General Report No. 2 - JDC - Archives
General Report No. 2 - JDC - Archives
General Report No. 2 - JDC - Archives
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V 1<br />
22.13<br />
Front II« D. T/oldiam, Vienna.<br />
Tas Jcint Distribution Gonnittoe, HCTT Ycrlc.<br />
HIF0RIIAT1VE<br />
AT?m!ISTnATlC! T COI5!ITT3E<br />
11/4/21.<br />
Uth fctcbor 1S21.<br />
#1633<br />
Subjects GEHER&L REPORT IIO. 2 (Follor-ins initial report dated Sopt»13th<br />
Ito. 1501)<br />
This report is subr&ttcd in sectional forn.<br />
sscncn 1 - AHIIETISTRATICI:<br />
0FFIC2 ATT1HIISTRATICII After Q week or sc of preoccupation with Council<br />
Meetings after ny arrival in Vienna, on Se$ enber<br />
12th, I found it necessary to pay sens attention<br />
to the office adnfnlstration. In the short'tine that had elapsed since<br />
cur removal, fron Paris the operation of our office had not yet attained<br />
the desired saoothness, but before I left Viennr. on October 1st considerable<br />
process had been nade in this direction, and I feel confident that by<br />
the tine !ar« Rosenborg arrives he will find the office running quite snoothly.<br />
I an somewhat distezclbesS •--. to learn fron Iliss T5aynton that she is<br />
still suffering frcn oar trouble which seriously interferes vrith hor sleep,<br />
and she really is in a condition vrMoh rr.kes a -vrcek's rest imperative, rteccuse,<br />
however, there is no one here who cculd assuno her work* she will have to<br />
continue rzcridxig steadily until soseone can T o found to relieve her. It is<br />
to be regretted that yc u delayed sending Tlisa Uerccwitz.<br />
After rxv return within a week or ten days I plan to {30 tc rr.rsr.rr and<br />
renain there with as little interruption as possible until after Ir. Shohan's<br />
return, rearing this tine I expect to {rive very close" attention to the detail<br />
srork in both Child Car-inn and lledicc—Sanitary Departnonts.
GEIIEKAL REPORT BO.2 - 2 - #1633<br />
SECTICIT 11 - CHUT CARHTG<br />
C3JECT OF VISIT On October 2nd I went to Berlin primarily en rcutc for<br />
"T^UERLHT" the Kowno Conference> .and Riga. Incidentally, however*<br />
I desired to learn what the Cormn Government is doing<br />
in the way of providing for its war orphans. Accompanied by Ilr. Shohan I spent<br />
an afternoon with the assistant to the ?Iinister of Labor and with her visited<br />
several hones in the pocror sections of T.orlin in which orphans.are subsidised<br />
by the Government, and received very comprehensive in-<br />
CARE CF "TAR formation of '.That the Gcvernmont is doing. It is note-<br />
Orphans worthy that the a.^o limit set by the Government is 10,<br />
Ift OKU y>l^ GOVERITMEHT* and between 14 and 10 provision is made for trade training.<br />
.... '.J~- •'_,; j'_ The systen of vocational guidance is crude, but there is evidenco<br />
cf an earnest sense of responsibility as well as a progressive liberal policy<br />
in the caro and education of orphans.<br />
Allowances given are all on a graded per capita basis, dependinc<br />
both upon the locality anfl tho previous condition rf the parents. Thene allowances<br />
were quite.adequate when first established, but in the light of the diminished<br />
value cf the mark, is now only about "two-thirds of tho amount of the<br />
minimum standard. A discretionary fund cf 100,000,000 (01TE HUITRIP IHLLICF)<br />
narks has been appropriated by the Government and distributed among the district<br />
offices, which is used as a supplementary allowance in cases where private resources<br />
arc net obtainable. The Government officials throughout the country<br />
are assisted by carefully selected representative persons, constituting advisory<br />
committee.<br />
If you are interested I shall bo glad to send you a detailed report<br />
together with official printed matter pertaining to the subject.
