can add nothing. But there is something to be done. The dead are buried, the maimed are suiTering, the ruined are broken in spirit, the orphans are orphans. Mischief accomplished is remediless, but the causes which produced it may be modified or re- moved so as to prevent further mischief. We are met to-night to summon Russia before the bar of 176 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF civilization. Colossal in territory and in brute force, she can refuse to appear, and if she so refuses, no direct coercion or punishment is possible. She may choose to stand entrenched in might and wrong. Should that be her attitude, petitions will avail no more than threats, abject servility than boastful hectoring. There are, however, two Russias — the Russia of officialism and the Russia of conscience — the one represented by the assassins of Kishineff and their spokesmen, and the other by Tolstoi and Gorki. The former has power and wealth, the latter right and justice on its side. The former may repress and persecute, the latter can but suffer and protest. This cry of suffering and of protest we, in common with the whole civilized world, may take up and carry further until it shall become one universal shout of civilization, the shout that forebodes doom to darkness and to crime. What more can I say? Words are needed rather to soothe than to harrow feelings, to counsel calmness rather than increase excitement. As regards the Czar of Russia, if his manifestoes in favor of peace and toleration have but a spark of honorable intent, if they be not mere devices of barbarian insincerity, he can roll from off his country the burden of shame which oppres- ses it. The wretched criminals of Kishineff may well plead that they have been trained by the highest example. A gov- ernmental policy which drives people from the places where they were born or have been long established, into strange places over-filled with strugglers, where they must first beg and then starve, is as cruel as Kishineff and more wicked because more deliberate in conception and more colossal in results. Compared to the mortality thus produced, the Kish- ineff massacre is insignificant. And yet this is the policy which the head of the Russian State and the head of the Russian Church have for many years allowed to be carried out. What is it possible to ex- pect from wretched criminals when the teachings of such acts are always before them? And not only its own Jewish subjects has Russia mal- PHILADELPHIA 177 treated, but it has refused to permit the Jewish subjects and citizens of other powers to enjoy the right of travel and sojourn which passports assure among all civilized peoples, and in so doing it has forced its barbarous, medieval no- tions on the Western world. The passport of the United States of America is not good in Russia unless its owner has, before entering that country, declared his religious faith to a Russian official, and if that faith happens to be the Jewish, the passport is worthless in whole or in part. To reach the Jew, she puts Catholics, Protestants and all others to the question. That civilized governments should retaliate by non-inter- course or by war no one will contend. But we may protest and again protest in favor of human rights as understood by the modern world. Moreover, we may show resentment at this interference by Russia in our internal affairs, and energetically repudiate her right to interpret or to mutilate the passport stamped with the Great Seal of the United States of America. And now comes the unspeakable Cassini, who, insolently disregarding the government to which he has been accredited, directly addresses the people of the United States by means of the public press, and even dares to threaten evil results if we speak our minds. When an Ambassador thus waives his official privilege he ought to learn that his presence in this country is considered an offense by many millions of brave men and pure women constituting our American citi- zenry; that for lust, rapine and murder we have here no apologists and no room for apologists, and that even a Rus- sian grandee may receive a passport that requires him to leave a friendly country instead of sojourning in it, and if Mr. McCormick, our present Ambassador to Russia, yester- day perpetrated the interview this day published, it would be wrong in our government any longer to withdraw his abilities from his private business. A heartless, brainless babbler is no fit representative of the United States. Let then the message of this meeting go forth in unison with all the voices of civilization. It may be met with in- 178 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF suit and contumely, as such messages have been met before. On the other hand, it may somehow and somewhere in Rus- sia touch a responsive chord. There is a great heart within great Russians, and let us pray that there may be at least a little heart in powerful rulers. Whatever be the immediate result, the hope for humanity and justice must not falter. Against the blood- curdling cruelty of barbarism we invoke the enlightened conscience of civilization. From the wickedness of earthly rulers we reverently appeal to the justice of God who holdeth nations in the hollow of His hand, who heareth the cry of the lowly and taketh note of the oppressor's deeds, who lifteth up principalities and powers and casteth them down. The last speaker was Professor Hourwich, of Washington, D. C. He made a short address, in which he referred in a sarcastic manner to the inter- view with Ambassador McCormick, published in The New York Journal, in which the Ambassador said that the Jews in Russia were not making as much noise about the massacre as their co-religionists in America. There was, contended the speaker, a good reason for this " calmness " on the part of the Jews of Russia. They did not dare to make any protest. A memorial service for the dead of Kishineff, which was to have been held in St. Petersburg on May 5, was suppressed by the Government. The speaker, referring to ex-President Cleveland's speech in New York, brought forward a number of proofs of the Russian Government's responsibility for the acts of its agents. The last word was spoken by Chairman Warwick, who said that it was to be hoped that the glad message of the meeting would not only carry joy to the Jews sitting in sorrow in their homes in far-away Kishineff, PITTSBURG 179 but that it would sound a note of warning in the palaces of St. Petersburg as well. A sermon on the Kishineff massacre was delivered on June 7, 1903, by Rev. Amos Johnson, at the Cookman Methodist Episcopal Church. PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA On June 7, during the sessions of the Sixth Annual Convention of the American Federation of Zionists, the local Zionist Societies arranged a mass meeting, presided over by Judge Josiah Cohen, at which, besides addresses explaining the Zionist movement, addresses on Kishineff were made. In the course of his address. Congressman H. K. Porter said: Injustice is cruel, and yet it is one of the weaknesses of humanity. While we condemn it when we stand at a distance and look on, yet often when our prejudices are aroused we are blinded, and ourselves become the guilty ones. Injustice is cruel, and calls forth condemnation on the persecutor and sympathy for the oppressed, whenever seen. The whole world stands aghast at the horrors of Kishineff. Can it be possible that this is the highly lauded twentieth century, and such cruelties be practiced by man on his fellow-man ? And the con- demnation is no less swift and severe, because we who con- demn cannot claim that we have never sinned, and that there are no skeletons in the French army, nor in American com- munities. But injustice does its deadliest work on those who practice it. The Rev. John A. Jayne, pastor of the Observatory Hill Christian Church, said, in part : This last outrage in Russia has called the attention of the civilized world to the fact that no people on the face of the globe through all the years of history have been so mis- 180 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF treated, misused and maligned as have these poor unfortunate people whose only crime is that they are Jews. And, hear me, as I say, if through the martyrdom and suffering of these people on Russian territory, the civilized world is led to realize and know of their suffering and demand of Russia that these things cease, and compel these things to cease, these will not have died in vain. Slowly through the centuries the world is swinging into the full-orbed light of the Nazarene's gospel of love and brother- hood. Where men were once burned for opinion's sake to- day we are burning opinions for men's sake. The world will yet learn that " he who doeth evil unto his neighbor, unto him shall evil return." There is but one law for Jew and Chris- tian, alien and friend, and that is the law of fraternalism and truth. I turned the pages of history to see the result of the perse- cution upon the Jew and its reaction upon the persecutor. I have found that out of every fire of persecution the Jew has emerged, with marks of suffering upon his brow ; yes, but with heart and ideal unscathed, chastened in body, but purer in spirit, defeated but not cast down, humiliated but not in despair, and has arisen in spite of it all to a commanding eminence in the world of ethics, politics, literature, art and finance, so that to-day, the one per cent of the world's popula- tion that is characterized of Jewish blood and ancestry prac- tically dominates and controls the world. Then when I turn to see the reaction of the persecutions, upon the nations that have authorized them, I learn with Frederick the Great of Germany that to "oppress the Jews has never brought pros- perity to any government." Unroll the long scroll of history and point if you can to any one king or any one government that has oppressed the Jew and not paid a fearful penalty. The anti-Jewish spirit is the spirit of cowardice. It is the spirit of the man defeated in the race, who has not the cour- age to declare his opponent the victor. It is the plot of the Roman Messala to wrest the laurels from the victorious Ben Hur. And if to-night you want a Christian estimate of the secret of his success it is found in this : " His unswerving loyalty to Almighty God and faithfulness in the improvement RICHMOND 181 of opportunity." The Jew is the world's exemplar of oppor- tunities improved. The following resolutions were adopted by the con- vention : Whereas, The recent barbarous outrages in Kishineflf and other Russian cities, which have shocked humanity, have again exposed to view the generally weak and defenseless position of the Jewish nation. And, Whereas, These massacres have proved that the continued settlement of the Jewish people in Russia has been, and is, attended with serious and personal danger and unnecessary and futile martyrdom, thus demonstrating the need for ac- tion other than that of providing relief after such unfortu- nate occurrences. And whereas, the tendency of the nations is to prohibit immigration. Therefore, This convention, reaffirming the Zionist prin- ciples, calls upon every Jewish congregation and community throughout the United States, and upon every individual Jew, to give heed to the piteous appeal of our people; and in the common interests of humanity, and the particular ne- cessities of the Jewish people to help end their present plight, by affording the Zionist movement that cordial and financial support which will enable us to achieve the purpose for which it is organized — the resettlement of the Jewish people in Palestine. RICHMOND, VIRGINIA A mass meeting was held at the Bijou Theater, in Richmond, Va., on May 31, 1903. The meeting was attended by sixteen hundred persons, and fifty vice-presidents occupied the stage. Addresses were made by Henry S. Hutzler, who presided and introduced the speakers: Mayor Tay- lor, Governor Montague, the Rev. Dr. Evans, rector of Monumental Episcopal Church; Roscoe Nelson, a young lawyer; Professor S. C Mitchell, of Rich- 182 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF mond College; George C. Cabell, Jr., of Norfolk; Rabbi E. N. Calisch, and Lieutenant-Governor Wil- lard. John C. Easley offered the resolutions, which were adopted as follows : Whereas, Authentic accounts have been received of hor- rible and unprovoked massacres of Jewish people in the city of Kishineff, in the Russian province of Bessarabia; and Whereas, The savage outbursts appear not only to have been unrestrained by the officials, but even to have been con- nived at by the representatives of the Russian government; and Whereas, These tragedies are so appalling and heartrend- ing as to make civilization stand aghast and humanity to be outraged and stirred to its profoundest depths, be it Resolved, That we, the citizens of Richmond, Va., irre- spective of creed, have heard with intense sorrow and in- dignation the accounts of the shocking and brutal atroci- ties that have been committed against the Jews of Kishineff, Russia, by an ignorant and misguided populace. Resolved, That, as citizens of a republic where freedom sits enthroned and religious liberty is enshrined in the hearts of every true American, we protest against the persecution, the fanatic violence, and the savage shedding of innocent blood. We protest against the spirit of medieval persecu- tion which exists in parts of the Russian Empire, and we denounce these outrages as a stain upon the civilization of the twentieth century. Resolved, That we sympathize with our fellow-citizens of the Jewish faith in their grief and anxiety because of the undeserved affliction which has befallen their co-religionists in Russia; and Resolved, That we urge our government at Washington to act in the name of common humanity by sending to the Rus- sian government a remonstrance against these occurrences; that it be made known to that government that the recur- rence of these bigoted and tyrannical incidents will place her without the pale of civilized nations. Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be printed in RICHMOND 183 the daily papers and a copy sent to the Secretary of State of these United States. The meeting began with prayer by Dr. John Han- non, pastor of Union Station Methodist Episcopal Church. Mayor Taylor spoke briefly, saying he was in hearty sympathy with the purposes of the meeting. He presented the chairman, Mr. Hutzler. Mr. Hutzler's short address succinctly summarized the character of the gathering, its personnel and its purposes. He said: Mr. Mayor: I thank you. It is, indeed, an honor of no small degree to be of such a representative gathering of men — men of all creeds, men of all opinions, differing upon many subjects, widely divergent upon many questions of the day — yet all united at the altar of liberty; all united to up- hold the torch of religious liberty, that glorious torch, v/hich was first lighted in these United States by Virginia; that torch, the divine light from which illumined this God- blessed country of ours to humanity, to power, to glory and to great achievement. It is meet and proper that here in Richmond, the capital of the Old Dominion, within bowshot of old St. John's Church — the cradle of liberty — we should express sincere sympathy for the unfortunate victims of that fanatical Rus- sian mob in Kishineff, and likewise, our emphatic protest against the murder, the pillage, the mutilation and the out- raging of innocent men, women and children. It might be said that meetings such as this have no effect other than moral. Quite true, but the moral effect of the voice of the American people counts for something, and something that will be heard, and when heard will, if not heeded, be carefully remembered. As surely as there is a God above us, just so surely are all men His children, all His children are brothers, for hath not one God created us all? Have we not, all, one Father? 184 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF As do the great minds of all creeds, let us recognize the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man, and voice our sentiments accordingly. Let us give voice to our sym- pathy; let us condemn the savage, the brutal inhumanity of man to man. Mr. Hutzler introduced Governor Montague, who touched on the universal brotherhood of man, which the Kishineff massacre had emphasized and which the assemblage before him illustrated. The story of Kish- ineff was recited, the audience listening with rapt attention. He declared that Russia, by withholding its hand, had committed murder. He referred to the recent imperial ukase guaranteeing religious liberty to the people of the empire, and said : " There we have the declaration of religious freedom with one hand and the persecution of religious freedom with the other. Strange, strange setting loose of antagonisms ! " Dr. Evans dwelt on the power of moral sentiment, declaring it to be the most potent force in the world. The people of the South recognized the fact in the 6o's, when we sent men beyond the seas to intercede with the nations. And at an earlier time in American history Benjamin Franklin appealed successfully in behalf of the colonies at the court of Louis of France. He prayed that the force of moral sentiment would prove so powerful that it would not only stay the Russian paw, but would paralyze it, so that it would never fall in cruel religious persecution again. Roscoe Nelson blamed the Kishineff horror on the spirit of Russian institutions rather than on the people of the empire. The culminating act of cruelty, he pro- ceeded, is the logical outcome of the system of Russian institutions, the history and injustice of which he briefly touched upon. RICHMOND 185 He argued that the Government had sufficient evi- dence on which to base a formal protest and inveighed against the immolation of humanity on the altar of international courtesy. Professor Llitcliell, after complimenting the audi- ence on its representative character and its purpose, commented on meetings of this character being held all over the country, and predicted that in conse- quence of this widespread expression of sentiment, Russia would at least be more circumspect in its atti- tude towards the Jews. He declared it to be his deliberate judgment that Russia, by its policy of reli- gious persecutions, is committing suicide as a nation. Evidences of approval came from the audience when Dr. Mitchell voiced this belief. Colonel Cabell assigned two causes for the outbreak, holding tlie Government responsible: I. The desire of the administration to divert the minds of the people from the Government. 