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THE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC LAYMEN’S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA
7
Catholics In Georgia
The Rambler in The Philadelphia Catholic Standard
and Times.
Courage, moral and physical, is opinion. In bringing this about the
one of the finest things in the world.
F'or that reason the Catholics of the
archdiocese of Philadelphia should
have the greatest admiration for the
way in which their co-religionists
in the state of Georgia have been
and. are still standing up for their
rights to which they are entitled un
der the Constitution of the United
States. There is probably no state
fin the union—with the possible ex
ception of Alabama—where bigotry
against Catholics and the Catholic
church is so rampant as it is in this
one of the thirteen original states|
We get glimpses of it occassionally
in this part of the country, but no
one can fully understand the inten
sity of the feeling who has not lived
in that commonwealth.
There are two things to be done
in a case like this: To retreat or to
stand one’s ground; andiit is the the
everlasting credit of the small min
ority of Catholics in Georgia that
they have stood their ground and
fought for their" rights in the face
of the blackest kind of prejudice.
For a time the Catholics had to
stand up and fight their own battles
there. But in recent years the war
has been so grossly unfair that a
number of representative non-Cath-
olics have voluntarily come to their
aid. and at present they arc seem
ingly winning* their fight for fair
play. The newspapers of Atlanta,
to their credit be it said, have been
outspoken in denouncing prejudice.
They have declared, in na uncertain
terms, that bigotry is a liability to
any community, and that it has been
especially so to the city of Atlanta
and the state of Georgia.
They Both Served
One officeholder in Atlanta tried
to justify his persecution of Catho
lics by asserting that members of
that faith had threatened to defeat
him for re-election. In order to un
derstand the situation fully, let us
consider a few facts. The state of
Georgia has a population of nearly
3,00(1,000, and the total number of
Catholics in the entire common
wealth is about 20,000. Just imagine
20,000 threatening 33,000,000, and
you have some idea of the absurdity
of the charge. It has been esti
mated that 17,500 of the Catholics
are in the cities of Savannah. Augus
ta, Macon, Atlanta and Columbus;
and that the remaining 2.500 are seat
tcred over an area of 45,000 square
miles, covering 104 counties. The
priests, who have charge of these
missions outside of the large cities,
travel 14,000 miles annually. They
aim to visit at regular periods not
only little groups of Catholics, but
1 also every outlying Catholic family
and even individual Catholics.
c " The situation would be bad
enough, if only normal conditions
existed; but when to this is added
organized bigotry, the situation of
the Catholics in Georgia may be im
agined. But it is an ill-wind that
does not blow some good; and the
persecution in the state has been
the means of bringing about three
distinct results; First, it has arous
ed the Indignation of fair-minded
non-Catholics and has caused them
to become champions of the church.
Who knows hut that may be the
means of bringing some of them
back to the faith? When the un
speakable Tom Watson made charg
es against the convents and at
tacked the venerable Bishop Kciley
be aroused the spirit of fair play in
many Protestants. The blasphemous
demagogue made a tactical error
when he mentioned the name of the
bishop. The prelate has lived a
long and useful life in the state and
is deeply respected by those who did
not agree with the teachings of the
church. It was not strange, there
fore, that,the Watson charges should
have reacted on the the head of their
author. All of this goes to prove
association has attempted to place
the Catholic church in its rightful
position before the world. If facts
are distorted, if dogmas are misrep
resented, they are promptly cor
rected. The organization has even
resorted to newspaper advertising
in order to let their fellow citizens
know' what Catholics “do not be
lieve.” That, by the way, was the
title of a most effective lecture de
livered before a non-Catholic audi
ence in St. Louis by the late revered
Archbishop Ryan. No untruthful
statement about the church is per
mitted to go uncontradicted. Some
officer or member of the laymen’s
organization is always “on the job.”
Thus, what was started for purely
defensive purposes, has become a
valuable auxiliary of the church
militant.
The missionary society works
along different lines, but its services
have been very valuable. It was
organized by devout women, who
saw the needs of catering to the
wants of the Catholics in the sparse
ly settled sections of the state.
Bishop Keilcy, who resigned a few
months ago on account of ill health,
and has been succeeded by Bishop
Keyes, has been naturally proud of
what it has already accomplished.
