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LIBRARY

THE CONVENTION

OF THE

APOSTOLATEoFTHE PRES5.

HELD IN

Columbus Hall, New York City,

January 6th and 7th, 1892.

[Report of Papers and Letters.

New York :

THE COLUMBUS PRESS,

120° 122 West Sixtieth St.

03G
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From the library or

Talcott Williams

Director of the School of Journalism

1912-1919

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£.

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CONTENTS.

Invitation to the Convention. 5

Letter of the Archbishop of New York. . . 8
The Convention of the Apostolate of the Press.

Rev. Walter Elliott, C.S.P. 9

List of Members. . . 10

Opening Sermon at the Convention of the Apos-
tolate OF THE Press. . . Rev. Michael Lavelle. 12

PAPERS AND LETTERS READ AT THE CONVENTION.

The Attitude of the Educated Protestant Mind toward

Catholic Truth. . . . Prof. W. C. Robinson. 21
The Press and Old-fashioned Protestants.

Richard Malcolm Johnston. 29
The Missionary Outlook in New England.

George Parsons Lathrop. 36

How to Deal with Agnostics. . . Merwin M. Snell. 44
The Catholic Church and the Colored People.

Charles H. Butler. 53

The Outlook among the Colored People. Dan. A. Rudd. 55

The General Missionary Outlook. . . Johji McCarthy. 58

The Outlook in Canada. . . . J. A. J. McKenna. 61

Speaking to the Century. . Rev. William Barry, D.D. 65

Letter from James Britten, Esq 71

Mending Old Roads and Making New Ones.

Katherine E. Conway. y6
The Secular Press ; the Church and Intemperance. Letter

from William F. Carne S6

Reading Circles. A Letter from Brother Azarias. . 87
How to Start and Maintain a Catholic Journal.

H. L. Richards, Jr. 89

How the Printer's Art got its Terms. . David He aly. 91
The Apostolate of the Press and Working-women.

Katherine A. C Keeffe. 92
The Apostolate of the Press and Children.

Mary Elizabeth Blake, 95

4 The Apostolate of the Press.

The Press and Children. A Letter from Mrs. Josephine

M. Hecker loi

The Apostolate of the Press and the Army. Letter from

Rev. J. F. Dolphin, Chaplain U. S. A. . . . 103

Catholic Reading and the Navy. Rev. Edward J. McGolrick. 104

Letter from Rev. Charles H. Parks, Chaplain in the Navy. 107

The Apostolate of the Press and the Society of the Holy

Spirit. ..... Hon. Frank McGloin. 1 10

The Catholic Truth Society of America and the Aposto-
late of the Press. . . . William F. Markoe. iiy

Parish Libraries. . . . Rev. Joseph H. McMahon. 124

Library Work in St. Paul's Parish, New York.

John J. O'Brien. 134

The Diffusion of Good Reading by the Columbian Reading

Union Josephijte Letuis. 137

The First Catholic Reading Circle formed in New York

City M. F. McAleer. 141

The Catholic Educational Union. . Warren E. Mosher. 145

Parish Calendars Rev. John J. Hjighes. 150

The Press and Intemperance. . . . James F. Judge. 153

Reading in Penal Institutions. . . Emma S. Gary. 157

The Press in Alms-houses and Reformatories.

Mary E. McCartin. 162

The Experience of a Sister of Mercy. Letter from Sister

Mary Austin. 165

The Apostolate of the Press and the Prevention of Crime.

John W. Goff. 172

Invitation to the Convention of the Apostolate
of the Press.

You are invited to be present at a Convention of the Aposto-
late OF THE Press, to be held in Columbus Hall, West Sixtieth
Street, near Columbus Avenue (adjoining the Paulist Church),
New York City, on WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY, January 6
and 7, 1892. You are invited because it is believed that you are
likely to be interested in the spread of Catholic Truth through
the medium of the Press,

The Convention will be composed of the laity, men and
women, from all parts of the United States and Canada who
believe that the printing-press offers to apostolic zeal golden
opportunities for the conversion of our fellow-countrymen, as
well as for elevating the moral 'and spiritual condition of Catho-
lics themselves. You will find herewith the letter of the Arch-
bishop of New York approving and praising the calling of the
Convention, and placing it under the auspices of Ecclesiastical
authority.

A few words in explanation of the objects of the Convention
are necessary. At the outset it should be understood that there
is no purpose to form a society or to interfere with societies at
present engaged in the Apostolate OF THE PRESS. Organization,
in the sense of forming a society, is not at all intended. On the
contrary, societies already in existence are to be encouraged,
assisted, their membership increased, their success brought con-
spicuously before the public and made matter of emulation for
the whole Church in America. We trust to have members pres-
ent from all Catholic societies which in any way use the Press
for the good of Religion, but it will be open to all good Catho-
lics of the laity who take a practical interest in this Apostolate.

The object is to bring the best men and women of our laity
together under the auspices of the clergy, to take counsel how to
use the Press for the good of religion, especially with a view to
converting the non-Catholic American people. We are right and
we can prove it, and the most universal medium of doing so is
the Press. How to do it, why *t should be done, when and
where it can best be done, by what agencies and by overcoming
what obstacles — these practical questions will be discussed freely

6 The Apostolate of the Press.

and answered fully by the Catholic men and women most compe-
tent to do so. Arrangements are being made to have papers read
by representative Catholics from all parts of the country, espe-
cially by those who have already distinguished themselves by their
zeal in the Apostolate of the Press. These are more num-
erous and of higher consideration than one would at first glance
suppose. The topics will embrace the entire field of this great
Apostolate, such as how to get the truth into the secular press;
the uses of fiction in the Apostolate of the Press ; how to in-
terest children for the truth ; how to reach infidels, Agnostics, and
old-fashioned Protestants respectively ; the Apostolate OF THE
Press and Intemperance ; Reading Circles, their uses and how to
form them ; the Apostolate OF THE PRESS and prisons, reforma-
tories, and hospitals ; how to assist soldiers and sailors to good
reading ; the Apostolate and Catholic charitable societies ; the
use of the Press in the conversion of the colored people. All
of these exceedingly interesting subjects, and others equally so,
will be treated by competent persons in carefully prepared
papers, each of which will be followed by a free and informal
discussion of the topic, so that the entire field of the APOSTOLATE
OF THE Press will be gone over. The papers and discussions
will, it is hoped, be collected and published at cost price after the
Convention, furnishing a hand-book for the guidance of zealous
members of the laity in forming societies or for personal exer-
cise of zeal in the distribution of the Printed Truth.

By attending the Convention you will lend your name pub-
licly to the good cause of the true religion ; you will learn how
to use the most powerful means of saving the souls of your
neighbors, both Catholics and non-Catholics ; you will make the
personal acquaintance of the best men and women of the Catho-
lic Church in America, and your experience will be every way
as delightful as it will be profitable. You will help to show what
is little known outside the Church, that our laity are full of the
highest intelligence, are actuated by practical zeal, and are trust-
worthy and trusted by the highest authority.

We therefore urge upon you the privilege of attending. Be
with us on the auspicious Feast of the Epiphany, the manifesta-
tion of Jesus Christ to the nations. Largely attended, and by
men and women well and favorably known in their communities
or their professions, the Convention will fitly begin the celebra-
tion of the discovery of this New World, an event which resulted
from the science, the spirit of adventure, and above all the
apostolic zeal of the great Catholic Discoverer. Your acceptance

The Apostolate of the Press. 7

of this Invitation will involve some sacrifice of time, but no con-
tributions of money will be asked.

Is not the cause an inspiring one ? Do you not long to per-
sonally participate in this great work, the APOSTOLATE OF THE
Press, so perfectly adapted to your state of life in the world, a
work which Divine Providence is now favoring with promises of

marvellous success ?

THE PAULIST FATHERS.

Your acceptance of this Invitation, if addressed to Rev.
Walter Elliott, Office of The Catholic World, 120 West Sixtieth
Street, New York City, will secure you the necessary credentials
as a member of the Convention.

LETTER OF THE ARCHBISHOP OF NEW YORK.

Archbishop's House, 452 Madison Ave.,
New York, October 26, 1891.

Rev. dear Father Elliott : I am glad that you see your
way to resume the work inaugurated by the revered Father
Hecker, and recommended by the Second Plenary Council of
Baltimore : I mean the diffusion of Cathohc Truth by the pub-
lication of short articles, leaflets, and similar productions, intended
to dispel prejudice and to defend sound doctrine. You are no
doubt aware that the Rev. Joseph H. McMahon, of this Cathe-
dral, has been engaged in similar work during the past three
years, and has already distributed many thousand copies of short
papers explaining salient points of Catholic discipline and dogma.
Kindred societies, actuated by the same praiseworthy spirit, are
successfully estabhshed elsewhere. In a country like ours, where
the Apostolate of the Press has an immense and almost an
unlimited mission, there is ample room for many workers in the
same field, and I therefore applaud and bless your zeal in calling
a convention to further this good work and to devise ways and
means by which it may be strengthened and made permanent.
After all, intelligent minds want to know the truth ; St. Thomas
says : " In no way is the truth disclosed better than by refuting
those who contradict it." And Tertullian wrote, long before the
Angehc Doctor, " Truth blushes only at concealment."

Wishing you all success in your noble project, and begging
God to bless it most abundantly, I remain

Very faithfully yours,

M. A. CORRIGAN, Abp.

The Convention of the Apostolate of the Press.

The following account of the Convention was furnished the
Christian Union, by request of the editor of that journal :

The Apostolate of the Press is a term which indicates a
phase of the missionary spirit becoming active in the Catholic
Church. Catholics are assuming a spirit of intellectual aggres-
siveness. " We are right and we can prove it," is a summary
of the Catholic mind at the present day. The Convention of
the Apostolate of the Press, recently held in New York City,
was a gathering of prominent Catholics from all parts of the
country to give utterance to this zeal, and to call for suggestions
looking towards a missionary campaign among non-Catholics.
True, much was said at the meetings about the elevation of
spiritually destitute Catholics by means of the press ; but the
main purpose was to assist in placing the Church in that mission-
ary attitude towards non-Catholics which the most enlightened
among us are persuaded is the chief lesson of the present provi-
dence of God. This may account for the fact that the Arch-
bishop of New York so cordially approved of the Paulist Fathers
assembling the Convention and assisting the members in their
deliberations, for the primary object of the Paulists is the con-
version of non-Catholics.

When I use the word "aggressive," I mean by it that zeal
of real friendship born of love which feels and ever shows respect
for honesty even in error, and affection for neighbors, fellow-
citizens, and fellow-men. That it was understood in this sense,
not only the papers read by prominent men and women of
the laity, but the impromptu debates which followed these, and
in which all who would participated, gave very conclusive evi-
dence. At present I will speak only of the two or three
features which gave it individuality. It was, in the first place,
not merely a gathering of the laity, both men and women, but
a gathering in which the latter were not simply expected and
invited to take an active part, but in which numbers of them did
so with a modest ease and a sure grasp of the matters they had
in hand which were pleasant to see. The note struck here was
that of an equality so spontaneously felt on all sides that allusion

The Apostolate of the Press. 9

to it would have been superfluous. Then there was the happy
accident which made Mr. Charles Butler's paper on the best ways
of getting Cathohc doctrine before the colored race, which he,
with Mr. Daniel Rudd, of Cincinnati, so admirable represented,
the first to claim a hearing. And again, it was only for con-
venience' sake that I presided over this entirely informal assem-
bly. The other priests, who were present in a certainly small
minority, were listened to, when they chose to join in the de-
bates, with cordial interest and attention ; yet they were there as
lobby members, so to say, and in only two instances read
papers by request. It was, in short, a lay gathering, not so
large in numbers as representative in thought as well as in local-
ity, members from all sections of the Union and from parts of
Canada being present ; while it was so responsive to the spirit
in which the invitation to it was issued that it easily resisted
the perhaps natural tendency to organize itself into a new
association. The key-note, in fact, was that of individual initia-
tive and free labor in the direction of disseminating the printed
truth among non-Catholics, and spiritually destitute Cathohcs as
well, by all who love our Lord Jesus Christ and look for his
coming, without regard to their "race, sex, or previous condition
of servitude." And in this respect, as well as in others, it proved
a very complete success.

The opening paper of the first formal session of the Conven-
tion was read by Professor W. C. Robinson, of the Law School
of Yale University, on " The Attitude of the Educated Protes-
tant Mind toward Catholic Truth." He said that during the
thirty years that had passed since he became a Catholic he had
lived in constant and intimate association with the non-Catholic
men who form the public opinion of the day on social, ethical,
and religious questions, and indirectly on political questions also.
Many of these are active members of Protestant churches, and
a large proportion of the rest are religiously disposed, in will,
if not in intellect and profession, submitting themselves to the
guidance of Christian law and doctrine. Limiting his observa-
tions strictly to the class thus described. Professor Robinson
expressed his conviction that what they need from Catholics is
"knowledge and not argument." He also said that the New
England mind was ripe for the truth.

Mr. George Parsons Lathrop, a convert of much more recent
date than Professor Robinson, and conversant with a generation
of non-Catholics younger than that familiar to the latter, was
less confident of their willingness to be enlightened, though his

10 The Apostolate of the Press.

paper was full of courage and hope. He discussed, with his
accustomed charm of expression and with deep and evident feel-
ing as well, the two widely different worlds inhabited by intelli-
gent Catholics and equally intelligent non-Catholics, whether pro-
fessedly Christians or unbelievers. He had for the most part
found even his own familiar friends, who had always been and
who were still ready to discuss with him every other subject
under heaven, entirely unwilling to enter upon that of the claims
of the Catholic Church and their justification in history,
logic, or philosophy. He found in this attitude a tacit admission
that, man's intellect being what it is, it is unsafe to open its
doors and windows to the' common daylight of truth — and when
it prefers semi-obscurity it doubtless is so. He found a similar
testimony to the existence of some great reality to be found in
the Catholic faith, and not elsewhere, in the curious fact that " it
has happened to Mrs. Lathrop and myself that Protestant friends,
and even simple acquaintances, who never broached the subject
before, have written to us, since we became Catholics, asking us
to pray for their dead, their departed kindred. Of course they
would not dream of petitioning for such prayers in their own
churches and denominations. Others have sent to ask our prayers
for some member of a family* undergoing illness or surgical
operations involving great danger. In all the years that we zuere
outside of the Church they never made such a request, although they
were as sure of our friendship the7i as nozv. This is another touch-
ing evidence of the fact that Protestants feel, if they do not per-
ceive, some peculiar virtue in the Church. They turn to it in-
stinctively, in these cases, as meeting the needs of the heart and
soul with a supreme efficacy not found in their own organiza-
tions ; a power that they may oppose, yet inwardly realize."

The well-known delineator of Southern character. Colonel
Richard Malcolm Johnston, unable to be present, sent a paper on
the religious condition of the South, sympathetic and encourag-
ing. Mr. J. A. J. McKenna, of Ottawa, Canada, interested the
members on the missionary outlook in the Dominion. We were
all charmed by a strong appeal made by Miss Katherine Con-
way, of the Boston Pilot, for better and newer methods in the
missionary use of the daily and weekly press. Ways, means, and
methods were discussed by the Hon. Frank McGloin, of New
Orleans, and Mr. William F. Markoe, of Minneapolis, represent-
ing two flourishing missionary societies using the press.

On the side of education and charity valuable papers were
read by many delegates. The space here assigned me forbids

The Apostolate of the Press. ii

mention, much to my regret, of the Hvely, friendly, and yet
often widely divergent views expressed in discussing the topics
brought before the Convention. Among the papers, and most
noticeable for its beauty of style, was one by the Rev. Dr.
William Barry, a well-known English writer, on " Speaking to the
Century." At the close of the Convention, which sat during two
entire days, January 6-7, a committee was appointed to gain, if
possible, from the secular press that often-denied boon, the sole
one that Catholic Americans ask from their fellow-countrymen — the
chance of fair play and free exposition of their views and prin-
ciples, especially when these have been misrepresented in their
columns. There is little doubt that a result of this gathering,
and a not remote one either, will be the establishment of a. cen-
tre for the missionary work known to Catholics as the APOSTO-
LATE OF THE Press.

WALTER ELLIOTT.
St. Patds Church, New York.

List of Members.

The following list contains the names of those who attended
the Convention or who wrote for cards of membership with the
expectation of attending.

The list is an imperfect one, but contains the names of all
whom we could reach personally or by letter.

The names of the many priests who were present are not
given because they were not strictly members, though their
addresses were an important element in the proceedings.

Anderson, Miss Kate, New York City.
Barry, Miss M. E., New York City.
Barry, W. H., Bridgeport, Conn.
Barry, W. H., Ottawa, Canada.
Barry, K. W., New York City.
Brown, John H., New York City.
Bree, J. P., New Haven, Conn.
Birch, Miss Eugenie, Boston, Mass.
Blake, Mrs. M. E., Boston, Mass.
Baily, Alice W., Amherst, Mass.
Brown, Wm., New Britain, Conn.
Barry, Miss K. M., Ottawa, Canada.
Brent, Mrs., New York City.
Brophy, J. P., New York City.
Brailly, Dr. A. V., New York City.
Burke, B., New York City.
Bowson, Mrs. C. A., New York City.
Boone, D. A., Baltimore, Md.
Bernholz, Miss, New York City.
Broderick, Miss K., New York City.
Burke, Miss J., New York City.
Brady, Jerome, New York City.
Binsse, L. B., New York City.
Byrne, Miss, New York City.
Broderick, Miss E. J., New York City.
Bouvier, the Misses, New York City.
Boylan, B. M.

Butler, C. H., Washington, D. C.
Conway, Miss Katherine E., Boston,

Mass.
Clarke, Mrs. C, New York City.
Cary, Miss E. S., Cambridge, Mass.
Cary, Miss S. G., Cambridge, Mass.
Connell, Mrs. Mary, New York City.
Cummings, Miss S., New York City.
Cornell, T. C, Yonkers, N. Y.
Cornell, Miss C, New York City.
Coogan, MissN., New York City.

Copley, C. W., St. Paul, Minn.
Connell, G. S., New York City.
Clancy, Miss M., New York City.
Campion, J. T., New York City.
Cronyn, Miss E., Buffalo, N. Y.
Crane, John, New York City.
Cummins, T. J., Albany, N. Y.
Cullen, C. A., New York City.
Corbett, Miss C. T., Madison, N. J.
Campion, Miss B., New York City.
Callahan, Miss A. I., Orange, N. J.
Connell, G. F., New York City.
Claxton, W. R., Philadelphia, Pa.
Cook, Miss E. W., New York City.
Coleman, Caryl, New York City.
Corr, Bernard, New York City.
Corr, Miss M. B., New York City,
Cram, R. A., Boston, Mass.
Curran, F.
Conley, J. H.

Cavanagh, Philip B., New York City.
Carton, Miss L., New York City.
Colfax, E. L., Pompton, N. J.
Cutter, W. T., Jacksonville, Fla.
Deshon. Miss S. J., New York City.
Diggs, Mrs. K., New York City.
Daly, J. J., New York City.
Dillon, Joseph, New York City.
Dana, Miss H. C, Cambridge, Mass.
Dougherty, Jos. E., New York City.
Dolan, P. F., New York City.
Dahlgren, Mme. M. V., Wash., D. C.
Dissel, Mrs. Theo., Syracuse, N. Y.
Dooling, Miss M. R., Brookline, Mass.
Daly, Philip, New York City.
Dooling, Miss K. G., Brookline, Mass.
Downing, Mrs. M., Brooklyn, N. Y.
Downing, Miss M. A., Brooklyn, N. Y.

The Apostolate of the Press.

Diller, A. B., New York City.
Dowling, Lourdes, New York City.
Dowling, Victor J., New York City.
Doughty, Miss Corinne, N. Y. City.
Drake, Miss Jeanie, New York City,
Early, W., New York City.
Fitz, T. B., New York City.
Foley, Miss N. L., New York City.
Farrell, R. J.

Flannery, D., Memphis, Tenn.
Fay, C. F., Boston, Mass.
Ferguson, J. W.
Feeny, B. C, Norwalk, Conn.
Guiney, Miss L. I., Auburndale, Mass.
Goff, John W., New York City.
Grace, J. P., New York City.
Gallagher, Miss A., New York City.
Gillon, H. F., Lowell, Mass.
Gaho'gan. Miss C. M. M.
Gest, A. P., York, Pa.
Gannon, Miss M. A., New York City.
Galwey, T. F., New York City.
Hecker, Mrs. J. M., New York City,
Hecker, Miss C, New York City.
Hinsdale, Mrs. R. H., New York City.
Hogan, Mrs. M. M., Chicago, III.
Hollornd, Miss Dora, New York City.
Harrington, D., New York City.
Hughes, Miss M. T„ Brooklyn, N. Y.
Heuisler, Chas. W., Baltimore, Md.
Hardy, A.

Hinsdale, Miss L., New York City.
Howes, Mrs. H. S., New York City.
Hynes, James, New York City.
Hardy, G. E., New York City.
Howard, G. H., Washington, D. C.
Hardy & Mahony, Philadelphia, Pa.
Hourdequin, Miss Adele, B'k'yn, N. Y.
Jordan, Mrs. M. E., New York City.
Johnston, R. M., Baltimore, Md.
Judge, J. F., Scranton, Pa.
Kennedy, P. J., New York City.
Kearns, Thos., Philadelphia, Pa.
Kearney, J. T., Brooklyn, N. Y.
Keohane, William, New York City.
Keegan, John, New York City.
Killoran, Mark, New York City.
Kelly, Mrs. A., Brooklyn, N. Y.
Kiltrelly, Miss F. M., New York City.
Kelly, Miss M. E.
Kehoe, John.

Kelly, J. E., New York City.
Kane, C. F.

Kilroy, Thomas F., New York City.
Kennedy, D. W., New York City.
Kelly, E. J., New York City.
Kilner, H. L., Philadelphia, Pa.
Lathrop, Geo. Parsons, New London,

Conn. [N. J.

Lauer, Mrs.J. E., Jersey City Heights,
Lynch, the Misses, New York City.
Le Baron, Mme. M. L., Wash., D. C.
Lewis, Miss Josephine, N. Y. City.
Lynch, P. H., New York City.
Leach, Miss W., New York City.
Lawless, Mrs. Margaret, Toledo, O.
Leathy, J. P.

Littleton, S. F., Worcester, Mass.
Lynch, Miss Louise.
Leary, Miss Anna, New York City.
Lummis, Miss E., New York City.
McCartin, Miss E. C, Jersey City, N. J.
McCartin, Miss M. E., Jersey City, N. J.
Meehan, James, New York City.
Meehan, Miss M., New York City.
McGinty, E. J., New York City.
Meynen, Mrs. M. M., New York City.
Mosher, Warren E., Youngstown, O.
Moorehead, Miss A. A., N. Y. City.
Murray, T. J., Brookline, Mass.
McCarthy, John, New York City.
Meehan, Miss, New York City.'
McElearny, Mrs., New York City.
Murphy, F. K., Baltimore, Md.
MacMahon, W. A., E. Orange, N. J.
McElroy, J. A., New York City.
McNulty, J. S., New York City.
Murphy, C. V., New York City.
Mulry, T. M., New York City.
Mulrooney, G. F., New York City.
Moore, Mrs. C. M., New York City.
McKenna, Miss K., New York City.
McDermott, Miss R., New York City.
McGuinness, Miss D., N. Y. City.
McLees, F. M., New York City.
Morgan, M. J.

Macdonald, D. J„ Newburgh, N. Y.
McAleer, Miss M. F., New York City.
McCarthy, John, Syracuse, N. Y.
McGloin, Hon. Frank, New Orleans,

La.
Markoe, W. F., Minneapolis, Minn.

The Apostolate of the Press.

McCorry, B. J., New York City.

Mulready, Edwin.

McKenna, P. A.

Meehan, Mrs. F., New York City.

McKay, F. J.

McDonnell, Patrick.

Mulrooney, Miss K., New York City.

Mapother, Dillon.

Malarkey, J. J., New York City.

McKenna, J. M.

McGuire, E. J., New York City.

McCarthy, Denis, New York City.

Mahony, T.

McMana, Mrs., New York City.

McGuire, J. C, Brooklyn, N. Y.

Murphy, C. J., Evansville, Ind.

McCuskie, Miss Rose, New York City.

McMahon, Miss Ella, New York City.

Madigan, M. J., New York City.

Muller, Jos., New Britain, Conn.

McDonnell, T. C, Tracy, Platte Co.,

Mo.
Markley, P. J., New Britain, Conn.
Mallon, Y., Providence, R. I.
Marr, Mrs. M., Mont Eagle, Tenn.
McKenna, J. A. J., Ottawa, Canada.
Norris, F. W., New York City.
Neville, M. F., New York City.
Neville, T. F.

O'Neil, Mrs. James, New York City.
Owens, J. J., New York City.
O'Brien, John, New York City.
O'Connor, Barry, New York City.
O'Keeffe.Miss K. A., Lawrence, Mass.
O'Holloran, Miss M., New York City.
O'Hara, G. E., New York City.
O'Neill, Miss G., New York City.
O'Leary, Miss Agnes, Boston, Mass.
O'Brien, Miss Agnes, New York City.
O'Meara, Miss Ellen.
O'Neill, Miss Geraldine, N. Y. City.
O'Shea, John, New York City.
O'Beirne, Mrs. Mary, New York City.
O'Kane, Cornelius, New York City.
Preston, Herbert A., Wash., D. C.
Paris, Mrs. Sherman, Charlestown,

N. H.
Plunkett, James, New York City.
Pintell, Miss M., New York City.
Perkins, Miss M., Morristown, N. J.

Pychowska, Mrs. L. D., Hoboken, N.fJ.
Piet, John B., Baltimore, Md.
Richmond, Mrs. J. B.
Richards, H. L., Jr., Winchester.Mass.
Ryan, P. H., Tiffin City, O.
Roony, J. J., New York City.
Reilly, Mrs. A. C, New York City.
Robinson, Judge W. C, New Haven,

Conn.
Richmond, Dr. J. B., Newark, N. J.
Richards, Miss L. A., Wash., D. C.
Ring, T. F., Boston, Mass.
Reilly, James, New York City.
Reynolds, W. S., Brooklyn, N. Y.
Reid, Dr.

Rudd, D. A., Cincinnati, O.
Ringrose, J. W., New Britain, Conn.
Reynaud, Albert, New York City.
Southwick, Mrs. H., New York City.
Smith, Miss Ida M., Norwalk, Conn.
Simpson, Mrs., New York City.
Smith, Mrs. Hamilton, N. Y. City.
Smith, Mrs. T. C, New York City.
Snell, M. M., Washington, D. C.
Shannon, Mrs. John, New York City.
Shelly, Miss M. V., New York City.
Seeney, B. C.

Scott, E. F., New York City.
Shipman, A. J., New York City.
Serrano, Mrs. M. J.
Sullivan, Miss K., New York City.
Smith, Milton E., Wash., D. C.
Smith, W. F., New Britain, Conn.
Titus, W. Q.

Treacy, R. S., New York City.
Tully, Bernard, Norwalk, Conn.
Tack, T. E., New York City.
White, John, New York City.
Wallace, Miss Agnes, New York City.
Whitty, Miss Mary, New York City.
Waddington, Mr. and Mrs. Geo., New

York City.
Wigger, Robert, New York City.
Whall, W. B. F.

Waddington, Miss E., New York City.
Walsh, Miss M., New York City. .
Wolff, G. D., Norristown, Pa.
Walsh, Michael, New York City.
Walsh, John, New Britain, Conn.
Yeakel, Mrs. Paul, New York City.

OPKNING SBRIVEON

AT THE

Convention of the Apostolate of the Press,

Church of St. Paul, the Apostle, January 6, 1892.
by rev. michael lavelle, of the new york cathedral.

Our text to-day will be the words of St. Paul, " I became all
things to all men that I might gain all to Christ," and our sub-
ject will be the topic which naturally presents itself for this oc-
casion, the printing-press in connection with the dissemination of
Catholic truth. There is a poetic fitness in the fact that this
first Convention of the Apostolate of the Press is held in a church
bearing the name of the great St. Paul, of whom it can be said
that his words went into the whole earth, and resounded through
every portion of the globe.

He, with his fellow-laborers, began a work which, in human
eyes, was impossible. But before one century had elapsed since
the death of the last of the Apostles, the greatest Christian writer
of the day could tell the heathens that his co-religionists were to
be found in every portion of the then known world. So may it
be with this work of the APOSTOLATE OF THE PRESS ! May the
blessing of God, through the intercession of St. Paul and of all
the Apostles, rest upon this work, and upon the ways and means
which will be here adopted for the salvation of souls ! The Holy
Sacrifice will soon be offered for the fulfilment of this prayer,
and it becomes him who speaks here to say a few words out-
lining the importance of the work, giving some idea of the
amount of good that can be accomplished by it. In order to
get this idea clearly into our mind, two things are necessary:
first, to view the world as it stands to-day in comparison with
former times ; secondly, to learn how we can use the resources
of this newly-conditioned world for the glory of God and the
salvation of souls.

First, what is the condition of the world in general compared
with what it was only a short time ago? Some have supposed
that the writers of the Arabian Nights did not draw simply up-
on their imaginations for their works, but that their romances,

1 6 The Apostolate of the Press.

instead of being idle dreams, were really bold guesses of the possi-
bilities of future science. However it may be, this much is cer-
tain : greater far than the magical triumphs of the lamp of Alad-
din are those of modern perseverance, competition, and inge-
nuity.

Why, we travel to Europe now in a fraction over five days, in
vessels. that are as remarkable for comfort as they are for speed. We
go to Washington in live hours, to Buffalo in eight, to Chicago
in twenty-four, to San Francisco in a hundred. The news of the
world is flashed over continents and under seas with the rapidity
of the lightning itself. We speak, actually speak, to our friends
and acquaintances at distances of hundreds of miles. We record
the very tones of our voices in the phonograph. We have a
metal called aluminium, which, when its uses are developed, will
revolutionize manufactures. And in the political order how great
are the changes ! In this country a government of the people,
by the people, for the people, in which the vote of the poorest
and most unknown is just as powerful as his whose position is
highest in the halls of wealth and of fame. And yet this govern-
ment is, as we all know, the best beloved, the most just, the most
practically useful that this world has ever seen.

Surely, then, we can say that our age, at least as far as mate-
rial and temporal advantages are concerned, surpasses far every
other period of human history. But that which contributes
most of all to its greatness is the Printing-Press and its devel-
opment. The Printing-Press bears to modern progress, to the
advance of science, whether natural, political, or social, the rela-
tion that the ocean bears to the world. The ocean is the great
well from which ascends all the moisture which fertilizes the
earth, and it is at the same time itself the diffuser of that mois-
ture. By the Press all the inventions and improvements of
modern science and life are absorbed ; every one of them is used
for its purposes, 'and it is at the same time the means by which
they are diffused throughout the world and made available for
the happiness of mankind. By means of the Press we enjoy
what we have achieved, and we go on improving constantly and
surely in a way that would be utterly impossible without it. Not
only this, but the Press has made education popular. The edu-
cation of all mankind is not only a possibility, but in the not
distant future will be an accomplished fact. It is gradually de-
stroying the barriers of race and of tongue. It has helped to
bring about already, in a measure, the poet's dream — " the parlia-
ment of men, the federation of the world.'*

The Apostolate of the Press. 17

I do not think that it is any exaggeration to assert that the
most powerful embodiment of human force on the face of the
earth to-day is the Printing-Press. I do not mean in brute power,
but in moral power, whether that power be for good or for bad.

Now, what have been and are the relations of the Catholic
Church towards this great power ? We must never forget that
the Catholic Church has been not only the spiritual saviour, but
also the material civilizer of mankind. She is always abreast of
the age. Abreast ? — rather in advance of the age, leading every-
thing that can be good for the material as well as for the spir-
itual wants of the world. Think what this earth was when the
Gospel was first preached ! The world was a handful of free
men and a race of slaves, and the slave was so despised that in
the Latin tongue he was called mancipium, a neuter noun, to
show that he was regarded not as a person, but simply as a
thing. The condition of woman, of mother, sister, daughter, wife,
was little better than that of the common slave. Despot-
ism of the most tyrannical kind ruled in every government
upon the face of the earth. Such a thing as the equality of man
was unknown. And if to-day there is charity and brotherly love ;
if to-day the shackles of the slave have been broken and
cast off ; if to-day woman, wife, mother, daughter, sister, holds
her proper place by the side and not under the feet of man ;
if the doctrines of human liberty and the equality of mankind
have any such thing as acceptance among human beings, it is
due either to the actual work or to the inspiration of the genius of
Catholic faith. On this point there can be no doubt, and it
should never be absent from our minds. But it is especially
true regarding the equality of men and the brotherhood of
mankind. Eighteen hundred years before it was asserted in the
Declaration of American Independence, when hitherto the doctrine
had never been broached upon the earth, the Catholic Church de-
clared, in the face of kings and of princes and of all the rulers
of the world, that before God, who made us all, all men, high
and low, rich and poor, stand equal and independent.

Now, if the church has been thus forward, if she has been
such a constant leader of every good work for the welfare of
the human race even here on earth, it is not likely that she
has been behind-hand with regard to the printing-press. And
as a matter of fact it was a Catholic who invented the printing-
press. The first book ever published was a Bible — published by
a Catholic for the use and benefit of the Catholic people. And
ever since that day the Church has aided, has encouraged, and

1 8 The Apostolate of the Press.

supported all those who have striven to educate mankind by-
means of this great power. Consequently, when we meet for the
Apostolate of the Press, w^e meet as people who are in pos-
session of their own birthright, and who wish to bring, if possible,
nearer to the church, to make more useful for all that is good
and true, the greatest moral power with which we are now ac-
quainted.

But would to God that the only use of the press had been
to propagate what is good and true ! Unhappily, it has often been
used, and it is used extensively in our own days, to spread
broadcast both error and vice. It has been, indeed, a powerful
instrument for good. But it has been in too • many cases the
cause of eternal perdition. What we want is to get it within
the grasp of good men and women, just as Franklin did with
the lightnings of heaven. Until the time of Franklin, the light-
ning-flash was simply an instrument of destruction. He it was
who first chained that lightning, taught us how to prevent it
from doing us harm, and began that long series of experiments
which has made electricity man's docile servant. So, we would
take counsel together how to make the press a servant of human
virtue and happiness.

The Press is a giant in ink and paper and type. We wish
to subdue this giant in such a way that he will do least harm
and the most good.

I speak under correction if I am wrong. To my mind the
great majority of people read nothing from the day they leave
school until the day they die except newspapers, novels, and
secular magazines. To my mind, again I speak under correction,
this is, at least from one point of view, not a retrograde move-
ment. In former times people did not read at all. Now we
have come to the point where everybody reads at least a certain
amount of something. The work of the APOSTOLATE OF THE
Press is and will be to encourage and to provide literature that
is solid, literature that is good, literature that is true ; to induce
people to make use of this literature, and in this way to elevate
the popular morals to the highest possible plane ; to disseminate
Catholic truth in places where it is not rightly known ; and to
make it stronger and more practical in the hearts of those who
possess it already.

In studying how to do this, I have a few suggestions to
offer. First, I say to the members of the Convention, be large-
minded. Have an idea of the extent of the work of the APOS-
TOLATE OF THE Press and the good that it can accompHsli.

The Apostolate of the Press. 19

Just think of our immense daily papers, often containing more
matter than a large book, gotten up within a few hours, sold for
two or three cents, although one single edition costs a fortune,
and the proprietors realizing fortunes themselves from the re-
turns.

Is there no lesson for us in this ? You will say it is impossi-
ble to do this with Catholic literature. Well, everybody told
those who started the daily newspapers on the lines on which
they are now conducted that the enterprise was not only an im-
possibility, but was preposterous and absurd. Be courageous,
therefore. You have to discuss the means by which great en-
terprises can be accomplished. Remember that if the dif^culties
are great the possibilities are immense, and that if we Catholics
use them to the best advantage we can do an incalculable good.

Secondly, be fair. You will be told many times, because it
is a fact, that Catholic books are dear ; that Catholic newspapers
are edited and conducted with too much financial trepidation ;
that not enough money is spent upon them to make them com-
pare with the daily papers in point of either dress or literary
merit. But be fair ! The future will bring forth cheap, good
Catholic books and newspapers, of tvhich every Catholic heart
will be proud. But cast no act, no word of aspersion on those
who have gone before you, sowing in tears that you may reap
in joy. The Catholic people, the Catholic bishops and priests in
this country, have, to a great extent, been in the position of
poor laboring men, working for their daily bread. They have
had to provide the absolute necessaries of spiritual life ; to look
after the building of churches, of schools, of seminaries, in order
that the seed might be planted for a great and glorious harvest.
And those who at great sacrifice, with the certainty of poverty
as the result of their toil, have been brave enough to walk into
the fields of our literature, to publish books, to write books, to
edit newspapers and magazines — brethren, such men are deserv-
ing of all the honor, of all the praise that human hearts can
give to those who have deliberately martyred themselves for the
propagation of a great cause.

I have said be large-minded in your ideas, be fair. I have
one word more to say, and I hope to make it clear by an ex-
ample. Years ago, when the idea of secession was first broached
in these United States, a great state dinner was given in Wash-
ington. Towards its end the President of the United States, I
think it was Andrew Jackson, arose and proposed a toast. He
said : " Gentlemen, I propose to you the Union ! It must and it

20 The Apostolate of the Press.

shall be preserved." There was great cheering from parts of
the hall and hisses from others. A gentleman with contrary-
views arose and proposed another toast. He said : *' Gentlemen,
I give you the sentiment — Liberty ! Dearer far than union."
There was great confusion among the guests for a moment. Then
arose Daniel Webster, and he gave the sentiment which we read
upon the base of his statue in Central Park to-day. He said :
^* Gentlemen, I propose to you this sentiment — Liberty and union,
now and for ever, one and inseparable." The cheers that rent the
hall were like the roar of a battery of artillery. He proposed
an idea, or a combination of ideas, which were and are of the
greatest possible advantage for all the country, and which I
would offer to the members of this Convention as best calculated
to help their work. You want union. In union alone there is
strength. The State of New York, if she existed by herself as an
independent power, would be of very little importance ; but as
an integral part of the United States she has a voice in shaping
the destinies of the world. You want union ; you want to work
together ; you need good will from every side. But at the
same time leave absolute liberty to all good men and women.
Do not in the least interfere with the working of the great
principle of Home Rule. Whatever organizations may be formed,
not by this Convention (for it proposes to form none), but as
the result of it, let those two ideas remain always together.
Union you want in the sense of having mutual love, mutual en-
couragement, mutual assistance wherever it may be required.
Leave every portion of the country, leave different parts of the
community, entirely free to choose their own methods. You will
thus secure the co-operation of many minds ; you will gain
friends that could not otherwise be obtained, and you will pro-
vide the best of human means for your success.

I said in the beginning that there is a poetic fitness in hold-
ing this Convention in the Church and under the patronage of
the great Apostle* St. Paul. It is beautiful, too, that it is held
on this Feast of the Epiphany, the day when our Lord first
caused his light to shine on the Gentiles. I know that every
one will pray earnestly that the beginnings of this work may be
as wisely led as were the three kings of old ; that it may spread
and grow under God's protecting providence, in harmony, in
peace, in love, in total devotion to the cause of whatever is
true and good, and that its success may be such as to bring
the light of faith and the warmth of charity to every heart in
our country.

PAPERS AND LET^TPERS

Read at the Convention.

THE ATTITUDE OF THE EDUCATED PROTESTANT
MIND TOWARD CATHOLIC TRUTH.

BY PROF. W. C. ROBINSON, OF YALE UNIVERSITY.

