2—THE JEWISH NEWS
Stark's Fascinating Story
Friday, July 20, 1951
History's Greatest Gamble:
Clean-Shaven Viennese, Rabbis
Together at 1st Zion Congress
A. Kahn and Gabrilowitsch
Among Detroit's Notables
Fisher and New Center build-
ings, the News, Times and Free
Press buildings, and many oth-
ers, are enumerated in Stark's
Editor's Note: With the opening set for mid-August of the
story,
first World Zionist Congress since the establishment of Israel,
Adding
weight
to
a
fine
por-
George W. Stark, Detroit his- And industry unites with charm trayal, Stark quotes at length the American Jewish Press presents the first of a series of three
Her breadth and length."
toriographer, was unofficially
articles on the past, present' and future of the Congress.
The most prominent Jewish the late Dr. Leo M. Franklin's
commissioned by the Common
An age that scoffs at miracles <>
eulogy of his friend Albert Kahn
Council of the City of Detroit name in the Stark book is that who died in 1942.
and lives by the engineer's world. The delegates who met
"to project and publish his re- of Albert Kahn. The historian
* * *
sliderule can never really un- to plan the new Jewish com-
port respecting the state and links Kahn's name with George
derstand the triumph of Zion-
Another
Jewish
citizen
re
condition of the City of Detroit, Wewitt Mason, the dean of De- ferred to by Stark is Max J. ism. By that sliderule, such a monwealth did not even speak a
particularly with respect to the troit architects, in the chapter Zivian, president of Detroit. movement could not possibly single language.
"The Builders."
business and in-
Albert Kahn, Stark writes, Steel Corp., which was incor- have succeeded.
dustry of the
An engineer present at t h e
"became
the world's greatest in- porated March 9, 1923, as an
City," on the
:Schrage Basle Casino in Switzerland ' on
dustrial architect." He shows outgrowth of Craine
occasion of De-
' _
Aug. 27, ,1897, when t h e first
how both Mason - and - Kahn Steel,.
troit 's 2 5
* * *
Zionist Congress was convened,
-their
"dreamed
and
made
birthday. T h e
Detroiters, of course, will be would certainly have been -very
dreams come true.".
result is a re-
deeply
interested
in
another
doubtful about the whole enter-
Kahn's arrival in this country,
vealing and im-
his studies under Julius Mel- name that figures prominently prise.
pressive book
chers, his work •a8 an employee in Stark's "Detroit, An Indus-
It was true that Zionism: was
"Detroit, An
of Mason, the latter's tribute to trial Center"—that of Ossip not created at that three-day
Industrial Mir-
Gabrilowitsch.
In
the
chapter
the young Jewish immigrant—
meeting in Basle. The hope for
acle."
these, form a. fascinating recap- "Remick and the Classics," the restoration of statehood had
And :so this:,
itulation of a lively story, Of Stark writes:
been crystallized in the prayers
City eirierges'
"When the
Mason and Kahn, Stark states:
of Jews throughout the 19 cen-
from M_r.eStark'S
City
of
Detroit
-"No• two persons,have had so
turies since the destruction of
report: as an•
was
seeking
to
profound an effect upon the
the Second Temple by the Ro-
in diis trial
physical development of De- expand its
mans. There were dozens of po-
acle. We lea,im
somewhat
troit as the late dean of the
litical Zionist groups before the
trom it a lot of
musi-
.archite6ta and his one-time doubtful
first Congress. There had even
history; aboU
cal
culture,
it
,office boy."
been a preliminary conference
Silas Farmer
was
Jerome
H.
Kahn's creations, the Ford
of these groups in September,
a n d Clarence G. W. Stark
•ftemick,
the
1893, in Vienna at which it was
Burtin, earlier historiographers; Highland. Park Plant, the Ford- world's largest
DR. THEODOR HERZL
resolved that a Zionist Congress
Cadillac the First Landlord; Engineering Laboratories. the. publisher
o
f
Nor was the territory on
should be held in Berlin in 1894,
Alex Dow, General Cass, Doug- General ,Motors building,, the popular song
though that plan fell through. which the Basle Congress fo-
lass Houghton,:, the , man of
hits, who was •
But Theodor Herzl, the lead- cused its dreams particularly
science. We meet our late friend,
principally in-
ing figure of the Basle Congress, promising.
the able historian, George B.
strumental in
After the first session, Herzl
had written his "Jewish State"
Catlin. We read anew about the
bringing to the
in virtually complete ignorance made some undoubtedly unsci-
first Detroit millionaire, Eber
community one
of the existing activities. He was entific statements in his diary.
