Unrewarded with a single penny of the $15,000 voted by the Board of Estimate last Friday for grave and memorial decorations on Memorial Day, Edgar H. Burman, past commander of the Jewish War Veterans of America, and Solomon Abelow, New York State Senior Vice-Commander, yesterday made the rounds of the city’s governing offices to ascertain why they were left out in the cold.
According to the Board of Estimate’s decision last Friday the $15,000 will be apportioned on the basis of borough strength among four organizations, the American Legion, Grand Army of the Republic, Veterans of Foreign Wars and United Spanish War Veterans.
Burman asserted yesterday that the four organizations were favored because of a previous meeting in the Comptroller’s office, to which the Jewish War Veterans were not invited.
These and other charges were listed in a letter which Burman mailed yesterday to every member of the Board of Estimate, asking further consideration and inclusion on the list.
VETS TO ATTEND NEXT MEETING
The Jewish War Veterans will be represented Friday at the next meeting of the Board to argue the case, Burman said. Last Friday, when the measure was passed excluding them from sharing the benefits, Mortimer Davis was their unofficial observer, but did not contest the awards.
According to Burman, the State Legislature last year passed a bill to include the Jewish War Veterans in such donations, but the bill was permissive, not mandatory, and therefore it lies within the discretion of the Board of Estimate to decide the point.
Visits by Burman and A below yesterday included the Mayor’s office, the Board of Aldermen and the Board of Estimate.
The $15,000, it was stated, not only will be used for decorating graves of soldiers who fell in American wars, but also for decorating memorials and arches in the five boroughs.
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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.
