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THE JEWISH CHRONICLE ,

THE JEW1S.H• CHRONICLE

A Faulty Comparison

Among those who challenge our belief that the proposed repre-
Issued Every Friday by the Jewish Chronicle Publishing Company.
General Manager sentation of the Jew along ultra democratic lines may serve to mis-
ANTON 'KAUFMAN •
represent us, are those who insist that the method of electing dele-
gates to the Jewish Congress, called for May next, is exactly the same
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as that laid down for the election to places in our national Congress.
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But the comparison may easily enough be shown to be illogical. In
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America there are hundreds of thousands of persons of good charac-
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ter who, none the less, are disfranchised and who have no voice in the
Mcmts: Clary 3381 and 1526
conduct of the affairs of the nation. We do not here refer only to
Contributor
women who have in some states but recently conic into their own in
Editorial'
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RABBI LEO M. FRANKLIN,
a political sense, and who as yet are disiranchised altogether through-
The Jewish Chronicle invites correspondence on subjects of inter- out the greater portion of our country, but we think.of that very large
est to the Jewish people, but disclaims responsibility for an indorse- foreign element who, living here, have not yet officially affiliated
ment of views expressed by the writers.
themselves with our country's destinies by taking out their papers of
citizenship, thereby proclaiming that with the rights which Ameri-
All correspondence and society notes to insure publication must
canization confers upon them, they are also ready to accept the .obli-
be sent in so as to reach this office Tuesday morning of each week.
gations and the responsibilities that citizenship implies. They may
Entered u second-clan matter March 3, 1916, at the Post Office at Detroit, 'Mich., under the Act of
be men of the highest calibre. They may have won high places in
March 3, 1879
the industi- ial, the commercial or the social realm, but until they have
taken upon themselves the full responsibilities of citizenship, they
FRIDAY, MARCH 23, 1917
cannot claim any rights as representatives of this great people.
Now, it is our contention that when the Jew is to have represen-
The Hand of God in History
tation before the world, exactly this same principle must hold good.
The Russian Revolution, with all the social, economic and po- Men born within the household of Israel may be earnest and devoted
litical- readjustments that are implied in it, may well be regarded as a workers in trades unions, in socialistic societies, in Arbeiter Rings,
manifestation of the hand of God in history. It is, of course, too early etc., but until or unless they are consciously affiliated as Jews with
by far to prophesy what ultimate effects the revolution will have in institutions that stand for Jewish ideals, and that foster Jewish
re-shaping the destinies not only of the Russian people, but in a real i causes, they have no right to speak for us or in our name. By this
we do not mean that to be a Jew one must be an active member of a
sense, of the peoples of the world. But that humanity will be bene-
bly
autter unten-
on tho ugh even this o p inion would not ande
congregati,
fited by it and that the processes of civilization will be immeasurably able. Nor do
socialiSt or a
d we hold that one c a nnot be a Jew
forwarded by it, there can be no doubt. Coming at a time when the member-of a workingman's organization at one and. the same time.
moral foundations of life had been shaken, when nations had sunken Our only contention is that such affiliation is separate and apart from
'to the lowest depths of brutality and savagery because of which re- any Jewish implication and carries with it no right to representation
ligion was laughed to scorn and God Himself described as puerile in in the Jewish name. If, therefore, one wishes to compare the position
of the Jew to that of the American in regard to the right of represen-
power to save, this upheaval may be looked upon as a justification of tation, then he must carry the comparison to its logical conclusion.
God's purposes, and i as it were, as an answer to the sneering cry of An active affiliation and an acceptance of responsibilities with rights
- arc indispensable in both instances. It will be well for the sponsors
,
the skeptic, "Where is thy God?"
We hate war. We believe that the present conflict has turned of a false democracy to be-ar this well in mind.
back the wheels of civilization by centuries. We know its cost can
not be computed in terms of money spent, nor even of lives sacrificed,
The Country Jew in Michigan
but at best in the terms of men brutalized and of humanity degraded.
A study of the status of the Jew in the smaller Michigan cities
