Front matter (continued 2)

In this connection, another point is worthy of our attention. Contrary, to the popular idea of the Jewish greed, the Jews are usually satisfied with a lower rate of interest on the capital invested, since what they are after is the bare means of livelihood. In this fashion they lower, to a considerable extent, the capitalist's profits, a circumstance which cannot fail to irritate the Gentile capitalists. Consequently, all this comes to competition of capital, and it is significant that the fiercest anti-Semitic outcries come from the capitalistic classes. Let us not forget that the early pogroms at Odessa were caused by the agitation of the Greek merchants who feared for their commercial ascendency.

What has been said so far demonstrates with sufficient clearness that the anti-Semitic economic policy is detrimental to the economic organism of Russia as a whole. The true interests of our country demand that Jewish labour and Jewish means should be given complete freedom of application. Russia will only gain from such a change of policy toward the Jews. Anti-Semitism, from the economic standpoint, is nothing but a tremendous waste of the country's productive powers.

Here is another aspect of the question. Whether the Jews as a race are to one's liking or not, is a question of individual taste, the solution of which cannot be allowed to influence the sane economic policy of a state. This must be guided by objective data. As a matter of fact, the Jews constitute more than one third, thirty-five per cent., of the commercial class in Russia. If we believe our country's prosperity to be bound up with the process of its progressive industrialisation, we must admit that the part the Jews play in Russia's commercial life is tremendous, that to a considerable degree they handle her entire commerce. All that hinders the untrammelled manifestation of the Jewish economic energies is harmful to Russia's economic organism.

"If there were no Jews now in Russia, it would be necessary to invite them, in the interests of both the commercial and industrial development of the country, just as they were more than once invited for the same purposes in the past." This conclusion, reached by a student of the Jewish question in Russia, is eminently and profoundly true. The opinion of an individual student may not appear authoritative, but it has been many a time endorsed by social groups and organisations. We need not go far back into history to find facts of this sort. In 1912 at the time when the customary fair was in full swing, the Governor of Nizhni-Novgorod showed an unusual zeal in persecuting the Jews. This was in all probability connected with the Duma pre-election campaign. The "Society of the Manufacturers and Mill Owners of the Moscow Industrial Section," an organisation which is rather far from being liberal in its opinions, saw fit to interfere in its own interests. A memoir dealing with the prohibitive measures directed against the Jews was composed and presented, through the president of the Society, Mr. Goujon, to the chairman of the Council of the Ministers. Here is a quotation from this memoir: "In the economic life of the country the Jews play the part of middlemen, placed between the producer and the consumer of goods. In the Northwestern, Southern, and Southwestern provinces this function is almost exclusively that of the Jews. To isolate under such conditions, the commercial and industrial population of a considerable section of the country from the centre of its manufacturing districts is equivalent to inflicting a tremendous loss not only on the Jewish merchant class but also on the many millions of the non-Jewish population.... To isolate the village from the town, the towns of the West and South from the towns and villages of the Centre and the East, is to disturb intentionally the economic life of the country, to undermine credit and depreciate the people's labour."

That is the opinion of the Moscow manufacturers. Well aware of the real needs of the country, and unwilling to sacrifice their commercial interests to anti-humanitarian mottoes, they expressed their fear that the actions of the administration would hinder the realisation of the harvest and that the "stocks of goods would find neither consumers nor buyers nor energetic middlemen to the extent to which they otherwise would have."

The Jewish people has grown to be a living part of Russia's economic organism, and the blows which are directed against the Jews affect in an equal, if not a greater, degree the mass of the aboriginal Russian population. We do not intend to discuss here the Zionistic dreams and aspirations of the Jews. One thing is clear to us, namely, that a complete exodus of the Jews from Russia would be greatly detrimental to her economic development. The Western world understands this truth very well. Werner Sombart in his work Die Zukunft der Juden (The Future of the Jews) reaches the following conclusion: "If by a miracle all the Jews would decide to-morrow to emigrate to Palestine we (the Germans) would never allow them to. For it would mean a catastrophe in the field of economic relation, not to speak of other fields, such as we have never as yet experienced and which would probably cripple our economic organism forever."

But we, Russians, give little thought to such questions. As late as the year 1914 we did not hesitate to inaugurate new restrictive measures, which it took the great trial of this War to stop.

