American Yewish Periodical &ter

CUPTON AVENUE - CINCINNATI 20, OHIO

DETROIT JEWISH CHRONICLE and The Legal Chronicle

Friday, June 14, 1946

Book Review

By LEON SAUNDERS

Speak of the Devil

' The Voice of the
Man in the Street

Page Five

I.

MAN CF THE WIEIEE

"I think the advertising business is a fine field for any young man
to get into," said tall, genial Wilfred B. Doner of the W. B. Doner Ad.
vertising Company whom the Jewish Chronicle salutes as the Man
of the Week. "There is daily opportunity for creative effort which is
very nourishing to the soul and the ego. I know I find the work very
enjoyable."

Photos by ERIC BENNETT
Staff Photographer
TIME: Sunday afternoon.
The new version adds chapters on "Devil in Democracy," "Devil PLACE: Dexter and Glynn Ceurt.
in the Church," etc. The first version appeared in 1992 and changes QUESTION: Does the kind of
Doner is a native Detroiter. All through his schooling he bal.
had to be made. The "Nation" calls it "A truly great book." The book
preparation boys get for their anced his academic work with
is predicated on the dictum, "The devil is a myth, yet he really exists."
Bar Mitzvah these days really keen interest in sports, playing
The author is a Swiss writer and his works are tinged with the-
prepare them to be good Jews? basketball and tennis. The record
shows that he was once runner-up
o logy. It is not easy to detect where he stands. He fights on two FRANK AVRIN, 11301 Dexter.
in the Detroit boys tennis tourna.
fronts. As Robert Tenger puts it, "He is against bourgeois Individual-
Yes. A boy has to have some
ism but also against collectivism; against capitalism and yet against
sort of ceremonial to make him
the deification of the State. He is for a society where the creative aware of his Jewishness. I hay: ,
His love for writing came to
man is the stake of the battle."
known many boys who did not the fore very early in his life.
These ideas and this attitude belonged before the war only to the have this ceremony and they While at Highland Park High
elite in Europe and the Underground promptly propagated it. The have become esfIanged. On the School, he was the editor of the
book consists of short passages and separate chapters on divers sub- other hand, I remember one boy school annual. Later, as a student
jects in which he discusses the connection of the devil with the sub-
who was never in the University of Wisconsin
ject involved. The first chapter consists of a few lines in which he
Jewish at all where he took his degree of
quotes Baudelaire, "Petits Poemes en Prose." "The most attractive
until he went Bachelor of Arts, he became ab-
trick of the devil consists of convincing us that he does not exist.'
through this sorbed in writing for radio.
"We had a fine radio statio.s
This is a dictum worthy of Baudelaire, and he ought to know about
ceremony and It
made a most at the University." he reminisced.
the Devil.
In the chapter entitled: "Incognito" de Rougemont says, "The
marked change "I wrote dramatic scripts since
there were no commercials. How.
first trick of the devil was his incognito. Being jealous of God he re-
in him,
peats the remarks of Ulysses to Cyclops, 'I am called Nobody. There
Of course, the ever, all writing Is good training
is nobody. What are you afraid of ? Are you going to tremble before
boys should for advertising and I found this
the inexistable? The modern man will ask, Do you believe in the
learn a lot work especially valuable."
His work in radio in college
devil? Which one? The one of the Middle Ages with his red horns, or
more than most
of them do but led him to feel that he might find
in the REAL devil?"'
The author asks himself the question, "Is there somebody behind
I don't think his career in this field. Accord-
the image of a picturesque inefficacy?" With all the apparent attitude the situation Is too bad as it Is. ingly, when he left school, he
Photo by Erie itentwt?
went to Terre Haute, Indiana, and
of a modern man imbued with scepticism, the author gives the im-
WILFRED B. DONER
pression of seriously doubting the inexistence of the devil. Is tile latter MARY FAGIN, 9721 Dexter Blvd. worked In a station there.
a reality or a myth? De Rougemont attributes the Invention of the
No. Of course, if the boy Is a
"Shortly thereafter I joined the Milton Alexander Advertising
devil to the Jews although he suggests the idea was taken by the Jews good Jew before his Bar Mitzvah, Agency as a copy writer. I had always liked to write and I knew
from the Orient during their captivity in Babylon. He claims that it is he will continue a good Jew after that at last I had found my field. I esteemed Milton Alexander as a
in the Book -of Enoch where one sees the had angels descending upon it. But to be a good Jew, a boy great advertising man. I stayed with him for two years and learned
the earth, and that the Rabbis popularized the malfeasant spirits of should know something about a great deal. Then with Lionel Fink as a partner, I opened up my
Samail, Python, Amodeus, Bella! and Beelzebub, and, of course, the what it means to be Jewish. For own agency. Three years ago. Fink left for the Pacific coast. Now
Serpent.
this, he needs real education.
there are three associates with me, Charles F. Rosen, Ben Goldstein
We will not go Into a discussion of who invented the Devil. The
and Julian Grace. I look on our agenq operation as a group effort
My own boys
fact is that he exists somehow and successfully impersonates the went to cheder
and not the reflection of any one perso)sality."
evil idea in the continual struggle between Ormuzd and Ariman.
long after their
