A ringing plea for tolerance in keeping with the high ideals on which this country was founded was voiced tonight by Representative Joseph W. Byrns, Speaker of the House of Representatives, in an address before the banquet of the fourteenth quinquennial convention of the B’nai B’rith.
Mr. Byrns declared that “prejudice of any kind is a heavy handicap to Democracy,” and that “the cultural wealth of America would be much the poorer should the Jewish contribution have been denied it.”
The speaker also praised the work of the B’nai B’rith, saying that, by its work, “it has achieved the ideals for which America stands.”
A message from President Roosevelt was read to the assemblage by Alfred M. Cohen, president of the Order. About 700 attended the banquet.
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.