G7USTAL REPORT H0.2 - 3 « iUCZS<br />
SECTIOn 11 - 2 -<br />
CHILI? CARE TEPARTIEIIT The organization of this department has progressed<br />
rapidly. Some indication of this you have received<br />
from copies of .reports sent currently fron the TTarsaw office.. Pending. tLo<br />
adoption and issue of regular monthly report forms, we have made efforts to<br />
secure information from the district offices. From T.ialystok we have th&<br />
following?-<br />
'JIAL7STCK T*here are 1,078 orphans<br />
of these 44 are 14 years of ar.o (srao of them not war orphmu)<br />
134 " 13 " n "<br />
453 are not war orphans<br />
76 are under 13, causes of whose parents death is<br />
net known<br />
707<br />
leaving 371 known war orphans under 13yeais cf ago<br />
7ou have authorized us to care for 400, whioh apparently<br />
will more than satisfy the needs of this district.
GgTISRAL REPORT IIP. 2 - 4 - £iP35<br />
SECTICII 11 -3-<br />
DREST-LITCTSK Vsr. Shohan visited this district recently. He held a meeting<br />
with the Hebrew teachers and following that with the Yiddish<br />
teachers. He organised a. Committee of nine,.consisting of<br />
Hebrew teachers, Yiddish teachers, two wonen and one public spirited citi^'n,<br />
hired a secretary, discharged the two women vistors and selected another woman<br />
in their place. This Gcnmittee has full charge of Brest-Litowsk and.nine towns<br />
in.the neighborhood. He established similar committees in the other three<br />
3;:M2l&BS of tho Brest—Litcwsk district, - ICobrin, Pruzany and Tlodava.<br />
Itr- Lomazewsky continues as our Child Care representative for tho whole of<br />
the district responsible to TTarsaw. Each county conmittoe is to have a Secretary<br />
and each Secretary selected is to be a school teacher familiar with Child<br />
care problems. There are at present 5fi0 children under care, whose records<br />
are being analyzed.<br />
Incidentally he reports that at a general meeting hold with<br />
the representative people of Brest-Litcwsk he succeeded in arousing their interest<br />
in the question cf finding suitable quarters for the re-emigres now<br />
located under unspeakable conditions in the synagogues, and obtained their<br />
promise of 3 million marks towards the purchase and.repair of a large building<br />
to accommodate sixty families. The balance required will bo 10 million marks.<br />
A good part of this, Dr. Eahn, with whom we discussed tho matter, is prepared<br />
to furnish in the form of a lean, after consulting Ilr. Landosco as Jo the particular<br />
form this lean shall take. This arousing cf the canmunity is" significant<br />
in the light of my reference to Drest-Litcwsk, in letter ITo. !49fi of<br />
September 14th, and ny suggestion for the establishment of a department for<br />
fund raising organization. Brest-Litowsk as you know, is half demolished, and<br />
is one of the most impoverished of all tho communities, and if funds can bo<br />
raised here in this simple direct method it is reasonable to expect the larger<br />
cities like Warsaw and Cracaw etc. to raise considerable funds if properly<br />
stimulated and organized by cur exports.
GENERAL REPORT HO, 2 - 5 - #lr,33<br />
SEOTICI! 11 -4 -<br />
CRACCIT (TTEST GALICIA) Here we have as yet no statistics of the entire<br />
number of orphans. The following figuroa- are<br />
in our possession:-<br />
Humber of orphans under core ............ 576<br />
of the 330 in Cracow City<br />
222 are up to 12 years cf age (inclusive)<br />
77 " 14 " " n<br />
39 " 14 and 17 " n<br />
130 are direct war orphans<br />
35 are war epidemic orphans<br />
2 are pogrom orphans<br />
leaving a balance of .........159 under care who do not come within our<br />
category of war orphans. Cf these 25 are not orphans at all. In some<br />
cases the Father ^s disabled, in others they are able to.work. Of these<br />
159 there are 50 whose parent died before the war. T here was'no representativehere<br />
to control the work which from the above is obvious. TTe have<br />
appointed a lfrs» Regina Zimmerman, the wife of an Engineer who has been actively<br />
identified with the care of the children to serve as our representative, and<br />
who impressed me as a capable woman. Each case is to be studied, those<br />
not coming within, our category especially, and those living with their parents<br />
will be dropped. An inspector will be sent from TTarsaw to help 15rs. Zimmerman<br />
organize the work.<br />
The conference which we contemplated holding in TTarsaw of<br />
representative people interested in orphan care I have decided to postpone<br />
until llr. Shohan's return from America, particularly in view of the uncertainty<br />
surrounding our policies as indicated in my questions in letter #1496 end your<br />
recent cables autherizinf committment for only a limited period. In the<br />
meantime however, the work will proceed everywhere.
