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Friday. June 13, 1947

THE JEWISH NEWS

Page Two

Strictly
Confidentral

By NORMAN CORWIN
(From his CBS broadcast of "One World Flight")

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One day I went with a sound truck into what was left of Warsaw's ghetto.
For hours, I crawled around and through the rubble of the once walled-in-city
where the Jews, after having lost nearly. 300,000 men, women and children to the
-gas chamber, the oven, the poison pit, typhus, starvation, rallied themselves to-
gether, and with pitifully few weapons, stood off a German Army. Twenty-five
thousand of them died in no time; the Nazis placed tanks right up against their
houses and fired point-blank. .
There are hundreds, perhaps thousands of bodies still buried in those ruins.
To the eye, there was only a sea of ashes and bricks. To the ear, a dead silence—the
silence of a city become a cemetery.
I heard more talk about fascists in Poland than in any other place I had struck
so far. They used the word with special emphasis.
There were still fascists in Poland, all right, and it didn't make me any more
hopeful of an early arrival of One World, to know, as I stood there in the ghetto,
that only the day before, after all Europe and Poland had gone through, there had
been a pogrom which, according to five American correspondents who rushed to"
the scene, had been coldly and deliberately planned and executed—executed by
elements whom the government immediately denounced as hostile to the regime.
In any case, 41 Jews—men, women and children—had been ambushed and cruelly
massacred.
It was hot that afternoon in the ghetto. Hot and still. I looked at a circular
stone monument which the city had put up among the debris/Withered and dusty
flowers were strewn about. The inscription read, "In memory of those who gave their
lives in a singularly heroic fight for , the honor of the Jewish people—for liberty—
for Poland—for the liberation of all mankind."
The monument has been theie for a year. But the bodies in Kielce were not
yet buried.

By PHINEAS J. BIRON

(Copyright, 1947, Seven Arts Feature Syndicate)

Prediction Scoop
• Almost half of 1947 is gone . . . In a
few months a new Jewish year will dawn
. . . Just about that time the UN Septem-
ber session will have to decide on the
future of Palestine . . . We doubt that a
single individual in Jewish leadership
could tell you today what that decision
will be . . . Yet we make bold to predict
what will and will not happen . . . The
result will not be an independent Jewish
Palestine . . . The result will not be a
Jewish state on both sides of the Jordan
. . . Then, you will conclude, it means
partition . . . Wrong again . . . Behind
the scenes a new formula is being work-
ed out, one that would lend itself to a
continuation of playing both the Arabs
and the Jews for a while longer . . .
That formula is an interim trusteeship
"to help" the British administer the Man-
date . . . This interim trusteeship would
supposedly be neutral, and would ostensi-
bly be set up for a number' of years only,
with a promise to both Arabs and Jews
of a satisfactory final solution . . . This,
friends, is the only formula that Great
Britain and America's big oil interests
By ARNOLD LEVIN
will agree to . . . The Soviet Union, we
(Copyright, 1947, Independent Jewish
Press Service, Inc.)
are reliably informed, doesn't like the
idea, because it would leave a formid- Unity
able British military establishment in
If talks now underway between the
Palestine . . . But this new procrastinating
device is now being injected into the Jewish Labor Committee and some lead-
minds of the committee of small nations ers of the Labor Zionist movement suc-
that starts on its "investigation trip" to ceed, the Jewish Labor Committee will
Palestine this month : . . And what about emerge as spokesmart for all American
the DPs and the inmates of Cyprus? . . .
Well, it seems that during this interim Jewish Labor, both Zionist and non-Zion-
trusteeship administration (don't forget ist, on general. Jewish (not strictly - Zion-
that Britain will head the trusteeship) a ist, of course) affairs. The Labor Zionists
number of immigration certificates, not would then withdraw from the American
to exceed 100,000, will be issued ... This Jewish Congress with whom some of them
is the plan . .. Only a few—very few— have been very unhappy in recent months
big shots are in the know at the present Members of the Polish Bund, now in the
time, because things are being manipu- United States, are doing- their best to
lated in such a way as to make it appear frustrate the Jewish Labor Committee-
that the small nations committee is ac- " Labor Zionists talks, but Jacob Pat, a
tually giving birth to the plan ... Maybe Bund member himself, has joined the ad-
the committee will really believe this .. . vocates of unification. His words carry
This, in any case, is the danger that faces weight.
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Zionist aspirations.

