News Brief

A modus operandi for dealing with the settlement of German refugees was reached here today at the joint meeting of the executive committee of the autonomous body created by the League of Nations to handle the refugee problem and the executive of the advisory council set up to assist James G. McDonald, High Commissioner for Refugees, in his task.

The joint meeting of the two committees, presided over by Lord Robert Cecil, noted British statesman, adopted resolutions providing for the establishment of an information bureau by the private organizations for collecting information on the possibilities of settlement and emigration, while High Commissioner McDonald negotiates with the governments of the world for the admission of groups of refugees in cooperation with the organizations interested. After an arrangement has been reached with the governments, the actual settlement will begin, being carried out by the private organizations.

A further resolution adopted at the meeting calls upon the governments of the world represented on the governing body to grant facilities for apprenticing a reasonable number of German refugees in industrial enterprises and finding place for them as students in the technical institutions of the various countries.

James N. Rosenberg, prominent New York attorney, who addressed the joint meeting at the invitation of Lord Cecil, said: “Let this anniversary of humane people organizing for humane purposes be a demonstration against Hitler’s anniversary.” He urged the assembly to keep up the good work, “which encourages the Jewish people, seeing prominent leaders of various countries giving up their time for humanitarian work.”

27,000 REQUIRE ASSISTANCE

Lord Cecil, in his opening speech, estimated that of the 60,000 refugees who fled from Germany 7,000 are in Palestine., 6,000 in Poland and, of the remainder, ten to fifteen thousand are able to fend for themselves, five thousand are youths suitable for retraining in various trades and professions, while the remaining ten thousand and seventeen thousand women and children require assistance, he said.

Mere sustenance relief, Lord Cecil declared, was useless in dealing with the refugee problem and insignificant because it affected only small numbers of the refugees. Lord Cecil also declared that there was little possibility for the absorption of the refugees in settled countries.

Only colonization remains, he said, with Palestine having an enormous advantage because it is already undergoing the process of colonization, although the difficulty there is the limited immigration possibilities, Lord Cecil pointed out.

Dr. Chaim Weizmann, chairman of the Zionist commission for the settlement of German Jewish refugees in Palestine who addressed the meeting, declared that “even assuming that the present semi-stable equilibrium in Germany will be maintained, fifteen to twenty thousand emigrants must be expected to leave Germany each year.” Dr. Weizmann’s declaration was supported by Dr. Bernhard Kahn, European director of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee.

Dr. Weizmann, who claimed that only 4,000 refugees actually rely at present on relief, declared that the major problem is the future emigration from Germany, which he estimated at fifteen to twenty thousand annually even if German anti-Jewish laws do not increase in severity and excluding the new stream of emigrants which the fall of the Dollfuss regime in Austria might bring.

Assuming that the absorptive capacity of Palestine remains at 40,000, last year’s figures, Dr. Weizmann said “then Palestine will be able to absorb 10,000 annually, including 5,000 German Jewish youths suitable for agricultural set-tleemnt.” The noted Zionist leader also pointed out that the most difficult problem of all was the group of from five to ten thousand who may leave Germany each year and for whom plans must be made. He warned the meeting not to look for virgin countries because five or six years must elapse before ‘experiments would show whether or not large scale colonization was at all practicable. At the same time, Dr. Weizmann pointed to th’e Argentine, where the Jewish: Colonization Association had been successfully placing Jewish emigrants in agriculture for more than forty years.

WARBURG ADDRESSES ASSEMBLY

Felix M. Warburg, famous banker and philanthropist, after thanking the nations who have taken up the cause of the refugees in the name of American- Jewry, expressed his agreement with the viewpoint expressed by D.r.,Weizmann and said,that unorganized distgribution of the refugees offers no solution for the regugee problem, and that while there was land to behad in the Argentine, that country lacks the willingness to admit the refugees. The only way to open the door for the refugees, Mr. Warburg declared, was to assure the governments of the world_ that the immigrants will not become a burden on the state; and for this it is necessary to discover existing industries and those awaiting development, and to induce the various governments to admit the refugees in order to develop as yet unutilized possibilities.

Referring to the United States, Mr. Warburg declared that American Jewish organizations have been seeking for means to make possible the admission of refugee children and other refugees who do. not compete with labor.

“There has been an expression of goodwill by authorities toward High Commissioner McDonald and I am certain that he will achieve as much as possible”, he said.

STRESSES POSSIBILITIES

Louis Oungre, executive director of the Jewish Colonization Association, maintained that Palestine alone was no solution for the refugee problem and stressed the possibilities of Argentine Brazil and Uruguay for colonization purposes. Oungre also stressed the great possibilities of emigration to the United States with the assistance of the large Jewish population in America. He pointed out the difficulty of raising funds for the refugees and referred to the expense entailed in agricultural settlement. He urged that credits be granted for placing the refugees in commerce and industry as well as on the land.

Sir O. E. D’Avigdor Golds’mid, prominent Anglo-Jewish leader, emphasized that the main task of High Commissioner McDonald should be to open new areas for emigration through negotiations with various governments, since openings in Palestine are extremely limited.

Professor William Rappard, Swiss representative on the autonomous body, who spoke on behalf of the Academic Assistance Council jfcjj ported that 1,200 professor had been ousted from German universities and need occupations, while 5,000 professionals already in exile, in addition to 5,000 more within Germany, who desire to emigrate must be helped to re-adapt themselves on life in new countries. Professor Rappard was emphatic in discouraging German students who hoped to continue their studies abroad. He advised them to seek more modest occupations.

The representative .of the British churches, Dr. Fox, reported that the drive of the churches for funds had yielded meager results and urged the High Commissioner to appeal to the Roman Catholics, particularly the Pope, to join in the request for funds to help the refugees.

In -the discussion- that followed, Senator Henri Berenger of France and M. Oungre asked Professor Rappard why the Alliance Israelite, which deals with the intellectual refugees in the same manner as the Academic Council, was not invited.to join in the work, stressing particularly that the Academic Council is overlapping the functions of older and more experienced organizations such as the Alliance. Finally a compromise was reached whereby the Academic Council, and the Alliance agreed to work together.

RABBI’S MOTHER DEAD

More than 500 attended the funeral services of Mrs. Liba Reich-man, 68, mother of Rabbi Solomon Reichman, in the synagogue of the Bronx Young Men’s and Young Women’s Hebrew Association yesterday afternoon. She was laid to rest m the Mt. Eden cemetery.