_“‘Because you believe in a good cause,’ said Dr. Johnson, ‘is no reason why you should feel called upon to defend it, for by your manner of defense you may do your cause much harm.’_ _“The above applying to me I will only say that I have received the books you sent me and read both with much interest._ _“You are rendering the Jews a very great service, that of saving them from themselves._ _“It takes courage, and nerve, and intelligence to do and pursue such a work, and I admire you for it.”_ XLIII. The Jews and the “Religious Persecution” Cry We cheerfully give the Jews of the United States credit for knowing when they are getting their money’s worth. In the defense that has been set up for them they know that they have not had their money’s worth, neither from Jewish money collectors nor from the “Gentile fronts” to whom the money has been paid. The Louis Marshall line of defense has broken down. The boycott has dribbled into nothingness. Speeches in Congress and editorials in newspapers have sounded too hollow to carry conviction. The Question has proved itself far too big for those who have entered the defense for gain, to satisfy personal grudges, or to win what they feel to be the favor of the stronger side. The Jews long ago quit the course which some of the “Gentile fronts” still continue; the Jews recognized the futility of it. No intelligent Jew in the United States ever was asinine enough to declare that the Jewish Question is a religious question and that THE DEARBORN INDEPENDENT’S investigation of that question constituted “religious persecution.” No Jew known beyond the next street has ever ventured such a silly charge. But it is apparently all that remains for the “Gentile fronts” to shout about. From what can be learned of them they are for the most part men of no religion themselves and they use the term “religious persecution” as a red rag which they think will stir people into action. It is rather curious how the cry of “religious persecution” is used to evoke the spirit of persecution against alleged persecutors. THE DEARBORN INDEPENDENT this week goes out of its course to squelch once and for all this cry of religious persecutions. Three statements are sufficient to outline the situation: First, neither directly nor by implication has THE DEARBORN INDEPENDENT held that the Jewish Question is a religious question. On the contrary, supported by the highest Jewish authority, this paper has held that the Jewish Question is one of race and nationality. (See issues of October 9 and 16, 1920; reprinted in the new book, volume two of “The International Jew.”)