Whoever has our economic welfare at heart, whoever dreams about the mighty development of our country and of its real emancipation from foreign influence,—inasmuch as this is generally possible,—must understand that anti-Semitism is the worst foe of our economic prosperity, that, in short, the Jewish question is a Russian question. Full rights for the Jews, equal with those that the rest of the population of the Empire enjoy, are an indispensable condition for our peaceful cultural development. Only on that basis can we achieve the broad ideals which have come into prominence in this tragic struggle with German imperialism.

THE WAR AND THE STATUS OF THE JEWToC

Prince Paul Dmitriyevich Dolgorukov, a prominent leader of the emancipatory movement in Russia, was born in 1866. He is one of the founders of the Constitutional Democratic party, and for a while he stood at the head of the Central Committee of this party. He was a member of the Second Duma, where he represented the city of Moscow.

THE WAR AND THE STATUS OF THE JEW

By PRINCE PAUL DOLGORUKOV

The storm that has recently swept over our country brought to light a series of conditions which have been weighing down upon the Russian nation for a good many years. These conditions on account of their long duration have come to be considered as something habitual. The impossibility of their further continuance, at least in their present form, has suddenly become quite apparent.

The first among these is the existing attitude toward peoples whose fate is closely interwoven with the fate of Russia. The need for a new policy toward the Poles has been recognised officially and solemnly. The hour for settling the Jewish question has also struck. The contrast between the duties and responsibilities of the Jew toward the state and his position in the country where he is deprived of all rights and privileges has always existed; during the war this contradiction has become so pronounced that it is impossible to overlook it any longer.

Hundreds of thousands of Jews are shedding their blood for Russia, while at home they are deprived of such elementary rights as other Russian subjects could lose only when convicted of crime. When a population of six million occupies such a position, the fact is bound to make itself felt in all walks of life; but what the war has made supremely clear is the limitations to which the Jew is subjected as to his right to choose freely his place of residence and to give his children an education.

The so-called "Pale of Settlement," Poland and the southwestern section, constituted the arena for the early operations of the war. The tradesmen, the merchants, all people of any means were ruined; the poor workman was left without a crust of bread. The invading foe forced both these groups to flee. Where were they to flee? The simplest solution that presented itself was for them to go into other cities of the "Pale." But the burden of the war was felt there also. The chief bread-winner of the family had gone to war; both industries and trades were crippled. Emigration, the safety valve of poverty, was now impossible. Into the midst of this suffering came pouring in the refugees from the border regions, on the one hand, and on the other, the exiles from Germany and Austria, where they had previously found food and shelter, and whence they had now, so to speak, been thrown overboard.

The economic rôle of such an element, hungry and unemployed, is easily appraised. Small wonder, then, that such a condition should become absolutely unbearable; starvation has become a common occurrence, and many prefer suicide to asking for alms. And should some of these care to ask for aid there is no one who could offer it, since the local population cannot cope with the need that has so suddenly swooped down upon them.

Russia is a vast country, as is the soul of the Russian. Enough land and bread exists for all its children. Many have relatives who would welcome the refugees and exiles into their homes for the time being; many could earn their livelihood. But in accordance with the existing regulations the authorities must observe that no one who has not the right of residence should come without the "Pale." The absurdity of such regulations becomes more apparent when applied to participants in the war. Thousands of wounded Jewish soldiers are scattered all over Russia, many outside the "Pale." Their own may not come to stay with them nor even visit them. Should one of these wounded die, his people are deprived of the privilege of paying their last respects to him; unless they choose to violate the law and remain during the visit in hiding without registering their arrival.

The conditions under which the Jewish child may be educated are at present fraught with similar difficulties. A great number of educational institutions in the south and west are now closed. The parents are recommended to transfer their children to other cities—in which case the local schools have been allowed to accept Jewish pupils in excess of their regulation percentage. But the possibility of utilising this privilege in institutions outside of the "Pale" is in its turn combined with the "right of settlement," which condition certainly limits the application of this privilege. With this exception, all other educational institutions of higher and middle grades, strictly observe the usual percentage and the drawing of lots, on the basis of which the Jewish students are accepted. These limitations have become especially conspicuous, because the war has completely done away with the possibility of entering the universities of Germany and Austria, to which the Jewish youth flocked prior to the war.

