During all this time the “Russian Question” was being sedulously propagated in the United States. It appeared first in the aspect of the “Russian persecu¬ tions.” The Jews represented that their life in Russia was a hell. John W. Foster, later Secretary of State, father-in-law of Robert Lansing, the recently resigned Secretary of State under President Wilson, was at that time representing the United States in Russia, and he reported as follows on the status of the Russian Jews:
“ * * * in all the cities of Russia the num¬ ber of Jewish residents will be found more or less in excess of the police registry and greater than the strict * interpretation of the law author¬ izes. For instance, persons who have given the subject close attention estimate the number of Jewish residents in St. Petersburg at 30,000, while it is stated the number registered by the police authorities is 1,500. From the same source I learn that * * * while only one Hebrew school is registered by the police, there are between three and four thousand children in unauthorized Jewish schools of this capital. As another indi¬ cation of the extent of Jewish influence, it is worthy of note that one or more Jewish editors or writers are said to be employed on the leading newspapers of St. Petersburg and Moscow almost without exception * * * ”
At every turn the United States Government dis¬ covered that the Jews were exaggerating their diffi¬ culties for the purpose of forcing government action.
Presently, after years of underground work and open propaganda against Russia in the daily press, until the American conception of Russia was fixed almost beyond correction, the agitation took the form of the “Russian passport question.” Russia dares to flout an American passport! Russia insults the government of the United States! Russia degrades American citizens! And so forth and so on.