Life — August 1, 1918 — page 22: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

166 “iL DEE * More About the Jewish Mind N an article published in Lire on June 20 about the Jewish mind, it was described as “the most destructive mind in the world, the most grasping and unabashed, one of the ablest, one of the most aspiring, and, in its own view, the most concerned for human welfare.” A number of Jewish brethren have complained of this piece, and at least one of their letters has been published in Lire. It would be pleasant to alleviate their displeasure if it were possible without violence to truth, to complaint as any in the piece. true? And if true, is it rude? The passage above quoted is as much open But is it Is it censure or compliment to call the Jew- ish mind destructive? Let us think about that. It is not rude to speak of gunpowder as de- structive. Nobody thinks less of gun- powder for being destructive. On the contrary, when one is bent on destroy- ing something, or bursting something wide open, he gets some gunpowder or some other explosive that is even more violent, and the wider open it bursts things the better he likes it. And if the thing he set out to destroy was proper to be destroyed, all right. , you may say—if you think so— the Jewish mind is used in politics or in works of reform to clear away, or make passage through, an existing structure. Some of the high-grade Jews are first-class expert: Who does the Carnegie Foundation get to burst open the current system of education? Who ‘o blow holes in the low-grade medical colleges? Who but the Flex- ners, very clever, interesting men, without prejudice in favor of anything because it exists, and no soft senti- ments towards little red school-houses or any American institution because their grandfathers gave it money or their grandmothers gave it prayers. So Mr, Wilson uses lots of Jews, be- cause he is a considerably destructive person, out to abate political or social things he thinks are wrong, and must use in that work persons who agree with him, and have no scruple about helping him, and have the brains for the job. His heart went out to Mr. Brandeis, who is a reformer and a man of great intelligence and ability, of whose potency in destruction testi- monials can be had at any time from Mr. Charles S. Mellen. Who (among others) did he get to help him knock Sparrow: GEE! THEY MUST BE HARD UP FOR MEAT! out a bad currency system and install a good one? Mr. Warburg; a good man for a good job, but what wails from Privilege accompanied it! Who did he pick to restrain the newspapers in war-time? Mr. George Creel; a good man, perhaps, for a bad job; it is hard to say, because one cannot com- pare the delinquencies imputed to Mr. Creel with those that would have been imputed to someone else, if someone else had been appointed. Mr. Creel is a good hand to rush in where angels would fear to tread, and it is conceiv- able that the employment of restraining newspapers calls for such a person. What is the most destructive thing in sight? Mustard gas? The German General Staff? No; Liberty, which is out to beat them both. Liberty raises hob in its coming, but it is great medi- (Continued on page 173) Ccomicbooks.com