Consummation of Jewish Agency Plan Announced by Weizmann at Boston Conference

American Zionists and Non-Zionists United in Jewish Agency for Palestine; Non-Partisan Conference to Be Held in February, Probably in Europe; Over $800,000 Announced As Raised for This Year’s $7,500,000 United Palestine Appeal; Warburg Contribution of $50,000 for Palestine Announced; Palestine Conference Endorses Weizmann Agency Plan in Special Resolution and Urges Support for European Relief; Nathan Straus Appeals for Jewish Unity and Startles Delegates with Challenge to Henry Ford; Weizmann in Three-Hour Address Gives Detailed View of Palestine Situation and Plan for Future Work to Place 225,000 Jewish Families in Agriculture and Urban Settlements in Palestine, If Funds Are Made Available; No Reference to Reports on Jewish Republic in Russia (Jewish Daily Bulletin)

A dramatic chapter in the history of the Zionist movement, bringing a promise of wider cooperation of world Jewry for the upbuilding of Palestine as the Jewish national home, was concluded at the United Palestine Appeal conference held here Saturday night and all day Sunday when Dr. Weizmann, in a three hour address made the first public announcement of the progress of his negotiations with the Marshall group concerning the completion of the Jewish Agency to include American non-Zionists.

The first tangible fact, heralding the consummation of this purpose and ending the recent controversy between the Zionists and the J. D. C. leaders, was presented to the conference when the announcement was made of a contribution of $50,000 by Felix M. Warburg to this year’s $7,500,000 United Palestine Appeal. Other contributions announced at the conference amounted to $212,000, bringing the total of the funds raised so far for this year’s appeal to over $800,000.

Seven hundred and sixty-five delegates were registered, representing all states in the union. The Saturday night’s session, under the chairmanship of Morris Rothenberg, was devoted to a preliminary conference on the business procedure of the appeal. Two committees, one on resolutions and the other on quotas were appointed. Judge Harry M. Fisher of Chicago was appointed chairman of the resolutions committee and Charles Rosenbloom of Pittsburgh headed the quota committee. The Sunday morning session was held under the chairmanship of Judge William M. Lewis. Louis Lipsky presided at the Sunday afternoon session.

An interesting sidelight in the conference was the appearance in the hall on Saturday night of Henry Morgenthau.

The quotas for the respective regions were accepted as follows: New York City, $2,500,000; Northern New England, $450,000; Southern New England, $250,000; Western New York, $150,000; Eastern New York. $170,000; Northern New Jersey, $250,000; Michigan and Indiana. $300,000; Seaboard region, $250,000; Southwestern region, $200,000; Ohio and Kentucky, $375,000; Chicago, $400,000; Illinois and Iowa, $100,000; Western Pennsylvania, $250,000; Eastern Pennsylvania, $750,000; the South, $250,000; Texas, $100,000; Wisconsin and Upper Michigan, $75,000; Rocky Mountain Region, $75,000; California, $300,000; Oregon, $25,000; Washington, $25,000; and Northwest, $100,000.

A resolution appealing to American Jewry for united support of the United Palestine Appeal was unanimously accepted. The conference also unanimously accepted a resolution proposed by Judge Fisher for the resolutions committee stating: "This conference places on record its conviction that the economic plight of the Jewry of Eastern Europe requires continued measures of relief on their behalf in which it is the duty of all Jews to participate."

The startling reports emanating from the Moscow Ozet conference concerning the proposed creation of a Jewish republic within the Soviet Union, or a Yiddish National home, were a matter of lively, discussion among the delegates although no official reference was made to it in the addresses delivered. Only a veiled reference was made by Dr. Weizmann in the part of his address which was devoted to announcing the progress of his negotiations for the Jewish Agency. With deep emotion Dr. Weizmann, in speaking of the forces opposing the consummation of the Jewish Agency, declared:

"Besides the opposition of the small fraction within the Zionist Organization there is another opposition. There are forces in the world today, located in Rome and Moscow, who are not interested in Palestine nor the fate of Jewry, but are interested in breaking the unity of Israel. To these forces the consummation of the Jewish Agency is the symbol of Jewish unity and any attack on this plan is playing into the hands of the enemies of Israel. I shall not stress this point further. ‘V’dai L’chakima B’rmiza’ (to a wise man a hint is sufficient.)"

J. Emlin of the Poale Zion in commenting on the Moscow reports, expressed the views of his party as being opposed to the idea of a Jewish national homeland outside of Palestine.

The announcement of Dr. Weizmann concerning the Jewish Agency was approved in the following resolution which was unanimously adopted by the conference. "This conference, conscious of the urgent need of unified action by all groups and classes of Jewry for the rebuilding of the Jewish National home, has heard with deep satisfaction the message of Dr. Chaim Weizmann, who reported on his efforts to bring about such action on behalf of the Jews of America. The conference expresses its hope that his efforts will lead to success."

"PEACE WITH HONOR," SAYS DR: WISE

The Weizmann announcement on the Jewish Agency was also welcomed in addresses by Dr. Stephen S. Wise, who was received with a tremendous ovation, and by Louis Lipsky. Dr. Wise, in his address, made veiled references to "alternatives for Palestine" and in welcoming the Jewish Agency announcement, declared that "if I would not be convinced that there will be no surrender of Zionist principles and no compromise I would stand against it even if I would have to stand alone. I accept loyally the program outlined by Dr. Weizmann as I believe that he speaks and acts in good faith and he guarantees that the new incoming forces are accepting the proposal also in good faith. After all, it is due to Herzl and the Zionist movement that the larger view of Jewish life has prevailed, making possible even the suggestion of ‘alternatives.’ In agreeing that bygones should be bygones and that this is a peace with honor, let us not forget that after all the Zionists will remain the Old Guard whose work Palestine will need in greater measure. The Agency should be no excuse on the part of Zionists for shirking responsibility, but cause, rather, a brotherly rivalry between us Zionists and Palestine’s new friends." Amidst roars of laughter Dr. Wise referred to the Agency as a "shidduch," declaring the Chassan to be a difficult one and the bride a reluctant one. "Well, I am here. And supposing I were called to solemnize the occasion I declare ‘blessed be those who come in the name of the Lord.’ In concluding, I must also declare that we made no mistake in last year’s insistence on Palestine priority in preference to alternatives. All that we did was daring to insist. The hour of insistence is over, the hour of welcome is here. Dr. Weizmann you have our full, loyal support in consummating this peace with honor."