CENTRAL REPORT HO. 2 - 6 - #1633<br />
SECTIOH 11 -5-<br />
CCirFEREtTCE I met IS?. Landesco and the other gentlemen on their return<br />
ifr'KOljtoO" from Kowno a little crestfallen that they had not succeeded<br />
in establishing a satisfactory modus Vivendi with the community<br />
It appears that Ilr. Rosenblum repudiated the arrangement to which he had agreed<br />
in Vienna, having failed to receive the support of his constituency to that<br />
agreement. They realized that to accept our plan would deprive the Ilationalrat<br />
of the necessary funds to maintain their organization, whioh would involve them<br />
in the discharge of practically all their employees, and not being strong<br />
enough as yet to raise funds either by taxation or voluntary contribution, it<br />
threatened tho destruction of the Haticnalrat.<br />
The conference finally ended with the understanding that the .<br />
Ilationalrat would invest Ifr. Saloveitchik with full power to deal with us at<br />
the meeting to be hold in Berlin on Tuesday or TTednesday, where this gentleman<br />
is to bo at that time. Messrs. Kahn, Landesco and I will be.there for the<br />
meeting. TTo notified you to this effect in cable Ho. 107 dated 14th October.<br />
A full report of the Conference will ror.ch you in due course.<br />
Should we enter into a satisfactory arrangement tho Child<br />
Bare work will be inmediately organized.
GgTBRAL REPORT HO.2 - 7 - #IC35<br />
SEGTIcn 11 ~6~<br />
RIGA I telegraphed I3ir«.Awin of Riga to meet lb*.* Shohan in "owi:o<br />
for the purpose of going over the whole Child Caring situation<br />
with hint Mr. Shoha-a reported verbally to me that he had n satisfactory<br />
conference with Hr. Awin.and had given him instructions with regard to<br />
the measures he should take with reference to the care of orphans for<br />
whom we have assumed responsibility. Detailed reports of all of this<br />
will be sent to you in due course*
GEIT'SiAT. REPORT IIO. 2 - 0 - -^loTo<br />
SECTION 11 -7-<br />
ORPHANS TO The Hilfsvcrein der Deutsohen Juden has indicated a dosi:^<br />
C-ERI1ANI to place at our disposal the sum of about .300,000 German<br />
marks for war orphans. This amount I understand is a<br />
donation from a private source. Dr. Ben-. Nathan, their Secretary, suggested<br />
that we assume the care of as rr.ny as 100 new children pending xheir f Ircnncial<br />
adoptjcn in America. This I indicated would not be practicable and stated<br />
that we could only assume responsibility for as many new children as this amount<br />
would cover and only for as long a period as funds would last» and subsequently<br />
that the Hilfsverein would have to assume responsibility for continuing their<br />
care and contributing fresh funds. Dr. ISahn promised to take this up.with<br />
the Hilfsverein later. He informed me also that in addition the Hilfsverein<br />
proposed to bring into Germany about 200 ohildren to be officially adopted<br />
up to working age by private families. I assured Dr. Hahn that we wcuid<br />
gladly co-operate in this direction and suggested that he arrange for a<br />
Conference with Herr Simon on my next visit to Berlin, at whicif^Ms ratter<br />
could be definitely settled.<br />
A
-9-<br />
GENERAL REPORT HO. S. #1635<br />
SECTION III - MEDICAL<br />
X-RAY MACHIHES I had written to Dr. Plotz as per enclosed letter<br />
PURCHASE (Ec. Ho. l) and received a wire from him as follows:<br />
"Received your letter September twentysixth stop<br />
pertaining X-Ray machine advise wait Grey^letters<br />
before making definite arrangements Doctor Shohan".<br />
I also received a wire from Mr. Grey dated September<br />
26th as follows;<br />
B X-Bay machines and spare parts selected and ordered<br />
by Dr. plotz after conference Hamburg with Plaut<br />
of our purchasing committee and two experts.<br />
After great delay we arranged purchase at ten percent<br />
below specification figures and less five<br />
