America is face to face with a virulent revival of the old spirit of Ku-Klux Klanism, Elmo Roper, public opinion expert, warned yesterday in an address at a special all-day meeting of the National Coference of Christians and Jews at the Waldorf-Astoria, attended by 1,000 representatives from 49 cities.
While the Negro will probably be the first victim of this attack, anti-semitism has spread over the country, especially in urban centers, and anti-Catholicism is prevalent in the Middle West and South, Mr. Roper said. He emphasized that if persecution begins with a single group, it is only a question of time before it spreads to others, and he insisted that “we might get farther if we pointed out that a blow against any minority is a blow against democracy and against America.”
This same point was made by speakers throughout the day, and Dr. Everett R. Clinchy, president of the conference, who pointed out that attacks which may start after the war against Jews, “will inevitably turn against Catholics and against sections of Protestants.” He said that those who hate jews, Catholics or Protestants despise democracy, for they do not want a social order which gives to people different from themselves the same dignity and the same rights they want for themselves.
Roger W. Straus, a co-chairman of the conference, and Basil O’Connor, a member of its budget committee, urged greater support of the tolerance program of the National Conference of Christians and Jews. Mr. O’Connor, in an address during the luncheon period, urged that the annual budget of the organization be increased from $1,000,000 to $2,000,000 and this was voted during a business meeting in the afternoon. It was also voted at the afternoon session to imorease the national board from thirty-six to 200 members.
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.
