The Savannah bulletin. (Monroe, Ga.) 1958-1958, February 05, 1958, Image 4

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PAGE FOUR—THE BULLETIN, February 8, 1958. Joseph Breige Who’s Who In What Sense? Father John J. Cavanaugh, for mer president of my alma mater, the University of Notre Dame, recently revived the public dis pute over the alleged intellectual mediocrity of American Catholics. I held my peace when this subject was broached a cou ple of years ago by Msgr. John Tracy Ellis of Catholic Uni versity of America. I re mained silent while other speak ers and writers took it up. Now I have decided that some body ought to examine the evi dence offered by these men, the conclusions they reach, and the assumptions that lie behind their attitudes. Since nobody else seems in clined to do this, I will do it. It cannot be done in one article. I must devote my space to it for several weeks. Father Cavanaugh’s address to the John Carroll Society in Wash ington, which renewed the dis cussion of Catholics and the in tellectual life, was for the most part a restatement of what Msgr. Ellis had said. Let me begin by quoting the following passage from Father Cavanaugh’s talk: “The thesis of Msgr. Ellis’ book can be summed up in a few words —here in America, where the Catholic Church is so strong in wealth, in numbers, in general organization, the intellectual prestige of American Catholics is shockingly low . . . “Catholic vanity and complac ency might be safeguarded if Msgr. Ellis had been content to make a sweeping general obser vation without objective evi dence. But, painstakingly, he cites certain facts . . . “. .. He draws upon two studies that were made in 1927 of persons listed in the American Who’s Who. The first of these studies, conducted by the American Mer cury magazine, finds that for every 100,000 Jews in this coun try, there were 20 listed in Who’s Who; that for every 100,000 Sev enth Day Adventists, there were 11 in Who’s Who; that however for every 100,000 Catholics, there were only seven in Who’s Who . . .” Sounds impressive, doesn’t it? It does, until you begin to exam ine it. The figures were taken from Who’s Who for 1927—30 years ago. And Who’s Who con tains the names of tens of thous ands of persons, only a minority of whom have any connection with the intellectual life. I have made a cursory exami nation of Who’s Who for 1948-49, and edition roughly contempor aneous with the beginnings of this discussion about American Catholics and the intellectual life. The names I am about to cite were well known then. Father Cavanaugh is listed. Msgr. Ellis is not. Elmer Layden, Notre Dame’s football coach in the 30’s is listed. Not listed is Notre Dame teacher Richard Sullivan, novelist and short story writer. I CAN FIND no listing for Har ry Sylvester, Notre Dame gradu ate, novelist, short story writer and newspaper correspondent. Also not listed is Notre Dame’s Dr. Vincent Edward Smith, known here and abroad as a philosopher, writer and educator. Absent is Frank Sheed, inter nationally famed Catholic pub lisher, editor, author, lecturer and theologian. Also missing is Do minican Father Walter Farrell, author of that magnificent work of scholarship. “The Companion to the Summa,” and other distin guished books. Among Farrell’s listed are a bond buyer, a ship ping executive and a newspaper city editor. One more example. Not listed is Daniel Sargent, historian, biogra pher and poet; author of “Thomas More” and a dozen other books; former Harvard professor, for mer president of the Catholic Poetry Society of America and the American Catholic Historical Association; and member of the Boston Art Commission. WHILE SUCH NAMES are omitted, I found, in a 10-minute scanning of Who’s Who, former mayors, paper and tobacco mak ers, a shoe company ex-president, an internal revenue man, a tax consultant, some Democratic com mitteemen, actors and actresses, investment agents, Navy and Army officers, dancers, singers, chemists, pharmacologists, food company executives, organizing secretaries, and a selective service director for a section of an eastern state. I am not objecting to any list ing. I merely ask what is to be thought of the kind of argument which offers a study of Who’s Who as evidence of anybody’s in tellectual inferiority or superiori ty. I cannot agree with Father Cavanaugh that this constitutes “painstaking” assembly of “ob jective evidence.” • • • SOVIETS LOSE GROUND WITH RECENT ‘COLD WAR’ MOVES By J. J. Gilbert WASHINGTON, — Soviet Rus sia has lost ground lately in its propaganda war against the West. For this reason, it is expected here that Moscow will soon come up with a new “gimmick.” Two messages sent by; Soviet Premier Nikolai