A bitter fight was staged here yesterday in the City Hall by Councilman Alfred G. Jones, who attempted to prevent the children of the Workmen’s Circle School from staging a Yiddish theatrical performance scheduled for next Friday at the Little Theatre in the Public Hall.
He objected to renting the government space to people, who in his opinion, are against that government. He termed the Workmen’s Circle “a bunch of Jewish Communists who are selling tickets for a performance, the proceeds of which will go for Communist and radical propaganda in this country.
Councilman Jones’ demand that the contract with the Workmen’s Circle be nullified and the performance refused was rejected, due to the attitude of Herbert J. Twelvetree, manager of the Public Hall, who declared that it was not his business to inquire into the political or religious beliefs of people renting space in the hall. He said that the only demand made on those renting space there is that the entertainment be circumspect, respectable and orderly.
City Manager Daniel E. Morgan backed up Mr. Twelvetree, while the leaders of the Workmen’s Circle fought the assault upon their school and denied that they had any connection with Communists or radical propaganda.
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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.