Friday^'^Aprii 5, 1946
THE JEWISH WESTEEN BULLETIN
By Charles Benson
• WHAT ^ THE countries of the world know about the United States is liable to be a pretty much hit and miss thing vmless the Bloom bill, which embodies Assistant Secretary of State Benton's nine points for a cultural relations and information program, manages to survive the rocky road through hearings of the House Rules Committee and the even more tortuous path through the House of Cong!^.
The charges that have been brought against the program, both by the wire services who feel that the "govenmient cannot engage in newscasting without creating the fear of propaganda," and Congressional sentiment that to bring the bill cut now would be "bad' timing at a critical moment," seem rather inadequate against the opinion of international experts who feel the program is "more needed now than ever."
The real loop-hole in their argument is demonstrated by the performance of the foreign gov-emmcnts represented in this country whidh maintain information services similar to the program which has been proposed for the United States. Many foreign coim-tries have had information services here for some time and many more began sudh programs during the war. The large majority plan to continue the programs even though they were begun largely as war-time meastures like our own OWI.
Obviously, they have been subjected to just such accusations of being "propaganda organizations" as have been leveled against om* own program, llhey hasten' to append to any explanation of their program the stipulation that their information service has been designed solely for the purpose of bringing to the people of th\2 United States "factual information about their country and people." As one official put it they will continue theu: service because "the woric of achieving mutual understanding was only begun during the war" and because they feel that the "dissemination of honest, candid information" about their coimtry to the United States is "an important task."
A nvunber of the information centres will not only continue tt function but will expand their s-srvices, opening several new, offices both here anc aoroad.
A United States information service to Palestine, to be established if the program is approved by Congress, wUl be integrated with the work of the consulate in Jerusalem. A four point program will provide for a bulletin service to the diplomatic missions carrying the complete texts of all official annoimcements,    Is   mm films
showing scenes of lite in the United States, and exchange of students,. educators and technicians, and a library of information about the United States which will replace the small readmg room now,being used at the consulate. These services will be made available to all the people, and how extensive work will be will de-•pend on how lavish an appropriation Congress will set up for the whole program. Former offices of the OWI in Cauro and Bagdad will continue to operate as Information centres xmder OIC, the State Department's Office of International Information and Culttxre.
Ih-. Habbib Rurani, Regional Specialist of the OIC's Near East Section, taught for IS years at the American University in Beirut. Speaking of the work of the vni-versity in bringmg together the youth of all faiths and training them to live togenier in harmony he said:
"It is only through education that we can develop peace and understanding among the various elements of the Near East."
Under the State Department's program "a limited number" of students have been brought to the United States from coimtries of the Near East—India, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq, Saudi-Arabia, and Iran. Althoughr no Paiestme students have, as yet. been awarded State Department scholarships there are a large group of them tudying iti the United States on their own and o»e of our coliunns in the near future will be devoted to the stories of some of their experiences.
—Seven Arts Feature
Jewish d.P.'s Must Move August 1, — But Where?
• FRANKFURT (WNS)— General Joseph T. Mc-Narny, U. S. Commander General to the European ■ Theatre, is as much in the dark as anyone else as to what will happen to the Jewish "DP's" in the German camps after August 1, when they are scheduled to be closed.
Asked v/hat v-'ould be done with the Jews, General McNamy said, "I wish you would teU me." He added that the chances are very slim that many will remain in Germany, because "not even one in a 1,000 wishes to stay in Germany."
Yes, the best guide to quicker street car service is to Jb)C, fpund every day standing at the corner of down-town streets*
She is the pleasant young lady in uniform who will seU .yo!U tickets, give you ch^ge and supply any iijiformation you want about street caff service.
