Purely Commentary Morgenthau, Gilman Stress Urgency
Of Israel's Needs As AJC Opens

By PHILIP SLOMOVITZ

Recollections of Stephen S. Wise

There is not a community in the world that does not know
<./‘.ppeal, brought an enthusiastic
the name Stephen S. Wise. " Most of them knew him personally.
response to his sincere appeal.
In a busy lifetime, during which he gave what appeared to be In-
$310,000 was raised in pledges
exhaustible energies to all just causes, Dr. Wise traveled widely,
announced from the floor.
pleaded for just rights for Israel, demanded a square deal for the
In response to a request from
Negro, defended the right of radicals to free expression.
Morgenthau for immediate
When he visited in Poland after World War I, men, women
cash, Israel and Joseph David-
and children kissed the hem of his coat and blessed him for his
son pledged $70,000 for their
fight in - their behalf.
families, with the promise of
This Commentator's first association with him was in the
cash payment within one
early days of Brandeisian leadership, when Louis D. Brandeis,
week.
who later became a Justice of the United States Supreme Court,
Accompanying the out - of -
organized the American Jewish Congress—together with Pinhus
town delegation was H e n r y
Rutenberg (of the famous Rutenberg Electrical Concession in
Montor, executive directors of
Palestine)—and became active in the Zionist movement. We
the United Jewish Appeal. Cam-
knew Wise in the days, during World War I, when, as a pacifist,
paign chairman B e r r y was
(before this country's entrance in the war), he opposed the
chairman of the dinner meeting.
militarism of the late Professor Hobbs of the University of Mich-
igan department of geology.
Israel Moves to Aid
He still was in the prime of his activities when We worked
with him in San Francfco as members of the Jewish Agency
UN Admission Action
delegation at the organizational meeting of the United Nations.
His fighting spirit was in evidence when he opposed the extrem-
LAKE SUCCESS — JTA
When vice president Alben Barkley missed his plane con-
ists who sought to split Jewish ranks and to establish more than nections and was unable to attend the opening meeting of the Israeli Mission to the United
one Jewish delegation, and forced several obstructionists to re- 1949 Allied Jewish Campaign, Acting Mayor GEORGE ED- Nations, it is understood accord-
turn to New York.
WARDS (center) graciously stepped in as speaker. With Ed- ing to high authority 'here, is
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making two important moves to
wards are (left) ISIDORE SOBELOFF, executive director of the expedite the UN General Assem-
An Episode Involving the Late Chase S. Osborn
We collaborated with Dr. Wise on so many fronts that it is Jewish Welfare Federation, sponsoring organization of the bly's approval of admission to
impossible to list even a fraction of them. In Zionism and in Allied Jewish Campaign, and (right) HENRY MONTOR, the United Nations.
matters involving the American Jewish Congress, we were co- executive vice chairman of the national United Jewish Appeal,
On the eve of debate of the
workers and friends for three decades. We recall differing ser- principal beneficiary of this year's campaign.
application by a committee—
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iously on only one occasion: during the Cleveland 1921 ZOA
probably beginning Friday—the
convention when Dr. Wise was—as he remained throughout his
Israeli delegation to the Jewish-
Continued from Page 1
life—a staunch defender of Justice Brandeis and this Commenta-
Arab conference at Lausanne
tor was in the ranks of the anti-Brandeisists.
The four Israeli veterans were given an enthusiastic will present formally to the
One incident, in our relations with Rabbi Wise, stands out ovation. Pvt. liana Tatarsky and Pvt. Shlomo Margovsky Conciliation Commission the for-
prominently enough to warrant relating:
saluted- the audience and Lt. Shulamith Krinsky and Lt. Col. mula on Jerusalem enunciated
On Feb. 5, 1945, Dr. Wise wrote to me: "Someone in Sault Mati Dagan spoke of their experiences and expressed the by President Chaim Weizmann
Ste. Marie has sent me this filthy comment of former Governor gratitude of the Israeli soldiers for all aid that comes from last Saturday.
Osborn. I think it is about as nasty as it can be. That last
In Tel Aviv, the government
paragraph is abominable." Dr. Wise asked for action in this this country. Lt. Krinsky emphasized that, in Israel, women will submit a report on its ef-
matter. It involved former Governor Chase S. Osborn's Corner in stand side by side with the men€
forts to apprehend the assas-
the Evening News of Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., and the following in defense of their country. Lt. the rally with an impassioned sins of Count Bernadotte to. the
Col.
Dagan
stated
that
the
war
objectionable paragraph: "This war is going to awaken and
plea for adequate giving to bring Swedish government. The latter
create a great many new things, and in that way will not be so for liberation in Palestine has about - "the reunion of our people move is being made to placate
the Scandinavian bloc of na-
wrong. Wars happen as long as the world lives a selfish life. been underway since 1920, as with its destiny' and. its soil."
Our own President and the entire Jewish race and many others young Palestinian Jews strug-
