SILENCE WILL NOT HELP SOVIET JEWS
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Document Creation Date:
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Publication Date:
January 1, 1965
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1965 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD- SENATE
tions . to meet and discuss fishery conserva-
tion under the 1958 Fisheries Convention.
I sincerely hope that the implementation
of the 1958 Fisheries Convention will be ade-
quate to meet the needs of conserving these
important resources of the North Pacific.
If the United States finds no cooperation In
this effort, it will be necessary, in my opinion,
to search out a more direct and effective
manner of conserving the resources. This
I am personally willing to do even if it means
proposing an extension of U.S. jurisdiction
over the resources.
So it is. We live in perilous days, and
troubled tithes. But we have the capacity
to smooth away those troubles, remove some
of the perils which confront. We need only
the energy and the foresight. If we address
ourselves resolutely and with firmness to the
task, the future will be brighter than the
past has been. We have a high obligation
here, and a clear and present duty. What
we seek to do, and what we achieve, will af-
fect the material welfare of only a compara-
tive handful of Americans. There are not
many engaged in the taking and processing
of fish. Even so, however few their numbers
.may be, they are. entitled to have placed
around them the Nation's collective and pro-
tective arm. And what we do to, stabilize
the fishing industry, what we do in deline-
ating and certifying the broad principles of
national interest and concern will be for the
benefit of all Americans. Time wastes away;
we do not have a world of time to waste.
We must address ourselves to the proposi-
tion and the problem aggressively, and soon.
were ordered to be printed in the REC-
ORD, as follows:
AN APPEAL Or CONSCIENCE ON BEHALF OF
SOVIET JEWRY
(By Rabbi Arthur Schneier, January 17, 1965,
at Congregation Zichron Ephraim)
Standing on this historic pulpit in this
very sanctuary on the solemn and awesome
day of Rosh Hashanah, I heard the clarion
call of the shofar. In the piercing, haunting
wail I heard the anguished cry of Soviet
Jewry, the cry of our brethren, bereft of
freedom, denied opportunity, deprived of re-
ligious and cultural privileges. As I heard
the plaintive notes of the shofar, I discerned
a call, indeed a challenge, addressed to me:
How can you, who have personally experi-
enced the Nazi holocaust, whose family
members perished in the furnaces of Ausch-
witz, remain silent in the face of another
injustice, the spiritual and cultural extinc-
tion of the second largest Jewish community
in the world? On that day, a resolution
was born that I, that we, will not remain
silent. The world has paid the price of
silence. In World War II humanity paid
with 20 million souls for not taking a stand
during the early days of Jewish persecution.
Yet, the same kind of indifference prevails
in the plight of Soviet Jewry. Governments
are not agitated about it; leaders do not
speak up about it. It has not become the
rallying cry of the libertarian movements, it
has not been made a priority problem of the
U.N. It has not become what it must be, a
major irritant of the world's conscience.
How Can our generation, having witnessed
the unparalleled decimation of a great seg-
ment of the Jewish body, remain silent?
How dare we Ignore the Soviet cultural and
spiritual genocide of our people? Shall we
repeat the same mistake? Shall we be guilty
of abandonment, twice within one genera-
tion?
In this house of God, we want to make it
abundantly clear that this gathering is not
Mr. JAVITS. Mr. rresidellt, for some
time there has been increasing evidence
of growing anti-Jewish activities in the
Soviet Union. All over the world, free-
men concerned about this ominous cam-
CPYRG eeg~n have Spoken out, as I have done
'Thb,ny times here in the Senate, and in
public, against the measures which deny
Soviet Jews their religious and cultural
rights, and allow political, social, and
economic measures against Jews.
In connection with this protest, the
'Congregation Zichron Ephraim in New
,,,`York City has been active in arousing the
conscience of the public to the plight of
Soviet Jewry. On January 17, the con-
gregation sponsored a protest meeting at
its temple, 163 East 67th Street, New
York City, at which a number of dis-
tinguished speeches were delivered which
I would like to call to the attention of
my colleagues in the Senate. I ask
unanimous consent to have printed in
the CONGRESSIONAL RECORD the remarks
delivered at this meeting by Arthur
Schneier, rabbi of the Congregation
Zichron Ephraim and Label A. Katz,
president of International B'nai B'rith;
as well as a message from the Honorable
'Nelson A. Rockefeller, Governor of New
York State. Because of illness, I was
unable to attend this protest meeting,
but Mr. John Trubin of New York, read
nly`relnarks; I also ask unanimous con-
the RECORD.
nornic philosophy of life of the Soviet Union.
We are not concerned with adding fuel to
the cold war. We have no military scores to
settle. We are gathered here to remember
3 million who depend on our voice, 3 mil-
lion flesh of our flesh and blood of our blood.
Ours is simply, clearly the voice of religious
conscience; the voice of our stricken breth-
ren calls to us in human terms, religious
terms, in cultural terms. We speak as the
voice of religious conscience.
In the accents of our hallowed faith, in
the echo of our great redeemer Moses-allow
our people to serve God with dignity and
freedom (Exodus 9: 13). Permit them to
worship freely, to teach their children God's
law, to enter God's covenant, to rest peace.
fully on consecrated ground. And if for
whatever reason this request cannot be
granted within the boundaries of the Soviet
Union-then we say to the Soviet Govern-
ment-"let my people go." Let them live
or let them leave.
It is all too easy to ignore or forget or
shunt aside those who are utterly captive,
utterly voiceless, and defenseless. We then
must give them voice. We must rise to their
defense. We must awaken the conscience
of the world.
I therefore issue an appeal to all Catholic
and Protestant religious leaders of our coun-
try to join in setting up a united front with
the Jewish community for the purpose of
appealing to the Soviet Government to re-
tural expression to the 3 million Jews of
that country. A powerful coalition of bi-
partisan religious bodies in the United
States will prove to be irresistible in awak-
ening the spiritual dynamics of the American
people to the gravity of the danger confront-
ing Soviet Jewry, If the moral voice of the
leaders of all the major faiths is not em-
ployed to stop these inhuman and discrimi-
natory conditions, the very survival of 3 mil-
lion human beings will be jeopardized in
terms of religious continuity, spiritual de-
velopment, and cultural progress.
Heartened by the support I have received
from Americans of all denominations and
walks of life in issuing the appeal of con-
science, I plead for the establishment of a
permanent national committee of distin-
guished Americans of all faiths to carry on a
vigorous and unrelenting campaign to pre-
vent the Soviet Government from pursuing
policies which will ultimately terminate in a
program of Jewish spiritual liquidation.
Even on their death march to the crema-
toria, men, women, and children proclaimed
their faith, fearlessly chanted I believe with
perfect faith. Despite the cultural and
spiritual strangulation, many of our brethren
in the Soviet cling dearly to their belief, to
their commitment, to God and His law. We
must sustain their faith, we must assure
them that they are not forgotten.
In every generation tyrants sought to
destroy us. Their methods may have been
different, but their aim was the same. They
succeeded in destroying the physical bodies,
but they could never crush the human spirit.
