THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS — Friday, Apr il 17, 1959-2

Purely Commentary

Sienkiewicz's Fantasies About American Jews

The eminent Polish author of "Quo Vadis," Henry Sien-
kiewicz, who hailed from Nowogrodek, was known as a liberal,
as a friend of the Jewish people, as a defender of the down-
trodden.
Yet, typically, in his description of American Jews he
wrote only of their commercial successes: The Nobel Prize-
winning author did not report in an unfriendly fashion. Yet,
it is puzzling that it was financial element that impressed him.
This is part of the tragedy of Jewish existence: that the
commercial aspects which were imposed upon our people
should have become the measuring rods for judgment of us
by our neighbors.
The attitudes are • changing. Israel has introduced a new
viewpoint. Now it is the scientist and the agriculturist, in addi-
tion to the scholar, who is the major factor in Jewish life, and
in the imagination of our realistic neighbors. But in fiction
and in bias, the Jew still lurks the figure of the Jew as business-
man.
When he visited the United States in 1876-78, Sienkiewicz
wrote a series of letters for publication in Warsaw newspapers.
In an English translation by Charles Morley, these letters appear
in a new volume, "Portrait of America," published by Columbia
University Press (2960 B'way, N. Y. 27). Morley's editing of
this book is commendable. He has ably translated Sienkiewicz's
observations of the life and customs of Americans.
Morley based his translation on Sienkiewicz's works which
were collected in Warsaw, in 1950 by Prof. Julian Krzyanowski.
"Portrait of America" is_ the - first complete collection of Sien-
kiewicz's letters to be published.
In his references to the Jews whom he had met during
his travels in this country, Sienkiewicz wrote from San Fran-
cisco, Sept. 9, 1877: "It is less surprising in Poland that the
Jews have gained control of commerce and, in part, of industry,
but here where the population is extremely industrious, where
competition is especially keen and the struggle for survival is
conducted ruthlessly, the real commercial abilities of the Jews
become fully evident."
The editor of the translations comments, in a footnote,
on Sienkiewicz's reference to Jews in industry in Poland:
"Occupational restrictions and restrictions on ownership of land
compelled the Jews in Poland to enter commerce."
Sienkiewicz's letter from San Francisco continued:
"In trade and commerce the Polish Jews hold their own
against Yankee competition, and if need be, could do so against
the devil himself. They come here in most instances without a
bent, without •a knowledge of the language or conditions, in
other words, with only their two hands and a good head on
their shoulders. The _day after their arrival each one of them
open's a business. If anyone fries to cheat them, he is himself
cheated.- In commercial transactions they are no less honest
than other. buSinessmen. I do not know a single Jew who, after
A year's residence; is still inpoverty. Each of them has money;
each, as the Americans say, 'is making a living'; - and after a
while each 'is worth' such and such a sum of money. Some
of them manage to make millions. But be that as it may. More
important is the fact that the Jews from the kingdom of Poland
do not forget whence they have come and where lie the bones
Of their forefathers, whereas those from Austrian and Prussian
Poland tend to identify themselves with the Germans. It
cannot be denied that the Jews are a hardy race. This element
in our population 'should not be discounted, for the Jews
possess exactly thOse -traits which we Poles lack and which,
added to our own. would make for a strong nation."

Fantasies About Jews:
Naivete in Viewing
Our 'Financial Genius'

The Jews of Perpignan

—

Livelihood by Moneylending

Simultaneously with Sienkiewicz's letters, Columbia Uni-
versity Press has. published another . volume that has a bearing
on the subject of Jews who, deprived of ordinary opportunities
of employment and land-ownership, were compelled to resort
to money-lending to earn a livelihood. "An economic study based
on notarial records" is incorporated in "The Jews of Perpignan
in the Thirteenth Century," by Richard W. Emery.
This study "attempts to utilize for the economic history
of the Jews of southern France a source of information almost
entirely ignored up to the present — the notarial register."
There is evidence in this account that Jews did not possess

SiOMOVitZ

"an honorable social status" with their Christian neighbors.
Several early writers who described southern French Jewry's
position are quoted, their works discussed, and an interesting
account 'given of the history of Perpignan Jewry.
Emery describes in detail the size of the community-228
adult male Jews were listed in the register together with 20
minor males and 65 women. Migratory tendencies of the Jews
of that time are described. Thus, while some Jews came to
Perpignan, "some Jews were certainly moving away."

