Anti-Semitic elements in America were today given a lesson in elementary civics by the Office of Emergency Management, in reply to their anonymous letters complaining that the OEM broadcast on Labor Day in the “Salute to Labor” radio program contained “a fine collection of Jews.”
Telling these “critics” that there is no law in America prohibiting them to migrate to any country whose government is more in harmony with their views, the OEM public reply, prepared and issued today by Robert W. Horton, Director of Information, reads in part:
“For your information, this office is a part of the Government of the United States. From the nature of your complaint I assume that you are ignorant of the basis upon which that Government was founded. The date was 1776, should you be interested in pursuing the subject or perhaps you are opposed to the tenets upon which it rests.
“I can understand, though quite without sympathy, how one of your prejudices must find it irritating to have to live under such a system of government as is ordained in the Constitution. There are, of course, other systems to be found in other parts of the world. One of the rights of American citizens is to migrate to any country whose government is more in harmony with their views. This right, however, is denied by some governments, so it is always well to acquaint ones self with such details before making a move. You can understand, I hope, that it might sometime be found that the American way is really the best after all.
“Meanwhile, just remember that there are some places in this world where you would not be permitted to express opinions contrary to the spirit of the prevailing form of government as openly as you do here. Those places, I might add, are governed by dictators and share what I understand to be your prejudices.”
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.
