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THE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC LAYMEN’S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA
September 7, 1929
THE BULLETIN
The Official Organ of the Catholic Laymen’s Associa-
tion of Georgia.
RICHARD REID. Editor.
Member of N. C. W. C. News Service, the Catholic
Press Association of the United States, and the Geor
gia Press Association.
Published semi-monthly by the Publicity Department
with the Approbation of the Rt. Rev. Bishops of Ra
leigh Charleston. Savannah, St. Augustine, Mobile and
Natchez.
1409 Lamar Building, Augusta, Georgia.
Subscription Price, 92.00 Per Year,
FOREIGN ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE
S. T. Mattingly, Walton Building Atlanta, Ga.
ASSOCIATION OFFICERS FOR 1928-1929
P. H. RICE, K.C.K.G., Augusta President
COL. P. H. CALLAHAN, K.S.G., Louisville, Ky„
^BMHtAL WM. S. BENSON, K.C.S.G., Washington,
BARTLEY J. DOYLE, Philadelphia
. Honorary Vice-Presidents
J. J. HAVERTY. Atlanta First Vice-President
J. B. McCALLUM, Atlanta Secretary
THOMAS S. GRAY, Augusta Treasurer
P. T ,£!? A ,£P, RRID ’ Augusta Publicity Director
MISS CEcILE O. FERRY, Augusta
Asst. Publicity Director
Vol. X.
September 7, 1929.
No. 17
Entered as second class matter June 15, 1921, at the
Post Office at Augusta, Ga., under Act of March 1879
Accepted for mailing at special rate of postage provided
for in Section 1103, Act of October 3T 1917. authorized
September 1, 1921.
Father Ryan’s Birthplace
Several issues ago The Bulletin published a letter
from an Atlanta reader quoting from The Nashville
country when a small child, his parents locating at Nor
folk, Va., and then at Hagerstown, Md., moving to St.
Louis when he was eight years old. Father Ryan, when
pastor at Clarksville, Tenn., boarded at the home of Mrs,
Conroy, and the letter of Mrs. Conroy was based, she
said, on his repeated statements to her as to the place
of his nativity.
The Bulletin, therefore, wrote to the Rt. Rev.- Msgr.
Michael O Donnell, V. G., D. D., parish priest at Rath-
keale in the Diocese of Limerick, who very accommo
datingly investigated, and wrote that the name of Abram
Ryan does not appear on the Baptismal register at
Rathkeale. This, however, would not be conclusive evi
dence that Father Ryan was not born and baptized
Eternity and Time
Before The Bulletin appears again the Catholic
schools of the Southeast will have opened. The Bulletin
has repeatedly emphasized the duty that Catholic par
ents have to send their children to Catholic schools. The
following editorial note from the Catholic Herald of
Sacramento gives the reason very succinctly, and The
Bulletin adopts it as its final remark on the subject be
fore the opening of the scholastic year:
“To the Catholic the most important thing in life is
his religion, because it prepares him for eternity; and
that is far more important than preparing him solely for
a few short years of business activity. The Catholic
takes the position that a child should learn as much of
a secular education as he is capable of absorbing, but
that at the sarhe time he should be trained in spiritual
matters as well. We believe in the arts and sciences, in
literature and mathematics, in chemistry and physics,
in all that comprises a secular education; but at the
same time we would add to that training the knowledge
of God, of His laws, and of our duty to Him.”
THE GEORGIA EDITORS
MEET AT TOCOOA
The Georgia Press Association held
its forty-third annual convention at
Toccoa last week. When you get to
Toccba you begin to be in the North
Georgia mountain country. One of
the editors, stepping out of an auto
mobile on his arrival there, inhaled
a few cubic feet of the crisp atmos
phere, _ and said: “This air’s invigo
rating.” “No sir,” a bystander cor
rected. “this ‘ere’s Toccoa.”
