Plan Co-ordination of Pacific Coast Jewish Social Service Agencies

(Jewish Telegraphic Agency)

Creation of a permanent Pacific Coast organization to coordinate all Jewish social welfare activities from Mexico to the Canadian border is expected to result from the first Pacific Coast Jewish Social Service Conference opening here tonight. This is the first time that representatives of Jewish social service of the entire Pacific Coast have assembled in conference. Mrs. M. C. Sloss is general chairman of the conference.

The annual meeting of the Jewish Committee for Personal Service in State Institutions was held here today preceding the social service conference. The officers of the committee were re-elected for another term. They are Rabbi Rudolp I. Coffee, Oakland, President; Rabbi Edgar F. Magnin, Los Angeles, First Vice-President; Samuel I. Fox, San Diego, Second Vice-President; Herbert Gosliner, San Francisco, Treasurere; and Rabbi Harold F. Reinhart, Sacremento, Secretary.

Dr. Coffee in his address expressed the hope that every State would see a Jewish Committee functioning along the lines so successfully carried on in California during the past seven years. In the furtherance of the idea to make a nationwide organization, he announced the appointment of Dr. Samuel C. Kohs is newly appointed director of the Brooklyn, N. Y. Federation of Charities.

Samuel C. Holcenberg, Executive Director presented a report which indicated that the number of Jewish prisoners is about two per cent of the total while the Jews number three per cent of the State population. The majority of convicts are “doaters.” young men attracted to California from the East who when financially embarassed trespass the law. The majority of prisoners are American born not of foreign birth as is often charged. Mr. Helcenberg added then the State of California has undertaken officially the same procedure in the homdling of ? released from the ? asylums that the Committee has been using in Jewish cases.