Emphasizing that the Department of Justice has always been “the inner fortress” for the protection of minorities in the United States and that “intolerance and bigotry are too expensive for even rich America,” U.S. Attorney General Tom C. Clark tonight warned that only by constant vigilance can anti-Semitic organizations be repressed. He spoke at a dinner of the Jewish Labor Committee at the Hotel Roosevelt marking the launching of a $1,000,000 drive to finance rescue work in Europe and the committee’s educational campaign against anti-Semitism in this country.
Mr. Clark severely criticized those groups in the United States who seek either to reduce the present immigration quota, or to suspend it for several years. “There is no necessity for such legislation,” he declared, pointing out that at no time during the past ten years has the number of immigration visas issued in any one year exceeded 40 percent of the quota. At the same time, he indicated that measures will be taken by the Government to bar immigrants “who may provide fuel for the inflammatory arguments of the intolerant.”
Reviewing the tragedy of the Jews in Europe, the Attorney General said that “the death of the 6,000,000 Jews killed in this war gives the Jewish race a claim on the conscience of mankind.” He expressed the hope that the idea of a “homeland of the Jewish people” may be realized soon.
PRESIDENT TRUMAN LAUDS RECORD OF THE JEWISH LABOR COMMITTEE
President Truman, in a message to the dinner, addressed to Mr. Clark and read by him, said: “I wish that you would tell our friends of the Jewish Labor Committee how pleased I am with their record and how happy I am that they are so fully engaged in the European food program. It warms my heart, in these days of sometimes captions criticism, to witness the work of groups such as this who in reality form the silent services of democracy. They work while others are expounding, and they work also while others are asleep. I will never forget their services to the people, to democracy, and to humanity.”
Other speakers included Mattew Woll, vice-president, American Federation of Labor; David Dubinsky, president, International Ladies Garment Workers Union; Sam B. Enbanks, executive vice-president, American Newspaper Guild; and Adolph Held, chairman of the Jewish Labor Committee.
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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.
