•PAGE SIX

EfEfir_MOniktilSit CAROM /CM

VETROITJEWISH (11RONICLE

MICHIGAN'S JEWISH HOME PUBLICATION

Published Weekly by The Jewish Chronicle Publishing Co., Inc.

Joseph J. Cumuli., Pres. and Editor

Jacob H. Schakne, Bus. Mgr.

'stored as second-class matter March 3, 1916, at the Postornce at Detroit,

Mich., under the Act of March 3, 1879.

General Offices and Publication Building
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every educative agency—the pulpit, the seminary, the cheder,
the press, and not on one day, but every day in the year.
Perhaps the plain speaking and hard thinking noble ideal-
ism and self-sacrificing devotion will make us realize the seri-
ousness of our own affairs and will compel us to re-value our
values, to re-examine our data, and make us dissatisfied with
comforting illusions and super-heated enthusiasms.
We would be more than pleased if more of our co-religion-
ists schooled in that hard school of European politics would
come to our shores and tell us what they honestly think and not
what they think we want to hear.

LONDON OFFICE

Chronicle

Editorial Change.

14 STRATFORD PLACE
LONDON, W. 1, ENGLAND

We regret to announce to our readers that due to the pres-
sure of professional business Rabbi Leo M. Franklin will be un-
........ ________.$3.00 Per Year able to continue as our regular Editorial Contributor, from
.............
Ipubecription, in Advance
which position he has resigned July 1st last.
To insure publication, all correspondence and news matter must reach
Rabbi Franklin has greatly enjoyed addressing himself to
this dice by Tuesday evening of each week.
the readers of The Chronicle the many years of his association
The Jewish Chronicle invites correspondence on subjects of Interest to
with us, and our readers will miss his regular contributions to
6. Jewish people, but disclaims responsibility for an indorsement of the
this column. We are, however, very happy to state that when-
How expressed by the writers.
ever Rabbi Franklin has a message to put before you, these col-
Cheshvan 9, 5684 umns are always at the disposal of his pen.
October 19, 1923

Zangwill and Mond.

Two very distinguished British Jews visited our country
within the last month—Sir Alfred Mond and Israel Zangwill.
Both of them spoke to large audiences in the city of New York.
In the issue of The Chronicle of October 12 appeared the com-
plete text of the speech of Sir Alfred on Palestine entitled "Pal-
estine, the Mission of all Jewry," delivered at a popular recep-
tion at the Town Hall, New York, on Wednesday, September 26.
And in this issue is the text of the speech delivered by Israel
Zangwill at Carnegie Hall, New York, on Sunday, October 14.
These two distinguished British Jews have furnished Ameri-
can Jewry with many thrills, much food for thought, and may
cause more dissension in Jewry than any event since the advent
of modern Zionism as advocated by Herzl and Nordau.
Sir Alfred Mond was little known to American Jewry before
the Balfour Declaration, and he tells us that

"Whatever happens to me the rest of my life, I shall always be
proud and glad that I was a member of the British government
which had the courage, the idealism and vision to issue a declaration
during a great struggle—a declaration which laid down a great prin-
ciple, that out of this bloodshed one thing shall arise again, that the
homeless and scattered Jewish people should return to the land and
cradle of their ancestors, thousands of years ago. It was a great idea
and a noble thought, a wise thought—one that will redound to the
credit of those who saw fit to issue this declaration, and will redound
to the credit of us who will put it into practice."

