Ohio Jewish chronicle. (Columbus, Ohio), 1923-07-13

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Central Ohio's OnM
Jewish Netospaptr Reaching Everi^ Homa
A WEEKLY NEWSPAPI
Volume VJ — No. 8
Devoted io Jitnertcan
and
Jewish Ideals
a FOR THE JEWISH HOME
COJ-UMI)US,.f-(?il[(), JUl.V 13, 1923
Per Year $3.00; Per Copy loc
LOUIS MARSHALL ASSAILS EURT I HEMDRICIC BOOK
In Letters to Publi.thcrs, Claims "Jews in America" Make Cov¬ ert Charges Against Jews
MISREPRESENTATION
VENOMOUS AND WILFUL
NEW YORK.—Dear Sir: Although my letters addressed to yon on January 2()ih, February Sth and February 21st, 1023, called your attention to a number of circulars and advertisements issued by your flvnx relating to a scries of articles published in the World's Worlc, written by Mr. Burton J. Hendrick, and entitled, "The Jews in America," Which as I tried to show contained covert charges against the Jews whicli were absolutely false and were certain to be mischievous, the only answer which I have thus far been able to ex tract from you has been a statement that you do not feel competent to dis cuss the subject and that if you atr tempted to do so "we would get no¬ where." My letters were couched in , courteous terms. They sought to prove to you, as they would to any fair- minded man, how unwarranted your insinuations wcre, and to demonstrate the injustice inflicted upon a large body of industrious and conscientious men and women who were maliciously or ignorantly maligned.
Instead of being deterred from con¬ tinuing your objectionable methods of iidvcrtising these articles, you have just published them in book form and to aggravate the offense against good taste and decency the jacket in which the book is sold, referring lo the Polish Jews of -this country, contains this query: "With their un-American creed, will they ever be absorbed into the American Commonwealth?" . This interrogation emanates from tlie publisher. It is intended to bait the hook with which to catch gudgeons. It is ,Iago-likc in its sinfulness, and iri -its jpurppso..to'inspire'the feeling of hatred aniong' those ,who hearken to .you: 'words.   ¦'      *¦¦'-!, ':    ^,   ¦   '
',; Whaly^^do ybu "mean.,wheii you refer.
' long J5 it that under our form of gov¬ ernment, one citizen may hold up in contumely the creed of another, or question his liberty of conscience or the free exercise and enjoyment or -reli¬ gious profession and worship? I have carefully read the book to ascertain what there is in the creed of the Polish Jew that is un-American, and I find that it is that the Orthodox Jew of Eastern Europe "regards Saturday as His . Sabbath, while American industry recognizes Sunday as the day of rest; that he is, perhaps, the. most prayerful person in the world; that he accom¬ panies practically every act with a-fixed ritual; that almost every hour of the day has its religious observances; that he is in almost continuous communing with the Almighty;" that he observes the Jewish dietary laws, and that in the slaughtering x>f cattle for consump¬ tion he . likewise observes an ancient tradition which prohibits him from eat¬ ing blood; that he reads newspapers printed' in Hebrew characters, and that on religious holidays his children absent themselves from school in order to ob¬ serve the tenets of their  faith.
Conceding the charges to be true, , that these people observe the precepts laid down in the Old' Testament and in the Talmud, that they regard their religion as a part of their lives; that they are in constant communion with their Creator, is it becoming in those who have always regarded the Puritans as the backbone of the American com¬ monwealth, and as the men and the women, who have imparted to it high ideals and noble concepts, to cast ob¬ loquy upon the Orthodox Jew for evincing the very spirit, which made the Puritan so p6werful an instrument in the shaping of the American com¬ monwealth? If this creed of the Or¬ thodox Jew is un-American, then it will become necessary for all of us to revise our estimate of those whom in the past we have regarded as the para¬ gon of good citizenship.