Direct JTA Teletype Wire
To The Jewish News

There were some Jewish craftsmen and "some Narbonnese
Jews were workers in silver." Jews were absent from agri-
culture and cloth production and "no Jew described as a
tailor has ever been cited from any Perpignan document . . ."
. . . "There is no mention of any professional Jewish scribe or
notary in Perpignan in our period . . . Little can be said of
Jewish doctors in the town in the 13th century . . . "

From this evidence, Emery states, "it seems clear that the
Jews of Perpignan in the 13th century were not, save for a
few exceptional individuals, concerned with trade . . . The evi-
dence is overwhelming that this rather substantial group of
Jews supported itself by moneylending, to the virtual exclusion
of all other economic activities."
The author thereupon describes the lenders and the bor-
rowers and gives an evaluation of the debts of Jews to Chris-
tians as well as to Jews. He discusses economic activities of
Jews in relation to real property and states that "in the me-
dieval period the Jews of southern France held iand quite
indistinguishable from their Christian neighbors," but that
"in the region of Perpignan in the late 13th century, little
land had passed into Jewish hands." Emery concludes that
Perpignan Jews "did not regard land as a convenient or profit-
able, or probably very safe, way in which to invest their capi-
tal." For the Jew, he states, "real property did not furnish the
security that it could give to his Christian compatriot."
Perpignan Jewry flourished for a time, but even money-
lending became difficult, returns on the Jews' funds declined,
and we learn from Emery's account:

.

"From these and other blows the Jewish community of
Perpignan was unable to rally. Its economic decline con-
tinued without check and by the start of the 15th century
it was relatively poor. The gathering forces of religious per-
secution 'after that time can only have aggravated its diffi-
culties until the expulsion of 1493, following hard upon the
cession of Roussilon to Spain by Charles VIII, brought an
end to the existence of the community."

Thus, in two volumes, we have two accounts, both by hon-
orable men, of two different spheres: one in which Jews were
compelled to earn a livelihood through moneylending; and
the other in which there is gross exaggeration of Jewish
successes overnight in our own free environment. The first
presents facts, based on notarial records; the second shows the
effects of prejudices even upon the mind of a free-thinking
person.

.1110.0i0•1 ■ 0411 ■0■ 04111.1 4 •1■0■

Marilyn Cantor Goes
to Israel for Bonds

HAIFA — More than 12,000
people, including army units,
men, women, young boys and
girls and older civilians, started
from this city at dawn Tuesday
for the annual 100-mile hike to
Jerusalem.
Mayor Abba Khoushy was at
the starting line, blessing the
hikers with the traditional "Go
forth in peace, return in peace."
The hikers will reach Jeru-
salem in four days and partici-
pate in a huge parade in the
capital. Among the hikers were
nurses, members of the Gadna
youth battalion and four guests
from Holland who came here
to participate in the annual
hike.
Some youths, girls as well as
boys, are expected to join the
hike at Hadera, marching only
two-thirds of the way to Jeru-

salem.

French Author Awarde
Rainier Literary Prize
PARIS, (JTA) — Joseph E.

Kessel, well-known French au-
thor and son of immigrant Jew-
ish parents, was awarded the

coveted Prince Rainier literary
prize for 1959.
The prize, carrying an award
of 1,000,000 francs, is given each
year to a French-language writ-
er for the outstanding quality
of his total work.
The jury consisted of a group
of French literary notables, in-
cluding Georges Dnhamel, An-
dre Maurois and Marcel Pagnol.
Kessel, 61, came to France in
1914, and has lived here since,
except for the World War II
years, attaining prominence as
journalist and author.

0■04111 ■ 11 ■ 41■4101=1-0•11=10.1r

0

Boris Smolar's

Between You
... and Me

(Copyright, 1959
Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Inc.)

Diplomatic Notes:

What a pity that so great a writer, so good a friend of
. Jewry, should have been so blinded, by a semblance of pros-
perity among those Polish Jews he had met, to be misled into
convincing himself that Jews possessed the magic of con-
quering the business world the moment they arrived in this
country, of "making millions," of outsmarting their neigh-
bors. Apparently he was not introduced to the Jewish ped-
dlers, to the workers in sweatshops, to those who struggled
for a livelihood and suffered additionally for the very lack
of knowledge of the language and conditions about which
Sienkiewicz wrote in his letter.

