THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS ® Friday, February 2, 1962 Purely Commentary Announcing "the acquisition" of the two weekly English-Jewish newspapers currently functioning in Pittsburgh by that community's United Jewish Fed- eration, the acquiring organization's president stated: "We believe that a good community is a well informed community. We want to do everything , possible to give people the information and knowl- edge that is necessary for intelligent action in these complicated times." Is it possible that the many years during which the two about-to-be-abandoned periodicals func- tioned in behalf of the Pittsburgh Jewish commun- ity were mere vacuums information-wise- Can it be that Pittsburgh Jewry can look only to' a community-owned periodical, into which the two Federation-acquired papers are soon to be merged, to make it "well informed?" . * * * The youhgest of the two periodicals that are being absorbed by Federation has-been in existence 28 years, and the older one was organized 70 years ago. These are long periods of time during which the publishers should have had sufficient training in the preparation of well-qualified newspapers. Apparently they have failed, and now Pittsburgh becomes another community where it will be said that private enterprise in journalism is impossible for JewS. We view such a development as a major calamity in American Jewish life. Countrywide, in the non-Jewish field, we have been witnessing similarly-upsetting developments. Newspapers have vanished, most of the American cities have become monopoly newspaper cities, and in the weekly and the monthly magazine as well as the daily newspaper publishing field it has be- come increasingly more difficult for newspapers to subsist. The rising costs of production have forced magazines with several million readers to fold up, and daily newspapers with circulations approxi- mating a million have closed shop. Is it possible that the financial afflictions are responsible for driving Jewish newspapers into community control and out of reach of private in- itiative where freedom of the press rightly belongs? * * It may well be that there is another, a more valid reason, for the abandonment of several newspapers by their private owners and their acquisition by the community federations. It is Control of English-Jewish Weekly News- papers by Federations Viewed as Calamitous possible that the shortage of enterprising editors, the inability of some of the publishers to face the trying tasks that go with producing well-functioning, Jewish newspapers that should serve our commun- ities with dedication, and also with strength of will power to adhere to convictions based on the major needs in Jewish life, is the cause for a sense of despair that makes -publishers say: "what's the use! let federation have this headache!" What a pity that the communities that have been affected by the unfortunate trends of com- munity ownership of the press do not recognize the grave dangers inherent in such a practice of dealing a death blow at freedom of the press. With a better response to existing newspapers, with en- couragement to their publishers to entrust the duties of news gathering and editing to the ablest available and best trained men, with an effort to assure as complete coverage of the community as possible by the news gatherers and dispensers, whatever problems may now exist could easily be solved. Detroit a 'Natural' for Boxing Revival "Legitimate businessmen will stead of 100 fights going on By HARVEY ZUCKERBERG Elimination of the "purple" overcome the unsavory elements. around the country on an eve- ning, there is only one—on TV. element from professional boxing Within a year or so the sport "Now that TV has boxing and increasing support from an will come back. It will provide only one night a week on Sat- Detroit another fine feature; unexpected quarter — among a urday, promoters will be giving few other plus and minus condi- from a civic standpoint." Lou, who as a heavyweight won their cities live matches on the tions—will revive the fight game here to what it was in its depres- all his bouts during the depres- other nights." sion until a shoulder injury end- Lou, 52-year-old head of a fam- sion era hayday. ed his professional career, stayed ily of four, with his wife, Phyllis, The prediction that this meta- in the ring to referee. morphisis will take place* within He has held a referee's license and daughters, Jennifer, 12, and- a year was made by Max and 31 times, one each year since Mindy,- 9, is active with Max in their National Coal and Oil Com- L ouan H dl rwho hold more 1931. _ e . pany business at 9141 Monica. than an afficionado interest in In some years he says, he Max and his wife, Gertrude, the sport. refereed "literally hundreds Each of the brOthers has made and hundreds" of fights, and grandparents of two, have