DETROIT JEWISH CHRONICLE
4
Detroit Jewish Chronicle
and THE LEGAL CHRONICLE
Published Weekly by The Jewish Chronicle Publishing Co., Inc.
President
JACOB H. SCHAKNE
Entered as Second-class matter March 3, 1916, at the Post-
office at Deticii, Mich., under the Act of March 3, 1879.
General Offices and Publication Bldg., 525 Woodward Ave.
Cable Address: Chronicle
Telephone: Cadillac 1040
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Sabbath Scriptural Selections
Pentateuchal portion—Num. 22:2-25:9.
Prophetical portion—Micah 5:6-6:8.
JULY 12, 1940
TAMMUZ 6, 5700
Jews and National Politics
In its six-point Declaration of Faith
adopted by the convention of the Rabbini-
cal Assembly of America, held in Detroit,
appears an important paragraph, as Point
V in the declaration, reading as follows:
"We reaffirm our inequivocal faith
in American democracy as embodied
in the Constitution, congressional leg-
islation and the decisions of the Su-
preme Court of the United States. In
the forthcoming elections let each one
of us use his own best judgment in
deciding as among candidates and is-
sues. But once the electorate gives
its decision, our faith in democracy
shall in no way diminish and our al-
legiance shall be wholehearted and
complete to the newly elected govern-
ment of our land."
and the Legal Chronicle
did this long before I even thought
of being a Presidential candidate. I
did it solely because I wanted to ex-
press my protest against Hitlerism
and against all fascistic persecution
methods.
"We in America must all stand
shoulder to shoulder for tolerance
and religious liberty. We must all of
us work for the interest of our coun-
try. We must think only of what is
important for the welfare of the
United States.
"Those who are trying to bring to
our shores from Hitler Germany or
similar countries their race hatred,
their hate of liberty and democracy—
such people are not interested in the
welfare of the United States but are
serving the dictates of other coun-
tries."
Added weight is given to the unani-
mity of thinking along democratic lines
by Americans by the statement made by
President Roosevelt at Hyde Park last
week. Speaking at the press conference,
the President warned against ideological
flirtation with the "corporate state" either
as a substitute for democratic government
or as a medium for competing with to-
talitarian efficiency, and declared that
there could be no compromise between
the concepts of democracy and fascism.
He then listed freedom of religion as one
of the five essentials of a just and endur-
ing peace. His five essentials, which are
bulwarks for democracy, are:
(1) Freedom of information and
kncwledge, and of the press.
(2) Freedom of religion.
(3) Freedom of expression.
(4) Freedom from fear of attack
and threats to territorial integrity.
(5) Freedom from want, and the
greatest possible cultural and com-
mercial intercourse among nations.
This eloquent statement is in line with
These are not the utterances of Wen-
established tradition. No matter who is dell L. Willkie and President Roosevelt
elected for the Presidency, we know alone. They are the verdict of the United
that we shall be abe to give him our un- States of America. It is the voice of Amer-
divided allegiance and that he, in turn, ican tradition, interpreted by the stand-
will live up to that American idealism ard bearers of the major parties in Amer-
which automatically eliminates race, class ican politics. It proves the contention that
or religious hatred. It is a foregone con- the American way of life will prevail, not
clusion that no matter what choice is merely in spite of, but also in defiance of
made by either party, this principle of
all the cruelties that are being perpe-
non-discrimination would be followed by trated on innocent people in Europe.
the standard-bearers unflinchingly and
with determination.
Refugees Are Libelled
Wendell L. Willkie, Republican nomi-
nee for the Presidency, proved it last PM, the new illustrated daily newspa-
week. In an interview which he gave to per published in New York, a few days
I. Slonim, noted political editor of the ago carried the following important item:
Jewish Daily Day of New York, Mr.
