(Jewish Telegraphic Agency Mail Service)
The attitude of the Club of Jewish Deputies towards the Government is explained in a speech which was delivered in the Sejm during the debate on the Budget estimates, by Deputy Hartglass, the President of the Club of Jewish Deputies.
“We still believe in the goodwill of the Prime Minister,” Deputy Hartglass declared, “but we know that in spite of it there is a sabotage activity being conducted by the bureacracy, who put to nothing the best intentions of the Government.
“I want to raise further a most painful question. Here we accuse not minor officials, but the Minister of Education, M. Sujkowski himself. The Minister of Education is continuing the policy set by his predecessor, M. Grabski. The Jewish schools are being sabotaged. In the Yiddish and Hebrew High Schools no steps have been taken to appoint commissions to issue diplomas to their graduates. In the Universities the Numerus Clausus is being enforced with its full severity.”
Deputy Hartglass here quoted a series of figures showing the proportion of new Jewish admissions to the Warsaw and Lemberg Universities. One of the Deputies of the Right, he continued, had pointed out to him that the percentage of Jewish students admitted to the Universities was larger than the percentage of the Jewish population. “If that is the point, we must be logical,” Deputy Hartglass went on. “If you want the Jews in Poland to be restricted in all things according to the numerical proportion of the Jews to the total population, then please give us our proportionate number of State officials, army officers, railway employees, workers in the Government factories. Give us the same percentage of representation in the Government and in agricultural land possession. But of course you are out to enforce the percentage norm against the Jews only where you have not sufficient ability yourselves.
“I have just been told,” Deputy Hartglass proceeded, “that the Numerus Clausus Circular at the Universities has been recalled. I do not know for certain whether this is really definite. I have a sort of impression that it has been carefully stage-managed for the occasion. So we shall nevertheless vote no-confidence in the Minister of Education, M. Sujkowski. That, however, does not affect our position towards the Prime Minister and certain other Ministers (a voice: Pilsudski!) Yes,” Deputy Hartglass responded, “I speak with the greatest respect of Marshal Pilsudski and I am not at all ashamed of doing so. We therefore entirely dissociate M. Sujkowski from the Premier and from several other members of the Government.”
COMMUNICATIONS TO THE EDITOR
Sir:
May I heartily congratulate you on the publication of your Index, a copy of which reached me today. On your title cover you characterize it as “a key to contemporary Jewish history” and it is most certainly that. Complete, yet concise, it forms a valuable contribution to Jewish annals.
ANTON KAUFMAN, Publisher, “The Jewish Chronicle.” Newark, N. J.
Sir:
Please accept my congratulations on the “Index” which has just reached us. It is indeed all that you claimed it to be, namely, a pretty complete account of all phases of Jewish activity for 1925.
You have our best wishes for your continued success.
BENJAMIN GLASSBERG, Associate Editor,
Jewish Social Service Quarterly” Philadelphia, Pa.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
