Mr. Smith to Mr. Wharton .
St. Petersburg , October 20, 1891. (Received November 4.)
Sir: As stated in my No. 114, I prolonged my stay in London while returning to this post for the purpose of meeting several gentlemen particularly conversant with the Jewish question as it is now presented in Russia. I was especially anxious to see Mr. Arnold White, the representative and active manager of Baron Hirsch in his project for the colonization of the Jews. His visits and investigations in Russia in furtherance of this scheme had been made since my departure on leave; and, indeed, the full development of the Russian policy had come within the same period, so that a conference with him gave promise of information which would be instructive and useful in dealing with the subject. I wished to learn the spirit with which he had been received, the attitude of the Government towards the movement for the relief of the proscribed people, the general result of his inquiries, and the character of the measures contemplated. All of these points, it was manifest, would have a direct bearing upon the utility and efficacy of independent representations.
Mr. White informed me that he had been favorably received by the members of the Russian Government, and that every facility had been furnished to him for the prosecution of his inquiries and for the advancement of his work. He believed that the policy which treats the Hebrews as a people separate and distinct from the great body of the Russian subjects, to be proscribed and prohibited from the major portion of the Empire and to be restricted within a limited area under special conditions and special laws, had been adopted as a deliberate and settled purpose and was not likely to be abandoned. At the same time he believed from his observations that the methods of its execution might be tempered, and that the time allowed for the removal of those ordered away from their existing domiciles might be extended. He had traversed the parts of the Empire where the Jews are chiefly concentrated; he had examined into their conditions, attributes, and tendencies; and he was able to give a favorable report of their disposition and capabilities. Contrary to the representations made in some quarters, he insisted that the Jewish agricultural communities in Russia presented creditable and successful results, and that the Jewish occupants of land attested both their inclination and their adaptability to agricultural pursuits. As the plan of colonization is based upon the theory of their willingness and capacity for farm labor, this was important testimony.
Mr. White found much distress in the Jewish settlements. The great body of the people were poor, and the limitation of their activities under the Russian laws made the struggle of life all the harder. The summary expulsion of thousands who were living outside of the legal pale of settlement, and who were compelled to take their choice between locating in districts already overcrowded with those of their race or removing from the Empire altogether, aggravated the hardships. As to the manner in which these arbitrary expulsions were enforced, little was said in detail. Mr. White had found himself exposed to some public censure in England, because he had deprecated violent criticism and had indicated that some of the current reports of severities were exaggerated. He stated, in explanation of his attitude, that he regarded himself as acting in a semi diplomatic capacity; that he wanted to accomplish practical results in which the concurrence and coöperation [Page 745] of the Government were vital; and that he did not wish to embarrass this work by arousing a suspicious and unfriendly feeling on the part of those to whom he must look for aid. In the promotion of this scheme of colonization he proposed to return to Russia and to spend some months in organizing committees of emigration and in arranging the essential machinery of operation.
In some other quarters deeply concerned about the future of the Jews in Russia I do not find as hopeful a feeling respecting the practical fruits of Baron Hirseh’s great project. In the munificent spirit which prompts it and in the great-hearted and large-minded nature of the conception, it must command the sincere admiration of every friend of humanity. But, magnificent as it is in its liberality and broad as it is in its scope, it is questioned whether it is equal to the exigencies of a problem which touches the welfare of 5,000,000 to 6,000,000 people. I was told in London that even at its best this project could not provide for more than 25,000 persons a year. Without having undertaken any calculation, this seems to me a serious underestimate. Possibly, if applied only to those who could not help themselves at all, it would not be wide of the mark; but when self-help is united with philanthropic aid it must reach a much larger number. Even on the most favorable calculation, however, it must be limited in its operations. It is estimated that the increase of the Russian Jews is 3 per cent per annum, which, if there were no countervailing movement, would bring an increment of 150,000 to 180,000 a year, and thus the problem becomes constantly more difficult.
Against this steady augmentation there has been within the past few months a large outflow. The number of Russian Jew emigrants passing through Charlottenberg and thence sailing from Bremen or Hamburg was, in the two months of July and August, about 23,000. This is entirely independent of the exodus through Odessa and the southern parts of the Empire, which, however, is not supposed to be large. The major portion of this emigration through Bremen and Hamburg goes to the United States. Germany does not permit the fugitives to remain within her domains, and English authorities do all that is within their power to direct them away from the British shores. The chief force of this movement of the Russian Jews has come within a comparatively short period. My dispatch No. 79, of February 28, reported the beginning of a withdrawal from Moscow and St. Petersburg in apprehension of adverse measures. In my No. 89, sent on the eve of my departure on leave, the first known orders of the year for the expulsion of a number of families from the two capitals were indicated. This was the open inauguration of a policy which has since assumed large proportions.
The laws under which the expulsion of Jews living outside of the pale of settlement was directed had not for a considerable period been rigorously applied, and were now practically and palpably enforced for the first time in many years. When last year it was currently rumored that harsh and proscriptive measures had been or were about to be undertaken, this legation, in common with others, reported that the Russian Government denied and repelled these allegations. This answer, it is believed, was strictly in accord with the fact as it then was. The movement for the renewed application of the old laws has taken practical form and force within a few months. I observe that the correspondent of the New York Times, who has been in Russia making a special investigation of the subject, indicates that its enforcement began in March. Information from other sources harmonizes with this [Page 746] statement. While before that time there had been some emigration, induced, perhaps, by the strenuous and precarious struggle for life in vocations which were limited and crowded or by the apprehension of a severer policy or by the harshness of irresponsible subordinate officials, the great outflow which excites the attention and interest of the world did not commence until the last spring. Since then it has gone on in a strong and steady current, and it becomes a question of special importance to us whether this movement and the causes which lie behind it can be influenced and modified.
I was desirous of meeting Col. Weber, chairman of the Emigration Commission, on the completion of his investigation in Russia, and on my arrival in London I opened correspondence with him for this purpose. But, as he was moving about, the letter was delayed in reaching him, and it was only a few days before his departure that I received a oiessage that he was obliged to sail for home before I could reach Berlin.
I have, etc.,