percent export duty. Understand you have ordered<br />
Shulke & Mayr delay delivery which was to be on<br />
October 1st. please advise. Would prefer any<br />
communication be sent through me unless matter<br />
taken out of my hands. Writing."<br />
Mr. Grey was altogether mistaken? we did not order Shulke & Mayr to<br />
delay delivery, nor did I intend to take, the matter out of Mr. Grey's<br />
hands- In order to avoid any confusion or conflict of orders I<br />
wired Mr. Grey to meet me in Berlin and also wired Dr- Shohan (who<br />
had already left for Erlangen) not .to modify the orders in the<br />
hands of Reiniger, Gebbert & Schall A.G. Before leaving Vienna I<br />
reoeived a letter from Mr. Grey dated ?>6th September, confirming<br />
his telegram, copy of which you will find also enclosed (Enc .#2).<br />
After my arrival in Berlin I received the following telegram<br />
from Headquarters, containing the essentials in Br- plotz's letter<br />
which arrived in Vienna subsequent to my departure:<br />
"plotz states Schulke European representatives plaut<br />
also he visited two skin specialists Germany who said<br />
Apex machines made by Reiniger Gebbert & Schall best<br />
for our purpose and they suggested additional equipment<br />
be used."<br />
Copy Of this letter is also enclosed (Enc. #3). nothing that<br />
either Dr. plotz or Mr. Grey had to say in any way changed my<br />
views with regard to the measures that must be taken in the matter<br />
of properly shipping and operating X-Ray machines*.<br />
We found that none of the machines have as yet been completed<br />
and will not be ready before the end of this month. We afiso found<br />
that although some accessories had been ordered for diagnostio<br />
purposes, these were not complete and we felt impelled to place<br />
an order for additional parts at an additional cost of 18,934,30<br />
German marks. The changes in the items together with prices appear<br />
in the enclosed schedule. (Enc. #4).
-10-<br />
GENBRAL REPORT NO. 2. #1635<br />
SECTION III - 2-<br />
I was permitted by Messrs. Reiniger Gebbert & Schall to consult<br />
uheir reoords and found a statement on the copy of the order in<br />
r.heir hands that Schulke & Mayr are to receive 20$ discount, a-jd in .<br />
addition 5$ commission; this does not gitae with Mr. Grey's. und3rstanding<br />
that we were to recei-re only 10$.. The matter of discount<br />
doeB not seem to be clear- In a letter from Schulke & Mayr dated<br />
June 16th appears the following underlined paragraph:<br />
"Wir bemerken ausdrucklich, dass wir der Pabrikations<br />
firma d|eser Apparate (Reiniger,Gebbert & Schall)<br />
mitteilten, dass die Apparate fur Danzig bestimmt<br />
sind. AUS diesem Grunde erhalten wire 15$ der<br />
Hartescala dazu und des Wasserphantoms. Wir wurden<br />
Ihnen dieaen Rabatt, ehenfalls in Anreohnung bringen<br />
und fur uns keinerlei Kommission Verlanger da es sich<br />
hier urn eine Gefalligkeit handelt; im Gegenteil sollten<br />
wir vom pretse noch etwas herunter handeln koennen, so<br />
werden wir das in Ihrem Interesse tun. Es ist also<br />
dringend notwendig, daas der Fabrikany nicht erfahrt,<br />
dass die apparate^fur New York bestimmt sind, da<br />
sonst die Preise erheblich hoher waren. Sie wollen<br />
also den Auftrag gegebenenfalls direkt an uns senden."<br />
In another letter, of August 25th, they write as follows;<br />
"Zum Schluss freut es uns, Ihnen noch mitteilen zu<br />
konnen dass wir ausser dem gunstigen Inlandspreise<br />
noch lOfo Rabatt bei der Fabrik durchgedruckt haben<br />
und geben wir uns gern der Hoffning nun, Sie mit<br />
diesem Abschluss in jeder Hinsicht .Zufriedengestellt<br />
zu haben."<br />
I shall make the necessary inquiries in this direction and clear<br />
this up. The bills of lading covering the machines to Poland cannot<br />
indicate their Polish destination because of the German Government's<br />
prohibition of export licenses to that country. There are two al*<br />
