DETROIT JEWISH CHRONICLE

July 25, 1941

P urely Commentary

The Heritage of America

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Tourists who set out to see the vastness and
beauty of this great land get an idea of the
immensity of this country, of its natural glory,
of the numerous opportunities it offers to all
good men and good women.
The heritage that is ours in this great land
is the opportunity our parents had in coming
here, the privileges we acquired through their
settlement here, the blessings we afford our chil-
dren in their inheritance of American citizenship.
This is the cycle that must be continued in
order that America may remain as great spirit-
ually as it is physically.
There arc some people who do not subscribe
to this platform of inherited privilegos.
Take Westbrook Pegler as an example. He
hates Communists and he sees red in every for-
eigner. He has not stopped to figure out that
there are, proportionately, as many obnoxious
people among the natives as there are among the
naturalized citizens. He overlooks a good bet,
when fighting Nazis and Reds, when he ignores
the bigotry and the ignorance of the natives in
his search for the bad among the naturaized
citizens. He wrote a column recently in which
he presented the case for the closing of the
gates of this country to new immigration. In
that column he said:
"Once an alien is fully naturalized he is a
citizen equal in rights to the native American
and may be a little superior in privileges, al-
though he has only a smattering of the language
and no affection for the Republic. The Constitu-
tion says the President must be a native Amer-
ican, but with that single discrimination the
newest naturalized Muscovite or Bundist is as
good an American, under the law, as the native
who has tried always to be a good citizen and
never wavered in his Americanism."
How ligical is this? It is, in reality, faulty
reasoning. A man born in this country who
preaches hatred is more dangerous, because it
is more difficult to detect him. A Muscovite or
a Bundist is on the spot—always has been and
always will be.
Let Mr. Pegler tour this land with open eyes;
perhaps he will recognize the truth. Take our
own state. You can travel for miles at a stretch
in certain portions of this great territory without
seeing a farm house. Everywhere, there are un-
inhabited tracts which could be enriched. We
are not speaking of the great state of Texas
which could provide a home for all the 130,000,-
000 Americans. We speak at the moment of
Michigan. But apparently there are people who
prefer wilderness to civilization, who would
rather see millions of people wandering over the
face of the earth in search of refuge rather
than tolerate "foreigners" as neighbors.
This is not the spirit of America. It is not
the spirit of mankind. But in time of crisis people
are blinded—by selfishness, by inability to see
the vast richness that surrounds them, by the lack
of that human spark which could be a great con-
tributing factor in making America even greater
than she is today.
Recently, Dorothy Thompson delivered an ad-
dress in behalf of the United Jewish Appeal for
Refugees, Overseas Needs and Palestine. She told
the following story which deserves retelling:

•

European Zionist Leader to Speak
On Altman's Hour Saturday Night
By Philip Slomovitz

he sold his orchard for lumber. Mayor Richards
craves for one thing: for neighborliness, for
company, for people to talk to. Put into effect
the Pegler idea of keeping America closed, and
you perpetuate a system of cutting down trees,
of destroying fruit-bearing orchards, of creating
a wilderness rather than building a great God-
blessed civilization. America will be enriched if
we invite neighbors, if we give people a chance
to live and to prosper and to expand; she will
be made poorer if a system of cutting down
orchards is put into force. America must grow
and must increase happiness rather than stifle
it. Ask Mayor Richards of Bingham. He will ex-
plain, out of the depth of his experiences, better
than we can.
•

If people would learn, as a result of all
the events today, that a crust of bread, and
the confidence and the friendship of one's
fellowmen is better than palaces and mil-
lions, and fear of one's fellowmen, than this
agony would not have been wasted. I doubt

that the human race will learn this, but some
of us will. By and large in this world, no-
body is sorry for anybody else. I recall a

conversation I had years ago with Clarence
Darrow. He was spending a week-end at our
house in the country, and I asked him "Tell
me your secret, Clarence. How is it that
you always manage to win your cases? You
are always the attorney for the defense and
you always get your clients acquitted?"
He said "It's the jury. Your case is won
or lost when you pick the jury."
And I said "How do you pick a jury,
Clarence?" and he said, "Never pick a rich
man. Never pick a Presbyterian—they think
everything is pre-ordained. Methodists are
good, they are simple souls. Catholics are
good—they know all men are sinners. Jews
are good—all of them have suffered, if not
physically then mentally." And then he said

what I just said before I began this story.
"Always remember that nobody is sorry for
anybody else, they are always sorry for them-
selves. The guy that will acquit the defend-
ant is the one who can imagine himself in

that position."