The foregoing is Sir Alfred Mond's opinion of the Balfour
Declaration. And we could hardly expect him to oppose the
act of the government of which he was a member, or to criticise
the Declaration even in the least.
Sir Alfred became intensely interested in Zionism and Pal-
estine and visited the country so as to get first hand knowledge
of the situation, and to acquaint himself with the actual condi-
tions existing there. Lest we forget, the fact must be constantly
borne in mind that Sir Alfred's intense interest in Palestinian
affairs are of recent birth.
On the other hand ,we must, in order to interpret with any
degree of understanding, draw a picture of Israel Zangwill.
Zangwill has been interested in Jewish affairs for so many
years that "the memory of man runneth not to the contrary." He
has a prescriptive right to discuss Judaism, Zionism and kindred
questions and problems. Zangwill has been the leader of the
territorialist movement from its very inception, and has without
ceasing continued to advocate the establishment of a Jewish
homeland other than Palestine., He has with fiery zeal and
undiminished courage and with genuine warmth advanced his
views on Jewish questions. His interest is a profound,-kenuine,
pervasive one, not born out of the post-war nationalisms, but
in the days of calm and quiet, unhurried and considered, born
out of a spirit of deep rooted conviction, after deliberate and
painstaking consideration. His feelings about the need for a
Jewish homeland has sprung from the deepest recesses of his
soul. They are the emotions which come to few rare individuals
after a complete survey of the whole history of the Jewish peo-
ple.
When the Balfour Declaration was first announced, Zang-
will disapproved in no unmistakable language. To him it was the
Trojan Horse, and he knew the character of the gift offered
the Jewish people. Some may say that inasmuch as he has led
the territorialist movement that he is prejudiced against Pales-
itne, the Balfour Declaration or anything germain thereto. But
we must say in passing that Zangwill's life and activities are as
clear a refutation of this charge as could possibly be offered.
Sir Alfred Mond toured Palestine by automobile, and Israel
Zangwill speaks as though he had seen Palestine from an aero-
plane. Perhaps there is some difference in the perspective.
When one travels alonk the roads in an automobile one sees
beautiful countryside, homes, men and women, and all things
have a rather cheerful aspect, and one scarcely penetrates into
the interior. But when you have the advantage of travelling in
an aeroplane you see the ugly places, the swamps, the bogs, the
waste land, the desert, the dilapidated dwellings, the untilled
fields as well as the cheerfully inhabited homes and green coun-
tryside and wooded hills.
Sir Alfred told his audience in New York what he thought
they should hear. He spoke in glowing terms and with much
enthusiasm about the "chaluzim," about the British govern-
ment, Weizmann, nationalism, and even smoothed out the Arab
difficulties. The people who heard him were no doubt elated
and filled with great joy of immediate achievement and greater
future prospects.
Israel Zangwill was definitely realistic. He has a tough-
minded quality. He possesses the rare faculty of facing facts
without fear of the consequences. He refused to smooth out
the difficulties with enthusiasm and illusions. He tells his audi-
ence that "they must forego their political hopes regarding Pal-
estine" and in unambiguous language attacked the British ad-
ministration of Palestine under the mandate. He said that "in-
stead of making Palestine a home for the Jews it was developing
Palestine for the Arabs." Israel Zangwill spoke with intense
conviction and when men are moved by strong emotion they may
not be too meticulous and are not too much concerned whether
they offend the pet prejudices or destroy the illusions of their
hearers. He did not come here to tell American Jewry what
they wanted to hear. He came to tell American Jewry what
he thought and to tell them what they should hear.
Sir Alfred Mond is cheered and applauded and hailed on all
sides as a great leader while Israel Zangwill is repudiated and
denounced by all who insist upon living on deceptions, illusions
and vagaries. The one outstanding feature to our minds, gath-
ered from the speeches and receptions of these two men, is the
tremendous need of more tough-minded realistic thinkers like
Zangwill in world Jewry.
We sincerely thank Israel Zangwill for coming to America.
We are grateful to him for telling American Jewry hard stub-
born truths. We appreciate the splendid service he has ren-
dered and even though the American Jewish Congress disa-
vowed the stand of Zangwill, we are still persuaded that after
more careful consideration and more mature deliberation, many
of those who repudiated Zangwill will see the correctness of
his position.
No matter what the outcome of the present controversy, no
'natter whether the Balfour Declaration will be carried out as
Sir Alfred Mond hopes or Israel Zangwill insists, we in America

the age-long diaspora problems. America is a
are faced with close
to four million Jewish inhabitants, and not
homeland of
eighty-three thousand. America is not faced with the need of
an
ambiguous
declaration or mandate. America
Interpreting

has definite attitudes toward Jewry and Jewry has definite dis-
tinctive problems upon which the minds of our spiritual leaders
are focussed all the time, and need not be aired upon special
'Ann
Our audience cannot be gathered
s ole"
MU
but we must reach them through
in all the halls of America,

THE NEW YORK YIDDISH STAGE

Unchanging Yiddish Stage—Eleven Theaters in New York—Royalty Versus

Taste, Tear-Soaked Drama Versus Art—Thomashefsky's Stage-

fright on Broadway—The Changing Yiddish Audience.