The conclusions hereinafter stated are based in part upon
the following items of personal experience :

My youth and early manhood were spent entirely among
Protestants. All my adult relatives and nearly all my neigh-
bors were members of the Methodist, Baptist, Congregational,
or Episcopal churches. They were a devout, prayerful people,
diligent in searching the Scriptures and in teaching its pre-
cepts to their children, rigorous in their adherence to the
standards of Christian morality, earnest in every good word and
work. A few of them still survive. Those who have died de-
parted this life in joyful, submission to the will of God, and
looking for salvation through the merits of their Lord and
Saviour, Jesus Christ. Since I became a Catholic (now nearly
thirty years ago) I have lived in constant and intimate associa-
tion with non-Catholic authors, teachers, clergymen, and lawyers :
the men who form the public opinion of the day on social,
ethical, and religious questions, and indirectly on political ques-
tions also. Many of these are active members of the Protes-
tant churches ; a large proportion of the rest are religiously dis-
posed— in will, if not in intellect and profession, submitting
themselves to the guidance of Christian law and doctrine. Of
most of them I do not hesitate to say that they are sincere,
upright, and conscientious men, who, so far as they perceive and
comprehend it, are loyal to the truth and ready to make what-
ever personal sacrifice such loyalty may entail. Of the Catholic
Church they know comparatively nothing. Her external history,
as an organized society, they perhaps to some extent discern,
but of her inner life, her doctrinal teachings, her moral rule
and discipline, they have as yet not even a remote conception.
Their antagonism to her, as a church, is negative rather than

22 The Apostolate of the Press.

positive, resulting from that false idea of her purposes and
methods which was transmitted to them by their ancestors, but
which they ever show themselves ready to abandon when its
falsehood is discovered. Their personal attitude towards those
Catholics who are true to their religion, whatever be their race
or social standing, is almost always generous and friendly.

I. — Confining that which follows to the class of persons thus
described, I maintain, in the first place, that what they need
from us is knowledge and not argument.

Divine truth bears such a relation to the human soul, illu-
minated by the light which lighteth every man that is born
into the world, that whenever the truth is clearly perceived the
soul inclines toward it, and unless hindered by a perverse will
accepts and believes it. As the body does not reject the food
created for and adapted to its sustenance by the providence of
God ; as the mind does not refuse the knowledge of exterior
facts communicated to it by the organs of sensation ; so neither
does the soul of any man of good will repudiate a divine truth
which it has once fully apprehended. To persons thus disposed
the exact and intelligible statement of a truth is in itself a
demonstration. Proof of its divine origin, or of the divine
authority of its proclaimer, is not indispensable to its accep-
tance. The truth affirms itself to the- soul as light does to the
eye or music to the ear. So far as argument tends to explain
the truth it is merely another form of statement, and may be
serviceable ; but when it passes beyond this and becomes an
effort to compel conviction, however sound and impregnable it
may be in itself, it rouses an antagonism in the will which is
inconsistent with clear spiritual vision, and creates side issues by
which the truth presented is often hopelessly obscured. Every
one who has engaged in, or has witnessed, religious controversy
must have been painfully impressed with its futility, if not with
the actual hindrances it presents to the reception of the truth.
And, on the other hand, no one who has observed the instant,
spontaneous adhesion of the candid mind to truth clearly and
completely stated, can doubt by what method assent to it is
most readily obtained. To illustrate my position, I may be
pardoned for narrating an incident which occurred within my
own experience. Some twenty years ago a devout old Metho-
dist woman, expostulating with me on account of my belief in
various articles of Catholic faith, made her last and strongest at-
tack upon the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of the

The Apostolate of the Press. 23

Blessed Virgin. " No reasonable man, above all no Christian
man," said she, " could believe such idolatrous nonsense as that."
" What do you mean by the Immaculate Conception ? " said I.
To which she gave an answer ludicrous enough to Catholic ears,
but which would probably be the reply of nearly every Protes-
tant in the world. " Listen a moment," said I, when she had
finished ; and I then explained to her, as simply as I could,
what the church teaches on the subject. As I went on the as-
pect of her face changed, her eyes — filled with tears — lifted
themselves toward heaven, and as I stopped she said, speak-
ing to herself rather than to me, " How could it be otherwise ?
How could it be otherwise ? " Numerous instances, similar to
this, lie along the path of every intelligent Catholic who comes
intimately into contact with the earnest, conscientious multitudes
around us, and forces upon his mind the conviction that their
great need is light and knowledge, and that the duty of the
church toward them in their present condition is to place before
them a correct and complete statement of her doctrines, in lan-
guage so simple and intelligible that they cannot fail to under-
stand. The day is passed when attacks on so-called " Protes-
tant errors " can serve any useful purpose. It is time to recog-
nize, practically as well as theoretically, that the honest adhesion
of the human soul to error is a manifestation of its disposition
to adhere to the truth, and that the error is " never accepted
for its own sake, but because it is fortuitously associated with
an apprehended truth." Earnestness in seeking, fidelity in pro-
fessing, zeal in promulgating any religious doctrine are thus the
strongest possible evidences of that good-will toward the truth
which renders its acceptance inevitable when once it is per-
ceived ; and of these evidences the Protestant world is full to
overflowing. To define the truth which they already possess, to
extricate it from the errors by which it is obscured, to add to
it those other truths which at once interpret and complete their
doctrinal systems, and thus presenj: to them divine truth whole
and entire, as God has revealed it for the illumination of the
human soul, for the solution of all its doubts, for the inspiration
of all its energies, and for the perfecting of its knowledge of
the Infinitely Good and Beautiful and True, this is the work
which through the pulpit or the press (but under present cir-
cumstances principally through the press) the Catholic Church
must do if it would gather in this wonderful and precious har-
vest of loyal, loving souls.

24 The Apostolate of the Press.

II. — I have said that what the church owes to the sincere
souls that are without is the correct and complete statement
of her doctrines in language so simple and intelligible that they
cannot fail to understand. I wish to emphasize both members
of this sentence.

Any statement of Catholic truth, to be really serviceable to
the people I describe, must be not only correct but complete.
The doctrines of religion are not isolated truths, each indepen-
dent of the others and capable of comprehension separately from
them. On the contrary, they form a system or body of truth,
in which each element is so related to the others as to be not
merely incomplete but unintelligible without them. As there is
not an organ in the human body, however concealed or insignifi-
cant, whose anatomical and physiological character can be com-
prehended without a knowledge of all the other organs and of
their co-operation with it, so does each proposition of divine
truth receive its definition and interpretation from the others,
and is truly known only when they are also understood. Who,
for example, can apprehend the doctrines underlying the sacra-
ment of baptism, or the distinction between heaven and hell,
unless he has a prior acquaintance with the doctrines of original
sin, or attain this without a previous knowledge of the relations
between God and man both in nature and in grace ? Here
seems to me to lie the main cause of that almost universal igno-
rance, among otherwise well-informed Protestants, concerning the
inner life, the teachings, and the discipline of the Catholic
Church. The Catholic truths with which they have already come
in contact are fragmentary, detached from their proper setting,
unexplained by their necessary antecedents, and consequently
they have neither been presented to them nor rejected by them
in their Catholic sense. Their hostility to the church, such as it
is, is based upon the misconceptions thus engendered, and in
their warfare against her they are constantly fighting " men of
straw," figments of discipline, and dogma which have no exist-
ence in her creed or moral law, or anywhere else except in the
erroneous constructions they have ignorantly put upon her
words. The removal of this ignorance requires a statement of
the entire body of Catholic truth, including not merely every
doctrine which is matter of faith, but also such as are of general
recognition in the church, and such propositions of philosophy
as must be present in the mind before the definitions and con-
clusions of theology can be understood. Nothing less than a
statement of this character can, in my judgment, rneet the cur-

The Apostolate of the Press. 25

rent emergency. Numberless are the uses of sermons, tracts,
magazine articles, and other forms of limited and fugitive dis-
cussion, but none of them can ever answer this purpose. Not
until the candid inquirer has within his reach, in a single vol-
ume, a succinct but nevertheless complete exposition of the truth
as taught by the Catholic Church can he be expected fully to
perceive any truth, or to yield that assent which the compre-
hension of the truth compels ?

III. — Moreover the statement of the truth must be so simple
and intelligible that they cannot fail to understand. A second
difificulty encountered in communicating to Protestants a know-
ledge of Catholic truth, not so important as the former but still
of serious moment, arises from their unfamiliarity with Catholic
terminology, and from the equal want of knowledge of Protestant
modes of speech on the part of Catholic writers. Two worlds
of thought more different from each other than those in which
Catholics and Protestants habitually dwell, can hardly be imagined ;
and one who has not lived in both, however skilful in the use
of language, can rarely make the conceptions of the one intelli-
gible to the other. How often does it happen that for lack of
this mutual understanding of each other authors and teachers
appear to disagree, while to one who comprehends the true
meaning of both, their convictions are evidently the same. Not
long since I was present at the reading of a paper on a Catho
lie doctrine by a distinguished scholar of the church before a
learned society mainly composed of Protestants, The reading
was followed by a discussion, in which the positions taken in the
paper were attacked and defended. But it was a conflict of
words only. The Protestant auditors gave to the terms used by
the Catholic scholar interpretations which from his point of view
they did not bear, and thus were led to dispute propositions
which had they understood them in his sense they would have
willingly endorsed. This difificulty must be overcome in any
statement of Catholic truth for the information of Protestants or
the statement itself may prove worse than useless. They cannot
be expected to recognize this danger in advance and prepare
themselves for the reading of our literature by a study of our
peculiar vocabulary. Catholic teachers and writers must use
words in the Protestant sense, and must learn to announce Catho-
lic truths in terms which convey the exact conception of such
truths to Protestant minds, or all efforts in the direction of their

26 The Apostolate of the Press.

enlightenment will be in vain. In the statement of Catholic
truth, whose desirability I have discussed, such an adaptation of
language to the requirements of the reader would be supremely
necessary. Every idea, however fundamental and however gen-
erally entertained, should be so expressed that its precise char-
acter and scope can never thereafter be in question. The mem-
bers of every proposition, and also the proposition as a whole,
should be incapable of a double meaning, and bear only that inter-
pretation which the Protestant reader will naturally place upon its
words. Each proposition should lead up to its successor according
to the Protestant order of thought, so different in many respects
from the Catholic one, and should leave behind it no proper interro-
gatory of the soul unanswered, no legitimate doubt unsolved. The
preparation for a work like this involves a vast amount of labor ;
the work itself has perhaps no parallel in the past. But when
did ever such a harvest await the reaper? When was there ever
a people who needed Catholic truth so much. When was there
ever a people whom the Catholic Church so much needed ? For
the conversion of Anglo-Saxon Protestants is the conversion of
the world.

IV. — Such a statement of Catholic truth as I have described
should be the utterance of the church herself and not of any
private individual. No man can judge of his own qualifications
for the task, nor were he qualified ought the tongue with which he
speaks to be one of personal authority alone. Of private views
on religious topics the Protestant mind is sick from very satiety,
and for this reason many are on every side turning away from
abstract truth to the concrete life around them, and seeking in
external works of charity that rest and salvation to which in the
interior life they find no clue. For any individual, acting on his
own authority, to place before them an outline of Catholic truth
would but add, for many of them at least, another to the jarring
voices by which their spiritual ears have been so long confused.
But when the church speaks, she will not speak in vain. If the
American hierarchy, either by a committee appointed for that
purpose or through some prelate whose piety, learning, and ec-
clesiastical eminence make him the fitting representative and
mouth-piece of his colleagues, thus proclaims the truth, it will
not go unheard or unaccepted. The eagerness with which some
publications, in this general direction, have been received already
is evidence enough of what a welcome is in store for the mes-

The Apostolate of the Press. 27

sage which shall unlock the doors of all the mysteries of the
truth, and make the whole and entire gospel of our Lord and
Saviour intelligible to the waiting mind.

V. — It may seem a descent from the dignity of my subject
to introduce here a suggestion as to the material form in which
Catholic truth should be presented to our non-Catholic brethren ;
but things that are trifles in themselves are often important in
their consequences. Protestants are accustomed to buy books of
all classes, religious and secular, well-printed on good paper and
well-bound, for comparatively small sums of money. If Catholic
literature is to attract their attention, especially if it is at all to
obtain their patronage, it must possess the same attributes. The
publication of the volume, whose preparation I have advocated,
with poor type, cheap paper, and shabby binding would deprive
it of a large proportion of its value for the missionary work for
which it was designed. Even if it were distributed gratuitously
it would probably in most cases go unread, and few would seek
in its forbidding pages for the truths therein concealed. What-
ever excuse there may have been for it in the past, there is no
sufificient reason at the present day why Catholic books should
not vie with others of the same general class in legibility, dura-
bility, and cheapness.

VI. — In closing, I desire to say a few words on the methods
by which Catholic books may be brought within the reach of
Protestants. The degree to which they are accessible to them
to-day is exceedingly limited. For twenty-five years I have lived
in one of our large university towns, having a population of over
seventy-five thousand persons, of whom at least one-third are
Catholics. It is a town full of intellectual life, with a most liberal
and friendly spirit toward the church and her members, and a
strong disposition to co-operate with her in all her works of
charity and education. But there is not now, and there never
has been, a place within its borders where Catholic books, in any
variety, could be found. In a few news-ofifices and similar es-
tablishments the ordinary prayer-books and a small selection of de-
votional manuals are kept, but neither on the shelves of its
bookstores nor anywhere else does Catholic literature invite in-
spection and seek its purchasers and readers. And there is no
prospect that, under present methods, it will ever do so. Small
dealers are unable, large dealers are unwilling, to carry an ex-
pensive stock which may not be readily salable, and if we are to

28 The Apostolate of the Press.

wait till either Protestants or Catholics become such constant and
liberal buyers of our books as to warrant these investments by local
dealers, many a day must pass before these books are much
more accessible than now. This subject has long occupied my
thoughts, but no better measure than the following has ever oc-
curred to me. The church in this country should have a pub-
lishing house of its own, established and controlled by the Ameri-
can hierarchy, which would be the equivalent in most respects of
the Methodist Book Concern, or the denominational Sunday-
School Unions. It should be under the practical direction of a
body of ecclesiastical and lay managers. It should confine its
publications to missionary books and Sunday-school material. It
should have capital enough to be able to place its publications
on sale on commission in every part of the country, and within
reach of every considerable body of readers. The amount of
good to be accomplished by this method is incalculable. I have
no doubt that if for the past twenty years there had been kept
in one of the great bookstores of my own city an assortment of
one hundred Catholic religious works, in attractive styles and at
reasonable prices, their sales would ere this have been counted
by many thousands, and the knowledge of Catholic truth among
my fellow-citizens have been correspondingly increased.

If this Convention does no other work than to set on foot an
enterprise like this, the most sanguine hopes of its reverend and
beloved promoter will eventually be more than realized.

The Apostolate of the Press. 29

THE PRESS AND OLD-FASHIONED PROTESTANTS.

BY RICHARD MALCOLM JOHNSTON, OF BALTIMORE, MD.

None so well as converts know what piety, integrity, and
courage obtain among those who are not Catholics. In the
Southern States, where Protestantism as a creed is perhaps
more firmly set than in any other region in the Union, there al-
ways have been, in the opinion of the writer, standards of per-
sonal accountability as high as anywhere else. Not a fiftieth,
perhaps not a hundredth part of the population in rural dis-
tricts, until within the period of a few years last gone, ever saw
either a Catholic church or a Catholic priest. Vast numbers
have never seen them yet. This population have been mainly
Baptist and Methodist. Generations have come and gone, prac-
tising while in life the teachings of these denominations, and
dying in humble hope of eternal life. Not very many men, al-
most no women, failed to attach themselves to what they entire-
ly believed a fully authorized religious communion. Among their
clergy have been many devout preachers, some with powers of
eloquence really wonderful. If excusable invincibility ever ex-
isted among a true-hearted people, it has been among the Pro-
testants of the South, whom, in the conditions of their life, it
was not possible for acquaintance with Catholic faith to reach.
Dogmatical controversy existed (less of late years than formerly),
but it was spent almost wholly on the discussion of differing
and hostile Protestant tenets. The pope was so far away and
was so universally admitted to be both Antichrist and the
Woman of Babylon, that it seemed a mere waste of ammunition
to war against such an adversary. Predestination or free grace,
open communion or close communion, baptism by immersion or
otherwise, these and other such were the issues for theological
discussion. Agnosticism was not in existence, and scarcely any
other form of infidelity. In this while, counsellings to the lead-
ing of pious lives and warnings against the practice of evil-doing
of every sort were preached from pulpits with unction, persua-
siveness, and power that seldom have been surpassed in the
whole world. Fifty years ago, far more common than now was
the habit of holding family prayers. At night a hymn was sung,
a chapter from the Bible was read ; then was said, all on bended

30 The Apostolate of the Press.

knees, a prayer in which pardon and blessing were humbly be-
sought of Heaven by worshippers who had never a doubt that
their own forms of rendering devotion, if made in becoming
spirit, were such as Heaven would be well pleased withal. A
convert whose childhood and youth were spent amid such scenes
must recall them with respect and fondness, which the utmost
confidence in his changed opinions, and unmixed gratitude for
their possession, cannot subdue.

In these communities the Catholic Church was seldom alluded
to. Compassion was felt, and now and then expressed in words,
for the ignorance and credulity of an occasional poor Irishman
who came among them to work with spade and shovel or mat-
tock, and was foolish enough, a hard-working man, to abstain
from meat on Fridays, although easily persuaded to take, on
that and other days, more grog than was good for him. They
honestly believed that the Catholic faith was a superstition and
an idolatry, known to be so by the leading prelates from the
pope down. What was more hurtful, they as honestly believed
that the Catholic Church was, ever had been, and ever would
be the friend and strongest supporter of despotic governments ;
that what it hated most was individual freedom ; that it ignored
and sought to cast for ever out the Bible ; that it not only pre-
tended to absolve from sin, but, for satisfactory consideration in
money, offered license to commit it, particularly in the case of
the powerful, without whose support it must break in pieces.
For the Catholics among their acquaintance who were cultured
and known to be upright in general deportment Southern Pro-
testants felt a pleasant, respectful compassion, wondering how
they could have been led to regard an aged recluse in Rome as
not only impeccable but all-wise. Freemen like themselves,
speaking as they did the language of freemen, indulging like
them in the enjoyment of the fruits of freedom, how, they asked,
can such men feel this strange regard for one shrivelled, wifeless,
childless old man thousands of miles away ? who does little else
but feed upon fat capons and costly wines, and hold out his toe
to be kissed by worshippers to whom, if he spoke his thoughts,
he would say, like the Veiled Prophet of Khorassan :

" Ye would be dupes and victims, and ye are."

For every sort of authority which they regarded as self-consti-
tuted, the hostility felt in the times of oppression and resistance
became disdain in the times of independence and peace. In
most of the States, after the Revolutionary War, official insignia

The Apostolate of the Press. 31

were stripped from magistrates of their own creation, because
they were reminders of a regime that had been overthrown.
Even Episcopalianism made almost no increase, because, although
Protestant, it was foreign, it was English. The late Stephen
Elliott, Bishop of Georgia, a man who in culture, manners, de-
voutness, charitableness, eloquence, and in all other qualities be-
coming a prelate had few superiors in the Church of England,
used in private, among his most thoughtful followers, to talk,
smiling and sighing the while, of the prejudice against his com-
munion among those who remembered the great Protestant doc-
trine of the Reformation, that the right of kings was divine. In
other pulpits, George Foster Pierce, a bishop of the Methodist
Church South, whose life, known to all, was as simple as that of
the poorest, and as innocent as that of the youngest in all his
diocese, who was perhaps the most eloquent preacher that the
whole South has ever produced, whenever (and this was not of-
ten) in controversial mood, poured ridicule upon a communion
which chose to occupy the ground half-way between Rome and
the rest of the world.

It is interesting to study the beneficent results which some-
times have followed movements, whether evil or apparently insig-
nificant. One which ^id much to dispel ignorance of what the
Catholic Church believes and teaches was that commonly styled
Know-nothingism, made at the disintegration of the Whig party
in the year 1855. Persecution of opinions of any sort has been
followed usually by reaction. In the human mind there seems
to be an appetency to persecute for opinion's sake. Yet there-
in the Creator has set upon a higher plane the sense and love of
justice. The most able, cultured, and thoughtful minds in the
South, while they knew little and cared no more for Catholicity,
were pained and offended by efforts to abridge the rights of
those who were among its adherents. To their assistance gener-
ous men went as they would have gone to that of any other
weakling writhing under pressure to which it was unequal. In
defence against assaults which, as it seemed, were meant to re-
duce and utterly exterminate, they must examine, with the help
of what lights could be obtained, charges suddenly and passion-
ately brought against it. Under the lead of such men as Wise
and Randolph Tucker in Virginia, of Romulus Saunders and
William Holden in North Carolina, of Hammond and Orr in
South Carolina, of Cobb and Stephens in Georgia, this party was
utterly overthrown, and it was not long before men of education
were ashamed to have been among its partisans.

32 The Apostolate of the Pj?ess.

In all this while it was found that many things which had
been taken for granted had no reasonable foundation in fact,
and Catholics were believed to be — no less, no more — good citi-
zens like others, with a religious faith that, if nothing better,
was at least harmless. The Know-nothing party did that much
for Catholicity. It subdued in fair-minded persons hostility ac-
knowledged to be aimless, and suggested thoughts that perhaps
its creed had not been made up of follies and absurdities as
much as had been supposed. People of the South wished for
Catholics, like themselves, to be let believe what they pleased,
and not be molested in whatever worship they had a mind to
pay to it.

The results of the partial investigations made in that notable
campaign by politicians, and for political ends, lead to the belief
that what the Catholic Church needs mostly for its more rapid
spread among Protestants, particularly those in the Southern States,
is whatever will lead most surely to understanding what the
Catholic Church is. These are able Catholic priests and good
Catholic books. Since the crusade of Know-nothingism, and since
the revolutions wrought by the war between the States, serious
minds in the South have been put in a condition very receptive
of truth in every form of its presentation. By the outside world
always they have been misunderstood ; therefore they have been
misrepresented. For both the misunderstanding and the misrep-
resentation they have cared, perhaps, too little. Existence in the
South has been always upon a plane higher than it was believed
and represented by outsiders to be. The South, feeling itself to
be both misunderstood and misrepresented, has been careless in
making known to the world either its ideas or its history.
Blamed (with especial acrimony by those who thrust it upon it)
for an institution of which it could not, without inhumanity, rid
itself, it lived until the Confederate War in the reserve which
seemed becoming its comparatively isolated existence. The few
Catholic priests who have lived and worked there, although for
the most part foreign born, knew well these things, and in the
time of trial sympathized with the troubles incident. to such en-
tire separation from the rest of mankind. Honorable, true-
hearted, devout men that they were, it is to be much regretted
that, with very few exceptions, in pulpit eloquence they could
not rank with leading Protestant divines. Indeed, if they had
been equally gifted it would not have seemed to them a hopeful
task to make aggressions upon beliefs which, even when not cor-
dially accepted by all, were regarded better than any which a

The Apostolate of the Press. 33

place so far away as Rome had to offer. People in that region,
feeling indeed that they were better than those who maligned
because they misunderstood them, wrapped themselves in the
pride inevitable to such a situation, and rejected what was foreign,
whether it was an item of politics or one of religion. They
were indifferent, too indifferent, to outside opinions. But there
was never a time when a Catholic priest could not preach in the
South without molestation. More than fifty years ago the posi-
tion of commencement orator at the University of Georgia was
occupied by Bishop England, when outside of Savannah and Au
gusta there were not a dozen educated Catholics, and not one
among the trustees, faculty, and friends of the institution. He
was invited because of his eminent fitness. The oration delivered
by him on the occasion, fortunately included in his published
works, is one of the very best of its kind. What might have
been if more of such men had lived in that region only Heaven
knows.

At the South within these last thirty years many changes
have been wrought both from without and within. Many things
which isolated it from the rest of mankind have been removed.
Its civil polity, which was no more unique than it was intent
upon fostering whatever was just and honorable and humane in
its existence, has been overthrown with a suddenness in some
respects appalling. Now there is no hindrance to the influx of
whatever may enter and settle there. In this revolution things
which were or which seemed to be narrow have been put aside, and
broadenings have come in, the scope and worth of whose in-
fluences only the Creator foresees. Among other changes is re-
ligious infidelity, not defiant and aggressive, but taking the more
modest form of Agnosticism, It seeks not, as elsewhere, to pro-
selytize. Contrariwise, it extends with sincerity congratulations
to those who can be content with lessons learned at mother's
knee. Its adherents own knees have ceased to be bowed, and
their minds have become no longer painfully concerned by what
they have come to believe vain — all attempts to "find out God."
Such defalcation of religious sentiment is due in part to the con-
tinued multiplication of new Protestant sects, discordances among
some not yet but threatening to become dissevered, the failures
from the absence of recognized authority to repress teachings
which majorities regard heretical, and dissatisfaction with some
dogmas once followed with confidence, but seeming fit to be-
come obsolete. It is sad that so many among Protestants, as
honest and unpretentious as any in this whole world, lay no
3

34 The Afostolate of the Press.

claim to a definite religious faith of any sort, and believe, yet
with some misgiving, in immortality. Faithfully practising what
they understand to be the duties of individuals and citizens,
they in many cases count, like the Romans of old, upon endless
sleep after death, or a new life in which will be no unhappy re-
collections of the old. In the South are thousands in whom are
placed the best hopes for overcoming disasters wrought upon
political, social, and domestic conditions, yet who either attend
no public religious exercises even on Sundays, or they do so out
of respect for general opinion, or in accommodation to the wishes
of their own families and friends. Fortunate it is that among
understandings less cultured there is yet an abiding faith that
Christ is God. Fortunate also that among women of all degrees
seldom the doubts that beset men have an abiding place. They
regret, if they do not mourn, changes which keep so many of
their most gifted youth from seminaries, as the oldest among
them note the decline in pulpit fervor and eloquence. Their con-
cern is less that those who are dearest may forsake one for other
forms of faith, than that they will come to believe none. Many
of them of both sexes listen, now no longer with surprise or
pain, to what Catholic converts, in answer to their questionings,
have to say about a faith which has brought so many ineffably
sweet consolations, and to the assurance that they have been led
out of aimless, uncertain wanderings, and put under guidance
which, by the promise of our Lord, will continue to lead them
till the end of their days.

In all these things there is a sign to be read. Therefore it
seems to this writer to have been wise and prudent in those who
began the movement of the APOSTOLATE OF THE Press. In ex-
isting conditions books, and books alone, may reach far among
the Protestants of the South. Preaching of Catholic doctrines,
to be eminently effective, must come from priests who, like other
preachers, were born and reared therein, sons of those who were
and who are not ashamed but proud of the antecedents in the
South's history, priests who will understand not only the evident
places of attack but those which, appearing to be strong, are.
weak, which would be strengthened at the signs of violent assault,
but which, approached by strategy consisting mainly of sympa-
thy and delicacy, could be overcome. In the South there is
much need of good Catholic literature. Dwellers therein were,
in the foretime, more an acting than a writing or a reading
people. Revolution has changed all this. For the first time,
while they continue striving to exert all their powers in crippled

The Apostolate of the Press. 35

conditions, they have come forth out of much of their own and
inherited experience and been thrown face-to-face with the
world. Loving its history with a love that never can be lessened,
the South looks out for whatever importation is suited to changed
aspirations and endeavors. Ideas, whether presented by publicists
or politicians, by teachers of political economy or religious dog-
mas different from those in which they were reared, the Southern
people are in the frame to consider with calmness and without
prejudice. About the Catholic Church as yet they know little.
It is wonderful how many intelligent Protestants do not compre-
hend what is meant by the dogmas of Papal Infallibility 2,x\6i the
Ininiaailate Conception. Converts are sometimes asked by most
gifted persons what is meant by the Mass. Many believe that
women as well as men make up the Society of fesiis. Yet the
old-time horror for Catholic dogmas is fast passing away. Re-
cent proofs, often accompanied by admissions of falseness in much
of anti-Catholic historical writing, have caused in many, very
many, earnest minds hostility to give way to friendly inquiry,
sometimes to profound anxiety. None have doubts now that a
Catholic may be as much a patriot and a gentleman as other
people. Thousands and thousands not only say prayers for the
souls of their dead, but are thankful when their Catholic friends
and sympathizers do likewise.

In all these turnings away from old ideas there is a sign jof
existing receptivity to Catholic truth. This will be quickened
much by the means about to be adopted by the APOSTOLATE
OF THE Press.

36 The Apostolate of the Press.

THE MISSIONARY OUTLOOK IN NEW ENGLAND.

EY GEORGE PARSONS LATHROP, OF NEW LONDON, CONN.

It has been said that CathoHcs and Protestants Hve in two
different worlds ; and this, as you all know, is in some senses
true.

The world of clear, coherent faith ; of serene insight into the
supernatural and the divine ; and the world of mere opinion, of
individual private judgment which leads always to difference and
indifference, which professes to divorce belief from reason, and
ends too often in helpless, naked rationalism — these two worlds
of men certainly cannot be one and the same. Yet this fact
does not necessarily prevent us, who dwell in humble but direct
communion with him who is called " Wonderful," " God," " The
Prince of Peace," from coming directly into relation with those
— our neighbors, acquaintance, and friends^ — who dwell just over
the border, in that dazzling but somewhat befogged region which
may be termed the Debatable Land, or the Land of Endless
Debate.

In fact, we do meet and converse with them every day. We
trade and fraternize with them, and love them. We can under-
stand perfectly all that they tliink and feel. But they cannot
understand us. There's the pity ! And there, too, is the .prob-
lem. How shall we lead them to understand us and the simple
yet sublime truth to which we are loyal ?

At this mere question, as though by a word of 'magic incan-
tation, the barriers between the two worlds of thought arise and
interpose themselves like a solid wall. The wall, however, is
only one of mist. It can be penetrated. I have been a Protes-
tant ; and now, happily for me, I am a Catholic ; that is, a
Christian in the true, uncompromising faith of Christ. Therefore
I know something about the two worlds, and a good deal about
the barriers between them.

It seems to me that the most practical thing I can do is to
give you very simply, in the light of my own observation, a few
instances of the way in which the non-Catholics of New England
regard Catholicity and its adherents.

In the first place, they are brought up with an indescribable
dread of it, which they imbibe in childhood, with their earliest

The Aposiolate of the Press. 37

associations, and before they are even conscious that it is being
instilled into them. This indescribable dread — when you come to
inquire and try to analyze it — turns out to be also indefinable.
It is like the hobgoblin of the nursery. Every one of the scared
nurslings is confident that the hobgoblin exists, and would like to
hurt them if he could ; but no one of them can explain just
zohat he is, or ivhy he should wish them harm. The terror of
these people has no logical beginning that even the most patient
search can trace ; and it always, when investigated, falls back
upon an absolute defiance of logic.

For example, I have a Congregational friend with whom for
years I had discussed every topic that came into our ken, ex-
haustively and with the freest comparison of views ; not at all
in the manner of dispute, but simply for the profit of candid in-
tellectual interchange. We had often spoken of religion, and
many times alluded to the Catholic Church, On this last subject
he appeared to have prejudices which I did not share ; and I
frequently told him so, giving him my reasons, although I did
not then dream that I should ever become a Catholic. When at
last I was received into the church, it was natural to suppose
that he would be the first and the most eager to obtain my
views on this as on all other matters ; and I told him I would
gladly answer any questions that might occur to him. But, on
this one topic, he promptly said : " No, we had better agree to
disagree. If I thought as you do, I should be where you are;
and if you thought as I do, you would be where I am." The
utter platitude and vacancy of that reply almost* paralyzed me.
" But," I said, " I know you have certain ideas about the Catho-
lic Church, which I never thought were correct, and now that I
am in the church I can show you and assure you that they
were entirely wrong." He answered : " Oh ! those who are inside
the church don't always know about it. Several converts in Eng-
land have just left the Catholic Church." His inference, of course,
was that, since they had abandoned it, tJiey were the ones who
really understood and knew all about it. But, since they had
been inside ; and since he held that those inside could not know
the truth concerning the church — how did it happen that these
particular apostates thoroughly knew the church, and were to be
trusted, while I, as a faithful convert, could not know what I
was talking about ?

If I had retorted upon him with his own style of argument,
I would have said this : " You declare that members of a re-
ligious organization — for example, the Catholic Church — do not

38 Tim Apostolate of the Press.

really know what that organization is, what it means, and what
it aims at. You are a member of a religious organization called
the Congregational Church : therefore you do not necessarily
know what it means. You assume that those who secede from
the Catholic Church are the only Catholics who understand that
church. Therefore you, who are now a Congregationalist, do not
understand your own church ; but, if you seceded from it,
you would then understand it. Hence, no one understands any
church, unless he is outside of it."

He would have been convicted by his own absurdity. Yet it
is just this sort of absurdity that we have to encounter. To this
same friend I remarked, later on, that he had conspicuously
avoided talking with me about my faith. He replied : " Oh !
you may speak freely about it." I answered : " Very well. But
it isn't likely that I am going to sit down and expound it all to
you without inquiry from you. You have always wanted to
know what I thought about every other thing. But on this you
seem wholly indifferent." And then he said : " Oh, I never
want to talk with a man after he has made up his mind ! "

So, then, the conclusion would be that there is no use in an
interchange of views when a man has any settled and definite
views to express. According to this, the Protestant ideal would
be a state of perpetual indecision ; a state that might be de-
scribed as general mindlessness, or Universal Absence of Mind,

And yet this friend is a very bright man in all other ways ;
a man in active business, who is also an author. If I were a
Buddhist, or a Mahometan, or a Mormon, he would be intensely
desirous to hear what I might say in explanation of my tenets.
As I am only a Catholic Christian, he throws reason and logic
to the winds, in his anxiety to escape the possibility of talking
with me about my faith ; although he is still perfectly ready
to converse on any other subject under heaven, without let or
hindrance.

In this case, though, as in many others, I recognize a tacit
admission of the intense, overwhelming power of Christ's teaching
as embodied and presented by his holy Catholic Church to-day.
The general Protestant fear of the church is inherited and tradi-
tional, based on long-continued misrepresentation and prejudice.
But in the individual Protestant or non-Catholic that fear is
especially the dread of a vast idea, an infinite truth which — if they
permit themselves to look into it — may engulf them in its im-
mensity. They recoil at the mere chance of surrendering their
small individuality to this immensity of the eternal.

The Apostolate of the Press. 39

It seems to be as hard for them to acknowledge, sincerely
and thoroughly in their hearts, their exact relation to it, as it
would be for them to jump off from the edge of the earth.
There is a mental attraction of gravitation which holds them
down. Yet in recognizing the vast truths of astronomy they sur-
render themselves willingly to the infinite of space. They admit
that the whole solar system is visibly progressing through space
towards some goal that no one is able to sight by the human
eye, or by the telescope, or by private judgment. All this, they
concede, is going on according to one great principle, one fixed
order of logic and law. Yet when it comes to consideration of
the moral and spiritual infinite, which also moves toward a great
unseen goal, they cannot bring themselves to admit the same
fixity of law and supremacy in one all-embracing truth of re-
ligion. In this department — or rather, in this aspect — of the uni-
verse, they would persuade themselves, the truth — i.e., the princi-
ple of things — need no longer be single and unvarying, but may
be several and changeable according as it is interpreted by dif-
ferent men and groups. It is this inconsistency of theirs that we
must first gently m.ake plain to them, before they can compre-
hend us or grasp Catholic verity. Meanwhile it will continue
one of the m.ost perplexing among barriers, because by its very
nature it obliges them to shift ground constantly, and try to es-
cape from logic by a variety of excuses or side-issues. Neverthe-
less, the non-Catholic dread is, at bottom, an admission that Holy
Church is the earthly representation or portal of the Divine infinite.

It has also happened to Mrs. Lathrop and myself that Pro-
testant friends, and even simple acquaintances, who never broached
the subject before, have written to us — since we became Catho-
lics— asking us to pray for their dead ; their departed kindred.
Of course they would not dream of petitioning for such prayers
in their own churches and denominations. Others have sent to
ask our prayers for some member of a family undergoing illness
or surgical operations involving great danger. In all the years
that we w^ere outside of the church they never made such a re-
quest, although they were as sure of our friendship then as
they are now.

This is another and touching evidence of the fact that Pro-
testants feel, if they do not perceive, some peculiar virtue in
the Catholic Church. They turn to it instinctively, in these
cases, as meeting the needs of the heart and soul with a su-
preme efficacy not found in their own organizations ; a power
that they may oppose, yet inwardly realize.

40 The Apostolate of the Press.

A Presbyterian teacher of high standing, intellectual, accom-
plished, and of considerable renown, said to me heartily that, in
becoming a Catholic, I had taken the noblest and truest attitude
a man could take, and that he wished he could do the same. A
friend who has suffered much told me that he often went into
the Catholic Church — as it was open every day in the week — and
simply sat there meditating. He knew nothing of Catholic prayers
and could not pray ; but he always came out feeling purer, bet-
ter, and stronger. A lady of Puritan descent wrote to us that
the Catholic Church was the only one she could ever join ; yet
that, if she ever found herself inclining that way, she would in-
stantly buy and read all the books against the Catholic Church
that she could obtain. This was another form of tribute to the
strength of Catholicity. So, too, was that of a most distinguished
scientific man who said to me that for a year in his yowth he
had gone to early Mass every day, without ever inquiring or
learning anything about the service and sacrifice, but simply
because it made him feel "good." He now — still omitting to in-
quire— scoffs mildly at the church ; but, with a large experience
of Protestant denominations and pastors, he says : " I have known
lots of Catholic priests, and they are the best men I ever knew."

If we look for negative or passive tributes, what better could
we ask than these ?

They show that the New England mind, the Yankee mind,
is in search of a religious truth which it has not yet found. It
gropes ; it dimly guesses at a revelation from God, present in
the world to-day, which it has not been able to lay hold of in
evangelical bodies. The New England mind is ripe for the di-
vine truth set forth by the true church ; yet it is clouded by
mists of prejudice, indifference, and careless custom.

Now, the parish priest cannot possibly, with his multifarious
duties, go forth and attend to the needs of non-Catholics. Of
course the church building is open to them as to all. They may
come there and try to learn and try to worship. But, while the
temple is crowded with the faithful, the others come rarely or
by accident, and do not even understand the simple, holy rite
when they do come.

I would suggest that in every parish there should be a
small, efficient organization of laymen, who could take charge
of the business of explaining Catholicity whenever it is publicly
misinterpreted. A local Truth Society would fill the bill ; and
in our parish we have begun to talk of forming one, or a Co-
lumbian Reading Circle, or both. Now, the main practical diffi-

The ArosTOLATE of the Pj^ess. 41

culties jof non-Catholics, even when they are convinced of our
consistency and that our logic is impregnable, seem to be these
two bugbears : That the church wishes to overthrow or unfairly
capture the public schools, and that it seeks to subvert Ameri-
can institutions.

Millions of Catholics contribute to the support of the public
schools under an un-American system of taxation almost with-
out representation, since they are so little represented on the
school boards, and still show their sincerity by voluntarily main-
taining schools of their own, besides. Catholics were the first
settlers in this country, the bringers of civilization. They were
loyal to the American Revolution when many, and perhaps
most, Episcopalians and Methodists were on the Tory side.
Many scores of thousands of Catholics have laid down their lives
in war for the upholding of American institutions and liberty.
Catholics are absolutely loyal to the Constitution, laws, govern-
ment, and spirit of this Republic to-day, and they prove it in
every way that it is possible to offer proof, by act and conduct.
Yet all this seems to count for nothing when the prejudices
above mentioned come into play. If so brilliant a man as
Gladstone in England could so misapprehend the Vatican de-
crees as to imagine they might sap the loyalty of Englishmen,
what are we to expect from the ignorant here ? It will not do
to dismiss them by saying that they are too dense to be en-
lightened. We must find a way to reach them, and to make
them see and know us as we actually are. Am I, whose ardent
and steady patriotism no one doubted before ; whose family, of
Puritan origin, has produced a line of evangelical ministers and
has been solidly American for two hundred and fifty-eight years
— am I at once transformed into a disloyal citizen when I be-
come a Catholic? An eminent man said to me: "You have
turned your back on your own countrymen." I replied : " No,
sir. I am now the best kind of American there is." And with
entire modesty — for the merit is not mine — I believe this to be
true.

For what can make a man so good a citizen as the religion
which teaches him the oneness of truth, fidelity to God, to his
country, to marriage, to conscience, and applies itself directly
every day to strengthening those forces which conserve or
purify society and exalt the soul ?

It is this that we must bring home to their minds.

