_ Page Sheen THE JEWISH NEWS Friday, November 6, 1942 oiN NIUC SHOULD OMEN GI E TO THE WAR CHEST? You believe in the War Chest—and in its causes. The War Chest is a great humanitarian mechanism—but it is only a mechanism. It was formed to unite effort, to save manpower and to do justice to all of the causes included. It took for granted that everybody who contributed during the past year to one or more of the appeals now in the War Chest was interested in those causes and wanted to continue helping them. Certainly it wasn't intended either on the part of the War Chest or on the part of the past contributors to throw the burden of support on someone else. CArtainly it wasn't intended that the War Chest was to be a mechanism for anyone to escape responsibility. On the con- trary, it was a device' to make it possible for good-hearted people to channel their responsibilities more effectively—and to join forces in giving on a higher level to meet greatly in- creased needs. How are you personally, meeting that responsibility? . If one of the causes—whichever one it may have been— won your interest and support during the past year, you wouldn't want to desert that cause for the coming year. You wouldn't want someone else to pay a bill that you recognized as legitimately yours last year. If, out of your earnings in business, or from household money or dividends, or any other way, you saw your way clear to help one or more causes then, is your sense of generosity any less today because a new fund-raising mechanism has been evolved? Do you plan to do less when the need of the times calls urgently and insistently to do more? Are you thinking of being technical, at the expense of our boys in the service, at the expense of starving, driven souls— helpless children among them—who cry out in agony to a well- fed, war-busy, active Detroit? As a contributor to one or more of the Li1;es, you joined a partnership with citizens of other faiths. Your record was before them; they believed that you would continue to do your share—and, as the lawyers say, "in consideration of the gifts f others," they stood prepared to do their share, Now the first self-respecting step for all of us who have the to give is to make sure that we are playing fair with )Ur neighbors and with ourselves, Is there anyone among us who believes that eleven great, major, centralized services are entitled to less of our support than one of these eleven received from us last year? If one cause needed—and was entitled to—extra giving by women, from whatever sources the gift came, earned or saved, is that need less real now that eleven causes are involved? We can almost hear some of you say, "There are other women in the community who may not give independently, so why should I?" Why, indeed! Since when has our decency and our traditional generosity been determined by someone else's non-giving? If it's a game of follow-the-leader, what kind of a leader are we to follow? Is it a technical answer that suffer- ing humanity expects from you? But being technical is a game that two can play at, and you may very well say, "I'm giving with my husband, not to dodge responsibility. I'm not trying to evade my sense of duty. I'm not turning a deaf ear to the helpless. Why insist on separate giving, when my husband and I together are planning to give our full share, except that we want to give jointly?" Very well, let's not be technical. There are advantages, regardless of who else might not follow the lead, of preserving the dignity in independent giving by women—but let's pass that point by. Give together with your husband, if you wish, but give! Really, now, give! Add up what your husband gave to all of the organizations which he helped last year. Add in what you gave, whether it was to one cause or more. Consider that above and beyond what everybody gave to all of the causes last year, much more is needed for the coming year. Add in a proportionate increase over your contributions last year to cover the causes that you did not help, but that you would have aided if you had been approached, Remember that there is no magic in joint fund-raising that will substitute for greater generosity. Remember that above and beyond our special past giving, the War Chest must raise twice as much as the Community Fund obtained last year. So be sure, whether you and your husband give separately or jointly, that the answer of your heart conies out right. Be sure that every dollar both of you gave last year is matched in full—and that above that, you double the Com- munity Fund gift. That's a minimum response. That much each of us owes to ourselves and to the War Chest. There will be others who have gone off to war, or who for other reasons will not be able to give. It will be a splendid—and necessary— act to add as much more for them as you possibly can. Is this the time in the world's affairs to take advantage of technicality? If you have given before, keep your place in the ranks of the good-hearted and the benevolent. If you didn't give before, fill the otherwise empty place of someone whose war-time duties away from home makes it impossible for him to give, Is this the time for tt woman who gave her independent &ft, as a separate contribution, to hide behind her husband? In war-time, all of us, men and women alike, have jobs to do. Giving adequately to the War Chest is not the least of these.