2. The ■wish of the Russian debtor to get rid of the Jewish creditor. He held it to be the duty of the powers to humble the bear in the dust of the soil if the Government stopped its ears and refused to hear the voice of civilization. Dr. Calisch argued from history to prove that Rus- sia's friendship for this country consisted in the pro- fession of it, and declared that she had used the pro- fession as a cloak to hide sinister motives and as an excuse to plead whenever she is caught in crime. He argued that there could be no identity of interests, 186 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF no bond of union between that government of despo- tism and this country of freedom. Letters regretting that the writers could not be present were read from Leroy E. Brown, on behalf of his brother, Captain J. Thompson Brown; Dr. J. J. Gravatt, Dr. J. B. Hawthorne, and others. Dr. Hawthorne's letter was as follows: Richmond, Va., May 29, 1903. Henry S. Hutzler, Esq., Richmond, Va. Dear Sir: I thank you sincerely for an invitation to be present and speak at a mass meeting of citizens of Richmond on Sunday afternoon next to consider the recent massacre of Jews in the Russian Empire. I deeply regret that physi- cal disability, caused by a protracted spell of rheumatism, will not permit me to accept. Every drop of blood in my liberty-loving heart rises to fever heat when I hear of reli- gious persecution in any nation of the earth. It is the meanest, most hateful and most inexcusable form of despot- ism. Strange that this massacre should occur in an empire which has recently issued a decree granting religious tolera- tion to all of its subjects. Is this another instance of the double-dealing policy of the Russian government? It is not definitely known that the government is responsible for this outrage, but, if further investigation should prove . it to be responsible, it will be the duty of every civilized nation and community of the globe to stigmatize its conduct with every epithet that can give expression to virtuous indignation. In every country where the Jews are permitted to live they are an industrious, self-supporting, law-abiding and patriotic people. Nowhere have they merited such inhuman treat- ment as they have received from the Russians. I trust that at the approaching meeting of our citizens reso- lutions will be passed that will justly characterize this butch- ery of an unoffending and deserving religious sect, and re- questing our government at Washington to solicit the co- operation of foreign rrovernments in endeavoring to secure ST. LOUIS 187 a more humane and Christian treatment for the Jews of the Russian Empire. Ardently wishing that your gathering may promote the cause of universal freedom, I am, Yours with high regard, J. B. Hawthorne. ROANOKE, VIRGINIA A meeting of citizens, called by the Mayor, Joel H. Cutchin, passed resolutions condemning the Russian Government for its religious intolerance. Dr. S. Simon was Treasurer, and George Jack, Secretary. ROCHESTER, NEW YORK A sermon on the Kishineff massacre was delivered by Rev. Peter Lindsay, at the Presbyterian Church. ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI A meeting was held at Shaare Emeth Temple, May 24, 1903, under the auspices of the Young Men's Hebrew Association. Addresses were delivered by Honorable John Schroers, Rabbi M. Spitz, Rabbi Leon Harrison, Rev. Dr. U. W. Boyd, Rev. Father F. J. Coffey, Rabbi A. Rosentreter, and F. W. Lehman, Esq. Wm. Sachs, President of the Young Men's Hebrew Association, presided over the meeting, and made the opening remarks. The Honorable John Schroers said, in part: These barbaric atrocities which have taken place in a popu- lous city of 140,000 inhabitants appeal for redress not to the Jews throughout the world, but to the civilized world; not to those professing the religion of the slaughtered, but to those professing the religion of the slaughterers ; it is a crime against civilization and Christianity, as well. These crimes have 188 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF been committed in Christian Russia by a Christian rabble, supported and participated in by Russian officials. Only a few weeks ago we read with some elation the humane ukase of the Czar, which indicated that a new era was about to dawn upon the Russian Empire. Since then how has that humane and pious rescript been interpreted? New invasions have been made upon the liberties of the Finns; new restric- tions have been placed upon all religions not of the orthodox church; movements toward appropriating Manchuria, though temporarily denied, yet sure to be made effectual; lastly, the blood-curdling tragedy of Kishinefl. Whenever Russian horrors reach American ears, we con- stantly hear about the long-standing friendship between Rus- sia and the United States. The Russia of to-day has nothing in common with the United States, and she would, if she could, caviar our Declaration of Independence out of existence and wipe liberty from the face of the globe. The graphic fore- cast of her policy by England's greatest diplomatist, Stratford Canning, is verified in our day. Rome of old extended its sway by conquest, but wherever its eagles flew the arts of civilization followed. The Russian bird of prey has no such commission. It turns indeed toward the sun, but the shadow of its wings is blighting and moral desolation closes upon its flight. Let not a false or misplaced gratitude check the humane sympathies of America for the despoiled Finns, the persecuted Christian Stundists, and the oppressed and mas- sacred Jews. The nations of the world cannot with impunity look silently upon the barbarous outrages that were recently practiced in Russia. Mankind must cry out in protest against all such ferocious onslaughts upon an unoffending people. If there is slavery in any part of the globe, no one is wholly free; and if there are persecutions criminal and fanatical, and wanton destruction of life and property in any part of the world, then no one is safe. Self-preservation alone would dictate a demonstration of disapproval on the part of America, Eng- land and other free nations, against the iron hand of the tyrant. These crimes cry out to heaven for redress. Who would have believed it possible, in the twentieth century, in ST. LOUIS isa a civilized country — every form of human outrage enacted be- fore the very eyes of army, navy and royalty? Human sight is outraged, human reason fails to account for the unexpected bestiality of human nature. The world's sense of sight is almost dulled — God himself is blasphemed. ******* For years the Russian Government has legislated against the Jews. It has not, of course, ordered or authorized or suggested the butchery of them, but it has administratively oppressed them. It has denied them the common rights en- joyed by all other subjects. It has set upon them the stamp of practical outlawry. It has designated them as an unwel- come element in the empire to be in any case suppressed and, if possible, eliminated. The effect of such a govermnent policy upon the average moujik, and upon the mob of a Russian city, is obvious. It encourages, it even arouses, the savage pas- sions which the uncivilized Russian possesses in common with the Chinaman, the Kurd and the Apache; and it does so no less surely because it has no intention of doing so; and when the mob arises and sees the men and women of wealth and culture and social rank smiling at and applauding its deeds, as they did at Kishineff, there is no wonder that it goes on to the most awful excesses. Russia's treatment of Finland is also an object lesson not likely to be ignored or forgotten by Scandinavians and Ger- mans, who would fall the next victims to Russian tolerance should that giant autocracy continue its successful aggression against neighboring nations. The prophecy of the first Napo- leon that Europe within a century from his time would be either republican or Cossack, has not proved true, but it is much more Cossack — that is, Russian — ^than it was one hun- dred years ago, and the fate of Finland is evidence that the Cossack has not changed his nature or his aims. The Finns cannot hope to struggle against the overwhelm- ing power of Russia, and the latter will undoubtedly carry out its purposes of reducing Finland to the ordinary condition of a Russian province, of .suppressing the native tongue in public oflSces, and in the schools, and of breaking down, as far as possible, the Protestant religion, the great majority of 190 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF Finns being members of the Lutheran church. But the ability of Russia to accomplish its heartless and unjust plan of effa- cing Finland from the map of Europe as a separate nationality does not diminish the monstrous wickedness of the under- taking. The virtual abrogation of Finland's constitution is a breach of faith unequaled in European history since the revo- cation of the Edict of Nantes, and it is having the same effect as that infamous decree in driving forth to other countries a multitude of the most valuable subjects of the oppressor. The following resolutions were adopted: Whereas, The horrible and unprovoked recent massacres of Jewish people in certain parts of Russia are of such a nature as to awaken the sympathy and to arouse the indignation of every humane being; and, From authentic press reports it appears that the representa- tives of the Russian Government in authority over the sections where these scenes of barbarism were enacted, failed to give protection to an inoffensive people, and, thereby, aided the inhuman mobs in their murderous deeds, and so became a party to this crime ; and, We, in meeting assembled, being Jewish and Gentile citizens alike, desiring to express our indignation and horror at this terrible outrage against humanity, be it Resolved, That we, as American citizens, believing that people of every creed are entitled to life, to liberty, and to fair and just treatment, denounce these recent outrages in Russia as a crime against civilized government and a blot upon civilization. That, in our opinion, the Russian Government, through the acts of its officials in these districts, has become a party to these outrages, and can only partially atone for them through the speedy and severe punishment of all perpetrators and abet- tors of these atrocities, and, That we appeal to the Russian Government to initiate and enforce such measures as will prevent the recurrence of these outrages, and will give to its people of every religious belief equal rights and equal responsibilities. SAN FRANCISCO 191 SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH. A mass meeting was held in the Synagogue on May 30, 1903. SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA A mass meeting was held in Temple Emanu-El, San Francisco, on May 19, 1903. Judge M. C. Sloss presided, and the following vice- presidents occupied seats on the platform: A. Anspacher, Philip Fabian, Leon Blum, Leon Sloss, I. W. Hellman, Jr., S. W. Heller, Colonel M. H. Hecht, Jacob Stern, Lucius L. Solomons, P. N. Aronson, Benjamin Harris, M. L. Gerstle, Alfred Kutner, J. N. Neustadter, A. Brown, Ben Schloss, J. B. Reinstein, Solomon Reiss, Raphael Weill, Emil Raas, Joseph Naphtaly, Julius Kahn, Juda Newman, S. W. Levy, of San Francisco, and Sol. Kahn, of Oakland. Jacob Greenebaum, Vice-President of Temple Emanu-El, introduced Chairman Sloss, who called the meeting to order, speaking briefly and to the point. Judge Sloss urged the speakers to be calm and dignified, and not indulge in extremes of lan- guage, the prime object of the meeting being to ren- der immediate assistance to the unfortunates of Southern Russia. After a short prayer by Rabbi Friedlander, M. H. Wascerwitz, Acting President of District No. 4, of the Independent Order of B'nai B'rith, spoke on behalf of his organization. He made an eloquent appeal for moral and material aid for the poverty-stricken Jews of Bessarabia. Rabbis Nieto, Levy, Myers and Voorsanger all arraigned in no measured terms the criminal and bigoted policy of the Russian Government that looked on with complacent indifference at the massa- cring of innocent men and women and children, 192 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF A communication from Mayor Schmitz announcing that a mass meeting had been called for Friday night was read. Dr. Albert Abrams declared that these great out- rages that had been perpetrated in the country of the great White Czar concerned not the Jews alone, but the whole civilized world. Professor Margolies, of the State University, urged his hearers to keep their heads cool and their purses open. Dr. A. B. Arnold, formerly of Baltimore and now of San Francisco, quoted from the great Hebrew prophet, " Comfort ye, my people." He declared that the Jewish heart was true to its own and no sacrifice was too great to make. Lucius L. Solomons elicited much applause when he emphasized the necessity at this time for the Jews of this city, State, country and the entire world to organize into one great federation in order to combat the ever-increasing onslaughts of the anti-Semites. Dr. Voorsanger read the following resolutions, which were adopted by a rising vote: The Jewish community of San Francisco in general meet- ing assembled, desiring to give public expression to the deep sense of indignation that pervades its household at the outrage committed against the Jews of Kishineff, in Bessarabia, here- with publishes a minute of its sentiments as follows: This community stands for the fullest and most complete identification of the tenets and discipline of its ancestral faith with the high ideals of American citizenship. As Jews, we are taught principles of the broadest humanity ; as Americans, we proudly recognize the application of the same principles in the aims and purposes of our civic life, and our national government, pledged, as we are, to the maintenance of sucti SAN FRANCISCO 193 principles in both our national and religious life. Our hearts are filled with unutterable sadness that the beneficent influence of Americanism does not extend to millions of our brethren, still the victims of an arbitrary despotism that recognizes neither freedom of conscience nor the self-governing attri- butes of a free manhood. We recognize our obligation to these our brethren. We are deeply moved by their tribulations. This cry of distress has reached us; we respond to their call. Realizing the futil- ity of denouncing a goverrmient seemingly impotent to defend the children of its own soil from the fury of maddened mobs, assisted by rapacious officials, a corrupt police and a church that has evidenced its bigotry by the persecution of Roman Catholics, Protestants and Jews, we deposit at the altar of our faith our resolution to uphold the cause of these our brethren, to aid them to the extent of our power, to organize for their relief, to invoke the justice of God and the indig- nation of humanity until that justice shall triumph and the crime against humanity shall be expiated. We denounce the persecution as unworthy of the sentiments of religion and humanity. Russia persecutes without dis- crimination the Jew, the Catholic, the Finn, the Pole, the Doukhobors ; all have felt the heavy hand of that unspeakable ferocity of a hierarchy that wishes to save Russia for its peculiar form of faith. We American Jews denounce such outrages as against the laws of God and morality instilled by religion. God speed the time when the principles of civilization and freedom may take fast hold of the people of Russia, and toler- ation and justice be established amongst all the inhabitants of that land. And to these our brethren of Kishineff we ex- tend our deepest compassion, praying not for revenge, but for justice; praying, too, that their sorrows may be mitigated by the heartfelt sympathy that will reach them from all parts of the world. A mass meeting was called by Mayor Eugene E. Schmitz, of San Francisco, May 22, 1903, at the Alhambra Theater. 14 194 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF SIOUX CITY, IOWA A mass meeting of the people of Sioux City, Iowa was held at the County Court House, on Thursday May 21, 1903. At the request of the meeting, E. W. Caldwell Mayor of Sioux City, presided. A. L. Fribourg was appointed secretary. The chairman then addressed tht meeting, speaking of the dreadful disasters at Mar- tinique and the famine in Finland, stating that those were manifestations of nature for which no persons could be blamed; but that the present outrages in Russia were the result of the deviltry and fiendishness of the Russian people. He thought that the American people owed it to humanity that some protest be made against such inhuman practices. The call for the meeting was then read, as follows : As mayor of Sioux City, I desire hereby to most cordially urge our people to attend the public meeting called to be held at the court house Thursday evening, May 21, at 8 o'clock, for the purpose of expressing our share of America's sym- pathy for the victims of the terrible oppressions and massa- cres of Jews in Russia, which are reported in such horrible details in the public newspapers. Other cities have held such meetings, in which some of the most eminent clergymen of all denominations and citizens of all classes have participated. I sincerely hope that the people of Sioux City may be equally responsive. Arrangements will be made for brief addresses, giving information as to the outrages that have been perpe- trated, and expressing the necessity for substantial assistance to those who have suffered so much in their homes and property. E. W. Caldwell, Mayor. May ip, 1903. Honorable George D. Perkins addressed the meet- ing, and then offered the following resolution: SIOUX CITY 195 Whereas, Reports, press dispatches and private communi- cations have reached the people of Sioux City, Iowa, detailing certain alleged outrages claimed to have been recently com- mitted upon the Jews of Kishineff by the Russian people of that city, whereby a large number of men, women and chil- dren were killed or injured and unmentionable violence and indignities were committed upon their persons, and their prop- erty confiscated or destroyed. Now, therefore, be it Resolved, By the people of Sioux City, Iowa, in mass meeting assembled, that such excesses and outrages meet with the unqualified condemnation and dis- approval of this community; that the barbarous and fiendish treatment accorded the inoffensive and law-abiding Jews of Kishineff is contrary to the dictates of civilization and human- ity and a blot upon the progress and advancement of mankind ; and that we view with undisguised feelings of resentment and abhorrence the wanton and inexcusable sacrifice and violation of human life which has taken place. And be it further Resolved, That as citizens of the United States and as civil- ized human beings, we believe that the Russian government should immediately investigate and fix the responsibility for the frightful wrongs which have been committed; and that the Russian authorities take such prompt measures as will give ample assurance that such brutal and unspeakable law- lessness and inhumanity may never again be repeated. Dated Sioux City, Iowa, May 21, 1903. Honorable J. H. Quick thereupon in an address seconded the motion to adopt said resolution. Honorable John C. Kelly offered an amendment to the resolutions by adding thereto the following: And be it further Resolved, That it is incumbent upon the government of Russia, in order to exculpate itself from com- plicity in this and other outrages of similar character, that it shall promptly and adequately punish the offenders without regard to their position in society or government. The amended resolutions were unanimously carried. It was then moved, seconded and unanimously car- 196 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF ried that a copy of the resolution be forwarded to thi Russian Minister of the Interior at St. Petersburg Russia, and a copy to the Russian Ambassador