Louis Lipsky, president of the Zionish Organization of America, in his address, stated that the conference in accepting the resolution, acted not merely in the spirit of technical loyalty to the Congress resolution, but in understanding the necessity for which American Zionists fought at the beginning, although the delay which was caused, brought about humanly understandable irritations and controversies.

THE ROAD IS OPEN, DR. WEIZMANN DECLARES

Dr. Weizmann, in his final address, concluded the sessions of the conference. He referred to Dr. Wise’s comparison to a "shidduch," declaring himself to be the old-fashioned "shaddchan," adding that in this capacity, he was also anxious about the "nadan." "In the weddings of olden days, it frequently happened that the bridegroom’s family needed music and the bride often had to wait," he said. "However, we don’t expect the new forces to bring their ‘nadan’ with them. That would not be in keeping with the dignity of a great movement, but what is important is their acceptance of the program of the work as I outlined before. I am not frightened of the possibilities of surrender. The Zionists will have to remain the vanguard. There is no force in the world that can take us away from the Zionist organization. The road is not fraught with dangers, but with difficulties and the difficulties will be solved when the work has begun. The road is open; now is the time," Dr. Weizmann exclaimed.

The delegates and the two thousand guests rose enthusiastically to sing Hatikvah.

NATHAN STRAUS GETS ROUSING OVATION

The delegates accorded a rousing ovation to Nathan Straus, chairman of the invitation committee, who made an appeal for unity in American Israel. In an address, read for him by Joseph Barondess, Mr. Straus criticized the Jewish millionaires, who, he said, don’t contribute to Palestine, but are given to pleasure and luxury. This division is also apparent among non-Jewish millionaires, such as the Rockefellers who devote their millions to helping humanity, and Henry Ford who uses his power for destructive purposes. He made the proposal that a committee of prominent Americans, eight of whom would be named by Henry Ford and two by Mr. Straus, be appointed before which Henry Ford should submit his accusations against the Jews.

"The Jewish millionaires who fail in their duty are not the only offenders by not employing their wealth properly." Mr. Straus declared. "Among the Christian millionaires there are some who use their wealth for the benefit of mankind, and others who use it for destructive purposes, for breeding trouble. For example, the Rockefellers, both father and son, are devoting their millions to help the welfare of mankind, to promote science and advance civilization; while a man like Henry Ford, who has become one of the richest among the money kings of the world, has engaged in a campaign of slander against the Jewish people, has spread malicious lies about them, and has stirred up trouble, mischief and hatred here and in Europe. He professes to be a Christian but he has violated the doctrines of Christ. The wealth of the Rockefellers is a blessing to this country and to the rest of the world; while that of Henry Ford has been a curse to America and to the rest of the world, because it has been destructive, because it has been used for the spread of hatred and not of peace.

"But it is not too late yet. Mr. Ford and his son must have realized ere now, that some of the sycophants in his surroundings for their own personal reasons, misinformed and deceived him. For a man of his vast interests it is not possible to verify all that is reported to him. If he has a grudge, which originated from his ‘Peace Ship’ against any individual, is that a reason for condemning a whole race?

CALLS ON FORD TO MAKE AMENDS

"It takes ‘the great’ to make amends for their mistakes and although we have suffered much from these past attacks on an innocent, inoffensive people, we will forgive and forget if Mr. Ford admits the wrong he has inadvertently inflicted in the past.

"If he submitted the facts to a committee of ten men of unimpeachable character, ministers and laymen, he would be fully convinced of the justice of my claim. Let him select eight and I will select two outstanding Christians, tried and true, to act on this committee. Is not this a fair proposition?

"How admirable are those noble Christians, those distinguished Americans, who have recently formed a committee for the purpose of raising a fund for the relief of our suffering people abroad! They are teaching by example the real brotherhood of man," he said.

"I feel that I have a right to speak on this subject, for in all that I have done to help the poor and needy, here and abroad, in feeding the hungry, giving shelter to the homeless, providing safe milk for the children, I never asked, ‘What is your religion?’ All my work has always been non-sectarian-without distinction of race, creed or color. For in the words of the Hebrew prophet, ‘has not one Father created us all?’

APPEALS FOR UNITED FRONT

"We have gathered here to establish a solid front in American Israel for a noble and historic work which the whole world is watching with sympathy and approval. Under the leadership of that great Jew, Dr. Weizmann, the worthy successor of the immortal Theodore Herzl, let us work together, let us put our shoulders to the wheel of history. ‘The things that unite us are greater than the things that divide us.’ Let us unite and make the utmost sacrifices for an ideal, in which all must join.

"All should help in the rebuilding of the Holy Land, the cradle of the three main religions of the world, so that the greatest numbers of our people who are oppressed in other lands may find a home there, and a new opportunity to live and work in peace, helping themselves and helping their neighbors as well.

"For out of Zion shall come forth the law

‘And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.’"

"I wish the Jews would realize that by uniting they can rebuild Palestine easily," Mr. Straus continued. "while by fighting among themselves they can only hurt themselves, harm the Jewish cause, and delay the great historic work in which we are engaged. Their opposition and their indifference not only retard our work, but it will surely bring disgrace upon those who stand in the way of the noble Jewish ideal. They will be disgraced not only by the Jews but also by the Christians who understand that the Jewish people have the right to their old homestead, and the duty to rebuild it.

