Dollfuss Refime Threatens Second Class Status for Jews

The announcement made by the Dollfuss government that Austria would be re-constituted as a “German, Christian, coporate, State” is causing considerable anxiety among the Jews of Austrain, in view of the uncertainty of the interpretation of the concept set forth by the government.

Although Chancellor Dollfuss deciared in a recent speech that his definition of the new Austrian state on the the basis of “Christian idealogy” does not mean any infringement on the equality to Jewish citizenship rights, it is known that other members of the government are determined to abolish Jewish equality. They propose to establish two classes of citizens with the Jews occupying occupying the second or low class.

Responsible Jewish bedies here feel that the Austrain government must respect its obilgations to the League of Nations and to foreign sentiment, which has been of such great help in maintaining Austrian independence. But in the face of these obligation and in spite of the rigorous censorship of the press, the Nazi papers as a section of the government press have been permmitted to continue deliberate deliberate incitements against the Jews, particularly among the mass of disappointed and crushed Socialist workers, whom the anti-Semitic press infoms that they have fallen victims to the “filthy Jewish headers,” urging them to join the anti-Jewish ranks.

A Jewish Telegraphic Agency dispatch, which reported that individual Jews had enrolled in the government forces fighting the Socialists, was suppressed by the government censor; probably because the autorities are not anxious to have it known that Jews are fighting on the govern ent side. The government was afraid that this might weaken its anti-Socialist propaganda, among the workers, which is largely based on anti-Semitism. Millions of leaflefs of this nature are being distributed among the workers.

The rumor that Austrain Jewish institutions were railled by the government forces is##true. Actually, only the premises of a Jewish functionary of one of the Jewish institutions were raide, because the individual was suspected of being sympathetic to the Socialists.

The president of the Invalid Jew- ish War Veterans’ Association was arrested, since he is a Socialist. Der Arbeiter, organ of the Austrian Poale Zion, Socialist Zionists, was suppressed and it is extremely doubtful whether the Poale Zion representative on the Jewish community will be permitted to retain he #sition.Dispatches of the correspondent of the Jewish Daily Forward of New York were stopped by the Austrian censor.