In the first year of its work there
was received from dues of members
$989.53; from mite boxes in schools
$250.39; from sale of tin foil and
newspapers $39.42; from all other
sources $499.07; total $1,779.00. This
may seem small to those who live in
the crowded cities, but who shall say
that it is not the grain of mustard
from which the great tree shall
grow? At all events the missionary
society and the laymen’s association
are doing wonderful work in the
state of Georgia.
We cannot resist a story—new
to us. at any rate—told us by
the Laird of Cnosualtach.
A Catholic priest and a Wes
leyan parson who had been serv
ing as chaplains in the same reg
iment were saying good-by when
they left the army at the end
of the War.
“Well,” said the priest, “after
all, we mustn’t forget we’ve both
been serving the same Heavenly
Father—you in your way, and I
in His.”—Christopher Morley in
New York Evening Post.
A Tribute to Fr. Abram Ryan
W. C. Woodall in the Columbus Enquirer-Sun.
Great Personalities
Of the Church
Father Gibault, Patriot and Mission
ary.
The first fruits of the new policy
of fair play were shown in Atalnta
only a few weeks ago. The anti-
Catliolics had made a determined
stand against the reappointment of
sixteen Catholic teachers in the pub
lic schools of that city. They made
a most malignant campaign against
these teachers, and the commission
ers who were favorable to them were
threatened with defeat at the polls.
To start with, Willis A. Sutton,
superintendent of schools, recom
mended the reappointment of all of
the sixteen on the ground that they
were capable and efficient. The
name of that man should lie emblaz
oned in a new Hall of Fame. It
would have been easier for a weaker
man to have omitted those names
from his list, but it is evident that
the backbone of this man was not
of the Turkish towel quality. When
the commissioners of the schools
came to ballot for the sixteen, they
were all selected by at vote of 5
to 2.
Commissioner McCalley, before
casting his vote, said that anony
mous telephone callers had threat
ened to bomb his home if he Voted
to retain the teachers who are
Catholics. He had also been warned
to keep off t lie streets. Facing a
protesting delegation, he said*, “I
want to look you straight in the
eyes and tell you that you cannot
buldoze me. I defy anyone to in
timidate me. I shall vote for these
teachers exactly as nominated.”
After that, who shall have the
temerity to say that the spirit of
liberty is dead in the United
States? There in that little meet
ing room in the city of Atlanta was
renewed the spirit of Bunker Hill,
the sort of real patriotism' that
made the American Republic. These
men merely did their duty', foer,r
men merely did their duty, of
course, but their names should be
honored everywhere.
It is to a Catholic priest that the
United States is indebted in large
part for the acquisition of the
Northwest Territory, from which has
been carved the States of Ohio, In
diana, Illisnois and Wisconsin. That
priest was Father Pierre Gibault,
who was born in Montreal in 1737.
Patrick Henry, when Governor of
Virginia, referred to Father Gibault
as “the priest to whom this country
owes many thanks for his zeal and
services.” Judge Law, in his “His
tory of Vincennes,” says that next
to George Rogers Clark and Francis
Vigo, the accession of the great and
rich country west of the Ohio was
due to Father Gibault more than to
any' other man.
Father Gibault was pastor at Kas-
kaskia, Illinois, the center of many
Catholic missions, when he first met
General Clark. The young priest—
he was then about 40—had lived in
Vincennes under the English, and he
was not friendly' to them. General
Clark won the esteem of the Cana
dian settlers in the whole territory
of the Illinois and particularly of
Father Gibault. When the English
began to carry the war into the
Northwest Territory and harrass the
settlers by Indian raids, Father Gi
bault offered to visit Vincennes and
induce his compatriots there to
throw their strength and fortunes
with the American Colonists.
After a long journey through a
wilderness full of dangers, Father
Gibault reached Vincennes on his
mission, and within three days won
the Canadians to the cause of the
Colonists. The American flag was
hoisted over the fort and all those
who remained took the oath of alle
giance to the Continental Congress.
Vincennes later was retaken by the
English, but was in turn captured
by the Americans and held perma
nently.
Father Gibault’s work in behalf of
the Church was no less heroic and
important than his labors for his
adopted country. In addition to his
pastoral duties in Ivaskaskia, he un
dertook missionary journeys into the
northern part of Illinois and into
Missouri. He made at least four of
these journeys, the shortest of which
he himself said “was five hundred
leagues.” He served at Vincennes
at St. Genevieve and Cahokia. He
died in New Madrid, Missouri, in
1804.
