Part 8

I suppose that so long as the imperfections of human nature endure, so long as there are men and women who are weak, selfish, cruel, vengeful, or ignorant, there will be racial and religious hatreds to be guarded against and opposed. I suppose, too, that until wars have ceased to be possible, in war's aftermath such hatreds will flourish. Against every form of racial and religious hatred, against sectarian bigotry and intolerance, every loyal American citizen should be prepared to take an uncompromising stand. That obligation, I take it, is implicit in our citizenship. It is for the integrity of that citizenship that I am concerned to plead. Anti-Semitism commands our special attention to-day because it is being spread by an elaborately organized propaganda. But the duty of the Christian to defend the Jew against persecution is neither greater nor less than the duty of the Protestant to defend the right of the Catholic or of all white citizens--Christians and Jews, Catholics and Protestants--to stand solidly against injustice to the negro and in defense of his rights when these are assailed. My plea, is not for pro-Semitism in opposition to anti-Semitism, but for loyalty to American ideals in opposition to any and all attempts to divide our citizenship on racial or religious lines.

Because of a reasoned faith in those principles and ideals of democracy which brought this nation into being, and toward the realization of which we have steadily progressed through sunshine and storm, through peace and war, I am opposed to anti-Semitism and every manifestation of it. Anti-Semitism and the American ideal can never be reconciled. Far sooner shall men reconcile fire and water, or mix oil and water inseparably, than blend the cruel and hateful passions of anti-Semitism with the generous spirit of America. For America's safety and honor, therefore, I plead for unity against this sinister foe lurking within the gates, as against all other foes, no matter under what flag they may be marshaled.

POSTSCRIPT

After the foregoing was written I received from the head of a great American corporation a letter calling my attention to an anti-Semitic pamphlet published in New York City, entitled "Who Rules Russia?" and asking me for information concerning certain statements made therein. The pamphlet is printed in two languages, English and Russian, and bears the imprint of an organization called "Association Unity of Russia." Letters to the address given in the pamphlet, ordering copies of it, brought no response of any kind and it was necessary for me to resort to other methods of obtaining a copy. Incidentally, I caused certain inquiries to be made concerning the Association Unity of Russia. Now that I have made a careful examination of the pamphlet, I do not wonder that my request that copies be sent me was ignored. Certainly the publishers did not intend that it should be circulated among persons familiar with the subject and competent to expose its misrepresentations.

So far as I can learn, the Association Unity of Russia is the name of a group of Russian emigres residing in New York. They are monarchists and reactionaries, their hope being the restoration of tsarism. Like most of their kind, they are bitter Jew-baiters. Their pamphlet is entirely typical of Russian anti-Semitism, particularly in its reckless disregard of truth. I find here reproduced the charge that "the Soviet bureaucracy is almost entirely controlled by Jews and Jewesses." Not only so, but it is charged that the non-Bolshevist Socialist parties are mainly composed of Jews. The pamphlet ends with the statement, "the Russian state is actually dominated by the Jewish nation." There is no argument in the pamphlet, which consists of alleged lists of officials classified according to nationality and race.

That some of these lists are deliberate inventions of the anonymous compiler or compilers is quite certain, for the most complete files of Bolshevist publications in this country do not contain either the lists or the data from which it might be possible to compile them. Other lists represent the most reckless lying. For example, on page 5 I find what purports to be a list of the members of the Council of the People's Commissars. The actual list, copied from Bolshevist official sources, I have reproduced on an earlier page. This fraudulent list contains twenty-two names, of which number seventeen are alleged to be Jews, three Russians, and two Armenians. Looking over the list, I find that it omits well-known and important commissars such as the following: Raskolnikov (Navy), Petrovsky (Interior), Krestinsky (Finance), Krassin (Industry and Commerce and Transportation), Sereda (Agriculture), Kolontai (Public Welfare), Rykov (Supreme Economic Council), Bruchanov (Supply), Smidt (Labor), Semashko (Public Health), and Bonch-Brouyevich (Secretary). All these are Russians; there is not a Jew among them. The list contains, on the other hand, the names of a number of Bolsheviki who are not, and who never have been, members of the Council of the People's Commissars. Some of them may hold positions of minor importance in the Soviet regime or in the Communist party. The inclusion of their names in this list as members of the central government is an impudent imposture.

