Public announcement was made by David A. Brown, National Chairman of the $15,000,000 United Jewish Campaign, that the Advisory Committee had unanimously agreed that in view of the reports of constantly increasing distress on the part of Eastern European Jewry the quota of the United Jewish Campaign should be raised to $25,000,000 and that the Jews of this country should be apprised thereof immediately.
“I am absolutely sure that this announcement will be hailed with satisfaction by the Jewry of this country because in practically every city where a campaign has been held or is on now it has become the practice to exceed the quota originally accepted,” said Mr. Brown in issuing the announcement. “This is due to the many first hand reports of the desperate situation which we are trying so hard to mitigate. The story of the great European Jewish tragedy is being told not only by us but by hundreds of people all over the country who have either been abroad themselves recently or have received heartrending letters from relatives or friends in Poland. Russia, Bessarabia, Roumania and the rest of the hunger belt. It will be recalled that even as far back as the Philadelphia conference last September pressure was brought to bear on us by Nathan Straus and others who sensed the situation to make the quota more than $15,000,000 even as high as $50,000,000. Events have justified this demand because the Jewish situation in Europe is vastly more serious than it was a year ago. Therefore we feel that the Jews of America will welcome this increased quota and even oversubscribe it.”
The New York United Jewish Campaign Monday night reached a total of $4,000,000 and voted to extend the drive for another week in order to raise the city’s full quota of $6.000.000. William Fox, chairman of the New York Campaign has offered $50.000 additional to his original quarter million dollar contribution provided the full $6,000,000 quota is reached. This will bring Mr. Fox’s contribution to $300,000.
Mr. Fox’s offer was contained in a telegram to Mr. Bressler, in which he stated:
“I authortre you to announce that if the workers will stick it out and get the six million dollars I will add fifty thousand dollars to my original quarter million dollar subscription. In view of the dreadful situation which we are endeavoring to relieve and for the sake of the hundreds and hundreds of thousands whose very lives depend on the Jews of America including the Jews of New York. I hope that the workers whose achievement have filled me with admiration will not ahate their efforts now but that they will compel me to make good my present offer.”
The motion to extend the campaign was made by Samuel C. Lamport, of its advisory committee and seconded by Louis Marshall, Joseph Leblang and Judge Gustav A. Hartman.
“We will fight it out on this line if it takes all Summer,” declared Mr. Marshall in his seconding speech. “We will find out who are real Jews and who are four-flushers.
“There is no question that we owe a great duty, not only to our brethren overseas, to those who are about to die and who hope at least that we shall help them, but there is something more important so far as we are concerned,” said Mr. Marshall. “We must continue this campaign until we have attained the duty which we owe to ourselves and humanity and we haven’t begun to do that. It is perfectly shameful that the richest community of Jews that the world has even known should thus prove to be indifferent to the great call of duty. Men have made enormous fortunes in the last few years. They have attained wealth which they never dreamed of in their wildest moments. They have attained a position in the community which is perfectly miraculous and yet, with few exceptions, they absolutely ignore this campaign and the duty which they owe to it.
“The difficulty here in New York City is that you cannot see people. You are unable to find them at home when you call upon them. They have their trained telephones which will immediately detect the voice of one who desires to get money. But, nevertheless there is such a thing as patience and perseverence and I have been so trained that the harder the case the harder I work. I will not permit myself to be discouraged merely because there are people who are making it hard for me to accomplish what I desire to accomplish. I believe that our duty is not only to adopt this resolution that we shall continue this campaign for another week, but that we shall hang out a sign which will be to the effect that this campaign will continue until every man, woman and child in this community will have contributed. We will not permit of any slacking and we will know just who it is who is disloyal, who is unwilling to assist, who is regardless of his duty and I say that our slogan now should be the watch-word used by General Grant in the dark days of the Wilderness when he was fighting for the preservation of our Union. ‘We will fight it out on this line if it takes all summer.’ You who are here, the loyal workers, need no ammunition. You are to take the message to the people outside who have not performed their duties. I do not mean to deliver lectures to those who are here. You are so many workers who will communicate to those who are outside and let them know that the non-Jewish community of the United States and of the world is looking at the Jews of America at this time to find out whether they are four-flushers or whether they are genuine Jews,” Mr. Marshall said.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
