for the most part, opposed it. Many believed that an increase of the tax would destroy a large number of societies. President Friedenwald was opposed to the increase at this time. A number of delegates told of their experiences with the collection of the twenty-five cent tax. The debate was allowed to consume quite some time, before the previous question was called for, and the roll of delegates was read, and each delegate orally voted on the question. The resolution was defeated by a vote of 63 to 40.
The receipt of the following telegram from the Jewish Daily News aroused much enthusiasm:
"Our St. Petersburg correspondent cables: 'Herr. Wolffsohn had an interview Friday with Stolypin and Iswolsky. Herr Wolffsohn is perfectly satisfied with the result. Stolypin promised to put no obstacles in the way of Zionistic work in Russia. Minister Iswolsky authorizes Wolffsohn to publish that he sympathizes with the aims of Zionism.'"
A vote of thanks was moved and unanimously carried in favor of the Jewish Daily News for its courtesy in sending the above telegram to the convention.
The session was then adourned.
THE BANQUET ON MONDAY EVENING
The banquet of our convention is always the occasion for an outburst of genuine Zionist enthusiasm. There the delegates sit elbow to elbow, the Carmel wine flows, and the spirit of the convention, which usually becomes fatigued in the course of the business session, is revived by the speeches, the cheers, and the prevalent good humor. The banquet of the eleventh convention was no exception to the rule, although the discomforts of the hall were at times almost unbearable, and the cheers were often improperly given utterance to.
Dr. Friedenwald acted as toastmaster, and quite mystified the banqueters by the indirectness of his introductions.. When he introduced Dr. Shaffer, the delegates looked about the room to see the man “who had seen the inception of the movement in America.” When he introduced Mr. Fromenson as the “surprise of the evening,” the delegates almost
expected the president to produce from his sleeves a speaker who would indeed be a surprise. The surprise in Mr. Fromenson's case lay in the fact that he made no appeal for funds. Rabbi Joseph Jasin, of Fort Worth, spoke in Yiddish on the future of the movement in America. Miss Hirchenson, of Hoboken, delighted the delegates with a speech in Hebrew. Dr. J. Z. Lauterbach spoke in German, and Elias Margolis, who had evidently crossed his wires, spoke in both Yiddish and English. Mr. Fromenson gave a few stories telling of his experiences in the south, and spoke quite hopefully of the future of Zionism in America. Mr. Louis Lipsky expressed the sentiments of a large number of delegates when he said that with the official retirement of Dr. Magnes the Federation would lose a personality which had inspired them with feelings of the poetry, the courage, the brave hopefulness of Zion. Dr. Magnes, in his closing remarks, told in a very charming manner of his first experiences in Zionism, of how grateful he was to Zionists for what they had given him in the way of intellectual and spiritual pleasures. He assured the delegates that his resignation meant nothing more than a specialization of his work in those fields for which he was best fitted.
Among the other speakers were: Henry Jackson, A. Lubarsky, Dr. Samuels, the Rev. C. H. Kauvar, Dr. B. L. Gordon, the Rev. Max Raisin, Dr. Smirnow, Rabbi Gorowitz, Dr. David Blaustein, Rabbi Leven, of Atlanta, who delivered one of the best Yiddish speeches of the evening, and Rabbi Hirchenson, who spoke in Hebrew.
The Rev. Schub, a Palestinian sojourning in America, sang the Mizracha with a sonorous majesty and dramatic emphasis, which was deeply impressive. In response to encores, he sang a number of beautiful lyrics, not as familiar to Zionists as they should be. The evening was closed with the Hatikvah, sung in the presence and with the Bohemian benediction of its author.
TUESDAY, JULY 14.
From the number of resolutions offered to the Resolutions Committee, it was apparent that the business of the convention could be