CHELM or CHOLM:
Town in the government of Kovno, Russia. It has a population of about 4,200, all of whom, with the exception of about 300, are Jews. Most of them are engaged in mercantile pursuits, only 549 being artisans. The town has a considerable trade in leather, wool, flax, hemp, bristles, and lumber, shipping these products to commercial centers, such as Königsberg, Riga, and Libau. About 30 Jews find employment in the local factories, corn mills, and sawmills; 80 are journeymen, draymen, and porters; 30 are engaged in gardening, cultivating a tract of 30 deciatines, which they partly own and partly hold on lease; and 8 live by dairying. In the vicinity of the town are several settlements inhabited by Jewish agriculturists.
The charitable institutions include societies for the visitation of the sick, for the relief of the poor, and for affording temporary shelter to the destitute. The only educational institutions are the ḥadarim.
