Is a Histadruth Drive Here Justified?

To the Editor, Jewish Daily Bulletin:

Your editorial “Wanted—an Accounting,” in the Jewish Daily Bulletin of the 17th of January, is grossly unfair.

The very accounting you demand was released to the public in the special edition of the Yiddisher Kaempfer, No. 100, of December 1, 1934, which was presented to the Convention of the Gewerkshaften Campaign held on December 1-3, and reported in the Jewish newspapers. The Jewish Daily Bulletin was the only paper which did not report to its readers the account of the Gewerkschaften Campaign, and now on top of that you publicly call for an accounting which was already given, instead of accepting the blame for your failure to publish it.

Here is the balance-sheet, as it was submitted for the approval of the 1,000 delegates present at the convention:

STATEMENT OF DISBURSEMENTS

(a) For Workers’ Agricultural Colonization…$32,119.55

(b) Immigration and Jewish Labor in Palestine…15,275.00

(c) Education. Cultural activities, and Technical Training…9,031.00

(d) Assistance granted to youth immigrants and their preparation for productive work; professional organization, sports-education, etc…7,343.25

(e) Workers’ Communal Buildings. 4,880.25

(f) Workers’ Sanitarium and the Emek Hospital…6,726.00

(g) Instructors and Delegates to Leagues for Labor Palestine and to the Hechalutz in 14 countries…6,496.25

(h) Cash balance on hand, as of October 1. 1934…3,330.50

Total Disbursements…$85,201.80

As to the justification of our work in this country, we prefer to stand by the impartial statement

Is the His#adruth, the Palestine Labor Party, justified in conducting a special campaign for funds in America?

The Jewish Daily Bulletin carried, on January 17, an editorial taking the attitude that there is no justification for such a campaign in view of the fact that the Histadruth has large reserve funds, and that the work for which it conducts its campaign in America is duplicating that done by the Keren Hayesod and the Jewish National Fund.