Daily Digest of Public Opinion on Jewish Matters

[The purpose of the Digest is informative: Preference is given to papers not generally accessible to our readers. Quotation does not indicate approval.-Editor.]

Resentment at what he took to be an implication of anti-Semitism on his part is voiced by Secretary of Labor Davis in a communication to the editor of the “Jewish Tribune,” which will appear in the Jan. 22 issue of that paper.

Replying to an editorial in the “Jewish Tribune” of Jan. 8 on the subject of immigration, Mr. Davis disavows any prejudice on his part against Jewish immigrants.

“Regardless….of how much you may lament the restrictive principle, no matter what the numerical limit may be, I am at a loss to understand why you should want to single me out as one necessary to be convinced that the Hebrew race is being discriminated against,” writes Mr. Davis.

“I must therefore, take it for granted that your purpose is to brand me as an individual of anti-Jewish or anti-Hebrew sentiments.

“Fortunately for my own conscience, nothing which you might say would serve to reduce my admiration for those of the Hebrew race who have had a wholesome effect upon the character of the nation. In my personal business and official relations I have had the privilege of knowing, working with, and enjoying the friendships of many persons of many races and religions, none of whom do I respect more than those of Jewish faith. The injection of racial prejudice by “The Jewish Tribune” into the situation, I can assure you, would not induce me to discriminate against these people in the administration of the immigration laws, which, of course, express the will of Congress, but nevertheless I regret that you should take such an attitude.

“Just in closing, let me point out that I am myself of foreign birth. I am of the Welsh race, of which I am proud, as Hebrews should be of theirs. If I were inclined toward an attitude of favoritism, assuming that I had the power to change the situation, it would be natural to presume that I should feel my own race discriminated against because so few were admitted during the past year. Yet it was not until recently in scanning the figures, because some one wished to point out so-called discriminations against another race, that I discovered that the admissions of people of the Hebrew race exceeded the Welsh by nearly ten to one! And let me assure you that neither does this fact impel me to suggest that any discrimination has been exercised.”

Answering Mr. Davis, the “Jewish Tribune” declares it had no intention of branding Mr. Davis as an anti-Semite but intended to point out that the present immigration policy is based on prejudice against immigrants from certain countries.

“Mr. Davis’ disavowal of harboring anti-Jewish prejudice is commendable, although it was not called for,” the paper says. “His further statement that what he regards as our ‘injection of racial prejudice….into the situation’ would not induce him to discriminate against Jews in the administration of the law, we also welcome, although this was unnecessary, for any man who alleges that he became an anti-Semite because he was falsely charged with being one, was always one and is merely rationalizing.

“Mr. Davis’ statement that more Jewish immigrants were admitted into the United States than Welsh (Mr. Davis’ own nationality) is not only beside the point, but also strangely naive. The population of Wales, according to The World Almanac for 1926, is 2,206,712, or less than the Jewish population of Poland alone, while the total number of Jews in Europe is well over ten millions. Moreover, the Welsh live in their own country, which was not devastated by war, and in which they enjoy complete political and economical equality; whereas the majority of the European Jews live in war-ravaged countries, where they are discriminated against and even persecuted.”