Find Kansas City Antiques and Collectibles at the Vintage Kansas City Marketplace ~ Own a Piece of Old KC

Vintage Kansas City.com

 

THE JOURNAL COMPANY, Publisher
EIGHTH, M'GEE AND OAK STREETS.

Old News
Headlines and Articles from The Kansas City Journal

BELL & HOME TELEPHONES
Business Office...4000 Main
City Editor.....4001 Main
Society Editor....4002 Main

Two cents. Subscription Rates:  By carrier, per week, 10 cents; per month, 45 cents.  By mail, daily and Sunday, one month, 40 cents; three months, $1.00; six months, $2.00; one year, $4.00.  Sunday only, six months, 75 cents; one year, $1.50.  Weekly Journal, 25 cents one year.

Like Vintage Kansas City on Facebook

As We See 'Em ~ Caricatures of Prominent Kansas Cityans

The Isis Theatre ~ Kansas City, Missouri

The History of Fairmount Park

Claims of Cancer Cured by Dr. Bye in Vintage KC Missouri

Special Cut Prices ~ Always the Same

Blogging Fusion Blog Directory

February 4, 1910

NEW VAUDEVILLE HOME.

Hippodrome Will Have Theater Large
Enough for Traveling Shows.

Extensive improvements will be made at the Hippodrome, beginning next Monday, and to be completed in ten days. The picture theater in the southwest corner of the building and the Vienna garden immediately south will be thrown into one theater, with a stage as large as any in the city, with possibly one or two exceptions. The theater will seat 1,200 people and will be the permanent home of traveling attractions, such as big vaudeville shows, Yiddish companies and theatrical attractions of all kinds. The marked success of the recent Yiddish productions was a demand for a regular theater in that part of the city, as Twelfth and Charlotte is in the center of a populous neighborhood and is ten blocks from the downtown theater district.

The Hippodrome theater will be ready within ten days.

Labels: , , , , ,

January 23, 1910

A YIDDISH THEATER HERE.

First Playhouse of This Character
to Be Opened Here Tonight.

Kansas City's first Yiddish theater will be opened tonight in the Hippodrome annex, Twelfth and Charlotte streets. Manager Jacobs has fitted up a snug home for Yiddish drama here, the annex being cut off entirely from the Hippodrome proper by an outside entrance, though there is, of course, an entrance from the inside as well. M. B. Samuylow, who was seen here at the Shubert this season, will head a strong Yiddish company playing "Kol Nidre," a four-act opera with book by Charansky and music by Friedsel. Other Yiddish companies will be seen here from time to time and it is hoped to make the Hippodrome Annex theater the home of permanent Yiddish attractions, as there is a large clientele from which to draw.

Labels: , , , , ,

January 21, 1910

WHEN ELMAN WAS POOR.

Charles Grossman Was a Childhood
Playmate of the Violinist.
Charles Grossman, Kansas City Playwright.
CHARLES GROSSMAN.

There is one person in Kansas City who is awaiting with unusual interest the coming of Mischa Elman, the violinist who will be heard here in concert for the first time at the Willis Wood next Friday afternoon. He is Charles Grossman of 3212 Charlotte street, a young sketch writer, who was a childhood playmate of Elman and shared his clothes and even meals with the infant prodigy, destined to be one of the world's greatest violinists. Elman's father was a man of brilliant education but desperately poor and lived next door to the Grossmans. The younger Grossman is eagerly awaiting the violinist's coming to exchange reminiscences with him. They have not met for a dozen years and in the meantime the 7-year-old concertist of the parting has become at 19 one of the wonderful players of all time.

"I am two years older than Elman," said Mr. Grossman yesterday. "I well recall the time when I first heard little Mischa play his father's violin at the age of 4 years. In my childish way I thought to have him punished and I told his father he was playing the instrument, which was about the only thing of value in the Elman home. The father was at first angry, but soon recognized the hitherto unsuspected skill of his son. He had no means to educate him, however, but my father gave him his first start by placing him under teachers in our home town of Tolnoe. Later he was sent to Schapola where a Jewish millionaire named Bodsky became interested in him and sent him to Odessa, where Professor Auer of the St. Petersburg conservatory took him up. the story of his phenomenal rise is history, but I know that he will be glad to see his playmate of the old days. He was the guest of my brothers in New York, one of whom is a rabbi and the other an attorney. I hope to have Elman as my guest next week.

"Incidentally I do not see why Elman should be called the Russian violinist. He is a Jew and though the czar himself has given him a medal and other honors Russia is the prosecutor of this race, and Elman himself was not allowed by law to live in St. Petersburg until he had secured the august permission of the czar."

Young Grossman himself bids fair to attain a high degree of success in his chosen profession and may yet be a dramatist who will shed luster on the Jewish race, as he is already the author of many successful plays.

Labels: , , , , ,

January 7, 1910

SHOUTS MURDER IN YIDDISH.

Smitzle's Drop Into Salt Barrel
Calls Out Police.

Charles Smitzle, who sells kosher meat to his co-religionists under the careful supervision of the rabbi in a store at 1603 East Eighteenth street, is undersized, so he stood on a salt barrel last night when he went to light the gas lamp. If he was just short there would never have been a feature to this simple act in a thousand years. However, he is also fat and just as he stood on tiptoe to apply the match to the jet the barrel collapsed.

It happened that Smitzle was alone in his store at the time of the accident, but two of his patrons were in the act of coming in and heard the crash coupled with an exclamation in Yiddish.

"Something has gone wrong with Smitzel," said one of them.

They pushed the door in and saw Smitzel arise out of the debris with a bloody nose. They took note of the wrecked condition of the store and thought they remembered that the word Smitzle had used was "murder." They then rushed out in search of a telephone.

Report that on top of several holdups and assaults that had occured earlier in the day a lone Hebrew was killed by highwaymen in his place of legitimate business produced a sensation in No. 6 police station. Sergeant Michael Halligan immediately dispatched a patrol wagon loaded with officers. When they arrived at the address on Eighteenth street Smitzel had succeeded in lighting the lamp. He had used the meat block and it had held. The blood on his nose and been washed away and the treacherous barrel converted to kindling.

Labels: , , , , ,

January 4, 1910

RABBI BECOMES A CITIZEN.

Final Papers for Father of "Sammie
the Office Boy."

Fifteen aliens whose names had been posted for ninety days after the final application for citizenship papers had been made, were given their naturalization papers by Judge John F. Philips of the United States court yesterday. There were no Italians in the lot, the fifteen being distributed as follows: Six from Sweden, four from Russia, two from Roumania, and one each from Scotland, Germany and Hungary.

Among those who became citizens of the United States was Rabbi Max Lieberman, for years in charge of the Kenneseth Israel temple, synagogue of the Orthodox Jews, near Fifteenth and Oak streets. Rabbi Lieberman came to this country in 1891. He is the father of Samuel Lieberman, better known as "Sammy, the office boy," who died early in November last, after a brief illness. Sammy was an employe of The Journal, and it was here where he gained the name of "Sammy, the office boy," stories of his travels being published just as he had written them.

Labels: , , , , ,

November 30, 1909

JEW AND ITALIAN
DRIVE OUT NEGRO?

DOCTOR SAYS HIS RACE IS LOS-
ING NORTH END.

Suggests 10th to 31st, Troost to
Montgall as Desirable Location,
But Learns It Is
Too Late.

The park board was told yesterday by Dr. M. H. Key, a negro, that there are 35,000 negroes already in Kansas city, and that in a few more years they will number at least 100,000. He said that the proper housing of the race was becoming a serious problem. It is his opinion that the only district left for them to locate in is between Troost, Montgall, Tenth and Thirty-first.

"The negroes are being driven from the West bottoms by the invasion of railroads; from the North end by Jews and Italians, and from other districts by the progress of industry and improvement," said the doctor.

