The Denver Jewish news., 1924-10-30
"
William Edlin. E,liicr ~ "rhr Day"
by william Il. Spicgclman

W Nhli"H iuiin. iAI''f "l lNe lly.
by William Il. Spicgclmnn
There is distinct difference between
the Jewish press and the press Of all
other nations. The press of normally
situated peoples has begun its exist.
enc" as a. medium Of transmitting in.
formation Of purely secular char.
acter. mainly directing its attentions
toward political and economic prob
lens, The Jewish press was concciv-
rl rs an organ Of religious thought or
ms medium of combat against this rc-
ligious thought. The idea of paper
printed with the ancient Assyric letters.
the letters used for centuries for the
purpose of transcribing on parchment
the ancient tribal tales. folk lore and
laws. was a daring step in Jewish
life only II century ago. ''rhe people
Of the Book in their earliest wander.
ings were able To carry along only one
treasure which could not bc capture,l
by their various adversaries: the idea
expressed in words. II the idea wns
sacred and dear enough 10 justify com
plcic sclf-sacriiice. lhc letters which
embodied this idea also became Sancti-
fed.
The first half century Of the develop
mcnt in Jewish modern literature and
the press was spent in attack and de-
fense Of alI the spiritual wealth handed
down through The chnnRels Of religion.
II was not earlier than the begin
ming of the Twentieth Century, after
the storm and strife of the Nine
teenih Century, which witnessed the
resurrection and the formation Of
many new nationalities in Europe, that
The idea Of n secular Jewish nation
nlity rooted itself in the minds of Jew
i>h intellectual leaders. This idea, al
though originally ms,lelicd after the
examples given to Europe by the BAL
kan countries. was fruitful to sucl, an
extent that it gave birth to many new
one hand. Jewish national socialism
on the other hand, with many differ
cntals closely related To one or the
other.
The Jewish press in America, which
accompanied the stream of Jewish i'm
migration into the United States from
the Slavic countries. from its very
primitive inception, aligned itself with,
these tendencies. On one hand II
identified itself with the advocacy OF
The MARKHAM doctrine and, ns counter
balance the propounding of strict orth-
lean Jewish life, the influence of a new
environment as well as the flow of ideas
resulting from contact with the de-
vclopment of Jewish thought in East
ern Europe. have produced new
school and II new type of man. The
Jewish middle man and more so, the
Jewish intellectual. in the average. is
neither too much of a believer in crth-
OdON MarNism nor too mnch of an
orthodox. The idea of n secular Jew
ish life based on the best of the old
traditions. combined with a modern
view, Is n conception which Is allur-
ing to the best type of mind. Thus
was prepared psychological justification
for the development of n national Jew
ism press. 1T does not reject religion
in Wholesale: it does not condemn the
advocators of necessary social reforms.
hut it does not follow with closed eyes
in the long-trodden why's.
II one would make n survey Of the
tendencies which are fighting for dom
nance in Jewish life In America. in
nuirinG into their origin, searching for
their purposes and ascertaining the
measure of appeal they represent, one
would find that the bulk Of the lew
ish masses through their processes of
economic development md adaptation
to the American environment, adhere
To this idea. 1t inspires the Jewish
citizen who has due respect for the
traditions of the race, contributes to-
wards the fulfillment of the RESPONSE
bilitics of the community and his group.
The advocaiiCn of this central tendency
is the task undertaken by THE Day."
which will celebrate It's tenth ami
versary in November
The American immigrant Jew is
widely awake both to the problems OF
his adopted country and to the 1ues-
tons which confront his race in this
country as well as abroad. The latest
book Of fiction or poetry published by
one of the able Jewish writers attracts
his attention just as much AS the burn
ing issue on which the next municipal
campaign will he decided. As mat