Glad to Know You Better THE JEWISH NEWS Incorporating the Detroit Jewish Chronicle commencing with issue of Julp 20 1951 • entriet American Association of English-Jewish Newspapers. Michigan Press Association. Publisheit every Friday by The Jewish News Publishing Co.. 17100 West Seven Mile Road. Detroit ab. Mich_ VE. 8-9364 *inscription 34. a year, foreign *5. Entered as second class matter Aug. 6. 1942. at Post Office. Detroit. Mich„ under Act of March 3, 1870 PlrifLIP SLOMOVITI Editor end Pubtratter VOI. XXV No 20 SIDNEY StiMARAK Advertising Manager Page Four - • FRANK SIMONS City Editor July 23, 1954 Sabbath Scriptural Selections This Sabbath. the twenty-third day of Tammuz, 5714, the folloWina Scriptural :selections will be read in our synagogues: Pciitateuchal portion, NUM. 30:2-32:42, Prophetical portion, Jer. Licht aenshen, Friday, July 23, 8 p, m. * A Time to Rescue Our Spiritual Heritage America's Jewish communities are taking a breathing spell for fund-raising during the summer weeks. But before very long the hub-bub and the tumult of campaigns will commence anew. It won't be very long before nearly every group in our midst—small and large—un- doubtedly will repeat past performances and will launch the drives which have created the impression that fund-gathering is the only thing that matters in our existence. The multiplicity of campaigns has caused many of them to assume the forms of ap- paritions. And because there are so many causes that are justified in their fund-rais- ing efforts the danger of magnifying the less worthy aggravates the ghost phantasm and creates • a problem of the very word cam- paign. When that new season of fund-raising will - begin again—the cycle always starts on the eve of Rosh Hashanah—it will be time once more to take stock of our resources and to ascertain with definiteness whose campaigns are justified and which should either be elim- inated or merged with related funds. We are not deluded even by the remotest hope that there may arise in our midst enough people of courage who will strive to eliminate the unworthy and to consolidate the vital causes. This is, at the moment, a hopeless and thankless task. Vested interests in some national organizations will not aban- don power. Some local fund-raising groups undoubtedly will refuse to give up their iden- tity which depends almost totally upon hav- ing projects—and projects "call for fund- raising. But the responsible elements in the Jew- ish community must concern themselves with the multiplicity of campaigns before the ma- jor causes—the United Jewish Appeal and the scores of national and local institutions which are included in our Allied Jewish Cam- paign—are harmed by the confusion that must accompany too many drives. * • * The saddest commentary of all upon such a multiplicity of appeals for funds is, as we have already indicated, the impression left by them that Jewry - exists only for money collection purposes. There is a lack of the very spirit of our people in such a trend which abandons all cultural values. The fund-rais- ing tempos have created a need for enter- tainment that at times sinks to so low an ebb that all our traditions are shattered, every vestige of dignity disappears and Jew- , ish life assumes bu•soue aspects. Our community's best interests demand a change . in unhealthy conditions which cause fund-raising to dominate over all cultural as- pects. We need a new type of campaign: to educate our people to embrace new interests, involving study and discussion, in preference to the constant sponsoring of money-gather- ing projects. It has come to pass that edu- cational institutes planned by important movements have had to be cancelled because Rep. Bolton and Israel Congressman Frances P. Bolton of Ohio, who has been charged' with spearheading anti-Israel activities, in Congress, has writ- ten a long letter to the Jewish Review and Observer of Cleveland in which she denies the allegations and maintains that she has been and remains a staunch friend of the Jewish state and a supporter of aid to it. It is encouraging to read her statement in which she indicates that matters which created doubts in her mind have been clari- fied. Such clarifications give validity to the editorial comments in the Cleveland paper that Americans have a right to make their views known to representatives in Congress and that Jews have a right to a positive at- titude towards Israel's problems of security and economics. It is by adhering to such rights that we arrive at the truth and get the best results in efforts to cement friend- ships between democracies like Israel and the United States. of an insufficient interest and a lack of en- rollees, while calls to sponsor "projects" al- ways get responses without examination of merits of campaigns which could easily be fused jnto existing efforts in support of wor- thy movements. . This is not a popular approach to our cur- rent human reactions, else the problem al- luded to would not exist. The truth is that our communities have never forsaken any person or cause. The worthy are always cared for. But many a worthy cause is ex- ploited in the interest of activity and the en- ergy and expense involved prove unworthy of the result. It is this traditional plunging into "projects" that needs study—and elim- ination. Such study is a vital necessity in our time because the fund-raisers have unrealistically captured the communities and have caused the spirit of Jewish idealism to be 34:)legated to the background. Unless there is a revival of interest in the highest spiritual values of our people, in learning, in a re-embracing of our prophetic heritage, we shall be recorded as an ignorant generation. There still is time to rescue our inheritance and to nass it on to our children with honor and dignity. * - If we act, we will not only save our hon- or and our heritage, but we also will protect the future position of our communities. The cry "wolf, wolf," which is the natural result of mistrust that creeps in when there are too many conflicting campaigns, may have the tendency of harming the most vital fund- raising efforts. Firm action in correcting the present unhealthy condition will avoid such a calamity. This, therefore, is the time for drastic moves in the direction of curing our sore spots—even if they hurt those whose unnecessary drives must be eliminated. Then, if we put our houses in order in communal planning, we shall be able to de- vote ourselves to the educational needs ' which alone protect and enhance our spirit- ual