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SIX
THE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC LAYMEN’S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA
AUGUST 22, 1936
THE BULLETIN
The Official Organ of the Catholic Laymen’s
Association of Georgia
RICHARD REID. Editor
815-816 Lamar Building Augusta, Georgia
Subscription Price $2.00 Per Year
Published monthly by the Publicity Department
■with the Approbation of the Most. Rev. Bishops of
Raleigh. Charleston. Savannah. St. Augustine and Nash-
ville and of the Rt Rev, Abbot? Ordinary of Belmont.
ASSOCIATION OFFICERS FOR 1935-1936
ALFRED M. BATTEY. Augusta President
J. J. HAVERTY, K. S. G.. Atlanta ...First Vice-President
J. B. McCALLUM, Atlanta Secretary
THOMAS S. GRAY, Augusta Treasurer
RICHARD REID, Augusta Publicity Director
MISS CECILE. FERRY Augusta. Asst, PubUcity Director
Vol, XVII August 22, 1936 No. 8
Entered as second class matter June 15, 1921, at the Post
Office at Augusta, Ga, under act of March, 1879. Ac
cepted for mailing at special rate of postage provided
for in Section 1103, Act. of October 3. 1917, authorized
September 1, 1921,
Member of N. C. W. C. News Service the Catholic Press
Association of the United States, the Georgia Press
Association and the National Editorial Association.
The Basis of Morality
W ITH the population of the United States estimated
as in excess of 125,000, Dr. George Linn Kieffer,
president of the Association of Statisticians of Ameri
can religious bodies and statistician of the National
Lutheran Church, writes in The Christian Herald, a
leading Protestant monthly, that the membership of all
religious groups in the country is 62,678,177.
The Catholic population in 1935 was by far the great
est, 20,609,302, according to Dr. Kieffer’s’ figures, the
Baptist second, with 10,191,697, and the Methodist third,
with 9,167,561. The Lutherans followed with 4,568,300,
the Jews with 4,081,242, and the Presbyterian with 2,-
681,265. Other churches with more than a million mem
bers are the Congregational and Christian Churches, the
Disciples of Christ and the Protestant Episcopalians.
Dr, Kieffer reports an increased proportion of adult
members of some denomination since 1926, the per cent-
age rising from 46.6 to 49.15.
With half the adults in the United States affiliated
with no church, and many more than half when Catho
lics are segregated from the statistics, it is evident
that tens of millions of the children of the nation have
no contact with any church. Parents not interested in
religion sufficiently to affiliate with a church will hard
ly in most cases be sufficiently interested or competent
to give their children religious instruction. The in
struction of most of the non-Catholic children whose
parents are church members is limited to one hour a
week, plus the varying amounts of religious education
they get at home.
Reason forbids us to expect morality without a
foundation of religion, a lesson reflected by all history.
With so many millions in our nation without contact
with or knowledge of religion, we may well be con
cerned for the future. There are many moral men and
women today affiliated with no church and apparently
unconcerned about religion; they are being protected
by the heritage of their religious homes. Their children
will receive that heritage diluted and attenuated. Their
grandchildren, unless there is a reaction, will be even
less fortunate. Catholic schools have solved the problem
for Catholics able to attend them, and are striving to
care for Catholics not in parochial schools. But what
of the others? There is no more serious question before
the nation today.
The Reds in Spain
T HE Communists of Russia have, according to the
daily press, raised two million four hundred
thousand dollars for their “comrades” of the Spanish
government to put down the revolution into which the
murders and other outrages of these “comrades” had
goaded the Spanish “Rightists.”
The previous issue of The Bulletin, published before
the uprising started, recorded the statement of Gil
Robles, Galvo Sotelo and Ventosa Calvell that the radi
cals since February 16 had destroyed one hundred and
sixty Catholic Churches without th e government lift
ing a finger to prevent it, or to protect religion from
assassination, Calvo Sotelo in making the accusation
said that, he was marked for death by the radicals. A
few days afterwards he was assassinated, and the pent-
up indignation of the opponents of the government burst
into rebellion.
In numerous editorial rooms in the United States
editorial writers who pour out invective on radicals
and communists and socialists in their own community
gave the church-burning, priest-killing, nun-murdering
bandits of Spain their editorial blessing. They pro
fessed to see in Spain a clash between the forces of
liberalism, represented by the government, and of re
action, personified by those they baptized “fascists.”