"I have just received a letter from my friend, Dr. Magnes, the dean of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, who writes me that in Palestine they hope that the Jews of America will stop fighting among themselves and put their hands to the task of upbuilding the land of Israel.

"While we are fighting and quarreling here, our brethren abroad are suffering. It is high time that the Jews of America realize the danger that may result for all Israel from these conflicts and quarrels. I am happy that at the Chicago Relief Conference the leaders of the Joint Distribution Committee have pledged themselves to a policy of peace and unity in American Jewry in their relief work, and also in their support of the rehabilitation of Palestine.

STRAUS CONDEMNS WEALTHY WHO IGNORE JEWISH PROBLEM

"There are many noble men and women who have for years given freely of themselves and their means. But unfortunately there are very many others who are not doing their proper share. Many do nothing but give themselves completely to pleasure and luxury, and close their eyes to the suffering of our brothers and sisters abroad. And they close their hearts to the call of the hundreds of thousands who are clamoring for help in the lands of persecution. But for lack of sufficient funds their cries could be heeded–they could immigrate from Poland, Roumania, Austria and Hungary and be settled and find a haven of peace, be it in Palestine, in the Ukraine, in the Crimea, or wherever they can in safety lead a normal life of religious and economic freedom.

"And great numbers of the rich close their hearts to the call of the Holy Land, which the Balfour Declaration promised again to the Jewish people, and which many nations, including American presidents and the American Congress, have fully endorsed.

"Some of those wealthy Jews are opposed to Palestine under the pretext that you cannot bt a good American and a Zionist at the same time. Well, no one will deny that Justice Brandeis is one of the greatest Americans, and yet we all know that he is heart and soul for the rebuilding of Palestine. For that matter, most of the American Zionists are good Americans, devoted to this blessed country and to its best institutions. Is there any sane person who doubts that ‘You can love your mother and your wife at the same time?’ "

JUDGE MACK’S STIRRING APPEAL

A stirring appeal was made by Judge Julian W. Mack who, in referring to the Jewish Agency announcement, stated:

"We come to them not as beggars asking for their aid. We come to them proud of our own past, proud of our present and we say to them, we have no right to deny you the opportunity that the world has offered to all Israel. We want you to share in this work, we want you to partake of the mitzvah, not for our sake, but primarily for your sake, for the honor and the glory of present Israel, in memory of our ancestry, in the hope of our posterity." Among the larger contributions announced beside Mr. Warburg’s $50,000, were Gregory Benenson, $50,000; Max Blumberg of New York, $25,000; Mr. Rudner of Norwalk. Conn., $10,000; Edward Friedman of New New York, $15,000; Michael Hollander, Newark, $7,500; Louis Topkis, $7,500; Archibald Silverman of Providence, R. I., $7,500; Mr. and Mrs. Lindheim. $5,000; Marty Eitingon, $5,000; Mrs. Max Guggenheimer, Lynchburg, Va., $5,000; Mr. and Mrs. I. D. Morrison of New York, $7,500; Herman Conheim, $5,000; Max Shulman, $5,000; Louis Altschuler, New York, $5,000; Isaac Meister, $3,500; Israel Metz, $3,500; Nathan H. Gordon, Boston, $3,000; Philip Wattenburg of New York, $3,000; estate of Max Robinson of Brooklyn, N. Y., $45,000: Abraham Erlanger of New York, $3,000: Irving S. and Henry Chanin of New York, $2,500; Jacob Goel of New York, $2,000; Max Baer, Dayton, Ohio, $2,000.

LT. GOVERNOR WELCOMES CONFERENCE

Lieutenant Governor Frank G. Allen, acting Governor of Massachusetts. in welcoming the conference, declared:

"You have assembled here in the interest of a great cause, a cause which appeals to the loftiest sentiments, the sentiments of justice and liberty. A great dream has become a great reality; the prayers and yearnings of two thousand years are now being translated into a song of labor and love on the ancient hills of Judaea, by the Jewish youth, the Chalutzim. Surely, the progress you made in Palestine since the Balfour Declaration compels the admiration of the civilized world. The establishment of over one hundred agricultural colonies, the development of the City of Tel-Aviv, the medical work of the Hadassah, the establishment of the Hebrew University on Mount Scopus speak eloquently of your great achievements. The Jew in Palestine is the creator of a new Palestine; the Jew in Palestine is a builder. The Maccabean spirit is manifesting itself once more and the epic of the national rebirth of an ancient people is being written in Palestine. with the toil and sacrifice of the Jewish pioneers.

"We, in Massachusetts, therefore, view with satisfaction and sympathy the progress of your work. Massachusetts has, on several occasions, officially expressed its attitude on Palestine, towards the Jewish national aspirations in Palestine. in terms of friendship. It is in this spirit that I welcome you into our gates, it is in this spirit that I welcome your great leader, the apostle of Jewish national freedom, a scholar, a scientist and a statesman — my friend, Dr. Chaim Weizmann. I had the pleasure of meeting him during his previous visit in this country and I was always inspired with his great intellect, his personality and his great idealism. Surely, such a cause with such a leader is bound to succeed. The day is near when the world will proclaim the establishment of a free Judaea in a free Palestine. There, the Jewish people will again inspire mankind with new ideas and ideals and become once more a living Bible.

"Please accept our best wishes for the success of your deliberations. May this Convention mark the beginning of even a brighter chapter in the history of Palestine, for the glory of Zion and for the glory of God." he concluded.

