on which, as such, is invisible to the great
majority."

All that Herzl did in the political field--his conversations in
Constantinople, his interview with the Grand Duke of Baden in advance
of the holding of the First Congress, was undertaken as author of a
political pamphlet. He was now aware of the fact that he was called
upon to act as President of the World Zionist Organization. It was
difficult to draw a line between the movement and its leader. Herzl
insisted that his leadership in the movement was impersonal and that
now its direction was vested in its instruments--the Congress and the
Actions Committee. But he had all the authority of an accepted leader.

The evolution of Herzl's conception of the Jewish problem since he saw
the degradation of Dreyfus can be measured by a study of the articles
he wrote after the First Congress. He himself was quite aware of the
transformation. He had seen the Jewish people face to face. "Brothers
have found each other again," he said. He wrote with great
appreciation of the quality of the Russian delegates. He said, "They
possess that inner unity which has disappeared from among the
westerners. They are steeped in Jewish national sentiment without
betraying any national narrowness and intolerance. They are not
tortured by the idea of assimilation. They do not assimilate into
other nations, but exert themselves to learn the best in other
peoples. In this way they manage to remain erect and genuine. Looking
on them, we understood where our forefathers got the strength to
endure through the bitterest times."

Immediately after the First Congress, Herzl grappled with his second
task, the creation of the Jewish Colonial Bank. He wrote of the bank
in _Die Welt_ in November, 1898, "The task of the Colonial Bank is to
eliminate philanthropy. The settler on the land who increases its
value by his labor merits more than a gift. He is entitled to credit.
The prospective bank could therefore begin by extending the needed
credits to the colonists; later it would expand into the instrument
for the bringing in of Jews and would supply credits for
transportation, agriculture, commerce and construction."

The seat of the bank was to be London. There were to be two billion
shares at L1 each. The bank was to be directed by men acquainted with
banking affairs, but the movement would be placed in a position to
control its policy. The hopes of Herzl grew from week to week. As he
approached the