At a dinner meeting preceding tions whose sentiments may
gled again'st a variety of foes to the mass rally, Morgenthau,. Gil- have been swayed by the sen-‘
in addition to Jews live to get instead of give."
(The late Mr. Osborn here had reference to his claim that establish their own state. "The man and a number of local lead- sational Swedish announcement
the Roosevelts were Jewish. Our readers will recall the famous youth of Israel have a good ers gave brief' talks, spurring the in plenary session on this point:
letter of President Roosevelt, in response to my inquiry about partner in the Jews of America," major givers. Charles Frucht- The SWedish delegate then de-
his ancestry, in which he told me: "In the dim distant past they he said.
man of Toledo, who had pre- clared. he would abstain' from
may have been Jews or Catholics or Protestants. • What I am more
George Edwards, acting mayor, viously announced a gift of participating in a vote on the
interested in is whether they were good citizens and believers in greeted Morgenthau a n d the $250,000 to the United Jewish application. •
God. I hope they were both." Osborn told •me on two occasions other guests on behalf of the
that both Theodore and Franklin Delano Roosevelt had claimed city of Detroit. He spoke in
to have come from Jewish stock and t at Theodore Roosevelt place of Vice president Alben
boasted of his Jewish ancestry to him . several occasions: Dr. Barkley, whose scheduled talk
Wise had shared Osborn's view on this store).
was .cancelled when he missed
I wish to have it recorded, as a tribute to the memory of the Washington-Detroit plane.
By BORIS SMOLAR
Chase S. Osborn, that when I registered my protest against his Edwards contrasted the positive
(Copyright 1949, Jewish Telegraphic AgeneY)
column he wrote: "You are a precious friend. It was a mistake for
Communal AffairS
that quotation to have appeared in my Corner in the Evening
Barkley Apologizes;
News of Sault Ste: Marie. There are many kinds of Jews. Many
The Jewish Agency and the Council of Jewish Federations. and
are noble, like the Barish Brothers in the SOO, and yourself. You
Welfare
will soon issue full statements on the multiple cam-
Failed to Reset Watch paigns for Funds
must forgive this slip. I want your goad-will and friendship and
Israel which hamper efforts of Jewish welfare funds and
give you my affection eternally."
the national United Jewish Appeal ... A commission will be set up
Direct JTA Teletype Wire
I had put him to shame and he apologized. But his reply did
in New York to authorize legitimate campaigns and invalidate
to The Jewish News
not satisfy me. I asked that he should publish a retraction and
WASHINGTON—JTA—Vice-
Other types . .. The commission will consist of representatives of
President Alben W. Barkley
at my suggestion he published the following:
the Jewish Agency, United Palestine Appeal, United Jewish Appeal
"Jews are human beings, and like all peoples they have a sprinkling of some
said Tuesday that the switch- and Israeli Consulate ... The Agency will also seek to make arrange-
who may be unsavory in their dealings with their fellow-men, but in the main Jews
over to daylight saving time
ments for proper timing of the Hadassah and the Geverkshaften
are a most constructive force in any community in which they live.
"Jews give and labor and toil for the benefit of their fellowmen. and one need
in the District of Columbia
campaigns carried on outside the Welfare Funds . . . There will
not be too closely allied with humanitarian movements to be aware of the fact that
caused him to miss his plane
also be a re-examination of projects, with the aim of avoiding_
when Jews give and toil they do so with even greater devotiion than their neighbors.
for Detroit where he was to competition with Welfare Fund campaign soliciations . . .
"It is because Jews have suffered more that they give more. They work for
community chests, and the war chests, the Red Cross and all movements that aim
address a United Jewish Ap-
The special CJFWF committee will also continue efforts to
to improve the status of mankind. Whether it is a cause to fight infantile paralysis
peal Rally Sunday.
or cancer. or whether it is a fight to improve the cultural and educational status of
secure the merging of campaigns and agencies wherever possible,
their neighbors they are right in the center of great social movements.
He phoned his apologies to prevent new or unnecessary drives, examine thoroughly relative
"Jews have paid a heavy toll in the present war. More than a third of the Jews
Jewish leaders in Detroit, ex-
needs, and achieve proper supervision of expenditures . . . Mem-
have been murdered and of the thirteen million Jews who remain in the world
nearly 1,500,000 are serving in the armed forces of the United Nations. Of this
plaining that he forgot to re-
bers of this special committee are: Daniel Shiman of Newark,
number there are 500.000 now serving with the armed forces of the United States.
set his watch.
Bernard P. Kopkind of New Haven, Isidore Sobeloff of Detroit,
"There is a record of heroism and devotion which is unparalleled among the
peoples of the earth and a synonym for Jews is SERVICE."
Ephraim Gomberg of Philadelphia, Henry C. Bernstein and Monroe
(Chase S. Osborn was a regular subscriber to The Jewish mood of Sunday night's audi- D. Goldwater of New York .
l'Tews and frequently commented upon its contents. On March ence, with that of the mood of