The conference listened with closest attention to that part of Dr. Weizmann’s address which was devoted to a description of the progress of his negotiations with the Marshall group concerning the Jewish Agency. While Dr. Weizmann disclosed no specific details of the plan, beyond a general statement, the "Jewish Daily Bulletin" learns that all arrangements concerning the participation of American non-Zionists in the Jewish Agency will be effected by February and that representatives of the American non-Zionists might proceed to Europe to participate in a general non-partisan conference which would witness the establishment of the Jewish Agency, including both American and European non-Zionists, together with the representatives of the World Zionist Organization. In announcing the results of his negotiations so far, Dr. Weizmann declared:

DR. WEIZMANN’S STATEMENT ON JEWISH AGENCY

"Now I come to the point which I believe has been a matter of a great deal of heart searching, of controversy and. I acknowledge, of great difficulty. This is the chapter of what is called the Jewish Agency. I have no doubt and I would be the last to doubt it, that the Zionist organization and the affiliated bodies have, in spite of what may be said by numerous critics, in and outside the organization, acquitted themselves creditably. of a very difficult task performed under very difficult circumstances. But I am equally conscious of the fact that whatever has been done hitherto creditable as it is, is merely an introduction. I won’t say an experiment. I leave this word to others. It is preparatory to something which must begin now if we are earnest at all. We had to break new ground politically. We had to break new ground economically. We had to search for new methods of colonization, more, we had to adapt methods to the particular psychology of these people whom we have brought in. There is no secret that it would be much easier to colonize Palestine if we were to colonize it with Danes and Dutchmen. But we are colonizing the Jews, and we are not doing so badly.

WE HAVE DONE WELL, HE DECLARES

"Our achievements stand comparison with those of others in the same field, and, ladies and gentlemen, it is not merely impatience which dictates what I am going to say. If we are to maintain what we have created and if we are to utilize the extraordinarily valuable human material which is waiting impatiently in all the corners on all the highways and byways of the world, dreaming of getting land or getting to work in Palestine, we must increase our activity. Our enemies, our opponents reproach us today that we have not enough people on the land. Nobody reproaches us more than we reproach ourselves. We know and we feel that it is essential to go forward every year. If you don’t go forward, you go backward in a movement like ours. Therefore we have strained our utmost to get the necessary means. We have done well and it is not a matter of compliment if I congratulate our American friends, that they have carried the enormous burden in a difficult time.

"But we have to increase the hinterland of the Zionist Organization and to increase the number of those supporters who are ready today to do something for Palestine and are ready to share part of the responsibility with us. I know full well that many of them do not beel in every fibre all of our needs. I know that to them perhaps Palestine does not make this primary and this final appeal as the only honorable solution of the Jewish problem. I know that very well. But here they are. They are ready to take part in this burden, and I think if this readiness is genuine, if this readiness will express itself in actual material, moral and intellectual performance, if this readiness means an increase of land, an increase in the number of immigrants, an increase in the number of schools, an increase in all of our activities, then in view of the situation, not out of weakness but out of the urgent necessity to go on and go on better than we have done hitherto, we must open the door to the people who want to come and share the responsibility. We assume that they come to us with clean hands and honest intentions, just as we come to them with clean hands, honest intentions and the record of work behind us," he said.

NOT SURRENDER, BUT COOPERATION

"An so we meet today as equal to equal, because the Balfour Declaration does not mean that Palestine has been given to us. It has been given to all Israel and they are part and parcel of it. It is this fact which calls for this arrangement between us and those non-Zionists who wish to cooperate and share the responsibility and this arrangement must be made on a basis of complete mutual understanding. We do not give up an iota of what has been the very soul of our movement. We do not give up an iota either of our hopes or of our aspirations. We do not demand from them to subscribe to something which is not in conformity which their own beliefs and their own conscience. But we do work together so far as we can go. We can bring Jews to Palestine. We can acquire land. We can build up flourishing gardens, we can build up a university together, we can create a real civilization and we leave it to those generations who will come after us to decide what political form, what cultural form, this Palestine shall assume. Neither you nor I will dictate to those who are at present working on the hills of Palestine what is to be the political form which they will assume. It is our duty therefore to pave the way for those forces who are still creative and Jewish, to come and to help carry the burden along, and as long as there is no better way, that is the only possibility today of increasing our forces.

"I have at a very considerable expenditure of energy, sometimes not easy for me, on your behalf, on behalf of the Zionist Organization, on behalf of the Congress, sometimes with a heavy heart, gone on negotiating with those people, asking them to come in to help in a task which will be a credit and an honor to them and their children, perhaps the only guaranty that their children will still remain Jewish. I think I am entitled to say, in spite of all controversy, in spite of accumulated bitterness, that we shall obtain peace and unity and cooperation, and a share in the responsibility of this work. And I hope before this winter is over we may possibly have gone a step further towards a united front at least in American Israel. That will be a great impetus for Israel all over the world. It means strengthening us politically, strengthening us morally, opening up new resources, and opening up a source of new manpower which we require today in Palestine. These are tender and delicate negotiations. I don’t know whether I am a good or a bad negotiator, but I know that that negotiator will succeed who honestly aims to achieve success without seeking his personal glory. It is for the good of the cause that we are consecrating our lives. Therefore we shall succeed.

"The negotiations today are in progress with a group very well known to you, and I think I may read a letter from one of them. This is what Justice Irving Lehman writes me under date of November 16, 1926"

READS LETTER FROM JUSTICE IRVING LEHMAN

Meyer W. Weisgal, secretary of the Zionist Organization of America, at the request of Dr. Weizmann, read the following letter:

"My court work unfortunately has made it impossible for me to leave Albany next week-end. I should very much have liked to come to the conference at Boston for the purpose of urging its members to do their utmost to secure not merely peace but cooperation among all Jews who are sincerely interested in the development of Palestine.

"It seems to me a tragedy that we American Jews who are Jewish in heart and thought; who recognize our duty to give of our strength and our plenty to advance and preserve Jewish ideals and to help our Jewish brethren in other countries who are less fortunate, should quarrel among ourselves as to how and where and when we shall give. No man may stand aside when there is need for his help. We must have peace. We must have real, honest cooperation so that such help may be effectual.

"I believe that your visit to America will result in securing such cooperation in the work that is close to your heart. Difficulties must be met; there must be recognition of the need for mutual forbearance before there can be effectual work in common, but once the harm that comes from dissension is recognized there must come insistent demand for its end. I feel that negotiations which have been started must be successful; already the demand to end dissension is too general and too insistent to be denied.