Somebody gave the World-Telegram a bum
Wilkie characterized anti-Semitism as "a
steer Wednesday.
possible criminal movement" and made
A page one headline read "Americans Who
Fought For Finns Arrive In Hold, Bitter at
the emphatic declaration that the growth
Luxury for Nazi Refugees."
of such a bigoted movement would be a
The first two paragraphe told how 100
"calamity" for the United States. It is
Americans and Canadians, volunteers for
Finland, had slept in the hold of the Finnish
interesting to note that Mr. Willkie told
freighter "Mathilda Thorden" while "18 Po-
Mr. Slonim that his position against race
lish Jews with money, all refugees from the
hatred, Hitlerism and bigotry had been
Nazi conquest, had occupied the berths in the
"clearly asserted" "long before I even
stateroom."
The luxury of the cabin passengers can
thought of being a Presidential candi-
be estimated by the fact, told further on,
date." The Republican nominee appealed
that the freighter had accommodations for
for national tolerance and religious liberty
only 12 passengers, and carried 167. Eight
in forming a united front in dealing with
refugees slept in cabins designed for two.
Most of them were Austrian. Not all of the
pressing national problems, and made the
refugees were Jews. Few had money. And the
following statement to the Day's corre-
luxury occupants of the cabins were mainly
spondent:
women and children.
"I consider anti-Semitism in Amer-
ica as a possible criminal movement
and every anti-Semite as a possible
traitor to America — that America
which is so beloved and so dear to
me, that America which has always
symbolized liberty, equality and
brotherly love among its inhabitants.
"If anti-Semitism should spread its
roots in the United States as it has
done in most of the countries of Eu-
rope, then it would definitely be a
calamity for the United States. It
would mean that the main founda-
tions on which our country has been
built are beginning to shake. There
might even be fear that the princi-
ples for which our forefathers fought
and bled are in actual danger.
"What man with a conscience, what
man who knows the suffering of Is-
rael and what Israel has tried to ac-
complish and has accomplished in the
march of humanity cannot be tol-
erant toward Israel?
"I have spoken on the radio and
clearly asserted my position against
race hatred, bigotry and Hitlerism. I
This happens to be one of a great many
—too many—bum steers that have been
given newspapers of this country. Un-
fortunately, the press invariably falls for
them, thus maligning refugees and cre-
ating an air of secrecy and suspicion
around them. What is even worse is the
inevitable implication that all refugees
are Jews, and that all Jewish refugees
are most affluent and start life in this
country with a decided material advan-
tage. Nothing could possibly be further
from the truth. Nevertheless, the libels
continue to spread. It is about time that
the newspapers began to reject "bum
steers" and checked a little more care-
fully into the source of some of the news
they publish.
THE JEWISH CALENDAR
5700-1940
Rosh Chodesh Tammuz
July 6 and 7
Rosh Chodesh Ab
Monday, August 5
Rosh Chodesh Ellul
Wednesday, September 4
5701-1940
Rosh Hashoneh
Thursday, October 3
Yom Kippur
Saturday, October 12
All holidays begin at sundown of the preceding
secular day
July 12, 1940
• STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL.
Tidbits from Everywhere
By PHINEAS J. BIRON
• THE ZIONIST FRONT
Don't let anybody kid you—
there's real harmony among the
Zionists today . . . Edmund I.
Kaufmann's election to the presi-
dency at the Pittsburgh conven-
tion was supposed to be a revolu-
tion, but what it turned out 0
be was a love-fest . . , Actually
the idea of a collegium working
as a cabinet has been carried out
. . . Vice President Solomon Gold-
man will have the portfolio of cul-
ture, Vice, President Israel Gold-
stein will handle organization af-
fairs, Vice President Louis Lip-
sky will be in charge of propa-
ganda, Vice Presidents Stephen
S. Wise and Robert Szold will
handle political affairs, and Vice
Presidents Morris Rothenberg and
Abba Hillel Silver will have all-
around duties without specific
portfolios . . . This isn't official
yet, but it will be . . President
Kaufmann — whom a jokester
called Wendell (Willkie) Kauf-
mann because of the blitzkrieg
technique of his election—intends
to make his cabinet work in all
temperatures, but in the right
regional set-up- . . The first
cabinet meeting was held at At-
lantic City on July 5, and we
suppose that when the cold weath-
er sets in the cabinet will meet in
Mr. Kaufmann's luxurious hotel
at Miami . . . Emanuel Neumann
is slated for the position of assist-
ant to the president.
