Final preparations in the campaign to establish Yiddish as a national tongue and tie it up with Jewish culture, were made at the concluding sessions of the second conference of the Midwest Region of the Jewish Culture Society which opened here on Friday.
The agenda of the convention included eleven points of action which emphasize the utilitarian aspect of the Yiddish language in keeping alive the spirit of Judaism.
The convention decided first to form a cooperative publishing company for Yiddish authors, and to urge the Yiddish press to give as much consideration as possible to Yiddish culture.
Subsequent points adopted in resolutions stress the need for arousing interest among thickly populated Jewish cities and areas in the United States, in colonization projects. Dramatic studios are to be established as well as reading circles whose purpose it will be to disseminate knowledge of the language. Translations into Yiddish from other tongues without credit to their authors was protested. Youth groups will be encouraged to master Yiddish, and in this connection periodicals will be published for them.
Also the convention resolved to extend financial aid to the Yiddish Scientific Institute in Wilno, Poland, and help its publication, the Kinder Journal.
Resolutions were passed protesting the German anti-Jewish atrocities and encouraging support of the boycott of German-made goods. America’s recent rapprochement with Russia was praised.
The matter of establishing Yiddish schools in Palestine was under discussion, although no action was taken.
Steps were taken to organize midwest dramatic and music societies and literary clubs as a means of encouraging a spread of Yiddish.
The Society celebrated the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Czernowitz conference held in Roumania in 1908 at which time Yiddish was officially declared the Jewish national language.
The next convention of the Society is scheduled to be held in Detroit next October. Morris Kaplan, of Chicago, was named new district secretary.
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.