Georgia Press Association conven
tions are different from the ordinary
or mine run of conventions. The
people of the entertaining., town take
the members into theipf homes. It
was our good fortune to be assigned
to the home of Mr. and Mrs. Belton
Bond, and we were guests also of
Mrs. J. R. McLaughen and Mrs. Mae
Thomson's Rose Bowl Tea Room.
Others at the convention considered
themselves blessed in their hosts and
hostesses and we shall therefore not
excite their envy by recounting the
reasons why we think we were more
fortunate than they.
! with Mark Ethridge of the Macon
| Telegraph as chairman. The Insti-
j tute brought to the University such
men as Dr. Finley, editor of the New
York Times, Mark Sullivan, noted
political writer. Dr. Chase, of the
University of North Carolina, the
three Southern Pulitizer prize win
ners, and others equally noted. This
was the first institute of its kind
in the United States. Miss Wood
ward during her term of office has
led the editors of Georgia to New
York and Montreal. In recognition
of her achievements the University
of Georgia last June conferred on
her the honorary degree of Doctor
of Letters. It was with regret that
the Association saw her retire from
the presidency.
Religious Dailies
The idea of Catholic daily newspapers which would
j compete with the secular dailies of the United States
American of June 26, 1910, a letter of Mrs. Hannah Con-^ ^ ™ Se6med P racticable to us - A" American daily
roy stating that Father Abram Ryan was born in Rath- ! Wh “ h d ° CS n °‘ eXpreSS its opinion on current politi “
keale, Limerick. Ireland, in 1834, was brought to this ! and candldates for publi = <>«<* and fight for that opin
ion is regarded with suspicion or not regarded at all.
Catholic dailies expressing political preferences and
working for their achievement and the election of those
advocating them might start-^something which would
perhaps make the hectic episodes of the past summer
and fall seem less than incidents.
A Catholic daily with Democratic leanings would^not
command the support of those who are Republicans, and
one with Republican inclinations could cross most
Catholics who are Democrats from its list of prospects.
Other cross-currents would further reduce its field. Its
circulation among non-Catholics would be limited.
Under such circumstances the possibility of its com
peting on equal terms with the other dailies in its field
there, since, as Monsignor O'Donnell states, “in the old | would be rather dim.
times a name was now and again omitted in the Regis- I We are indebted to Bishop Cannon of the Methodist
ter, and indeed this is no wonder since the baptisms . Episcopal Church for a suggestion which may solve the
were usually done in the residences of the parents and j difficulty. Speaking before the Florida Methodist Con-
the names not entered until the priest returned to the j ference in j une , he said; the moral forces of the na _
urc per ups a a y or two later. ! tion w’ant assistance from the press for the betterment of
Recently, however, the National Catholic Welfare
Conference News Service has broadcast a story from the
Catholic Daily Tribune citing a baptismal record of
Father. Ryan supplied by Rev. Thomas D. Reinhart, pas- !
tor of St. Mary’s Church, Hagerstown, Md., from the
church records there.
In addition, there are submitted records from the , N
Motherhouse of the Sisters of St. 'Joseph in St. Louis, j >stablish or bu Y secular dailies and conduct them as
where Father Ryan's sister, Ellenor, known in religion
| moral conditions, the practical way to secure it is to buy
j or establish newspapers which will sincerely and ag-
| gressively stand "for the truth, justice and righteous
ness.”
We pass the suggestion along. Instead of Catholic
daily newspapers, cannot those interested in the idea
The convention opened Tuesday
night with a meeting featured by
welcoming messages from the peo
ple of Toccoa. by the addresses of
Hon. Hal M. Stanley, Commissioner
of Labor and Commerce for Georgia
and corresponding secretary of the
Georgia Press Association and of
Editor Henry T. McIntosh of Albany,
and by the reading, by Mrs. Virginia
Polhill Price of Louisville, of the an
nual Press Association poem by D.
G. Bickers of the Savannah Morning
News, the Association's poet laureate.