But there is a further count in the indictment framed by Mr. Hendricks, one to whicli I have referred-in one of my previous letters to you, Speaking of the Orthodox Jew,' he says: "He treats his womankind in a way that suggests his Asiatic origin. 'Thank God I am not a woman.' 'Thank God I am not a Goy,' is the prayer of thanks¬ giving with which he begins his day." And with a pretense of learning whicii he docs not possess, iu a footnote this pundit informs us that the word "Goy" is Hebrew for non-Jew and that it is translated as "gentile," "stranger," or —in a free sense—"Cliristian." What Mr. Hendrick seeks to insinuate' is, that the Orthodox Jew is a brute toward {Concluded on page 7.)
MRS. FELS BUYS £E100,00» iWORTH OF PALESTINE LAND
JICRUSALEAI, (J. T. A.) —Mr.s. Mary Fcis, prominent /Zionist and widow of the late Joseph Fels, the intilti-niillioiiaire soap manufacturer and land tax exponent of Philadelphia, has purchased some tracts of land in Palestine, costing approximately a total of £l!:iOO,()00.
Mrs. Fels plans, according to reports, to open the land to settlement for the sons of Jewish colonists of Petach Tikvah, Zichrou VaaUov, aud other colonists, at present inadequately sup¬ plied with land for cultivating purposes.
Jewish ImEBBigratioiB Too Large Declares e,
Inspects   First   Day's   Rush   of
Inunigrants Under New Quota
Term Allowance
INTERVIEW APPEARS IN
THE NEW YORK TIMES
!•
Needed--All Understanding
of Jewisli Life in America
By ST. cflRUS ADLER II
LODZ J
\VS PROTEST "TREFA" FEEDING
NEW YORK.—Expressing confidence that the new congress will pass a new immigration restriction law v;hich will still further reduce immigration from countries of Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe, Congressman John L. Cable of Lima, O., who is a member of the House committee on immigration, declared to a representative-of the New York ¦ Times, who interviewed him yes¬ terday at Ellis Island, tliat "the Jewish immigration, especially from Poland and Russia, is too large."
Cable's open declaration once more calls attention to the direct charge ma'de on tvvo occasions in Congress by Con¬ gressman Walter Chandler of New York that recent .iinmigration restric¬ tions were devised for the purpose of cutting down immigration of peoples of two religious faiths anij boosting that of one faith.
The term "Nordic' is now applied to certain sections of Europe defines those cbuntrjcs • in which Protestant peoples pi;ed<>tt!inat^, England, Scotland, Wales, North/ Ireland, GeOTMiy,, iScaii,^an;^viB' 'iiiiKl'^Mfdiid'.- ''That' 'section'''oV Ifeiakdf"S inhabitatcd by Catholic peoples is not Nordic, according to the definition now commonly used.
Cable of Ohio made his statement re¬ garding Jewish immigration while in¬ specting the first day's rush of immi¬ gration under the quota allowance for the first month of the new quota term. The Times report of his statement in part follows:
"Ninety per cent of the people of America arc against lifting the barriers on immigration. That's how I managed to get an additional appropriation ' of $300,000 reinstated in the immigration budget last year. Congress felt that it would take that much to enforce the law and it is willing to appropriate inany times that much. The new law which will go before the next congress, I am certain, will be based on the census of 1890." Congressman Cable added that he had no religious prejudice and felt that in immigration that the Jew, Gen¬ tile, Confucian and Moslem, are all 'en¬ titled to consideration, but he believes the Jewish immigration, especially from Poland and Russia, is too large.
The New York Tribune states this morning that Congressman Cable ex¬ pressed the positive view that he ex¬ pects the new Congress to pass a law basing the immigration quota on the population of various ' foreign-born groups as shown by the 1890 census in¬ stead of the 1910 census figures now used. If this plan is adopted by Con¬ gress Italy's quota will be 12,888, as against 21,076 at the present time; Great Britain's will be boosted from 7T,S42 to 150,146; Germany's will be boosted from 67,607 to 128,067; Russia's reduced from 21,61» to 4,978, and Po¬ land's from-21,070 to 12,888.
