After her second African adventure, Sarah reported with a chuckle, “We got lost in the Sahara on our way back to Dakar after the expedition and it was days before we could find our bearings again. We had planned our return trip so that we’d be back before the stormy weather but our calculations went wrong and we ran into a series of sandstorms that buried our station wagon. There was nothing we could do but sleep on the hard sand in blankets and dig our way out in the morning. None of us were strong enough to dig out the car, and, besides, we didn’t have any shovels. Luckily, another party of hunters came along and got us out of our predicament after the storm had passed.”
The 1935 expedition collected 700 small mammals, 300 phonograph recordings of native African music, 1000 still pictures, 15,000 feet of motion pictures and 700 varieties of birds. These specimens are used for study and remain accessible, even today, to scientists from all over the world.
Boulton named a small African warbler with a chestnut throat for Sarah Straus: apalis chapini strausae. This warbler species lives at 5,600 to 8,000 feet above sea level. It is a small insect eating bird with blackish feathers and a chestnut colored throat.
]]>Sarah Lavanburg Straus (1861-1945), widow of Oscar S. Straus, went to Africa in 1929 at the age of 68 on a group bird collection expedition for the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. Some of the territory traveled through was so remote that they had to build their own roads and trestle bridges along the way. Sarah, and her grandson Edward Schafer, accompanied ornithologist Rudyerd Boulton and his ethnomusicologist wife Laura on a four month, 15,000 mile, adventure through Uganda, Kenya and Nyasaland (now Malawi). They collected 900 bird specimens, some of them never before documented. Then, in 1935, at the age of 74, Sarah returned to Africa on a second expedition, this time for the Field Museum of Chicago.
After her second African adventure, Sarah reported with a chuckle, “We got lost in the Sahara on our way back to Dakar after the expedition and it was days before we could find our bearings again. We had planned our return trip so that we’d be back before the stormy weather but our calculations went wrong and we ran into a series of sandstorms that buried our station wagon. There was nothing we could do but sleep on the hard sand in blankets and dig our way out in the morning. None of us were strong enough to dig out the car, and, besides, we didn’t have any shovels. Luckily, another party of hunters came along and got us out of our predicament after the storm had passed.”
The 1935 expedition collected 700 small mammals, 300 phonograph recordings of native African music, 1000 still pictures, 15,000 feet of motion pictures and 700 varieties of birds. These specimens are used for study and remain accessible, even today, to scientists from all over the world.
Boulton named a small African warbler with a chestnut throat for Sarah Straus: apalis chapini strausae. This warbler species lives at 5,600 to 8,000 feet above sea level. It is a small insect eating bird with blackish feathers and a chestnut colored throat.
Links:
“The Straus African Expedition of 1929” Straus Historical Society Newsletter Vol. 5 No. 2 (New York: February 2004); pp. 8-9.
http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/_______nwsltr204.pdfAn article by Ilene Scholnick Ausubel, Vice President of Development at the Educational Alliance, reads, “The legacy of Isidor Straus and the other founding philanthropists continues on today. For 125 years, the Educational Alliance has been the place where the people on the Lower East Side and East Village have come for the opportunity to create a better life. Today, the Educational Alliance serves 50,000 people through 36 programs and remains focused on providing educational projects and culture, social services and recreation.”
]]>The Educational Alliance on 197 East Broadway in New York City was founded by a group of Jewish philanthropists including Isidor Straus. The building was erected in 1891. Originally it was a settlement house for Eastern European Jews immigrating to New York City where English was taught as was vocational instruction. Today The Educational Alliance provides community services and activities to neighborhood residents at several locations. The Lee Kohns Cultural Arts Center is part of the original Educational Alliance building. The entrance on Jefferson Street bears his name. Lee Kohns was the son of Lazarus and Hermine Straus Kohns. Hermine was the daughter of Lazarus and Sara Straus. A plaque where the Educational Alliance's auditorium is located is dedicated to Lee Kohns. A second plaque bears the name of his son, Robert Lee Kohns and the Robert Lee Kohns Foundation. A third plaque in this hallway reads: "Isidor Straus, philanthropist, humanitarian and ardent supporter of programs to help the poor and downtrodden become part of the American dream. A man of vision and compassion, committed to the growth of America as a democratic homeland and a land of freedom and opportunity. A founder and the first president of the Educational Alliance 1891 - 1912."