PASEO EXTENSION PROTEST.

The purpose of Dr. Key's explanation was to protest against the condemnation of land occupied by negroes in the vicinity of Twenty-sixth and Spring Valley park for the extension of the Paseo. He feared that their property would be practically confiscated, and that they would not be sufficiently recompensed to find abodes elsewhere.

The members of the board assured Dr. Key that the valuations of the negroes' property would be protected, and that he had come too late with his objections, as both the board and council had approved the proceedings.up to the north park district..

Labels: , , , , , , , ,

November 5, 1909

SAMUEL LIEBERMAN AT REST.

Funeral Held From the Family
Home on Tracy Avenue.

With the casket in which his body reposed hidden by flowers the funeral of Samuel Lieberman, 15 year old son of Rabbi and Mrs. Max Lieberman, was held at the family home, 1423 Tracy avenue yesterday. The services were conducted by Rabbi Isadore Koplowitz. Scores of friends of the family and of the boy called at the home during the day and the house could not hold the throng that was present during the services. Burial was in the Tefares Israel cemetery at Sheffield.

Rabbi Lieberman has asked The Journal to express his family's thanks to their friends for many kindnesses during the illness and death of their son.

Labels: , , , , , , ,

November 4, 1909

SAMUEL LIEBERMAN DEAD.

The End Comes to The Journal's
"Sammie, the Office Boy."

Samuel Lieberman, 15 years old, son of Rabbi Max Lieberman, pastor of the Kenneseth Isreal congregation, died at 7 o'clock yesterday morning at the German hospital, after an illness of one day. The cause of his death was arterial sclerosis, or hardening of the arteries -- a disease that rarely attacks persons in their youth. The funeral will be at 2 o'clock this afternoon from the family home, 1423 Tracy avenue.

Samuel Lieberman was known to readers of The Journal as "Sammie the office boy." Small of body, quick of wit and cheerful to a degree rarely encountered even in hopeful youth, he became a favorite with editors and reporters, who encouraged him to write the small news stories he occasionally picked up on his daily rounds. At first the stories he wrote were given to the copy readers to be edited, but one night one of his stories was published just as he had written it, and credited to "Sammie, the Office Boy." Mr. Taft felt no greater elation when the wires conveyed to him the information that he had been elected president of the United States than did Sammie, the office boy, when he saw his first signed story in print. He became a frequent contributor to The Journal's columns and numerous inquiries were received at the office as to whether "Sammie, the Office Boy" really was an office boy or a reporter concealing his identity under the pseudonym.

Never strong in body, Sammie taxed his physical strength to the uttermost. He kept the same hours as the reporters, though it was not necessary for him to do so, and on election nights when the men were on the "long stunt," from noon to dawn, he stayed with them and it was useless to try to get him to go home. He liked the atmosphere of the local room. He said he hoped, one day, to become a great editor.

Once he ran away. He visited and worked in Milwaukee, Chicago, Cleveland, Buffalo and other places. He was at home in the larger cities. He had early learned that the peregrinating reporter always gravitates to Central police station, where the "dog watch" men from the various papers hold out. Sammie could talk shop like a veteran who had worked "with Dana of the New York Sun." Whenever a group of reporters gathered in the local room Sammie could be found lurking on the outskirts. He learned the reporters' distinction between a "good story" and a "bad one" and on occasions aired his knowledge with the positiveness of a managing editor.

Not many months ago a veteran reporter, after hearing Sammie talk about newspapers and newspaper making, removed his pipe from between his teeth, pointed a long finger at the door through which the boy had just passed out and said:

"That boy isn't long for this world. He's going to die young. He's smart beyond his years -- too smart. Why, he's a man, almost, already. He thinks and reasons better than lots of men I know. And there's a peculiar brightness in his eyes that doesn't look good to me. Mark my words, that boy isn't long for this world, and it's a pity, too, for he would be heard from if he should live to manhood."

The random observation of the veteran soon came true. Sammie was at the office Sunday. "I don't feel very good," he told one of the boys, "but I'll be all right when I rest up a bit." There was a hopeful smile on his face Tuesday afternoon as he lay on a cot at the hospital. "I'll be back to the office soon. I hurt awful at times. I ain't going to stay here long."

Soon after dawn of the following day his final words were verified. "Sammie, the office boy," had heard the fateful "Thirty" that, in newspaper offices, signifies the end.

Labels: , , , , , ,

October 19, 1909

WORKING MEN ATTEND SCHOOL.

Night School for Foreigners Is
Opened With 101 Enrolled.

The Jewish Educational Institute opened its night school for foreigners at 7 o'clock last night in its new building, Admiral boulevard and Harrison street, with 101 enrollments.

The purpose of the night school, which is open on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings of each week from 7 to 9, is to teach the foreign class of people in Kansas City the English language and to Americanize them as far as possible. Five different divisions are taught, mainly elementary English, arithmetic, civil government and architectural drawing, the latter being taught by Walter Root and Thomas Green.

The classes are composed mostly of working men and women between the ages of 20 to 45 years, most of them having a good foreign education, a few being unable to read or write a word of English.

This work has been carried on for the past six years under the same management at 1702 Locust street. Jacob Billikopf, superintendent of the institute, expresses himself pleased with the enrollment for the opening night, that he expects to increase it considerably in the next few weeks. A fee of $1 per month entitles the scholar to all the privileges of the institute, prominent among which is the gymnasium and shower baths.

Labels: , , , , ,

September 25, 1909

JEWS OBSERVE YOM KIPPUR.

Period of Fasting and Prayer Began
at 6 O'clock Last Night.

The Jewish citizens of Kansas City have been fasting and praying since 6 o'clock last night. They are observing Yom Kippur, or the day of atonement, and their fast and prayers will continue until 6 o'clock tonight. Services appropriate to the event were held in all the Jewish churches last night.

The services at the church of Dr. Max Lieberman, 1415 Troost, were especially solemn and impressive and they will be resumed at 7 o'clock this morning and continue throughout the day. The male choir of twelve voices sang several selections at last night's services.

Labels: , , , , ,

September 16, 1909

HEBREWS SUE TO PREVENT
MOVING OF THEIR DEAD.

Charge Such and Act on Part of
Owners of Bikur Cholim Cemetery
Would Be Desecration.

An injunction suit to restrain the present owners from moving any of the bodies buried in the Bikur Cholim cemetery was filed in the circuit court yesterday by Sarah Binkowitz, Morris Newberg and others.

The cemetery has been used by Hebrews as a burial place, but not since 1893. It is at the northeast corner of Eighteenth street and Cleveland avenue and occupies about one-fourth block.

In the suit filed yesterday Henry Oppenheimer, Omar E. Robinson and Bikur Cholim Benevolent Association are named as defendants. The plaintiffs are the descendants and the relatives of Julius Newberg and David Binkowitz, who were buried in the cemetery in 1888.

It is alleged in the petition that the lots were sold with the guarantee on the part of the cemetery association that the land would always be maintained as a cemetery. This, it is alleged, is no longer done. In fact, according to the petition, mortgages against the land were foreclosed in 1903.

Charging that the defendants are now threatening to remove the bodies, and adding taht such action means desecration in the eyes of the Hebrew, an injunction forbidding such action is asked. An order also is sought to compel the cemetery asociation to live up to its agreement to maintain the graves in a suitable manner.

Labels: , , , , ,

September 16, 1909

JEWS CELEBRATE NEW YEAR.

It Was the Beginning of Rosh Hash-
anah at Sundown Last Night.

At sundown last night the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, began. In Jewish chronology it marks the beginning of the year 5670 since the creation.

In orthodox Jewish churches the new year is celebrated two days. Services were held at sundown last night and again later in the synagogues. Services also are scheduled for this morning, at sundown this evening and tonight.

In the orthodox churches the ceremonies will be repeated at sundown this evening, tonight and tomorrow morning. The two days are marked with prayer and fasting.