Buy tickets from her by the dpllai^a worth and save time wheii boarding the cars*
ean
By ALFRED WERNER
(The author of the following article. Dr. Alfred Werner, associate editor of The Chicago Jewish Forum, had the privilege of meeting the Congressman from, IllinxAsi obtaining from him inter- . esting biographical details.") — The Editor. ©  Everybody   on   Capital Hill loves the Deian of the House, Congressman Adolph J. Sabath — that is to say, eveifybody excepting ranting Rankin and his ilk. The Mississippi Democrat dominates the House    Un-American Activities Committee, whereas Sabath, who,
v/hen referring to it, ironically deletes the word "Activities" is ch-airman of the House Rules Committee. Thou^ they belong to the sxsxne party, the two men have clashed frequently, the last time after Rankhi had made a viciously anti-Semitic remark about Walter WincheU. Sabath took the Missis-sippian to the task, defending Winchell as- "one of the most fearless commentators" and saying that "the fact that he was bom of Jewish parentage does not detract from his achievements." The old i man was applauded by a large number of Congerssmen when he accused Rankin's Committee of "witch hunting" and charged that he, Rankin, had led the Committee away from "investigation of really subversive elements."
Congressman Sabath, who minces nc words, who calls a spade a spade, and a Fascist a Fascist, celebrated his 80th birthday on April 4. His record is remarkable. He is the only Representative in the history of Congress to have served imder eight presidents (Theodore Roosevelt, Taft, Wilson, Harding, Coolidge, Hoover, F.D.R., and Truman), the only member now sitting of the history-making Foreign Affairs Committee of World War I, March 6,1946, marked his 40th year of continuous service in what he praised as "the greatest democratic legislative body on earth, wherein every man is accorded the tmfettered right to say what he pleases." Had health l)ermitted it, he would have been elected "Speaker," by virtue of "seniority right." In any event, for over a decade he has been holding the key post of chairman of the House Rules Committee, which really rules the house. The CommJjttee determine wjhat
major bills should be brought before the House, how much time should  be  allowed  for debate, what type of amendments should be permitted, and so forth. More than once when reactionary bills were proposed, it turned out to be a blessing for this coimtry that the chairman of the Committee was a genuine fighting liberal. •The   octogenarian Democratic Congressman from the 5th Illin-cis District is an immigrant and a Jew,   His childhood was anything bujt pleasant, for the Sabaths, residents of the small Bohemian village of Zabori, were poor, and. cften there was not sufficient food for the six sons and five daughters. The oldest son, Adolph, decided to leave Bohemia and go out into the New World in order to help himself and his family.   He was seventeen whrai, in 1881, he arrived in Chicago.   In order to eke out a livelihood, he had to accept all sorts- of jobs.   Once he secured emplojonent with a sawmill firm — the salary amounted to 4 dollars per week — another time with a store where he was, shnultaneous-ly, salesman, cashier, ^bookkeeper, and watchman. To save money, he slept in the. store.   Part of his savings he sent to Bohemia to enable his family to come to the United States,
Dxuring the day he worked hard, in the evening he studied jurisprudence. In 1891 he was admitted to the bar, and for a few yeare he practiced law. .In 1895, however, the famous liberal governor of Illinois, Peter Altgeld, started the young Democrat^ on his political career by appointuig him Justice of the Peace.   Two years later. Carter H. Harrison, Jr., Mayor of Chicago, appointed Sabath a police niagistrate and assigned him to the Maxwell Street police court. In iiis new position which he held for a decade, Sabath was instrumental in creating a separate court for juvenile delinquents  and a parole system for first offenders; he had lalso to his crediit* the adoption of a law arranging that police magistrates would receive ' 'their salaries from the city; hitherto their source of income had been the fines imposed on law-breakers,
S I
that ^steni being boimd tp lead to corruptibn. V'
It happened that tii^e entire personnel of Sabath's judicial tribunal, located in what was the. "ghetto" of Chicago, was exiclusiyely Jewish. Once a Jewisli wcmah was arrested, charged with a serious crime. She engaged a Jewish lawyer to defend her. The judge, clerk, bailiff, prosecutor and the jury were Jews. The defendant yas foimd guilty and sentenced to serve six months in a House of Correction. Her lawyer made an application on her behalf to the Mayor for a pardon. Having examined the records carefully, Mr, Harrison said: "The defendant, her attorney, the entire personnel of ihe court and every member of the jury are all Jews, but you come to me, a Gentile, to ask me to interfere .with the verdict. I refuse to act the Sabath Goy. Let the verdict standi"
In 1906 the Jusitice of Peace ^stem was abolished in. Chicago and the Municipal Courts established in its stead. Sabath was nominated by the city convention for one of the Judges of the new Court, But a few days later his congressional district nominated him for Congress. Ke decided to decline the judicial normnation snd seek congressional honors. Having the combined support of Jews and Bohemians, he was duly elected.