Bulganin to Fres- ident Eisenhower suggesting, “summit” talks were undoubtedly intended to capitalize on the propaganda advantage gained by the Reds in launching Sputniks I and II. But President Eisen hower’s reply to this suggestion has been widely acclaimed as one of the best answers the West has given the East, and it is thought here that it blunted the Moscow propaganda drive at least for the moment. Hard upon this development, Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko dropped the hint that Moscow was ready to enter into diplomatic relations with the Vat ican. This was audacious and cal culated to capture the headlines, which it did. But the Moscow radio chose this time to launch one of its most vituperative at tacks on religion and those who believe in God, and people ev erywhere, especially in Europe, were quick to discount the pro posal. Experts here have advised our Government that Soviet Russia is seeking world domination by the “cold war” method rather than the “hot war,” at least for the foreseeable future. If Russia were bent on outright aggression, they reason, it would not have pub licized its achievements with the earth satellites and missiles. The pattern, as seen here, is this: Having gained an advantage in the race to dominate outer space, Moscow stepped up its ef forts to appear as the champions of peace while conducting “cold war” aggression. The Bulganin letters constituted one phase of this acceleration. The Gromyko hint about possible relations with the Vatican was another. Presi dent Eisenhower’s reply, sug gesting preparatory lower level meetings before any “summit” conference, and inviting a com parison of the peace records of the U. S. and the Soviet Union over the past 40 years took care of the first of these phases. The patent disparity between words and actions in Moscow took care of the latter. It is interesting in this connec tion that a forthcoming book of J. Edgar Hoover, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, is to bear the name “Masters of Deceit.” The book is to be re leased early in March, and an ad vance announcement says it is “an authoritative book on com munism based on over 40 years of intensive study of this deadly menace” by Mr. Hoover. Appearance of the book may coincide with Moscow’s next pro paganda maneuver. Protest Use Of State Funds For Birth Control Plan BOMBAY, India, (NC) —The Indian government should not use public funds to which Cath olics of the country have contrib uted to support birth control pro grams, it was held at a symposi um here on the evils of birth con trol and family planning. The symposium was part of the Catholic campaign to fight the Bombay government’s endorse ment of birth control as an aid to the economic situation in India. Participating in the symposium were members of the Bombay Catholic Association, the Univer sity Catholic Federation and the Catholic Medical Guild of St. Luke. During the meeting it was brought out that Catholics had contributed to the public funds from which $10 million will be taken by the Indian government for birth control propaganda. Question Box Q: Are not Catholic Schools un-American and should be abol ished for the general good of our country? A. On the contrary, Catholic schools are essentially, practical ly , typically and thoroughly American. Their history is Ameri can; their traditions are Ameri can; their teachers are American; their students are American; their organization is American. They, teach the language of America and uphold the ideals of America. They prepare their students for life in America and teach them to love our country and its people, to respect its traditions, preserve its institutions, and obey its laws. Q. "If the Pope is not inspired, and not in any way divine, how is he infallible?" A. By virtue of his succession to St. Peter whom our Lord made Chief of the Apostles and Su preme Shepherd of Christendom, and to whom He gave the keys of His Kingdom and whose acts on earth He promised to ratify in Heaven. Since God cannot fail of His promise to ratify, and cannot ratify error, He must give His su preme agent such assistance in his office as will prevent him from teaching error when he teaches as the agent of God. Weekly Calendar Of Feast Days (N.C.W.C. News Service) SUNDAY, February 9 — St. Cyril of Alexandria, Bishop-Doc tor. He was an Egyptian by birth and in 412 succeeded his uncle, St. Theophilus, as Patriarch of Alexandria. He wrote commen taries on the Holy Scriptures and other notable works, but achiev ed his greatest fame in his work of overthrowing the heresy of Nestorius, which was condemned in the Council of Ephesus, in 431. Intrigues at Constantinople led to his