The Donor firm takes pride in tlie work they have contributed
The devil is only a myth, therefore he does not exist, is the atti. B a r Mitzvahs
in the War Bond Drives, Red Cross. recruiting drives for the army,
tude of the rationalist, and the author replies, "The devil is a myth. and I am proud
navy and marines, and in the Allied Jewish Campaign. In the 1948
therefore he does exist."
of them.
campaign just completed, they got up a striking full page ad called
In analyzing the hook one cannot rationalize or ask the author
The kind of
"Pot Luck" which was written from a very unusual angle and elicited
for proofs of his assertions. While admitting the existence of the preparation the
a great deal of favorable comment.
Prince of Darkness, he dwells in a realm of phantasy and meta- boys get now
physical speculations and does not claim or pretend to have facts or is too skimpy.
Early in 1995, Doner's work was interrupted when he became a
They learn to
proofs. One has to accept the book in this fashion.
soldier in the Infantry. He spent about a year in the service but
In his assault against the modern institutions, the author blames read their little
was not sent out of the country.
the devil for all the deficiencies in modern civilization. He cites at portion by me-
length the prophet Ezekiel as if it had been addressed to our ca'ital mory and that
"I can't say too much about army life," he said. "I wasn't In long
ist and commercial democracies. He attacks fascism and communism. is all.
enough to speak authoritatively. All I can say Is that it made me
But that is not enough If the
He criticizes the democracies for giving in to Hitler, for not fighting
ceremony is to mean anything to appreciate Detroit a lot more than I had before."
the devil with his own tricks on his own ground.
these boys at all. they ought to
reality
has
intrigued
many
a
scientist
While in the army, he had a great many experiences with anti.
The idea of the devil as a
and many writers gave vent to their imagination, because the devil as know a little about what Bar Semitism.
a subject has tremendous possibilities. He is picturesque and inter. Mitzvah is ant' why they are
"I've given the subject of anti-Semitism a great deal of thought,"
going through the ceremony.
esting as only the devil can be.
Shamissau lets Peter Shlemiel sell his soul and his shadow. Balsac Without this, I think the whole he went on. "I have only one answer to make to any charges on this
subject and that is that people will have to learn to judge us as
has his hero in "Peau de Chagrin" bargain with his soul and the thing is just a waste of time.
individuals and not as members of a group. A man is a 'heel' or a
most famous deal between a man and the devil is by our Dr. Faust
BARNETT KATZIN, 3357 Glynn hero on his own merits, not because of or in spite of the fact that he
with Mephistopheles.
Court.
is a Jew.
Beaudelaire, in his delightful "The Generous Gambler," unlike thi
Yes. I think the Bar Mitzvah
rest of his brethren, who whine when the reckoning comes, does not
"All race hatred is the same. I find it rather a hobby of mine on
ceremony
is
most
important
to
a
complain. but nightly prays, "My God, my Lord, do let the devil keen
boy. No matter how little training occasions when Jews discuss anti-Semitism, which is about ninety-five
his word to me."
percent of the time in ordinary social conversations, to talk about the
North and Buttell have collected a number of stories about the he gets, at least he goes to the Jewish attitude tovilid the negro. I find all too often that those who
synagogue
and
recognizes
the
oc-
devil in a book entitled, "Speak of, the Devil." The best of these in our
casion as one are most bitter against restrictions against Jews think that such re.
opinion is "Enoch Soames" by the whimsical Beerbohm Tree. Not
of great joy strictions are perfectly satisfactory when exercised against negroes."
only fictionists, but Thales, Pythagoras, Xenophon, Empidocles. and
and importance.
Although his work keeps him busy all the time, Doner makes it a,
the Stoics invented many fictions about the devil. The word"reTron
The import-
point to do as much work along community lines as possible. He is
comes from the Greek "Daimon."
ant
thing
is
not
There is me scientific study called Demonology, involving beliefs
so much what member of the public relations committee of the Jewish Community
and evidences of the existence and influence of evil spirits. It 13
he learns as Council, a member of the Temple Beth El Men's Club, the Franklin
founded on the theory that beings out of the body as well as in the
how it affects Hills Country Club and the American Jewish Committee. The division
body have the power to influence and control those living in the flesh.
him. It mutt of the Allied Jewish Campaign of which he was co-chairman was the
For centuries this fiction about a power of evil as opposing the
leave the kind first to reach 100 percent coverage of its slips.
power for good continues. And not a few writers and thinkers take
o f impression
When asked what in his opinion was the greatest need facing the
lip the case of the devil. Anatole France in his "Revolt of the Angels"
on him that Detroit community, Doner frowned thoughtfully.
has Satan refuse to lead the Second rebellion and prefer to "remain
makes him a
oppressed than to become an oppressor."
good Jew. My
"Most of all, the Jewish community needs unity," he answered
Carducci represents the devil as the immortal enemy of autocracy own boy went to the Talmud finally. "You can't get unity by simply asking for it. However, the
and the standard bearer of the great reforms and innovations of all Torah and I was very satisfied.