Recently' Mr. Felder Pou found
among the papers of his father, the
late Judge Joseph F. Pou, a poem
written about 1887 in memory of
Father Ryan, beloved Southern poet,
who had just passed to his great
reward. The records show that
Father Ryan died in 1880.
Father Ryan had a world-wide
reputation as the greatest Confed
erate poet. Shortly after his or
dination to the priesthood he became
chaplain in the Confederate army
and served to the close of the war.
Not long after Lee’s surrender he
wrote his famous poem, “The Con
quered Banner.” Father Ryan also
wrote “The Sword of Lee,” which
for sheer beauty and depth of sen
timent has but few equals, being
regarded among the greatest poems
lan-
ever written in the English
guage.
Mr. Pou has given us the privil
ege of publishing the beautiful po
etic tribute paid by his father to
Father Ryan and in doing so he
says:
“I am sure some of us who lived
during and just after the Civil War
will read with some degree qf
pleasure the lines herein enclosed,
evidencing my father’s great appre
ciation of Father Ryan as a man,
as a Christian and as a Confederate
soldier-poet whose writings and
whose beautiful Christian character
stimulated those of his day to high
ideals.”
Judge Pou’s poem, which is to the
metre of “The Conquered Banner,”
follows:
IN MEMORY OF FATHER RYAN
Lay down that harp, unstring it sadly,
The hand that struck will strike no more
Until the Master bid it gladly
Sound praises on the heavenly shore.
That harp struck notes of raptrous beauty,
Sad requiem to heaven-born duty
Nor tyrant’s frown nor robber’s booty
Could stay their flow; nay, more
That harp’s bold strain was surety
To high born, lowly, rich and poor;
That beaten, crushed, o’erwhelm’d and taunted,
The cause had triumphs yet in store!
Lay down that harp—’twould be but madness
For other hands to sweep its strings;
It gave forth tunes of such sweet sadness
As memory’s ear but seldom brings.
It sung the “Conquered Banner’s” story.
That proudly shone o’er field all gory,
Whose very tatters were its glory!
That harp now turned to heavenly lays,
Shall sound till time itself be hoary,
Swelling the mighty Maker’s praise,
Inspiring like the “still, small voice.,”
In its perfect melody—always!
Miscellany
By GEORGE BARNARD.
value of llie example of a good
Catholic life. There are laymen in
every community who may never be
called upon to say a word publicly
in favor their church, but whose
lives are a mission in themselves.
They win the regard of their non-
Catholic neighbors because they de
serve it. They not only win re
spect for themselves, but they are
a positive asset to the Catholic re
ligion.
The two other results in Georgia
consisted in the organization of two
important bodies, the Catholic Lay
men’s Association and the Catholic
Missionary Society of Georgia. The
laymen’s association has made a
^niost successful war against preju-
iice and bigotry. Its avowed pur
pose is to create a better feeling
|among the citizens of Georgia rc-
' gardlcsa of religious differences of
Mayor Key and President W. W.
Gaines, of the school commission
ers, were outspoken in their views of
the petty persecution. In speaking
of the stand he had taken, Mr.
Gaiens said: “Under those precious
documents of religious liberty, and
the separation of church and state,
our nation has grown and pros
pered and has become the greatest
nation in the world. People of all
creeds have come here and have
found a place for the free and un
fettered exercise of their faith. To
gether we have lived. Together W'e
have fought the country’s wars.
Together we have built up our mar
velous civilization. We must pre
serve these ideas and ideals in their
complctest integrity. We must
make no law and we must make no
practice that will in any degree in-
14
Hail Mary, full of grace, thou chosen
one '
And blest among all women by
that choice,
Thou, who, obedient to the angel’s
voice,
Without a murmur hid God’s will
The men who control Catholic
papers are in many cases bigger
than the papers they control. This
means that journalistic ability is be
ing wasted. William Randolph
Hearst could not make an attractive
news-sheet if he had no money, and
if he ran his paper in the interests of
a cause about which people were
listless. Ideas cannot print a paper
or illustrate it. It requires money to
put the ideas into action. Good
journalists are champing the hit to
go ahead and do big things for
Catholic journalism. If . our half-
million Catholic families would each
chip in their two or three dollars a
year they would see some fireworks.