As a Congressman, Sabath has a long list of progressive measures to his credit. He has been particu-larly interested in the improvement of the conditions of the immigrants and the workingmen. Serving for more than two decades on the Committee on Immigration and Naturalization — he was its chairman several times — he vehemently opposed inhuman aiid harsh immigration measures. In his first term he fought for the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act, He also introduced the first workmen's compensation bill. When, a^ a special reception given at the White House to members of Congress, President Theodore Roosevelt, a Republican, spotted the young Democrat, he rushed to-
wards him and said to him, full ' of enthusiasm: "I want to con-, ; gratulate you for your excelldbt Workers'  Compensation Law. -..l^ want to bfe your friend.  We are' in need of such laws as you have proposed,"';   Thereafter Sabath's colleagues/, who used to look con- ' descendingly   upon   the   novice, . changed their attitudes and accept-.-'' ed him astheir equal. Sabath also introduced the first Old Age Pension resolution and he furthermore... urged the enactment of the Social Security Act.
In 1916 President Wilson requested Sabath to join the Foreign Relations Committee, though he already served in another capacity, namely, , on the aforementioned Committee on Immigration and Naturalization, However an exception was made for him, with the approval of the Congress—the first exception of this kind in American history! In the field of foreign affairs, Sabath fought for the independence of Europe's small nations, and advocated America's entrance in the League of Nations, Until 1938, he was a confirmed anti-militarist, but when Germany started on her road to imperialism. and expansion, he called for American unity and all-out preparedness to stem the Nazi aggression. In a memorable speech, held in the House a few days after the Nazi invasion of Austria, he frankly admitted his change of mind:
"I have changed my views because and only because world conditions have changed , . , I love this dountry. I wiE vote any amount of money necessai^yr to protect it from enemies either within or without, , , Let us strive to preserve and promote this priceless heritage for ourselves and posterity, I do not expect to be here forever, but I do want the Stars and Stripes and a democratic form of government to endiure.here, forever."
A close friend of Franklin D. Roosevelt, and the President's most ardent supporter, Sabath prominently supported the War Refugee Board, a creation of the Iste F.D.R. He devoted much attention to the activities of sub-
versive elements that tried to introduce Nazism into America, as, previously, he had fought the Ku V5Klux Klan. Incidentally, Sabath ' has always been a loyal friend of his cofeli^onists, and he is still sax active member.of the B'nai B'ritb "and other Jewish organizatiozis. When, during the first World War, luiids were collected to aid the suffering Jews of Palestine, the collectors of the money ttrnied to • him for help, as all regular channels for tile transmission of the funds had been stopped. When he did not succeed in forwarding the money through the State Department, he secured aid from — the Standard Oil Company which consented to the use of its agencies in the Orient, v-dthout charge or expense of any sort, and thus more than $15,000 were sent to the starving Jews in the Holy Land.
Forty years ago, when Sabath began his first term in Congress, there were five more Jews on Capitol Hill, namely Congressmen Henry Goldfogle, Julius Kahn, 'Adolf Meyer, Harry B. Wolf, and Smator Simon Guggenheim. Sabath survived them all; now, in 1946, he has seven Jewish colleagues in the House, namely Sol Bloom, Emanuel CeUer, Samuel Dickstein, Herman P. Koppleman, Benjamin J. Ribin, Leo F. Rayfield, and Samuel A, Weiss, the last named having been only a yoimg child when Sabath started to serve in the House. At the age of eighty, the tall man with the impressive head is still as active as many a much younger man, happy to have lived long enough to witness the end of Hitlerism, and profoimdly interested in the establishment of the UNO. Like his younger brother, who is a noted judge on the Cook County Superior Court, Adolph J. Sabath is a popular figure in Chicago, In Washington, he is one of the best-known figues on and aroimd Capitol Hill, and there is no doubt that on April 4th his desk was virtually snowed under loads of congratulatory messages he received from all parts of his beloved United States.
—Seven Arts Feature
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