Evening star., 1949-03-08
2 s*THE EVENING STAR, Washington, D. c.
TUESDAY,
Sol Bloom Dies of Heart Attack,
Would Have Been79 Tomorrow

Veteran of 26 Years
In House Was Head of
Foreign Affairs Group
Sol Bloom. chairman of the
House Foreign Affairs Committee
and the dynamic promoter of the
great George Washington bi-cen-
tennial celebration of 1892, died
last night at the Bethesda Naval
Hospital.
The New York Representative
had just completed 26 years in
Congress. Tomorrow would have
been his 18th birthday.
Mr.. Bloom died of a heart at
tack after going to the hospital
last Friday for treatment of a
cold he had been suffering some
time.
Mr.. Bloom represented West
Side district between Broadway
and the Hudson River in New
York City.
Funeral services will be held at
2 pm. Thursday in the West Side
Institutional Synagogue in New
York. Burial will be in Mount
Eden Cemetery, Westchester Hills,
Mr.. Blooms only immediate
survivor is his daughter, Miss
Vera Bloom. His wife. Mary
Hechheimer Bloom, died eight
years ago.
Kee in Line for Craftsmanship.
Representative Kee of West
Virginia, now the top-ranking
Democrat on the Foreign Affairs
Committee. is in line for the
Craftsmanship held by Mr.. Bloom.
Mr.. Kee, "a. who has been a
Tmember of the House for Is years,
has been working closely with Mr..
Bloom in recent weeks in promot-
ing the administration foreign
policy program.
President Truman vacationing
at Key West, Fla, said he was
shocked and saddened" and that
Mr.. Bloom will be greatly missed
and widely mourned."
Speaker Rayburn said he was
"One of the finest men I ever
knew and one of the best friends
I ever had. Everybody who loves
great soul will grieve at Sol
Blooms passing"
Minority Leader Martin said
Mr.. Bloom was personal friend
of many years standing and one
I had learned to admire and re-
spect."
Secretary of State Acheson said
Mr.. Bloom was "a bulwark for the
foreign affairs of the United
States" and that his death was "a
grievous loss to the whole country
and a loss to me Of an old and
dear friend"
In the House today Representa-
tive Somers. Democrat, of New
York. "as dean of the States dele
cation in the House" paid tribute
to Mr.. Bloom. He said Mr.. Bloom
was at home with tycoons or tan
.ners' and. recalled his energetic
advocacy of ''just. although often
unpopular. causes"
With obvious emotion, Repre-
sentative Eaton, Republican. of
New Jersey. who headed the For
eign Affairs Committee in the 80th
Congress, praised the achieve
tmentS of~"our. dear friend Sol.
who. he said. always was fair in
receiving the views Of both par
ties on the committee.
House Majority Leader McCor-
mack called Mr.. Bloom "a real
philosopher, possessed Of an un-
derstanding mind and nobility of
character"
There is great gloom in the
House of Representatives today"
Mr.. Mccormack commented.
Representative O'Toole. Demo-
crat, of New York said Mr.. Bloom
was LAS much a part of New York
City as Al Smith, Times Square
and Jimmy Walker"
At the conclusion of the trib-
utes. the House was to approve
a memorial resolution offered by
Mr.. Somers and then adjourn.
Made Millions in Real Estate.
Mr.. Bloom lived in an old
fashioned mansion at Columbia
road and Wyoming avenue NV.
attended by two servants. He was
a wealthy man who had made
millions in real estate deals be-
fore coming to Congress.
Mr.. Bloom always celebrated
his birthday with two parties, one
for friends and newsmen at the
capitol. the other for the chill
dren in st. AIMS Infant Asylum
here.
The orphanage said that this
years party for the children will
be held tomorrow as scheduled
because Mr.. Bloom would have
wanted it that way.
Parents Were Immigrants.
Mr.. Bloom was born in Pekin,
ILL.,. March 8, 1870, son of fore
runners of the big Jewish immi-
grafton from Poland. His parents
were poor and when he was seven
they moved to San Francisco
where he used to gather coal
alongside the railroad tracks and
sell papers on downtown street
corners.\
He had three successful careers
as a song writer and composer,
as a real estate operator in the
theater field and as member OF
Congress.
Wrote Carnival Music.