This is a thought from Cleveland,
where I saw the editors in action at
the Catholic Press Association Con
vention.
the opinion that pure food commit
tees are an unwarranted interference
with his right to free action as a
private citiens. So with tainted
literature. The only people who ob
ject to (he Church’s vigilance in
pointing out to her children tha
poison in literature arc the peopl<
who are interested in its manufac.
ture or distribution, unless they an
perverts who prefer poisoli as &
mental diet; just as some people
dru knowing that drugs are poison.
And
Continued on Page Fight.
be done.
thus a virgin brought forth
God’s own Son,
Hail to the Queen of Heaven 1 Be
fore thee bend
The Cherubim and Seraphim; all
lend
Their voices in thy praise. Since
Time begun
And ere the Fates of Life their
spindles spun
Thy name was on the Judgment
Book, thy life
Of toil, travail and sorrow to the
end;
Of piercing griefs as yet conceived
by none.
A mother—still, yet but a virgin
wife—
Try cross He bore that thou might
blessings send.
—W. S. Iv.
Some people have said that our
Catholic editors are square pegs in
round holes. They are, in this sense:
They are, in many eases, superior
men in inferior jobs. They are, for
tl’.e most part, men who could trans
fer to secular journalism at con
siderable personal profit, if they did
not mind soiling their souls a little
in order to give the people the stuff
they think they want. If all our
Catholic editors deserted their ships
you wouldn’t notice it much at first.
But after a while you would hear
curious rumblings, and see the signs
of a storm, threatening to break over
the Church. Then you would get
panicky, and look for new men to
give life to the derelict- papers. You
would offer big salaries to attract
them. At that point you would dis
cover that you were better off with
the men who were in the game be
cause their hearts were in it.
Among the prelates at a recent
ceremony in Rome was Cardinal
Marini, The matter is worth men
tioning because many papers killed
him of the time of the conclave some
months ago. He is the cardinal who
was reported to
Vatican.
“Lucas Malet,” the author of a new
book of short stories which the rc-{
viewers describe as brilliant, is thd
daughter of Charles Kingsley, whd
provoked Cardinal Newman to the,
writing of his famous “Apologia Prq
Vita Sua”. “Lucas Malet’s” real namd
is Mrs. Mary St. Lcgar Harrison,
Born at her father’s rectory, she has
been writing steadily for forty
years, her first novel, “Mrs. Lorim-
er,” having appeared in 1882 Twenty-
one years latter she was received
into the Church.
When the Church secs fit to place
a notorious writer on the Index of
forbidden books, there is usually an
outburst from one-eyed critics who
regard Rome's action as interference
with human liberty. The action of
the Congregation of the Holy Office
with regard to Anatole France seems
to have been allowed to press with
out the customary protests from
American critics. Perhaps the rea
son lies in the fact that Anatole
France was indiscreet enough to Say
the other day that America has not
yet produced a really great book.
There are some people who think
that the Church is in for a reign of
persecution, in America. The other
day I asked a man who thinks thus
what, in his opinion, would be the
best to stop the wave of persecution
before it breaks. “I’d never thought
of trying to stop it,” he said “we
need it to bring us togetcr.” The
muncipal authorities of a French-vil
lage forbade the ringing of the Ange-
lus. Now every day' at noon the
people gather in the church to re
cite the Angclus in public. They pro
bably recited it carelessly or not at
all before. When an anti-clerical
official fried to stamp out the Ange-
lus the people formed a new esti
mate of its importance.
There are Boards of Health and gli
sorts of committees for the supervi-
have died in the sion of foodstuffs. A man who
wants to sell tainted meat may hold
'The name of the author of a “New
Medley of Memories”, from which
1 have quoted above, is a somewhat
unusual combination of civil and
ecclesiastical distinctions. In full it
is: The Right Rev. Sir David Oswald
Hunter-Blair, Baronet, Abbot, O. S.
B.. As the eldest son of the late
Sir Edward Hunter-Blair, he became,
the fifth Baronet of Duhskcy, but
it was not until after he had passed
through Eton and Oxford and had
held a captaincy in the militia that
he took the step which ultimately
led to an abbacy. He was received,
into the church at the age of twenty*
four. Sir David is titular abbot dt
Abingdon.
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