Community Mourns Death of Dr. Leo M. Franklin

Jews and Christians Join in
Last Tributes to Noted Rabbi

Eminent Leader Would Have Completed 50 Years of Service
In Detroit in 1949; Fought Against Bigotry; Received
Honors from Universities and Communities

An entire community—Christians as well as Jews—mourns
the passing, on Sunday, Aug. 8, of Dr. Leo M. Franklin, Rabbi
Emeritus of Temple Beth El and one of the country's best
known leaders in the Reform rabbinate.
The outpouring of people of all faiths, all races and all
strata of life at the funeral service on Tuesday at Temple
Beth El, and the scores of messages of condolence which
reached the family this week from all parts of the land were
indications of the high esteem in which the late Rabbi of
Temple Beth El was held by all.

Dr. Franklin, who passed
away at the age of 78, had been
ill for two years. He was retired
as Rabbi and elected to the post
of Rabbi Emeritus of Temple
Beth El in 1941, after serving in
the rabbinate for 49 years. In
1949 he would have completed 50
years of continuous service in
Detroit, having come here in 1899
after holding a post in Omaha,
Neb., from 1942, the year of his
ordination at Hebrew Union Col-
lege, Cincinnati.
Dr. B. Benedict Glazer officiated
at funeral services. Burial was in
Woodmere Cemetery.
Surviving Dr. Franklin are his
wife, Hattie M,; a daughter, Mrs.
Stanley Fleischaker; a son, Leo I.;
a granddaughter, Mary Freda
Einstein of Pittsburgh, • and two
sisters, • the • Misses Bluma and
Sophie Franklin of Cincinnati. •
One of Dr. Franklin's last acts
was to resign from the anti-Zion-
ist American Council for Judaism
upon the formation of the State of
Israel in May. In a letter to Less-
Mg Rosenwald, published in The
Jewish News on June 11, Dr.
Franklin urged the dissolution of
the Council.
Upon his retirement as Rabbi of
Temple Beth El, Dr. Franklin re-
mained active in practically all of
his community interests. The spe-
cial office set up for him at Tern-
, ple Beth El was a bee-hive of
activities, men and women corn-
.'ing to him for advice and solace.
When he first came to Detroit,

Temple Beth El had a member-
ship of 136. Under his leadership
it grew into one of the largest
Reform congregations in the coun-
try.
During his nearly half a cen-
tury of service to Detroit, Dr.
Franklin saw the Jewish popula-
tion rise nearly ten-fold—from
10,000 in 1899. He was among the
guiding spirits in the formation of
the United Jewish Charities and
subsequently the Jewish Welfare
Federation, and the organization
of nearly all of the leading move-
ments in the city.
A fighter for justice, Dr. Frank-
lin was in the forefront in the
battle against the parochial school
amendment which would have
closed the Catholic parochial
schools in Michigan. He delivered
stirring addresses at Jewish meet-
ings, political rallies and in
churches and helped defeat the
amendment.
Scholastic Honors
Born March 5, 1870, in Cam-
bridge City, Ind., the son of Mi-
chael H. and Rachel Franklin, he
was taken by his family to Cin-
cinnati at the age of six. He was
graduated from the University of
Cincinnati in 1892 and was elected
to Phi Beta Kappa honorary
scholastic fraternity, and that
year also was ordained Rabbi by
Hebrew Union College.
When he came to . Detroit from
Omaha, Temple Beth El was lo-

LATE DR. LEO M. FRANKLIN
catea on Washington Blvd. and
Clifford. Under his leadership,
Temple Beth El erected the build-
ing on Woodward and Eliot in
1903 and later (in 1922) con-
structed the present magnificent
structure on Woodward and
Gladstone. He was the first Rabbi
to install the unassigned pew
system for worshipers.
In 1916 he was instrumental in
organizing the Jewish Student
Congregation at the University of
Michigan and supervised services
for students at Ann Arbor for
many years.
He was honored with election
to the presidency of the Central
Conference of American Rabbis
and the Alumni Association. of
Hebrew Union College and served
as chairman of the National Tract
Commission of Union of Ameri-
can Hebrew Congregation and
Central Conference of American
Rabbis.
Many of the Reform Temples in
Michigan owe their existence to
Dr. Franklin who toured the state
Many times to organize Jewish
congregations.
Civic Recognition
For many years a member of
the Detroit Library Commission,
he served as the Commission's
president and secretary. He was
a member of . the International
Mark Twain Society, Wranglers
Club, Economic Club, Great