In the words of the poet Garrison:
Know this, 0 man! Whate'er thy earthly
fate,
God never made a tyrant nor a slave,
Woe then to those who dare to desecrate
His glorious Image-for all He gave
Eternal rights, which none may violate,
And by a mighty hand the oppressed He
yet shall save.
WILLIAIII LLOYD GARRISON.
REMARKS By RABBI SCHNEIER AT THE DEDICA-
TION OF BRONZE PLAQUE
"Hear the cry of the oppressed" (Psalms
102: 21)-the Jewish community in the So-
viet Union. It is our destiny to remind the
world of the trials and tribulations confront-
ing the Jewish community in the Soviet
Union. Let this plaque speak for those who
cannot speak for themselves. Let them not
feel abandoned or forgotten. Let it be a
symbol of solidarity between us enjoying
freedom and our brethren who are bereft of
religious liberty. Let it be a reminder that
any oppression oppresses Us all.
This plaque will remain as a living monu-
ment to awaken the moral conscience of the
entire civilized world, of the tragic plight
of the 3 million. Day by day, hour by hour,
it will serve as a reminder to the injustice
committed. Let each one of us carry back
to our respective communities the cry of the
oppressed. Let our houses of worship
throughout this blessed land "hear the cry
of the oppressed" and lead the way to arouse
the conscience of the world to the plight
of the 3 million. We cannot rest, we must
not rest. We will not rest until justice is
done.
Although this plaque is made of bronze,
it is made only to weather a temporary storm
that besets our people. We have faith that
the rulers of Soviet Russia will realize their
tragic mistake and restore full religious and
cultural freedom to the 3 million. We pray
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YRGH
2510,
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CONGRESSIONAL RECORD -SENATE February 1:0
for..the day in the very near future when
together witLi.;our neighbors from the So-
viettInissign.we will join in the removal of
this plaque for on that, day justice will have
been done, ,
RmSMKS Qi' 7,t1BEL A. KATZ, PRESIDENT OF IN-
TERNATONAL B'NA1 B'RITH, DELIVERED AT
Pnor ST MsszrSNG,o s aQVIF.T JEWRY, CON-
GIi?EBA.TIO.7ai ZICUAQw EPIHRAIM,, NEW YORK
OfT, JAIPQARY 17, 1965
I join with you this morning in this sacred
hai}se of Worship, to speak in behalf of the
seoiiid largest Jewish community in the
world, trapped in silence. A Jewish com-
munity that numbers approximately 3 mil-
lion of our fellow Jews. Second only to the
Jewish community in the United States
which numbers some 51/2 million Jews, and
lamer than the Jewish community in the'
State nf.israel, which numbers some 2%, mil-
liQn Jews.
dur generation has been one which has
seen Jewish life in perhaps its most destruc-
tide aspect. We were mute witnesses to the
decimation of 6 million of our fellow Jews
during the Nazi holocaust. - We failed to raise
out , voices as? we, should have and the moral
conscience pf the .worldwas silent. A gen-
eration that witnessed that cataclysm in
Jewish life Is determined that on this oc-
ca37cin, 'when 3 million of our fellow Jews
are. confronted with cultural, religious and
educational genocide, that we will not remain
silbn .
Ttli: we will raise our voices not only in
the Jewish community, but in the non-
Jewish community as well, In the halls of
government and in the halls of the United
Nations, crying out to the world for them
to,. id their voices to our protests.
For wha;t.is hapepning in the Soviet Union,
we ,find what was once a thriving, flourish-
ing Jewish, comiunity today literally being
ss$ xiated.,and suffocated. Being denied
every, ex reesion of Jewish life. And its cul-
tural, artistic, religious and educational
sepse, tie d a disappearance of every evi-
dence of the Yiddish newspaper, of the Yfd-
diiah,#hel}ter, ; ew1sh educational institutions,
and today, in the Soviet Union, to serve 3
million dews, there are 97 synagogues.
' Pq. find other factors making their im-
press on uponthe Soviet scene. For the first
time in the history of this regime, in the
Boylet Union,. capital punishment was intro-
duced for, those,found guilty of economic
cri#ies A vast majority found guilty and so
identiS,ef} in.thepress of the Soviet Union
were Jews.
And last year there, was exposed the publi-
caticip,`?J.uggism Without Embellishment,"
by,, Lich7, o, published by the Ukrainian
Actidemy of Sciences,, It was so vitriolic, it
was so anti-Semitic, that the ideological
colginlssgn itself.finally had to issue a par-
tial retra.Ction.
,';hen, we found. Issued by the State Pub-
lishing House, another publication, by May-
atzky, "Cantenlporary Judaism and Zionism"
in which It depicted the Jews as being anti-
social, antigovernment, anticountry; as an
agent of the CIA,of the United States, and
as. a tool of.imperiaiism, .
'Contrary to, the constitution of the
U.S.S.R,, which prohibits this kind of activ-
ity, we find, a uniform and universal failure
to, implement the law, and to bring those
responsible,, for the writing, for the publica-
tion..of this kind of material, failure to bring
the,Ip,tg justice. And thereby to encourage
the?publication.. of. this kind of material,
which can only incite hatred and discrim-
ination against the Jew. And only seek to
separate him froze his fellow Soviet citizens.
So we, as American citizens, are determined
to rai?se,:qur voiceir in protest or determined to
appeal to the conscience of the world to the
leadership of. the free world, to the leaders
of our own Government, that they may ex.
press.-the concern of the entire United States
about this treatment of the Jewish com-
munity in the Soviet Union.
We would expect of the leadership of the
United States that In appropriate form and
mea4ure it convey its concern in this problem
to the leadership of the Soviet Union.
We also expect that the U.N., that in the
Commission on Human Rights, that it, too,
concern itself with the denial and the depri-
vation of these rights. That in keeping with
the constitution of the Soviet Union, which
guarantees to all nationality groups the right
to practice and adhere to its own teaching,
and in keeping with the universal declara-
tion of human rights of the U.N. that it in-
sists that It be implemented.
We are mindful of an old teaching of our
people- "every Jew is responsible for the
welfare of every other Jew." And in keeping
with the principle, we shall raise our voices
and cry out in moral tones for the restora-
tion, for the full restoration of the! cultural,
religious, and educational rights of the Jew-
ish community in the Soviet Union. And
finally in keeping with the universal declara-
tion of human rights, insist that any, citi-
zen and every citizen of every country have
the right to leave his country of origin and
go and visit and live in any other country.
REMARKS OF SENATOR JACOB K. JAVITS, DELIV-
ERED JANUARY 17, 1965, BY JOHN TRUBIN,
ESQ., AT THE PROTEST MEETING ON SOVIET
JEWRY SPONSORED BY CONGREGATION ZICH-
RON EPHRAIM AT 163 EAST 67TH STREET, NEW
YORK
Silence will not help Soviet Jews.
The continuing charges of anti-Jewish
activities in the Soviet Union should be in-
vestigated by the appropriate commissions of
the United Nations, the organization estab-
lished to protect the human rights of peo-
ple the world over. The U.N. Subcommis-
sion for the Prevention of Discrimination
and the Protection of Minorities should have
the opportunity to examine firsthand
charges of anti-Semitism in the U.S.S.R.
