Chapter IX: Conclusion

In conclusion it must be stated that the motives which have actuated the publication of this book are not anti-Semitic. The object—already indicated in the introduction—is to call the attention of the American people to a document which may throw important light upon the international Bolshevist movement which menaces directly the vital interests of the United States.

That this attention is amply justified appears from a review of the recent publication of the Protocols in England, which appeared in the London _Times_ on May 8, 1920. The article is so significant that it is reprinted in its entirety.

“THE JEWISH PERIL.”[30]

A DISTURBING PAMPHLET

_Call for Inquiry_

(From a correspondent)

The _Times_ has not as yet noticed this singular little book.
Its diffusion is, however, increasing, and its reading is
likely to perturb the thinking public. Never before have a
race and a creed been accused of a more sinister conspiracy.
We in this country, who live in good fellowship with numerous
representatives of Jewry, may well ask that some authoritative
criticism should deal with it, and either destroy the ugly
“Semitic” bogy or assign their proper place to the insidious
allegations of this kind of literature.

In spite of the urgency of impartial and exhaustive criticism,
the pamphlet has been allowed, so far, to pass almost
unchallenged. The Jewish Press announced, it is true, that
the anti-Semitism of the “Jewish Peril” was going to be
exposed. But save for an unsatisfactory article in the March
5 issue of the _Jewish Guardian_, and for an almost equally
unsatisfactory contribution to the _Nation_ of March 27, this
exposure is yet to come. The article of the _Jewish Guardian_
is unsatisfactory, because it deals mainly with the personality
of the author of the book in which the pamphlet is embodied,
with Russian reactionary propaganda, and the Russian secret
police. It does not touch the substance of the “Protocols of
the Learned Elders of Zion.” The purely Russian side of the
book and its fervid “Orthodoxy” is not its most interesting
feature. Its author, Professor S. Nilus, who was a minor
official in the Department of Foreign Religions at Moscow, had,
in all likelihood, opportunities of access to many archives and
unpublished documents. On the other hand, the world-wide issue
raised by the “Protocols” which he incorporated in his book and
are now translated into English as “The Jewish Peril,” cannot
fail not only to interest, but to preoccupy. What are the
theses of the “Protocols” with which, in the absence of public
criticism, British readers have to grapple alone and unaided?
They are, roughly:—

(1) There is, and has been for centuries, a secret
international political organization of the Jews.

(2) The spirit of this organization appears to be an undying
traditional hatred of the Christian world, and a titanic
ambition for world domination.

(3) The goal relentlessly pursued through centuries is
the destruction of the Christian national States, and the
substitution for them of an international Jewish dominion.

(4) The method adopted for first weakening and then destroying
existing bodies politic is the infusion of disintegrating
political ideas of carefully measured progressive disruptive
force, from liberalism to radicalism, and socialism to
communism, culminating in anarchy as a _reductio ad absurdum_
of egalitarian principles. Meanwhile Jewry remains immune
from these corrosive doctrines. “We preach Liberalism to
the Gentiles, but on the other hand we keep our own nation
in entire subjection” (page 55). Out of the welter of world
anarchy, in response to the desperate clamour of distraught
humanity, the stern, logical, wise, pitiless rule of “the King
of the Seed of David” is to arise.

(5) Political dogmas evolved by Christian Europe, democratic
statesmanship and politics, are all equally contemptible to
the Elders of Zion. To them statesmanship is an exalted secret
art, acquired only by traditional training, and imparted to a
select few in the secrecy of some occult sanctuary. “Political
problems are not meant to be understood by ordinary people;
they can only be comprehended, as I have said before, by rulers
who have been directing affairs for many centuries.”

(6) To this conception of statesmanship the masses are
contemptible cattle, and the political leaders of the Gentiles,
“upstarts from its midst as rulers, are likewise blind in
politics.” They are puppets, pulled by the hidden hand of
the “Elders,” puppets mostly corrupt, always inefficient;
easily coaxed, or bullied, or blackmailed into submission,
unconsciously furthering the advent of Jewish dominion.

(7) The Press, the theatre, stock exchange speculations,
science, law itself, are, in the hands that hold all the
gold, so many means of procuring a deliberate confusion and
bewilderment of public opinion, demoralization of the young,
and encouragement of the vices of the adult, eventually
substituting, in the minds of the Gentiles, for the idealistic
aspiration of Christian culture the “cash basis” and a
neutrality of materialistic scepticism, or cynical lust for
pleasure.

