Page:A Jewish State 1917.djvu/46

 it by giving the emigrants money or means of employment. Thus the philanthropists said: "We pay these people to go there."

Such an experiment is utterly at fault, and all the money in the world will not achieve its purpose.

On the other hand, the Company will say: "We shall not pay them, we shall let them pay us. We shall merely offer them some inducement to go."

A fanciful illustration will make my meaning more explicit: One of these philanthropists (whom we will call "The Baron") and myself both wish to get a crowd of people on to the plain of Longchamps, near Paris, on a hot Sunday afternoon, The Baron, by promising them 10 francs each, will, for 200,000 francs, bring out 20,000 perspiring and miserable people, who will curse him for having given them so much annoyance. Whereas I will offer these 200,000 francs as a prize for the swiftest race-horse—and then I shall have to put up barriers to keep the people off Longchamps. They will pay to go in: 1 franc, 5 francs, 20 francs.

The consequence will be that I shall get half a million of people out there; the President of the Republic will drive à la Daumont; and the crowds will enjoy and amuse themselves. Most of them will think it an agreeable walk in the open air, spite of heat and dust; and I shall have made by my 200,000 francs about a million in entrance-money and taxes on gaming. I shall get the same people out there whenever I like; but the Baron will not—not on any account.

I will give a more serious illustration of the phenomenon of multitudes where they are earning a livelihood. Let any man attempt to cry through the streets of a town: "Whoever is willing to stand all day long through a winter's terrible cold. through a summer's tormenting heat, in an iron hall exposed on all sides, there to address every passerby, and to offer him fancy wares, or fish, or fruit, will receive 2 florins, or 4 francs, or something similar."

How many people would go to the hall? How many days would they hold out when hunger drove them there? And if they held out, what energy would they display in trying to persuade passers-by to buy fish, fruit, and fancy wares?

We shall set about it in a different way. In places where trade is active, and these places we shall the more easily discover, since we ourselves form channels for trade to various localities; in these places we shall build large halls, and call them markets. These halls might be worse built and more unwholesome than those above mentioned, and yet people would stream towards them. But we shall use our best efforts, and we shall build them better, and make them more beautiful than the first. And the people, to whom we had promised nothing—because we cannot promise anything without deceiving them—these brave, keen business men will gaily create most active commercial intercourse. They will harangue the buyers unweariedly; they will stand on their feet, and scarcely think of fatigue. They will hurry off day after day, so as to be first on the spot; they will make agreements, promises, anything to continue bread-winning undisturbed. And if they find on Sabbath night that all their hard work has produced only 1 florin 50 kreuzer, or 3 francs, or something similar, they will yet look forward hopefully to the next day, which may, perhaps, bring them better luck.

We have given them hope.

Would any one ask whence the demand comes which creates the market? Is it really necessary to tell them again?

I pointed out before that the labor-test increased our gain