Friday, January 5, 1919 39
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
e rr••dy.•ft,
E11541
FOR 11 :
JEWELS
Schloss Bldg. Dedication Speech Is Still Applicable
By IRVING I. KATZ
Executive Secretary
Temple Beth El
September 1978 marked
the 75th anniversary of the
dedication of the Hannah
Schloss Memorial Building,
headquarters of the United
Jewish Charities and its
constituent organizations
and groups.
The building was located
on E. High St. (now E. Ver-
Pr`r_ Hwy.), in the heart of
Jewish district of recent
iiiiinigrants from Eastern
Europe, and was Detroit's
first Jewish communal
service building.
Detroit's population in
1903 was about 300,000, in-
cluding some 6,000 Jews,
predominantly immigrants
from Eastern Europe. Rela-
tions between the newcom-
ers, most of whom were of
the Orthodox tradition, and
the more acculturated
German-Jewish commu-
nity, primarily members of
Temple Beth El, were am-
bivalent. Considerations of
class, social standing, reli-
gious outlook, and degree of
Americanization tended to
keep the groups separate.
However, the
° German-Jewish commu-
nity's sense of obligation
to their less fortunate
co-religionists from
Eastern Europe was
inherently strong.
At the dedication of the
Hannah Schloss Memorial
Building, Henry M. Butzel,
one of Detroit's leading
Jews who later served as the
first Jewish Justice of the
Supreme Court of Michi-
gan, stated:
"A long step towards the
realization of the highest
ideal of the United Jewish
Charities, the beginning of
an era of greater benefi-
cence and usefulness, is
signalized bysthe dedication
of the Hannah Schloss
Memorial tonight. Almost
contemporaneous with the
formation of the first Jewish
congregation of this city
(Temple Beth El) was the
organization of the Beth El
Hebrew Relief Society
which did good and efficient
work during its many years
of existence. Its work was
largely of a remedial na-
ture, that is, giving of alms
to the deserving Jewish
poor. Very little was at-
tempted along the lines of
preventive charity, that is,
making our poor self-
oorting.
Fourteen years ago the
Self Help Circle was formed,
a society for the purpose of
teaching Jewish children
needlework of all kinds,
household work, kitchen,
garden work and other
kindred subjects. Very
many good positions in
dressmaking and millinery
establishments and mer-
cantile institutions • are
today held by young women
who received their first
training at this school.
"A class was also
formed to teach boys
manual training, but lit-
tle was done along this
line. Classes also were
formed to teach newly
arrived immigrants the
English language and
other elementary sub-
jects.
"All of these classes
and societies were incorpor-
ated into and became a part
of the United Jewish
Charities when it was
formed four years ago, and
they have all prospered
until the last year. Then
they received a very serious
setback. The former home
occupied by the Charities at
379 Brush St., at one time
suitable to its need, became
inadequate. ,
HENRY BUTZEL
"Owing to the fact that we
could find no one who would
make the expensive repairs
that were necessary, the
house became uninhabita-
ble. •
"The need of a new build-
ing became imperative so
that the good and noble
work done by the late Ida E.
Ginsburg during her life-
time might live on forever
and that generation after
generation might be the be-
neficiaries of what her life's
work stood for, Mr. Bernard
Ginsburg most generously
had agreed to found and
maintain a day nursery to
be known as the "Ida E.
Ginsburg Day Nursery,"
provided we furnished suit-
able quarters.
"We needed larger and
better rooms for our
classes. We needed a
place for settlement work
among the ever-
increasing foreign ele-
ment. We looked and
looked in vain. We
thought of purchasing an
old house, but this plan
was found unfeasible. We
tried to rent a house and
when we would -finally
succeed in finding one at
an exorbitant rental, we
would be confronted by
the owner with the ques-
tion of "How many chil-
dren have you?" When
we 'would blandly say
"Only two hundred," a
lease was out of the ques-
tion. We were on the
verge of despair and al-
most in desperate straits
when assistance came to
us.
"We all remember,- we all
loved and esteemed the late
Hannah Schloss, who de-
voted a good part of her life's
work to the Ladies' Sewing
Society, a constituent
member of the United
Jewish Charities. In her
memory and in order to per-
petuate her name, that
grand old man, Mr. Selig-
man Schloss, came forward
and said, "I will give you
$5,800." No sooner had he
said this when otherss,ame
forward.
"In order to perpetuate
the name of Lillie N. Hof-
man for generations to
come, in order to inspire the
little girls who will come
here with the sunshine and
happiness which char-
acterized her life, Mrs. Julia
Bell came forward and said
she would give us $500.
Eighty-three other mem-
bers of this community con-
tributed $3,000 so that to-
gether with Mr. Schloss' gift
and the sinking fund of this
Society we had $13,200 to
purchase a lot and building.
"Building operations
were begun early last
spring, the cornerstone of
this building was laid late
in April, and tonight the
building stands complete,
ready for the work of this
society, which will begin in
a few days.
"In giving you the his-
tory of this building I
wish again to say a word
in praise of our architect,
Mr. Albert Kahn, who
generously donated his
Examine
your breasts.
services and put up what
has been called by char-
ity workers the model
building of its kind.
"But now that we have
the building, what shall we
do with it? What becomes
our duty in the premises?
"As long as the countries
in Eastern Europe shall
continue to misrule their
people and divert the atten-
tion of the masses from the
real sources of evil by mak-
ing the poor Jew the
scapegoat, as long as they
will prevent their Jewish
subjects from followirig the
same trades and occupal
tions that are vouchsafed to
their other citizens, as long
as they shall continue to
persecute the Jews, so_long
will the tide of Jewish im-
migration continue and
even increase from year to
year.
"Out of the lands of East-
ern Europe, out of the house
of injustice, cruelty and in-
humanity will they con-
tinue to come. Many are
here already, many will still
arrive. What shall we do
with them?
"The story is told of a
rich old German woman,
who never gave a cent to
charity but showed that
she was charitably in-
clined. Each day after
eating a very hearty
dinner, she placed her
hands on her lap and
said: "Ich wunsch das
alle die arme Leute
Mochten so sat sein wie
ich ject bin" (I wish that
all poor people would be
as satisfied as I am now).
"My friends, your resolu-
tions in regards to the out-
rages and massacres in
Eastern Europe become
mere empty platitudes, as
meaningless as the wishes
of this old German woman,
unless you follow them up
with practical aid when
these people arrive here. We
have duties and obligations
that are due them.
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