Heard in
The Lobbies

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Professor!

Dr. Saul Adler, chairman of the Post-
Graduate Faculty of Medical Research of
the Hebrew University, who spent some
time in this country to assist in the $4,-
000,000 drive for the Hebrew University
Medical School in Palestine, was preced-
ed here by his reputation for absentmind-
edness.
The classic story tells of the time Dr.
Adler came home one evening and, not
being able to decide which was his own
residence, asked a little boy playing on
the street, "Do you, by an chance, know
which hduse is the residence of Dr. Ad-
ler?" To which the youngster replied,
"But, daddy, don't you recognize me?"
At .a reception just before he left this
country to return to Palestine, Mrs. Adler
was asked about her husband's absent-
mindedness, particularly whether this
story was true. Indignantly she replied,
"Certainly not. My husband would al-
ways recognize his own son." (Dr. Adler
is a cousin of Rabbi Morris Adler of
Detroit).

Pot-Pouni
Al Jolson is so pepped up after the ter-
rific success of the movie "Jolson Story"
that he is going to make a personal
comeback in the movies, playing himself
in a sequel to that film.
Benny Leonard, who died recently, left
only a small portion of the huge fortune
he earned in his lifetime . .. Bad invest-
ments, they say . . . Actually he was too
generous to friends in need.
Bernard Baruch is the most honored
American citizen . . • No week passes
-without his being the recipient of some
award, and Mr. Baruch is getting pretty
sick of it.
Sholem Asch is the richest Yiddish
writer in the history of Jewish literature
. . . His "East River" brought him a quar-
ter of a million dollars from Hollywood
alone . . . He owns houses in Stamford,
California, Florida and France . . . Now
he is considering buying a mansion in
New York City.
Most of the Yiddish stage stars are .
thinking of leaving • the United States
and establishing their own theaters in the
Argentine, Poland and England . . . In
our country the Yiddish-language theater
has died, they say.
The American Committee of Jewish
Writers, Artists and Scientists, which held
its convention last week, is preparing an
announcement that will make - the head-
. lines in the press.
Jack Greenbaum, treasurer of the Am-
bijan Committee, sailed for Europe last
week, to survey Jewish conditions in sev-
eral countries.
Ben Hecht, co-chairman of the League
for a Free Palestine, is applying for a
visa to Palestine . . • Wants to get local
color for a film story dealing with the
Jewish resistance movement.

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Purely
Commentary

I Stood in the Ghetto

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By BORIS SMOLAR

Political Notes:

The displaced Jews of Europe are
eyeing with great interest two highly
important hearings which are being held
respectively in Washington and Jeru-
salem . . . The first is the House Sub-
Committe on Immigration hearings on
the Stratton Bill, which would allow 400,-
000 DPs to enter the U. S. over a period
of four years . . . The other is the UN
Palestine committee hearings, which be-
gin next week • . . The displaced Jews
are as acutely interested in the one as
in the other . . . Many of them realize
that if the Washington hearings result
in the adoption by Congress of the Strat-
ton Bill, that will be the beginning of
their liberation en masse . . . Although
the Stratton Bill provides for the admis-
sion of 100,000 refugees yearly for the
next four years without distinction as
to religion, it is obvious that rriany thous-
ands of Jewish refugees will directly
benefit . . . In fact, the passage of the
bill would probably result in many
Jewish refugees applying for U.S. visas,
instead of waiting hopelessly for Pal-
estine visas .. . . If the UN committee
hearings do not result in the immediate
abolition of the White Paper immigra-
tion restrictions, the bulk of the dis-
placed Jews in Europe may find reaching
the U. S. quicker and easier than going
to Palestine . .. This is apparently what
British Foreign Minister Ernest Bevin
is hoping for .. . Bevin is as anxious as
the displaced Jews that CongresS pass
the Stratton Bill, thus diverting home-
less European Jews to the United States
and to countries on the American con-
tinent, which might follow the lead of
the U. S. in opening their doors a little
wider to displaced persons . . The en-
tire Palestine issue will then assume a
different aspect, the British believe
Of course, if the Stratton Bill is passed.
Truman will press more than ever for
admission of 100,000 Jews to Palestine.

