Jewish Hospitals in New York Facing 12 Million Dollars Deficit

The Jewish hospitals in New York are facing a deficit of 12 million dollars, forever Judge Joseph Proskauer, President of the Federation for the Support of the Jewish Philanthropic Societies of New York, announced to-day in opening the annual Jewish Charity Campaign of the Associated Jewish Philanthropies Association of Boston.

Owing to the financial crisis in America, which is affecting the life of the Jewish Community to a tremendous extent, it was reported, unprecedented demands are being made upon the resources of the Boston Jewish Philanthropies. In the course of a single month 924 cases of Jewish men, women and children, all in dire want, were referred to the Family Welfare Agency of the Philanthropic Society. Most of them were forced to apply for help because of unemployment. The free wards of the Beth Israel Hospital are filled with patients who formerly were able to pay for their medical treatment, and the out-patients’ department is crowded with people who are now unable to pay the fee of the outside private practitioners.

The Federation for the Support of Jewish Philanthropic Societies has a deficit of 2,230,000 dollars to complete its budget of 5,230,000 dollars for the support of its 91 affiliated Charities.

At the same time, Mr. Albert Ottinger, former Attorney-General for the State of New York, who is Chairman of the New York City Campaign of the Joint Distribution Committee, speaking at a mass meeting held at Portland, Maine, to inaugurate the local campaign for the Joint Distribution Committee’s 2½ million dollar campaign for the relief and reconstruction work among the Jews of Eastern Europe, said that however hard things were in America, they must not forget that there are millions of Jews in Poland, Roumania, and other East European countries who are actually starving. It was hard for American Jews to give the money now, but to deprive these people now of American aid would be calamitous. Besides, it was not merely charity, but sound economics to help the distressed, and America could never attain a great measure of lasting prosperity until its people had helped to alleviate the conditions abroad.