And, while the circulation of books and documents is of im-
mense use, there are other means of reaching those who will

42 The Apostolate of the Press.

not read. Not long ago there came to New London one of
those scamps who make a living by sensational lectures malign-
ing all that is most sacred to Catholics. People who, all the
year round, would never come near us to ask for a plain, can-
did, intelligent explanation of Catholic faith and practice, flock-
ed to hear this deliberate falsifier. Such a lecture delivered
ao-ainst any other religious body would have caused a riot, and
the riot would have been generally excused by the nature of
the insult offered. As it was, we were all indignant and talked
of letters to the daily papers — both of which in New London
are owned or edited by Catholics — and of a public meeting. But
we feared possible disturbance or futile bitterness, and so we
remained silent. Now, a local committee of the sort suggested
could have held that meeting ; with calm, well-considered
speeches ; could have got the general public there ; had the thing
fully reported, and so, without hurting any one, could have ad-
ministered a crushingly gentle rebuke and let loose a great deal
of life-giving truth.

Still another point. Secular and national holidays belong
just as much to us as they do to all other Americans. Why
should not local committees of Catholic laymen call public meet-
ings to celebrate the Fourth of July, Thanksgiving Day, and
other fitting occasions, when their patriotism would be made
apparent along with the high, religious spirit that animates it }

I would have lay Catholics take the initiative in celebrating
the New England Forefathers' Day in such manner as to pay
tribute to the great merits of the Massachusetts Pilgrims, and at
the same time bring out the immense service of other settlers
of the United States, notably the Catholic founders of Mary-
land, who established there the complete sway of religious tole-
ration, while the founders of Massachusetts based theirJState on
intolerance. All this could be done in a friendly way, and would
be very instructive.

It would have been a great thing if Catholic laymen all over
the country had seized the 1891 anniversary of Columbus's land-
ing as a time for general celebration, and had emphasized the
fact that the discoverer of America planted the holy cross here
one hundred and twenty-eight years before the Pilgrims set foot
on Plymouth Rock.

The secular daily press would be a powerful agency for the
correction of misstatements, for the popular newspaper reaches
the eyes of many who would never consent to examine a Catho-
lic book or journal. But, while there are great numbers of

The Apostolate of the Press. 43

Catholics employed on the daily papers, they are not their own
masters. Under hostile editors they do not enjoy the reputed
American privilege of free speech. Everything they write is
carefully examined, sifted, and cut down where there is the
slightest chance that they may be saying anything which will
make the Catholic position clear and place Catholicity in a fair,
impartial light. In many newspaper of^ces it seems to be a
maxim that a man who believes nothing is a perfectly safe per-
son to entrust with Catholic matters. It is also held to be a
merit in any Protestant writer on the staff to do what he can
towards reporting and presenting Protestantism favorably ; but
for a Catholic to put his convictions into what he writes for the
daily columns, or to shed light upon the truth of his religion, is
treated as something in the nature of a conspiracy.

The chief organized w^ay in which you can use the secular
press now, is for local committees to prepare short letters to the
editor in due emergencies, and, when such letters are not ac-
cepted, pay for them at advertising rates. Many editors will
gladly publish them free.

Meantime, why should not this Convention go at the press in
the same way that other people do ? The first and best thing
would be for us here assembled to issue a short and simple ad-
dress to the press and public of the United States, asking them
for their attention and fair play. The American people are
honest and open-minded, and when once they realize that a
large number of their fellow-citizens are asking to be properly
heard and understood in this matter, they will not only hsten,
but will insist upon hearing more.

I know of one daily prayer that has gone up for months
past, that the mass of the American people should be led into
the one fold of the one Shepherd, the true Church. The call for
this Convention (of which I had previously heard nothing) came
like the beginning of the answer to that prayer. Why do I
pray that the American people should become Catholics ? Be-
cause it is their natural destiny. The best people on earth
ought to be loyal believers in the best religion. Catholic faith,
in my opinion, is the only force that can save our national
character and national greatness, already threatened by many
dangerous elements and tendencies, from the peril of disinte-
gration.

I, too, believe that the next century will see a tidal wave of
conversion sweeping the majority of our countrymen into the
Holy Cathohc Church. At this Epiphany season how shine the

44 The Apostolate of the Press.

words of Isaias : "Arise, be enlightened, O Jerusalem, for thy
Light is come " ! Those words the prophet uttered seven hun-
dred years before the incarnation of Christ, yet he saw the event
so clearly that he spoke of it as already present. We American
Catholics of to-day do not need a tithe of his prophetic power
to declare to our countrymen that their Light is come and will
presently bathe the land in splendor.

HOW TO DEAL WITH AGNOSTICS.

BY MERWIN M. SNELL, OF THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF
AMERICA, WASHINGTON, D. C.

In order to consider intelligently the question of " How to Deal
with Agnostics," it is first necessary to understand clearly what an
Agnostic is. The term is an elastic one, and may be variously
applied. It is taken from the Greek, in which it has the form
agnostos, and signifies " unknowing, unknown, unknowable."

Those who are outside the one, true, and universal religion
are divided into three camps : those who accept genuine divine
revelation, imperfectly comprehended ; those who pin their faith
to false revelations, and those who deny revelation altogether.
Those who repudiate divine revelation either believe it possible
for man to know without its aid all the mysteries of religion,
and may be called false Gnostics ; or they believe that little or
nothing can be known of religious truth, in which case they
may be grouped roughly as Agnostics. Their Agnosticism may be
confined to religion or it may extend to all natural knowledge
as well. In the latter case it is termed scepticism. Religious
Agnosticism takes two forms, a positive and a negative. The
positive Agnosticism asserts that the reason we can know nothing
of God or religion is because there is nothing to be known ;
this is materialism or atheism. The merely negative variety
contents itself with disclaiming for the race all religious know-
ledge. But even negative Agnosticism embraces several schools
of thought. It properly includes mildly theistic systems, such as
Deism, and several non-theistic systems, among which are Posi-
tivism and Agnosticism proper. It is the last-named sect which
is popularly known as Agnostic.

The name was coined by Professor Huxley, but the chief

The Apostolate of the Press. 45

exponent of the system is Mr. Herbert Spencer. Considered as
a religious sect, this form of Agnosticism is the cultus of the
Unknowable ; gonsidered as a philosophy, it is the substitution
of scientific generalization for the processes of metaphysics. It
tells us that we are surrounded on every hand by a region of
impenetrable mystery, before which we do well to bow in pro-
foundest reverence, but in which the enlightened reason can dis-
cover no object of devotion other than Obscurity itself. The
ultimate Cause, the essential natures of things, and all immaterial
orders of existence, if such exist, belong to the kingdom of the
for ever unknowable. One branch of the school, of which Mr.
G. J. Romanes is a leading representative, disclaims the position
that essences and first causes are for ever unknowable, con-
tenting itself with the assertion that they are thus far un-
known.

It is clear that in the topic assigned to me no reference was
intended to the manner of treating Agnostics in the walks of
daily life ; for I take it for granted that our relations with our
fellow-men are to be characterized by a uniform courtesy and
kindliness, without distinction of persons. It is recognized also
as imprudent for Catholics to enter into controversy with non-
Catholics unless they have the proper equipment for the contest.
The question which concerns us now I understand to be this:
" What attitude shall Catholic scholars take towards Agnosticism
in their efforts to defend and propagate our Holy Faith through
the instrumentalities of the Press and the platform ? " Truth may
be diffused either by instruction or by controversy, and should be
by both of these means. With instruction, in the sense of a
simple presentation of the truths of faith, this paper has nothing
to do ; for I classify under the head of controversy all writing
which is directed against any particular kind of error, whether
or not controversial in its form ; and religious instruction, as
such, is, after all, hardly the function of laymen.

There are two widely different polemic methods, both of
which have their time and place, but which commend themselves
particularly to very different classes of minds. Father Hecker
(Catholic World, April, 1887, " Dr. Brownson and Bishop Fitz-
patrick ") once referred to the two types, one the embodiment of
a purpose to refute error, and to refute it by condemnation
direct, authoritative even if argumentative ; the other type of man
would seek for truth amidst the error, establish its existence, ap-
plaud it, and endeavor to make it a basis for further truth, and
a fulcrum for the overthrow of the error connected with it."

46 The Apostolate of the Press.

One of these methods is the constructive, and consists essen-
tially in selecting as premises those truths which the system to
be combated contains, and leading from these to the other truths
of which its errors are the negation. In the second, or destruc-
tive, method the errors or negations of the false system are taken
as premises, and their logical consequences are shown to be too
monstrous to be entertained; which is true of the ultimate outcome
of all false premises in philosophy and religion. These methods
must be selected and used alone or conjointly, according to the
circumstances surrounding each particular case. As a general
rule, the constructive method will be found most efTficacious with
those in whose creeds the positive and veracious elements pre-
ponderate ; and the destructive with the adherents of systems in
which the advantage is on the side of the negative and menda-
cious elements.

It remains for me to indicate how these two methods may
be effectively applied in our controversy with Agnosticism. The
fundamental truth of Agnosticism is the inadequacy of man's
natural lights. It should be the aim of the constructive apol-
ogist to show that it is necessary for man's most sacred interests
to know the very things which the Agnostic claims to be un-
knowable ; and that, in fact, a revelation of them has been made.
In Agnostic phraseology, the Unknowable has made a
revelation of itself to man. The Agnostic may show that the
truths which Holy Church proclaims to the world are undis-
coverable by the processes of science or even of philosophy ; but
he can be safely challenged to prove that they are false or that
they are essentially unknowable. In order to assert the essen-
tial unknowability of anything, he must know its essential nature;
but this is the very knowledge which he expressly disclaims. It
is true, as he alleges, that supernatural truths are naturally un-
knowable ; it is also true, as Catholic theologians agree, that a
revelation is morally necessary even for the knowledge of natural
religious truths ; but it can be proven that a supernatural order
exists, and that a revelation of both the natural and super-
natural truths of religion has been made, a revelation of which the
teaching church is the minister.

Among the many arguments for revelation, I would call
your attention to two specially efficient ones, one a priori and the
other a posteriori. One demonstrates that it must be, the other
indicates that it is. An analysis of the grounds of certitude
shows that in the last resort we must depend upon the intrinsic
veracity of our own natures. . If our nature is not veracious, we

The ArosTOLATE of the Press. 47

have no ground for accepting even self-evident truths ; but if it
is, we cannot admit for a moment that there are in the human
breast 'any impulses or tendencies which do not point towards
some objective reality in which they find their true goal and
fulfilment. The, moral sense is meaningless if there be no im-
perative norm of duty ; the spiritual sense is meaningless if there
be no object and means of true worship. The illative sense and
the aesthetic sense reach out, likewise, towards a truth and beauty
far higher than is to be found within the realm which the
Agnostics concede to be knowable. The moral, illative, and
aesthetic senses are the powers by which the soul appreciates
goodness, and truth, and beauty ; and the spiritual sense is its
expansive impulse towards the supreme and Archetypal Good-
ness, Truth, and Beauty of Deity.

If the Deity is unknowable, or is knowable only as the great
First Cause, all these energies of the soul are without an ade-
quate end, and are delusive voices summoning us to the attain-
ment of the unattainable. That the illusory should be higher
than the real is inconceivable ; and that a veracious nature should
point us to what does not exist is impossible. If, then, it be
true that infinite goodness, truth, and beauty are unknowable by
science and philosophy, as the Agnostic says ; if, at least, the
means of union with the Eternal-Absolute are beyond the ken
of the unaided intellect and beyond the reach of the unaided
will, there must be a revelation of them, to make true the voices
which speak within the bosom of duty, of the ideal, of God,
and of immortal life and love.

The a posteriori argument for revelation is based upon the
fact that nearly every civilized or partially civilized nation of
which history contains any record has believed in some sort of
a revelation from the gods, to which is attributed all its bless-
ings. Every explanation of this phenomenon given by those who
deny the existence of revelation is ridiculously inadequate to ac-
count either for it, or for many of the concomitant facts con-
nected with the persistence and development of religions. The
Catholic Church, in particular, can be proven to be the true
guardian of revelation by the many remarkable peculiarities
which distinguish her from all other systems, and which show her
to be unmistakably of a supernatural or, at least, a more than
human origin. Among these peculiarities are her geographical
universality ; her exceptional claims to a divine teaching and ad-
ministrative authority over all mankind ; the definiteness and
clearness of her teachings ; her miraculous unity and consistency ;

48 The Apostolate of the Press.

her wonderful fecundity in devotion and organization ; and
the adaptedness of her innumerable modes of devotion and
of organized activity to all the needs and tastes of mankind, so
that every one can find in the church a much more satisfying
spiritual nourishment, and opportunities more suited to his own
peculiar tastes, dispositions and capacities, whatever they may be,
than he can possibly find outside of it. These and many other
features of the Catholic Church place it far above all other
religions which have ever existed, even in the imagination of
man. The Church is, in fact, itself a stupendous miracle, in the
presence of which all other wonders are as rushlights beside the
sun.

I have lately published, in the concise form of A Hjindred
Theses on the Foiitidations of Human Kfiowledge, a synopsis of the
line of demonstration of the divinity of the Church of which I
have here given a few hints. I may add that the publication was
determined partly by the great practical efficiency of the argu-
ment shown by a successful application of it in particular
cases.

Turning to the destructive line of argument, we find the
fundamental error of Agnosticism to be the negation of revela-
tion. To meet this negation by the critical method it is neces-
sary to challenge that assumption of the validity of reason and
observation which is the fundamental postulate of the system.
It is impossible for the Agnostics to justify their implicit confi-
dence in the natural powers of man, except by the recognition
of the veracity of our own natures, which leads inevitably to the
acceptance of the Catholic Church as the only justification and
basis of the religious and moral truths to whose existence the
grace-assisted nature of man testifies with an unfaltering voice. It
can be shown that Agnosticism, in its last analysis, abuts in
universal scepticism, which is too intolerable an absurdity to long
receive the adhesion of any healthy mind. A real sceptic—
as distinguished from a merely speculative one — doubting, as he
must do, not only the testimony of his bodily senses, and the
validity of his reason, but even his own existence, would land
inevitably in the mad-house.

The Agnostic is an easy prey to the dialectician, for between
the Catholic Church and universal scepticism there is no tenable
middle-ground, and Agnosticism discards most of the paltry
devices by which Protestants and Pagans have sought to protect
themselves from the consequences of their negations.

There are, in reality, but two religions and two philosophies

The Apostolate of the Press. 49

in the world: the worship of the Eternal Truth and the blas-
phemous cultus of the eternal Lie. All error springs from the
negation of the Word of God, spoken in eternity and in time, in
the church, in nature, and in man. There is a gradual descent
from the light of all inclusive truth to the shadows of universal
negation.

God speaks pre-eminently through the church, but the Protes-
tant calls her teaching false ; he speaks in the Scriptures, but the
rationalist rejects them ; he speaks in the soul of man, but the Ag-
nostic will not believe ; he speaks through the human senses and
consciousness, but the Transcendentalists and idealists give them
the lie ; and, finally, we reach the Religion of the Lie, par excel-
lence, which repudiates the testimony of consciousness to our
own existence and that of the material world, and worships a
Brahma who is nothing more than an infinite and all-embracing
negation.

No error exists which is not at bottom a negation ; and
there is no negation which does not spring from an imperfect
realization of the essential veracity of God, and the resultant
trustworthiness of every nature and operation which owes its
origin to him. Agnosis is the essence of every error ; not the
true Agnosis, which is a just recognition of the limitations of
finite intelligence ; but the false Agnosis, which is mental blind-
ness. Gaudama Buddha, the prophet of Negation, uttered his
own condemnation when he preached the great truth that " igno-
rance is the cause of all misery and error." The Sanskrit
word for ignorance, avidya, is an exact equivalent of Agnosis.
The Agnosticism of Buddha is nearly akin to that of Huxley;
and both are explicitly, what all false systems, religions, and
philosophies at bottom are, in so far as they are false, systema-
tized nescience.

In particular cases of controversy it will not do to leave out
of consideration the personal position of one's antagonist. There
are Agnostics and Agnostics. Many of them are so only
from intellectual indolence, and believe that religious and meta-
physical truths are unknowable for the simple reason that they
have never taken the trouble to become acquainted with them.
With that sort of men it is useless to argue, but they must be
put to reading, if possible, something which will infuse into
them a desire for a higher knowledge and a higher life than any
of which they dream.

Others have become Agnostics by a process of strictly legiti-
mate reasoning from false premises, which have come to them
4

50 The Apostolate of the Press.

by tradition, and which it has never occurred to them to ques-
tion. The active and logical thinker who takes as the basis of
his reasoning Xht negations of Protestantism will not fail to work
his way into rationalism, and to reach Agnosticism he only needs
to carry his logic a step further. It is true that a pursuance of
the same process would land him in scepticism, and this he
must be made to realize. We may be sure that he will recoil
with horror from the gaping throat of Chaos, and gladly welcome
the hand which will lift him upon the rock of universal and
eternal truth.

Among those who are Agnostics from conviction are a few
whose spiritual sense is so developed that a presentation of the
interior aspects of Christianity may be more efficacious than any
logic. For such, and indeed for any sincere and honest Agnos-
tic, I would recommend a reading of the works of Father
Hecker, in particular The Questions of the Soul. For those in
whom the rational element largely predominates, Cardinal New-
man's Grammar of Assent, Wilfrid Ward's Clothes of Religion,
and Bishop Spalding's recent pamphlet on Agnosticism may be
suitable ; and if their Agnosticism has been in any degree due
to scientific reading. Professor St, George Mivart's great work,
On Truth : A Systematic Inquiry, may be found efficacious.

In all cases where our opponents are not evidently in bad
faith, or gratuitously . offensive, it is of prime importance to
eschew both the use of obnoxious epithets and the statement of
irritating truths. It would in controversy be in the highest de-
gree rash, for instance, to characterize one's opponents as wor-
shippers of the Eternal Lie, or propagators of systematized
nescience, even though we believe such a characterization to be
just. The guiding star of the apostle and the apologist should
be the maxim of St. Francis of Sales, which has been often, but
cannot be too often repeated :•" You can catch more flies with
one spoonful of honey than with a whole barrel of vinegar."

Before concluding I would like to call attention to a most
important and pressing need, that of specialization in apologetics.
The time has come for a more aggressive poHcy towards the
unbelieving world. The field, more than ever before, is ripe for
the harvest. Thousands of souls are seeking anxiously in the
obscurest byways of human aberration for the light and
peace which can be found only in the Holy Catholic Church.
The material unification of the globe is making its remotest
corners accessible to the apostle of truth and the finger of divinely-
established authority, and this is preparing it for religious unity.

The Apostolate of the Press. 51

Now is the opportune moment for a grand united effort on
the part of the citizens of the kingdom of Christ to bring under
its allegiance the intellect and will and life of every human
being. But man is an imitative animal ; and the masses of men
follow blindly their leaders, even though self-appointed. It is
all-important, then, to conquer for Christ the active intellects and
the exalted souls whose influence determines largely the course
of lesser men. In order to thus lead the leaders of men, and
to heal the poisoned stream at its source, it is desirable that
Catholics who feel called upon to take an active part in the
warfare against error should make a special study of some one of
its protean forms, and devote their energies to that one alone.
If great geniuses devote their lives to the elaboration of systems
vitiated by fundamental errors, there ought to be found cham
pions of truth to equally devote their lives to the demolishing of
their structure so far as it is false, and the preservation of such
fibres of new truth as may have here and there found a lodg-
ment in it.

Oh ! that Divine Providence would raise up an order of in-
tellectual chivalry, which should devote itself to the sole task of
combating error, not in the trivial manner of the popular con-
troversialists, but in a far more thorough and effectual way,
which demands a lifetime of tireless vigils and of most arduous
and single-hearted labors. When such specialists shall exist, a
work most important for them to do will be the publication of
well-annotated editions of the principal expositions of popular
systems, in which each over-statement will be corrected and each
false argument answered as it appears. In the meantime let us
do what we can. We must square ourselves for the fight, stand
shoulder to shoulder, cast abroad upon the winds of our beloved
country the banner of the Cross, and press the foe closely at
every point.

We are certain of victory upon any battle-field and with any
weapons. Our position is completely vindicated by reason, by
philosophy, by science, by history, and by the inmost experi-
ences of our own souls. On our side is light, and truth, and
God. On the side of the enemy is darkness, and error, and the
prince of this world.

What madness would it be to doubt the issue! We enter
upon this combat in no spirit of hostility to our fellow-citizens
outside the church, but in one of deepest love and sympathy.
They are for the most part innocent victims of the ignorance
and crime of their remote ancestors ; we would break the chains

52 The Apostolate of the Press.

of their slavery to error, and lead them into the liberty of the
children of God. " Our warfare is not against flesh and blood,"
as said the Apostle, but against the invisible powers of darkness,
by which those who are bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh
are held in degrading bondage.

Let us, moved by such thoughts, be of good courage ; let us
hold high against the blue heaven of eternal hope our glorious
Gnosis, in the face of the Agnosis of the multitude ; let us
make our countrymen hear that Voice which speaks to the world
" as One having authority and not as the scribes " ; let us impart
to them a supreme confidence in him who is the Infinite Truth,
and could not leave them in ignorance regarding all that is
most worthy of knowledge ; in him who is the infinite Goodness,
and could not leave them without an unquestionable norm of
sacred duty ; in him who is the Infinite Love, and could not
starve their souls with the parched husks of a lifeless nature.

I need not say " Let us do this." For by our very assem-
blage with the avowed object of furthering the APOSTOLATE OF
THE Press we have already thrown down the gauntlet to the
worshipper of the Mammon of Humanity, of the Unknowable,
and of all other false gods, and we challenge them this day
with the same proud words which were the battle-cry of the
angels, at the outset of that cosmic war now approaching, we
hope, its triumphant close : Quis ut Deus ! — Who is like unto
God?

The Apostolate oe the Press. 53

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH AND THE COLORED

PEOPLE.

BY CHARLES H. BUTLER, OF WASHINGTON, D. C.

I DEEM it a great privilege to preface by a few words what
my friend, Mr. Rudd, is to say in relation to the outlook of
CatJiolicity among the people of my race. The work of evangel-
izing the masses of the colored people, thanks to Almighty God
and the good fathers engaged in the work, is progressing admir-
ably. It has surpassed the sanguine expectation of the most
hopeful. But our missions lack funds. I am not too modest to
say that those who are possessed of this world's goods could not
perform a greater work of charity than by assisting financially
the fathers engaged in our Southern missions.

Mr. President, I wish to call your attention to a class of
colored citizens who are outside the fold of the church, and
could be made a useful and potent part if their conversion
could be accomplished. I refer to those in the higher walks of
life, and who have received the benefits of our modern civiliza-
tion. I claim that if the broad teaching of that truth which
was taught by Christ and ever since his day proclaimed by the
Catholic Church, that " all men are brothers and have' equal
rights," were practised by the members of the church all over
this broad land, our now thin ranks would be largely recruited
from that class, for they are beginning to see that in following
Protestant methods they are merely chasing phantoms. They
have their Masonic lodges, but are repudiated by the members
of the white craft. What is true of this organization is true of
every organization under the rule and guidance of Protestant
churches. Why, in the city of Washington — right under the
shadow of the Goddess of Liberty — they have a white men's
Christian Association and a colored men's Christian Association !
Now, this condition of affairs is becoming disgusting to the Pro-
testant colored people.

The use of the Catholic press can do much towards the con-
version of that class of citizens ; but I am a member of the
colored race, and I think I know whereof I speak. And I af-
firm that the great attraction for the colored race is the pulpit.
Give them a few of your best speakers, and they will flock to

The Apostolate of the Press.

our churches in great numbers. As stated in your letter of invi-
tation, " We are right and we can prove it." The question is,
how to do it. The living missionary, powerful of word and
mighty with the great organization of the church at his back,
is the first and most potent means for the spread of our holy
faith among the colored people.

Next to this I would encourage the distribution of Catholic
literature, believing it will prove a great benefit. But, as I
stated before, the great attraction for the colored race is the
pulpit.

Pardon me, Mr. President and members of the Convention,
if, by referring to my own locality in what I shall say, I may
appear selfish ; but what I shall say of my own city may be ap-
plied to other cities. In Washington we are in danger of losing
many of our young colored men. The causes are many. The
first and most important is this : They are aware that the church
teaches that " all men are equal before God," but they see so
little of it practised by the members of the church in that city
that they are beginning to think that they, like the members of
other denominations, are anxious only to save certain kinds of
souls. We recognize the fact that prejudice in this country is
deep-seated, and time alone can wipe it out. In the meantime
we are losing ground. I and my co-laborers in the city of Wash-
ington are, in our humble way, endeavoring to co-operate with
our priests in stemming the threatening tide. We have con-
nected ourselves with that noble organization, the Catholic
Young Men's National Union. We are endeavoring to build a
" reading and lecture-room," where all will be welcomed
without regard to race or color, and the only qualification for
eligibility to membership will be, "Are you a practical Catholic ?"
We hope to gather in all the young Catholic men in the city,
and they will be permitted to invite their Protestant friends.
But to accomplish this it will require funds, which we are with-
out ; but we are relying upon God and our generous friends to
help us in this work. Those who will assist us in the work of
reclaiming these young men will receive the prayers of the aged
Christian members of my race, many of whom have been sorely
tried by afflictions within and without the fold, but have borne
all patiently, caring not though they were consigned to some
obscure corner of the church. The all-important question to
them was, " Is this a Catholic Church ? Does God in the Blessed
Sacrament reign upon the altar ?"

And you, ladies and gentlemen, who are engaged in the

The Apostolate of the Press. 55

Apostolate of the Press, I earnestly exhort to keep the
colored question prominently before the Catholic public —

" Speak of us as we are : nothing extenuate,
Nor set down augfht in malice."

THE OUTLOOK AMONG THE COLORED PEOPLE.

BY DAN. A. RUDD, EDITOR OF THE "AMERICAN CATHOLIC TRI-
BUNE," OF CINCINNATI, O.

I HAVE been asked to read a paper before this Convention. I
confess that I accepted the courteous and cordial invitation with
some timidity, and were it not for the fact that this is one of
the greatest opportunities that has yet been offered me to lay
this subject before the people, I should have hesitated and per-
haps have declined the honorable duty. The work of the church
among the colored people of the United States is one so far-
reaching in its possible benefits to that peculiar race, that no
one can give in a single paper a full view of it.

The fundamental principle of the American government is,
that all men are born free and equal. Its primal law declares
that no one shall be molested in life, in liberty, or in the pur-
suit of happiness, and all Americans agree that every man shall
be allowed to worship God according to the dictates of a right
conscience. Now, every one of these fundamental principles in
the structural fabric of this Republic is strictly Catholic. Then,
with the church and state fully agreeing in these premises, it
should be an easy matter to enter heart and soul, not only into
the discussion of the work of the church among Afro-Americans,
but also to discuss in connection therewith their every condition
on every foot of soil in this land of ours.

And it does seem to me that there is one class of our citizens
who have at least more than their share of the ills that lay
athwart the pathway of American life. I refer to my own race.
There are ten millions of the race in the United States, and
during the past twenty-five years, amid doubts and strifes, amid
the hates and loves of those with whom they live, have pressed
forward in the race which fills every avenue where human skill,
virtue, and intellect avail. Of these ten milHons in the United
States not to exceed one-fourth belong to any sort of Christian-

56 The Apostolate of the Press.

ity. There are more than a milHon Baptists, about the same
number of Methodists, probably more than two hundred and
fifty thousand scattered among the other sects, and upwards of
two hundred thousand Catholics. This leaves three-fourths of
them outside the pale of Christianity. There are several reasons
for this. One is that we copy our surroundings. The whites
are scarcely better off than we are in this respect. If we were
all good, we should be entirely different from the race after
which we take pattern.

But there never was a better opportunity for missionary
work in the world than arnong colored people of the United
States, their budding intellects seeking after truth, the tendrils
of their development grasping with eagerness every truth that
promises to lead them into higher life. The misinformation, not
prejudice, that has kept the masses of the race outside the
church is happily passing away, and as the heavy clouds of
ignorance and superstition roll back from the light of faith and
reason, tens of thousands of them, from Maine to New Orleans,
are standing forth true soldiers of the Cross, and are planting the
banner of Christ upon walls and ramparts where a quarter of a
century ago such a thing would have appeared as madness.
The Catholic Church sends missionaries to Africa by the
hundreds to spread the Gospel among the benighted heathen,
and that means that we are sending many of them to martyr-
dom, either amid the fevers of that tropical clime or at the
hands of the savage tribes with whom they have to deal.

No such conditions exist here. The Catholic missionary can
stand upon every hill-top and in every valley of America, be-
tween the rolling seas, and there shall be no one to molest him
or make him afraid. North or South, East or West, the Catho-
lic priest is loved, ho7wred, and respected by every colored man he
meets, no matter whether this colored man be a Hard-shell
Baptist, a Free-will Baptist, or an African Methodist, or no sort
of a Protestant at all. Whence comes this good will towards
the Catholic clergy? It is owing to the matchless charities of
the Catholic Church, the absolute equality before her altars, her
magnificent rites and ceremonials. These, as well as the elevat-
ing influence of her doctrines and her direct connection with
Christ through her Sacraments, have gained the admiration and
confidence of a developing race as they reach up out of the
dark. I ask you, my fellow-Catholics, to cast within their reach
the anchor-chain of Catholic hope.

This can be done in the church, in the school-room, in socie-

The Apostolate of the Press. 57

ties for young men and women, in business relations ; in fact, in
every walk of life, but especially by means of the press. Catho
lies belonging to the various trade-unions should demand that
their race barriers be beaten down. Catholics in business should
employ colored people as they do anybody else, upon the sole
ground of merit. Catholics as individuals should upon every
opportunity overcome American prejudice, and treat their fellow-
men of every race with the same justice, in private and in pub-
lic, that they demand for themselves. They will thus follow
directly the teachings of Holy Church since her foundation by
Christ our Lord, and will make greater the heritage of future
generations, by absolutely unfurling the banner of freedom and
justice. They will also be in full accord with the declaration of
American independence. There is no greater agency for the
development of work along these lines than the Catholic press.
The newspaper, the magazine, and the tract are but the picket-
guards of Catholic Bible and prayer-books. And let me ask for
a liberal support on the part of Catholics generally of all publi-
cations conducted by colored Catholics, so that they may become
as welcome to Protestants as they are to members of our own
faith.

The Apostolate of the Press, grand in its conception,
immeasurable in its possibilities, is destined in the future to do
incalculable good in the spread of Catholic truth.

58 The Apostolate of the Press.

THE GENERAL MISSIONARY OUTLOOK.

BY JOHN MCCARTHY, OF SYRACUSE, N. Y.

Mr, Chairman and Gentlemen: I believe that the twen-
tieth century will witness the virtual absorption of the great Amer-
ican people into the bosom of the only true faith. To-day I see a
population of about sixty millions of souls, one-sixth of whom
are Catholics, but, with the prescience of one on the borders of
another world, I foresee the augmented millions of the coming
years in this home of freedom gathered into and rejoicing in
the only creed which is worthy of the inherent dignity of human
nature. Since the incarnation of our divine Lord human nature
has never ceased to progress, and finally the divine truth will
take possession of mankind. A nobler type of manhood for the
development of Christ's church on earth exists nowhere than
within our own broad domains.

The fundamental principles of true religion here seem to find
their most practical and fitting preparation. Our civil institu-
tions and political methods are based upon the teachings of the
Gospel. The distinctive features of our form of government,
such as equality before the law, human brotherhood, the innate
freedom and dignity of man, reflect, as do those of no other na-
tion, the comprehensive and all-abiding love of the world's Re-
deemer for our race. He came to lift up humanity, and to re-
store to it its forfeited birthright. Through the ages his Holy
Church has labored to that end, and now, with accelerated pace
and prospects of speedy triumph, she girds herself anew for the
final conflict with the hosts of error.

The designs of Providence seem to point to this continent
as the field whereon religious truth shall achieve its greatest vic-
tories. The history of Mother Church for the past nineteen hun-
dred years affords no parallel to the rapid advance which she
has made in this country in the last fifty years. God permitted,
as an object-lesson, that human pride should assert itself in the
sixteenth century, and be allowed to despoil Christianity of a
portion of its fair heritage. The result, foretold in Holy Writ,
has come to pass. The edifices of dissent, based only upon re-
bellious human reason, uncemented by divine grace, buttressed
only by perverse human will, have succumbed to the weakness of

The Apostolate of the Press. 59

all earthly things, and are now tottering to their fall. Foreseeing
that human reason itself would in the end recognize the fact
that only supernatural grace could build up and maintain an in-
stitution which should be man's ark of safety, God prepared a
virginal continent whereon he decreed that his Holy Church
should in due time prevail, and from whence, as a city set upon
a hill, its missionaries should go forth to all parts of the earth,
to gather into the fold of Christ all tribes, all nations, and all
peoples.

I esteem it, then, a great privilege to be present at this
assemblage of zealous priests and representative men and women
of the Catholic laity convened for the greater glory of God and
the dissemination of divine truth. His blessing will assuredly
rest upon its deliberations and direct its actions. The outcome
of it, I trust and believe, will be the inauguration of a new era
of progress in the history of the Church in America. Called to-
gether under the auspices of the Most Rev. Archbishop of New
York, and assisted by the missionaries of the great Apostle, the
blessed St. Paul, its purposes cannot fail of achievement. The
special graces which God granted from his early childhood to
Isaac Hecker for the conversion of souls, and the blessing which
our Holy Father Pope Pius IX. bestowed upon him personally,
upon his community and upon its especial work, will undoubted-
ly find manifestation here. The time is propitious, the generous
soil is ready for the tillage, the seed is fructified by God's grace ;
and, if the husbandmen are active, wise, and prudent, the har-
vest-field will teem with newly-gathered sheaves of immortal
souls.

Ladies and gentlemen, if the conversion of fifty millions of
intelligent, and, as a rule, naturally moral people, is a work of
merit in the sight of God, how happy we ought to feel in being
called on to participate in the glorious work ! And such is the
work to which we are on this occasion invited. This Convention
says to the world. We will never rest until the American
people are gathered into the fold of Christ.

We say to our fellow-Catholics that the living voice is inade-
quate to reach multitudes of willing ears and of well-disposed
hearts. That voice must be supplemented by the printing-press.
God's grace must be conveyed as quickly as possible to our
brethren hungering in the desert. Our motto should be : " The
largest amount of Divine truth to the greatest number of souls T The
free circulation of Catholic literature amongst our own, both
young and old, and in a suitable form amongst our dissenting

6o The Apostolate oe the Press.

brethren, is the problem which we wish to solve. God grant
that you and I and every one of us may be guided by the Holy
Spirit to suggest practical methods with which to strengthen the
hands of all Catholic missionaries in their efforts, and thereby
bring to our countrymen the grace of that quick conversion
which happily befell the great patron and prototype of all zeal-
ous souls on the road to Damascus.

Nineteen centuries have elapsed since the birth of Christianity,
and multitudes of his creatures still await the coming of the
Holy Spirit ; but now the dawn of a brighter day is at hand.
The sky is blushing with a beautiful aurora. The cohorts of
truth and of error are being rapidly marshalled into opposing
ranks. The twentieth century is the allotted time — America will
furnish the field of conflict. The issue is not doubtful. On one
side are arrayed the friends of the Almighty Creator of the uni-
verse, panoplied with his divine grace, and on the other side
the blind advocates of poor, weak, self-asserting human reason.
The end of the twentieth century will, I believe, find our beloved
country in the vanguard of the great army of the Lord God of
hosts. I trust that this Convention and its proceedings will be
like a trumpet-note which will summon all who love his Holy
Name to advance his banner on high.

The AposroLATE of the Press 6i

THE OUTLOOK IN CANADA.

BY J. A. J. MCKENNA, OF OTTAWA, ONT.

It is very difficult to treat of the outlook in Canada. The
Catholics form an important proportion of the population, but
they are divided by difTerence in language. The French have
their own literature — both religious and secular. Canada's great
Catholic university is French, and the language of France pre-
dominates in most of the institutions of higher education. No
one but a French Canadian could deal with the outlook for the
Apostolate of the Press in the Province of Quebec. And as to
the English-speaking Catholics of Canada, they are so thinly scat-
tered over so vast an extent of territory that it is impossible to
get, from any point of view, a well-defined outlook.

But this much is certain : There are wide fields in every Pro-
vince of the Dominion awaiting the laborers of the Apostolate
of the Press. The ground has not been so well broken as in
the United States, and the workers may meet with more diffi-
culties, for we have had no Hecker going before as a precursor
preparing the way, awakening the clergy to the needs of the
hour, and pointing out to laymen and women the part they
should bear in the missionary work of the church. There has
not been such powerful influences at work in Canada in break-
ing down Protestant prejudices as in the United States. The
privileges which are in certain parts enjoyed as to separate
schools are due to the political influence of French Catholic
Quebec, not to any marked spirit of liberality on the part of
our separated brethren. The United Empire Loyalists who set-
tled in Canada were as anti-Catholic as they were anti republi
can, and their descendants have retained much of the anti-papal
virus. The Exeter-Hall type of preacher is still extant in Cana-
da ; and Orangeism is more at home to the north than to the
south of the border. But Orangemen, it must be always remem-
bered, are very much like frogs about a pond : they make more
noise than their importance warrants. And although there is a
deal of anti-Catholic prejudice abroad, there are many such
Protestants in every part of Canada as those for whom Father
Young once made an appeal in The Catholic World.

Many of the non-Catholics with whom I have been brought
into intimate relations are men of good will, some of whom

62 The Apostolate of the Press.

would put us to shame by the interest they take in their litera-
ture and in their church work ; but all of them are stuffed
with the most erroneous notions in respect to Catholicism,
especially as to what they regard as the church's avidity for
civil dominion. The Protestant who has not a lurking idea that
Rome wants to run the country is a rara avis. Speaking gener-
ally, it may be said that all the anti-Catholic prejudices which
are found in the south exist in the north and are more firmly
rooted. There have been fewer conversions from Protestant-
ism in Canada than in the United States — at least fewer
prominent ones. We have had no Brownson among the laity
and no England in the ministry. The lines are more closely
drawn in the north, and our people have been so long on the
defensive that many of them have forgotten that truth must of
necessity be aggressive.

To my mind, the first great mountain to be laid low in Can-
ada by the Apostles of the Press is the indifference among
Catholics themselves to distinctively Catholic literature ; and it
seems to me that there is no more effective way of levelling
that mountain than by establishing Catholic Truth Societies in
every city, town, and hamlet. The most encouraging signs of
the outlook are the moves which have been made in that direc-
tion. But the societies so far established have not been suffi-
ciently long in operation to enable me to speak from experience of
their effectiveness. In Ottawa a most hopeful beginning has been
made ; and what has been done in Ottawa can be done in every
centre of population. The essential to success is a priest fully
alive to the needs of the hour, and trustful of lay action in such
matters. To such a priest, the Rev. M. J. Whelan, we are in-
debted for the initiation of the movement which led to the
establishment of the Catholic Truth Society of Ottawa. He
talked the matter over with a few laymen conversant with the
work done by such societies in England and in St. Paul ; the
subject was broached in a paper read by a brother of the socie-
ty of St. Vincent de Paul at a quarterly meeting of the confer-
ences ; the archbishop gave his hearty approval and volunteered
financial assistance ; a committee was formed to draw up a plan
a meeting was called by invitations sent through the mail ; and
the Catholic Truth Society was auspiciously launched a few
weeks ago with Sir John Thompson, the Minister of Justice, a
convert from Methodism, in command as president. The work
of the society is carried on by the officers and an executive
committee, who met regularly.

They are taking action to procure and place on sale at differ

The Apostolate of the Press. 63

ent places in the city such of the publications of the parent
society in England and the society in St. Paul as are considered
suitable. The conferences of St. Vincent de Paul are to act
as auxiliaries in distributing free literature among the poor.
Attacks on the church and misstatements of Catholic teaching
are to be dealt with in the secular press, and a series of free
musical and literary evenings are to be given during the winter.
The first of these was given a short while ago, and the result
was such as to augur well for the success of this branch of the work.
More came than could be seated, and there was a sprinkling of
Protestants in the audience. The president explained the aims of
the society ; Mr. Joseph Pope, a convert, read an excellent paper
on some of the erroneous traditions of Protestants regarding
the church, and the archbishop warmly commended the society
and invited the men and women present to become members.
The daily papers contained reports of the entertainment, and
the journal which is noted for its ultra-Protestantism devoted a
column to a summary of the essay and addresses. It is the in-
tention to publish in pamphlet form and offer for sale at cost
the papers read at the entertainments, as it is thought that the
writings of those locally well known will find their way into
places to which the writings of strangers could not penetrate.

