The Jewish Monitor (Fort Worth-Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 10, No. 16, Ed. 1 Friday, January 7, 1921 Page: 1 of 16
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DR. GEORGE FOX . .EDTOP
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VOL. X. NO. 16.
It wu during the midwinter holi
days that Abie Landsberg made one
of hit rare trips to that section of
New York which is at once the delight
and despair of the woman shopper.
Abie bad no money to spend and the
great windows held little to tempt the
envy of a 13-year-old school boy with
simple tastes. Although his rather
stolid face brightened when he hap
pened upon a display of sporting
goods. There were basket balls and
sweaters and fencing foils; a bob-
sled too with shining runners. But
the thing that held Abie's eye the
longest was a pair of boxing gloves.
Abie already belonged to the Cham-
pion Boxing Club whose youthful
members chiefly from Avenue A
daily dreamed of conquests over the
young gentlemen whom they disdain-
fully termed the "Rivington Street
Bunch." The club held a pair of tat-
tered gloves in common. Abie re-
solved that as soon as ha left school
and started earning money like his
17-year-old brother Isadore he'd buy
these beautiful gloves and present
them to the club. He'd tell the presi-
dent Hyman Finkelman to make the
presentation speech for htm. Hyman
loved debating better than boxing;
while Abie already realized that he
was nimbler with his fists than with
hit tongue.
A glance at the clock in a nearby
tower reminded Abe that his brother
Isadore had invited him to come down
for lunch. He tore his eyes from the
window and went day-dreaming to-
ward the great wholesale clothing
manufacturer where Isadore held the
position of office boy. Abie secretly
despised his brother who was slight
and undersized and went to night
school without parental compulsion.
But today in spite of hhnself he felt
a little awed to see a son of the house
of Landsberg seated behind a high
desk answering the telephone direct-
ing customers nodding familiarly to
the elegant personages who passed
Into the Inner offices. Abe suddenly
deckled that if he failed to become a
world champion he might consider the
position of office boy.
He continued to admire his broth-
er's man-of-the-world air as Isadora
guided him through the maisy aisles
of a nearby Child's" glanced over
the bill of fare and ordered lunch.
"Beef stew or fish?" he asked Just
as grandly as though he wasn't in the
habit of bringing several sandwiches
every noon wrapped' In a newspaper.
"Fish answered Abie. "I thought
maybe the meal wouldn't be kosher
here" he added in a discreetly low-
ered ton as the waiter moved away.
Isadore laughed. "What of it?
Now you dont need to go squealing
on me at home kid; but I eat what
'WW
FORT WORTH-DALLAS TEXAS
ABIE KNOCK 'EM OUT
A Modern
By Elma Ehrlich Levinger
and where I like. It's different for
old timers like pa and ma. But
young fellows like us have to be like
the rest of the world or well get
left"
"You mean we mustn't eat kosher
and be Jews any more!" faltered
Able.
"No I don't" Isadore was anxious
that his sharp-witted younger broth-
er should not learn his lesson too
thoroughly. 'I' think a lot of that
old-fashioned stuff Is going out of
style. It waa different in the old
country when we had to keep by our-
selves and the goyim were always
landing on us. But in America a
Jew's as good as anybody. All we
have to do is to be like other people
and behave ourselves and we can go
as far as we like." He reached for
his plater of steaming stew the meat
so scantily distributed through the
potatoes that he waa almost ready to
declare the dish as kosher as his
brother's choice. "Now get busy kid
'cause I want to take you for a walk
before I go back to the office."
The walk led them to an imposing
building with a great tiled entrance
the plate doors guarded by a negro
in livery. "Know where we are?''
asked Isidore.
"No."
"Well kid this is the National Ath-
letic Club. Guess you've heard of it"
"I guess I have." Abie's eyes spar-
kled. "The boxing teacher at the Set-
tlement told us fellows about a bout
they had there. They gave away gold
cups and watches and everything. Yon
bet when I grow up I'm going to be-
long there."
"I bet you won't" There was a
bitter look about Isadora's boyish
mouth as they turned back toward
the office.
"You mean you got to be rich!"
"They turned down the boss. I
heard some of the traveling men talk-
ing about it"
"But he's rich ain't he!"
"Of course" Impatiently. "But he
wont get in any more than you
could. They wont take Jews."
. "Why?"
"Ask the fellows who run the club.