a Washington, D. C. The other speakers were Rabbi Eugene Mannheimer Rev. Father O'Connor of St. Joseph's Catholic Church Rev. C. R. Shatto of the Congregational Church, anc Professor W. R. Stevens of the Sioux City High School. SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS A meeting was held in the First Methodist Epis- copal Church, at the call of Mayor Harry Devereaux. Rev. Dr. D. T. Howe presided, and addresses were delivered by Judge J. Otis Humphrey, Rev. T. R. Logan, James A. Rose, Rev. Archibald M. Hall, and Rabbi Traugott. SPRINGFIELD, OHIO The National Anti-Mob and Lynch Law Associa- tion held a meeting on June i8, 1903, and passed the following resolution: Resolved, That we extend our sympathy to the Jews who were so brutally mobbed in Russia; and be it further Resolved, That we do all in our power to discourage mob violence in the United States, as elsewhere. Resolved, That we deplore the condition of peonage or slav- ery found to exist in some of our Southern States. SYRACUSE, NEW YORK A mass meeting was held at the Wilting, on June i, 1903, over which Mayor J. B. Kline presided. The object of the meeting was explained by the Mayor, and regrets were read from Chancellor James SYRACUSE 197 R. Day and Justice P. B. McLennan, who were unable to attend. Judge Charles Andrews was the first speaker. He told how the entreaties from millions of people in this country might eventually bring about better conditions for the race in Russia. He called attention to the views of Grover Cleveland, which, he said, he endorsed. The Government cannot intervene, he said, but the people possess one mighty power, the power of public sentiment, which no government dare disregard. Of the Jews he said : They ask of America no favors. They are loyal, indus- trious and law-abiding. All they want is an equal chance in the great struggle of life. We cannot but admire their strict adherence to the oldest of any religion in the world, and we deeply sympathize with them in the ignominious man- ner in which their own relatives and friends, their own fellow- countrymen, are being dealt with by their own government. As for the responsibility for the acts at Kishineff, the speaker said it seemed that the Government of Rus- sia must bear a large share of this, as the whole course of legislation has been one of oppression. The Rev. Michael Clune represented Bishop Ludden and delivered an address. Rev. Dr. G. B. Spalding spoke briefly but strongly, voicing the general sentiment of his hearers, and the Rev. E. N. Packard and Dr. Calthrop told of the good qualities of the Hebrew race. The resolutions drawn by General Bruce and adopted were as follows : Whereas, Recent occurrences in Russia, the culmination of ages of prejudice and persecution, have shocked the best con- science of humanity everywhere, and specially roused the 198 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF amazement and indignation of the American people, it is most proper that through this mass meeting the people of Syracuse should, in behalf of the Jews of this city and in the cause of righteousness, send out a declaration of opinion lest our silence be construed as indifiference. We see in these outrages apparently a governmental acquies- cence if not participation in them, thus in either case placing the Russian government in an attitude before the world which centuries ago might have been looked upon by barbarians with some degree of complacency, but which now is repulsive to every sentiment of a civilized age. We class the Jewish people among the staunchest supporters of civil and religious liberty, entitled to an equal share in the rights, privileges and blessings which the best civilization can bestow, and to full exemption from racial prejudice every- where. Therefore, be it Resolved, That we do most firmly protest against the spirit which wrought the tragedies in Russia, because (quoting a gifted lover of liberty and justice) we see in them the culmi- nation of the same persecution which for centuries has pur- sued the Jew. The time has come not to continue but to cease this intolerance and by fair and honorable treatment to make amends, in part, at least, for the monstrous injustice the cen- turies have inflicted upon the Jew. Neither the thumb-screw nor the rack, the torch nor the sword ever changed a man's religious opinions, and never will. A man's religion is a matter of personal conscience between him and his God. We protest, too, because we believe in the separation of Church and State ; that no religious test should be required of any man to entitle him to the privileges of citizenship; that it is no part of the function of any government to prescribe the manner in which the individual shall worship God. We protest against the treatment of the Jews in Russia because it violates those fundamental truths asserted in the Declaration of Independence, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalien- able rights, among which are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; and that to secure those rights governments derive their just powers from the governed. We hold these truths TACOMA 199 not only to be eternal but universal in their application, limited neither by race, nationality, religion, nor climate. We protest against Russia's injustice and inhumanity, not only under the mandate of the constitutional law of well- ordered governments, but yet more emphatically under the Higher Law. And lastly, and with all reverence, we protest in the name of the Great Jehovah himself, God alike of Israel and Russia, of Gentile and Jew. TACOMA, WASHINGTON At a meeting held in Tacoma, Wash., in June, reso- lutions were adopted, arid forwarded to the President of the United States. Mayor Louis D. Campbell, who called the meeting, presided, and addresses were de- livered by Colonel A. E. Joab, Rev. A. H. Barnhisel, Morris Gross, Colonel J. J. Anderson, Ellis Gross, and Arthur E. Bernays. The resolutions follow: Whereas, The civilized world has been horrified by the many brutal outrages perpetrated upon the Jewish race in the Russian Empire, and especially by the barbarous massacre of the Hebrews at Kishineff, and Whereas, Such ruthless and inhuman conduct is utterly repugnant to the ethical teachings of this enlightened age, believing, as we do, that we are our brothers' keepers, and that the suffering of one is the concern of all. Therefore, be it Resolved, That we, the people of the city of Tacoma, in mass meeting assembled, do express our profoundest sympa- thies for the unfortunate victims of that appalling tragedy, and our deep sense of abhorrence for such ruthless crimes. Resolved, That we respectfully ask the President of the United States to use his good offices, in the name of humanity, to prevent the recurrence of similar events ; and that Con- gress and the Administration, at the earliest opportunity, take such steps as may be necessary to enforce a proper recogni- tion of these sentiments. Resolved, That a copy of this resolution, signed by the 200 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF Mayor of this city, be forwarded to the President of the United States, to the Secretary of State, and, upon the con- vening of Congress, to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. TERRE HAUTE, INDIANA The following resolutions were drafted and adopted by the Board of Temple Israel, Terre Haute, Ind., on May 28, 1903: Whereas, Authentic reports have come to us of horrible and unprovoked massacres of Jews in a certain part of Russia; massacres, the details of which reveal atrocities unimaginable in a so-called civilized country, in this progressive century. Whereas, There is much reason to believe that the tor- tures inflicted and the cruelties practiced might have been, in some measure, prevented by a more zealous activity on the part of the soldiers of the Czar. Whereas, We are living in a land which cherishes reli- gious liberty and tolerance as an ideal, and are a part of a people whose humanity is ever scandalized by the revelation of oppression whether it be in the name of a church or state. Be it therefore Resolved, That not only as Jews, but as men who desire to live and act according to the spirit of American ideals, we call in the name of a common humanity upon the citizens of this community, to add their voices to the cry now going up from communities throughout the land, as a remonstrance in the name of civilization, against the awful occurrences already recited. Be it further Resolved, That we express our sympathy for the suffering survivors of the terrible massacre and prove our willingness to materially aid them in their extremity, each according to his desire and ability. Be it further Resolved, That we invite all citizens in this community who believe that simple justice and simple humanity have been outraged in the recent massacre of Russian Jews at Kishinefif, and who are able and willing to materially aid the TRENTON 201 suffering survivors of such oppression, to join with us in our response to the call that is made to humanity. TEXARKANA, TEXAS A meeting was held in the Synagogue on May 13, 1903. Addresses were delivered by Rabbi Joseph Bogen, and Miss Jeannette Miriam Goldberg, of Jefferson, Texas. TOLEDO, OHIO A meeting of citizens was called by Mayor Samuel M. Jones. TRENTON, NEW JERSEY A mass meeting was held in the synagogue of the Congregation of the Brothers of Israel, on June 2, 1903. The meeting was arranged by a Committee consisting of Israel Vine, chairman; Samuel Lavme, Mark Simon, Isaac Goldburg, and Harry Haveson. About five hundred persons were present. The meet- ing was presided over by Attorney Benjamin Free- man, who introduced the Rev. Charles H. Elder, pastor of Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church. He said, in part : We are here to-day to help voice a sentiment against the persecution of the Jews by the Russian Government. Another chamber of horrors has been lifted up in the world at Kishi- neff, and as the centuries move on they will pause as they say, " Shame ! shame ! " A large dark spot has been placed upon the resplendent pages of history, which no human hands can hide. We would offer such loud protest that it would go beyond the ocean and make the swords be returned to the scabbards never again to be drawn. The earth has again been drinking the blood of mockery. IS 202 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF The question is greater than a race. Despotism has laid iti weaponed hand on the altar of human minds. Even hel itself has been ransacked to find new ideas of cruelty. We are here to protest against the atrocities because of the age in which they were perpetrated. The gates of progress are wide open, the golden light of education is spreading every- where; liberty is raising altars in every clime. Christianitj touches every soil, religion is given world-wide ground for its seeds. The brotherhood of the race is being told by the poets, from the pulpits and through the press, and yet Russia stands out as the aspirant for a dark-age idea. Congressman Lanning was next introduced by Chairman Freeman. He said: My sympathies are with you as are the sympathies of the whole American people. The massacre at Kishineff has not only filled with horror the hearts of the people of the whole civilized world, but has filled with the profoundest indignation the individual people of America. Every man on this round globe has certain rights of which he cannot be properly deprived. They have not been con- ferred by man, but by the Creator. The Rev. Alfred W. Wishart, of the Central Bap- tist Church, was the next speaker. He said: I heartily endorse all that has been said and am in sympathy with this movement of to-day. Let me go deeper into the subject than have the two speakers who preceded me. Why does Russia persecute? There is the brute in all of us — it has been inherited from the days of savagery. The day is coming when we shall get down to the root of this great question. Russians are your enemies and they are to be pitied. Ignorant and slaves to superstition, they have been made corrupt and made cruel. The words that came down from God through Abraham TRENTON 203 and the apostles lead men to be just, kind, merciful, and active in doing good. In race prejudice, the iniquities of history have been caused. Cruelty comes out of the heart of the man who has a wrong view of man's duty toward man. Russia is about where Europe was during the St. Bartholo- mew massacre. It is a slave to false views of cruel, distant days. We will all welcome the time when the fundamental principles point to love of God and fellow-man. We should put out of our hearts and life all meanness and hatred. Rabbi Nathan Rosenau was the last speaker, and he confined his remarks to a review of what the other speakers had said. The following resolution was offered, and passed by the assemblage: Resolved, That we, the citizens of Trenton, in mass meet- ing, believe in the fullest freedom of conscience; Resolved, That we hold in abhorrence any outrage upon manhood because of religious opinion, and in consequence whereof view with alarm the indignities of the recent massa- cre of the defenseless Jewish people of Kishineff by an ignorant and fanatical populace. Resolved, That we condemn the Russian authorities, both clerical and political, who made such massacre successful; and Finally Resolved, That we call upon the Government of the United States, in the name of humanity, to protest against this barbarous assault upon life and liberty, and to demand from the Czar the protection of our fellow-beings against a repetition of the calamity which has aroused the indignation of the civilized world. On June 2, 1903, the Common Council of the City of Trenton, N. J., passed the following resolution : Whereas, Authenticated reports have reached us of the horrible massacre of Jews by Russians in Kishineff, Russia, coupled with inhuman and fiendish torturing of men, women and children, the wanton destruction of property of Jews and 204 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF a government restriction of the God-given rights of thesi people; therefore, be it Resolved, That the Common Council of the City of Trentoi denounce the outrage as one for which the Russian govern ment should be brought to account. Resolved, That we extend our deepest sympathy to th( sufferers and that we look with favor on the effort of oui fellow-citizens, who in public meeting have started a fund foi the alleviation of the wrongs and hardships of their unfor- tunate brethren. WASHINGTON, D. C. A mass meeting was held on June 5, 1903, in the Columbia Theater. About one thousand persons were present. The meeting was presided over by Honorable James Tanner. Speeches were made by Chairman Tanner, Commissioner H. B. F. Macfarland, Rev. D. J. Staf- ford, of St. Patrick's Catholic Church; Rev. Teunis S. Hamhn, of the Church of the Covenant; Repre- sentative Henry M. Goldfogle, of the Ninth New York Congressional District; Rev. John Van Schaick, Jr., of the Church of Our Father; Rev. Dr. C. Ernest Smith, of St. Thomas' Episcopal Church, and Hon. Simon Wolf. Mr. Wolf called the meeting to order. Mr. Wolf announced that he was ready to hear nominations for chairman, and Gen. T. S. Hopkins arose and nomi- nated Honorable James Tanner, late Commissioner of Pensions. The nomination was assented to by the audience, and Mr. Tanner took the chair. Mr. Domi- nick I. Murphy, editor of the New Century, was nominated for secretary by Mr. Barry Bulkley, and elected, and Mr. John Joy Edson was chosen treas- WASHINGTON 205 urer, being put in nomination by Mr. O. G. Staples. Mr. Tanner announced the national hymn, " Amer- ica," and at the conclusion of the song made a brief address. He said: Ladies and Gentlemen: I deeply appreciate the honor of being called upon to preside over the deliberations of such an assemblage as this, representative as it is of the Christian character and the culture of this fair capital of our great nation. We stand appalled and the heart throbs with horror at the news, which the wires have flashed to us of the outrages perpetrated at Kishineff on an industrious, virtuous, law- abiding people, whose only offense when you come to the last analysis seems to have been that they have, not ostentatiously or offensively, but faithfully, persisted in the worship of the God of their fathers, as those fathers taught them. The first reports we had were horrible enough, but when we come to the awful details, as furnished after careful investigation by Mr. Michael Davitt and others, we are appalled at the spectacle presented as those incarnate fiends ran unchecked through the streets doing their vile work of rapine, outrage and murder. Neither the venerableness of age, nor the helplessness of infancy moved them to pity. Kill, and spare none, was the cry. I wonder that the wrath of an outraged God did not consume them in their bloody tracks, and I can easily imagine that the cheek of the master of the infernal regions may well have blanched as he pondered upon the chance of maintaining his own supremacy when their lost and damned souls shall go down home. The heart and conscience of this great city are represented under this roof this afternoon, and I cannot imagine but that we shall voice the unanimous opinion of all our fellow-citi- zens, present and absent. We meet not as Jew or Gentile, not as Protestant or Catholic, but as American citizens, who have an abiding faith in the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man. What is the pleasure of the meeting? 