imprisonment, but strong ac tion by the Pope brought his lib eration and he returned to Al exandria, where he died in 444. Pope Leo XIII proclaimed him a Doctor of the Church. MONDAY, February 10 — St. Scholastica, Virgin. She lived in the sixth century and was the sister of St. Benedict. She is re garded as the first nun of the Benedictine order and founded a community near Monte Cassino. She died about 543. TUESDAY, February 11 — Our Lady of Lourdes. This feast com memorates the 18 apparitions of the Blessed Mother to St. Berna dette, then a girl of 14, near Lourdes, France. In the appari tions the Blessed Mother revealed her identity: “I am the Immacu late Conception.” The feast falls on the anniversary of the first apparition. WEDNESDAY, February 12 — Seven Servite Founders, Confes sors. The seven were Florentine noblemen — Bonfilius Monaldi, John Manetti, Benedict Antella, Bartholomew Amidei, Hugh Ug- uccioni, Gerard Sostegni and Al exis Falconieri. In 1233 they re tired for the world and founded the Order of Servants of the Blessed Virgin Mary (the Serv- ites), which has a particular de votion to the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Mother. Each of the seven founders became famous for working miracles. Their Order spread rapidly. They died in dif ferent years but share a single tomb. They were canonized by Pope Leo XIII in 1888. THURSDAY, February 13 — St. Benigus, Priest-Martyr. He was a priest of Todi in Umbria, Italy, who was tortured and put to death in the persecution under Diocletian about 303. FRIDAY, February 14 — St. Valentine, Martyr. He was a Roman priest who with St. Mari us and his family aided the mar tyrs persecuted by Emperor Claudius II. He was beheaded about 270. SATURDAY, February 15—SS. Faustinus and Jovita, Martyrs. They were brothers who lived in the second century and preached Christianity during the early per secutions in the city of Brescia. They were arrested and tried personally by Emperor Hadrian. They were beheaded in 121. Issue New Stamps Honoring Lourdes VATICAN CITY, (NC) — A new series of stamps commemo rating the 100th anniversary of the Lourdes apparitions will be issued here on February 11 by the Vatican post office. The series is of six denomina tions and depicts three scenes: St. Bernadette beholding the Blessed Virgin; a sick person praying at the Lourdes grotto, and the Blessed Virgin appearing as the Immaculate Conception. Sb RANGE BUT TRU tfle-Known Facts for Catholi cs E By M. J. MURRAY Copyright, 1958, N.C.W.C. News Service \vtSTMlf&T£G ABBEY is unique in England, — IT IS NOT NOW AN ASSEY; IS NOT SUBJECT TO AMV BISHOP; and is in no diocese. ■Has A DEM & CHAPTER, <5- TITLE: "CoLLEQ/ATS church of st Peter m the County of Middlesex'' Une word iVOiV— .. pray r>rus Sinners, ncw'JJ ( - in, the Hail Mart/ i Was introduced, in, * /S 68 when Christendom. * Was beset ly Hus Turks.« ORIGINS OF SANTA MARIA IN TRASTEVERC, Rome, hate back to 2.23 s- historians BELIEVE IT WAS wr FIRST CHURCH OPENED rOR PUBLIC WORSHIP AFTER THE EARLY CHRISTIANS CAME OUT FROM THE CATACOMBS. Si"- (I85/-I924). never opened an, English grammar in/ his life, but acquired Such, a command of- the. language that he wrote SHARING OUR TREASURE Christian Scientist Opens Door for Captain By REV. JOHN A. O'BRIEN, Ph. D. (University of Notre Dame) Did you ever hear of a person who was converted to the Catho lic faith by a Christian Scientist? Probably not. Yet such was the experience of Captain Walter Dakin Williams now at Scott Air Force Base in Illinois. He is a brother of Ten- n e s s e e Wil liams, the noted playwright, and curiously enough a direct decendant o f Valentine Xa-, vier, a brother Xavier. “During World War II,” began Captain Williams, “I was on a vessel sailing for India. On board were 35 chaplains of various de nominations and we had lots of time to chew the fat. I had been reared an Episcopalian, had taught Sunday School and had a grandfather in the ministry. “Here was a good opportunity to examine and compare the vari ous creeds. So I decided to make the most of it. I found the widest disagreement on fundamentals obtaining among the Protestant chaplains. “A Methodist chaplain denied the divinity of Christ; a Congre- gationalist denied the Trinity, a Disciples of Christ chaplain held that the Holy Eucharist was only a reminder or memorial of Christ. I was appalled to discover how they had gotten away from the basic teachings of Scripture, Tra dition and the Early Church. “I had long talks with two Catholic chaplains, Father Hen- nigers and Father Cyril. I found that they held fast to all the truths revealed by Christ and could back all their teachings with texts from Scripture and the Fathers. I came to see that