By GEILSHON AGRONSKY

(Copyrighted, 1923, Jewish Telegraphic Agency.)

Unchangingly
characteristic
of lie under the euphemistic name of
Jewish life in New York, the Yiddish "Holy Tyrant." The change of name
stage is at once the hope, despair and presaged its stage failure. With the
concern of the observer of the goings exception of Wiesenfreund, that un-
on in the city which a careless writer failing artist andpossibly Goldenberg
in a prominent national weekly recent- whose impressive figure makes up for
ly called "The greatest Jewish City."
sonic deficiencies and defections, the
It is nothing if not a hopeful sign wrong actors were cast. Also, the
that the Yiddish stage prospers where mime drew the wrong people, attract-
all other vernacular play-houses have ing audiences accustomed to diluted
had either to shut down or give only drama. The audiences reacted to the
occasional performances. It is cer- indifferent playing, and the players
tainly a pleasure to see no less than to the indifferent reception. The man-
11 houses devoted to Yiddish plays agement lost heart, and possibly
opening this season and all of them some money, and Sackler's excellent
drawing crowds. It makes one san- play has been superseded by a trashy
guine to see the buoyancy and spirit hodge-podge, The Spider and the
shown in sections of the city that may Fly," by that old "stage hand," Zolo-
with some propriety and accuracy be tarewsky.
In "Jose Min Yukrat" there was
called Jewish. But one grows less and
less exultant as the fare of the vari- probably room to quarrel with the
ous houses is examined with some de- craftsman for an uncalled-for loyalty
to an episode which in its concen-
gree of discrimination.
That thing that smites you in the trated dramatic form produces an
eye on persuing the play list in their effect of unrelieved brutality. But
unchanging quality, which means of this is a small matter to quarrel about.
course that the Yiddish play-goer's It was not the "Tyrant's" brutality
taste is presumed not to have advanc- that killed this play, but the man-
ed beyond the pioneer stage, that the ager's avidity; not Sackler's loyalty,
owners and managers, with a soliatry but the actors' lack of loyalty to what
exception here and there, are not find- is unquestionably an artistic effort.
ing fault with the low taste of clients
who swell box-office receipts, and that
If there is room for real drama, how
playwrights, again with a notable ex-
is it that of II Yiddish theatres in
ception here and there, prefer vulgar
York only one steadfastly ad-
New
applause, and royalties, to the refined
heres to it. one tried and failed, and
but half-uttered approval of the dis-
third,
Thomashofsky's Broadway
a
cerning.
Yiddish Theatre, has not even tried?
How far it is true that the Yiddish
One of the answers seems to be
play-goer still wants his tragedy put
that managers, being human, are
on with a ladle and his comedy served afraid of change. Because for two
with clownish gewgaw, all to the tune
generations a certain kind of play
of buckets of tears and hours of ri-
succeeded, they are chary of suhsti-
baldry, is the concern of the handful tituting for it another kind of play.
of people who are interested not in re-
Besides, to be exact, of the 11 "legiti-
form but in facts. And the fact seems
mate" Yiddish theatres in Greater
to be that an increasing number of
New York, five are in Brooklyn and
Jewish play-goers are thoroughly sick
Brownsville, whither old actors have
of the tear-soaked "drama" and the gone to become producers and as rich
slap-stick comedy. Growing more nu-
as those that made their money in
merous and certain of themselves from
lower Manhattan. No venturesome
season to season, these clients, while
art may reasonably be expected in
sticking close to the Yiddish stage,
that quarter.
avoid Second avenue and line up at the
The only puzzle in this picture is
Yiddish Art, the Irving Place and the Thomashefsky, who has moved up to
one or two other houses where super-
Broadway, and not he so much as the
ior plays are promised or are reason-
fine cast he recruited, especially Lud-
ably expected.
wig Satz, and more especially Ru-
The Yiddish Art Theater, under
dolph Schildkraut. On Forty-fourth
Maurice Swartz's management is as
street, west of Broadway, and with
good no its word, and name. After such a cast, one was entitled to look
presenting an enviable repertoire for for something infinitely better than
several seasons, it opened this year Thomasefsky had been producing for
with Zhalo•sky's "Shabse Zwi." One
.10 some years on the "east" side. But
may quarrel with the Polish author the thing which he finally (lid pro-
for glorifying and all but canonizing duce, Carter's "Three Little Business
an adventurous figure. One may Men," hardly deserved the stage
quarrel with the director for having fright this footlight veteran admits
selected a play so manifestly untrue
he had the (Owning night on Broad-
to the historical fact it purports to way, and merited much less the trepi-
present. But one cannot quarrel with
dation of an expectant public.
the production. It is art and, under
careful direction, become Jewish art,
But perhaps, after all, the Yiddish
despite its intrinsic misconceptions. theatergoing public is no more un-
Awkwardness, uncouthness and a de- mixed than any other public, and no
gree of coarseness cling to the pro- hard and fast rules apply to either.
duction because the cast is not all it Perhaps, after all, there is room in
should be. But the will to present a New York for "A Mother's Sacrifice,"
decent thing decently is paramount. which is reminiscent of "Over the
It is appreciated. "Shabse Zwi" is Hill"; "The Conditional Virginian,"
playing to good houses.
which is said to resemble the "Demi-