ternatives. One for us to request exemption on the ground of the<br />
philanthropic purposes to which these machines are to be put, the<br />
other to adopt the suggestion made by the factory and the forwarding<br />
agents that the machines be shipped to Danzig without specifying<br />
their ultimate destination. In view of the advisability of having<br />
the transaction completed through Messrs. Schulke & Mayr, I propose<br />
to"leave the method of delivery to them particularly as I am averse<br />
vto committing the J.D.c. to any evasion of Government regulations.<br />
The infermation we have secured regarding the cost and other<br />
details of forwarding I have sent on to Mr. Grey in Paris with the<br />
suggestion that he pass same on to Schulke & Mayr- The original<br />
plan of shipping the machines via Hamburg appears not only impracticable<br />
but more.expensive. Of this Mr. Grey himself was convinced<br />
when he studied the situation with us in Berlin.
-11-<br />
GEKERAL REPORT HO. 2. #1633<br />
SECTION III - 3-<br />
DR. SHOHAN In spite of the good impression Dr. Shohan made on ^e 7<br />
considered it wise to obtain the judgment of Dr. Foci<br />
and Miss Berger, and a day or two after I had sent my letter fi^b^o<br />
I telegraphed to Dr. Pool and Miss Berger for their opinion. 1 was<br />
disturbed to receive the following telegram from Dr. Pool which was<br />
later confirmed by a telegram from Miss Berger;<br />
"Cannot recommend Shohan X-Ray work inadequate because of<br />
ignorance machinery technecalities stop unbalanced personality<br />
plays politics is inclined to shirk work."<br />
Though Dr. Shohan possesses peculiar mannerisms and may, because<br />
of his interest in Zifenist activities have antagonised Dr. pool and<br />
others, my close association with him leads me to believe that he can<br />
render the service we require efficiently. When I consulted<br />
Mr. Sohmidt about Dr. Shohan, whom he has known for years and whom<br />
he had seen at work in Palestine, he approved -y selection and gave<br />
no indication that he knew of any dissatisfaction that Dr. Shohan had<br />
aroused in that country. In spite of my confidence in Dr. Shohan's<br />
ability to carry out the designated work effectively, I wired you as<br />
followsj<br />
"Our letter 1545 replying my request for information Pool<br />
wires unfavorable report Doctor Shohan nevertheless be-s<br />
lieve him capable efficiently direct our roentgenolog<br />
work stop nevertheless do not urge ny reccr-.ondation his<br />
appointment stop imperative appoint such director am<br />
seeking local man stop entire situation requires my<br />
personal attention stop visiting factory arlanger stop<br />
machines will not be completed for several weeks although<br />
delivery promised October 1st stop arranging all details<br />
continuing to utilize Schulke & Mayr."<br />
I have retained Dr. Shohan to carry out the work until the SOth of<br />
this month. Because of the unquestioned need for very close attention<br />
to this natter I decided to forego my trip to Kowno and Riga,<br />
particularly as I felt that the Wiina situation could well be<br />
handled by so strong a group as Messrs. Landesco, Kahn, Schweitzer<br />
and Shohan. I visited the factory at Erlangen and rer.ained in<br />
Germany a few days longer in order to find a roentgenologist to take<br />
up the work after Br. Shohan's departure. I have already entered<br />
into preliminary negotiations with Dr. Zollshan of Karlsbad, who<br />
was highly recommended to me by Dr. K^hn. Although an expert X-Ray<br />
specialist he is better known as an anthropologist.<br />
Dr. Shohan has thus far been helpful and has been thorough,<br />
painstaking, and businesslike. He has visited Sowno and, Biga and has<br />
been instructed thereafter to proceed to Warsaw and until October<br />
20th do what he can in preparing for the establishment of laboratories<br />
in that city, wilna and Bialystok.
