Needs Studied in Survey Milwaukee Ghetto Jewish Merchants Differ on Whether to Remain

A survey of the views of Jewish merchants in Milwaukee’s inner city, made for the Milwaukee Jewish Council, has disclosed that owners of small enterprises want to sell and get out while those operating larger stores believe they can handle the special problems of doing business in a Black ghetto.

Whether large or small, the merchants did not lict anti-Semitism among their problems, according to Saul Sorrin, executive director of the Milwaukee Jewish Council, in summarizing the findings of the study, which was made by Julian Vudelson, assistant professor of marketing at Marquette University. The study was ordered by the Council to meet its responsibilities in two program areas: conflict suffered by the Jewish community and the Council’s involvement in the urban crisis, Sorrin said.

The 224 retail business operators studied in the project listed lack of insurance, robberies and losses to shoplifters as their key problems. Sorrin said that while resident Blacks may dislike the Jewish merchants, that attitude was not often made evident to the merchants. The study found 1775 enterprises in the ghetto and, with the help of knowledgeable inner city businessmen, those owned by Jews were identified. Each Jewish merchant was sent a questionnaire and a covering letter from Robert M. Gill, Council president.

Groceries constituted the single largest category of Jewish-owned inner city businesses, with laundries second. Jews also operate drug stores, liquor stores, real estate offices, furniture stores, auto parts stores and other types of small business, the study found. More than 70 percent of the merchants replying said their inner city store was their only business. Annual sales volume ranged from less than $50,000 to more than $250,000. The merchants reported a total of 272 white employes and 90 Black workers.

Sorrin said the contrast in views between the smaller store owners, mostly “pop and mom” enterprises, and the larger enterprises was definite in many areas. Those who want to get out–60 percent of them had annual sales of less than $100,000–viewed their problems as “major” and most were willing to help Blacks buy their firms. One replied: “Get a group of energetic Blacks and we will sell the store to them and we will help them get started.” Fear was frequently expressed among such owners as a major reason for wanting to sell out.

Owners of the larger stores included many who said they would like to see more ways to extend credit to Black customers who usually have no credit rating. They also favored more Black-owned retail shops in the ghetto. One Jewish pharmacy owner, reporting he had been at his current location for 30 years and that four of his five employes were Black, reported that 90 percent of his customers were Black. He said he had no major problems and only minor difficulties with insurance and neighborhood decline.

The study proposed a number of steps for a Jewish-sponsored program to aid inner city Jewish merchants. One was creation of a turnover committee to help owners who want to sell. The committee would seek would-be buyers and provide a follow-up service to help insure the new owner’s success. Also proposed were creation of insurance pools for inner city businessmen, a proposal which Sorrin said would probably require action at the state level. The committee also would examine means of helping merchants to deal with crime problems. A fourth proposal was development of a business assistance program to educate Jewish merchants to deal with their problems more effectively. The Council said any action taken in these areas would depend on the needs of the Jewish merchants and on the support such action would elicit from the rest of the Milwaukee Jewish community.