An article by Ilene Scholnick Ausubel, Vice President of Development at the Educational Alliance, reads, “The legacy of Isidor Straus and the other founding philanthropists continues on today. For 125 years, the Educational Alliance has been the place where the people on the Lower East Side and East Village have come for the opportunity to create a better life. Today, the Educational Alliance serves 50,000 people through 36 programs and remains focused on providing educational projects and culture, social services and recreation.”
Links:
Adler, Joan. “Many Waters Cannot Quench Love – Neither Can the Floods Drown it” Straus Historical Society Newsletter Vol. 3 No. 2 (New York: August 1995); pp. 3-8.
http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/______nwsltr895.pdf
“Hon. Isidor Straus, House of Representatives: 1894-1895” Straus Historical Society Newsletter Vol. 4 No. 1 (New York: August 2002); pp. 1-8.
http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/________nwsltr802.pdf
“Monuments, Buildings, Memorials, and Library Collections Dedicated to Straus Family Members” Straus Historical Society Newsletter Vol. 11 No. 1 (New York: August 2009); pp. 1-7, 12.
http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/_________nwsltr809.pdf
Ausubel, Ilene Scholnick. “The Educational Alliance” Straus Historical Society Newsletter Vol. 16 No. 1 (New York: August 2014); p. 7.
http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/nwslttr814.pdf
The peace movement was gaining ground all over the world and Oscar took a prominent role in many new peace organizations. He wrote, "Let the nations exact the same standard from one another that they exact from their subjects, substituting international morality for international expediency, and they will have, instead of the arbitrament of war, the arbitrament of law." He advocated for a stronger role for the Court of Arbitration at The Hague and felt that domestic policy and international concerns should be linked.
]]>Oscar S. Straus wanted to be appointed to the court of arbitration at The Hague. The court had been established at the 1899 peace conference but existed only as a panel of judges appointed by each nation. He was finally appointed by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1902 and held this position until his own death in 1926. Naomi Cohen wrote, "Of all the positions Straus filled this was the one he held in greatest esteem. For him personally the appointment meant recognition as a jurist, an office of international dignity, and the kind of respect usually reserved for elder statesmen. Far more important, it meant his participation in an institution, "the crowning act of the nineteenth century," which could help lead the world to everlasting peace."
The peace movement was gaining ground all over the world and Oscar took a prominent role in many new peace organizations. He wrote, "Let the nations exact the same standard from one another that they exact from their subjects, substituting international morality for international expediency, and they will have, instead of the arbitrament of war, the arbitrament of law." He advocated for a stronger role for the Court of Arbitration at The Hague and felt that domestic policy and international concerns should be linked.
Links:
“Oscar Straus – Minister to Constantinople, 1887 – 1888” Straus Historical Society Newsletter Vol. 2 No. 2 (New York: August 1994); pp. 4-8.
http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/_______nwsltr894.pdf
“Oscar Solomon Straus – Minister to Constantinople, Letters 1888 – 1889” Straus Historical Society Newsletter Vol. 3 No. 1 (New York: February 1995); pp. 2-5.
http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/_______nwsltr295.pdf
“Rededication Ceremony, Oscar S. Straus Memorial, October 26, 1998” Straus Historical Society Newsletter Vol. 7 No. 1 (New York: February 1999); pp. 1-2.
http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/_________nwsltr299.pdf
“Oscar Solomon Straus - Lawyer, Author, Merchant, Philanthropist” Straus Historical Society Newsletter Vol. 5 No. 1 (New York: August 2003); pp. 1-7.
http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/_____nwsltr803.pdf
Isidor Straus chaired his last meeting of the Kruger and Firemen's Memorial Fund Committee at 5:30 PM on January 4, 1912 New York City. Two days later, on January 6, 1912, Isidor and Ida Straus (1849-1912) sailed for Europe on the Cunard Steamship Company's "Caronia." This was their final journey. On April 15, 1912, the Strauses were aboard "Titanic" when it sank.
The dedication of the Kruger and Firemen's Memorial took place September 5, 1913. Jesse Isidor Straus (1872-1936), oldest son of Isidor and Ida, presented the Memorial to the city. He said, "We erect monuments to our war heroes and it is fitting that we should erect them to men who fight in the war that never ends."
