George Maris, Greek minister of finance, today placed 500,000 drachmas ($65,000) at the disposal of the governor of Saloniki for the reconstruction of the Jewish quarter of the city which was almost entirely destroyed by fire Monday as a result of the anti-Jewish riot here. As a result of this money becoming available it is believed possible that stone buildings will replace the dilapidated wooden dwellings in which the Jews previously lived.
Seventeen Greek and three Jewish organizations, including the B’nai Brith, met here today and adopted a resolution expressing regret at the disturbances and confidence in the local authorities. Representatives of the press who were invited to the conference promised to aid in the restoration of peace and in the improvement of relations between Greeks and Jews. The parley also decided to summon another conference of all Greek, Jewish and national professional groups to take steps to end all misunderstandings.
In the meantime the minister of justice and the minister of aviation together with the governor of Saloniki are looking into the cause of the outbreak. Senator Ascher Mallah, Deputy Bessantchi and M. Yacoel, the legal adviser of the Jewish community, today conferred with the minister of justice, A. Avraam, and explained the situation to him after submitting a memorandum.
M. Avraam said today that he was convinced that the Maccabee Sport Club is innocent of the charge of the press and the National organization that the Maccabee representatives had utilized their presence in Sofia last year to attend a meeting of agitators favoring Macedonian independence. Nevertheless, for formal purposes, he is continuing his official inquiry into the nature of the allegation which led to the attacks on the Jews.
With the police and special military detachments fully armed patrolling the streets, complete order has been restored throughout the city. Six Jews and five Greeks, implicated in the rioting, were sentenced to three days in prison and fined 400 drachmas each while another Greek was given a 20 day prison term.
The municipality and various philanthropic organizations are in the meantime rendering emergency assistance to the Jewish victims of the disturbances, many of them having lost all of their belongings in the fire.
Premier Venizelos today denied published reports of the government’s intention of removing the governor of Saloniki, pointing out that the inquiries of the ministers of justice and aviation are within their competence but that similar probes are outside the governor’s authority.
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