The revolt in Spain is not a Catholic revolt—the
Church counseled patience when the Roman Empire
was martyring priests and people by the thousands; she
counsels patience when the Mexican government emu
lates the example of the Neros and Diocletians. The
Church can flourish in monarchy, oligarchy or repub
lic; she needs only her natural rights such as those
guaranteed here by the Constitution of the United
States. The Church in Spain is accused of dominating
the government; it is accused of possessing great wealth.
These charges are brought against the Church in every
country in the world; they have been an issue in
political campaigns in the United States where Catho
lics constitute nearly twenty per cent of the popula
tion of the country and have never constituted ten
per cent of the United States Senate or of the House
of Representatives, and where her reputed “wealth”
consists for the most part in hospitals, schools, orphan
ages, homes for the aged and other institutions which
are a source of expense to her rather than of income,
and to the support of which most of her endowments
are devoted.
Communism in Spain is the same as in Russia and in
Union Square, New York. Those editors who give it
their blessing in Spain are contributing their bit toward
its labors to extend its influence and its power to the
United States. The issue is not Communism or Fascism;
both have the same fundamental error, the deification
of the State, and the difference is one degree rather
than of kind, except that Fascism does recognize the
right to private property. The issue is whether those
rights recognized by the Constitution of the United
States as natural rights are to be denied in Spain as in
Russia, and whether, having taken them from the peo
ple of Spain, the Communistic movement is to spread
its tenacles over Europe and then across the Atlantic to
the United States, connecting up with the link already
developing across the Rio Grande.
A Little Learning
f » LITTLE learning, as Pope says, is indeed a
dangerous thing. It often influences instructors
to sneer at religion. It sometimes weakens the faith of
those of little faith, whose reaction to education demon
strates that they have taken sips instead of deep
draughts from the Pierian spring.
At a public institute in the South recently, where
Catholics constituted perhaps two per cent of the at
tendance, a Baptist college professor asserted in an ad
dress that Dr. Parker T. Moon, professor of interna
tional relations at Columbia University, had been more
influential in turning the United States from its
dangerous trend toward imperialism than any one in
dividual. Dr. Moon, who died early in the summer,
was brought into the Church by his deep historical
studies.
The previous issue of The Bulletin recorded the re
ception into the Chinch of Cuthbert Wright, author
of the famed “Don Juan of Austria”, reviewer of his
torical works for The New York Times, with a national
and international reputation as a lecturer and teacher
of international relations. It was a profound knowledge
of history which directed him toward Catholicism.
Dr. Robert Howard Lord was no amateur in history;
his knowledge of it won him the post of professor of
history at Harvard University and chairman of the De
partment of History there, and led him not only into
the Catholic Church but into its sanctuary as a priest
Dr. Carlton J. H. Hayes of Columbia University, author
of some of the most popular current text books in
history, and Dr. Ross Hoffman of New York University,
whose recent work, “Restoration”, is a classic of its
kind, had their eyes opened to the eternal verities of
the Catholic Church by their historical studies.
Dilettantes in history might well meditate on these dis
tinguished current examples. —
Protestant Taxpayers and Catholic Schools
L OUIS G. Harman is a Philadelphia property-owner,
taxpayer and Protestant. In recent weeks he
wrote in this fashion to the Philadelphia Evening
Bulletin:
“In a recent issue you told how 150,000 children are
attending the parochial schools. As a taxpayer with
several unoccupied houses on my hands, I could not
help but think if these 150,000 were turned over to our
public schools, it would be an immense extra expense
for taxpayers. I take off my hat to the black-clad
ladies who teach in the parochial schools and have saved
me hundreds of dollars. All these years I’ve been too
stupid to realize it.”
Last year there were over 4,290 children in the Catho
lic schools of Georgia, every one of whom the public
schools would be required to care for if it were not
for the educational facilities provided by the Catholic
Church. There were 8,152 children in the Catholic
schools of Florida, 7,780 in those of Alabama, 7,738 in
Tennessee, 6,890 in Mississippi, and additional thousands
in the Carolinas.
These are statistics for the Southeast, for a section
of the country where Catholics are less numerous than
in any other part of the United States. Yet even here
Catholic schools relieve the public treasury of the ex
penditure of hundreds of thousands and even millions
of dollal-s, if the saving in the new public schools
necessary otherwise be considered.
