THE JEWISH .CHRONICLE •
10
build himself a living monument. Will not one or the other of our
wealthy Jews rise to the occasion, and either give a building outright
or establish an endowment fund that shall secure the maintenance of
Issued Every Friday by the Jewish Chronicle Publishing Company.
General Manager the building once it has been provided for by the community? The
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ANTON KAUFMAN
need is great. Let us not wait to supply it until the problem of the
Jewish youth in Detroit becomes too great to solve.
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RABBI LEO M. FRANKLIN,
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be sent in so as to reach this office Tuesday morning of each week.
Entered as second claw matter March 3, 1916, at the Post Office at Detroit. Mich., under the Act of
March 3, 1879
FRIDAY, MARCH 30, 1917
Spectacular Patriotism
The New York lodges of the Independent Order of the Free Sons
of Israel undoubtedly are well intentioned in their announcement that
in case of a declaration of war they will recruit for service a Jewish
regiment. But we question the propriety of such a step. Spectacular
patriotism does not appeal to us. This is by no means, however, the
essential ground of our objection to such a move. We Jews arc
among the first to resent any We to group Americans according
to then- religious affiliations. We object—and with full right—to any
effort on the part of city, state or nation to segregate us politically
because we are Jews. It is, therefore, little short of stupidity for Jews
themselves to do the very thing against which they would most ve-
hemently protest if it were done by others. Should we be plunged
into war, there is no reasonable doubt that Jews the country over will
meet their patriotic duty fully and loyally. As Americans they will
fight for America, side by side with their fellow citizens of every faith
and of no faith. What would we say if the government were to coun-
tenance and encourage the formation of Protestant companies or
Catholic companies or Christian companies, from which Jews, because
they are Jews, would be excluded ? Here is a phase of our national
life in which the principle of the separation of church and state must
be . insisted upon. When the cause of our faith needs our help and
our protection, we will answer the call that comes to us as Jews.
When otir country is in danger we shall answer as Americans. It
needs not that we shall make a great show of our loyalty in order to
call attention to the patriotic virtues of the Jew. Let his deeds pro-
claim his loyalty. Let the character of his citizenship in general ; his
maintenance of American ideals in time of peace, and his staunch
heroism in time of war give answer to those, if any such there still
may be, who question whether the Jew in this land is filled with pa-
triotic spirit.
The conditional gift of One Million Dollars to the Relief Fund for
Jewish. Sufferers from the War, announced by Mr. Julius Rosenwald
of Chicago, should be an inspiration to the Jews of America to do
their part to make the entire sum offered by this generous donor avail-
ble. Seldom has a gift of such magnitude been made by an .indi-
vidual to a philanthropic cause. But Mr, Rosenwald has heard the
cry of his brethren. He knows how deep is their distress and how
pitiful their suffering. No sacrifice that any man can make would, in
his opinion, be over great in the crisis that confronts us.
To save the life of a single member of one's family we would
give our all, but now three million members of the household of Israel
are facing death from starvation. Nothing short of ten million dol-
lars will save them from the cruel fate that impends. Mr. Rosenwald
has pointed out the way to their salvation. Fortunate in accumulat-
ing vast riches, he has been privileged to give one-tenth of the total
amount that is asked of all the Jews in this great and prosperous
country. Surely the rest of us should raise the other nine-tenths.
Within a few . days a campaign is to be started in Detroit to gather
such contributions as our people will give to this great cause. We
have reason to believe that the generosity of our people this year will
surpass even that of last year. Certainly no one among us will fail to
give quickly and in the measure of his powers once he is called upon.
To do so will be the slightest token of appreciation that the Jews of
the country can offer Mr. Rosenwald for his unexampled and truly
princely generosity.
The Candidacy of Mr. Harry B. Keidan
The Jewish Chronicle has no political axes to grind. It is aligned
with no political party and may in no sense be construed as a partisan
organ. When, therefore, it goes out of its way to speak a word of .
endorsement for any candidate for political office, it is only because
it believes that such candidate is pre-eminently qualified' to fill the
office which he seeks. It is in this spirit that we commend to the con-
sideration of our readers the candidacy of Mr. Harry B. Keidan for
the bench of the Recorder's Court, at the elections this week. Mr.
Keidan is a man of clean character,. of proved integrity and of fine
ability. As Assistant Prosecuting Attorney of Wayne County, his
record has been beyond criticism. No influence has been great enough
to swerve him from the straight path of duty. He has served the
people well and deserves the promotion which he seeks. We con-
sider it a privilege to usZ), this column in urging -our friends to give Mr.
Keidan that consideration to which his character, his ability and his
past record entitle him. This, it need scarcely be said, is wxittert with-
out solicitation either from Mr. Keidan or his friends.
The Y. M. 1i. A. as a Community Center
"-Songs of a Wanderer "
The importance of the announcement made by the local Y. M.
H. A. that steps have been taken looking to the acquisition of a site
on which to build a permanent home for the organization, can scarcely
be overestimated. Many times the need of a community center for
our Jewish young men has been emphasized in these columns. There
is perhaps no city in America where there are so many young men
without family or immediate friends as is the case in the city of De-
troit. A survey of the middle class hotels would show that they house
a very large number of young Jews whose greatest misfortune is lone-
liness. Lured to the city by its widely heralded prosperity with the
idea of bettering their fortunes, these young men come from every
part of the country, only to find themselves for the most part utterly
alone. The hospitality offered by the various young people's societies
in the city has done much to relieve the situation, but these organiza-
tions are not in position to fully solve the problem of the stranger.
What is needed above all else, in the community, is a home where
the newcomer may meet others situated like himself, and where
through frequent contact, friendships and fellowships may be estab-
lished. The Young Men's Hebrew Association is the logical organi-
zation to undertake this work. There is no reason why such an or-
ganization should not play as important a part in the Jewish corn-
munal life as does the Y. M. C. A. in the life of our non-Jewish fellow
citizens.
However, to erect a building such as would be adequate to the
needs of a Y. M. H. A. in Detroit and to maintain it properly requires a
very large amount of money. It would be a mistake to erect :a build-
ing unless a considerable maintenance fund were in sight. Here is an
opportunity for some philanthropically inclined Jew in Detroit to
We need not agree with all the sentiments expressed by the
author to recognize in the book, "Songs of a Wanderer," by Philip M.
Raskin, a noteworthy contribution to contemporaneous Jewish liter-
ature. In the songs of Mr. Raskin there breathes the spirit of that
Jew who feels the pain of his people in their worrd-wide and century-
long wanderings. • As one reads his poems, so full of pathos, and yet
so marked by an appreciation of the dignity of Jewish history, one
is reminded not a little of the writings of Morris Rosenfeld, who with
the poor instrument of Yiddish to work with, translated into noble
phrase the tragedy of Jewish history. The Jewish Publication So-
ciety, which has just distributed Raskin's book to its subscribers, is to
be congratulated upon having made possible the publication of this
work. It will undoubtedly take a high place among the poetic pro-
ductions of our time.
It is reported that at the court of Waterbury, Mass., a Lithuanian
Unitarian minister by the name of Mocus, has been indicted under a
very old law, which prohibits anyone from publicly expressing doubt
as to the literal truth of any part of the Biblical story. The reverend
gentleman in question expressed some doubt as to the fish story in the
book of Jonah. Hence his indictment. The incident is absolutely
without interest beyond the possibility of its taking place in this twen-
tieth century of so-called "Christian civilization."