New-York tribune., 1919-04-07


no one. Hundreds hocked to Carnegie
Hall, the home of the Free Synagogue,
expecting and hoping to be shocked by
his torrents of condemnation for things
evil
They were seldom disappointed.
DR.. Wise has been compared by
many to the Old Testament preacher,
Isaiah. BY others he has been called
scold
Certain it is, from survey of scrap
books pertaining to his preaching, the
headline writer's have formed habit
of writing rabbi Wise deplores" this
or that.
The Mayor Of the city, the Commits
atrica enterprises, the people of his
own race, the Christian clergy-all have
been targets for his attack.
He has assailed conditions and Gus
toms without any allusion to those in
whom the responsibility rests.
Withdrew From Conference
He withdrew from the Central Con-
ference of American Rabbis after hear
ing a paper on the subject of "The
Synagogue and the Workingman" be-
cause he felt that rabbis had avoided
dealing with any real phase of the
question and had cut him short when
he attempted to DO so.
Commenting on his withdrawal he
said: at will not do merely to say to
this or that lord of finance, Thou shalt
not steal-a sentence he may dimly re-
member to have heard somewhere in
his Sunday school days-but the syna-
gogue should say rather, Thou shalt
not rebate
"Not once were the real reasons for
the workingman's aloofness from these
synagogues touched upon at the con-
ference; it absolutely refused to deal
with realities.
at did not mention the fact that
workingmen are kept from the syna-
gogue because the synagogues are eX-
pensive. nor the general feeling among
them that the church and the syna-
gogue are not free, and that their mes
sages are inspired by rich members of
the congregations and boards of trus-
tees"
On the subject of modern dancing he
had this to say: "Modern dancing is
not dancing at all. 1t is simply form
Of sex excitement. A two or three
hours dance in modern fashion is moth
ing but a sex orgy set to music"
Marriage and Divorce
Preaching upon the topic, "Can and
Shall the Family Be Saved?" he said,
"Marriage should be made still more
difficult, not easy We have blundere Il
at both ends-making marriage too
easy and divorce too difficult. If we
made marriage much more difficult and
conditioned by something more than
the payment of dollar for mar
riage license divorce would be far
rarcr than it is. AS for the famiAV's
being menaced by the eugenic ideal, it
threatens only such families as ought
never to have been suffered to exist.
Pending the adoption of laws, moral
condemnation ought to be visited upon
certain types of marriages. A eugenic
ideal would inhibit not only the glar-
ingly unfit marriages of the drunkard,
the infrm and the diseased, but many
so-called brilliant marriages which are
often q reproach to those homes which
sell womanhood into the lcgalized
prostitution of marriage without love,
without ideals.
"Child-saving must begin before the
child is born. Nothing can make good
the evil of the ill-born child. The
making of life is not less serious than
the taking of life. The eugenic ideal
will, above all things, impose a single
moral standard for men and for
women"
At one time we'll known New York
club had adopted policy of barring
Jews from membership. Dr. Wise had
this to say from the pulpit of the
Free Synagogue: zone finds in New
York club with membership of 1000
or more not more than half dozen
Jews, all of whom have taken them
selves out of the Jewish fellowship.
And one fads disreputable names on
vulgar wrecker of a life insurance
company, the name of a dishonored
teacher of university. On the other
hand, one fails to find on that roll the
names of certain Jews in every way en-
titled not merely to admission to that
club, but to be asked to add the honor
of their names and the dignity of their
achievements to it. I say the club
should be held in contempt--a con-
tempt exceeded only by the scorn that
every decent, self-respecting Jew
should feel for Jew who is ready to
be a member of club which on prin-
ciple, save for limited exceptions, shuts
out Jews from its body"
Always Timely
Sunday after Sunday DR.. Wise gives
utterance to such sayings as these that
have been quoted. He always has his
finger on the pulse of events and al
ways says the thing that is most timely.
He Is an indefatigable worker and
his interests reach out into almost
every field of activity.
Last summer he spent his vacation
as shipyard worker. His influence
among the men was a remarkable fac
tor in tn air morale. 1t was stated at
the yard whore he worked that his ex-
ample actually increased the output.
DR.. Wise has brought to the Free
Synagogue a splendid equipment. He
is the son of the late Rev. DR.. Aaron
s. Wise, who for twenty-one years was
the rabbi of Temple Rodelph Sholom,
of this city. His forebears for seven
generations occupied pulpits in Aus
tria-lIungary.
He IS a graduate of Columbia Uni
vcrsity of the class of 1892. At the
time of his graduation he was twenty
years old.
For his degree in philosophy he
studied with Professor Richard Gott-
he'll His thesis was in Arabic and was
upon an ethical treatise by the great
Jewish philosopher, Solomon ibn Gab-
roll Rabbi Wise pursued his theologi-
cal studies under the direction of Pro
fessor NJ. S. Margolis and the late Rev.
Dr. Henry Gersoni. Rabbi Alexander
Kohut and Dr.. Gottheil also assisted
him in his preparation for the preach