206 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF Mr. Tanner then introduced Honorable Henry B. F. Macfarland, President of tlie Commissioners of the District of Columbia, who spoke as follows : There are three hundred thousand people in the District of Columbia, and they have as many different views as the same number of people elsewhere. Indeed, from their superior intelligence, they differ more on most questions than people elsewhere. Therefore, it is difficult to bring them into accord on most questions. But there is one question at least upon which they are as one man. That is that which is brought before us by this representative meeting. They unite with all the right-minded people in the country in condemning the atrocious treatment of the Jews of Bessarabia, and in extend- ing sympathy to the survivors of the massacres. I am not here to do anything more than to add my voice in the expression of that pity and that protest which have gone up to heaven. I am not here to instruct the government. The government is in wise, strong and courageous hands. Its duty will be fully and faithfully done. But I am here to say that the National Capital, truly representing the whole nation in this as in so many things, deplores and condemns what has been done to the chosen people of God by barbarians masquerading as Christians. As a Christian I condemn the hatred of those who are not Christians, all that creed preju- dice and all that race prej udice which have led to persecution, and which have at Kishineflf stained the twentieth century with bloody reproach. It is true that we have to blush and hang our heads in shame when we think of prejudices in our own country against men and women solely on account of their race or creed, prejudices which have also led to bloody and shameful deeds, but we condemn them as well as those of men beyond the sea. Wherever barbarism in the garb of bigotry, whether of race or religion, persecutes men and women and children, the condemnation of true Christians must fall upon it, with the condemnation of God. Believing as I do that God hath made of one blood all the peoples on the earth, that his Fatherhood makes us all members of the one family, that whatever hurts one hurts all, even though the hurt be WASHINGTON 207 inflicted by another of the family, I am bound to believe that all this mysterious prejudice against our brethren and all the murderous deeds that flow from it, must diminish until they finally disappear. Under God we can do much to bring about that better state of things. The greatest human force to that end is enlightened and vigilant public opinion. In the end public opinion rules and the united public opinion of the civilized world is invincible. It will be felt in Russia, as it will be felt in the United States. It is for us here in this meeting to add our share to that public opinion, and to see that it is applied in our own country as well as in Europe. The next speaker was Rev. Dr. Stafford. He said that man had certain innate, divine rights which no government had the right to interfere with. Such, he cited, was the right to hve, the right of his own con- science, and freedom of his mind. "Against the viola- tion of these rights we have come to offer a protest and to utter a prayer. May the time soon come when in- tolerance, born of ignorance and bigotry, expressed in brutality, shall forever be banished from the world." Dr. Hamlin spoke next. He declared that race prejudice and religious bigotry had caused more cruelty, bloodshed, and devastation in this world than any other causes. " Both were combined in the deed which we come here to deplore and to condemn. We are somewhat chary of showing our own hands lest the world should see the blood on them of the Chinese, the negro, and the Italian, for which we seem to be unable to make atonement. Such actions are as much detested in America as in Russia, and if I had not lifted my voice when the same thing occurred under the Stars and Stripes, I would not now lift it when it occurred under the Russian banner." He dwelt on the patience of the Jewish race, and held it 208 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF up for emulation. He paid a tribute to Secretary Hay, saying that, judging from his determination to uphold the good name and honor of the United States, he thought the Secretary surely would do all that could be done in this case. In closing, he said: " We send greeting of sympathy to the sufferers and im- plore the governments of the world for simple jus- tice." At this point Mrs. Lounsbury read Joaquin Mil- ler's poem to Russia protesting against the treatment of the Jews. The next speaker was Representative Henry M. Goldfogle, of New York. He told of the various indignation meetings he had attended, and said that the clergy of all denominations, standing together in protest against the massacre of his race, was the best sermon on the brotherhood of man that had ever been preached. He dwelt on the restrictions which had been laid upon the Hebrews in Russia, and of his visit with Simon Wolf to the President last sum- mer to endeavor to secure protection to Hebrew- American citizens traveling in Russia. " A govern- ment which compels a people to live in small towns," said he, " forbids the children to attend school, be- cause their fathers hold a certain faith, which heaps such burdens on a people, cannot push aside the responsibilities for a race prejudice which resulted in the massacre." He advocated the government's in- structing our Ambassador to use his office to secure concessions to the Jews. Rev. Mr. Van Schaick, Jr., said: I am here as a Christian minister to express all love and honor for the race to which Christ belonged and all sorrow WASJllNGTON 209 and regret for the crimes that have been committed in His name. Tolstoi was right last week when he said, " My atti- tude toward the Jews cannot be other than as toward brothers whom I love, not because they are Jews, but because like our- selves and all others they are the children of one God our Father." What priceless treasures of our civilization come from the Jew! St. Peter was a Jew. St. Paul was a Jew. He whom mob violence crucified on Calvary was a Jew. Some of the rarest thinkers of all history, some of the finest poets of all literature, have been Jews. These are not words of eulogy but of justice. Blame the Russian Government if you choose. The Russian laws are cruel and unfair. But back of this massacre, back of those laws, is the old specter of race prejudice and religi- ous intolerance. " God hath made of one blood all nations of men," but we don't realize it. Christ taught the "Universal Fatherhood of God and the Universal Brotherhood of Man," but we don't live up to it. Time was when the church and the synagogue were one — when this bitterness did not exist. The time is coming when the church and the synagogue again will be one, and that will be when we live up to the Golden Rule of Hillel and of Christ. What can this meeting do? It can send out a protest which will be heard. Standing on the ancient friendship between Russia and America, it can ask for a repeal of the cruel anti- Semitic laws and a reform in governmental methods, so loose as to be criminal. More than that, it will accomplish its largest good if it makes us realize that the stream of charity and tolerance can rise no higher than its source, and that its source is in the individual human heart. As we come to judge kindly all races of men; as we come to exercise tolerance in matters of creed and faith, so will the entire nation. As is the individual, so will be the country. As is the country, little by little will be the world. Let no outrage cause us to lose faith. This spectacle of Catholics and Protestants, Episcopalians and Independents, 210 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF uniting in this capital city of the country with the Jews for a purpose like this shows that the world moves. Fifty years ago it would have been impossible. Fifty years hence — ^for what may we not hope? Then came the introduction of a set of resolutions by Secretary Murphy, which were unanimously adopted. They are as follows: Resolved, That the citizens of Washington, D. C, the nation's capital, have heard with intense regret and sorrow the news of the recent outbreak against the Jews of Kishi- neff, Russia, and the shocking atrocities committed by mis- guided and ignorant people, resulting in the massacre of many innocent men, women and children, the wounding and mal- treatment of hundreds of victims, and the destruction by pillage of a large amount of property. Resolved, That as citizens of the republic heretofore ever friendly to Russia, we earnestly urge the claim of the Jews resident in the empire to just and impartial treatment and to protection against such terrible outrages as were practiced at Kishineff. We protest against the spirit of persecution, rival- ing, if not exceeding, that of the Dark Ages, which has been revived in parts of Russia. In this country the equality of man is recognized, no matter what his race, nationality or creed, and which has assured loyal, patriotic devotion to the land of their birth or adoption. Especially is this true of the Jewish immigrants who have settled in the United States in large numbers and who, as a body of citizens, have become faithful, law-abiding, industrious and peaceable Americans. Resolved, That we sympathize with our fellow-citizens of Hebrew faith in their grief and indignation because of this affliction of their co-religionists in Russia, and in their zealous and humane efforts for the relief of the people of Kishineff. Resolved, That the people of the United States should exercise all their influence with the Government of Russia, as the ancient friendship between the two nations should justify, to stay the spirit of persecution, to redress the inju- ries inflicted, to prevent the recurrence of similar outbreaks- outbreaks which have amazed the civilized world — ^and to WASHINGTON 211 secure, by treaty, the recognition of American citizens of Jewish faith in their right to visit and sojourn, as other American citizens do, in Russia. Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be transmitted to the President of the United States and the Secretary of State. Rev. Mr. Smith was introduced to speak on the resolutions. He said, in part : There are times in a man's life when anger is not only justifiable but commendable, when a man would not be a man in any true sense of the word unless he did feel angry, very angry, with a strong, deep, overmastering anger. ******* Now, in the wholesale murders of inoffensive men, women and children, murders most foul — murders without a particle of justification, without a cause and without an excuse — Russia has given us great occasion to be angry, with an anger outspoken in its honesty and consuming in its intensity. It really makes very little difference what view we are inclined to take of the Russian Government's actual share in the blood- guiltiness of these infamous massacres. It is not at all neces- sary to believe the Russian Government instigated them, nor is it necessary either to believe that the officials more imme- diately guilty were well assured that their superiors would not be too extreme to mark what was done amiss. Indeed, as to Russia's attitude before the murders we should be wasting time on a fruitless inquiry. That probably will never be known. They don't publish these things on the housetops. What we are concerned with and what for our purpose is all we need to know is Russia's conduct since the Kishineff out- rages. She has been dumb, silent, voiceless. While the nations of the world have been horror-stricken she has ex- pressed no horror, no mortification, no shame, no penitence. She has given no sign. She has had no word of sympathy for the victims, nor Siberian prisons, or capital punishment for the murderers. She alone is indifferent to the whole ques- tion, as indifferent as the stones in her streets or the pines in her forests. Gentlemen, Russia is guilty after the deed be- cause of her conduct since. Silence gives consent. She ap- 212 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF proves of what has been done. Do we not well, therefore, to be angry, to be righteously indignant, to cry Shame I Shame! in ever-increasing volume and with ever-deepening force. And who is it who cannot but be angry ? Above all men we Christians. These inoffensive people massacred in their own homes were massacred not as aliens in race but as aliens in religion. They suffered as Jews and that by men professedly Christians. This touches us Christians. We feel that the Church of which we are members has been injured, misrepre- sented, that her fair name has been trailed in the mire. Men of our religion have done a frightful deed and we must dis- associate ourselves from them, else shall we become no better than the Turks who from the days of the first dreadful mas- sacre of our Armenian fellow-Christians have expressed no sorrow for the terrible deeds. We must therefore in thought and feeling take our stand beside the remnant that are left and say to their would-be murderers, " Back, back, you strike us : you wrong your religion and cover yourselves with shame and everlasting disgrace by your cruel and murderous con- duct." Aye, and if the last drop of bitterness were wanting to fill up this cup of anger and indignation to the full we have it in the fact that the men attacked were Jews. Surely if there be a community in the world where the Jews ought to be abso- lutely safe it ought to be a Christian community. Whatever Mohammedans might do, whatever Pagans might do, at least Christians should ever regard the Jewish race as inviolate from outrage and wrong. The founder of the Christian church was a Jew. His apostles were Jews. The Scriptures were written by Jews. We look to Jerusalem as the rock whence we are hewn. Our very religion was the flower of which Judaism was the seed. So taught Christ when he said, " Think not that I am come to destroy the law and the prophets : I am not come to destroy but to fulfil." The last speaker was the Honorable Simon Wolf. He indorsed all that had been said for his race. He said that the words that had been uttered would be wafted to gfreat Russia. He expressed the confidence WHEELING 213 that liberality and humaneness would finally reach Rus- sia. Letters were read from Mr. John E. Herrell, Presi- dent of the National Capital Bank ; Gen. O. O. Howard ; Major-General Julius Stahel; Honorable Henry L. West; Rev. Dr. W. E. Parsons, pastor of the Church of the Reformation ; Secretary Geo. S. Boutwell ; Judge Thomas H. Anderson, of the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia; United States Senator L. E. McComas; United States Senator J. B. Foraker; ex- President Grover Cleveland; Honorable Thos. F. Walsh; Honorable Carl Schurz; Honorable Henry B. F. Macfarland; Engineer Commissioner Biddle; Hon- orable James D. Richardson, of Tennessee ; Mrs. Sara A. Spencer, of the Spencerian College ; Rev. Dr. Alex. Kent; and General William Birney. The Washington Branch of the Universal Peace Union, at a meeting held May 17, 1903, adopted a resolution denouncing the massacre at Kishineff. WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA The Wheeling Daily News arranged a meeting of citizens to protest against the Kishineff atrocities, which was held at the Grand Opera House, Sunday afternoon. May 24, 1903. The action of the News was endorsed by representative citizens as follows : We, citizens of the city of Wheeling, endorse the initiative taken by The Wheeling News, in arranging for a mass meet- ing of the people of our community for next Sunday afternoon, May 24, at 3 o'clock, in the Grand Opera House, for the pur- pose of entering the united protest of our people against the unspeakable outrages that have been committed upon the Jew- ish people in Russia. 214 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF We bespeak for this public meeting a large and representa- tive attendance, and suggest that resolutions be presented and passed, denouncing the Russian government for its worse than indifference, and calling upon President Roosevelt and Secre- tary of State Hay to make such diplomatic representations to Russia as are deemed proper. This letter of endorsement was signed by the fol- lowing : Andrew T. Sweeney, mayor; Rev. S. T. Westhafer, pastor Fourth St. M. E. Church; Rev. Jacob Brittingham, rector St, Luke's P. E. Church; Rev. Harry Levi, rabbi Jewish Congre- gation; Frank W. Nesbitt, prosecuting attorney; John C. Lynch, secretary Y. M. C. A. ; H. P. McGregor, Henry Baer, Alex. Mitchell, Morris Horkheimer, G. I. Garrison, A. L White, Bernhard Horkheimer, John H. McClure, Benj. S. Baer, Louis Horkheimer, G. A. Aschman, M. D., W. E. Stone, H. C. Fanzheim, John A. Howard, George Rentsch, John J. P. O'Brien, H. F. Jones, W. P. Campbell, T. S. Riley, Thos. O'Brien, Sr., H. E. Whitaker, Allen Brock, Archie T. Hupp, John Waterhouse, F. Schwertfeger, George E. Stifel, A. L Meyer, George M. Snook, Hal Speidel, S. G. Smith, George S. Feeny. Mayor Andrew T. Sweeney presided over the meet- ing, and the stage was occupied by a large number of citizens who were acting as vice-presidents. The speakers were Congressman B. B. Dovener and Rabbi Harry Levi. Secretary C. W. Bente read telegrams from Governor A. B. White, and Congressmen Day- ton, Hughes, and Woodyard. Congressman Dovener said, in part : This meeting is a very solemn thing, and its purpose ap- peals to the people of free America — to every man, woman and child of the United States as well as to the entire civilized world. To think that in this day and generation of liberty, education and refinement, such a thing as these outrages upon the Jews in Russia was possible! Efforts to relieve the ter- WHEELING 215 rible condition of these people appeals especially to us of America, where all are free and equal. And why these out- rages should have occurred at the time they did no one can tell. It ought to be inquired into by the civilized nations of the earth. That it was utterly without cause seems to be generally admitted. Steps should be taken to insure that nothing of this kind shall occur again in Russia or elsewhere. Rabbi Levi said, in part: And another thing. Count Cassini's criticism of the com- mercial instincts of the Jew may seem sound to those who know little of Russian conditions and perhaps care less for them. But it proves a flimsy bubble easily burst, to one who knows something of the difference between Russia as it is and Russia as its official representatives would wish us to believe it to be. Count Cassini argues that the Jew is hated in Russia because he will not till the soil. But in Russia the Jew is not allowed to purchase or rent rural prop- erty of any kind, and is not permitted to dwell outside the cities. How thus handicapped can the Jew go back to the soil even if he wished to? He is placed behind the bars, and then condemned because he will not come forth and go free. Count Cassini is a good ambassador, but we must not forget it is his business to cover up Russia's fajilts. Congressman Dovener introduced and moved the adoption of the following resolutions, which were passed by a rising vote without a dissenting voice : Whereas, News has reached us of a horrible massacre of Jews in Kishineff, a city in Southern Russia, a massacre totally unprovoked, accompanied by atrocities such as we deemed impossible in these days, and resulting in the death of over one hundred, the injury of perhaps one thousand and the destruction of the property of an inoffensive and peaceable people; and Whereas, The Russian officials, instead of taking proper measures to check the outrage, allowed it to pursue its un- interrupted bloody course and apparently approved it, and Whereas, The authorities at St. Petersburg first denied that 216 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF trouble had occurred, and only when the facts could no longer be concealed confessed part of the truth as to the atrocities; therefore, be it Resolved, That we, citizens of Wheeling believing in the inalienable right of every man "to life, liberty and the pur- suit of happiness," and convinced that religious differences offer no justification for discrimination or violence, do hereby express our abhorrence to Russia's attitude toward its Jewish subjects. Resolved, That we protest against the outrages which Russia permits upon an innocent people. Resolved, That we denounce the Kishineff horror as a blot upon civilization and an insult to humanity. Resolved, That we urge upon our government at Washing- ton the necessity of taking such steps as it may deem advis- able to bring the protest of our liberty-loving people to the nation of Russia, and that it voice, in no uncertain terms, its disapproval of Russian barbarism, and its insistence that such atrocities as have lately shocked the world be once and for all brought to an end. WILMINGTON, DELAWARE A mass meeting was held at the Grand Opera House, on June i, 1903. Mayor Fisher opened the meeting by introducing Governor Hunn as chairman. Peter