Labels: , ,

September 11, 1909

LOVE KNOWS NO BARRIER.

Christian and Hebrew Elope to Live
in Kansas City.

NEW YORK, Sept. 10. -- Cupid mocked religion and nationality, as well as the parental objection, when Leon Cohen of Long Island wed Miss Myrtle Rhoads, the pretty 22-year-old daughter of Mrs. Hulda C. Rhoads. The young couple eloped, were married and left tonight for Kansas City, their future home.


The parental objection to a Jew could not be overcome, so Miss Myrtle decided to run away. She is a member of St. Ann's Catholic church and a talented musician.


Young Cohen is 28 years old and a member of the clothing firm of Cohen & Son of Sayville, L. I. He expects to establish a business in Kansas City.

Labels: , , ,

August 14, 1909

MANUAL TRAINING FOR
WORKHOUSE PRISONERS?

Superintendent Murphy Will Go to
Chicago to Get Ideas for
Changes Here.

Changes in the conditions which now prevail at the workhouse are to be instituted as soon as possible, if the ideas of the members of the pardon and parole board are carried out. At the meeting of the board yesterday afternoon it was decided to send Cornelius Murphy, new superintendent of the workhouse, and L. A. Halbert, secretary of the board, to Chicago, where they are to make an exhaustive study of the conditions which are in force at that institution.

It was deplored by the board that there is no means of teaching a prisoner at the workhouse any trade by which he might make his living if he were released or pardoned. Such institutions as laundires, shoe shops and tailoring shops were mintioned as among the available ones which might readity be had in the Kansas City workhouse.

Mr. Murray and Br. Halbert probably will leave for Chicago some time during the last part of next week. William Volker and Jacob Billikopf, members of the board, both have examined the Chicago workhouse and express much appreciation of its methods.

Labels: , , , ,

August 9, 1909

LOCAL RABBI'S BOOK.

Isidore Koplowitz on "Immortality
of the Soul."
'Rabbi
RABBI ISIDORE KOPLOWITZ.

Rabbi Isidore Koplowitz of the Keneseth Israel synagogue, Fifteenth and Troost, is the author of a learned and interesting volume just published by the Franklin Hudson Publishing company of this city, under the title: "Al-Moveth" or "Immortality of the Soul." This is the fifth volume from the pen of Dr. Koplowitz, who was formerly a lecturer at the state university of Georgia and is a scholar of wide attainments. He has been here for the past four years and has taken high rank in Jewish circles.

In his latest book, which is a modest little volume of attractive typopgraphy, Dr. Koplowitz examines exhaustively the whole problem of the soul's immortality. The book is designed as a protest against the prevailing materialism of the day and as a battle cry and slogan in the assault upon this dangerous and insidious tendency. The author's profound scholarship and extensive research are shown in the aptness and variety of the quotations used in support of his argument for immortality, which, he declares, is demonstrable by reason, logic and science. The answer to Job's question "If a man die shall he live again," is a triumphant affirmative.

Labels: , , , ,

August 4, 1909

GIFT OF $50,000 TO
FRANKLIN INSTITUTE.

Thomas H. Swope Offers $25,000
in Cash and Ground on Camp-
bell Near Sixteenth Street
for New Building.

Thomas H. Swope, already Kansas City's manifold benefactor, has given $50,000 to Franklin institute, half in land, half in cash. Unless the donor should extend the time limit the gift will be forfeited November 1 if an additional $50,000 is not raised by that date.

A noon meeting of the directorate of the institute was held yesterday and the members decided to supplement the donation by $5,000 or $10,000 to be raised among their own number. No city-wide campaign for funds will be made, but a quiet effort will be put forth to obtain the money from friends of the social settlement.

Little apprehension that the required amount cannot be raised is entertained.

Henry f. Holt of the architectural firm of Howe & Holt, is one of the directors of the institute. He will set about at once planning the building which the Swope gift makes possible. The site donated lies on the west side of Campbell street between Sixteenth and Seventeenth. Its dimensions are 105 x 142 feet.

Established six years ago, Franklin institute has grown amid adverse conditions. It is now located at Nineteenth and McGee streets, in a two-story frame house which is rented from month to month. In spite of the obstacles which had to be overcome, the work of the settlement has attracted the substantial attention of many Kansas Cityans interested and informed on matters of charity.

For some time Mr. Swope has entertained a strong interest in the results of institutional work, and after acquainting himself with the philanthropic activity of Franklin institute made known his intention to help it to the extent of $50,000. His gift was made with absolutely no solicitation on part of friends of the institute.

Ralph P. Swofford is president of the institute, and J. T. Chafin is head resident. The other officers are Henry D. Faxon, vice president; Fletcher Cowherd, treasurer, and Herbert V. Jones, secretary.

The directorate is made up of William Cheek, Henry F. Holt., R. H. McCord, Rabbi Harry H. Mayer, Howard F. Lee, Benjamin B. Lee, H. J. Diffenbaugh, W. J. Berkowitz, George T. Vance, I. D. Hook, D. L. James and E. L. McClure.

Labels: , , , , , , ,

June 29, 1909

JOSHES NEW COP AND
IS PROMPTLY PINCHED.

AUDITOR'S PAYMASTER SAID
"OH, YOU KID."

A Jewish policeman, the first Kansas City ever had, arrested an Irishman last night for disturbing the officer's peace.

Max Joffy, formerly a porter in James Pendergast's saloon and later a janitor at the city hall under Mayor Henry M. Beardsley, was appointed a probationary patrolman on the police force yesterday morning along with forty-three other men.

Proudly wearing his new star and swinging a white ash club he entered the drug store of Morton Burger at Independence avenue and Cherry street yesterday afternoon. Frank O. Donnely, paymaster in the city auditor's office, was in the drug store. Knowing Joffy for years he was amused at the Jewish policeman's outfit and burst out laughing.

"Holy St. Patrick, look at the new cop," laughed Donnely, making a grimace, "Oh, you kid!"


Joffy's new found dignity was touched. He placed his hand on Donnelly's back and said:

"I'll teach you to talk that way to an officer. Come on down to the station."

Donnelly rose from the fountain, where he was drinking an ice cream soda, with a glass holder in his hand. Joffy drew his revolver, afterwards found to be unloaded, and with the tags still upon it. Donnelly's Irish spirit ebbed and he submitted. He was taken to the central police station where he was booked for disturbing the peace. He afterward gave bond.

"I know nothing of the merits of the case against Donnelly," said Captain Walter Whitsett last night, "but I do know that a police officer's peace cannot be disturbed, according to the law as it is interpreted by the courts."

Donnelly is a rising young Democratic politician in the Sixth ward. He has been paymaster in the city auditor's office for three years. He lives with his family at 632 Troost avenue.

"I couldn't resist the temptation to have a little fun at Joffy's expense," he said. "I have known the man for five years and had never seen him take offense at a well meant joke before. This is the first time I was ever arrested in my life."

STRANGE NAMES IN LIST.

The list of forty-three officers appointed by the board yesterday bears only one Irish name -- that of Daniel R. McGuire, who was made a jailer. There are such cognomens as Obrecht, Zinn, Mertz, Baer, Niemier and Siegfried. They were given clubs, stars and revolvers yesterday afternoon and will be assigned for duty today.

Joffy was not on duty at the time his first arrest was made. He is the first policeman of Jewish descent to be appointed in the city, according to men who have been on the force for many years.

Labels: , , , , , , , , , ,

June 21, 1909

HARRY STEMPLMAN MARRIES.

Banquet and Ball Follows Ceremony
at Colonial Hall.

Mr. Harry Stemplman of Kansas City and Miss Annie Eisberg were married last night at Colonial hall.

