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THE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC LAYMEN’S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA
THE BULLETIN
The Official Organ of the Catholic Laymen’s Association
of Georgia.
RICHARD REID, Editor.
Published Semi-Monthly by the Publicity Department
409 Herald Building. Augusta, Georgia.
Subscription Price, $2.00 Per Year.
ASSOCIATION OFFICERS FOR 1921-1922.
IVH. Rice, K. S. G., Augusta ••• ■ -president
P. H. Callahan, Louisville, Ky Honorary Vice-President
.1. J. Haverty, Atlanta First Vice-President
B. McCallum, Atlanta Secretary
'.Thomas S. Gray, Augusta •• ••• •• • "j®. asu T er
Richard Reid, Augusta £ u M? c ?J y director
?4 ah Cecile C. Ferry, Augusta ...Assistant Publicity Director
VOL- III.
APRIL 25, 1922.
NO. 7.
Entered as second class matter June 15, 1921, at the Post
Office at Augusta, Ga., under Act of March. 1879. _ Accepted
mailing at special rate of postage provided for in Section
1103, Act of October 3, 1917, authorized September 1, 1941.
“Godless.” If they are honest, they must also oppose
Protestants teaching in public schools. We read in
the Western Recorder, a Baptist paper, published in
Louisville, Ky., the following opinions expressed
about public school education:
“Secularism is a failure. It has had its day, been
weighed in the balance and found wanting. God never
spoke more urgently to the Israelites than he is speak
ing to us today, to go forward in the matter of de
nominational schools.”
Dixie Musings \
L
Father Van der Zon.
Father Van der Zon is dead, but what a glorious
end was his! He met it on Easter Sunday morning,
hurrying from Fitzgerald, where he had celebrated
Mass for the congregation there, to Tliomasville, 100
miles away, where he intended that the Catholics of
Arhomas County and its vicinity should have the privi
lege of assisting at Mass in honor of the Resurrection
bf our Saviour. Not only is he dead, but Mrs. Davis,
|who volunteered to drive him over for the Mass at
Tliomasville, is dead, and three other members of the
Fitzgerald congregation, who were riding with them,
c badly injured.
To say Mass at one point, and then hasten to an
other 100 miles away the same morning over South
Georgia roads is an accomplishment that seems al
most physically impossible. It was not absolutely
necessary that the people of Thomasville hear Mass
Easter, especially in view of the great difficulty in
making it possible. Bpt if our priests only did those
things which are necessary, the history of our Church
would not he the glorious record of accomplishment
it is. So Father Van, like any other mission priest,
started out with his party for Thomasville. He never
arrived.
Father Van, as he was known in South Georgia to
all Catholics and numerous non-Catholics, was a saint
ly, zealous priest. His years in Georgia, to which he
came from Holland, were few, hut they made up in
accomplishment what they lacked in duration. He,
with Father Keenan, pastor of the Southwestern Geor 5 -
gia missions, with headquarters at Albany, ministered
to 1,000 Catholics spread over 15,000 square miles of
Georgia territory, exceeding the combined area of
Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut. It was
only in the last issue of The Bulletin that a story
was published telling about the almost impossible
tasks Father Van, with his pastor, Father Keenan, ac
complished.
Father Van is dead, gone to his eternal reward.
His great heart is stilled forever. We shall never
again see this side of eternity his genial countenance,
nor hear his pleasant voice. It will be many a day
before the Diocese of Savannah recovers from the
shock occasioned by the news of his death, and time
will he no more when, it forgets it.
May God grant him eternal rest.
The*Catholic Laymen’s Association of Georgia ex
tends its sincere sympathy to Mr. George Davis, of
Fitzgerald, on the death of his wife In the same acci
dent in which Father Van met his end. A fervent
Christian, a devoted mother, she was the type of wom
an Our Loyd would call to Himself in this manner, on
an errand of love for Him. It was our privilege to
know Mrs. Davis, and on the occasion of the organi
zation of the Fitzgerald branch of the Catholic Lay
men’s Association of Georgia a few short weeks ago,
she left nothing undone that could be done for the
comfort of the officials of the Laymen’s Association
who acquainted the people of Fitzgerald with the work.