J. Ford was appointed secretary. In introducing the subject of the meeting, Gover- nor Hunn said it was called for the purpose of pro- testing against the massacre of the Jews in Russia, and he recommended more school houses and better educational facilities as remedies for the existing evil. Such a state of affairs could only be brought about by fanaticism and ignorance. He said that all of us were interested in free America because we have been raised here. He introduced Bernard Harris, of Philadelphia. WILMINGTON 217 Mr. Harris said that he regarded it as a great honor to be called upon to speak in this important meeting of protest against the oppression of the Jews in Russia. In spite of the fact that Russia has been the bearer of the banner of peace, these persons of a different religion would take the poor, martyred Jew and tell him to accept their religion or die. He spoke in praise of the protection of the American Eagle, and told of the Black Eagle of Russia, which, he said, would pluck out the hearts of those who refused to conform to its rules and regulations, protecting none. He said the Jew would not be annihilated, and that Russia did not seem to know that a volcano was slumbering in her land. The speaker said he had a paper in his pocket written by eye-witnesses of the terrible affair. It had only taken since 1881 to turn the rioters into slayers of innocent women and children, whose only offense was that they were toiling in that narrow space given them by the Russian Government. He said when the United States, which is the representative of everything that is worth living for, makes its protest it would be heard much farther than that of any other country. Three thousand years ago men and women just redeemed from bondage stood by the burning moun- tain and received the command from God: "Thou shah not kill." Since that time the Jews had carried aloft in every country of the world the Ten Command- ments. The time had come for the civilized world to tell Russia that such a blot upon civilization could not be longer tolerated. Judge Gray, who was the next speaker, said : 218 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF I have listened as you have with unmixed delight and pleas- ure to the eloquent vjfords of the gentleman, a man of the Jewish race, who has just taken his seat. He has described to you in words that I can hardly hope to imitate, words of eloquence and power, the conditions in that unhappy corner of the great empire of Russia from which so many of you, my fellow-citizens, have come, and in which so many of your race and blood have died the death of martyrs. I am here to-night, of course, as one alien to your race, but one who can give you the right hand of an American citizen, and the right hand of Christian fellowship. I am here to speak, not for your race, as the eloquent gentleman who has preceded me has spoken, but I am here to voice what I believe to be the universal sentiment of Christian America, the universal sentiment of American citizenship, throughout the length and breadth of this broad land of ours — sentiments of sympathy for the suffering men, women and children who have survived this horror, sympathy with you who are of their race and blood, and of protest to be uttered by this great nation, of which we are a part, against the horror and the perfidy and the outrage of the whole matter. Look he who will in apathy, and stifle you who can the sympathies, the hopes and tears. No man or woman bred under the skies that bend over this free country of ours can listen with quiet pulse to the recital of loathsome deeds like those that have been enacted in that far-off corner of the Russian Empire. International proprieties and the restraints of official life, the proper and decent regard that those who represent a great nation in the family of nations must pay to other members, may suppress for a time the official protest of the United States, directed to Russia on account of these appalling outrages. But, thank God, in this free land of ours, no official class, no government, no international proprieties can restrain the expression of the free thought and the free sympathies that well up from American hearts when they hear of outrages so dire and dreadful as those that have been recited in the daily press of the last few days. Speech is free, and the expression of our horror, of our detestation, of these loathsome deeds, cannot and will not be suppressed in this land of ours. WILMINGTON 219 Of all that has come to us in the progress of civilization in the last century, nothing seems to me more striking or more beneficent than the gradual but sure formation of what may now be called an international public opinion. We, living in our communities, dare not violate the well-formed and educated public opinion of those communities. We have, a public opinion wider than that, which embraces our whole land, and in the long run, after discussion, after free thought and free speech, there is formed a body of public opinion that is more potent than law, more potent than kings, more potent than Czars. There is now, thanks to the spreading of the light of the civilization of the century just gone and of the one that is just dawning, a public opinion that is taking within its arms the whole civilized world. No one can take ex- ception to its restraints; all must bow to its supremacy in the end, whatever may be the infractions and violations of it here and there and from time to time. And I no more be- lieve that the great ruler of the great empire of Russia can stand up against the public opinion of the civilized world than I believe that you, my fellow-citizens, or that I, can stand up in our individual capacities and outrage the public opinion of the community in which we live. And so, in this meeting, free speech and the expression of the thought of American citizens, and more than all, the expression of the sympathy from the hearts of American citizens, cannot be suppressed. We hope and believe that a body of public opinion will be formed that will waft itself across the estranging seas that no more sepa- rate lands but only divide them, and make itself felt in the capital of that great empire under whose dominion these out- rages have been committed. And why, of all people of the world, why should not we, in this great America, voice, in our way, our portion of the public opinion that is to govern the world ? To listen to the simple narrative of those terrible outrages — of men and women slain in the streets and by their own doors, children torn from the arms of their mothers and ruth- lessly killed in the sight of those who bore them— things like these appeal to the common humanity of the world. Wild beasts would have more pity ! Wild beasts would stop at the slaying of the young! And shall we not give voice here, in 220 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF free America, to our horror, to our condemnation and indigna- tion at the recital of such events, here in the dawning of the 20th century? Men killed for what? And who? They were Jews; that great race that has justified its existence longer than any other race in the civilized world, that paradox of history — ^bearing the yoke of the oppression of the Middle Ages, but unsubdued and undestroyed, having its beginning back in that sacred land from which all the religions of the civilized world are drawn; that race which, as the eloquent gentleman who preceded me (Mr. Harris) has told you, received the decalogue which is recognized everywhere as the foundation of the moral law that governs the world. These are the people, peaceable, all ac- knowledge; sometimes too submissive; industrious, loving, devoted to family — fathers, mothers and children. For what were they slain? Had they committed a crime? Oh, ho. Had they pillaged the property of their neighbors? Oh, no. Had they committed murder? No. For what, then, did they forfeit their lives? They gave up their lives as for- feits to the ignorance, to the fanatical ignorance and zeal, of those who had been fanned into rage and madness by what is called the "anti-Semitic crusade," that is going on in some parts of the world. It is hard to account for, an anornaly; at war with all the teachings and all the principles that underlie our civilization. But the sad fact remains that there is such a pro- paganda, and these poor people in Kishineff were the victims of it as it was displayed and developed in that remote corner of the world. And we, of this great community of the city of Wilmington, for whom I think I have a right to speak, are here to unite in our expressions of horror and protest against all who have connived at or allowed it. And I believe that this protest from free America will now, as it has before on many occasions, leap over international boundaries, cross the seas that divide us from the old world, and make itself felt — felt as perhaps no physical force could be felt— by the ruler of that great empire. I do not believe, for I can- not find it in my heart to believe, that the ruler of Russia, its Czar, would countenance the horrors that took place in Kishi- neff if he knew of them. I am going to be charitable enough WILMINGTON 221 to him, to think when he learns of these scenes that have been enacted in that remote corner of his empire there will be enough of the milk of human kindness, of common humanity, as well as enough of Christian faith and love in him to dis- countenance and punish those who were guilty, and to lead him to repeal the laws that have made that thing possible. That hope may not be fulfilled, but until the contrary is proved, I shall indulge it. I believe that something will come out of the slaughter of these poor innocents in Russia that will be for the betterment of the race and for the betterment of Russia herself. No country can fulfil a high destiny where such things are possible. No country can stand before the civilized world and hold up her head with the pride of an equal member of the family of nations where such things are pos- sible. Why, I am told (and there are those here who can speak with more authority) that these poor Jews in Russia are confined in one corner of the kingdom. They are not citi- zens or even subjects of the Czar of Russia. It is hard for us in free America to understand that any body of citizens, guilty of no crime, thrifty. God-fearing, charitable, loving, in- dustrious people should not be allowed the liberty of locomo- tion, but should be told that they must stay in one corner of the kingdom while other subjects roam where they will. But I am told it is the case there. I cannot believe that it will remain so forever. We were told in the paper the other day, I think, perhaps, by Count Cassini, the Russian Ambassador at Washington — not as an apology (for I suppose no man could breathe the free air of America and then stand up and apolo- gize for these atrocities), that the Jews had excited the anger of their neighbors because they would only engage in trade, and would not engage in agriculture. There were no farmers or farm laborers among them. Now I am willing to be cor- rected if I am wrong, for I wish to speak accurately and ex- aggerate nothing; but I am told that these poor Jews are not allowed to lease, rent or own land, and yet we are told that they are hated because they do not engage in agriculture. They are not allowed to practice the professions except under cer- tain limitations. They cannot even be poor lawyers without a special permit from the proper authorities. There are better 222 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF things to be than a lawyer, but a man does not want to be told he cannot be one. I understand that they cannot be tradesmen without a permit. A mechanic cannot depart from the city in which he lives and go to another without special permission, and if he wants to stay in the new town he must have that permit renewed every year. That is as if any of you wanted to go to Philadelphia to engage in business, and you would have to go to Governor Hunn for a permit. And when you had been in Philadelphia a year and wanted to stay, you would have to journey all the way to Dover, and if Governor Hunn happened to be there, of course, he would give you a permit; but if he wasn't there you would have to come again. We laugh at that sort of thing, but over there it must be a most terrible reality. How can they breathe the free air of heaven that God has given to us all when such things exist? How can they call themselves men ? How can they look their neighbors in the face and hold their heads up, as men born on free soil have a right to do? But we will have that changed. My brethren, just as sure as God's sun shines in the heavens, this great public opinion of the civilized world is going to reform that and put the Jewish race on its feet, the equal of every other race! I have felt it a privilege to come here this evening, as an alien to your race and blood, and speak for those to whom I belong, so far as religious creed goes. And let me say that whatever I have been taught in the way of religious faith, I have been taught this fundamental truth that lies at the bottom of the free institutions of this country : That no man was ever born so high, so great, so good that he was entitled to work his will upon any other man! No man is good enough to command me, except as an equal law governing all men com- mands me. And that every one of you in free America can say; and some day they will be able to say it throughout the civilized world, and the Jews will be allowed to contribute to the civilization of which they are a part tenfold more than they are now contributing. They have been degraded physi- cally, mentally and morally. You cannot degrade a man and get anything good out of him. If they are to be made what their Maker intended them to be, then they must have free- WILMINGTON 223 dom to develop all the faculties that their God has given them. And if the Czar of Russia wants a contented people; if he wants, in place of these morally, physically and mentally de- graded people, which he says the Jews are, a free, industrious people, then I tell him there is one way, and only one way, in which he can bring that about, and that is, strike off the shackles from their limbs, from their minds, from their hearts, and allow them to work out the destiny that God intended. Let them be free, and he will see statesmanship, philosophy, literature, poetry and all the arts flourish among them and adorn his empire as no other race has ever adorned it. Here in America we know what that race is capable of, and what it has given to humanity and contributed to civilization. We would tell him as his friend — tell him as the head of a great country with which we sometimes say we have traditional friendship — that if he wants the Jew to be to him what he is to us, he must make the Jew free, and he will hook that race to him with hooks of steel, unite heart to heart, strengthen his empire, and do glory to his race and to his generation. Emanuel Furth, of Philadelphia, followed Judge Gray. He said he fancied that to many observers the time of the persecution of his race was not past. He asked the Jewish people to pray for delivery, and assured them that every cloud has its silver lining, and said they should show that they were happy to be in America, and to deserve the freedom which has been bestowed upon them. Bishop Coleman was the last speaker. Judge Gray offered and Dr. A. E. Frantz seconded the following resolutions : Resolved, That the citizens of Wilmington have heard with intense sorrow and indignation the news of the recent outbreak against the Jews of Kishineff, Russia, and the shocking atroci- ties committed by the ignorant, brutal and misguided populace resulting in the massacre of many men, women and children, and the wounding and maltreatment of hundreds of victims. 224 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF Resolved, That as citizens of a Republic friendly to Russia, we earnestly urge the claim of the Jews resident in the empire to just and impartial treatment and to protection against such outrages as the Kishineff massacre. We protest against the spirit of the medieval persecution which has been revived in parts of Russia. In this century the recognition of the equality of all men before the law — whatever their race or creed — is a principle which in practice assures their loyal devotion to the land of their birth or adoption. This is eminently true of the Jewish immigrants from Russia, who have settled in the United States in large numbers, and who, as a body, have become industrious, thrifty, faithful, and law- abiding citizens. Resolved, That we sympathize with our fellow-citizens of the Hebrew faith in their grief and anxiety, because of this afiSiction of their co-religionists in Russia and in their ener- getic efforts for the relief of the people of Kishineff. Resolved, That the people of the United States should exer- cise such influence with the government of Russia as the ancient and unbroken friendship between the two nations may justify to stay the spirit of persecution, to redress the injustice inflicted upon the Jews of Kishineff, and to prevent the recur- rence of outbreaks such as have amazed the civilized world. Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be given to the press, and transmitted to the President and Secretary of State at Washington. At a meeting of the Union Republican Committee of New Castle county, on June i, 1903, Mr. G. W. Roberts offered preamble and resolutions of sympathy with the Hebrews who were holding a meeting at the Opera House, at the same time. The following committee was appointed to carry the resolutions to the meeting at the Opera House, viz.: Messrs. Roberts, Horrigan, and Robertson. The Ladies' Bikur Cholim Society held a fair and festival on June 7, 1903, at the synagogue in Wilming- WORCESTER 225 ton for the Kishineff sufferers. Addresses were de- livered by Rabbi A. H. Erschler, Philadelphia ; Bernard Pockrass, John G. Gray, Howard England, and Mayor-elect Honorable Chas. D. Bird. WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS A mass meeting was held on June 3, 1903, in Mechanics Hall, Worcester, Mass. More than a thousand persons were present. The first speaker of the evening was the chairman of the committee having the meeting in charge, Maurice L. Katz, who offered resolutions, which were adopted and are to be sent to Secretary of State Hay. Letters were read from many well-known men, including Senator George F. Hoar, Congressman Goldfogle, of New York, Rev. O. C. Bailey, of Worcester; President G. Stanley Hall, of Clark Uni- versity; Rev. J. Munroe Van Horn, pastor of Main Street Church of Christ, and Rev. Bernard S. Conaty. Besides Maurice L. Katz, representing the Hebrew population of the city, the speakers were: Mayor Edward F. Fletcher, Congressman John R. Thayer, Rev. James Boyd Brady, District Attorney Rock- wood Hoar, Rt. Rev. Mgr. Thomas Griffin, pastor of St. John's Church; Professor Alexander F. Chamber- lain, of Clark University; Rev. Arthur L. Weatherly, pastor of South Unitarian Church, and Rev. Willard Scott, pastor of Piedmont Church. Mr. Katz made a short address, and then read the following letter from Senator George F, Hoar ; 16 226 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF Worcester, May 29, 1903. My dear sir: It will not be in tny power to accept the invi- tation with which you honor me, to attend the mass meeting in the interest of Hebrew sufferers in Russia. You will readily see that the influence of the United States, which has been sometimes very powerful heretofore in indu- cing foreign countries to treat their oppressed subjects with humanity, is likely to be impaired if members of the Govern- ment, especially of the senate, which has a large share in the diplomatic power of the government, make earnest and impas- sioned attacks on those governments. I have had no opportunity, of course, to make full investi- gation. I do not know what Russia may have said to our government on the subject in the confidence of diplomatic communication. So I do not wish to say anything which can be considered as an unkindness, or might embarrass our ad- ministration, if it sees fit to make any representation on the subject. But neither these considerations nor any other should prevent American citizens from expressing their strong sym- pathy with humanity wherever it is found desolate and op- pressed. The dealing of Christians with the Hebrew race, a race to whom the world has owed so much both in ancient and modern times, is the strongest single argument against Chris- tianity. Our own country has not been guiltless, and is not guiltless to-day, in the matter of trampling upon the rights which belong to all humanity. The friends of humanity must stand together in resisting and denouncing oppression, whether the oppressed be Catholic or Protestant or Jew or Gentile or Oriental or American or Filipino or negro. I think you may be sure that everything that our government can do in behalf of the oppressed Hebrews, it will do. I am, with high regard, faithfully yours, George F. Hoar. Maurice L. K^^tz, Es<3-, Chairman Committee Hebrew Citi- zens, Worcester, WORCESTER 227 Mr. Katz then read a letter from Congressman H. M. Goldfogle, as follows: j-^^. New York, June 2, 1903. