20 New Scholarships Expected From South As Sar Concludes Trip (Vol. 2, Issue 6)

Approximately twenty new scholarships may be expected to materialize as a result of the Southwest tour made by Mr. Samuel L. Sar, Secretary of Yeshiva last week.

The tour was undertaken for the purpose of acquainting that section of the country with the work of Yeshiva, and at the same time better understand the conditions of Jewry in the southwest states, he stated upon his return to New York late yesterday.

Committee Formed

The Southwest tour included a 3,500 mile trip which covered St. Louis, Kansas City, Tulsa, Columbus, Dallas, and Houston. Mr. Sar met Dr. Leo Jung, of the ethics department, in Dallas. Dr. Jung is expected to complete his tour with a visit to Houston in time to arrive in new York by Thursday night. Dr. Jung is making the trip by plane.

In Dallas, Texas, a scholarship committee has been organized to establish six or seven scholarships to be known as the Dallas Community Scholarships.

Conditions Bad

In general Mr. Sar described the condition of Jews in the Southwest as satisfactory from economic and social points of view, but in a terrible condition as regards religion. He emphasized that in one small town the rate of intermarriage was over fifty percent, while in many places, communities of a hundred families had not the services of a shochet available.

Mr. Sar emphasized the need of a number of American born travelling clergymen who would be willing to travel through the section on a series of lecture tours, to attempt an adult educational program. In Kansas City, where conditions are hardly better, there exists a small Yeshiva, a preparatory school with an enrollment of sixteen. It is expected that four graduates of that institution will enter yeshiva in September.

Other Tours Possible

In general satisfied with the results of this tour, Mr. Sar hoped that a similar tour to cover the western coast could be arranged in the future. Such a tour would acquaint the Jews of that section with the work of the Yeshiva, its importance in meeting conditions such as exist in the Southwest, its aims, and its needs. At the same time it would afford the institution a chance to obtain first hand information on the Jewish situation in the West, which would prove mutually beneficial.