Secretary of Labor Davis, who is of British birth, has given every aid in this movement and his aids and assist¬ ants have also, in frequent interviews, stated that all immigration save the Anglo-Saxon or Nordic should be re¬ duced. Davis' opening gun in his own campaign against non-British or Nordic peoples was the sending of a former vaudeville actress to Europe to present a "report" on the character of immi¬ gration now seeking our shores. Her "report" vvhich was in favor of Eng¬ lish speaking peoples, contained uisult- ing allusions to peoples of other stock.
Chairman Albert Johnson of the House coinmittee on immigration has also stated that he believes too many Polibh Jews are being admitted to the United States. In an interview given out some nionths ago he declared that he feared that because they had been oppressed by a majority group in Po¬ land, thcy would bring their niiiiorily rcieutment aud iniuority attitude to America.
Dr, Adler last week drew attention to the notorious lack of co-ordination '1>,t- twecn Jewish organizatibns, which he attributed to the natural desire of «aiiit to have its own org<anization prominent in Jewish affairs. While he adniitVvd that the attempt to make the Amcriwiii Jevvish Coinmittee a representative body, authorized to speak for all Israel '^jii Aincrica met- with only partial succCbs, Dr. Adler also averred that the Ami'sr- icau Jewish Congress did not succi.e'fi in organizing all the Jews of America. In the installment presented herewit|i by the Jevvish Telegraphic Agency, b.v arrangement with the Jewish Foriiiifi', Dr. Adler takes to task the organi<ta- tions showing independence in acts in¬ volving or committing Jews of ' ihc United States. He points out that there is particular lack of understanding -ii) tlic conduct of religious and educatioria! affairs. ,        , '        -   "
In the next and last installment 'Iir. Adler urges the creation of a league of national societies representing the cir- ganized  life  of the  Jews of  America j
out consultation, in fact, without having Ihat uiidcrstaudiiig that I am pleading for on the part of the other Jcvvs in the Uijitcd States who arc just as much affected by it as were the people who moved in the matter.
Another item of the utmost impor¬ tance upon vvhich there has never been any attempt to reach an understanding is the question of the reading of the Bible in the public schools. I am not al all so certain that the agitation again.s,t this has been a wise one 1 do not say that it has not, but I do say that in the considerably over a quarter of a century in which T have had to do with Jevvish affairs in this country, I have never heard the subject discussed in any group or any society or conference of which I was a member, which I think is at least a pretty fair indication that it has not been so discussed, and that this or that or the other organization has decided upon this policy, which of course affects all the Jews, on their own  account.     '
Let me take yet another instance of
forming  a conference to consider  the,lack of any kind of understanding and
problems  which  arc  common  tp  them .this is a matter of great importance.  It
all and which affect tliem all.—EiMTCfs;. i,, needless for me to tell'you that dur-
Tlie Jews  of the United  States .fire i„g the  la-st eight years  the  Jews  of
organized for religious, benevolent, edu¬ cational, and charitable purposes,- Their organizations are nearly all of them fed-' crated into national . organizations. These national organizations are .'the only ones that represent the Jevvs of tJic United States, and in order to represent them ,all, these national organizations should be brought into some sort <>i council or conference for such • limited I)urposes as do not affect their spec-j[fic objects, but in behalf of which, it Jinay be important th^t they should'¦ laboV;jU common. There is no other vva.y'{iti which an understanding can be reacted among the Jews in' the United -^t^its
WARSAW (J. T. A.).—Coii.sidcrabic excitement hr^ been created in Lodz as a result of the indiscriniiiiatc feeding of children of a summer colony of 2,000 where approximately 70 Jewish children were entertained and were .fed ham.
The Jewish children, vvith the excep¬ tion of one lad, refused to partake and abruptly left the colony. Orthodox Jewish leaders have protested the act of tlie managers of the colony.