Determination to make a decent
thing go often makes a decent go. The
Irving Place Theater management is
very evidently less determined than
it might be, its "co-operative" nature
notwithstanding. A fine play was pre-
maturely, and without warning to the
public, flung away because it did not
seem to pay. The play is by Harry
Sackler. Ile is meticulous, truth-
seeking writer. He will not be swerv-
ed from his resolve to dramatize, but
not falsify, the historic episodes
which he unearths. Ile insists op-
presenting these episodes with due
stage variations, in their undiluted, if
not untamed, form. Ile did this in
"Yizkor" which was successfully pro-
duced at the Art Theater last season.
He tried it again in "Jose Min Yuk-
rat,' the Hebrew play of his, which a
zealous management handed the pub-

pilystin g

By PHILIP SLOMOVITZ

General !faller! What a world of
horrors is aroused in the Jewish mind
at the. very mention . of this . name.
During the period that immediately
followed the war, the regiments led
by this I'olish general killed, rav-
aged and ransacked and created
havoc in the Jewish quarters of Po-
land. Entire Jewish communities
were wiped out, Jewish beards were
torn, old men and women thrown
from windows of trains flying at high
speed, and other atrocities were com-
mitted which stained the very first
hours of Poland's liberation. Now
General Haller is visiting in this coun-
try as the guest of the American
Legion, and is entertanied every-
where as a hero, as a great Polish
war hero. He was received by Presi-
dent Coolidge and wherever he ap-
pears he is royally welcomed. For
he is a war hero. The pogroms is
which his soldiers participated and
for which he was largely responsible
are now forgotten. Upon his arrival
in New York he denied that there
were any pogroms in Poland. It is
the old Polish trick of denying that
atrocities have been committed. They
merely admit excesses. And General
Haller niay have among the audiences
that will greet him many Jewish mem-
bers of the American Legion, who
fought in the World War that Poland
be freed, and that Poland, with the
newly-earned freedom, be enabled to
massacre and commit atrocities in
celebration of her hour of liberty.
Such is the curse of Jewish disper-
sion.

