Compiled by San Diego Jewish World staff
Dial Long Distance
Southwestern Jewish Press, December 9, 1955, Page 5
Installation of direct distance dialing equipment that will enable local telephone users to dial their own long distance calls to many points in the country after next April 15 is scheduled to start next week.
Local residents will be able to dial most Southern California points, plus 19 other major cities in the country. These are Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Milwaukee, Oakland, Sacrament, San Francisco, Portland Newark, New York, Oklahoma City, Phoenix, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, St. Louis and Washington D.C.
In placing a call it will be necessary first to dial the distance directing code of 112, which will the direct the call into the DDD equipment.
For example, to reach Plaza 5-0599 in New York City, first dial 112, then 212 (area code for New York City) then PL 5-0599.
DDD is fully automatic except for the identification of the telephone number the calling party is using. The equipment automatically brings in an operator to obtain the calling number.
The “O” operator will, assist customers on their DDD calls. Only station-to-station calls will be dialed directly. Person-to-person, collect calls, and others from coin telephones still will go through the operator.
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Your Assemblyman Reports
Southwestern Jewish Press, December 9, 1955, Page 6
By Sheridan Hegland
Member, State Legislature
On December 8 in Sacramento, a subcommittee of the Assembly Municipal and County Government Committee meets. I shall discuss with members of this group my plans to introduce legislation to place a limit on property tax rates.
The individual home-owner now pays taxes to a variety of local tax agencies. Each agency goes its merry way setting its own rate (in effect) without even looking at the rates to be set by other agencies. Result is a pyramiding of taxes. If a total tax rate limit were set, and enforced, each taxing agency would keep an eye on every other agency.
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On December 7 in Sacramento the new Scholarship Commission meets. As the author of the bill setting up the commission, I want to congratulate Governor Knight on his appointments. They were non political. All the members are well-qualified.
I am especially grateful for his appointment of a resident of this County, George A. Scott, the department store executive and civic leader.
Examinations for these scholarships will be held, probably in February or March. Eligible are high school seniors.
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Another meeting I’ll attend will be on December 12, when an Assembly subcommittee begins investigation of Pacific Colony, a state institution charged with the care of mentally retarded youngsters.
Many complaints have been filled, charging malnutrition of youngsters there. I am hopeful that the committee will hold a public hearing in this County, as rewquested by our County Grand Jury.
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The first public hearing on the question of building a campus of the university of California in San Diego County will be held sometime early in January.
The idea of expanding Scripps Institute, a present campus, into a full-fledged university, emphasizing biological and physical sciences and engineering, appears to be gaining strength.
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New-Rich Judaism, Preoccupied With Materialism, Comfort, Conformity
Southwestern Jewish Press, December 9, 1955, Page 7
By Rabbi Leonard B. Gewirtz
From Jewish Spectator
The American Jewish community is largely composed of new-rich. Social surveys show that the Jews moved up the social ladder faster than any other ethnic group.
The new-rich over-rate or over-value material possessions. They are convinced that a plethora of material goods will in themselves make life worth living. Because they believe in this shallow materialism, they assume that he who increases his wealth increases his happiness.
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Almost any individual who “gets-rich-quick” believes that possession of wealth is evidence of worth. This notion is usually rejected by the established rich. They have learned that money in itself is not valuable. Happiness cannot be purchased.
The drive for comfort has made us lazy and indolent. When we come home from work, we hate to leave the house. We fall into a seat and sit hypnotized by the television, passive and comfortable. We do not exert ourselves. We are not required to use our intelligence, exercise our thought or turn a page – we just sit and gaze passively.
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The conviction of the new-rich is to conform at all costs. Do what all the new-rich are doing. Go to the same hotels; buy the same cars; drink the same whiskey; join the same clubs or Temple. Don’t be different.
The new-rich have few principles and little conviction. (“I contribute to both parties.”) Their ideals are those of the public relations counselor, whose law is: please the people—do not offend them.
The three convictions of the new-rich: veneration of material success; cult of comfort; and cult of conformity are descriptive not only of the Jewish group but of the mass culture of America.
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The new-rich Judaism is a domestic religion calculated to make life pleasant n the family circle. Bar Mitzvah is an occasion to show off wealth in conspicuous waste with cooking on the Sabbath and general disregard for religious practice. The leaders of the community usually arrive just before the conclusion of the Sabbath Services.
The confirmation for girls has developed into a coming-out affair and sweet-sixteen party rolled into one. The parents entertain lavishly with drink and food, introducing their bundle of naches to the community.
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For those Jews the synagogues have become mutual admiration societies. Every member is self-righteous and respectable: each is convinced that he is good to God and man; every member is self-content; self-exalted; and self-adulating.