0, 1942, he published a special column in the Evening News of those at the protest rally held Making History
quilt Ste, Marie, urging all up-state Jewish citizens to subscribe in the fall of 1947, when the
American Jewry lost two great figures within one month .
tv The Jewish News-- as he had—and to "Count me as one of fate of the partition plan hung One is Dr. Stephen S. Wise and the other, Dr. Joseph Rosen . .
them in giving the warmest kind of welcome to Colonel Slam- in the balance at the United Na- Both names will go down in Jewish history inasmuch as each of
ovitz" (the monicker was, of course, his own invention).
tions. He complimented Detroit these two leaders played a prominent role in shaping Jewish life
. The Osborn incident is quoted to show the alertness of the Jewry on their efforts for the . . . Much has been written about Dr. Wise, but little is known
great Stephen S. Wise. He was wide awake, ready to stop even campaign, and urged the suc- by the younger Jewish generation in America of the achievements
the minutest abuse of Jews and Jewish rights and to demand cessful completion of the current of Dr. Rosen . .• . A man of great modesty and a great humani-
justice from all for the downtrodden. It is no wonder that all drive.
tarian, Dr. Rosen succeeded, as head of the Agrojoint in settling
Jews loved him, that Christians admired and respected him, that
"The conditions of the new about 200,000 "declassed" Russian Jews on land in the Ukraine
Presidents made him their adviser, that Wilson and Roosevelt immigrants in Israel are worse and in the Crimea
treated him like a brother.
now than when they were in
Thg Jews in Russia admired him ... To them he was a symbol
• It is good to be able to recall the many good things he did, DP camps," Henry Morgenthau,
and to know that we had the privilege of working with him and principal speaker of the evening, of all that is good in American Jewry ... I have seen his portrait
in Jewish institutions in Moscow and 'Odessa hanging alongside
of enjoying his friendship.
declared. He pointed out that, the portraits of Lenin, and Stalin . . . And that means no little in
Zecher Zaddik Livracha! Blessed /the memory of this saint.
while it is entirely possible that the Soviet Union . . . Great as his job was in resettling Jews on
the DP camps will be emptied land in Soviet Russia, he was always dreaming about visiting
Samuel Noah Heyman
this year, a new emergency has Palestine in order to see for himself the colonies there . . . How-
The Jewish community is impoverished by the death of Sam- arisen with the anti-Semitic
uel Noah Heyman, brilliant engineer, devoted Jew, noted Zionist. persecutions now rampant in a ever, he could never find the time to make this trip . . . Shortly
before his death, he confided to me that he recently became a
For many years, upon his arrival in Detroit in 1918, he was number of Moslem countries.
member of the Zionist Organization of America . . . Soviet author- .
active in Jewish ranks. His first appropriations out of his income
An additional 100,000 re- ities always looked up to him although he was a representative
always went for Israel's upbuilding or for charitable causes.
fugees are streaming into Is- of American Jewish "capitalism" .
As a founder of Young Judaea and the Jewish National Fund - rael from the Arab lands, Mor-
It was Dr. Rosen who brought into Russia the first tractors
Council, as one of the oustanding American engineers, he was geothau said. "To exceed last
sui generis.
year's United Jewish Appeal the country has ever seen . . . Although intended for the Jewish
The large number of friends and former co-workers—non- - collection is our irreducible colonies, these tractors were loaned by Dr. Rosen to Soviet farms
neighboring on the Jewish settlements ... This inspired the Soviet
Jews and Jews—attested to the love and esteem in :which he was minimum."
held by all who knew him. The Young Judaeans loved him. To
He described some of the sac- Government to set up tractor factories . Up till that time, land
them he was—affectionately—"Daddy Long Legs"—the tall friend rifices made by Israeli Jews to in Russia was ploughed with the help of horses, since Russian
upon whom every one could lean.
provide for the resettlement of peasants did not know how to use tractors . . . With the establish-
He was one of the founders of The Jewish News, a lover of the newcomers, and stated that ment of tractor factories, the Soviets also intensified their collect-
music, a participant in cultural Israeli programs and a lover of "the most U.S. Jews can do is ivization system . . . It was easier for the peasant youths during
books. The last book he was reading—Maurice Samuel's "Prince to supply dollars."
this last war to learn how to drive tanks, since they had had
of the Ghetto," thrilled him. He was happy in the knowledge
Rabbi Morris Adler concluded training in driving tractors .. . Thus the first tractors brought to
that his daughter, Judy, became an able leader in Young Judaea,
Russia by D. Rosen to no small extent contributed to mechaniza-
2
THE JEWISH NEWS
following in his and his efficient wife's footsteps.
tion of the Soviet Army and its success in winning the war against
Friday, April 29, 1949
Blessed is the memory of this very good man.
the Nazis .

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Between You and Me

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