The question of the circulation figures of these five dailies is a difficult one. About the only thing that seems certain is that the _Tageblatt_ leads in this respect. Even the editors of the other papers admit that, altho they differ as to the absolute figures. The editor of the _Tageblatt_ places his paper's circulation at 40,000, the _Abend-Post_ at 14,000, the _Herald_ next, and the two Socialistic papers last, which ending is a felicitous consummation for the editor of the most conservative newspaper in the Ghetto. The editor of the _Abend-Post_ says the _Tageblatt_ leads with a daily issue of about 30,000, the _Abend-Post_ coming next with 23,700, the _Herald_ and the Socialist papers stringing out in the rear. The editors of the Socialist sheets naturally give a somewhat different order. Mr. Miller of the _Vorwärts_ puts the actual circulation of the _Tageblatt_ at about 17,000; his own paper, the _Vorwärts_, next, with about 14,000 daily except on Saturday, the Jewish Sunday, when the number ranges between 20,000 and 25,000, owing to the fact that the conservative newspapers (_i. e._, those that are not Socialistic) do not appear on that day. The circulation of the rival Socialistic paper, the _Abendblatt_, he puts at about 8,000. In these figures there is no attempt at entire accuracy.
There are several Yiddish weekly and monthly journals published in New York. The _Tageblatt_, _Abend-Post_ and _Herald_ have weekly editions, but by far the most interesting of the papers which are not dailies are the two Anarchistic sheets, the _Freie Arbeiter-stimme_, a weekly, and the _Freie Gesellschaft_, a monthly.
[Illustration: A "GHETTO" NEWSPAPER OFFICE]
Contrary to the general impression of the character of these people, in which bombs play a large part, the Anarchists of the Ghetto are a gentle and idealistic body of men. The abnormal activity of the Russian Jews in this country is expressed by the Socialists rather than the Anarchists. The latter are largely theorists and aim rather at the education of the people by a journalistic exploitation of their general principles than by a warlike attitude towards specific events of the time. Their attitude is not so partisan as that of the Socialists. They quarrel less among themselves, and are characterized by dreamy eyes and an unpractical scheme of things. They believe in non-resistance and the power of abstract right, and are trying to work out a peaceful revolution, maintaining that the violence often accompanying the movement in Europe is due to the fact that many Anarchists are passionate individuals who in their indignation do not live up to their essentially gentle principles. The Socialists aim at a more strictly centralized government, even than any one existing, since they desire the whole machinery of production and distribution to be in the hands of the community; the Anarchists desire no government whatever, believing that law works against the native dignity of the individual, and trusting to man's natural goodness to maintain order under free conditions. A man's own conscience only can punish him sufficiently, they think. The Socialists go in vividly for politics, while the Anarchists have nothing to do with them. The point on which these two parties agree is the common hatred of private property.