The Bismarck tribune., 1925-12-29
RABBI, PRIEST
AND KLANSMAN
IN SAME FOLD
''Better Understanding Week
in Arkansas Performs
the Unbelievable,
BY CHARLES r. STEWART

| Washington, Dec. 1910 a.. con
siderable extent individuals Of di
| verse races, national origins, 'reli
gions, politics and walks in life car
| unite for certain purposes which
all recognize as good. Generally
however, there are Il few elements
! which refuse cooperation with som,
| other few, upon any terms or tt
any end, no matter how desirable.
For instance, it wouldn't seem as
| if Il Roman Catholic, 4 Jew and !;
Ku Klux could be brought into the
| same fold by the rcmotest possibi.
lity. Yet that is just what the In
terdenominational Ministerial Asso
citation Of Little Rock, Ark, has ac-
complished, in connection with its
"Be:tcr Unde rs landing" campaign
an Arkansas movement which shows
signs of assuming national proper
tiols soon.
It's commonplace that a period
Of intolerance has prevailed in this
corntry-pe rhaps throughout the
world--in recent years. The Little
Rock Ministerial Association attri-
buted it to lack of mutual under
standing among differing racial, ma
tional, religious, political and social
groups. With view to remedyihg
this state of affairs, the association
induced the then governor, T. c. Nc
Rae, to proclaim a statewide Better
Understanding Week."
Rabbi Was Chairman
AS the weeks" chairman, the
association chose Rabbi Emanuel J..
Jack; as its secretary, Father James
p. Moran. The former was in Wash
il gtOn to attend the recent Red
Cross conference, and while here, by
the way. set the record of being the
first rabbi in history to deliver
the prayer which opens every ses-
sion Of the United States Senate.
Father Moran, myself and all the
rest agreed" related Rabbi Jack,
that the Ku Klux must be represent
ed on our general committee. We
felt it would be the height of incon-
sistency on our part to preach 'het-
ter understanding after having
shown, right at the outset, that we
ourselves didn't mean a better un-
derstanding' all around"
'Well,' continued the rabbi, eve
invited one of the leading Little
Rock Klansmen to join the commit
tee, which he very readily did. His
name doesn't matter, among all the
committee members, but, at any
rate, he became one of our best
workers. His attitude toward the
rest of US is quite different from
what it was. AS for the Klan, it in
cludes some excellent membcrs-mcn
! greatly like"
The Good Work Continues
Arkansas first Better Under
standing Week. was in 1924. 1t had
a second one, proclaimed by Gov.
Tom Tcrral, last May. The "Wcck"
is regular annual institution now,
Rabbi Jack believes. However, "Bct-
ter Understanding" activities aren't
confined to the official "Weeks," but
20 on all the time. "They're doing
a great DEAL" said the rabbi, "to-
ward eliminating feelings of religi-
Gus bitterness, in particular, which
previously were pretty prevalent in
Arkansas, as elsewhere, since the
war"
Senators Robinson and Caraway,
Is well as the members Of the Ark
lnsas delegation in the lower house
Introduced Rabbi Jack very general
y about the capitol and the Bear"
;tate's Better Understanding !
Weeks" got lot of advertising |
where it's calculated to do the most
good.