]]>The Kruger and Firemen's Memorial in New York City was first suggested in 1908 by the late Episcopal Bishop Henry C. Potter. He preached a sermon at the funeral of Deputy Fire Chief Charles W. Kruger who lost his life while fighting a fire. The memorial's purpose soon became that of honoring all of New York's fallen firemen. Isidor Straus (1845-1912) served on the Kruger and Firemen's Memorial Committee and became its chairman in 1910.
Isidor Straus chaired his last meeting of the Kruger and Firemen's Memorial Fund Committee at 5:30 PM on January 4, 1912 New York City. Two days later, on January 6, 1912, Isidor and Ida Straus (1849-1912) sailed for Europe on the Cunard Steamship Company's "Caronia." This was their final journey. On April 15, 1912, the Strauses were aboard "Titanic" when it sank.
The dedication of the Kruger and Firemen's Memorial took place September 5, 1913. Jesse Isidor Straus (1872-1936), oldest son of Isidor and Ida, presented the Memorial to the city. He said, "We erect monuments to our war heroes and it is fitting that we should erect them to men who fight in the war that never ends."
Links:
“‘Soldiers in a War That Never Ends’ The Kruger and Firemen’s Memorial” Straus Historical Society Newsletter Vol. 3 No. 2 (New York: February 2002); pp. 1-3.
http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/________nwsltr802.pdf
When Baron de Hirsch died suddenly in 1896, his wife continued his philanthropic work. Among her many charitable interests was her concern for the welfare of young immigrant working girls in New York City at the turn of the twentieth century. She donated $200,000 to build a home for them, pledging additional funds to maintain it once the building was completed. In all she donated more than $600,000 to this project.
The Clara de Hirsch Home on East 63rd Street in New York was a model for similar trade schools throughout the country. It provided lodgings, vocational training and social activities to a largely unserved population. Their mission was to improve the girls’ mental, moral and physical condition while training them to be self-supporting.
Sarah Lavanburg Straus was the Clara de Hirsch Home for Working Girls’ first president and continued in that position until her death in 1945. Other Straus family members served on its board including Sarah’s husband Oscar, Oscar’s brother Isidor, their sister Sara Straus Hess, brother Nathan’s wife Lina -- and in later years, their children and grandchildren.
As society evolved, the needs of the population of immigrant working girls changed too. In 1960 the Clara de Hirsch Home for Working Girls merged with the 92nd Street Y where, today, there are no longer lodgings, but they still promote programs of all kinds for assimilating newly arrived individuals from around the world.
]]>In 1887, when Oscar S. Straus (1850-1926) was minister to Constantinople, he and his wife Sarah Lavanburg Straus (1861-1945) became friendly with Baron Maurice de Hirsch and his wife Clara. The Baron, considered the fifth wealthiest man in Europe at the time, was a banker and philanthropist who devoted himself to benevolent causes. The Strauses were helpful to the Baron as he decided how to allocate his enormous fortune.
When Baron de Hirsch died suddenly in 1896, his wife continued his philanthropic work. Among her many charitable interests was her concern for the welfare of young immigrant working girls in New York City at the turn of the twentieth century. She donated $200,000 to build a home for them, pledging additional funds to maintain it once the building was completed. In all she donated more than $600,000 to this project.
The Clara de Hirsch Home on East 63rd Street in New York was a model for similar trade schools throughout the country. It provided lodgings, vocational training and social activities to a largely unserved population. Their mission was to improve the girls’ mental, moral and physical condition while training them to be self-supporting.
Sarah Lavanburg Straus was the Clara de Hirsch Home for Working Girls’ first president and continued in that position until her death in 1945. Other Straus family members served on its board including Sarah’s husband Oscar, Oscar’s brother Isidor, their sister Sara Straus Hess, brother Nathan’s wife Lina -- and in later years, their children and grandchildren.
As society evolved, the needs of the population of immigrant working girls changed too. In 1960 the Clara de Hirsch Home for Working Girls merged with the 92nd Street Y where, today, there are no longer lodgings, but they still promote programs of all kinds for assimilating newly arrived individuals from around the world.
Links:
“Oscar Solomon Straus: Lawyer, author, Merchant, Philanthropist” Straus Historical society Newsletter Vol. 5 No. 1 (New York: February 2003); pp. 1-7.
http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/_____nwsltr803.pdf
Friedman, Reena Sigman. “Clara de Hirsch Home for Working Girls” Jewish Women: A Comprehensive Historical Encyclopedia. (March 2009)
http://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/clara-de-hirsch-home-for-working-girls
“Clara de Hirsch Home for Working girls opens” Jewish Women’s Archive.