The suggestion was made in Geneva this
week by Morris B. Abram, president of the
Americarl-,Jewish Committee. It is a good
one, for anti-Jewish activities by govern-
ment action and policy in the U.S.S.R. have
been going on for a long time, contrary to
the laws of man, the U.N. Charter, and to
international morality.
We should explore all possibilities of beam-
ing the spotlight of public disclosure .on
such acts wherever they occur. Individuals,
groups, and yes, governments in all areas
of the free world must continue to give voice
to their indignation over anti-Jewish activi-
ties. The Hitler madness is all too recent-
so is the Stalin "doctor's plot"- not to warn
us to speak out in time.
There are about 3 million Jews in the So-
viet Union and they constitute the second
largest Jewish community in the world,
They are recognized as a nationality, but
they are not given the same rights accorded
other recognized nationalities in the U.S.S.R.
They are denied communities throullgout
the world. But In spite of more than 40
years of persecution and near persecution,
government pressures and restrictions de-
signed to discourage religious identification,
almost 21/2 million in the U.S.S.R., in the
1959 census declared themselves to be Jews.
In spite of Soviet claims of religious free-
dom and denials of the existence of anti-
Semitism because it is a violation of Soviet
law, there is ample and grim evidence that
the Soviet Government Is singling Jews out
as a group for discriminatory restrictions and
extreme punishment. Jews and the Jewish
religion suffer greater limitations and pro-
hibitions at the hands of the Kremlin than
any other religious groups In the Soviet
Union.
Synagogue buildings and seminaries have
been padlocked, Jewish cemeteries have been
arbitrarily shut down,, and ritual supplies-
including matzoh-needed for religious wor-
ship cannot be obtained, No Hebrew Bibles
or calendars are printed, and prayer books
are irreplaceable. Means for training rabbis
and community workers are inadequate or
nonexistent, and unlike other religious
groups Jews are not permitted to establish
national organizations. Jewish cultural life
has been stifled and the once flourishing
Yiddish language literature in books, thea-
ter, periodicals, and newspapers has virtually
been wiped out.
There is no doubt that the Soviet Union
is very sensitive to charges of anti-Semitism
and prides itself on the law which makes it
an alleged "black marketing" or economic
crimes, are publicly identified as Jews and
held up for ridicule, contempt and caricature
in the official Soviet press; and when a bla-
tantly anti-Semitic book containing carica-
tures on the Nazi pattern is published under
the title "Judaism" by one Kichko and thou-
sands of copies are officially distributed, then
It is time to expose the false Soviet claim
that there Is no anti-Semitism under com-
munism and to denounce the hypocrisy be-
hind the Kremlin's denials of anti-Jewish
actions. The crude hatemongerings of the
Kichko book was even too much for the
Communist parties in France, Italy, and the
United States to swallow and they protested,
and the intensity of protest from all parts
of the world finally persuaded Soviet author-
ities to suppress the book.
From time to time Soviet leaders have in-
sisted that Soviet treatment of religious mi-
norities is an internal matter and that pro-
tests constitute interference. in the Soviet
Union's domestic affairs. But similar dis-
claimers by Russia and other nations in ear-
lier periods in our history did not deter the
United States from protesting the persecu-
tion of Jews or other minority groups.
Since 1840 the United States, while recog-
nizing the principle of nonintervention in
the international affairs of another state, has
nevertheless, protested the persecution of
oppressed minorities by foreign governments
and has justified these protests in the name
of moral duty toward humanity. This pol-
icy has remained valid to this day.
This is not time for silence on the part of
American Jewry. Each great wave of indig-
nation will serve to ultimately alleviate, and
will help to prevent aggravation of the plight
Of the Jewish in the Soviet Union. Each pro-
test whether by individuals, organizations,
or by the free nations of the world acting
independently or through the United Na-
tions, will serve to make the Kremlin realize
how sterile and harmful to its own prestige
is its anti-Jewish policy.
MESSAGE OF Gov, NELSON A. ROCKEFELLER
NEW YORK, N.Y.
Rabbi ARTHUR SCHNEIER,
Congregation Ziehron Ephraim,
New York, N.Y.:
I am certain I speak for the people of
New York State in saying that we are dis-
tressed at the treatment meted out to men
and women of the Jewish faith living in the
Soviet Union. The persecution of the Jews
is so utterly without reason, that we are as
astounded as we are shocked. May your pro-
test prove effective within the shortest pos-
sible time.
NELSON A. ROCKEFELLER.
Mr. KENNEDY of New York. Mr.
President, racial and religious persecu-
tion everywhere must be a matter of
concern to us all. Especially Is this so
where the victims are of a group to whom -
we owe a special debt-the survivors of
the anti-Semitic persecutions of the last
generation. And especially is this so
where it is demonstrated that our con-,
tern can make a difference-that the
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1965 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD - SENATE
~be persecutors listen to our pro-
s
C PYRe 'fs:
The Soviet Union now persecutes Jews.
But the Soviet Union is mindful of world
opinion, especially U.S. opinion. It is
therefore our responsibility to make our
protests heard-and to continue them
until the Soviet Union changes its policy.
To help fulfill that responsibility, dozens
of distinguished Americans, including
Senators BAYH, JAVITS, RIBIeorF, SCOTT,
and myself, joined recently In the "Ap-
peal of Conscience" to the Soviet Gov-
ernment. A public meeting was held at
Congregation Zichron Ephraim in New
York, on January 17, 1965. 1 ask unani-
mous consent that the text of the appeal,
with its signers; the remarks of the meet-
ing`\of Judge Benjamin Gassman, presi-
dent of the congregation; a message from
the Vice President of the United States;
and remarks by Mayor Robert Wagner
and myself be inserted in the RECORD as
further evidence of our concern with the
persecuted Jews of the Soviet Union.
CPYR
ere being no objection, the appeal
age and remarks were ordered to be
ed in the RECORD, as follows:
CPYRr the New York Times, Jan. 14, 19851
"The position of the Jewish cdthnit(nity in
the Soviet Union is a matter of deep and
continuing concern to me, to this adminis-
tration and to the millions of thoughtful
people throughout the United States ? * ?.
It is my hope that citizens and organizations
of all faiths' will join in an overwhelming
expression of moral concern for the Jews of
the Soviet Union." President Lyndon B.
Johnson, October' 28, 1964.
In the name of humanity, we urge the
Soviet Government to end all discrimination
against its Jewish community.
We appeal for the restoration of the fol-
lowing religious and cultural rights to the
Jews in the Soviet Union:
The free functioning of synagogues should
be permitted and central institutions to serve
the religious needs of Soviet Jewry should
be established.
Jewish education in all its forms, includ-
ing the training of Rabbis, should be allowed.
Obstacles to the performance of sacred
rites, such as religious burial and circum-
cision, should be removed.
The publication of Hebrew Bibles, prayer
books and religious texts and the production
of religious articles, such as prayer shawls,
phylacteries, and mezuzoth, should be per-
mitted.
The reestablishment of Jewish cultural in-
stitutions enabling Jewish artists in the
theater, music, and literature to develop Jew-
ish culture in the Yiddish and Hebrew lan-
guages.
