Certain non-Jews, who are active in the Americanization campaign in Chicago, appear to be anti-Semites, bitter and irreconcilable anti-Semites at that. In the report of a survey authorized by, and under the direction of, the Chicago Community Trust, certain chapters are devoted to the various nationalities in the cities, chapters in which the life and ideals of the nationality are described. A chapter entitled "Russian Jews" is devoted to the Jews of the West Side; the following is a reprint:

"The Russians, who constitute seven per cent of the total population in Chicago, a very large element, were looked upon with suspicion as a result of the upheaval in Russia during the last war. The majority of the Russians in Chicago are Jews. The long persecution which they had to endure, undoubtedly influenced their character. They look suspiciously upon everyone. They think that the world is utterly sordid and topsy-turvy. They are against everything: politics, religion, 2society; their attitude has been clear for some time. They are a difficult element to assimilate. They manifest a religious devotion and piety toward everything they undertake, and, naturally, they are capable of becoming undesirable citizens. Most of them live in the vicinity west of the river and south of Twelfth Street, in the Twentieth, Tenth, and Eleventh Wards. They mix with the Italians north of Twelfth Street in the Nineteenth Ward; with the Irish, Germans, and Italians in the Eighteenth Ward. There area considerable number of them in the Fifteenth Ward, northwest of the Polish settlement."

The Jews of the West Side and the Northwest Side are themselves to blame if they are branded "Russians". They did not specifically ask the census taker to list them as Jews. Yet many Jews stated that they came from Austria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Rumania, and the census taker listed them as Austrians, Czechoslovakians, Hungarians, and Rumanians. Why, then, do they brand all the Jews as Russians? The answer is that it is easy to indict the Russians as troublemakers and undesirable citizens.

This is a charge made by bitter and irreconcilable anti-Semites.

We live on the West Side and the Northwest Side not as Russians, but as Jewish-American citizens. We pay taxes to the city, county, and state. We believe in an organized government, and help in the development of commerce and industry in the country; we are builders not destroyers.

We have generously supported all drives for the various loans which the Government has issued in order to win the war. We have given our sons to fight in the war, in the army, in the navy, and in the marines--the Jewish boys were everywhere; the majority of them volunteered and the others gladly submitted to the draft. Jewish soldiers of the West Side and the Northwest Side were mentioned in official reports for their bravery on the battlefield, and others received honorary medals. As yet, we do not have an accurate list of the dead and wounded Jewish boys from Chicago. But we are certain that when this list is made public, it will surprise everyone.

Over two hundred thousand Jews of America were in the service of Uncle Sam in the last war. We had 8,005 commissioned officers, among them a brigadier general 4in the Marine Corps, a rear admiral in the U. S. Navy, 69 colonels and lieutenant colonels in the U. S. Army, 370 majors, 1,263 captains, and 7,524 lieutenants. About 3,500 American Jews, perhaps more, were killed and about 12,000 or more were wounded.

But let's get back to the Jews of the West and Northwest Sides of Chicago. Yes, we are good citizens and good Jews, and, therefore, we do not burden the community with our helpless; we maintain charity institutions of our own. True, there are some radicals among us, but they are not dangerous. Many of them are just "loud mouths," but basically they seek to earn a living and [some] are working. When a person works he is not dangerous, neither to his community, nor to his country, and if we have some criminals among us, we are entitled to them, just as other nationalities are entitled to theirs. The majority of Jews, at any rate, are not responsible for them. The reformatory schools, the jails, and the psychopathic institutions have an insignificantly small percentage of Jewish inmates.

The majority of us are nationalistic. For nationalist Jews, the recognition of government officials that they are good citizens is unnecessary, just as Zionists 5need no testimonials to their loyalty to the country in which they live. But for our own sake we will mention that Secretary Baker, Secretary Daniels, and other high officials in America, including President Wilson himself, firmly maintain that one can be a Zionist and an American patriot. Zionism meets with general approval. There is no conflict between Zionism and patriotism, and this we say not only to the heads of the Americanization campaign alone, but also to many of our Jews who are afraid of appearing to be Jewish nationalists.

Our speakers and writers realize very clearly that it is their duty to arouse an interest in the country in which we live and to advocate a sound system of government. Our speakers and writers urge the newcomers to learn the language of the country, to become citizens, and good ones at that, and to vote for the best man who is running for public office. The Jewish vote here has helped to elect officials who made a name for themselves in the community, and also elected officials who have been re-elected repeatedly.

Our defense ends here.

The greatest part of the Americanization report was not drawn up as it should have been; consciously or unconsciously, it is untrue. A large number of important Jewish societies and Jewish activities are omitted and this leads to the belief that the hand which wrote the report belongs to a person who is prejudiced against the Jews.