Jewish circles saw in President Roosevelt’s inaugural address today a barbed shaft aimed at Poland’s proposals for emigration of alleged surplus Jewish population and at anti-Semites here.
The paragraph upon which such an interpretation has been authoritatively placed, contained in a passage in which he depicted the economic difficulties facing millions in this country, follows:
“It is not in despair that I paint you that picture. I paint it for you in hope–because the nation, seeing and understanding the injustice in it, proposes to paint it out. We are determined to make every American citizen the subject of his country’s interest and concern; and we will never regard any faithful law-abiding group within our borders as superfluous.”
It was pointed out in informed quarters that the phraseology “faithful, law-abiding group within our borders as superfluous” was advisedly used and was intended by the President as offering a sharp contrast to the official attitude on “surplus” populations recently voiced in the Polish Parliament.
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