Permission to Jews separated from their
families to leave the U.S.S.R. so that they
may be reunited with them in other coun-
tries.
Religious and cultural ties with Jewish
communities outside the U.S.S.R., official ex-
change visits and religious pilgrimages to the
Holy Land should be permitted.
The anti-Jewish character that so strongly
colors the official campaign against economic
crimes should be eliminated.
We cannot remain silent so long as justice
Is not done. ...
A public meeting sponsored by Congrega-
tion Zichron Ephrai will take place 11 a.m.
Sunday, January 17, at the congregation,
163 East 67th Street, opposite the Soviet
mission to the U.N. Speakers are Senator JACOB K. JAVrrs; Sen-
ator ROSEKT F. KENNEDY; Mayor Robert F.
Wagner; Label A. Katz, president, B'nai
B'rith; Rabbi Arthur Schneier.
ri ht to take away.
Yet, the Soviet leaders, renouncing God,
a umed the right to prevent man from
c mmuning with God. Three million Jews
w thin the Soviet Union are told that they
c nnot pray to God, that they cannot enjoy
t le religious and cultural freedom which
G)d has given to them. By dictatorial act,
t le Soviet leaders began systematically to
s rve the Jewish culture, to crush their
spirit and, to sever their ties with their
f low Jews the world over.
Jewish youth are denied the most meager
o portunities to learn and to transmit their
Jewish heritage to future generations.
This morning, from this pulpit, you will
h ar the voices of men who are prominent
i Government, as well as in the religious
lie of our country. At the conclusion of
t is meeting, a resolution of protest will be
o ered and I hope that each one of you will
a prove it. Thus you will let your voices
b heard not only in the Russian Mission
a ross the street, but also across the Atlantic
a d the thousands of miles across Europe,
thin the very Kremlin walls.
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If you wish to join your voice in this im-
ortant effort, write to Congregation Zichron
itphraim which is sponsoring this appeal as
public service.
Dr. Markus Barth, professor of Theology,
Pittsburgh Theological Seminary; Hon.
BIRCH BAYH, U.S. Senator, Indiana;
Hon. Abraham D. Beams, comptroller,
City of New York; Saul Bellow, nov-
elist, playwright; David Berdon; Adolf
A. Berle, Jr., former Assistant Secre-
tary of State and Ambassador to
Brazil; Harry Berse; Theodore Bikel,
artist; Benjamin J. Brody; Bernard
Brownstein; David Callahan, editor,
Commonweal; I. J. Caplan; James B.
Carey, president, International Union
of Electrical, Radio and Machine
Workers; Hon Edward F. Cavanagh,
deputy mayor, City of New York;
Arthur A. Cohen, theologian and
author; Isidore M. Cohen; Wayne H.
Cowan, managing editor, Christianity
& Crisis.
Rev. Eugene K. Culhane, S.J., managing
editor, America; Israel Cummings;
Joseph E. Cunneen, editor-in-chief,
Cross Currents; Samuel H. Daroff;
Nathan Ehrlich; Jason Epstein, editor;
On Louis Finkelstein, chancellor, the
0 1 a Seminary of Amer -
ca; u es a er, writer an cartoon
ist; David Field; William B. Fischberg;
olumbia University; Louis Hollander,
malgamated Clothing Workers of
CPYRGH
2511 T
ward Rice, Jr., editor, Jubilee; Herman
A. Rosenberg; Ron. WILLIAM F. RYAN,
Member, U.S. Congress; Joseph Sand-
ler; Murray D. Sandler; Dore Schary,
president, Anti-Defamation League;
Michael Schimmel; Alfred Schlossberg;
Rabbi Arthur Schneier, rabbi, Con-
gregation Zichron Ephraim. -
Ron. HUGH ScoTT, U.S. Senator, Penn-
sylvania; Karl Shapiro, poet; Joseph
Shapiro; S. M. Shor; Hon. Charles H.
Silver, executive assistant for educa-
tion and industrial development to
mayor of City of New York; Hon. Ed-
ward S. Silver, surrogate, Kings Coun-
ty, N.Y.; Edward S. Skillin, editor,
Commonweal; Spyros P. Skouras;
Louis Sloate; Bishop Stephen G.
Spottswood, chairman, board of direc-
tors, NAACP; Max Steinberg; Dewey
D. Stone; Charles Taubman; Frank
Taylor, publisher, Avon Books; Nathan
Trotzky; Louis Untermeyer, author;
Hon, Robert F. Wagner, mayor, City of
New York; Col. Irvin Waldman; Emil
Weitzner.
19E ARKS OF JUDGE BENJAMIN GASSMAN,
IP , AT PROTEST MEETING AGAINST TREAT-
NT OF JEWS IN THE SOVIET UNION
e purpose of this meeting is to appeal
to the Soviet leaders to restore religious and
c tural rights to Jews in that country; to
p mit the maintenance and the develop-
m nt of seminaries for the training of rabbis;
to allow synagogues to remain open and to
f ction without hindrance, and, in gen-
er 1, to permit the Jewish Community in
R ssia to live a full religious and cultural
III .
ihhin the past 4 weeks, we concluded
t reading of the Book of Genesis, which
sp aks of the creation of the world. We
f d that until God created man, all other
t ngs were created by divine fiat. "And
04 d said: 'Let there be light. Let there be
a firmament in the midst of the waters.
L the waters be gathered together unto one
pl ce. Let the earth bring forth the grass,
t herb yielding seed and the fruit tree
yi lding fruit. Let the waters bring forth
a ndantly the moving creature that hath
Ii , and fowl that may fly above the earth.
L the earth bring forth the living creature
of r his kind.' "
owever, when it came to the creation of
m n, God said: "Let us make man in our
1 age, after our likeness. So God created
n in His own Image." There was none of
t t automatic creation by flat. Man rep-
re ents the handiwork of God. Thus man
his a little of the Godly spirit within him,
ich entitles him to dignity and rights,
ich no man or group of men have the
lens or orlensam stiuales, rriuceuuu
niversity; Maj. Gen. Melvin L. Krule-
itch, chairman, New York State Ath-
etic Commission; Nathan Leder; Irv-
ng Leeman; Hon. Louis J. Lefkowitz,
Lttorney general, State of New York;
rman Levin; Maurice Levin; Leo
Bevy; Hon Stanley H. Lowell, chairman,
7ommission on Human Rights, City of
rew York; Hon. Charles Marks, justice,
Supreme Court, State of New York;
..ev. Clement J. McNaspy, S.J., editor,
tnerica; Charles Mayer; David Meis-
er; Rev. Thomas Merton, author;
xthur Miller, playwright.
my Minskoff; Jerome Minskoff; Myron
i. Minskoff; Dr, Reinhold Niebuhr,
rofessor emeritus, Union Theological
eminary; Norman Podhoretz, editor,
ommentary; Jacob S. Potofsky, gen-
ral president, Amalgamated Clothing
Workers of America; Dr. Emanuel
ackman, assistant to the president,
Yeshiva University; Dr. David H. C.
ead, minister, Madison Avenue Pres-
yterian Church; Hon. ABRAHAM RIHI-
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CON;GRESSION4J... RE QW - SENATE February 10
This is the time to speak out, least we re-
peat the crime which the world committed
of remaining silent when the Nazis began the
extermination of the Jewish people.
