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PAGE 2 BOOK SECTION THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 1963 Spalding Family Traditions In The South THE BISHOPS OF THE WORLD ASSEMBLE. The second session of Vatican Council II opens on Sunday, September 29. It will bring together more than two thousand cardinals, archbishops and bishops who, with the heads of religious orders and certain others, constitute the Fathers of the Council. This picture, taken on the occasion of the inauguration of the first session, shows the council hall, the nave of St Peter's basilica specially adapted to the purposes of the meeting. Here the archbishops and bishops, in white copes and mitres, are already assembled in tiers of seats extending from the center of the basilica almost to the great front doors. The cardinals of the Church are filing into their seats in the right foreground of the picture. Behind the cardinals, the late Pope John XXIII is being carried in procession on the ceremonial chair. A temporary altar, at which Mass is celebrated daily to open council deliberations, is seen in the center of the aisle at the bottom of the picture. THE SPALDING FAMILY OF MARYLAND, KENTUCKY AND GOERGIA FROM 1658 TO 1963 by Hughes Spalding. 185 pp. Atlanta; The Stein Printing Company. In reading 'The Spalding Family* I was reminded of a chapter of G. K. Chestertons The Everlasting Man* in which Chesterton speaking of Chris tianity states that Christianity is not a survival. But it is rather a series of revolutions through which the Church after seeming death has returned again and again in this wes tern world of rapid change and perishing institutions. This constant renewal was accom plished by its unique ability to generate and inflame young men to convert the age in which they lived. Chesterton mentions as examples of this, the rush of missionaries from Ireland as having all the air of an unex pected onslaught of young men on an old world; Islam falling by the roar of thousands of thousands of young men, throw ing all their youth into one coun ter charge*'the Crusades. This renewal was the sons of Fran cis, wandering singing all over the reads of the world: it was gothic going up like a flight of arrows: It was die waking of the world. As I have indi cated the story of the Spalding Family has reminded meof this from The Everlasting Man, be cause in the renewal of the Spalding clan there has been an extraordinary effect on the world in which they have lived. This review has been writ ten out of a feeling of love, awl still out of a feeling of necessity. Of love because of my great affection for the au thor. And of necessity because it presents in a most interest ing manner something which is important and necessary in this changeing world of ours, name ly an awareness of our debt to those to whom we are bound by filial ties. Mr. Hughes Spalding; the au thor of the Spaldings is a re markable person. Mr. Robert Troutman, a man of no mean talent and devotion to duty him self, has said of Mr. Spalding, "No one of his generation has rendered to the people of Geor gia greater public service.’* His accomplishments are many and diverse. He has been in volved in an outstanding man ner in the field of government education, agriculture, phllan- throphy, etc. Chairman of the Board of Regents, University System of Georgia, 1933-34, 1949-51; Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Fulton - DeKalb Hospital Authority 1946-59; Chairman, Executive Com mittee 1953-58; Director 1939 to date, Trust Company of Geor gia. He has been honored by Pope Plus XII with the tide of Privy Chamberlain Supernu merary of Sword and Cape. For years he has been die astute and wise counselor of bishops, priests and lay people. And now at an age when most men in a similar position would be willing to rest on the well - earned honors of a long and fruitful life, he has added new lustre to an already dis tinguished name by authoring a fine book. Genealogies are not especi ally enjoyable books to read. They lend themselves to bor edom rather than a keen and lively reading. Certainly there are exceptions and the Spald ing Family of Maryland, Ken tucky and Georgia is one. In deed if Mr. Spalding has start ed his writing career earlier he might well have made his mark in the field of literature as he has in the field of law. 'The Spalding Family* has hu mor and salt, as well as the simplicity of a good story well told. Mr. Spalding has the in stinct of a good writer. He spices what should be, by or dinary standards the dull and dry statistics of genealogy, with anecdotes and stories of cou rage of the people of his clan, so that his statistics are equa ted with people, real, living, pulsating people. He candidly gives advice to bishops but without ever offending, and he is able to praise our 'good Sisters' for the wonderful in fluence they have exerted with out being overly sugar - sweet. The Spalding Family is sim ply but engageingly written. It is by necessity not only the story of the Spalding Family from 1658 up to the present time, but is also, because many of its members were closely as sociated with the Church, a well documented history of the Ch urch especially of Maryland and Kentucky. There is an ex cellent chapter on the life and work of those two great Bish ops, uncle and nephew, Martin John Spalding and John Lan caster Spalding. In writing of the Spalding Family ami its long and Illustrious history, Mr. Spalding has given us the fascinating and heroic account of what it took for one family to preserve and nourish its treasured heritage. This book might well have been sub titled a testament to fidelity. For that is what it really is. The story of the fidelity of the Spalding family to the Church that gave it the precious gift of Faith. In his introduction to the book Mr. Spalding has written, "It is good to be able to say, that as far as my branch of the Spalding famiy is concerned there has never been a divorce and as a matter of fact not even a se paration between husband and wife. This covers a period of more than three hundred years. Even though some of us may be unworthy it is fortunate to belong to a Church which glo rifies the family as the foun dation stone of our country and our religion, and which at the same time violently condemns divorce as the chief destruc tive force of country and re ligion." This Is the spirit that has motivated this book. A con viction that church and family united together can best meet the responsibilities that life imposes on people. Mr. Spald ing the author has done well in directing our attention to this fundamental truth. To the older generations of the Spalding fam ily we say "euge, euge,." To the younger Spaldings we say ''noblesse oblige." rev. john f. McDonough artn DUt U UUUOi a msMuiv,