THE JEWISH CHRONICLE
not necessary to look far for the possibility of finding such work. All
that the sponsors of the Order need do is to turn back to their own
Issued Every Friday by the Jewish Chronicle Publishing Company. traditions and to realize what the lodge stood for in the early days.
General Manager Then it was the great unifying center of Jewry. Why should it not be
ANTON KAUFMAN -
that today ? What the lodge needs to do in a community like this is
to reach out to the newly arrived immigrants who have not yet found
Michigan's Only Jewish Publication.
their place in the community life, and to give them the lodge as a
Editor
great
rallying center. if the local lodge would succeed in bringing into
SAMUEL J. RHODES,
its fold the many hundreds of young Jewish men in the community
$1.50 per year who are presently without any Jewish affiliations, they would not
Subscription in Advance
only be serving their own cause but they would be doing a tremendous
Offices 701 Penobscot Bldg.
service to Judaism in the community. In this, it seems to the writer,
Telephone Cadillac 2588.
lies not only the duty but the opportunity of the local lodge. It is to
The Jewish Chronicle invites correspondence on subjects of inter- be hoped that the meeting held (luring the past week will have served
est to the Jewish people, but disclaims responsibility for an indorse- to awaken a new interest in the local lodge and that, as a result,
definite and earnest efforts to reach out in the direction indicated will
ment of views expressed by the writers.
be made.
THE JEWISH CHRONICLE
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Post Office at Detroit, Mich., under the Act of
Entered as second-clam matter March 3, 1918, at the1879
March 3,
FRIDAY, JUNE 23, 1916.
The Local B'Nai B'Rith
On Monday evening last, there was initiated into the local lodge
of the Independent Order of 11'Nai B'Rith, a considerable .number of
new members. The occasion was graced by the presence of the Presi-
dent of the District Grand Lodge, and by Dr. Rudolph I. Coffee, head
of the Social Service Department of the Order. The occasion calls
for more than passing notice, since it brings into relief the rather un-
pleasant fact that for nlany years the local IVNai B'Rith Lodge has
failed to leave any marked impression upon the Jewish life of the
community. Time was when Pisgah Lodge was properly pointed out
as the banner lodge of this district. This title it claimed not merely
in virtue of a large membership, but more particularly because of its
splendid activities, and because of the zeal with which it met every
opportunity that presented itself to be of service to the cause of
Judaism and of the community in general.
The causes of this retrogression were undoubtedly many and
varied. Chief among them, however, was no doubt the changing
character of the community itself. In the earlier (lays of 11'Nai WRith-
dom in this city, the lodge presented practically the only platform on
which Jews of all shades of religious opinion might meet on common
ground, and discuss problems of mutual interest. Moreover, in a very
broad sense, the B'Nai B'Rith represented the center of the social life
of the Jews, and it was, furthermore, the inspiration to much of the
philanthropic activity of the community In later times, however, all
of this work has been taken over by specialized workers, and great
institutions dealing with the religious, the philanthropic and the social
needs of the community have sprung up. It is notably true in Detroit,
both among the Reform and the Orthodox Jews, that the synagogue
plays an exceedingly important part in the life of the people. Indeed,
it may be fairly said that there are few cities in America where the
congregational life is more pronounced than here. The same is true
of the philanthropic activities of the community. Detroit was one
of the first cities in the land to federate its charitable organizations,
and as a result all the elements in the Jewish community work har-
moniously and enthusiastically together in the solution of such philan-
thropic problems as present themselves from time to time. Nor can
the lodge hope to be the social center that it was in early days. With
the rapid growth of a community, social organizations, as such, arc
bound to spring up, and so this need of the local community is catered
to by all sorts of social clubs, literary societies and similar organiza-
tions.
What, then, is necessary, if the B'Nai B'Rith in Detroit is to be
resuscitated, is that it shall find some new outlet for its activities.
It is true that the B'Nai B'Rith is the one great international institu-
tion that is fitted to speak in behalf of world Jewry on many important
problems. This fact alone makes it the duty of every Jew to give to
the Order his whole-hearted support. But this argument alone will
not suffice to keep alive the spark of interest in local lodges. If this is
to be accomplished, some activity distinctly local must be created by
those who are interested in the furtherance of the lodge. And it is
Our Sins of Ignorance
In a neighboring university two prizes of one hundred dollars each
were recently awarded to the two students presenting the most ac-
ceptable essays on a distinctly Jewish topic. The contest was open to
every undergraduate student of the university having an enrollment
in the neighborhood of six thousand men and women. Of this number
there are several hundred Jewish students. It is a striking fact that
of.the eight essays submitted in the contest, six of them were presented
by non-Jewish students, among whom were both of the prize winners.
A condition such as this bids us pause and reflect upon a somewhat
alarming situation. In the particular university in question the re-
ligious interests of the Jewish students have been especially well con-
served. On the campus, in addition to a student congregation that is
most active, there is a splendidly organized Menorah Society, as well
as a Zionistic organization. Nonetheless, in a contest for the presenta-
tion of essays on a distinctly Jewish theme, only two Jewish students
participated as against six non-Jews, and the latter carried off the
palm. Does this not indicate that a very special effort should be made
to interest the Jewish college men and women of our country in
things Jewish? And should not consideration be given to the question
of acquainting them with the heroic chapters in world history that
have been written by their people? To Jewish philosophy, even
philosophical students in our universities are strangers. To all save
the fewest the vast storehouse of Jewish literature is a realm unex-
plored and, as a result of this condition, the men and women who
ought to be leaders of the Jewish life in the next few years are utterly
disinterested and unenthusiastic. Their sin is the sin of ignorance.
Cannot something be done to overcome this evil?
Anti-Semitism in the National Guard
The charges preferred against Captain Howard E. Sullivan of
the New York National Guard, that he, in his official position, was
guilty of discriminating against Jews, have been denied by the Cap-
tain, who asserts in a somewhat ambiguous fashion that he bases his
judgment of applicants upon their "spirit of congeniality" and "their
physical appearance." When one realizes that to a very large circle
of otherwise tolerant men and women, even the best of Jews do not
appeal as being congenial, and when moreover one is frank in the
recognition of the fact that not all Jews, even of the more cultured
classes, are necessarily Adonis-like in appearance, one can rightly
understand how, upon his basis of judgment, Captain Sullivan might
exclude a Jew otherwise well fitted for the service, from membership
in the National Guard. Lieutenant Charles King, who was one of
the witnesses in the trial of the case, was perfectly frank in his admis-
sion that he had a strong anti-Jewish feeling, basing his position upon
the fact that although Jews do not make bad soldiers, they are likely
to be "nasty" and "sarcastic."
This is not the first time that charges of anti-Semitism in the
National Guard have, been preferred, nor was the defense of those
accused of anti-Jewish feeling any stronger than in the present in-
stance. In these days, when there is such a vociferous cry for pre-
paredness on the part of some eminent Americans, good judgment
ought to dictate a more generous if not indeed a more just policy on
the part of the officers of the National Guard. However, the attitude
of the officers in the present case only serves to indicate what is very
often true, that snobbishness and ignorance and anti-Semitism go
hand in hand.
Detroit seems to be the Mecca toward which our rabbis love to
pilgrim. Our social column this week shows not less than four visiting
rabbis in Detroit.