The fact that the pamphlet is printed in Russian and English is calculated to impress and deceive the reader. No one who knows the situation will believe that the use of Russian had any other purpose or that it was intended for propaganda among Russians. Such a document, partly printed in Russian and purporting to be issued by Russians, is relied upon to convince Americans that the compiler or compilers--who prefer to remain anonymous--know what they are talking about. Not many will take the pains to scrutinize the various lists closely. Consequently, even where one page contradicts another, the fact goes undetected. A few examples will show how stupid these Jew-baiters are. On page 9 Latsis, of the Extraordinary Commission, is accurately described as a Lett, but on page 23 he becomes a Jew. Fritchie is a Lett on page 10 and a Jew on page 22--and neither description is correct.

On page 25 Kerensky is described as a Jew, and it is said that his real name is Kirbis. This legend has been published before and thoroughly exposed. The fact is that Kerensky is not a Jew and never was known by the name of Kirbis or any other name than Kerensky. He never participated in the "underground" work of the revolutionary movement and therefore had no need of an alias. Alexander Fedorovich Kerensky comes from an old Russian family thoroughly orthodox and respectable. His history has been completely explored. No. The anonymous Jew-baiters have simply reproduced a silly legend that appeared in the reactionary anti-Semitic sheet, Novoye Vremia, of Petrograd, shortly before the revolution of March, 1917, and was immediately exposed and ridiculed.

In an examination of the various lists of names given I find at least twenty-five instances of non-Jews, principally Russians, being described as Jews. I find, also, many Jewish names purporting to be the names of Bolshevist officials of some importance, though it is safe to say that they were never heard of by any student of contemporary Russian affairs. I do not say that no such persons exist, but I do assert that if they exist they do not hold the positions attributed to them, and that even their names are not to be found in the Bolshevist journals from which this pamphlet is said to have been compiled. Perhaps some of the members of the pathetic little group of Russian monarchist emigres who meet weekly in the basement of a certain church to pray for the restoration of tsarism will condescend to tell us how the names were chosen.

How stupid these pious humbugs are in their forgeries! Here is a list of names alleged to be a complete list of members of the Central Committee of the Social Democratic Party Mensheviki. Of course all are Jews. I look over the list and see at once that three of those named are not even members of that party, let alone of its supreme authority. Ratner, Rappoport, and Gotz do not belong to that party, but are prominent as leaders in the Socialists-Revolutionists party. Perhaps there are other mistakes in this list--but what is the use of wasting time in checking it further? Here is another list, even more defective, which is offered as a list of the members of the Central Committee of the party of Socialists-Revolutionists of the Right. It contains fifteen names, of which fourteen are Jews and only one, that of Tchaykovsky, is a Russian. But Tchaykovsky is not a member of this party at all and, therefore, not of its Central Committee. He belongs to the party of People's Socialists. In the list I find the names of Lvovitch and Berlinrout, who likewise do not belong to this party and are not members of the committee in question. They are well-known leaders of the Zionists-Socialists. Abramovitch and Khintchouk are included in this utterly worthless list, though they do not belong to the party of Socialists-Revolutionists of the Right, but to the Social Democratic party.

I do not suppose that many of my readers will care very much about the party affiliations of these men or about the factional divisions of Russian Socialism. The fact that this latest addition to the pamphlet literature of anti-Semitism emanates from Russian sources and is printed partly in Russian gives it an appearance of authority that is wholly unjustified by its content. It has seemed to me worth while, therefore, to call attention to its clumsy misrepresentations, its self-contradictions, its stupid blunders, and its stupendous effrontery. This precious example of Russian monarchistic anti-Semitic literature is just about fit to be placed alongside the Dearborn Independent.

THE END

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