The bride was attended by members of her immediate family and the groom by his youngest brother, they all standing under the improvised canopy which Jewish customs prescribe, while Rabbi Isidore Koplowitz read and chanted the marriage ceremony.

The the wedding cup was passed and the banquet begun . Despite the heat of the evening seventy-five couples swung out upon the floor of the Colonial hall and danced.

The groom is the son of Ben Stemplman and had lived at 1717 Campbell street. He and his bride will make the Savoy hotel their home for the immediate present.

Labels: , , , ,

June 12, 1909

"SAVE THE BABIES" IS
THE CAMPAIGN CRY.

CITIZENS TO BE "TAGGED" IN
PURE MILK CRUSADE.

Three Hundred Young Women Will
Raise Money for Establishment
of Pasteurizing Plant to Re-
duce Infant Mortality.

Every Good Citizen Will Wear One of These Tags Today.

The campaign for pure milk for the babies will begin this morning when 300 young women, decorated with blue ribbons, will take possession of the town and ask money from the liberal-minded, in exchange for tags which will render them immune from further solicitation.

Stands will be placed in the main entrances of every large office building, each one in charge of a patroness and a limited staff comprised of two or three women and a policeman. Behind a table on which will be heaped the tags will be a large milk can to be filled with money from the contributions. Their campaign will begin at 9 o'clock this morning and cease at 5 o'clock this afternoon.

The money to be raised today will be used in equipping a plant for pasteurizing milk for what might be called the infant trade. Rabbi Harry H. Mayer, president of the pure milk commission of this city, declares hundreds of babies die here annually from diseases contracted by drinking milk taken out of tainted cans or which has otherwise been exposed to germs.

Two years ago a pasteurizing plant was established in the Associated Charities building and six sub stations for milk distribution were opened in the two Kansas Citys. The milk is hermetically sealed in three six and eight-ounce bottles. It is not given away, but sold for just enough money to pay for operating the plant. The commissions considered that, should the milk be given away, proud poor people would look with disfavor upon it as making themselves objects of charity.

Besides the women stationed in buildings, motor cars carrying a bevy of women and possibly a policeman will make the tour of the wholesale district morning and afternoon, so that none who are willing and anxious to give may lose the chance.

The police detailed by the board of police commissioners will go direct to the office of Charles Sachs, 631 Scarritt building, for instructions this morning, and they will carry the tags and blue ribbons to the women of the outposts. Tonight they will return the milk cans with their precious burden to Mr. Sach's office.

Mrs. H. H. Mayer will be personally in charge of the campaign as the representative of Rabbi Mayer, president of the pure food commission.

Labels: , , , , , , ,

May 24, 1909

BATH COSTS A NICKEL NOW.

Personal Ablutions Almost Prohibi-
tive Luxury in McClure Flats.

They're bathing less in the McClure flats. Private bathtubs have always been an unknown luxury there. Personal ablutions formerly were performed by most of the residents at the bathhouse provided by the United Jewish Charities at 1820 Locust street. There a child could get a bath, including the use of a towel, for the sum of one penny. An adult might bathe for a nickel.

More aristocratic people went to a private bathhouse at 310 East Nineteenth street, where children paid a nickel and grown ups 15 cents. Each of the bathhouses had five tubs, but only the penny shop was ever crowded, for there are few in the neighborhood that can afford to pay a nickel to have their children washed.

Since the opening of the beautiful new Jewish charities building on Admiral boulevard, the bathhouse on Locust street has passed into private ownership. Free baths are furnished at the new charities building, but it is very far from McClure flats.

With the passing of communal ownership of the bathhouse passed the penny baths, and now the price is a nickel for every child, and 15 cents for adults.

Therefore is McClure flats abstaining from baths, and is likely to partake of them sparingly until the completion of the free public bathhouse in Holmes square.

Yesterday afternoon a member of the park board stated that it would be August 1 at t he earliest before the bathhouse at Holmes square is completed. Work has been delayed from unavoidable reasons.

"A few of the children more strongly imbued with the gospel of cleanliness than others make an occasional pilgrimage to the bathhouse on the Paseo when it is warm," said Mrs. J. T. Chafin, wife of the head resident at the Franklin institute. "But for most of them the walk is too long, and many who need the bath most are too young to march such a distance."

In the McClure flats district there are not half a dozen private bathtubs. An investigating committee last summer estimated that there were approximately 10,000 people in the city who had not the use of a bathtub.

Labels: , , , , , , , ,

May 20, 1909

LORETTA STUDENTS
CAPTURED A COUNT.

"Russian Nobleman" Was the Real
Attraction at the Annual Acad-
emy Frolice -- An Orig-
inal Idea.

When Count Alexis Rojostzensky entered the room at the Loretta academy yesterday afternoon, all eyes were fixed upon him. Then there was a rush of 250 women to get in line to meet the "count." Frank Walsh, lawyer, diplomat and charity worker, stopped the stampede with uplifted hand and, in a brief speech, gave the company a general introduction.

The "count" talked affably in Russianized English. His hostesses were charmed with every detail of his person, especially when he explained that he was in this country looking for a wife.

A remarkable thing about the "count" which struck several visitors was that if it were not fir a monocle which he wore he would be the exact double of Jacob Billikopf, chairman of the United Jewish Charities, who is of Russian parentage and is always willing to help a religious denomination in the cause of charity.

Labels: , , , ,

May 19, 1909

RUSSIAN COUNT TO SERVE TEA.

Unique Feature of Loretta Acade-
my's May Day Festival.

There will be a real live Russian count in charge of the serving of Russian tea in the Japanese booth this afternoon at the May Day festival at the Loretta academy, which is to be given by the alumnae of the school. The festivities will begin at 3 and will be opened with a May pole dance given by the youngest scholars in the academy.

From the minute the dance is in progress until 8 o'clock this evening there will be something doing for the entertainment of the alumnae and also for the undergraduates. Four May pole dances will be given, two by the little ones and two by the girls in the upper classes. An orchestra will furnish the music and the various booths, in charge of a chaperon and attended by numerous pretty girls, will be some of the other attractions.

The women in charge of the entertainment are very proud of the fact that a Russian count, who is in the city, has kindly volunteered to present and assist in the serving of Russian tea. The tea is to be brewed in a samovar and the presence of Count Rolanskyvitch of St. Petersburg will add a tinge of realism to the booth. He will be introduced by Jacob Billikopf.

The various booths will be the Dutch, Colonial, Candy, Magic Well, Wayside Inn, Japanese, Handkerchief, the Married booth and the one presided over by three of the prettiest girls recently graduated and who will tell fortunes of all comers. The candy booth will be conducted by the girls of 1909 and the girls of the class of 1911 will rule over the Magic Well.

Labels: , , , , , , , ,

May 2, 1909

HOLDS CONTRACT VALID.

Husband Didn't Keep Agreement,
and Judge Annuls Marriage.

Before Annie Shapiro and Hyman Stopeck were married Stopeck promised his future bride, daughter of a Jewish rabbi, that he would go through the Jewish ceremony of marriage as a confirmation of the knot tied in civil marriage. But Stopeck backed out and would not participate in the second ceremony. So his wife brought suit in the circuit court to annul the marriage.

After having had the case under consideration for several weeks, Judge Slover yesterday decided to annul the marriage.

"The promise the husband made that he would have the civil marriage solemnized by the Jewish ceremony was part of the contract when the civil marriage was entered into," said Judge Slover. "The contract of marriage was thus never fully carried out."

The Stopecks were married August 4 of last year in Kansas City, Kas. Returning to this city to the home of Samuel Shapiro, father of the bride, at 501 Oak street, they had dinner. The bride then asked that the Jewish ceremony proceed, but objection was made by Stopeck, who left the house and did not return.

Labels: , , , ,

April 23, 1909

OWE MORE CHARITY
THAN WE CAN REPAY.

DR. EMIL HIRSCH DISCUSSES
DUTY OF SOCIETY.