Such are the main theses of the “Protocols.” They are not
altogether new, and can be found scattered throughout
anti-Semitic literature. The condensed form in which they are
now presented lends them a new and weird force.

Incidentally, some of the features of the would-be Jewish
programme bear an uncanny resemblance to situations and events
now developing under our eyes. Professor Nilus’s book was,
undoubtedly, published in Russia in 1905. The copy of the
original at the British Museum bears the stamp of August 10,
1906. This being so, some of the passages assume the aspect
of fulfilled prophecies, unless one is inclined to attribute
the prescience of the “Elders of Zion” to the fact that they
really are the hidden instigators of these events. When one
reads (page 8) that “it is indispensable for our plans that
wars should not produce any territorial alterations,” one is
most forcibly reminded of the cry, “peace without annexations”
raised by all the radical parties of the world, and especially
in revolutionary Russia. And again:—

We will create a universal economic crisis, by all possible
underhand means and with the help of gold, which is all in
our hands. Simultaneously we will throw on to the streets
huge crowds of workmen throughout Europe. We will increase the
wages, which will not help the workmen as, at the same time, we
will raise the price of prime necessities ... it is essential
for us at all costs to deprive the aristocracy of their lands.
To attain this purpose, the best method is to force up rates
and taxes. These methods will keep the landed interests at
their lowest possible ebb.

Nor can one fail to recognize Soviet Russia in the following:—

“... in governing the world the best results are obtained by
means of violence and intimidation.... In politics, we must
know how to confiscate property without any hesitation, if
by so doing we can obtain subjection and power. Our State,
following the way of peaceful conquest, has the right of
substituting for the terrors of war, executions less apparent
and more expedient, which are necessary to uphold terror,
producing blind submission.... By new laws we will regulate
the political life of our subjects as though they were so
many parts of a machine. Such laws will gradually restrict
all freedom and liberties allowed by the Gentiles.... It is
essential for us to arrange that, besides ourselves, there
should be in all countries nothing but a huge proletariat,
so many soldiers and police loyal to our cause; ... in order
to demonstrate our enslavement of the Gentile Governments of
Europe, we will show our power to one of them by means of
crime and violence, that is to say, a reign of terror; ... our
programme will induce a third part of the populace to watch the
remainder from a pure sense of duty or from the principle of
voluntary service.”

Bearing in mind when this was published, we see, fifteen
years later, a government established in Russia of which
a high percentage of the leaders are Jews, whose _modus
operandi_ follows the principles quoted, and whose mainstay
is a Communist Party, which answers to the last quotation.
We see this, and it seems uncanny. The trouble is that all
this fosters indiscriminate anti-Semitism. That the latter is
rampant in Eastern Europe is a fact. That its propaganda in
France, England, and America is growing is a fact also. Do
we want, and can we afford to add exacerbated race-hatred to
all our political, social, and economic troubles? If not, the
question of the “Jewish Peril” should be taken up and dealt
with. It is far too interesting, the hypothesis it presents is
far too ingenious, attractive, and sensational not to attract
the attention of our none too happy and none too contented
public. The average man thinks that there is something very
fundamentally wrong with the world he lives in. He will eagerly
grasp at a plausible “working hypothesis.”

What are these “Protocols”? Are they authentic? If so, what
malevolent assembly concocted these plans, and gloated over
their exposition? Are they forgery? If so, whence comes the
uncanny note of prophecy, prophecy in parts fulfilled, in parts
far gone in the way of fulfilment? Have we been struggling
these tragic years to blow up and extirpate the secret
organization of German world dominion only to find beneath
it another more dangerous because more secret? Have we, by
straining every fibre of our national body, escaped a “Pax
Germanica” only to fall into a “Pax Judaeica”? The “Elders of
Zion,” as represented in their “Protocols,” are by no means
kinder taskmasters than William II and his henchmen would have
been.

All these questions, which are likely to obtrude themselves
on the reader of the “Jewish Peril,” cannot be dismissed by
a shrug of the shoulders unless one wants to strengthen the
hand of the typical anti-Semite and call forth his favourite
accusation of the “conspiracy of silence.” An impartial
investigation of these would-be documents and of their history
is most desirable. That history is by no means clear from the
English translation. They would appear, from internal evidence,
to have been written by Jews for Jews, or to be cast in the
form of lectures, and notes for lectures, by Jews to Jews. If
so, in what circumstances were they produced and to cope with
what inter-Jewish emergency? Or are we to dismiss the whole
matter without inquiry and to let the influence of such a book
as this work unchecked?

