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CLIFTON MIME - CINCINNATI 20, OHIO

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DETROIT JEWISH CHRONICLE and the Legal Chronicle

October 31, 1941

P urely Commentary •

When in a War—Fight, Fight!
In an interesting little book entitled "Smash
Hitler's International," three eminent journalists
—Edmond Taylor, Edgar Snow and Eliot Jane-
way—collaborate in offering a strategic plan for
a political offensive against the Axis. Janeway,
who is the associate editor of Time Magazine,
contributes an essay to this book on "The Four
Freedoms vs. 'The New Order,' " and he opens
his theme by relating a story. He recalls that
four days after Franklin Roosevelt entered the
White House in 1933, the late Mr. Justice Holmes
celebrated his 92nd birthday. On that hectic
day, Roosevelt found time, in spite of his
worries over the AAA and the NRA, to call on
the great jurist.
"You are the wisest man in America," he said.
"What advice have you for a man who has be-
come the President of the United States during
this crisis?"
"Young man," Holmes replied, "you are in a
war. Fight like hell."
A short time ago, the publication of the British
Broadcasting Corporation, "London Calling," car-
ried an article by a New Zealander, Ian Finley,
under the title "Thank God We're the Mad
English Now." He shows how the justice-loving
peoples have been betrayed by appeals to reason.
"Revolting against the hysteria of the Nazi rise
to power, Democracy took pride in the solid
virtues of reason," he writes. "But reason and
logic kaye.-'never driven man to make his su-
preme efforts . . . Now, it needs something bigger
than reason alone to get a man or a nation out
of a tough spot. Thank God the French were
right when they called us the `mad English'."
There is a counterpart to the Yom Kippur
"Al Heth" in Ian Finley's article when he makes
the admission: "The blackest chapter in the his-
tory of Democracy is the bunch of arguments
that covered the Great Retreat of the pre-war
years. Think of them! 'Non-intervention.' • .
`Appeasement.' . .. "Benevolent neutrality.' Step
by step, we have all been betrayed by reason
into the web of hypocrisy and shame. A mean,
short-sighted reason, you may say. But reason,
nevertheless; logic—the logic that tells you that
because, you can't swim you may drown if you
try to pull your friend out of the water. Sur-
vival of the slickest . . . "
This is the reason and logic that continues
to plague America. President Roosevelt has much
ground to cover to be able to follow the advice
of Mr. Justice Holmes to the fullest. Given the
required encouragement to wipe out the hypoc-
risy which prevented the English from becoming
mad about the Hitler Gangsterism, we will speed
nearer to Victory for a decent world.
There is a lesson in the arguments just re-

Membership Drive
Of Local Hadassah
By Philip Slomovitz

Adler will be the speaker.

The monthly meeting of the
chapter will be held Tuesday,
Nov. 18, at 2 o'clock, at the Jew-
ish Community Center. A diver-
The Hadassah membership drive sified program is planned, ac-
lated for Jews. We, too, have been listening to
is
now in full swing, according cording to Mrs. S. G. Meyers,
reason and logic of a false nature. There are
times when a people has a right to get mad, to to the membership chairmen, program chairman.

express its anger, to shout its indignation so
that all may hear. Those who advise a policy of
silence have learned neither the lesson of the
degradation of Jews nor the lesson of the rape
of Democracy.
•
Jews and Jazz
Tin Pan Alley has lost a distinguished pioneer
in the death of Gus Kahn. He was best known
as author of "Carolina in the Morning," "Mam-
my," "Memories". But it is not generally known
that he was the author of scores of popular songs
which have been hummed by millions and which
contributed to the enjoyment and happiness of
Americans.
The late Isaac Goldberg's "Tin Pan Alley"
relates an opinion expressed by Gus Kahn on
the reason why song-writers all utilized the South
as the subject of their lyrics. Kahn explained
that it was because Southern place-and-State
names lent themselves to rhyming. But Dr. Gold-
berg gave what he believed to be a deeper rea-
son: "The South is the romantic home of our
Negro; the Negro made it a symbol of longing
that we, half in profiteering cold blood, but
half in surrender to the poetry of the black,
carried over into our song. Our song boys are
of the North. Paradise is never where we are.
The South has become our Never-never Land—
the symbol of the Land where the lotus blooms
and dreams come true."
This leads us to the interesting subject of the
Jew's share in and influence upon Tin Pan Alley.
For the best available opinion and for the most
fascinating description of the role played by
Jews in the creation of popular music, you must
turn to Isaac Goldberg's book. We read of the
bonds of sympathy that existed among Irish, Ne-
groes, Jews; of the establishment of music houses
by Jews who "paved the Alley"; of the bringing
of racial poetry into the business.
Jazz, we are reminded, acquired international
recognition at the hands of such Jews as Irving
Berlin, George Gershwin, Jerome Kern; and in
the symphonic realm world wide fame was ac-
quired by Gershwin, Gruenberg and Aaron Cop-
land. At the turn of the 20th century, "of a
sudden, it seemed, the business took on a Jewish
complexion." Why have the Jewish composers
been so important in the development of jazz?
Let Dr. Goldberg explain:

"Read such a novel as Carl Van Vechten's
'Nigger Heaven,' and you may be struck,
time and again, by certain traits of character

Mrs. Al Weisman and Mrs. Har-
ry Jones.
A luncheonette for prospective
members will be held Tuesday,
Nov. 4, at 12:30 o'clock, at the
home of Mrs. Seymour Frank,
18365 Wildemere. Mrs. Morris

MAYOR JEFFRIES

A hearty Mazel Tov to Arthur
Szyk, the renowned Polish-Jewish
caricaturist, whose very charm-
ing and beautiful daughter is be-
ing married on Tuesday, Nov. 11.

Every
Campaign
Promise
Made Good!

1. A VISIBLE, CLEAN, HONEST
CITY GOVERNMENT

2. A FEARLESS, IMPARTIAL, EFFICIENT
ADMINISTRATION

3. FULL VALUE FOR THE TAXPAYERS'
DOLLAR

lie

Restored Faith& Confidence
to Detroit

Re-Elect MAYOR
EDWARD J. JEFFRIES, Jr./

(Continued on Page 16)

FOR GOOD GOVERNMENT

ELECT

Josephine GOMON

to the

COMMON. COUNCIL

Liberal -:- Courageous

This advertisement paid for by a representative group of Jewish friends,