But an infinitely greater contribution is the character
of education in public schools. There are no Com
munists teaching in them, no atheists, no radicals, no
persons seeking the overthrow of our form of govern
ment, as there admittedly are in some <ft our schools
supported by public funds in many of our large cen
ters, a problem which as yet has not become acute in
the South. Public officials think they see occasional
signs of it in the South, however. But never in Catho-
Dixie Masings
Those who doubt the value of the
Congressional Record ought to see
the number of our Georgia exchange
newspapers which use it for wrappers.
It’s too bad for America’s record
that they don’t have a party-throwing
contest at the Olympics. Even with
Eleanor Holm Jarrett out, we should
do very well.
A dispatch from Copenhagen de
scribed Colonel Lindbergh as unpack
ing the cases containing his newly-
invented mechanical heart. This en
courages those of us who think that
one of the world’s major needs is
large-heartedness.
We thought we knew what a Paul-
ist and a Jesuit are, but consulting
Webster’s New International Diction
ary we accidentally ran across some
information new to us. Here’s the dic
tionary’s version:
“Paulist, n. R. C. Ch. (a) In India,
a Jesuit;—so-called from their head
church and convent of St. Paul’s in
Goa. (b) A member of the Congrega
tion of the Missionary Priests of St.
Paul the Apostle, founded in 1858 by
the Rev. I. T. Hecker, of New York.
They are engaged in parochial, mis
sionary, educational and literary
work.”
We checked up Mr. Webster by the
Catholic Encyclopedia and find con
firming evidence in Vol. VII, Pg. 131
b, where it is stated in the account
of the life of Father Johann Ernst
Hanxleden, Jesuit missionary in the
East Indies, that on his death, March
20, 1732, “the heathen ruler of the
country declared that the Paulists, as
the Jesuits were then called in In
dia, had lost in him a great man and
a pillar of religion.”
Had we read the 16 volumes (about
24,000 pages) of the Catholic Encyclo
pedia, we should have known this
fact. We have a friend who did read
them from Alpha to Omega. When the
Roosevelt administration moved into
Washington, the “Brain Trust”
promptly signed him up.
Mention of the Catholic Encyclope
dia reminds us of the diamond jubilee
of the Jesuit (not Paulist) Father
John J. Wynne, editor-in-chief of the
Catholic Encyclopedia, and the prin
cipal speaker of the 1920 Savannah
convention of the Catholic Laymen’s
Assocaition of Georgila. Monsignor
Duggan in the Hartford Catholic
Transcript says that the statement
that the three greatest achievements
of the Church in the United States
have been the founding of the Cath
olic University of America, the es
tablishment of the Maryknoll Foreign
Mission Society and the publication of
the Catholic Encyclopedia has never
been challenged. No encomium of
Father Wynne could be more effec
tive than the simple statement that he
was the projector of the Encyclopedia,
has devoted his able time and talents
to it since the beginning, is now no
less potent a factor in the publica
tion of Universal Knowledge and the
revised Catholic Encyclopedia.
If Father Wynne had never project
ed the publication of the Catholic En-
cpclopedia, he would still be one of
the great figures of the American
Church. Born in New York in 1859
and becoming a Jesuit in 1876, he was
ordained in 1890, taught physics and
mathematics in New York and Bos
ton, was editor of the Messenger of
the Sacred Heart from 1892 to 1902,
and the founder and first editor of
the famed review “America”. His lit
erary works are numerous. His
achievements are abundant. His
friends are innumerable. His years—
may he live long enough to grow as
famous for them as for his labors.
Commenting on our assumption that
it is the sand in our water that fills
people with Augusta sediment, Editor
Howell of the Cuthbert Leader, in
quires if we really meant to say that
or if we have a summer cold.
Columbus Circle in New York is
one of the world’s busiest points. A
stone’s throw from Columbus Circle
is the office of the Catholic News, of
which Henry Ridder was co-founder
50 years ago, and of which he was
the publisher for many years pre
vious to his death in recent weeks.
As much a part of New York as Co
lumbus Circle, Mr. Ridder in the
midst of that swirl of activity never
lost his philosophic calm, nor did the
shifting winds of fad and fancy ever
stir him by the thickness of a shadow
from his charted course of life.
