“American Jews must remember that the new Polish Republic is only about ten years old and that it is impossible in such a comparatively short period to straighten out all the differences and to change entirely the different points of view which existed in Poland for so many years,” stated Charles S. Dewey, the American financial advisor to the Polish Government, to the representative of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
Mr. Dewey, who is here for a short visit, declared that the Jews in Poland, being a part of the general population of that country, naturally are affected by the present economic conditions in Poland where industry and trade are being reorganized in accordance with modern economic methods.
Mr. Dewey believes that the Jewish small traders and merchants who are now being eliminated from trade and industry in Poland, owing to the reorganization of the industry, will be given an opportunity and be absorbed in the new economic system of the country, and any difficulty in their position is merely a passing one. He believes that the Jews will be proportionately employed in the city and government enterprises, he stated.
The American financial advisor to Poland, however, insisted that the present Polish government led by President Moscicki and Marshal Pilsudski are far from being anti-Semites, but admitted that such feelings are not yet exterminated from all classes of the Polish population.
“Personally I don’t think that constant complaints and making demands upon the government can lead to mutual understanding,” Mr. Dewey said. “It is in my opinion, wiser to show appreciation for things received than to insist in demands for still more grants. I am sure that the suggestion made by a Jewish journalist during the Palestine riots that the Polish government should take over the Mandate for Palestine was very highly appreciated by the Polish government and did more good for the Jews in Poland than many of the activities of some Jewish leaders.
“I am sure that the Polish government will eliminate the ‘Jewish question’ by eradicating the causes which lead to Jewish dissatisfaction, just as I consider that the best way of satisfying unemployed workers is to create for them opportunities for work and making a living,” Mr. Dewey stated.
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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.
