PIE PgriliOrr, NOR LA Rana!' August 6, 1937 and THE LEGAL CHRONICLE 7imPentor1P, Awn never be broken; and as a realist—we con- &MIME tinue to base our disagreement with him on his own appeal that "we must face reali- and THE LEGAL CHRONICLE ties"—he knows that an unfriendly world Publla,•4 Weakly by The Amick Mudd. Paltlialdag C., lam. forces those who might otherwise reject Itatorod u Batton4.clast matt. Muth I, I'll, at the Toot- the Palestinian appeal to embrace it and Oleo, at Detroit, itta6. ander the Lit at Nana I, ISIS. to pray fervently for its realization. General Offices and Publication Building In his anxiety to prove his point, Rabbi 525 Woodward Avenue Schulman errs in several other ways. He Ifebsplso•es Cadillac 1040 Cable Address: Chronicle insists that "the English did not fail." This Lead.. oaks, is, indeed, being blind to facts and to real- 14 Stratford Place, London, W. 1, England ity. On every front Great Britain is being Subscription, in Advance...-..-....--...$3.00 Per Year assailed as a betrayer of trust. Rabbi To Insure publk ► tion, all eorrespondence and news matter Schulman alone makes a deep bow to the must reach this office by Tuesday of east week. When mailing noticed, kindly nee *wield. of the HP. mar. English and is ready to eat out of the 117.111, The Detroit 'wide Chronicle invites eorreeyendeisee on sob. Ieets of Interest to the Jewish People, hat dieclaime resPonei- bility for in indorsement of the views expressed by the writer. it Sabbath Rosh Chodesh Elul Readings of the Law Pentateuchal Portion—Dent. 11:26-16:17; Num. 28:9-15. Prophetical Portion—Is, 66. Rosh Chodesh Elul Second Day Reading of the Law Num, 28:1-15, August 6, 1937 Ab 29. 5697 Schulman's View of Zionism It is unfair to expect that persons who during their entire lives believed in certain political dogmas should completely alter their views. Opponents of Zionism, even if they have, during the Hitler crusade, become converts to the movement, appar- ently were never more than prosperity Zionists. It is easy to support a cause when it flourishes. It is even easier to turn against it when it faces a crisis. The test of Zionist allegiance lies in adherence to the movement during its most trying per- iods. The present is the hour of trial which will bring to the fore the courageous and will leave the faint-hearted behind. Many converts have been won for Zion- ism in the past 20 years. German Jewry made an almost complete about-face. Re- form rabbis in this country have come so close to the movement that resolutions adopted at their conventions commence to sound like decisions made at Zionist con- ventions. The movement has made great and lasting gains. But there are some who have not for- gotten their old prejudices. The great crisis in Zionism again educes from them their natural opinions. It is unfair to ex- pect that all converts should completely merge with the newly-adopted creed. Some will always turn back. , Rabbi Samuel Schulman, one of the most brilliant of the Reform rabbis in this coun- try—some of us consider him the most brilliant man in the Reform rabbinate— proves our point. He was a most rabid anti- Zionist. He came closer to the movement when the Jewish Agency was formed, and later campaigned for funds to rebuild Pal- estine. The proposal for the partition of the Holy Land has drawn from him an opinion which smacks of Schulmanism of pre-Jewish Agency days. In a two-column letter published several days ago in the New York Times he re- iterates the views he held, as he states, for a generation and more," that "na- tionalism and racialism are a tragic mir- mre for Israel ;" that the overwhelming ma- jority of Jews are "primarily and essen- tially a religious community and nothing else." An attack upon nationalism then leads Dr. Schulman to state in his letter that "every Jew should realize that alto- gether too much thought has been center- ed upon Palestine as a so-called solution of the Jewish problem." He then proceeds to state: "The problem of the 2,000,000 Jews in Poland and of others persecuted in other lands; the problem of the Jews in Germany, cannot be solved by whatever will be done in Palestine. We must face realities, and we must insist upon the fact that the sin of western civilization which it carries on its conscience is the injus- tice to the Jew. The Jewish problem must be solved in the lands in which the masses of Jews live, and it can only be solved by the recognition of Christendom's respon- sibility for the equality of human