Resolutions urging the establishment of “free ports” in the United States have been introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. Vito Marcantonio (A.L.P., N.Y.), Rep. Thomas E. Scanlon (Dem., Penn.), Rep. William Rowan (Dem., Ill.) and Rep. Emanuel Celler (Dem., N. Y.).
At the same time, Rep. Samuel Dickstein (Dem., N.Y.), chairman of the House Immigration Committee, announced that a hearing on the various resolutions calling for the establishment of “free ports” as temporary havens for refugees will be held on June 21 unless the President acts before then.
Meanwhile, Secretary of the Treasury Henry Morgenthau, Jr. and John Pehle, Director of the War Refugee Board, spent an hour with President Roosevelt today. It is thought that they were discussing further details of the plan to convert an army camp into a refugee center. Ira Hirschmann, the Board’s special representative in Turkey, is here in Washington conferring with Pehle and members of the Board. He is expected to return to Ankara soon.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