Brock Ward, and about. Detroit's
of the great tal-
a rising young Viennese journal- He wrote: "In Basle I founded
early glamor girl; Clara. Ward.
ents of his time. Gabrilowitsch
There are the stories of De-
Ossip Gabrilowitsch, brilliant. ist, who had drifted away from the Jewish State. If I were to
troit's automobile makers,. the
Russian pianist and orchestra most ties to his people and had say. this today, I would be 'met
Fords and •the Dodges, and all
conductor, can't out west at the been catapulted back by the im- by universal laughter. But . . . in
50 years everybody will realize
the others who have made his-
instance of a Detroit Symphony pact of the Dreyfus trial. *
tory. The MaYors are delineated
The 197 delegates who gather- it."
board of directors, whose preSi-
The engineer would certainly
in intimate fashion. Musicians,
dent at the. moment happened ed at Basle included bearded
scientists and, industrialists are
Orthodox Jews and clean-shaven have joined in the laughter. Had
to be Remick."
depicted in their great rOles.
ones, Ashkenazim a n d be been a very young man, he
It is a thrilling story, not only secular
Sephardim, businessmen and might have lived to see the im-
The fine styleof' George Stark
about
Gabrilowitsch,
"born
a
radicals, students and techni- probable come true and his en-
Sends color to this collective
Russian Jew," with a loyalty to cians—testimony to the differ- gineering calculations confound-
story.
this country that became "a ences that had developed among ed. Exactly 50 years later,
Mrs. Stark (Anne - Campbell),
distinguishing part of him," but jews scattered for 8o many cen- Herzl 's laughable prediction
plays a role in the making of
also of the symphony and its turies in so many parts of the came true.
this book -with, a poem - which
development.
includest1,44;1 : stania .pf tribute
Gabrilowitsth professed one
to Detroit.:-' •
eccentricity—an enormous col-
"My Citg'YUtefaii,
lar,• of stmusual height and con-
Exultant strength:,
tour. On warm evenings: at Or-
chestra -Hall, according to Stark;
By PHILIP SLOMOVITZ
Gabrilowitsch "would wear &WTI
-at least two of them . . . With
O.' G., a two-collar concert was Community ResponsibilitieL-: Some Important Questions
Several community leaders have posed some interesting
a point of pride." Then Stark
relates the following : • questions. Abe Kasle, our Allied. Jewish Campaign chairman, would
. By . BORIS SMOLAR
(Copyright, 1951, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Inc.)
• Such a man was bound to like to know whether a person who makes a pledge and does not
intrigue the antic fancy of pay it or a person who does not even pledge to our drive is• en-
Domestic Affairs
Jerome Remick, who took on a titled to membership on the board of a community agency. The
I have been asked for basic. information on the activities of
particular pride because he answer to this question, it seems to this Comtheritator, is obvious,
the Anti-Defamation League of Bnai Brith . . . Here are some of considered himself the dedd- A man who does not show enough. interest to support the im-
the facts that can be reported . . . ADL operates 27 regional
ing factor in bringing Gabril- portant Jewish causes should not be given . a voice in managing
offices in 23 areas a4d has set - itself an objective of opening 10 owitsch to the city.
the affairs of our agencies.
new offices this year . • They act as channels for -the distribution
A more Intriguing question is asked by another prominent
Once
he
gave
a
memorable
of the ADL program . .. In addition, they handle local problems party for 0. G. and the men leader who wants to know: "how much Should a person give?"'
and produce program material for the localities they serve .
of the orchestra. It was Mr. While a person's conscience must be his guide in facing this prob-
Each of the regional offices is guided by a local Board of Directors Remick's happy conceit to lem, we believe it involves much more than that. In the instance
which determines local policy within the general framwork of the make the Gabr-ilowitsch collar of our own community, there * a challenge to contributors to show
organization's national policy . . . The regions have their own
the principal decorative note. an interest in ALL Jewish causes, since .a community is made up
budgets for program projects, in addition to those program
Everybody had to wear one, to of all its parts and can not be sub-divided so that one donor'
materials which are developed in the national offices . .. These the intense joy of the leader. should be interested in one cause and his neighbor -in an entirely
regional items include literature, movies, speakers, radio trans-
At this same affair, which different one.
criptions and, in some instances, investigative work . .. The ADL was in honor of the leader's
David Schwartz in his JTA-syndicated column, recently made
staff is composed of about 200 employees, half of them profes-
birthday, a beautiful gift was an important point. Dave wrote:
sionals, the other half clerical . .. The goal this year for ADL is
About 25 years ago, economic conditions in Palestine had
made' him.
$2,737,170 and . is being raised through the Joint -Defense Appeal
reached a very low ebb. There was hunger and threats of rioting.