rights to which the Jew is entitled." Apparently Dr. Schulman remains blind to many realities—in spite of his own ap- peal that "we must face realities." He in- sists that we are primarily a religious com- munity at a time when our houses of wor- ship are empty (except on three holy days in the year), and when the temples and synagogues are being saved from bank- ruptcy by the new religious fervor that has been injected in them by the national- ism evoked by'Zionism. The nationalism tnd racialism that he decries as being ,"a tragic mirage for Israel" is not the sad creation of the Jew, but the horror im- posed upon us by the peoples with whom we must live—we not only agree, we in- sist upon this point—and among whom we must solve our problems. But it is not on this score that we differ with Rabbi Schulman. We disagree with him when he belittles the great Palestin- ian experiment as a solution to the prob- lem of the persecuted Jews in Poland, Ger- many and other countries. Dr. Schulman forgets that the mass of refugees from Germany and emigrants from Poland have been settled in Palestine. He forgets that for a quarter of a million Jews—among them close to 60,000 from Germany—Pal- estine has proven an island that lies be- tween death and life. Rabbi Schulman, we are sure, would be the last to deny that havens of refuge are needed for millions of Jews—not because we shall ever stop insisting that we must fight for our rights wherever we may reside but because we are fighting against a hostile world. If Jews must be settled soinewhere, and if Palestine has proven the only certain place of refuge, then why deny that Pal- estine is the major element in solving an important part of the Jewish problem? Furthermore, Dr. Schulman knows that for the vast Jewish masses the lure of Pal- estine can never be replaced, even by the most attractive colonization centers. As a brilliant Jewish thinker, as an able rabbi, as a Hebraist and Talmudist he surely knows that the link with the past can hands of the betraying colonial officials. He apparently desires to be holier than the British partitioning saints themselves. In the House of Commons and the House of Lords loyal Englishmen condemned the inefficiency of the British administration in Palestine; Jewish periodicals in Eng- land. whose loyalty no one would dare question, deny that the mandate is un- workable and blame the English for the Arab-Jewish strife in Palestine; the Royal Commission blames the Palestine govern- ment for the riots. But Rabbi Schulman tells us that "the English did not fail!" The New Judaea of London, in its con- demnation of the Royal Commission's plan for the partition of Palestine, states: "On its own presentation of the case, the commission has not proved that the Man- date is not workable. The utmost that is proved is that those responsible for the working of the Mandate have shirked re- sponsibility. The method of 'keeping the balance' might work well if it were based on the principles of justice. Too rarely has the Palestine administration acted in a spirit of equity. It had a singular concep- tion of keeping the balance. If an Arab newspaper happed to be suspended for open incitement against the Jews, the au- thorities thought it necessary equally to suspend a Hebrew newspaper for drawing attention to the dangers of such incite- ment. If Arabs attacked defenseless Jews, and the Jews happened to resist such an attack, the authorities thought it well to describe such an 'incident' as friction be- tween Jews and Arabs . . . To sum up, if the Mandate did not work as well as it might have done, it was clearly not be- cause of inherent contradictions, but be- cause those responsible for discharging the obligations of the Mandate refused, for various reasons, to carry them out. And yet, despite all obstacles and difficulties, whether natural or artificially created, Palestine has been built up during the last two decades and has been transformed into a modern and progressive country, and that, as the commission agrees, is a result primarily of the intense efforts of the Jew- ish people. On closer analysis, therefore, the conclusion that the,present Mandate is not workable is baseless and unsupported by facts." Rabbi Schulman wants us to face reali- ties,. but his own arguments are as base- less and unsupported by facts as those which seek to prove the Mandate unwork- able, whereas all the trouble arose as a result of the inefficiency of British, colon- ial officials. We could excuse Dr. Schul- man for