Friday. Ja

1947

DETROIT JEWISH CHRONICLE

Strictly Confidential

Beverly Hills Area
Held Barred to Jews

Prejudice Is Found Running Wild
but No One Apparently Is Bothered

By rIIINEAS J. BIRON
ENA HORNE, the famous Negro movie star, told a hair-raising
story of prejudice against Negroes in Hollywood in an interview
with Earl Wilson the other day.
One phase of it is of special interest to us Jews. . .. Lena had
asked a friend, who happened to be a Jew, to find her a Hollywood
home, "something where I don't offend anybody."
The friend later reported that
he'd found amazing race hatred, dark clouds on the Jewish hori-
but was determined to persist.... zon in Europe, but that these dark
"I'm afraid we and heavy clouds had a silver
Jews are next," lining."
he added. . . .
We're sorry if we gave the
To which Miss wrong impression in our com-
Horne answer- ment. The point we tried to
ed: "I've got make is that, measured against
news for you- the horrible record of anti-Semit-
you'•e excluded ism in Europe, the help of Chris-
now".. •
tians to Jewisli • victims was so
In the same minimal that it cannot be called
interview Lena a "silver lining." , What lining
Horne report- there was didn't amount to even a
s*. J. Siren
ed: "Sections tattered rag, let alone silver... .
of Beverly Hills won't let in Jews.
. Everybody knows it, but, no- A STAR IS BORN
body does anything about it". .
WITHIN A FEW months Holly-
Accounts that don't mix.. . .
wood will unveil June Holli-
We're told that the busiest of the
day, a native New York Jewish
Jewish publicity outfits, Sidney
girl, as one of its screen sensa-
Wallach Associates, handles the
tions. June's real name is Tuvim.
publicity for the American Coun-
She was hailed on Broadway as
cil for Judaism and for Bnai Brith
the star of "Born Yesterday." and
Anti-Defamation League, among
besides being a beauty is a real
other accounts....
actress. June Holliday's name will
• • •
loom big on movie marquees in
TATTERED RAG
the coming season. . . .
WILLIAM ZLTICERMAN, the
To those who knew Franklin
" gifted journalist, protests that D. Roosevelt, James Farley's ar-
we didn't treat him fairly when ticles in Collier's dou't make
we mentioned the ale he pub- sense. Especially unbelievable are
lished in the Ladies' Home Jour- the passages in which Farley•im-
nal . . . Zukerman writes: "I did plies that Roosevelt was sub-
(Continued on page 14)
not intend to say there were no

L

Capital Letter

Britain Continues
Violating Loan Pact

Fails to Modify Licensing Rides
Barring U. S. Products in Palestine

By CHARLOTTE WEBER
WASHINGTON — The State Department, which in March was
highly optimistic of reaching a • settlement with the British
about modification of licensing controls in Palestine which were
hampering the flow of American consumer .goods iota the Holy
Land, can today report nothing further than that the matter is
still. receiving "active consideration."

The matter came to light when
a newspaper article reported that
American manufacturers of im-
portant consumer goods such as
radios, refrigerators and automo-
bileS, were meeting great difficul-
ties in importing their goods to
Palestine because of severe Bri-
tish licensing controls which
worked to favor British.importers
of these items.

•

*

CONTRARY TO PACT

sucli

CONTROLS which dis-
criminated against the Ameri-
can importers as against the Bri-
'sh are not in line with the
of the British loan agree-
.ent, it was pointed out at the
time.

Great Britain and the United
States agreed in Article 9 of the
loan agreement that neither would
maintain or Impose quotas that
would discriminate against the
other's products. Britain was al-
lowed to suspend this provision
up until the end of last year.
however, in order that she could
save her foreign exchange for
food and other necessities.

