News Brief

Direct reference to the Jewish race in testimony introduced in the $1,000,000 libel suit of Aaron Sapiro against Henry Ford, on trial here, will be vigorously attacked by U. S. Senator James A. Reed, chief of defense counsel, it was indicated yesterday during the preliminary address made to the jury by William Henry Gallagher, head of the counsel for Sapiro.

At least a dozen times during the day, Senator Reed leaped to his feet and objected to remarks such as “Mr. Ford had certain ideas respecting the Jewish people and particularly certain Jews”, “aspersions cast on the plaintiff and his people”, and other references in which Ford’s attacks on the Jewish race rather than on Sapiro were stressed.

Judge Raymond upheld Senator Reed in every instance of objection, cautioning Mr. Gallagher that there was no such thing “as the libel of a race.”

The definite issue involved in the trial was set forth by Mr. Gallagher in the words: “Was Aaron Sapiro libelled when he was charged with being a member of a band of international Jews which sought to dominate American agriculture, spread Bolshevism and Communism among our people and let the same doctrines seep into the minds of our children?”

The case began to take on a national aspect when Mr. Gallagher brought into his remarks the names of Frank O. Lowden, former Governor of Illinois, and William M. Jardine, present Secretary of Agriculture for the United States. “These men,” Mr. Gallagher said, “were members of organizations established by Sapiro, although the alleged libelous articles which are the basis of the trial stated that there were no Americans affiliated with Sapiro and his operations.”

Mr. Gallagher further attacked the libelous articles by declaring that he would prove “not one per cent of the money borrowed by the various farmer organizations was borrowed from Jewish bankers.”

At another point in his address he declared that the idea of a world wide organization of farmers was in no sense a Jewish ideal, as the articles are alleged to have charged, but, if anything, an American ideal.

Only three of the many hundred persons who acted as organizers for the Sapiro organizations, Mr. Gallagher told the jury, were ever shown to be of radical tendencies, one of these was a socialist, another a member of the Non-Partisan League and the third “a man eager to take up any plan offered for the relief of the farmer.”

The bulk of Mr. Gallagher’s preliminary declaration was made up of readings from the series of alleged libelous articles which ran in the “Dearborn Independent” in 1924. At intervals, Mr. Gallagher paused to confer with Mr. Sapiro, who yesterday was admitted to practice in the court and thus enabled to participate in the case. Robert S. Marx and Walter F. Lynch, associates in Mr. Sapiro’s Chicago law office, were also consulted.

A considerable stir was caused when some one started a rumor that Henry Ford had come into the Federal Building under guard to “see what was going on.” It was later discredited by W. J. Cameron, editor of the “Dearborn Independent.”

Mr. Gallagher’s opening statement was unfinished when the court adjourned. He indicated that he would require the major portion of the morning on Thursday to complete it. The statement of the defense will probably take the remainder of the day.

The first witnesses to be called will be Mr. Cameron and Fred Black, business manager of the “Dearborn Independent”. Mr. Gallagher’s purpose will be to show by their testimony that the alleged libels were actually published and circulated. This is made necessary by provisions of the libel law in this state.

When Judge Raymond sustained the protest of Senator Reed, the latter smiled. Later he said that the rulings had “put just the interpretation of the case which we have been wanting all along. You can’t libel a race and the issue is just one man. Sapiro.”

In the course of his address. Mr. Gallagher attempted to cite the career of Sapiro during the war, beginning. “There never has been any doubt of the Americanism of Aaron Sapiro. When the war came he offered–” At this point he was interrupted by Senator Reed and Judge Raymond sustained the objection.

JEWISH COMMUNAL ACTIVITIES

B. H. Hartogensis was elected president of the Baltimore Branch of the Alliance Israelite Universelle for the ensuing year. Mr. Hartogensis has been a member of the Comite Central, which directs the affairs of the alliance from Paris.

Other officers elected were William Levy, vice-president; Herman Gamse, treasurer, and Herbert Miller, secretary. Rabbis Schepsel Schaffer, William Rosenau, Morris S. Lazaron, Adolph Coblenz and Edward L. Israel, together with twelve laymen, were named as the board of directors.

The College of Jewish Studies of Chicago is now registering new students for the Spring Quarter which will commence on Tuesday, March 22nd.

The College is offering a complete program of courses in Jewish subjects in the fields of history, Biblical, medieval and modern literature, education, music, and Yiddish language and literature.

The standard of the work done at the College is of academic nature. The University College of the University of Chicago, which has opened a department in Jewish Education, has appointed four men of the teaching staff of the College to conduct the courses.

The new quarter at the University of Chicago will open Monday, March 28th. A much larger registration is expected for the Spring Quarter.

The course in the history of American Jewish institutions will be conducted by Dr. A. M. Dushkin. Courses at the University are offered by Dr. A. J. Levy, Mr. J. S. Golub, and Dr. L Keyfitz.

BREVITIES

Julius Rosenwald and eleven other prominent Chicago Jewish leaders were named on a large citizens’ committee by Anthony J. Cermak. president of the Cook County Board of Commissioners. The Committee was named to select a site for the proposed civic auditorium and ways and means for erecting the structure. Mr. Rosenwald has already pledged $500,000 towards the building.

A fine historical letter signed by Button Gwinnett and five other signers of the Declaration of Independence–the most important document in which the rare autograph of the Georgia signer has figured–was purchased for $51,000 by Dr. A. S. W. Rosenbach at a sale at the Anderson Galleries on Wednesday. The sum paid eclipses all other records made by the sale of autographs of American statesmen.

Herbert Sokolove, 20 years old, was adjudged the winner in a violin contest held under the auspices of the city of Baltimore, Md. The winner, who was a student of the Peabody Conservatory of Music until a year ago, will be the soloist at the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s final concert of the season on April 24.

There were fifteen competitors, and each played Bruch’s G minor concerto for the violin. The judges were Wilhelm Furtwaengler, conductor of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra and Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, of Germany; Scipione Guidi, concert master of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, and Leon E. Barzin. Belgian pianist.

With his brother as a teacher, Sokolove began to study the violin when he was eight years old. At the age of eleven he began studying at the Peabody. A year later he won the Chanacey Brooks memorial violin scholarship, a three-year award. He played in the Baltimore Symphony last year and again is a member this year.