the Catholic Church was founded by Christ and that its clergy spoke with His authority and in His name. “Back of all that evidence was the silent testimony of the good example of Sgt. Jack Crouchet and Lt. Anthony Vellek, with] whom I took my basic training at Fort Warren. There was the ex ample of Lt. Tom Angel, a con vert also on the vessel, whose deep faith and devotion were an inspiration to me. On the train between Bombay and Calcutta, Lt. Welz held a Christian Science service in our car, reading from the New Testa ment and from Mrs. Eddy’s Key lo the Scriptures. The lesson con cerned the Christian Science doc trine on the Blessed Trinity. “Christ was declared to be merely a perfect man, and any man by becoming perfect could become equal with Christ! Aston ished, I asked about the Holy Ghost. ‘Only the spirit of truth,’ replied Lt. Wei z, ‘revealed to Mary Baker Eddy, and she has revealed that there is no such thing as sin, disease or evil in the world.’ “Here was the confusion and chaos typical of all Protestantism. I had had enough. The next morning I informed Lt. Welz that he had converted me to Catholi cism. A ‘Scientist’ had convinced me of the essentially divisive cha racter of the principles of private interpretation. I determined to sever all connections with my Protestant past. “On Easter Saturday Chaplain Gerrity administered conditional Baptism and received me into the Church founded by Christ and governed by Peter and his suc cessors for more than 19 centu ries. I had come home at last and my joy was complete. “How I wish I could share my new found treasure with all! In striving to do this, I’ve written with a fellow officer, Walter R. Stewart, a book, Nails of Protest (Exposition Press, N. Y.), and I hope it leads many a truth seeker into the one true fold of Christ.” “It’s a splendid work, Captain,” I said, “and I recommend it high ly. Its’ hard to see how any open- minded inquirer can read it without deciding to follow in your footsteps. God bless you and your zealous work!” of St. Francis Jottings (By BARBARA C. JENCKS) STUDENTS HERE are taking a poll to find the choice for the woman of the year. “Time” has made their unfortunate choice and other magazines and groups have made theirs. So why not Saint Mary’s College at Notre Dame selecting a woman of the year? The answers which filter back into this office are interes ting and reveal good thought and good values. Those are the head liners which would be expected: Queen Elizabeth for her womanly qualities; Clare Booth Luce for her Catholicity as practiced and exemplified in public life; Marian Anderson for her racial leadership and her goodwill tour through Asia; Sister Madeleva, C. S. C., president, for her great contribu tions to women’s educational en deavors. One student instead of selecting a person cited, all the Negro girls at Little Rock’s Cen tral High School who withstood the indignities and insults with such courage last September. Another student in a most touch ing and thoughtful selection chose her mother. She told the student reporter that her mother deserved a woman of the year citation be cause she represented hundreds of mothers who sacrificed and devoted their lives so that their children will benefit. ***** THUS we would say that the freshman who chose her mother has really stolen the show. She may be only a freshman but some how she knows more than many of the so-called wise men of our day. Mothers are indeed unsung heroines. They are our first line of defense. Theirs is not the glamour, the spotlight or the headline. They work overtime ironing, cooking, washing, sewing, cleaning so that their children will be presentable at school or college. They have no union hours or (Continued on Page 5) Catholic Colleges Have Crying Need For Funds THE BACKDROP Father John J. Cavanaugh’s candid criticism of Catholic edu cation may not endear him to some of his fellow Catholic edu cators, but he will not have wast ed his breath if it provokes thoughtful con sideration of — the questions he raises. The former president of | Notre Dame j University re cently told a 1 Catholic audi- * ence in Washington that the fail ure of Catholics in scholarship “is a long and costly and ugly dream.” He cited what he term ed the “humiliating evidence of the lack of Catholic representa tion in scholarship, in science, arts, business and fields where culture and intellectual achieve ments are concerned.” “Where,” he asked, “are the Catholic Salks, Oppenheimers and Einsteins?” For the “mediocrity” of Catho lic scholarships, Father Cava naugh suggested two factors which contribute to it. One is the low esteem in which intellectual pursuits are held in many Cath olic homes. The other