Dear Sir:
Apropos of your article in the Bulletin of Wednesday, January 29, containing the following caption: “Judge Horace Stern Indicts Jewry of Philadelphia for Failure of Charity Federation’s Drive,” let me say this:
(1) Judge Stern was misquoted when he is alleged to have said: “If the Federation is forced to admit defeat, it would be better to return to the days when there was no Federation.”
(2) The amount subscribed this year was about $240,000 less than the amount pledged in 1929.
(3) Some time in April or May a concerted effort will be made in Philadelphia to obtain the additional requisite sum to enable us to carry on the activities of our various charitable organizations.
(4) Despite the Wall Street debacle and other causes, which resulted in our inability to reach our objective, I am fairly certain that with a change in the business tide, Philadelphia will regain the position which during the past ten years it has occupied in the field of American Jewish philanthropy.
(5) The bright side of the picture is this, that ten years ago the Federation of Jewish Charities in Philadelphia raised about $650,000, whereas in 1929 contributions amounted to $1,650,000. Moreover, in 1926, the Jewish citizens of the community pledged nearly $4,000,000 to the Federation Building Fund, covering a period of four years.
Jacob Billikopf,
Executive Director,
Federation of Jewish Charities of Philadelphia.
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