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PAGE 2—THE BULLETIN. Mav 31 1953
CdatliolicA d)n Georaia
By RICHARD REID, K.S.G.
(Continued From Last Issue)
FOUNDER OF K. OF C.
On his visits to the East, Cap
tain Rice became familiar with
the organization and work of
the Knights of Columbus; work
ing with leaders like Col. M. J.
O’Leary of Savannah, Victor J.
Dorr of Augusta, Richard A.
Magill of Atlanta and others, he
was instrumental in bringing the
Order to Georgia. Colonel O’
Leary was named territorial
deputy, or first head of the
Knights in Georgia, in March,
1902, and was elected state dep
uty at the first State Council
convention held May 31, 1903.
Captain Rice was the first,grand
knight of Patrick Walsh Coun
cil, Augusta, which he organiz
ed. Mr. Dorr was state deputy
from 1904 to 1907. Captain Rice
succeeded Mr. Dorr as state dep
uty in 1907 and served until
1910. He was state deputy again
in 1918 and 1919, when the
Knights Were engaged in their
historic war work. Colonel O’
Leary was in charge of the war
work of the Order in the South
east, and of the post-war work,
including the schools for ex-
servicemen. Mr. Dorr and Cap
tain Rice served on the supreme
board of the Knights of Colum
bus, Georgia being the only
state in the South up to this time
honored by having representa
tion on the supreme board
twice. Mr. Magill, who was a
leader in charity work and in
the Laymen’s Association as
well as in K. of C. affairs, was
for a number of years master
of the Fourth Degree of the
Order in the Southeast and
Cuba. Captain Rice and his as
sociates officiated at the ini
tiation of the first classes of can-'
didates for the Order in a num
ber of cities in the Southeast.
STATE DEPUTIES
State Deputies since Captain
Rice’s first terms in Georgia
have been Richard A. Magill.
Atlanta, 1910-1912 (he died
June 3, 1931); Cecil Morgan, Ma
con. 1912-1914 (he died April
26, 1930); M. C. Carroll, Jr., At
lanta, 1914-1916; Judge Aug
ustine Daly, Macon, 1916-1918;
Captain Rice again, 1917; Thom
as F. Walsh. Jr., Savannah, 1919-
1921 (he died April 23, 1944):
John B. McCallum, Atlanta,
1921-1923; Louis C. Kunze, Col
umbus, 1923-1925; William H.
Mitchell, Macon, 1925-1927; J.
Coleman Dempsey, Augusta,
1927-1929; Nicholas T. Stafford,
Savannah, 1929-1931; Andrew
A. Baumstark, Atlanta, 1931-
1933; Louis C. Kunze again,
1933-1935; James M. Jones,
Brunswick, 1936 (he died in
office May 4, 1936); John J. Mc
Creary, Macon, 1936-1937; C.
Victor Markwalter, Augusta,
1937-1939; Thomas J. Gilmore,
Atlanta, 1939-1941; R. Habenicht
Casson, Macon, 1941-1942;
Thomas J. Canty, Savannah,
1942-1944; William J. McAlpin,
Atlanta, 1944-1946; John J. Mc
Creary again, 1946-1948; John P.
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Price, Augusta, 1948-1950; John
M. Brennan, Savannah, 1950-
1952; Joseph Kunze, Columbus,
1952-1954; Henry Taylor, Atlan
ta, 1954-1956; Nick Camerio,
Macon, 1956-1958; Charles C.
Chesser, Augusta, 1958.
ORIGIN OF C.L.A.
The Knights of Columbus
were deeply disturbed nearly
four decades ago by the harm
being done by the propaganda of
Tom Watson and other anti-
Catholics. They financed the
publication of pamphlets writ
ten by Father Joseph D. Mitch
ell for distribution in the state,
and were active in their local
councils in efforts to mitigate
the rising tide of prejudice. But
they realized that something
more was needed; bigotry was
strongest in those parts of the
state where there were few or
no Catholics; there were Catho
lics in sufficient numbers to
support a resident priest in only
eight of the 162 counties in the
state.
Captain Rice therefore organ
ized a meeting in Augusta to dis
cuss the situation; the meeting
suggested that, if Bishop Keiley
apprvoed, a general state meet
ing of Catholic laymen be held.
Bishop Keiley endorsing the
plan, a second meeting was held
in Savannah. In the meantime,
the Macon Council had enlisted
the experience of the Knights
of Columbus Commission on Re
ligious Prejudice in a situation
there created by an alleged ex
priest. The meeting at Macon at
which the Laymen’s Association
was organized followed. With
out the initiative of Captain
Rice and the cooperation of ..the
Knights of Columbus, it is
doubtful that there would have
been any Laymen’s Association.