is the in adequacy of many Catholic in stitutions of higher learning. The same criticism, of course, could have been directed at hundreds of non-Catholic colleges, but Fa ther Cavanaugh was speaking to a Catholic group about their own particular problem. SPREAD TOO THIN? Noting that few Catholic col leges and universities have earn ed a rating among the leading in stitutions of learning in the na tion, Father Cavanaugh asked if the reason was that “we have By JOHN C. O’BRIEN spread ourselves too thin, opened up colleges and universities with out sufficient first-rate person nel.” The Notre Dame educator, of course, is not the first to suggest that the education dollar has been spread thin in the field of higher education and that, as a result, we have attained numbers of edu cational institutions rather than quality. Yet, it was inevitable that our Catholic system of higher edu cation evolved in the mannar in which it did. A few well-staffed universities may be able to serve the needs of Catholic students in the European countries, where the travel di stance to the main centers of population is short. But that is not the situation in the United States. If Catholic youth in this country are to have an opportun ity for a Catholic higher edu cation, colleges, even though they may be inadequately equipped and inadequately staffed, must be spotted throughout the nation. That we have to support so many institutions of higher learn ing is, of course, one reason so few have been able to attain first rank. But if we want to put our finger on the main cause for the anaemic state of Catholic higher education, we must look at the meager endowments of our Cath olic colleges and universities. GRIM STATISTICS The stark fact is that only in recent years have our schools re ceived support from alumni and wealthy Catholics. And even now gifts and bequests are sel dom substantial. In short, the ed ucation dollars have been spread thin because there have been so few of them. To grasp how ill-supported our colleges and universities are one has only to compare their endow ments with those of non-Catholic colleges. For example, only 28 Catholic institutions out of a total of nearly 200 at the college level are among the 410 listed in the World Almanac for 1957 as hav ing endowments of $1,000,000 or more. The total endowment of those 28 Catholic colleges is just under $100,000,000. This is less than . one-fourth of the endowment of Harvard University, which, in 1957, reported its funded worth at $442,000,000. The disparity is all the more glaring when we con sider that Harvard is educating a student body of a little more than 10,000, while the 28 Catholic uni versities and colleges are trying to educate a total of nearly 95,000 students. Notre Dame, with an enroll ment of more than 5,000, has the : largest endowment of any Catho- lice University in the United States — a little more than $10,- 000,000. By comparison, Wesleyan ’ University, a Methodist-founded school in Connecticut, with an en rollment of only a little more than 1,000 students, has an en dowment of more than $19,000,- 000. Better financing, of course, would not cure all the ills cited by Father Cavanaugh. It would not necessarily stimulate the de- J votion to scholarship which the Notre Dame educator found lack- 1 ing in American homes. But the fact remains that until American | - Catholic colleges are more gene-: rously supported, it is asking for a miracle to expect them to ! match in all respects the stand- 1 ards of the well-endowed secular i and non-Catholic institutions. A Shave For Maura At Our House (By Mary Tinley Daly) Everyone, probably, is entitled to his piccadillos and his small pet peeves. Disassociated from the grave concerns of the day, these are the minor frustrations. For the Head of the House, it is shaving. He would, we feel, have been perfectly happy living in the time of the apostles. Sometimes, when he is particularly razor-shy, we think that he envisions himself in that carefree era when a red, and now graying beard, mustache and sideburns would be accept able. However, he dwells in mid twentieth century, Madison Ave nue, Park Avenue, Broadway, and Tennyson Street, (where he actually lives) have as their mores clean-shaven jowls. The Apostles are long ago and far away; their virtues remain but their hirsute adornment is seldom seen. So, for the Head of the House, it’s make with the razor—but not without a grumble. When we’re out in the evening, there is a careful inspection at the bathroom mirror, and many a time we find him perpetrating the well-known ruse, a careful pat ting on of talcum powder to hide five o’clock shadow. And the morning stretch-a- shave: “Think I can get