There is no denying the fact that there are many dif^culties
to be encountered in all such undertakings. There is an intense
conservatism in certain quarters which is very chary of any new
movement ; many Catholics fancy that " tracts " are essentially
Protestant, and that lay action in church work smacks of dis-
senting lay preaching. When the literary evenings were mooted
in our society in Ottawa a gentleman, well informed and practi-
cal in the performance of his religious duties, said to me : " I
do not believe in laymen setting themselves up as preachers.
Lecturing on religious subjects should be left to the clergy." I
pointed out to him that there was a vast field in which laymen
could work with great effect in the dissemination of truth, and
reminded him of what laymen had done and were oioing in
England. But he shook his head and remarked that no good could
come of the move. The literary evenings were, however, au-
spiciously inaugurated, and after hearing the first paper the same
gentleman came to me and said : " That paper should be pub-
lished." He had forgotten all about his objections, and was
convinced that the paper would be potent for good.

Hosts of objections vanish when the work is begun, and
many objectors become zealous apostles. Wherever in Canada a

64 The Afostolate of the Press.

priest is prepared to call on the laity to co-operate in an Apos-
tolate of the Press he will find many responses from willing
men and women, some of whom will become writers as well as
propagandists of Catholic literature. Small, cheap doses of
Catholic writings, put up in the attractive way in which the
publications of the Catholic Truth Society of England are, will
soon beget in the laity a taste for the wholesome mental food
which Catholic writers have served and are serving up for Catho-
lic readers. In the spreading abroad among our own of the
printed truth much of it will, of necessity, find its way to those
who are not of the household of faith ; and the very spectacle
of Catholic men and women working together in an Apostolate
of the Press will do more to break down the barriers which
shut out the light from our separated brethren than vol-
umes of controversy. The circulation of reading matter
among the people will be the most forcible refutation we can
make of the absurd charge, that the church desires to keep the
masses in ignorance ; and, if we make our own people readers
of Catholic publications, they will be more likely to show forth
by their fruit the truth and the beauty of the faith they profess
and to become bearers of light to their neighbors who sit in
darkness. In this way a great campaign of conversion can be
carried on in Canada through the agency of the mighty press,
and what will be said at this Convention in regard to the differ-
ent phases of the work will be as applicable to the Dominion
as to the Republic.

There is, after all, a deal of similarity in the main features
of the outlook to the north and to the south of the boundary
line. But in Canada we are only just beginning — and beginning
in a small way — an organized Apostolate of the Press. We can-
not bring to this Convention the wisdom born of experience.
We have come to learn — to learn how to most effectively em-
ploy the greatest human power of the age in the service of God;
how to improve Catholic journals, and how best to use them
and the secular press for the end in view ; how to get Catholic
literature into the dwellings of the rich, the homes of the work-
ing-men^ the apartments of the poor, and the cells of our
prisons ; and how to use the printed page as an antidote to the
influence of the saloons, which, in Canada as in the United
States, are largely manned by Catholics, and are the greatest
stumbling-blocks to our people. Some of the seed scattered
here will be wafted to the northland, will fall on good ground,
and will bring forth the Scriptural increase.

The Apostolate of the Press. 65

SPEAKING TO THE CENTURY.

letter from rev. william barry, d.d.

Fellow-Catholics and Friends:

It would have given me a long-wished-for gratification, had I
been able to accept the kind proposal, which I owe, like so much
other kindness, to Father Elliott — that I should attend this great
meeting of American Catholic writers and readers. But I am
kept in my own corner by various duties ; and will therefore ask
leave to submit, in such manner as I may, a few suggestions on
the method of our literary propaganda. I speak as to laymen,
without touching, though I should be the last to forget it, on
that obligation of directly explaining and inculcating the dogmas
of the Faith, which is the pastor's prerogative. Father Hepker —
that illustrious son of the American Church — has called your
task in literature, an Apostolate. " He believed," says his biog-
rapher, "in types, as he believed in pulpits." Let me add to
this excellent saying, that the printing-press has become the
tallest pulpit in the world. It preaches, not once a week, but
from day to day, from hour to hour. The great hterary fact of
our time is Journalism. But when I am asked which is likely to
be the most successful method of exercising the Apostolate to
which you are called, I answer that for a long time it must be
the iitdirect method. And now let me explain my meaning.

A Catholic audience, numbering millions, you have in America.
And, though it will be allowed that, from the circumstances of
their history, they are not the most given to reading of Ameri-
cans, yet they do read and will read. Most true. But it does
not follow that they will read, chiefly or entirely, magazines,
pamphlets, and volumes addressed to themselves by their own
writers. If they do — as they OUGHT — so much the better. God
speed them on that excellent way! Judging, however, from
English experience, I must fear that a publicist who depended
solely on his Catholic brethren for support, would run some risk
of financial disaster. From which undoubted fact I draw this
conclusion, that when a Catholic writer means to succeed in his
profession, and to make a living as well as a name — which he
has every right to do — he must widen his outlook, and turn like
others to the general pubhc. The men and women among us
5

66 The Apostolate of the Press.

who have gained celebrity, never did so by addressing a home-
circle. In every branch of literature we have worthy representa-
tives. But when a man succeeds in journalism, romance, or phi-
losophy, he does so, not simply as a Catholic, but on his own
account, as recognizable by his genius or talent, and as depend-
ing on himself for the influence he wields.

Here I see an opportunity of doing good on the very largest
scale. I do not ask such men to preach Christian dogma out
of season, or to assume the ofifice of theologians. But, leav-
ing aside direct attempts at controversy, how much can they not
achieve by a careful choice of materials, by sound, healthy criti-
cism of what is deleterious in the prevailing fashions of literature,
and by merely putting good work in the place of bad ? When
they have the ear of the public, they are, to a remarkable ex-
tent, their own masters. For, note Avell, it is not the millions
who insist on their teachers in the daily and weekly press be-
coming purveyors to them of what is base and corrupting. The
demand has been artificially stimulated by the supply, not the
supply furnished on demand. Healthy reading is welcomed by
those laboring classes which, as time goes on, will prove, more
and more, to be the best patrons of literature. No doubt, if
they are tempted with garbage, many of them will be poisoned.
But the temptation, I repeat, comes from the manufacturer of
the devil's wares, and not from the public. If there is a shame
clinging to much modern journalism, it should be laid at the
door of the journalist and his paymaster. Give the people
wholesome bread ; they will be only too glad to find the taste
of it in their mouths. That is what I believe.

Moreover, the thing can be done. Vice is neither amusing
nor exhilarating. There is nothing bright in the vulgar, nau:
seous details which fill column after column of our miserable
" first-class dailies," whose custom it is to pollute the air of
London and New York, breeding on all sides a moral plague.
"Yet,"^I shall be reminded, "they sell by the hundred thou-
sand." Of course they do, exactly as the vile furniture, made
under a sweating contract in the Curtain Road at the East End,
is sold in fashionable stores — for want of something better. I do
not say that this abomination can be healed by direct preaching.
But I do say that every one of our journalists should set his
face against it. Many of us can, by using tact and judgment,
prevent some of the mischief. And all, if they will keep their
own work uncontaminated, may do their share in proving that
wit and wisdom, in Lord Beaconsfield's happy phrase, are "on

The ArosTOLATE of the Press. 67

the side of the angels." They will be helping on the day of re-
form when journalism shall be no longer what it now is — an
open sewer, offensive to eye and nostril, the great standing dis-
grace of a reading age.

Catholic writers abound in this department ; and I feel justi-
fied, therefore, in dwelling on the responsibilities they incur
whenever they omit an occasion of withstanding the enemy who
is called Belial, and who now stalks abroad as though the world
belonged to him. The command which St. Paul gave us long
ago has not lost its credentials : " Finally, brethren, whatsoever
things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things
are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are
lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any
virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." A
very precise definition of what modern journalism is not, and of
what it steadfastly declines to be ! Here, I say, is occasion for
an Apostolate ; nay, and if any one have the spirit and the cour-
age, for deeds of martyrdom.

But I have no intention of decrying all current literature, as
though it were hopelessly tainted. And in the cheering assur-
ance that God has left Himself a witness among those whom it
illustrates and who give it a corresponding worth, I would ask our
Catholic friends to cultivate the art of criticism, sifting out the
chaff from the wheat, burning what is evil, and spreading abroad
whatever they find of good. This, let me say, is an undertaking
as difficult as it is necessary. It requires an extensive knowledge
of modern modes of thought, combined with an accurate and
sure grasp of the Catholic teaching. For fifty men who have
learned their faith, and know it thoroughly, there may not be
one who can describe without mistake the relation of other
creeds to his own. Differences of language, of bringing up, of
association, thrust themselves in at every step ; and the hardest
of all things may be to ascertain what precisely is the point to be
argued. Yet that point will often be of the most vital consequence.
Now, here is a demand for what I often call " the gift of interpre-
tation." Merely to repeat the axioms and first principles of
Catholic tradition, though they contain revealed truth itself, is
lost labor in the province I am considering. Such a method will
persuade nobody except those who are already persuaded. The
teaching must be fitted to the mind which we are bent upon en-
lightening. Yet it must be so fitted as to remain true and sound
Catholic doctrine. It must be neither distorted, nor minimized,
nor explained away. And when I say " Catholic doctrine," I

68 The Apostolate of the Press.

include all the truths of Theism, and the high and beautiful
philosophy, whether of art or of nature, implied in our creed or
issuing out of it. You perceive at once how promising, yet how
full of difificulty, and even of danger, is the path to which I
would direct your attention. It is the time, not of a seeming
reconciliation between light and darkness ; but of the dovetailing,
so to speak, of new truths into the old — the translation of Chris-
tian principles into a language suited to these times ; and a
manly, earnest, and generous effort to baptize the nineteenth
century into the Gospel of Christ.

The manner of accomplishing this enterprise I would term "se-
lective criticism." Not " electic," observe ; for " eclecticism " is to
be " carried about by every wind of doctrine," discerning neither the
true nor the false. We, I repeat, have a standard to go by ; not
of our own invention, but given to us from on High. Therefore,
we should be able to try all things, and to judge them in the
Spirit. We are not to be dazzled, or surprised, or daunted, by
the glamour of knowledge ; or by the pretentious philosophies,
the Utopian systems, that fill the air with storm and confusion
to-day. Ours is the duty, upon us has the burden come of turn-
ing " the hearts of the fathers to the children " and of the chil-
dren to the fathers ; — of helping to build up a new world, on
the ruins of many systems it may be, but on the sure foundation
of a living Christian Church that cannot be ruined. Is there a
social ideal, a more humane inspiration, beginning to shape
society anew ? The home of all true ideals is the Catholic
Church. Do we hear of the millions coming up, at last, into the
place of self-government, crying for light and food, asking why
their daily toil is not sweetened by justice and the sense of
brotherhood ? They are the millions of a people who should be
our own ; and to whom we can offer a Gospel of salvation,
social no less than spiritual, able to lift them up and give them
the best things in this world as in the next. But we must un-
derstand them, feel with them, and — not fear them at all !

Understand them ? It is the first and last word. No great
literature has ever existed which did not come out of the peo-
ple's hearts. By contact with life alone is it possible to live.
Literature is not a thing of libraries, class-rooms, or lecture-halls,
which only the select attend. When it has lasting value, it is
the expression of thought too wide and high and simple for any
clique or coterie to have inspired it. The writing of which we
are in need may take any form it will, provided that it is alive ;
no mere rehearsal of dead words, no copying of yesterday, no

The Apostolate of the Press. 69

talking down as to a childish intelligence, no stupid reiteration
of sentimentalities addressed to the weak-minded and the im-
pressionable. It must ever aim at good sense ; and test itself by
the classics of the world. We do not want a provincial, petty,
and flimsy literature, which to-day is, and to-morrow is deserv-
edly cast into the oven. K, when we turn to our own publica-
tions, they fall below the common level of good work outside,
let us rather take shame to ourselves, and mend our ways, than
foolishly imagine that it is by the grace of God that we are not
like other men. We should be exacting in our demands on all
who write for us, on condition, however, that we remember to
be just and generous in our recompense to them. The Catholic
writer may as fairly claim to live by his toil as the priest who
ministers at the altar. His duty is not the same, but it is sacred
and religious in the truest sense. Only let him measure it,
no longer by the small requisitions made upon him from within,
but by the wants of the age, and by the endless resources of a
church that has lived from the days of the Roman Empire to
those of expanding and victorious Democracy.

My contention is that we should speak and write as to the
larger world. W^e are debtors to all men, and must use style,
language, and reasoning so as to be " understanded of the
people. " Our message is for to-day. It has not grown old or
obsolete ; neither will it yield in power and promise to the often-
times vaporous announcements of latter-day prophets, who have
coined theories out of their brains, but never known how to gov-
ern a single human creature — not even themselves. By an extra-
ordinary good fortune, w^e Catholics have possessed the greatest
master of English prose that ever lived — I need not say that I
mean John Henry Cardinal Newman. Do we at all fashion
ourselves on the pattern he has left us ? Do we cultivate — I
forbear to say, imitate, which is a lesser thing, — but do we cul-
tivate the spirit of just discernment, the delicate sympathy, the
exquisite and subtle tact, the devotion to high aims and the
deep sincerity of thought, which gave him so wonderful a charm
in the eyes of his countrymen ? Genius, to be sure, is no in-
heritance ; still, we can learn something of its methods, and en-
deavor to practise what we learn. It signified little whether
Cardinal Newman was handling a sacred or a secular theme ; at
all times he captivated his readers by the spirit that was in
him. The atmosphere refreshed them ; the lovely light showed
them a w'orld to which many w^ould have been otherwise for
ever insensible. His methods were constantly indirect ; but the

70 The Apostolate of the Press.

music was in that subduing key which the heart knows not how
to resist. Neither was it the priest or the cardinal who wrought
these great things ; it was the MAN. For hterature is, in its
very essence, personal and individual. Its power will not be
permanently enhanced by station or title, or anything else beside
its own magic. In this sense, all who attempt literary work are
laymen ; and one may truly speak of the " Republic of Letters."
Rest assured that in the long run it is a man's own personality
which tells, and only that ; his living knowledge of " whatsoever
things are true, and just, and lovely, and of good report." The
vapid or unclean journalism sells for a day or a week ; it sells,
but it does not last. Truth prevails, and men are tired at last
of the lying fictions dinned into their ears, though all the adver-
tisements of all the quacks sing their praise without ceasing.

If, as we believe on such strong and tried grounds, there is
no salvation for mankind except by returning to the New Tes-
tament, here is the task of literature — so to let its light shine
before men, in all hues of beauty and graciousness, that the
multitude may be charmed, persuaded, and taught the readiest
way of making it a reality in their life and business. The Cath-
olic Saints have understood, each in his day, how to take to
themselves the three great possessions of the ancient world,
Roman Law, Greek Philosophy, and the divine oracles of the He-
brew people. There are three great modern possessions — Sci-
ence, Literature, and Democracy. Who will show us the good
in them, and teach us to overcome their evil? Who will enter
into their Providential meaning, discern their true aim and scope,
bring them to the threshold of the Catholic Church, and render
them fit for baptism, for consecration to the service of God and
the brethren? Those who do will be the men of their time —
neither retrograde, nor obscurantist, nor falsely liberal. They will
have the eyes of their understanding enlightened, and their ears
open to the Divine message, early and late. They will be the
Catholic students of science, tlie masters in literature, the guides
in politics whom we should pray for. I believe that literature
is a noble calling, though disgraced by charlatans and time-serv-
ers. I am sure that it was meant to be now, as heretofore, a
champion and auxiliary of the faith we all hold dear. I see
that if any man gives himself to it loyally, "not seeking his
own, " he may expect much trouble, vexation, and hindrance,
even from those who should know him better. Yet, if I were
called upon to say which is the most effective way of serving
God's cause in our time, I should answer without hesitation,

The Apostolate of the Press. 71

that the Age of Reading has come, and that he who would
preach the Cathohc Truth must write it — but write it for the
multitude, and make himself understood by them. What the
millions need is to be taught ; and what every one needs who
undertakes to teach them, is that gift of sympathy without
which his doctrine will fall on deaf ears. Because modern liter-
ature must be democratic, it ought to be Christian.

So to endeavor that it may become the fitting expression of
a noble Christian commonwealth is, I doubt not, your loftiest
ambition ; as it is, most assuredly, your appointed task.

William Barry.

Dorchester, near Oxford, England.

LETTER FROM JAMES BRITTEN, ESQ.,

secretary of the catholic truth society of england.

18 West Square, London, S. E.,

Christmas Day, 1891.
My dear Father Elliott:

I am extremely sorry that it is impossible for me to accept
the invitation you so kindly send me to take part in the Conven-
tion of the Apostolate of the Press, which you are so fittingly
holding on the Feast of the Epiphany. But at this time of year
it is not possible for me to leave England. I hope, however, so
far as your own warm offer of hospitality is concerned, the ac-
ceptance of your invitation may be only a deferred pleasure.

I should regret my inability to come the less, were I able to
comply in anything like an adequate manner with your request
that I should write a paper to be read at your Convention. But
I am so occupied with many things that this again is not possi-
ble. I will, therefore, in this letter state informally such facts as
it seems to me may interest you, and if you think it well to
read my letter to the Convention, the Cathohc Truth Society
— which I in some way, however unworthily, represent — will, I am
sure, be grateful for your consideration.

The Catholic Truth Society in its present form had a very
humble beginning. Some twenty-three years ago a body bear-
ing the name was organized by the exertions of Dr. Herbert
Vaughan, who now, as Bishop of Salford, presides over the exist

72 The Apostolate of the Press.

ing society. But, owing to a variety of circumstances, this origi-
nal organization had died away, and the present body took its
rise quite independently of it.

In 1883 I went into a High-Church bookshop and bought
half-a-crown's worth of their cheap religious publications. These
I took to my friend, the Rev. W. H. Cologan, who has been as-
sociated with me from the first in the work of the society, and
we came to the conclusion that something in the same direction
ought to be attempted by Catholics. We found among our
friends several who held the same view ; and about twelve of us
put down £\ apiece, to see what could be done. With this we
brought out the first issue of the Little Rosary Book, of
which up to the present time some sixty thousand have been
printed. The card of " Morning and Night Prayers for those
having little time," which had been originally compiled for a
Boys' Club, was also put into circulation, and a similar card of
" Prayers for Confession for little children." No especial trouble
was taken to gain the support of great persons, but the late
Bishop of Southwark (Dr. Coffin) at once expressed his sympa-
thy with the work, and helped us by what in those days seemed
very large orders for our publications. At this time we had no
name ; but, having written to the Bishop of Salford, whose work
in connection with popular Catholic literature is too well known
to need more than a reference, his lordship invited me to Sal-
ford, to talk the matter over. He proposed that the old name
of "The Catholic Truth Society" should be revived; that means
should be taken to draw the attention of Catholics in general to
the work ; and that a circular letter should be drawn up and
sent to the clergy and others likely to interest themselves in it.
He also expressed his willingness to become president of the
society, and to use his influence in making it known. On No-
vember 5, 1884, a meeting was held at Lady Herbert's, under
the presidency of Bishop Vaughan, at which the revival of the
Catholic Truth Society was resolved upon, and various schemes
for the furthering of its work were debated, the annual subscrip-
tion being fixed at \os.

For some time the progress of the society was slow, and the
publications were limited. I was enabled to accommodate the
whole of them in my own house, and to carry on the whole
work of the society with very slight help. In February, 1887,
however, the stock grew beyond my narrow limits, and the^
premises now occupied by the society were taken. The society
received the approval of the Holy Father and the support of the

The Apostolate of the Press. 73

English hierarchy, as well as of many foreign bishops, and of
the great Cardinal Newman, who from the first warmly befriended
us, and whose last public utterance was addressed to a deputa-
tion of our members.

The objects of the society are briefly stated as follows :

1. To disseminate among Catholics small and cheap devotional
works.

2. To assist the uneducated poor to a better knowledge of
their religion.

3. To spread among Protestants information about Catholic
truth.

4. To promote the circulation of good, cheap, and popular
Catholic works.

This, however, is a condensed form of the original prospec-
tus ; and as the latter explains our aims more fully, I venture to
give it :

1. To disseminate among Catholics small and cheap devotional
works. There is always a demand for such publications in every
congregation, if they can be had cheaply and are ready to hand.
At the time of a retreat or mission, hundreds or even thou-
sands of them might be taken by the people.

2. To assist the uneducated poor to a better knowledge of
their religion. Most Catholics are attacked from time to time
by the sneers or objections of Protestants, and too often have
no answer ready. If their own faith is not weakened, their in-
ability to state or defend the church's doctrine does harm to
others. It is also desirable to furnish Catholic artisans in the
great centres of industry with answers to the rationalistic and in-
fidel theories which are constantly the subject of conversation
among men employed in factories and workshops. For the bene-
fit of these classes, we propose to issue a number of pamphlets
and leaflets to help them to withstand attack, and to give them
a better knowledge of their religion.

3. To spread among Protestants information about Catholic
truth. Prejudice and error are still universal among the English
poor, but there are many who would readily accept the teaching
of the church, were they not so utterly misinformed respecting
it. While the Religious Tract Society and other similar bodies
spread their misleading publications with untiring energy, Catho-
lics do little in this way to make known the claims of the Church
of God, and to destroy the absurd notions respecting her that
Protestant tradition has handed down. Short papers or leaflets
with striking titles, containing a summary of doctrine or concise

74 The Afostolate of the Pfess.

replies to popular objections, would be eagerly read by Protes-
tants if distributed among them or given away at the doors be-
fore or after anti-Catholic lectures, etc.

4. To promote the circulation of the good, cheap, and popu-
lar Catholic works which already exist, many of them being at
present almost unknown, and to take notice of similar books as
they appear.

It would occupy too much of your time did I attempt to
show how far these objects have been carried out. I am send-
ing by this mail a large number of our publications, with several
catalogues for distribution, and we shall, of course, be glad to
forward any further information which may be desired. It will
be seen from our list that, while combating error, we have not
neglected to provide for our own people ; and the large and con-
stantly increasing support which we receive, not only at home
but in the colonies, shows that our efforts in both directions
have not been unsuccessful. Our simple prayer-book, for ex-
ample, published at a penny, is in its two-hundreth thousand,
and many other publications have had a large sale. This is es-
pecially the case with our controversial leaflets, which, largely
through the agency of the Guild of Ransom, have been distributed
broadcast at Protestant and anti-Catholic meetings.

Besides their sale as independent pamphlets, most of our
publications have been bound up in shilling volumes, either in a
connected series — such as biographies, tales, etc. — or in volumes
of miscellaneous reading. These last, of which we have now fif-
teen, are especially popular, and we have sold nearly forty-three
thousand of them.

In addition to its work of publication and distribution, the
society has inaugurated other important movements, the most im-
portant of which is the Annual Catholic Conference. Four of
these conferences have been held, with the approval and per-
sonal co-operation of the cardinal and the bishops, and in this
way Catholics have been brought together to an extent never
previously attempted.

By the formation of local branches, both at home and abroad,
much work has been done in the way of visiting hospitals, work-
houses, and infirmaries; a report of one such branch accom-
panies this letter. We have sought to co-operate in every way
with kindred organizations, both at home and abroad ; and it is
my earnest hope that the New York Convention, recognizing this
wish, will reciprocate it, and that a cordial co-operation between
us will be one outcome of your meeting.

The Apostolate of the Press. 75

If it did not seem like an impertinence, I would add a word
of encouragement to you in your work ; but it is not needed.
Yet I may say, and I wish to say it as strongly as possible, how
heartily we sympathize with your efforts, which have so much in
common with our own, but which are bestowed upon a field
which we cannot hope to reach, the vastness of which will afford
ample scope for, and will indeed demand, the most energetic ex-
ertions on your part. There can be no rivalry in our work ; the
aims of each body is to do all the good it can, and the vast re-
sources of error of all kinds can only be met by the most stren-
uous efforts.

If in any way we can promote or co-operate with the work
which you are undertaking, it will be a keen gratification to us
to do so. I will venture to conclude this letter with some words
of our president, which will, I am sure, find an echo in your
hearts.

"We are in the age of the Apostolate OF THE PRESS. It
can penetrate where no Catholic can enter. It can do its work
as surely for God as for the devil. It is an instrument in our
hands.

"All should take part in this Apostolate; here, at least, there
is work for every one. For ten who can write, ten thousand
can subscribe, and a hundred thousand can scatter the seed.
For this purpose, under the patronage of the hierarchy, and
richly indulgenced by the Holy See, the Catholic Truth Society
has been founded by a number of priests and laymen. It is al-
ready doing good work ; but the good work ought to be multi-
plied through every town and mission, not in England only, but
throughout the British Empire. It instructs, edifies, and amuses ;
it educates and evangelizes Catholics and non-Catholics. It will
become an engine of gigantic power in the service of God, if our
men and women have in them only the hearts and wills to be-
come apostles.

" Say not that to scatter books, pamphlets, tracts, and leaf-
lets is waste and loss, if you have but a grain of faith in the
Gospel parable of the sower. God himself, with bountiful hand,
is always sowing his grace over the world of men ; and what is
the history of his sowing? Is greater fruit to spring up under
the hand of the servant than of the Master? But for every
effort we make there is an eternal reward.

"We need writers, a multitude of subscribers, and a number-
less body of men and women sowing and scattering the truth
wherever English is read or spoken. This means zeal, time,

^6 The Apostolate of the Press.

labor, and, we may add, humility, for the work has not the
apparent dignity of debates on public questions and passing re-
solutions, though it will be at least as certain of its spiritual re-
sults."

With kind regards and every good wish for the success of
the Convention,

Believe me, dear Father Elliott,
Yours truly,

James Britten,
Hon. Sec. C. T. S.

MENDING OLD ROADS AND MAKING NEW ONES.

BY MISS KATHERINE E. CONWAY, OF THE BOSTON " PILOT."

" The newspaper," said a literary man to a friend the other
day, " is the lowest form of intellectual expression."

" It bears the relation to literature that sign-painting does to
art," supplemented another.

Yet when either of these has an idea which he desires quick-
ly and thoroughly disseminated, he chooses the medium of the
newspaper rather than that of the book.

The intellectual patrician may affect to despise the newspa-
per, but he can hardly dispense with it. And it is the mental
daily bread of the masses. It is almost the strongest force in
the formation of the opinions, social, political, religious, of the
average man.

But Christ died for the average man. What are we here
for, members of the APOSTOLATE OF the Press, but to get
at the most effective methods of bringing the printed truth to
the average man ? Shall the children of this world be for ever
wiser in their generation than the children of light ? The pro-
phets and apostles of every remedy or quackery for the material
ills of the body social, the propagandists of every fleeting " fad "
or " ism," seize first on the newspaper press. Is not this readiest,
most widely extending medium just as available for the propaga-
tion of the truth ? What use are we making of it ? Can we
honestly assert that we are making all the use we can of it ?

" Newspaper " now means, properly speaking, only the daily
paper. But the term still seems to be used loosely to cover

The Apostolate of the Press. . yy

everything in the shape of a periodical that is not a monthly
magazine or a quarterly. And though the daily press affords
the most and the shortest roads, all other publications, too,
can be made to yield paths for the progress of the printed
truth.

The Apostles of the Press, I take it, aim first" at strengthening
the faith of practical Catholics ; second, at brightening or re-
kindling it in those Catholic souls in which it is dimmed or
extinguished ; third, at bringing it in its full and heart-attracting
radiance before the non-Catholic public.

The first part of our mission would be naturally accomplished
through the Catholic press. Here is an old road, contempora-
neous at least with the Erie, by which the gospel of printed
truth has long been travelling. It was begun when Bishop Eng-
land started his United States Catholic Miscellany over sixty
years ago.

In what condition is this old road to-day ? The Catholic Mis-
cellany is only of blessed memory. Boston has had a Catholic
paper for precisely sixty years. The veteran Catholic papers of
New York, Cincinnati, and Pittsburgh have each passed their
fiftieth birthday. So much for pioneer road-building.

We have now in the United States about seventy-five Catho-
lic weeklies. Their combined circulation cannot much exceed
three hundred thousand. Their readers may, perhaps, be repre-
sented by five times this figure. We are speaking only of jour-
nals published in the language of our country. Wherever
Catholics of German origin are numerous, there is a German
Catholic weekly ; and be it remembered, the only Catholic daily
in the United States is the German Amerika of St. Louis.

We have but one magazine devoted to general literature —
The Catholic World. Of the others, one is purely ecclesiastical,
one appeals directly to the Catholics of Irish blood, another is
the organ of a Catholic educatioi al union ; the rest are declared
exponents of special devotions, with literary features added, less
for the sake of literature than for the chance to present in
poem or story a new aspect of the devotion.

In one point we American Catholics are ahead of the Eng-
lish Catholics. We have a splendid review, the America?! Catho-
lic Quarterly. But the bulk of our weekly journals are inferior
to theirs. We have nothing, for example, quite so good as the
London Tablet, which, aside from its detestable politics, is one
of the best-edited publications in the language. We have not
more than two papers in line with Wilfrid Meynell's London

78 The Apostolate of the Press.

Register ; few papers better than the Liverpool Catholic Times,
or the Catholic News of Preston, England — few, indeed, so uni-
formly good.

Why? Once generally, and still to some extent locally, the
comparative poverty of the body Catholic might be fairly offered
in explanation. Our Catholic population has, however, greatly
strengthened within the past four decades. It has financial, po-
litical, social, intellectual influence. The great secular publishing
houses, the daily press, have to take it into account. But does
the distinctly Catholic press adequately represent Catholic
advance ?

If this Convention were merely a pleasant social gathering,
properly devoted to interchange of compliments and the passing
of idle but well-sounding resolutions—" resolving that which is
not, and considering it even as done " — chief object of a conven-
tion, according to the observant Donna Catalina in the Knight
Errant of the Foot-Hills — it would be in order to answer in the
affirmative ; nay, more, to boast of the progress of the Catholic
press. But it would ill become apostles of the printed truth to
plan a missionary campaign on a basis of pleasant falsehoods.
So, we may as well admit that the American Catholic press is
not a very wonderful affair, and that a large part of the Catho-
lic public are apathetic on the question of a Catholic press at
all.

We are not forgetting the dif^culties of our beginnings, nor
the missionary service which the pioneer Catholic newspapers
rendered in keeping the faith alive — and, not seldom, in making
converts to the faith — in the towns and villages and frontier set-
tlements which a priest rarely reached, simply by disseminating
sound instruction in the essentials of Catholic belief and prac-
tice. The Catholic press of that early day, humble as it was,
was a most effective ally of the Catholic pulpit. This is what
the CathoHc press of this more fortunate day should be, but on a
far grander scale. The Catholic journal should be the best
helper of the priest in disseminating and strengthening sound
Catholic principles — not by usurping the functions of the pulpit ;
no longer by simply, or even largely, reproducing the pulpit ;
but by informing every feature that goes to make up a good,
readable paper — good from the severely professional stand-point —
with Catholic life and light. This is what we all want to do,
what we all mean to do ; but how remotely in .most cases do we
approximate our ideal !

We gladly admit that Catholic papers have advanced, espe-

The Apostolate of the Press. 79

cially within the past twenty years, in numbers, in resources, in
tone and temper. Perhaps it was in repelling the rough ag-
gressions of the common enemy that we acquired the roughness
which once characterized our intercourse with one another. Any
Catholic journalist of even fifteen years' experience can remem-
ber when a prominent feature of the average Catholic journal
was the warfare which the editor was waging on some Catholic
brother editor with a directness, vigor, and amplitude of personal
abuse hardly to be matched outside of the Arizona Kicker.

We have collectively — there are, of course, rare instances of
the survival of the unfittest — outgrown all that. We owe much
to the courteous examples of the lamented John Boyle O'Reilly
and Valentine Hickey. We quarrel a little still, it is true, but
it is generally about methods, and not with men ; and one Catho-
lic editor may have a sharp controversy with another over the
extent of the state's right in popular education, for example,
without challenging his veracity, or indulging in bitter allusions
to his mysterious and guilty past.

We have also numerously left behind the day when the
Catholic journal stafT was composed of an able-bodied man and
a pair of scissors. Though it is doubtful if recklessly made up
boiler-plate matter be an improvement on the harmless, necessary
shears, yet in many cases we have not to choose between them,
but are justified in modest allusions to assistant editors and
paid correspondents.

All this is good so far as it goes, but it goes a pitifully little
way. We must not despise the day of small things, but neither
must we rest in it, especially when it is also the day of great
needs.

Making the most of our gains, is it not true that a large pro-
portion of our Catholic papers are still poor affairs — exercising
no influence at all on contemporary secular thought, and little
even on Catholic thought ? They are apologized for by the cul-
tivated and fastidious Catholic — who forgets that he has a re-
sponsibility in the matter. They are grudgingly patronized in a
spirit of alms-giving by well-to-do Catholics, who often boast that
they don't read them ! How many households of indifferent
Catholics there are where the absence of all Catholic papers is
defended — unjustly, of course — by some dismal experiment in local
Catholic journalism.

Catholic papers of this sort are only by-ways for the Gospel
of the printed truth. How can we straighten them, broaden them,
make of them well-macadamized thoroughfares, over which the

8o The Apostolate of the Press.

messenger of good tidings shall go briskly, welcomed at every
door ?

But all along the line of Catholic journals there is room for
improvement. We owe our faithful subscribing Catholics, to
whom it is due that there is a Catholic press at all, better papers.
Too long has the duty to subscribe been urged, without a word
about the right of the subscriber to get the worth of his money.
There has been too much editorial talking down to the reader.
Study the rapid increase of Catholic schools of every grade, the
multiplication of refined Catholic homes, the growing prominence
of our young men and women in intellectual avocations ; and
consider if it does not beseem us to talk up and not down to
our constituencies. There has been too much of this attitude
to the people : " You should support the Catholic paper anyhow
—because it's Catholic." The Catholic press has been pleaded
for — even before so dignified a body as the Catholic Congress of
1889 — as if it were an orphan asylum.

Now, the Catholic press is an Apostolate, but an Apostolate
which to be effective, especially when it is exercised by lay
people, must be conducted on sound business principles. Let
us mend our old roads !

Road-mending costs money. Few Catholic papers are em-
barrassed by their surplus. I know of but one weekly paper
under Catholic management which employs a nearly adequate
staff ; pays its editors the salaries they could earn on a high-
class secular paper, and makes a regular feature of, not simply
news letters but paid literary contributors, including even the
poets.

The Paulist Fathers could not give us a magazine in line,
from the literary stand-point, with the best secular magazines,
and liberal payment to contributors, if the editors and business
managers didn't do their work for nothing. The excellent pub-
lications of the Jesuits, Dominicans, and Fathers of the Holy
Cross have been possible only through the free labor of their
managers.

On some even fairly good Catholic papers, through limited
means, too much of the work is from one hand. It is hard for
one man, however clever, to do wisely and brilliantly the jour-
nalistic work that should be divided among three.

" Inadequate Catholic patronage," says the editor in extenuation
of the shortcomings of his paper.

" Dull Catholic papers," say the non-subscribing Catholics in
self-defence.

The Apostolate of the Press. 8i

We need a sweeping reform both of papers and patronage ;
but it must begin with the papers.

" Don't moan that the CathoHc press is poorly patronized,"
John Boyle O'Reilly used to say, "but make your paper so good
that the people must take it."

Though our resources are small, yet can't they be better
utilized than they are at present ?

In the first place, can't we get thoroughly awake to the fact
that the day of the weekly neivs paper is over, and that our
Catholic people generally are as assiduous and intelligent readers
of the daily papers as any other people ? They are justly bored
and offended when their local Catholic weekly is largely a re-
hash of the local secular dailies.

The Catholic paper's whole reason for being — the whole hope
of its prosperous future — is that it gives its readers something
they can't find anywhere else. Now, they get the news — even
most of the Catholic news — in the daily papers. They look to
the Catholic paper for correction, comment, opinion. What the
Catholic editor owes to his readers is a terse record of Catholic
contemporary history with intelligent comment thereon ; the
Christian lesson of the events of the world's history ; refutation,
not of the silly slanders appearing in the backwoods, no-Popery
organs, which refute themselves, but of the adroit misrepresen-
tations of history, the false deduction, the* doubt suggested in a
compliment, as touching matters Catholic, which Catholics are
absorbing every day through the daily press, the literary journal
or magazine, or popular novel, or treatise on political economy,
or brilliant biography of statesman or philanthropist or poet.

It is of infinitely more consequence to keep before our read-
ers the Catholicity of true democracy ; sound views on the
school question, the labor question, the matter of Papal inde-
pendence, etc., than to devote leaders to the dogma of the
Immaculate Conception, which none of them doubt, or to fill a
column with the full names and addresses of the seven hundred
priests who attended the latest consecration of a cathedral.
The Catholic editor owes it further to his readers to indicate to
them Catholic standard literature, to keep them abreast of the
contemporary Catholic literary movements, and to cast a Catholic
light on general literature. He should keep before them the
work of eminent Catholic men and women in every field.

In a word, that Catholic paper is fulfilling its mission which
helps to make its readers strong in the faith, ready in defence of
it, and supremely proud of it.
6

82 The Afostolate of the Pfess.

But to be and do all this the Catholic editor would need
the aggressive zeal and courage of a McMaster, the scholarship
and instinct of orthodoxy of a Valentine Hickey, and the liter-
ary ability, the broad humanity and kindliness, of a Boyle
O'Reilly. Well, we have the examples of all these, and if we
were not especially thinking of the layman's Apostolate OF
THE Press, and finding, therefore, the example of his achieve-
ment most apposite, we might say much of the lesson of Father
Hacker's life to us.

Is [there any way, save by getting our work on this high
plane, that we American Catholic journalists can hope to hold
even good Catholics, much less to reach the estrays of our own
faith, or to impress the non-Catholic community ? Let us mend
our old roads!

And let us, too, make new ones. How is the Apostolate
OF THE Press to get at indifferent Catholics, Protestants, unbe-
lievers ? Only through the secular press.

Father Elliott, in his call to this Convention, spoke of the
appalling ignorance of Christian principles on the part of non-
Catholics. Isn't there also an appalling amount of ignorance
and wrong-headedness on religious matters among Catholics
themselves ?

Are there not Catholics whose attitude to the church is full
of jealousy and distrust? — who draw a sharp dividing line
between God and the church ; who talk of " ecclesiasticism, "
and resent the educational decrees of the Plenary Council as an
interference in family affairs ; who use the expressions " broad "
and " Catholic " in so sharp antitheses as to reveal their con-
viction that whatever is Catholic is necessarily narrow ; who hold
to the Catholic name, it is true, but on matters of Catholic
obedience reserve the right to pick and choose, and exercise
"private judgment," as thoroughly as any Protestant ever did
on the Bible. These Catholics, ordinarily, are the spiritual pro-
ducts of the non-religious system of education.

Is there not still another class of Catholics whose actions
proclaim what they would not dare to formulate in words even
to their own souls : " I know my religion is true, and that if I
forsake it I'll lose my soul ; but I'm rather ashamed of it, I fear
it's vulgar, I know it's narrow ; and oh ! how I wish I had been
genteelly born outside of the church, and allowed to remain
for ever in invincible ignorance ! "

One would be inclined to contempt for these small souls but
for the remembrance that Christ, foreseeing them, still thought

The Apostolate of the Press. 83

them worth dying for. So we must account them worth working
for, and must even at times adapt our methods to their weak-
ness.

But there is almost less hope of reaching or impressing the
sort of Catholics described above through Catholic papers than
of reaching Protestants through that medium.

Such Catholics have scant respect for Catholic intellectual
achievement or opinion till it is praised or reinforced by non-
Catholics. They hesitated about Dante till he was taken up by
the Concord School of Philosophy ! Protestant patronage of
Catholic college or convent school influences their action far
more than the highest ecclesiastical approbation would. They
won't seriously consider a Catholic newspaper or book until they
have seen it in non-Catholic hands, or complimented by the
secular or Protestant press.

We can never do much for weak and worldly Catholics, or
for the non-Catholic community, with our Apostolate of the
Press till there are more and better Catholics in secular jour-
nalism and in general literature.

It is good to see so many Catholic young men and women
gravitating towards journalism ; but it is devoutly to be wished
that many of those so moving were better instructed and braver
Catholics.