Present on this pulpit this morning are
Jews and Christians. Though unlike in
origin, we are alike in destiny. As John
Donne so aptly stated, centuries ago: "No
man is an island; each man is a part of the
continent. if a clod be washed away by
the sea, Europe is the less. Every man's death
diminishes me, for I am involved in mankind,
aad know not for whom the bell tolls; it
tglis for ttxeq."
Vi should, now know that whenever one
people is ersecuted, all people are ultimately
persecute. Whenever one religion suffers,
all, religions suffer. When one minority dies,
the bell begins to toll for humanity. When
4'eligion is proscribed in one land, the bell
begins to toll for civilization.
At should be crystal clear that the relent-
less attadt upon the Jews is the prelude to
tho inevitable attack upon the Christians.
Dictators will not be satisfied until they can
have a world free of all religion, because they
know that tyranny can never be secure if
humanity remains true to religion.
tit ,the.free, world stand. on guard. Let
usproclairn that on this question, Jews, and
Christians? alike, are determined that the
bell of antireligion shall not toll in any part
of the world.
2t is in this spirit that we meet here to-
da'y.' We are encouraged by the presence?
upon this ,pulpit, of our two U.S. Senators?
o .U distinguished, mayor of our great city,
acid many other illustrious men, who will add
their voices, to ours. Because of the eminent
positions each of them holds in government,
what they will say here will impress the So-
viet leaders, and will serve notice upon them
'tha the Jews In Russia do not stand alone
and deserted; that they have friends, who
wilt do all within their power to redress the
great wrong which is being done to them.,
WASHINGTON, D.C.,
January 15,1965.
Rabbi ARTHua SciaNEiEa,
Congregation Zichron Ephraim,
nTew fork, N.Y.:
T am deeply distressed at the treatment of
Soviet Jewry by the Soviet Government. I
have, asked americans in the past and will
continue to, do so, to raise their voices in
protest. I believe that if we continue to raise
our voices, we will be heard, and that the
actlgns of religious and racial discrimination
Will lie lifted. We. must continue until they
are:'
. HUHERT I RUMPHREY,,
RgsssaKS BY MAYOR ROBERT F. WAGNER AT
PROTEST MEETING. AGAINST TREATMENT or
Jnws IN THE SOVIET. UR7,oN __
Rabbi Schneier, It is a privilege to join with
you and with the members of your congre-
gation-and with the citizens of our city, of
all faiths, who have braved the first great
slow of the winter season to come here to
protest the senseless and ruthless persecu-
tion of 3 million men, women and children
behind the Iron Curtain,
We are gathered today in this great house
of worship, to bear witness to the outrage
of the people of this city for the indignity
practiced on millions of our fellow human
beings who ace being prevented from follow-
ing the coznmandmetns of their ancient faith
and, are being persecuted for adhering to
their .sacred rituals. They are being
houn4cd because they try to live by the
light of their ;consciences and the teachings
of.the,prophets.
In the face of what is going on behind the
Iron Curtain, with the complicity of the rul-
ers. of .Soviet $ussla. we here cannot remain
silent. The plight of the Jews living in
the Soviet Union wrenches at our hearts.
Many of those now being persecuted in So-
viet Russia lived through the nightmare of
Nazi rule, only now to experience a resump-
tion of the terror.
The Soviet persecution is different from
the Nazi persecution, but it is also the same.
It is the same with respect to its intolerance
and to its hatred of spiritual and religious
practices which do not conform to Soviet
doctrine. It is an attempt to deprive an en-
tire people of their dignity-the dignity de-
rived from their religious convictions, and
their practice of religious worship.
We do not say that the Soviet Union has
a monopoly on persecution. There are other
places in the world where men, women, and
children live In fear and suffer the repression
of their faith and their freedom of worship.
And there are persecutions of other kinds,
too. There is darkness in many parts of the
world. But nowhere is that darkness more
tragic than in the Soviet Union. And for no
people is that darkness more heartrending
than for those of Jewish faith who have en-
dured persecutions for thousands of years,
and never more tragically than in this cen-
tury.
Hence, in this city of 8 million free
Americans gathered from every corner of the
globe, we have a right to join in protesting
the persecution of Jews behind the Iron
Curtain. As we believe In freedom., we must
uphold its causes and denounce its repres-
sion.
By our presence here today, we affirm our
solidarity with our fellow human beings in
Russia. We keep faith with them by assem-
bling here today, and we keep faith with
our traditions. We believe in freedom of
religion, and not only for Americans but for
all people everywhere. We refuse to let
religious persecution go unrecognized. Per-
secution of Jews has an especially tragic
overtone, whether by the Nazis in Germany
or by The Communists in Russia.
The Jewish population of the Soviet Union
is very slnall-just a little more than 1 per-
cent. Yet the fact is that, almost 60 percent
of all those sentenced to death in Russia
for so-called economic crimes in the last
recorded year have been Jews. In the Soviet
State of Ukraine, the Jewish population is
2 percent. Yet 90 percent of those sentenced
to death for these so-called economic crimes
have been Jews. These figures are eloquent
in themselves; they need no embellishment.
This meeting today and others of a similar
nature In which .I have participated over the
past several months have helped to mobilize
public ,opinion, Jewish and non-Jewish, in
protest against the indignities and sufferings
visited upon the Jews of the Soviet Union.
We must press ahead with these protests,
despite all restraints which are suggested.
We are sensitive to the importance of pro-
moting peace in the world and of avoiding
unjustified provocation. But this does not
mean that we may not and should not pro-
test with all our strength and vigor at per-
secution wherever it happens.
Last October, I spoke at another rally on
this same subject in this same neighborhood.
In the course of my remarks on that occa-
sion, I referred to a wise observation from
the Talmud-that a man who tolerates an
evil act is as guilty as the man who per-
petrates that act.
Let none of us be found guilty. Let each
of us find the time and the energy to speak
out against persecution. Let us condemn
those who persecute and let us join to-
gether to send the word across the distant
oceans that as long as one man is perse-
cuted and deprived of the right to worship
freely, all of us are endangered in our rights,
too. We must never cease to protest man's
Inhumanity to moan.
ADDRESS BY SENATOR ROBERT F. KENNEDY,
CONGREGATION ZICHRQN EPHRAIM, SUNDAY,
JANuARY 17, 1965
History records the great Sir Moses Monte-
flore as the first foreigner to protest to the
Russian Government on behalf of perse-
cuted Russian Jewry. He traveled to Russia
to do so in 1846.
Today, after 119 years, we must still meet
to protest the treatment of Jews in Russia.
Today, more than 50 years after Nicholas
II distributed the infamous "Protocols
of the Elders of Zion," the Russian Govern-
ment continues to distribute vicious anti-
Semitic propaganda.
