The economic crisis in the United States and other countries from which the Jewish Reconstruction Fund has till recently been drawing considerable revenue, was attributed to be the cause of the acute financial difficulties now facing the Reconstruction Fund, presided over by Dr. Julius Brodnitz, the President of the Central Union of German Citizens of Jewish Faith.
Dr. Brodnitz himself, Professor Frankfurt, and Dr. vovitch were among those who took part in the debate.
Dr. Leo Bramson, the Chairman of the Central Administration of the O.R.T. Federation, after the Financial Report for 1930 had been presented, gave a detailed statement on the 1931 budget of the Reconstruction Fund, emphasising in particular the financing of the agricultural and industrialising activity of the Fund.
During the past year, he said, the Reconstruction Fund had been able to allocate 138,361 dollars out of the funds raised in America and the other countries for financing agricultural and industrial enterprises in Poland, Russia and Roumania. In a comparatively short time the O.R.T. Federation had succeeded in setting in motion 23 productive co-operatives (artels), 22 in Soviet Russia. In the middle of September 1930 there were 1,800 heads of families at work in these co-operatives. The enterprises already addition of new labour forces, machinery and inventory. New artels are being formed.
Particular satisfaction was expressed over the progress of the work in the model textile factory Avtovgas, and in the textile factory Tcherstopraedilczik, both founded in Moscow by the O.R.T. Federation. Good progress had also been made, Dr. Bramson said, at the toy factory in Kiev, which was one of the best of its kind in the whole area. In the last month various new deliveries of machinery and inventory had been sent into Russia from Germany to equip the productive co-operatives.
VALUE OF O.R.T. ARTELS ESTIMATED AT 275,000 DOLLARS: AGRICULTURAL ACTIVITY IN EASTERN EUROPE EMBRACES ABOUT 150 SETTLEMENTS WITH 5,000 FAMILIES OF SETTLERS ON AREA OF 45,000 HESTARES.
Altogether 10,000 dollars were being expended by the Reconstruction Fund and the various Federations on industrialising activities. In addition, the value of the machinery sent to the members of the various artels by their relatives abroad through the medium of the O.R.T. are valued at about 60,000 dollars. Government and other sources have contributed to the artels over 100,000 dollars, bringing up the material value of the artels to close upon 275,000 dollars.
The agricultural activities of the O.R.T. Federation in Soviet Russia, Poland, Bessarabia and Lithuania are also being financed by the Reconstruction Fund. In Soviet Russia this agricultural activity embraces the Odessa and Pervomaysk areas in the Ukraine, as well as other districts in White Russia. Of late, the O.R.T. has restricted its activity in White Russia to a number of places in the Bobruisk region, where previously it had also worked in the Minsk and Mohilev districts. This limitation of activities was found to be necessary after the collectivisation of most of the agricultural settlements in the Minsk and Mohilev districts.
On the initiative of the representatives of the O.R.T. Federation in Soviet Russia, several branches of work had been opened in the Jewish colonies, which provided a means of occupation for the farmers during the winter months.
In Poland, dairy-farming and vegetable gardening, and in Bessarabia tobacco-growing and of late poultry farming as well, had been promoted.
The extent of agricultural activity conducted by the O.R.T. Federation in Eastern Europe runs to about 150 settlements with about 5,000 families of settlers on a total area of 45,000 hectares, the report states.
The new directorate of the Reconstruction Fund elected by the meeting include Dr. Joseph Blum and Dr. L. Zadock-Kahn (Paris); err Wilhelm Graetz, Dr. Wilhelm Kleeman, Dr. A. Singalovsky, and Dr. N. Soloveitchik (Berlin); Mr. S. Kalin, and Mr. Leon Rees (London); Dr. M. Silberfarb (Warsaw) and Mr. J. Zegelnitzky (Moscow).
Mr. Elkan N. Adler, Mr. S. Beloff, Mr. A. Halpern, Dr. D. Jochelman, Mr. S. Lurie, Mr. Philip Samuel, Mr. M. Schalit and Mr. Samuel Wallrock are among the London members appointed to the Council of the Reconstruction Fund. Other members include Mr. Paul Felix Warburg, Mr. Howard Cullman, Mr. B. Vladeck and Mr. Morris Waldman of New York, Chief Rabbi Professor Simonsen of Copenhagen, Rabbi Dr. Leo Baeck of Berlin, Professor Oaulid of Paris and Senator Szeraszewski of Warsaw.
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.
