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THE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC LAYMEN’S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA
FEBRUARY 2, 1957.
©It? iUtllrtut
The Franco-American Alliance
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, Wa.vcross 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 CAMERIO, Macon — 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, February 2, 1957. No. 18
Entered as second class matter at the Post Office, Monroe, Georgia,
Mid 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
ef the United States, the Georgia Press Association, and the National
Editorial Association.
Published fortnightly by the Catholic Laymen’s Association of Geor
gy Inc., with the Approbation of the Most Reverend Archbishop-
Bishop of Savannah, the Most Reverend Bishop of Atlanta, and the
Sight Reverend Abbot Ordinary of Belmont.
"Pat On The Back"
Vice President Nixon got to work a little late the morn
ing after Washington’s first snow-storm—but so did about
half a million others. In the Vice President’s case, it was
because he stopped his big limousine to pick up a carful of
the stranded along the way, and departed 'from the direct
route to the Capitol to drop them near their work.
Mary Alice Maraz, one of the Veep’s guests, told the
Washington Post how it was. They talked about “how a
snow like this buffaloes Washington” and then about their
work. Miss Maraz said she ’was a writer for the Catholic
Standard, weekly newspaper of the Washington archdiocese.
“When he found this out, he commented on the work
done by the Catholic War Relief aiding Hungarian refugees,”
said Miss Maraz. “He gave them a tremendous pat on the
back.”
And well he might. For in addition to the great task of
feeding, sheltering, clothing and rendering medical aid to
the escapees, which Mr. Nixon witnessed personally in Aus
tria, the work of the Catholic Relief Services—National Cath
olic Welfare Conference in this country has been equally
impressive.
As of January 11th, when Francis Cardinal Spellman
visited the Joyce Kilmer Reception Center in New Bruns
wick, N. J., 248 aircraft and two transports had brought a
total of 19,674 refugees to the Center—and that day, the stork
brought another. Of this total, Catholic Relief Services had
found homes and jobs for 7,661 in cities and towns through
out the United States. Resettlement by the seven other agen
cies engaged in this work totaled 6,330.
Since then, as the figures indicate, the pace of this great
humanitarian work under the direction of the President’s
Committee for Hungarian Refugee Relief, has been stepped
up still further and the total received at Kilmer had risen to
22.258 and 18,136 had been resettled. Catholic Relief Services
had established 10,388 in their new homes, and was in the
process of resettling 2,790 more—for a total of 60% of all who
had been brought to our shores. In a single day, CRS dis
patched 534 of these prospective Americans from Kilmer to
their new homes!
The Vice President’s “well done” is richly deserved.
adhinqton oCetter . . .
UNITED STATES SEEKS FAVOR
OF ALMIGHTY GOD BEFORE ALL
ELSE, PRESIDENT DECLARES
WASHINGTON, (NC) — Amer
icans seek before all else “the
favor of Almighty God,” Presi
dent Eisenhower said in his
inaugural address as he began his
second term in office.
Speaking to some 25,000 per
sons gathered before him in the
U.S. Capitol plaza here, and to
countless millions of others
through the medium of television
r>r.d radio, the Chief Executive of
„,ie United States began his sec
ond inaugural address with these
words:
“We meet again, as upon a like
moment four years ago, and again
you have witnessed my solemn
oath of service to you.
“I, too, am a witness, today tes
tifying in your name to the prin
ciples and purposes to which we,
as a people are pledged.
“Before all else, we seek, upon
our common labor as a nation, the
favor of Almighty God. And the
hopes in our hearts fashion the
deepest prayers of our people.
“May we pursue the right —
without self-righteousness.
“May we know unity—without
(Continued on Page Seven)
Michel Debre, member of the
French Senate from Indre-et-
Loire, recently called attention in
rather caustic fashion to some of
the problems that have arisen
with reference to the alliance be
tween the Unit
ed States and
France. He has
made a number
o f suggestions
which deserve
the most care
ful attention on
this side of the
ocean.
I think it may
be useful, simply as an illustration
of the dangerous situation in
which France-American relations
now find themselves, to examine
the statement of Senator Debre.
It reflects the opinions of a very
large segment of the French na
tion, and may very easily become
the dominant current in political
thinking in that country.
SHORT-SIGHTED POLICIES
A commonly held belief on the
part of many French is that the
United States has acted unbe
comingly in limiting French capa
city to survive and to resist as the
result of short-sighted policies
that cannot possibly pay off. The
ordinary citizen seems reasonably
convinced that the American gov
ernment is supremely desirous of
getting France out of North Afri
ca as quickly as possible, regard
less of the consequences.
Since 1942 the United States
has evinced a decided interest in
the Mediterranean and recently
has decided to play the Moslem
game—that is, to support the na
tionalisms that are cropping up
all over the place, whether they
be enlightened as in Lebanon or
fanatic as in Egypt. Moreover, the
United States is seeking to coun
teract Soviet influence by de
taching itself as much as possible
from total identification with the
major nations of Europe.
Senator Debre expresses the
idea this way: “If in Africa Wash
ington supports the supernation
alism of peoples who are not even
nations in order to reduce French
influence in Europe, the Amer
ican government supports supra-
nationalism for the purpose of
restricting the independence of
very old and independent peoples
such as France.”