Another question arises: Where should the Jewish students, who have begun their studies at a foreign university, now turn? In vain do they knock at the doors of the higher institutions; these remain closed to them, in spite of the fact that there are many vacancies there. They cannot get back to the universities of either Germany or Austria. Thus must they waste years of persistent effort and vast amounts of energy, and very many of them will not be in a position to continue their studies, and subsequently serve their own country, which is so sadly in need of educated men. Are all these discriminations against Jewish people essential for the great Russia, which is now called upon to free nations and peoples from a foreign tyranny?

The complete abrogation of all national disabilities must pass through our legislative institutions, but the loosening of the existing limitations is a measure which it is perfectly possible to take at once.

JEWISH RIGHTS AND THEIR ENEMIESToC

Professor Maxim Maximovich Kovalevsky, one of the greatest Russian sociologists, was born in 1851. Owing to his political convictions, he had to leave Russia. In 1901 he founded in Paris the Russian Higher School of Social Sciences, the faculty of which consisted of exiled Russian scholars and political emigrants. In 1905 he came back to Russia, resumed his University work and took an active part in the political movement. In 1906 he was elected to the Duma and in 1907 to the Imperial Council. He died in 1916.

JEWISH RIGHTS AND THEIR ENEMIES

By MAXIM KOVALEVSKY

If the question should be put as to who at present stands in the way of Jewish equal rights and who demands still further limitations of the Jews' participation in both military and civil service, the answer is that no one class follows a more systematic and more definite programme in this connection than the League of United Nobility. In the year 1913 one of their conventions made the following recommendations, recorded in a volume published in the name of the league, and here quoted literally:

"I. Jews and converted Jews should not be allowed to serve in the army and navy either as regular recruits or as volunteers, nor should they be admitted to military schools.

"II. Jews and converted Jews should not be allowed to take part in the electoral conventions of the Zemstvos.

"III. Jews and converted Jews are not to be permitted to serve in the Zemstvos.

"IV. Jews and converted Jews are not to be permitted to serve in any municipal capacity.

"V. Jews and converted Jews should not be permitted to enter the civil service.

"VI. Jews and converted Jews should not be included in the lists of jurors; they may not be appointed or elected to serve in courts, they may not practice as either advocates or attorneys."

These recommendations are clearly at variance with the trend of Russian legislation throughout the reigns of Peter the Great, Catherine the Second and Alexander the First. Peter the Great called into the service of the Russian government all subjects irrespective of their nationality or religion. His fellow champions were representatives of different nationalities such as Bruce, Bauer, Repnin, Menshicov and Yaguzhinsky. As to Catherine the Second, our code of laws still retains the expression of her wish that all the peoples of Russia, each according to the precepts of its religion, should pray to the Almighty for the welfare of its rulers, and should all be equally benefited by its government.

In his "Principles of the Russian Governmental Law" Professor Gradovsky says: "In the reign of Peter the Great there were no general regulations concerning the Jews." Measures against the Jews date from the reign of Catherine the First. During the reign of Catherine the Second, little was added to the existing array of limitations. In the districts in which the first Partition of Poland found them, the Jews at that time enjoyed almost all the rights of the native Russian citizen. Although the Empress recognized the "Pale of Settlement" created in the reign of Peter the Second, she, nevertheless, stretched its boundaries to include not only Little Russia but also the Vice-Royalty of Ekaterinoslav and the province of Taurida, wherein the Jews were granted all rights of citizenship. In the "Regulations Concerning the Jews" published in 1804, in the reign of Alexander the First, the principle of equal civil rights for this nation is brought out in Article 42. "All the Jews in Russia," says this article, "whether residents or new settlers or foreigners coming to transact business are free and are to be under the protection of the law on a par with other Russian subjects." In commenting upon this article, Professor Gradovsky writes that this is clearly an attempt to fuse the Jewish nation with the rest of the Russian population by giving the former definite civil rights.

Only during the last year of the reign of Alexander the First were some measures adopted whereby the "Pale of Settlement" was narrowed down because of a certain sect of "Sabbathists," closely related to Judaism, which had greatly increased in numbers, particularly in the provinces of Voronezh, Samara, Tula, and others. According to the "Regulations Concerning the Jews" of 1835, enacted in the reign of Nicholas the First, the Jews retained the right to own all kinds of real estate, with the exception of inhabited estates and to deal in all kinds of merchandise on the same basis as the other citizens,—of course, only within the "Pale."