He added to the above, in his message from San Francisco:
"Such is my frank opinion. Anyone who looks down upon the
Jews as being of -inferior birth and ancestry is an imbecile.
I do not advocate that we court them with special favors. When
they do wrong, they should be punished like everybody else.
But under no circumstances can we exclude them from the
orbit, of our lives. So- much for the Jewish question."
Then, writing. about Polish communities in America—he
mentions his visits in Detroit, where there has always been
a large Polish population—he again commented that the Jews
he had met "were -generally quite wealthy." He stated that
the Polish Jew, "thanks to his innate talent for business, and
to his enterprise, will arrive in New York on Sunday, let us
say, open a small business on Monday, and already by Tuesday
he will lead into the field the most cunning American who
tries .to cheat him."
We are compelled to marvel at such naivete. It wasn't so
among Jewish immigrants in the 1870s or in the early decades
of the present century. Many newcomers "made good," we do
not deny. But most of the immigrants struggled before suc-
ceeding. When, therefore, a great writer is exposed as having
believed that Jews "within a few years . . . become millionaires,"
the reader is compelled to wonder whether some equally misled
guide could possibly have misguided him on his tour.
* * *

12,000 to Hike
to Jerusalem

By Philip

MARILYN CANTOR left for
Israel to serve as a "personal
ambassador" for her noted
father, Eddie Cantor, whose
health does not allow him to
travel. Miss Cantor is making
an intensive study of eco-
nomic projects in Israel fin-
anced by Israel Bonds. She is
undertaking this tour on be-
half of her father, who is the
national chairman of the
Builders of Israel, the honor
society. of those who purchase
one or more $3,000 Israel
Housing Bonds, each of which
represents the cost of an im-
migrant housing unit. On her
return to the United States,
Miss Cantor will embark on a
nationwide speaking tour for
Israel Bonds.

Israel Honors Mrs. Jacobs

Who will be the successor to Abba Eban when he leaves
his post as Israel Ambassador to the United States next month?
. . . Few are in a position to know the answer. . . . It is not
known as yet even among the highest government officials in
Israel. . . . Several candidates for the Washington post are
mentioned, but it seems that Yaacov Herzog, present Israel
Minister in the Israel Embassy in Washington, has the best
chance . • . Among other candidates mentioned is Reuven
Shiloah, who served in Washington as Minister Plenipotentiary,
together with Ambassador Eban, and is now political adviser
at the Israel Foreign Ministry . . . Mentioned as candidates
also are Avraham Harman and Teddy Kolek, both well-known
in the United States . . . As matters look, Herzog will re-
main in Washington in charge of the Embassy, but no Ambassa-
dor will probably be officially named until after the national
elections in Israel, in November. . . . By that time, Israel will
need new ambassadors also in England, in Italy and perhaps in
France. . . . Israel's Ambassador in London, Eliahu Eilat—who
preceded Eban as Ambassador to Washington — is definitely
leaving his post in October and may be replaced by Michael
Comay, former Israel Ambassador to Canada . . Eban's post
as head of the Israeli delegation at the UN will probably be
filled by Joseph Tekoah, deputy chairman of the delegation.

Personality Profile:

It is safe to predict that the next president of the American
Jewish Committee will be Herbert B. Ehrmann, of Boston. . . .
He will be elected president on April 19, at the annual meeting
of the American Jewish Committee in New York. . . . By electing
him, the American Jewish Committee is showing an example
to other national Jewish groups that a president must not neces-
sarily be a New Yorker. . . . Born in Louisville, Ky., Ehrmann
has gained quite a reputation in Boston, both as lawyer and as
Jewish communal leader. . . . In his youth, he was on the staff
of counsel attempting to save Sacco and Vanzetti, by organizing
an appeal to a higher court against their death sentences.. . •
He has written his experiences in a book, "The Untried Case,"
published by Vanguard Press in 1933. . . . He has a son who is
the Reform rabbi of Congregation Israel in Brockton, Mass. . . .
In Boston, he is a trustee of the Combined Jewish Appeal and
an honorary trustee of the Associated Jewish Philanthropies. .
He is interested in Israel, and serves on the AJC's Israel com-
mittee. . . . He was a member of the AJC delegation in 1957,
which conferred with Premier Ben-Gurion in Jerusalem . .
During World War I, he was a member of the War Labor Board
policies. . . . He also held the post of director of the Industrial
Relations Division of the U.S. Shipping Board. . . . He has trans-
lated poetry from Hebrew, and a play of his, "Under This Roof,"

JERUSALEM, (JTA) — Mrs.
Rose Jacobs, honorary president
of Hadassah, who is now visit-
ing Israel, was honored with the
establishment a seminary for
Youth Aliy. eaders carrying
was produced on Broadway in 1942.
her