The Denver Jewish news., 1924-06-12
THE MOLDERS OF JEWISH
PUBLIC OPINION
Their Biography. Tlr-ir Work and
Their Views of the Future
by william q. Spiegelman
Copyright 1924. Jewish Tslegraphlc
Agency

] N'NENAAEhA Wv NtNlSN lrItHfhlulG
Agency
] II j. the general opinion that with the
passage Of the new immigration bill,
American lrwry Is entering new
epoch In its history With immigration
severely restricted, American Iewry
will from now on have TO depend for
IT, spiritual development on Its own
| resources The Jewish Telegraphlc
Agency considers this moment oppor.
tune 10 portray TO the Jewish public
I those figures In American Jewish life
who are at the head Of Jewish public
Affairs. and are responsible for the
nOlding Of Jewish public opinion,
through the medium Of the Jewish
press Of this country.
/ What Is Journalism? l. II merely
10 write uf things that happen through
| the will Of other people: or is II rather
writing thn' Influences other people
aud creates IN them the will To do?
What i the inner force Of man who
has encirclcd the globe, come In con.
tact with kings. presidents and diplo-
mats. discovered secret treaties and un.
carthcd the most intimate letters ~
EmpcrorS
Is It merely the journalistic search
for good newspaper stun. or i there
IN back nf II n central idea that EN-
pluys these methods In order that some
higher ideal may be- achieved?
With these questions in mind ! went
to see Mr.. Herman Bernstein. | had
met him several years before. II was
in the city of Warsaw during the Yer
sailles Peace Conference. The prestige
OF President Wilson and America was
at its height. Rumors were ahoat in
central and eastern Europe that Presl-
dent Wilson was determined to sec to
1t that his fourteen points, including
the point. introduced for the first time
In the history of the world, of self
determination for small nations, should
be carried out. Reports had been cir
culated in the Polish press that the
anonymous power" (meaning Jewish
ence), had set all forces in motion to
influence the contracting parties to
guarantee in special International
treaty. the rights of small nations
whose fate 1t was TO live on territories
ruled by other nations. II was merely
rumored, but not believed; and here is
Mr. Herman Bernstein, who, on a short
cut from Paris to Moscow. stopped over
in Warsaw and brought with him the
actual text of the treaty. before it ever
WAS intended to he published.
He came armed with letter of in
PRODUCTION from the then powerful
Prime Minister Paderewski to Minister
Of the Interior Woiciechowski, now the
president of the Polish Republic. Sure
ly document brought by him is
authentic. However, when the docu-
ment was published, the Polish press
poured out its wrath on the "anony-
nous power" and most of all on the
wandering jew. HermGn Bernstein.
But the Wandering Jew did not stay
long enough in the capital of the resur-
rcctcd Poland to see these attacks up
on him. In pursuit of his mission. he
proceeded: north. or west, east or
south? Who could tell?
When sat down in his apartment in
New York for the purpose of inter
viewing Mr.. Herman Bernstein. l
thought | had very hard task before
me. To interview President or II
Minister IS not a hard thing. If you
concentrate on your subject YOU will
catch him. But to interview an in
teryicwer. one who knows the ins and
outs of the interviewing game, seemed
to bc rather n difficult task. However.
Herman Bernstein, the great inter
viewer. proved to be not so terrible
after all. ON the contrary, he seemed
to have decided in advance to make up
for all the suspense which he must have
caused in others, by repaying with
kindness those who would come to in
terview him. As | looked at the ami
able, smiling countenance and listened
To his fluent conversation. most inter
cSting tale of life started in Russia
developed in New York and exercised
in Toxic. Petrograd. Paris and Vladi-
yostok unfoldcd itself
Born in 1876 in NeuStndt- Shervint.
raised in Mogilow in well-to-do, en-
lightened Jewish family, he received a
thorough religious training combined
with sound secular education. As
early as at eleven years of age his
interest in the affairs of his people
manifested itself in his attempts to be
come the correspondent Of the then in
Uupptiul and widely rnnl Uphrnyy 1nily