And when we say poet laureate we
mean poet laureate. Nothing could
add to the excellence of the poem ex
cept the charming way in which it
was read.
Louie L. Morris, editor of the
Hartwell Sun. is the new president
of the Association. His choice was
unanimous, and under the direction
of a man of such good judgment, ripe
experience and well deserved popu
larity the Association should continue
to flourish. Jack Williams, editor of
the Waycross Journal-Herald, was
named first vice-president, an equal
ly popular selection, and as the vice-
president usually succeeds to the
presidency, the organization seems
destined to continue to be well of
ficered.
Mr. Stanley’s talk was informal.
He told some things about the edi
tors not known before. He hinted
that some of them must have their
religion in their wives’ name for he
could not detect any abundance of it
in their own possession. One of the
editors later said that he certainly
tvas not in that class; he had religion
independently of his wife, he believ
ed in the doctrine of falling from
grace—and practiced it too.
Editor McIntosh’s address placed
him outside the category to which
Mr. Stanley good humoredly referred.
The address was a plea for sincerity
and Christian charity, and he em
phasized the responsibility of the
newspapers of Georgia in this con
nection; their great influence and
power makes this duty more impera
tive he asserted. One might say that
Mr. McIntosh was preaching what he
practiced if he had seemed to be
preaching.
The
The convention was royally enter
tained, not only by the people of
Toccoa but by those of Lavonia and
those of Walhalla, Westminister,
Seneca and Clemson College in South
Carolina where the editors were
guests Friday afternoon. Editor
Robert Graves of the Toccoa Record
and his staff were the moving spirits.
There were barbecues and picnics ini
abundance, one of them at Toccoa
Falls where a mountain stream leaps
186 feet through the air to the
woods below. Toccoa is an Indian
word meaning beautiful. It is well
named. We may be pardoned for
borrowing from Irvin Cobb and re
ferring to it as the poppy in Geor
gia’s hair.
Editorial Lauds Life
of Sister Mercedes
as Sister Mary Herman, died in 1856. and other records
from St. Nincent de Paul Rectory, Germantown, Phila
delphia, Pa., where Father Ryan-fentered the Novitiate
in 1854 and remained until 1862. .
The baptismal record of Father Ryan reads as follows:
“St. Mary's Church, Hagerstown, Maryland.
“Baptismal Record of Rev. A. J. Ryan, the poet-priest
of the South, 1838.
“A me baptizatus est Matthew Abraham, filius le-
gitimus Matthew Ryan.
“M. Guth.”
(Insert in same record)
“The poet-priest A. J. Ryan died April, 1856.
“D. Manly.”
Quotations from a letter written by Father Ryan on
February 21, 1859, further establishes the date of his
birth as 1838. In that letter, written while he was teach
ing at Niatara University, Father Ryan said:
“I am twenty-one years of age this month.”
The late Rt. Rev. D. J. O'Connell, Bishop of Richmond,
writing to the clergy of St. Mary's, Hagerstown, in 1910,
said:
“The time may come when people will wake up to an
appreciation of the glory that belongs to them. I first
told and wrote your predecessor that the poet-priest was
born in your parish and the information came from the
Father himself in a conversation with Rev. Hugh Mc-
Keefry at Norfolk, Va. I also added a small contribution
to the hope that it might start’the work. Maryland Cath
olics have not written much of their hidden treasures."
they think daily newspapers should be conducted, on
sound principles, and, as Bishop Cannon says, standing
aggressively “for the truth, justice and righteousness”?
Had such a suggestion been made from a Catholic
source, some friends of Bishop Cannon might have sus
pected it as an effort of Rome to control the press of the
j country. Coming from Bishop Cannon they will hardly
view it with suspicion or alarm. Again we sincerely and
earnestly recommend the Idea to those advocating Cath
olic dailies.
A reader of The Bulletin writes that if the Vatican
State is one mile long and a half a mile wide it should
contain 320 acres instead of the 160 mentioned in a re
cent issue, since one square miles contains 640 acres.
