Purely Commentary
The Late Herbert Hoover
Herbert Hoover was not among our greatest Presidents. He
might have been, but for economic hard luck.
But he certainly was not among the weakest men who headed
our Government, and he certainly was a man of great honor and
dignity.
When the Zionist Organization of America met in Detroit in
1929, he took occasion to send his greetings to the delegates through
your Commentator who then headed the Zionist Organization of
Detroit.
Ile was deeply interested in the problems of oppressed peoples
in Eastern Europe, but he may have been misled—as this Commen-
tator informed him less than a decade ago—about the role that was
played in the investigation of the anti-Jewish discriminations in
Poland that were conducted by the late Henry Morgenthau more than
40 years ago. But he was never deliberately prejudiced.
This Commntator may have been the first to suggest Hoover
for the Presidency. It was in 1919—when the future U.S. Chief
Executive was in the limelight as the food and
relief administrator in Belgium. With other mem-
bers of the editorial staff of the Detroit News, I
was asked by the late Russell Gore, who then was
in charge of the News editorial page, to write a
letter to the editor: there was a shortage of letters
then and Mr. Gore was anxious to build up that
department. In recognition of Hoover's humanitar-
ian war services, I wrote at length, suggesting that
this man had the qualification for the Presidency.
Mr. Gore was thrilled, my letter inspired several
others of a similar nature—and you know the
Herbert Hoover result, less than a decade later.
in 1929
We join in paying tribute to the memory of a
very distinguished man. Mr. Hoover will be remembered affec-
tionately by all who knew him, and the apple-selling era which
followed his disastrous administration will be credited not to him
but to conditions over which he had no control.
The New Russian Bears: What's Their Technique?
Russia's strong man is out and new powers now are directing the
activities and controlling the destinies of the vast empire that is under
the total control of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of
the Soviet Union (CPSU).
What techniques are we to expect from the masters who direct
the activities of the Russian Bear?
The official notice about the changes in Russia, submitted to us
by the Embassy of the Soviet Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in
Washington states that the plenary meeting of the CPSU Central
Committee held in Oct. 14
"granted Nikita S. Khrushchev's request to be relieved of his
duties as the First Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee,
Member of the Presidium of the CPSU Central Committee, and
Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR in view of his
advanced age and deterioration of his health."
He wasn't such a sick man but recently; he had planned for im-
portant meetings with Chancellor Erhard in West Germany; he was on
the back of the Russsian Bear in all his arrogance. Yet, the official
USSR communique unceremoniously introduced to the world the two
-new dance masters on the Russian area: in forming us, in the same
official announcement that came from the Washington Embassy, that
the Presidium of the USSR Supreme Soviet met on Oct. 15 with
Comrade Anastas I. Mikoyan, its president, in the 'chair, granted the
request of Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev to be relieved of his duties
— again due to age and health — and
"appointed Comrade Alexei Nikolayevich Kosygin as Chairman of
the USSR Council of Ministers" and by "the decrees of. the
Presidium of the USSR Supreme Soviet" announced the unanimous
"appointment of Comrade Alexei N. Kosygin as Chairman of the
The Hoover Saga . . . USSR
Techniques . . Hyphen as
an Issue in '64 Politics
By Philip
SiOMOVitZ
of students by us with various nations, the aid we give to many peoples
and the benefits we derive in turn by the acquisition of cultural ad-
vantages make it a very good deal for all concerned.
But there is the matter of loyalties, of patriotism, of unques-
tioned dedication to American ideals. When these are adhered to,
when loyalty is unquestioned, the hyphen should not matter. When
the first concern of a citizen is the welfare of our land, his supple-
mentary interest in the welfare of the nation he stems from
becomes a matter of kinship, of humanitarianism. Assuming —
and how could it be otherwise. unless the person involved has a
loyalty to communism? — that the American citizen who has an
interest in a foreign matter is anxious about his co-religiosists' or
former co-nationals' welfare and their advancement culturally,
economically. religiously, what's wrong with that?
It is different when the conflicting Russian ideology is involved,
just as it was different during World War I when there were disloyal
German-Americans or during World War II when German-Americans
included pro-Nazis. But even during the eras of the two wars, there
were pro-Germans who immediately became anti-German when the
United States stepped into the conflict; and during the second world
conflict there were some German-Americans who were in the forefront.
of the struggle against Nazism. During World War II there indeed
were too many pro-Nazi Germans: our government knew how to watch
them and how to treat them.
- Hyphenation" is hardly an issue today. and Senator Goldwater
became the subject of ridicule in some quarters. There has been a
Iot of punning about him and his attitude toward the hyphen_
Yet, the question is not as strange or as puzzling as many
would believe. This is indicated by the appearance this month of
a book dealing at length with the issue. In "The Hyphenate in
Recent American Politics and Diplomacy," published by the Uni-
versity of Kansas Press, Lawrence, Kan., Louis L. Gerson, a
member of the department of political science at the University
of Connecticut, goes into great detail to review American experi-
ences during both world wars and in eras preceding it.
