THE CROSSING OF THE RACES 493 



And now we come to consider the other type of immigrant which is 

 making itself so strongly felt in our land and which, if we are to judge 

 by the history of other nations, will continue to be an unsolved and 

 vexatious problem long after the Pole and the Hun and Italian are 

 forgotten. The Jew has been a source of worry and discomfort to every 

 nation in which he has ever settled in any numbers, unless we except 

 our own. Whether this is his own fault, or the fault of the people 

 among whom he has cast his lot, is entirely beside the question. The 

 point to be determined is, whether he will, or will not, in time, lose his 

 racial identity and mix with the general population around him. Is 

 there anything to warrant the conclusion that he has at last found his 

 haven in this country, and being left free to practise his religion with- 

 out persecution, will become one of us in every sense of the word, 

 except in the matter of religious belief, which is, after all, a matter of no 

 great importance so far as citizenship is concerned. Let us answer the 

 question in the particular instance by ascertaining how it has been solved, 

 in the aggregate, during times already past, and then considering whether 

 there are any essential differences in the conditions of the past and 

 present. The first historical account of anti-semitism occurs in the book 

 of Esther, third chapter and eighth verse — " And Haman said unto 

 King Ahasuerus, there is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed 

 among the people of all the provinces of thy kingdom; and their laws 

 are diverse from those of every people, neither keep they the King's 

 laws : therefore it is not for the King's profit to suffer them." "We all 

 know the sequel to this speech, and how the contemplated massacre and 

 expulsion was obviated by the wiles of the beautiful Esther. The story 

 of this attempted expulsion of a whole race of people, almost at the dawn 

 of history, would have no particular interest for us now had it not been 

 the forerunner, so to speak, of like movements repeated with almost 

 dreary monotony throughout all the centuries since. That anti-semitism 

 is not a modern movement, having its essential cause in the crucifixion 

 of Christ, but was, on the contrary, a well-defined policy of many nations 

 long before the question of Christianity arose as a complicating factor 

 to confound the real issue, is a fact attested to by the Jewish historians 

 themselves. We learn from Josephus that there were considerable 

 Jewish colonies in all the eastern towns and among the various Greek 

 possessions. They lived an exclusive life, mingling but little with the 

 people, and having their own customs and laws which they refused to 

 abandon at any price ; although at utter variance with those of the Greeks 

 about them, the authorities were continually called upon to settle dis- 

 putes arising between the Jews and the people among whom they 

 settled. Thus, in the year 14 B.C., the Ephesians requested that the 

 right of citizenship be taken from the Jews if they would not consent 

 to join in the worship of Diana. Nicolas, of Damascus, pled the cause 

 of the Jews and they won the suit. Xow, among all the nations of 