July 12th, 1887
Brooklyn, N.Y.
Grover Cleveland
Dear Mr. President
Some of our best citizens are solicitous for the appointment of Oscar Straus as Minister to Turkey. Of his fitness there is a general consent that he is personally, and in attainments, eminently excellent.
But I am interested in another quality – the fact that he is a Hebrew. The bitter prejudice against Jews, which obtains in many parts of Europe, ought not to receive any countenance in America. It is because he is a Jew that I would urge his appointment as a fit recognition of this remarkable people, who are becoming large contributors to American prosperity, and whose intelligence, morality, and large liberality in public measures for the welfare of society, deserve and should receive from the hands of our government some such recognition.
Is it not, also, a duty to set forth, in this quiet, but effectual method, the genius of American government? – which has under its fostering care people of all civilized nations, and which treats them without regard to civil, religious, or race peculiarities as common citizens? We send Danes to Denmark, Germans to Germany. We reject no man because he is a Frenchman. Why should we not make a crowning testimony of the genius of our people by sending a Hebrew to Turkey? The ignorance and superstition of medieval Europe may account for the prejudices of that Dark Age. But how a Christian in our day can turn from a Jew, I cannot imagine. Christianity itself suckled at the bosom of Judaism. Our roots are in the Old Testament. We are Jews ourselves gone to blossom and fruit. Christianity is Judaism in evolution, and it would seem strange for the seed to turn against the stock on which it was grown.
Henry Ward Beecher
]]>Oscar S. Straus (1850-1926) was the youngest of Lazarus and Sara Straus’ four children; Isidor, Hermine, Nathan and Oscar. His career as a public servant has been well documented. He was America’s two-time Minister to Constantinople and Ambassador to Turkey. He was Secretary of Commerce and Labor. He served under four presidents; Democratic and Republican. Although many Jews have served as ambassadors and cabinet members, Oscar S. Straus was the first Jew to ever serve in these roles. Throughout his very public professional life, Oscar S. Straus consistently advocated political reform; seeing it as an issue of morality rather than politics. He campaigned for the use of arbitration to resolve differences between politicians, labor leaders and unions, and nations. He was supporter of the Monroe Doctrine and an advisor to all the United States presidents beginning with Grover Cleveland until his own death in 1926. Known best for his public service, Oscar S. Straus’ service to the people and nations of the world goes far beyond his ministry, ambassadorship and cabinet posts. This letter was written by Henry Ward Beecher, an American religious figure and social reformer, to President Grover Cleveland to recommend Oscar S. Straus for the position of Minister to Turkey.
July 12th, 1887
Brooklyn, N.Y.
Grover Cleveland
Dear Mr. President
Some of our best citizens are solicitous for the appointment of Oscar Straus as Minister to Turkey. Of his fitness there is a general consent that he is personally, and in attainments, eminently excellent.
But I am interested in another quality – the fact that he is a Hebrew. The bitter prejudice against Jews, which obtains in many parts of Europe, ought not to receive any countenance in America. It is because he is a Jew that I would urge his appointment as a fit recognition of this remarkable people, who are becoming large contributors to American prosperity, and whose intelligence, morality, and large liberality in public measures for the welfare of society, deserve and should receive from the hands of our government some such recognition.
Is it not, also, a duty to set forth, in this quiet, but effectual method, the genius of American government? – which has under its fostering care people of all civilized nations, and which treats them without regard to civil, religious, or race peculiarities as common citizens? We send Danes to Denmark, Germans to Germany. We reject no man because he is a Frenchman. Why should we not make a crowning testimony of the genius of our people by sending a Hebrew to Turkey? The ignorance and superstition of medieval Europe may account for the prejudices of that Dark Age. But how a Christian in our day can turn from a Jew, I cannot imagine. Christianity itself suckled at the bosom of Judaism. Our roots are in the Old Testament. We are Jews ourselves gone to blossom and fruit. Christianity is Judaism in evolution, and it would seem strange for the seed to turn against the stock on which it was grown.