May God comfort her sorrowing husband and mother
less children. May perpetual light shine upon her.
“It is a shame to let our children grow up, and
come out of schools without a conscience. . . . The
education that fits only for the world must die, and
bring ruin upon the world itself in the end.”
“Do you want my boy to go out into the world
nothing hut an educated fool, a blatant unbeliever, a
foolish agnostic? Or with the simple Christian faith
he learned in the home, rounded out and developed into
stalwart Christian integrity? When will we ask the
question on bended knees before God, and see that the
positive inevitable answer is, we must do more than
we have ever done for our denominational schools?”
“The moral or spiritual sense neglected or per
verted, is no longer a recollection of the divine mind;
and the education guilty of this sin IS THE WICKED
EST FUNCTIONING AGENCY IN THE WORLD.”
“THE HEATHEN NEVER CONTEMPLATED EDU
CATION APART FROM RELIGION. , . and the
most startling trend of religious and political liberty,
in modern times, IS TO BREAK FROM GOD IN EDU
CATION AND HISS RELIGION OUT OF THIS GREAT
DEPARTMENT OF LIFE.”—Western Recorder. De
cember 23, 1915.
The Western Recorder is owned and edited under
the direction of the Council of Baptist Churches. The
views quoted are from an educational number of the
paper, and each from a different article written for
that number, and signed by persons who are among
the leading teachers ar.d theologians of the Baptists
in the South. We invite special attention to such ex
pressions as “an educated fool,” “heathen,” “blatant
unbeliever,” and “foolish agnostic,” used to describe
the product of our public schools; and also to the
opinion expressed that they “are the wickedest func
tioning agency in the world.” And we read in News
and Truth, issue of January 26, 1916, a Baptist pa
per, the following:
“In all education, whether in the home or the school,
the religious element OUGHT TO PREDOMINATE.
. . The obligation to educate religiously is upon us;
to do this denominational schools have to be planted.”
They would bar Catholics from teaching in our pub
lic schools on the ground that some Catholic leaders
have declared it a ‘‘feodless” system. Imagine Catho
lics using the same argument against Protestants, thus:
“We ask, should Protestants be permitted to teach
in our public schools, which they say are bringing up
an army of children in spiritual illiteracy? Of course,
some of their children attend the public schools, but
if there were a Protestant school, they would go to
that. Of course, the Protestants pay taxes, but they
pay taxes because they have to, and the fact that they
pay taxes does not cover all their sins. Because they
pay taxes is no reason why they should be permitted
to take charge of a thing and operate it when they are
opposed to its principles and consider it ‘the wicked
est functioning agency in the world.’
“If they believe in the public schools, why do they
talk of ‘spiritual illiteracy’? Why do they want to
teach in the public schools, when their trend is ‘to
break with God and hiss religion out of this great de
partment of life?’”
Therefore, if Catholics should be barred from the
public school system, Protestant teachers should be
barred also. That is the only consistent thing to do.
And if Catholics and Protestants are both barred, who
shall teach? Atheists, agnostics, pagans?
The death of Father Van der Zon
and Mrs. Davis in South Georgia
Easter Sunday saturated with sad
ness the end of a glorious Easter
Day.
It was our privilege to be perso
nally acquainted with every person
in the automobile party that came
to grief hurrying to Thomasville for
another Mass. Father Van was a
saintly and deeply religious man,
and in spite of his arduous duties
on the South Georgia Missions, his
prayers and meditations would do
credit to a religious in a monastery
with much lighter, though sufficient,
duties.
Mrs. Davis was a Virginian by
birth, and as cultured, gentle and
hospitable as Virginians tradition
ally are. She and Mr. Davis could
not do too much for the priests of
the Southwestern Georgia missions
when they came to Fitzgerald.
Miss Daisy Moye, injured in the
same accident, was one of the most
active workers in the Fitzgerald
congregation and secretary of the
Catholic Laymen’s Association of
that city. Mr. and Mrs. Kratzer, also
members of the party, sustaining in
juries, are leading members of the
Ben Hill County Catholic church.