by?” he will ask hopefully on a morning after he has shaved the evening before. We try to take his side, but the verdict, after a sandpaper em brace, is “Well, if you’re going to appear in public . . Result—suds and scraping. Every week end comes the complicated routine, with timing worked out as though he were launching a satellite: Friday morning’s shave is to last until as late as possible on Saturday evening and, with only slight stubble he can get by for church on Sunday—if he goes to an early mass. “But a shave takes just a few minutes,” we’ve argued for years. “Why don’t you go ahead and do it automatically? Forget that you dislike it. Recite poetry, plan your next story, say your prayers —offer it up for a penance.” “Oh, rats!” he growls, and starts lathering. “Women . . he mutters under his breath. Once, in an even more preachy mood, we commented, “Why, Daddy used to have to hone his straight razor on a leather strop, then use an old fashioned brush and shaving mug . . “And he always whistled while he worked?” the Head of the House asked wryly. “Well, no,” we remembered truthfully. “He used to kind of complain too. Matter of fac t, when Mom and we girls would kid him, he’d growl, ‘Oh, wo men!’ ” The head of the House tries ev erything that industrialized America in 1958 offers to big and little. shavers: foam that squirts out at the press of a finger, elec tric and safety razors, before and after-shave gunk. He pretends to pay no heed to TV commercials where a guy comes up beaming as he zips through a stubble like a wire brush and then goes into a clinch with his wife. They rub cheeks and both grin into the TV camera with the pseudo-sincere: “Honey, what in the world would we do without Whiskoff?” Next day, though, we find that Whiskoff has been added to our bathroom paraphernalia. Recently, we’ve noticed a change in the Head of the House and his grooming habits. Early each Sunday afternoon he goes up and shaves, voluntarily and uncomplainingly, even though he knows that he faces the same ordeal again on Monday morning. Somehow, he always manages to finish just before Johnny and Lu and the four grandchildren arrive. We had never connected the two events, for certainly he makes no other pretense at a ceremonial, keeping on the two sport shirts (the striped and the checked) and wearing the loung ing slacks. Last Sunday, though, the truth popped out as suddenly as shaving lather out of the newest plastic pinch bottles. “Um-m-m, smell good, Grand pa,” Sean said, climbing into his lap where Maura, admittedly his best girl, was already ensconsed. “You’ll do the same thing some day, boy,” the Head of the House , checkled. “A guy with whiskers can’t nuzzle up and scratch a lit tle baby face like Maura’s.” So . . . 14-month-old Maura, as yet unable to speak, has delivered a more effective lecture than we could do with years of entreaties and protests. Thank you, Miss Maura! SUMMER COURSES ROME, (NC) — A special sum mer course of studies in Italian literature, archeology, history and Church history for foreign stu dents will be given here at the Institute of St. Eugene. The aim of the course is to pre sent the history of Rome as a means of understanding the city as the “Teacher of Civilization.” The courses are scheduled to run from July 3 to July 25 and are open to students of foreign nations interested in a deeper knowledge of Christian culture and history. WITHHOLD NEWS JAKARTA, Indonesia, (NC)— The Central Committee of Bish ops of Indonesia made no public announcements after meeting in this politically tense capital. It was believed, however, that the Catholic prelates discussed Church policy in the event of any possible emergency. luUrtttt 416 8TH ST., AUGUSTA, GA. Published fortnightly by the Catholic Laymen’s Association of Geor gia, Inc., with the Approbation of the Most Reverend Archbishop- Bishop of Savannah, the Most Reverend Bishop of Atlanta, and the Right Reverend Abbot Ordinary of Belmont. Entered as second class matter at the Post Office, Monroe, Georgia, and accepted for mailing at special rate of postage provided by para graph (e) of section 34.40, Postal Laws and Regulations. Rev FRANCIS J. DONOHUE REV. R. DONALD KIERNAN Editor Savannah Edition Editor Atlanta Edition JOHN MARKWALTER Managing Editor Vol. 38 Saturday, February 8, .1958 No. 18 ASSOCIATION OFFICERS FOR 1957-1958 ’ GEORGE GINGELL, Columbus President E. M. HEAGARTY, Waycross Honorary Vice-President MRS. DAN HARRIS, Macon _ Vice-President TOM GRIFFIN, Atlanta Vice-President NICK CAMERIO, Macon Secretary JOHN T. BUCKLEY, Augusta Treasurer JOHN MARKWALTER, Augusta Executive Secretary MISS CECILE FERRY, Augusta Financial Secretary ALVIN M. McAULIFFE, Augusta ^ Auditor,