Gerson is primarily concerned with the manner in which ethnic
groups play a role in major elections, how Irish-American, German-
American, Polish-American, Jewish-American groups are being culti-
vated by candidates for political offices.
The author of this interesting book makes mention of both the
Democratic and Republican nationalities sections. The Democrats had
organized one in behalf of Franklin D. Roosevelt under the direction
of Bernard Richards, but it is the Republican party that is currently
placing emphasis on the nationalities group — as was indicated by this
commentator several weeks ago in reference to the anti - Israel resolu-
tions that were crammed through a Republican meeting by an Arab
group active in the Republican Nationalities Division.
By flashing the lights on such divisions and on the hyphen that
seems to play a role in political campaigns. once again becoming
evident now in many areas of this country, Prof. Gerson calls attention
to claims for a Polish or a German or a Jewish vote.
He makes much of the Zionist issue, of the pledges that had been
made to Jews in behalf of the Zionist cause and of Israel by Presidents
commencing with Woodrow Wilson, and he shows how until most
recently — his book appeared too early to include the experiences in
the present Presidential campaign — Jewish votes were courted on
the strength of pledges to support Jewish rights in the Middle East.
In effect — and Prof. Gerson's book proves it— the pro-Israel
position became a bi-partisan issue so that the matter of American-
Israeli friendships is assured and has emerged as basic American
policy. The late Senator Arthur H. Vandenberg played an im-
portant role in assuring such a status foe Zionism, and the
emergence of Israel — which would have surprised the Michigan
Senator as it did most Jews and nearly all peoples everywhere—
has become a subject for glorification.
Nevertheless, there is the frequent return to the discussion of the
merits of ethnic votes, and the issue of the Jewish vote frequently
USSR Council of Ministers . . . "
It may take some time before it will be possible to make any recurs. It is a major subject for concern in the' New --York Senatorial
election, where both Keating and Kennedy are vying for the Jewish
favors. But if Keating should be preferred, as so many hope he will,
it will not be on an Israeli issue or the need for the liberalization of
the immigration laws—both candidates sharing the same views on the
major issues—but for the same reasons that motivated so many other
New Yorkers: the injustice of penalizing a tried public servant who
has rendered excellent services to our country, the unfairness of
intruding on a political scene from another state, the capitalizing on
a family name.
Well, this is intruding into another area, but it is all related to
the facts presented in Prof. Gerson's book.
As was indicated at the beginning of this discussion, President
Theodore Roosevelt was among the most outspoken opponents of the
hyphenated Americans. It was at the outbreak of World War I that
he said: "When two flags are hoisted on the same pole, one is always
hoisted undermost." But at that very time the Toledo Blade wrote:
Eddie Cantor—the Man for All Seasons
"United we stand, hyphenated we fall." And President Wilson (these
Eddie Cantor's passing removes from the American stage one
are all quotations included in the Gerson book) said: "Some Americans
of its most distinguished sons.
need hyphens in their names, because only part of them has come
He was one of the great actors of the century.
•
over; but when the whole' man has come over, heart and thought and
He was much more than that: he was a genuine humanitarian,
all, the hyphen drops of its own weight out of his name."
with an open heart; he loved people and he was deeply devoted to
There is, of course, the positive side, and the indelibility of the
Jewry and to Israel.
creative and positive hyphen is referred to in Gerson's book in the
His appearances here and in many other communities in behalf
quotation from Oliver Wendell Holmes' "The Poet at the Breakfast
of the United Jewish Appeal, Israel Bonds, Bnai Brith and other
Table":
appraisal of what the new Russian development will mean in relation
to Jewry, whether anti-Semitism — which certainly was not curtailed
by Khrushchev — will be accelerated or stopped by the new leadership;
whether the creators of new dance techniques for the Russian bear
will cooperate with the United States and other democratic nations in
the direction of peace and amity, or whether they will aim at disrup-
tion of good will and mutual accord.
One thing is certain: what had occurred last week was the result
of dictatorial rule: it was the unanimous action of a small group of
men .who are dominating over the 220,000,000 Russians; that we can
go to the polls on Nov. 3 with a blessing of the privileges we enjoy as
constituents of a democratic way of life which enables us and not a
small, group of dictators to say who is to head and direct our govern-
ment!
•
•
•
causes and movements linked him very closely with our communities.
. At the- same time he was the great benefactor of causes that
helped many faiths. The March of Dimes resulted from his coopera-
tive planning with President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and he was ready
to aid all good causes.