-12-<br />
fiENERAL REPORT MO. 2. #1633<br />
SECTION III- 4-<br />
SUPPLIES - On 16th September we received a letter from the<br />
AMERICAN RED CROSS American Red Cross containing a list of supplies<br />
in their possession and asking us as soon as<br />
possible to select such supplies as we could use in accordance with<br />
its obligation. Bei;ag prevented from goin,r to Paris on account of<br />
the local Railway strike I telegraphed to 3r. plotz to call on the<br />
American Red Cross with a view to making the necessary selection.<br />
Since then I have received information from a number of our Medical<br />
Commissioners that all of the drugs and medical supplies we need<br />
can be secured locally and probably at a very much lower cost than<br />
the prices that are likely to be established by the American Red<br />
Cross. I am now securing local estimates of all such commodities<br />
and with such information on hand intend to call on the American<br />
Red Cross in Paris after visiting Mr. Rosenberg in London with a<br />
view to ensuring our getting the supplies at reasonable rates. If<br />
I should find that the prices established by the A.R.C. are substantially<br />
higher than those obtaining locally I contemplate proposing<br />
that the balance due us be returned in cash instead of kind. The<br />
records here indicate that we did not reserve the right to receive<br />
cash as an alternative in the event that we should not desire to<br />
avail ourselves of their supplies, nevertheless, I believe that<br />
the matter warrants a more careful investigation.<br />
It is to be keenly regretted that the routine of the work of<br />
the Medico-Sanitary Department has not yet been organized sufficiently,<br />
to ensure current "and satisfactory reports from the districts.<br />
We are therefore giving our attention to the matter of formulating<br />
monthly report forms covering receipts and expenditures, distribution<br />
and supplies of drugs, progress of repair and rebuilding of<br />
baths, repair and equipment of hospitals and disease control.<br />
I plan to be in a position to £ive all these administrative<br />
details my personal attention immediately after my arrival in<br />
Warsaw towards the end of this month.
-13-<br />
GEHEEAL REPORT HO. 2. #1653<br />
SECTIOK 17- ROUMANIA<br />
ROUMAKIA - In addition to acting as Administrator for<br />
ADMIHISTRATION ETC. Roumania, Mr. Lewis will directly represent tho<br />
Child Caring department and the Medico-Saritaiy<br />
department. He left for his seat of operations on OctobBr Iii. wi'^ri<br />
instructions to relieve Mr. Rubinstein of all responsibility for .711V<br />
other than Reconstruction work, and it is understood that he is to<br />
take under care of 103 children plus S§ refugee children. Tho f-jnd<br />
still in our hands for the self-support of war widows he will continue<br />
to use for this purpose, but only after inquiry into the results thus<br />
far obtained with widows already assisted.<br />
RECALL OF From Vienna I received the following telegram:<br />
MR. RAVAGE<br />
"Ragave here presented his side of the case which<br />
seems quite justifiable stop most anxious fulfil<br />
what he understood to be three months contract<br />
with J.D.C. can you use his services for remaining<br />
month stop otherwise thinks only fair should<br />
be paid full three months salary stop wire your<br />
decision."<br />
To which I replied as follows? 1<br />
"Desire treat Ravage fairly stop regardless<br />
possible merit his side his recall dictated by<br />
discord injuriously effecting work stop authorize<br />
payment his salary for three months stop<br />
let him come Berlin for interview if agreeable."<br />
I returned to Vienna to meet Dr. Plotz who could not come to Berlin.<br />
Although I have been back in Vienna for two days I have not yet seen<br />
Mr. Ravage. As I indicated in the above reply to Vienna office,<br />
regardless of the merits of his contentions, in the lights of the<br />
differences existing between him and Mr. Rubinstein, the Council<br />
felt It necessary to recall him. We do not propose to utilize his<br />
services any further. I regret to have had this unsatisfactory<br />
experience with Mr. Ravage.<br />
I do not anticipate that Mr. Lewis will be required in Roumania<br />
for more than a few months. He has been instructed to send Headquarters<br />
a report on the Medico-Sanitary situation preliminary to<br />
the formulation of a program, has received clear instructions regarding<br />
the principles on which work along these lines is to be undertaken,<br />
and the policies governing our prospective appropriation. It<br />
is"furthermore definitely understood that ho is not to have authority<br />
over workers of the fiefugee Department, but is to cooperate with them<br />
In: his position of general representative of the Organization and as<br />
direct representative of the Child Oaring and Medico-Sanitary<br />
Departments.
