A court suit which may determine the legality of boycotting firms dealing in German goods was adjourned to May 15 yesterday by Supreme Court Justice Brennan in Brooklyn.
The Certified Yeast Company, owned by Abe Schwartz and Morris Greenberg, is suing the Jewish Bakers Voice, the Bakers and Consumers Yeast Company, and the Ideal Yeast Company for a total of $450,000, and is also asking for a restraining order. The suit arose from the efforts of the three companies to discourage bakers from buying Certified yeast because the Certified Company allegedly bought German goods despite repeated editorial warnings in the Voice.
GOING ON SINCE JULY
About fifty persons including witnesses and eight lawyers, grumbled in the corridors of the Supreme Court in the Brooklyn Municipal Building yesterday as the case, which has dragged along since July, was once again adjourned.
The complaint, filed by the law firm of Grote and Conroy, attorneys for the Certified Company, last July charged that the three defendants “deliberately and maliciously attempted to prevent the plaintiff’s customers and other Jewish bakers from purchasing the plaintiff’s products, intending to destroy the good will of the plaintiff.” In addition, the Voice is charged with intimating in editorials that the Certified was not a reputable concern. It is alleged that representatives of the defendants made “improper, intimidating, and coercive threats against Jewish bakers who used the plaintiff’s products.”
BOYCOTT NOT MENTIONED
No mention of the anti-German boycott is made in the complaint. The answer, filed by Bushel and Gottlieb, attorneys for the Voice, denied allegations of intimidation, coercion, and unlawful interference.
A novel feature of the case is the introduction of James Waterman Wise’s book, “Swastika,” to demonstrate the righteousness of the boycott. Editorials and news articles from newspapers dealing with Hitlerite atrocities are also among papers on file with the court.
Among the items are four editorials published by the Jewish Baker’s Voice asking the bakery industry, which is predominantly Jewish, to boycott the goods of the Certified Company.
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