reverting to his old arguments against Zionism, but not for condoning the English. This error alone vitiates his thesis in its entirety. Sir Henry McMahon's Denial Sir Henry McMahon's statement, deny- ing that the pledge to the Arabs assuring them their independence included Pales- tine, is important. But it would have been more just had it come 15 years sooner. Today it is of lesser significance. Fifteen years ago, islcMahon's state- ment might have saved aggravation, inter- racial strife, the lives of hundreds of Jews and Arabs. Why did Sir Henry McMahon wait until now, when Palestine is being offered for a surgical operation? Apparently the present time makes his declaration more acceptable to Britain's policies. The delay in its presentation makes the great betrayal all the more shameful. Hearst Press Against Partition The Detroit Times, together with other Hearst newspapers throughout the coun- try, conducted a most vigorous campaign against the proposed partition of Pales- tine. It was a ttnost interesting effort to enlist public opinion in the fight to de- feat the plan for the slicing of the Holy Land into three parcels, with the most strategic points remaining in England's control for obvious military reasons. Articles by David Lloyd George and Winston Churchill, expressions of opinion by William Green, president of the Amer- ican Federation of Labor, and by promi- nent members of the United States Senate, and statements by local leaders helped to explain the unfairness of Britain's latest interpretations of her duties as mandatory power. The Hearst press rendered a distinct se•ice to the cause for the redemption of Palestine as the Jewish National Home. There is reason to believe that the cam- paign conducted against the partition plan will bear fruit, and that the boundary lines drawn by the war ministry and the Royal Commission for the proposed three-state division of Palestine will be completely changed. William Randolph Hearst and his newspapers have helped the cause of Palestine's redemption. Fiddletown, Calif.. derived its name from an early experience of this commu- nity whose first settlers fiddled for rain and received a cloudburst in response. Now Dave Rubinoff, violinist of radio and screen fame, is the city's mayor. Rubinoff might try fiddling for a few things—the end of the persecution of his people, more amity among the nations of the world, less hatred- among religious and racial groups every- where. But—will Providence be as kind to him as to Fiddletown's early settlers? Lights from Once More a David Has Arisen Strictly Shadowland Emil Ludwig Writes Remarkable Book Confidential PURELY COMMENTARY About David Frankfurter's Assas- sination of Nazi Leader By PHILIP SLOMOVITZ By LOUIS PEKARSKY Reproduction in part or whole forbid. den, without permission of the Seven Arts Feature Syndicate. Copyrightere of 1/le DAVOS MURDER. Ily Emil Ludwig. Poblished by this feature. Methuen it Co., Ltd., 311 Essen it., London, SC. C. a, (Copyright, 1137. 8. A. F. 8 ) England (3s. Id.). BIRTHDAY GREETINGS TO SLYVIA SIDNEY Movie fans the world over will send greetings to Miss Sylvia Sidney, noted star of the Broad- way stage and Hollywood motion pictures, when she celebrates her birthday on Aug. 8. Miss Sidney, five feet, two inches tall, is one of the really tiny Hollywood stars, but in stature only. In talent and ability as an actress, this black- haired star ranks with the great- est of them. Miss Sidney is a native of New York City. She was born there in 1910, and much of her child- hood was spent in a flat over- looking a "dead end" street in the Bronx. Samuel Goldwyn, the famous producer, therefore felt she was right at home in the New York East Side setting for the film, "Dead End," which he constructed on the United Artists Studio lot in Hollywood at a cost of $50,000. Miss Sidney plays the leading feminine role in the film. Goldwyn paid $165,000 for the screen rights to this play by Sidney Kingsley, and Lillian Hell- man authored the scenario for the film which was recently complet- ed. After completing her role in "You and Me," for which Para- mount Studios loaned her from Walter Wringer Studios, to which she is under contract, Miss Sidney will go to New York.in September to begin rehearsals for Ben Hecht's Theater Guild play "To Quito and Back." UNIVERSAL DENIES FEAR OF HITLER Answering a widely-circulated rumor to the effect that Univer- sal Pictures had changed the end- ing of Erich Basin Remarque's novel, "The Road Back," to glor- ify Hitler