The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-01-17

iperpetrated upon the soil of Russia For this great act Leo Levi received the thanks and the commendation of liberty lovers all the world over. Yet he re- ceived their praises with his wonted modesty, vaunting not himself, but think | ing only of the welfare of the Jewisn people,
 Tn his reply to a letter of thanks and praise from the Jews of England speak ing through Claude Montefiore, President of the Angio-Jewish Association and or David Alexander, President of the Jewish Board of Deputies, he says:
 "The incident in our view, marks new era in Jewish history. Heretofore 1t has been accepted as a mournful fact that, while the Jews have a righteous cause, they are ever without champion. Hence forth, let us hope. in the light of the precedent established, thav whenever Jew ish martyrdom is suffered. by reason of violence to the plain dictates of human ity. the Jews. not especially because they are Jews but because thoy are human, will find champions and protectors in the great liberty and justice loving peoples of the United States and England.
 And now Leo Levi is dead. The cham pion of Israel Is no more. The voice, that thrilled the multitudes with its eloQuence is hushed forever. How are the mighty fallen and lost the instruments of war. At the age of 4S he fell asleep, where manhood's morning almost touches noon and while the shadows were still falling toward the west. He had not passed on life's rugged highway the stone that marks its highest point. but being weary for a moment he lay down by the way side and using his burden for pillow fell into that dreamless sleep that kisses down his eyelIds still.
 Were a star to be quenched on high,
 For ages would it's light.
 Still travelling downward from the sky,
 Shine on our mortal sight.
 ''So when a great man dies,
 For years beyond our ken,
 The light he leaves behind him lies
 Upon the paths of men,
 Order of B'Nai B'Rith.
 '"The light of our departed master shines now upon the Independent Order Of Bnai B'rith If the Order fails. that light will forever pale its intellectual fire. If 1t lives and prospers 1t must follow in the foot- steps of him who now lies wrapped In the dreamless drapery of eternal peace. The lodge must again be a factor in strength ening the self-consciousness of the Jew. Culture must become the ideal Of the Or- der. To thy tents then, o Israel. The past of the B'nai Brith is written in let ters large and golden. No oIFe denies that the Order has spent thousands in the cause of charity, that 1t has brought soiace to the distressed, that it has set nign ideals and a lofty mission before our peo- pie, that 1t has had a unifying effect among the children of the covenant. NO one denies what the B'nai B'rith has done, but what is it today and what will 1t be in the future? It takes no, genius to notice that apathy has settled on the lodges, that their ties are loosening, that their increasing membership is not pro- portionate to their possibilities or ad- yantages. The order which proclaims its right to live in this workaday world Of ours must demonstrate not only that IL has been a blessing. but that 1t is and will remain a blessing. There is still work for the fraternity to do. Is 1t merely to dole out aims to the widow ana orphan? Does the collection annually of a flow dollars necessitate the maintenance of lodge and lodge rooms. the assmebling of conventions the performance at stated intervals of certain rites and ceremonies, the holding of meetings behind closed doors, and the guarding of secrets by oaths? I say emphatically, no. All the moneys now required for the support Of orphan asylums could and would be raised if the I. O. B. B. should cease to exist
 Let us write upon our banner the legend of Jewish Culture. Taking the in- spiration of our president, who is no more, let the lodge not merely insist on saying to its members. Be loyal Jew Be a charitable man. It must insist on preaching Be cultured gentleman Let 1t realize that it's greatness lies in foster inR its literature that storehouse of lew ish thought and aspiration and hopeful