(By Our Warsaw Correspondent)
The Polish government must secure the sympathy of American Jewry, through a change of policy to the Jews in Poland, if the terrible economic crisis in Poland is to be solved, it was stated today during the debate at the meeting of the Emigration Commission of the Sejm by the Jewish Sejm Deputy, Schipper, who participated in the discussions.
The debate centered around the question of solving Poland’s economic crisis by directing emigration to other countries.
Deputy Schipper submitted a series of figures showing the cost of the colonization work carried out up to the present by the Jews in Palestine and the Argentine. It was a matter of tens of millions of pounds Sterling, he said. Poland was not in a position to spend such sums, especially in this present time of economic crisis when efforts were being made to raise a foreign loan in order to carry on the economic work of the country. If they were to think seriously of the Brazilian colonization plan they must be able to get at the reservoirs of capital accumulated by the former Polish emigrants in America, including the Polish Jews in America. These elements could finance the plan, but not the poverty-stricken Polish State. To obtain the assistance of these reservoirs, it was necessary to conduct a different sort of internal policy. At present everything possible was being done to repulse those who had emigrated abroad from Poland. There had been a time when Count Skrzynsky had prepared for his visit to America by concluding the so-called Polish-Jewish Agreement and in that way American Jewry had to some extent been moved to be favorably disposed to Poland, as Count Skrzyski had himself admitted. That, however, had only been superficial, the move had been made at a moment when actually the same extermination policy and the same numerus clausus were being pursued against the Jews. In that way it was certainly impossible to secure the sympathy of American Jewry, and to obtain their financial aid.
The Jewish population was in a more favorable position than the non-Jewish, Deputy Schipper continued, in so far as the drawing off by emigration of the increase of population was concerned.
The Jewish emigration from Poland averaged 25,000 individuals annually, which drew off about 50% of the natural increase of the Jewish population, which was about 50,000 a year, while emigration drew off from the general Polish population hardly 10% or 12% of the natural increase, only 60,000 emigrating out of a natural increase of 500,000.
Nevertheless, the urge to emigrate was greater among the Jews than among the rest of the population. The reason for this lay chiefly in the extermination policy which had brought it about that more than a third of the Jewish population had been left without the means of earning their livelihood. For over a year the unemployment among the Jewish workers and artisans (who formed 30% of the Jewish population) had embraced about 70 to 90% of the total number of Jewish workshops. The Jewish population, especially in the provincial towns, was starving. In the small towns in the frontier districts the situation was appalling.
The Director of the State Emigration Office, M. Govronski, estimated that in the course of this year 34,500 emigrants will leave Poland for the oversea countries, and 103,250 for European countries. Twelve thousand emigrants are estimated to proceed to Palestine.
Deputy Bator (National Democrat) pointed out that in the four years since the last census, the population in Poland had by natural growth and re-emigration increased by two million souls. That to some extent explained also the crisis, for these additional people were unable to find a place in the national economic life. This opened up a terrible prospect for the future of Poland, and the Emigration Office was unable to control this catastrophe. It was necessary to organize a social self-aid activity to relieve the congestion.
They might take as their model, he urged, the Jewish social activity which without any help from the Government was by its own efforts regulating the Jewish emigration movement and at the same time conducting an imposing colonization work in Palestine and in the Argentine.
JEWISH COMMUNAL ACTIVITIES
The Young People’s League of the United Synagogue through its Religious Observance Committee, has instituted a series of annual contests, to be known as the Friedlaende: Essay Contests. Through them, an opportunity will be given to the youth for an expression of their attitude toward Jewish tradition, and their views and reactions toward Jewish problems.
The first of these contests commenced on April first. The subject deals with the preservation of the traditional Sabbath in America.
Prizes are offered for the best essays submitted. These prizes will consists of books of Jewish interest, in the amounts of $23 for the first prize, $15 for the second and $10 for the third. The winners will select their own books. The judges in the contest are: Dr. Jacob Kohn, Vice-President. United Synagogue of America, Rabbi Israel Goldstein, President, New York Board of Jewish Ministers and Mr. Harry Schneiderman, Acting Secretary, American Jewish Committee. One of the following subjects may be chosen as a topic:
1. The Sabbath–how can it be made attractive in modern times?
2. The ideal Sabbath; its pleasures and observances.
3. The Sabbath; how it can be best observed today.
4. How can American Jewish Youth be Sabbath-observers?
The contest is open to all Jewish young men and women above the age of 18, in the United States and Canada.
The essay must not exceed 1,500 words.
Essays must be submitted between April 1 and May 18, 1926, which is the period of the contest.
Essays are to be mailed to the Young People’s League office, 531 West 123rd Street, New York City.
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.