In Dedicatory Lecture at Jewish
Educational Institute, Chicagoan
Talks of Discrimination
Against the Jews.
The Jewish Institute.
NEW JEWISH INSTITUTE.

Spurred on by a desire to better the condition of the Jewish emigrant to this country and this city, the Jewish educational institute was organized six years ago and occupied a small building at 812 East Fifteenth street. After the fourth year of its existence the officers in charge decided to make it more of a power among the Jewish communities of Kansas City. To this end the late home of the institution, 1702 Locust street, was secured and the work was taken up with renewed vigor. During the past two years the utility of the institute has been demonstrated by its growth in popularity and the number of Jews who have attended the night school. The consequence of this growth was that the institute outgrew its home.

The handsome new building, at Admiral boulevard and Harrison street, is constructed of vitrified brick and is three stories in height. In the basement of the building is located a gymnasium and bath rooms for both men and women. The second floor will be given over to educational work of all kinds. Chief among the educational branches is the class in English for those who have recently come to America, and classes in civil government will be given special attention. Besides these classes, manual training, such as cooking and sewing, is to be established for the women.

The new building will contain a library composed of good fiction and reference books. The top floor is given over to a large auditorium in which weekly lectures are to be held for the patrons of the institute. This room will also be used for social events as well. The day nursery department will be one of the most praiseworthy features of the institute, and there the children of the women who are forced to work for a livelihood will be cared for during working hours.

HIRSCH GAVE DEDICATION.
Rabbi Hirsch of Chicago.
DR. EMIL G. HIRSCH.

Before an audience that filled the auditorium last night, Dr. Emil G. Hirsch of Chicago, in his dedicatory lecture, spoke on the duties of society.

"We are what we are through others," said he. "What little charity we give by no means measures what we owe. The property which you own has increased in value through no effort of yours. Its situation and mainly the incoming population has made it increase. You have not so much as touched a spade to it. This is Socialism, but what of it?

"Under Jewish law, land belonged to God, and no man had a right to the same property more than fifty years. Man, today, holds his possession in a title to which society is a determining element. Since you receive great returns from society you must give something to society.

"OUR BROTHER'S KEEPER."

" 'Am I my brother's keeper?' questioned the first murderer. That is indeed a murderer's question. Society is never better than the worst in society. We are our brother's keeper. Insane and evil are individual and perpetual elements, but society is responsible with the individual for the blood spilled and the sighs which are winged to heaven.

"As we keep our brother, in that manner shall we improve or degrade society."

From the question of general society Rabbi Hirsch turned to the matter of the discrimination against the Jews as a class.

"It is the greatest insult when one approaches a Jew and tells him that since he looks so little like a Jew he will be welcomed into a certain sect. I tell the man who utters such insults that I am better than he.. In the University clubs throughout the country, Jews are barred for no other reason. When I pass the University club in Chicago, I feel that I should pass on to Lincoln park and stand before the monkey cage.

VENEER OF CULTURE SICKENING.

"There no monkey holds his tail a little higher because it happens to be a little longer than any of the others, and I can derive more benefit by watching the monkeys. This veneer of culture is sickening, and it shows the lack of true refinement under the surface.

"Let the leanest of us Jews be mightier than the mightiest of them; let the weakest of us be stronger than the strongest of them. We are our brother's keeper and by them shall we be judged."

At the beginning of the dedicatory services and after the building had been accepted from A. Rothenberg of the building committee by Alfred Benjamin, president of the United Jewish Charities, Mr. Benjamin was presented with a loving cup form the Jewish population of Kansas City. For the past five years Mr. Benjamin has been the president of the organization and it was to express their appreciation of his services that the people presented him with a token of their esteem.

The opening prayer was delivered by Rabbi L. Koplowitz of the orthodox church and the benediction was pronounced by Rabbi H . H. Mayer of the reformed church.

Labels: , , , , , , , , , ,

April 21, 1909

15-YEAR SENTENCE IMPOSED.

Edward Cassidy Convicted of the
Murder of Aged Shoemaker.

Edward Cassidy was tried in the criminal court yesterday on a charge of first degree murder for the killing of Nathan Bassin, an aged shoemaker, at Twenty-fourth and Mercier streets, October 24. The jury found Cassidy guilty and fixed his punishment at fifteen years in the penitentiary.

Labels: , , , , ,

April 10, 1909

NEW JEWISH BUILDING.

Impressive Two-Day Ceremony to
Mark Dedication.

Final arrangements have been made for the dedication of the new Jewish educational building, located on Admiral boulevard at Harrison street. The dedicatory services will be held April 21 and 22. Owing to the lack of room in the auditorium of the new building the services on the night of April 21 will be held in the Temple on Linwood boulevard at Flora avenue.

The programme for the first services ill consist of an address by Rabbi H. H. Meyer and a sermon by Dr. E. G. Hirsch of Chicago. Dr. Hirsch's topic will be "Jewish Opportunities."

On the following day the services are to be held in the new institute building. Rev. Isadore Koplewitz will give the dedicatory prayer. He will be followed by A. Rothenberg, chairman of the building committee, who is to deliver the institution to Albert Benjamin, president of the Jewish charities, for its dedicated purposes. Dr. Hirsch and Rabbi Meyer will deliver addresses.

Labels: , , , , , , ,

April 6, 1909

FEAST OF PASSOVER
OBSERVED BY JEWS.

ORTHODOX CHURCH WILL FAST
AND PRAY FOR SEVEN DAYS.

Local Celebration Is in Accordance
With Custom That Has Been Fol-
lowed for Thirty Centuries.
What It Means.

At sunset yesterday evening the orthodox Jews of Kansas City sat down to the tables in their respective homes to observe the anniversary of the "Feast of the Passover," a custom followed in Jewish homes for more than thirty centuries, conducted in accordance with the command as set forth in the twelfth chapter of Exodus and after the manner of the feast immortalized nineteen centuries ago when Christ and his disciples partook of the "Last Supper."

The Feast of Passover is a celebration in remembrance of the exodus of the Jews from Egypt. It symbolizes their freedom form the oppression of those old days. The ceremony lasts seven days, beginning at sundown on the Monday preceding Easter Sunday and ending at sundown on Easter day.

The feast which begins at sundown is called the "seter" and is observed the first and second days of the Passover. At this time all of the good things in the Jewish culinary category are brought to the table. The supper is preceded, anteceded and interspersed with prayers which, according to custom, recall the slavery days in Egypt. The unleavened bread and wine of the Christian communion are a part of the ceremony of this feast.

According to the ancient Jewish calendar the days began and ended with the sinking of the sun and all rites and feasts commenced just as the sun disappeared below the horizon. During the entire seven days the Jews eat only unleavened bread.

At 10 o'clock this morning services will be held at Bnai Judah temple, Flora avenue and Linwood boulevard, when Rabbi Harry H. Mayer will preach the sermon, taking for his subject "The Festive Symbols."

The Festive Symbols, as explained by Rev. Mayer, are the egg, which symbolizes immortality and the rebirth of year or spring, according to the ancient Jewish folk lore; bitter herbs, the reminder of the servitude and oppression of the Jews in Egypt and the unleavened bread, symbolizing the hurried departure of the Jews from the hated country, they having had not time to put leavening in the bread for the feast. The first and last days of the Passover are holy days.

Services will begin at Keneseth Israel temple, 1425 Locust street, at 8:30 o'clock this morning and will continue until noon, Rabbi Max Lieberman presiding.

Labels: , , , , , , , ,

March 25, 1909

IS MARRIED BUT NOT
WEDDED, SHE CLAIMS.

JEWISH CEREMONY NECESSARY
TO TIE THE KNOT.

Rabbi's Daughter Seeks Annulment
of Civil Marriage Because, She
Says, Husband Refused to
Keep Agreement.