Captain Rice was president of
the Layman’s Association from
1919 until a few weeks before
his death, November 1933, when
failing health compelled his re
tirement; he was then named
president emeritus. He devoted
at least as much time to the
work, on a completely voluntary
basis, as to his own business; af
ter his retirement from business,
he devoted all his work to the
Association, again on a com
pletely voluntary basis. Even
when in his 70’s he spent week
end after week end visiting
branches of the Association and
speaking at their annual meet
ings. His death was sudden, on
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a morning when he had planned
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TRIBUTE OF THE CITY
During Captain Rice’s funer
al, the City of Augusta officially
observed a period of mourning,
although he had never held or
offered for public office. This
prompted the Ave Maria, pub
lished at the University of Notre
Dame, to remark editorially
that what some secular-minded
Catholics give up their faith in
vain to achieve came to Captain
Rice unsought and because of
his devotion to his faith as well
as to his community and his
nation. Cardinal Hayes and
Bishop Keyes led in the tributes
to him. His Eminence, recalling
the impression Captain Rice
made on him in the war days,
said that “his leadership in the
Laymen’s Association was an
inspiration to Catholic Action
throughout the country.” Bishop
Keyes, expressing his sense of
personal loss, commended him
as one “who made the Church
known and respected in Geor
gia.” Every Bishop in the South
east, all his personal friends,
added their personal tributes of
respect and admiration.
ANDREW E. MARTIN, K. of C.
Another noted layman hon
ored by the Holy Father in this
period was Andrew E. Martin,
for many years manager of the
Bon Air Hotel, Augusta, and in
that capacity host, to many dis
tinguished personages, including
presidents of the United States,
William Howard Taft and War
ren G. Harding. None was more
welcome as a guest in Mr. Mart
in’s hostelry, irrespective of
rank, than a priest or Bishop;
few laymen had so many and
such warm friends among them.
Made a Knight of Malta at the
request of Cardinal Hayes and
with the hearty endorsement of
Bishop Keyes, he chose his win
ter residence as the place for
the conferring of the honor, at a
Vesper ceremony April 26, 1932,
at St. Mary’s-on-the-Hill, Au
gusta, followed by a civic din
ner at which leaders of Church
and State extolled him as a
citizen and a Catholic, For many
years Mr. Martin was also man
ager of the famous Equinox
House, Manchester - in - the -
Mountains, Vermont, where he
went each summer.
C.P.A. CONVENTION
Twice during Bishop Keyes’
episcopacy the Diocese of Sav
annah entertained the annual
convention of the Catholic Press
Association of the United States,
with His Excellency and The
Bulletin as hosts. The first such
convention was in Savannah
May 19-21, 1927, when Bishop
Philip R. McDevitt of Harris
burg was Episcopal Chairman of
the Department of Press of the
National Catholic Welfare Con
ference, and Simon A. Baldus,
managing editor of Extension
Magazine, Chicago, was presi
dent of the C.P.A. It was at this
convention that the Literary
Awards Foundation of the Cath
olic Press Association was es
tablished. The second occasion
was May 23-25, 1935, in Atlan
ta, with Bishop Hugh C. Boyle
of Pittsburgh as episcopal chair-
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man and Joseph J. Quinn, man
aging editor of The Southwest
Courier, Oklahoma City, as
president. The Bulletin also co
operated with Bishop William
J. Hafey of Raleigh in 1930
when he was host to the con
vention at Asheville. During
this period also the supreme
board of the Knights of Colum
bus and the executive board of
the Catholic Press Association
met in Augusta. From 1932 to
1934 the editor of The Bulletin
of the Catholic Laymen’s Asso
ciation was national president
of the Catholic Press Associa
tion, and in that capacity rep
resented it at the 1933 Holy
Year in Rome.
BICENTENNIAL
OBSERVANCE
Catholics were prominent in
the observances of the bicen
tennials of Savannah in 1933
and in Augusta in 1935. On the
150th anniversary of the death
of General Count Casimir Pu
laski, killed October 9, 1779,
fighting as an officer of the
American Army against the
English in the defense of Sav
annah, a Pontifical Field Mass
was offered at Savannah’s Park
Extension at the request of the
Mayor’s Committee of Savan
nah and the U. S. Pulaski Ses-
quicentennial Commission ap
pointed by Congress. Bishop
Keyes was the celebrant of the
Mass, and the sermon was de
livered by Father Joseph D.
Mitchell. This ceremony, attend
ed by the Polish Ambassador to
the United States, a representa
tive of the French Embassy in
Washington and national, state
and municipal officials, was the
idea of Mayor Gordon Saussy
of Savannah, and was followed
by a number of civic celebra
tions which recalled the heroic
services of the gallant Polish
officer to the cause of American
freedom.