Imposters

•

Not so long ago the Arlti-Defamation
League made a very telling survey of the
German-American press which proved fluence • . . Political bosses of both major
beyond the shadow of a doubt that many parties consider 'the Steuben Society a
German-language newspapikrs in this strong election factor ... The propaganda
country were vociferously pro-Nazi and for a soft peace coming from the Steuben-
anti-Jewish . • . This survey covered -the ites always is linked with a sly anti-
period following Hitler's defeat . . . But Semitic slant, pointing to former Secre-
nobody seemed to take this trend serious- tary Morgenthau as the uncompromising
ly ... Now the newspaper PM is present- "proponent of a hard, "unjust" peace . . .
ing a clearcut expose of the Steuben So- It would be rather interesting if the Com-
ciety leading a far-flung fight for a re- mittee on Un-American Activities would
juvenated Reich . .. Although the Steu- look into the ramifications of the Steuben
ben Society has only 30,000 members, out Society . . . Talk about loyalties to a for-
of a total of 25,000,000 Americans of Ger- eign country—here is a real case to inves-
man descent, it wields great political in- tigate, gentlemen..

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(Copyright, 1947, Jewish Telegraphic
Agency, Inc.)

The Jordan Valley Authority plan may
yet figure prominently in the recommen-
dations of the UN Commission. It is
called the Lowdermilk plan. It is also, in
large measure, the Emanuel Neumann
plan.

Why Not Investigate?

Columnist-Philosopher

Between
You and Me

JVA

"The apparel oft proclaims the man"
—"oft," not always. In Palestine, a stately
Sheikh in flowing robes has been known,
on closer inspection, to stand revealed as
a denizen of deepest Wigan. Contrariwise,
and to return the compliment, a para-
trooper in uniform, that would pass mus-
ter with the most pedantic red-cap, on
question, surprisingly knows nothing
about Arnhem but a great deal about Ras
el Ain.—The Palestine Post.

By PHILIP SLOMOVITZ

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Zionist Trends

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The fight around the election of a
president of the Zionist Organization of
America is beginning to develop through-
out the country . . . It looks as though
the Fourth of July will be a hot day in
New York,. not -only for climatic rea-
sons, since that is when the ZOA con-
vention opens in one of the city's larg-
est hotels ; . . This may be the "hottest"
convention the American Zionists ever
had . . . Although many issues of im-
portance will be taken, the issue which
will raise the temperature of delegates
will be the election of a president .
Dr. Abba Hillel Silver, the outgoing pres-
ident, is backing Dr. Emanuel Neumann
with all his might ... The opposition has
not named any candidate, but several
names are in the air ... The election of a
president will be watched with utmost
interest not only by Zionists in America,
but also by the British government, which
keeps on repeating publicly that U. S.
Zionist leadership is the actual force be-
hind the world Zionist movement
The British Government is again prod-
ding the Jewish Agency on the question
of non-Zionist representation within the
Agency . . . Whereas a year ago the lead-
ing non-Zionists in the United States
were anxious to get into the Jewish
Agency executive, they- are no longer
anxious at present . . . The two non-
Zionist members of the Agency exe-
cutive--Dr. Maurice Hextor and Mrs.