The publishers believe that the vast majority of the Jews in this country have never heard of the Protocols, and would denounce the plan which they set forth. The Jews here, constituting about three per cent of the population, enjoy the same rights and privileges as other citizens. All are equal before the law and all are free from persecution on religious grounds. American Jews are regarded by their fellow citizens, and for the most part doubtless regard themselves, as Americans of Jewish faith. They have indeed a special ground for gratitude to the country of their adoption, for they have found here opportunities which they did not enjoy in many other countries. They have shared in all the activities leading to prosperity and they have prospered. That they do, in fact, recognize their favorable situation is shown by the statements two of them are reported by the New York _Times_, in its issue of May 4, 1920, to have made at a mass meeting held on the preceding evening at Cooper Union under the auspices of the Independent Order of Brith Abraham, to express the gratitude of the Jewish people to Great Britain for taking the mandate for Palestine. Judge Gustave Hartman, Grand Master of the order, is reported to have said in part:

“We didn’t know what a home was until we reached this greatest of all republics, the United States of America. Here we are given free and equal opportunity under the free institutions of this country. In this country the Jews have lived and prospered, and in all this country there are no better citizens than the Jewish people.”

Judge Otto A. Rosalsky said “that it became the duty of the Jewish citizens of America to cherish the ideals of this country and keep them intact, so that they might be handed down to their children’s children.”

Doubtless American Jews will recognize the menace to American institutions and American prosperity of any such political conspiracy as is outlined in the Protocols. But the situation demands more than tacit disapproval on their part. Bearing in mind the close parallelism shown to exist between the “Protocols” and the actual policies of Bolshevism as practiced in Russia, the dominant position occupied by the Jews in the Soviet Government, and the open sympathy and approval given to international Bolshevism by prominent Jews outside of Russia, it is vitally necessary that the American Jews should by word and deed express their condemnation not only of Bolshevism, but of any plan or program for world domination similar to that contained in the Protocols. Aside from their position on these matters, there is no likelihood of any change in the favorable situation of the Jews in this country unless by their own conduct they convince the American people that they are hostile to our institutions or to our system of government, or that they desire to constitute within the borders of the United States a race apart,—to be treated as members of a foreign nation, enjoying special rights, privileges, or immunities.

FOOTNOTES

[1] “Actions Committee” has the same meaning as Executive Committee.

[2] The GOYS—the Gentiles.

[3] The reference is probably to those Masonic Lodges in Continental Europe which, contrary to the fundamental principles of Anglo-Saxon Lodges, have been converted into _quasi_ political and anti-Christian organizations. See Encyclopedia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, Article “Freemasonry,” Vol. XI, p. 84.

[4] This probably means the practice which arose of not adhering to the letter of the law but of judging by conscience. In European countries jurors are not compelled to render their verdict pursuant to the technical provisions of law.

[5] It is important to point out that _some of the Jews themselves_ in their writings have claimed that Masonry is largely controlled by Jewish influence. In this connection the statement of Dr. Isaac M. Wise may be recalled:

“Masonry is a Jewish institution whose history, decrees, charges, passwords and explanations are Jewish, from the beginning to the end, with the exception of only one by-decree and a few words in the obligation.” (Dr. Isaac M. Wise, _The Israelite_, August 3rd and 17th, 1855; quoted by Samuel Oppenheim in his pamphlet “Jews and Masonry in the United States before 1810,” American Jewish Historical Society, New York, 1910, No. 19, pp. 1, 2.)

[6] The words in parentheses would seem to be a comment of Nilus’s.

[7] The words in parentheses are inserted by the editors.

[8] The Jewish sayings cited in this volume show that some of the great Jewish leaders maintain that the apostasy of a Jew in the matter of religion does not prevent him from remaining for all other purposes a Jew, or release him from his obligations as such.

[9] “Bolshevik Propaganda. Hearings before a Subcommittee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, Sixty-fifth Congress,” p. 111.

[10] Ambassador Francis, in his testimony before the Overman Committee, stated that Dr. George A. Simons is an absolutely reliable and trustworthy man (p. 977), and that the same is true of Mr. Roger E. Simmons, whose testimony is cited below.

[11] “Bolshevik Propaganda,” p. 310.

[12] “Russia’s Agony,” pp. 137, 138, published by Edward Arnold, London, 1918.