This would be true if the uniform length were one mile
and width one-half mile; but this is the length and
width at the longest and widest points. We understand
that the Vatican State tapers to a point and that the 160
acre estimate of its size is correct.
John Sharp Williams and the Cardinal
Senator John Sharp Williams, with whom the Catho
lic Laymen’s Association of Georgia had an interesting
| exchange of correspondence eight years ago in connec-
! tion with the Junior Senator from Georgia’s attack on
i Bishop Keiley, emerges from his retirement on his
! Mississippi plantation long enougn to grant an inter-
Tuesday evening's program
was an indication of the tone and
spirit of the convention. Most of
the addresses were practical talks, on
newspaper problems made by mem
bers of the Georgia Press Association.
These conventions are not merely
meetings; they are summer courses
in journalism. The editor- of The
Bulletin was honored with a olace
on the program and was introduced
as the only one allowed to choose
his own subject. The necessity of
cooperation for the advancement of
the state was its theme.
Speakers from outside the Associ
ation included Dean Sanford of the
University of Georgia. Louie D. New
ton. editor of the Christian Index. At
lanta, John E. Allen, - editor of the
Linotype News. New York, and oth
ers. Dean Sanford, referring to the
increased registration in colleges and
schools and the growth of correspon
dence schools said that thirst for ed
ucation was greater now than at any
time since the thirteenth century.
Dr. Newton’s address was construc
tive; we shoujd never feel obliged to
write to him except to commend
what he said if he always wrote like
that in The Index. Mr. Allen's talk
on newspaper makeup should im
prove the appearance of Georgia
newspapers, including The Bulletin.
On April 1, 1918, the Rev. P. McHale, C. M., wrote as i view l published in the magazine section of The Macon
follows from the St. Vincent de Paul Rectory,’ German- I Telegraph July 7, in which he :s quoted as saying
t own; among other things:
“Ft. Abr. Ryan was, according to our records, born in
Hagerstown, Md., February 5, 1838. He entered the No-
“Christ’s life was the exemplification of tolerance and
charity. All His words breathed the spirit of both; His
vitiate in 1854, made his vows November 1, 1856, and left i words regarding the woman, ‘He that is without sin, let
the Community September 1, 1862.” ' j him east the first stone,’ and to the woman, ‘Neither do
It would appear from this evidence that Father Ryan j I condemn thee; go and sin no more,’ prove this. Nev-
was born in Hagerstown, Maryland, in 1838, and not in ! er man spoke as Christ spoke. The Immaculate Concep-
Rathkeale, Ireland, in 1834, or, as the Catholic Encyclo- | tion, from the standpoint of reason, is no more impos-
pedia says, in Norfolk, August 15, 1839. Is this the last | sible or miraculous than the manifold mysteries at every
word on the birthplace of the beloved author of “The • hand. The wonder of the jassmine flower with its
Conquered Banner” and “Poet-Priest of the Confed- j fragrance is as much of a miracle and took a supreme
eracy ? mind to create and formulate. This supreme mind also
formulated the Immaculate Conception, no greater
miracle than the jassmine flower.”
“I have spoken from the same platform with Cardinal
Gibbons at Baltimore,” Senator Williams said, “and am
now reading a book (by Cardinal Gibbons), ‘The Faith
of Our Fathers.’ ”
It seems that the Senator is in accord with the great
Cardinal’s views on our Saviour and charity and on the
Immaculate Conception.
The late Thomas F. Murray of Brooklyn was one of
the most widely known Catholics in the United States.
The Pope made him a Knight Commander of St. Gregory
and a Knight of Malta. He was a devoted member of
his parish church. He had been granted 1,100 patents, a
greater number than any man except Edison. Has not
tliis some bearing on the discussion of the alleged con
flict between religion and science?