But the date passed and even
in March American applications
for import licenses still awaited
British action. The American
embassy In London took the com-
plaints up with the British Board
Trade, which corresponds with
mar Department of Commerce, and
a State Department spokesman
ion indicated that a satistac-

.

tory solution would soon be work-
ed out.
• • •

NO AGREEMENT SEEN

A SOLUTION, it was explained,

would not involve suspen-
sion of quotas entirely but would
involve a British guarantee that
they would be applied in a non-
discriminatory manner. No such
agreement has been announced
and, judging from reluctance of
State Department officials to dis-
cuss the progress of the negoti-
ations, they are nowhere near
agreement with the British.
Palestine is, of course, within
the British sterling bloc area and
bound by restrictions of the ster-
ling pool. In spite of the fact
that Palestine sold some 5,081,268
or about $20,397,510, worth of
goods in the United Shtes during
1946, her dollar store was not
greatly increased because she was
forced to turn them into the pool.
The sterling block restrictions
and the extreme shortage of dol-
lars is given as one reason for the
difficulty of adjusting just such
situations as the import licensing
situation in Palestine. But the
British government is pledged, by
terms of the loan agreement, to
dissolve the sterling bloc by July
15 of this year.
When -sterling restrictions come
off it may give our government
an opportunity to press for ad-
justment of the import controls on
American goods going into Pales-
tine.

!Mark Centennary
of Dr. Schechter

By RABBI LEON SPITZ
THE SOLOMON SCHECHTER
centennary is a landmark in
American Jewish history. It was
altogether proper for the Rab-
binical Assembly of America to
have devoted its Sium liashas
dinner, at its convention June
24, to the commemoration of
the hundredth birthday of the
great Jew and scholar who
served for 18 years as president
of the Jewish Theological Semi-
nary of America.
This Romanian-born lad who
subsequently became reader in
Rabbinics at Cambridge, Eng-
land, and thence came to the
United States, left, above all,
the stamp of his personality
Upon the Jewish way of life in
America.
In those days when Zionism
was quite unpopular, Schechter
came out with a statement on
Zionism which was then pub-
lished by the Federation of
American Zionists.
It was said that American
Zionists held their annual con-
vention in Tannersville just. be-
cause Schechter spent his sum-
mers there. His presence lent
prestige to the cause..

• • *

MAGNETIC TEACHER
THIS WRITER cs Messes that
he came to sit at the feet of
the master, only after a per-
sonal interview. Schechter's per-
sonality showed both kindliness
and dignity. His bright but
kindly gaze, his patriarchal ap-
pearance, his silver-white beard,
his booming voice—these pro-
claimed the master. They were
the magnet which drew both
hearts and spirits -to him.
He was in every essence the
patriarch of American Jewry,
the Prince of Judaism in the
land. And he had naturalized
himself so readily that to him
belongs the credit of having
written the finest essay on Abra-
ham Lincoln in the king's best
English.
Jacob H. Schiff, the redoubt-
able Louis Marshall of the Amer-
ican Jewish Committee, the Gug-
genheims and the . Lewissohns
belonged to the reform wing of
American Judaism, but all re-
vered Schechter and called him
their master and they basked
in the sunshine of his spiritual
prestige.

• • •

SEMINARY BUILDER

SCHECIITER'S contribution to
the evolution of the religious
history of American Jewry can
hardly be overestimated. He re-
organized the Seminary. the
school of conservative Judaism
He likewise founded the United
Synagogue of America.
He sat on the senate of New
York University, he linked the
Seminary with Columbia. and
he accepted an honorary degree
from Harvard.
He founded the Jewish Teach-
ers Institute and he established
the Great Library at the Semi-
nary. A Sabbath meal at his
home was invariably shared by
colorful Jewish personalities from
many parts of the Jewish World.
To his students he was an
understanding teacher. This wri-
ter attended his class on the
philanthropy of the Talmud, con-
ducted in the sanctum of his
own study. The spirit and the
atmosphere of Jewish charity
were definitely in the air in that
intimate class.

• • •

GENIZAII DISCOVERY

LET IT NOT PASS unmen-
tioned that this year marks a
double anniversary in the life-
career of Solomon Schechter. It
is also Schechter's Great Jubilee
Year as the scholar par excel-
lence in the field of Jewish clas-
sic learning. Exactly 50 years
ago he made his historic find
on Schechter's Genizan. and the
board of ancient Hebrew manu-
scripts, 100,000 of them, which
he had dug out in the Cairo
Synagogue while on a scholarly
mission on behalf of the British
Museum.

Personal Problems

Why Girls Don't Wed
Explained by Men

Women Independent, Money Mad,
Won't Cooperate, Males Charge

By DR. W. A. GOLDBERG

letters have been sent in by men readers
T HE on FOLLOWING
the reluctance of many women to marry. Next week, the

'plies of women will be published . . .
Mr. Z. Z., in his early forties, writes: "Insofar as the situation
exists, (non-marriage of women), it is of their own choosing
They are highly independent in their attitude and expect thing: ,
to come to them as a matter of
right.
with him . . .