The Catholic Laymen’s Asso
ciation continued in this period
its now nationally famous work
to mitigate bigotry and promote
good-will in Georgia. The Bul
letin of the Association, estab
lished as a quarterly in 1920,
was issued as a semi-monthly
newspaper in 1922; it gradually
extended its service until it cov
ered the entire Southeast as
well as other areas of the South.
Richard Reid continued as edi
tor of The Bulletin and execu
tive secretary of the Associa
tion. Captain Rice on his re
tirement in 1933 was succeeded
by Alfred M. Battey, a member
of one of Georgia’s most widely
known Catholic families. His
brother, Louis LeGarde Battey,
was a founder of the Associa
tion; a member of Augusta City
Council and Deputy Grand
Knight of Patrick Walsh Coun
cil, Knights of Columbus, Louis
enlisted in World War I, won a
captain’s commission in the
Army, and gave his life for his
country in action in France in
the final days of the war. The
first American Legion Post in
Augusta was named for him.
Alfred M. Battey in addition
to serving as state president of
the Laymen’s Association was
for a number of years previous
to that local president; he was
also Grand Knight of the
Knights of Columbus and active
in other Catholic efforts. For
many years he has been prom
inent in financial enterprises.
His brother, Dr. W. A. Battey,
for many years professor of
surgery at the Medical School of
the University of Georgia, is a
leader in the medical profession
in Georgia, and his mother, to
whom reference is made else
where, was one of Augusta’s "
most active and most beloved
women.
One of the major losses in the
Diocese during the years of
Bishop Keyes was sustained
January 9, 1925, in the death
of Michael A. O’Byrne, one of
Savannah’s outstanding citizens
and one of Georgia’s most in
fluential Catholics. A native of
Savannah, where he was born
September 12, 1861, he was
educated at Belmont Abbey Col
lege and at St. Vincent’s Col
lege, Latrobe, Pa. Admitted to
the Bar of Georgia, he formed
a partnership with P. J. O’Con
nor, also a native Savannahian,
who at one time was national
president of the Ancient Order
of Hibernians. The firm, of
which Walter Hartridge later
became a member, soon became
one of the most famous in the
state. Mr. O’Byrne was married
in 1893 to Miss Marie McDon
ough, a member of a widely
known Savannah Catholic fam
ily, whose brother, J. J. Mc-
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Donough, was Mayor of Sav
annah. She died in 1903, and in
1909 Mr. O’Byrne married Miss
Sara Wren of Bridgeport, Conn.
Mother Eleanor O’Bryne, the
distinguished president of Man-
hattanville College of the Sac
red Heart, New York, is the
daughter of Mr. O’Byrne by his
first marriage.
SAVANNAH LEADER
In addition to his activities
at the Bar, Mr. O’Byrne was a
leader in finance and commerce;
he was the first and only pres
ident of the Hibernia Bank,
president of the John Flannery
Cotton Company, a director in
many enterprises, and president
for many years of the Cotton
Exchange. He was for some
years a city assessor, member of
the Board of Education, and a
member of the Board of Aider-
men, being chairman of the fi
nance committee; his counsel in
financial matters was particu
larly sought. He was for several
terms president of the venerable
Hibernian Society of Savannah,
which was founded in 1812. As
a young man he joined the Irish
Jasper Greens as a private, ad
vancing to the rank of captain.
Every major Catholic activity
in Savannah and the Diocese
and many minor ones had Mr.
O’Byrne’s active assistance and
support; he was a warm friend
and valued counselor of Bishops
Becker, Keiley and Keyes, He
was active in the rebuilding of
the burned Cathedral at the
turn of the century, and in the
erection of Sacred Heart Par
ish. He was a member of the
board of St. Joseph’s Hospital,
president of the Female Orphan
Benevolent Society and one of
the chief factors in the develop
ment of the Catholic Layman’s
Association. He was the first
president of the Savannah
branch of the Laymen’s Associ
ation, a member of the state
executive committee, and one of
its most generous.
(Copyright 1958)
For Publicists
St. Bemardine of Siena, whose
feast day is May 20, and who
is patron of public relations
workers, features this new
medal. Sponsored by the Asso
ciation of Catholic Newsmen of
the San Francisco Archdiocese,
the bronze medals were pre
sented to the publicists of that
area by Monsignor Walter J.
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editor of The Monitor, San
Francisco Catholic weekly. (NC
Photos)
Selects
Unknown
Javy Hospital Corps-
man First Class William R.
Charette (above) of Ludington,
Mich., a Catholic holder of the
Congressional Medal of Honor
has been chosen to select, at an
ocean rendezvous on May 26,
off the Virginia Capes, the Un
known Soldier of World War
II, to be entombed in the Ar
lington (Va.) National Ceme- j
tery on May 80. (NC Photos)
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