The large proportion of the Jewish element in Poland may be traced ultimately to the very circumstances which impart distinctiveness to the Polish region. It was inevitable that the Jew should find cordial welcome in the broad drainage valley of the Vistula and its tributaries, tenanted by a landed nobility at the one end of the social scale and a retinue of serfs at the other. Between these two classes the Jew supplied a needed trading element and thrived. Polish kings accordingly adopted the policy of inviting and protecting Jews within their domains as early as in the fourteenth century, a time when the Jews were being expelled in hundreds from other nations. Emigration of the Jews from Germany during the period of Catholic persecution was particularly heavy. This movement helped to increase the number of Jews in Poland. The position of the Jews in Poland varies, therefore, according to the circumstances which determined their immigration. They may be classed into two groups. The descendants of early settlers feel the welding influence of time and are united with the Poles by the bond of historical association and of common interests. The newcomers, mostly refugees from Russian cities, form an unassimilated nucleus whose tendencies and temper differ materially from the aims that actuate the native population, whether Polish or Jewish. Racial animosity in Poland is chiefly directed against these newcomers. It has reached an acute stage in recent years, owing to the strenuous efforts of Poles to control their country’s industry and commerce in face of the menace of German economic absorption. In Galicia the Jews are competitors of the Poles. Full advantage has been taken by Austrian statesmen of the existence of a powerful clique of Jewish financiers in Vienna in order to obtain Jewish support against Slavic aspirations. Jewish capitalists were allowed to take part in the development of natural resources as well as to purchase large estates. At present fully 20 per cent of the larger private domains in Galicia are owned by Jews.[114] In the cities also the Jewish element has acquired considerable influence. This is especially observable in Lemberg and Cracow. The bulk of Galician Jews, however, are poor and uneducated. They have little sympathy with the ideals of the Christian element, from whom they hold aloof. In the social relations of the three main elements of the Galician population, Poles and Jews generally unite to exploit Ruthenians. The Jews apparently are unable to thrive on the Poles. In the Polish sections of Galicia they constitute only 7 per cent of the population, whereas in Ruthenian Galicia this proportion rises to 13 per cent.