"They place too much em-
phasis upon
security.. They
are' not baSic-
a 11 y coopera-
tive and hold
back that es-
sential c o n f i-
dence in a man
which he wants
and needs.
"Their stand-
ards are ex-
ceedingly high; Dr. Goldberg
they are used to beind inde-
pendent wage earners . . . Their
emotional attitude toward men
and life is not a responsible one.
They show a lack of patience
and understanding. They want
the men to cater to them and
to worship the ground they walk
on . . .

• • •

OFFER NO HELP

.6THE SITUATION can be
• remedied by an exhibition
of cooperation by women, to
help a man's morale, to build
him up so he can `go places.'
The women I have met in the
last 20 years act as if they do a
man a favor when they go out

"The girls (I have met them ,
who talk about improper sug-
gestions of men and call all tiler
wolves are those who want tha•
kind of attention. While thej
seek it, they are afraid of get-
ting a reputation . . . Su the
get a thrill by talking about it. -
• • .

WIDOWER EXPLAINS
A WIDOWER TELLS of hi:-
' experience in trying to re-
marry. "I have been a readet
of your column for a long time
and I enjoy them very much...
Replying to your recent column
on why girls do not marry, I
have found that the women or
girls do not want to work with
a man and encourage him to
marry . . . If the girl has $500
or $1,000, she considers herself
an heiress and every man a
fortune hunter . . .
The primary question to set
tie, between a man and a wo
man who seek a partner. is
flow do they suit each other?
Will they be able to live to-
gether?
"All these years I have been
longing for a home with love
with good fellowship . .. I wen.
(Continued on page 15)

Plain Talk

A Pool for Negroes
Stirs Jewish Section

Prejudice Shows Its Ugly Head
and Conscience Takes a Beating

By AL SEGAL
N OUR TOWN there has lately occurred a certain slight case
of discrimination in which Jews were the discriminators. This
is written not to scold anybody but just to tell a tale and maybe
to hang a moral on it.
Perhaps, first of all, I should tell you something about our
town-about the Jewish part of it, that is. Pretty nearly all of us
reside in a delectable. Jewish)),
integrated suburb called Avon- prohibited commercial swim-
dale. The magnolias did beauti- n-sing pools in residence' neigh-
fully here in
borhoods. Then, for some rea-
the past spring
son, some five years ago the
and in season
im owner gave it up and during
our lawns
these years it lay there. a sad
gleamed golden
relic of happy summers past.
with forsythia.
Until several weeks ago! Then.
There were
one day, all Avondale was
t h e exquisite
stirred by a certain announce-
hours of the
• tnent: The pool had changed
peonies and
hands and thenceforth was to
roses and now
be a swimming place for Ne-
the gladioli are
groes. A truck, carrying big
getting ready
Al Segal
signs. was blazing the news in
for summer. What I mean to say the Negro neighborhoods: Come
is that Avondale is a nice place to Avondale for a swim! And.
to live in. sure enough, the following Sun-
Many—if not most—of the in- day the swimming pool was
habitants own their own homes. opened. Negro citizens were
If you live in the south of Avon- bathing there.
• • •
dale 'your house is modest but
comfortable with all the con- TROUBLED CONSCIENCE
veniences. If in north Avondale THERE WERE indignant meet-
your house may be a rambling
ings of Jewish citizens. There
place done in the English ma- was talk all over Avondale—at
nor style with a spacious, roll- gin rummy, poker and mah-jong;
ing lawn. You see what I mean. at dinner tables and other social
The difference between living in convocations . . . "What do you
north Avondale and south Avon- think of that Negro swimming
dale may be a million dollars pool in Avondale?"
more or less.
It was the uneasy talk of
• • .
deeply troubled consciences.
SUBURB ROUSED
Even those who thought it was
THIS STORY is all about a all wrong to establish a Negro
swimming pool. I can remem- swimming pool in a white neigh-
ber it well far back when on borhood started their arguments
summer days it was loud with with apologies to their social
and moral consciences. ....:.
the laughter of Avondale kids.
Sure, they said, they knew race
It lies in one of the better
parts of Avondale and was built discrimination was awfully us-
in a time before zoning laws
(Continued ot ► page 10

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