We have already touched on the general willingness of the
daily press to give liberal space to the record of Catholic events.
They find it worth their while to do it. They would infinitely
rather have such record correctly made than otherwise. It is
putting it mildly to say how much the managing editor prefers
the Catholic sufficiently well up in his religion to know, at least,
what a priest wouldn't say, to him whose misleading " story "
brings in an indignant letter and forces a prominent correction in
the next issue.

Is it not an apostolic work merely to avert wide-spread mis-
representation of matters Catholic ? May we underrate the good
accomplished simply by the correct and dignified reporting of
Catholic ceremonies, the spreading of sermons and addresses,
the narration of deeds of heroic charity? We do not touch on
the opportunities of the critic or editorial writer. All these
things are now a part of the routine work on the enterprising
daily paper. They would fall naturally to the journalist who is
a Catholic, What a pity if he be not equal to his opportuni-
ties!

There are Catholics of more or less — very often less — literary

84 The Afostolate of the Press.

ability who are constantly proclaiming their yearning to devote
their pens to the service of the church ; who parade it as a vir-
tue that they write only for Catholic publications, and who are
also constantly bemoaning the small revenue to be derived from
such service. They have the most exaggerated notions of the
money-value of their sacrifice.

They wildly overrate the payment accorded to literary or
journalistic work on secular publications, A writer must be very-
famous indeed before he gets an " unearned increment, " so to
speak, on the score of the bubble reputation. Some one writing
recently in a Western Catholic newspaper on the familiar theme
of the sacrifices made by Catholics who devote their pens
exclusively to Catholic papers, pleaded for syndicating on such
papers — not only that a good thing might thus be easily
brought within the reach of many readers, but also that it might
bring in to the writer one hundred and fifty dollars instead of
ten dollars. He intimated that the former figure might easily
represent what a well-known poet, who is a Catholic, received
for some verses appearing a short time previous in the New
York Independent.

Now, as a matter of fact, that poem brought its author not
more than $15 — a price which the New York Independent rarely
exceeds on poems.

I knew a brilliant young convert, an Oxford man, to spend
nearly a year on a Catholic paper at six dollars a week. But
he was offset by a Harvard graduate of my acquaintance on a
rich metropolitan daily at seven dollars per week! I think of
still another Harvard man, with a very fair literary reputation,
and a social position to sustain, on the. scant five hundred dol-
lars per year paid him as reader of MSS. by a very wealthy and
famous publishing house.

We may smile at the two dollars or three dollars paid for
poems by struggling Catholic magazines, but I have seen Life's
check for $2.50 for a brilliant poem to a well-known literary
man. On the whole the slaves of the pen work for whatever
they get anywhere.

They are indeed to be commended who faithfully devote
themselves to building up a Catholic press and a Catholic liter-
ature— to mending the old roads; but there are other forms of
acceptable service, and they are also to be praised who go forth
bravely making new ones.

Looking at journalism and literature merely as means of live-
lihood, no one claims that a Catholic is obliged to write

The Apostolate of the Press. 85

exclusively for Catholic publications, nor to bring out his books
exclusively with Catholic publishers. Our only duty is not to
trim nor compromise in deference to the real or supposed pre-
judices of non-Catholics.

Indeed, the Catholic who has made a name in general liter-
ature, who has won by force of ability and good workmanship
the entrance into the best publications — and is still known as a
devout Catholic — can be the most effective in the Apostolate
OF THE Press, especially in that branch of it which aims at the
enlightenment and conversion of the non-Catholics of America.
For such a Catholic it is often the higher duty to choose the
non-Catholic medium. Shall Maurice F. Egan sacrifice his
opportunity of presenting the Catholic Layman's Conviction on
the school-question in the North American Revieiv for the sake
of an extra story in the Ave Maria} Would George Parsons
Lathrop's article on Dr. Brownson do as much good anywhere
as it will in its announced place, the Atlantic MontJily ?

Some of us remember a bitter little fling against "Catholics
who write for the Independent. " Would to God we had more
Catholics like the majority of those who write for the Indepen-
dent !

Oh ! let us remember that there is room enough and work
enough for all of us ; that the question of old road or new is
to be solved for every one of us by opportunity ; that the
supreme question, appealing with equal force to all, is : " Am
I, with the means at my command, doing all the good that
God and humanity have a right to expect of me ? "

86 The Apostolate of the Press.

TITR SFXULAR PRESS; THE CHURCH AND INTEM-
PERANCE.

JjnTKK FROM WILLIAM F. CARNE.

Alexandria, Va., December 31, 1891.
The Paiilist Fathers :

Rkvkrknd and di;ak I^^atiikrS: I regret that my engage-
ments will prevent my attendance, in body, at the Convention of
the Al'OSTOLATK OF TllK PRKSS on the 6th and 7th proximo in
New York, to which you have kindly invited me. As well have
sent your bidding to a galley-slave chained to his oar as to the
reporter of the daily press.

The fact is that, humanly speaking, unless the truth be gath-
ered into the secular press it can never do its full, effective work
in the natural order. An experience of forty years of constant
work on the daily press, and the opportunities afforded by your
invitation, seem to impose upon me the duty of suggesting a
reform in the method of reporting church functions, dedications,
corner-stone layings, etc., in the daily papers. Cannot on such
occasions a succinct summary of what the function is, how it
came to be, what work in the world it is intended to accom-
plish, be furnished the reporters instead of lists of the names or
titles of the ministers and choir-singers, that are really as noth-
ing beside the greatness of the function. As a rule now the
outside world sees in such solemnities only music and incense,
flowers and laces. Such a summary as I suggest would occupy
no more space than the lists of functionaries ; would, I think, be
acceptable to the newspapers, and would be one way of getting
the truth into the secular press.

But of all the work which in the providence of God may be
done with the press, nothing, in my opinion, is half as important
as the use of the printing and distributing facilities of the day
in stamping into the public intelligence, driving into the brains
of the United States with a mallet and chisel, if need be, the
fact that the Catholic Church gives no sanction to American
rumselling. If millions of leaflets with the injunction of the
National Council on the abandonment of saloon-keeping by
Catholics for a more reputable avocation could be rained down

The Apostolate of the Press. 87

on Catholic and non-Catholic in every city, village, and hamlet
of America it would be, indeed, a rain from heaven.

In the minds of millions here the belief that the saloon
is not an anti-Catholic institution, is abiding ; and I have
myself heard a prominent Catholic say in public, " whiskey is
good and those who doubt it are Manichaeans, " using in this
way a theological word in a popular sense to the manifest
misleading of the people. If all honest men in America could
be convinced that the Catholic Church is anti-saloon, the church
would soon begin to receive on earth what it will receive in
heaven, the souls of the myriads of sincere American Christians
now in invincible ignorance.

Sincerely yours,

William F. Carne.

READING CIRCLES.

A LETTER FROM BROTHER AZARIAS.

My DEAR Father Elliott:

It gives me pleasure to co-operate with any movement calcu-
lated to consolidate and strengthen a Catholic APOSTOLATE OF
THE Press. Catholic writers need encouragement in order to be
outspoken on Catholic subjects. Catholic readers require to
have their attention drawn to the fact that there is a Catholic
press to be supported, and to that other fact of no less moment,
that there are Catholic books well worth the perusal. In this
respect I cannot emphasize too strongly the work that has
already been done by the Columbian and the Cathedral Reading
Circles of New York City, and the Catholic Educational Union
of Youngstown, Ohio. They are untiring in their efforts to
make known our best Catholic literature. They are proving,
even to our non-Catholic publishers, that Catholic tastes are
worth catering to, Catholic books are worth handling, and Catho-
lic authors are worth patronizing. Therefore should there be
among readers and writers holding as one the great religious
truths of redemption and salvation, and believing in the infallible
authority of the same divinely instituted church, a common bond
of brotherhood leading to mutual aid and encouragement. All
petty spites and jealousies should be buried. Instead of striving

88 The Apostolate of the Press.

to pull down merit that has already achieved success, or nipping
buds of intellectual promise with the cold sneer of scepticism
concerning their worth, we who work in the rank and file of
authorship should stand shoulder to shoulder, while each in his
own way, and to the best of his ability, and according to the
light and strength that God has given him, makes for the com-
mon good and fights the common enemy. And if this movement
would only impress upon our Catholic authors and Catholic
editors the sense of their responsibility in such a manner that in
everything they pen, be it ever so slight, they would first inform
themselves thoroughly and afterwards put forth unceasing efforts
to express themselves in the best manner possible, it would
already have achieved much. We may not know history as John
Gilmary Shea knows it ; we may not treat philosophical questions
with the grasp of a Brownson ; we may not sing as sweetly as
did Father Ryan and John Boyle O'Reilly, but we can none the
less use our best endeavor, by study and thought and severe lit-
erary discipline, to make acceptable whatever we place before
the public. Only so may we reach the full, rounded expression
of truth that has an abiding influence.
Believe me, dear Father Elliott,

Very sincerely yours,

Brother Azarias.

Providence^ Christinas Day, 1891.

The Apostolate of the Press. 89

HOW TO START AND MAINTAIN A CATHOLIC
JOURNAL.

BY H. L. RICHARDS, JR., OF WINCHESTER, MASS.*

I HAVE been asked by Father Elliott to give a brief sketch
of the history of a Catholic paper with which I have the honor
to be connected. I speak the more freely of the success of
this paper and of its causes because my own connection with it
is comparatively recent. And its history may be presumed to
be of interest to the Convention because it seems to me to dis-
prove two notions which I believe are very prevalent. It is
said and repeated, first, that our people — Catholic people here-
abouts— do not want, will not read, and cannot be induced to
subscribe for what is called Vith a sneer a ^^ pio7is paper ^ Again,
it is urged and reiterated with emphasis, and sometimes with
heat, that our clergy do not appreciate Catholic papers, do not
encourage but rather hold aloof from and even discourage them,
at least negatively. These are the two contentions. If the ex-
perience of the Sacred Heart Review of Boston does not dis-
prove them, it at least proves them to be not universally true.

A few years ago Father John O'Brien, pastor of the Sacred
Heart Church, Cambridge, in the Archdiocese of Boston, began
the issue of a little weekly paper hardly to be called a journal —
rather, perhaps, a parish bulletin. It gave regularly information
as to the church services, meetings of societies, and other parish
affairs, and in addition to this practical and " business " matter
it gave from, week to week a small supply of edifying and pious
reading for the families of the parishioners. The subscription
price was a mere trifle, as there was no desire to make money
out of the enterprise. From the first it was, within its own
modest ambition, highly successful. The people were pleased
with it. Parents valued it especially as a help to them in bring-
ing up their children. Soon other parishes heard of it. Pastors
saw in it precisely what they wanted. They asked, first one and
then another, that they might have an edition each for his own
parish. The thing grew perforce. From a simple little parish
record and bulletin, with some good reading for Saturday night

* This valuable paper was not called for at the Convention through the inadvertence of
the President.

go The Apostolate of the Press.

and Sunday in the family, its size was doubled. Now it runs
to sixteen pages, and though these pages are not the largest in
the world, we, who get out the copy for it, know, as they say,
that it "holds a lot of stuff." Its success has astonished its
founder. It has far outgrown its original parochial character
and has achieved a general and wide-spread circulation. And, by-
the-by, it is well printed on good paper, and has an attractive
appearance.

Though the question of circulation, as every newspaper man
knows, is a delicate one, I may say that our readers are very
numerous — numbering tens of thousands — far more than we ever
expected.

Now, there are two things to be observed here. First, it is
a ''pious paper " ; that is, it is not a newspaper but a Catholic
paper, pure and simple. We have in Boston two large and ably
conducted Catholic newspapers, one, at least, of which is repre-
sented here by persons well known in Catholic journalism. With
these we do not pretend to compete. Our very name indicates
the character of the paper and the Hmitations which from choice
it observes. We use every care, of course, to make it readable
and interesting. We keep in touch with the times by fully dis-
cussing current issues. But our chief aim is to make a distinc-
tively Catholic paper, full of good, rehgious reading. And Catho-
lics' subscribe for it, read it, value it, renew their subscriptions,
and pay for it. Thus we demonstrate that it cannot be laid
down as a universal proposition that Catholics will not take and
read a pious paper.

Another important fact is, that the remarkable success and
growth of the paper are due most of all to the clergy of the
diocese. They have aided and encouraged us. They read it,
they recommend it from the altar, they urge their people to
take it. They suggest topics of practical interest for discussion ;
they have, in short, given every possible proof of interest and
appreciation. And it may be mentioned in illustration that in
two weeks from now it is to be regularly and formally intro-
duced into the cathedral parish at the request and with the
express authorization of his Grace the Archbishop of Boston.
So much, then, for the assertion that the clergy do not encourage
or care for Catholic papers.

As to the character of the paper itself, all that we can afifirm
consistently Avith a becoming modesty is, perhaps, to quote the
saying of a clergyman, the pastor of one of the largest churches
in Boston, and himself one of the ablest and most brilliant of

The Apostolate of the Press. 91

his vocation. His church was celebrated for its music, and it
was remarked that many persons came there simply to hear the
music. " Well," he replied, "what we want is to attract peo-
ple. Let us once get them there, and if then we do not take care
of them it is our own fault."

We try simply to get out a paper that shall be both good
and readable. If we get readers started it is our own fault if
we do not keep them.

We do not think it necessary to deal in sensational tales or
other matter catering to a depraved taste. Our founder be-
lieved that there existed among our people a taste for good,
even for pious, reading. And our history proves that his judg-
ment was correct.

HOW THE PRINTER'S ART GOT ITS TERMS.

BY DAVID HEALY, OF NEW YORK.

I BEG as a humble representative of the press to express my
grateful appreciation of the eloquent tributes of recognition
bestowed upon the high and noble mission of true journalism by
the eminent priests and members of the laity, and especially
that of Judge McGloin, who has just spoken. I feel a pride in
belonging to a profession which was born within the shkdow of
the sanctuary, and was in an especial manner the production of
the Catholic Church. The pious monks of the church were the
first patrons and devotees of the printer's art. So completely
was it committed to their educated direction and untiring indus-
try, that the terms familiarly employed by them in the first
manipulation of the types were the same as they used in the
sacred literature of truth. They have been accepted by the
whole civilized world and have descended to our own day. This
is why we find the place where printing is done called the
" chapel "; a complete assortment of one size of types is called the
" font "; the inner room of the editor, held sacred from disturb-
ing intrusion, is called the " sanctum," and the crude apprentice,
who upsets the work by his blunders, is called in good-natured
raillery the printer's " devil. " I think it most fitting and most
auspicious that this great agency for the spread of the truth
should receive from the church, the divinely commissioned

92 The Apostolate of the Press.

teacher of the truth, a special charter and commission. I recog-
nize In the Apostolate of the Press a most auspicious
union of kindred forces potent for the advancement of rehgion
and civiHzation,

THE APOSTOLATE OF THE PRESS AND
WORKING-WOMEN.

BY MISS KATHERINE A. O'KEEFFE, OF LAWRENCE, MASS.

During the reading, yesterday, of papers which dwelt upon
the desirability of placing the fundamental doctrines of our holy
religion before Protestants, I felt several times inclined to say a
word about one way in which a great deal that is fundamen-
tally true reaches Protestants, as well as a deplorably great deal
that is fundamentally false. But I hesitated, lest the subject had
too remote a connection with the present work. Just before
leaving the hall, however, after the adjournment of last evening's
session, I heard a reverend father here relate an incident in line
with what I was thinking of. He spoke of having received into
the church an "old-fashioned Yankee," who told him that his
knowledge of Catholic truth had come to him through occasion-
ally reading the Boston Pilot, to which an employee of his was
a subscriber. From this I passed on to a remembrance of that
familiar statement of the well-known convert. Father Haskins :
" Never can I forget the Irish boy who, in exchange for the let-
ters I taught him, first taught me Christianity; nor the servant
in my father's employ, who lent me Catholic books and a Catho-
lic paper." All here, probably, can recall many other incidents
somewhat similar. It is of such possibilities that I wish to say
a word — very imperfectly I know, the result of only a few
moments' leisure this morning.

As I listened to the able papers, and to the eloquent, logical
discussions that followed ; and as I heard of the good and great
things Catholics have accomplished and are accomplishing, I
have realized with pleasure and pardonable pride how wonder-
fully, in a comparatively short time, we have improved our oppor-
tunities. Still, we all know that the majority of our people have
not yet been able to avail themselves of the great advantages of
education within the reach of others in our time and country ;

The Apostolate of the Press. 93

and that a great many are, as yet, employed in the lower walks
of life.

But what have they to do with the Apostolate of the
Press ? Often very much, it seems to me. Some of them are
brought into the closest connection with Protestants, and are
the disseminators of truth or of error, according as they are there-
with provided. The Catholic employee, for instance, man or
woman — no, that were too broad a view for a few minutes' im-
perfect presentation. I will confine myself to one division —
the Catholic servant-girl. How often has she been under God —
who loves to work through simple agents — the means of plant-
ing in her rich employer's soul the first seeds of truth ; and how
often, alas ! has she sowed there unconsciously, no doubt, the
seeds of error, which, in congenial soil, have borne bitter
fruit.

The Protestant women are, I think, more bigoted than the
men. For one reason, they are generally more interested in
their own religious affairs, which, with them, means to be less tol-
erant of all others. Again, they are in many places less likely
to come in contact with enlightened, well-instructed Catholics.
The men, their fathers, brothers, husbands, go out into the world,
where the angles of their prejudice become worn off through
contact with Catholic men whom they meet in business, in poli-
tics, and in various other ways, and whom they find to be as fair
and honorable, certainly, as the average. The women are not so
favorably placed, particularly in smaller towns and cities, where,
as yet, there is little social intercourse between Catholics and
Protestants. There the Protestant lady is likely to know of
Catholics only through her servant-girl ; and that knowledge may,
as the girl is prepared to meet the objections and answer the
questions of her mistress, be conducive to either a favorable or
an unfavorable opinion of Catholics and of their church.

God forbid that I should speak disparagingly of the good,
honest girls, many of whom are higher in the eyes of God than
those the world looks up to ; many of whom, indeed, I count
amongst my dear and respected friends.. I know how truly many
of them love our holy faith, and what sacrifices they would make,
and frequently do make, for it. I know, too, that many of them,
as I have already said, have planted the seeds of truth in the
souls of their employers ; but I also know that they do not
always do that ; that they are, oftentimes, incapable of it, and that,
indeed, their very zeal for their religion and their desire to spread
the truth has sometimes had the opposite effect. And, right

94 The Apostolate gf the Press.

here, it seems to me, the Apostolate OF THE PRESS has some
work to do. There are mistresses, even in this "woman's cen-
tury " of enlightenment, who are not themselves prodigies of
learning, and who have never read, perhaps could not half under-
stand, the able treatises with which our theologians and scholars
are so successfully combating error and refuting old-time calumnies.
These mistresses will, however, ask their servants questions about
their religion, they will look over the books and papers of their
servants ; and the latter, instead of answering such questions
with, " I believe everything the Catholic Church teaches, but
this question has never before been presented to me, and though
I know my church has a satisfactory answer for it, I am not
now able to give it. If, however, you are really interested, I will
inquire, or I will get you a book that will answer you " ; instead
of giving some such reply as this, they will attempt to meet
objections and answer questions that the most learned theo-
logian would ask time to pray over.

Are there not some practicable means by which these good,
well-intentioned girls may, in such cases, be assisted in doing a
noble work — a work which is continually within their reach ?

I come from a manufacturing city in Massachusetts, young
but fairly prosperous, the latter fact owing, in a great measure,
to the industry, ability, and thrift of Catholic laborers in various
avocations. In the one church that I attend there is a Young
Woman's Sodality of the Blessed Virgin numbering about six
hundred members, and a Society of the Sacred Heart numbering
still more. There are, of course, many other similar societies
numbering several hundred members ; but I cite these two as
being associations likely to come under the influence of the
Apostolate of the Press, as each society has what might be
considered its literary organ. In each of these two the great
majority are working-women, likely through their avocations to
come in contact with Protestants. They are clerks, dress-
makers, milliners, factory-girls, school-teachers, book-keepers, ser-
vant-girls. A great many of the members of these two societies
take — those in the first named the Ave Maria, and in the second,
the Messenger of the Sacred Heart. Others in these and kindred
societies take the Catholic World, the Boston Pilot, the Sacred
Heart Review, the Catholic Reading Circle Reviezv, and various
other Catholic periodicals. Now, if these periodicals would
spare a page or a column in each issue to present, in the plain-
est and simplest language, explanations of truth and refutations
of error, it would be of great service 'to a large number of their

The Apostolate of the Press. 95

readers, and would enable them thereby to do something in their
own simple and humble way to spread the truth and to dissi-
pate error.

We all know most of the subjects that would have to be
discussed. And that is just the difficulty. We know them so well
that we are tired of them, and imagine every one else is equally
so ; the result of which is that many whom we would like to
reach lose an opportunity of learning the truth and unlearning
falsehoods.

If managers of papers and magazines would keep these pos-
sibilities in mind, and devote a little more space to their humble
subscribers, those of us who need not this help could well spare
it, and I am sure that those to whom it might be given would
make good use of it both by acquiring information from it for
themselves, and by having that information at hand to meet the
questions and the objections of their employers.

THE APOSTOLATE OF THE PRESS AND CHILDREN.

BY MARY ELIZABETH BLAKE, OF BOSTON.

When one reflects upon the qualities of mind, as well as of
body, which belong to the formative period of childhood, and
their dependence for future strength or weakness upon the con-
ditions under which they are evolved, every step toward develop-
ment becomes a problem which can only be solved by the unit-
ed effort of wisdom and of love. Intelligence alone is too coldly
careful, affection alone too warmly kind to produce the best re-
sults. In the particular civilization to which we belong — that
end of the century type which has grown to mean so much and
so little — the transition has swung so far from restraint that it
is in danger of causing as grievous mistake, in regard to training,
as ever before. For all change is not progress, however much
it may appeal to the fickle mind of man. We have learned the
necessity of regular and severe physical exercise in order to in-
duce the robust and even growth of muscle and the firm control
of strong nerves. But, with strange blindness to the logical se-
quence of deduction, we are attempting to feed the soul and
form the basis of character upon the weakest and most relaxing
diet. We have been gradually eliminating from the mental out-

^6 The Apostolate of the Press.

fit of this generation one of the strongest influences which be-
longs to human nature — the inculcation of the principle that no-
thing of value can ever be gained without being paid for in good
coin of the realm. Morally or mentally, there must be effort in
the acquiring if the result is ever to be permanent. Knowledge
imbibed unconsciously is apt to remain for ever unconscious.
As a vivifying and active force it bears somewhat the same re-
lation to solid possession that the evanescent riches of specula-
tion have to the slow and sure profit of a legitimate business
enterprise. One vanishes as. lightly as it has come, slipping
through the careless hands which have not been taught its
value. The other becomes the splendid agent of wise philan-
thropy, educated prudence, and enlightened generosity.

The admirable means which Froebel instituted as an entering
wedge of reform in the education of children has, with all its
beauties, this one element of danger. Or rather, the careless ap-
plications made of it have had such tendency to run in the lines
of least resistance, to hide 'all the sturdy hardship of work under
the guise of play, that it often overshoots the mark. In the end
the child has made less gain in exact knowledge, and none at
all in the habit of serious effort. Now, life is not going to pre-
sent its difficulties to the young crusader with all the steps
toward their solution prearranged, with suggestions ready to
create action, with situations planned for the purpose of
arousing thought and interest. If in the early education one
has not been taught to grapple with the obstacle whenever and
wherever it occurs, to confront the emergency with readiness and
courage, there is an inherent weakness of character for which no
vivacity of temperament or quickness of perception will compen-
sate. The training must have developed resolution, persistency
under defeat, the dogged perseverance that struggles and falls
and rises to struggle again, or the conditions of failure are al-
ready established. Nature has not endowed us with that blessed
quality of combativeness in order that it should be left to decay
under the rust of inaction ; but that it should fill our lives with
the riches and the rejoicing which spring from the proper exer-
cise of every normal power and strengthen action with the fine
forces of determination.

The difficulty has largely been that we wait too long before
beginning to exercise sufficient care in the choice of the intel-
lectual influences under which the child is placed. We forget,
or we do not know, how early the formation of mental and
moral perception commences. We hesitate to make choice for

The Apostolate of the Press. 97

him, until he begins to sliow tastes and preferences ; half afraid,
else, that we may tamper with individuality, or thwart the origi-
nal bias of character. Yet what is taste, and what is preference,
ninety-nine times out of the hundred, but the expression of habits
already formed ; of likes and dislikes already divided by custom ;
of a mind already awakened to pleasure or pain by one set of
emotions, while it remains closed to the influence of another.
If the ordinary child of four years shows a leaning in this or
that direction, it is much more often because of four years' gradual
accumulation of impressions than of any strong inherited predi-
lection for one or the other form of thought. To begin then, and
then only, to choose the mental food which shall form disposi-
tion or character, is to begin four years too late. The songs
that have been sung to the infant, the stories that have been
told, the poems we have read to it, .have been forming a back-
ground, vague at first and uncertain, but gathering form and
color and shape with every breath. We have been working with
such impalpable materials as to be almost unconscious of their
presence, when lo ! already the foundation of the house has
been built. And the courses are laid in material like that Mexi-
can stone which can be moulded by a knife in the hand of the
carver, but which hardens into iron after. Now that we are com-
mencing the formation of a Catholic literature for childhood — for
although so much admirable work has been done in France and
Germany, we are still in America very near the beginning — there
are some points worth grave consideration. In much, indeed in
most of that provided in modern days for this early training,
justice has not been done to the latent power of the child's un-
derstanding— above all, of the child's imagination. To him
in that first morning time yet bright with the light of heaven
which still clings about hira, yet dazzled by the wonderful new
experiences of that wonderful new world, all things are somewhat
unreal and mystical. The most commonplace objects are prob-
lems ; the most matter-of-fact events in some way mysterious.
The spirit, wandering out of the great vague spectrum of immen-
sity which first surrounds it has not yet adjusted itself to the limits
of time and space, or to the working of those natural laws which
by and by will be taken for granted. The soul lives in a border-
land of romance, wherein every thought is novel, every act and ac-
tor partakes alike of enchantment. For it flame of the candle and
light of the moon are the same ; one is no more distant or beautiful
than the other. In such state of receptivity the great and the good
can be as freely broached as the little and the worthless. It cannot
7

98 The Apostolate of the Press.

fully understand either, but it can retain sufficient impress to
hold for ever some loftier or some more degrading standard
by which to measure after-impressions.

Those who have personal experience in the mind education of
children know, and none other can, with what strange avidity
and what amazing lucidness of perception they accept problems
which come only by long process of reasoning to our soberer
judgment. Imagination makes up what intellect lacks; and they
grasp with keenest enjoyment facts and fancies of which one
would have deemed them incapable. Especially is this true of
poetic imagery. Tales of Shakspere, Stories of Homer, Idyls of
the King, Lays of Ancient Rome, will become part and parcel
of themselves long before our cold wisdom could have divined
the possibility. So, too, the lives of the Saints, the grand fierce
beauty of the Old Testament, the divine loveliness of the New,
the splendid pageant of Christian heroism, the legends of devo-
tion, the history of faith. For us especially the exposition of
that heritage of greatness and riches of which the church has
been guardian for nineteen centuries, which should be the apple
of our eye, but which too often is seen only through a veil that
dims or distorts. There is nothing more striking than the subtle
affinity of the child's soul for such books; and the nearer the
language reflects the majesty of the thought, the more readily
is it understood. They do not stumble and hesitate, as we too
often, over one unknown word, which makes an inspired page
halt for want of an interpreter to make its slightest shade of
meaning clear. They do not quibble over trifles; but like some
eager lover, whose desire fills every gap with import, the strong
pulse which beats beneath the letter carries them triumphantly
on to the final comprehension of its beauty and truth.

But although imagination is a quality which should be most
tenderly and carefully trained, since upon it depends so much of
the happiness and usefulness of later life, it is not the only one
to be provided for and considered in the literature of childhood.
The intense yearning for action, the immense curiosity which
questions and seeks, which knocks at all doors, and enters into
the vestibule of all truth, demands satisfaction. Why should we
attempt to satisfy it by the milk and water which is so often
offered by way of literary answer. With the wonders of astron-
omy and botany being every day revealed more clearly to
searching eyes; with the miracles of scientific investigation, the
secrets of earth and air being unravelled before the inquiring
mind; with the master spirits that are spending the riches of

The Apostolate of the Press. 99

intellect and discovery to uplift the standard of knowledge in
their respective domains, why should the children lack for food
of the best and purest? Why limit their bold and adventurous
souls to zigzag journeys and Bodley books, to meaningless creeds
of boy frolic and girl's quarrels, while the brave front of the
explorer is piercing the shadows of every unknown corner of
earth, amid scenes which outrival the dreams of romance in
their splendid reality ? Why not introduce him — not as pale his-
toric shadows, but as living, acting human beings — to the Jesuits
in North America, to Columbus, to Livingstone, to Kane, to St.
Francis Xavier, and to those young heroes, fighting soldiers of the
Cross, who are even now daring the unknown horrors of darkest
Africa for glory of God instead of worldly honor. Children are
all, thank God, hero worshippers ! Let their heroes be the true,
the deathless, instead of those showy idols, with feet of clay,
who are so often placed in the foreground of their vision, and
who usurp, through so many years of later life, the niches and
pedestals which should be shrines of real greatness. Trace for
them in glowing and good English the men and women of the
past and of the present who have wo^n true glory in those fields
of peace and helpfulness which have been too long overshadowed
by the more brilliant glamour of red-armed war. Make the
names they should be proud of household words ; so that history
shall be no longer a bloodless monster of dates and enigmas,
but an unforgetable story, whose fascinating chapters are still
unfolding. Above all, let whatever is done for them be of a
kind to stimulate desire for greater and better things, of a
kind which shall strengthen rather than enervate, and whet
the appetite instead of satiating. And as a natural result from
such premises, let the work be by the master hand rather than
the apprentice. Let the beginners write for us, who are old
enough to recognize the promise of the work spite of its incom-
pleteness, and sufificiently used to the scanty harvests of the
world to count gladly and gratefully the grains of wheat in the
bushel of chaff. Our sense of proportion can make due allow-
ance, and arrange in proper order that which deserves remem-
brance from that other which is but as the passing voice of the
wind which sighs once and is then gone. But let the child's
page be as beautiful, as fine, and as symmetrical as the ripeness
of talent and of skill can create it. Fifty years ago — aye, even
twenty — this might have been considered a chimerical proposition.
The maturity of great intellects was too busy with the discus-
sion and solution of abstract questions of reform or of inquiry

loo The Apostolate of the Press.

to trouble itself about the training of childhood. But, however
much reason we have to quarrel with the inaterialism of the
modern world there is this to be said in its favor. It has made
not only possible but practicable a wiser order of affairs. It is
learning to understand that great changes, whether of morals or
of taste, must begin from the beginning; and that the intellectual
influences under which the child is placed to-day are those which
will largely control the man to-morrow. The old rule of the
equality between supply and demand is again being proven.
When a single magazine for children can promise to its readers
talks upon government and politics by Gladstone, health by
Hammond and Mackenzie Morrill, adventure by Russell and
Stanley, art by Verestchagin, self-reliance by Carnegie and
Field, enterprise by De Lesseps, fiction by MacDonald, political
economy by Playfair, and every conceivable point of interest in
character and affairs by a host of brilliant and sympathetic
writers, the question of authorship is solved. If we desire to
make personal application of their methods the way is open
before us. We have material in plenty. To sum up, then, the
requisites toward which development should tend in the forma-
tion of children's reading : a literature of masters instead of
pupils. Plenty of imagination — there can scarce be too much
since from it spring the qualities which hold us responsive to
nature and sympathetic toward mankind. The fairy tale which
turns the glad and loving soul of the child toward sky and
stream, hedgerow and mountain peak, flower and forest, is as
rich an element of good as the patient self-helpfulness of Robin-
son Crusoe or the manly self-respect of Tom Brown. The
poetry of life needs to be strongly set to music that it may
hold its own amid the coarser uproar of harsh prose which so
outvoices it. A vivid and noble relation of the great deeds of
great hearts which have made the world rich, and which remain
as impetus for every high ambition, the wonders of science,
the loveliness of art, the supreme glory of religious motive and
conviction to lift the soul into prayerful communion with the
great Author and Master, all made as beautiful, as attractive,
and as simple as only great truths are capable of being. In the
ocean of written words for childhood, which ebbs and flows
unceasingly, each line of this kind is a spring of purity and
strength, to cleanse and hearten. It is cause for thanksgiving
and for hope that we have already so much of it. The rest is
but froth and foam which has neither beauty nor usefulness,
which rises for a moment to the surface and then vanishes for ever.

The Apostolatr of the Press. ioi

THE PRESS AND CHILDREN.

A LETTER FROM MRS. JOSEPHINE M. HECKER.

Dear Father Ei.r.lOTT: I am more than interested in- the
great idea of the Al'OSTOI.ATE OF THE PRESS.

We all readily acknowledge and appreciate the power of the
press for good or for evil, but we wake very slowly to the
thought that it depends upon us, upon each and every one of
us, to put that power into action for good and to keep it from
evil.

Thanks to God, then, that a body of Catholic men and wo-
men are to meet, and to take counsel, and to pray over this
matter ! The fields of the world are white for the harvest and
waiting for the God-sent laborers.

May I say a few words in regard to the press and children ?

Nearly twenty-four years ago Father Hecker conceived the
thought of giving to our Catholic children a paper that would
be strong and earnest in the Faith, beautiful in art, and bright,
helpful, and progressive in its tone. Very few Catholic papers
for children were then to be found in the United States, and
when TJie Young Catholic became an accomplished fact it was
received w^ith the greatest favor, and soon had a circulation of
from fifty to eighty thousand.

Since then it has had almost innumerable successors, and no
Catholic child throughout our whole country need now be with-
out a Catholic paper prepared expressly for children.

What has struck me in the years that TJie Young CatJiolic
has been in existence is the intelligence of the children, and
their love and zeal for their holy faith. And it seems to me
that on this last line, love and zeal for their faith, a paper for
children should particularly work. They should be, in season
and out of season, urged to give thanks to God for the gift of
faith. They should be taught to say again and again with St.
Teresa, in a spirit of thanksgiving, " I am a child of the Holy
Catholic Church." They should be urged to work and pray for
the conversion of the people of this country. They will re-
spond generously, and while they pray for others they will
unconsciously value more and more God's gift to them — their
heritage of faith. Alas ! how many poor little ones, thrown

I02 The Apostolate of the Press.

amongst the enemies of their faith and knowing nothing of it,
have come to be ashamed of it, to deny it, and even to hate it !
Before leaving this subject I would like to speak of two as-
sociations that have been in existence many years among the
readers of The Young Catholic — the Sunbeam Club and The
Young Catholics Band of Missionaries. The members of the
Missionary Band promise to say every day, at least once, but
oftener if possible, this prayer : O God, grant to the people of this
country the gift of faith, and bring them into thy Holy Church.
Thousands and thousands of children have joined this band,
whole schools joining at once and saying the prayer in com-
mon, adding it to their morning and evening prayers. The
letters of the children in joining and at other times are full of
zeal and enthusiasm. It is surely a joy to think of the many
prayers going up from innocent hearts for the conversion of our
countrymen, and a consolation to feel that while the children
pray for the gift of faith for others they learn to love and prize
the blessed gift themselves.

I said in a previous paragraph that there was no reason why
every CathoHc child should not have a Catholic paper to r^ad.
In one sense there is no reason, for the paper is ready for the
child ; but are we ready to put it in the hands of the child ?
Are priests, and parents, and teachers awake to the necessity of
doing what depends on them to make our rising generation of
Catholics enlightened, earnest, strong, and faithful ? This has got
to be done through what they read as well as through what they
are taught orally. Books and papers are the arms of the cru-
saders of the nineteenth century, and with them we must pre-
serve our own and win to God those who are in the darkness
of error and unbelief.

I believe in the APOSTOLATE OF THE PRESS. May God

speed its work !

Josephine M, Hecker,

Editor of the Young Catholic.

The Afostolate of the Press. 103

THE APOSTOLATE OF THE PRESS AND THE ARMY.

letter from rev. j. f. dolphin, chaplain u. s. a.

Fort Snelling, Minn.,

January 4, 1891.

President of the Conventio?i of the Apostolate of the Press :

I respectfully invite your attention to the United States
army as a ripe field for the labors of the Apostolate OF
THE Press. The army consists of 25,000 men, distributed in
125 garrisons throughout the country. From one-fourth to one-
third of the soldiers are, or should be, Catholics. At many
posts the soldiers seldom see a priest ; and in few posts have
they facilities for the regular practice of their religion. At all
posts military duties greatly interfere with attendence at Mass
with any regularity. Hence it is not surprising that the
Catholics in the army are greatly exposed to the danger of be-
coming lax in the performance of their religious duties, and of
even losing their faith. Away from the influences of home, and
in the circumstances mentioned, and often surrounded by great
temptations, their condition is forlorn.

In the Apostolate of the Press I see a saving agent full
of power to remedy the evil. It seems, in fact, the only agent
which may hope to reach and speak to and do missionary work
with all.

The post libraries are open to your literature. Place on
their tables good, attractive Catholic reading matter, and you
will surely accomplish much in keeping alive the faith and
awakening the consciences of Catholics, and setting before others
in the true light the teachings of our church, which is so little
understood and so much maligned.

When your plans are ready to be put in practice, command
me at your pleasure, trusting in my cordial and unreserved co-
operation. I am, yours sincerely,

J. F. Dolphin,
Post Chaplain U. S. Army.

104 'The Apostolate of the Press.

CATHOLIC READING AND THE NAVY.*

BY REV. EDWARD J. MCQOLRICK, ST. CECILIA'S CHURCH, BROOKLYN.

The Apostolate of the Press appeals to every zealous
Catholic with a force and conviction that is inferior only to a
heavenly inspiration. And in response to Father Elliott's re-
quest I gladly contribute some practical suggestions about read-
ing in the navy, my experience in the Brooklyn Navy-yard en-
abling me to do so intelligently.

There are in the United States navy about 9,000 men, in-
cluding both sailors and marines. Of this number it is conceded
by the very best authority that two-thirds are Catholics, As to
the character or moral standing of our fellow-Catholics who thus
go down to the sea in ships and do business in great waters
there is a most lamentable ignorance, a fact which is very preju-
dicial to our noble-hearted tars. The majority of people think
that sailors are as a class a careless, shiftless, heedless set of
fellows without one serious thought, one redeeming quality.
This conclusion they arrive at because they associate the word
sailor with the degraded specimens they see about sailors' board-
ing-houses or lounging about the wharves of our maritime cities.
They believe that men who have made a failure of life, who
seek to hide from society, good-for-nothing and of idle habits, are
the only types of manhood found in the navy. Nothing can be
more false than such notions, or more injurious to a body
of men of whom our country should be proud. Only able-
bodied seamen, with letters of recommendation from the last
captain with whom they sailed, are admitted into the navy. If
perchance a man of depraved habits, a blasphemer, a narrator of
vile and filthy stories, a liar, a thief, or drunkard, should by some
accident be admitted into the navy, he soon amends his ways
because he finds he has fallen among honest and decent men, or
else he is severely punished for his bad conduct, and if found
incorrigible is publicly and ignominiously expelled from the
navy.

Every man entering the navy must, moreover, be able to read
and write, and having entered on this career the Jiabit of read-

*It was hoped that Father Parks, Catholic Naval Chaplain, would be present at the Con-
vention and read a paper, but he was ordered to sea and thus prevented from doing so.

The Apostolate of the Press. 105

ing is very soon acquired. I doubt if there is any body of men,
professional men excepted, who are greater readers than are our
blue-jackets and marines. They are not only great readers, but
they have a most retentive memory. To be convinced that they
are great readers you need but enter the Naval Hospital in
Brooklyn, and you will find a book in the hand or near the bed-
side of every patient who is not too sick to read. The receiv-
ing ship Vermont, in which from one hundred to three hundred
men are always to be found awaiting orders to go to sea or be
discharged, lies alongside the Cobb Dock in the Navy-yard, and
the sailors have on this dock a large, commodious, and well-
filled library and reading-room. Enter this library any day
between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., and you will find sitting
about the tables large numbers of seamen, all reading or study-
ing, and not a word spoken. It reminded me, when I first en-
tered this library, of a study-hall in college. You will find
there, too, a most courteous librarian, Mr. Lowe, whose ap-
pearance and manners would astonish those who know not the
gentlemanly bearing of our seamen.