Our confrere David Schwartz, whose '
interesting articles have appeared in these
columns on numerous occasions, has
yielded to the urge of compiling some of
his best pieces in book form. The result
is: "Bitter Herbs and Honey," the auto-
graphed copy of which your Commenta-
tor treasures very much.
This comment on David's book is more
than a review. It is a tribute to a pioneer
in Jewish journalism who has vision and
wisdom, whose philosophic outlook on
Jewish life often sets readers straight on
confusing Jewish issues.
David Schwtrtz is entitled to be -called
the First Columnist in the English-Jewish
press. There were columnists before him,
and others have come to the fore in the'
intervening years. But the first lasting
column was his creation.
Thus. David is a trail-blazer. His pres-
ent columns no longer are based on gos-
sip. They are historical essays, philosoph-
ical themes, flavored with humor.
Boris Smolar, editor of the Jewish Tele-
graphic Agency, who shares this page
with us, quite properly praises Schw -artz's
writings, in a foreword to "Bitter Herbs
and Honey," thus:
"While dealing with the topics of the
day these writings are more than fugi-
tive pieces. Schwartz has the happy
faculty of emphasizing the more per-
manent aspects in the moving pano-
rama."
Schwartz, now associated with JTA,
delves into the little known, digs up hu-
man interest items which usually eseape
the attention of writers and historians,
and pieces them together into fascinating
reading.
For instance, his article on "Mark
Twain and the Zionist Congress," reveals
that the noted humorist "listened in" on
the First World Zionist CongresS. This
essay, proceeds to analyze Mark Twain's
attitude towaras Jews.
There are a number of phantasies in
the book which will delight the readers.
Schwartz's comments on Zionism, anti-
Semitism, politics, Jewish holidays and
a score of other subjects collectively form
a splendid book, and it is a pleasure to
give him a review of honey rather than
bitter herbs.

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Another Trail Blazer
Speaking of trail-blazers in English-

Jewish journalism, Robert S. Gamzey,
editor of the Intermountain Jewish News
of Denver, deserves recognition for his
efforts to elevate the English-Jewish press.
Bob has taken over an impoverished
newspaper and has made it hum with in-
teresting content He has transformed a
poor paper into one of our best
An able writer and a good research
man. Bob has proven his ability to serve
his community with his recent full-page
article in the Denver Post on "Trail
Blazers in Philanthropy." This article,
which dealt with important philanthropic
developments in Denver, actually ' is a
history of the Jewish pioneer merchants
who participated in the development of
the West Articles of this type help to en-
lighten the community at large on the
creative efforts of American- Jews, there-
by creating a great deal of good will.
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s.

The Time Limit
At one of the Allied Jewish Campaign
report meetizs, Chairman Fred M. But-
zel found it necessary to comment that he
finds it useless to make further appeals
to - his co-workers on the score of one
thing: that of coming on time to meetings.
He called late-coming a "Jewish failing"
which has become difficult to correct.
We thought of - this pointed remark at
the meeting of the Michigan Citizens.
Committee on Displaced Persons which
was addressed by Earl G. Harrison, Dean
of the University of Pennsylvania Lav ►
School. That meeting was called for 8:15
p. in. It started promptly at 8:15, it took
10 minutes for the chairman of the
Michigan Committee to introduce the
presiding officer and the guests on the
platform, Mr. Harrison conclUded his
address at 9:10 p. m., 20 minutes were
allotted for a question and answer period,
the meeting adjourned at 9:30 and we
were home at 10:15 full of envy for the
methodical mannerin which non-Jews
conduct their business. -
How about emulating such examples,
Chaverim?

Edward Jacobs—seem to be only DOM*
inally members of the executive . .
They have not been invited to a meet-
ing of the executive for years . . . NOT
have they been consulted on measures
taken by the executive,