and to appease Nazi indignation over the film version, R. H. Cochrane, Universal presi- dent said: "The story is a com- plete falsehood from start to fin- ish. Nothing but malice could have created it." The film has never been dis- cussed with any German official, he contended. During filming of the picture, Dr. Georg Gyssling, Nazi consul in Los Angeles, noti- fied players in the cast that they faced a Nazi boycott because the story was regarded as "unfair" to the new Germany. Protests of this action were successfully made by Hollywood League Against Nazism and the Screen Actor's Guild to the U. S. State Department in Washington. Said Mr. Cochrane: "The sim- ple truth is, that after showing the picture to the public we de- cided to add several romantic scenes. Politics and fear had nothing to do with it." The Universal chief's state- ment recalled the classic Holly- wood legend anent "All Quiet on the Western Front," to which "The Road Back" is a sequel. When the picture had been corn- pleted and previewed, the pro- ducer in charge demanded a happy ending. Lewis Milestone, the di- rector, fumed, because no more somber story ever had been brought to the screen. At last he remarked pointedly: "The only way we can give 'All Quiet on the Western Front' a happy ending is to have Ger- many win the war!" The tragic ending, which made millions weep, remained. But with "The Road Back" romance won out. From the mighty pen of Emil Ludwig, biogra- pher of some of the world's outstanding personali- ties, comes a most significant book. In "The Davos Murder," now available from Methuen in an Eng- lish translation by Eden and Cedar Paul, Mr. Lud- wig writes a commentary on David Frankfurter's assassination of Wilhelm Gustloff which reveals an unusually wide knowledge of legal formalities and makes a passionate plea for justice. "The Davos Murder" is one of the most effec- tive attacks on Nazism, anti-Semitism and every effort at the suppression of human rights. The genius of a very great author here passionately pleads the cause of a man who was given a long prison sentence for premeditated murder, but whose act, on the basis of historic precedents, should have been condoned. It was the Nazi system of ruthless oppression that was on trial at Davos, Mr. Ludwig points out. Published in several languages before the trial, he authorized its publication without alteration in the present English form stating that "the trial confirmed every word of it." In his defense of Frankfurter Mr. Ludwig tells that more than 30 years ago he studied the prob- lem of homicide committed under stress of power- ful emotion at the Berlin seminary of his distin- guished German teacher, Franz von Liszt. "When I took my degree as Doctor of Laws at Breslau," he writes, "my thesis was devoted to the same topic. Subsequently I considered the question in a number of historical portraits. At that time, in imperial Germany, we were not taught that right meant no more than what was advantageous to Germany. Our instructors, being citizens of the world, based criminal law, as they based civil laws, upon moral principles, while Liszt, in his lectures and writings, was careful to explain why German law provided for a mitigation of punish- ment when the offender had been grievously wronged." Thus, his thesis is considered in an historical setting, by drawing comparisons with other .politi- cal murders. He points out that "revolutionaries extol Harmodius and Aristogeiton, who killed Hipparchus, tyrant of Athens; and admire Brutus, foremost of the conspirators that slew Julius Caesar." He adds that "dictators hold other views, and Napoleon had excellent reasons for pro- viding that in the schools of his empire the assas- sination of Julius Caesar should be described as Rome's misfortune." The Jews, he further refers to historical inci- dents, gloried in the deed of Moses who slew the Egyptian; Judith is praised as a virtuous widow for hewing off the head of the sleeping enemy of her people; Charlotte Corday was eulogized as "the angel of assassination:" when King Henry IV of France was stabbed by Ravaillae "many pious hearts exulted." Mr. Ludwig refers to the most important politi- cal murders which received approval or condemna- tion, "according to the party to which a news- paper belongs." The three most important in- stances closely akin to the murder at Davos, to which Mr. Ludwig devotes many of the 132 pages in his book, are: The murder of Vorovsky by his countryman Conradi and the acquital of the as- Bassin by