Capital Comment

With the congressional election over and final returns officially recorded, the results show that at least eleven members of the new House of Representatives are Jewish. This represents an increase of one Jewish member and brings the total of Jews in Congress to the largest number in the history of the country.

The new House member is William M. Citron of Middletown, Conn. , who was elected Representative-at-large. Citron, who is a Democrat, defeated Representative-at-large Charles M. Bakewell, a Republican and a Yale professor whose home is in New Haven. The vote for Citron was 263,760 against Bakewell’s 248,976, giving Citron a plurality of 14,784 votes.

The other ten Jewish members of the House served during the last session. The Democrats are Sol Bloom, Emanuel Celler, Samuel Dickstein, Theodore A. Peyser, and William I. Sirovich, all of New York; Herman P. Kopplemann of Hartford, Conn. ; Henry Ellenbogen of Pittsburgh, Pa. ; Adolph J. Sabath of Chicago, Ill. The Republican members are Isaac Bacharach of Atlantic City, N. J. , and Mrs. Florence P. Kahn of San Francisco, Calif.

Of significance to Jews is the defeat of Representative Louis T. McFadden, Republican of Canton, Pa. , an avowed anti-Semite. McFadden served in the House for twenty consecutive years and in recent years hardly a session went by in which he did not attack Jews. McFadden made himself known nationally for his three attempts to impeach President Herbert Hoover.

During the last session of Congress McFadden was particularly bitter in his attacks upon Jews. In addition to addresses on the floor of the House, he made several radio talks in Washington in which he made statements which were challenged by Representative Kopplemann.

On one occasion, McFadden charged that Jews had cooked up a plot to gain control of the world. He cited the “Protocols of the Elders of Zion” which several years ago were publicized by Henry Ford and which have since been discredited and proved to be false, resulting in an apology from Ford. In the course of McFadden’s attack. Kopplemann demanded on the floor of the House that the words of McFadden relating to the false charges be stricken from the Congressional Record. This move was blocked by Representative Bertrand H. Snell of New York, Republican House leader.

McFadden was alleged to have connections with the Silver Shirt organization. At least he carried on extensive correspondence with the Silver Shirt leader, Pelley. Representative Dickstein, sponsor of the investigation of Nazi and other un-American activities, has uncovered several of these letters.

Indications are that McFadden will not be returned to the House in the future. At least, the cards are against him. The old comeback trail is too steep. This is shown by the efforts of more than a half hundred former representatives who in the past have sought to stage come-backs. Only about a dozen of these got themselves returned to the House, and even at that, the going was rough for them.

Citron’s victory in Connecticut, coupled with Kopplemann’s reelection in that State’s most important county, brings to the House two Jewish members out of a delegation of six Representatives. This is the first time in the history of the Nutmeg State that two Jews have been sent to Congress.

Bill Citron’s record in Connecticut Democratic politics is outstanding. Starting as a lawyer in Middletown, Citron became the city government’s counsellor, an office which he held for several terms. Then he was elected to the State legislature after which, for several terms, he was named by the Democrats as the minority leader. As Democratic leader in the Legislature, Citron led the fight for social legislation.

Connecticut Democrats hold Citron in high regard. Because of his record in the State legislature, he was nominated in 1932 to run on the State Democratic ticket for the office of Representative-at-large. In the election he was defeated by Bakewell. Connecticut Democrats continued to maintain their faith in Citron and this year he was again nominated to run for that office. The results of the election show that Citron kept pace with the leaders of the Democratic ticket.

Those in Washington who know Mrs. Kahn were somewhat worried during the course of the Congressional campaign. For a time it looked as if the Sinclair movement in California would result in her defeat. Her race for return to the House was extremely close.

Through her re-election, Mrs. Kahn begins her sixth term of consecutive service in the House. She first was elected in February of 1925 to succeed her husband, the #### Julius Kahn.

Government agricultural workers in Washington, particularly ###se having to do with the operation o# the New York ### poultry co#e are worried these days. The cause o# their worry is the ##### between the New York poultry dealers and the Kashruth Association.

As a result of the ban on slaughtered poultry put into effect by New York rabbis, the market for live poultry is being demoralized due to reduced consumption. The ban is having serious effects on farmers who ship their poultry to the New York market.

Since the disagreement between the poultry dealers and the Kashruth Association is based on a religious issue, the government has indicated that it will stay out of the dispute. If both sides request, however, the Agricultural Adjustment Administration will aid in working out a settlement.

acketeering in the New York live poultry market received a severe blow when the Federal court in Brooklyn sentenced the Schechter brothers for illegal activities in their business. Washington believes that the penalties imposed on these poultry operators will do much toward helping them to clean up the racketeering in the New York live poultry industry which is costing consumers millions each year.