Elmer Davis, one of the nation’s leading newspapermen, was honored at the National Press Club here for his efforts on behalf of civil liberties. The American Jewish Congress presented Mr. Davis with the 1954 Stephen Wise Award.
Sen. Herbert H. Lehman, who presented the award, warned of the “damage already done” to civil liberties despite the decline of Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy. He stressed the “need for continued vigilance” Mr. Lehman said: “We Jews have learned out of a long history that antedates by many centuries the American experience that no aspect of freedom and no basic rights can be yielded by any individual or group of individuals without endangering the freedom and basic rights of all.”
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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.