Dr. Joe B. Bowdoin of the Georgia
State Board of Health told the edi- .
tor a few startling facts about health
problems in the state. Some counties
have not a single doctor. The larger
cities have perhaps twice as many
doctors per thousand people as the
smaller cities and towns. The farm
ers are not the only ones gravitating
to the cities. Dr. Bowdoin discussed
other health problems which the edi
tors ho doubt will impress on their
readers; discussion and study are
necessary to solve them* The equable
climate of the state is, however, its
best health asset.
Other speakers on the program in
cluded Louie L. Morris. Hartwell,
Jack Williams, Waycross; D. B. Turn
er, Statesboro: James C. Williams,
Greensboro; Albert S. Hardy. Jr.,
Gainesville; John Crouch. Marietta;
L. M. McWhorter. Winder; Quimby
Melton, Griffin, and Mrs. Nora Law
rence Smith, Ashburn, leading Geor
gia editors whose success made them
authorities on the professional and
technical subjects they handled. We
wish Mr. McWhorter were as well in
formed about the Catholic Church as
he is on running a newspaper.
For the past two years the Georgia
Press Association has had a woman
president, Miss Fjnily B. Woodward,
editor of the Vienna News. Her
terms of office have been among the
most successful in the history of the
association. Her outstanding achieve
ment has perhaps been the establish
ment of the Press Institute, held this
year at the University of Georgia
(From The Charlotte Observer)
While the world rushes madly on
there are some souls who stand on
the side of the stream of humanity,
unmoved by ambition for fame or
riches. There are quiet and tranquil
men and women whose vision ex
tends beyond the daily struggle for
existence, whose desire is to serve
others and to grow stronger in serv
ing.
Such a person was Sister Mercedes
who died at the age of 77 years in
the Convent of Mercy at Belmont.
As a girl she became impressed with
the work that the Sisters were doing
among the unfortunate and the suf
fering. In the prime of womanhood,
rich in worldly goods and seeking
an opportunity for service to others,
she took the veil of the order and
entered upon a life that was noted
for its devotion and usefulness.
For many years she tenderly cared
for the sick in hospitals ana in
homes. In times of sorrow she was
there to comfort and to minister to
those who grieved and suffered. And
when she was stricken herself, she
bore her suffering in patience.
Sister Mercedes’ death was as she
would have wished it. She passed
away with the setting of the sun in
the West.
One sometimes wonders whv any
one should prefer a hermit life, far
from the daily walks of man. Few
of us understand the person who
dwells by the side of the road, con
tent to let the race pass by. In the
self-sufficiency of our own struggles,
our ups and downs, we scoff at those
who retire from the world.
The ceaseless activity of life at
tracts us. The flux of humanity en
gages our vision and our eyes are
blinded by baubles that have only
momentary value and are lost sight
of with the passing of the years.
Standing in the crowd, we do not
have the perspective to judge men
from afar, to see that their aspira
tions and their discouragements are
i.. common with our own. Those who
delight in the tinsel of fame and in
the luxury of riches forget that here,
are some who rise higher than these
things.
The world is better off because
such women as Sister Mercedes have
lived. There must always be those
who can bear the burdens for others,
who can leaven sorrow with sym
pathy that comes from perfect un
derstanding. They must bear many
of the woes of the world, unknown
unhonored and unsung. But in the
final scheme of things they shall
come to their reward when the bal
ances of life are adjusted and the
veil that shuts mortal eyes from the
future is lifted.
NOTRE DAME AND GEORGIA
(Ernest Camp, Jr., in the Walton
T ribune..
“Another Bad Break for the
Bull Dogs” might have been the
headline over this one.
Jimmy Crowley, one of the fanned
“Four Horsemen,” of Notre Dame
and for four years backfield foot
ball coach at the University of
Georgia, goes to Michigan State
College as head coach, succeeding
Harry Kipke.
Crowley will long he remembered
for his work in developing Georgia’s
“Four Horsemen’ John, Dud
ley, Hooks, McCrary—who whipped
the Yale Bulldog.