[13] “Memorandum on Certain Aspects of the Bolshevist Movement in Russia,” p. 11. Compiled by the U. S. State Department in October, 1919.

[14] Page 12 of the same memorandum.

[15] British White Book, Russia No. 1 (1919), p. 86.

[16] British White Book, Russia No. 1 (1919), p. 68.

[17] “Memorandum. Certain Aspects of the Bolshevist Movement in Russia.” Washington, Government Printing Office, 1919, p. 20.

[18] British White Book, Russia No. 1 (1919), p. 57.

[19] Senate Report, “Bolshevik Propaganda,” pp. 136 and 137.

[20] Senate Report, “Bolshevik Propaganda,” p. 139.

[21] Senate Report, “Bolshevik Propaganda,” p. 316.

[22] Senate Report, “Bolshevik Propaganda,” p. 431.

[23] Senate Report, “Bolshevik Propaganda,” p. 301.

[24] Senate Report, “Bolshevik Propaganda,” p. 946.

[25] Senate Report, “Bolshevik Propaganda,” p. 299.

[26] All italics in Part Two of this book are our own unless otherwise stated.

[27] Quoted from A. Shmakoff. Address in defense of T. Vekshin and others, p. 36. Moscow: University Printing Office. 1907.

[28] The full text of Article 12 of the Treaty between the Allied and Associated Powers and Poland is the following:

“Poland agrees that the stipulations in the foregoing Articles,
so far as they affect persons belonging to racial, religious or
linguistic minorities, constitute obligations of international
concern and shall be placed under the guarantee of the League
of Nations. They shall not be modified without the assent of
the majority of the Council of the League of Nations. The
United States, the British Empire, France, Italy and Japan
hereby agree not to withhold their assent from any modification
in these Articles which is in due form assented to by a
majority of the Council of the League of Nations.

“Poland agrees that any member of the Council of the League
of Nations shall have the right to bring to the attention of
the Council any infraction of the Council, or any danger of
infraction of any of these obligations, and that the Council
may thereupon take such action as it may deem effective in the
circumstances.

“Poland further agrees that any difference of opinion as to
questions of law or fact arising out of these Articles between
the Polish Government and any one of the Principal Allied and
Associated Powers, or any other power, a member of the Council
of the League of Nations, shall be held to be a dispute of an
international character under Article 14 of the Covenant of the
League of Nations. The Polish Government hereby consents that
any such dispute shall, if the other party thereto demands, be
referred to the Permanent Court of International Justice. The
decision of the Permanent Court shall be final and shall have
the same force and effect as an award under Article 13 of the
Covenant.”

[29] It has been stated by one of the leaders of Zionism, namely, Israel Zangwill, author of “The Children of the Ghetto,” that Mr. Jacob Schiff financed “the Japanese war against Russia.” This statement is made in a pamphlet entitled “The Problems of the Jewish Race,” p. 14, published by the Judean Publishing Company, New York City.

In its report of a Socialist meeting held in Carnegie Hall on March 23, 1917, to celebrate the revolution in Russia, the New York _Times_ on March 24, 1917, says:

“An authority on Russian affairs, George Kennan, told of how a movement by the Society of the Friends of Russian Freedom, financed by Jacob Schiff, had at the time of the Russo-Japanese war spread among 50,000 Russian officers and men in Japanese prison camps the gospel of the Russian revolutionists.”

The Jewish character of the first Russian revolution was strongly emphasized in a report presented to the Emperor of Russia, Nicholas II, by the Russian Foreign Minister, Count Lamsdorf, on January 3, 1906, published in full in English translation in “The American Hebrew and Jewish Messenger,” in its issue of July 13, 1918. Therein it is stated that a very considerable part in the revolutionary activities was played by the Jews, “who individually, as ringleaders in other organizations, as well as through their own (the Jewish Bund in the Western Provinces), have always come forward as the most bellicose element of the revolution.” Count Lamsdorf further stated: “We may feel entitled to assume that the above mentioned foreign support of the Russian revolutionary movement comes from Jewish capitalist circles.... In June, 1905, a special Anglo-Jewish committee was openly established in England for the purpose of collecting money for arming fighting groups of Russian Jews: The well-known anti-Russian publicist, Lucien Wolf, was the leading member of this committee.... The Jews in America ... collect money for helping the pogrom sufferers and for arming the Jewish youth.”

[30] The Jewish Peril. Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion. London: Eyre and Spottiswoode. 1920.