The Denver Jewish news., 1925-09-17
BY HAROLD herman

In the latter part Of nineteen.f fifteen.
In the good and spacious days ante
dating the World War and the changed
order Of things wrought by that world.
transforming event. seven Jewish
Knights of the Pen banded together to
form the nucleus Of what now Is the
Jewish writers Club, chosing at the
same time the name Of the then recent.
ly- deceased classical Ylddish writer ].
l.. Peretz as the patron saint Of the
new organization.
This, most recent as well as most
successful attempt to organize the
Jewish writing profession. TO co-or.
dinate its usefulness and extend its nc.
tivlties, differed from all previous at
tempts in that field In that the beginning
was an exceedingly modest one, but one
that had been planned most carefully
and with the object to be achieved
clearly in view by the lmtiators of
the project. AS result Of Ii. the
'''''F-h w VI lftl NtUT> ago
has grown greatly both in numbers ms
well as in influence that II is exerting
over the intellectual life OF the Jew
of America. embracing membership
OF about go men and women. and
covering the entire gamut of Jewish
letters-editors, journalists. novelsts.
shortstory writers, as well as poets and
dramatists. In brief, all men and
women of letters, working in the Jewish
field, the most employing Yiddish-the
vernacular tongue Of the greater ma
jority of the three-and- one ehalf million
of Jews living in America-as the
medium for the expression of their
thoughts. for providing useful informa-
tion, instruction or entertainment for
their numerous and far-fiung clientele
One has but to look back bare few
years and consider the position of the
Jewish man of letters in America at
that time to appreciate the transform
ing change wrought in the life and
status of this worker; In field that
is peculiar and unique. through the
instrumentality of the Peretz Society.
To make this survey complete. one has
to cast more than a passing glance at
the entire panorama of the Jewish life
in America, its phenomenal rise, de
velopment and growth from the small
beginnings of n few years ago to its
present fiourishing estate.
When the great tlde OF Jewish i'm
migration set In, in the early eighties
of the last century following upon the
renewed prosecutions Of the Jews in
Russia on the accession to the throne
of Alexander III, it was composed in
the main of the ordinary run of tha
people. the masses of the people whose
interests We're Of the humdrum, every
day variety, laying no especial claim
to any intellectual interest or striving.
These people, quite irrespective of their
previous occupation or status, sooner
or later Joined the ranks of the pro-
letariat, a status Of practically entire
ly new to the unindustrialized Jew of
Eastern Europe) and entered the
dreary and cheerless sweat-shops of
those days, or became itinerant ped
dlers, to rise in later years to the
ranks of manufacturers, wholesale and
retail merchants, builders and bankers.
The intellectual and social needs of the
greater majority of these people were
few, elementally simple and quite eas.
lily satisfied A daily sheet of four
pages, containing the rudiments of the
days news, n lurid romance of the
kind afterward sold few pages at the
time at the corner penny soda-water