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your kind invitation to attend the mass meeting to be held at Mechanics hall, in Worcester, Massachusetts, on Wednesday evening, to protest against the recent outrages committed upon the Jews in Kishineff, and for the relief of the unfortunate sufferers there, and I regret exceedingly my inability to attend owing to an important engagement made before your invitation reached me. The barbarous persecution and the horrifying cruelties to which the Jews have been subjected in Russia, solely because of their religious faith, merit and certainly receive the un- qualified and severe condemnation of every fair-minded Amer- ican, regardless of creed. The civilized world stands aghast at the fiendish treatment of the Jews in Russia, against whom the malignant shafts of bigotry and race hatred and intolerance have been directed for centuries past ; but what is to be marveled at is, that in this age of professed enlightenment and civilization, any people should be subjected to the frightful atrocities which recently were committed at Kishineff upon defenseless men, women and children, simply because they differed from their perse- cutors in religious faith. It is indeed highly gratifying to find that here, in our God- blessed country, all our citizens in common have raised their voices in earnest protestation against the persecutions in Russia, and have by their generous and liberal contributions for the relief of the distressed made manifest their hearty sympathy for the unfortunate, the oppressed and the downtrodden. Such powerful protests as recently have come forth from every section of this republic, from the lips and pens of every class of our fellow-citizens, intensely emphasize how strongly America stands for the equality of man, and for those high [principles of civil and religious liberty and broad tolerance upon which our government rests. 228 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF In the hope that your meeting may be successful, and again expressing my regrets at my enforced absence from your meet- ing, I am, Very truly yours, H. M. GOLDFOGLE, M. C. Maurice L. Katz, Chairman Mdss Meeting, Worcester, Mass. A letter from Rev. O. C. Bailey, pastor of Memorial Church, followed. Mayor Fletcher was then introduced. He said, in part: Who is responsible for the Kishineff massacre? There is btit one answer in the hearts of each and every person present to-night. It is the Russian government itself. Why? Because it has discriminated against this class of its subjects, denying them the rights accorded to all others; permitting its clergy to denounce them, and by so doing exciting religious feeling against the poor Hebrew; and it also failed to check news- paper incitement to violence which it had full power to do, The department of press censorship which is under the con- trol of the minister of the interior, and which sends to the Rus- sian press almost daily circulars of instruction with regard to matters that may or may not be discussed, allowed The Bessarabetz to publish day after day for months, articles filled with the bitterest abuse of Jews and the Jewish faith, and by so doing to excite religious bigotry and class hatred by every means they possessed. The Russian peasants, poor and ignorant as they are, felt as though they were carrying out the policy of the government in committing any manner of crimes and depredation against the poor Jewish people. These riots are not new in south- western Russia. They have existed for years, but means are taken to suppress the notoriety of the same. Congressman John R. Thayer was the next speaker. Mr. Thayer said, in part: I hope it will be found that the Czar gf- Rubsia -had no know- ledge of this thing. I hope and trust that his officials had nothing to do with it, But I retnember that a Hebrew trsvd' WORCESTER a29 ing from the United States to Russia, whether he be a citizen of the United States or not, does not have the right to use his citizenship as would I or my friend the mayor, if we behave ourselves as well there as we are supposed to here. A passport in the hands of a Hebrew who intends to travel through Rus- sia, has limitations. He must swear that he is a Hebrew, and is not exactly safe. There are many here who think that congress is not doing anything in this matter, but it is. I will read for you the resolution passed a short time ago, calling for an investigation by the secretary of state as to the conditions existing regarding passports. But for the present, the old system holds. It is the same on this occasion. You may depend, fellow- citizens, that the United States congress will take the proper steps in this matter when the time comes, and they will be taken in the proper way. Rev. James Boyd Brady, pastor of Grace Church, was the next speaker. Rev. Mr. Brady said, in part : We are here to protest. And, for one, in the time-honored memorable name of all the ancient holy Hebrews have done for the world, I protest. Aye, in the name of more recent Hebrews also. In the name of Gambetta, that tireless Jew, who more than any other man helped to construct the French republic, after the Germans had whipped out its imperial conceits, I protest. In the name of the Jewish Lasker, that most polished and powerful leader of the Prussian parliariient, the only man for whom Bismarck ever evinced reverential respect, I protest. In the name of Benjamin Disraeli, earl of Beaconsfield, who, on being taunted in England's parliament with being a Jew, replied : — Yes; I am a Jew, but let me remind the honorable gentleman, that when his ancestors were savages on the banks of the Thames, mine were princes in Solomon's temple, I protest. In the name of the Hebrew, Moses Montefiore, who for his beautiful and bountiful benevolences has received the homage 230 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF and gratitude of the civilized world, I protest. In the name of Baron Hirsch, the Hebrew, patriot and philanthropist, who gave fifteen million dollars for the relief of suffering men, women and children, I protest. Aye, more, and above all, in the name of Jesus, that greatest of all Jews, who has given us our civilization, commercial supremacy, artistic splendor, and national grandeur, I protest. In the name of Jesus, that most magnificent Jew, who gave us our happy homes, our culturing colleges, our inspiring churches, our national privileges, our fair humanities, I pro- test. In the name of Jesus, that most divine Jew, who gives us our highest ideals of human brotherhood, of heavenly hope, of triumphant faith, of noblest courage, of gracious manhood, of splendid womanhood, of princely virtues, of superb self- sacrifice, of universal love, and imperial joy, I protest. For I hear his voice still sounding down the centuries over all races of mankind. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, do ye even so to them. District Attorney Rockwood Hoar then spoke, and said, in part : I come here to join with you and add my protest to yours. Your voice is our voice, and our voice means the voice of humanity, not of Hebrew, not Christian, but of all. As men, we protest against the atrocities. Your protest is my protest, it shall sink deep into the hearts of those at home, in Wor- cester, and it shall be heard in farthest Russia, let us hope, where light seems darkness, and barbarism reigns. In closing, I can only say, may the people who perpetrated these outrages, who murdered the women and children without defense, may they meet with their just deserts, and may they feel the power of the Most High. Rt. Rev. Mgr. Thomas Griffin then spoke : Being an Irishman born, and an American since my early days, I remember the great Irish patriot O'Connell. Perhaps he did have differences with Disraeli in the English parliament, WORCESTER 231 but when Disraeli was taunted with being a Hebrew, it was O'Connell who stood by him, and would not take money from the government that shed the blood of his fellow-beings. We are all of us made in the image and likeness of God, and I shake hands with you my brethren, as a brother, as one who has in him the same life blood from which we all originated. The commandments that God gave as the most important are, first, thou shalt love the Lord thy God, and second, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. That is the foundation of good and is what distinguishes the likeness between us. A letter from G. Stanley Hall, President of Clark University, was then read. It is : June 3, 1903. To Maurice L. Katz, Chairman. My dear sir: I regret to be suddenly prevented from being present to-night, to express by word of mouth the resentment which the civilized world feels at the foulest blot in the his- tory of the new century thus far. In no land can this right- eous indignation be stronger than here, where the guarantee of life, as well as liberty and the pursuit of happiness, is the cornerstone upon which rests everything that makes American institutions dear to all patriotic hearts. Nowhere have the old race prejudices been so far outgrown, or the Jews themselves made such progress and attained such influence, not only in the world of business, but in society and culture. The long story of the massacres of Christians in Turkey enables us to enter with the heartiest sympathy into the senti- ments which Jews throughout the world must feel for the atrocities practiced upon their co-religionists in Russia, and this should be a new bond between Jew and Christian, as we here unite to condemn intolerance, whether of religion or race. Turkey is an anachronism in modern history, and in a sense out of place in Europe. Russia, autocratic as she is, cherishes western aspirations and is proud of her recent pro- gress. In all fairness we ought to assume, till the contrary is proven, that the massacre at Kishineff is the outcome of ignorant and popular fury, not only unauthorized, but con- ^32 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF demned by the government, just as we have hoped, almost against hope, that the Armenian massacres were, at least, unauthorized by the Porte and his advisers. If this is so, the moral of Kishineff is popular education, which alone can be trusted to bring races into close and friendly contact and teach them mutual respect. If the tidal wave of condemnation which sweeps eastward can compel Russia to yield to public opinion of the world and give to all its millions of children educational opportunities that this century demands, then, perhaps, as the blood of the Christian martyrs has been the seed of the church, so these victims may open the doors to a life of larger freedom, sym- pathy and humanity which Russia so needs and which only education can give. I am, faithfully yours, G. Stanley Hall. The following resolutions were adopted: Resolved, that the citizens of Worcester, having heard of the terrible and savage atrocities committed upon the defenseless Jews of Kishineff, Russia, in mass meeting assembled, do in one voice of indignation cry out at the shocking, brutal and misguided actions of the Russians, and protest against the bar- barism of a government that allows such actions on the part of its citizens in this enlightened 20th century. Resolved, that we sympathize with our fellow-citizens of the Hebrew faith in their grief and anxiety, because of this afflic- tion of their co-religionists in Russia, and their energetic efforts for the relief of the people of Kishineff. Resolved, that as citizens of this grand republic of the United States, the exponent of all that is noble, the grandest example of freedom and liberty, we respectfully request our government to protest against the inhuman outrages against life, liberty and property, and to exercise such influence with the government of Russia as the friendly feeling between both nations may allow; so that in the future no repetition of the terrible calamity at Kishineff be heard of. Those who occupied seats on the platform were: YONKERS 233 Dr. M. G. Overlock, Frank L. Dean, Rev. Eliot White, Francis A. Harrington, B. W. Potter, Edwin P. Crerie, J. Cantor, E. Cashdan, Rev. M. Kaplan, Rev. John Metcalfe, Thomas J. Higgins, O. H. Conlin, W. H. Bartlett, J. H. Walker, W. A. Lytle, John B. Ratigan, David Manning, Richard Mooney, Samuel S. Green, E. H. Tovi^ne, David A. Matthews, J. F. Bigelow, S. Hamilton Coe, Norman B. Parsons, Wesley Merritt, Rufus B. Fowler, George H. Haynes, Rev. Arthur St. James, Frank B. Hall, J. W. Mara, Edward G. Goodwin, Leonard J. Zisman, Providence; Simon G Friedman, Edward D. Cunningham, Stephen Salis- bury, Lyman A. Ely, M. J. McCafiferty, Rev. Arthur S. Burrows, B. H. McMahon, Levi White, Jacob Lewis, Rabbi Herman Silver, W. W. Lundelin, John L. Lynch, G. Alfred Busby, Max Feiga, and Philip J. O'Connell. YONKERS, NEW YORK A mass meeting to protest against the Kishinefif occurrence was held on May 19, 1903, at Teutonia Hall. Max Cohen acted as temporary chairman, and he introduced Mayor M. J. Walsh as the permanent chairman of the evening. The Mayor said, in part : When I assumed the duties of the position in the city govern- ment which I now have the honor to occupy, it was with the solemn feeling that in all my official, or even semi-official relations and dealings with the people I would utterly ignore all feelings and considerations of race or creed distinction. It was in this spirit that I issued the call for this meeting; it is in this spirit that I have attempted to act as the mouth- piece of the men and women of this community; it is in this spirit that I have endeavored to bridge the thousands of miles that separate us from those wretched survivors in Kishinefif, 17 234 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF to stretch out to them the hand of human brotherhood, to offer them the solace and consolation of sincerest sympathy and to extend to them the hope that the time is drawing near when, like our free America, there will be a free world, wherein all men can pursue their avocations, live their lives, and follow their religious belief, unmolested by hatred, bigotry and perse- cution. Mr. E. J. Renahan read letters of regret from Rev. Dr. E. S. Alderman, Rev. J. M. Bruce, Thos. Ewing, Jr., Very Rev. Dean Lings, Hon. N. P. Otis, Hon. Leslie Sutherland, F. A. Winslow, Colonel Fisher A. Baker, Chas. R. Otis, John C. Havemeyer, Wm. H. Doty, Alex. S. Cochran, Francis P. Treanor, E. L, Peene, S. T. Hubbard, Chas. Henry Butler, Goodwin Brovi^n, James M. Hunt, and Moses Williams. The letter of Dean Lings, who was to have been one of the speakers, was as follows : YoNKERS, N. Y., May 28, 1903. Mr. Mayor, Ladies and Gentlemen: I regret that I have to take this way in joining with you in expressing detestation for the horrible atrocities perpetrated on the poor Jews of Kishineff, by Russian cruelty. I thank the Mayor for giving the citizens of Yonkers an opportunity to come together and uniting in expressing their feelings of abhorrence and their sympathy for the sufferers. It is an honor to all who take part in this meeting. We are Americans, and we insist that humanity shall be practiced towards everybody; that the time has long since passed when any nation shall stain its hands and its fame by shedding inno- cent blood. We are all honored, I say, by participating in this protest, because it shows that we have a heart and feeling for our fellow-man, which is one of the traits of highest civili- zation; and America stands pledged to this kind of civili- zation. A. A. Lings. YONKERS 235 Rev. J. J. Fullam, assistant rector of St. Mary's Church, said, in part: I hold it to be fitting and becoming that I, a priest and a representative of the Christian religion, should occupy this platform of protest this evening and help to swell with my voice the resounding cry of indignation that is arising from this fair land of ours in condemnation of these barbarous outrages. Addresses were also delivered by Judge William C. Kellogg and the Rev. Jas. E. Freeman. The following resolutions were offered by Alderman Coyne, and adopted: Whekeas, the citizens of Yonkers, like tlie citizens of all civilized communities, have been shocked and horrified by the awful atrocities committed by the brutal mob upon the defense- less Jews of Kishinefl, Russia ; and Whereas, the law-abiding sense of the community has been aroused to resentment against the local and provincial authori- ties at Kishineff, who for three days allowed the rioters to pursue their course of murder and destruction, without lifting a finger to stay the barbarous work of the mob; therefore be it Resolved, that the citizens of Yonkers, in meeting assembled this 28th day of May, 1903, at Teutonia Hall, express their sense of horror at the terrible crimes committed; their indig- nation against the supine inactivity of the officials; their sin- cere and heartfelt sympathy with the sufferings of those who survive; and be it further Resolved, that it is the sense of this meeting that such rep- resentations should be made as may secure to the Jews in Russia more perfect protection for life, person and property; and be it further Resolved, that a copy of these resolutions be transmitted to the State Department at Washington. Among those who occupied the platform seats were : Rev. Dr. David Cole, Rev. F. W. Cutler, Rev. Charles 236 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF E. Allison, Rev. Dr. James