"I count it a great privilege that I have the opportunity to take part in such negotiations. I assure you that I shall do what I can to hasten the successful conclusion I confidently predict."

REGARDING THE NEGOTIATIONS

"It is difficult to predict when these negotiations will be completed," Dr. Weizmann continued, "but I think that this Conference, both by its determination to see this policy through and by what it is likely to do for the upbuilding of Palestine, has it in its hands to hasten the successful conclusion of these negotions. The negotiations are being conducted on the basis of the resolutions which have been passed by the Zionist Congress. They are carried out with a view of realizing this program of a large activity in Palestine which I have tried to outline in the course of my long speech. If we are successful, it will be a considerable contribution towards hastening the day when you who are sitting here today and laboring and working for the fulfillment, may see with your own eyes a national home established firmly so that no storm shall shake it.

"There are two kinds of opposition to this project. One kind I mentioned already, that is, within the Zionist Organization, the opposition of friends who are too fearful lest cooperation might possibly injure the soul of the movement. This is an opposition that we must reckon with and everything must be done to satisfy it. There is another opposition. There are forces in the world today located in Rome and Moscow, who are not interested in Palestine nor in the fate of Jewry, but want to bring about disunity in Israel. To these forces the consummation of the Jewish Agency plan means the symbol of Jewish unity and any attack on this plan is playing into the hands of those very enemies of Israel. I shall not stress this point further, ‘V’dai L’chakima B’rmiza’ (to a wise man a hint is sufficient).

PROPOSES EXPERTS’ SURVEY

"It has become fashionable with every one who wants to pose as unbiased and practical to run down Palestine. In order to do away with all that, before engaging in a great program like the one which I have tried to outline, we desire and demand that a real body of appointed and not self-appointed experts make a survey of the situation and make recommendations for the future. We are confident that they will find that we have even understated the possibilities of Palestine.

"We are still groping in the attempt to solve an unprecedented problem. What I have outlined is an attempt to increase the scope and the size of our work. It may be that this attempt will fail. I don’t think so, but nobody can foretell the future, least of all those people who believe that they are preparing the future. It is an honest attempt to go again on a difficult road. It seems that all the roads which lead to Jerusalem make one footsore. There is no royal road to Jerusalem. It is a narrow path which we have to tread very cautiously. What I have outlined is one of the roads. and I fervently pray that when we shall be called before the bar of history to account for what we have done and for what we have omitted, it will be said about us, "Here was a small generation, a generation small as compared with the task which it took upon itself, but a generation which honestly tried its best for its people. It found the people as it found them. It found the land neglected. destroyed, a reproach to humanity. It look these poor people and tried to build up a a land in peace, with little means, with people tired, worried and worn out in the war, and still it has commanded the respect of a civilized world.

"That should give you courage, and if you Jews of America have dispersed over this vast continent, you fortunate ones, sheltered behind the wings of a great government, spared all the forces of destruction which are crushing out the body and souls of those who missed the boat and have not crossed the ocean with you, remember that whatever you will do for yourself or for the others is merely a fraction of what those whom you have sent to Palestine are doing today for your glory and for your credit," Dr. Weizmann declared.

AN ALL-EMBRACING PICTURE OF THE PRESENT SITUATION

Dr. Weizmann, who spoke for over three hours, had to divide his address into two sections, because of the fact that his voice broke. In his address, on which the attention of the conference centered, he gave an all embracing picture of the conditions in Palestine, the prospects of the future work in the country and the conditions prevailing in the Zionist movement, as well as the hopes placed upon the new step in the direction of extending the Jewish Agency and what results may be expected.

"We stand at an important, significant and perhaps critical moment in the history of our movement, and I shall have to deal, in the remarks which I am going to make with the very core and the very fundamentals of our position. I shall try to give expression to my thoughts in the simplest possible words. Important things need no rhetoric or flowery phraseology.

RELATIONS WITH THE MANDATORY

"As one who is responsible for the guidance of the political destinies of the movement it is incumbent upon me to present to this assembly, which embodies the most active part of the Zionist movement outside of Palestine, the facts with regard to our political status today, our hopes and our shortcomings," Dr. Weizmann stated. "Our relations with the Mandatory Power, which form the pivot of our political activity, are such that we are dealt with and we address ourselves to this Power not as petitioners for favors, but as those who present their demands as of right. These rights are formulated and laid down in the Mandate and I should like to state at once that the Mandatory Power has not yet given full effect to all the clauses of the Mandate. Many important points still await more favorable and more concrete action.

"But considering, and I am speaking not in defense of the Mandatory Power nor in defense of the Zionist Executive, considering the difficult circumstances and the very serious adjustments which has to be made in Palestine in order to be able to go on with our work at all, we may perhaps criticize the Mandatory Power for a certain slowness in its action, but none of us doubts and none of us should doubt, and that is an essential principle in the comprehension of the political situation – that we have absolute confidence that the day is not far removed when the Mandate in its entirety will become the cornerstone of the British policy in Palestine. Armed with this confidence we shall be patient realizing the difficulties the Mandatory Power has to overcome and realizing also that Palestine is not going to be built up in a day. And those who have no patience should at least give a chance to those whose patience and endurance are ready to carry the burden under political conditions which perhaps render our work more difficult than it should be.

THE EXECUTIVE’S POLICY

"If I have committed myself in this assembly to utter a word of criticism, I must at the same time, in fairness to the political situation, state that it is this very cautiousness of the Mandatory Power, inaugurated by the first High Commissioner for Palestine, Sir Herbert Samuel, which has allowed us at all to go on with our work. Not only the 16,000 British soldiers who fell on the fields of Palestine but the wise, cautious and tactful management of the first High Commissioner have given Palestine peace and security. And peace and security are above all the fundamentals of our work. Without that, we might have scored a temporary success here and there, but again, we might have not. We might have proceeded perhaps a little more quickly, but we might also have proceeded much more slowly than we did. Weighing on the one side our ardent desire to get on at a quicker tempo and on the other side the extreme risk which may be involved if the strain is stretched too much we have chosen, difficult as it is, to advocate this slower, cunctatorial policy, believing that this, after all, is the quickest read-to success.

