THE JEWISH CHRONICLE

THE JEWISH CHRONICLE

Issued Every Friday by the Jewish Chronicle Publishing Company.
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ANTON KAUFMAN

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RABBI LEO M. FRANKLIN,

- Editorial Contributor

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Entered as second-class matter March 3, 1916, at the Post Office at Detroit,
Mich., under the Act of March 3, 1879

FRIDAY, APRIL 20, 1917

Each According to His Standard

In these times of crisis and calamity, appeals for help will of
necessity come from many sides, and rich and poor alike will have to
bear the burden of large expenditures which war inevitably carries in
its wake. To the volunteer gifts for relief in all its forms will be
added the burden of unusual taxation to meet the expenses of the
government in equipping and maintaining its army and navy. So
far as this may be brought about, this taxation will be proportioned
to the income of all American citizens. This is as it should be. But
even though great incomes should be heavily taxed, our men of wealth
must not in times like these attempt to escape their more voluntary
obligations by hiding behind the cover of increased taxation. It is a
time that calls for mighty and unprecedented sacrifice.' The poor will
have to give their bagatelle out of their scant resources, and the well-
to-do will have to give with corresponding generosity out of their
largess. But each will have to set up his own standard of giving.
Among the well-to-do there will at this time, as on all similar occa-
sions, be those who will not do their duty. Let none measure his own
obligation by the standard of those who thus fall short. What my
neighbor gives ought not to concern me, and certainly it ought not to
establish for me a standard of obligation. If we are to regulate our
duties in times like these by what others do, then let us take as our
inspiration those who do more than their duty rather than less. Nor
must we be satisfied today to do for others what we can afford to do.
We must all do more than we can afford. The call comes to each of
us to stem the tide of suffering and of starvation that threatens to
overwhelm vast multitudes of our co-religionists, and of those who do
not belong to our faith. To do this we may have to sacrifice some of
those luxuries in which we have been accustomed to indulge our-
selves. If such be the case, we shall be the better for it. Indeed, in
times like these it is the first duty that we owe to ourselves and to
society, to have done with wastefulness of every kind. That our
neighbor does not see this duty and live by it should not influence us in
the slightest. Let each individual stand on his own feet and set up a
standard of generosity and sacrifice of which he need not be ashamed
in the presence of man or of God.

Jews in the Army and Navy

It is not at all surprising, but it is nonetheless gratifying that
reports from all parts of the country indicate that a goodly proportion
of the young men who have already enlisted in the Army and Navy
are of the Jewish faith. Despite the charge that has been so fre-
quently made against the Jew that his patriotism will not stand the
crucial test, statistics prove beyond question that whenever the coun-
try has needed men, the Jew has stepped forward with fully as much
eagerness and enthusiasm and under the goad of the same loyalty as
his non-Jewish fellow citizens. Mr. Simon Wolf, to whom the Jews
of this country are greatly indebted, has rendered no single service of
a higher character than that represented by the publication of his
book in which he shows by documentary evidence that the propor-
tion of Jews fighting in every war in which this country has engaged,
has been high attest of their bravery and patriotism. For historical
purposes, it were well if at this time either Mr. Wolf or someone
equally capable to undertake the task, would collate all items that
may appear from time to time in the public press, bearing upon special
acts of valor, at the hands of Jews, and if, moreover, names and ad-
dresses of Jews serving in various regiments might he gathered
together for future publication. We have no doubt that if some such
course had been pursued in regard to the Jews serving in the various
armies, valuable evidence would be at hand to disprove any charge
that might in future be brought against the valor and the daring of
the Jew.

The Appeal of the Bed Cross Society

The appeal of the Red Cross Society for members should meet
with the instant and enthusiastic response of every member of the
community. Knowing no distinction of race, creed or color, this
organization carries on its work of mercy among the sick and
wounded on the fields of battle as well as among the victims of great
calamities that befall now and then in times of peace. But for the
merciful help brought by the agents of this organization, the horrors
of war would be increased a hundred fold. The cause is one that
must appeal to every man, woman and child whose heart suffering
moves to pity. Surely no Jew or Jewess in Detroit will rest satisfied
until his or her name has been enrolled upon the roster of the Red
Cross Society.
One man in Michigan has been found, as will be noted in a com-
munication printed elsewhere in this issue, who has pledged himself
to give one-tenth of the moneys raised in his community for the fund
for the relief of the Jewish war sufferers. He is Mr. Gumbinsky of
Kalamazoo. We rejoice in the splendid precedent set by this gen-
tleman, and trust that some one will be found in Detroit, Grand
Rapids and other cities of the state to follow his example.

A Proposed Gift to the New Russia

As will be noted elsewhere in this issue, a movement is under
way to gather from the Jews of America a sum sufficient to secure
a replica of the great Statue of Liberty, or some equally imposing
and significant figure, to be pr.esented to the new government of
Russia in appreciation of the gift of liberty which has come to the
Russian Jew. The sentiment prompting this suggestion is a high and
noble one, and only the greatest praise should be bestowed upon the
men behind the movement. Nonetheless, it appears to us that there
should be no undue haste in undertaking a movement of such sig-
nificance and magnitude. In the first place, it were well to see whether
the freedom which has come to Russia and which is common with all
liberty-loving peoples, we pray may be permanent, will indeed be so.
And in the second, the time is hardly opportune to seek great gifts
at the hands of the people today except for the most immediate neces-
sities of life. In due time we trust that the permanency of Russian
liberty will have sufficiently proved itself and material relief will have
been given in such ample quantities to those who need, that the
project of our friends in the east may be forwarded not merely by a
few rich men, but by the gifts of the rank and file of American Jewry.
Nothing could seem more fitting than that the Jew, who for good
cause has cursed Russia for its oppression of her people, should
now be among the first to bless her for the gift of freedom she has
bestowed. But the time is not now for the translation of her feeling
of gratitude into gifts that call for the expenditure of vast sums of
money.

Spiritual Needs of Jewish Soldiers

• The Y. M. C. A. and various branches of the Christian church arc
enthusiastically at work in their preparations to meet the spiritual and
religious, as well as some of the social needs of the boys who may be
called to the front. This is as it should be. It is to be hoped that our
Jewish organizations will not be laggard in meeting their duties to
the Jewish young men who may be called upon to serve their country
in these critical times. During the recent unpleasantness with
Mexico, the Central Conference of American Rabbis, the Young Men's
Hebrew Association and kindred organizations, and the Department
of Synagogue and School Extension of the Union of American
Hebrew Congregations, did some telling work for the Jewish boys.
Now the need is greater and the work should be systematically and
aggressively undertaken without delay. In matters of this kind the
Jew may well take inspiration from his Christian brethren.

There are times when even the most indifferent of Jews remem-
bers his Judaism. This was well exemplified this week when the
Jewish inmates of one of the largest penal institutions in the state ap-
pealed to a local organization for matzos for Passover. It may be
said in passing that considerable attention has been paid in recent
years to the religious needs of Jews in eleemosynary and penal institu-
tions throughout the country.

A rabbi in a neighboring city announces as the subject of his
Sunday sermon, "The High Cost of Living vs. the Cost of High
Living." The implication in this subject is a .timely one. Those
who are squandering vast sums of money on selfish and sensuous
pleasures, while uncounted thousands are in want for the very neces-
sities of life, would do well to pause a bit in their mad careers, and
ask themselves in how far they and their kind are directly and indi-
rectly responsible for the misery and the woe of others.

In these days, if ever, men come to appreciate the fact that giving
is receiving.