On the first day of Passover in 1891, a Rus-
sian Government closed the synagogue and
expelled all Jews from Moscow. For the
Passovers of the 1960's, a Russian Govern-
ment forbids the baking of matzoh. When
a despotic czar wanted to divert attention of
his subjects from their wretchedness in 1911,
he accused Jews of ritual murder. When his
successors sought the same end In the 1960's,
they accused Jews of economic subversion.
It is therefore clear that we meet today
to write but one of many chapters-in a
book whose length is a disgrace to humanity.
It is not the first chapter. But we must
make it the last. I come to say that there
Is hope, that if we fulfill our responsibilities
to the 2 million Jews of the Soviet Union, we
may see In our time an end to this sorry story
of persecution.
For the Soviet Union listens. The Soviet
leaders may deny that persecution exists;
they may call their accusers liars; but they
will not, they cannot, defy the conscience of
an outraged world.
In 1960, for example, Nikita Khrushchev
was asked in Vienna why the Soviet Union
denied exit permits to Jews wishing to join
their relatives in Israel. His answer was to
deny that any such citizen of the Soviet
Union had applied for such a permit. He
could not admit before the world that his
government would abridge this fundamental
human right. Instead, he tried to deny the
facts of the accusations. The same course
has been followed many times before the
United Nations-for example, when the So-
viet delegation to a Human Rights Subcom-
mission would not vote against, but only
abstained from, a resolution proclaiming the
right of emigration for all people.
These episodes demonstrate the oppor-
tunity for our brothers in the Soviet Union-
and the challenges before us here.
If the full facts are brought to light;
if the story of Soviet anti-Semitism is broad-
cast again and again throughout the world,
made so clear that its true existence cannot
be denied; then, in my judgment, the Soviet
Government will be forced to reverse its
policy. It has been forced to do so several
times already.
After the first group of economic show
trials aroused universal condemnation from
the civilized world, a further set, which
might have Involved several hundred per-
sons, was canceled. After worldwide pub-
licity exposed the pettiness of a Soviet protest
that Israeli diplomats had distributed re-
ligious calendars, the printing and sale of
these calendars was permitted last fall.
These are isolated incidents. The easing
of particular restrictions does not alter the
fact that the Jews of the Soviet Union are
subject to persecutions and violations of
human dignity that are beyond the capa-
bilities of language to denounce. But these
Incidents demonstrate that our protests are
heard. They prove that we do not meet in
vain, that our presence here is not an idle
gesture.
The Soviet Union must answer to us, and
hopefully It must answer as well to Russians
who believe in freedom and justice,
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The young Russian poet, YevgenyYevtu- and the article were ordered to be accolhplishnients of the young Jayhawkers
"I am each old man that was s aug re
here . . ~
I am each child that was slaughtered here.
Nothing in me can forget this.
Let the "International" sound out joyously
When the last anti-Semite on earth will be
buried: ,,
He read this to thousands of young people
in a public square in Moscow despite brutal
police efforts to disperse them. The great
composer Shostakovich set his words to
music-and the music was played.
I do not offer these episodes, of course, as
evidence that we can relax our concern. In-
deed, our effort must be redoubled.
hope, the slightest encouragement, to the
Jews of the Soviet Union, our effort will have
been repaid. If every petition, every repre-
sentation to the Soviet Government can al-
low some matzoh to be baked again, or 10
binate, our effort will have been repaid.
If all the United Nations speeches and reso-
lutions, and all the newspaper articles, force
the Soviets to allow a hundred families to be
paid.
And they will be repaid, although they
will have just begun. The building across
ment wants to the world with its Way
of life. The plaque you raise today will help
to tell the world about the Jewish way of life
in the Soviet Union. It will bear silent iiut
terrible witness to'that way of life, day and
night, month after month, year upon year,
until it is no longer needed.
In the end we must prevail. T say "we"
must prevail because your cause is mine, just
as the cause of yout Russian brothers is
yours. I cannot say why better than it was
said in 1905, when 6,000 signed the declara-
'tion of ' Jewish citizens to `the tsar: 'We de-
mand civil equalityand equal submission to
general laws as men who, despite everything,
I are conteioiis of their human dignity.-* 1' *
We do not expect these rights to be bestowed
upon us as an act of grace and magnanimity
or because of some political expediency, but
as a matter of honor and justice."
For that honor and justice we must all
stand-and we must sill work
FRED ELLS'WORTH
Mr. PEARSO . Mr_. President, last
month, death Caine to Fred Ellsworth, of
Lawrence, Kans.-"Mr. K.U." to h'
thousands of friends in Kansas and, t
untold numbers of the University of Kan
sas alumni. All felt a personal loss, an
will truly miss a.: great champion ofth
University of Kansas.
-' it seems inadequate to merely say tha
he was a good and kind man who did hi
job with complete loyalty. His service
as the alumni secretary for our 8ta
university brought unfold rewards to s
many of the people of -our State.
His sort, ROBERT L' LLSWORTH 110
serves as a distinguished Member C1
Congress, and his public service reveal
the rich heritage he received from hi
father.
Mr. President, I -ask'- unamimous con
sent to have printed in the RECORD a
editorial from the Topeka baily Capital
'of January 13, 1965; and also 'an artier
from the Kansas City Tiines;`of Januar
14, 1965.
There being no objection, the editoria
(From the Topeka Daily Capital, Jan. 13,
19651
DEVOTED KANSAS UNIVERSITY SERVANT
The death of Fred Ellsworth-"Mr. K.U."
to thousands of University of Kansas
alumni-is a personal loss to all Jayhawkers.
To them Fred Ellsworth represented pride
in their alma mater, and Fred was fiercely
proud of everything about the university.
As Kansas University Chancellor W. Clarke
Wescoe once observed: "More than faculty or
chancellors, to thousands of alumni and
friends Fred Ellsworth Is the University of
Kansas."
This devoted man was, as usual, humble on
learning in 1962 that Kansas University's
largest men's dormitory would be known as
Fred Ellsworth Hall. Yet this recognition
'which he so"richly -deserved only served to
emphasize his innate modesty.
For 39 years, as Kansas University alumni
secretary, Fred Ellsworth 'traveled up and
down Kansas and across the Nation, cement-
ing firmly the ties of Jayhawker graduates
and their alma mater. He had taken the job
in 1924 when the Kansas University student
-body' numbered only 4,000. Through the
'years he watched the numbers on Mount
Oread and the Kansas University School of
_Me`dicine grow to 13,000.
Fred managed to build lip, the alumni as-
sociation from 8,700 -memers in 1924 to
16,500 before he retired. He was known in
college circles as an outstanding man in
alumni relations.
Shortly before his' death he was awarded a
medal for distinguished service to education
by the Alumni Federation of Columbia Uni-
versity. He was one of 23 men and women
so honored for their "eminent leadership in
the field of alumni relations."
Thus the farm boy from Pleasanton, whose
student days at Kansas University were in-
terrupted while he served in the 35th Divi-
_'sion in World War I, was to find his life's
work at the institution from which he grad-
uated in 1922. His indefatigable quest for
"the betterment of Kansas University can be
seen today In many places. Besides the fine
dormitory that bears his name, the World
War II Campanile and Drive are other monu-
ments to Fred Ellsworth's love for the uni-
versii:,y, for it was a project that was achieved
llargely through his efforts. He played an
important role, too, in the completion of the
Kansas Union and Memorial Stadium, both
World War I memorials.
