Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1941-01-14
BY WESTBROOK PEGLER

~ the Montgomery Advertiser,
who died last week, was one of
the greatest journalists in the
history of the profession or
craft.
This has the stuffy sound of
the standard obituary tribute,
but let that not be held against
Judge Hall.
Hold II against me and the
practice of heaping floral gates
ajar and lodge emblems high on
the graves nf-departed- Hedi--
OcTIrIes Which tend To cheaper
Supcrlatives.
This little newspaperman was
wise, brilliant and brave. but
with his wisdom and courage he
stirred in an ingredient of
human understanding which dis
tinguiShed his fighting tracts
from mere flames of anger and
hatred.
He did hate the evils that he
fought. the greatest of which
was the brutal bigotry of the
modern ku kluX, but without
Sparlng the evils themselves he
nevertheless could spare those
who were guilty of them in a
way which somehow shamed
them inwardly without humi-s
lating them to the point of OBJ
stlnate Violence
Hate. however. was not his
weapon He fought hatred with
out melting II and, though many
men were for time aroused
against hiht3yhen he was fight
ing the i<u kfuX in a focus OF
that strange infection. he lived
1-teZSee-a day-wHeH- was
honored in his home town as an
honor 10 the town and the peo-
pie were proud tn say they knew
Grover Halt. personally.
LIE WAS so much better
II journalist than any column
iSt of the New York sor WASH
lngteH cult that without leaving
Monigemet-1l-nr attempting q
t-*tr'r1G ms earnings and celeb
rlty through syndication in the
package-goods trade. he never
+ theless became a man of good
renown. as distinguished from
mere fame or notoriety.
throughout the newspaper trade.
All this seems 10 call for
some example of his greatness.
That am able TO quote from
an autographed COPY of an edi-
torial Of his called The Eyre
gious Gentle Called to Account"
:" NE earth" he wrote.
"swarms with men who
think they are experts on Jews,
Nobody attempts "a critical esti-
mate of the Gentle. as a Cen
tile. Nobody audits his balance
sheet. Nobody invited him 10
give an account Of his long.
unbroken stewardship as the
undiSputed master of the human
race II the GENTLE could
hut bring himself TO face his
own microscope. held in his own
steady, ruthless hand, the ex-l
perience might save him froHu
possible disaster which his de-
meanor invites.
I'VE think we do no harm 70
ourselves and our common In
siltutions when, In individual
social relations, we patronize
the Jew. We think We are
shrewd. discerning fellows when.
In contemplating citizen and
neighbor who happens TO he
jew, we think of him and dis
cuss him. first, as a Jew and
then whatever eise he may be.
we attribute virtues to him
asa class that are characteristic
only of individuals; we attribute
vices and frailties to him rs n
class that any man Of sense
shot know are peculiar only to
individuals, whether Jews or
non-,Iews.
THUS we hound the Jew
while imagining ourselves to he
his friends, meaning by we
those of us that comprise the
majority of us Americans. and
could not consciously injure the
jew =. We forget that the
fools who form our mobs may be
influenced profoundly by the
manners and prejudiced deport-
ment of people of their own kind
above them I'm the scale of life.
HAVE no disposition 10 low
L rate the status OF the Cen
tile. Our political and social
/ position are more secure. We
make more money than the
Jews. We know nothing of the
bitterness that favors the acrid
cup of a helpless minority group.
We have been 80 long In I'M
disputed power. politically, eco
nomically and spiritually, that
we have never had an opportu-
nifty to know whether In facing
an invincible oppressor of our
kind, we would be brave
/, as a Gentle, know that II 4
wish ] can steal, lie, murder, get
drunk or commit any other of
the known indecencies, and that
while I may be punished, 1, IN
stead of my kind, will be put on
trial. In no circumstances would
hear that taunting phrase.