The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, December 10, 1905, Page 7

THE SAN FRANCISCO SUNDAY CALL. RIESHFE — BY Member In the Sunny to Geo Oglethorpe, him full rights as original came & ed by OSCAR Vermane (December e colonists Abri d cultur of Savannah were stanch its capture by the Brit- cal Sheftall and his son, in the Colonial army in the prispu shin f Charles- table were the Hebrews S. STRAUS n Court of Aribtra- ton, a close study of wh story has Hague. just been made by Dr, of that since the first ¥ t helr oldest congregation dates s bee The incre that a Ynagog their Sims 1794, strength s 3 ed after the Revolution by the 2 Al there of m W York t same vear ncis Salvador was a N b- of the patriotic leaders. In later S s the community was to form Y he largest and most cultured in and the Hart, De Leon pez,-Lazarus and Cohen familie: nd dist on to the Here, an 180) the g been chanted orse the “Jew doctor,” tried in 16 Hebrew office being obliged f in the Chris minent in Hebrews have State Legi Among those P. Benjamin Levin, Isidor Kaufman. part Be: s What Ameri ST | fave »s- in the country! was the home s have other were Ray- in the de- o ROCI(HQOp velopment of Texas. Samuel Israel, Abra- ham C. Labatt, Jacob de Cordova and Henry Castro were among the pioneers. Virginia formed its first congregation about 1791, although some immigrants set- tled within the limits of the State a cen- tury earlier. In the emigration that led to the up- building of cities in the Ohio Valley He- brews were particfpants. In Ohio the first Hebrew settier was Joseph Jonas, who arrived in Cincinnati March §, 1817. What a change in ninety years in that city whose Hebrew community ranks among the most public spirited and pregressive Here is the Hebrew Un- where graduates fill many and here, too, 1. M. Wise ion College, important Jewish pulpits; labored for many decades Drs and Max Lillenthal. The Hebrews of Chicago date their be- ginnings from 1841-3. To-day the commu- nity closely competes with New York in its curious contrast between the old-fash- ioned and new-fashioned element Hebrews were among the gold-seekers in California in 1849, and have done more 1 than their share in the development of ¢ the Northw its mines and seas and a v like Sutro, Michael Friedlander, Hell- :, Rosenfeld, thé members of the Alaska Commercial and the North Ameri- can Commercial companfes. Over one hundred Hebrews were in the First Cali- fornia ‘Volunteers, that saw service in the Philippines, and Jacob Voorsanger, rabbi, professor and editor, of San Fran- cisco was one of the founders of the California Red Cross Society. COVRTESY OF FAMOUS SRTHADAX R SR MINISTER— mg.g% GGCS L EGT S LG 0050, T © can Hebrews Done. = . O S > HE American Hebrew is a fac- cessful in this fleld. One Is the in- wors tor in Americ life, and 1ot ventor of the so-called yellow journal- an unimportant ouve. Numeri- 1; another is -tHe manager of “All - B cally there are a million and a the ngws that's fit to print,” and be- ¥ in the United tween these are journalists large and 2 per cent of the small, managers, editors and hundreds = is a question of pright reporters. - single element The contributions of the Hebrew e has accomplished $0 mind to permanent American literature . developm of the are not very numerous. There have 7 of the s as this peen tuneful poets, like Emma Lazarus the 250 years since the He- and Penina Moise; a few novelists and settled the land. essayists. ‘One noteworthy production There are some ) Hebrews in New of American Hebrew scholarship is the York now, as many as | 11 the rest of Jewish encyclopaedia, just completed. the United @tates.. These constitute 20 It is the gencral impression that the per cent of the total population ¢f this Hebrew is first and always a business Western me olis. The contribution of man, and it is true that for many cen- the Bebrew to the building of t 1 and financial supremacy of been more than proportionate to his bers, for the Hebrew has had gen- fons of training commerce and ce which well prepares him for city the metropolitan business circles. A study of the pursuits followed by the Hebrew is Interesting, Tor it is a mistake to think that the Hebrew Is either a middleman or a small dealer. There is scarcely any trade or profes- e commer- New York has i He brew sfon in which he will not be found, and . while he is not afraid of manual labor cation the tendency is to combine this with school for teach- intellectual effort. Hebrews are pro- Twb mem- @ucers, not merely In the narrow sense COMMUNILY tpat the farmer is a producer by sow- A f;;’;“}"“’ ing the sced and reaping ten or twenty S Solo. fold, but with raw