The Denver Jewish news., 1921-12-21
A Proposed National
Jewish War Memorial
CONTINUED from page ~

take the present occasion to treat
the topic of the War Memorial par
ticularly because very recently the
movement started by Mr.. Kagan was
concretely taken up with Judge Irv-
ing Lehman. president of the Jewish
Welfare Board and DIR. Cyrus Adler,
also of the Board, on the occasion of
their visit to Washington, to attend
the services in connection with the
burial of the Unknown Soldier. \
conference between representatives of
the community, including prominent
members of the B'nai Birth, Rabbi
Abram Simon, of the Reform Temple,
the local executive of the Jewish Wei
fare Board. and Judge Lehman, ana
DIR. Adler was held in the hcadluar-
tiers of the Y. NJ. II. A.
Both Judge Lehman and DR.. Adler |
failed to take kindly TO the idea. They |
refused to be cnthused, despite very |
able expositions of the proposal by
particularly eloquent. Judge Lehman
declared in no uncertain terms his OPP |
position to the erection of any Jewish
war memorial in Brick and mortar.
Judge Lehman, failed however, it is
clnimed. to effectively reply to the
argument that the Memorial would
serve as very potent antidote to an
ti-Scmitic propaganda, such as Ford
;,s And tho lnipn nrp-
walls that neither of the officials of
the Jewish Welfare Board really re-
futcd the many other appealing pros
or the memorial, among which. besides
''oSa / have already mentioned, Is
the fact that the commission by the
Jews to take any action while the
knights of Columbus proceed with
their plan for memorial will create
4 rather different position for the
Jews whenever the usual mental com
mrison is made. In this connection.
attention is called to the fact that
while the Mcthodists have established
an ambitious educational institution
herc--the American University, and
the Catholics the ever-growing Cath
Ollie University of America and George
town University and another protest
ant group controls the important
George Washington University. with
the accompanying impression that
these make because of their location
in the National Capital, the Jews have
no single institution of their own.
Aside from the natural connection
which the Jewish Welfare Board
would have IN "A plan for Jewish War
Memorial. one of the principal reasons
why the matter was taken up with
Judge Lehman and Dr. Adler. was the
financial support which would be cx-
pccted from the j. w. u. 1t is said
there remains in the J. w. Il. treasury
about S2,OOO.OOO. These funds are
now being mainly employed 10 assist
local communities in LAUGHING cam
paigns for Jewish crntcrs. The rep
rcscntntivcs of the j. W. Il. when
here suggested that part of the money
could scarcely he used for IA more ap
-propriatc end than the War Memorial.
Rut Judge Lehman and DR. Adler tolt!
the local. leaders that while the j. W.
l.. would he glad to assist in the usual
manner of experimenting II campaign
here for Il center for Washington
.Iewry. as they are cooperating with
other cities that would he as far as
they intended to help with J. w. Il.
n NJ I,i, finn
as II stopping place for Jews from all
over the United Suites. as well as
the presence of many out-of-town Jew
| ish young men aud women in the gov.
crumcnt service would l,c taken U,to
account when considering whether the
j. W. Il. might properly advance II
substantial sum for assistance in the
erection of Jewish Center, in Wash
ington.
1t may he that the unfricndly atti-
| t,n!c Of the J. W. b. to the Jewish
War Memorial leaders would huve
been manifested in any event
and under any circumstances yet
| cannot refrain from aking the com-
mcnt that the fact that the confer
cnrc was held as "A result of the intia-
tive of the Young Mems Hebrew AS
/ sociation. aud that the young men took
the leading part in the presentation
of the case with their emphasis of the
purely welfare aspect of the need of
| luilding TO tnkr care of the Washing
| ton youth both resident and transient,
may have detractcd from the effect
which an exclusive cinphasis on the ma