• BITS OF INTEREST
After that bomb explosion in
the New York oflice of the Deut-
scher Handels and Wirtschafts-
dienst a couple of weeks ago, As-
sistant District Attorney Jacob
J. Rosenbloom rushed down, in his
official capacity, of course . . .
When he was announced to the
Nazi executive in charge of the
office, the story goes, the German
tactfully turned the Fuehrer's
portrait away before the Jewish
official entered the room . . . Did
you know that in the effort to
take the curse off German police
dogs they are now euphemistically
called Alsatian shepherds? . . .
All Of which doesn't change the
fact that when you buy a genu-
ine representative of this breed
you get with it a certificate from
its trainer stating that said train-
er solemnly swears that he is a
full-blooded "Aryan" with no per-
centage whatsoever of Jewish
blood . . . It seems that in Nazi-
land the ruling is that a dog, no
matter how pure-bred an aristo-
crat in its own right, becomes a
mere mutt if its trainer has a
drop of Jewish blood in him . . .
Perhaps those German bike cham-
pions weren't Fifth Columnists
at all, but were merely meant to
serve as good will agents . . .
But anyway, so much hullaballoo
was raised about their presence
and so much suspicion centered
about them that the purpose of
their visit to these shores was
nullified . . . And so they have
been ordered to go back to Hitler-
land before the month is over
Neal O'Hara wonders why no ac-
counting is ever made of all the
money the Nazis collect at hom e
and among their sympathizers in
foreign lands for their famous
winter relief . . . A new fashion
that is springing up in these
parts is to answer the phone with
the phrase "Stop Hitler" instead
of the traditional "Hello"
And a Broadway etymologist de-
clares that it's Hitler who puts
the "s" before "laughter".
• ABOUT PEOPLE
The Jewish Morning Journal's
Jacob Fishman tells us, not with-
out pride, that the World News
Service—which originates in Er-
furt, Germany, and is not to be
confused with our own World-
wide News Service—recently de-
voted a whole piece to a denun-
ciation of him as a warmonger
. . . He treasures that release to-
gether with a clipping from Mus-
solini's Regime Fascista which
carries his photo, with those of
Dr. Stephen S. Wise, New York's
`Mayor LaGuardia and other not-
ables, designating them as dan-
gerous characters . .. Dangerous
to Fascism, that means—and the
label is a badge of honor.
Friends of Florida's Senator
Pepper, whom a German Embassy
staff member is said to have chal-
lenged to a duel, claim that he's
ready to meet the Nazi challenger
. . • He's armed himself with a
slingshot "just in case one of those
Goliaths comes around," they say.
As one who leaves the reading
of the funnies to the younger gen-
eration we haven't kept up with
the career of Superman, who oc-
casionally crashes the news when
a censor bans him or a dictator
denounces him ... But we thought
you'd like to know that the cre-
ators of this newcomer to the
funny page are two Jewish boys
—Joe Shuster, who draws the
bulge-muscled hero, and Jerry Sie-
gel, who thinks up his adventures
(and what adventures they are!).
Libby Holman's long-heralded
entry into the serious drama may
take place this summer, in one
of the barn theaters.
• GIGGLE DEPARTME'NT
We relay to you the following,
which Walter Winchell credits to
the German Consul, of all people
. . . It seems that 500 German
soldiers, who had (lied in battle,
knocked at the gates of heaven
. . . St. Peter peered out and
shook his head at the sight of the
crowd. "Only two of you can en-
ter," he decreed .. "But," they pro-
tested, "all 500 of us were brave
German soldiers . . , Why can't
we get in?" . . . "Because," an-
swered St. Peter, pointing to a
story in the evening paper, "I
have here a statement by Dr.
Goebbels saying that only two
German soldiers were killed to-
day."
FOR INDEPENDENCE . . . 1940
By BRE :SLEI