"It is easy to make a heroic gesture and say. ‘We demand, and we demand, and we demand.’ I could myself formulate the demands in terms which would certainly elicit applause at this or any other assembly. We deal not only with Zionist assemblies where the heart is poured out and the sentiments are aflame. We deal with the cold, hard, calculating world, with a world which knows not of Zion, with a world which has dealt with Jewish matters in quite different manners from the one it is being educated in now, with a world which has not understood and did not wish to understand what the Jewish renaissance and the Jewish regeneration might be. And this world would coldly reply to our demands and say: ‘Rather than endanger this or the other political situation, we shall not do anything for the National Home.’ We have a hard task not only to educate the Jews, but to educate the non-Jews to comprehend what Zionism means and what it aims to achieve. Education is slow by its nature, and therefore do not wonder and do not grumble if in six or seven years you have made so much progress and not more–to which you are perhaps entitled.

THE ATTITUDE OF THE PALESTINE GOVERNMENT

"Our relations with the Palestine Government are controlled by one fundamental factor: our strength in the country itself. Whether we like it or not, we have and rightly so, accepted democracy as the leading principle of our own organization. Democracy fortunately or unfortunately, reckons with brutal numbers, and we are 160,000 in Palestine against 500,000 to 600,000 non-Jews. It is true that the specific gravity of these 160,000 is perhaps higher than the specific gravity of those who form the majority. No reflection is involved on the majority. They have been less fortunate in many respects than we. They have not had the advantages of European civilization, but the difference between them and us–and this compensates to a great extent the difference in the specific gravity–is that they are in the country and have been there for ages. We are newcomers and have to become part and parcel of the country. We are introducing a new people into the country. It is true that it is our country but for them it is also theirs. And to harmonize these two interests it is essential that we should understand them just as we expect that they should understand us, and the Palestine Government is constantly guided by this consideration.

"Again, I must repeat, the progress is slow, it is tedious. Perhaps some of the officials of the Palestine government are carried away by an old anti-Semitic tradition. That may be true but as for the higher Magistrates of the Palestine Government I say advisedly that Lord Plumer and his immediate associates will carry out the policies of His Majesty’s Government loyally, fully and to the best of their ability," he declared.

LORD PLUMER’S ROLE

"I will cite a fact of recent occurence. You all know that there is a crisis in Palestine. My distinguished colleagues have already spoken of it, and I shall probably have to say a few words about it, Now, a crisis has to be solved by action and not by speeches. There was a meeting recently of Lord Plumer and his officials and in the introductory remarks which he made at this meeting, called to consider ways and means of meeting the crisis, he said that whoever may be responsible for this crisis, it was the business of the meeting to institute action which would help to get over it. And certain action, whether it is adequate or not, was taken, and I wish that fewer people would speak about the crisis and more would help overcome it.

"The greater the activity in Palestine development, the more strength that will be brought organized, the more Jews, productive and anchored, become part and parcel of the country, the easier will become our relations with the Palestine Government. Our relations will improve in proportion to the increase of our strength.

THE KEY TO IMPROVEMENT

"The key to an improvement in the political situation does not lie in platform speeches in New York or in London, does not even lie in Parliamentary debates in Westminister. It lies entirely with the Jews and with their power to increase their value in the country itself. And therefore, do not demand from your representatives, however many compliments you may pay them, do not demand from them the impossible. They will reflect the power which you will bring them. They can not create ex nihilo. They have to convert the power which you give them into the necessary political lever.

"When the day comes when I shall sit on the bench of the opposition, I shall be able to make a brilliant speech criticizing the executive for what it has done. I know very well that, particularly after the War, it is almost fashionable to think of any government as a set of wasters and idiots. It is easy for one, especially one who does not know all of the difficulties, to criticize the other man because he has failed to do everything. But it is much more difficult to find the road and the means. And here today we are to find some of the means, at any rate, which will improve even the political situation.

"There was a time when the fate of the mandate, even after it had passed the League, was in the balance. You remember, perhaps, that an important Cabinet meeting was called by the Government to investigate the whole policy. It was under pressure of the Arab agitation. It was under the pressure of the British anti-Jewish agitation. The fate of the policy hung in the balance, but it was decided on two things: on the achievements of the people in Palestine and on the material support, which represented also moral support given principally by American Jews.

"NO FORCE ON EARTH CAN STOP US," SAYS WEIZMANN

"I think I have been trying to be as impartial as it is possible for a man in my position, I contend that we are making slow but sure progress. Four or five years ago, the world at large looked upon our work in Palestine as a mere experiment. Some looked upon this experiment with sympathy, some with reverse feelings, but to both it was merely an experiment. To our shame we have to admit that some Jews looked for the failure of this experiment. Today there is not a man in the civilized world who knows what he is talking about who would not admit that it has passed this stage of experiment. It is something which has come to stay, come what may. And unless Palestine will be washed away by the Mediterranean, we shall go on working and working for it until a generation will come and say, ‘Here it is! Now it stands firm!’ The others, whether Jews or non-Jews, can make the task easier, or can make it more difficult, but there is no force on earth today which can stop us.

"I view therefore the possible setbacks as temporary. For the minute they may not improve our position, but they make no difference in the long run.

"The people who think they improve our position by challenging the British government are merely Quixotic. The British Empire will not be shaken by any vituperations which may be published even in very eloquent Zionist articles.

Z. O. RELATIONS WITH LEAGUE HAVE IMPROVED

"Our relations with the League of Nations have improved considerably and fundamentally. For many years, it was thought that the League of Nations would be used as a Court of Appeals against the deeds or misdeeds of the mandatory power, but people forgot that public opinion of Europe had to go through a course of education before it could at all understand our demands. It is this process of education which is taking place today in the League of Nations. Make no mistake, it is difficult for the League to understand our mandate. The League deals with a series of mandates. Our mandate is exceptionally difficult, and it is important that they should understand it.

