JEWISH CHARITIES 6i 



spent for board and lodging alone over $11,700. Of the her- 

 culean efforts of the members of the committee, of the sacri- 

 fices of time and money, the report in its modesty makes but 

 scant mention. The full history of the Emigrant Aid society 

 is yet to be written. 



With the gradual falling off in immigration, the Emigrant 

 Aid society went out of existence, and the care of the needy 

 immigrant who remained in New York and who became im- 

 poverished after residence, reverted to the United Hebrew 

 charities. In 1885 immigration again began to grow heavier, 

 and continued to grow in such numbers that in the following 

 five years over 120,000 immigrants arrived at Castle Garden. 

 In 1890 the immigration reached the figures of 32,321, the 

 largest number ever recorded up to that time. 



With all that had been done, the real work of the charities 

 was but to begin. In 1891 the rehgious persecution of the 

 Russian Jews reached a climax. In the year ending September 

 30, 62,574 immigrants arrived at New York, of whom nearly 

 40,000 arrived between June and September. The entire 

 charitable effort of the New York Jewish community was for 

 the time directed out of the ordinary channels and applied to 

 this monumental question of caring for the arriving Russian 

 Jews. The Baron de Hirsch fund, instead of utilizing its in- 

 come for its educational work, appropriated over $67,000 to 

 the United Hebrew charities to assist in the work of the im- 

 migration bureau. Over $175,000 was spent by the United 

 Hebrew charities during this year. In September of 1891 it 

 became apparent that there would be no cessation to the im- 

 migration, and that much larger funds would be necessary to 

 give anything like adequate assistance to the unfortunates 

 who were arriving at the rate of 2,000 per week. The en- 

 thusiasm which was aroused at a banquet tendered to the late 

 Jesse Seligman brought into existence the Russian Transpor- 

 tation fund, which added over $90,000 to the revenues of the 

 United Hebrew charities and which was given by citizens of 

 New York, irrespective of creed. Later in the year, a stand- 

 ing committee of the society known as the Central Russian 

 Refugees committee was organized, and was made up of repre- 



