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¥ By Joseph Leiser David Slusky of Augusta, Ca. Here is a sketch of a man who has matched hit f,,ttteps in the financial uorld tilth an equal pace in the affairs of his com munity. Southern Jetery it proud of his achieve ments. H'hen the name of David Slusky, of Au gusta, Georgia, is men tioned, it is always with the reverence of an ar dent admirer. To present a true reflection of David Slusky, there is no other rntre eapahle than the au thor. Rabbi Joseph Leiser, ompetrnt and respected Udder of the Congrega tion Children of Israel, in luyusta, Georgia. Here is an interesting story of a leader, written by one who also leads. JOSEPH LEISER ABOUT ten o’clock on any morning of the r\ week there may he seen walking briskly down Broad Street, the main business thor oughfare of Augusta, Ga., a medium sized, square shouldered man. The hair about his temples is jre\ but his face in repose is not lined with wrin kles. In fact, it has the healthy glow of youth md \et the man is in his late sixties. He walks, however, with a rapid stride and a swing of the 'boulders that indicate good health. He is headed toward the National Exchange Bank, an impos ing structure patterned after a Greek temple, with hijh pillars and an unadorned facade. A few quick 'trps vl p a short flight of stairs brings him inside ‘he bank. He enters with an easy confidence. He ' one of the officers of this bank, its vice-president tor eight years and a director for more than thirty ' f ars. This man is David Slusky. 1 here are few persons in the South who are better known—few who are more highly esteemed g-th.in this man who, in 1881, arrived in Augusta, 1 » 1 enniless, unknown but unafraid, armed with J be ne essential equipment which from days of I'bl nto this very hour has been of the most price- r " *sscssions a man may own—the mastery of 1 tr :e. David Slusky was a metal worker. E had learned his trade in the old country, in ol of working men w'ho had none of the '•f 'S and deference developed later. Life was r hen and every man who worked with his imitated the circumstances in which he Blows right and left were dealt the young a i P ltice bound out for instruction in the crafts, and industries a young lad entered in order pare himself for his life’s work, id Slusky was apprenticed to a metal worker anu e learned the trade in the same manner that ians, or whatever the craft may be, learn it Every apprentice must obtain mastery over TRl OUTHERN ISRAELITE * the materials he handles. Examinations are required for certificates of skill and as an apprentice young Slusky had to make various cornices in the presence of his master craftsmen of the trade, l hc finished products had to conform to standard and when these were approved the young apprentice received a diploma and was entitled to go forth and earn his living. He was fully equipped for the fray. Forearmed, an accredited craftsman, master of a trade, and better prepared to find employment, and hold it. It w’as the day of migration. The opportunities for commercial develop ment in this country were made known to all the world. America needed in habitants. Needed trained hands and skilled workers. It was the era of expansion— immigration from Europe was settling the West and the South was repairing the damages result ing from a war. The country hummed with ac tivity. Any one who wanted to work could find it in those days, and when a man endowed by his Creator with energy, determination and ambition resolved to establish himself in this country. No one asset alone enables man to rise in the scale of economic success. It was not his skill as a mechanic that enabled David Slusky to become the responsible man he is today. Nor does this mas tery of his craft account for the honor in which he is held by all classes of people in the South. There are other assets than skill which prosper men— there are qualities of the heart and soul, spiritual factors, inner earnestness and stout resolve; moral factors that work for man and spur him on to his goal. These are also his shield and buckler, his high tower, his refuge in days of adversity as well as in moments of abounding prosperity. 'The era in which David Slusky began his work in Augusta was a prosperous period. Everybody was active—there was much to do. Like many another man. Slusky worked diligently, conscien tiously and without regard to the clock, or to per sonal comfort. He did with his might whatever his hands found to do, and as a result he estab lished a reputation. Jobs were plentiful in those days but skilled workers were few, and reliable, skilled workers still fewer. This young man be gan working at fifty cents per day, but in that time the value of money was higher than it is to day—even so, it was a small wage. He saved. He did without luxuries. He made the present merely a means to an end, so that ten years after he ar rived in Augusta he had erected for himself a building on Broad Street, on the very site of his present structure to which the city points with pride. Many other buildings line the street, yet there is no other owner who commands the esteem and respect of his fellow citizens such as David Slusky enjoys. Few have made so liberal a contribution to the city. “He is a living illustration," the Au gusta Chronicle editorialized on his return from a trip to Palestine, “of what honesty, integrity and industry will do for a penniless boy in America. But at the same time he is a citizen extraordinary because he overcame handicaps and mastered sit uations that few men in this or any other country successfully do.” A noteworthy tribute from a well known editor to one of the citizens whom his fellowmen were honoring as they celebrated his return from an ex tensive trip abroad, because his heart had always been responsive to his fellowman in distress; be cause he believed in Augusta. When the city was flooded he was the first to begin repairing the dam ages. He had pinned his faith to Augusta and be lieved in the future of the city of his adoption. He paid for his belief. Subscribed to stocks in any enterprise initiated in Augusta. Accepted losses in common with his fellow citizens, but his faith in Augusta has never wavered. David Slusky is a man of good heart. Appeals for aid receive his personal attention. Distress, destitution, poverty in any form awakens his sym pathy. He gives freely and with a willing heart because it is a duty and because he feels he has a personal obligation to ease the lot of those whose lives have fallen in unpleasant places. The one event in David Slusky’s life of which he is proudest is his trip to Palestine. I he same yearning for Palestine which had motivated the souls of his ancestors stirred in him. Apparently he had “inherited some of this yearning," he said in a speech delivered in the 'Telfair Street Temple on his return from this trip, “because ever since a boy he had a strong desire to see and visit Pales tine.” His desire was finally realized and he and his wife had the good fortune to visit this far-away land. The yearning for the land of his ancestors is an aspect of his life which is dominated by his birth in the household of Israel. In every way David Slusky typifies those traits w'hich have pre vailed among his brethren and which arc still up held as fitting and proper for men to emulate. 'Thrifty, conscientious, public spirited and one who loves his fellow’men sincerely, drawing no dis tinction between man and man on the score of race, religion or nationality—broad-minded and democratic—meeting all people with an open countenance and doing whatever is in his power to aid his fellowman. He has, without seeking consciously to play a part, been a blessing to his fellow' citizens since he identified himself with the city of Augusta, and made its welfare foremost. He has always recognized the fact that he ob tained his contracts and sold his merchandise to his fellow’ citizens, and (Please turn to page 18) [7]