Blessed be the memory of this good man.
*
*
*
The 'Hyphen' Again an Issue in Politics
Senator Barry Goldwater did not discover the term hyphenated
American. It was in use many decades ago. President Theodore Roose-
velt was an especially sensitive man the subject. Others railed and
ranted against the hyphen. Some were right in condemning hyphena-
tion, Insofar as the linking of cultures is concerned, however, there
has, in the main, emerged a more tolerant attitude. This is due to the
realization that this country has flourished and continues to benefit
from cultural pluralism.
The two issues, that of hyphenation in politics and the merging of
cultures, must not be confused. The official encouragement by our
government of cultural exchanges between nations, the interchange
"We are all tattooed in our cradles with the beliefs of our
tribe; the record may seem superficial, but it is indelible."
In a sense the Gerson study carries with it jitters. They are in-
Israel's Needs
Explained at
ORT Conclave
ATLANTA (JTA)—The need to
increase all levels of education in
Israel, and to intensify Israel's
vocational training to meet eco•
nomic challenges. was stressed
here by Nachurn Shamir, economic
minister of Israel in the United
States, who addressed the 1964 na-
tional board conference of the
Women's American ORT. Empha-
sizing the importance of skilled
labor in boosting the nation's ex-
ports. Shamir said that recent
projections call for doubling in-
dustrial production and tripling es-
ports during the next five years.
In a message of greeting to the
conference, President Lyndon B.
Johnson hailed the "humanitarian
efforts of the Women's American
ORT in behalf of our fellow rren,”
which. he said, were an encourage-
ment to peoples the world over.
"To those who are being helped
to a new life through ORT's pro-
grams of vocational education-and
training," the message declared,
"your service offers a future of
hope and fulfillment. To all who
know of ORT's high purposes, your
work is an inspiration, an example
of how the conscience and action
of dedicated women can prepare
the less fortunate for their rightful
place in today's society."
Other greetings were received
by the conference from W. Willard
Wirtz, Secretary of Labor: and An-
thony J. Celebrezze, Secretary of
Health, Education and Welfare.
Mayor Ivan Allen, Jr., of Atlanta,
welcomed the dele
gates, drawing
a parallel between ORT's voca-
tional educational goals and those
of this city's.
Daniel Mayer, former French
Minister of Labor and Social Wel-
fare, and chairman of the execu-
tive committee of the World ORT
Union in Geneva, told the 500 dele-
gates that "wherever ORT works,
the individuals we train become
threads of strength in the fabric
of the nation."
Leaves Fortune to JNF
JERusALF.m — A businessman
who often visits Lsrael and wishes
to remain anonymous. has given
to the Jewish National Fund in his
will 3.000,000 Swiss francs (S670,-
000).
The agreement, signed by the
donor and the JNF, provides for
annual payments by the fund to his
children. under the condition that
they at least frequently visit Is-
rael.
American affairs and that they
neutralize one another. He shows
that group voting exists in the
United States, that ethnic elements
at times benefit from parties' in-
tercessions but that "more often
they do not."
He does suggest the abolition
of nationalities' divisions, the
establishment of a fair practices
code to define the uses of for-
eign - language advertisements
and_ reform of the electoral sys-
tem. In the suggestions for con-
trol of advertisements he treds
on dangerous grounds. Insofar
as the nationalities aspects are
concerned there already are
visible changes in the Demo-
cratic ranks.
"The Hyphenate in R e c en t
American Politics and Diplomacy"
is an informative book. But it fs.
too panicky. Among new citizens
there is gre'ater loyalty than the
book would indicate.
In Jewish ranks there have been
changes that alleviate the fears
expressed by Prof. Gerson. But
when principles involving human-
itarian aims are concerned be-
come matters for discussion, it
will always be expected of pa.
iticians to show an interest in the
needs involving the kinsmen of
former immigrants who now are
among America's. voting popula-
tion.
cluded also in the foreward to the book by Prof. G. Lowell Field of
the University of Connecticut who seems concerned over "the danger
to prudent national decision-making" resulting from "special affections
of ethnic groups" and the appeals to the latter by politicians. Prof.
Field expresses the hope that Gerson's book "will lead toward a general
recognition by public leaders of the dangers to national survival in-
volved in the current easy and open cultivation by politicians of special
ethnic clienteles."
This is being a bit too panicky. The fact is that the cultivation
of ethnic groups, if done honorably — as it often is done — can
strengthen rather than weaken loyalties. And a basic fact must be
remembered: never has a politician made a pledge that might reach
unfavorably upon American policies, and if he tried, he'd fail.
Recognizing that ethnic groups make of America a "nation of
nations," Prof. Gerson indicates that the various elements of differing THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
nationality backgrounds have not involved the United States in non- 2—Friday, October 23, 1964