a Swiss court; the death of Petliura at the hands of Shalom Schwarzbard who was freed by a French court; the acquital of the Armenian Teilirian by a Berlin court for the assassination of Talent Pasha who had been grand vizier of Turkey during the war. "Three different Euro- pean states, three centers of culture, had allowed murder to go unpunished because they profoundly sympathized with an act of righteous vengeance." Then follows a chapter in which is described the reaction of David Frankfurter to the German per- secutions of his people. A medical student in Germany who witnessed the reaction that set in with the rise of Ilitlerism, Frankfurter transferred his studies to Switzerland. There he saw the rise of Nazism and the manner in which a ruthless movement began to threaten the safety of Swim democracy. Mr. Ludwig explains Frankfurter's act by giving a lengthy description of the young Jew's early childhood, the religious influence of his home on his character, his physical weakness, his bodily sufferings and the torment that he ex- perienced upon reading news of the sufferings im- posed by Nazis on his people. Comparing his act with those of Conradi, Schwartzbard and Teilirian, the author states: Ile did not seek vengeance for any Mend or rela- tion, or for any loss of position or money, but Wished to avenge the entered honor of his moo Ile did not, like the three others, art are or nix veers after the PLEASIE TORN To NICXT PAGE ) Tidbits from Everywhere By PHINEAS J. BIRON (Copyright, 193, s. A. PARTITION PARTICULARS Some British politicians are seriously pushing a scheme to settle the British war debt to the United States by giving Uncle Sara Palestine in payment of half the debt . . . That Comite d'En- tente to set up international con- trol of Jewish philanthropy took definite form at a meeting in the JDC's Paris office on July 21 It is said that Nathan Katz, new JDC European representative, has been charged with chief responsi- bility for effectuating the scheme . . . Back of Viscount Samuel's scheme to limit the Jewish popu- lation of Palestine to 40 per cent of the Arab population is the skil- ful , diplomacy of the non-Zionists . . . Responsible spokesmen for the Jewish Agency Executive re- gard the Samuel plan as worse than partition .. . A new Zionist party has been formed in Czecho- slovakia with the sole purpose of combatting partition . . . Two factors held responsible for Eng- land's postponing of final on par- tition are the opposition of Egypt to a Jewish State and fear that partition might interfere with negotiations for an Anglo-Ameri- can reciprocal trade treaty . . . Polish anti-Semites are howling that the Revisionists have sent secret instructions to all Jewish reserve army officers throughout the world to register for service in the army of the proposed Jew- ish state, POLITICAL DEPARTMENT If the anti-Nazi issue plays a part in the forthcoming New York mayoralty election, Samuel Un- termyer may find himself in an embarassing spot , .. Untermyer has endorsed the candidacy of Grover Whalen, who in 1933 in- dignantly demanded that Unter- myer's Anti-Nazi League repud- iate a press release claiming that Whalen had joined its board of directors ... And he got the re- traction . . . Mayor La Guardia, on the other hand, who'll be Whalen's opponent, is a vice-pres- ident of the Anti-Nazi League . .. We weren't fooling when we warned you that those vigilante committees springing up every- where had an anti-Semitic tinge . . . One of the leaders of the Citizen's National Committee, an outgrowth of the Johnstown, Pa., vigilantes, is Don Kirkley, for- mer editor of a KKK sheet . . State Senator William A. Dolan, an ally of Mayor Frank Hague of Jersey City, was the lawyer re- tained by the Nazis to search for the title of the 100-acre Camp Nordland at Andover, which is in Dolan's district . . . Nests to H. W. Prentiss, Jr., president of the Armstrong Cork Co. of Lan- caster, Pa., who told the Ameri- can Chamber of Commerce in London that the United States will have a Fascist regime in a few years . . . Wall street is whispering that the real reason why Governor Lehman. blasted FDR's Supreme Court bill is Mrs. Lehman . . . A hundred German residents of Florida cabled a mes- sage of congratulations to U. S. Ambassador Bingham in London for his bold denunciation of dic- tatorships . WE REPORT What Reform rabbi recently refused to officiate at the wedding of the son of one of his most dis- tinguished congregants because the bride insisted on a