The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1917-01-13

A mass meeting of BridgepOrt's s Jewish residents will be held Sunday evening in the State street Casino for the purpose of discussing the proposed Jewish Congress, in all it's phases. The meeting is expected to be one of the greatest ever held in the Ca sino. The subject is vitally interest ed to large part of the city's popu- For the last two years the Jews of America have been attempting to call sing the question of the Jews suffering in Europe, and the rights and the priv ileges they should be granted after the war is over As is we'll known, many of the battle grounds of Europe in this greatest of all wars in the worlds history are upon territory mostly populated by Jewish people, and where they do not actually form a majority of the populations they are at least a great proportion of it. Likewise is there veritable army of Jewish soldiers to the number of near ly a million fighting on all fronts, in all armies and on all battlefelds. How many of these brave Jewish soldiers will have been slain when the war Is over, how many of them maimed and crippled for life, no one can know or foretell. Certain it is that the num- Der will be appalling. But notWlth- standing all these facts, the Jews in many countries, and in all of the de- spotic lands that are parties to this war, suffer special disabilities and mis- fortunes by virtue of the discriminat- ing laws against them existing in these countries, and thus to the misfortunes of old to which they are accustomed are added the horrors of war with the plunder, rapine, transportation, exile and murder of innocent non-con1bat- ants.
 Yet to all this there is not a central power or a united body to raise voice of protest, for the reason that the Jews as such have no territory, land, coun- try or government of their own to speak for them officially and authori- tatiyely, and to enter with the coun- ciIs of the nations upon terms and con- dftions at the conference of peace.
 It is for this purpose. in order to form representative body that should be able to represent through the proper channels the needs of the Jewish people in the belligerent coun- tries that a Congress of Jewish rep resentatives, elected by all the Jews of this country, will convene in Washing ion. D. C.. on or before May 1, 1917,
 when a. prmannt institution known as the Jewish Parliament will be form edl @
 Bridgeport's have been active in this irteresting movement ever since it's ir1- cention and sent two delegates to the preliminary Conference in Philadel- nhia last wear where the first pro- gram was worked out, and worked ln- defatigably, along with others, to bring about the union of all sections of Jew ish life under this one standard. The The effort has at last been crowded with S,ccess. The American Jewish Committee. with Louis Marshal at the head, the Independent Order or Nal R,rith of which Hon. Adolph Kraus Ia nresident, and the National Work mems Association, have for long time held out against popular ana democratic Congress of the American Jews, but favored rather lnolVioual and independent action by each organ ization as has been the case nerelo- fore At last, however, by the un- tiring efforts of the Jewish Congress Organization committee, which is the central organization of all Congress Committees throughout. the country, all the refractory elements have been united upon a common platform the B'nai B'rith and the American Jewish Committee as well as the organized Jewish workmen have united and com bined upon this one thing, to demand rights and living conditions for the Jews after the war wherever such rights and conditions are denied them.
 At great meeting in the Savoy Ho- tel New York, two weeks ago, Hon. Nathan Straus was elected chairman of the combined Executive Committee