-1 .4aenmwmwmwwsxntwmmrmmnmmm OUR THE JEWISH CHRONICLE THE JEWISH CHRONICLE In the previous bond issues, as in every other phase of patriotic Issued limy Friday by The Jewish Chronicle Publishing Company ANTON KAUFMAN • • • • • President service, the Jews of America have done their loyal share, and in pro- portion to their numbers have contributed generously and willingly to the common cause. But as the days pass and the conflict with our foes MICHIGAN'S JEWISH HOME PUBLICATION becomes more and more necessary on every man's part. Substance and service must be laid upon our country's altar in ever larger amounts Offices 314 Peter Smith Bldg. Phone: Cherry 3381. RABBI LEO M. FRANKLIN, How Do Your Sacrifices Compare With These? 11.50 per year becomes sterner, the needs of our government increase. Sacrifice Subscription in Advance Editorial Contributor and with increasing willingness. To shirk our duty now is to acknowl- edge ourselves unworthy of the dignity that is ours as. Americans and as Jews. All correspondence to insure publication must be sent In so as to reach this To fear, then, that the Jews in America will not at this crucial time respond as they have in the past with full generosity to their country's )(nice Tuesday evening of each week. The Jewish Chronicle invites correspondence on subjects of nterest to the Jewish people, but disclaims responsibility for an indorsement of the views expressed by the writers. call for help world seem gratuitous, Even if luxuries and comforts must be put aside for the time being, every man and every woman, if T possible, should buy a Liberty Bond of this third issue. It is but a Entered as second-class matter March 3, MS, at the Postoffice at Detroit, Mich., under the Act of March 3, 1879. among us. Rabbi Freund at Camp Custer. A Bill That Should Be Defeated. During the absence from Camp Custer of Mr. Edgar J. Drachmae, Certain parties in 'Michigan, whose leaders arc apparently for pru- the representative of the Jewish Welfare Board in the United States dential reasons concealing their identity, arc making a very vigorous Army and Navy. his place will be taken by Rabbi Charles J. Freund of effort to secure signatures to a petition which shall force consideration Grand Rapids, his congregation having generously released him for the of a bill according to which all children in the State of Michigan, up to He severs home ties; gives up home comforts; leaves behind parents, friends, wife or sweetheart. He faces the probability of being obliged to take up life anew when he returns; of losing all the advantages which years of hard work have won for him. period of a month that he might render this patriotic service to his a given age, would be compelled to attend the public schools. county and his faith. Innocent and innocuous as on the surface such ;an attempt may Mr. Drachman, the efficiency of whose work is well known, will appear, the bill would be vicious in its effects, and should the petition spend a month in visiting other camps and cantonments, and incidentally receive sufficient signatures to compel its consideration, it should be in recuperating after a long season of hard and uninterrupted work. killed by an overwhelming vote. Personally, we stand pledged in our allegiance to the public school. He faces the possibility of comirg back in- capacitated for earning a living, and of being dependent upon his friends or upon charity. The men at Custer are fortunate that in his absence Rabbi Freund Will We believe that it is the safeguard of our democracy. We want chil- supervise the work. Rabbi Freund, too, is fortunate in being able to undertake this work. To serve in the manner that is thus made possible dren of all social classes and from every environment to brush shoulders to hint is a privilege which any leader in the civic and religious life of with each other. We believe that contact of this sort is healthful and his community may well covet. He faces the possibility of never coming home at all. morally stimulating. But there are those who have other ideas in regard to the education of their children, and their opinion is worthy of at Facing these things, he goes to France to fight for us who remain safely at home — and when the moment comes for him to go over the top—he GOES! least equal respect with ours and those who hold with us. There are those who prefer to send their children to private schools ,l I that, with certain disadvantages, undoubtedly also offer certain distinct benefits to some children. There are large classes of loyal American citizens who, for reasons sufficient to themselves, believe in the parochial school system. None has the right to deny diem the privilege of send- ing their children to such schools. Some believe in the home education of children under the governess or tutor system. By what right shall any one insist that these children be taken out of their homes and sent to the public schools for their instruction? Were the proposed bill enacted into law, it would tend to a clear violation of the rights of the individual. Mille unquestionably aimed at a certain religious group who favor the parochial school system, the law would not only touch the inherent rights of this group, but as well of every American parent and child. All tile arguments that may be brought in its defense arc specious, They will n o t hold water. The plea that only in the public schools can children be firmly grounded in the principles of Americanism is not absolutely true, as is proved by the fact that thousands of patriotic American citizens whose loyalty cannot be questioned have received their education in private and paro- chial schools. The plea that the public school must be attended by all children lest religion come to play too great a part in the