Jewish Laboif Ready to Turn'to Synagogue
Dr. Cyras Adler Says
World Court is Commended
By Rabbinical Assembly
at Long Branch
OFFICERS ELECTED
FOR ENSUING YEAR
this country have been, and very properly have been, concerned about the condition of their brethren in Europe and in Palestine because of the ravages of the World War and the dreadful conditions which followed it. That Jews in America had their own religi¬ ous, educational and charitable work to consider and carry on, goes without saying. One would hardly suppose that there could have been any lack of under- 'atanding upon this point, namely, that .the necessary vvork on-;behalf of the Jewish' community, and, the Jewish life m America should be carried on with
LONG BRANCH, N. J.-The Con¬ vention of the Rabbinical Assembly of the Jewish Theological Seminary held in Long Branch last week, has been the most successful in the history of the organization, not from the point of view of attendance perhaps, but from the point of view of accomplishment. The sessions were characterized by serious¬ ness of purpose, refreshing fearlessness, and breadth  of  visibn.
The selection of Rabbi Max Drob as the director of the $1,000,000 Campaign for the Seminary, the United Synagogue and the Rabbinical Assembly was a business-like move. For it was Rabbi Drob who carried the recent $5,000,000 Relief Drive in New York to success after the Committee. had almost given up in despair. The members of the Assembly tendered Rabbi Drob a ban quet on Tuesday night at which they enthusiastically pledged to stand behind him in this campaign.
Such delicate problems as the Semi nary point of view of Judaism, the syn¬ agogue and the labor cleriient, and the ethics of the Rabbinical profession were discu&scd with intrepid -frankness,
The syitjppsium on the ^seminarjr point
BY FORDJS RUMOR
World   Publishes   Report   That
Dearborn   Billionaire   Seeks
Peace With New York Jews
ARTICLE FOLLOWS CHAS, D. HILLE'S INTERVIEW
..,,,,,   fompiete understanding of the .necesi      .— .,....,., .. s...
for   any'^g?ner4l.pupo5e.2^,The>-:*^!^
iSvvi'^be rcJJresenlea tjjough- a new S^ Xnd yet this is very far from being the papers  by  Rabbi  Charles  I.  Hoffman,
dependent organization^'jpsed upon 1 a plebiscite, because a larg^Vgction, pro'^ ably a majority of the JevvlviX, people of the United States will refuse to take part in such a plebiscite, as indeed they did even under the, pressure of war con¬ ditions. The endeavor" to create a! sUper-organ ization based upon man-.' hood and womanhood suffrage down to- the age of eighteen, and a poll tax to pay expenses, savors too much_ of the general political election to make it pos¬ sible for a Jew who has really lived himself into the spirit of American in¬ stitutions to take part in it. It is just as well that this should be understood clearly if much damage is to be avoided, and the damage, let it be said, will not fall to any great extent upon the people who participate in it, but will fall upon the people in Eastern Europe and Pal¬ estine and upon the Jewry the world over.
It must furthermore be pointed out that it is one of the anomalies of Amer¬ ican Jevvish life that to this day mat¬ ters which affect the whole community are still acted upon by individual organ¬ izations as though -the particular bodies concerned were the only sections of the Jewish people they had to do with them.
Let me give you a few examples of what I mean. Certain organizations and individuals seem to have decided that "The Merchant of Venice," by one Will¬ iam Shakespeare, is prejudicial to the interests of the Jews and that its per¬ formance and study in schools should be prohibited. Th<!y have waged cam¬ paigns on this subject and in some parts of the country have been successful in having "The Merchant of Venice" banned.
The^e worthy people apparently did this thing on their own account and with a view to preventing anti-Jewish preju¬ dice. Now? to my mind, it is open to question as to whether they have not created anti-Jewish prejudice by this very act. I do not say that they have, but in the anti-Jewish literature which has been circulating in the last fevv years, this policy concerning "The Mer¬ chant of Venice" has played some part.
Now, I yield to none in my Jewish feeling, but I have grave doubts as to whether it is at all possible, even if it be desirable, to suppress a classic piece of literature like "The Merchant of Venice," and whether the mere adver¬ tisement which these people have given to the pl.iy has not brought about a re¬ crudescence of it and put it upon the stage in a iiuich more prominent fashion th-an it had been for several genera¬ tions.
This is the expression of a personal opinion from whicii others may differ, but what I do complain of is that thu people who took this step took it wilh-
case.