DISDAIN FOR FRANCE
What pains the French most
acutely is what many of them
conceive as the disdain of Amer
ican governing circles for French
opinion and for French leader
ship. There has been hostility to
the independent development of
atomic energy projects in France
and a constant insistence on a
subordination of almost every
thing to some wider European
authority. In a word, while the
United States is keen about a
united Europe and suspicious of
those who are stalwart national
ists on the continent, because this
reduces the chances of creating
this hypothtical Europe-to-be, the
American government with equal
energy and devotion supports ev
ery manifestation of nationalism
rampant in Africa or Asia.
The most painful deceptiqn is,
of course, Algeria. When Secreta
ry Dulles comes to Paris, says
Senator Debre, he talks about
European union and resisting the
Soviet. This is perfectly correct.
But never a word is mentioned of
support for the French in their
efforts in Algeria; never a word
for the courageous resistance the
French have made there against,
not Algerian rebels, but insur
gents who have been financed,
armed and encouraged by Nas
ser who is now becoming in
creasingly a persona grata to
Washington.
The French find that to cul
tivate Nasser—after he has been
clearly and plainly responsible
for a great deal of the trouble in
French North Africa—is as though
the United States were to invite
Chou En-lai to Washington and
receive him with the greatest af
fection, in spite of the record of
Communist China of complete ef
frontery toward the USA and the
UN.
WHAT ALLIES ARE SAYING
The essence of this French in
dictment of the United States and
its policy—and I submit it for
what it may be worth simply as
a matter of information and be
cause it behooves us to know
what the allies are saying—may
be summed up in this way:
1) The United States is moving
into the Mediterranean and
Middle East. The process has been
accelerated in large measure by
letting down France in North
Africa and now playing with Nas
ser in Egypt.
2) An alliance demands a loyal
understanding of the diplomatic
and strategic. needs of the other
party. In this Washington has
been strangely blind.
Wanted: Man With Broad Education
THE BACKDROP
By JOHN C. O’BRIEN
Fourth-year high school stu
dents who are planning to go to
college will be under strong
pressure by vocational advisers
and other mentors in the next
few weeks to choose engineering
as a profession.
At the mom
ent we are
hearing a great
deal about the
crying need for
engineers. High
school seniors
are being told
that this is an
age of technolo
gy and that engineering is the
profession of the future. Industry,
confronted with a desperate short
age of technically trained per
sonnel, is doing all it can to en
tice young men into the engineer
ing schools by offers of scholar
ships and assurances that well-
paid jobs await them upon com
pletion of their studies.
PASSPORT TO SECURITY
The need for engineers, of
course, cannot be exagerated. Not
only industry but government is
clamoring for them. The Depart
ment of Agriculture, just to take
one government department, re
cently told the House Manpower
Committee that it needs 2,000
scientifically trained men each
year just to replace the normal
turnover.
Hardly a day passes that some
scientist or other does not point
out that the Soviet Union is rapid
ly outstripping this country in the
production of scientists. Unless
we catch up, they warn, we may
be in danger of losing our leader
ship in the arms race and in mass
production.
It is only natural, therefore, that
faculty advisers should encour
age youths uncertain about the
choice of a life work to turn to
engineering. A scientific training,
they point out, is a passport to
security and better-than-average
remuneration.
INORDINATE STRESS
To students with a natural bent
for mathematics and scientific
subjects, such advice is well di
rected. But the danger is that
many who would prefer an educa
tion in the liberal arts may be
deflected by the inordinate stress
now being placed upon the ad
vantages of a technical training.
As they find the daily news
papers crowded with advertise
ments for engineers and technici
ans of all kinds, students may get
the impression that there is no de
mand for the services of graduates
in the liberal arts unless they en
ter one of the; older professions—
law, medicine or teaching.
It would be unfortunate in
deed if such an impression be
comes widespread among those
contemplating a career, for it
would be wholly at variance with
the actual situation. The fact
is that the very firms which are
scouting the college campuses for
engineering graduates, are just as
eager to enlist the services of
graduates in the liberal arts. For
even industry that rests for its
success on the achievements of
the scientist and the engineer, al
so requires men with broadly cul
tivated minds.
TECHNICAL HYPNOSIS
The danger of stressing the need
for technical personnel, to the ex
clusion of the need for those with
a broad, unspecialized training,
was the subject of a recent lecture
at Harvard University by Clar
ence B. Randal], former chairman
of the Inland Steel Corporation.
Randall expressed the fear that
the current emphasis upon scien
tific training is creating a “tech
nical hypnosis.”
“We behave at times,” he noted,
“as though we believe that all
problems can be resolved by the
processes of physical research and
the application of engineering
methods.” This, however, is: not
the lesson that his own experi
ence as a business man teaches.
“I hold the view,” he said, "that
a general education is a sound
preparation for a career in busi
ness, and I am unhappy when
most of the voices I hear about
me in the business world are
lifted in praise of specialized edu
cation only.”
COMMUNICATION OF IDEAS
Randall pointed out that there
are. in fact, few questions in the
field of management in industry
that can be solved by reference
to physical standards or by the
laboratory method of analysis and
testing. Most of the problems
would be just the same had the
atom never been split. They re
quire not knowledge of the . na
ture of matter, but a clear mind,
the power of logical analysis,
wisdom born of experience, and a
talent for communication.
.In a modern business, Randall
added, hardly a dayl passes when
an executive does not have to
make decisions requiring an in
timate understanding of the fun
ctioning of our national economy,
the implication of a proposed new
tax, or the inflationary trend of
government policies. And at eve
ry point to which a business ex
ecutive turns in his work, he
(Continued on Page 5)