Situation of Jews in Small Towns of White Russia is Described in Report

(Jewish Telegraphic Agency Mail Service)

The economic and cultural conditions among the Jewish population in the small towns of White Russia is dealt with in a report which has just been issued by the Jewish Bureau at the Central Committee of the White Russian Communist Party.

“There are in White Russia 165 small towns,” the report states. “Forty-seven of these are officially counted for purposes of administration as small towns and 118 as villages. The small towns contain 31 percent of the whole of the Jewish population of White Russia. Nominally, the majority of the Jewish small town population are artisans. Actually, however, a large part of these must be included as among the declassed poverty-stricken Jewish population because they have neither the necessary qualifications, nor the materials with which to do productive work. The same applies to the workers. Nominally, they constitute in some of the towns 25% to 30% of the Jewish population. In actual fact, however, the proportion is much less than that, because of chronic unemployment, scanty wages and insufficient qualifications, so that the workers too, for the most part, must be counted among the declassed element.

” Traders constitute the smallest group, numbering between 2% and 11%. Most of them are traders of the first and second classes, being street traders and small traders in the market places. In general, trading in the small towns is dying out.

“The declassed, impoverished mass,” the report states, “consists chiefly of unemployed, insufficiently skilled artisans, unemployed officials, war-wounded and orphans of the pogroms and banditism. This section forms the largest group in the Jewish small town population. It lives from hand to mouth, or rather on air.

“The position of the young is worst of all. The majority of them are unemployed. There is no place where they can be taught a trade. Those who have already learnt a trade have no openings for employment. Tailoring and boot-making are of no use at all, because there is no demand for clothes or shoes in the small towns. The population have no money with which to pay for them.

“There are in White Russia about 7,600 Jewish families of agricultural workers,” the report states. “The old settlers numbers 3,128 families with 18,481 individuals settled at 257 different places covering an area of 17,239 desiatin.

“During 1925, 903 families were settled comprising 4,400 individuals settled in 90 places covering an area of 9,985 desiatin. There were in addition 3,600 families settled on individual farms scattered about the small towns and villages.

“In spite of the poverty, cultural work among the Jews in White Russia is progressing. The network of schools has increased. As against 134 schools with 19,095 pupils last year, there are today 176 schools with 22,535 pupils. Forty-five per cent of the Jewish pupils attend Jewish schools. The educational work will be increased considerably next year when the compulsory school attendance law comes into force.

“The Jewish schools are working under great difficulties. There is a lack of teachers, lack of the necessary teaching materials, of desks, books, etc. The teaching personnel in employment in the schools gives complete satisfaction and 125 new teachers who have graduated at the Soviet Teachers’ Seminaries are being added this year.”

The report refers to the creation of a Jewish Chair at the Teachers’ Seminary in White Russia, the Jewish Department at the White Russia Scientific Research Institute, and the Yiddish publication activity.

The report states that the rich men and the Jewish communal workers are exercising a strong influence upon the Jewish population in the small towns, because it is they who organize the relief work. “They therefore appear to the poorer masses as their benefactors, and their political influence is consequently very strong. In those places where the economic position is exceptionally bad, the bourgeois influence is felt of various Zionist groupings who are now conducting their campaign, not only against the Jewish sections of the Communist Party, but against the whole Communist Party. The Zionists work chiefly among the young. Lately there is an attempt on their part to win over also the artisans,” the report states. The report declares that the Jewish sections of the Communist party have decided to intensify their anti-Zionist activities. In this connection instructions were sent to all District Party Committees advising them of the methods to be adopted to fight against the Zionists. “The result,” the report claims, “has been very favorable. Zionism is now in a state of decay. That is especially noticeable in the Heholuz, where the number of members has fallen to 30 per cent. The leadership is in a state of demoralization. The same applies to the Young Zionist Organization. Hashomer Hazair. The Yekopo (Jewish Communist Labor Party Poale Zion),” the report concludes, “has in the whole of White Russia only twenty-eight members and the Party is dying out.”

Fifteen acres were bought for $35,000 by the site committee of the board of directors of the Hebrew Women’s Home for Children of Hartford, Conn.

Morris Older, president of the home and chairman of the site committee, announced that a campaign for building funds would be started early in the fall.

The New York chapter of the American Association of Jewish Academicians has arranged a series of educational lectures for teachers, principals and school workers.