T. Bixby, former Mayor John G. Peene, Assemblyman J. J. Sloane, Commis- sioner S. L. Cooper, Captain Fred. H. Woodruff, City Attorney I. J. Beaudrias, City Treasurer George Van- derlyn, City Clerk Joseph F. O'Brien, Tax Receiver Jas. T. Lenon, President of the Council John J. Loehr, Aldermen John H. Southwick, John H. Coyne, Wil- liam G. Shrive, John T. Geary, E. J. Earl, P, J. Curran, D. F. Valentine, C. W. Clark, Supervisors E. A. For- syth, T. F. Browne, P. J. Whalen, J. Frank Curran, Police Commissioners Alfred Fox, A. A. Schaeffer, School Commissioners Charles H. Fancher, Valentine Brown, Frederick R. Burton, Ethelbert Belknap, Health Commissioner M. F. Mulrooney, Buildings Inspector Brady, Charities Commissioner James J. Fleming, Frank E. Xavier, Wm. Welsh, Rev. C. L. Walsworth, Rev. H. Booker, Rev. J. T. Gaskell, and Rev. J. Lewis Hartsock. PART SECOND EDITORIAL ARTICLES PART SECOND EDITORIAL ARTICLES ALTOONA, PENNSYLVANIA [Times, Altoona, Pa., June i, jpoj] CLEVELAND ON JEWISH HORROR The speech which Mr. Cleveland delivered at the meeting in New York to protest against the massacre of Hebrews at Kishineflf, says The Philadelphia Bulletin is creditable alike to his humane instincts and his common sense. The lan- guage of abhorrence and condemnation in which he described that crime against humanity expresses rightly the feelings of the American people. In giving vent to such horror and indignation he did not think that there were words too strong for characterizing the foulness and barbarity of the deed or pointing out the justice of inflicting swift and con- dign punishment upon its perpetrators. Mr. Cleveland's experience as the head of government of the United States has taught him, however, the value of ex- ercising a conservative spirit on such occasions. He, there- fore, suggests that it will be well before we accuse the Rus- sian government of guilty complicity in the massacre to wait until the facts on that point are clearly ascertained, and he shows that the significance and eflfect of the moral protest of Americans will not be at all lessened by such caution. In enforcing this admonition, he said: I do not say that the Russian government may not by sins of omission or commission be justly deserving of our condemnation; but we shall not be satisfied to assume this, when we remember that we ourselves have found it impos- sible to prevent mob violence and murderous assaults in Wyoming and "on the Italians in Louisiana. I am distinctly and unequivocally in favor of informing our government in unmistakable terms of our indignant and deep condemnation of the late outrages upon the Jews in Russia, but I hope that in obedience to the dictates of American conservatism 240 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF and moderation, which are never long obscured, we may be even now just and fair, and that we will be content to forego perplexing and extreme demands upon our government for violent action. The gist of Mr. Cleveland's advice seems to have been em- bodied in the resolutions which the meeting adopted and which declare that " the people of the United States should exercise such influence with the government of Russia as the ancient and unbroken friendship between the two coun- tries may justify to stay the spirit of persecution, and to redress the injuries inflicted upon the Jews of Kishineff." In making such a declaration all Americans who abominate the prejudices and the hates of caste and creed and race can join hands on the broad general ground of humanity, yet mindful of the crimes of similar kind which have been com- mitted in this country, and which our own government has been powerless to put down. ASHEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA [Citizen, Asheville, N. C, May 20, ipoj] MURDER OF JEWS IN RUSSIA The appeal that the Hebrews throughout the country are making in behalf of the victims of the anti-Jewish outrages in Russia should find a generous response. That response must not be circumscribed by denominational lines or limited to race or sect. It must be as wide as hu- manity, as generous as the circumstances require. As these outrages were committed by fanatics in the name of Christ, the peacemaker, a civilized and Christian people must do what they can to erase the blot. Declaring his abhorrence at this massacre that has carried gray hairs and childhood alike to the grave and spared neither sex nor condition, Cardinal Gibbons has expressed a sentiment that every American can endorse: Our sense of justice revolts at the thought of persecution for religion's sake; but when persecution is attended with murder and pillage, the brain reels and the heart sickens, and righteous indignation is aroused at the enormity of such ATLANTA 241 a crime. What a blot upon our civilization is this slaughter of inoffensive men, women and children. Please convey to the meeting my grief for the dead, my sympathy for those made helpless by the murder of their natural protectors, and my sincere hope that this twentieth century will see the end of all such occurrences, and that peace, good-will and broth- erly love may prevail on earth. While a generous people are sending aid to the sufferers, there devolves upon our government also the duty of invit- ing the great powers of Europe to co-operate on lines of civilization and common humanity and appeal to the Czar, to the end that a more humane policy toward the Jews be adopted throughout his dominions. ATLANTA, GEORGIA [Journal, Atlanta, Ga., May 23, 19031 TOLSTOI AND THE MASSACRES A letter from Count Leo Tolstoi, answering a request for his opinion of the Jewish massacre at Kishineff, deserves more than passing comment. The letter has just been made public in this country. Count Tolstoi says in part: My relation to the Jews and the terrible Kishineff affair must be clear to everybody interested in my beliefs. My re- lation to the Jews can only be as that to brothers whom I love not because they are Jews, but because they, and every- body, are the sons of one Father, God. Before knowing all the frightful details, I understood the horror and felt intense pity for the innocent victims of mob savagery, mingled with perplexity at the bestiality of the so-called Christians, and aversion and disgust for the so-called educated people who instigated the mob and sympathized with its deeds. Above all, I was horrified at the real culprit, namely the government, with its foolish, fanatical priesthood and gang of foolish officials. The Kishineff crime was a consequence of preach- ing lies and violence, which the government carries on with such stubborn energy. The government's relation to the affair is new proof of its rude egotism, hesitating at no atrocity when it is a question of crushing movements re- garded as dangerous, and is proof of its complete equanimity, which is like that of the Turkish government toward the Armenian massacres and most horrible atrocities, if only its interests remain untouched. 242 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF There are some sig^nificant phrases in the above letter. At no time, perhaps, since the beginning of the anti-Jewish outbreaks, has the situation been so tersely and fearlessly described. In half a dozen words the great thinker uncovers the real cause and character of the outrages, and arraigns the Czar's government before the world as responsible for the massacres. The Journal has been slow to indulge in sweeping de- nunciations of the Russian government concerning these outrages until a fuller investigation could be had and the blame fixed where it belongs. But now, as each succeeding cablegram tells new details of savage and inhuman violence and shows ever more plainly that the provincial and central authorities permitted and even encouraged these massacres, we think that the time has come when civilized people everywhere. Christians and Jews, should unite in one voice of disapproval against the Czar and his ministers for these shameless crimes. It is not a few ignorant ruffians in Bessarabia who are on trial today. It is a national government. The criminals who have been hauled before the world's bar of justice are from St. Petersburg as well as from KishineflE. The verdict is made up; and already we hear on every lip the word " Guilty." BALTIMORE, MARYLAND [American, Baltimore, Md., May 9, 1903] THE RUSSIAN MASSACRES Details of the massacres in Russia which have reached this country, and which have just been made public by the Central Relief Committee, tell a story of horror and blood- shed which must shock the whole world. The attempts of Russian officials to minimize the affair in Kishineff have failed, and as the true facts come to light they prove that the local governor, if not a direct party to the outrages, made no serious efforts to prevent the carrying out of the plot. Well did he know that the Russian Easter days had been chosen for the massacres, but he took no steps to hold the BALTIMORE 243 mobs in check until after they had run riot and the bloody deeds were done. The butchers spared neither women nor children, and their victims were numbered by the hundreds. Had the Russian government any sincere regret over the murderous outbreak it would have taken immediate steps for the care of the wounded and for the relief of the thou- sands who were left homeless and in poverty by the work of these fanatics. But the Russian government has done noth- ing of the kind. It has only given perfunctory expression of regret, and declared that those participating in the attacks will be punished. This policy of inaction, if it does not show absolute sympathy with the murderers, means that such outrages could be repeated without any serious efforts to prevent them. Russia has, therefore, left it to other nations to do the work it has left undone — ^to supply the needs of these poor sufferers of Kishinefl. The United States has taken the lead in this matter, and already several thousands of dollars have been forwarded to Russia. Much more will be needed, as the suffering is widespread. Russia's Czar desires to be looked upon as a progressive monarch — as one who, above all things, hopes and plans for the peace of the world. Yet he tolerates these brutal attacks upon a portion of his subjects, permitting murder, outrage and plunder and keeping in high official position men who connive at these things. After the deed has been done he gives expression to no regret; seems to regard it as a matter of little moment and of no deep concern to either the present or the future of his land. His predecessors carried on syste- matic persecution and banishment of these people, but from him had been expected a more humane policy. In this has he failed, and the Easter massacres at Kishineff will always remain a dark blot on the reign of Nicholas IT. [American, Baltimore, Md., May 14, 1903] FOR SYMPATHY AND RELIEF There should be a large attendance at the meeting to be held at the Academy of Music Sunday afternoon to express sympathy for the Kishineff sufferers and to add to the relief fund now being raised in this country. Meetings of this 244 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF character, inaugurated by the Alliance Israelite Universelle, are being held in many cities, and that in Baltimore should be one of the largest and one of the most liberal of them all. The needs of the sufferers are great, and to be effective the relief must first be prompt, and must then continue un- til those impoverished by the outrages can be placed in position where they can again earn a livelihood. Reluctant was Russia to admit that any outrages had been committed, but when the true facts reached the outside world and the full story of the bloody massacre was known, then the Czar's government came out with its ignoble con- fession, making the pretense that it had been powerless to prevent the wrong. This policy gives no assurance that such occurrences will not be repeated, and even now Russia is carrying out in the most unmerciful manner an edict ex- pelling a large number of these people from its territory. Work of this sort is done in Russia with extreme inhu- manity; no regard is paid to age or sex; old and young are driven out like cattle, their property confiscated, and fortu- nate are they when they escape with their lives. It is ab- surd for the Czar to pose as the world's peacemaker when he, in his own dominion, not only tolerates, but encourages, such persecution of inoffensive and loyal subjects. He not only throws open to reasonable suspicion all of his pretended efforts for good government, but he insults every principle of humanity, and invites, as he must receive, the condemna- tion of all who love liberty, hate oppression and hold perse- cution as a crime. It is but right that this government should enter a pro- test against these outrages — a protest that can be indorsed by every liberty-loving nation, a protest that will reach the ears of the Czar and show to him how sucE massacres are universally condemned. The relief movement in this coun- try also contemplates such a protest, and leading prelates of the Christian faith have given their endorsement to the plan. The meeting in Baltimore Sunday afternoon will give voice to this sentiment, will express sympathy, give relief and call for diplomatic action, in the hope that Russia will make an end to such crimes once and for all. BALTIMORE 245 [American, Baltimore, Md., May 2S, ipoj] RUSSIA'S RESPONSIBILITY Civilization moves with halting step in placing responsi- bility for the Kishineff massacres upon the Russian govern- ment—where it rightfully belongs— and in assessing damages for the atrocities. A few years ago, when the Armenian massacres shocked the civilized world, there was no hesi- tancy among the powers in calling Turkey to account. Within the last few months Russia herself has enacted the farce of trying to put an end to atrocities practiced by emis- saries of the Turkish government upon Christians in Mace- donia. But the slaughter of the Jews in Russia — out- rivaling in bloody hideousness the scenes of carnage in Ar- menia and Macedonia — calls forth no official protest. The United States has unofficially expressed its horror, and its people have given freely to relieve distress at Kishineff, and to save the Jews there and in other Russian cities from a repetition of the outrages; but no government has yet officially lifted its voice to rebuke Russia. Are we to believe that Russia is licensed to do what civili- zation says no inferior nation may practice with impunity? Is it possible that Russia, while keeping up the farce of putting down oppression in Macedonia, is to be permitted to commit murder, pillage and outrage against a portion of her own populace? These are serious questions, and those nations having close communication with the government at St. Petersburg cannot dodge them. They must be taken up and answered, since upon them hinges the very impor- tant problem of whether or not Russia is to be permitted to continue within the pale of civilization. The facts of the case are simple. The massacres, be- ginning at Kishineff, were wantonly inexcusable and brutal to an unparalleled degree. While they were in progress the strong arm of the Russian government, represented by soldiers in number sufficient to quell the disturbance, was not lifted to save the defenseless Jews. When, after the trouble had reached its climax, official notice was finally taken of it, the government at St. Petersburg set in motion 246 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF the machinery for the preservation of the law, but acted in such a manner that effective repression of the murderers was impossible. And now the edict goes forth, while the officials take no effective steps to preserve the peace in the empire, that the Jews are not to be permitted to arm them- selves for purposes of self-defense. As if this were not enough, the agents of the Czar — ambassadors and diplomats — endeavor to excuse the horror by showing justification, as though anything could justify murder, rapine and pillage on such a brutal and wholesale scale as they were practiced under the eyes of Russian regiments! These facts — and they are indisputable — prove to the world the actual and moral responsibility of Russia. The govern- ment has, by the publication of its records and by its supine- ness, proved its complicity in the crimes, nor can it hope to evade the penalty therefor. The fact of the matter is that at St. Petersburg the slaughter of the Jews was probably welcomed, and is now being encouraged, for the trouble is by no means at an end. The Russian government slumbers over a volcano of whose existence it is well aware. It has so harassed, burdened and oppressed the dense populace that, stupid and subservient as is the Russian peasantry, the spirit of revolution is rife. No man knows the moment when the millions of downtrodden Russians may rise and enact scenes throughout Russia in Europe compared with which the French Revolution will rank as mild and blood- less. The people of Russia are ripe for just such an uprising; their long pent-up suffering is forcing them to that point where blood alone will requite their wrongs. Naturally, this outburst, when it comes — and it will come, because with con- ditions as they are in Russia it is inevitable — will be directed against the nobles and ruling classes. These classes may, therefore, view the Kishineff horrors with equanimity, since the letting of the blood of the Jews may satisfy the populace for the time being and postpone the coming of that hour which all intelligent Russia, in common with the civilized world, dreads. But this does not absolve Russia of her responsibility. She is doubly responsible if she has so administered gov- BALTIMORE 247 emment as to make massacres essential to contentment among her people, and it is high time the civilized nations direct their attention to the matter, and, by such official methods as were employed against Turkey, teach Russia, puissant as she is, the limitations that civilization imposes. [American, Baltimore, Md., May 30, jpoj] RUSSIA AND THE PRESS That the government at St. Petersburg made at first every effort to suppress the real facts in regard to the massacres at Kishineff is well known to the world. A representative of the United States was misled by this policy, and even after the truth had begun to leak out cabled to his govern- ment that the occurrence was not of a serious character, and that reports of it were grossly exaggerated. Not until compelled to do so did the Russian government admit that there had been a massacre, attended with rapine and pil- lage, but even then it sought to minimize the outbreak, and declared that the sufferers who escaped death were not in need of assistance. It has only been through the reports of relief committees, through letters received from Kishineff and from verbal reports of men who were on the spot and who were fortunate enough to get away alive that the whole truth regarding the bloody tragedy has been made known. In spite of the defeat of its efforts at concealment Rus- sia continues its policy of suppression, and has now gone so far as to expel from its territory the correspondent of The London Times, who was located at St. Petersburg and who did not hesitate to tell the truth about the matter, though he was very conservative in his statements and kept wholly within range of facts. The Times already shows that it has no intention of allowing this action to pass un- noticed, and will speak in very plain terms to the Czar before the incident is closed. It has already pronounced Russia's action remarkable and unprecedented, and when the real reasons for the expulsion are given will use its powerful influence to bring upon that government the con- demnation of the civilized world. 