two a notable contribution toward its can remember one night when sons, attorney Wally and Stuart, success—Max, through promoting he officiated over 39 Golden in graduate school at North- top caliber drawing cards, and Gloves three=round bouts in a western University, and a daugh- ter, Cheryl,- 14. Lou, by encouraging interest and row. Lou- has operated Can* Tarn- refereeing among the amateur "Kids would enter the ring by and professional ranks. the thousands," says Lou. "It was akwa since 1937. Both agree that Detroit—native the depression and they were He says, "Camping is my pro- town of Joe Louis and Sugar Ray hungry. I was heavyweight champ fession, refereeing fights is my Robinson—is the "natural" loca- at Michigan State College when avocation, but to make a living tion for the revival. I graduated in 1931 and jobs- I'm in the coal business." Max points out that Detroit were scarce. I had my first pro Lou is most enthusiastic, how- has the essential facilities in fight the same week I graduated. avocation. ever, when he talks about his the Cobo Hall Convention "I don't think anyone would Arena, Olympia and the Gray- choose to be a fighter if he could he "Boxing is a natural says. "You don't contest," have to stOne Ballroom. The attraction make a living in any other way. know any rules. It's the kind of colorful talent is emerging It's tough. You have to Train like of sport that has primitive ap- from an abundant crop in the a racehorse. You can't work at a amateur standings, according job and fight. Now, you -can't body peal get for people. You punched in see the some- nose to Lou. afford to fight, unless you have and you want to see the out- "Two things killed boxing," a sponsor to pay your way until come." says Max, "the purple element you become proficient. and television. But good strides And "unexpected quar- "Television killed boxing with ter" has what shown enthusiasm for are being made by businessmen saturation. Fights used to be on the sport? Why, the ladies, of , like myself, with unblemished four nights a week. No promoter course, says Lou. reputations, who provide fans a is going to put on a fight when good place to enjoy the best people are watching one in their love "Women are savage. They it." the sport has to offer." living rooms. It mean r that in- Max has promoted four "big" cards since last June, two of which pitted Joey Giardello against Detroit's Henry Hank, fourth - ranking middleweight in the world, and Sugar Ray Robin- MANNHEIM, Germany (JTA)—About 200 packages son against Wilfie Greaves. These matches drew crowds of of cookies manufactured and packaged in the United more than 10,000 each, with States, stamped with :the swastika symbol, were dis- gates of over $22,000 apiece. covered by an American officer here Sunday in the "This shows that the interest United States Army commissary. . ' is there," says Max. "These The sales price on the packages, said the officer, were the biggest gates for box- had been superimposed by the swastika. The officer said ing, excluding television and championship fights, in the en- he presumed the swastika stamp had been applied in the United StateS, and not in Germany. tire country. , U.S. Army Commissary Gets Swastika-Stamped Cookies Siomovitz pampered by public ownership or government con- trol. If there is presently a shortcoming of a handful of people who would be drawn in as readers of a Jewish newspaper because they would receive it free in recognition of their gifts to a campaign, because the fund-raising agency has become the owner of the newspaper, then this, too, can be corrected. Let the rabbis and synagogue officials make certain that every member of their emigre- gations reads a Jewish newspaper. Then-the pews might not be as empty on the Sabbaths; then the synagogue might cease to be a two- or three-day a year assembly hall. Let the federation dignitaries take into consideration the fact that their efforts are valueless among uninformed people, that a response to agencies' needs can not come from' ignorant people, and that they have a better chance for survival if the contributors are Jewish - news- paper readers. Let 'the large Jewish advertisers, . whose names dominate the daily newspaper ads, stop "boycotting" the Jewish weeklies and give them a chance to live. - The argument . in defense of a community- owned periodical can be anticipated. It would pro- vide for free distribution of the community paper to every contributor to the federation campaign, and many who do not presently read a Jewish newspaper would be provided with a periodical. Would that insure the production of a good newspaper, the full coverage of news — unbiased, unadulterated, unhampered by the inevitable in- trusion of the opinions of those who manage the community's affairs and therefore also would man- age the community's newspaper? One of the most famous, even if it was a