The whole of Denmark and the whole of Finland, writes Brandes, are impregnated with Judaism; there was a time when he was not a Jew; and yet, the one thing known about, and the one thing they communicate to the outside world, is that he is one. They all alive and breathe in the atmosphere of Jerusalem; all the churches are full of it, and it has veen pumped into the universities. And he, Brandes, the earliest among the Danes who most zealously and most obstinately in his spiritual life strove towards Athens, they never tire of dragging back to Jerusalem. The tragedy of Georg Brandes' life! He would assimilate, he has turned his back to the ideals of the Jews, he would become an Athenian, but the world refuses to forget the fact that he was born a Jew.
A JEWISH BILL IN RUSSIA.
—Ir is said that the Russian Cabinet has under consideration a bill relating to the Jewish question, and that the Assistant Minister of the Interior, Makaroff, who enjoys a good reputation as an anti-Semite, is at work on it. Before the bill, which has not been given out to the public, will be decided by the Duma the various ministers will sit on it to eradicate the elements in it which are not purely Slavic in tone. A leader of the radical constitutional democrats, M. Roditcheffl, in the Hazman, declares that the raising of the Jewish question would be a fruitless demonstration, for the Duma would reject any emancipation bill. The government, he says, has not shown by deeds that it is favorable to the Jews; it has permitted the anti-Semite, Zam- islowsky, to print his insults to the Jewish soldiers, and has refused to place any government orders with Jewish firms. In such circumstances, Mr. Roditcheff considers Stoly- pin’s kindness to Wolffsohn as an attempt to influence Western Europe in his favor. The constitutional democrats oppose the introduction of the Jewish question in the Duma, because they are certain that the Duma will defeat any measure favorable to the Jews.
REMARKABLE IMPROVEMENTS FOR IMMIGRANTS.
—Nissin BEHAR, the director of the National Liberal Immigration League, returning
from a trip to Europe in the steerage, has suggested that the improvement of the third-class accommodations by the addition of baths and libraries would make the steerage quite a comfortable place for immigrants. Mr. Behar is an anomaly in American Jewish life. He works with the cunning and the foresight of a Jesuit. The source of the income of all Jewish organizations in America is quite well known, but where Mr. Behar secures the funds for managing the National Liberal Immigration League and the Federation of Jewish Organizations is a mystery, which no one has ventured to solve.
GIBBON FAVORS SECTARIAN SCHOOLS.
—CARDINAL GIBBONS, on his departure from New York, is reported to have taken a decided stand in favor of sectarian schools to take the place of the public school system. He explained: “I am much concerned over the political conditions in this country. There seems such a gradual trend toward unrighteousness in the great mass of our people in some respects that thinking men must realize that the problem must be met without delay. There is no morality without religion, and without religion there is no God. The public school is the only place to begin. There are so many cunning little schemes being af- ways devised by Atheists, unbelievers and non-Christians to put God out of the public school that the authorities of this country and in every State should exclude Atheists and non-Christians from any office of authority. The plan is to segregate the public schools of the country. Let each denomination maintain its own school, where its Christian teachers can inculcate a love for God into the hearts of the children while teaching them other things. Let the expense be borne by the State. Let the schools be maintained from the tax fund and each school given its proportion of the funds.” This seems to be in line with the general trend of opinion with regard to the public school system. It is a deliberate attack upon the principles of democracy, as expounded by the pioneers of this country. It has already found expression in the introduction of religious hymns