JEWS. 



357 



sixty-one days, during which not a single case 

 of malaria occurred, whereas 259 cases occurred 

 in a battalion not similarly protected. 



The Japanese population, mostly from Kiushiu 

 and Osaka, numbers, exclusive of the military, 

 more than 40,000, more than 8,000 having come 

 in 1900. During the past five years of Chinese 

 occupation imports increased from 7,127,534 

 yen to 9,254,010 yen, an increase of less than 30 

 per cent., against 140 per cent, increase for a sim- 

 ilar period under Japanese rule, the total imports 

 in 1900 being 22,009,695 yen. The entire revenue 

 of the island is expended on local improvements, 

 and 150,000,000 yen have been put into circula- 

 tion. Modern impi'ovements and industries are 

 springing up all over the island. The city of 

 Taihoku is virtually Japanese, cleanly built and 

 well drained, with macadamized streets, brick 

 and stone houses, and well-stocked shops. A 

 thousand miles of ordinary roads, often with 

 jreat engineering difficulties to overcome, have 

 jeen constructed, and the old railways of Chinese 

 days have been entirely reconstructed. There are 

 now 93 miles of ordinary, and 200 miles of nar- 

 row-gage railway, and 1,400 miles of telegraphic 

 wire on land. New cables to Japan, Foo-Chow, 

 and the Pescadores have been laid, and several 

 telephone-lines put in operation. Hospitals have 

 been established in the leading cities, at which 

 poor Chinese receive treatment. The actual reve- 

 nue of the island in 1900 was 15,000,000 yen. 

 The Director-General reports that from 1895 to 

 1901 the total amount expended by Japan, in- 

 cluding military expenses, was 150,000,000 yen, 

 the total revenue during this period being 40,000,- 

 000 yen, but the annual revenue now yields be- 

 tween 14,000,000 and 20,000,000 yen. 



JEWS. The most important event of the year 

 for the Jews of the United States was the arrival 

 of Dr. Solomon Schechter, a native of Roumania, 

 but for many years a resident of England, where 

 he was reader of Rabbinic at Cambridge Univer- 

 sity and occupied a high place in the ' learned 

 world. For some time negotiations had been in 

 progress to secure his services for the Jewish 

 Theological Seminary of New York. On its com- 

 plete reorganization and ample endowment, large- 

 ly due to gifts from Jacob H. Schiff, he left Eng- 

 land and reached New York on April 17. His 

 active duties as director of the seminary began 

 in the autumn. The new institution is practically 

 a post-graduate school; its course of study is 

 broad and thorough, and its aim is to impart a 

 wide scholarship. Prof. Schechter has been iden- 

 tified with positive traditional Judaism. His in- 

 augural address, on Nov. 20, was a stirring plea 

 for breadth and scholarship in Jewish seminary 

 training. His view of Judaism was pithily ex- 

 pressed in the words: "Judaism is not a religion 

 which does not oppose itself to anything in par- 

 ticular. Judaism is opposed to any number of 

 things, and says distinctly ' Thou shalt not.' It 

 permeates the whole of your life. It demands 

 control over all your actions, and interferes even 

 with your menu. It insists upon the observance 

 both of the spirit and the letter. In a word, Ju- 

 daism is absolutely incompatible with the aban- 

 donment of the Thorah (law). We must leave 

 off talking about Occidentalizing our religion, as 

 if the Occident has ever shown the least genius 

 for religion, or freeing the conscience by abolish- 

 ing various laws. These and similar platitudes 

 and stock phrases, borrowed from Christian apolo- 

 getics, must be abandoned entirely, if we do not 

 want to drift slowly but surely into Paulinism, 

 which entered the world as the deadliest enemy 

 of Judaism, pursued it through all its course, and 



is still finding its abettors among us, working for 

 their own destruction. There is no other Jewish 

 religion than that taught by the Thorah, con- 

 firmed by history and tradition, and 'sunk into 

 the conscience of catholic Israel." 



A further evidence of educational progress was 

 the issue of the second and third volumes of the 

 Jewish Encyclopedia, whose successful publica- 

 tion is now assured. It is difficult to overesti- 

 mate the value of this undertaking, not only for 

 the popularization of Jewish knowledge, but for 

 the spectacle afforded of Christian and Jewish 

 scholars in kindly cooperation. The Jewish Pub- 

 lication Society, which has now 4,808 members, 

 issued several works in 1902: Strangers at the 

 Gate, by Samuel Gordon ; Idyls of the Gass, by 

 Martha Wolfenstein ; Hearth and Home Es- 

 says, by Esther J. Russkay; and the first volume 

 of a new edition of Grace Aguilar's writings. 

 The new edition of the Bible is under prepara- 

 tion; its first volume, the book of Psalms, is 

 ready for the press. The expenses for the year 

 reached $14,984 ; receipts, $15,271 ; permanent 

 fund, $17,145. 



At the annual convention of the Central Con- 

 ference of American Rabbis, held in New Orleans, 

 May 7, the discussion of the Sabbath question 

 aroused much interest. Papers were read on 

 The Jewish Religious School, by H. H. Mayer; 

 The Bible and Modern Thought, by S. Sale; 'The 

 Sabbath Question, by Jacob Voorsanger; and 

 Congregational Activities outside of Pulpit and 

 School, by L. M. Franklin. 



The fifth annual convention of the Federation 

 of American Zionists was held in Boston, May 

 25. The strength of the federation was shown 

 to be 174 societies. The income was $3,214; ex- 

 penses, $1,329. 



At the quinquennial convention of the order 

 Free Sons of Israel, in Philadelphia, May 18, the 

 number of lodges had increased to 103, all funds 

 amounting to $333,277. There were 11,000 mem- 

 bers, and a reserve fund of $935,000. 



At the triennial convention of the Sons of 

 Benjamin, in Philadelphia, July 6, the strength of 

 the order had risen to 30,000 members, with a 

 guarantee fund of $137,167. 



The summer session of the Jewish Chautauqua, 

 in Atlantic City, July 6-27, was memorable for a 

 variety of lectures and discussions on subjects like 

 Palestine, by Rev. M. A. Meyer; The Attitude of 

 Non-Jewish Scholars to Jewish Literature, by 

 Rev. D. Kohler; The Uses of Hebrew Manu- 

 scripts, by Prof. S. Schechter; Jewish Characters 

 in English Fiction, by Max J. Kohler; Assyria 

 and Egypt and the Monuments, by Rev. C. H. 

 Levy; Gorky, by Dr. K G. Hirsch; Shylock, by 

 Dr. Leon Harrison; Modern Hebrew Literature, 

 by G. B. Levi. In addition there were a school 

 of practise for teachers, popular conferences on 

 Jewish university students and religious training 

 after confirmation, and a course on applied philan- 

 thropy, with addresses on Social Unrest, Needy 

 Families in their Homes, Organization in Relief 

 Work, Dependent and Destitute Children, Pre- 

 ventive Work, Neighborhood Work, etc. 



The second biennial Conference of Jewish Char- 

 ities was held in Detroit, May 26, 25 cities being 

 represented, about half of the membership. 

 Among the subjects discussed were the diffusion 

 of Jewish immigrants from the East Side of 

 New York, the value of free loan societies, chat- 

 tel-mortgage loan companies and pawn societies, 

 delinquent children, the placing of immigrants, 

 consumption, and the training of sociological 

 workers. At the meeting of the American Jewish 

 Historical Society, Jan. 30, papers were presented, 