most daring, saying by Thomas Jefferson was: "Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter." We are not preaching nihilism and are not advocating newspaper rule at the expense of com- munity government. What we hope for, as we con- tinue to strive for it, is that there will be such cooperation between community and newspaper that the well informed constituency will grow in num- bers and in understanding of Jewish values and in realization of Jewish needs. But the newspaper must be free, unaffected by vested interests, not Handler Brothers See Rebirth of Sport By Philip , * It isn't mere "life" that matters: it is more a question of what kind of life. Our Jewish press,. now becoming limited to the English-Jewish week- , lies, (the life span of the Yiddish press is gradually diminishing), must not only be financially secure: ., it must be independent! There were less than two years in the history of our own community when this newspaper had a circulation -agreement with federation. It was an agreement that in no way affected the newspaper's editorial independence. Even then, there were rumblings which resulted in false accusations of "control." Think of what is happening in the com- munities where newspapers are being acquired by federations where there is inevitable and actual control. Anything akin to the abandonment of private initiative and private ownership of the press, lead- ing to some sort of community domination, is detri- mental to wholesome community functions. We deplore the trends in some communities and . the latest development in Pittsburgh, where two news- paperes are caused to vanish, to enable the organ- ized community to establish a newspaper of its own. We view these trends as calamitous to Jewish life in America. , Boris Smolar's 1 'Between You . . . and Me (Copyright, 1962, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Inc.) The American Scene Testimony with regard to discrimination in employment is now being evaluated in- Washington in connection with pro- posed Federal legislation on equal employment opportunity . . The emerging picture shows that job bias against Jews in this country- does not approach., in magnitude, the discrimination practiced against Negroes- . . . However, the testimony estab- lishes that restrictions against Jews are nonetheless to be - found at many levels of American economic "life . . . They are es- pecially high in Chicago, Los Angeles and Ohio . . . The Bureau • on Jewish Employment Problems in Chicago has submitted shocking facts with regard to • anti-Jewish discrimination in employment in that city . . . In Los Angeles, more than 250 firms have placed with private employment agencies orders containing discriminatory specifications . . . included were insurance companies, banks, department stores, oil companies, transportation lines, real estate agencies, food processors and manufacturers of many different products . . . Some of 'the discriminatory requests in the employment orders asked for "Gentiles only" . . . Others used a code to identify Jews as "53's" . . . In Ohio, employment discrimination against - Jews was found to be practiced principally in public . • accounting, banks, utilities, and in manufacturing firms in heavy industry . . . President Kennedy is now backing the passing by Congress of a Federal Fair Employment Practices law to insure equal oppor- tunity for all in securing employment. Inside Israel A survey conducted in Israel under the direction of an American expert has now . established that too few young people in the Jewish State continue their education to the university level . . . The ratio is one-half per cent o _ f the population, com- pared with one per cent in Britain and two per cent in the United States . . . The survey also established that 40 per cent of the high school teachers in Israel have insufficient teacher training . . . Education in elementary schools in Israel is free and com- pulsory for all children from the age of 5 to 14 . . . but this is not the case with high school education . . . Students in secondary schools have to pay fees ranging from 400 to 550 Israeli pounds a year . . . However, there are State subventions, graded according to the income of the parents . . . When Premier Ben-Gurion introduced a unified state school system, political movements were barred in the schools . . . Only the Scouts were permitted to function within school precincts . . . Now, the Premier has had to succumb to left-wing pressure to permit political youth movements to resume activity in the schools . . . A survey conducted in Israel under the direction of an American expert has now established that too few young people in the Jewish state continue their education to the university level . . . The ratio is one-half of one per cent of the population, compared with one per cent in Britain and two per cent in the United States.