It is indeed heartrending to listen to the complaints made as a result of the persistent threats on the livelihood of Jewish bumboatmen here. For upwards of half a century these men, who run their little bumboats to service freight and passenger ships passing this hot desolate port, have been allowed to pursue this line of trade unmolested and there has hardly been a hiatus in this connection. Now it is sought to reverse the order of things to the detriment of these men under a cruel and unreasonable ruling which permits only one person to man a bumboat instead of four according to the age-old practice.
A great many Jews depend on the trade of passenger ships that call in the port harbor, and now for no other reason save that of pressing Jews out of employment it is sought to lay a hard and fast rule on their means of existence. This has created a feeling of anxiety here, for Jews in the bumboats have no other business to turn to as the doors of non-Jewish business are heavily barred against them.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