I have said that our seamen are most retentive readers. The
first reason for this is because they are men of intelligence, and
the second reason may be found in the fact that so few distrac-
tions surround them. Whatever they see is so extremely familiar
that it has ceased to make an impression on their minds. This
is true of all things but the mighty waters in which it may be
said they move and live and have their being. The great ocean is
ever manifesting itself to them in renewed power, grandeur, and
sublimity, speaking to them of the infinite majesty of the omnipo-
tent God. The sentiment of the divine Psalmist is unconsciously
in their minds and hearts : " Wonderful are the surges of the
sea; more wonderful is the Lord on high." Seamen have a deep
religious feeling. They are said to be very superstitious. The
religious mind when but poorly instructed readily becomes super-
stitious. Being of a reverent and religious turn of mind, books
treating of religious matters are most interesting to them. They
may read novels, books of travel, histories ; but they never de-
spise a religious book or smile at those who make such books
their only reading. I have met Catholic sailors whose knowledge
of the Scriptures would put to shame men with pretensions to
learning.

Now, how is this longing for reading satisfied ? At the Naval
Hospital, Brooklyn, and at the Cobb Dock in the Navy-yard, you
will find libraries from which the men may obtain books. The

io6 The Apostolate of the Press.

books are the donations of Protestant ministers, Bible Societies,
Christian Associations, etc. I doubt if you will find one book
donated by a Catholic individual, society, or corporation. Hence
the tenor of the books you may easily guess. You may ask if
there is any objection to Catholic books. I answer, not the
least. Catholic books, journals, and magazines would be wel-
comed by the authorities and read, not alone by Catholics, but
by all the seamen, because travelling to many lands and finding
the Catholic Church in every port, non-Catholic sailors are
naturally interested in it, and begin to think that as boys they
did not hear all that might be said of the old church, and that
what they did hear was not exactly the truth. ,"

Thank God ! our Catholic blue-jackets have not been entirely
neglected as far as this station is concerned. (There are five
other receiving ships in the navy.) When I was a boy, some
twenty years ago, I often met on my way to or from school an
old lady with a very old-fashioned satchel full of books and
pamphlets. She was known to us boys as a tract pedlar.
When I became a priest I found that that tract pedlar was
still pursuing her labor of love, and was known to the sailors, and
is still known to them, as the " Angel of the Navy." Her tracts
and books are all Catholic, and she is loved by every blue-jacket
with a love that is just a little less than the love he bears his
own mother. She carries books to the Naval Hospital and re-
ceiving ship every week, gives them to the sailors, and exchanges
them when they are read. Her noble work during the last
quarter of a century would make a most interesting book. Every
ofificer and man in the navy, irrespective of creed or color, loves
Madame Adelaide Beyer and feels happier the day her shadow
falls across his pathway. The sailors vie with each other for the
honor of carrying her big satchel as far as they may do so
without breaking the rules, and they feel repaid for their trouble
by the sweet, girlish smile of this venerable old lady.

Thus we see what our duty is as Catholics. We have rich
and good ground ready for the seed. Let us send books to
the various receiving ships, naval hospitals, and barracks. Nay
more, when a vessel is ready to go into commission any captain
will permit a shelf to be put up somewhere in the men's quar-
ters that will hold fifteen or twenty books, and before the cruise
is over every man will have read these books, or one of them,
and feel better for so doing. When the Mirmesota was going to
sea ten or twelve years ago, and later when the Greeley relief ex-
pedition was about to set out, permission was obtained by

The Apostolate of the Press. 107

Madame Beyer for such a shelf, and every book came back to
her in good order but bearing unmistakable indications of having
been well read.

Then let us at once send books to the naval stations. They
will be received with thanks and read with pleasure and profit.
May God bless the Apostolate of the Press and its glorious
mission ! and if it does nothing more than spread Catholic litera-
ture among our worthy, honest-hearted, and brave seamen —
" whose palace is the hollow oak and heritage the sea" — it will
merit the approbation of every man who loves his God and his
country's defenders.

LETTER FROM REV. CHARLES H. PARKS, CHAPLAIN

IN THE NAVY.

U. S. S. Philadelphia,
Barbados, West Indies, January 4, 1892.

My dear Father Elliott:

We arrived here on Saturday, the 2d instant, and in our
mail — which, by-the-by, had been waiting for us for a couple of
weeks — was your favor of the 7th ult. concerning the approach-
ing Convention of the Apostolate of the Press.

I regret exceedingly that it did not reach me sooner, so that
I might have had time to send you the letter you desired for
the occasion. I trust, though, that your Convention will give a
few minutes' consideration to the needs of our sailors in the
navy, because much good will surely come of it if the attention
of our Catholics is called to the subject under such auspi-
cious circumstances. It is in some respects an entirely new field
for our people. With the exception of what has been done by
a few zealous priests of Brooklyn, and some pious people of
that city, who have always been interested in the welfare of our
Catholic sailors, very little has been attempted of late years.

Now, as to the subject in hand — How the Press may be
used for the good of our sailors — I beg leave to say that I
could use a large number of good, readable books among our
men to the very best advantage.

Our modern man-of-war's man is usually a young man of

io8 The Apostolate of the Press.

some education. Then his early training is improved and devel-
oped by his travel in foreign countries and his opportunities of
observation in his wanderings around the world. Some of them
are quite well educated, and in some respects very clever. They
are men who are attracted to the sea, perhaps, by a roving dis-
position, or through some weakness of character or lack of self-
control when on shore. We have many of them in the service
— bright, splendid fellows with but a single fault, or weakness,
perhaps, and that is an appetite for intoxicating drink. Natur-
ally these men are fond of reading. They have a good deal
of leisure time on ship-board, and therefore books are prized by
them. It has been said of books that they are like true friends,
faithful under all circumstances, never " out " when we knock at
the door, never **not at home" when we call. In our gayest or
gravest moods we may turn to them for pleasure or comfort as
we feel the need, and they will never be found wanting. All
this they are indeed and more besides ; but it may be ques-
tioned whether their friendship is ever more esteemed or their
value better understood than on board ship and at sea, when
one is cut off from the world, from home and friends, and the
hundred-and-one things that interest him there and engage his at-
tention— confined for weeks or even months at a time to the nar-
row limits of the ship, occupied only with the regular routine of
daily duties, and for the rest thrown largely, during a portion of
the day at least, upon his own resources for mental employment.
It is then especially that the seaman is inclined to value his
books, and turn to them as friends whom he can have with him
always and everywhere, and who will never forsake him no
matter whoever else or whatever else may fail. The value of a
library on ship-board can scarcely be exaggerated. In this re-
spect our good ship Philadelphia (in which I have the honor to
serve) is better equipped than most ships of our navy because,
besides the regular ship's library for the ofificers, she has another
library for the ship's company, and the men show how much
they appreciate their privilege by drawing upon it liberally. On
other ships the men have to content themselves with whatever
books or papers — perhaps old newspapers, back numbers of maga-
zines, or novels usually of a flashy or worthless character, if
not absolutely vicious— that happen to drift aboard in some way
or other.

I go into these details to show you to what advantage I
might use good books and papers in our service. Our men are
particularly fond of books of travel and adventure, stories of

The Apostolate of the Press. 109

war and battle, histories of campaigns, and naval engagements
more particularly. Besides, a great many of them read general
history, and are quite proficient in general information ; for the
rest, books of romance are most attractive.

Therefore if I could have some books of history from a
Catholic stand-point, books of Catholic fiction, as well as the
standard and other healthy-toned novels, I could make very
good use of them.

If our people knew that fully one-half of our sailors in the
navy are Catholics they might appreciate more fully the necessity
of doing something for them. I have great hopes that after your
Convention of the APOSTOLATE OF THE Press they will under-
stand the situation better than ever before.

We expect to be back in New York next June, and I shall
then take great pleasure in calling on you, dear Father Elliott,
and if you can assist me in supplying good reading matter to
our sailors in the navy, I can answer for them that they will
appreciate the favor and the blessing conferred upon them, and
I need not assure you of the lasting gratitude of

Yours very faithfully in Christ,

Charles H. Parks,
Chaplain U. S. Navy.

no The Apostolate of the Press.

THE APOSTOLATE OF THE PRESS AND THE SOCIETY
OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.

BY HON. FRANK MCGLOIN, OF NEW ORLEANS, LA., PRESIDENT OF

THE SOCIETY.

When the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus roused from their long
slumber, they were astounded at the changes wrought since last
they had seen the light of day. Had their sleep been centuries
longer and extended to our modern time, would they not have
imagined themselves in a new world ?

Of all the arts man's ingenuity has invoked, for importance
none can be compared with that of Printing. No other has
exercised so powerful or so persistent an influence upon human
destiny. The original direct gift from the Creator was speech,
one of the distinguishing characteristics of man, developed subse-
quently into writing, and finally into the art of printing. This
last is the culmination — the bringing to perfection of the original
divine gift.

Printing has been named, justly, the Art Preservative of Arts.
Indeed it merits also the title, Art Preservative of all Science.

The printer's art has fostered civilization, and the most stim-
ulated its growth ; correspondingly, it has contributed in largest
share to the widening and solidifying of the social bond. Strange
that there should be any to belittle it, to consider that the
world was better before its introduction. Strange that men are
who will not recognize it as among the most precious of God's
gifts to humanity! True, it is by many sorely misused, and in
the hands of the wicked it proves a potent instrument of evil.
But this is abuse, the ill consequences of which are counter-
balanced by the enormous good accomplished.

Religion itself stands indebted to this art. All that printing
does for society at large, that same is it accomplishing for the
church. It is impossible to conceive of religion in this day, dis-
charging her sacred functions, or propagating the faith, without
the aid of the printing-press.

There is perhaps no art which has, in the last half hundred
years, shown such enormous development as that of printing.

Leaving out of consideration commercial and advertising
work, and confining ourselves to literary printing, the quantity

The Apostolate of the Press. hi

still remains vast, and it is every instant augmenting. The
American Newspaper Directory for 1891, published by G. P.
Rowell & Co., reports the number of publications of this charac-
ter, from dailies to quarterlies, for the United States and Canada,
^t 19,373. These periodicals enjoy a combined circulation of
48,856,500. In order to reach a just idea of the enormous amount
of printed matter implied in these figures, it is necessary to take
into account the frequency of issue of the publications concerned.
A daily, of course, puts out annually 365 issues; a weekly 52,
and so on. Calculation on this line discloses the startling total
of four billions, twenty millions, four hundred and twenty-five
thousands of copies of journals, magazines, etc., poured forth
during 1891 upon the people of this Union and of Canada.

Placing the united population of the two countries, for the
year indicated, at 67,000,000, and dividing by a fair average,
five, we have a total of 13,400,000 families. That a very large
majority of these families are reached by one or more of these
multitudinous publications is beyond doubt. That they exercise
a powerful if not controlling influence upon popular thought and
conduct, who can deny? Indeed, for better or for worse, they
are the educators of the adult masses, who receive their testi-
mony as to facts of general interest and accept from them
opinions ready made.

The Catholic Church is a church of the living. It is in every
age a church of the time in which it finds itself. It is progres-
sive in its administration, dealing with interests which are of the
present ; not fossiliferous, and engaging itself only with what is
past and gone. In face, therefore, of an agent or factor so
potent as the printing-press, the Catholic Church cannot remain
indifferent. She is, by force of her sacred commission, bound to
deal with it to best advantage, for the glory of God and the
salvation of souls. The good that is in it she is in duty held
to develop ; the evil, it is hers to the utmost to minimize. Thus
far has the church made satisfactory progress in this office ?
Let us see.

We have noted above the number of periodicals published in
the United States and Canada for the year 1891. Of the grand
total, 19,373, the publications which are strictly Catholic number
only about one hundred and thirteen. Were comparison
attempted in the matter of circulation, the showing would be
even less encouraging, for among the non-Catholic publications
are seventy, at least, whose regular issue is in excess of one hun-
dred thousand.

112 The Apostolate of the Press.

Comment upon these figures is needless ; they carry their own
commentary. They show that as yet we CathoHcs have accom-
pHshed comparatively little in the way of utilizing the printing-
press, as a force either of offence or defence.

If we turn our attention for a moment from periodicals to
the volume, likewise enormous, of book and pamphlet publica-
tions, the showing must be, if anything, less consoling. Millions
of novels, histories, treatises, in expensive and in cheap form, are
in the hands of our reading public, affecting opinion. In all of
this literary flood Catholicism has comparatively no more than
trifling representation.

The printing-press in this day, in so far as it is not Catholic,
does exercise an influence hostile to the church. Even the best
disposed of secular journals have their columns interspersed with
misrepresentations of Catholic doctrine or history, and with mat-
ter particularly antagonistic to the fundamental Catholic dogma
of a one, infallible, and absolutely authoritative church. Indeed,
the greater portion of these publications, in this land at least,
are disseminators of infidel or Protestant notions, upon most of
the points where there is divergence of religious opinion among
the people.

Hurtful publications are not confined to the domiciles of non-
Catholics ; they enter also freely the homes of our own people.
Thus do they tend not only to hamper the spread of Catholic
truth, but also to impair or occasionally to destroy faith among
our weaker Catholic brethren.

Here we have an enemy which did not confront the church
in earlier days. The pulpit needs assistance in order to over-
power it. Practical Catholics will listen to the word of God,
preached by his anointed ministers, as all are in duty bound to
do. But how many, alas ! there are who will do no more than
attend Sunday low Mass, without sermon ; placing themselves
practically beyond the reach of the pastor's voice. And the non-
Catholic masses, upon whom the light should be made to shine,
can they in first instance be reached from the Catholic pulpit ?

God has disclosed to man the art of printing for noble pur-
poses. He has intended it to be a weapon in the hands of
religion. If, in the days that are gone, we Catholics have
surrendered it to the enemy, the fault lies heavy upon us.

It is vain to lament the past ; let us rather turn to the
great present and greater future. Are there signs of improve-
ment? Are our people, of high and humble station, awakening
to the vital importance of this matter? May we hope in our

The Apostolate of the Press. 113

day to see the church laying strong hand upon the printing-
press, and directing its mighty force against the enemy.

Despite some movement noticeable in later years, despite the
assemblage of this representative and most respectable body, for
our part, we must say that, considering what should be, all this
seems a glimmer only and not yet the dawn. Our Catholic
magazines and journals are not multiplying in due proportion.
Those established are not as a rule growing and spreading out,
as a multitude of secular publications are doing. The mass of our
own people are utterly indifferent. They will neither subscribe
nor advertise in our Catholic publications. They will not (with,
of course, worthy exceptions) contribute to Catholic printing in
any shape.

Let it be the task of this Convention to sound a note of
alarm, to call our people up from their sleep, rather than to lull
them by delusive notes into deeper slumber.

The Apostolate of the Press is not, according to our
judgment, one belonging exclusively, or even mainly, to the laity.
The mission of the press, in Catholic hands, is akin to the
preaching of the Word. It is my hope and prediction, as intimated
in a paper read before the late Catholic Congress of Baltimore,
that God will in time raise up great religious orders to deal
with this comparatively new agency effectively, in the interests of
Holy Church. But this Apostolate is, and must always remain,
one in which laymen of proper disposition can and must take a
large and welcome part. It is one for the prosecution of which
they are most happily situated, coming as they do into constant
and often intimate contact with classes to be reached only in
this way.

As representative upon this floor of the Society of the Holy
Spirit of New Orleans, I am expected to give a statement of
its plan of organization and of the work it has done.

The Society of the Holy Spirit, founded June 30, 1882, has
undertaken in a humble and limited way to assist Mother Church
in her work ; and this by pursuit to an extent of her methods.
In the first place, and as its prime work, the society co-operates
with our priests in hard and isolated country places ; furnishing
these with pecuniary assistance to enable them to pursue their
labors among populations which otherwise might be abandoned.
Secondly, it helps to maintain free Catholic schools in similar lo-
calities, thereby contributing to rear instructed Catholic genera-
tions, where, but for such assistance, many might be lost. Surely
8

114 ^^^ Apostolate of the Press.

these are necessary and glorious works of charity, well calculated
to draw down the blessing of God upon all who favor them, as
also upon their families.

But with these branches of the work of our society, except
in so far as they tend to provide our particular spiritual rewards
and inducements, this Convention is not especially concerned.
We will, therefore, pass on to the consideration of what has
been done in the line of disseminating printed truth. The fol-
lowing is a detailed statement:

" Promises of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, through Blessed

Margaret Mary" (in English, German, and French), . 324,000
"Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus," .... 127,780
"One True Church," eight-page tract, .... 77.650

" All Generations shall call Me Blessed," four pages, . . 62,800

" Belief of the Baptist," four pages, 44.3°°

Sermon by Cardinal Gibbons, on " God the Holy Ghost," four

pages 39'7oo

Sermon by Rev. Father Cook, C.SS.R., " God the Holy

Ghost," four pages, 31.000

" Our Spiritual Desert Places," eight pages, . . . 10,000

" One Day of Rest," four pages, 5,000

Miscellaneous, 199.700

Total, 921,950

This distribution, covering not far from a million pieces, has
been entirely gratuitous, nothing being accepted by way of pay.
Of the total, 326,950 pieces have been printed since May 17 last;
the increased output being in consequence of extra contributions
from particular members towards increasing the plant of type
and machinery.

In addition to what has been detailed, the society issues a
weekly four-page journal of six columns, bearing as its name,
after the Blessed Household of Nazareth, The Holy Family. This
publication is not entirely free, but it is placed at a figure so
low as to realize to the society scarcely more than sufificient to
defray the cost of blank paper with press-work ; dependence
being had for other outlay upon advertising patronage. To in-
dividual addresses the paper is sent, postage free, for the small
sum of fifty cents per annum ; while to clubs, schools, etc., the
charge is only twenty-five cents for the fifty-two issues of each
year.

The contents are a limited amount of religiously instructive
and edifying matter, with much more of a generally interesting

The ArosTOLATE of the Press. 115

character ; the purpose of the latter being to secure a reading
from those who otherwise might refuse or neglect to notice the
publication. Besides, in this day of omnivorous reading, we con-
sider it in itself a most excellent work to furnish families with
literature which is perfectly clean. The fifty-two copies of each
year actually contain reading matter in the aggregate sufficient
to fill exceeding five volumes of the size usual in current book
literature of our day.

The purpose in establishing The Holy Family was the putting
out of a periodical tract, or combination of tracts, with clean
secular reading, especially for the young ; and as the scheme is
entirely devoid of any idea of individual profit, and the charge
is merely nominal, we consider ourselves entitled to place the
aggregate of issues of The Holy Family^ since its foundation, to
the credit of our Tract Department. As the present circulation
of the journal is between eleven and twelve thousand, the an-
nual output is say 600,000 copies annually ; and the total for five
years and a half would swell the figures of tract publications
above given to great proportions.

It must prove of interest to know that the Society of the
Holy Spirit has disbursed, for all its works since its foundation,
the sum of $35,027.72. Its tracts and publications have gone
into every diocese of the United States ; and we have letters
from bishops, priests, and laics most gratifying.

Members contribute annually such sum as their generosity
may dictate ; at least ten dollars, however, being necessary to
maintain good standing. In addition to the general reward with
which the Almighty crowns every act of charity, contributors
receive the benefit for themselves and all loved ones of many
holy Masses, which are being offered up particularly for them,
by the priests who receive remittances from the society. Like-
wise, the children in schools aided pray each day in special man-
ner to the same end ; and the monthly Communions, the semi-
monthly public devotions, and the particular daily prayers of
active members are for common benefit. Neither must we for-
get the participation of our members, by reason of the society's
efforts in extension of devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, by
large distribution of leaflets, etc., in the many happy fruits promised
through Blessed Margaret Mary in behalf of all laboring to this
pious end. Finally, the society takes great care spiritually of its
dead. To them it extends, so long as they may be in Purga-
tory, the benefit of all its Masses, Communions, prayers, and
works ; and if members depart this life in good standing, they

ii6 The Apostolate of the Press.

are entitled to a high Mass of Requiem for their soul's repose,
immediately upon receipt of information of the death.

Thus far the membership of the society is principally in
Louisiana, though some few are residents of other States. Men
and women, and children who have made their first Commu-
nion, are eligible to active membership ; any person of good re-
pute, whether Catholic or not, can be a subscriber or honorary
member. His Grace Most Rev. Archbishop Francis Janssens is
honorary President; other most worthy clergymen are also mem-
bers. I may add that our society has its own printing-ofifice, in
which its entire work is done in good style.

Upon this auspicious occasion, which has brought together so
many brave and earnest workers in the noble cause of printed
Catholic truth the Society of the Holy Spirit, through its un-
worthy representative, presents a hearty greeting ; and it extends
to all associations or individuals laboring in this neglected field
best wishes for their great and glorious success. In return, we
solicit in our own behalf kind remembrance before the Throne
of God in holy prayer.

The Apostolate of the Press. 117

THE CATHOLIC TRUTH SOCIETY OF AMERICA AND
THE APOSTOLATE OF THE PRESS.

BY WILLIAM F. MARKOE, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINN., CORRESPOND-
ING SECRETARY.

I AM invited to be present at this Convention of the Aposto-
late OF THE Press, because it is believed that I am likely to
be interested in the spread of Catholic Truth through the me-
dium of the. press. Truly there is nothing in which I am more
interested. Upwards of twenty years ago, when, as a child, I
knelt at the feet of the great Pope Pius IX., I had but one
petition to ask, and that was that I might be permitted to
participate in the conversion of my native land, America.
Truly, then, I " do long to personally participate " in this great
Convention, for I perceive in it the realization of the wish of
my life.

So deeply am I impressed with the paramount importance of
the Apostolate of the Press, that words fail me in which to
adequately express my convictions. Never, perhaps, in the his-
tory of the church was so glorious a field open to the efforts of her
children as in our own age and country. America is but another
name for opportunity. Here the church is as free as the wind.
Here has a great republic been reared on the soundest principles
of Christianity. In the language of Chief-Justice Shea, of the
Marine Court of New York : " Our own government and the
laws which administer it, like those of Alfred the Great, are in
every part — legislative, judicial, and executive — Christian in na-
ture, form, and purpose." In the still plainer language of the
illustrious Dr. Brownson : " The American state recognizes only
the catholic religion. It eschews all sectarianism, and none of
the sects have been able to get their peculiarities incorporated
into its Constitution or its law. The state conforms to what
each holds that is catholic — that is always and everywhere re-
ligion ; and whatever is not catholic it leaves, as outside of its
province, to live or die according to its own inherent vitality
or want of vitality." Our own enlightened Archbishop of St.
Paul has stated the situation in these words : " Americans in
their hearts desire truth, and we have to do for them what Paul
did for the Athenians : ' show them where the unknown God

ii8 The Apostolate of the Press.

whom they worship is.' They are Cathohcs by instinct ; let us
make them Cathohcs in fact."

All this is but natural if we reflect upon the cause. As his
Eminence Cardinal Gibbons has so recently pointed out, about
nine-tenths of this vast domain called the United States of
America was originally discovered, explored, settled, and owned
by Catholics. Yet the last census report shows that Catholics
constitute only about one-tenth of the entire population. Does
not all this clearly indicate that a tremendous responsibility
rests on Catholics ? — a responsibility for which posterity will
call us strictly to account. France and Spain sowed the seeds
of Catholicity all over this broad land. After four hundred
years that seed has fructified, bringing forth a hundred-fold ;
and now the fields are white with the harvest, which awaits
only the sickle of the reaper. But, alas ! the laborers are
few.

Several zealous societies are already doing yeoman's duty in
the field. Of these the youngest, though not the least (as I ven-
ture to think), is the Catholic Truth Society of America. As
stated in its prospectus, this society "is one of the fruits of the
Catholic Congress of Baltimore," and " was organized March lo,
1890, at St. Paul, Minnesota, under the auspices of Archbishop
Ireland. Its members believe, with that distinguished and pa-
triotic prelate, that the mission of the Catholic Church in this
country is ' to make America Catholic,' but that her success in
this glorious work must depend in no small degree upon the
earnestness, energy, and activity of the laity. They believe, also,
that Catholicity, to be loved and embraced, must be known and
understood, and that there is a large field of labor open to
Catholic laymen in this direction. The Catholic Truth Society
has, therefore, been organized to enable Catholic laymen to per-
form their share of the work in the dissemination of Catholic
truth and the encouragement of wholesome Catholic reading.

" The principal means used for the attainment of these ob-
jects are :

" I. The publication of short, timely articles in the secular
press (to be paid for if necessary) on the fundamental doctrines
of Catholicity.

" 2. The prompt and systematic correction of misstatements,
slanders, or libels against Catholic truth.

" 3. The promulgation of reliable and edifying Catholic news,
as church dedications, opening of asylums and hospitals, the
workings of Catholic charitable institutions, abstracts of sermons,

The Apostolate of the Press. 119

and anything calculated to spread the knowledge of the vast
amount of good being accomplished by the Catholic Church.

" 4. The publication of pamphlets, tracts, and leaflets ; the
circulation of books, pamphlets, tracts, leaflets, and Catholic
newspapers.

" 5. Occasional public lectures on topics of Catholic in-
terest.

" 6. Supplying jails and reformatories with good reading mat-
ter.

" The affairs of the society are managed by a board of seven
directors, who are elected annually, and hold monthly meetings
for the transaction of business. General quarterly meetings are
also held to hear reports, papers, and addresses. Any Catholic,
man, woman, or child, who desires to aid in the good work
according to his ability and opportunities may become a
member by sending his name and address to ' The Catholic
Truth Society of America,' 218 East Third Street, St. Paul,
Minnesota, together with the annual subscription of one dollar in
advance. A limited number of priests can, if they prefer to do
so, become memibers by offering an annual Mass for the success
of the society instead of the annual subscription of one dollar.
Members are entitled to a sample copy of each of the original
publications of the society for the current year. They are also
entitled to a participation in all the Masses and prayers offered
for the spiritual advantages of the society."

Thus it is seen that the Catholic Truth Society of America
embraces within its scope nearly all the works suggested for con-
sideration at this Convention. It disseminates Catholic Truth
directly through the secular and Catholic press ; it refutes errors,
and, in the words of St. Thomas, so aptly quoted by your
illustrious Archbishop of New York, " In no way is the truth dis-
closed better than by refuting those who contradict it " ; it mails
its pamphlets with the sender's compliments to " infidels. Agnos-
tics, and old-fashioned Protestants " ; it reaches Reading Circles,
which join it in a body ; it offers lectures to those who have
ears to hear; it supplies "prisons, reformatories, and hospitals"
with Catholic newspapers, periodicals, and. magazines ; it sends its
pamphlets, tracts, and leaflets to the lonely soldier and settler on
the outposts of civilization, and numbers among its active mem-
bers the Catholic chaplains of the United States army. But its
very life and essence consist in working through the medium of
the press. Yet all cannot write, nor is it desirable they should.
In this we follow the maxim of the Catholic Truth Society of

I20 The Apostolate gf the Press.

England : " For lo who can write, io,ooo can subscribe and
100,000 can scatter the seed."

" To guard against the danger of incompetent persons at-
tempting too much, an article in the by-laws provides that the
work of the society designated under sections i and 2, to be
' official ' shall be done over the signature of ' The Catholic Truth
Society'; that only such persons as the society shall appoint
shall have authority to use this signature, and that even they
shall publish nothing of a doctrinal nature without first obtain-
ing the sanction of the reverend censor. It is evident, therefore,
that this work cannot be done ' officially ' except in places where
there is a local branch of the society, with a censor and the
necessary authority. The individual member has full liberty,
however, to work according to his 'ability and opportunities'
in the manner his judgment and inclination may suggest. He
may write for the press over his own signature or a 7iont de
plume, disseminating Catholic truth, correcting misstatements, and
furnishing edifying Catholic news, always, however, taking care
not to compromise the society. A Catholic who has the same re-
gard for the honor of his church that he has for that of his
mother or his wife, can generally find the means to refute a cal-
umny against her. In many cases, perhaps a majority, such re-
futation comes with better grace and more effect from a layman
than a clergyman. There are many non-Catholics who believe
the most absurd statements about Catholic doctrine and prac-
tices, simply because no one denies them. Such books as
Faith of Our Fathers and Catholic Belief supply all the in-
formation needed to refute ordinary attacks on Catholicity, and
if a layman cannot write for a newspaper (and who cannot in
this age of universal education ? ) he can still, by requesting the
editor or a reporter of a secular paper to which he subscribes,
often secure the publication of something particularly appropri-
ate or edifying from the columns of his own Catholic paper.
The modern newspaper aims to please its subscribers, and is
generally willing to supply what it finds a demand for."

If he cannot do this, at least he can distribute tracts, attend
the lectures and brings a non-Catholic friend with him, carry the
literature furnished by the society to the imprisoned, secure new
members, and aid the good work in countless other ways ac-
cording to his ^'ability'' and "■opportunities''

The Catholic Truth Society of America has not failed to win
the approval of the American Hierarchy. It has received more
than a score of earnest letters of approval and encouragement

The Apostolate of the Press. 121

from the cardinal, archbishops, and bishops of the United States.
Would that time were allowed me to read these letters glowing
with patriotic zeal and apostolic fervor. They have been collected*
and printed in pamphlet form and are well worth perusal. Simi-
lar letters from the clergy and the laity are beyond computa-
tion.

Nor has the Catholic Truth Society of America been idle
during the twenty-two months of its existence, as will appear
from the following summary of the work it has accomplished :

"Under Section i, viz.: ' The publication of short, timely ar-
ticles in the secular press on the fundamental doctrines of Catho-
licity,' " 10 articles have been published.

" Under Section 2, viz.: ' The prompt and systematic correc-
tion of misstatements, slanders, and libels against the Catholic
truth,' " 50 articles have appeared.

" Under Section 3, viz.: ' The promulgation of reliable and
edifying Catholic news calculated to spread a knowledge of the
vast amount of good being accomplished by the Catholic
Church,' " 131 articles have been published. If we reflect that
these articles have appeared in the daily papers with a circula-
tion varying from 15,000 to 40,000 each, it is evident that the
total number runs up into the millions. Surely some of the seed
so liberally sown must have fallen on good ground.

" Under Section 4, viz.: ' The publication of pamphlets, tracts,
and leaflets,' " 130,600 copies of original matter have been
published.

"Under Section 5, viz.: ' Occasional public lectures on topics
of Catholic interest,' " 8 lectures have been delivered.

" Under Section 6, viz. : ' Supplying jails and reformatories
with good reading matter,' " about 1,520 Catholic newspapers,
periodicals, magazines, and pamphlets have been distributed. By
this means at least one convert whose name I could mention
has been brought into the church, and many others have been
confirmed in their faith, which was wavering. The above figures
do not include the work done by affiliated branches, of which
there are six, as follows : Worcester, Mass. ; Newark, N. J. ;
Winona, Minn. ; Minneapolis, Minn. ; Winnipeg, Man. ; and Ot-
tawa, Canada. The latter two, though affiliating with the Catho-
lic Truth Society of England, have used our Constitution and
By-laws in organizing, taken membership with us, and propose
to use our literature as far as applicable in Canada.

The original series of pamphlets published by the society con-
sists of fourteen numbers, as follows :

122 The Apostolate of the Press.

No. I. " Refutation of Some Calumnies Against the Church,"
by Rev. J. C. Byrne.

• No. 2. "Vail Burgess Debate," by Roger Vail, Esq., and
Rev. O. F. Burgess.

No. 3. " How Catholics Come to be Misunderstood," by Rev.
Thomas O'Gorman, D.D.

No. 4. " Who Can Forgive Sins," by Rev. Patrick Danehy.

No. 5. "Church or Bible," by Rev. Arnold Damen, S.J.

No. 6. "The Catholic Church and the American Republic,"
by William F. Markoe, Esq.

No. 7. " Sacrificial Worship Essential to Religion," by Rev.
P. R. Heffron, D.D.

No. 8. " The Catholic Pages of American History," by Hon.
J. L. McDonald.

No. 9. " Our Rights and Duties as Catholics and as Citizens,"
by William J. Onahan.

No. 10. "Agnosticism," by Right Rev. J. L. Spalding, D.D.

No. II. "On the Condition of Labor — Encyclical Letter of
Pope Leo XHL"

No. 12. "Purgatory," by Rev. Henry A. Brann, D.D.

No. 13. " Miracles," by Rev. John Gmeiner.

No. 14. " The Conservative Power of Catholicity," by Conde
B. Fallen, Esq.

Also leaflets entitled : " Some Things Catholics Do Not Be-
lieve"; " Catholic Converts, or All Roads Lead to Rome " ;
Dr. Spalding's Farewell Address ; " A Fearful Responsibility " ;
"Astounding Admissions"; and a brochure of 175 pages, called
" Rational Religion," by Rev. John Conway.

The plan adopted by the society in publishing this special
original literature, briefly stated, is as follows :

Pamphlets, tracts, and leaflets are solicited from the ablest
ecclesiastics and laymen whom the society can interest in its
work without pecuniary remuneration ; and furnished to all its
members and afifiliated branches at a nominal price, based on the
cost of an electrotype edition of not less than 10,000 copies. It
trusts to the annual initiation fee of its members, and the energy
of its local branches throughout the country, to meet the neces-
sary outlay and dispose of the pamphlets. The slight profit
that may then remain is used in distributing them gratis among
non-Catholics where they will do the most good. It is evident
that, if we had 100,000 members, we could flood the land with
Cathohc literature almost gratis.

Though we have at present only 781 members, we count these

The Apostolate of the Press. 123

willing workers in every State and Territory in the Union, in
Canada, i 1 Belgium, Europe, and in tlie Hawaiian Islands. The
work of the society is entirely gratuitous ; not one cent of salary
or pecuniary remuneration of any kind being paid to any of its
officers or members. And }'et, with the utmost economy, it is
unable to accomplish all the work that presents itself. What it
most needs is co-operation. It interferes with no other existing
society in the church ; and, as the child of the Catholic Congress
of America, it would seem to be justly entitled to the aid and
hearty co-operation of all other Catholic organizations. With a
" strong pull, a long pull, and a pull all together " untold results
would seem to be within reach.

This, as I understand it, is the chief aim of this Convention,
namely, to unite all the societies here present in such bonds of
fellowship that while each is doing its utmost within its own
proper sphere, all shall be working in perfect harmony together
for the attainment of one grand common end — the conversion
of America!

I discover a particularly happy omen in the fact that this great
movement is under the leadership of what I may call our own
American Order, the product of our own soil — the Paulist Fath-
ers. Their very name is suggestive of their mission and the Apos-
late of the Press. For, as St. Paul, when once converted, be-
came the most zealous of the Apostles, so the American con-
vert, once he sees the light of faith, becomes the most active
for the salvation of his brethren. St. Paul, too, may justly be
called the " Patron of the Press " : " For his epistles indeed, say
they, are weighty and strong" (ii. Cor. x. 10); and through
those epistles and the press he has been preaching to the world
ever since.

Another good omen is seen in the fact that this Convention
has begun its first session on the Feast of the Epiphany, the
day on which Christ was first made manifest to the Gentiles.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, my Catholic fellow-countrymen !
" coming events cast their shadows before " ; and, if I read the
signs of the times aright, we are on the very threshold of a new
and glorious era in the history of Catholicity. There is a grand
awakening all along the line. The whole world is about to
unite with us in commemorating a great Catholic event — the
discovery of America by the heroic Catholic, Christopher Colum-
bus. If the various societies here to-day are only true to their
mission ; if the " Ignis Ardens " predicted by St. Malachy is
really about to dawn on the horizon, and to inflame the whole

124 The Apostolate of the Phess.

world with religious zeal and apostolic ardor, oh ! then,
surely, my friends, it is not too much to pray and hope that
our own country will receive its full share of the light ; and
that, before another decade shall have passed away, America
will be in fact what she is already by pre-emption, by tradition,
and by instinct — a truly Catholic land !

It may be only a vision : but I see a luminous cross amid
the stars and stripes ! The prayer of Columbus, the " Christ-
Bearer," has been heard in heaven : " God zvills it "; and the
conversion of a contifient is close at hand !

William F. Markoe,
Cor. Sec. Catholic Truth Society of America.

PARISH LIBRARIES.

BY REV. JOSEPH H. MCMAHON, DIRECTOR OF THE CATHEDRAL
LIBRARY, NEW YORK.

Parish libraries, as the name indicates, are intended primarily
for the use of the people in the respective parishes to which
they belong. They will consequently differ from one another as
the circumstances of the parishes differ. As the conditions of
life in the city parish are different from those in village or
country parishes, the needs of the people are consequently some-
what diverse ; and since parish libraries are formed with a view
to meeting the wants of the people directly concerned, the dif-
ferent circumstances of parishes will prevent a homogeneity in
their libraries. The most pressing need for a parish library will,
I think, be found to exist in rural rather than in urban par-
ishes, because in cities there is more indifference to religion, and
consequently less religious reading, than in country districts,
where the people are more earnest and where religious discus-
sions are much more frequent, and where consequently there will
be more demand for books bearing on religious subjects, such
as parish libraries are intended chiefly to furnish. Rut setting
aside the different complexions that libraries will assume from
their surroundings, let us say something about their general im-
portance and about the methods upon which they shall be
conducted.

The importance of parish libraries is attested extrinsically by

The Apostolate of the Phess. 125

the recommendation made by the bishops in the Third Plenary
Council of Baltimore, when they urged on rectors the formation
of such libraries. The intrinsic importance of them is found in
the necessity we are under of counteracting the evil literature of
the day whilst satisfying the craving for reading, which is a
distinctive characteristic of our times. There is need of Catholic
parochial libraries, although such need may not at once appear
in places where there are large public libraries. That need arises
from two chief reasons : First, because, in spite of the efforts we
may make, Catholic literature, and especially Catholic religious
literature, will never be adequately represented on the shelves of
any public library. Whatever efforts are made to secure such
representation in those libraries are good and to be continued,
not so much for Catholics as for non-Catholic inquirers, because
the books that will be placed in such libraries by reason of our
representation will be books that are remarkable as works of
literature rather than as religious works. There would be no
difificulty, for instance, in having Newman's works introduced in-
to any public library, but we are doubtful whether the same
library would admit the writings of St. Francis de Sales, for in-
stance, or the Quarterly Series of the Lives of the Saints, or
our controversial works, or even our edition of the New Testa-
ment or of the Following of Christ. Similarly, while there would
be no difficulty whatever in getting Pere Didon's Life of Christ
placed in circulation, we fancy that there would be considerable
objection made to the introduction of the Life of Our Lord, by
Father Coleridge. Since Catholics need to have the growth of
their spiritual life fostered by distinctively spiritual reading, we
fancy that that desideratum could not be obtained by the fre-
quentation of public secular libraries. There is a stronger ne-
cessity, however, for parish libraries in the fact that it is a
part of the pastoral office to control the reading of parishioners.
The wise laws of the church with regard to the reading of dan-
gerous and heretical works are very much neglected in our
country. There is so much latitude in reading tacitly allowed to
our people that there seems to be no effort made to check read-
ing that is certainly prohibited. For example, not many weeks
ago a certain evening newspaper in this city published a most
blasphemous Christmas sermon from the pen of a noted infidel.
That paper found its way into the hands of thousands of young
Catholics who certainly read it with avidity, and yet the priest
who would presume to condemn the reading of such a paper
and try to exclude it from decent Catholic households, would be

126 The Apostolate of the Press.

made a target for all sorts of ridicule, would be condemned as
imprudent, and pronounced a fanatic, a bigot, a man of narrow
mind, etc., and would be told that, like the child at the sea-
shore, " he was trying to empty the ocean with a shell." Never-
theless, the duty of Catholics in the matter is plain. A paper
that openly boasts that it will print such sermons as often as it
chooses, making itself the mouth-piece of a blasphemous infidel,
should certainly be repudiated by every Catholic.