chupah? . . . To please his ,bride, the groom, whose family has long been prominently identified with Reform Judaism, got another rabbi, also of the Reform persua- sion. Christians and BOOKS 84 AUTHORS Jews in America 2 JEWS IN NAZI-LAND The Experiences of Two Students Who Retain Faith in Justice "IF I FORGET TI188—". Ity Josef Donner. Published by Dulann Press, no Rhode Island Ate., N. 8, Wash- the pen name of Germanicus wrote a diary of his experiences in the Saar election in January of 1935. In the fall of that year, at the in- vitation of the Jewish fraternity Phi Sigma Delta, he came to the United States to continue his so- ciological studies. Ile has written a book on European trade uhron- ism, and the present is his second volume he wrote since coming to this country. "If I Forget Thee," a well writ- ten volume, replete with interest, M apparently a semi-biographical work of this young author. Mr. Dunner's novel recounts the experiences of two young Jews in Germany before and at the time of the rise of the Nazis to power. The story of Devorah Berg and Alexander Roth is in effect the story of the average Jew in Ger- many. It tells of the conflict of generations and the hopeless struggle against Nazism. SUNSET AT NOON. Br Ruth Feiner. J. It is an interesting conversa- B. Lippincott co. Philadelphia (91.10)• tional discussion on various sub- jects, including Zionism. Devorah's "The Story of a Career" is the mother is anti-Zionist, while her subtitle of this book. In more than daughter is an avowed nationalist. one sense it is more fitting than Alexander is drawn closer to the the major name given this novel radical movement The merits and by Miss Feiner. demerits of their respective causes It is the story of a young girl are interestingly discussed. who made up her mind that she The story is replete with action. would succeed where her father There are campus fracases, love failed—that she would have a affairs, beer garden and dance hall career and make a success of it. parties. Alexander is compelled to After her father's suicide, Con- leave Germany, goes to Palestine, stantine Flemming gets a job in later is called to Basle and finally her uncle's factory. There she gets • position with a reputable falls In love with a young worker, American university. and on his account gives up her The student battle with the work and sets out in search of Nazis, the various counter-move- something else to do. A hectic ments against the rise of Hitler- career begins after she loses her ism, the nationalistic discussions lover who, having forced her to between the Jewish characters — give him her honor, leaves in these help make an interesting shame over his action. Constan- theme in this book which appears tine begins to write, enters into simultaneously in German and a controversy with a man who English editions. criticizes the feminists, later ac- The author, now 29, left his cepts work in an office, and Berlin home at the age of 14 to reaches the height of her career become a worker, first on a farm when she succeeds in selling her and then in a factory. Hailing first novel. Then come new suc- from a famous family of rabbis, he cesses, the dramatization of her felt the sting of the "exterritori- first work for the movies and the slity of labor" imposed upon the financial success which gives her Jews and sought an avenue in the the chance to save her uncle's mo- field of labor. But after four years tor plant. he resumed his studies and spe- In the end Constantine yields to cialized In sociology and economics the courting of the professorial at German and Swiss universities, antagonist with whom she had the obtaining his doctorate. feminist controversy. When she He was the first to write a book- lands in a hospital after an acci- let on "What is National Social. dent he comes to claim her and ism" in 1928, when he warned of she yields to hie entreaties — after the growth of Nazism, He covered all admitting that ultra-feminism Europe and Aria as lecturer and Is not the ultimate goal for worn- foreign correepondent and under (PLZAell TURN TO NEXT PADS) Feminism on Trial e. say By DR. A. W. FORTUNE President, Disciples of Christ, Lexington, Ky. (Copyright, 1937. N. C. J. C) The Jews of America are very shortly to observe their New Year. I believe that this is an occasion when we Christians should examine our attitude to- ward the Jews and see what we ran do to engender mutual goodwill. I am interested in the Jewish problem as it presents itself in Europe because of my