Naumberg, in Warsaw Article, Makes Complete Denial of Steuer Charges

(Jewish Telegraphic Agency)

A complete disavowal of his association with the charges made by Max D. Steuer, New York attorney, against the Joint Distribution Committee, alleging that 40 per cent, of the relief moneys sent to Poland prior to 1925 did not reach the people for whom they were intended due to losses in the changing rate of exchange, was made by H. D. Naumberg, Polish Jewish publicist and leader of the Voelkist party, who was quoted by Mr. Steuer in his statements criticizing the Joint Distribution Committee.

Mr. Steuer mentioned Mr. Naumberg as one of the four men with whom he conversed in Zurich while attending the conference on Jewish Rights and on the basis of whose information he formulated his allegations.

In an article which appeared today in the Warsaw Yiddish daily. “Der Moment.” Mr. Naumberg declares:

“As far as I am concerned, the statement of Mr. Steuer is not correct. I can add also that it is not true with regard to Dr. Szabad and Mr. Joseph Tchernichow. The three of us had a conversation with Mr. Steuer, but none of us said this or anything similar to this. On the contrary, to Mr. Steuer’s repeated questions as to whether it was true that the moneys of the Joint Distribution Committee were expended in Poland without benefit, we pointed to the positive aspects of the Joint Distribution Committee’s work.

“When Mr. Steuer further questioned why he was informed of alleged misuse, we replied that we know nothing of these allegations. On the basis of what we know, we can say that this information is untrue,” Mr. Naumberg declares in his article.

“Mr. Steuer made continued efforts to get such statements from us, repeating the questions continually, but we replied that the work of the Joint Distribution Committee in Poland was good, although we regard it as insufficient.

“Our conversation with Mr. Steuer then turned on the question of obtaining support for the Tor, the society for settling Jews on the land in Poland. We are of the opinion that the Joint Distribution Committee has entered insufficiently into the position of Polish Jewry and believe that more radical methods are necessary to help Polish Jewry. But this does not mean that the J.D.C. should not do the work it is doing at present. Such a demand would be conscienceless.

“It is unfortunate that certain people seek to discredit the Joint Distribution Committee, using energy which might better be applied for other purposes. Recently a journalist, Mr. Fisher, did something similar and if he did not have bad intentions, it is certain that he had the intention of seeking to show that only in Russia real work is being done in behalf of the Jews,” Mr. Naumberg declared.

A copy of this despatch was submitted to Mr. Steuer’s office by the Jewish Daily Bulletin, but Mr. Steuer could not be reached up to the time of going to press.

The Israel Friedlaender Classes with centers in various sections of the city and in Newark, will open their 7th annual season on Monday evening, October 24th.

The Friedlaender Classes form the Extension Department of the Teachers Institute of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America and offer a serles of courses including Hebrew, Jewish History, the Bible, Talmud. Palestine. Jewish Songs and Melodies. Jewish Customs and Ceremonies, Pedagogy and Jewish Club Leadership.

Classes will be held at 34 Stuyvesant Street, New York City, 50th Street and 14th Avenue, Brooklyn, 400 Stone Avenue, Brooklyn, 31 West 110th Street, New York City and 652 High Street. Newark, N. J.