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FOUR
THE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC LAYMEN’S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA
DECEMBER 8, 1956,
Hullrtitt
The Spread Of Titoism
THIS WORLD OF OURS
The Official Organ of the Catholic Laymen’s
Association of Georgia, Incorporated
JOHN MARKWALTER, Editor
416 Eighth Street, Augusta, Ga.
‘ ASSOCIATION OFFICERS FOR 1955-1956
JOHN M. BRENNAN, Savannah President
E. M. HEAGARTY, Wayeross Honorary Vice-President
MRS. L. E. MOCK, Albany Vice-President
TOM GRIFFIN, Atlanta ^ Vice-President
DAMON J. SWANN, Atlanta V. P., Publicity
GEORGE GINGELL, Columbus V. P„ Activities
NICK CAMEPJO, Macon . r — Secretary
JOHN T. BUCKLEY, Augusta Treasurer
JOHN MARKWALTER, Augusta Executive Secretary
MISS CECILE FERRY, Augusta Financial Secretary
ALVIN M. McAULIFFE, Augusta Auditor
Vol. 37 Saturday, December 8, 1956. No. 14
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.
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.
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.
"Baby Doll"
The Legion of Decency has condemned the film “Baby
Doll” which has recently been released by Hollywood. Else
where in this issue of The Bulletin gives an account of the
film and the action taken by the Legion.
The release of “Baby Doll” at this time of year, when
Catholics are renewing their Pledge of the Legion of De
cency in churches throughout the land, serves to point up
the need of the Pledge and for the Legion.
The pledge of the Legion of Decency reads as follows:
IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER AND OF THE SON
AND OF THE HOLY GHOST. AMEN.
I CONDEMN indecent and immoral motion pictures, and
those which glorify crime or criminals.
I PROMISE to do all that I can to strengthen public
opinion against the production of indecent and immoral
films, and to unite with all who protest against them.
I ACKNOWLEDGE my obligation to form a right con
science about pictures that are dangerous to my moral life.
As a member of the Legion of Decency, I pledge myself to
remain away from them. I promise, further, to stay away
altogether from places of amusement which show them as
a matter of policy.
As we make this pledge, let us fully realize what we
are pledging to do. Let us resolve to be good members of
the Legion. Particularly let us remember the part of the
pledge saying: “I PROMISE. FURTHER, TO STAY AWAY
ALTOGETHER FROM PLACES OF AMUSEMENT WHICH
SHOW THEM AS A MATTER OF POLICY.”
As we do not approve of these bad movies, let our voices
be heard in Protest.
Meeting In Paris
Seen As Of Vital
(By- J. J. Gilbert)
WASHINGTON—The picture of
the world situation is expected
to be considerably more definite
by Christmas. Whether it will be
brighter or darker depends to a
large extent upon one meeting,
and to a lesser extent upon an
other meeting, to be held in the
interim.
A definite war of nerves is in
progress. This is reflected in the
fact that newspaper stories and
commentaries on the internation
al situation are large and numer
ous. They seem almost to chal
lenge the Christmas advertise
ments for attention.
All of this points to the fact
;hat the NATO meeting scheduled
for Dec. 11 in Paris will be of
the utmost importance. Five
lays later, India’s Prime Minister
Jawaharlal Nehru is due here to
meet President Eisenhower. Neh
ru will have talked with Chou
Sn-lai, the premier of Red China,
past before leaving India, and will
On December 11
Importance
talk with him again after visiting
here. Chou En-lai is presently on
a 12-day visiLto India.
The NATO meeting, which U.S.
Secretary of State John Foster
Dulles is expected to attend, holds
first interest at the moment. The
future of the North Atlantic Trea
ty Organization could depend
upon it" outcome.