Daughter of a rabbi, pretty Anna Stopeck told Judge Slover of the circuit court a story yesterday of how her husband wouldn't wed her, although they were married. Explaining this apparent paradox, she added that, being orthodox, she did not consider herself married until after the Jewish ceremony had been performed.

A civil marriage was performed and the annulment of this is the purpose of the young woman's suit. Her father, Rabbi Samuel J. Shapiro, with whom she lives at 502 Oak street, was with her in court. The case is being contested.

Hyman Stopeck, a tailor at 515 Main street, is the husband. He is about 40 years old, while the girl appears half that age. On the witness stand the wife, telling her story in broken English and with confused idioms, said:
GAVE HER DIAMOND RING.
"Mr. Stopeck paid attention to me last spring and summer. He told me he had never been married before, and I liked him. He gave me a diamond ring and on July 30, 1908, at our home, the formal engagement was announced to our friends. It was agreed that there should be a civil and then a Jewish ceremony, my father and all of us being orthodox.

"So on August 4 we went to Kansas City, Kas., and got a marriage license and were wedded. Van B. Prather, judge of the probate court, performed the ceremony. That was about 11 o'clock in the morning.

"After that we returned to my father's home. Mr. Stopeck stayed there for dinner and until 2 o'clock in the afternoon. Then he left. I have not seen h im since August 7, when he came to ask me to return the diamond ring."

"But why did he leave you?" asked Gerston B. Silverman, the wife's attorney.

"Because he asked my father to give him $500 before he would go through the Jewish ceremony. When this was not done, he said:
INTERESTED IN HER HATS.
" 'I'll let her (meaning me) wait for ten years before I'll go through the Jewish ceremony unless I get that $500.' "

Then the girl explained that her belief regarded the Jewish ceremony as essential.

"And was Stopeck ever married?" inquired Mr. Silverman.

"He told me afterwards that he had been married at Rochester, N. Y., and that his wife had secured a divorce from him.

"Why," continued the girl, "he was so attentive before we were engaged. On July 7 he brought me a clipping from a paper. He said: 'Get yourself a hat like this.' "

Here the attorney displayed a two-column portrait of the Princess de Sagan, formerly Anna Gould, wearing a huge Gainsborough.

When court adjouroned for the night it was expected that the trial of the case would occupy all of today.

Labels: , , , , , , ,

February 28, 1909

JERUSALEM FOR THE JEWS.

Jewish Lecturer Tries to Divert Emi-
gration to Palestine.

To divert the thousands of Jews who emigrate each year from teh section of Europe where they are oppressed to Palestine instead of the United States and South America, is the object of the society which Leon Chasanowich, a Jewish journalist and lecturer, who addressed Kansas City Jews last night at the Jewish Educational institute, represents. The organization is called the Jewish Workmen's Zion Society. It was founded recently and an active campaign for the realization of its purposes is being made.

"While the Jews have fared very well in the United States," Mr. Chasanowich said last night, "a greater future awaits them in Palestine, where they can band together and make a cou ntry of their own. In this country the Jews have never been able to engage in a certain few trades and the progress of the race has suffered."

Mr. Chasanowich was, until a few moths ago, the editor of two Jewish journals in Austria. He will remain in Kansas City next week, giving lectures Sunday, Monday and Tuesday evenings.

From here he will go to the Argentine Republic.

Labels: , , ,

February 23, 1909

FIGHT MADE BY JEWS
AGAINST TUBERCULOSIS.

RABBI MAYER TELLS WHAT
RACE HAS ACCOMPLISHED.

Two Separate Institutions at Denver
for Sufferers of All Races and
Creeds -- First Patient
a Catholic.

Interest in the exhibit of the National Society for the Study and Prevention of Tuberculosis, now going on in the Scarritt building, Ninth street and Grand avenue, under the auspices of the Jackson county society, increases. Yesterday and last night over 3,000 persons attended.

On account of the large attendance at the stereopticon lecture and the discussions by prominent local physicians in the evening, it has become necessary to double the capacity of the lecture hall.

Last night the meeting was under the auspices of the United Jewish Charities, with Rabbi H. H. Mayer in the chair. Rabbi Mayer told his audience what the Jewish people are doing in the fight against the great white plague. He spoke of its ravages among his people, especially in the sweat shops and the poor tenements of New York, where those from foreign lands live and work.

"The National hospital at Denver," he said, "is now managed and maintained wholly by the Jews, yet it is open to the unfortunate of all religions. Only two questions are asked of the applicant -- 'Is the disease in its first stages?' and 'Are you unable to pay for treatment?' It might be interesting to know that the first patient admitted was a Catholic. We have another institution in that city, a hospital for those in the advanced stages of the disease."

Rabbi Mayer then told his hearers that if they knew any person who needed treatment in these institutions to send them to Jacob Billikopf, local superintendent of the Jewish Charities, where they would be examined, classified and placed upon the waiting list for admission.

SYMPTOM OF CIVILIZATION.

"Consumption," he said in closing, "is only a symptom of modern civilization. It is a result of modern crowded and herded conditions in the great cities. That was its beginning, and it has spread like a pestilence."

Dr. Jacob Block, who followed Rabbi Mayer and spoke on "The Economic Value of Prevention," agreed that tuberculosis, or consumption,, is a disease of civilization. He then told of the advancement of bacteriology and what it had accomplished in the battle against this and other germ diseases.

W. L. Cosper, in his stereopticon talk last night, informed his audience that the tubercle bacillus, the germ of tuberculosis, is a vegetable germ. It is not a wiggling thing, but has no vitality, is inert and must be raised by dust or other method to get into the system, where it multiplies by dividing. In an hour one germ will become thousands, each doing its amount of damage to the person with the run down system or the unhealthy mucous membrane. A person in good health, he said, will get rid of all kinds of disease germs by his natural resisting powers.

USED THEM FOR SAUSAGE.

In speaking of tuberculosis in cattle and hogs, Mr. Cosper said that it had been found that about 1 per cent of cattle and 2 per cent of hogs were infected. At the great packing houses, through government inspection, such carcasses are destroyed, but in smaller communities where a butcher kills his own animals there is no inspection. A Nebraska butcher told Mr. Cosper that he had frequently found animals with diseased organs like those he saw at the exhibit. "But I never sold that meat," he said. "I always laid it aside and made sausage from it."

The germ of tuberculosis shown under the microscope is attracting much attention at the exhibit. Germs which cause green and yellow pus, diphtheria, typhoid fever, anthrax and tuberculosis are being cultivated in tubes on what is known as "culture media." Many of them have become so thick that they can be seen with the naked eye -- where there are millions of them. They are safely bottled.

Labels: , , , , , , , , , , ,

January 23, 1909

LOAN MONEY TO THE POOR.

Jewish Organization That Does Not
Demand Pound of Flesh.

In order to aid the deserving poor who have to make occasional loans, the Society of Gemilus Chasodim, an organization composed of Jewish women, a scheme for lending money without security or interest has been evolved. The annual report made by the treasurer, L. J. Cohen, shows that the society has made loans aggregating $5,025, during the past year. The losses from non-payment by borrowers has amounted to less than 1 per cent of the whole. Under ordinary circumstances the loan is paid back in weekly installments of $1, but if the borrower is unable to meet the payment a longer time is given. The total funds for the organization during the past fiscal year were $5,772.60. A balance of $694.56 is left on deposit in the Fidelity Trust Company.

Labels: , , ,

January 5, 1909

FRANK M. HOWE DIES
OF HEART DISEASE.

WAS AN ARCHITECT OF INTER-
NATIONAL NOTE.

R. A. Long Building, Jewish Temple
and Many Other Important Kan-
sas City Structures Were
Planned by Him.

Frank Maynard Howe of the firm Howe & Hoit, an architect of international note whose name is associated with some of the most important buildings in Kansas city, died at his home, 1707 Jefferson street, at 7:30 o'clock last night of heart disease.