Lakes Club, Franklin Hills and
Knollwood Country Clubs.
He was one of the organizers of
the Detroit Round Table of Chris-
tians and Jews and at the time
of his death was the only surviv-
ing founder of the Interdenomi-
national Community Thanksgiv-
ing Service which was organized
in 1901. He participated in prac-
tically all of these services which
were held at the Art Institute
since the Institute's construction.
Both the University of Detroit
and Wayne' University honored
him with honorary LL.D. degrees.
He served on the boards of di-
rectors of the Detroit Symphony
Society, Ford Republic, League of
Nations Association of Detroit and
Citizens Housing and Planning
Commission.
Wrote Articles, Books
He was the author of many arti-
cles and brochures and several
books. Among his published
works are "Christ and Christian-
ity from the Standpoint of the
Modern Jew," "Practical Prob-
lems of the Ministry," "A Word
to the Queen of ROnanis," rituals
for schools, camps and congrega-
tions and his latest book, "The
Rabbi--Lthe Man and his Mes-
sage."
Dr. Franklin wrote numerous
articles for The Jewish News.,His
last written essay was a tribute to
Fred M. Butzel's Memory. He also
wrote a scholarly article "From
City Pavements to Farmer's
Plows: The Story of the Michigan
Experiments and Other Jewish
Agricultural Projects," which ap-
peared in The Jewish News on
May 21, 1943.
Editorial Tribites
Tributes were paid to the
memory of Dr. Franklin in edi-
torials in Detroit newspapers.
After reviewing Dr. Franklin's
contributions to the community,
the Detroit Free Press editorial
stated:
"The long list of civic bodies
in which he labored reveals the
serious side of- this man of many
parts. A rare sense of humor won
him honorary membership in the
international Mark Twain So-
ciety.
"A cultured gentleman, a fine
citizen in every respect, Dr. Leo

M. Franklin served his fellow
man as few Detroiters have since
Father Gabriel Richard. His mis-
sion fulfilled, he has left us, rich
in years and in esteem."
The Detroit News Editorial
The Detroit News stated edi-
torially:
"Dr. Leo M. Franklin was that
occasional figure of distinction,
the spiritual leader who becomes
a civic possession. He was inter-
ested in people as people, as a
family. The whole community
was the beneficiary of his good
works, which ran far beyond the
secular. Few were the sides of
the common life which failed to
enlist his active interest and
wise and stimulating counsel.
"It was the catholicity of this
interest which moved the Uni-
versity of Detroit in 1923 to
award. a rabbi an honorary doc-
torate of law.
"In his 40 years in Detroit the
flock at Temple Beth El out-
grew two synagogues and be-
came the largest and most in-
fluential Reform - Jewish congre-
gation in the country: In the
role of leader there, he stood for
democracy in the church, for a
vigorous program of religious
education which did not over-
look the adult, and for an inti-
mate pastoral relationship built
up in countless hours of visiting
the sick, the lonely and bereaved.
"By precept and by his own
participation in every concerted
effort to that end, he was a tire-
less warrior against the bar-
riers of creed which • stand be-
tween man and man. The inter-
denominational bodies and the
civic enterprises, social and cul-
tural, into which he threw his
abundant energies, and Detroit
as a community, are , decidedly
the poorer for his pasSing."

Lawrence Reilly, former mem-
ber of Gerald L. K. Smith's staff,
is plugging Joe Kemp's most re-
cent pamphlet, which contains
scurrilous attacks on Jelkish or-
ganizations.

,

THE JEWISH NEWS-3
Friday, August 13, 1948

TH E response to this event, the greatest in our

history, has been tremendous! Detroit home-

makers are quick to recognize what genuine re-

ductions on Robinson quality furniture mean.

New shipments, arriving daily, keep selections

complete. Everything is NEW! Not a clearance.

Not a close-out. Everything is specially priced. 7

floors of remarkable values, including our Floor

of Modern. Now is the time to get the furniture

you've been wanting. The savings are worth-

while! Budget terms arranged. Trade-in allowance

on your present furniture.

ROBINSON FURNITURE CO.

1420 Washington Blvd.

CAdillac 4352

4