Union Politics.
Our joy several weeks ago at the
action of the New York United Ile-
brew Trades in deciding to send a
labor delegation to Palestine to co-
operate with the Jewish workers
there was premature. The trades
have this week adopted a resolution
stating that the time was not oppor-
tune for the. sending of such a dele-
gation. Reports state that certain
union leaders under the influence of
the Forward Association were instru-
mental in influencing the trades to
reverse its original decision. And
this is unfortunate. If ever labor
particularly needed the co-operation
of the American Jew in Palestine, it
is now. The United Hebrew Trades
of New York have done the Palestine
workers an injustice by their adverse
action on the original resolution. •

Congressmen Without Constituents.
There was a "Jewish Congress"
and "Jewish Congressmen." Yet,
prior to the holding of the congress
conferences, Jews showed no interest
in the meetings, except that all wait-
ed anxiously to hear or to read what
the great Israel Zangwill had to say.
For the congress proper little concern
was shown. People neither cared our
thought about it. Jews were just in-
different. Those who followed the
activities of the Jewish Congress in
the past four years ignored the meet-
ings of this week. Exemplifying the
sentiment of the people was the atti-
tude expressed in a question that was
placed to one of these "Congress-
men" as to who are his constituents.
There were no constituencies. There
was merely a congress and congress-
men. And the personal sentiments

(Turn to last page.)

FRIDAY NIGHT

which he thought had completely
dried
up, now began flowing copiously
again
She would cast pitiful ghillies in his
By Isidore G. Ascher.
direction, hug him to her breast a lit.
tle oftener and would sleep night s
The majesty of sunset In the west, with one eye open. What it all meant
Iles glorified the ebbing hours of he didn't entirely understood,
though
(lay!
he understood a good deal more now
The world is hushed as if its heart than when trouble first
broke upon
would pray!
them.
In busy Jewish homes there enters
These days of terror and uncertain-
rest;
ty continued for quite a w hile. Ito.
The weary soul no longer is de-
mors of outrages, of disturbances here
pressed,
and there kept coining to the town, to
A Sabbath calm has come, the chil- the evident increase of
his mother's
dren stray
uneasiness and aprehension; until one
And prattle every sombre care day the storm broke. Ile heard
a
away.
medley of voices, alarmed nod pain.
Our Friday night has made our por- ful voices and drunken and mocking
tals blest!
ones all mingling in one. There were
the sounds of axes battering down
The lamps are lit in solemn joy and
doors and the crash of broken glass.
prayer.
He was filled with terror and hid un-
And curtains folded close to hide der the bed as he heard
the sounds
the night;
coming nearer and nearer. Pretty
A glow of love in every Sabbath soon he saw the final net to the sad
light!
drama enacted, and before his very
Unspoken blessings fill the chastened eyes. The door of their
little house
air,
crashed down, and three fearsome
And happiness pursues times' gen- and reeling peasants rushed in;
one of
tle flight,
them dragged away his mother to a
And over all God's blessings every- corner of the little room, choked her
where!
and kicked her; beat her with his axe
while the others busied themselves
with snatching up whatever seemed
valuable to them and smashing in with
their axes the rest, after which they
Little Moshele was three years old set fire to the house and went out to
when the great war broke out. lie continue their work elsewhere.
was yet too young to understand what
Little Moshele, who had evidently
was going on. The quarrels of kings been overlooked by the robbers, now
and dynasties, SO-Called statesmen in rushed out from the burning house,
various foreign offices, were beyond terror-stricken and screaming at the
the comprehension of the three year top of his voice, and ran headlong in.
old child. But, if aware of the causes ti a neighbor's house which, as luck
he was soon aware of the effects. For would have it, was spared from the
he still remembers as through a haze marauders' fury. This family shelter-
(that happened so very, very long ed and fed him for awhile, but it met
ago!) how two men in uniform came its fate in turn in a subsequent mid
in and dragged his father away, not- by one of the roving bands.
withstanding his mother's cries and
Now Moshele was both, fatherless
entreaties. Where they took his fath- and motherless, as well as homeless.
er he did not know then—though he He now wandered aimlessly for • sorne
knows now—but he does know that he time, begging a crust of bread from
never saw him again, and that his some one when hungry, lonely and sad
mother cried a great deal for many hearted all the time. How he manag.
(lays and months after that happened, ed to find shelter from the elements;
and that once she rent her clothes, clothes to cover his naked body with
sat on a low stool and cried some more and care when sick which happened
and told him that he had no father quite frequently,—he does not know to
any longer. How and when it happen- this day.
ed he didn't know, but he knows it
Ily and by, he succeeded in picking
now only too well.
up more friends; little boys and girls,
He remembers that for years after of his age or older, who were in
i the
that event, there was little to eat in same plight as himself was in. They
the house but an occasional tin of travelled about in droves, wandering
soup and a small dry crust that moth- aimlessly through town and country.
er used to get at the American kitch- side, begging and stealing whatever
en after being away from home for food or rag they could find and sleep-
hours at a time, standing in a long ing in caves, abandoned, half-ruined
line of hungry men and women, as houses or under the open skies, when-
hse would afterward tell him. Still, ever the weather permitted it. They
those days were not so bad. His moth- were like a flock of abandoned sheer,
er was living then, and she would and like them, died in droves.
slo-
starve herself day after day in order shele, however, succeeded in survivor
that he should have enough, and she'd all these terrible hardships, and lived
patch and darn so that his body would on despite of them and all that hap-
be protected from the cold. For they pened to him during. the seemingly
lived in Ukrainia which was outside endless time that had elapsed since
of the war-zone and there was no that terrible day when his mother
fighting there.
was killed by the marauders and their
But different days soon conic. This home burned dawn over their heads.
happened when he was in his eighth Just how long this was he didn't
year. Quite suddenly rumors of rov- know—he had lost all reckoning of
ing bands began spreading through
the town. His mother's well of tears,
(Turn to last page.)

