VIEWS AND REVIEWS
MEMORIES OF SMOLESKIN.
THE 23d anniversary of the death of Peretz Smoleskin was observed recently by several Jewish publications in Russia. The memories of Smoleskin, published by Herr Sverzsinski in the Had-Hazman, were especially interesting in that they characterized the attitude of the common people of a town like Smolensk to the great Jewish nationalist and Hebrew literateur.
"Living as a teacher in Smolesk," relates this writer, "a poor, Jewish woman, shabbily dressed and carrying two huge baskets in her hands, once entered my house. There were several chickens in one basket, and in the other some vegetables, eggs, and a couple of pieces of bread. As is usual with such vendors, woman began to tell me a long story about her troubles, her bitter struggle for existence, which made it necessary for her to carry around those huge baskets all day until she was exhausted from weariness. It is true, she said, she had two sons, but the older one, Jehudah, had gone away, she did not know where, and the younger one Peretz, who occasionally sent her some money, had forgotten all about her this month. But he had sent her some kind of Hebrew books, which she did not know anything about and which he had asked her to dispose of among their relations.
"But the relations had torn the books and burnt them, and they threatened that if she made any further attempt to sell these volumes they would tell the householders of the town that her son was an infidel and no one would ever buy anything from her.
"The poor woman—who was none other than Smolenskin's mother—took several books from one of her baskets and handed them to me, with the request that I either purchase them or hide them for her. These books were copies of Smolenskin's first little volume, namely 'Bekerath T'hoyoh.'"
GLASS AND "POTASH AND PERLMUTTER."
THE Jewish Advocate, Boston, of June 24th, published a suggestive review of Montague Glass' "Potash and Perlmutter" stories, a collection of which have just appeared in book form. We quote the most significant portions of the review:
"Every author is, to some extent, an exhibitor of human kind, but Mr. Montague Glass is ostensibly a literary showman, desiring to exhibit the human freaks in the cloak and suit trade and instead of Barnum and Bailey, he labels his little museum, 'Potash and Perlmutter.'
"Of course Mr. Glass knows better. Some soft manufacturer of cloaks and suits looked upon his brieflessness and gave him his first case—taking the risk of the lawyer's untried powers. Somewhere he must have heard of the business man who gave up five dollars here and ten dollars there for charity, without a murmur, or of the mutual help which has made the great credit of the New York he describes. But—it doesn't pay to write of such things.
"The Saturday Evening Post was a market for an exploitation of Jews. Not that its proprietors are anti-Semitic, but in their own cool calculating way —much less impetuous than "Abe" and "Mauruss" —they know that an appeal to the old Adam of prejudice pays better, makes a larger appeal, than an effort to strike a balance of the good and the bad in a class of trade. And Mr. Montague Glass was perfectly willing to sell his "inside information" and offer the curious a succession of freak exhibits. He has been pretty successful at it. In fact, he does it well—better than most men could do it—but it is more than doubtful whether the "Abe's and Mauruss' of the cloak and suit trade would sell all their "inside information" of the Montague Glass type, for all the gold of Golconda.
"Our protest is not based on the harm