This is a world of give and takc. It is a
world of sharing the blessings with our less for-
tunate fellow men. Out of the present world
conflict must conic a return to the spirit of
not begrudging the other fellow the opportuni-
ties that are ours. Unless we can achieve this
spirit of human consideration one for another,
the war will not have ended, regardless of who
wins. The war goes on until man tolerates man,
until neighbor is able to say to neighbor: I do
not begrudge you the blessings of God. There
are opportunities for all who desire to work for
a living and to help make this a better world.
•

Mayor Richards of Bingham

In the West Arm of the State of Michigan you
will find Mayor Richards of Bingham who will
attest to what we say. He is the head of a
community of eight. His yearly salary is $3. Out
of it, $1.75 goes to the fire chief. He has his
flowers, and he loves his farm house. About 10
years ago he was compelled to cut down 3,000
cherry trees because they were a liability rather
than an asset. Instead of producing rich fruit,

5

and the Legal Chronicle

Dr. Leon Kubovitzky, leader
in European labor Zionist organi-
zations, will address the period
set aside for the Jewish National
Fund and Zionist affairs on Alt-
man's Jewish Hour, on Station
WJLB, this Saturday night, at
9 o'clock.
Dr. Kubovitzky, former gen-
eral secretary of the Poale Zion
in Poland, comes from Belgium,
where he directed labor Zionist
activities during the past few
years. He left Belgium after the
Nazi invasion.
his address on Altman's Hour

American Jewry's Prime Need

will be devoted to the Jewish
National Fund. Dr. Kubovitzky
comes here to attend the Jewish
National Fund Day at Farband
Camp, on Sunday.
Last Saturday night, Meyer
Brown, well known Poale Zion
leader, was the speaker on the
Altman Hour.
Prominent speakers will ad-
dress the Jewish National Fund
radio programs on Saturday
nights.
William Hordes, chairman of
the Jewish National Fund Coun-
cil of Detroit, will introduce Dr.
Kubovitzky on Saturday night.