The parish library forms an admirable means by which the
pastor may more carefully supervise the reading of those en-
trusted to his care. Such supervision, of course, will be more
thorough, as well as more easy, in rural parishes than in those of
a large city like this, because in the country districts or in extra
urban districts the parish organization is generally more com-
plete and thorough than we can ever hope to see it in a city.
But with all this, the library of a city parish can also be made
to do untold good in that direction. In the first place, it will
prevent most if not all the younger portion of the parish from
going to seek their reading at the hands of public or denomina-
tional corporations. It will thus prevent them from having an
indiscriminate variety of books from which to choose, and will
prevent the dangers which naturally accompany the unrestrained
selection of books by young people. Care should, therefore, be
taken that the character of the readmg of the books in a parish
library be such as to afford ample range for all tastes and in-
clinations. Here, I think, is where a great mistake has been
made in many parish libraries — a mistake which will account for
the failure of some that were flourishing institutions in our child-
hood. The books were not chosen in a liberal spirit. The Old-
World prejudice against everything that bore the name of a
novel seems to have dominated in the selection of books. The
principal titles in the fiction-lists of libraries that we were ac-
quainted with in our youth were those unsuited to the Ameri-
can character — weak translations of poor French Sunday-school
stories, or tedious controversial novels. The uncouth appearance
of these books also told against them in the minds of youthful
readers, who preferred to browse among the shelves of secular
libraries where there was a plentiful supply of exciting fiction
prettily tricked out in handsome bindings and good printing. It
may be an idiosyncrasy, but I am of opinion that the me-
chanical appearance of books issued from the Catholic press in
this country can account in a great degree for the lack of read-
ers of Catholic literature.

The Apostolate of the Press. 127

For a parish library to be at all successful in meeting the
requirements of a Catholic people of any part of this country
the selection of books requires to be made upon broad lines, in-
cluding all that is good, much even that is indifferent, and rigidly
excluding only that which is positively bad. The parochial library,
for example, that pretends to have a department of English liter-
ature can scarcely exclude English poets, like Lord Byron of
modern times or Shakspere of older days, because many pas-
sages in them are entirely unfit for youthful readers. Rather
than exclude such books from a library, the better plan would
be to exercise a careful surveillance over the circulation of
them, preventing them from falling into the hands of those who
are incapable of profiting by them, or of those who would be
certainly injured by their reading. It is difificult to see how any
hard and-fast lines can be drawn in this matter, because the
reason that would exclude Shakspere has been urged against
the Old Testament, and there are certain books professedly reli-
gious which are included in every parish library that in the
opinion of some are more hurtful, as far as the delicate matter
of purity is concerned, than would be, for example, the lewd
passages in Shakspere. In our library, while giving the largest
latitude in reading, we have tried to prevent any injury to the
usefulness of the library from this side, by endeavoring to sup-
ply youthful readers, or those who read simply for pleasure,
with expurgated editions which are entirely unobjectionable,
while keeping the complete editions for those whom we judge to
be capable of reading them to good purpose. This plan will not, of
course, meet with the approval of litterateurs, but literary canons
must perforce yield to the canons of good morals. Neither can
a hard-and-fast line be drawn in the matter of fiction. Several
worthy people have been surprised at the appearance on our
list of the works of George Eliot, thinking it strange to find
her name among the authors in a library that is distinctively
Catholic. We think the criticism that would exclude such
writers from a library is the wrong kind of criticism, and if
carried out would result practically in more harm than good.
These books are talked of by any one who has any pretension to
education. They will be read by them in spite of any precau-
tion that we can take, and in our opinion it is much better to
have them on the shelves for free inspection than, by excluding
them, to excite the morbid curiosity which will persist in finding
out the reason why.

The remedy lies in teaching our people how to discriminate

128 The Apostolate of the Press.

between what is good and what is evil in George EHot and in
other writers of her class, and being informed thoroughly as to
the evil. They can then read without any deleterious effects. I
have not found many persons who have been injured by reading
George Eliot's novels. I have found many more who have been
injured by reading novels that are admitted without question to
almost every Catholic library, and which possess neither the
genius of Eliot, nor her depth of thought, nor her beauty of
expression to commend them. It has been my experience that
less harm is done by George Eliot than by such writers as May
Agnes Fleming, Mrs. Holmes, and a' score of others whose
names you can iind on almost every library list. The same
persons who object to George Eliot would be surprised if they
did not find the novels of Walter Scott on our shelves. To my
mind there is more harm to be anticipated from the errors and
calumnies in the pages of Scott's fascinating, descriptive novels
than from the materialism concealed in the ponderous periods of
George Eliot. The healthy Catholic mind will in every case
shake off the poison.

In my opinion, too, the intellectual dangers of novel-reading
have been much exaggerated. I have found many whose morals
have been hurt by novels, but I have had very few people who
complained that their faith or their religious opinions had been
shattered by the perusal of the novels of the day. It is not
wise to apply puritanical tastes in the selection of fiction. If we
did we should have to exclude many professedly Catholic stories
the moral of which seems to be that one should always marry
his cousin, heedless of the canonical impediments to such mar-
riages.

These few reflections will show the difificulties in the way of
any one who tries to build up a library suited to the needs of
the people of the present day. In steering clear of Scylla we
are pretty sure to run upon Charybdis. In our selection hitherto
we have been fairly successful. We have made mistakes, espe-
cially in admitting books of travel written by unfriendly authors.
But, whenever these mistakes were called to our attention, we
have re-examined the matter in dispute, and have decided as to
its retention or rejection on the broadest grounds consistent with
moral rectitude.

A third reason for the necessity of parish libraries is, that
they help materially to foster the parochial spirit among the peo-
ple. The library brings them into closer relations with the paro-
chial organization, and consequently keeps alive the local parish

The Apostolate of the Press. 129

pride, which is a great stimulus to the parochial life. Many of
the young people in the parish become interested in the active
work of the library, which is usually all performed by volunteers.
It is highly gratifying to find how many will give their time and
labor to do what is really hard work, and to observe the pride
they take in the success of their zealous efforts.

The poor are especially the beneficiaries of a parochial library,
and it is easy to understand how grateful many a young urchin
feels for many happy hours passed revelling in the charming
pages of Munchausen or Grimm, or devouring the vivid im-
aginings of the Arabian Nights. That gratitude may serve to
bind him to his parish and to his church, where all other links
of connection might have failed.

A fourth reason for the necessity of parish libraries is the
need that every priest feels of having somewhere to send, not
only his penitents but those who come to him for advice — some
place where they can get the books he usually has to recom-
mend either for their own spiritual guidance or for their infor-
mation. In the case of those seeking to become members of
the church, this advantage can scarcely be exaggerated. Hence
the controversial department of a parish library is one of its
most important features. Where parish libraries do not exist
the priests are constrained to make lending libraries of their own
slender stock of books, and as book-borrowers are proverbially
forgetful, many a priest has to bewail the loss of volumes that
his depleted treasury will not allow him to replace, and to sigh
for the existence of some organization which would cheerfully
lend books, but would get them back by unremittingly reminding
the borrower of the obligation to return other people's property.

As to the methods of conducting a parish library, there will no
doubt be tot sententice quot capita, every parish usually adopting its
own system. This is unfortunate, as it would be very much to
the interests of Catholic libraries all over the country if some
uniform system could be adopted and carried out, because then
in many cases libraries, even at a distance from one another,
could become mutually helpful. We shall not discuss the inter-
nal arrangement of the library in the method of classification,
numbering, shelving, etc., as that belongs rather to general
library literature. In our library we have adopted the system
invented by Mr. Schwartz, of the Apprentice's Library in this
city, a system that we find highly convenient for the peculiar
nature of the work that a large parish circulating library has to
do. But the most important question to be discussed is, whether
9

130 The Apostolate of the Press.

it is better to have parish libraries entirely free, or to make an
annual, even though it be a slight, charge for the use thereof.
Our practice, after careful consideration and a practical experience
of four years, has been to discontinue any charge for the use of
the library. For in our opinion one of the main reasons for the
existence of the library is to continue the work of education be-
gun in the school. Consequently, we must reach the poorest
classes of the parish as well as those in the ascending scale.
Any charge, no matter how slight, will restrict the use of the
library to those who are able to afford the luxury of paying for
their books. Consequently a large number in every parish will
be inevitably shut out from the advantages that come from the
use of the library. I say a large number, because even though
the number of the extreme poor in our parishes be small (I know
of only one in this city where it is small), yet the number of
those who have just enough to live upon without indulging in
any luxuries for which they have to pay is usually very great.
These people, who would be most benefited by the library, are
deprived of its advantages because they are not able to afford
to pay any charge. They find it hard enough to give fo*- the
support of the church. In our opinion, it is much better to de-
vise some way by which the library can be maintained other
than that of any tax which would restrict its use. There are
various ways in which this can be done. We have found that
those people who would be members of the library in the event
of an annual subscription are always ready and willing to give,
and to give generously, if ever any general appeal be made for
that institution. In this way those who are able support the
library without feeling the burden ; while those to whom it
would be a burden can freely, and without any appearance of
charity, take advantage of the opportunities afforded by the
library.

While we are on this question of money, let me say that we
Catholics in this city of New York have been very slow to take
advantage of what is really a generous inducement held out by
the laws of this State as concerning this city. The library law
of which I speak directs that every free, public circulating
library in this city that shall possess 1 0,000 volumes, that shall
own real estate to the value of $20,000, and that shall in the
year prior to its application have circulated at least 75,000 vol-
umes, can, on application to the Board of Estimate and Appor-*
tionment, receive an appropriation of $5,000 from the Excise
moneys of the city. The Protestant Episcopalians, under the

The Apostolate oe the Press. 131

name of the New York Free Circulating Library, and the
Jews, under the name of the Aguilar Free Circulating Library,
have been quick to avail themselves of the offer made by this
law. The former association receives every year $12,000 or
more from the excise money of this city. Now as, unfortunately,
most of the excise money comes from Catholic sources, it is
scarcely right that we should allow it to be sent entirely to those
who are not of our faith, and who take care in the books they
place in their library to exclude almost everything that would be
favorable to our church and our religion. It would not be a
difficult matter for the Catholic parochial libraries in this city to
combine and form one corporation in order to secure the com-
mon good. With the approbation of the Most Rev. Archbishop
of New York, we have formed the Cathedral Library Association
with a view to this end, his Grace kindly consenting to be the
president of that association. Before making active efforts to
spread this association among other parishes than ours, we have
tried in our own library to secure the needed conditions, and we
are glad to say that after an experience of four years, beginning
with nothing, we have been able to reach one of the conditions,
and possess on our shelves now more than the 10,000 volumes re-
quired by the law. We expect soon to have the second condi-
tion, and, with God's help, we shall have the third within a very
short time. The advantage of co-operation on the part of other
parochial libraries with ours in this work would be that smaller
parishes, which could never expect to possess the required num-
ber of volumes, could have free access to our shelves by a system
of mutual loaning, such as exists between the central organization
of the New York Free Circulating Library and its branches.
The organic bond between the libraries would be membership in
this organization, the director of each library to be a member of
the board of trustees governing the association. In this way
all the parish libraries could be made absolutely free ; and, by
advancing a. small outlay, within one year sufficient money could
be obtained lawfully from the State to compensate for this out-
lay and to provide for the current expenses. We hope, too, by
means of this association to be able to establish in New York
for the use of the people a Catholic Reference Library which
will be worthy of our people and of our city. The plan is al-
ready prepared, and if everything progresses favorably will soon
be placed in operation.

Finally, I would say that the parish schools afford a great
means for developing the work of the parish library. The

132 The Apostolate of the Press.

trouble with our children is not that they do not read, but that
they have not the proper guidance in their reading. It is not
the point to discuss here why they have not proper guidance,
but the fact remains that they are left very much to themselves,
and consequently the results are not at all satisfactory. In one
parish that I know of an attempt is made to guide the children
by placing within the reach of each class only a certain number
of books from which to choose. My objection to this is that it
does not properly train the children to become the choosers of
their books when they have been emancipated from the ferule,
and furthermore that it does not give the children the proper
range in their reading. It is a difificult task to pick out the
hundred best books in English literature, but it is still a more
difficult task to pick out for each class the dozen or more books
for the children in that class. Yet if the books presented to
these children are not the best for them where will be the bene-
fit in cramping the desire of the children's mind for expansion ?
The proper plan, it seems to me, would be for the teachers to
be somewhat familiar with general literature, and particularly
with the special literature of the special subjects that they teach,
and to pursue in their classes the method that is pursued by
the Reading Circles throughout the country, suggesting to the
children in- what books and at what places in those books they
will iind matter bearing upon the subject-matter of their respec-
tive studies, so that the child while recreating his mind will at
the same time be continuing his study. The necessity of a
knowledge of general literature on the part of the teacher will
appear from the fact that children have not only to study but
to relax their mind. This could be done by suggesting lines of
reading which will cultivate their tastes, and develop their poetic,
practical, or intellectual faculties. The teacher who knows the
capabilities of the child, and who takes with most of our children
the place of the parent in the matter not only of directing his
studies, but of directing his reading, ought to be able to suggest
what will be best for each child in order to allow its faculties to
expand to their fullest development. Reading is a thing in
which the principle of simultaneity cannot be applied success-
fully, because tastes in reading differ as widely as tastes in
eating or drinking. While every one likes to have a solid sub-
stratum of beef in his food, every one too should have a solid
substratum of intellectual nourishment in what he reads ; but
just as our appetite must be coaxed by serving up solid food in
various forms, so the appetite of the mind must be coaxed by

The Afostolate of the Press. 133

presenting to it its nutriment in attractive shape. And we know
in this matter, as in the matter of food, what may be attractive
for one will be repulsive to another. Hence the necessitx' of
striving to adapt the reading to the tastes of the mind. This, it
need scarcely be observed, can be done only when the teacher
has the requisite knowledge. If, therefore, our teachers, whose
lives are so busy that they can scarcely find the time for indi-
vidual effort in this direction, could have the advantage of
listening to lectures by different litterateurs, not only during the
course of the year but during the vacation season, the results
would be beneficial not only to them but to their charges, and
the resultant sum of culture on the part of the teachers, the
broadening of their minds, would have its effect in the increased
amount of culture in the Catholic body, because the influence of
the child is not only prospective but retroactive, and is experi-
enced by the parent as well as by progeny.

Since writing the above I have learned that this want has
been appreciated by the Public School Teachers' Association,
and that the Committee on Literature of that body intends to
devote itself to the cultivation in young people of the taste for
good literature ; to endeavor to increase and multiply in every
way the child's opportunities for reading the best books. " In
the development of this plan the committee has in view: ist.
The preparation of leaflets on reading for the young ; 2d, The
formation and proper use of school libraries ; 3d, The reviewing
and classifying of recent juvenile works; 4th, The preparation of
lists of suitable books — books of fiction, history, travel, biography,
and popular science — so classified that the busy teacher will be
■enabled to select at a glance choice reading matter for each of
his school grades. " We can learn something from this plan.
The need of our taking the lesson is emphasized by the fact
that the letter accompanying the circular of which the above is
an extract asks me to prepare a list which, " barring religion, "
shall be suitable for all schools. We must prepare lists that shall
be suitable for our children. Let us learn the lesson.

134 The Apostolate of the Press.

LIBRARY WORK IN ST. PAUL'S PARISH, NEW YORK.

BY JOHN J. O'BRIEN, OF NEW YORK.

At a very early period in the history of St. Paul's parish,
more than twenty-five years ago, Father Hecker provided a Chil-
dren's Free Circulating Library to supply books for the Sunday-
school scholars. He was convinced that in this way a love for
good reading would be fostered among the young fftlks and re-
main with them in after years. Abundant opportunities for an
advanced course of reading are now supplied in the choice col-
lection of books at the Parochial Library, established by the
Christian Doctrine Society. Both departments of the library are
at present doing their work conjointly, the books for the scholars
being distributed on Sunday morning during the session, and at
the end of the session to the teachers, and again Monday even-
ings to the members throughout the parish. About five thou-
sand volumes are available for general circulation. Library cards
containing the titles of fifteen books, with the names of the
different authors printed thereon, are distributed amongst the
various Christian Doctrine classes. The card, in each class, is
passed around, every scholar selecting a book and marking the
number on the back of the card, which is covered with silicate.
In the meantime the books returned have been gathered up by
the librarians and checked in the library. The cards are then
collected, and the classes entitled receive another set of books.
There are but few rules governing the distribution of the books.
The books are given out every Sunday — except during the sum-
mer when no class is held — one Sunday to the girls and the
next to the boys. Books must be returned in two weeks, and if
any scholar in a class fails to bring back a book the class is held
accountable until the book is returned. This rule, as can easily
be imagined, directs the public attention of classmates to delin-
quents, whose tardiness is promptly rebuked by the boys and
girls themselves.

St. Paul's Library enables Catholics to do much good by
assisting inquiring Protestants to obtain books explaining the
points of difference between the church and the various sects.
For this apostolate of the laity, as well as to foster a love of
reading the best books, it has been conducted as an aid to mis-

The Apostolate of the Press. 135

sionary work. A large number of volumes have been lately pur-
chased with this end in view. On account of the improvements
that have been made, it is hoped that the library will be a
centre of attraction for all who wish to find books that may be
read profitably. In choosing the recent selections, particularly
in the department of fiction, proper allowance has been made
for diversity of taste and the varied intellectual qualifications of
readers. The aim has been to exclude literary rubbish as well
as immoral, mendacious, and useless books of all kinds.

This is an age in which, to some extent, reading has become
a necessity for everybody. The number of books published an-
nually is so great that few persons are able to select those which
are suitable from a Catholic stand-point. What to read is nowa-
days a question of real difificulty to many and especially to
young people. With the varied character of the productions of
the press, with a press that lends itself as well to the dissemi-
nation of error in matters religious, historical, and social, as it
does to the advancement of the true and useful, guidance in the
selection of reading matter is of the utmost importance. Life is
not long enough to allow time to read all the books that are
printed ; therefore it is advisable to adopt some plan by which
the best among them can be secured.

Now, the library assumes the ofifice of a guide in such matters.
The fact that a book has a place on its catalogue is a guarantee
that it contains safe and useful reading. In some of the books
written by non-Catholics a few lines and passages may be inac-
curate, though the other merits which they possess make them
attractive and useful to intelligent readers. Such books have
been admitted only because their defects are more than counter-
balanced by their literary excellence and other good qualities.
As might be expected, the library is well supplied with works
on spiritual and doctrinal subjects. It is hardly necessary to
state that such reading is of supreme importance for every
Catholic. The writings of the saints and of the great defenders
of the faith should be studied attentively by all who wish to ad-
vance in the way of perfection, and to protect themselves from
the pernicious influence of those who, by word, by example, and
by the power of the press, inculcate indifferentism and infidelity.
The church needs, in this country especially, enlightened mem-
bers who can give a reason for the faith which they believe, and
who have the knowledge requisite to defend the truths of reli-
gion. Hence it is the duty of every loyal Catholic to make
the best use of his opportunities in diffusing correct information

1 3 6 The Apostolate of the Press.

concerning the teachings of the CathoHc Church. The advan-
tages to be derived from spiritual reading are manifold. Father
Faber says: "Other things being equal, a person beginning the
spiritual life with a taste for reading has much greater chance
for advancing and persevering than one destitute of such a taste.
It is not easy to think out for ourselves even very obvious
things. Reading suggests them to us. We gain time by appro-
priating through books the experience of others."

The utility of history as a branch of private reading is unde-
niable. It has been called "the witness of ages, the torch of
truth, the interpreter of the past." History is a repository
whence we may, with little labor, derive extensive knowledge of
the human race. The true glories of the present century cannot
be properly estimated by one who is ignorant of what hap-
pened during the centuries of the past. Great truths and im-
portant lessons drawn from the study of history are often em-
bodied in the pleasing form of a story. In this way real facts
maybe realized and presented most forcibly by the inventive power
of the imagination. With this object in view many historical
novels have been constructed by eminent scholars. The '^tory
of Fabiola, by Cardinal Wiseman, and that of Callista, by Cardinal
Newman, are worthy to be ranked among the best specimens of
this class of books.

The literature produced by Catholic authors is of the highest
standard, and it now remains for the Apostolate OF THE
Press, through its many able exponents, to spread this literature
broadcast throughout the country where it will do the most
good among Catholics and non-Catholics. Libraries can assist in
this grand work by keeping on their shelves leaflets, pamphlets,
and books that will enlighten those who are searching for light
concernins: the one true church.

The Apostolate of the Press. 137

THE DIFFUSION OF GOOD READING BY THE
COLUMBIAN READING UNION.

BY MISS JOSEPHINE LEWIS, OF BUFFALO, N. Y.

In the pages of THE Catholic World an extensive series
of letters have been published, beginning December, 1888, sug-
gesting ways and means of diffusing Catholic literature, and
bringing into prominence the works of Catholic writers, with a
view to securing a larger representation of their books on the
shelves of public libraries. So great was the demand for infor-
mation on these topics that it was found advisable to establish,
under the supervision of the Paulist Fathers, the Columbian
Reading Union as a central organization in New York City, to
co-operate with those in charge of parochial and public libraries
and the managers of Reading Circles. All societies of this kind
derive mutual benefit by the interchange of opinion and sugges-
tion, encouraged and made profitable through the influence of a
central body.

The advantages of such an organization are becoming more
and more evident to those who have given any thought to the
study of the Catholic book trade. Much judgment is required
in preparing suitable lists of books for different readers. The
young ladies who have been graduated from convent schools and
academies, or other institutions, need books specially adapted to
their plans for self-improvement. That large and intelligent class
working in stores, factories, and in domestic service, enjoying less
leisure, have a claim which should also be cheerfully recognized.
In preparing lists for the latter due allowance must be made for
their range of thought and limited opportunities for reading.

With regard to young men, there are peculiar dangers arising
from daily contact with the great tide of indifferentism and un-
belief to which they are exposed. Valuable aid can be rendered
to them by judicious guidance in the selection of books that deal
with subjects in which they are or ought to be most interested.

There is likewise a vast domain of juvenile literature to be
classified to meet the constant demands of educational institu-
tions, and of parents who rightly exercise a vigilant supervision
over the reading matter supplied to their children.

It is evident at a glance, that individual effort is not ade-

138 The Apostolate of the Press.

quate to meet all these wants. To arrange guide-lists for the
various classes of readers, some fully and others only partially
educated, male and female, the leisured and the working classes,
is a task of great magnitude. Responsible persons, such as pro-
fessional teachers of literature, directors of libraries, qualified
ladies and gentlemen, can do inestimable good to thousands of
readers by employing their special acquirements in this direction,
but to do so effectually demands an organization. Lists of books
arranged in this way and offered gratuitously can be endorsed
and sent to all parts of the United States and Canada. So far
as funds permit, these book-lists will be sent to educational in-
stitutions. By making special terms with publishers, the Colum-
bian Reading Union can become a useful auxiliary to the Catho-
lic reading public. The facilities which it can obtain will save
time, trouble, and expense in the purchase of books, facilities
urgently needed by those who live in the small towns and the
rural districts.

One of the ablest thinkers and writers among Catholic lay-
men, Mr. John A. Mooney, has sent these words of praise for
the work now under consideration :

" I am delighted to see at last a much-needed, timely, prac-
tical movement for the encouragement of good Catholic reading
and writing. The plan of the Columbian Reading Union evi-
dences a full, thoughtful knowledge of Catholic needs — pressing
needs. If properly organized and carefully conducted, the Read-
ing Circles must have a wide influence for good, not on young
ladies only, but also on men, young and old, many of whom
know very little of the writers of their own religion, or the place
of excellence these writers have attained. Instead of gratifying
or nourishing ourselves at our own well-filled tables, we contented-
ly feed on the husks of the prodigal and call our sad meal a feast.

" The idea of the guide-lists promises to benefit publishers as
well as readers. Here it is, especially, that every one can see the
care with which your admirable plan has been thought out.
Why should not the publisher be helped as well as the reader?
As it is, putting aside the ascetic work, the publisher lacks any
safe means of gauging his public. We have no way of telephon-
ing him what we are ready for. The guide-list will serve as a
publisher's thermometer as well as a reader's barometer.

" Not only will the Reading Circles and the guide-lists help
Catholics, but they will serve our American society at large.
The Public Library will learn to know us better than it does.
We shall be recognized not simply as readers, but also as the

The Apostolate of the Press. 139

owners and makers of a good, honest, healthy Hterature — a litera-
ture characterized by a just sense of art and by a high claim,
clean as well as modern, and covering every branch of literary
composition.

"And our schools, convents, colleges — will not the guide-
lists serve them also ? In the school the ground-work of a sound
appreciation of the value of good reading should be laid. To
instil the sense of reading as a duty, and to make it a pleasur-
able habit, is one of the most important requirements of the most
primary education. The guide-list should be, and doubtless will
be, a valued school-teacher's guide.

" Surely you may count on the success of your good under-
taking. You deserve encouragement from all classes of men and
women. And you will have encouragement, if for no other rea-
son, because you have chosen the right moment to plant a grain
of mustard-seed."

The documents already printed and circulated by the Colum-
bian Reading Union are :

1. List of Historical Novels, prepared by the New York Ca-
thedral Library Reading Circle, which contains forty standard
works by Catholic authors ;

2. List of Stories for Young Readers, prepared by the Oza-
nam Reading Circle, organized in this parish. This list contains
fifty of the best books for the young, printed by Catholic publishers ;

3. List of Books Relating to the Catholic Church in the
L^nited States, prepared by the Alumnae Association of the Holy
Angels Academy, Buffalo, N. Y. In this list thirty-nine works
are mentioned ;

4. The Works of Brother Azarias, with a reference list of
his essays and papers published in various magazines during the
past twenty years ;

5. The Writings of Miss Eliza Allen Starr, with press opinions,
showing the high estimate formed by competent critics of her
life-long studies in Christian Art ;

6. List of Historical Books on the Famous Women of the
French Court, by a Catholic author, M. Imbert de Saint-Amand,
who has won distinction on both sides of the Atlantic by por-
traying the chief actors of a most memorable epoch of modern
history ;

7. A List of Books for the Young, selected from the cata-
logue of Messrs. Charles Scribner's Sons. In this list the Cath-
olic authors are given a prominent place, and Jules Verne, the
prince of story-tellers, is the first on the list. By special arrange-

I40 The Apostolate of the Press.

ment with the Scribners a Hberal discount of twenty per cent,
on single volumes, and a larger discount on the complete works
of different authors, has been secured for every one using the
order-blank supplied by the Columbian Reading Union.

This brief synopsis of the work performed by the Columbian
Reading Union will be acceptable to its members and well-wishers.
The members have each sent one dollar to give substantial en-
couragement to the movement. Without the financial aid thus
obtained the circulars and book-lists gratuitously prepared for
the use of the members could not have been printed and circu-
lated. Thus far every request for documents has been answered
even when the request was written on a postal card. About
five-sixths of the total number of letters received by the Colum-
bian Reading Union have contained ten cents in postage, which
is less than the actual cost of the book-lists and circulars.

The Columbian Reading Union's documents are in general de-
mand, and contain information not hitherto supplied from any
other source. In estimating the extent of the work already ac-
complished, it is necessary to add that one member of the
Union in New York agreed to pay the expense of sending the
book-lists gratis to the archbishops and bishops ; and a member
residing in the city of Milwaukee willingly undertook the labor
and expense of forwarding the book-lists to all the Catholic col-
leges, academies, and select schools of the United States. Spe-
cific mention cannot be made of all who have given valuable
time and experience to the formation of Reading Circles, and
the distribution of the book-lists among public libraries. Certain-
ly it is encouraging to authors and publishers to get positive
assurance that in answer to the appeal of the Columbian Read-
ing Union a large number of representative Catholics have vol-
unteered to do service in various ways — without the induce-
ment of financial rewards — for the diffusion of good literature.

Before the end of the year 1892 it is hoped that sufficient
funds will have been secured to pay the expense of printing a
complete list of Catholic authors published in the English lan-
guage ; much of the data for this important list has been al-
ready collected by skilful hands. It now remains to be seen
whether the patrons and members whose generosity has thus far
supplied the " sinews of war " will provide the fund necessary for
this new enterprise. Every library and every Reading Circle in
the land will be glad to have a reliable list, such as the one now
preparing, which will definitely show forth the influence Catho-
lic thought has exerted on modern literature.

The Apostolate of the Press. 141

THE FIRST CATHOLIC. READING CIRCLE FORMED
IN NEW YORK CITY.

BY MISS M. F. McALEER.

In response to an appeal issued by Father McMillan, the
Ozanam Reading Circle was organized over five years ago. It
takes rank as the first Catholic Reading Circle established in
New York City. The members have endeavored to do an
apostolic work in behalf of good reading, besides securing their
own self-improvement in matters of literary value. The Circle is
composed of Catholic women, residing in different sections of
New York City, who meet together once a week in an informal
and friendly way, to talk about books — Catholic books especially
— to take part in carefully selected literary exercises, readings
from the best authors, recitations, and essays.

Every Monday evening the members assemble at the Paro-
chial Library, West Sixtieth Street, near Columbus Avenue.
This library offers exceptional facilities for getting the choicest
specimens of modern literature, and a liberal supply of the latest
stories. It contains all books approved by the Columbian Read-
ing Union.

By the selection of well-chosen books in the library,
and by special talks on many important topics, the PauHst
Fathers have generously aided the work undertaken by the
members of the Reading Circle. A gifted writer in The Catholic
World has told us that Matthew Arnold in one of his essays on
the " Strength of Catholicism " says something to this effect : If
he were a Catholic living in England he would suffer much, but
he would find also much to comfort him. Among the consola-
tions he would give himself would be a frequent visit to the
reading-room of the British Museum, and there he would linger
in loving contemplation of the vast section, stretching on and up
from the " Hell of the yellow law-books to the Heaven of the
Acta Sanctorum " devoted to the Abbe Migne's collection, which
contains all that concerns the Catholic Church from every point
of view, dogma, discipline, art, literature, science, etc. He says :
" In this same room you may also find all the theological works
of the various forms of Protestantism ; but what a poor show
they make beside this array of condensed Catholicism ! " We

142 The -Apostolate of the Press.

surely do not need assurances from Matthew Arnold or from any
other outsider of our superabundant wealth. And yet I do fear
that too many even of our educated Catholics are not fully in-
formed in this matter. Do we really need to be told how rich
and varied is the store from which we can adorn and arm and
feed ourselves ? Whether we really need this information or not
we will not discuss, but let us feel sure we are engaged in a
good work in proclaiming our treasures. But this cannot be the
sole motive of our combined efforts. Is it not rather to awaken
in our hearts an enthusiasm for carrying the light to those who,
thanks to much of the popular literature, are growing to believe
that enthusiasm is a folly, that there is nothing worth striving for ?

Do we not wish to counteract the pernicious effect of the
flippant reading of the day by working ourselves up to a relish
for studious reading? And is not the means we have been ad-
vised to take something like a beginning of that after-course of
studies so many have been longing for ? The students in
colleges, convents, and common schools can only go so far.
How far? Indeed, only to the borders of the great wonderland
of study. And must education be deemed ended when the medals
have been pinned on amidst the flourish of pianos, violins, harps^
etc.? Bishop Spalding said something boldly true at one of the
commencements ; something to the effect that there was a ten-
dency to rest satisfied with the medal and diploma — that we too
easily believed all-sufificient these outward signs of inward pro-
gress. It would be well to heed such warnings. But how are
we going to solve the problem of a continued and studious life
with the demands of our social and domestic environments? A
great many seem to think the problem unsolvable and give it up,
and are heard of no more among the light-bearers. They drop
out of the ranks, or rather, they drop into the great nameless,
aimless multitude. The Catholic Reading Circle can help us to
reach a satisfactory indication of the ways and means of doing
one's duty to home and to other claimants, yet leaving us time
enough to strive for personal perfection in every sense of the
word. The literature produced by the divinely lighted minds of
our great Catholic writers will assist immensely towards this
perfection of mind and heart and soul.

One of the most active workers for the success of the Oza-
nam Reading Circle, Mr. Alfred Young, is unavoidably absent
from this Convention. With rare good taste and judgment he
has recommended various practical plans for the members to
follow. In a letter, written by request for this Convention, he

The Apostolate of the Press. 143

says that his advice was intended for teachers, art students,
type-writers, telegraphers, and the like. Many of them work
overtime and have little leisure. " It would be adding one
more humbug to the world's too plentiful stock to devise an
elaborate scheme of reading for such busy people. Last year we
only required one book to be read by all the members,
and this was pretty generally and thoroughly done. The book
was Cardinal Gibbons's Our CJiristian Heritage. The meetings
are held every Monday evening. Every member is supposed to
come fortified with a newly acquired quotation from some promi-
nent author, and the recitation of these quotations forms the
opening exercise. Then we have a prose reading from a Catho-
lic author or from some non-Catholic source, but upon a theme
interesting to Catholics. This is followed by a * poetical read-
ing,' meaning an extract from some good poem, the importance
of selecting real poetry and not mere jingle being urged upon
the Circle. This is followed by another prose reading which we
call a ' Study in Literature,' meaning thereby to illustrate by
the extract read the value and beauty of style in the literary
artist.

" A recitation then comes next upon the programme. We
don't care for ' The Polish Boy,' and ' Searching among the
Slain ' at our pleasant gatherings is distinctly discouraged. Then
we take a little relaxation in the shape of a reading from some
popular (high-grade) novel, or from a book of sketches. For
instance, one of the members read for us not long ago that de-
lightful sketch of Miss Wilkins's, ' The Revolt of Mother.' Once
in a while we have an original story or essay. The evening is
closed by an informal talk from the presiding ofificer of the
meeting. The talk is part comment, part suggestion, and part
criticism. Just so much stress is laid upon elocution as may
insure the adequate expression, in an entirely natural and unaf-
fected way, of whatever is read or recited. The idea is that it
is worth while for everybody to be able to read and to speak
in a graceful manner with a well-trained voice. Much is made
of the good old-fashioned practice of reading aloud. We think
that even one night a week with Newman and Ruskin may do
something to counteract our daily dose of flippancy and cyni-
cism in the morning newspaper.

" These proceedings of the members of the Ozanam Reading
Circle do not make a very pretentious narration, but in the com-
parison of experiences at the Convention they may prove of
interest. Recent articles in The Catholic World were dis-

144 The Apostolate of the Press.

cussed by our Circle, and just too in the line of Father Elliott's
noble scheme.

" Now, our members have agreed that whenever they find
themselves guests in a Catholic household they will, on the first
fitting opportunity, ascertain whether THE Catholic World
and other standard works by Catholic authors are subscribed for
by their hosts, and if not, in a kindly, missionary sort of a way
they will urge a subscription to these publications. If this is
carried out, as I hope it will be, it ought to entitle the Ozanam
Reading Circle to be admitted into the Apostolate of the
Press."

A description of a meeting may give some idea of the work
done in the Ozanam Reading Circle. The exercises begin with
the reading of the minutes of the previous meeting. These
minutes are not presented in tabular form, but are rather a de-
scription of the part each member had in the proceedings. This
is followed by quotations containing good, wholesome thoughts
that impress the members in the course of their readings — an en-
tire evening has often been devoted to one Catholic author.
The rest of the time is devoted to recitations and readings.
The latter are not given merely for the sake of elocutionary effect
alone. The readings are selected from a literary stand-point ;
hence standard periodicals are frequently consulted. For instance,
every month at least one selection from THE CATHOLIC WORLD
is rendered. The members subscribe to this magazine and cir-
culate it weekly, so that each member in turn is supplied with
a copy. Original writings have taken the form of letters to the
Circle, essays, and reviews of popular books, or impressions of
particular works. An original story was given as a Christmas
contribution. Sometimes the whole time of the meeting has been
devoted to one special subject or one celebrated character, such
as Shakspere, Longfellow, and St. Patrick. All efforts have
tended in some way to acquaint the members with Catholic his-
tory and Catholic literature.

The Apostolate of the Press. 145

THE CATHOLIC EDUCATIONAL UNION.

BY WARREN E. MOSIIER, OF YOUNGSTOWN, O.

Of the necessity and utility of Reading Circles among Catho-
lics there is not the slightest difference of opinion among those
who have the welfare of Catholic interests at heart. After a
trial of two years all who have taken an active interest in the
movement concede that the Reading Circle, when properly
directed, is a most beneficial means of acquiring the greatest
amount of intellectual gain from the effort expended ; and the
steady growth of the movement is convincing proof that the
Reading Circle has come to stay among Catholic institutions.

The work being done by the Columbian Reading Union is
deserving of the highest commendation. It is certainly a useful
auxiliary to the Catholic reading public, and I trust its useful-
ness will be continued and encouraged.

There is another organization to which I would call your
attention, and which is known as the Catholic Educational
Union, with headquarters at Youngstown, Ohio. You are all
familiar with the Chautauqua Society, and the phenomenal suc-
cess it has achieved among our non-Catholic friends.

The Catholic Educational Union has adopted the same
system, but conducted on Catholic lines, and does not conflict
in the least with the work of the Columbian Reading Union.
Among its oflficers and counsellors are some of the most eminent
divines and educators in the land, including Brother Azarias ;
Rev. J. F. Loughlin, D.D., chancellor of the Archdiocese of Phila-
delphia ; Rev. M. M. Sheedy ; Maurice F. Egan, LL.D. ; Rev.
J. Havens Richards, S.J. ; George E. Hardy, A.M. ; Hon. W. J.
Onahan, Eliza Allen Starr, Katherine E. Conway, Mary E.
Blake, and others.

Briefly stated, the object of this institution is to encourage
the diffusion of sound literature and to instil a love of good
reading into the hearts and minds of the Catholic masses; to
give those who desire to pursue their studies after leaving school
an available opportunity to follow prescribed courses of the
most approved reading; to enable others who have made con-
siderable progress in education to renew their past studies, and
particularly to encourage individual home reading and study on

146

The Apostolate of the Press.

systematic and Catholic lines. It is especially designed to meet
the requirements of those who have had limited educational
advantages and are desirous of self-improvement. It aims to
unfte the earnest young Catholics of the land who are ambitious
to devote their spare moments to the pursuit of knowledge and
the cultivation of the intellect.

The plan consists of carefully prepared reading courses and
wisely selected books. The studies include history, literature,
science, and art. The lessons in these studies are marked in
advance for each week, and the amount of reading in each study
is clearly defined. The required reading can be done in one half-
hour daily. The members procure the books recommended and
read the lessons at home. If there are several persons in a par-
ish reading the course, they may meet for mutual help and
encouragement, and thus form a local Reading Circle.

A full course requires four years' study. But one may join
for one year only and may read all or any part of the course.
If a member desires to obtain a diploma, he may do so by read-
ing the full course for four years and answering eighty per cent.
of the questions sent him. These questions are a review of the
studies, and can be found in the books which he has read. The
term for each year begins October i and ends July i. Special
courses will be prepared for those who complete the regular
four years' course, so that they may continue indefinitely, review-
ing old studies and beginning new ones.

The Four Years' Course of the C. E. U.
(Subject to revision, from time to time, by the Counsellors.)

1892-93.
American History.

American Literature.

1890-91. 1891-92.

Ancient and Roman History of the Middle English History

History.
Greek and Latin Lit

erature.
Mythology.

-'^S^s. English Literature.

Civilization, Litera- ^, , tt- .

Church History,
ture, the Arts, Li-
braries, Schools.and Electricity.
Universities in the Physics.

, ^- Middle Ages. . .

Physiology and Hy- ^^^ ^^^^^^ .^ ^^^ Art.

Middle Ages. Science and the Bible.

The Protestant Refor- Contemporary Irish Chemistry.

mation. History and Litera- Social Questions.

*^^°^°ey- The World's Exposi

Astronomy.

History of the Church

in America.
American Institutions
Political Science.

giene.
Ancient Civilization
Physical Geography
Bible Studies.
Christian Doctrine.

Christian Doctrine.

Bible Studies.

The above course is repeated every four years, so that those who continue
members for four years will get the benefit of all the readings advertised, no mat-
ter which studies they may begin with. All who join the Union should begin with
the course outlined for the year in which they join.

The Apostolate of the Press. 147

Course of Reading for 1891-92.

Beginning October i and ending July i, arranged as follows: From
October to January, English History, Electricity, and Physics ; from January to
April, English History and Literature ; from April to July, English History, Liter-
ature, and Church History.

The required Readings in the Revieiv will include special series of Art
Studies, by Eliza Allen Starr ; Bible Studies, by Rev. P. C. Yorke ; Relation of Sci-
ence and the Bible, by Rev. John J. Melody. Other studies will be announced
later. Contemporary Irish History and Literature will receive special attention in
the text-books and Review during the progress of the course.