material and the application of labor ghey produce the finished article. They are producers, too, in another sense, making new-mar- kets for productions of all kinds, and joining the ends of the earth by a com- munity of interests. In art America has given to the world several first-class artists like Ezekiel, the sculptor, and Mosler, the painter, besides many lesser lights, i1- lustrators and caricaturists, The Hebrew has alw: been at- tracted to journalism, and his power of organization, study of details and in- tellectual readiness have made him suc- Moses of Robert in the same six were gla and 1733). Among am de Lyon intro- In the Revoiution turies the denial of his right to enter any profession save that of medicine drove him to commercial pursuits, but as soon as the shackles were removed he hastened into the learned profes- sions. That this is so is proved by the fact that in almost every Hebrew fam- ily there is at least one lawyer or phy- sician. It is no exaggeration to estimate the percentage of Hebrew lawyers as at least 50 per cent and that of physi- cians as not less than 45 per cent, Many in each of these professions have attained eminence, for there have been and are several Judges on the bench of the courts and some of the leading medical authorities are of Hebrew stock. Politically, especiaily in New York,*the Hebrew element is one to be reckoned with. The alignment is, however, never made along religious lines. The Hebrews belong to all political parties, and as a rule cast an intelligent vote. It has been proved that in campaigns where ques- tions of morality or political purity are issues a large vote for the better side comes from the notably Hebrew districts. The Hebrews have not, however, made it a point of having full representation, though many have served in offices from Aldermen to United States Senator. One of the best types of statesmen, serving bis country at personal sacrifice, is that THE HEBREW HAS of Oscar 8. Straus, Minister (under Dem- ocratic and Republican regime alike) to Turkey, and active still in the Interest of peace between nations and between employers ana employes. It is not generally known that Hebrews took an active part in the agitation which led finally to the Declaration of Inde- pendence, the documentary proof of which iies in the non-importation resolution of 1765, a copy of which is preserved in Car- penters’ Hall, Philadelphia, and bears dis- tinctive Hebrew names. They are Sam- son Levy, Benjamin Levy, Jaseph J. Hyman Levy Jr., David Frank hias Bush, Michael Gratz, Barnard and Moses Mordecai. A large number of Hebrews fought in the revolutionary war, and Haym Solo- mon of Philadelphia loaned the revolu- tionists the then enormous sum of $600,000, not a cent of which has ever been repaid to him or h sirs. An entire volume showing how e the contribution of the Hebrews h n to the armies of the United States has been published by Simon Wolf and there it is notably proven that the Hebrew has been always ready to volunteer for the service of his coun- try in even greater proportion than might have been required. More than 4000 He- SVN.AGOGUE TROM PRAWT N THE- DAV OF ITS$ ‘Dfimlflq’lo}f OLD MILL ST SYNA 'ED brews were in the army during the late war with Spain, and even among the - “Rough Riders’’ there were seven, As was only natural, the Hebrews have taken part in financial business to a lurge degree, for they had been the world’s first financiers, and their in- ternational connections have givep them special facilities for the carrying on of exchange between nations. Ore of the founders of the Stock Exchange was a Hebrew. The wide variety of Hebrew pursuits is little appreciated, yet it is difficult to find any trade, profession or business in which they do not play some part. They have rolling mills and- steel fur- naces, woolen mills and saw mills; the inventor of commercial, yeast was a Hebrew. The Hebrews carry on a large part of the tobacco business, both in the leaf and in manufacturing. There are Hebrew electrical and civil en- gineers, and there are Hebrew gradu- ates of Annapolis and of West Point. In the building trades more and more Hebrew carpenters, masons and glaziers are being employed, especially ' in New York City, where the Hebrews are taking so prominent a part in eon- tracting and building. They are spread- ing out also into the country, taking v COURTESY OF"THE AMERI[CAN KE.TJRLT“ up the deserted farms of New England, cultivating the soil of New Jersey and establishing farms even in the Dako- tas. It is estimated that the Hebrew farm population is between 10,000 and 15,000. . As teachers the Hebrews have also been successful, probably