$2,000,000 Spent by B’nai B’rith in 13 Years, Cohen Tells 15th Parley in Farewell Report

Expenditure of close to $2,000,000 in 13 years on various activities was reported today to the fifteenth general convention of B’nai B’rith, international Jewish fraternal order, by Alfred M. Cohen, retiring president.

In his final presidential report to the organization which he has headed since 1925, Mr. Cohen said the money had been spent on good will work, emergency relief for victims of natural catastrophes and for the support of B’nai B’rith’s various educational, philanthropic and religious undertakings. He declared the sum was exclusive of administration expenses and did not include disbursements of perhaps another million dollars by the seven American districts and the 450 local lodges of the order.

Hundreds of delegates and visitors from every section of the country were present when the convention opened at the Willard Hotel. Later they adjourned to Arlington Memorial Cemetery, where Mr. Cohen, on behalf of B’nai B’rith, placed a wreath on the tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Mr. Cohen, who will retire from office on Wednesday, when his successor will be elected, in his report listed the order’s achievements in many fields, denounced Fascist countries for their persecution of both Jews and Christians, warmly praised Secretary of State Cordell Hull for having given "every assistance that was possible within the limitations of diplomatic usage" during the recent dark years for world Jewry, and reaffirmed B’nai B’rith’s intention to cooperate fully in the international effort to find places of refuge for German and Austrian refugees.

"In democracy alone," he declared," is the hope of Jews and others who are the playthings of autocracy. We who know this well should be foremost among those who stand embattled in defense of the institutions of democracy in this country."

He adduced statistics to show that in every country in the world there are very few Jews in the Communist movement. "Only those who do not know the Jews," he said, "their economic position, their general point of view, their religious history — only those who are warped by prejudice and therefore desire to entertain illusions, can believe that the Jews are, in considerable part, in sympathy with Communism."

Mr. Cohen reported that B’nai B’rith’s membership today is the largest in its entire history of 95 years. He described the growth of the order’s activities, pointing out that the organization supports non-sectarian hospitals which administer to thousands of needy patients; engages in social services of all kinds, from milk funds and holiday baskets for the poor to boy scout troops and prison welfare work. B’nai B’rith supports several large orphan and old age homes; sponsors eleven Hillel Foundations, which are religious, cultural and social centers for Jewish students at eleven great universities from coast to coast; has a junior order of 205 chapters throughout the country for Jewish boys between 15 and 21; maintains an Emergency Relief Fund for victims of great floods, fires, tornadoes, and pogroms; does social service work among the 4,000 Jews who annually visit the Mayo Clinic as patients; recently established a national bureau to render vocational service to Jewish youth; publishes the largest Jewish cultural magazine in America; maintains a Washington Bureau for aid to those in need of advice on immigration and related matters, and conducts an Anti-Defamation League to fight slanders against the Jew and to expose Fascist and un-American organizations and uphold democratic principles.

Mr. Cohen said that the membership of B’nai B’rith today is a third larger than it was when he first became president; that the two Hillel Foundations of those days have grown to III; that the 338 members of the junior order have expanded to more than 10,000, including active and alumni members; that the 45 B’nai B’rith women’s auxiliaries have increased to 178 with a membership of 17,000; and that the Order Itself, since 1925, has been extended into China, Hawaii, Argentine, France, Algeria, Brazil, Mexico, Uruguay, Chile, and South Africa.

The climax of the convention will take place tomorrow night at a testimonial banquet to Mr. Cohen. William B. Bankhead, Speaker of the House of Representatives, will deliver the principal address, which will be broadcast internationally, and James Roosevelt will read a message from President Roosevelt.

MEMBERSHIP DOUBLED SINCE 1933

The order has nearly double its membership since 1933, according to a report delivered by Maurice Bisgyer, executive secretary. Today the order has 60,689 members, as against 35,328 five years ago, he stated, adding that in the last three years, since the 14th general convention of B’nai B’rith was held here, 15,000 members were gained — 5,500 of them in the last three months. Membership gains were reported from every B’nai B’rith district in the country.

"We are today witnessing a steady expansion of the areas of dictatorship and a corresponding contraction of the areas of democracy," declared Mr. Bisgyer. "Concurrently with this development, we see a growing danger to the position of Jews in various places of the world. In face of this alarming situation, the work of the various departments of B’nai B’rith in striving towards the preservation of the security of our people in this country and the responsibility of B’nai B’rith officers loom more significant day by day. Certain it is that B’nai B’rith will continue to labor unceasingly in behalf of its increasing membership and the welfare of Jewry the world over."

2,492 CASES OF DEFAMATION HANDLED

Reporting on the work of the B’nai B’rith Anti-Defamation League, Richard E. Gutstadt, director, said that 2,492 cases of anti-Semitism were handled in the last three years.

In the overwhelming majority of these cases, he pointed out, the defamation was not committed as the result of deliberate malice, but because of thoughtlessness or failure to realize the injustice and possible harm to an entire people that resulted from discriminating against or ridiculing individuals. In almost every case, Mr. Gutstadt averred, those guilty apologized, and not only promised to guard against repetitions of the offense, but thanked the League for its usefulness in upholding the essential principles of American democracy and fair play.

Of the total number of cases handled, 172 concerned anti-Jewish defamation in books; 110, in employment; 486, in investigations; 190, in magazines and pamphlets; 140, in movies and stage; 60, in presentations of the Passion Play; 92, in resorts, hotels, etc.; 309, in connection with propagandists; 21, concerning the play "The Merchant of Venice"; 102, in radio; 265, in newspapers; 40, in education; 251, in organizations; and 254 classified as miscellaneous.

Dr. A.L. Sachar reported on the eleven B’nai B’rith Hillel Foundations, of which he is national director. At B’nai B’rith’s last convention, three years ago, these Foundations were located at the Universities of Illinois, Wisconsin, Ohio State, Michigan, California, Cornell, Texas, Alabama, and Northwestern. Since then, Dr. Sachar reported, new ones have been established at Penn State College and the University of North Carolina, while a twelfth will be instituted at the University of Indiana this Autumn. In addition, he said, scores of Jewish student groups at smaller colleges receive the unofficial guidance of the Hillel office.

Sam Beber, president of the Supreme Advisory Council of Aleph Zadik Aleph, B’nai B’rith’s junior order for youths between 15 and 21, reported 6,000 active members in A.Z.A., and more than 5,000 alumni. The junior order, he declared, now has chapters in every Canadian province and in all but seven of the United States. It also has chapters in Bulgaria and in Palestine.

B’nai B’rith has organized classes throughout the country to prepare aliens for citizenship, it was reported by Sidney G. Kusworm, of Dayton, O., national director of the order’s Americanism department, and treasurer of the order. He said that B’nai Brith has joined with other organizations in opposing congressional bills deemed injurious to innocent aliens. Cooperation in this and other national matters was reported on by Maurice D. Rosenberg, Washington representative of B’nai B’rith.