Ralph D. Blumenfeld, chairman of the Board of The London Daily Express and its editor-in-chief for thirty years, embarked on the S.S. Olympic last night which left for England. His projected speaking tour in this country was canceled on account of the sudden death of his daughter Tuesday night.
Mr. Blumenfeld arrived on the Olympic Tuesday evening, when he was scheduled to speak at the Jewish Daily Bulletin testimonial dinner in honor of Dr. Sherwood Eddy.
In an interview on board the liner before coming into Manhattan, Mr. Blumenfeld discussed the German situation, Anglo-American relations and other current subjects. He told reporters that the belief that war is imminent is based on “exaggerations and stretches of fancy.”
England and America are notoriously antipathetic toward Hitler and his repressive measures, he said. The only weapon which could possibly have effect in ameliorating conditions in connection with the Jews in the Reich, Mr. Blumenfeld said, would be united effort on the part of England and the United States. He condemned war on any grounds, and said that talk of war is the overheated fervor of newspaper men and the German youth.
“There is plenty of war talk in Europe but it is all bunk,” said Mr. Blumenfeld. “It is easy to talk war but quite another thing to make it. There is war talk in France but the French do not want to have it. In Germany the young men would be willing to go to war but the soberminded people of the country are dead against it.”
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.