Mr. Howe, who was 59 years old, had been quite ill since June last. On July 6, accompanied by Mrs. Howe and their daughter, Miss Dorothy Howe, he toured Great Britain, Holland, Germany and France, in the hope of recovering his failing health, but when he returned October 7 he was but little improved.

Besides the widow, Mrs. Mary E. Howe, and the daughter, Miss Dorothy, there is another daughter, Mrs. Katherine Howe Munger, who lives at the family home. There is one grandchild, Nancy Munger, 3 years old.

When Mr. Howe came to Kansas City in 1885, the architectural firm of Van Brunt & Howe was established, in connection with a similar firm in Boston, Mass. Several years later Mr. Van Brunt came here. At the death of Mr. Van Brunt, seven years ago, the firm of Howe & Hoit was organized.

PLANNED SOME BIG BUILDINGS.

Mr. Howe was the architect of some of very prominent buildings, among them the Electricity building at the Columbian exposition, Chicago, in 1893, where he was also a member of the board of consulting architects. He held a similar position at the Louisiana Purchase exposition in St. Louis in 1904. Among Mr. Howe's first works was the Union station at Worcester, Mass.

He was born in West Cambridge, Mass., now known as Arlington, and was a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Some of the well-known home buildings of which Howe was an architect were the following: R. A. Long building, Emery, Bird, Thayer Dry Goods Company store, Fidelity Trust Company, United States and Mexican Trust Company, Reliance building, Scottish Rite temple and St. Mary's hospital.

Among the houses of worship he planned were the new Jewish temple, the Independence Boulevard Christian church and he was building the Linwood Boulevard Christian church. He also planned the homes of Kirk Armour, Mrs. F. B. Armour and Charles Campbell.

When Mr. Howe died he was planning to build for R. A. Long a $1,000,000 home at Independence and Gladstone boulevards, which with stables, conservatory and other buildings, will occupy a full block.

Mr. Howe was a member of the Elm Ridge Club and the Knife and Fork Club, and was president of the Philharmonic Society throughout its existence. As a great-grandson of Isaac Howe, who fought at the battle of Lexington, he was selected for membership in the Sons of the Revolution. Mr. Howe's ancestors were English Puritans and came to Massachusetts in the seventeenth century. He was a member of Ararat temple, Mystic Shrine, and a thirty-second degree Mason.

His principal avocations were painting water colors and music. He played the piano and the pipe organ.

Labels: , , , , , , , , , , ,

December 27, 1908

TREAT FOR JEWISH CHILDREN.

Lecture at Temple B'Nai Jehudah
by Austrailian Traveler.

The children of the B'Nai Jehudah congregation, Flora avenue and Linwood boulevard, were given a treat last night when they listened to a lecture by Alfred Foster of Australia, a traveler of note. The lecture was illustrated by stereopticon views, made from pictures taken by the lecturer in his travels, and included a trip from San Francisco through New Zealand, Tasmania, the Fiji islands and a portion of Australia. All the chief points of interest were illustrated and an entertaining description of the countries and people was given.

At the conclusion of the lecture, the ladies of the Temple Sisterhood distributed boxes of candy to each child present. More than 200 children enjoyed the entertainment.

Labels: , , , , , ,

December 22, 1908

FREE TICKETS FOR ALL TO
THE GRAND TOMORROW.

A. Judah's Gift to the Children Will
Be Distrubted From Different
Charities Today.

Manager A. Judah of the Grand has invited the poor children of the city to a matinee performance by Corinne and her company tomorrow afternoon. The entertainment is being given in connection with the Christmas tree, and Manager Judah promises a surprise for the little ones who will be his guests for the afternoon. Admission will be by ticket, and the distribution of tickets will begin today, in charge of the following charitable organizations:

Associated Charities, 1115 Charlotte street (will also distribute tickets among colored population); Institutional church, Admiral boulevard and Holmes street; Helping Hand, 408 Main street; Franklin institute, Nineteenth and McGee streets; Grace hall, 415 West Thirteenth street; Humane Society, city hall, second floor; United Jewish Charities, 1702 Locust street; Italian Charities, offices with Associated Charities; juvenile court, county court house; Bethel mission, 43 North First street, Kansas City, Kas; Catholic Ladies' Aid Society, Eighth and Cherry, St. Patrick's hall.

Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

December 21, 1908

RECALLS HAMAN'S DOWNFALL.

Jews Have Celebrated Their Salva-
tion in Persia Many Hundred Years.

Gentiles call it the Jewish Christmas, but of course that is a paradox. It was celebrated by the Jews of Kansas City last Saturday, December 19. In many homes the celebration partook of the character of the Gentile Christmas. The children were the principal beneficiaries. One hundred and fifty of them from the Jewish Sabbath schools went to the Orpheum theater in the afternoon and there were gifts and merrymakers in the homes at night.

The real name of the feast is Chanika. It is celebrated in honor of the preservation of the Jewish people from the fury of a Persian king. Haman, a hater of the Jewish race, was prime minister for the king, according to the Old Testament story. He prevailed upon the monarch to believe that the Jews were plotting against him and to send out a general order for the extermination of the race.

Mordecai, the Jewish prophet, had a sister, the beautiful Ester, who was the favorite wife of the king. He told her of the plight of her people and prayed her to use all of her influence with her consort to have the order of extermination revoked. She went to her husband and under the influence of her charms and blandishments he yielded to her entreaties and the Jewish people were saved. The feast of Chanika has been kept from that day, and is many hundreds of years older than Christmas.

Labels: ,

November 30, 1908

ZIONIST MOVEMENT
IS NO IDLE DREAM.

A. H. FROMENSON TELLS OF POS-
SIBILITIES OF PALESTINE.

Jewish Colonization Society Will
Build Up Independent Country
for the "Wanderer on the
Face of the Earth."

"Nationalism and Zionism" was the subject of a masterly address by A. H. Fromenson of New York to the Jews of Kansas City at Woodman's hall, 1210 Main street, last night. Mr. Fromenson is the editor of the English edition of Tageblatt and is a Zionist of national reputation.

"In no country in the world other than the United States is the Jew admitted on an equal footing with the other citizens of that country," he said. "Even here there is talk of an exclusion law which will operate principally against us. In Russia we are reduced to a condition of outlawry and in Roumania our condition is little better. In Germany and France we are oppressed not by law, but by popular opinion. Even England discriminates against us. A thousand influences are constantly at work to deprive us of our character as a race. The Jew, the scapegoat of earth, must have some place to go.

"The Zionist movement attempts to find this place. We have chosen Palestine, for that is the country that was promised by God to the seed of Abraham forever, and that is the land in which took place all that is worthy of us as a nation. In alien lands we have produced Heine, Gambetta, and a host of others, but for almost two thousand years we have produced no man who has been really great as a Jew.

"Palestine is a fertile country, described even in a sober consular report as a land flowing in the proverbial milk and honey. The Jewish colonization society has invested millions of dollars in lands there, consisting principally of olive and orange groves, and it hopes some day to build up there an independent country which will be a buffer state between the East and the West.

"Since the bloodless revolution in Turkey we have been assured that if at any time the population of Palestine becomes Jewish in complexion that the country will be given its freedom. There are many Jewish settlements there now and the number is increasing rapidly. There is every hope that some day the Jew will no longer be a wanderer on the face of the earth, but will have a home of his own and a government to protect him when he is oppressed in foreign countries. This is no idle dream but a very probable reality."

Labels: , , , ,

November 28, 1908

WORLD'S REFUGE FOR
JEWS IN PALESTINE.

THAT'S THE DREAM OF THE
ZIONIST SOCIETY.

Chairman of the Propaganda Com-
mittee Will Tell the Jews of This
City About the Movement
Toward Holy Land.

