62 LEE K. FRANKEL 



sentatives of the Baron de Hirsch fund, the Russian Trans- 

 portation fund, the United Hebrew charities and the American 

 committee for amehorating the condition of the Russian ex- 

 iles. The last committee was organized to secure the cooper- 

 ation of relief societies in other cities, in order that the various 

 European societies who were assisting the persecuted Russians 

 to emigrate should thoroughly understand the attitude of 

 the New York organization. 



The year, October, 1891, to September, 1892, will ever 

 be a memorable one in the history of Russian emigration and 

 of Jewish philanthropy; 52,134 immigrants arriving at the 

 barge office in that time. The treasurer of the United Hebrew 

 charities paid out the enormous sum of $321,311.05, of which 

 $145,200 was spent by the Russian Refugees committee be- 

 tween February and September. Like the Hebrew Emigrant 

 Aid society, the history of the central Russian Refugees com- 

 mittee is still to be written. At present it is included in the 

 bald statement of a treasurer's report. Should it ever be 

 published, it will tell a tale of devotion, of altruistic effort, of 

 sacrifice, of noble charitable impulse unparalleled in the his- 

 tory of American Judaism. 



Since the year 1881, fully 600,000 Jewish immigrants 

 have arrived at the port of New York alone. Of these the bulk 

 comprise refugees from Russian and Roumanian persecution, 

 Austrians and Galicians. They come from coimtries in which 

 many of them lived under conditions of appalling poverty. 

 The records of the immigration bureau show that from the 

 standpoint of material wealth, these immigrants are below 

 the average of immigrants from other European countries. 

 Due to their previous condition a goodly percentage is illiter- 

 ate. On the other hand, the number of skilled artisans and 

 craftsmen is so large as to be distinctly noticeable. From 

 the standpoint of dependency, it will be of interest to study 

 to what exent this large body of immigrants has added to the 

 dependent and delinquent classes of the communities in the 

 United States. The only figures that are at hand are those 

 of New York, which are higher than would be found in other 

 cities and to\vns, for reasons that are ob\dous. 



In December, 1899, the \vriter made a study of 1,000 



