In a vigorous speech denouncing religious bigotry and race hate which he delivered before 2,000 persons assembled at the twenty-fifth annual convention of the Hebrew Sheltering and Immigrant Aid Society held yesterday at the Astor, Senator William H. King of Utah said that he favors action by the United States government in behalf of persecuted Jews in Germany and other countries of Europe.
The Senator devoted a large part of his address to a scathing berbal attack on what he called “a relapse to the middle ages” in Gemany and deplored the policies pursued by the Third Reich in connection with its Jewish population. He pleaded for liberty and tolerance, saying in no uncertain terms that in the United States there is reason to believe that “efforts must be made to combat the spread of the barbaric conditions which are cropping up everywhere and which are leading to conditions inimical to peace.”
The speaker paid tribute to the HIAS organization, saying that he regretted the need for the existence of such a body. “The very fact that your organization was created is a condemnation of out Christian society which called it forth,” he said. “The clamps and chains on the liberty of modern people should have been wiped out in the march of progress.”
Expressing his “amazement” at reports published in the public press regarding German and Rumanian atrocities, Senator King felt “profound regret” over the exploitation by an unjust government of a people with the object of extirpating, degrading and despoiling them.” He voiced his belief that it is the “duty” of the United States to “raise its voice in protest” against the repressions practised by the Hitler regime in Germany and said with feeling that “we are talking too much war, entirely too much.”
CHEERS GREET SPEAKER
The address, which was broadcast over radio station WHN, left a deep impression. The organization which adopted resolutions condemning Hitlerism and asking intervention by President Roosevelt, did not fail to evince its feeling about the Senator’s words. He was cheered and at the termination of his address before he left the room all stood in a rising vote of confidence and gratitude. A few women wept when he referred to the tragedy of German Jews.
The convention adopted resolutions felicitating President Roosevelt on the occasion of his fifty-second birthday, supporting the Tydings resolution before the Upper House, demanding action on Germany asking that German refugees be admitted into the United States under quota and asking that nat.. alization laws be loosened so that immigrants be permitted to enter this country under bond.
A communication was read from Frances Perkins, Secretary of Labor, reading in part as follows: “Ofcourse for many years I have known of the Hebrew Sheltering and Immigrant Aid Society and of its work in the field of immigration. But since I have become Secretary of Labor I have had increasing contacts with your society and have an even keener appreciation of the effective way in which it performs its functions.
“You have done a notable service in aiding newcomers to this land, in saving them from exploitation and in helping them to make adjustments in a new enviroment. In doing such a splendid piece of work you have rendered a singular benefit not only to Jews but to all people of this country for it is our common concern that qualified new-comers shall quickly become an integral part of American life. I congratulate you on your good work and look forward to another year of fruitful cooperation between the HIAS and the Department of Labod.”
Other speakers included Abraham Herman, president of HIAS; Max J. Kohler, representing B’nai B’rith; Samuel A. Telsey, director of HIAS; Rabbi H. Masliansky; John L. Bernstein; Charles E. Wyzanski, Jr., solicitor of the Department of Labor; Sol Polokoff, chairman of HIAS council of organizations; Jacob Fishman, managing editor of the Jewish Morning Journal, and Jacob Massell.
CITES IMMIGRATION IMPROVEMENTS
Mr. Wyzanski said that since the inception of the Roosevelt administration “new life has been infused into our political and economic structure” and in many fields the New Deal “has brought a fundamental revision of old laws.”
In his annual message Mr. Herman spoke of the work of the HIAS organization in twenty-five nations. He said in refugee relief work aid has been extended not only to Jewish expatriates but to members of other faiths, including Catholics and Protestants. He said that the HIAS worked hand in hand with the Ica and Emigdirekt organizations, technical contractions for the Jewish Colonization and the United Jewish Emigration Committee respectively, in the interest of aliens everywhere.
The bodies have been cooperating with High Commissioner James G. McDonald, of the League refugee body, in seeking to find haven for the victims of the Nazi repressions.
Direct service was rendered to 80,134 individuals during the past year, he said, and more than $300,000 was expended in the work.
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.