To establish a publicly secured, legally assured home in Palestine for the Jews of the world, is the object of the Federation of American Zionists. The chairman of the Zionist propaganda committee, A. H. Fromenson of New York, arrived in Kansas City yesterday. He will be here a week and will speak to the Jews of Kansas City Sunday and Monday nights at 1210 Main street under the auspices of the United Zion Society of Kansas City.

"I'm not here to attempt to persuade the Jews of Kansas City to pack up and move to Palestine," said Mr. Fromenson last night. "I'm not selling anything, either. I'm simply here to explain the Zion movement and I want the Jews here to do all they can to help prepare a place in Palestine for the Jews.

"The object of the movement is not to take all the Jews to Palestine. There are 13,000,000 Jews in the world, and 11,000,000 of these live in lands of persecution and oppression, discrimination and intolerance. For a great many of these 11,000,000 the only hope is in withdrawal. The Zionists don't believe the Jews have the right to thrust their burdens on the world at large. They consider it more manly to solve the problem of existence, liberty and future themselves. The Zionists say that Palestine is the logical center for the great majority of Jews, because it is the Jews' own country, and since the ages of dispersion the Jews' craving has been for return.

"The present political conditions in Turkey indicate that the time is ripe to conduct the propaganda on a large scale. There are already thirty-one colonies of Jews in Palestine, all agricultural and flourishing.

"My contention is that it is the American Jew, who enjoys liberty and the right to pursue happiness, who should do more than any other to help the persecuted Jew to secure that liberty which the American enjoys.

"The American Jew may never go to Palestine, yet as a Jew it is incumbent upon him to make sure of a place wherein the Jew will be able to serve humanity far better than when his soul and body are in fetters."

The Zionists have a business organization and are buying land in Palestine as fast as they secure the funds. They have been promised by the new Turkish government that as soon as the Jews have a majority in Palestine, they will be granted self government.

Mr. Fromenson is touring the United States lecturing to the Jews. He came here from Minneapolis and will go from here to Denver. He was, until a year ago, editor of the Jewish Daily news in New York.

Labels: , , , , ,

October 28, 1908

LONELY OLD MAN WEEPS
FOR HIS MURDERED SON.

Elle Bassin Has a Load of Grief and
Labor Almost Too Heavy
to Bear.

Sitting alone in his little shoeshop at 1221 West Twenty-fourth street there is an aged, white-haired man. The police say he has no more heart for work. He stares vacantly into space and occasionally a tear drops from his furrowed cheek. The old man is Elle Bassin, father of Nathan Bassin, the young man murdered in the shop at 10 o'clock Saturday night by highwaymen. The aged man is nearly blind and depended upon his son to take the work off his hands. Now the support of the widowed daughter-in-law and her two children has fallen on him, and the burden is a heavy one.

Edward Cassidy, Slayer of Nathin Bassin
EDWARD CASSIDY.
Confessed Slayer of Nathan Bassin.

Confined in separate cells two young men sat in the county jail all day yesterday. It was their first day there, and no one called on them. They were Edward Cassidy, who has a home at 908 West Thirty-first street, and Thad Dyer, 703 Southwest boulevard. They are the cause of the aged shoemaker's grief. Cassidy confessed that he and Dyer went to the shop bent on robbery. They met with resistance from Nathan, the son, and Cassidy shot him dead. Dyer was guarding the door at the time. Both men say they are sorry, really sorry, that they took a human life.

Thad Dyer, Accomplice in the Killing of Nathan Bassin.
THAD DYER.
Accomplice of Cassidy in the Bassin Murder.

Dyer's father, Edward Dyer, is a member of the fire department, and the boy had a good home, but he was wild and often fell into the hands of the police. Both boys were born and reared near the Southwest boulevard, and have known no such thing as restraint since childhood, the police say. Cassidy has an impediment in his speech that gives the impression that he is not very strong mentally. Neither boy attended school to any great extent.

They are being held in the county jail without bond awaiting trial by the criminal court on an information charging them with murder in the first degree.

Labels: , , , , , ,

October 27, 1908

CONFESS MURDER OF
SHOEMAKER'S SON

EDWARD CASSIDY AND THAD
DYER CAUGHT BY POLICE.

Went to Bassin's Shop to Rob Him
and Killed the Young Man When
He Interfered With
Their Plan.

When Edward Cassidy and Thad Dyer entered the little shoe shop of Elle Bassin and his son, Nathan, 1221 West Twenty-fourth street, at 10 o'clock Saturday night, they were bent on robbery. The confession of Cassidy to Captain Walter Whitsett late yesterday afternoon settled that question. They figured no interference, but when Nathan Bassin objected and grappled with Cassidy, the latter said he drew a revolver and shot him dead.

The murder took place in the shoe shop at 10 o'clock Saturday night, and when it was discovered it was a mystery. It remained so until Sunday morning, when Patrolmen Fred Nissen and W. J. Graham got a clue which led to the arrest of Dyer and Cassidy. A grocer, William Doarn, at the southwest corner of Twenty-fourth and Mercier streets, remembered that the two men had been in his place just before the killing and had said, "If you see anything happen around here tonight you haven't seen us."

Dyer was the first to confess yesterday morning after being questioned a long while. Then he laid the crime on Cassidy and said: "We went into the the shop with the intention of trying on a pair of shoes and wearing them out without paying for them . When we started out the young man grabbed Casssidy and he shot him . Then we both ran."

PURPOSE WAS ROBBERY.

This story didn't sound, as there were no shoes for sale in the shop. Dyer stuck to his story until Cassidy confessed; then he said the latter's version was correct. Casssidy told the following story to Captain Whitsett and afterwards made a statement to I. B. Kimbrell, county prosecutor.

"We were broke and wanted some money. We met in Water's saloon on Southwest boulevard about 8:30 p. m. Then we visited different places until about 9:45 o'clock, when we decided to hold up the old shoemaker. We went to Doarn's grocery store, across from the shoeshop, and saw Will Doarn in the door. We asked him not to say anything about seeing us in the neighborhood if anything happened.

"I'M AWFULLY SORRY."

"Then we went across the street," continued Cassidy. "Dyer stood in the door of the shop as I entered and ordered 'Hands up." The young man grabbed me, and I shot him. I wanted to get away. That's all. I'm sorry, awful sorry. I never went into the thing with the intention of killing anybody."

Cassidy and Dyer both ran from the place immediately after the shooting and separated. Cassidy remained about the Southwest boulevard until late and then went home with a friend. He lives at 908 West Thirty-first street, and Dyer at 703 Southwest boulevard. Dyer said he went home.

Dyer is the son of Edward Dyer, a member of the Kansas City fire department. The father was at police headquarters insisting upon his son's innocence yesterday just after he had confessed his part in the murder.

Both men are well known to the police. Cassidy was recently arraigned in the municipal court by Sergeant Thomas O'Donnell on a charge of vagrancy. They were taken before Justice Festus O. Miller late yesterday afternoon and arraigned on a charge of murder in the first degree. They waived preliminary examination and were committed to the county jail without bond to await trial in the criminal court.

Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Google
 
Web vintagekansascity.com


Get the Book
Vintage Kansas City Stories ~ Early 20th Century Americana as Immortalized in The Kansas City Journal
Vintage
Kansas City Stories



Early Kansas City, Missouri


The Son of Jesse James is Accused of a Train Robbery at Leeds ... Can he get a fair trial in Kansas City?
The Trial of Jesse James, Jr.


>>More KC Books<<

As an Amazon Associate this site may earn commissions from qualifying purchases.

The History and Heritage of Vintage Kansas City in Books
Vintage Kansas
City Bookstore

Powered by Blogger

Vintage Kansas City.com

Vintage Antique Classics ~ Vintage Music, Software, and more Time Travel Accessories

In association with
KC Web Links.com ~ The Ultimate Kansas City Internet Directory