An Atlanta paper took occasion to
comment editorially on the acci
dent, and drew from it the lesson
that “haste makes waste.” Our in
formation is to the effect that speed
had little to do with the catastrophe
It is too bad that the editorial writer
could not go a little deeper and
see the self-sacrifice that prompted
the trip, one hundred miles after
one Mass on an empty stomach that
others might assist at Divine Ser
vice Easter Sunday morning. But it
requires the eyes of faith to com
prehend that.
The Latin language is generally
supposed to be a dead language, the
idea arising, we presume, from the
frequency with which it is “mur
dered” by the young hopefuls who
are obliged to attempt to use it as
a medium through which to convey
their thoughts. But at Sacred Heart
College in Augusta, where a score
of scholastics of the Society of
Jesus are studying, Latin is not
murdered.” but is a living, throb
bing medium of expression.
Latin is studied at Sacred Heart
not only because it is necessary for
a thorough knowledge of English,
but also because the lectures In
rhetoric and poetry are delivered in
Latin. The practical utility of Latin
for these young men will not end
with the completion of their course
at Sacred Heart College. They are
preparing for three year course
in philosophy and a five year course
in Canon Law, leading to degrees of
Pli.D. and D. D. respectively, often
finished in a European Jesuit uni
versity In Europe the lectures are
delivered in Latin, antt students
from all parts of the world there
fore have no difficulty in under
standing one another through their
common medium. Not only do the
students at Sacred Heart speak La
tin, but they write Latin prose and
poetry and higli merit. The fea
ture of the Rector's Day observance
St. Patrick’s Day in honor of Father
Ryan was an original Latin poem,
from the pen of one of the students
Why worry about Esperanto and
other systems of universal lan-
gauge when Latin is available?
Catholics In Public Schools.
About this time each year, someone seeking office
for himself or his friends, tries to stir up excitement
over Catholics teaching in our public schools, thus
hoping, in default of other claims for support, to be
lifted into position on the strength of religious preju
dice.
Such an effort is now being made in Atlanta. The
Catholic Laymen’s Association of Georgia lias no in
terest in politics. It takes no part in elections. It
cannot be drawn into controversy, not even on prin
ciples, for all principles that matter are settled in the
minds of intelligent and thoughtful people. But the
hatred and enmity engendered in the minds of peo
ple who live together as neighbors and ought to live
together as friends, when politicians take that cue,
are destructive of good citizenship, and our Associa
tion, whose object is to bring about a friendlier feeling
among Georgians, irrespective of creed, takes this
means of showing the ridiculous attitude of those who
question the right of Catholics to teach in our public
schools.
Catholics are opposed by certain people as teachers
in the public schools on the ground that certain Cath
olic leaders have declared the public school system
Men and women of Atlantal The good citizens
of your eily stand at the cross-roads; one leading to
wrong, bigotry, discrimination, ill-will and strife; the
other leading to mutual self-respect, Christian charity
and peace, among ourselves and our children.
Protestant neighbors and friends 1 Standing shoul
der to shoulder, we have built Atlanta; side by side
we have lived all these years; shoulder to shoulder
we fought in the war; side by side we must live in the
years to come; neighbors, we must be; shall We not
be friends?
No honest person can oppose Catholics teaching
in our public schools on the ground that Catholic lead
ers have declared the system “Godless,” and not op
pose Protestants teaching in them, when their leaders
have declared it the “wickedest functioning agency
in the world.”
None can worship the public school system as
above God and not be opposed alike to all Christians
having a part in its operation, though Catholics may
be hit first because they are the fewest and seem the
easiest to get rid of.
We plead for peace- We ask no favors. We love
our faith and we love our friends. We love Georgia
and the city where we live. We stand all together.
We believe our fellow-citizens will stand with us, and
not ask us to give up anything of these as the price
of friendship among us and among our children,
Current Comment
CITIZENS WHO DO NOT VOTE.
(From an editorial in the Wesleyan
Christian Advocate, Methodist
Publication, Atlanta, Ga.)
The voters who vote wrong are
at least taking some interest in the
government. It has been my obser
vation that many very good peo
ple, including church members, can
he swept by a wave of hysteria into
easting votes for candidates with an
immoral record.
This is not so had as the disloyal
indifference of the non-voter.
If the man who is not loyal to his
country in times of War is to be
dubbed a slacker or traitor, how
much better or how much worse hi
the man who is-not loyal to his gov
ernment in times of peace?