I have knovvn campaigns to be carried on for European relief, for Palestine and for local purposes, almost at the same time and over-lapping each other. I have known agreements, or, vvhat were equivalent to agreements, to have been reached with regard to such mat¬ ters and the agreements not observed. In iny own immediate contact with this work, I have come across people who are immensely concerned, or appear to- be immensely concerned, about the Jevv¬ ish cultural life in Eastern Europe, or the educational vvork in Palestine, who have never in the slightest way inter¬ ested themselves in such work in Amer¬ ica or lifted a finger fpr it.
Now it is possible that the need' for work-on behalf of Europe will diminish and cease before long and it is to be hoped that it will, but I have the feel¬ ing that no person in the Jewish com¬ munity in America has a moral right to have his voice heard on behalf of the work in Europe who does' not take his share in the work in America.
Religion
The sober, practical seiise, which is one of the distinguishing features of America, ought to be reflected not sim¬ ply in the economic and social life of the Jews who settle here, but also find a place in the management of their re¬ ligious and educational affairs.
Yet, upon even so slight' a matter as a prayer for the Government, which one might think would be uniformly read in all synagogues in America, we have not reached an understanding. Some congregations have departed alto¬ gether from the ancient form and others use a form whose antiquity I have not studied, but it was plainly created for a monarchical government. Its form has not changed by the insertion of the "President of the United States" instead of "His Majesty the King,"
It is probaly not an important matter and you may think that it is rather trivial to have been brought forward, y«t it illustrates my thesis for this need of an understanding, because I am one of those optimistic souls who beljeve that if an understanding is created on small points, it may bring an under¬ standing in large matters. I do not ex¬ pect to s,ec brought about in my time, nor possibly in any time, complete uni¬ formity in religious thought and prac¬ tice throu.ghout the United States or elsewhere. The Christian Church has never attaiiitd it. The Mohammedan has not attained it, and we certainly have not attained it. These tlifferenccb are probably as inevitable as ths" differ¬ ences in the human mind. We have peoplv; who are radical aud people who {Concluded on page 5.)
.1
Dr. Jacob Kohn, Rabbi Jacob Katz, Dr. Norman Salit, Rabbi Phineas Israeli, and Dr. Louis Epstein, provoked ani¬ mated discussion that consumed an en¬ tire session. Such a question cannot be solved over night;' but the symposium vvill probably stimulate discussion on the platform and in' the press vvhich will form a valuable contribution to Jewish thought of today and may in time crystallize a definite philosophy of Jew¬ ish life.
The symposium on Labor and the Synagogue was opened with an illumi¬ nating paper by Mr. F. Ernest Johnson, secretary of the commission on the Church and Labor. At some future convention representative Jewish Labor leaders will be invited to present the subject from their angle. ' In the course of the discussion of the labor question. Dr.' Cyrus Adler made the following significant 'Statement:
"If vve desire to win over the labor element to the synagogue, then this is the most opportune time to attempt it; ior never before was the Jewish labor element so sympathetic as at this time. The reason for this is not hard to find: Jewish labor, with the exception of an almost negligible fraction, is utterly op¬ posed to Communism, and the present crusade of Bolshevism against organ¬ ized religion is therefore turn'ing the Jewish workingman back to the syna gogue."
The following resolution was adopted without a dissenting vote:'
"Resolved, that the Rabbinical, As'iem' biy appoint a committee (a) to study the question of how the synagogue might reach the Jewish workingman and obtain his affiliation therewith, (b) To draw up a set of principles based on Jewish tradition which shall be a guide to Rabbis in their attitude to problems connected vvith industrial life, (c) To investigate the possibility and the feasi¬ bility of co-operating with other reli- gious bodies for the purpose of fur¬ thering the cause of social justice.
The Assembly's unswerving purpose to further the observance of the Sabbath and the dietary laws was shown by two resolutions. The one calls upon boards of education antl boards of ex¬ aminers of bt'ate and nation institutions to avoid bringing examinations and other public exercises on the Jewish Sabl^ath and Holy days, jis such a pracT' tice ,either excludes religious Jevvs from bt-nefits to which they are squally en¬ titled vvith citizens of other faiths, or else by compelling thuin to violate their religious principles, impairs their moral integrity. The other resolution prp- tests against those national and local Jewish organizations and institution!) which arrange functions and exercises {CoHthiued on page' G)
NEW YORK.—That an cmi.<isary of Henry Ford has approached a promi¬ nent Jew in this city for the purpose of learning what effect a retraction by Ford of his previou.s assertions against Jevvs, coupled with a public apology, would have on the Jewish voters, is a report given prominence in the New York World.