humani- tarian interest. My chief in- terest, however, is the problem as it presents itself in our own country. When America was settled, Europeans brought with them prejudices and intolerance from the Old World. Those who came here for liberty were not willing to grant it to others. Quakers and Catholics were per- secuted because they wanted to worship God according to their own convictions. Thus was the spirit of Europe transplanted to the new land. As time passed and more dif- ferent elements came into the colonies the various groups be- came more tolerant of each other. In the revolution, the colonists rose against all tyran- ny, and they fought in the revolution not as Protestants, Catholics or Jews, but as pa- triots. It is In the Declaration of Independence and in the Con- stitution that the true Ameri- can spirit of tolerance is stat- ed. America was dedicated to the principles of freedom and toleration. MUST STAND TOGETHER That don not mean that Mann MN TO MIT PAGE) Maurice R. Schochatt, who writes a column for the Baltimore Jewish Times, is one of the most conscientious of the younger Jewish writers in this country. Ile reads a lot, hardly misses an item of importance to Jews in the press—whether secular or Jewish—and is ready to take up a battle for a principle. It is no wonder, therefore, that he should have become hot and bothered when the Baltimore Public Library net out to out. Boston the Bostonians in the censoring of books. "Outmoded Policy" is the title Schochatt appro- priately gives the following item in his column: For the past amend weeks I had been pondering over the question as to whether I should publicise the fact that Enoch Pratt Libror7 hat voted thuntbe down on "The Old Bunch" by Meyer Levin (Viking) • • • tinily and senate the courteous reply reeete,..d from Dr. Joseph I. Wheeler, I decided the Incident should be brought out In the open—In all fairness to • splendid novel . . . Now for the detail., .. In slew of the encouraging critiques given to "The Old Bunch," Branch No. 11 of l'eatt Library (Central near Balti- more) with (i.e population In the skinny predominant- ly Jewish, put to a request for • copy of the volume. The request was denied ... And to Ms letter he sent me, Ito. Wheeler merely states U,at "we cannot at all times meet the Ideas of our mob& constituents and supporters"—and nothing else ... But It Is felt the book was banned because the author sans quite unabashed In describing a number of Intimate scenes . . . And that, furthermore, he brought &to play the dreaded four- letter stools. Personally, may I ...plain, I see no .117 for introdueing such word, Into the book. The author could well have dispensed with them without serious harm. Itut all the rune this defect is not serious enough to ban a motel of close to 1,000 pages that Is alive, colorful and Written with • sincerity and honesty. That Is my unqualified opinion after reading the bulky miume. And If the conservatives may asks What about the Influence of the book on the young? . . . Heat of all, I am ready to grant a medal to any 7°mm/der under 1111 eager to launch on a work of such generous proportions . • And even If some are hardy enough to undertake. the Job-- why Is It so readily slummed that the youngsters never heard of the dreaded four-letter words in daily life. They hate! And coming across such wonls In a book will not exactly be In the nature of a revelation. But It menu that thousands In this city—and for that matter also true of other eentece—eannot be dissuaded from the theorem that Intimate mere* described too frankly cell for the gassers or blacklist! We are in complete agreement with Schochatt for several reasons. In the first place, there is the principle of freedom of expression. Then there is the question of whether or not writers are to be expected to write pure slush or whether they are to be encouraged to produce realistic literature in which they are to interpret life as it it, life as they see it. More important of all is the necessity of encouraging authors to write hon- estly rather than be dominated by the demands of unreasonable censors. If truth is to be checked, then creative writing will be doomed and our au- thors will be compelled to resort to hypocrisy whch will taint modern literature. What we like especially about Schochatt's com- ment is that he displays such determination to light for a right cause. As long as our young men are prepared to fight for principles, Jewish traditions are safe. • The Best Story of the Week The