by heredity, for this has been a favorite profession for many centuries. In the develop- ment of the intellectual life of the country the Hebrew is already doing his share, but that work will be greatly increased with the added force of the thousands of ambitious young men who have lately arrived here. In the busi- ness world he will continue to pro- gress, extending his activities to many industries as he finds room for his in- genuity and industry. « DONE IN 250 YEARS Hls ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN DUSINESS. THE PROFESSIONS. ART SCIENCE, LITERATURE AND PHILANTHROPY PreTo oY CaBlR N e e - ii 411 l;‘" u.. = “aas FOQUE~ Hebrews in Philanthropy and Society. RO A/ e A D) ROM the sociological side the American Hebrew has had many problems to solve. The three separate and distinet tides and types of immigra- tion have made it possible to dispose of these problems gradually and in turn. Those first settling in the United States were chiefly of Portu- guese stock, and equipped as they were with culture and means they took part in the affairs of the colonies on a par with other settlers, reserving only the right to worship God when and how they pleased. ‘When the great German Influx began in 1848 and' thereabout differeat prob- lems arose. The Americanized He- brews who had been in the country for several generations were not over- pleased to see the uncultured, poverty- stricken men pour into the States, and, while they helped them when in dis- tress, they were refused admittance into their family circles. Buf the Ger- mans were independent and formed their own religious and social organiza- tions. They went .further and began the great reform religious movement of which only mutterings had been heard before. They founded benevolent or- ders, which established asylums, homes and hospitals in many of the large JEWISK CEMETERY, NEWPCRT ® D REBECCA GRATZ citias. Each congregation RBad s ch y branch, generally in the hands of the women, and the foundations of the philanthropic institutions were broadly laid. Clubs were formed after the Ger- man model, where men and women as- sembled for soc easures, and in the ourse of time the German element be ame dominant and more consplcuous than the Portuguese congregations by re force of numbers. wenty-five years ago the poor were ed in bers and well cared for. minal was so exceptional as to be Then came the perse- he er t negligib L ns in Russia and Roumania, and b s of thousands of more or less h men were driven to America aron de Hirsch, recognizing the Imme- need, estabiished the Hirsch trust, hich has taken upen itself the strength- ng of the weak links in the philan- thropic chain and the supplying of miss- By and as the Jewish as reached thousands s Palace it and hundreds of thousands who might otherwise have g y. Its purpose has been, in a word, to transform the nt Hebrew of all ages and classes telligent and patriotic Ameri- C hundred thousand dol- the alllance imm, can ¢ ng ignorance and adation. The e Is crowded at night with the an elastic system ss3ary There are h to young and 3 <3, old; 1 kinds stimu- lating there are rhou!ht king. in and musie, as izing activity The example set by been followed in every United States, until ne machinery is at work a try. the was methods of been adopt each comm d forming an intimate connection harities of the different cities. This ented abuses such as pauperizing a plication, and has introduc syste to the work and eliminated almost altogether the pos- sibility of fmpos Helping the immig! selves has been the rule beginning. A policy laborers s followed ¢ tempt to relieve the g them~ s to help of congestio ! ployment bt abor dis- tribution off sands of workmen to employ- ment is waiting for t in New J been establ New England and in the Far West agencies have learned how to select those adapted to farm life, and the @ of these goes on apace. In order to train the young for farm life the National Farm School has been founded near Philadel- phia by Dr. Joseph Krauskopf and its graduates are sent annually to the State agricultural stations and in time will act as leaders of farm c The life of the worki in such institutions as Hirsch Working Gi unprotected working gir not only a home, but also many opportunities for elevating herself and i roving her con- dition. It was no small dred thousand Ame for and lead four within the last t at t ask f eir own number five years, yet that bave had to do of their charges has aided materially in the work. The poor have helped one another greatly. They have done so even to the extent of found- ing inns for temporary aid, loan secieties and hospitals. fs precisely w! The responst