Henry Ward Beecher
Links:
“Oscar Straus – Minister to Constantinople, 1887 – 1888” Straus Historical Society Newsletter Vol. 2 No. 2 (New York: August 1994); pp. 4-8.
http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/_______nwsltr894.pdf
“Oscar Solomon Straus – Minister to Constantinople, Letters 1888 – 1888” Straus Historical Society Newsletter Vol. 3 No. 1 (New York: February 1995); pp. 2-5.
http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/_______nwsltr295.pdf
“Oscar Solomon Straus - Lawyer, Author, Merchant, Philanthropist” Straus Historical Society Newsletter Vol. 5 No. 1 (New York: August 2003); pp. 1-7.
http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/_____nwsltr803.pdf
Oscar S. Straus wrote, "Had diplomacy been a career, nothing would have pleased me more than to continue in such service of my country."
]]>Oscar S. Straus (1850-1926) is noted for his brilliant professional life. He was one of America's first career diplomats; serving his country under four administrations including Cleveland, McKinley, T. Roosevelt and Taft: both Democrat and Republican. He was Minister to Constantinople and then Ambassador to Turkey between 1887 and 1910. He served as Secretary of Commerce and Labor from 1906 through 1909 under President Theodore Roosevelt. Oscar Straus was Minister to the International Court of Arbitration at The Hague and was instrumental in having the Covenant of the League of Nations written into the Treaty of Versailles. He was one of the founders of the Young Men's Hebrew Association in 1874, a founder and first president of the American Jewish Historical Society from its inception in 1892 to 1898 and was the author of several books including his autobiography, Under Four Administrations: From Cleveland to Taft.
Oscar S. Straus wrote, "Had diplomacy been a career, nothing would have pleased me more than to continue in such service of my country."
Links:
“Oscar Straus – Minister to Constantinople, 1887 – 1888” Straus Historical Society Newsletter Vol. 2 No. 2 (New York: August 1994); pp. 4-8.
http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/_______nwsltr894.pdf
“Oscar Solomon Straus – Minister to Constantinople, Letters 1888 – 1888” Straus Historical Society Newsletter Vol. 3 No. 1 (New York: February 1995); pp. 2-5.
http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/_______nwsltr295.pdf
“Rededication Ceremony, Oscar S. Straus Memorial, October 26, 1998” Straus Historical Society Newsletter Vol. 7 No. 1 (New York: February 1999); pp. 1-2.
http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/_________nwsltr299.pdf
“Oscar Solomon Straus - Lawyer, Author, Merchant, Philanthropist” Straus Historical Society Newsletter Vol. 5 No. 1 (New York: August 2003); pp. 1-7.
http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/_____nwsltr803.pdf
During World War II Sissie Straus Lehman created detailed family trees to document the relationship of her family members who remained in Europe. She worked tirelessly to provide affidavits of support to all those who wanted to immigrate to the United States. A family story is that the United States Department of State told Sissie she could sponsor no more people, commenting that no one person could have so many relatives. It is not uncommon today to find family members who believe they and their entire family were saved because of Sissie’s largess.
Sissie's generosity did not end there. She and Irving arranged for housing for the newly immigrant families, provided milk for their children and helped them find employment. During the summer Sissie and Irving created a summer camp on their Port Chester property where children from immigrant families could enjoy fresh air, sports and healthy food as they learned English. Most of the children came to this camp for two weeks but the children of family members enjoyed the entire summer in this lovely rural environment.
When Irving Lehman died in 1945, Sissie donated his prayer book with a silver binding to the Judaica Collection at Temple Emanu-El in New York City.
]]>Sissie Straus Lehman (1879-1950) was the daughter of Nathan and Lina Gutherz Straus. In 1901 she married Irving Lehman (1876-1945). In 1940, Irving became the Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals, the highest court in New York State. He served in this capacity until his death in 1945.
During World War II Sissie Straus Lehman created detailed family trees to document the relationship of her family members who remained in Europe. She worked tirelessly to provide affidavits of support to all those who wanted to immigrate to the United States. A family story is that the United States Department of State told Sissie she could sponsor no more people, commenting that no one person could have so many relatives. It is not uncommon today to find family members who believe they and their entire family were saved because of Sissie’s largess.
