22 THE JEWISH QUESTION
The problem is not always simple, even when
the exaggerated figures usually given of Jewish
participation in a profession are reduced to their
proper size. The natural reply is: 'Why not, if
they have gained their places by fair means and
are the best qualified for them ?' And it is certainly
true that no one has yet been able to show that the
mere fact that a doctor is a Jew proves him to be
a bad doctor. In fact all the evidence is in the other
direction. Jews have made extraordinary contribu-
tions to modern medicine, contributions which
certainly are out of all proportion to their numbers.
And as a client is free to go to the lawyer whom he
most trusts, it might be said that natural selection
will fix the number of Jews who can make a living
by the law. And the same answer might be given
about the commercial activities of Jews. They will
find their own level.
In well-established countries, with well-developed
and stable economies, this natural answer is pro-
bably sufficient, but in new or backward countries
there is something to be said on the other side,
especially where the Jewish community demands
a definite status as a 'minority'. In Poland, for
example, university education was free, but accom-
modation was limited. In the earliest days of the
Polish Republic over 30 per cent, of the students
were Jews, and there was a considerable number of
Jewish students abroad who hoped to return to
Poland to practise their professions. Jews were
accustomed to town life; Jewish students could live
cheaply at home or with relatives; they were accus-
tomed to intellectual activities. The Poles were a
country folk; they were much slower to pick up