The various movements in Europe,. and particularly the persecution of the Jews has given rise to a large number of serious questions not the least important of which is how to deal with these unhappy people who. would leave the inhospitable. lands wherein they now dwell, if only space elsewhere could be found for them. Hence the conference at Evian. It is clear that the rigid control that is being exercised in certain countries—amounting in some cases practically to a denial of the right to earn a living, and the gradual reduction of people to a state of destitution—has created a problem of considerable difficulty, but it is nevertheless imperative that some means should be found to prevent the present day tragedy assuming proportions even greater than they do at present. The Jews in Germany and Austria, as matters are progressing at the moment, have nothing to look forward to but the re-establishment of the Ghetto, with its attendant evils, and the reduction of the inhabitants to a state of abject poverty, and that for no valid reason except that they belong to the race they do. A limited number have managed to find their way into certain hospitable countries, but the conditions in those lands prevent their wholesale admission, or entry to anything like the same degree which has prevailed in earlier cases of disruption in Europe. The flight of the Huguenots into England, and the refugees from the French Revolution took place under considerably different conditions than those prevailing today, and while in those times Britain was able to extend almost unlimited hospitality to those unfortunates, that is no longer possible. The age of machinery had not yet then come, the prevalence of handicrafts ensured general, if not very highly paid employment, and there was always room ior the arts and crafts which these emigres Drought with them and which undoubtedly had a refreshing effect upon British industry. The machine age has changed all that. In most countries, as in Great Britain, there is always substantial unemployment, the professions are overcrowded and the admission of immigrant workers and profes-signals can do nothing but embarrass the various authorities in dealing with the present unhappy state of affairs, The conference at Evian has commenced none too propitiously. The delegates have come armed with such a formidable mass of documents, and covered by all manner of reservations, that it is difficult to see how any-real unanimity can ever result irom the discussion, save, perhaps, the general agreement that the accommodation of the refugees from Europe presents a very grave problem. It is a case where the instincts of mercy come into conflict with a full realization of the results of extending the necessary hospitality to people, who, for humanity's sake, should be provided with some sort of refuge from the evils which beset them., An instance of what is meant is found in the ĉase of the large number of Jewish doctors who desire to find a new home in Great Britain.
The British medical profession finds itself overcrowded, and with that finding there can be no disagreement. There was considerable opposition against the admission of any Jewish doctors into Great Britain, but it speaks well for the liberality of the medical profession that it agreed to the admission of a limited number on the score of humanity.. It was not to set a precedent, but was a move designed to indicate sympathy with their unfortunate brethren in distress. If ever there were a case which so clearly emphasizes the doctrine that charity begins at home, this, unfortunately, is an outstanding. example. It is all the more unfortunate because in the ranks of the refugees, whether in medicine or not, there are men whose attainments would be an adornment to any country which could find its way to accepting them, and it is apparent that the enrichment of life, which followed the admission of former refugees into the British Isles, would again result if from the domestic point of view their competition with native born people could be avoided. That is impossible, for they have to live and any scheme calculated to give the necessary relief must envisage the admission of refugees into receiving countries with full knowledge that these people will have to be given the utmost freedom to compete in all markets with their hosts. It is asking a great deal of nations with long unemployment lists to admit further competition which may react against the fortunes of their own: nationals, and though the Conference is animated with a desire to do something, the practical difficulties seem almost insuperable.
It is doubtful whether the proposed quota system will provide much relief. Most of the nations represented at the Conference are faced with such unemployment problems that any quotas they might consider would merely touch the fringe of the general proposition involved. Palestine presents no real solution of the problem. If the whole of that country could be devoted to housing the Jews desirous of leaving Europe it is. doubtful if it could contain them all. "That cannot be contemplated because of the undoubted rights the Arabs possess to sympathetic consideration to claims to reside in the country which they have occupied for long centuries past. It has been suggested that Madagascar might present a solution of the whole difficulty, but again the rights of the native population have to be considered. Thus it appears that any solution which immediately presents itself has about it qualities which must inevitably commit itself to failure. But a solution has to be found.
The condemnation of hundreds of thousands of Jews in Europe to what will be little more than a living death, the restrictions placed upon their emigration with their money and goods, the difficulty of finding a harbour age for them all go to make a solution more imperative. There has been a suggestion that in the British colonies room might be found for them, but the racial qualities of the Jew are not apt to qualify him as that type of pioneer which alone would be acceptable. It is true that many Jews can and do work on farms in Europe and are developing Palestine in a most praiseworthy way, but it must be remembered that most of those who have now to be cared for, are of the type which naturally gravitates towards the large cities, and seeks to enter industry which even in the, colonies is already overstocked with labour. The outlook is generally gloomy, and it may be years before any really adequate solution can be found. Failure to find one immediately arises from no vice inherent in those seeking for it, but in the general concatenation of circumstances which have arisen out of recent developments. Nevertheless if the Conference can bring: about only a slight modification of present hardships it will have achieved something, and for that reason should be persisted with.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.