Sissie's generosity did not end there. She and Irving arranged for housing for the newly immigrant families, provided milk for their children and helped them find employment. During the summer Sissie and Irving created a summer camp on their Port Chester property where children from immigrant families could enjoy fresh air, sports and healthy food as they learned English. Most of the children came to this camp for two weeks but the children of family members enjoyed the entire summer in this lovely rural environment.
When Irving Lehman died in 1945, Sissie donated his prayer book with a silver binding to the Judaica Collection at Temple Emanu-El in New York City.
Links:
“Beth El and Salem Fields Cemeteries Walking Tour – Sunday, June 3rd, 2007” Straus Historical Society Newsletter Vol. 9 No. 1 (New York: August 2007); pp. 8-9.
http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/_________nwsltr807.pdfBy 1920, with a wife and four sons to support, Nathan Jr. began thinking about public service. He ran for, and won, a seat in the New York State Legislature in 1920 and was reelected in 1922 and 1924. The Citizen's Union, a non-partisan organization, reported that Nathan Straus Jr. was the member with the best record on votes in either House.
Nathan Jr. inherited a 24 acre tract of land on the Boston Post Road in the Bronx following his parent's death. In 1934 he turned it into the country's first housing project, Hillside Homes. As a result of his involvement in this project, he became interested in housing. People in the United States knew little about modern housing techniques as practiced in many countries in Europe. He created a report for Mayor LaGuardia of New York on the housing practices in England. As a result of his interest and increasing expertise in this area, LaGuardia appointed him to the New York City Housing Authority. Nathan Jr. felt this experience prepared him for his later role as administrator of the United States Housing Authority in Franklin Delano Roosevelt's administration. He served with distinction from 1937 until February 1942.
]]>Nathan Straus Jr. (1889-1961) was the son of Nathan and Lina Gutherz Straus. He was not interested in going into the family's business of merchandising. He graduated from Princeton University in New Jersey in 1910 and, with his father's help, secured a position on the newspaper, New York Globe, where he learned everything from compositing to reporting. In 1913 he bought the periodical Puck, which he envisioned could become similar to today's New Yorker Magazine. Puck published articles about women's suffrage, financial and social assistance, and medical science.
By 1920, with a wife and four sons to support, Nathan Jr. began thinking about public service. He ran for, and won, a seat in the New York State Legislature in 1920 and was reelected in 1922 and 1924. The Citizen's Union, a non-partisan organization, reported that Nathan Straus Jr. was the member with the best record on votes in either House.
Nathan Jr. inherited a 24 acre tract of land on the Boston Post Road in the Bronx following his parent's death. In 1934 he turned it into the country's first housing project, Hillside Homes. As a result of his involvement in this project, he became interested in housing. People in the United States knew little about modern housing techniques as practiced in many countries in Europe. He created a report for Mayor LaGuardia of New York on the housing practices in England. As a result of his interest and increasing expertise in this area, LaGuardia appointed him to the New York City Housing Authority. Nathan Jr. felt this experience prepared him for his later role as administrator of the United States Housing Authority in Franklin Delano Roosevelt's administration. He served with distinction from 1937 until February 1942.
Links:
“Otto Frank and Nathan Straus, Jr.: Their Letters Discovered at New York’s YIVO” Straus Historical Society Newsletter Vol. 9 No. 1 (New York: August 2007); pp. 1-6.
http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/____________nwsltr807.pdf
“For the Sake of the Children: The Letters between Otto Frank and Nathan Straus, Jr” Straus Historical Society Newsletter Vol. 14 No. 2 (New York: February 2013); p. 1.
http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/____nwsltr213.pdf
Nathan Straus (1848-1931) became interested in milk pasteurization for several reasons. Two of Nathan and Lina Straus' six children, Sara and Roland, died in early childhood. Although the family could avail themselves of the best and most modern medical treatment of the day, there was nothing that could be done to save either child. The Strauses owned farm animals, including cows from which the family's milk was obtained. When a seemingly healthy animal died suddenly, Nathan wondered if the germs that caused the animal's death could be transferred to her milk. This led to his conviction that pasteurization was essential.
