The Denver Jewish news., 1924-09-11
Copyright, 1921. jewish Telegraphic
Agency

Copyright, 1921. Jcwish Telegraphic
Agency
Editors often find themselves con
Since writing and later printing became
medium NJ transmitting Information
aud spreading education, writers have
stood on the crossway. There nrc two
tendencies which seek expression. The
first represents the line of least resist.
encc. which is most likely to find
sympathy and assure success: II adopts
the writing To the taste and standard
of education achieved by those for
whom il is intended The other Is n
more difficult. even risky enterprise. II
Is writing with a purpose and Il higher
ideal 10 which II cndeavors to elevate
those for whom 1t is intended. Much
of the power attained by The So called
fourth estate, the press. l. due to the
constant struggle between these two
methods Of work and the more or less
Of balance created by the two ad-
Of every nation could relate illustrative
attempts in both directions.
How different was 1t. however. in the
case Of the Yiddish press. The idea
of n Yiddish daily newspaper was con.
ceive,l In purity. 1t was created for
the purpose. not only of spreading tho
much needed information. hut II had
always in mind this or the other idea
or ideal. Particularly was 1t so in this
country.
When the ems of thousands of Jew
ish Immigrants were arriving from
Slavic countries. n peculiar problem
presented itself to their leaders. Large
classes Of adults who had been deprived
of the possibility Of gaining even an ele.
mentnry education in their native
country. were suddenly transplanted in.
To n country. where all citizens enjoy
full and free access to all sources Of
information and education, both
through the public school system and
the press. There was another aspect
10 the problem. The new arrivals,
representing n tremendous amount of
muscle power sought by enterprisins
manufacturers. We're the natural vic
tins of the then prevailing sweat shop
system. There was n necessity for re-
medying this situation. 1t could not
he accomplished without organization.
Organization was impossible without a
preparatory educational campaign OF
course. the party speaker, the meeting
orator and the agitator ench had his
role But speech is easily forgotten,
nftcr the last sounds of the excited
dealist disappeared in the noise of
the great city life. A more permanent
medium of influencing and organizing
was required. \ press which should
serve this purpose was the most natural
Thing which suggested itself. Thus was
the beginning of the Yiddish Soclalistic
movement md newspaperdom in Amer
lea.
Foremost among this Yiddish Social
list press is the Jewish Daily Forward.
II is not necessary to inquire into Of
fetal records to establish how wide is
the circulaticn Of this paper. The For
ward is more than n mere paper. 1t
is II champion of movement which Is
unique-all by itself. II is the Forward
movement. Perhaps no other paper
printed In America exercises such wide
influence, one could even say, pressure
upon its readers, as does the Jewish
Daily Forward
Since the days of Moses, the Jews
have had n reputation for being IA
hard necked'' people. a people not so
easily led. even by the nblcst of lend
an organized industrial regime were
apparently not felt then. Freed from
economic baroness and political OPP
pressions, leaving behind n centuries
old system Of life with strong i'm
press of traditional and religious Gus
toms-a system perhaps overburdened
with tradition which led to the limta
tion of initiative and enterprisc-this
mass of man was susceptible to any
thing new and promising. Hard econo
mic conditions in highly mechanical
environmet pressed for some new form
of life and organization This orgnni
2aticn was predicted and partly pre-
pared by the group of Russian Jewish
lntellectuals who We're fascinated by
the Russian version. of the MarXiar
theories. The organization Of the Jew
ish Labor unions in this country most
naturally fell under the influence ol