WEEKLY NEWS
Page 8
—T
LOUIS MARSHALL
An Appreciation
By JUDGE HORACE STERN
On a beautiful Sunday afternoon in mid-August I arrived in Zurich, and hurried to the tovi^n-hall. It is a large building with a spacious auditorium, seating, I would judge, several thousands of people, and it was crowded to the doors. The occasion was the formation of the enlarged Jewish Agency in connection with the British mandate for Palestine. The gathering was far from being a commonplace one, viewed either from the standpoint of audience or of participants. The former consisted of Jews from all quarters of the globe, orthodox and radical, old and young, rich and poor—some indeed so impoverished that to attend this meeting they had actually been obliged to walk to Zurich from comparatively far places. Dress ranged from Oriental-looking caftans to the most modern western styles. The at-
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mosphere was tense with excitement; there was such passionate interest, such concentration of attention, that, as the addresses started, it seemed as though one could have heard the beating of a heart throughout that great gathering. I have no doubt that in the lives of many in that audience, old men and women, young students, idealists, dreamers, and even practical men of affairs, this was a supreme moment. World Jewry was meeting in assembly to devise a solemn compact for united action to rebuild Palestine, to restore in part the glories of a sacred past. It seemed as though a new era in the history of Israel wa3 dawning.
As for those who were to take the leading parts in this momentous conclave, it may well be doubted whether any people anywhere at any time would
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have been able to exhibit so imposiiig a galaxy of stars.- There were men of international reputation, men who were outstanding - in their various chosen fields, and most of them in addition had won deserved recognition. for the service they had rendered to their own people. There were Doctor Weizmann, Sir Herbert Samuel, Lord Melchett, Oscar Wasserman, Professor Einstein,. Leon Blum, Felix Warburg, Cyrus Adler and many others. There were learned rabbis, eminent lawyers and physicians, scientists, artists, litterateurs, bankers, merchants and labor leaders. And there was Louis Marshall.
As I stand here tonight I see him in my mind's eye as I saw him then, seated on the stage in the center of this distinguished coterie. I see again his calm dignity, his earnest face, his massive brow, his lovely smile, his honest eyes through which shone the lustre of as pure a soul as ever graced the world.
He arose to speak. If I remember rightly Doctor Weizmann* paid him the highest compliment that a presiding officer can render by introducing him by his name onl}'^—"Louis Marshall.'* The . greeting that Mr. Marshall received from that audience I shall never forget. If eVer there was a spontaneous surge of respect, of admiration, of love, of devotion for a fellow-being, it rose from those men and women like the foam from an ocean wave. It was the first time that most of them were seeing him face. to face. There, before these congregants from European lands, stood the great American Jew, whose name they had heard mentioned so often in their homes, in their meetings, on Avhom no doubt they had frequently in their prayers invoked the blessings of God,—the Louis Marshall who had understood their grievances and their aspirations, had protected their rights, had championed the lowly and the oppressed among them, and as the tribune of his people had pleaded their cause successfully before the great powers of the world. Here was their spokesman, their hero, and they saluted him as their revered and beloved leader. And as Marshall's voice rang out in that vehement, impassioned manner that evidenced the consecration of his whole being to the ideals and the purposes which he expressed, these people, whose hearts would have detected a single false or jarring note, knew that this was indeed a champion on whose sincerity they could rely; that Louis Marshall was a worthy successor to the great Jewish statesmen who in many ages and in many land? had glorified the name of Israel. (To be Continued Next Week)