WEIZMANN PAYS TRIBUTE TO MEMBERS OF MANDATES COMMISSION

"Whatever you may term it, we somehow could not fit in the general forms which are created by others. Imagine for a moment, to quote at least one example, a lady from Sweden, a very intelligent member of the Permanent Mandates Commission, who has to study and understand the difference between the views of the Agudath Israel and the Mizrachi on Shechita. This was a question which actually demanded serious attention from the League of Nations, it being a problem touching the very core of the Constitution of the Jewish Community in Palestine. It required considerable skill and long teaching to make the people understand that it does not matter whether this Shochet or the other Shochet performs the act of Shechitah. If on Shechitah the Permanent Mandates Commission had to devote 12 to 15 hours to reach an understanding, how much longer must they study to understand the land problem, to understand our relations with the Arabs, and the hundreds of things involved in a knowledge of Palestine life. It is necessary here to pay homage to the gentlemen and ladies of the Permanent Mandates Commission. They deal much more seriously with the question of Palestine than many experts and many tourists who come from there.

"A further indication of an advance in our political status is embodied in two more facts which I would like to relate to this assembly.

"There are on the platform a few American gentlemen, Dr. Wise and Judge Mack among them, who were with us in the heroic days of the Peace Conference, and know the sneering attitude which was taken by French public opinion, by the press. We had very few friends, and the antagonist tried to kill us, not with argument but with the worst possible weapon, ridicule.

THE NEW ATTITUDE OF FRANCE

"The strides we have since made became fully evident only a few months ago when I had the opportunity of discussing our work with the High Commissioner for Syria. The only thing this High Commissioner had to say, and it is no secret, for I think it has been published in the press–was to express the wish that the Zionists could go on working in Syria because he hoped that through them, the stabilization of the political situation in Syria might be brought about.

"Now, it is a far-cry from the attitude of the man who at that time was the editor of the ‘Matin’, to the attitude of the High Commissioner in Syria. It is not a solitary case. Whether it is Briand or Poincare, whether it is the radical or non-radical political leader, I think they appreciate and respect the value of our achievement in Palestine.

"France is a Mediterranean country, France is a neighbor of Palestine and the relation and the good will of the French government is a definite and important factor in this situation. What I have said about France can be applied in the same degree to Italy, which is an equally important factor in the Mediterranean.

JEWS RISING FACTOR IN MEDITERRANEAN BASIN

"To sum up the situation there," he said, "the world looks upon us as a new factor arising in the Eastern Mediterranean. It looked upon us at first with suspicion, At present we are accepted. Here we are, and if we develop we shall enter honorably into the family and the community of nations in the Mediterranean basin.

"I sometimes think and feel that we are too near all these happenings to realize their full significance just as when you stand in front of a mountain you are unable to realize its height. You begin to realize it when you start to climb it, and those who with sore feet are climbing the hard hills of Palestine know very well that we have made definite and lasting progress, progress which will leave its trace and its mark on the history of the Jews. When a Supreme Judge will sit over all of us, unbiased and will impartially weigh what we have done and what we have omitted, I trust to God that the balance of our positive achievements will be in our favor.

THE QUESTION OF STATE LANDS IN PALESTINE

"Before I leave this chapter, I would like to mention one thing which is becoming the subject of discussion and that rises out of the political situation It is on the question of state lands in Palestine. I would like to make this statement on my responsibility as one who happens to know something about Palestine. The good state lands are occupied. Those which are not occupied are not worth having, and it stands to reason why it should be so. In an ancient country where there is no regular land tenure, where land tenure is conducted mostly on the principle that possession is nine points of the law, it is clear that the good pieces of land have been for a long time possessed and it would involve considerable injustice to dislodge the present possessors from their position. It is an illusion therefore that there is a large or an appreciable quantity of available state lands, with the exception of the Beisan region, a contract for which has been made by Sir Herbert Samuel with the tenants, admittedly under pressure, and involving an injustice to us, but it is a contract made by the first High Commissioner, and no government will disavow it.

"I believe it is possible by mutual, peaceful agreement with the Arabs to arrive at a modus vivendi about the Beisan land, and I would like to go so far as to say that every endeavor is being made and supported by the British government to arrive at it. But it can only be a peaceful mutual agreement. We shall not employ the bayonets of Great Britain even if we could do it, to dislodge one single tenant.

"And to conclude it, I would like to remind you of Bismarck’s saying: ‘You can sit on bayonets for a little while, but not for long.’

"Although we have gone slowly, therefore, and although the government was perhaps erring in employing too much caution, we can proudly say that in Palestine there are today practically no British bayonets. We can proclaim to the world that we are perhaps the first who colonized Palestine without bayonets.

RELATIONS WITH THE ARABS

"And this leads me to the crux of the political situation, our relation with the Arabs. This point has a tremendous hearing on our future in Palestine. We are accused that in our relation with the Arabs, we are somewhat cunctatorial. We are too cautious forsooth because we are frightened of the Arabs and you can imagine that there are a great many people who are not frightened of the Arabs, particularly when they are in Paris or in Berlin. With a surprising levity, they claim it was ordained that the British bayonet should be employed in order to make the Arabs go somewhere. Ladies and gentlemen, all our best men can do, is to establish mutual brotherly relations with the people in the country. I am not saying it simply out of sentimentalism for apart from its humanitarian aspect, it is a definite plank in our policy.

