Verhovayak Lapja, 1945 (28. évfolyam, 1-52. szám)

1945 / Verhovay Journal

Verhovas Journal Verhovay Journal Journal of the Verhovay Fraternal Insurance Ass’n OFFICE OF PUBLICATION 8502 West Jefferson Ave. Detroit 17, Mich. PUBLISHED SEMI-MONTHLY BY THE Verhovay Fraternal Insurance Association Managing Editor: JOHN BENCZE Editor: COLOMAN REVESZ Editor’s Office: 345 FOURTH AVENUE ROOM 805 PITTSBURGH 22, PA. All articles and changes of address should be sent to the VERHOVAY FRATERNAL INSURANCE ASSOCIATION 345 FOURTH AVENUE, PITTSBURGH 22, PA. SUBSCRIPTION RATES: United States and Canada _____________________$1.00 a year Foreign Countries _____________________________$1.50 a year ADVERTISING DEPARTMENT: P. O. BOX 7,­­WOOLSEY STATION — LONG ISLAND CITY 5, N. Y. Entered as Second Class Matter at the Post Office at Detroit, Michigan under the Act of March 3, 1879. HELP! A Call to Aid Hungary , Easter marks a new beginning in our relationship with Hungary, the blacked out country of the ancestors of Hungarian immigrants and their American descendants. For years we have heard of the poverty and misery of the Hunga­rian nation which hss first been plundered by Germany and then burned down by he opposing armies of Hitler and Stalin. We have no way of estimating the damage done to that country or the loss of lives suffered by the nation. Though the greater part of Hunga­ry has been liberated from under the yoke of the Nazi oppressors, Russia, due to its own peculiar policy .in publicity matters, keeps a complete news-blackout over Hungary so, that only such news reaches us from that country which has been issued or approved by the Russian military authorities. While we have no reason to doubt the veracity of the news reaching us, there is still a lack of relevant news, for most of the bulletins refer only to political matters and very little is said about the people and the conditions under which they live. Nevertheless, it stands to reason that the material and human losses of Hungary are appalling and that urgent help is needed. Shortly after the armistice between Hungary and the Allied nations was signed, the President’s War Relief Board registered the “American Hungarian War Relief, Inc.” as tho only body authorized te function as a relief agency, in behalf of the needy people of Hungary. This is a very important fact. During and after the first world war relief organizations mushroomed all over the United States in behalf of various nations and groups, orphans and widows, cripples and veterans, etc., etc., and it was found that many of these organizations were nothing but one-man campaigns the pro­ceeds of which never reached those in whose behalf they were con­ducted. In order to avoid the repetition of this sad experience, the Government of the United States adopted a new policy which provides that the interests of any­one nation may be served by only one national committee which must secure permission to operate and approval of the members of its Board from the President’s War Relief Board which carefully investigates every application and grants approval only after it has been established beyond a shadow of doubt that the committee ap­plying for presidential approval acts in good faith and in the best interest of that particular cause which it desires to promote. It is emphasized for this reason, that the “AMERICAN HUNGA­RIAN RELIEF, INC.”, is the only organization in the United States authorized by the proper author­ities to solicit funds in behalf of the people of Hungary. No other organization, nor any other indi­vidual has the right to start a similar movement, and, therefore, all donations intended for the needy people of Hungary must be sent to the “American Hungarian Relief, Inc.”. That is the reason why various groups, many of which opposed one another in the past, joined the War Relief Movement which is perhaps the only cause that ever united the various religious, so­cial and political organizations to which American Hungarians be­long. Knowing that there can be only one Relief organization, these various groups had to set aside the ideologies that separated them and get together, as far as the conducting of the Hungarian War Relief Movement is concerned. MAIN OFFICE OPENED As soon as the President’s War Relief Board approved the set-up of the “American Hungarian War Relief, Inc.” the Directors of the Committee began to work out the details of the plans pertaining to the campaign and at the same time, arranged for the rental of a Central Office for the ‘Americ­an Hungarian War Relief, Inc.", the opening of which at 165 West 46th Street, New York (19), N.Y. (Corner of Broadway) is an­nounced herewith. As soon as the Main Office of the “American Hungarian Relief, Inc.” was opened, the Board issued a call to all Americans of Hungarian origin to the various groups, societies, clubs and churches in which they are organized, requesting that lo­cal committees be formed immedi­ately and that the names and addresses of the officers of such local committees be submitted for approval to the Main Office of the “American Hungarian War Relief, Inc.”, in New York at the above address. Due to the provi­sions and regulations pertaining to all Relief Organizations, local committees are permitted to op­erate only if a license has been issued by the “American Hunga­rian Relief, Inc.”