Isadore's voice was savage. "They
just got a rule they wont take In
Jews and that's all there is about it
t$The gpeat Southwes
FRIDAY JANUARY 7. 1921.
V
Story.
Guess they think the re too good to
associate with common folks like
Jews.".
Abie's cheeks flushed with shame
although he didn't know why. "I
thought you said in America it was
different" he stammered. "You said
if Jews behaved themselves they
could do anything." '
"Well" dryly "they're exceptions;
And now what do you want to do be-
fore we go back to the office?"
"Aw I dont care."
The boy's tone wss strangely list
less and Isadore gave him a quick
glance. "What's the matter? I
thought you'd like to brag to the fol-
lows at your boxing club that you've
seen the pace. And now you're all
down in the mouth over nothing."
"It aint nothing." Abie's voice
was hot with anger. "You know I've
been with Jews all my life and we're
one Just as good as another. I
dldnt think when I grew up and got
out it would be like that"
'It's going to be. Things are much
better in America than pa had it but
we ain't got everything yet It takei
time."
"Will we ever get a square deal?"
"I think so but it takes a long
time."
"But how?" Abie's voice was im-
patient "I think" answered Isadore choos-
ing his words carefully for he had
not thought over the matter very
much; "I think that we will have to
force everybody to respect us. We
will have to be somebody get edu-
cated and get good manners. And all
that I'm going to night school now
and learning all I can. Maybe some
day I can work my way through col-
lege. But it's more than education.
Able." He stopped and looked ear-
neatly Into the younger boy's face.
"You mean about the respecting?"
"Yes. Over in the old country and
a long time before that we had to be
afraid. People were mean to us
we dldnt know our l'.vea were our
own. Some of us havent got over
that yet WeVe afraid of the goyim.
But we shouldnt be. We ought to
stand right up to them and show 'em
we think we're Just as good as they
are."
You're right 1 But If you eould
Price 5 Cuts.
only box Isadore maybe you could
knock down a few fresh guys and
show 'em." His voice was regretful
as he realized his champion's defi-
ciencies. But Isadore laughed. "You can't
fight people into liking you kid. Just
show 'em you're not afraid and that
you respect yourself. And you'll
knock 'em out every time."
That was ten years ago. Isadore
lies somewhere over in France after
paying his share to free his people
with the rest of the world. And Abie
middleweight champion of his train-
ing camp now sits behind a desk all
day and spends his evenings at a Y.
M. H. A. Chiefly in the gymnasium
but sometimes in the library where
he tries to enjoy the books Isadore so
dearly loved.
"Izzy would have shown 'cm if he'd
had time" he often murmurs regret-
fully never realizing that he too has
done a little to bring about the fol-low-hip
of which his brother dreamed.
For just a little while ago Abie was
invited to a boxing meet at the Na-
tional Athletic Club the very club
where he had stood with Isadora and
learned a little of un-American preju-
dice even in America. And Abie had
remembered.
He went to represent his "Y" went
to meet representatives from the
leading athletic clubs and settlements
of the city. As the champion middle-
weight boxer of the Y. M. H. A.'s he
found himself the only Jew among
the contestants. He smiled a little
bitterly as he stripped in his dress-
ing room. These aristocrats would
allow a Jew to entertain them just
as they allowed a negro lackey to
stand before their doors. Both were
tolerated as servants.
Two hours later resting in his
dressing room Abie was called upon
to receive his prize a gold watch suit-
ably inscribed. The boy had worked
hard that evening winning in two
bouts. ' Now he stod trembling in ev-
ery limb but less from weariness
than excitement
Through the shifting haze before
his eyes he saw his fellow boxers in
their regulation trunks guests of the
club in evening dress a dignified
white-haired man holding out his
prize. He caught words here and
there "delighted to honor" "An ex-
service man" masterly exhibition."
Then applause and Abie with a
sticky feeling at the pit of his stom-
ach realized thst the time hsd come.
Curiously enough he thought of
little Hyman of the old boxing club
down on Avenue A good little ny-
man whom he hadnt seen .for years.
It was a pity Hymen with his love of
(Continued on Page 16).
183773
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Fox, George. The Jewish Monitor (Fort Worth-Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 10, No. 16, Ed. 1 Friday, January 7, 1921, newspaper, January 7, 1921; Fort Worth, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth296794/m1/1/: accessed June 30, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; .