The Denver Jewish news., 1924-05-22
THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF
JEWISH WOMEN
Council Leader Pleads for Sane Amer
icanism. Declares Conntry's Atti-
tude Betrays Lack Of Faih in Amer
lean Ideals.

In the leading editorial of The Jew
iSh Womnn," Estrlle NJ Stcrnberger,
Executive Secretary Of the National
Council of.yewish Women, declares that
humanity summons america back to
sanity in its application Of American
ideals and principles. In this editorial
dtvOted To the subject of sane Ameri-
cauism, Mrs. Srernbergcr makes the
following observations ON the trend OF
immigrant legislation:
For many years under the inSpir.
aiiGn Of the melling-pot idea. Americans
gloriicd the power of our country and
its institutions to win 10 its ideals every
immigrant. no matter what his national
origins might he, An unfortunate
tendency has recently appeared among
some of our Legislators and citizens 10
challenge this distinctive feature of
Amcricn'S history. II is an attitude
that savers of pesSiniism of n tragic
lack eff faith in the sanity of those
principles that have won for our land
the admiration of nations, of their
poets and their STATESMEN. of the
worlds idcalists and its men of af-
fairs.
III is one thing to urge the need
for restricting the nnnber Of immi-
grants that shall enter our ports frCm
year to year. or to plead the justifica-
At. ;,,,, Ia, Oh, n
open our doors only To those who are
mentally. morally and physically fit.
II Is Il far different thing to resort to
unscicntific methods and conclusions
based on apparent prejndices. and to
declare certain Peoples unassimllable.
undesirable and impossible of Ameri-
caniZation. Those who sympathian
with the point of view embraced in
the proposed Johnson immigration bill
have gone to these vshy lengths. II po-
sition that Americarf, less than ten
years ago. would Eavj condemned with
all the force OF eld tuenee at their
1t is amnZing to observe with what
holiness they fiaunt their opinions and
with what fragrance they disregard the
scnsibllitics of those elements in Amer
lean life whose contributions deny the
rightucss of the accusations levcled
against the peoples of southern and
southeastern Europe. Only recently
Representative johnson, the father of
the bill which provides for n = per
cent quota law, based on the census
Of 1890. in addressing a meeting in
PHILADELPHIA made several un-Ameri-
can illusions to the Jew. Re it said
to the credit of the National Council
of Jewish Women that one of its Ma
tional Directors. Il resident Of that city.
arose at the conclusion of the speakers
address and. in coIInter-challenge. gave
voice to those ideals of Americanism
that every jew and JcwesS of this land
have come to treasure and to defend
with their life'S blood. Ii was the
point of view that has been so ably
formulated and expressed by our De
partmcnt of Immigrant Aid in its fire.
quent discussions of the immigration
question.
America is in sore need of the voice
and influence of Theodore Roosevelt
and of n Jacob a. RiiS. America must
he unhur,lcncd of its fears before IL
strnys too far from the path which it
had traverSed with such confidence
and assurance throughout these many
decades. America must be awakened
to the lurking danger of forfeiting the
priceless jewel that the ages have be
queat thed her-the jewel of tolerance. Of
devotion to the ideal of mankind's
fundamental kinship--a jewel whose
brllance pierces the thickest cloud.