-14fiEltol^L<br />
REPORT HO. 2 #1635<br />
SECTION V - MEDICO-SANITARY<br />
MEDICO-SANITARY This Department has made some progress but there hg.o<br />
DEPARTMENT been some delay in the organization of the work<br />
assigned to Dr. Michlin, who found it possible to KO<br />
to Warsaw only last week, to take up his new duties. I had him come<br />
to Vienna to familiarize himself with the report on Czecho-Slovp.kla<br />
with a view to starting work in the Sub-Carpathian region. A3 you<br />
sill have learned from the Minutes of the Meetings of the Executive<br />
Council, Mr- R-ieur and Dr. Frenkel reported that the Munkaos commun.-'t.T<br />
had submitted new plans for the repair and equipment of the proposed<br />
hospital of a much more elaborate character, involving a much larger<br />
expenditure than the amount originally submitted to us and on the<br />
basis of which we had recommended to you, and had secured from you,<br />
the appropriation of §10,000. We had Dr. Frenkel return to Munkaos<br />
with definite instructions that the appropriation could only be made<br />
on the basis of the plan originally submitted, unless the community<br />
itself were prepared to raise the additional funds necessary for tho<br />
enlarged plan. On my return to Vienna I found a letter from the<br />
Spitalskomitde des Versines "Chevra Kadischa" in which they claim<br />
that because we have failed to give them the necessary support, the<br />
Government declined to turn over the hospital building to them. Copy<br />
letter herewith (Enc. #5),<br />
In reply to this letter I sent the following telegram:<br />
"Bezugnehmend Ihren ^riof fuenften Oktober stop Sie sind<br />
faicht genau unterrichet stop wir haben nicht zurueckgezogen<br />
Versprechen Zuwei3ung zehntausend Dollars four<br />
Spital stop bestehen nur auf urspruengliche Bedingungen<br />
betreffs Gemeinde Anteil stop werden Ihnem leisten solche<br />
moralische Untersteutzung welche notwendig soin wird stop<br />
nach Frenkls Rueckkehr lassen Sie ihn uns verstaendlgen<br />
welche Mittel wir annegmen sollen."<br />
As soon as Doctor Frenkel returns from the vacation which<br />
apparently he must have taken with Mr. Rieur's consent, (unknown to<br />
us; I propose to go myself or delegate someone to visit Munkaos, or<br />
Prague if necessary, to help them secure the building.<br />
We have been somewhat embarrassed in our plans for work in this<br />
territory. My original plan was to transfer Dr. Wnndkos to Cracaw<br />
and in addition to give him supervision over Sub-Carpathia, having<br />
in mind the appointment of a local physician to serve an his assistant<br />
in that territory, in order to do this I planned<br />
DISCONTINUANCE to assign Dr. Olkon to Brest-Litowsk in Dr. Wendkos 1<br />
OF SERVICES place. *"i wired Br, Olkon to that effeot at Chateau<br />
DR. OLKON Guyon, but received a reply from him thnt he declined<br />
to accept that assignment. Shortly after we<br />
received an appeal for work in Georgia, which was transmitted to you,<br />
and having in mind the possibility of receiving instructions from<br />
you to send a representative to Georgia, I wired Dr. Olkon asking<br />
him if he would accept such assignment if it were offered.