It is noteworthy that at this time the Jews were allowed to attend governmental schools of all grades, and that graduates from these were granted certain privileges. It is only toward the end of the reign of Nicholas I that the government adopts a system of limitations relating to the Jews, without, however, restraining their right to attend the governmental educational institutions. On the 31st of March, 1856, an imperial edict was issued ordering a revision of the existing regulations relating to the Jews. Therein it is clearly stated that the purpose of this revision is to conciliate these regulations with the intention of the government to fuse this people with the native population of the land. During the entire reign of Alexander II no limitations existed for the entrance of Jews into the Universities and the other educational institutions. On the contrary, according to Gradovsky, the limitations within the "Pale" did not apply to persons desiring to obtain a higher education, namely to those entering the medical academy, the universities, and the Institute of Technology. Gradovsky refers to the continuation of the "Code of Laws," of 1868. The book was published in 1875, while this freedom was in full swing. Within the "Pale," the Jews had equal commercial rights with other citizens. Until the Polish rebellion of 1863 the Jews were permitted to own real estate, not only in cities but also in rural districts. After the rebellion this was forbidden to them as well as to the Poles. The foreign Jew could come to Russia freely and register on the same foreign passport as would be required from any other citizen of that country.

From what has been said, it follows that many of the limitations, which at present weigh down upon the Jews have been created only recently. The present reign, too, was begun with measures favoring the Jew. In 1903, in spite of the fact that the Jews, in accordance with a law which was confirmed in 1872, were forbidden to live in villages even within the "Pale," two hundred of these villages were turned into towns, and later fifty-seven more were added to this number. The measure rendered these places legally habitable by the Jews. On August 11, 1904, a law was passed wherein it was emphatically stated that Jews who were graduates from a university were to be permitted to live freely everywhere in the Empire. But since the repression of the revolutionary movement, this privilege has become a pretext for the restriction of the admittance of Jews into higher educational institutions.

From the viewpoint of the interests of the Russian state, the existing disabilities of the Jews are detrimental both to our economic life, and to the mutual relations among our citizens; they also work havoc upon the progress of education as well as upon the raising of the general level of our culture. Measures limiting a portion of the population in its rights to acquire property, to obtain an education in middle and higher state schools, to assume the responsibilities of a judge or of a lawyer, and, in general, restraining its freedom to pursue a professional career—are clearly irreconcilable with the promises given us in the manifesto of the 17th of October, 1906.

The fear that the granting of equal rights to the Jews may deprive the peasant of his land, is perfectly groundless. There are many other means whereby the tiller of the soil may be assured the possession of a portion of land. In the West we have systems such as that of the homestead, based on the inalienability of the family property (bien de famille). Such systems may be traced back as far as the Middle Ages. The mediæval law forbids the taking away from the peasant, even for arrearage, of his agricultural implements and the cattle necessary for his labour,—not to speak of his land, which, however, it would be impossible to take away, since it is the suzerain that is its rightful owner. The indivisibility of the family estate, which only a short time ago was recognised by the Appellatory Division of our Senate, with reference to the Western Section, was achieving the same results because for the sale of such property the agreement of all the members of the family was required. Such a protection of the interests of the peasant landowner is essential in his relation to the capitalist, whether it be a member of the landed gentry or a wealthy peasant, known as a Kulak, or a Jew who lends money at interest, or an Armenian or, for that matter, a usurer of the Orthodox faith. In order that the land be retained by the peasant it is far more essential that only members of the peasant class be allowed to attend the auction sales of land sold because of the owner's arrears. And yet our law has permitted outsiders to attend if not the first auction sale, at least the second. I am strongly in favour of protecting the peasant's property, but I cannot see that to achieve this goal, it is necessary for a body politic based on law to limit any one's freedom of moving about, settling or choosing a profession. This view is shared by some of the political writers in Russia who, like the late B.N. Chicherin, Professor of the University of Moscow, have identified their names with the defence of the idea of equal rights for the Jews.

THE JEWISH QUESTION AS A RUSSIAN QUESTIONToC

Dmitry Sergeyevich Merezhkovsky occupies an important place in modern Russian letters and religious philosophy. He is responsible for several books of poems and for a series of ponderous historical novels. He is also the author of numerous critical studies distinguished by an original method and an extraordinary brilliancy. He was born in 1866.