basic purpose of most all our organizations. declared or undeclared,
ages. Mario Rapisardi now hails Lucifer as the saviour of society and
Of course it is necessary for a is fighting anti-Semitism. Such a fundamental purpose ought to give
who will establish social and political equality in the world. Thus has boy to have some Jewish educa- birth to its own unity. I fear, however, that many individuals do not
the re-evaluation of old values advocated by Nietzche transformed the tion, the more the better. But feel this commonness of purpose. That's why I think the basic idea
(lemon of darkness into a light for the living.
most important of all is for him of a Community Council is so sound.
to go through the ceremony that
"The Council can bring about such a unity. People should not
marks him as a Jew.
stand by and criticize it. They should take a positive and not a nega-
PHYLLIS GELBMAN, 3253 Glynn tive attitude, and subordinate their minor differences to the major
problem. If we could bring all our purposes into the Council, we could
Court.
No. It would he very fine if the fulfill all of them as well as that of the Council as a whole."
TERROR ABROAD
boys all got the kind of training
Doner has been for a long time a member of the Zionist party but
Dear Editor:
they get when they go to the
Thirty-one Negro citizens of Columbia, Tennessee are under Yeshivah where the preparation has never been an active worker. He feels that the desperate situation
arrest, charged with crimes ranging from attempted murder in the
existing among unfortunate European Jews today calls for help front
is excellent.
first degree to carrying concealed weapons. Two other obi
In most eases, however, this all. However, he is interested in the kind of solution to this problem
have been killed, shot down in the Columbia jail by officers
preparation is wholly inadequate. which provides for relief transportation and rehabilitation of these
of the law.
Six months after the ceremony is Jews. All this, he feels, is quite apart from the question of a political
Our Committee was formed to provide every possible safe-
state in Palestine which is another problem altogether.
guard to those Negroes unjustly charged with crimes and to assure over, they have
forgotten
every-
One of his chief difficulties is finding time for the many things
them the justice denied them by sworn officers of the law in Ten-
he wants to do. He likes to read and play golf but finds little Um'
nessee. We shall work with the legal staff of theNational Association thing they
for the Advancement of Colored People in providing adequate leg II knew.
for either.
I think the
defense to the victim.
The Doner firm is expanding. They are opening branch offices in
kind
of
em:-'11.
These men, more than half of their number recently discharged
Rochester, New York, New York City, and in Chicago. They have
servicemen, have been the innocent victims of race hatred and vio- sis should be
inaugurated an on-the-job training program for veterans in the or-
lence. The events which took place in Columbia on February 25th an I put on the cer-
ganization. The agency now has ten veterans in it, and this number
emony which
dispute
between
a
white
shopkeeper
and
a
Negro
26th rose out of a
will gradually be increased.
customer. They culminated in lynch threats, an armed invasion of the will help it to
Negro district, wanton destruction of Negro propertt and wholesale make a real
"The advertising business Is one in which you get to know your
and a lasting
arrests and beatings of Negro citizens.
client rather well," he philosophized. "You do a much better adver-
Please help us to win these objectives through your generous impression. I
tising job for people you like. In fact, I find that one is unlikely even
don't really
contribution. Every dollar you give will help t o assuro simple justice know what to advise because I to get an advertising account if he doesn't like the man he Iz
h crime while the reel
to humble men who today stand charged wit
don't have enough background soliciting."
criminals are free. We want an America where every man, Negro or
white, may stand on the same footing before the law. Help us to myself.
"And you have to get the breaks," he continued. "One time, I was
There is more necessary than
times
just knowing how to read Hebrew. out soliciting a small Detroit account. I had postponed it several
achieve that.
I was out,
The boys should study the Bible so I was determined that nothing would atop me. While
Sincerely yours,
ELEANOR ROOSEVELT.
and they ought to know some his there came a long distance call and because I was not in the office
was
CHANNING H. TOBIAS.
tory and something about Jewish to handle it, I lost an account worth half a million dollars. That
Co-Chairmen of the National Committee customs and ceremonials.
a bad break. But we've had some pretty good ones, too."
For Justice in Columbia. Tennessee.
The ordinary preparation for
The W. B. Doner firm is composed entirely of young people. Doner
editorial on this subject, "Terror In Tenn." boys in Detroit doesn't give them
Editor's Note: please %ee
himself, though married and the father of two children, is only
anything like what I think is thirty-one and none of his aasociatcs has yet reached the age of forty.
Hebrew, English and Jewish books available at the Zion Book Store. necessary.
9008 12th Street, near Clairmount.

Brentano's Inc., who specialize in French books, came out with a
new edition of Denis de Rougemont's "La Part du Diable" (the Devil's

LercirEK , -; Box

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