His philosophic calm and his chart
ed course were as Catholic as the
name of his publication. Strange
movements swept over the city and
nation; time after time the Church he
loved and served was the object of
bitter attack; occasionally there were
misunderstandings among those of the
household of the faith. These things
were sources of regret to Mr. Ridder,
but not of discouragement; he con
tinued his patient, persistent, tran
quil effort, confident that the results
would, God willing, take care of
themselves.
One need only study the Church in
New York today to see how eminent
ly justifided was Mr. Ridder’s confi
dence. It is probable that no layman
contributed more to this result during
the past half century than he. The
entire Catholic Press of the United
States shares in the loss attending
his death. He was the father of Mr.
Charles H. Ridder, treasurer of the
Catholic Press Association, known
personally to many readers of The
Bulletin. To us the loss is a personal
one. May he rest in eternal peace.
The Bulletin, in harmony with the
policy outlined for organizations and
organs of Catholic Action, is outside
of political parties and political ac
tivity. It was neutral in the 1928
campaign, limiting itself to answering
attacks on the religion of one of the
candidates without expressing a pref
erence or commending or condemn
ing any candidate. It was neutral in
1920, 1924 and 1932. That is its policy
this year.
The United States was neutral be
fore it entered the World War. Mil
lions of Americans were neutral only
in the sense that they didn’t care who
whipped Germany. There are innu
merable persons who believe that the
neutrality of a Catholic newspaper in
the current campaign means that it
doesn’t care who defeats those Father
Coughlin is supporting.
Protestants who left the Catholic
Church because they denied the right
of the Church to exercise authority
over its clergy and members are not
in a very good position to demand
that the Church exercise that author
ity over Father Coughlin now.
Protestants who demand the right
to interpret the Bible and the teach
ings of the Church as they see fit
can’t logically criticize Father Cough
lin for his interpretation which he
says requires him to follow a certain
course.
Catholics who do recognize the
Church’s right to exercise authority
realize that the reputation of the
Church is no less precious to the Holy
Father than to them, and that the
authorities of the Church will act as
their consciences and their deeper
knowledge of the facts, ramifications
and probable and possible reaction
dictate.
Eight years ago a few millions of
people in this country were daring
the Pope to interfere in the national
election. Now they are daring him
not to interfere.
The Charlotte, N. C., Daily News
expresses editorially its hope that the
Pope will not make a martyr out of
Father Coughlin by silencing him.
Father Coughlin’s priesthood is
plastered all over the front pages of
every new T spaper in the land, but the
Protestant ministerial status of the
more vociferous Rev. Gerald Smith
gets no more than passing mention.
And Norman Thomas, Socialist can
didate for president, was ordained a
Presbyterian minister back in 1911,
according to “Who’s Who”.
Catholics may properly criticize
Father Coughlin for violating Cath
olic policy in entering the political
arena, but he violates no Protestant
policy save the one forbidding priests
to do what ministers are permitted
to do. Therefore, from that standpoint
also there is little ground for criti
cism of Father Coughlin among those
who are not Catholics.
Father Coughlin, unlike the clergy
in politics in 1928, has never asked
anyone to vote for or against a man
because of his religion.
Whether there is ground for crit
icism or not, such criticism is abun
dant and vocal, and we fear the har
vest will be a crop of religious bit
terness.
However, the outlook is not en
tirely without hope. That there is
still some good will left in the world
is demonstrated by this headline in a
recent issue of the Savannah Press:
“(City) Council Is Glad (Alderman)
Walker Is Better.”
“America” pays tribute to the en
ergy with which some Southerners
by profession work at their trade, in
walking out of conventions at which
a Negro prays, for instance, but
wishes they were Southerners at
heart, contained and chivalrous, like
Lee and Jackson.
The difference of opinion between
Bishop Warren Candler and other dis
tinguished Methodist leaders on the
possibility and advisability of unifi
cation of the Methodist Church North
and the Methodist Church South—
Bishop Candler is quoted as opposing
the proposed unification — ought to
indicate a reason for Catholic lack of
confidence in “reunion” movements.
The Rev. Dr. S. Parkes Cadman,
whose death recently was lamented
by all classes, was once a Methodist
minister, but later joined the Con
gregational Church and was for years
and at the time of his death pastor
of the famed Central Congregational
Church in Brooklyn. “But,” said the
Associated Press, “he maintained his
membership in the Methodist Church”
and a Methodist Bishop officiated at
his funeral.