Nathan's first pasteurized milk depot opened at the foot of the East Third Street Pier on June 1, 1893. It was a small building containing a refrigeration unit, storage rooms, a pasteurization laboratory and salesrooms. The goal was to distribute low cost, high quality pasteurized milk to the city's poor. Milk was sold in bottles, by the glass and in cans. Modified formulas were also sold for babies. These formulas were devised by Nathan's medical advisors and often contained barley water, milk sugar, white sugar, lime water and salt. Modified milk was sold in deposit bottles provided with a nipple, both being sterilized in the pasteurizing laboratory. Ice was also supplied so that people keep the milk from spoiling once it was brought home. The milk bottles had rounded bottoms so that no uncorked bottle could be left standing, thereby becoming contaminated by unsanitary conditions in the homes. Lectures were provided in the many languages of the city's residents to educate them about the benefits of pasteurized milk. Nathan had coupons printed so that doctors could "prescribe" the milk which would then be given at no cost.
The program was an immediate success among the city's poor. Nathan set up his laboratories and milk depots as a demonstration model to prove to governmental officials and the medical establishment that the large scale distribution of pasteurized milk would make a difference in public health. He wrote, "The tragedy of needless infant slaughter, desolating so many homes and wringing the hearts, lies like a dark shadow on our boasted civilization. It is nothing more or less than permitted murder, for which the responsibility must lie at the door of the agencies of government that fail to recognize its existence and demand its prevention."
]]>After the Civil War, there was some recognition that the quality of the milk sold to the city's poor was substandard. Small, but unsuccessful, efforts were made to improve sanitary conditions. Milk continued to be an agent that carried diphtheria, typhoid fever, scarlet fever, tuberculosis and the "summer complaint," diarrhea. Thousands of children died each year, especially during the summer months, as a result of drinking unsterilized milk.
Nathan Straus (1848-1931) became interested in milk pasteurization for several reasons. Two of Nathan and Lina Straus' six children, Sara and Roland, died in early childhood. Although the family could avail themselves of the best and most modern medical treatment of the day, there was nothing that could be done to save either child. The Strauses owned farm animals, including cows from which the family's milk was obtained. When a seemingly healthy animal died suddenly, Nathan wondered if the germs that caused the animal's death could be transferred to her milk. This led to his conviction that pasteurization was essential.
Nathan's first pasteurized milk depot opened at the foot of the East Third Street Pier on June 1, 1893. It was a small building containing a refrigeration unit, storage rooms, a pasteurization laboratory and salesrooms. The goal was to distribute low cost, high quality pasteurized milk to the city's poor. Milk was sold in bottles, by the glass and in cans. Modified formulas were also sold for babies. These formulas were devised by Nathan's medical advisors and often contained barley water, milk sugar, white sugar, lime water and salt. Modified milk was sold in deposit bottles provided with a nipple, both being sterilized in the pasteurizing laboratory. Ice was also supplied so that people keep the milk from spoiling once it was brought home. The milk bottles had rounded bottoms so that no uncorked bottle could be left standing, thereby becoming contaminated by unsanitary conditions in the homes. Lectures were provided in the many languages of the city's residents to educate them about the benefits of pasteurized milk. Nathan had coupons printed so that doctors could "prescribe" the milk which would then be given at no cost.
The program was an immediate success among the city's poor. Nathan set up his laboratories and milk depots as a demonstration model to prove to governmental officials and the medical establishment that the large scale distribution of pasteurized milk would make a difference in public health. He wrote, "The tragedy of needless infant slaughter, desolating so many homes and wringing the hearts, lies like a dark shadow on our boasted civilization. It is nothing more or less than permitted murder, for which the responsibility must lie at the door of the agencies of government that fail to recognize its existence and demand its prevention."
Links:
“Nathan Straus 1848-1931” Straus Historical Society Newsletter Vol. 6 No. 1 (New York: February 1998); pp. 4-8.
http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/________nwsltr298.pdf
“Nathan Straus 1848-1931” Straus Historical Society Newsletter Vol. 6 No. 2 (New York: August 1998); pp. 4-7.
http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/________nwsltr898.pdf
“Nathan Straus Pasteurized Milk Laboratory” Straus Historical Society Newsletter Vol. 4 No. 2 (New York: February 2002); pp. 4-9.
http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/____nwsltr202.pdf
“Nathan Straus, Public Servant” Straus Historical Society Newsletter Vol. 4 No. 2 (New York: February 2003); pp. 4-8.
http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/________nwsltr203.pdf
“The Nathan Straus Soup Kitchens in Palestine” Straus Historical Society Newsletter Vol. 16 No. 1 (New York: August 2014); pp. 1-5.
http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/nwslttr814.pdf