Praises N. Y. “times,” Criticizes “exponent” for Treatment of Yiddish Culture Convention

The “New York Times” is praised for giving a full report of the convention of the Yiddish culture societies of America and the Philadelphia “Jewish Exponent” is criticized for its attitude towards Yiddish, in an editorial in yesterday’s “Jewish Morning Journal.”

“A long and sympathetic report of the conference of the Yiddishe Kultur Gesellshaft which appeared in the ‘New York Times’ can be compared favorably with the greeting given by the Philadelphia ‘Jewish Exponent’ to the recognition of Yiddish in Boston,” says the editorial. “There it was a question of the course in Yiddish literature and its history which the Department of Education of Massachusetts adopted in its University Extension Department, and the Anglo-Jewish paper treats contemptuously the idea itself, the attendance at the first session, and the credits which may be obtained for Yiddish at examinations.

“The ‘Exponent’ is entitled to its opinion that the joy over the recognition of Yiddish in Massachusetts is perhaps a bit premature. We know of similar recognitions of Hebrew which in the end amounted to nothing. But on the other hand its funeral sermon over the Yiddish press is also a bit premature, and if one were to compare the development of the Yiddish and Anglo-Jewish press during the past few decades one might see a different result than that which its prophecy could teach.

“And even if one should admit for argument’s sake that the Yiddish press is waging a losing fight, one must be surprised how little the Jewish press in English wins from that fight. Judging by the percentage of letters written in good English which we get from our readers, one is justified in stating that that portion of our public which understands English is much greater than the number of readers which all the papers of the class of the ‘Exponent’ together have in our city. We do not deny that in time to come all Jews in America will know English, but Yiddish is still good for a few generations, and meanwhile the limited immigration is more than enough to make good the very small loss of Yiddish readers.”