The Middle East crisis has put
a strain on NATO relations, and
the oil shortage in western Eu
rope resulting from the blocking
of the Suez Canal has greatly in
creased this tension. The United
States Government took the stand
that it could not announce that it
would make up the shortage of oil
in western Europe until Britain
and France stated publicly some
schedule for the wtihdrawal of
their troops from Egypt. To do so,
it was held here, would lose for
this country whatever standing it
had left with the Arab countries
and in other parts of the east. The
(Continued on Page 5)
A recent article by Walter Lip-
pmann, analysing events in east
ern Europe and concluding that,
in all likelihood, the best for
which the Soviet Union can set
tle is a form of Titoism in the
countries, here
tofore under its
t i ght control,
merits close at
tention.
From time to
time I ha v e
had occasion to
comment op Ti
to and, perhaps
less frequently,
on what may be called Titoism—
i. e., national communism with a
greater or a less degree of in
dependence of Moscow. Mr Lipp-
mann argues that it is to our
true interest to have Titoism pre
vail in the satellite orbit, and that
everything should be done to en
courage this tendency.
The argument runs somewhat
as follows: Titoistic countries can
not be used as military bases
against the West and, therefore,
increase its security. Any altern
ative that presents itself is in
calculably dangerous. By this—
if I understand the statement
correctly—Mr. Lippmann means
that either Stalinism or a fac
simile of it might be imposed: or
chaos and spreading revolution
might produce a state of anarchy
into which West Germany would
be pulled—if East Germany were
involved. The latter could be
come the source of Soviet inter-
vention.
COGENT REASONING
There is a very great deal of
cogency in this. We Catholics
naturally are primarily and vir
tually concerned with the status
of our fellow Catholics in Poland,
Hungary, Czechoslovakia and the
rest of the captive lands. We
would like to see the lid removed
and a full flowering of traditional
Catholic life revived. There is a
marked tendency to assume that
revolution must necessarily mean
the extinction of communism and
the. restoration of the kind of
institutions that prevailed before.
I think it supremely important
for us to consider that, in all
probability, this is not going to
happen at once. If anti-commu
nism comes too fast or too im-
petously, the danger of Soviet
intervention by armed might, re
gardless of world opinion, be
comes that much greater. Person
ally I have no sympathy what
ever for Tito, Titoism or any of
its works, and cordially dislike
the brutal regime that flourishes
in Belgrade. However, if it comes
to a showdown, it is probably true
to assert, as does Mr. Lippmann,
that a break with Sovietism and
a move toward nationalism may
be the best thing for the time
being. .
It might be better in the final
analysis for the process to take
place as it has in Poland, rather
than through bloody revolt as in
Hungary. Once a movement away
from Moscow takes place, it can
be pushed and developed further
and further, whereas something
done in the desperation of the
moment can and does bring down
the entire might of the Soviet
Union on a nation.
DANGEROUS ASSUMPTION
The argument that TITOISM is
a good thing as a transition might
hold water to a limited degree.
But to hold that Titoism ' is a
satisfactory thing on any perma
nent basis seems to me a danger
ous assumption inded. Commu
nism has always suffered from
the fact that it was tied to the
Soviet Union and demanded un
questioning obedience to Moscow.
It was hard .to harness commu
nism and nationalism because if
one were a communist and fol
lowed the Moscow line, it was
difficult to be 100 per cent de
voted to one’s own country.
Inevitably a conflict arose be
tween the two loyalties. Since
the Soviet Union demanded no
thing short of treason in oi'der
to be a proper communist, the
whole thing came hard to a great
many people. But if, on the other
hand, communism takes on a
national coloration and becomes
acclimated, so to speak, to each
national situation, the danger can
be infinitely greater—even in
the long run—than if still Soviet-
dominated.
There are many to whom the
social and economic aspects of
Marxism are acceptable if one
could get rid of the shadow of the
Kremlin. With national rampant
on a fantastic scale in the world,
it is easy to understand how Ti
toism could make a potent ap
peal to the Arab lands, the emerg
ing nationalities in Africa, and to
the underpriviledged of Asia. The
reconciliation of Marxism and na
tionalism — which the Soviet
Union has never quite managed
to bring off—could perhaps raise
up a specter that would be more
terrifying even than the Russian-
dominated brand to which we are
accustomed.
