Not a Jew

     The unfortunate statement made at a Polish-American meeting in Philadelphia, that Czolgosz is a Jew, has caused some mischief, and Jews in a number of cities have felt called upon formally to deny it. It is an ungracious thing to point out the religion of such a wretch for the purpose of publicly identifying him in this regard, for no religion can be held responsible for the existence of the monster, and all the civilized world repudiates him; but the Jews have had a surfeit of false accusations, and they will not allow Czolgosz to be foisted upon them. It has been stated in the New York Times that, so far as he can be said to belong to any religion, he is a member of the Catholic Church. No one will think less of the Church because the assassin happens to be attached to it; he is a rebel against all the conservative forces of religion and society. But none of the humiliation that the members of a body must feel for one of its number, a traitor to its cause, a criminal loathed and execrated, need shame the Jew. President McKinley did not fall at Jewish hands. Nay, the patriotism of the Jew was never so manifest as when the Jews of this country, with remarkable spontaneity and singular unanimity, gathered at once in their synagogues to pour out in prayer their wishes for the recovery of the President. This outburst of feeling has been noted by the press and people, who will not be misled by the ill-considered statement of the Polish-Americans or of any other reckless man or set of men.