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PAGE 4 GEORGIA BULLETIN THURSDAY. DECEMBER 17, 1964
ihe Archdiocese of Atlanta
GEORGIA BULLETIN
SEBVINO GEORGIA'S 71 NORTHMM COUNTIES
Official Organ of the Archidocese of Atlanta
Published Every Week at the Decatur DeKalb News
PUBLISHER- Archbishop Paul J. Hallinan
MANAGING EDITOR Gerard E. Sherry
CONSULTING EDITOR Rev. R. Donald Kieman
2699 Peachtree N. E.
P. O. Box 11667
Northside Station
Atlanta 5, Ga.
ASSOCIATE EDITOR Rev. Leonard F. X. Mayhew
Member of the Catholic Press Association
and Subscriber to N. C. W. C. News Service
Telephone 231-1281
Second Class Permit at Altanta, Ga.'
U. S. A. $5.00
Canada $5.00
Foriegn $6.50
Prior Restraint
Last Sunday in churches and
chapels throughout America,
millions of Catholics renewed
the pledge of the Legion of De
cency. We are not so sure that
this is the answer to the pres-
sing problem of the increas
ing production of unwholesome
movies. Let's face it. Many
people take the pledge and
have no compunction in still at
tending undesirable films.
The Legion of Decency pledge
is binding upon those who take
it in good faith. It is better
therefore, to remain silent than
pledge to do something when
our intentions are otherwise.
Recently the American Bis
hops' Committee on Motion Pic
tures warned the country that
there was an increasing ten
dency on the part of movie
makers to produce films which
lay heavy emphasis on immor
ality or amorality to the detri
ment of community standards. Of
special concern in this regard
are our young people at whom
these movies are especially ang
led. The adolescent mind is sel
dom mature enough to make a
proper judgment. Yet, more and
more, our young people are ask
ed to make these judgments be
cause of the apathy of their par
ents and the brashness of their 1
educators.
The situation has come to a
sorry pass when the National
Legion of Decency feels con
strained to condemn an Ameri
can movie. That this is unusual
should give us some satisfac
tion; but it also should give us
concern-- this because it pro
ves the need for some form of
prior restraint or censorship
in relation to movies.
Whenever the movie industry is
criticized, its spokesmen send
up smoke screens about censor
ship and denials of freedom of
expression. Yet, any objective
person reading the recent state
ment on movies by the American
Biships must agree that the Bis
hops do not want censorship. They
AN ALTAR BOY
NAMED "SPECK"
“Does he ever get a sore throat?’'
would much prefer the industry
to police itself. However, if there
is no self-reform by the movie
makers, more drastic alterna
tives have to be sought to protect
the people. Children are the main
audiences for Hollywood produc
ers and we all have to be con
cerned because of it.
There is a code of standards
which Hollywood imposed upon it
self. If producers will not do this
in relation to current movies,
why the hypocrisy in having the
code?
The present day themes which
accent adultery, homosexuality,
dope, and the like, are said to
be designed as adult themes.
However, let these Hollywood
producers visit movie houses
throughout the country. It is hard
to find the adults. The places are
crowded with impressionable
teen-agers. Indeed, many movie
house managers admit that adol
escents form the bulk of the au
dience at so-called adult films.
An industry that can come up
with so many bad movies and
so few good ones, is really
sick. Yet, there is always a howl
when interested persons call for
legislation to curb smut pro
ductions, They claim that ma
ture Americans don't need cen
sorship. Alas, many theater own
ers admit that few mature people
will be seen inside their movie
houses except on rare occas
ions-- and only for a really great
movie of significance. The bulk
of movie house audiences these
days are composed of immature
teen-agers and so-called “intel
lectual ' freedom lovers.
The answer to Hollywood is
going to be found in serious con
structive opposition from both
Catholic and non-Catholics. This
opposition can take many forms.
One of the most effective is for
parents to clamp down on the
movie going activities of thier
children. Religious • education
must be followed by religious
action. Parents must inquire as
to the Legion of Decency standing
of the movies their children want
to see. On any questionable movie
in categories B to C there should
be no ifs or buts. Immature per
sons should not be allowed to view
them. Even the category A3 re
quires careful consideration be
fore young people are permitted
to attend them.
The Church has a duty to warn
against the moral dangers inhe
rent in many of the movie pro
ductions of today. Despite the
film industry's code of stan
dards, movies are getting worse
instead of better. Naturally, if the
industry will not police itself,
the civil government has a duty
to intervene in the interest of
common good.
This brings us to the point
that if parents would only give
greater supervision of their
youngsters movie going, the
movie industry would feel the
effect in no time. Then, if they
don’t want to go out of bus
iness, they will have to elevate
their standards. Legislation
should be the last resort. How
ever, we shouldn't be afraid to
push for-it. All in the entertain
ment industry should be remind
ed of their obligation to insure
that their art conforms with the
precepts of the moral law.