-15-<br />
GENERAL REPORT NO. 2 #1633<br />
I received the following reply:<br />
SECTION V- 2-<br />
"On favorable terms would accept assignment Georgia<br />
will be Paris Tuesday"<br />
I was displeased with Br. Olkon*s+attitude in establishing terac and<br />
therefore decided that it would bg°the best interests of the work Lo<br />
have him sever his connections with us, so I telegraphed to him as<br />
follows;<br />
"Acting under our understanding Warsaw have decided<br />
to discontinue your services stop letter follows."<br />
confirming that by letter, copy enclosed (Sncl, <strong>No</strong>. 6).<br />
When in Berlin I accidentally ran into ^r. Olkon who was then<br />
on his way to i£owno to gather together his personal effects, and had<br />
a long conversation with him in which he explained that it was not<br />
his desire to leave our service but that he was prompted to decline<br />
the Brest-Litowsk assignment because he construed it as a graoeful<br />
means that I employed to have him quit. I told him that he placed<br />
a wrong construction upon my request. I did not feel it necessary<br />
te resort to a roundabout method, that I had spoken frankly to him<br />
in Warsaw and that if I had desired him to withdraw I would have told<br />
him s» very definitely. He admitted that in declining to accept the<br />
appointment he had disobeyed orders and that he had therefore virtually<br />
read himself out of our employ.<br />
Believing that he was honest in his desire to be of service I<br />
agreed to consider the question of having him return to Lithuania in<br />
accordance with a suggestion he made to me, but only on condition<br />
that he would be acceptable to the Lithuanian community. This we<br />
could only determine after the conference was held there. I therefere<br />
instructed him to remain in Berlin until the end of the Conference<br />
so as not to embarrass our negotiations. Since then Messrs.<br />
Landesco and Kahn report that Br. Olkon is absolutely persona non<br />
grata there and that it would be inadvisable to have him return<br />
under any circumstances. Moreover because of subsequent information<br />
that we received from you that arrangements are being made to return<br />
Mr. Hyman here, whom we intend to place in Lithuania,<br />
ASSIGNMENTS it will not be necessary to appoint a Medical Com-<br />
MEDICAL missioner there as resident worker. In view of all<br />
this I have telegraphed Dr. Olkon that we will<br />
accept his resignation.<br />
Because of the transfer of Dr. Michlin and Dr. Syrkin, Cracow<br />
at the present time is without a Medical Commissioner.<br />
, I am contemplating asking Br. Golub to assume responsibility<br />
for Brest-Litowsk as well as Rowno, particularly as he reports that<br />
his new assistant, Dr. syrkin, {brother of our Dr. Syrkin) who was<br />
recently appointed as his assistant seems to be doing his work very<br />
well, and if he makes good Dr. Golub will be relieved sufficiently to<br />
enable him to give Brest-Litowsk the attention necessary.
-16-<br />
CfoKERAL RfiPORT NO. 2. #165:-)<br />
SECTION V- 5°<br />
Dr. Golub furthermore informs me that he has requested another<br />
year's leave of absence from the U.S. Immigration Service, so as to<br />
enable him to remain with us for that period. An unofficial wo:"t<br />
which he has received from Boston indicates that this request is<br />
likely to be approved. This is very pleasant information as I<br />
regard him as a very valuable worker.<br />
WILNA You have been informed that a Conference has been<br />
BE'BSQO-SANITARY held in wilna on Medico-Sanitary work and that the<br />
CONFERENCE program is now under way. I told Mr. Schmidt that<br />
I was not altogether satisfied with the concession<br />
that he made to the Wilna community with reference to the graded<br />
appropriation of ^5,500. whiah he made for continuing subventions,<br />
and an additional grant of $1,000. partly to cover the diminution<br />
in the valuta of the appropriation which wilna had been receiving<br />
for Medical work pending the adoption of a definite program. I<br />
pointed out to him that before holding the Conference he should have<br />
first communicated with me and he should have done likewise before<br />
agreeing to make good the deficit sustained, as above described, in<br />
the monthly subvention. He admitted that he had acted hasitly and<br />
"promised to be good" in the future. Apparently it has been the<br />
custom on the part of various workers to exceed their authority from<br />
time to time. £his illustrates the emphasis I have laid upon the<br />
need for more definite control on the part of Headquarters. As a<br />
matter of fact the 800,000 marks above referred to was granted by<br />
Mr. Schmidt without Br. plotz*s authority. I believe, however, that<br />
the situation warranted such support. My objection was to the<br />
method in which it was furnished.<br />
MDW/FES<br />
(signed) MORRIS D» ^ALDMAN.