best story of the week comes from Pales- tine. In the Yishuv, we are informed by Watch- man of the London Jewish Chronicle, they say: "Do you know why the Misrachi are opposed to partition? Because every time they take the three steps back in prayer they may find them- selves across the border in elm Arab state and be forced to get a visa?' There is more truth than humor in this story. A Jew walking from Tel Aviv to Mikveh Israel— a very short distance—will, if the Royal Commis- sion's suggestions are adopted, have to cross a corridor that is British-governed. If he wishes to take the longer route and visit Jaffa on the way, he will he within a stretch of less than an hour in three states: The Jewish, the Arab and the British-mandated territory. London Jewish Chronicle's Watchman is right when he says that jesting over his *Igor°s is one of the reasons why the Jew "has managed to stand up to them all." There will be a lot of jesting and story-telling at the expense of ourselves, the British and the Royal Commission. But Watch- man comes closest to the truth when he says that "after all, it is an old saying that laughter is never far from tears!" In the present instance we are closer to tears than humor. GALGENHUMOR Jews Laugh in the Face of Tragedy A Compilation by Edwin C. Loewenthal and G. Bronsky THE JOKE'S ON HITLER Compiled by E. C. Loewenthal THE JOKE'S ON US Compiled by G. Bronsky Little Red Riding Hood Brought Making a Hit Up to Date Chaim: The British Royal Com- "Heil Hitler! What are you do- mission ought to devote its talents ing here, my pretty maid?" in- to the box office management of Broadway attractions. quired the wolf, Yankel: What gives you that "Heil Hitler! I'm looking for my grandmother," replied little Red idea? Riding Hood. Chaim: Well, haven't they al- "Of course!" said the wolf. ready proved their ability in this field by producing a whole state "Everybody's doing it now." with standing room only? The Sins of the Grandfathers Geography Lesson Little blonde, blue-eyed Gretchen Teacher: What do we get when was sitting on the bench reserved divide Pale-stine into two for Jewish children in the class- we parts? room. Surprised, the teacher ask- Little Molshele: Why, another ed: "Why are you sitting on the Jewish Pale! Jew-bench, Gretchen?" "On account of dear aid grand- History Rewritten ma," Gretchen explained. Professor: Row would the Brit- ish Royal Commission have sum- Just • Misunderstanding Everybody was afraid to tell the marized the situation in 1776, highly excitable butcher that his when, after the defeat of the dog had been killed. At last one British by George Washington's of the bystanders gathered the army, the British crown lost half courage to go into the shop and of the North American continent? Bright Student: They would break the news. The crowd waited outside to see the reckless one have consoled King George III by pointing out that half a loaf is hooted out. better than none. Instead, the bearer of ill tidings According to Precedent came out smiling, with a huge ham Soreh: What would the British under his arm. Royal Commission do if all the "How come?" some one asked. Palestinian Jews and Arabs emi- "I don't understand it myself," grated to Ireland? Rivkeh: It would suggest the the man replied. "I just went in and said 'Heil Hitler, the dog is partition of the Emerald Isle, the land' going to the Arabs, and the dead'—and he seemed tickled to death, and gave me this ham to 'Ire' to the Jews. take home." Soreh: But suppose that, one rainy day, the Jews and Arabs Recognition at Last should all pack up and leave Pales- The works of Friedrich von tine to settle in • city like Liver- Schiller were consigned to the bon- pool? fire on the grounds that the fam- Rivkeh: That's simple too. The ous author could not have been Royal Commission would hand a good German. For did .not his over the 'Liver' to the Arabs, and writings dramatize foreign nations let the Jews drown in the 'pool? only—the Scott in "Mary Stuart," Soreh: And what would happen the Spanish in "Don Carlos," the if they let the Royal Commission Swiss In "Wilhelm Tell." get its hands on the Jewish col- But the books were saved—for onies In the Crimea? an obeervant storm trooper, glanc- Rivkeh: There the workings of ing at the titles, saw that at least the Soviet regime would confuse one of the Schiller plays dealt with them so that they'd have to func- the German people. The title of tion backwards, so that the result this drama was "Tbe Robbers." would be 'a crime.'