The trial of a Russian Jew named Beiliss on the
charge of murdering a little Christian boy to obtain blood for ritual purposes opened at Kieff on Wednesday. The indictment is based chiefly on indirect and contradictory evidence, and is supplemented by the opinions of five experts on the ritual question—including a Roman Catholic priest, but no priest of the Orthodox Communion—who hold that the body bore the distinctive marks of a "typical ritual murder," and that the killing of non-Jews is regarded by Jews in the light of an exploit ordained by law. The views expressed by high regal and historical authorities, and the significant editorial silence of the Novoe Vremya, point to fanatical anti-Semitism as the motive of the prosecution. The ritual murder charge is a weapon already hopelessly discredited, and yet Bellies has lain for two years in prison awaiting his trial. In view, how- ever, of the complete publicity given to the proceedings, and the "friendly and informal atmosphere" of the court in the opening stages of the trial, the Times correspondent at Kieff does well to plead for a suspense of judgment abroad.
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