Economic Depression Endangers Ort. Institutions Ineastern Europe: Serious Discussion on Future Outlo

There has been a very heavy fall in income, both from the European countries and from the United States, Dr. Leo Bramson, the President of the ORT World Federation, reported at a meeting of the Central Administration of the ORT which has been held here this week. The contributions from America have decreased, he said, to a much larger extent than the contributions from Europe. Big cuts had consequently had to be made in the budget. There had been no alternative, but they could not shut their eyes to the fact that it had done considerable damage to their work in various countries. It was only the sacrifices made by the teaching and administrative staffs, who had gone without salaries for about six months, enduring extreme hardships, that had made it possible to carry on the work of their technical training schools till the end of the school year. They were, therefore, particularly gratified, Dr. Bramson said, that the sacrifice had been made to good purpose, since 96% of the pupils had received proficiency certificates from the State examination authorities.

To maintain their most important institutions, Dr. Bramson said, it would be necessary to make still further reductions, while at the same time intensifying their collecting activities in the West European countries, and in the United States.

Dr. A. Singalowsky followed with an outline of a policy of stabilisation. He criticised the past tendency of depending mainly on subsidies and collections made in various countries, when in his opinion the function of the ORT was rather to utilise the material and moral powers of East European Jewry itself, and to act as a pioneer, in making active its own social abilities and obtaining State aid for the purpose. This, he thought, would guarantee the success of their upbuilding work. But so long as their institutions depended, as at present, largely on support from abroad, they could expect only temporary improvements, but no stability.

In the course of the debate which followed, Dr. M. Silberfarb, the head of the ORT in Poland, and Dr. Jakir, the Chairman of the ORT in Bessarabia, urged that it would be very hard to make any further reductions in the subsidies given to their training schools, particularly now when the municipalities are compelled, by reason of their own critical financial position, to cut out the grants which they had previously been giving to the ORT schools.

Dr. Julius Brodnitz, the President of the Union of German Citizens of Jewish Faith, urged that while necessary reductions should be made, as was being done by all organisations at the present time, it was essential to provide, however, that there should be no loss of efficiency by too drastic cutting. Herr Wilhelm Graetz also supported this view.

RESOLUTIONS

In view of the difficult financial position in which the ORT Federation is placed on account of the general economic crisis, in the European countries, and especially the economic depression in America, the resolutions adopted by the meeting state, the most drastic measures must be taken to wipe out the debts of the Federation, and to provide for the further maintenance of the ORT Organisations and institutions. Since the special task of the ORT in Eastern Europe is the economic reconstruction of the Jewish population, for which purpose it is necessary to obtain subsidies from the Governments and municipalities, this fact should be pushed into the foreground, especially at the present time, when the contributions from relief sources abroad are diminishing, and there is no prospect of any increase in this direction.

Since, however, until such time as the ORT will be in a position to maintain itself solely by means of local funds, private and Governmental, it is essential to obtain assistance from abroad, this meeting decides that a new emergency campaign should be launched as soon as possible, with a view to increasing the funds raised in the various countries of Western Europe, like England, Germany, and France. Special care must be taken to increase the funds raised in America, for which purpose a big ORT organisation is to be established there, which will look for support to the Jewish masses, and will conduct its collecting work in close contact or jointly with the People’s Tool Company. Until the necessary funds are raised which will enable the ORT to extricate itself from its present difficult position, the Central Administration must concentrate primarily on the gradual wiping out of the debts of the ORT institutions. Only such funds will be approved for industrialisation which come in for this purpose from America through the People’s Tool Campaign, from the Landsmanschaften, and from the Relatives Aid Campaign, and similarly from the other countries. At the same time, there must be a still further reduction of organisational and administrative expenditure both in the head office and in the local organisations. This meeting, the resolutions conclude, is confident, however, that the ORT Federation will in the near future succeed in establishing its work on normal lines.

Professor Frankfurt, who reported on the work of the Cooperative Tool Supply Company, said that the economic depression in Poland, Roumania, and Latvia had brought about a considerable delay in the repayment of credits and to some extent had made it impossible, placing the Company in a difficult position. Measures were being taken, however, to remove these difficulties, he said.

In Soviet Russia, Poland, Bessarabia, and Latvia, the report for the period January-July 1931 states, the agricultural activity of the ORT extends at present to about 4,000 families. In Soviet Russia, work has been confined in the last few months to building homes and essential institutions for the new Jewish Colonis###, the provision of livestock and the extension of vine-growing. In Poland, the agricultural co-operatives founded by the ORT have been able to maintain themselves and to expand, having realised in time the need of adopting intensive cultivation in agriculture, vegetable-gardening, bee farming, etc. A great deal of anxiety prevails with regard to the agricultural enterprises in Bessarabia. Vine-growing has retrogressed because of the bad prices, and the same has happened to the tobacco cultivation. The Minister of Finance, M. Argetoianu, has promised, however, that the Government will take measures to assure the normal development of the tobacco growing industry. Sheep-breeding is making good pregress in Bessarabia. In Lithuania 30 hectares of land have been purchased near the township of Panasishek, where Jewish farmers will be settled.

The training schools of the ORT continuedwork at full scope during the past year, in spite of the difficulties, and were attended by 8,608 pupils; 4,757 in Poland, 2,000 in Soviet Russia, 1,339 in Roumania, and several hundred in-Latvia, Lithuania, and Germany. The addition of the young people who have been attending various technical training courses and workshops in the Soviet Union by the aid the ORT, the report says, would bring up to 17,827, the number of persons who have been taught a trade during the past year by means of the financial assistance extended by the ORT.