Washington Mourns Death of Rep. Bloom; Flags Fly at Half-mast; Funeral Tomorrow

The House of Representatives adjourned all regular business today in tribute to Rep. Sol Bloom, chairman of its Foreign Affairs Committee, who died last night following a heart attack at a naval hospital here. Speaker of the House Sam Rayburn devoted today’s session to eulogies. Capitol flags flew at half-mast.

The remains of Rep. Bloom were brought this afternoon to New York where funeral services will be held on Thursday at the West Side Institutional Synagogue. Rabbi Herbert S. Goldstein will officiate. Before the funeral, the body will lie in state at the Riverside Memorial Chapel in New York.

Bloom, who was a member of Congress since 1923, would have been 79 tomorrow. A party to mark his 79th birthday had been arranged for tomorrow in his office. His friends, who include Just about everybody of importance in Washington, were prepared to honor him as they had done in previous years. His sudden death was mourned today not only in this country, but throughout the entire world. Messages of condolence from many countries have been pouring in all day.

TRUMAN SAYS BLOOM’S DEATH IS LOSS TO NATION; LAUDS HIS PATRIOTISM

President Truman led a long list of Washington officials who mourned the passing of Bloom. In a wire from Key West, Florida, to Bloom’s daughter, Vera, Truman said that he was “shocked and saddened” by the news of the sudden death of the distinguished member of the House of Representatives.

“His untimely passing on the eve of his 79th birthday is a loss to the State of New York and to the nation,” President Truman’s message said. “Fourteen consecutive elections to the House of Representatives bear eloquent witness to the fidelity of his service and the confidence and affection of his constituents. As a member and twice chairman of the great Committee of Foreign Affairs, he was a tower of strength to his country in a most critical period of our international relations. His service in Congress spans the pre-war and war years and the period that has followed active hostilities. Thoroughly American, he was animated by the highest patriotism and a real zeal for service to his follow-men.”

Similar messages were sent by Secretary of State Dean G. Acheson and other members of the Cabinet. His death was termed a grievous loss to the whole country. The affection and esteem in which he was held by his Congressional colleagues were reflected in statements issued by many Democratic and Republican members of Congress.

PLAYED IMPORTANT ROLE IN SECURING PASSAGE OF U.N. PALESTINE PARTITION DECISION

Always interested in Jewish affairs, Bloom played a very important role in helping to swing the two-thirds vote required for passage of the Palestine partition resolution at the General Assembly of the United Nations, which led to the establishment of Israel. At one point, the vote of General Carlos P. Romulo, the Philippine delegate, was crucial. It was Bloom who reached General Romulo by radio-telephone aboard the Queen Mary, in mid-Atlantic, and succeeded in convincing him to instruct the Philippine delegation to vote for the partition decision.

An ardent Zionist and a representative of a New York district with a large Jewish constituency, Bloom conferred numerous times with President Truman on the Palestine question. Born in Pekin, Illinois, he rose from poverty and obscurity to wealth and distinction in San Francisco, prior to his becoming a member of Congress.