Digest of Public Opinion on Jewish Matters

[The purpose of the Digest is informative: Preference is given to papers not generally accessible to our readers. Quotation does not indicate approval.-Editor.]

Governor Moore’s statement that the proposed voting on constitutional amendments in New Jersey will be changed from Sept. 27, the date of Rosh Ha’shanah, although he is not convinced it is necessary since he believed the Jewish members of the Assembly would have opposed the date, if there had been any real opposition to it, is lauded by the Jewish press which regards it as a tribute to the Governor’s sense of humor.

“The beauty of the Governor’s joke,” observes the “Jewish Morning Journal” of yesterday, “lies in its earnestness. How can a Christian Governor imagine Jewish representatives in the state’s law making body who are ignorant of the meaning of Rosh Ha’shanah?

“Frequently,” the paper continues, “we have to face similar unpleasant situations in New York when the dates for registration or election coincide with Jewish holidays. The Christian population is always prepared to consider our religious demands, but many a time such things are discovered too late because the Jewish Assemblymen and Senators in Albany forget to bear in mind the Jewish calendar.

“The Jewish Assemblymen in New Jersey deserve to be censored for their neglect, whatever the outcome of the matter. They will be to blame if the date will not be changed and thousands of Jewish citizens will be deprived of their right to vote. They will be no less to blame if the state will be compelled to incur an expense of time and money in calling an extra session of the Legislature to change the date.”

Criticism of the Jewish members of the New Jersey State Assembly is also voiced by the “Jewish Daily News,” which says: “Would it not be only fair that Jews who are engaged in the political profession and who do not fail to emphasize their Jewish origin when they run for office, should at least show enough attachment and respect for Jews to learn at the outset of their careers to be on guard against such incidents so that voting days should not be set for Jewish holidays thus depriving Jews of the opportunity and privilege to perform their duty as citizens.”

SENATOR JAMES A. REED’S MISTAKE

The belief that Senator James Reed has realized his mistake in undertaking to be Ford’s counsel in the Sapiro libel suit and has abandoned all hope of winning the Presidential nomination, is held by the Decatur (III.) “Herald”, which discusses in its March 28 issue the political implications of Reed’s role in the Detroit libel suit. The paper says:

“When Senator James Reed became attorney for Henry Ford, in the Sapiro libel suit, everybody began to speculate about the political effect of the connection. It was pretty well agreed among the shrewder of the politicians that the Senator will lose votes, while earning the Ford fee. He might expect to make friends among the admirers of Henry Ford, a considerable body of people, especially in agricultural sections of the country. At the same time, however, he is likely to arouse the enmity of many Jews, and the art of politics being what it is, the winning of friends is not nearly as significant as the making of enemies.

“Senator Reed, being a politician of experience and discernment, knows all this. It begins to be evident that he is already aware of his mistake, and has abandoned all hope of winning the presidential nomination. News reports the other day mentioned that he had worn spats in the court room.”

The American people dislike intolerance and they dislike the attitude of the “Dearborn Independent”, Mr. Ford’s paper, asserts the Bakerfield (Cal.) “Californian” of Mar. 26, adding:

“No one in this country who is fair minded–and most of the people are fair minded–desires to see war waged upon any race or any religion. And Mr. Ford’s paper has been doing that for a long time past. If he has good and sufficient reasons that the public is no apprised of, this is an excellent time for him to divulge them. If he has permitted the use of his property for malignant purposes, it would be a good time, too, for him to frankly admit it and to declare a different policy in the future.”