Happy Christmas
THE BACKDROP
By JOHN C. O’BRIEN
We are all looking forward, of
course, to the festivities of the
Christmas and New Year holiday
seasons. These can be the hap
piest days of the year if we do
not lose sight of their true mean
ing. But they
can also be the
saddest if we
turn them into
pagan festivals.
And they could
be days of trag
edy if it should
turn out that
we should be
among the hun
dreds of casualties in the- traffic
disasters that mar the celebra
tions of these great feasts.
Before every major holiday
we are warned against reckless
driving. Yet the warnings go un
heeded. The toll of the dead, the
maimed and the injured contin
ues to mount year after year.
During the recent Thanksgiving
festivities, for example, the
slaughter on the highways exceed
ed the worst expectations of the
National Safety Council. A Unit
ed Press survey accounted for 139
persons killed, to say nothing of
the thousands of injured.
NOT DISINTERESTED
OBSERVERS
In anticipation of another ho
locaust on the nation’s highways
this year-end, the Grand Lodge
of Fraternal Order of Police,
through its secretary, John J.
Ouinn, has asked this column to
publish its suggestions for mak
ing this coming holiday season
one of joy and gladness instead
of one of pain and mourning.
The nation’s police are not the
disinterested official investigat
ors of highway tragedies that we
are sometime prone to think they
are. They would rather see those
who celebrate Christmas and New
Year eves get home safely than
hand them tickets for traffic vio
lations—or cart them off to a
morgue or a hospital.
“The 40,000 police officers in
communities across the nation
who are members of the Fratern
al Order of Police will welcome
your support,” said Quinn in his
letter to the writer.
PERSONAL KNOWLEDGE
“Last year,” Quinn reminds us,
“a record 609 persons were kill
ed in auto accidents during the
three-day Christmas week end;
345 during New Year’s. Thous
ands more were injured. This
year, four-day celebrations are in
prospect for both holidays. With
auto fatalities eight per cent
ahead of last year, the toll un
doubtedly will be much greater.
"“This grisly Yuletide of auto
deaths must be turned back—and
it can be, with the help of edi
torial leaders, who have done so
much in the past for highway
safety.”
Between now and the holiday
season w" snail be hearing warn
ings against reckless driving from
all sides. But none of those who
will be exhorting' us can speak
with more personal knowledge
of the causes of holiday automo
bile accidents than the police who
patrol our highways. Well should
we mark what they have to tell
us.
DANGEROUS EXPERIMENT
As most of us know—as well
as the police—one of the major
causes of holiday traffic disasters
is what Quinn calls “the danger
ous experiment of mixing alco
hol with gasoline.” Much of the
p r e-Christmas imbibing takes
place at so-called “office” parties.
They usually start out innocently
enough in mid-afternoon, but-all
too often those who over-induige
at such functions never live to
see the sunrise of a Christmas
Day.
The FOP are too experienced
in the failings of human nature
to suggest that celebrators of
the two year-end holidays refrain
entirely from the cup that cheers.
But Quinn does have a wise sug
gestion for those who celebrate
not wisely but too well.
“If you are tempted,” he writes,
“to try the dangerous experiment
of mixing alcohol and gasoline,
get someone else to drive you
home.” He might have added that
it would be more prudent, if you
have celebrated excessively, to
leave the car in a garage or a
parking lot and go home in a
taxicab.
FESTIVITY FATIGUE
Over -indulgence, however, as
Quinn reminds us, is not the only
cause of road disasters. Christmas
parties are wont to run late, and
a major cause of early morning
accidents is “festivity fatigue”.
This year, Quinn informs US;
the FOP are concentrating on
this cause in their year-end safe
ty drive.
“We are suggesting—stay alert,
stay alive, make it coffee' when
you drive. This is a sound rec
ommendation because the physi
ological and psychological effects
(Continued on Page 5)