. The Verhovay Fraternal Insurance Association prefers that Branches forming local Committees send in the names and addresses of their resp. offi­cers to the Home Office which in turn will submit them for approval to the Main Offce of the A.H.R. Inc., because we would like to have a record of the Branches which actively participate in the movement. However applications for approval and. permission to operate may be requested from tbe Main Office of the “American Hungarian Relief, Inc.” The Executive Committee selected Mr. Arthur Dobozy as the executive secretary of the “American Hun­garian Relief, Inc.” whose duties pertain to the administrative mat­ters, the contacting of the various relief agencies and government authorities, and Mr. Matthias Torok as associate secretary who is in charge of the promotional phase of the movement. RESPONSE TO THE CALL An immediate response to the call of the “American Hungarian Relief, Inc.” was noticeable. In many Aemrican Hungarian colo­nies, like Trenton. N.J., Buffalo, N.Y., Pittsburgh, Pa., Springdale, Pa„ Canton, 0„ the various clubs, branches of fraternal organiza­tions, churches, called joint meet­ings and immediately decided to form joint committees, elected the officers and applied for permission to operate to the “American Hun­garian Relief, Inc.”. The promo­tional secretary of the “American Hungarian Relief, Inc.”, will assist these local committees in the con­ducting of the campaign and he will also make every effort to start the movement in towns and cities which have not yet responded Judging from the response, it is obvious that Americans of Hun­garian origin all over the country take to this great cause with great confidence and are ready to make great sacrifices in behalf of the impoverished people of Hun­gary where most of first and sec­ond generation American Hunga­rians have close relatives whose desperate need is a matter of deep concern and personal interest to all of us. Not speaking of the nearly $ 100,000.- already granted by the various American Hungarian Associations, more than ten thou­sand dollars have already been donated by the various smaller groups and individuals. And this is only the beginning of the move­ment which has set as its immedi­ate goal the raising of one million dollars for the relieving of the most pressing needs of our ill­­fated brethren in Hungary. HUNGARY’S NEED AROUSES AMERICANS’ SYMPATHY Let no one believe that the Hungarian War Relief movement is limited only to Americans of Hungarian origin. The American nation as a whole is well-known for its compassionate character and the willingness to help worthy causes. Americans always were the first to help people of whom they knew very little but whose need appealed to their generosity. Many wellknown Americans have closely watched the outcome of Hungary’s tragic struggle and often raised their voices in the defense of this misunderstood nation. Some of them already expressed their willingness to contribute towards the alleviation of the poverty stricken Hungarians and we have reason to believe that Americans, who have no personal connections with the people of Hungary, will make substantial contributions to this cause. It is, therefore, only fair to expect, that Americans of Hungarian descent, who having relatives in Hungary, have a personal interest in the fate of that nation, will contribute gener­ously to the cause presented by the “American Hungarian War Relief, Inc.” The kind interest of old-stock Americans in the cause of Hungary justifies us in expec­ting that the second and third generation descendants of Hunga­rian immigrants, i.e. the readers of this Journal, will not withhold their support from this movement, even though they may never have had the opportunity to personally know their grandparents, or cous­ins whom they know only from hear-say, but whose desparate need must appeal to their sympathy.— It is for this reason, that we expect our English speaking branches to participate in this movement with as much generos­ity as the older folks will.