As they sit in their synagogues and temples on Yom Kippur, they are proud – proud of thir wealth, thir well educated children and their large beautiful houses of worship. But do they pray? Do they repent? Do they feel a need for God?
In the new-rich form of worship, where there is no feeling, no emotions, no integrity, no religious individuality, there can be no congregation. There is only a vast, well-mannered crowd held together b external rules.
Our pre-occupation with materialism, comfort and conformity is bad for our souls and bad for our society.
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Jai Alai Opens Dec. 29
Southwestern Jewish Press, December 9, 1955, Page 8
TIJUANA—The Fronton Palace announced yesterday that its 1955 jai alai season will end following the program of Sunday, Dec. 18. The re=opening is set for Thursday, Dec. 29, making it the shortest layoff the Fronton has had since its opening in 1947.
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Catholics, Jews and Political Action
Southwestern Jewish Press, December 9, 1955, Page 8
By Harry Golden, From the Carolina Israelite
When I speak of Paul Blanshard I speak of a friend whom I have known and admired. But for the life of me I cannot make head or tail out of his books ‘against’ Roman Catholic political activity. I haven’t the faintest idea what he is trying to prove. It is true that the influence of the Roman Catholic Church as has established certain patterns of life in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and New York. Of course this is nothing new. The Protestants have established certain patterns of life in the South. But when Cardinal Spellman in New York and Cardinal Cushing in Boston use “the weight of numbers” to influence certain legislation, I think this is wonderful. What Cardinal Spellman and Cardinal Cushing are doing is guaranteeing my right to do the same thing! Curtail their freedom of political action and where would I be? Indeed where would any of us be? Paul has never said in any of his books that the Catholics arrive at these decisions illegally. Well, what point is he trying to make – that the Catholics have a light of voters up in Boston and New York? Who doesn’t know that?
Political action is the warp and woof of America. It is the language of America. The whole trouble with it is that the Jews have the “name” for it, but not the “game.” Definitely not. They are scared to death, taken in by the knuckleheads who talk of a “Jewish vote”. The very idea. The Arabs send over nine perfumed guys with white turbans and look who’s talking about a “Jewish vote.” In America. What do they know about America? They could talk about an “Arab vote” if they had sat at the cradle of this land; if they had came here and worked in the factories and built schools and temples; and created the garment industry; and the motion picture and theatrical cultures; and written “Alexander’s Ragtime Band,” “Waitin’ for the Robert E. Lee” and Porgy and Bess; and created plays, novels, operas and cures for pellagra, syphilis, and polio; and fought in every war from Washington to Van Fleet; then and only then could the Arabs talk of an Arab vote. But what the nine perfumed Arabs in America want is for the Jews to pull up even with them. Now wouldn’t that be just ducky.
The United States of America is made up of voting blocs. The Protestants certainly use the civil arm of government for many activities of their fellowships ;–sectarian teaching in the schools, closing down places on Sunday, preventing the appointment of an Ambassador to the Vatican; and to be conservative, let us say, a million other things. Every group in America uses political action. Of course when you do not use political action, the opposition just plain loves you to death –that’s it, let’s do this thing gradual-like, slow and easy—through education. Dot’s nice. Easy does it, men, say abot the year 2,781.
But I still haven’t the faintest idea what Paul Blandshard is trying to do.
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License Bureau Spells It Out
Southwestern Jewish Press, December 9, 1955, Page 5
So you’re name’s Dan and you’d like your 1956 license plate to spell it out, Dan-123, or Dan-triple nothing, or some other three-digit affix.
Perhaps you’re a new Deal Democrat, and you’d like to immortalize the father of the New Deal by displaying on your car the famous initials FDR.
Well, it’s possible. It’s also possible that some staunch Republican will draw FDR or even HST. And a girl named May could very well come up with Dan and vice versa.
But it is not possible that the staunch Republican will be thrilled, or the Democrat irked, by having been issued a plate bearing the also-famous inotials IKE. Nor will any fellow named Joe be able to get a plate bearing his name. For the letters “O” which looks like naught, and “I” which could be confused with”One” and “Q” because it resembles “O” are out.
All of which is by way of saying that California’s unique 1956 unique license plate numbering system, consisting of three letters followed by three numerals, will be issued on a catch-can basis, and ALL holds barred.
Nobody, nowhere, nohow, is going to get the plates he asks for by design. If Mr. J.E. Cornpone comes out of the scramble with a JEC plate, it’ll be only because by sheer happenstance he applied for his license plates in the right town at the right Motor Vehicles Department, window, and the right moment when the JEC series was being issued.
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Adventures in San Diego Jewish History” is sponsored by Inland Industries Group LP in memory of long-time San Diego Jewish community leader Marie (Mrs. Gabriel) Berg. Our “Adventures in San Diego Jewish History” series will be a regular feature until we run out of history. To find stories on specific individuals or organizations, type their names in our search box