Undergraduates on the campus knew Fred
Ellsworth as a, friend and counselor, as did
-the, graduates whose careers took them far
from Lawrence. For those coming back to
thec ampus to plan for class reunions, meeting with Fred was a stimulating experience.
Some may have wondered how, year after
year, he could so enthusiastically go through
the same routine with different classes, but
he steered them. toward an enjoyable pro-
gram that earned him many thanks from
the returning grads.
At football games, Fred sometimes ap-
peared wearing a Texas hat, gift of Kansas
University alumni living in Houston. He
prized the hat highly and responded good-
naturedly to friends who called him "Sheriff"
-when he wore it.
When Kansas University celebrates its cen-
tennial in 1966, it will be regretted by all
Jayhawkers that Fred Ellsworth will not be
on the campus to aid the project for which
he had been counsel since his retirement.
But the pages of Jayhawk history are the
richer for Fred. Ellsworth's. loyalty and de-
votion.
The name of "Mr. K.U.," will live on In the
memories of those who knew him and in the
[From the Kansas City Times, Jan. 14, 19651
FRED ELLSWORTH IS EULOGUIZED AT KANSAS
UNIVERSITY-RITES FOR THE LATE ALUMNI
SECRETARY ARE ATTENDED RY CROWD OF 800-
INFLUENCE OVER 40 YEARS-PASTOR SAYS HE
GAVE SPIRIT AND DIRECTION TO MANY BY His
FRIENDLINESS
(By Ray Morgan)
LAWRENCE, KANS.-Fred Ellsworth, secre-
tary emeritus of the University of Kansas
Alumni Association who died Monday, was
eulogized as "Mr. K.U." in funeral services
here yesterday. The rites were attended by
more than 800 persons, including Gov. Wil-
liam Avery.
The Reverend Paul R. Davis, minister of
the Plymouth Congressional Church said
that Ellsworth, 69, had been a continuing in-
fluence in building a larger university under
four chancellors and through nearly 40 years
of service.
CITED BY ALUMNI
Mr. Davis read a citation from the Kansas
University alumni board to Ellsworth which
said, In part:
"In the continuing growth and change
and evolution of the university, through
booms, depressions, wars, and in all kinds of
political and economic environments, there
has remained that one constant factor that
bound all together, giving them direction
and purpose, not alone for the problems of
the moment but for those of the distant fu-
ture that so few men are able to envision.
That was Fred Ellsworth."
From all walks of life the hundreds of
mourners came to pay a final tribute to
Ellsworth, the father of Representative ROB-
ERT ELLSWORTH, Third District Member of
Congress from Lawrence. There were politi-
cians, educators, university staff members,
bankers, newspapermen, and many others
who had been his friends.
SERVED FOUR CHANCELLORS
The Congregational minister in whose
church the services were held pointed out
that Ellsworth had served in his capacity
under four chancellors, Dr. Ernest Hiram
Lindley, Dr. Deane V. Mallott, Dr. Franklin
D. Murphy, and Dr. W. Clarke Wescoe.
"If there was ever a man who deserved to
be called 'Mr. K.U.' it was Fred Ellsworth,"
Mr. Davis said. "The University of Kansas
is a much greater university because of the
life of Fred Ellsworth."
He said some indication of the tremendous
service of Ellsworth was that during his years
of service the Kansas University alumni as-
sociation had grown from 'a membership of
2,700 to more than 18,500.
"His influence is apparent to the eye as
today one walks across the Kansas University
campus," the minister said. "Although he
was one of many, he was a guiding force in
contributing to the construction of the World
War 11 memorial campanile and drive, the
Kansas Union, Memorial Stadium, and Fred
Ellsworth Hall."
BUILT ALUMNI GROUP
The latter is a dormitory named in his
honor. Mr. Davis also pointed out that the
University of Kansas had become the sec-
ond university in the Nation from the stand-
point of the percentage of graduates who
were members of the alumni association.
"He touched the lives of many students
and most alumni because he made their lives
and their concerns his own," the minister
said. "He liked people. He took time to lis-
ten to them. He exerted the effort to under-
stand them, he allowed what they said to
influence his decisions."
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'2514 CONGRESSIONAL RgCORD - SENATE
Mr. T7avis said, one key to the efi'ectiveness
of Ellsworth was, his warmth, while another
was his influence in thefiyes Of studentsn
"During the lean, depression years when
jobs' were scarce, he guided many students
to employment," he said. "Ifow many 'men
in prominent positions today owe their start
to Fred Ellsworth,"
Mr. Ilavas, safcl,;Vllsworth had recently been
honoreli, by Columbia University with a gold
medal for his service to'educa~ion,at Kansas
University. He said Ellsworth had guided
the university alumni Magazine to a position
of award-winning excellence.
IStALOTT IS PRESENT
Former Chancellor Malgtt, pow president
eriieritua of Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y.,
Was 4mbiig the mourners. Representing the
board of regents were Ray Evans, of Fairway;
Arthur it. ,Cromb, of Mission Hills; Henry
Aubl7, of 'T'opeka, and Clyde Reed, retiring 11 mentber an Parsons publisher.
Political figures in addition to Governor
Avery Were'Lt. Gov. John drutcher and Sena-
tOr ReynoldsI Shultz, , State senator from
Douglas County. Among the newspaper pub-
iishers were Oscar. Stauifer,_ and Stanley
Stauffer, of To. eka, Iierbert Meyer, of Inde-
pendence, And Dolph Simmons, of Lawrence.
Ellsworth is survived leo by his wife, an-
other son, Stephen Ellsworth, Stan ford,
Conn? and a sister, missMauc}e Ellsworth, of
t.awrence.
BuYiai was in Oakhili Cemetery in Law-
1'OnGe.
SEATTLE BffSTNESS Alr?ERS SPON-
SOR, Z;QUA ; , EMPt,O KFNT FAIR
Mr. MAGN ~7SON, 1VIr. President,
Seattle. industry and business welcomes
members of minority groups to its em-
ployment rolls.
Manfacturing, retail, transportation,
and utility companies recently joined in a
,job fair with exhibits deniorrstrating em-
ployment opportunities? for, all persons
who may qualify for them, and register-,
ing potential applicants.
Described by the Wall Street ,Journal
as part of the Seattle?chamber's pro-
gram to translate equal employment pol-
ides into actu8,, .practise, ,the weekend
fair attracted approximately 2,500 visi-
tors, of whom 1,200 filled out registration
forms.
Toe Seattle chamber is, to ,be com-
mended for this fine civic enterprise. It
is more than a people-to-people program
-with which we are familiar, excellent as
that, is, This ,.;is a people-to-jobs pro-
gram. No community program that I
can en1{ision holds a greaterpotential for
Improving both human relations and-our
economy.
I ,aid unanimous ;consent that,,the
article in the Wall Street Journal ,of
January 29, titled "Business-Backed ]Fair
in Seattle Aims To Open More Jobs to
Negr O oes," be printed at this point in the
RECRD.