— PRO AND CON There never was a cause without an opposition and the Hungarian Var Relief movement is no excep­tion. Even though the greatest part of Americans of Hungarian origin is represented in the Committee by the best known leaders of the various national organizations and chuches, there are still some smal­ler groups and individuals who hold themselves aloof from this movement and some of them even go as far as to attack it with accusations that, through the press which is open to them are spread among American Hungarians and in some instances succeed in raising doubts as to the integrity or the future success of the move­ment. We believe that the cause is best served by openly repudi­ating these accusations and al­legations. SUSPICIOUS UNITY Some groups and individuals hold themselves aloof from the movement claiming that the unity of the various and formerly oppo­sed groups of American Hungarians is open to suspicion. “How is it possible—they say— that people who formerly have accused one another with almost every social or political crime under the sun, suddenly find it possible to sit down together at the same table and join ranks in this movement. The cause is noble but there is something fishy about this suddenly developed comrades­­ship.” This argument clearly depicts the state of mind of those who pose it. American citizens of Hungarian origin consider Hungary * their mother, if they were born there, or their grandmother, if their parents came from that country. How any­one can get suspicious because estranged brothers and sisters suddenly make up upon hearing that their mother has been stricken by serious illness and is near to her death, is beyond us. For Hungary’s situation is exactly like that. The people of Hungary are on the brink of starvation. There­fore, their American brothers and sisters, gather at her sick-bed, determined to make a joint effort to help her. What is so strange about that? Indeed, it would be strange if American Hungarians would not act that way and they would deserve to be despised by I their American fellow-citizens if, because of their family quarrels, they would leave their sick mother alone and helpless. The truth is that such unity can be objectionable only to one who would like to see the people of Hungary starve in order that its national existence may cease iMarch 28, 1945-forever and its boundaries broken down for the benefit of all who wish to partake in the inheri­tance of the dead nation. No American Hungarian would ever admit that he would like to see the people of Hungary wiped out . . . everyone would despise him for such a cynical admission. But obviously, it is just that desire that prompts some people to raise doubts as to the in­tegrity of the relief committee on the grounds of its “sus­picious unity." HELP YOUR OIVN PEOPLE Argument number 2, runs along these lines: we all have relatives in Hungary most of whom will be in desperate need of help. If we contribute to the general fund, we may not be able to help our own folks and that, Obviously, is our first duty. This is a serious argument and it is, undoubtedly, attractive. It admits the need for help but claims that it will be a more efficient way of helping if everyone takes care of his imme­diate relatives. Yet, sad experiences of the past help us point out the fallacy of this argument. / After the first World War and throughout the period between the First and Second World War many American “rich uncle and aunt” has been made a “sucker” by un­­conscientious relatives. There is just no way of convincing the people in Europe that anyone immigrating to the U.S., will not get rich in no time at all. This writer, who left Hungary without a penny, was approached by some of his relatives for a substantial “loan” after only two months’ residence in this country. It is the unshakeable belief of nearly every Hungarian that an uncle in Amer­ica is a rich uncle. Requests for money did come by the thousands in the past from relatives in Hungary to their “rich” American uncles, aunts and brothers, and they will pour into this country by the millions after the war. In many instances the requests for aid were justified and they will be even more so after this war. Nevertheless, there will be just as many cases when un­­conscientious people will jump at the possibility created by the world-wide knowledge of Hunga­ry’s poverty and use it for their own benefit and write to their American relatives for aid even though they may not need it as many others of their countrymen. This has happened many times after the First World War and the cynical abuse of blood relationship has embittered many an American Hungarian after he found out that the gift which cost him great sacrifice, was not really needed because the relative asking for financial help was even better off, than the one who rendered assis­tance. Experiences of that kind have made many an American Hungarian doubtful towards the requests and demands made from overseas and led him to deny assistance even in cases where requests for help was justified. This possibility must be faced by all Americans who have rel­atives in Hungary and, therefore, it makes sense to pool our re­sources and leave it to the proper authorities to distribute the funds, donated by Americans, according to need. Our own relatives will get their fair share, if they are really in need, in fact, they even get more than we could contribute individ­ually, should for instance, their situation necessitate extraordinary measures. — On the other hand, if we insist that each American (Continued on Page 5)

Next

/
  • Layout
  • Zoom
  • Rotation
Thumbnails
Contents