Anticipation
GEORGIA PINES
Georgia’s White Columns
BY REV. R. DONALD KIERNAN
Three hundred and forty-eight pages plus one
hundred and twelve photographs go to make up
one of the most interesting books on Georgia that
I have read recently. The book, WHITE COLUMNS
IN GEORGIA, first attracted my attention when
I saw it sitting on a table in the home of a friend
of mine. Naturally, with such a title, I immediat
ely thought that the book concerned itself with
Atlanta's radio station W S B which is popularly
referred to as White Columns. However, the Book‘
is about what the title suggests: White Columns
in Georgia. Published in 1952 by Rinehart &
Co., the book was written by Medora Field Per-
kerson.
This, of course, is not intended to be a book
review but I think you, the reader, will find the
description of the book as contained on the cover
as interesting as I did. "Romance by candlelight;
a breath of scandal; coffee and pistols at dawn;
war and history in the making. . .
"THE BEAUTIFUL white-
columned ante-bellum houses
of Georgia are more than a
tourist's dream. They are the
South in its heyday. .....
"Georgia - the land of Mar
garet Mitchell, Bobby Jones,
Garden Clubbers, Talmadges,
Junior Leaguers, Coca-Cola,
Millionaires, alongside cotton
farmers, Democrats- even Republicans! It’s a
state where anything could happen and usually
did, especially in its historic old houses.
". . . And the houses; the old red brick in
Roswell, belonging to the inventor of the earl
iest model of the sewing machine; in Jefferson
where the first man to use ether in surgery
lived; in Athens, where the first garden club
in the world was organized
"Old houses hold on to the people who have
lived within their walls, and they hold on lon
gest to those who have lived most vividly. Mrs.
Perkerson has gathered them all— right down
\o the most rambunctious family skeleton in a
book of superb entertainment for all, from his
torians to architects, from the most unrecon
structed rebel to the hardiest. . . yankee."
PROBABLY the most familiar pose in the whole
book, as far as Georgians are concerned, is
the photography of the columns on the Presi
dent’s House at the University of Georgia in
Athens. This naturally is the first picture which
greets the reader!
Homes still standing in Savannah, Covington,
Colymbus, and Thomasville certainly portray the
grandeur long since passed on but serve
as a reminder" to us, of the present day, of the
historic personages whofirst settled here and es
tablished society.
MADISON and Eatonton homes still remind
us of the day when cotton was King. The old
Governor’s mansion at Milledgeville, patterned
after PalladiQ’s Villa in Italy, demonstrates
the fact that a distinct culture existed in Geo
rgia in an era which some historians today
would like to d^scirbe as near savage.
The home of Georgia’s first Legislature in Sav
annah, where George Washington once stayed;
the various homes Sherman "appropriated" on his
march to the sea; Juliet Lowe’s home; Sapelo
Island’s homes which entertained two Presi
dents of the United States; Martha Berry’s home
in Rome; Sidney Lanier’s birthplace; the boy
hood home of artist Lamar Dodd in La Grange;
Henry Grady’s home in Athens; the Confederate
homes in and around Washington are but a few
of the pictures in the book which played an in
tegral part in the history which goes to make up
Georgia.
A CORN barn now serves as the club house
at the Sea Island golf course and a smoke house
is now the golf shop at the Peachtree Golf Club.
Some homes are preserved by the original own
er’s descendents, others are maintained by the
government because of their historic value, a
few are kept-up by historical societies and still
others are present day homes of Georgia mil
lionaires.
Only one is missing! A White Columned home
which once served as the headquarters for the
K K K and was purchased by the late Archbishop
O’Hara to serve as the rectory for Atlanta's
Cathedral staff!
ELECTION EXAMPLE
Your World And Mine
BY GARY MacEOIN
On election day last month, I visited a number
of polling places in the company of a group of
Latin American politicians and opinion makers.
We saw a wide range of social, economic and
racial situations. But there was one common fac
tor which impressed them deeply and favorably.
It was the organization to ensure quick, free and
tamper-proff expression of the
voter’s preference.
/ Similar groups of politicians
journalists, educators and other
jfR moulders of world affairs were
W simultaneously observing our
f i mlJm' elections in various parts of the
! mt country. They had come here
unc * er Httle publicized but ex-
tremely important programs
deisgned to give other count
ries, especially those new to
the ways of democracy, the benefit of our expe
rience, They also serve to dissipate misunder
standings about us and give others a better
picture of our institutions.
THE STATE Department plans and supervises
some of these programs. Others are carried
out by citizen organizations representing labor,
business, or Church-related groups, sometimes
with funds from the State Department, sometimes
wholly or partly a*t their own expense. This
variety of sponsorship reflects the range of ini
tiative in our society. For those from coun
tries where official auspices mean propaganda,
it gives assurance that they are seeing things
as they really are.
