Eureka Daily Sentinel

HEBREWS IN AMERICA

To no race has this American land proved such a boon as it has to the sons and daughters of Israel. It is no exaggeration to say that in these United States many Hebrews have found an ample equivalent for the loss of the land of their fathers, and probably there are only few—a very few, if any—who have established themselves here who would esteem it a favor to have Palestine restored to them if such restoration implied their return thither. The restoration of Israel, if it meant the return of the Israelites from all the lands into which they have wandered, would indeed be but a very questionable benefit. If at home anywhere on the face of the globe they are at home in these United States. Here they have had from the commencement of our history as a separate nation exceptional advantages—exceptional as compared with the advantages offered in any other land or among any other people. Disabilities, in the sense in which they have existed in the Old World, have never existed here. In many parts of Europe the Hebrews are a proscribed race to-day. In Great Britain the Hebrew now enjoys all that is meant to be conveyed by the words liberty and equality; but his emancipation in the British Isles is but a thing of yesterday, and far as yet from being dissociated from a long record of sad experiences. Nor does Great Britain offer any such advantages as are offered here. It is natural, therefore, that the sons and daughters of Judea should seek these shores in increasing numbers, and as there is but little reason to hope that there will be any sensible amelioration of the condition of the Hebrew population in Eastern Europe the presumption is that the tide of Jewish immigration will continue thitherward.

So far we have had no reason to regret their coming. The Hebrews bring with them to these shores those characteristics for which they have ever been famous. They are industrious, inventive, thrifty; and to-day and here they reveal those acquisitive qualities for which they were already distinguished before the date of the Exodus. They are peaceful and law abiding, and in many capacities they have already made their mark. As bankers, as merchants, as real estate speculators, they are found in the front ranks. In our large commercial centres their influence is visible and powerfully felt. In society they are a unit; and the unit means power. In our grander avenues their homes are palatial and their synagogues sustain comparison with our very grandest ecclesiastical buildings. They have contributed in no small degree to swell the volume of capital in the country; they have enlarged and stimulated enterprise; and it is a noticeable and important fact that as a rule when they come to these shores they come to stay. Happily we have abundance of room, and to all such we are as willing as we are able to say, "Come and Welcome."