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The Southern Israelite
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THE JEW WHO
WILL STUDY THE NATION’S LAWS
A Character Sketch of Monte Leinann
When President Hoover announced
I -he list of members of the National
law Enforcement Commission, the
m „st important act of his administra-
I tive career, the name of Monte Le-
Miann was included in the list of the
I mnst important legal minds in the
country who were entrusted with the
I task of studying the machinery of
justice and of formulating remedies
I f,,r defects that might be discovered
n the machinery. It is generally ad
mitted that on the findings of the
I l aw Commission depends the future
t law observance and law enforce
ment in the United States. The Com
mission is, in other words, of out
standing significance for the country’s
welfa re.
The name of Monte Lemann evoked
no responsive chord in the minds of
most American Jews. In fact, it was
not known until some days after the
announcement that Monte Lemann
was a Jew at all. When the fact
became known it was taken for grant
ed by some people that Hoover had
wished to recognize the Jewish ele
ment of the population and had ac
cordingly selected Monte Lemann.
Hut who was Monte Lemann? What
had he accomplished to entitle him
to so distinguished an honor? If he
was chosen as representative of the
.lews, what part had he played in the
•Jewish community of his native city,
New Orleans? The answers to all
these questions help to reveal one of
the finest figures American Jewry
has produced, a man who was un
known to the country at large not be
cause he had not achieved many
things, but because he did not care
to emphasize them.
Monte Lemann, born in Donaldson,
I.ouisiana some forty-four years ago,
has by his own power of personality
and abundance of ability become a
dominant factor in the life of the
South. He comes of an old Southern
Jewish family, which was rather
[ wealthy, but he was not catapulted
" his position by his family’s wealth.
He imbibed the culture of the South
(, n the plantation where he was raised,
and which he still owns. He re-
ceived his education at Tulane Uni-
uusity and then went to Harvard,
from where he returned to New Or
gans and began practising law.
bemann’s career cannot be describ
ed on the background of anti-Semit-
i>!n. For, those who are acquainted
Hth conditions say that New Orleans
as ^ ss °f what is known as anti
semitism than any other city in the
ountry. It is the only large com-
munity in the country where Jews
ar \ welcome in the most exclusive
ml circles. This must be kept in
mind for an understanding of-Le-
n.ann. Otherwise one might be tempt-
a lachrymose picture of a
'] gating against heavy odds of
ua antipathy and economic dis
crimination.
iw-h T esS * n S a brilliant mind, gifted
-n analytical powers and the
‘ k * 0r sympathetic understand-
* mann rapidly forged ahead
By ROBERT STONE
Monte Lemann, a member of that limited and powerful body known as
the Hoover Law Enforcement Commission, is unknown in national politics,,
but he is, nevertheless, one of the finest Jews America has produced, as Mr.
Stone describes him. This character sketch of the man is important for an
understanding of what Lemann will contribute to a study of the nation’s laws.
—The Editor.
MONTE M. LEMANN
New Orleans, La., Attorney, Professor of Law at Tulane University,
and President of the State Par Association.
in the legal profession of New Or
leans. His sheer merit won him the
position of President of the State
Bar Association, a high honor for
one of such comparative youth.
The most important fact to remem
ber about Monte Lemann is that he
has always shown the vision of the
statesman; he has never been known
as a political ward-heeler. What
ever honors have been awarded to
him have never come of his own seek
ing; they were inevitable rewards for
outstanding service. That President
Hoover selected him as a member of
the Law Enforcement Commission is
evidence that the former has ignored
political considerations in order to
find men who could genuinely con
tribute something to a study of the
nation’s law. Incidentally, Lemann
has always been a Democrat, and is
today thoroughly Democratic in all
his ideas and views. He did, how
ever, vote for Hoover in the last elec
tions, but he was not identified with
that large body of Southern fanatics
that rejected Smith either on the
grounds of religion or prohibition.
Rabbi Louis Bienstock, of Temple
Sinai, of New Orleans, of which
Monte Lemann is an extremely active
member, has characterized Lemann
as “the type best symbolizing the
aims and culture of our American
environment, and also retaining the
finest and noblest in the Jewish cul
tural outlook.” Lemann has taken
an interest in the community not be
cause of political rewards, which he
has neither sought nor received, but
because of a compelling humanitarian
interest. During the Mississippi
flood, Lemann was one of the limited
group in direct control of the situ
ation, who helped to arrange the re
parations, who aided in the engineer
ing plans for the exploding of levees,
etc.
But he has not been among that
large and growing number of Ameri
can Jews who find ample opportunity
for communal work among non-Jews,
but who are always absent in purely
Jewish communal endeavors. Temple
Sinai has known him as one of the
devoted members of the congregation.
There is not a single Jewish philan
thropy in New Orleans, whatever its
nature, that has not had Lemann as
a contributor or helpful counsellor.
Endowed with a strong Jewish sense
of duty, Lemann has taken every
available moment from his extensive
law practise to interest himself in the
problems of his Jewish community,
whether it be in the raising of funds
for Palestine or for relief.
A liberal of the highest type, Le
mann has never permitted differences
of opinion to separate him from the
Jewish community. His spirit is well
typified in his relations to the late
Rabbi Max Heller, who was head
of Temple Sinai. Heller was one of
the greatest Zionist leaders ever pro
duced in this country, a man who
carried his Zionism into his congre
gation though he well knew that the
members of the congregation were in
different to it. Lemann differed with
Heller in respect to his Zionism but
he always remained his most loyal
friend, co-operating with him in every
communal effort.
What type of man is Monte Le
mann ? What will be his particular
contribution in a study of the laws of
the United States? What will be his
attitude? For Lemann there is only
one viewpoint in considering a mat
ter: is it just, is it honest, is it equit
able? His loyalties come afterward.
In many respects he may be compared
to Justice Brandeis, any of whose
liberal views he holds. If Lemann
has not been more widely known na
tionally, it is because he does not
hold the demagogic views that single
out some of his notorious Southern
compatriots, men like Senator Heflin
and Governor Bilbo. Liberals in the
North who are fond of painting the
South as a community of benighted,
intolerant and bigoted citizens need to
meet Monte Lemann to find one of the
greatest liberals the United States
owns.
There are two sides to Monte Le
mann, one of which is revealed to his
friends, the other to his acquaint
ances. In a large group he is shy,
different, entirely unassuming. But
in an intimate group he is what might
be called “the life of the party,” gay,
jocular. He has a remarkable sense
of humor, which, psychologically
speaking, is another symbol of his
liberalism. Those who know the
deep, serious phase, and those who
have the privilege of observing the
lighter vein see in Monte Lemann a
well-rounded, harmonious character
to whom every experience is welcome,
and to whom partiality and prejudice
are alien.
If all the members of the Hoover
Law Enforcement Commission have
the insight, the sympathy, the judg
ment and the background possessed
by the Jew Monte Lemann, there is
hope that its finding will be sane^zed
salutary. ..cm both and
Copyright 1929 by J ween thcm
ture Syndicate. ^ ^ ^
graphic Agency, Inc.
