(By Our Minneapolis Correspondent)
Ever since the discovery of gold in this territory more than sixty years ago, Jews have been on a basis of social equality with their neighbors, an equality favored by the fact that they rank as “Pioneers”, a classification similar to Mayflower descendants in New England or First Families in Virginia. Of the old cattle barons, L. E. Kaufman, is still alive, one of the celebrated live stock men of the state, on whose ranch the famous cowboy, Charlie Russell, got his start. Other Jewish firms with large cattle and ranch holdings were Sands Bros and Gans & Klein, two of the earliest mercantile houses in the state, now extinct after a career of over half a century.
One of the grand old men of Montana is Moses Morris, who walked behind a covered wagon from the East in the days before the railroad. Mr. Morris, the oldest Mason in the state, is a past grand master of the Grand Lodge, a dignity which he shares with another eminent mason, H. S. Hepner. The first mayor of Butte was Henry Jacob#### the Helena Kiwanis Club and is being groomed for Congressman from his district. Isaac Boyer was unanimously reelected president of the Helena Commercial Club for four terms. Aaron Singer is President of the Montana Aviation Committee with headquarters at Great Falls.
At one time, Jews were prominent bankers, including especially A. Seligman, of the New York family of that name, and L. and A. Hershfied. Today Julius and Ed. Hirschberg operate the First National Bank at Choteau and are active in all civic matters.
In other professions, Charles Cohan was active in journalism as editor of the “Butte Miner”, while Belle Fligelman of Helena edited the “Montana Progressive,” was active in the fight for woman suffrage, and acted as secretary to Jeannette Rankin, America’s first Congresswoman. Dr. L. H. Fligman, a leading specialist of Helena, has for many years been re-appointed to the State Board of Health, serving at one time as chairman. Louis Levine was for several years professor of economics at the State University in Missoula. Josephine Hepner is a member of the State Historical Board.
In religious matters Montana Jewry is not active. The early settlers made many sacrifices to found congregations, benevolent soccieties, and cemeteries. They built handsome temples–Rabbi Sammuel Sechulman of New York stared his carrer in Helena. But today there is only one rabbi (in Butte) and the other congregations are practically disbanded. Membership in lodges and country clubs in freely open, Jewish young people are few, and inter-marriage in most communites is the rule rather than the execption.
Religious apathy is found also among Christian demominiations, but they have wealthy Home Mission Societies which subsideze their frontier churches.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
