With the gradual falling off in immigration, the Emigrant Aid Society went out of exist ence, 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 religious persecution of the Russian Jews reached a climax. In the year ending 30 September, 62,574 immigrants arrived at New York, of whom nearly 40,000 ar rived between June and September. The en tire charitable effort of the New York Jewish community was for the time directed out of the ordinary channels and applied to this monu mental question of caring for the arriving Rus sian Jews. The Baron de Hirsch Fund, instead of utilizing its income for its educational work, appropriated over $67,000 to the United Hebrew Charities to assist in the work of the Immigra tion 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 immigration, 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 enthusiasm which was aroused at a banquet tendered to the late Jesse Seligman brought into existence the °Russian Transportation Fund," which added over $90. 000 to the revenues of the United Hebrew Charities and which was given by the citizens of New York, irrespective of creed. Later in the year, a standing committee of the society, known as "The Central Russian Refugees Com mittee') was organized and was made up of representatives of the Baron de Hirsch Fund, the Russian Transportation Fund, the United Hebrew Charities and the American Committee for Ameliorating the Condition of the Russian Exiles. The last committee was organized to secure the co-ope: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 or ganization. The year, October 1891 to Septem ber 1892, will ever be a memorable one in the history of the Russian emigration and of Jew ish philanthropy; 52,134 immigrants arrived 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 between February and September.
Since the year 1881, 1,981,563 Jewish immi grants have arrived at the port of New York alone. Of these, the bulk comprise refugees from Russian and Rumanian persecution, Austrians and Galicians. They came from countries 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 previ ous condition, a goodly percentage is illiterate. On the other hand, the number of skilled artisans and craftsmen is so large as to be dis tinctly noticeable. In 1909, the work at Ellis Island was turned over to a newly-created so ciety known as the Hebrew Sheltering and Immigrant Aid Society.
Many years ago it was realized that the in creasing settlement of this population in the city must be discouraged as far as possible and two organizations, generously endowed with funds, the Jewish Agricultural and Industrial Aid Society, established in 1900, and the Indus trial Removal Office, established in the same year, began a concerted movement to distribute as many of these immigrants as possible over the less thickly populated sections of the coun try. The former encourages their settlement on farms; the latter in the smaller industrial centres of the country. These attempts have met with great success, 85,000 Jewish souls hav ing been satisfactorily removed to the interior and placed in positions where they have been self-supporting. But these pumbers form only
a small part of the influx of Jewish immigrants during this period.
In 1907, Mr. Jacob H. Schiff organized a movement which he alone has supported in this country, to divert Jewish immigrants from the Atlantic seaports to the Far West, through the port of Galveston, Tex., and through this movement has accomplished substantial results, about 9,000 immigrants being distributed in this way to the sparsely settled sections of the coun try. NA'hile it has not stemmed the tide to any considerable degree, it has established, in those which it has settled, centres of attraction for thousands of others who would otherwise have come to the Atlantic seaports. This move ment was abandoned just before the European War broke out in 1914.
The experience of these organizations have long pointed the way for governmental action. Several years ago, a division was created in the Immigration Bureau of the Federal govern ment, known as the Division of Information, whose purpose it has been to encourage the dis tribution of immigrants throughout the coun try so as to relieve congestion in the large sea ports.
As stated before dependency wining Jews in this city is largely the result of immigration. By that it was not meant that the rived required assistance, but that those in need of aid belonged nearly entirely to the class,who were handicapped in their struggle fox existenrJs because they were strangers in a •strange land. But as the years pass, these people depend 'more and more upon themselves and resort to com munity aid only in exceptional cases.
In spite of the large increase of population, there has been a.constaintlY dintinishing number of applications for relief at•he United Hebrew Charities of New York •and its co-operating societies. Many, of the immigrants who came here 10. and 20 years rare now very cora 1 ortably situated, notwithstanding,: if an' ins aestivation were made of their history, many of them would be found recorded: on the books of the United Hebrew Charities. Even with the great mass of. Jews who settled here during she past generation and who are still in the earning classes, very few tied it necessary so apply for relief when , in temporary distress. During the great cloakmakere strike in and the shirtwaist makers'. strike shortly after, involving approximately 100,000 workers, pat. tically none of these persons found it.necessary to ask aid of the chanties, in ,spite of the, fact that they were out of employment for .four months. The panic of November 1907 threw ismuireds of thousands of persons out em. ployment; nevertheless, a ,negligible number of persons applied for assistance and these did not come to the doors of the charities until June of the following year. The masses di the Jewish wage . earners in this city have estal• fished, and effectually organized for than. selves, their own mutual benefit : societies to which they resort during emergencies' of illness, accident, death and unemployment. There is hardly a Jewish workingman or storekeeper of the inunignint class who does not Wong to a mutual benefit society. These people have demonstrated in a marvelous fashion that social insurance is better than charity Though the mutual benefit societies have been the most important factor, in the lion of community dependency, there have been minor factors that must not be ignored. The Industrial Removal office and the Jewish Agri-. cultural and Industrial Aid Society, above re ferred to, have contributed their share to thiti happy situation. The Hebrew Free Loan Aai aociation is another organization 'peculiarly Jewish, which is, to some degree, responsible This organization was established about 20 years ago and -Since that time has loaned sums ranging from $5 to $200 in 240,000 cases with, out investigation , and without security, also without interest, but simply upon the gdarantee of two responsible persons that the sums loaned would be returned. Only five-eighths of ,1: per cent of the $7,000,000 thus . loaned has 'not been repaid.