Trees Planted in
Palestine Forests

What is American Jewry's greatest need?
I venture to offer an answer:
It is the building of a thinking constituency.
Things are happening on all fronts. We are
The Jewish National Fund
almost hopelessly split. We argue and debate Council of Detroit announces the
and differ,—but we do not know how to get
planting of trees in Palestine
together.
There is jealousy and internecine strife. There forests as follows:
In the J. H. Ehrlich Forest:
is unwarranted waste and duplication of effort
in our community work. There are groups of Trees in memory of Ezra Gla-
people who have learned nothing in a generation sier by Mrs. Joseph Leach and
and refuse to forget differences.
The result is an obvious one. Indifference has family, and by David W. Leach.
In the Fred M. Butzel Forest:
set in. We become tired—as tired as that group
of liberals who give up the fight for decent One tree in memory of Frieda.
action when they find themselves without sup- LeVine by Probus Club; one tree
port.
ni memory of Earl Willentz by
We are in grave danger of being made im- Ladies Auxiliary of Jewish Na-
potently helpless by our own divisiveness.
tional Fund.
Hitler and those who sympathize with him in
In the Pioneer Women's For-
free countries could not wish for anything else
than such a state of affairs: a divided Jewry. est: Two trees in memory of
Louis Benson by Mr. and Mrs.
Such a condition MUST be prevented.
Carl Singer and family; two trees
How is it to be done?
Through a thinking Jewish public opinion, in memory of Louis Benson by
through a discriminating constituency which will Isaac August and family.
know when and how to rebel against disunity
In the Mizrachi Forest: One
that tends to disrupt us and to give comfort tree in honor of Herbert Alan
to our enemies.
'robin by Mrs. S. Shnitz.
The English-Jewish press, which should long
To plant trees in Palestine
ago have come into its own, has not been thor- Forests call the chairman of the
oughly effective. Serving as it does today the tree committees of the Jewish
• fall—TYLER 5-8400 •
most powerful Jewish community in the world, National Fund Council of Detroit,
in a time when the Yiddish press has shown Mrs. Alexander W. Sanders, Ho-
signs of decline, the English weeklies serving garth 0967, 12342 Broadstreet.
the needs of the Jewish communities must as-
1.11111111111•11111•10111111111•MMIIINNIINIIIMINIIIIIIIIII•'
sume a role of guidance and leaderhip.
This is our job: to interpret events frankly
and fairly and honestly, to mould public opinion,
to encourage free discussion of issues, to refuse
But we all like to
to yield to fear and to despair, to guide Jewish
Cocktails
dine out. Harry Bo-
Our
thought so that there should be no misunder-
esky's has a friend-
and
Delicious
standing and so that American Jewry may be-
ly atmosphere and
Fancy
Delicatessen
come truly a leader on the road to constructive
as food i8 cooked
Drinks
Delivered
building and thorough emancipation from which
right. Mother will
Mixed
FREE
that shackle us to fright.
appreciate a good
by
Anywhere-
•
dinner prepared by
Experts
Anytime
someone else.
Correct Thought and Action

DEFEND

YOURNANZTOO

witA

C LEAN

•RIIIGS•

LEADER CARPET CLEANING CO.

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME .

Henry George (1839-1897) put it well when
he said:

Social reform is not be secured by noise
and shouting; by complaints and denuncia-
tion; by formation of parties, or the making

of revolutions; but by the awakening of
thought and the progress of ideas. Until
there be correct thought, there cannot be

HARRY BOESKY

12th and Hazelwood

Phone Trinity 2-9366

right action; and when there correct thought,
right action will follow.

We know of no better supporting statement
to back up our contention that the greatest need
of the hour is the building of a thinking con-
stituency.
•

CADILLAC
OLDSMOBILE

now being sold and
serviced by

Punishment for Denying Jewishness

From Geneva came the story a few days ago
that Maximilian Barbach, a resident of the Nazi-
occupied Polish city of Lemberg, was sentenced
to two years imprisonment for denying his Jew-
ish origin and for claiming to belong to the
"Aryan" race.
Which recalls to mind another interesting story
reported recently about a Nazi judge who ordered
the Brith Milah of a • Jewish infant. The case,
reported in a Berlin newspaper of standing
among the Nazis, took place in Frankfort-am-
Main, and relates to a Jew by the name of
Schulman who was charged with having failed
to eircumcize his new-born son, thereby defraud-
ing the authorities and evading the Nuremberg
laws. Schulman, defending himself, claimed that
he was a free-thinker and did not believe in
circumcision. The judge was not convinced, fined
the accused 100 marks and ordered a Brith
Milah for the infant in accordance with the
laws of Moses.
What a moral for the unfaithful! How un-
pleasant it must be to be forced to adhere to
Jewish codes—by Nazis!
•

"Of the People, "By the People . .
—and the Bible

The average person asked who first uttered
the words, "Of the people, by the people, for
the people," would undoubtedly reply that it was
Lincoln, in his Gettysburg Address.
But in reality, this historic phrase is 559 years
old, and it was first associated with the Bible.

Fred Allen, the radio star of the Texaco
show, was just as amazed as anybody else
when he came upon the following informa-
tion while doing some research work:
"In John Wycliffe's introduction to his
translation of the Bible, published in England
in 1382, these words occur: 'The Bible is
for the government of the people, by the
people and for the people.'"

Here is another instance of leadership in human
relations traced directly to the Bible.

Carl S.

Schiller

General Manager

Northeast
Motors, Inc.

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