My Latin American friends were particularly
impressed by the atmosphere of informality and
friendliness at the polling places. "This has been
your bitterest election in more than thirty years."
one said. "We have been to locations known to
beheavilyRepublican, others heavily < Democratic
others mixed. Nowhere have I seen a sign of bad
feeling, still less intimidation. It is a tribute to
your sense of law."
THEY WERE also impressed by the citizen
participation in the election machinery. Our
CONTINUED ON PAGE 5
ACCOMODATIONS
Court Rules
On Rights
BY GERARD E. SHERRY
Monday’s momentous Supreme Court ruling up
holding the constitutionality of the Public Ac
commodation section of the Civil Rights Bill
should clear the air and reduce civic tensions.
It should settle once and for all the ludicrous
argument that property rights are absolute. We
have said all along that neither from a moral
nor a strictly legal view point could individual
property rights take
precedence over
community rights in
defense of the com
mon good.
Monday’s ruling
also struck down the
convictions of three
sit-in demonstrators
in widely separated
areas of the south. This decision will also have an
effect on the outcome of thousands of other cases
pending— almost 3,000 in the country. Geor
gia, of course, was the site of the first challenge
to the Public Accommodations section after the
Civil Rights Bill was signed in July. The Heart of
Atlanta Motel in Atlanta challenged it and the
Supreme Court struck down the challenge, which
also involved a Birmingham Alabama restaurant.
REAPINGS
AT
RANDOM
THE SUPREME Court, no doubt, will come in
for some criticism as a result of this latest
ruling. Its members will be called Socialists
and Communists: they will be castigated as hav
ing destroyed property rights, individual rights;
they will be accused of defaming the Consti
tution and usurping their function. Indeed, the
nine Justices of the Supreme Court will come in
for a great round of denunciation by the pillars
of democracy — those patriots who defend their
own individual rights at the expense of anyone
else’s. These rabble rousing flag wavers seem
especially attuned to justifying second class
citizenship for our Negro citizens.
What can be noted about Monday’s ruling is
that it was unanimous. This means that even
those Justices whom the "patriots" have not
labelled Communist or Socialist went along
with the rest of their colleagues in agreeing
that the Section under dispute conformed to the
Constitution. This should pull the rug from un
der some of the critics, but not all. It is tragic
that there are still people who would rather create
tensions and disorder than apply the American
principle of freedom to all.
THE NECESSITY for Federal intervention in
the field of Civil Rights was never more ob
vious than it was last week, when twenty Miss- „ w
issippians arrested in connection with the mur
der of three Civil Rights workers had their cases/
dismissed by a local U. S. Commissioner, in a
legal move said to be unprecedented. There
is also the fact that no one has yet been con
victed for the murder of Medgar Evers, also
in Mississippi; nobody has as yet been con
victed for the burnings of Negro churches and
the murder of four Negro children in Alabama.
The list of unpunished crimes which have been
perpetrated against our Negro citizens in the
South is a matter of shame for us all. No use
blaming the F. B. I. They don’t try people. They
investigate. It’s up to others to pursue the appli
cation of justice. The F. B. I. can only do so
much and they have certainly done a good in
vestigative job in Mississippi.
If only those whites who are vehemently op
posed to the Civil Rights legislation could view
it from the side of the Negro. Despite Federal
intervention, the Negro sees his brothers and
his friends beaten and murdered with nothing,
apparently, being done about it. Let those who
glibly write off these Civil Rights murders as part
of the price to be paid for justice read the au
topsy on the bodies of those discovered in Mis
sissippi. It is revealing for it confirms the
callous savagery of the lynch law, composed—
it is said by some— of loyal, patriotic southern
gentlemen. The real Southerners, who are the
real gentlemen, know better. I am glad to say
that I have not met one informed, educated
gentleman of the South who is not revolted by
the happenings in Mississippi.
THE SOUTH has the opportunity to show the
rest of the country that, despite the past, there
art men of good will, of both conservative and
liberal persuasion, who are prepared to put the
country above pride and prejudice; who are
actively working among their fellow citizens,
calling for a halt to hate of the Negro minority;
who are actively working to assisfthe Negro to
his rightful place in the community. We wili
need laws when and where men fail to exer
cise justice, but the main work is in the hearts
of individuals. Willing compliance with the law
of the land — especially now that by unani
mous consent the Supreme Court has approved
the Public Accommodations section of the Civil
Rights Act— is obviously the only sound and
sensible answer. The die-hards who persist
in fool-hardy defiance of the law mark only
themselves and decry the often-quoted
expression of mature democracy in these United
States.
We hope that no one reading this column will
think for a moment that we hate anyone. Even
the confirmed segregationist must command
our prayerful concern and understanding. All we
suggest is that those who find it hard to love a
difference of pigment dwell on the fact that the
Image and Likeness of God knows no color nor
chosen ract.