MOSHELE'S RESCUE

5 5̀-NZ,V il sVg itaX iLiWgil li.W riteXtgi e l- '4 :,: gi eW

'WM

YOUR bank connection
identifies you to many
who have no closer way
of knowing you.

Virgin" of Broadway fame," and "The
Great Moment," which is probably not
unlike a dozen melodramatic shows on
the American stage. These shows
are turned c-t by seasoned Yiddish
writers to oreor, wholeslae. One play-
wright is just now drawing royalties
from three o' his plays and another
from two. id yet this does not
prove that the Yiddish playgoer's
palate is not . n the right place. Many
of them want drama. If they want
it long enough and badly enough, the
producers will give it to them. The
playgoer will educate the manager.
the manager the playwrights and
actors, or get new playwrights and
actors. And then, if one may venture
a prophecy, the playwright will turn
around and teach the management
that not all good plays are by dead
or foreign authors who cannot collect
royalties.

The selective manner in
which The National Bank
ofCommercebuilds its clien-
tele reflects a valuable pres-
tige on all who bank here.

...0101pareielfswassedlftwbsodtpewawwifeaewselgapessweifvewe'ron

Restoration

THE

When friends betray, and love turns sour,
When men and women fail,
Peace cornea within the hermit's bower;
The world of books I hail.

N ational Bank of Commerce

OF DETROIT

And when the printed page grows cold,
When soul departs from words,
My comrades rise in field and fold,
'Mid flowers, beasts and birds.

Complete reemd of balances and signatures is kept at both honks,
nod customers' cheeks can be cashed nt either without delay.

Safety Deposit Boxes - - 3% on Savings Accounts

When memory my spirit tries,
And opens wide my scars,
I lift mine eyes beyond the skies,
To God behind the stars.

LOUIS I. NEWMAN.

—
ItC
Aithrrit's (garner

Z4c Vales Netus

Do.ntown Ban%

•

144 FORT STREET, W.

Capital and Surplus $3,600,000

i
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-

Uptown 00,.

GENERAL MOTORS BUILDING

Resources $45,000,000

431 .r• f• GT• 10 -iss ' e as n ieMpla.. " iillannaiser•