"As an illustration, I should like to cite to you the subject of Transjordania. This region is to all intents and purposes an integral part of Palestine, but we are not in control of the making of the map of the world. The British in time of war, in 1916, entered upon an obligation to the Arabs just as they obligated themselves to us. Under this obligation, which is known as the MacMahon’s letters, it is recognized that Transjordania, rightly or wrongly, is to be made into an Arab state. We shall never be able to demand the revocation of this declaration. It would hurt us if it was done, because it would open the door to a revocation of the Balfour Declaration. Therefore our way for work in Transjordania is by mutual consent and agreement between us and the Arab people. If our work in Palestine will be conducted on lines of real justice, not lip justice, it will open the door for Jewish activities in Transjordania. The Arab needs us as much as we need him and it is only because between us and the Arabs stood forces unconcerned with and indifferent to both that we could not get along. The moment that these forces are eliminated, we shall recognize the Arabs and they will recognize us, and this cooperation which is needed to both peoples will be established and the Jews will cross the Jordan in the reverse direction that Joshua crossed it.

"I can sum it up by saying that today politically there is no difficulty whatsoever for a greater and ever greater increase of our activity.

"This brings me to our activities. What we have done hitherto, however valuable and creditable, is, in my humble opinion merely a beginning and, like every beginning, extremely difficult, fraught with all the shortcomings of a beginning.

225,000 JEWISH FAMILIES CAN BE SETTLED IN PALESTINE

"The political conditions are such that if we had the means at our disposal, we should be able to bring in at least 25,000 Jews a year. I should like to state it here publicly, that today we have plans worked out by which one could buy sufficient land at reasonable prices in various districts in and around Palestine which would enable the settlement of at least 75,000 Jewish families. The only thing that separates us from the land is the price. You know that for each family that is settled on the land two families can be absorbed in urban occupations. You, therefore, have room in Palestine for three times 75,000 families. And those who say that there is no room in Palestine, and are seeking room somewhere else, know not that the road is open today for the Jewish activity on the largest scale. The key to it is you and not Lord Plumer and not the British Government. Do not blame the political situation. This land is today accessible at reasonable prices. If you were as clever in the upbuilding of the Palestine home as you are clever in your real-estate dealings here, we would have the national real estate in our hands today, and then the political situation would change as with a magic wand. The peoples of the world would stand with respect before this great expression of the Jewish will. It is possible, Jews of America! Here is your chance. Take it! You have hands enough and will enough to take it," Dr. Weizmann declared.

"The Chalutz will lower his standard of living, he will go down in his wages, he will go on living on bread and tomatoes, he will go on suffering from malaria, but give him the hope that he and the others who are waiting patiently, and impatiently, can go on and occupy the land of Palestine. They know the work. We have learned how to colonize. We could teach others how to do it. If today somebody needs a god orange gardener he advertises in Hebrew in a Jewish colony, because we have become specialists in it and I can tell you, who perhaps know California, that from upper Jaffa to Gaza the whole coast is just waiting to be covered with Jewish orange groves, and if you created a hinterland like that you would have a Jewish urban settlement which would be a glory and a pride to our race. It requires only capital. We have the hands. We have the knowledge. We have the political conditions. We have the land. We want the will of the Jewish people!

"Nor do I want you to get the idea that we, the Executive has given up the attempt to get the state lands which are available. I said one should not have too many exaggerated hopes, but whatever is possible to get in fairness from the government, is being attempted, and I am hopeful of success.

ROOM FOR URBAN DEVELOPMENT

"Permit me to add that the possibilities of Palestine are not limited to agricultural development. As was already pointed out by my distinguished friend, Dr. Arlosoroff, agriculture is and will remain the very basis of the national home. If this pyramid is to stand at all on something solid it must stand on land and I don’t think I need labor this point to any great length. Where it is quite true that, in an industrial sense, Palestine will never equal in its development the great industrial centers of Europe and America, there is the possibility for a considerable number of minor and some major industries to be developed in Palestine, partly on the raw material which exists in the country, partly on the material which may be imported. Palestine, in my opinion, has above all one possibility which is not in the direction of raw materials or cheap power, but is in the direction of its geographical position. The geographical position of Palestine, connecting as it does three continents, with a population intelligent, industrious and linking up with the great cultural centers of civilization in Europe and America is capable of becoming the industrial and commercial clearing station of the Near East. It can only be my role to indicate, what is obvious for anybody who has made a study on the spot that the things which were not dreamed of ten years ago appear to be realizable. Nobody ever really believed that the Jordan could be made into a source of power. One had the notion about the Jordan that you could only get holy water out of it. Nobody believed that you could grow oranges in Palestine which would yield an income of something like 20 to 24 percent on the investment. Nobody thought of a great many things. Nobody thought of the Balfour declaration. It required some imagination to bring it about just as it requires a great deal of imagination to visualize the possibilities which are here in embryo.

"The capacity of Palestine depends upon the economic and industrial value which the Jewish people is capable of creating. If the wisdom of the Jew in Palestine will be the wisdom of a man who buys for a shilling and sells for two shillings, then there is no room in Palestine for anybody. But if the wisdom of the man will be to create values we are out to create, then there is a possibility for both agricultural and industrial development. We have to watch that both developments should balance, that the superstructure should not be bigger than the basis itself.

"Of course, all that means merely material development. There is, of course, the whole chapter of intellectual development about which it is not necessary to speak any more in a Zionist assembly. It is the ensemble of these three great lines of development which will form the Jewish national home. I repeat that the aim, the purpose and possibility of today, is the bringing in and distributing in the various walks of life these 25,000 people annually. To realize this ambition you require a budget, a budget which is about double the budget which we today expend in Palestine.

"In other words, if it were possible to spend systematically and regularly in Palestine something like $10,000,000 a year instead of the five that we are spending now, it should be possible to have an immigration amounting to 25,000. I think this statement is realizable. I think the Jews of the world can produce this sum. I think the Jews of America can do it. I think the Jews of New York could do it. without hurting themselves too much," Dr. Weizmann said.

Prince Nicholas of Roumania visited Henry Ford at his plant in Detroit.

According to a press report from Detroit, Prince Nicholas carried to Detroit a letter from Queen Marie to Henry Ford, suggesting that he come to see her if possible, since she had been unable to see him as had been originally planned.