There being no objection, the, articles
were ordered to be printed in the,RECORD,
OPEN? MORE JOBS TO, NEGROES-AYRLINE,
STORE EXHIBITS DEPICT OPPORTuNrrIES-
8siov SPONa9R IS THE CII4~aIB]i c or
COMMERCE
(By poiiald A. Moffitt)
$E?TTLE,-Settle boosters, their civic
pride bolstered by their first World's Fair
111102, held a less spectacular-yet far-more
tmusilfal-kind of fair last weekend.
It, took ,place in a well-scuffed high school
ymnasium. Instead of presenting me-
hanieal. marvels, this fair attracted. Its
hrongs with modest exhibits that depicted
arious jobs offered in the Seattle area. Most
f the visitors were not prosperous tourists
ut local Negroes anxious to find work. The
airs aim was to recruit members of minority
roups by convincing them, that Seattle em-
loyers were willing to hire them.
Perliaps'the most surprising aspect of the
air was its sponsorship: Not the Urban
ague, nor the Nationaj Association for the
dvancement of Cblored People, nor the Con-
ess on Racial Equality, but the Seattle
amber '61' Commerce. It represented only
he most recent attempt by the chamber to
ranslate equal employment policies Into
etual practice.
Though individual businessmen have been
n the forefront among advocates of non-
iscriminatory hiring practices, business
ssociations have not yet been nearly as
rominent In this controversial field. Con-
equently, business groups across the land
will be watching closely to see how the
eattle chamber fares in its efforts.
Seattle's job-finding effort for Negroes
omes at a time when the city is none too
ush with jobs. Unemployment, though
own from a 6.8 percent level a year ago,
a still 6.1 percent, well above the national
verage. Joblessness among Negroes here,
ho make up about 5 percent of the city's
opulation, runs about double that for
hates, officials say.
A BROAD RECRUITING PROGRAM
It is too soon to tell how many Negroes
ill land jobs as a, result of visiting, the fair,
ut the broader recruiting program of which
t is a part has already had some success.
n "employment opportunity center" opened
y the chamber 3 months ago. and staffed by
op-level personnel executives from member
rms working as volunteers, has referred
bout 500 people, mostly Negroes, to poten-
tal employers. There is no procedure for
hecking the outcome of these referrals, but
fticials can name about 50 individuals
nown to have obtained jobs, many of them
he first of their race hired for some lines
f ,work by certain firms in Seattle.
For example, Ronald L. Hampton, a 23-
ear-old veteran, is the first Seattle-area
egro to enter Union Oil Co. training to be-
ome a dealer; he will sell gasoline and other
ar products to filling station, operators. "He
as fit in extremely well, and he's doing a
e job," says Howard R. Webb, manager of
ersonnel and training for Union Oil's
orthwest division.
Chamber officials are cheered by the re-
ponse to last weekends fair. It lured some
500 visitors, of whom about 1,200 filled out
egistration forms in hopes Of future employ-
ent. No actual applications were taken
ut the registrations will be used to help
atch qualified applicants with job openings
tat occur. They also will be used to
entify Negroes who, with special training,
an qualify for certain jobs.
Fair visitors were attracted by a wide
nge of exhibits, United Air Lines' booth
owed photos of smiling white and Negro
iris studying in stewardess training classes,
eing pinned with their "wings" at gradua-
on ceremonies and relaxing: in resort swim-
ing pools. Seven of the airline's 2,200
wardesses are Negroes and five more are in
aining. Bon Marche, a local retail chain,
owed Negroes working as receptionists, rec-
rdkeepers and key punch operators.
BIG COMPANIES EXHIBIT
Altogether, 37 exhibitors were on hand to
escribe occupations as diverse as police
ork,, engineering, and management train-
g. They included such well known firms
is Boeing Co., Sears, Roebuck & Co., Honey-
ell, Inc., Kaiser Gypsum Co., J. C. Penney
tPIRGH
Fe'ruary 10
Co., Washington Natural Gas Co., and Puget
Sound Power & Light Co.
Though some Negro leaders dispute this,
the chamber of commerce says its program
isn't a response to specific pressures from
civil rights groups. "It just makes good
sense to utilize
,liumen.resources and to re-
spond to what obviously is a national move-
ment toward equal opportunity," says Wil-
liam Adams II, an Alabama-born former
newspaperman who is executive vice presi-
dent of the local chamber.
"This is a landmark sort of program," says
Rex D. Jones, associate director.of the Seat-
tle Urban League. . "Business here is Com-
mitted to equal hiring both in policy and In
practice." The Urban League and the local
NAACP chapter are working with the cham-
ber in its work force integration effort,
Individual Negroes are convinced the effort
is proving effective. Mrs. Juanita Adams,
recently hired as an executive secretary in
the regional headquarters of New York Life
Insurance Co., says: "The first thing they
told me was, "We're not going to hire you
just because you're a Negro. If we hire you
it's because we think you're better qualified
than others." Mrs. Adams was hired at a
$78-a-week salary last year. Since then, sh(
has received two merit raises that brough
her salary to $100 a week. The pay increase;
demonstrated, she says, that the compam
Wasn't just seeking token integration.
Leaders of the local CORE chapter ar
among those who insist the chamber pro
gram came about because of pressures sue)
as boycotts and demonstrations last yeas
"We called attention to the disparity be
tween the proportion of Negroes in the popu
lation and the proportion of jobs they hav
in business," claims Walter R. Hundley, iota
CORE director. CORE figures about 1,20
more of Seattle's 28,000 Negroes should b
employed in downtown jobs to erase the dis
parity. Employers refuse to aini for specifi
figures, though, because they say they can'
legally set racial quotas.
Even so, the usually militant CORE I
willing to give the chamber effort the bene
fit of any doubt. A 6-month deadline CORD
set last year for businessmen to hire th
additional Negroes expires February 1; bu
Mr. Hundley says the group isn't going ahea,
with direct action. He comments: "We wan
to observe the results of the job fair to se
what effect it has on employment. We'i
not ready to say 'bravo, well done'-br
they've made a good beginning."
Neither chamber officials nor local bus
nessmen contend their integration effort go
more than part way toward narrowing gal
between Negro and white employment oppo
tunities. Says a retailer taking an active pa
in the program: "You can have a hundrt
fairs that won't do as much good as son
actual training for jobs." Eavesdropping c
conversations between personnel men as
fair visitors illustrates some of the problem
A chubby young woman Inquires about ty]
Ing jobs, though she obviously hasn't ma
tered the skill, "I can type letters fine," sl
explains, "but I have a lot of trouble wli
typing numbers."
Though nothing definite has been work(
out, chamber officials currently are thinkii
of ways to institute some training courses f
Negroes in Seattle.
The Seattle job fair isn't the first sup
effort in the Nation. Last year the Chica;
Association of Commerce & Industry help
organize two fairs for Negroes and other m
nority groups. At the request of two con
munity groups, one in a South Side Neg:
neighborhood, the other on the North Sid
the association lined up employers willing i
Install exhibits.
The purpose of the Chicago fairs was I
explain to high school youngsters and joblee
Chicagoans just what sort of work went on a
the firms and what kind of schooling wa
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