If you raise a pious cant that
politics are so corrupt you don’t care
to mix up with it, then you are so
goody-goody that you are not fit
for this world.
If you are so depraved as to care
nothing for your government, then
the quicker you pass into some
other world, the better it will be
for this world.
An editorial of The Atlanta Jour
nal of Feb. 20, on “The Neglected
Ballot,” makes a forceful statement
of some facts that all of our peo
ple should reckon with:
Apropos of President Harding’s
recent remark, that a citizen has
no weightier duty than that of vot
ing when a vote counts for some
thing, it is recalled that in the mo-
mertous national elections of No
vember, 1920, fewer than half or
those who were legally ‘qualified
and morally bound to exercise the
suffrage right took the trouble to
do so. Out of 54,421,832 eligibles,
those who caste ballots numbered
but -26,750,592.
This is fairly typical of all elec
tions, from those involving the pres
idency and its vast issues to the
unimposing, but far from unimpor
tant, tests in matters municipal.
Americans are dumfoundingly indif
ferent to a right which their for
bears fought to secure, and a re
sponsibility which is the basis of
free and efficient government.”
The editorial concludes:
“Suffrage is a responsibility, a
duty no less than a right. Fail
ure to take one’s place at the polls
when interests and principles are
at stake is as disloyal in kind, as
failure to answer a call to the colors
when danger threatens from a for
eign foe.”
A man who feels that his work
in the world is not sufficiently ap
preciated (and the most of us feel
that way) would do well to take
all he has and make tracks for Mex
ico, where they know how to hand
out laurels with a lavish hand. In
the over-civilized north, many a
good undertaker has gone to his
grave without further reward than
the satisfaction which he finds in
his profession. But in the South
they encourage him in his task by
the public recognition of his more
notable professional performances.
A colored paper which has just
come to my attention records a
rising vote of thanks to a certain
undertaker for the “very beautiful
burial” which he gave a member of
the community. My only misgiving
concerns the manner in which the
relatives will regard the apparent
public glee at the effective and
satisfactory interment of the de
ceased.
Latin is termed a dead language,
that is, one that does not change
English certainly is not dead. George
Bernard tells of a dough-boy who
went into a book store in France
to buy a French-English dictionary.
He looked up the French for “skid-
doo,” hut failed to find it. “It’s
a poor dictionary,” he salt!, and he
decided to buy a carton of cigarettes
instead.
“Skidoo” may never find its way
into the English dictionary, but
there are other colloquial slang land
semi-slang phrases which will be
drawing room English in time. The
latest we have heard is about a
“sometimy” person, defined as one
who is sometimes cordial, sometimes
not so cordial, and sometimes not
cordial at all.
Opponents to college education
often point to the failures turned
out by the higher institutions of
learning as basis for their opposi
tion. Which reminds us of a recent
remark of Chief Justice Taft, who
said: “There are three ways of
graduating from college: magnn
cum laude, cum lauae, and mirabile
dictu.” The horrible examples us
ually graduate “mirable dictu.”
R. R.
An American link with the Papacy
which has, I believe, escaped the
attention of other commentators,
lies in the fact that the fcburch in
Borne which bears the dedication
of the Holy Father’s name saint, is
the titular church of Cardinal
Dougherty. The beautiful old church
of St. Nercus and Achilles on the
Appian Way came into the “pos
session” of His eminence of Phila
delphia just a year ago; and Ameri
can visitors to Home may have the
satisfaction of seeing a portrait
of the Cardinal hanging on the
walls of the ancient edifice. The
portrait will not live as an endur
ing work of art,- as it was hastily
executed during the period allotted
to the ceremonies surrounding the
creation of a new cardinal. But it
is, at any rate, distinguishable from
the picture of the Pope which hangs
religious congregations.
FLORIDA K. OF C. CONVENTION.
Jacksonville, Fla. — Jacksonville
Council, Knights of Columbus, elec
ted District Dpputy A. N. O'Keefe
and Grand Knight C. Roy Mundo
delegates to the convention of the
Florida State Council at a recent
meeting. T. J. Golden and D. J Lan-
ahan, Sr. were elected alternates.
The State Council meeting will bd
held in St. Petersburg in May.