248 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF It is assumed that the correspondent was expelled because he declared through The Times that the government, though it had knowledge of plans for the massacre, took no steps to prevent them from being carried out. In one dispatch he said : When the outbreak took place the rioters were permitted to go about their work of murder, outrage, and devastation without any interference on the part of the authorities, ex- cept in a few instances where the police officers acted with- out waiting for instructions from their chiefs. In other cases where Jews appealed for protection, they were told that nothing could be done for them. In these circumstances, for the government not to dismiss from his post an official so grossly negligent of his most obvious duty, would have created an impression which no number of ministerial cir- culars could dissipate. As it is, there is much in the action of the central government which needs explanation. The massacre at Kishineff has shown that the local authorities cannot always be trusted to protect the Jews, yet in a recent circular M. de Plehve has laid it down that Jewish clubs of self-defense are not to be tolerated. That may be defended on general political grounds, but it is hard to find any ex- cuse for the indulgence extended to the anti-Semitic press. These statements are not only warranted by the facts, but can in no way be construed as an unwarranted attack on the Russian government. It has now been made plain that the plans for the Easter uprisings were known not only to the officials of Bessarabia, but to the higher officials at St. Petersburg. Not till action was demanded from the world outside did the government dismiss from office a governor who could have prevented the murders had he felt so inclined. Russia may be able to muzzle its own press, but not that of the rest of Europe— not that of the United States. Most of the facts have already been published, and soon all will be known. Expulsion of correspondents and other investigators will have accomplished nothing, will not hide Russia's infamy, nor save her from the just retribution which sooner or later must come upon her. BALTIMORE 249 [American, Baltimore, Md., June 6, 1903] RUSSIA AND AMERICA The government organs in St. Petersburg are making a pretense of surprise at the severe arraignment of Russia by the press of the United States for its conduct in connection with the massacres at Kishineff. These massacres, toler- ated, condoned and even encouraged by Russian officials, have been condemned by the whole civilized world, yet the St. Petersburg press refer to them lightly and almost flippantly as mere disorders, with the intimation that Rus- sia cannot be held to blame for them, and that similar out- breaks are likely to occur in any country. Though these wholesale murders, with rapine and pillage, occurred several weeks ago, no effort has been made for the arrest and pun- ishment of the murderers, those who were directly con- cerned in the horrible crimes. One or two officials have been removed, and that is all. The criminals are unpun- ished, and thus are encouraged to repeat their crimes, know- ing that there is little danger of harm coming to them. The Russian organs claim that, in view of old-time friend- ship between the two countries, the press of the United States is in duty bound to withhold all criticism concerning the Kishineff massacres, simply taking it for granted that Russia knows what it is doing and that whatever it does is right. Such a plea is a limit of absurdity. There have long been friendly relations between the two governments, grow- ing out of pleasant incidents in their past history, but neither this government nor the press of this land ever gave or ever could give their approval to the brutal tyranny which has long been a leading characteristic of the Czar's deal- ing with his subjects. This republic, founded on the equal rights of man, with freedom as its chief cornerstone, would be untrue to itself and false to its basic principles if it gave 'its endorsement to Russia's policy or kept silent when such -crimes as those at Kishineff are committed without govern- iment interference or government condemnation. The press ioi this country did not keep silent when Turkey condoned and encouraged murder; it did not keep silent when Spain 250 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF persecuted the Cubans; it did not keep silent when Great Britain engaged in an unholy war for the subjugation of the Boers, and it will not keep silent now. Old friendships, cordial relations regarding the little trade and commerce there is between this land and that cannot keep the press and people of the United States from holding up to the world's condemnation any government policy that tolerates such crimes as those of Kishineff. [American, Baltimore, Md., June I2, 1903] RUSSIA'S DEFIANCE The government of Russia has, through Count Cassini, the Czar's ambassador to the United States, served notice that it will receive no representations regarding the Kish- ineff incident from any foreign power, and that it must de- cline any offers of outside aid for those who suffered at the hands of religious fanatics. This does not mean that it will prevent the distribution of the funds raised in this country at public meetings and by private subscription, when such distribution is made through agents chosen by those at the head of the relief movement, but it does mean that the Rus- sian government will have nothing to do with such contri- butions, nor will permit its officials to handle or distribute them. It is doubtless better for those needing the relief that this be so. The Czar's government bases its action on the plea that it has ample means to relieve suffering wherever it appears in the empire. That it has such means in abundance all will admit, but that it will use any large amount of money for the aid of the Kishineff sufferers is not only improbable, but would be entirely out of keeping with the previous pol- icy of the government in dealing with such occurrences. The latest reports from Bessarabia give no hint of such action, but rather indicate that the Russian officials are doing ail in their power to keep the Jews terrorized and make them believe that any who escape with their lives can count them- selves fortunate. The methods Russia is employing to prevent public dis- BALTIMORE 251 cussion of the massacre is shown by the action of the gov- ernor-general of Warsaw, who issued an order prohibiting a memorial service for the Kishineff victims, warned all public speakers not to mention the affair and ordered all Jewish newspapers to discontinue printing subscription lists for the Kishineff survivors. In keeping with this policy of suppression was the speech of the vice-governor of Bessarabia at the funeral of the victims, in which he said : " Too many of you have come. I have authority to disperse you, but I will be compassionate. Calm yourselves. Forget what has happened. Consider it an expiation of your sins and the sins of your fathers. It is God's will. Bear the trial with resig- nation." In these and other ways does the Russian government seek to make the world believe that it was in no way respon- sible for the massacre, and that a similar outbreak might occur in any country. It has sought to shame the United States by reference to the murders of Italians in New Or- leans and by the lynchings of negroes in the South. What have those occurrences, bad as they were, to do with Rus- sia's persistent and brutal persecution of innocent and helpless subjects, of those who have committed no crime, but who have a right to demand the protection of the govern- ment of which they are loyal and faithful subjects? Russia sounds a note of defiance to the world. By so doing and by the course it is now following it sets the seal of its ap- proval on rapine, murder and pillage. It sends out notices to the civilized world that it will brook no interference and will do as it sees fit with its own people. And this is the government of the Czar, the ruler who preaches peace but practices infamy! [American, Baltimore, Md., June i8, /poj] RUSSIA'S BRUTAL POLICY The attack on Kroushevan by a Jewish student in St. Petersburg will doubtless be used by the Russian govern- ment to excuse its policy. Of course it will have no effect outside of Russia, but, unfortunately, that country is a law 252 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF unto itself, and it does not matter what is thought or said by other nations. If the latter would unite and take action there might be another story, but the union of the nations for some good and noble purpose, disconnected with sel- fish and material ends, would be a marvelous spectacle. It will come some time or other, but not now. Meanwhile the Russian authorities will quote the attack upon this misera- ble rascal as evidence of the viciousness of the Jews. After all that has occurred it is difficult to understand how a Jew could keep his hands off this wretch. He has two Jew-baiting newspapers, one in St. Petersburg and one in Bessarabia, where the horrible massacre oc- curred, and he is credited with having done more than all other agencies combined to cause that foul blot on civiliza- tion. Not only this, his papers have a circulation far be- yond the places of publication, and he has thus been able to stir up hatred and persecution in many parts of the empire. Nor is this all of his malign activity. He is the friend and agent of M. Plehve, the real Czar of Russia, who is himself a most bitter enemy of the Jew. There are moments when the technicalities of moral law lose their force, when the provocation is so terrible that revenge takes the place of all other considerations, and it is easy to imagine that such a moment occurred when the young Jewish student laid his eyes on this villain. Kishinefif was not a solitary horror. Only five days ago a similar scene was enacted at Lodz, in Russia, in which numbers were killed and more than a hun- dred Jews were seriously injured. This occurred after the hypocritical assurances made to the world by the Czar, and was doubtless approved by the minister to whom he has intrusted his empire. What are these millions of people to do? They are not safe anywhere or under any conditions. There never was a more complete union between a government and the ignorant, brutal ruf- fians who compose the majority of its subjects. The latter have practically a license to kill or commit any foul out- rage. If the Jews would combine and smite these wretches the world would applaud the deed; but they cannot, and BALTIMORE 253 isolated instances of revenge are useless and dangerous to the cause. They give a handle for the false assertions of the Czar and his ministers. If the Tews are to remain in Rus- sia they must pursue the same peaceful policy which has always characterized them, trusting that time will bring about a change in barbaric opinion. It would be better on all accounts, however, for them to cast the dust of Russia off their feet. [Morning Herald, Baltimore, Md., June 6, 1903] RUSSIA MAKES COMPLAINT An article in a Russian publication of note complains of the criticism that is being directed against the empire by the American newspapers on account of the slaughter of Jews at Kishineff, the Manchurian affair and other matters that touch Russian sensibilities. This country has shown itself friendly to Russia on many occasions, and the feeling has apparently been reciprocated, but American newspapers have not been the only journals that have been outspoken against Russia on account of re- cent disorders. Newspapers in this country do not hesitate to comment on matters of that kind that take place in any country. There is no censorship of the press in America on any matter, and least of all in reference to one that ap- peals to humanity as powerfully as the Kishineff disgrace. The press has been outspoken against Russia's treatment of the Finns and our people have sent aid to those unfortunates just as they have done to the Jews. The writer of this ar- ticle seems to forget that Americans have contributed sup- plies to Russians who were in want of food on account of famine. If Russia will treat all people within the confines of the empire humanely and fairly, she will hear no criti- cism from the American press. It is a mistaken idea to think that the press in this coun- try does not voice the prevailing opinion of tlje people in the yjni^e^ fJ.^J^s. 254 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF [News, Baltimore, Md., May 9, 1903] THE KISHINEFF HORROR In to-day's issue of Jewish Comment are gathered to- gether a large number of reports from various sources bear- ing on the massacre of Jews at Kishinefif and the reign of terror that has since prevailed in that Russian town and in the surrounding region. Harrowing particulars of the bru- talities committed by the anti-Jewish mob are given in various dispatches, direct and indirect. The condensed state- ment given out in a cable dispatch from the Actions Com- mittee of the Zionists in Vienna is as follows : " On the occasion of the Russian Easter, a three-day massacre of Jews took place. Over a hundred Jews brutally killed. More than six hundred women, children, old men seriously wounded. Synagogues, houses demolished and plundered. Distress very great. Vienna Actions Committee collecting money." The mention of Easter is a reminder of the origin of the horrible outbreak, the old medieval charge of "rit- ual murder " which has, for hundreds of years, been made, in one country or another, the basis of murderous attacks upon Jews by people steeped in ignorance and prejudice. Without a shadow of trace of foundation, and long ago de- clared utterly false by every kind of Christian authority, in- cluding the Pope of Rome, this horrible charge against the Jews still emerges from time to time, in the more be- nighted regions of Europe, and still has power to bring on such frightful results as those now recorded at Kishineff. It is a sad commentary on the distance between promise and performance that a horror like this, of which there seems grave reason to fear the consequences will spread over a large area, should follow so close upon that pro- nunciamento of the Czar which many hailed as the harbin- ger of a new era for Russia. [News, Baltimore, Md., May is, 1903] THE BESSARABIAN OUTRAGES The difficulty of getting at the truth as to the atrocities committed on the Jews at Kishineff has been the cause of BALTIMORE 255 leir not having attracted more of the attention of the •orld. As time goes on, the appalling character of the rime becomes more and more evident, though it is still npossible to ascertain its extent. An amazing feature of le record in the case is the reply made by the American Lmbassador at St. Petersburg, Mr. McCormick, less than week ago, to an inquiry from the State Department as to le facts concerning the Kishinefi outrages. That reply ent three weeks after the catastrophe, and nine days after he inquiry had first been made by the State Department, onsisted in an alleged complete denial by the Russian gov- rnment of the whole occurrence. The very next day, or he next but one, the Russian government gave out an official tatement admitting that there had been a massacre, but tating the number of persons killed outright as only forty- ive. It is incumbent on the State Department to investigate his peculiar conduct on the part of Ambassador McCormick, ind to make a public statement of the result of the investiga- ion. When the diplomatic representative of this country, )eing called upon by the State Department to furnish informa- ion on a suject of critical moment to many thousands ot American citizens, sends an answer of which the absurdity is mmediately and officially exposed, it becomes the duty of the government to call him sharply to account. The accounts coming in from many sources are doubtless :xaggerated, colored as they naturally are by the excite- nent, terror and indignation of the moment; but, after mak- ng all possible allowance, there remains such a tale of hor- ror as seems not to belong to this century or to a country railing itself civilized. But the worst feature of the story is not the bestial cruelty of the mob, but the indifference — iccording to some stories, even the encouragement — of the authorities. Kishineflf is a large city, the capital of the province of Bessarabia, and there are, of course, plenty of soldiers at the command of the Governor. In no account of the massacre does it appear that there was the slightest effort to prevent the onslaught upon the Jews or the fiendish barbarities which were committed during three successive days; nor is there any sign that any official is to be punished 256 AMERICA ON KISHINEFF for this terrible indifference to the protection of innocen persons from the horrible cruelties of the mob. Althougl a proclamation has now been issued to the effect that pro vincial governors will hereafter be held responsible for simi lar outbreaks, the apparent immunity of those who werf guilty of permitting the horror at Kishinefif is calculated tc make that proclamation rather ineffective. Stronger meas- ures by the Russian government are needed, and it ought to be made apparent to the Czar that for any spread of the barbarous persecution he and his government will be held responsible by the public opinion of the civilized world. To express this sentiment, as well as to institute a collection in aid of the sufferers, is the object of the public meeting to be held in Baltimore on Sunday afternoon. [News, Baltimore, Md., May i8, 1903] THE PROTEST AGAINST RUSSIAN PERSECUTION That was a most remarkable meeting which was held in Baltimore yesterday afternoon to protest against the condi- tions in Russia which led to the massacre at Kishineff, and to collect contributions for the relief of the sufferers. The Academy of Music was filled by a great audience, whose earnestness and interest were maintained unbroken for three hours. The main speech, that of Honorable J. V. L. Find- lay, was a most stirring and eloquent appeal, and every speech made was an utterance worthy of the occasion. The most remarkable effect was produced by a short speech made by Mr. Samuel Wollman, who spoke as a representative of the Russian Jews of Baltimore. He is a young man, a graduate of the Johns Hopkins University, and still a student in the Johns Hopkins Medical School. The picture he drew of the Russian Jew at home, poor and hard-working, with little or no opportunity for culture in the usual sense of the word, but with his mind centred on serious thoughts and with an almost unmatched reverence and love for learning, was one that no one who heard it will forget. The noble letter of Cardinal Gibbons was one of the most impressjve features of ths weffipg, As 3 whole, the proceedings constititt«