heritage. The challenge is at hand. The answer must come at once. - Important Merger Thrilling Adventure: 'The Life and Times of -Gen. Two-Gun Cohen Charles Drage, whp spent most of his life in the British Navy and who met Morris Cohen 30 years ago 'while on duty In the Far East; recognized areal personality in the man who became known worldwide as the Two-Gun General, and he has set down the story, as told to him by the hero himself, in "The Life and Times of General Two-Gina Cohen," now published in this country by :Funk and Wagnalls (153 E. -24th, NY10). Mention of this book already was made in The JewishNewS Commentary column on June 4. It was a passing mention at the time. The book deserves real attention and should have a wide reading public. Moishe Cohen is a lively figure on the world Arena. In the juicy narration, the spirit of which was caught with literary skill by Drage, he relates about Cohen's early youth, his pranks, his rim- ins with police, his prize-fighting career, and his eventual settle- ment in Canada. There, too, he had escapade after escapade, and in all instances he showed a sense of justice to the underdog. It was . in 'the course of such experiences that he befriended the Chinese, who he defended, and they embraced him as a friend. He was enrolled as a member of their secret organization and later. when he met Sun Yat-sen and was asked to be his bodyguard, his future career was carved out for him: he became a leader in Chinese 'freedom movements, rising to the rank of General in their forces. China became his second fatherland. He worked with all of the , country's leaders. After Sun's death he was associated with Sun Fo, Chiang Kai-shek and Li Chai-sum. He saved Sun's life and risked his own. Be acquired ammunition and funds for the Chinese and sacrificed his :own interests in the course of his activities. ,He always retained his Jewish loyalties and refused to marry a Chinese woman. When Tan Yen-kai„ then Chief Secretar: - of the Kuomintang, asked why he does not choose a Chinese girl and get married, he replied: "No, Tan, it's no use. A good Chinese girl would never marry a foreigner and a .bad`Chinese girl I don't want." "Quite right," was Tan's reply as the whole table at which they were seated stood up and toasted him. In the book's Epilogue, Drage writes that Cohen "met and married Judith, a strikingly handsome middle-aged lady of his own people, the owner of the largest dressmaking' establishment in Montreal and the leading couturiere in ' -hat city. Our wives liked each other at sight and as quiet, respectable, middle-aged couple.: as disported ourselves in London. Morris and Judith are perfectly matched and in those dreary days it was a rare pleasure to see any two people so Wholeheartedly happy." Cohen, according to this fine story, met and befriended N. E. B. Ezra, who then published Israel's Messenger in Shanghai. Ezra "managed to persuade -Dr. Sun (who was always rather cagey about putting his views on paper unless he horoughly 'inderstood the question) to write him a personal letter for publication in his paper, supporting Zionism and the Jewish National Home in Palestine." Drage pays great tribute to Cohen as a man of "uncompromis- - ing honesty," of shrewdness, of having acted as a father-confessor in mending many marriages in spite of the occasional bawdiness of his conversation. He writes: "His name was on most men's lips, and if, his real. place in Chinese history was hard to estimate, his purely military prowess had not gone uncommemorated. One bitter winter morning, wandering through a Shanghai suburb in search of an elusive White Russian acquaintance, I had found my- self treading the mud and slush of the 'Route Cohen.'" There are many anecdotes to enliven the book—all told by Cohen himself. "The Life and Times of General Two-Gun Cohen" is a very human story and is eminently worth reading. Another step in the direction of advanc- ing our educational activities,. by means . of eliminating overlapping, was taken last week wheii . the Sholem Aleichem Elementary ;. School affiliated with the United Hebrew Schools: This move makes it possible for the Sho- lem Aleichem School "to continue to serve the segment of the community which has a positive approach to Jewish life with -- an orientation both to Hebrew and Yiddish." ; At the . same time, the United Hebrew Schools' position is strengthened by its ac- quisition of authority to supervise another , school system. In most communities, there are special Education Bureaus 'which guide the activi- ties of all school systems. It is different in•, our community. Here the United HebreW Schools are recognized as the community schools. The extension of their authority is a necessary step in the direction of eliminat- ing chaos, of arriving at proper curricula Arnold Posy's Stories for Youth. and of elevating the standards of our edu- cational systems. Utilizing the Peter Pan method, the characters portrayed by The latest merger is valuable also from Arnold Posy in his new book, "Holiday Night Dreams," (Bloch) another angle: the need for encouraging are carried enthusiastically through the air as they enact the young Jews to train for the Jewish teach- stories and fantasies from Jewish folklore. Notable Jewish heroes are • delineated here for the young ing profession and of assuring them the largest and best possible field of activity reader, as Mr. Posy deals with the various festivals, with Elijah, and opportunity in such aspirations. A mul- with Moses, with the first Biblical figures who are described in tiplicity of schools may create unnecessary the story, ."The Creation of the World," with the Golem and the bidding for teachers, whereas a clear field will Maharal, and a score more. The reader is introduced to the wonders of Jewish folk tales, enable the leader in the field—in our com- the legend of the creation of the clay Golem, to the story munity's instance, the United Hebrew to about a simple weaver, Leibele, whose likeness to St. Francis of Schools—to advance the facilities for teach- ,Assisi caused a spreader of untruth to confess guilt of having er training. plotted to destroy a Jewish community. Leibele's pleading with From every point of view, the newest the Pope, the Maharal's creative genius, the battle on many fronts affiliation is a step to be commended and of Right against Might, combine to • form. a good collection of t stories. to be welcomed as a necessity in our com- shor liella Arensen illustrated Posy's "Holiday Night Dreams.",: munity's cultural planning.