The effort of the poor Jews in Russia to emigrate
to America is impeded by an unexpected difficulty. It is the practice of the Emigration Committee at New York to find work for the immigrants, and distribute them through the country in the occupations with which they are acquainted. They distribute hundreds of thousands of persons every year in this way, but they say they fail with Jews. Either their employers send them back, making charges of idleness or in- -competence, or the Jews themselves return, declaring that "the work is too hard." The Committee have, therefore, declined to receive any more Jews. The truth seems to be that the Jews are expected to do hard, manual 'labour ; and that in America, as everywhere else, they refuse to do it, except under pressure of absolute necessity. Their business in the world, as they think, is to distribute, taking a heavy toll upon the article distri- buted. That is a useful function, but a colony can no more be made up of distributors than a State can be composed of -tax-gatherers. Mr. Oliphant hopes to settle all Jews in Pales- tine, but he has omitted to say who will plough the land, sow the seed, and cart the muck. The Jew will not.
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