educational region is stupid, since an attempt to restrain parents who wish to educate their children in church schools is, in itself, an interference on the loom of the State with the inalienable rights of the American citizen to practice his reli- gion according to the dictates of his conscience. It is just because we wish church and state to be forever separate that We oppose this bill from this standpoint. It is to be sincerely looped that this vicious and short-sighted bill will never con i c so far as to be put to a vote, but if 'it is, let it be defeated by such an overwhelming majority that its sponsors will not attempt to resurrect it in this or any other State. An Unwise Precedent. In the light of our previous editorial, our stand on the relation of THE FIRST SEDER AT THE FRONT (Continued From Page 1.) prayer book would come in handy for Passover, but as for the phylacteries, he simply envied his friend, for if he is killed he will be buried like a Jew. And he, Rachmiel, was supplied with everything—clothes, underwear, high boots, but not that. 011, he would just love to own to pair of phylacteries like Leib's! Leib's wan face pales still more and his wide open eyes become still larg- er. and he is asking his experienced older comrade: "W-what does it mean to be buried like a Jew?" And his older, more experienced chum explains to him that in war hundreds of dead soldiers are buried in a common grave with their uni- forms on, and if a Jew has his phylac- teries on him it means that he is buried like a Jew. Leib gazes at his older, more ex- perienced friend and wonders at the composure with which he talks about death! Leib, a plain, peasant artisan, does not understand his chum Rach- med, who so calmly goes to war. Rachmiel tries to reason it out with him, but Ile cannot make it out. There is one thing he is absolutely unable to grasp. If you tell me it is a man's duty," says Leib, to him, "1 understand you, but why be so hap. war and after death all are equal. Death does not discriminate between Jew and Gentile. All arc men before God" . . . What will he think, how will he feel, if we complain because we are asked to make a few sacri- fices for him — sacrifices so insig- nificant when compared with his? "You lie," repeats the pimple-faced soldier. "I've heard someone read from a book that when Antichrist comes all true believers will be res- urrected, and you, Jews, will rot away like so many dogs." Show him that to invest in Liberty Bonds is not a SACRIFICE but a PRIVILEGE—an appre- ciation of his sacrifice! "Blockhead! Idiot!" shouts Rach- miel angrily. "Do you know what you are talking shout?" The soldier with the unclean face clenches his fist, but the crowd takes the Jew's part. Rachmiel would not quiet down. Ile talks and talks un- til beads of perspiration appear on his brow. And When You Buy—Buy! "An ignorant pig like you talking! He does not know, this ragged fool, that all men are equal before God; that both of us, he and I, arc going to fight the stone enemy; that the bullet knows no favorites)" Rachmiel from Pereshchepena de- livers his impassioned tirade with ar- dor, with fire, for the whole crowd is imbued with respect for this Jew, fills in love with Rachmiel for his wise talk, and for his sake they treat de- cently his chum I.eih, whom them do not like because of the scared look in his eyes, which reminds one of a PS'?" "Boob!" exclaims Rachmiel, and at- hare. For Rachmiel's sake they al- tempts to explain to him that this low both to sit under the lamp, to fact alone made him happy, that he, pray and to chant to their hearts' the Jew Rachmiel, was like every- content. "Why are the Jews swaying like body else, that he, the Jew Rachmiel, is given a chance to prove his loyalty that?" one soldier asks another. This Space Paid For and Contributed By Peninsular Smelting & Refining Co. r - It's a small thing to ask it's a big thing to do! Small to ask, because you'll never miss a quarter now and then for a Thrift Stamp. church and state, especially as concerns the public schools, ought to be before the whole world. Let them, "Let them sway," answers the oth- very plain. None will therefore challenge the sincerity of our motives the Jew-liaiters, sec that a Jew can er; "they are having a holiday to- serve honestly and faithfully, that a when we question the propriety of closing the public schools on Good Jew, too, is willing to sacrifice his Friday, as was (lone in this city last week. life for his country. Leib looks at his chum with wide Here is an instance of concession to a single religious group that is scarcely in consonance with the idea of the complete separation of open eyes and thinks: "Funny people these t•krainian Jews are." day." "Shabbas?" "No, not Sabbath, joist a holiday." "What kind of holiday?" A big thing to do because every quarter that you and your neighbor loan to Uncle Sam brings the end of the war just that much closer, "Sh, let us ask Rachmiel himself. Rachmiel!" church and state. Moreover such concession brings into relief what And the other soldiers also shoot "Leave them alone," chorus the rest may possibly be construed as an injustice to another religious group. glances at the Jews, wondering what of the soldiers. "The Jews are pray- None would be so foolish as to ask or even remotely to desire that the funny, unintelligible language they ing; let them pray." speak. public schools should be closed down, for• instance, on such an all-im- One of the Jew ish soldiers turns The Gentile soldiers in the car call portant Holy Day as is the Day of Atonement to the Jew. Still on that them "our Jews," but are on good cantor (as a rule it is Rachmiel), and day scores of Jewish teachers in the public schools and thousands of Jewish children are compelled by the dictates of