I shall first review the litigation most
common amongst Russian Jews in the civil branch of the courts. They
are: Suits growing out of contracts of bargain and sale of
merchandise, personal injuries, matters relating to personal
property, marriage and divorce, real property, bankruptcy.
A little more than half of the Jewish population in the city of
Chicago are engaged in the mercantile business and hence disputes
often arise as to the quality of the goods, manner and time of
delivery and similar matters. Suits are also frequently brought for
goods sold and delivered. In most of the cases, there is generally a
good and bona fide defense. Cases of this kind seldom go by default,
unless the defendant be a bankrupt, or contemplates bankruptcy. The
courts, however, are not much bothered with litigation of this
class. A great many of the cases are tried and disposed of by
arbitration, or are submitted to the orthodox Jewish rabbis for
decision. In this connection, it is worth while mentioning that the
orthodox Jewish rabbis of this city have organized a tribunal with
all the formalities and forms prescribed by the Talmudic law, which
has proven a blessing to the Jewish community in keeping the people
out of courts. Matters are disposed of with great dispatch and all
parties interested seem to be always satisfied.
Personal Injuries. Since so large a portion of the Jewish population
is engaged in industrial pursuits, working in factories of every
description, which are operated by dangerous machinery, many become
injured in the usual course of such employments. The number of
injured Russian Jews is augmented by the terrible condition of the
street car system of the city of Chicago. It is a noteworthy fact
that during working hours it requires a great effort for a
workingman to reach home. Conductors do not stop at the crossings,
the cars are always overcrowded; people become maimed in their
efforts to either get on or off the cars. As a consequence
considerable litigation is pending in our courts in behalf of
Russian Jews, growing out of personal injury sustained by them,
either during their employment or while going or coming from work.
There are very few suits of this kind pending against them as
defendants.
Marriage and Divorce. There is considerable litigation in the courts
growing out of the relation of husband and wife. Hasty marriages and
marriages on the part of girls for the sake of quitting work in the
sweat-shops or other undesirable factory places, without regard to
the fitness and temperament of contracting parties, are in a great
measure responsible for this condition, but with all this, it cannot
be said that there is a greater percentage of divorce cases than
among other nationalities in Chicago.
Real Estate. To judge of the progress that Russian Jews have made in
this city, we must take into consideration the large extent of real
estate acquired by them within the last fifteen years. It may be
said with a certainty that 65 per cent. of all the real property in
the so-called Ghetto district, comprising the portions of the Ninth,
Tenth, Eleventh, Eighteenth, Nineteenth and Twentieth Wards occupied
by Russian Jews, is owned by them. This is exclusive of real estate
owned by Russian Jews in other parts of the city of Chicago and
county of Cook. It is natural that men owning real estate should
have disputes with tenants and hence litigation growing out of the
relationship of landlord and tenant, but during all my experience as
a practicing attorney among Russian Jews I did not find one case of
a heartless landlord in the true sense of the word, but in most
instances there were circumstances, some in favor of the plaintiff
and others in that of the defendant, which at least justify
litigation in court. The proportion of suits of this kind is
considerably less among Russian Jews than among other classes of
citizens in the city of Chicago.
Bankruptcy. The Russian Jew arriving in this country without capital
usually establishes his business with a small capital, saved up as
result of hard work. A recent immigrant, he is not in a condition to
enable him to scrutinize business transactions without blunder. He
is not yet up to the nice business tricks practiced by the Boards of
Trade and the great financiers and business men of America, who are
so proficient in organizing trusts and corporations. Therefore he
frequently mistakes the course of action necessary in his business
ventures and as a consequence is sometimes led into bankruptcy.
Russian Jews were therefore obliged to avail themselves of the
benefit of the bankruptcy law. An investigation of the clerk's
office of the district court of the United States in Chicago
discloses the fact that every Russian Jew who filed a petition in
bankruptcy was granted a discharge by the courts, thus showing a
presumptive absence of fraud in business transactions.
Crimes. There were a number of cases tried in the police courts
against Russian Jews, in which men were charged with abandonment of
wife and children, but in most cases the magistrates effected a
reconciliation and the charge was dropped. I could find no record in
the criminal court of any case against a Russian Jew charged with
abduction of an unmarried female. No indictments were found in the
year 1904 against a Russian Jew or Jewess on the statutory crime of
abortion. No convictions were had in the criminal court on the
charge of adultery.
The oft-repeated charge of arson against the Jews finds no
substantiation in the annals of the criminal court of Cook County.
During the year 1904 not a single Jew was indicted by the grand jury
on a charge of arson. The police courts in the Ghetto districts are
often called upon to try cases of assault and battery, but in a
majority of instances there is no prosecution when these eases are
called for trial. There were three convictions of Russian Jews in
the criminal court, during the years of 1903 and 1904 on the charge
of bigamy; they were brought about by the energetic action of the
United Hebrew Charities. There were no indictments against Russian
Jews on the charge of bribery within the last fifteen years. There
were three eases of burglary against Russian Jews during the year
1904, resulting in two convictions.
Four Russian Jews were convicted during the years 1903 and 1904 for
conspiracy to commit an illegal act. Cases of embezzlement and
extortion by threats were quite rare; while there might have been
eases of this kind in the police courts very few of them ever
reached the criminal court. There were a number of cases in the
criminal court against Russian Jews on the charge of obtaining goods
under false pretenses, but in most instances there were acquittals.
There were no convictions of any Russian Jew on the charge of
forgery in the criminal court within the last three years. Ten
Russian Jews were convicted for bucket-shopping. Two Russian Jews
were tried and convicted in 1904 for manslaughter. In both cases,
insanity was the defense. During the entire history of the criminal
court of Chicago there was not a single ease of a Russian Jew on the
charge of incest or kidnapping. About twenty Russian Jews, mostly
junk dealers, pawn-brokers, and second-hand dealers, were indicted
during the year 1904 for receiving stolen property. One of the
convicted men was sentenced to the penitentiary and the others
received jail sentences and were fined. There were no convictions on
charges of malicious mischief and mayhem, and no indictments for
perjury were returned during the year 1904. Not a single Russian Jew
was convicted on the charge of vagrancy.
Violations of City Ordinances. It is a fundamental principle of law
that everybody is supposed to know the law and that ignorance of the
law is no excuse. The word "law" includes the common law,
constitutional law, statutory and municipal ordinances.
It is monstrous to suppose that a Russian Jew, a recent immigrant,
should know all these laws, much less the municipal ordinances which
are passed at one session of the city council and repealed at
another. (In this connection, I call attention to the legal
absurdity, that while everybody is supposed to know of the existence
of municipal ordinances, the judge who tries the case is not
supposed to know that such an ordinance in fact exists. He takes no
judicial notice of a municipal ordinance unless it has been
exhibited to him in proper form and proved up in accordance with all
the rules of evidence.)
It is therefore natural that there should be violations of municipal
ordinances, because of the ignorance of the people of the existence
of such ordinances, and not necessarily because of a desire to
violate them. Russian Jews are frequently the victims of police
officers, who delight in arresting for a violation of a city
ordinance with prospect of the harvest of the ward politicians and
professional bailers, who are always on hand to help out a "friend.”
The information furnished above is based upon personal investigation
and knowledge of the writer with litigation among Russian Jews
during a law practice, in the city of Chicago, for the past twelve
years. |