His response was character-
which raises funds on behalf of. the American Jewish Committee
The Zionist budget was very meager. Robert Szold was one of
istic and in a flawless, if
and ADL . . . The JDA. is governed by a coordinating committee somewhat broken English.
a committee of three sent to Palestine to survey the situation
of 14 composed of an equal number of represeentatives from the
and make recommendations.
"The
committee,"
he
said,
two agencies . . . Since 1949, ADL has retrenched, due to declin-
The big man in the YishUb at the time was M, M. Ussishkin.
"had some difficulty in select- ,
ing income . . . The major reductions have been taking place in ing a present for me on this
Szold examined the budget and noted that an appropriation
the large-scale programs of public education designed-to combat occasion. We might as well be
for a Jewish school of music in Damascus was one of the items.
anti-Semitism. -
Szold suggested that such articles be eliminated from the budg-
frank and talk openly about
•
.
:
Purely Commentary
*
*
*
Inside Hadassah
•The Hadassah seems to be "Organization No. 1" in the United
States, as far as financial condition is concerned . . . While almost
every Jewish organization in this -country shows nothing but a
financial deficit at the end of the year, the Hadassah reports in-
creased assets from year to year . . . Figures on the financial con-
dition of the Hadassah just made public show . that the total
assets of the organization increased from $6,000,000 in 1949 to
$6,5000,000 in 1950 .
. The bulk of the assets—over $4,000,000,
consist of U.S. Government Bonds and other U.S. investments ..
The other assets include about a million dollars in cash: and in
miscellaneous receivables and accrued interest .. . Most of the
assets represent trust and other special purpose fUnds which
Hadastah has set up over a period of years . . . Hadassah main-
tains '70 separate funds ... The insurance funds and reserves held
in U. S. for Hadassah employees in the United States and Israel
amount to more than $1,250,000 . . . The total Hadassah receipts
last year were about $9,500,000 while the disbursements were
$8,800,000 . . . The largest part of Haddassah's income—about
$7,600,000—came from chapter collections-
. It includes about
$1,000,000 collected by the chapters for the Jewish National Fund
. Membership dues yielded about $750,000, while the remainder
came from gifts, bequests, etc. Each Hadassah chapter deter-
mines for itself whether or not to apply its local welfare fund as
a' part of its quota . .. The national Hadassah office is not always
informed as to the. amounts collected from welfare funds since
the chapter does not necessarily report on the sources of its
collections . . . It is estimated that about ten per cent of Hadas-
sah's total chapter collections are provided by the Jewish Welfare
funds.'
these things. One thing they
considered giving me was a
beautiful wrist watch, but I
told them I did not want a
wrist watch and so they made
this lovely substitution. (It
was a gorgeous silver set.) You
see, gentlemen, the reason I
did not want a wrist watch is
that I have already a very
beautiful watch."
Then he took from his
waistcoat pocket a large sib-.
ver-cased watch, dangling from
a heavy gold chain, and he
passed it around the table.
The guests knew instantly
what he meant, for engraved
on the case were the initials,
S. L. C., indicating Samuel L.
Clemens, the name of his fam-
ous father-in-law, the late
Mark Twain.
•* * *
et. "It might be desirable to foster Jewish music in Damascus,
but with the limited Zionist budget, you just can't appropriate
for everything desirable—you must choose," he commented.
.
"You want me," replied Ussishkin, "to cut off my arm so
that I may save my eye, but I want them both."
Szold continued to urge the need of choosing and concen-
trating the funds on imperative needs.
But Ussishkin insisted on his own course. "Mr. Szold," he
said, "I am afraid we never can agree. The trouble is that ich
bin a kranker Yid and you are a `gesundter goy.' " Recently, Mr.
Szold laughingly recalled this anecdote, Szold has been one of
the band of Zionists who from" the beginning have had their
eyes on the economic slant. Maybe that is being "goy."
I think you might call Szold "the economic Achad Haam"
of Zionism, if such a term is permissible. In and but of season,
he continually sounds the note that only efficient business
methods can- bring about the greater Israel we all want. Right
now, Mr. Szold is particularly interested in the Palestine Endow..
ment Funds.
While David Schwartz's column was intended as a tribute to
the work of Robert Szold, the Ussishkin story is applicable' to all
of us. It has a local lesson. A person who limits himself to a single
interest cuts off his arm to save an eye. Those who devote them-
selves to all of the community's needs have a share in the most
constructive Jewish programs.
How much should one give? If you are interested in the
complete. community, you look for fundamentals. The basic prin-
ciple in Jewish life is the tithe—giving one-tenth of one's income.
When all Jews begin to think in terms of the tithe we'll have little
In its totality, Stark's "Detroit,
An Industrial Miracle," is a com-
plete and very good book. It is
one of the finest outgrowths of
our City's current 250th Birth-
day.
to worry about in communal life. Our institutions then- will be
—P.S.
fully provided for.
.