their conscience to absent themselves from attendance. On such occasion the teachers arc deprived of their salaries amounting, we believe, to about one-twentieth of their monthly income, not even being granted the difference in amount regularly paid them and the lesser amount which must lie paid to the substitute whom they furnish. The Jewish children, too, on such ca- sions, lose their record for attendance on that day. Why shall the religious Holy Day of one group in the community be occasion for closing down the school system, while on a day of at re least equal religious significance to another group, the schools shall go on as usual, to the unquestioned disadvantage of the teachers and the pupils affiliated with that group? Moreover, attention may be called to the fact that on all the church 41 festivals of the Christian church, the schools are closed down. Christ- mas is always a vacation period, and so is Easter, with which, as a rule, the Spring vacation is made to coincide. No legitimate objection can be urged to this procedure, but care should be exercised by those in authority that concessions to one religious group do not spell discrimi- nation against another. The closing of the schools on Good Friday is, as we have said, a rather unwise precedent. Occurrences of this kind are likely to lead to unpleasant misunderstandings on the part of many. They ought to be avoided whenever possible. The Third Liberty Loan. On the day that this paper reaches our readers, the third Liberty Loan will have been launched by the United States government. On April Gth the campaign for the sale of bonds will have begun. What the successful distribution of these bonds is likely to mean to the cause of this government and our Allies needs not lucre to be stated Every dollar that is put into a Liberty Bond at this time will make surer the victory of democracy and humanity's cause. terms with them just the same. !'hey all sleep together, cat together, and smoke cigarettes together, like true comrades. Perhaps the comradeship is a re- sult of the fact that there is only one "educated guy" in the car who can read. And that one is Rachmiel. Rachmiel has an old newspaper with him. He reads it to the crowd. The paper is soiled and crumpled with constant use. It would make fine cigarettes, but it is a pity to tear it up. for Rachmiel reads from it such "interesting" things, such beauti- ful stories about Russian soldiers of the olden daysl He reads to them of a hill known as l'Idalakhov's Mound," a hill where tens of thousands of slain Russian soldiers were buried in a common grave. "All together, one on top of the other," Rachmiel inter- poses his explanation—"all together; sergeants and corporals and pri- vates!" "And Jews?" asks Leib, with a frightened look in his eves. "And Jews, too. All together," says Rachmiel firmly, like one who knows everything. "You lie," interrupted a pimple- faced soldier. "No, that is so!" a few soldiers take Rachmiel's part and ask him to con- tinue reading. "Go ahead, brother." But Rachmiel is enraged. The Jew in him clamors and would not let go of the pimple-faced soldier. "You noor situp, you!" he sacs to him. •flame with indignation. "You do not know what you are talking about! In Will YOU Buy winds up in a coloratura voice: "And the mother will rejoice with her prod- igal sons." And both Rachmiel and Leib soar away in their thoughts far, far from the front—one to Holonesh- ti, to the parents, sisters and brothers, and to his betrothed, a girl with a dark braid, and rosy cheeks and white teeth, and the other—to Maloperesh- chepena, to his wife and little ones. "In Holoneshti," thinks Leib, "they are also celebrating the Passover, but they are all sitting at a table and on the table there are matzohs, beakers full of grape juice or Passover honey, wine, and rnoror and charoses, and they are going to serve fresh, pep- pered fish. How delicious!" Leib's nostrils dilate. Rachmiel's thoughts also wander far, far to his home in Pereshchepena, to his young, pretty Feiga, who must he sitting now at her parents' Pass- over table; they are talking to her, are trying to console her; they are telling her that though Rachmiel is now far, far from them, he will soon come back (if God wills). Let only peace come. And they arc trying to convince her that peace is being ru- mored, but his Feiga would not lis- ten! She would.not be consoled! And he thinks about his children, and es- pecially about little Isaac—who, when asked: "Little Isaac, where is papa?" points with his little finger in "Rath- mid's" direction and babbles, "Pa, there, there." And Rachmiel, the hero from Pereshchepena, bends down to blow his nose and stealthily, lest his chum from Holoneshti notice, wipes away a tear.—American Hebrew. HE American boy who goes to war gives up the position which means so much to his future, pr the little business which has just begun to show promise of success. small part of the patriot's duty. Let us be sure that there are no slackers Thrift Stamps Regularly? JEWISH CALENDAR 5678-1918 1918 5678 Nisan 1 Rosh Chodesh—New Moon 10 Shabbath Hagodol " 15-22 Pesach—Passover 30 Rosh Chodesh—First Day of New Moon " " Iyar " Sivan " 1 Rosh Chodesh—Second Day of New Moon 18 Lag b'Omer 1 Rosh Chodesh—New Moon 6-7 Shovuoth—Feast of Weeks 19 Decoration Day 30 Rosh Chodesh—First Day of New Moon Tamuz 1 Rosh Chodesh—Second Day of New Moon 17 Shivoh Osor b'Tamuz Oa Ab Ellul 24 Independence Day I Rosh Chodesh—Ncw Moon Mar. 14 Mar. 23 Mar. 28-Apr. 4 April 12 April 13 April 30 May 12 May 17-18 May 30 June 10 June June uu:: July 4 July 10 10 Tish'ah b'Ab—Destruction of Jerusalem July 18 30 Rosh Chodesh—First Day of New Moon Aug. 8 1 Rosh Chodesh—Second Day of New Moon Aug. 9 5679 Tishri 1-2 Rosh Hash-shanah—New Year Sept. 7-8