And yet we feel that even this will be compensated if in Russia there reveals a condition that is perhaps unique in this country. While
shall have come to birth a true understanding of human freedom and Detroit stands out as the wonder city of America because of its un-
the rights of man. Who sees less than this in the recent upheaval precedented industrial growth and consequent increase in population'
during the last decade, comparatively little attention has been given
must be either shortsighted or pessimistic in an extreme degree.
Of course, it is' never safe to play the role of the prophet, but to the corresponding growth of a number of the smaller towns within
the state. No sort of activity could be more helpful to the Jewish
were one to venture upon so precarious a course ; he might rook for- cause in this part of the country than that someone well equipped for
ward to A wide dissemination of the ideas involved in the Russian the task and with ample resources to carry on the work efficiently,
uprising; to the gradual democratization of bureaucratic coun- .should be entrusted to the -task of visiting the smaller communities in
tries, and eventually to the fulfillment of the prophetic dream of the Michigan and of organizing them along Jewish lines. This field Of
glad time "When nations shall beat their swords into plowshares and endeavor would be found fruitful beyond comparison. One city for
their spears into pruning hooks - * * * afid when they shall learn instance, that a few years ago had three or four Jewish families, will
war no mote." In a word, some brave souls see in recent events not now be found to have as many as eight hundred to one thousand Jew- .
only the near end of this War, but the not distant end of all war.
ish inhabitants. Other communities have increased in similar propor-
In whatever great or small degree such optimistic outlook for tion, but in almost every instance is felt among the people of these
humanity may eventually justify itself, we feel assured that the revo- places the want of Jewish leadership. Not 'only is there usually no
lution is a harbinger of promise to the Jew. Long ago leading think- congregational organization, but in many instances there is not even
ers expressed the belief that the problem of the Russian Jew must a school for the religious education of the children. Here and there
be settled upon the soil of Russia. It looks likely now that such one finds a Hebrew teacher or a rabbi of the older type, by which one
happy solution is near at hand. - In an interview given the Associated means a rabbi without college training, but in only the largest centers
Press 'on Tuesday last, Prof. Paul Mulikoff, the new Russian foreign are there men fitted by training and of a real grasp of the American
, minister, is quoted as saying that the last obstacle to the removal of spirit, to undertake the leadership of Jewish communities that have
all the disabilities of the Jew in Russia had been overcome, and that great potentialities for service to the Jewish cause. So far as we
no doubt existed in his mind as to their immediate acquisition of all know, there are no reform rabbis in Michigan outside of the cities of
citizenship rights. If this is true, there is little reason why the Jew Detroit, Grand 'Rapids and Kalamazoo, and college-trained orthodox
should not find opportunity and happiness in his' native land. Given rabbis are even fewer in number than these. The situation is one that
anything like an equal chance, the Russian Jew is bound to prove needs to be met and speedily. The leading rabbis of the state are
himself a tremendous factor for good in the reconstruction of Russia. doing what they can to help the smaller Jewish communities. In sev-
Even in his oppression he has not lacked the spirit of the patriot. eral states services are being regularly conducted by laymen on the
•
What may not then be expected of him when he may walk, as by right Sabbath eve under the direction of one or the other rabbis of the
. he should, in every sense the peer of his fellow citizens?
state, and with an occasional service and sermon by a visiting rabbi.
With the emigration of the Russian Jew reduced to a minimum But the work of the rabbis in the great cities is so numerous that they
he will not desire to leave a land that gives him freedom, equal rights cannot give to the smaller communities of the state that assistance
and opportunity—the so-called "Jewish problem" elsewhere will which they ,deserve. Perhaps some adequate plan of circuit preaching
speedily adjust itself. Jews will leave the lands of their nativity not may be evolved by which this situation may be met. Its possibilities
because persecution drives them out, but only when opportunity beck- at least merit the most careful study. •
ons. Everywhere then, in the old world and the new, the Jew will be
able to work out his destiny along high lines, and he will cease to be
the scapegoat of malice and ignorance at home, or the tolerated
, 07-47-w/e,
stranger in the lands in which he seeks a refuge.
Verily, God is at work in His world 1