Eliminate Charges of Personal Dishonesty Against Z.o.a- Leaders

The Committee for Z. O. A. Reorganization, representing the opposition formed at the recent Washington conference, made public yesterday the text of a letter addressed by Judge Julian W. Mack to Julius Simon under date of June 15, eliminating from the opposition charges against the administration any accusation of personal dishonesty. The letter read:

“A few days ago when a sub-committee of the so-called Committee on Peace and Reconstruction (of which you are a member) met with some members of the group that had a conference in Washington, attention was called to the use of the word dishonest in the preface to the proceedings of that convention. I stated to those present and none of the Washington group dissented, that I had not seen that preface or the pamphlet before it was published, that so far as I knew, and I believe I did know, no one had ever made a charge of “dishonesty” in the sense in which it was now pretended that the word had been used in the preface, namely, of accusing anyone of misappropriating funds of the organization for his private pecuniary gain.

“I stated that the word very clearly meant, and by its reference to the resolutions could only have meant, dishonesty in practices in connection with Zionist affairs-practices analogous to those which have just come to light since the Washington Conference, like the famous telegram in reference to crediting dues formerly enrolled members who had not paid this year, and charging them to the district, which had no power to be responsible for them.

“I further added that dishonest practices include false statements and abuse of power, things that were specifically charged in the addresses and in the resolutions of the conference.

“It further authorized the members of the sub-committee of your organization to repeat the statement that I had made, at any time and at any place, not as a matter of compromise of any kind, but purely as a matter of justice both to those who either felt themselves or pretended to feel themselves accused, as well as to those responsible for the publications of the proceedings of Washington Conference.

“Entirely apart from any, statement made in that preface I personally repeat again that I have never heard anyone accuse any member of the administration of financial dishonesty in the sense of misappropriating any funds for his own pecuniary gain.”