This article follows close on the heels of the publication by the IVorld of an interview with Charles Hilles, Rcpubli- c,in National Committeeman from New York, in which the assertion was made by Mr, Hilles that Henry Ford is "a mere bag of gold who knows nothing about anything but automobile making" and that his candidady constitutes a na¬ tional menace.
The New York World of July 1 says in part:
"On top of the warning by Charles D. Hilles against the menace of Henry Ford's presidential candidacy, which appeared exclusively in .the World yes¬ terday, came an apparently well au¬ thenticated report that Mr. Ford re¬ cently has been trying to make peace with the Jews of New York City.
"The information tliat Mr. Ford was attempting to rid himself of the political burden he acquired three years ago vvhen he printed a series of attacks gainst the Jews in the Dearborn Inde¬ pendent, comes from two "independent sources, each a man of unquestioned standing in Jewish circles,-
"As they related it yesterday, a tnan representing himself as an agent of Ford, recently called on one of • the big Jewish leaders in this city, and sounded., him as  to what  effect  a re-    ' '
cantation by Ford and a'public apology   "       -•    -1 would have on .the Jewish voters., '   , ' ¦ ji '
"The caller^was a£Ml¥^d,¦it¦,Ws^s'sairfj,,., ^'i '•-^,\i~S'
ing against the automobile manufacturer '^ "'
Was so strong in the Jewish race that the people never would offer anything but the most active opposition to any plans he might have. They would re¬ fuse to treat him oiherwise than from a racial standpoint. It was said, how¬ ever, that despite these assurances, the attempts of the agent were continued and at least two conferences were held, vvhich came to nothing.
Mr. Hearst's name was not men¬ tioned, but it was recalled that about two months ago his newspapers quoted his as favoring the Ford candidacy, and after the publisher had been sharply questioned by representatives of the Jevvish race, he switched to James A. Reed. Consequently, politicians were inclined to see the Hearst influence in the reported peace overtures, believing if Ford could ameliorate the Jewish hostility there was an excellent chance Hearst would switch back again."
Mr. Hilles said in his interview that Ford boasts of hi« bigotry and asserted ...  -. ••
that despite the fact that Jews have contributed so much to the nation's civic life. Ford,- "vvith the bigotry of the Ku Klux Klan, has declared war upon them."
Mr. Hilles said in this connection:
"He boasts of his bigotry. Our Gov¬ ernment demands complete separation of church from state and guarantees tolerance toward both race and creed. The' Declaration of Independence in¬ cludes a statement that all men are cre¬ ated equal under the law. The spirit of the Constitution is protective of the minority in  fundamental rights.
"Thus two millions of Jews are now a part of- us. They have made some of our best citizens.   Thcy have filled ^
acceptably high public positions—in the Cabinet, the Supreme Court, the diplo¬ matic service, the Senate and the House, But in spite of the American spirit of tolerance and the fact that the Jevvs have contributed so much to our civic life, Henry Ford, with the bigotry of the Ku Klux Klan, has declared war upon them."
Ford's nomination, Mr. Hilles said, would commercialize the highest .office within the gift of the electorate.
"Ford would malce a pitiable spec¬ tacle as prc&ident because he has re¬ vealed a political knowledge and sense that a school boy would be ashamed of," Mr. Hilles said. "If vve place him at the head of the nation for us before the world we sliall bow down to Mam¬ mon, aud the democracy of Washiogton and Lincoln vvill de(>enerate into failure,
"His candidacy must be taken.-'seri- ously, bccauiie of the obvious conviction of a vast number of people that a man who has crcattid the most prosperous luauufacturing enterprise tli<! world has {Concluded on page 1)
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