Required Books for 1891-92.

English History. Burke's Lingard. J. Murphy & Co., Baltimore, Md. $1.50,

English Literature. John O'Kane Murray's Lessons in English Literature.
John Murphy & Co. 75 cents.

Church History. A popular manual. The Catholic Publication Society Co.,
New York. 60 cents.

Electricity and its Discoverdrs. By Rev. Martin S. Brennan, A.M. D.
Appleton & Co., New York. 75 cents.

Physics. By Prof. Balfour Stewart. American Book Company, New York,
Cincinnati, and Chicago. 35 cents.

The Catholic Reading Circle Review. $1.50.

A person may join at any time by sending name and address
and a fee of twenty-five cents. Circles of ten or more, ten cents
each.

The primary object is to encourage home reading, and indi-
viduals may become members without joining a Circle. Yet the
Reading Circle is the principal means of carrying out the plan.
The members meet weekly to discuss the reading they have done
at home and to have an interchange of ideas. Literary exercises
are prepared, consisting of essays and talks supplementary to
studies, and musical exercises interspersed to make the meetings
pleasant and sociable.

Every Reading Circle is a school in which are educated ac-
tive and efficient workers for the responsible duty of assisting
pastors in teaching the young intellects of our land sound prin-
ciples and virtuous practices. By the members having a common
interest in the work and acting in concert, there is an incentive
£or individual effort. Each member is urged by a sense of duty,
and, feeling assured of sympathy, does his part willingly. He is
also made to feel that he is not conspicuous or alone in the
work. The active, strong minds act as a stimulant in arousing
the slow or indifferent members to action ; the timid and diffident

148 The Apostolate of the Press.

grow self-reliant and confident, and in time this spirit pervades
the whole society.

Many have the erroneous idea that by identifying themselves
with Reading Circles it presupposes ignorance on their part.
This is a mistake. Many educated Catholics have entered into
the spirit of the plan with the warmest zeal, and have organized
Circles in which are professional men, business men, teachers,
mechanics, and persons from every walk in life. Those who have
been so fortunate as to have received opportunities of advanced
education, sound training, and good social and moral influences
could not do a more commendable act than to ally themselves
with Reading Circles and aid in lifting up those less fortunate
than themselves. Good example, fellowship, discussion, and in-
terchange of ideas constitute the educational advantages of
Reading Circles.

The Catholic Educational Union does not conflict with other
associations. On the contrary, it can be made a useful Adjunct
to them. If they would adopt this plan, new life would be in-
fused into literary societies which now exist in name only, and a
vigor imparted which would stimulate members to renewed ef-
fort. Besides, they have the advantages of libraries, pleasant
meeting places, and other necessary conveniences.

Where there are several Circles in a community following this
plan they could carry out in a measure the University Extension
system by having men of local or national prominence as educa-
tors deliver special lectures on the course to the several Circles
assembled together.

The manner of conducting a Reading Circle is immeasurably
superior to that heretofore followed by literary societies. In the
ordinary literary society several persons are assigned subjects for
papers, recitations, etc., and the other members of the society
have no interest but to sit and listen to the papers read by
others. None but those who have been assigned subjects have
an incentive to look up the references given, the others having,
perhaps, little or no knowledge of them. And should those as-
signed papers, fail to respond, the meeting is likely to be a fail-
ure. On the other hand, by the Reading-Circle system all the
members are interested in the subjects, as all are supposed to
have the books and to read a certain amount each day or week.
Should those on the programme fail to respond, the meeting can
yet be conducted profitably by a discussion of the reading or
lesson of the week.

The following will serve to illustrate the work of a Circle :

The Apostolatr of the Press. i49

Reading for Week ending January 7.

1. "History of England" — Chap, xix., Edward III.

2. " Lessons in English Literature " — Definitions, to page J.
In the Reading Circle Review : "The Motive of George Eliot's

Novels," by Brother Azarias ; "Leo XIII. and the Labor Prob-
lem," by Rev. M. M. Sheedy.

LOCAL CIRCLE PROGRAMME — SUGGESTIVE.
Week ending January 7.

1. Roll-Call — New Year's Resolves.

2. Paper — The Black Death.

3. Selections from Lyric Poetry.

4. The Lesson.
Music.

5. Paper — The Irish in America.

6. Selections from the " Gleaner." The Gleaner is a person
appointed to look up articles of interest bearing on the subjects
studied by the Circle.

7. Readings and Discussion — " The Motive of George Eliot's
Novels," and " Leo XIII. and the Labor Problem," in this issue
of the Review.

8. Topics of the Hour.

Among the many excellent exercises carried out in Reading
Circles are the quotations in response to roll-call, and the ques-
tion-box. By the former each member as his name is called, in-
stead of saying " present," recites a quotation from an author
named the week before : it may be a line or more. By follow-
ing this exercise a Circle will quote from forty or fifty different
authors during the year, and by the members being obliged to
search through the writings of the many authors for a suitable
quotation they naturally become familiar with many writers and
their works.

By the question-box exercise questions on special or general
subjects are prepared and distributed among the members at a
meeting, to be answered at the next.

There are many other pleasant and instructive exercises be-
sides these which may be introduced at the will of the mem-
bers.

An indispensable feature of this Union is its monthly maga
zine, the CatJiolic Reading Circle Reviezv. This magazine serves
as a guide, the several departments being conducted with a view
of assisting members to a clear understanding of the studies of
the course. Articles of special value to members are contributed
by many of the most distinguished writers in the country. The

I50 The Apostolate of the Press.

Reading Circle department contains the outline of the studies for
each week, with suggestive programmes for local circles, explana-
tory notes, suggestions, and advice, questions and answers, and
other matter of general interest, besides communications from
Circles and readers from all parts of the land. There is also
a department devoted exclusively to the interests of Catholic
teachers. With the aid of the magazine ten thousand Circles
can follow the plan as easily as one. The price of the Review
is $1.50 per year. All the books of the course may be ordered
from the Union at Youngstown, Ohio, or from the publishers.
Information on organizing and conducting Reading Circles may
be had by applying to the Union and merely enclosing stamps
to pay for circulars and reply.

PARISH CALENDARS.

BY REV. JOHN J. HUGHES, ST. PAUL'S CHURCH, NEW YORK.

Whatever else the Paulists may be accused of originating,
the Calendar idea cannot be placed at their doors. The credit
is not theirs. Long ago Numa Pompilius, and later on Julius
Caesar, and later still Pope Gregory XIII. had something to do
with Calendars.

It was only six years ago that the Paulists got it into their
heads that the wisdom of Numa, and Caesar, and Gregory might
be used effectively if put before the people of St. Paul's in
American dress.

The idea of the monthly Calendar is simply this — to furnish
every member of the parish, FREE OF CHARGE, a small pam-
phlet containing a list of the feasts and fasts of the month, no-
tices of the meetings of societies, short, sharp warnings to the
people about any abuses or vices prevalent among them, and to
give short explanations and instructions on Catholic truths.

At first some smiled at the success of such a publication.
How could we distribute five thousand copies of a pamphlet
ranging from sixteen to thirty-two pages a month — all for no-
thing ?

We did it, and thus far it has cost the Paulist Fathers not
one cent.

What is The Calendar ? The Calendar is the Catholic's re-

The Apostolate of the Press. 151

ligious memorandum-book. He hangs it up the first Sunday of
the month and consults it as the sailor does his almanac for
tides and the phases of the moon. For every day there is a
saint or a devotion, for every week a meeting of some society,
his own or his children's, and for every season of the year a
special phase of his religious life. The Calendar is a chart for
his voyage. With our large congregations and our short Masses
the parochial relation is at a minimum — less than a minimum, in
fact — it is below measurement. Every expedient to supplement
this should be resorted to with alacrity. If a business man is
not sure those who trade with him understand his words he
sends them a circular. That is exactly the purpose of The Cal-
endar. It is a printed message of the pastor of souls to his
flock. In large city parishes such a means of communication is
necessary if we want the people to understand intelligently the
notices and regulations of the parish. When read from the pul-
pit it is safe to say that one-third of the congregation does not
hear a word of them and another third forgets them. Whereas,
when the notices are in cold print and carried home, they are
apt to be read and commented upon, and thus rubbed in and
not so easily forgotten.

Can The Calendar be made to turn an honest penny for
church revenue? Yes, but the honest penny would be its death.
Say a thousand would buy it ; two thousand wouldn't. Thus the
object of The Calendar would be defeated, for its great aim is to
reach every one in the parish, to force upon them the knowledge
of their duty and of what is going on in their parish church.

Another question : Would the publication of a Calendar be
an extra expense and drain on the parish funds?

It need not be. The Calendars we have issued these years
have not cost the church one cent, and we have distributed
nearly 200,000 copies in that time. Any intelligent young man
can go around in the parish and secure enough advertisements
to pay the printer's bill and compensate himself.

Do we notice any marked effect from the use of The Calen-
dar in St. Paul's ?

Undoubtedly v/e do, for whenever we wish to call attention
to any new regulation or denounce any abuse, we speak to the
people through The Calendar, and good results are produced.
If the people do not recite the prayers properly after Mass, we
tell them through its pages how it should be done, and repeat
the notice until we gain what we want. It the people rush out
of church before the priest leaves the altar, a little good-humored

152 The Apostolate of the Press.

sarcasm printed in the next Calendar will make them feel ashamed
to do the like again. For example, you can see in some of The
Calendars a number of " Dont's," and among others, " Don't run
out of church as if the sherifT were at your heels " ; " Don't loiter
or stand at the back of the church during Mass if you are able
to pay for a seat. It looks bad, and is not in good form."

Let me tell you one effect of a notice in The Calendar. We
were annoyed and worried at people coming late to Mass.
Father Brady wrote a page in TJie Calendar on " Freaks." He
told of many phenomena of nature — some people who had been
born with two heads, four eyes, several legs, etc. A new freak had
been discovered in our parish with three hands — a right hand, a
left hand, and a little beJiind-hand. " Look out for this freak next
Sunday at any of the Masses," he wrote, " and you will see him
coming up the aisle wagging his little behind-Jiand after him
some time after the Mass has begun." — Result, next Sunday
everybody looked for the freak in vain.

We are anxious to have it clearly understood that The Cal-
endar costs nothing but the editorial labor of compiling the pro-
per lists of feasts and fasts, putting together the announcements
of the coming month, and adding some edifying facts and state-
ments, such as the instinct of a good pastor readily furnishes.

The money with which to pay the printer can easily be ob-
tained. The business manager of The Calendar says that busi-
ness men who believe in good and successful advertising can find
no better medium than it. The advantages it offers over the
usual modes of advertising can be seen in these simple facts :

It is essentially a family publication, and must therefore bring
the various advertisements directly to the notice of those persons
whom the shrewd and intelligent business man desires to interest.
Again, though published monthly, the attention of its readers is
called daily to the notices, religious almanacs, etc., contained in
its pages. In this respect it differs greatly from other mediums
of advertising, for whe.i read they are usually thrown aside, but
The Calejidar is kept and referred to time and again throughout
the entire month — thereby making the last days as valuable as
the first.

It is hoped to make The Calendar at no distant time a week-
ly publication, thus multiplying its usefulness, and bringing the
Apostolate of the Press to bear more regularly as the ad-
junct of the spoken word.

How do we distribute The Calendars ? Do the people come
around to the priests' house for them ?

The Apostolate of the Press. 153

Not at all. The very persons you want to reach would never
see a Calendar if they had to put themselves out of the way to
get it. No ; we have a few boys stationed at the church en-
trance, and every one who wishes gets a copy. One for each
family is sufificient.

Then do we think it is a good investment ?

We know it is, and wc feel the need of it and see so much
good in it that we would pay for its printing, if that were
necessary, sooner than let it drop.

How many are there now ?

Calendars are now being published in many of the large
cities of the Union — in Boston, Worcester, Cambridge, Brooklyn,
Detroit, Cincinnati, St. Louis, New York, and finally Chicago
with nineteen Calendars and one of them in the German lan-
guage. No wonder the " World's Fair " went to this last-
named city !

THE PRESS AND INTEMPERANCE.

BY JAMES F. JUDGE, OF SCRANTON, PA.

The Press is the modern sling of the David of Right with
which the Goliath of Wrong may be successfully stricken down.
Of all the giant evils of modern times the greatest is Intemper-
ance. To annihilate that evil there stands ready a David, which
is Christianity, and the Press is the weapon with which it should
arm itself that the blow which it strikes may be unerring and
deadly. The press, in general, is ever the champion of good
order and reform, but intemperance is a particular evil, one
that to be eradicated requires a special treatment. And as in-
temperance is the most powerful enemy that now threatens —
as it long has done — the human race, there is not only need of
a distinct Temperance Press with which to destroy that enemy,
but that press should be the most powerful weapon of its kind.
And a temperance press, to be powerful and effective, must be
wholly devoted to the cause it represents, with no side issues ; it
must be bold, it must be fearless, and must never swerve, for a
moment, from the uncompromising position it has started out to
take.

With a press of this kind to aid it, the church would find
itself able to make a powerful onslaught against the demon of

154 The Apostolate of the Press.

Drink. And it is to champion such a press and to urge recog-
nition and support of it that I speak in its behalf in this Apos-
tolate. I favor the tract, the pamphlet, the book, and every other
means of distributing temperance literature among the people,
as well as the establishment of an organization for the circula-
tion of the same. But I favor, most of all, the temperance news-
paper. The newspaper is to-day the great engine of reform,
next to the church, of which it is an ally in every splendid
endeavor that tends to make the world better. This is an age
of newspapers, and we are a generation of newspaper readers.
Into the poorest home imaginable the newspaper now finds its
way ; it follows us on our journeys, it faces us at every turn, it
is a companion and a friend under every circumstance of life.
It is the tireless, constant, and infinitely resourceful agent of any
cause in which it is engaged.

I regret, therefore, to find that there are very few newspapers
devoted to the cause of temperance, and that of that few only a
small proportion are of Catholic identity. To be sure, there isn't
a Catholic newspaper in America which would fail to notice a
temperance convention or print a synopsis, at least, of an able
temperance lecture or sermon by a prominent prelate ; but the
advocacy of temperance is by no means a conspicuous feature of
these excellent publications; but the straight out-and-out tem-
perance papers could be counted on the fingers of one hand.
This is certainly not as it should be, for every diocesan and
State organization of the great Catholic Total Abstinence Union
of America ought to have and can have an official newspaper
of its own.

And what more glorious field of reform might journalism
enter than that of assailing and subjugating drunkenness, and the
accursed traffic which is its necessary ally? No plague so fatal
in its effects has beset the sons of men since the world began as
the ciirse of intoxicating drink. Oh, the desolate homes it has
left behind it in its journey ! Oh, the poor hearts it has broken,
the proud heads it has brought low, the brave hands it has
paralyzed ! War has pillaged towns and cities ; and widows and
orphans, in hunger and rags, have moaned the pitiful sobs of
grief-torn hearts in echo of its guns, but there has been a solace
for all such sorrows. History with a golden pen writes down
the deathless glory of the brave who fall in battle. But, alas !
for those whose loved ones have fallen, and over whose
shamed graves Drink plants its foul banner of victory. Who
shall comfort the drunkard's orphan and the drunkard's hopeless

The Apostolate of the Press. 155

wife ? In all the wide world there are none whose griefs appeal
to the pity of human hearts like theirs ; and they are many,
these stricken ones! Few are the homes that have not some
time felt the clutch of this demon upon them.

Then to fight down this damnable thing is the mission of the
temperance press ; to send every week or month a message of
hope and good cheer into every home where, perhaps, some one
is struggling to keep the pledge which he made on bended knees
before the priest, or to instil into the minds of the children the
beauty and the glory of a life of temperance. And better still,
such a journal will preach not only simple temperance, but will
print every word which may be said about the better and holier
practice — total abstinence. For, as Cardinal Manning says :
" Temperance is good ; total abstinence is better. We are all
pledged to temperance by the vows of our baptism. No one is
bound to total abstinence. It is the free choice of those who
aspire to live by the counsel of a higher life. Happy are the
homes where the father and the mother are pledged to the
higher life. Happy are the children who have never known the
taste of intoxicating liquor. Happy are they who, by total ab-
stinence, have broken the bondage of intemperance. Happy are
they who have taken the pledge, not for any need of their own,
but to save others, by word and example, from spiritual death.
In such homes and hearts the peace of God will reign."

Such is the message of the temperance press — happiness. It
shall carry light into the dark places, peace to the wretched,
love to the fireside that had grown cold for want of love. Send
into the homes of our people a family paper the columns of
which are free from the advertisements of saloon-keepers, brew-
ers, and distillers. Let us have one class of publications the ad-
vertising space of which is so valuable that all the wealth of all
the whisky-rings of the world cannot buy an inch of it.

Without a distinctively temperance press many a message of
courage to the struggling ones would be lost. The ordinary
newspaper is not inclined to give more than a meagre space to
temperance literature, and what it does give is given but rarely.
And some of the ablest of even our religious newspapers are
often indirectly, though perhaps unconsciously, guilty of adver-
tising the trafific in intoxicating drink. But where is the journal
bold enough to echo a sentiment like this from Archbishop Ire-
land, expressed in one of his splendid lectures : " I have seen
too often the misery and horrid wretchedness which intemperance
begets. I have heard too often the shrieks of woe and despair

156 The Apostolate of the Press.

which it compels ; I know too well the fearful sins which, before
Heaven, are laid to its charge. The dark tracings of the picture
are ever before my mind. So long as the beatings of my pulse
remind me of my common humanity with the victims of intem-
perance, so long as I love dearly my country and hope for the
perpetuation of its glories and its liberties, so long as I recog-
nize duties toward Him who came from the skies to save sin-
ners, to heal the sore and weary, to comfort the afflicted, to do
good — so long will I protest by word and act against the giant
curse of our day, intemperance, and against those who dare^
in their reckless contempt of earth and Heaven, to encourage
and foment intemperance."

And yet, what a pity it is that an utterance like this could
not be carried into every Christian home!

My experience in temperance work has mainly been with the
successful total-abstinence organization of the diocese to which I
belong, but recent wider opportunities for observation have en-
abled me to learn that the discouragements in such a field of
labor are everywhere the same. In the upper anthracite coal-
fields of Pennsylvania I have seen a Catholic total-abstinence
union built up to handsome proportions, and time and again
fall back into insignificance. Whenever there would be an en-
thusiastic effort made, and rallies held and speeches delivered^
the societies would increase and grand results generally followed.
But as soon as our orators grew lukewarm and the high tension
of enthusiasm relaxed, the societies would dwindle down to
small stature and many of them would go to pieces entirely. So,
you see, that sort of thing may do for awhile, but it cannot
last. The effort could not be made constant. It was like Father
Mathew's historic movement — as long as he was able to go
from town to town, speaking to the people with that inspired
voice of his, all was well. But when the magnetism of his per-
sonality was removed from the fight, the old, sad state of affairs
reappeared. And so it is now with us. As long as we have
those who will sacrifice time and energy and make use of great
oratory to stir the hearts of the people, much good can be ac-
complished. But when this fails us — as fail us it always will —
then what are we to do ?

Plainly, our hope lies in a press that shall chose as its mis-
sion the destruction of intemperance. We must have newspapers
that shall fight the ceaseless battle in that tireless way of which
they are capable. They will be read, never fear. The drunkard,
even, in his intervals of sobriety will welcome the messages of

The Apostolate of the Press. 157

hope and courage which are thus brought to him, and, maybe,
take heart again. But the greater hope and the surer thing
that the onslaught of the press against intemperance shall realize
will be the moral sentiment which shall be created in favor of the
better life in the minds of those who, though not victims of strong
drink, stand in the danger of it. There is, alas! but little hope for
the worst class of confirmed drunkards, enslaved as they are
by chains almost too strong to be broken. But, oh ! there surely is
the hope that the generations that are to be may be taught to
know the horror of drunkenness. Let this, then, be one of the
grand ideas of our Apostolate OF THE PRf:ss — to lift the fallen
ones whom drink has degraded.

READING IN PENAL INSTITUTIONS.

BY EMMA S. GARY, OF CAMBRIDGE, MASS.

Will education prevent crime ? Twenty-five years ago I
heard a wise man prophesy that if every one could read and
write, crime would diminish ; but a generation of readers and
writers has arisen, and crime has not diminished. Not that we
should trust the calculations of pessimists, for correct statistics of
crime are based not only upon the increase of population but upon
the increased vigilance of the police, and the increased severity of
laws concerning misdemeanors as well as felonies. I will not
claim that education prevents crime, but I assert that it multi-
plies the chances of reforming criminals. A prisoner who has
free use of a well-selected library can fill with harmless, even ele-
vating thought the leisure he might otherwise make hideous with
reveries of future evil-doing. " When I get out ! " — that is the
goal every man with a limited sentence is striving to reach, and
even the life-men are always dreaming of pardon ; therefore it is
well to fill their hours of leisure with wholesome subjects of
thought, lest release should mean to their undisciplined imagina-
tion renewed opportunity to commit crimes more injurious to
society than those they are now expiating.

In these days, when jealousy in behalf of free labor restricts
within a narrow channel the production in prisons of all goods
possessing value in the general market, the inmates have more

158 The Apostolate of the Press.

time to themselves than when they worked on contract from
bell to bell, and wise directors of penitentiaries, knowing that
the mind is never empty, have established to meet the crisis
schools and libraries more or less complete according to the
resources at their command. It would be impossible within the
space that may be properly given to this one paper to estimate
justly the excellent work done throughout the country by war-
dens and superintendents, and I will mention only the names of
Mr. Brockway, of Elmira, N. Y. ; Major McLaughry, successively
of Joliet, 111., and Huntingdon, Pa. ; the late Colonel Gardiner
Tufts, of Concord, Mass., and Mrs. Ellen C. Johnson, of Sher-
born, Mass., as leaders in the work of educating those under
their charge to be docile prisoners, and also harmless, even use-
ful, members of society after their release. This is no sentimen-
tal dream, but a well-founded * hope which was often realized
by the great pioneers in prison reform, Crofton, McConochie,
Obermaier, Montesinos, and the founders of Mettray.

Elmira, one of the finest penal institutions in the world, has
admirable trade-schools, an excellent course of study extending
from primary lessons to lectures upon history, literature, and social
science, and a library of three thousand volumes of general litera-
ture and special reference. The report for 1891 has an appendix
which is exclusively the work of inmates of the reformatory.
The text is written by the editor of TJie Siimniary, their weekly
paper ; the illustrations are taken from photographs, sketches,
and etchings made by prisoners, and the whole report is printed
on the presses and bound at the bindery of the reformatory.

Concord Reformatory, only seven years in existence, is fast
following in the steps of Elmira, and Huntingdon, of even more
recent date, has adopted the same methods. It is evident, then,
that the inmates of our great reformatories are capable of appre-
ciating good reading, being more familiar with books than the
average working-man outside.

In the Massachusetts State Prison there is a library of nearly
six thousand volumes, covering a wide field of reading. The
report of the chaplain, the Rev. J. W, F. Barnes, for 1891, gives
some interesting statistics as to the classes of books most popu-
lar among the prisoners : " Per cent, of fiction taken, 48.84 ;
bound volumes magazines, 10.65 ; history, 9.58; travels and adven-
tures, 7.87 ; general literature, 6.46 ; religious, 3.20." Those who
have recently acquired a taste for reading browse eagerly among
the books, changing their volumes often. As they become more
thoughtful and receptive, they take out fewer books and keep

The Apostolate of the Press. 159

them longer ; and the real students confine themselves to a small
number of volumes.

In speaking of the facilities for getting Catholic reading I
must confine myself to the three libraries with which I am
familiar, those at Concord, Charlestown, and Sherborn. In each
of these there is a Catholic department. I choose the books
myself, and receive from the State money enough to get the best
new books on religion, the standard works of reference, novels,
poems, and biographies. If there is any lack of breadth in the
selection it is owing to my own want of judgment, not to any
limit set to the choice of books. The Rev. Edward Moriarty,
the Catholic chaplain at Charlestown, tells me that men who
come to the State Prison almost ashamed to acknowledge that
they are Catholics gladly claim and proclaim their faith after
reading the Catholic books in the library. At the three State
institutions I have named the Catholic chaplains work with entire
freedom among their flock. The fact that they receive no pay
from the State, and that the duties of schoolmaster and inspector
of letters are not in their case united to those of spiritual guide,
adds to their personal influence over the prisoners. The less
official one's position in a prison the better is the chance of
winning the prisoners' affection, other things being equal. I
heard an excellent Protestant chaplain complain to his brother
clergymen in a chaplains' meeting that the unpaid priest, with the
mighty organization of the Roman Catholic Church behind him,
could reach the prisoners as he himself could not reach them.

No doubt in many other prisons there is the same freedom
for Catholic worship and Catholic reading, but by taking too
much for granted we sometimes lose ground already gained. I
venture to suggest that great caution be used in distributing
reading in prisons, and that it be done in each State after con-
sultation with the Catholic clergy occupied with the care of
prisoners.

It is with good reason that superintendents and wardens dread
all outside influence over their inmates, who may be easily ex-
cited and disturbed by books that woUld be harmless anywhere
else. A few general suggestions about the choice of reading
for prisoners may be of use, for it is possible that some county
prisons may have no Catholic visitors, and that we may have to
trust to the good nature of the keeper or of the Protestant
chaplain for the distribution of Catholic books through the in-
stitution.

Good Catholic novels are excellent reading for prisoners, for

i6o The Apostolate of the Press.

they catch their attention and teach good lessons in the charm-
ing disguise of amusement. Rosa Mulholland, Maurice Francis
Egan, and other authors who are in touch with the human heart
and have sound common sense can teach morality all the more
successfully because they come as story-tellers, not as preachers.
His Honor the Mayor, by the Rev. John Talbot Smith ; Julia
Kavanagh's Madeleine, Gerald Grififin's Collegians, are examples of
books that every intelligent prisoner will enjoy and draw profit
from. All our leading papers and magazines could be given
away by hundreds and thousands, and give perfect delight to
prisoners, men and women. As a rule female prisoners are not
especially intelligent ; they are frequently the victims of circum-
stance, illiterate and extremely excitable, but if they can read, a
good story or a newspaper can give them great pleasure. Pos-
sibly we may be discouraged to find that they hold the book
upside down, and they may call "The Hearth and Home" the
" Heathen Home," but we must not be disturbed by trifles, for
this ambition to seem to read may lead them to read in good
earnest if they have an opportunity to learn in some reforma-
tory.

My first experience with prisoners was in a county prison
many years ago, where I had a kind of circulating library, and
found that I must have my wits about me to provide books
clever enough for the young men whose sharpness had been
developed quite out of proportion to the weightier gifts of judg-
ment and discretion. "Give us Doomns's* works!" was the cry,
" Doomus is the best " ; but as I did not include Dumas' novels
among my stock, Dickens, Lever, and Sir Walter Scott were
produced and gave general satisfaction. There were few enter-
taining Cathohc novels in those days, but now we have many,
and the Apostolate of the Press will find them excellent in-
struments in the work of reformation. Prisoners do not want to
be talked to as prisoners or criminals. They know as well as we
do that it is wicked to steal and drink and kill one's neighbor,
but they have many motives to commit crime where perhaps we
have not one. Give them motives to be good ; show them the
common sense that underlies every virtue, and let them learn
through wholesome novels the lessons that in well-regulated
households are inhaled with the air we breathe, and they may
show an aptitude for learning we should not expect to find. I
have read in foreign books of penology of abnormal creatures
fostered on crime, the brutish children of brutish parents, and

* Their fashion of pronouncing Dumas.

The Apostolate of the Press. i6i

perhaps there may be large classes of such criminals in the old
countries ; but after a quarter of a century spent in studying
prisoners I can say that I have met no such criminals, unless in
a few instances of insane persons. They are unbalanced, selfish,
whimsical ; their consciences are warped, their wills are diseased,
their tastes corrupt. But generally speaking they are grateful
for judicious kindness ; not for that sentimental indulgence which
they play upon and despise, but for genuine sympathy and just
dealing. It is not feeling that is lacking in prisoners; it is
principle. Hear them sing together in chapel some hymn ex
pressing the noblest asceticism, and keep back your tears if you
can. " E'en though it be a cross that raiseth me " they will
sing with passionate fervor, men who cannot or will not bear the
cross of common daily duty. They are fond of poetry, and write
pretty verses, wanting perhaps in rhythmical precision, but filled
with emotions and imagery that would supply some of our wri-
ters of graceful roundelays with material for many a dainty poem.
Yes, prisoners are keenly impressionable, and they are capable of
appreciating good reading and learning from it many valuable
lessons.

At the State Prison at Charlestown, Mass., every Sunday
afternoon the chaplain distributes about two hundred religious
papers and magazines to prisoners, and among these, to represent
Catholic bounty, is one single copy of the Catholic Revieiv, and I
venture to say that it is read to rags. All our leading papers
and magazines are on the list of publications admitted to the
prison, and gifts from publishers would be thankfully received
and conscientiously distributed by the Rev. Mr. Barnes. Prison-
ers do not like old papers any better than we do ; they enjoy
the ripples from the outer world that a fresh publication brings.
Old magazines are, of course, interesting, but there is a great
pleasure in reading the latest chapter of a serial story, or some
poem fresh from the press.

Let him who writes tracts for prisoners be sure that he
knows the people he is writing for. They have a strong sense
of the ridiculous and not much reverence. They respect know-
ledge of the world, acuteness, humor, sympathy, and frankness ;
and the less they are treated as a class apart from other men the
more readily will they read and secretly apply to their indi-
vidual cases the advice offered.

I have not sought to arouse your sympathy with prisoners,
for action, not feeling, is required to-day from us all. But I
could give you a picture of scenes that still take place, though

1 62 The Apostolate of the Press.

they grow steadily more rare as old prisons are torn down and
air and sunshine let in where damp and darkness used to be —
a picture that would wring your hearts. I have seen in old
times a man confined in a cell where you would not keep a
horse or a dog, studying in the dim light one language after
another, striving to keep himself from going mad, and not suc-
ceeding either. That cell and others like it have been destroyed
and wholesome ones built on their ruins, but in some parts of
the country the same tragedy may be repeated. If we can reach
such unhappy beings and give them any solace, let us do it ;
and let part of the work of the Apostolate OF THE PRESS be
the exposure of such inhuman treatment of prisoners wherever it
may be found.

THE PRESS IN ALMS-HOUSES AND REFORMATORIES.

BY MARY E. M^CARTIN, OF JERSEY CITY, N. J.

I HAVE been asked to say something about alms-houses in
connection with the distribution of literary matter in such insti-
tutions. My own personal experience in this direction is con-
fined to the State of New Jersey, where as a member of the
State Charities Aid Association, I have been enabled to visit
ofificially and inspect thoroughly the alms-houses through the
State, as well as of the public hospitals and penal institutions of
my own county. As a general rule, I have found the prisons
and penitentiaries better supplied with books than the alms-
houses, and in these penal institutions a greater taste for reading
shown by both the men and women, who are younger and more
full of life and health than the occupants of the alms-houses.
In these the female inmates seem to read little, partly because
many of them have never learned to read, partly because they
have occupation for the hands that the men have not, in the
mending and making of garments, and in washing and scrubbing.

But that even the pauper women have decided tastes in liter-
ature is proved by the rejection by one woman of Gulliver's
Travels; she pronounced it the " lyingist " book she had ever
read. One man, in the same alms-house, asked for Longfellow's
Poems, adding that if they could not be found in this country,
he could send to England for them.

The pauper old man generally prefers newspapers and maga-

The AposroLATE of the Press. 163

zines. I have heard of one case, not in New Jersey, where a
charitable lady having volunteered to read aloud to the inmates
of an old men's home for the blind, provided herself with Mrs.
Barr's Boiv of Orange Ribbon, as calculated to lift their thoughts
and interests above the monotonous every-day occurrences of their
life. When she announced what she was about to read she
noticed no responsive look on the faces of the old men, one of
whom finally settled the dif^culty by suggesting that they would
rather hear the news from the New York Herald, and offering to
send out and buy a Herald if the lady was unprovided. So the
higher literature was laid aside. It might have been that the
majority of the listeners were wearers of the Green and to them
the Bow of Orange Ribbon had an ominous sound, and the old
men listened with enthusiastic commentary of their own to the
news of the day.

I will now offer you a brief account of the literary condition
of those alms-houses I have personally visited in New Jersey.

Beginning with the nearest one, the Hudson County Alms-
house, there is connected with it no regular library. The Sisters
of Charity of Jersey City, who visit the institution every Sunday,
take out books, newspapers, and pictures for distribution among
the inmates, among whom are nearly three hundred children.
The men enjoy the magazines and newspapers ; I have never seen
any of the children with a book except when at their lessons in
the school-room, while the old women, who are bedridden or too
feeble to help in the work of the institution, seem generally
unable to read. As the Hudson County Penitentiary is in the
same locality as the alms-house, books and papers contributed by
charitable persons, and sent out from time to time by the poor-
master of Jersey City, generally find their way to the penitentiary,
where there is at once greater taste, and, among the young and
active women, greater leisure for reading.

The Morris County Alms-house has a library, but among the
books I saw no Catholic ones, though many of the inmates are
Catholics, as is always the case with such institutions in the
neighborhood of the greater towns.

The Elizabeth Alms-house has a good library, but also unpro-
vided with any Catholic books, the books generally being sup-
plied by zealous Protestant ladies. At Rahway there was no
library, and only a few Catholics in the institution. At Trenton,
Mercer County, there is also a library, but containing no Catho-
lic books, while there are many Catholics in the institution. In
connection with Trenton it may not be amiss to mention.

164 The Apostolate of the Press.

although the matter of prisons is not directly in my province
with you here to-day, that some ardent Chautauquans have
introduced into the State Prison the Chautauqua course of read-
ing as an aid to the reformation of the prisoners. At Seattle,
Washington, the same plan has been introduced, but with what
success I do not know.

At the Neptune Township Alms-house, Monmouth County,
I saw no books of any kind.

At Oradell, Bergen County, there are many books, but among
them no Catholic ones, and in the institution there are but two
Catholics. The books and periodicals here are supplied by the
Young Men's Christian Association.

It seems to me a difficult question to determine just what
kind of books are necessary for these institutions and for the
pauper wards of the State. Of course it will not do to think
that anything that is Catholic is good enough. Honestly good
books are necessary here as elsewhere ; and since these are to be
a means of help to our separated brethren, let them be books in
which the literary sins against Christian charity are as few as
possible, if not altogether absent.

As to the manner of distribution, the most suitable seems to
me to let the distribution be done by the priests and sisters of
the district in which the alms-house is situated, their distribution
to be made through the wardens in charge, with whom rests the
supervision and general care of their respective institutions.
Such recognition of the wardens' official duty seems to me due
to their position, and in my own county, at least, these ofBcials
have always been found ready to second any efforts for the
physical amelioration or moral improvement of the paupers under
their charge.

It may be said that the priests and sisters in these districts
are already over-burdened with the work of their vocation, but
the labor of the distribution would be but a slight addition to
the time they would naturally give to the religious visitation of
the Catholic inmates of the alms-houses. The charitably-minded
might contribute the books and papers, but their best almoners
would be, as I have said, the religious and those in holy orders,
through the heads of the institutions. The possible tastes of the
wardens and matrons and their assistants ought also to be con-
sulted in the books delivered, as well as the possible needs of
the pauper inmates, since often, while the heads of such institu-
tions may be Protestant, they may have Catholic assistants who,
between the duties of their ofifice, might themselves find the

The Apostolate of the Press. 165

reading of the books a relaxation of what must often be dispirit-
ing work among their pauper charges, bedridden, feeble of
intellect, and often depraved.

Airy situation, wholesome food, and almost marvellous cleanli-
ness are the advantages of many alms-houses ; but charity has an
inviting field for its labors in them ; for the inmates seem a
dreary wreckage of life lost through adverse winds or reckless
pilotage, drifting without earthly hope to the great shore of
eternity ; while there are children Avhose surroundings seem to
prepare a vast field for the sowing of tares that may, alas ! when
the child is man or woman, far over-top the wheat. It is hardly
necessary to add that in the labor of the APOSTOLATE OF THE
Press, applied to alms-houses and State institutions of like char-
acter, prudence and zeal must go hand-in-hand, that neither may
outrun the other.

THE EXPERIENCE OF A SISTER OF MERCY.

LETTER FROM SISTER MARY AUSTIN.

For the past eighteen years I have been connected with such
duties as have either obliged or permitted me to interest myself
in the intellectual progress of persons of both sexes, of all ages,
and of different degrees of mental culture. During that period I
have proved good literature to be so beneficial as to induce me
to form libraries where none already existed and to increase
those already established, and I am glad to say that the results
have well repaid my efforts.

Many years 'ago, before Catholic circulating libraries were as
numerous as they are now, there was a small one started in our
convent for the use of the sodalities attached to it. For some
years I was in charge, and had, during that time, ample oppor-
tunity for observing the various capabilities of my readers. For
some little time I gave out whatever books were demanded,
making no comment, but nevertheless taking mental notes of
the tastes of the members as displayed in their selections. I
found they were mostly divided into two classes, the larger one
of which called for the lightest and most sentimental of the
story-books and novels contained in the library — Catholic ones,
of course. The second and more restricted class was composed
of the different degrees of those who would on no account read
anything but the most pious of all pious books, asking sometimes

i66 The Apostolate of the Press.

for the Divine Cloud, Obscure Night of the Soul, etc. As I could
not do as I would wish, viz., fuse my members into a mass and
run them out mutually improved by the transfusion of the oppo-
site spirit, I undertook to mould each upon her own basis. When
I found the former class turning over the books in a spiritless
manner and discontentedly saying, " Nothing new," I would take
up historical or biographical works and trace some real or fan-
cied resemblance in its subject-matter or characters to those
they had perused, and interest them to such a degree as to
cause them to carry one away. I found historical romances ex-
cellent for such persons at first. After these had been drawn
for some time the least possible religious biographies were sub-
stituted, after which came the most difficult step, from those to
works of piety and lives of saints and holy people. Sometimes
I would drive a bargain, which was that every alternate week I
should be the chooser of the book — although, unknown to them,
I had been that all along, but on the latter occasion the book
would be a pious one, as interesting as possible, however. In
most, if not in all such cases, I found a healthy taste usurping
the former most unhealthy one.

The second class I tried to lead to see God in his works.
There was some difficulty here, as they had been so in the habit
of looking for Him just where they had locked Him up, in pious
books, churches, and themselves, that it required some delicate
tactics to cause them to find Him anywhere else.

I would recommend for all libraries works on natural science,
entertainingly written and graded ; likewise works on travels. I
think this kind of reading productive of incalculable benefit, as
it gives subject for thought and conversation, and prevents gos-
sip, senseless and frivolous talk. The mind must have food ;
failing that which is wholesome, it will accept the opposite.
Lovers of natural science find happiness everywhere.

Sickness, giving the time which otherwise many would never
find, is often the means of their sincere conversion, not alone
to the faith but from negligent or sinful habits; and it is a
great privilege to be allowed to co-operate with Almighty God in
this work by providing the sick in hospitals with such literature
as will give them matter for reflection, as well as knowledge of
their faith and its obligations. I am inclined to think that the
majority of sins are committed through ignorance — ignorance
of God and what he requires ; ignorance of self and one's re-
lation to God.

Need I suggest how essential it is to adapt the reading to
the physical strength as well as to the mental calibre of the in-

The Apostolate of the Press. 167

valid? Even persons of intelligence and of formed habit of
reading will not when ill be able to read much at a time, or
matter requiring concentration of thought or sustained attention.
How much more is this the case when the poor sufferer has
not formed, not alone this habit but even that of conce;itration
of thought upon any matter whatever, or of controlling the
imagination even, when in possession of perfect health.

Works of piety, easy of comprehension, expositions of the
truths of faith and of morals. Catholic stories, lives of holy peo-
ple, either canonized or not, the latter often being preferable,
are the best literature for hospital wards. I do not think it
wise to introduce works of controversy into such libraries, be-
cause if the patient becomes interested in the subject it will
more or less afifect the mind already weakened by illness, and
little able to bear opposition, which always irritates the sick,
however trifling it may seem to others, and the result would
probably be that of the physician's prohibition as to any religious
reading.

I would also suggest that such books should be selected as
have clear, large print ; the reason being obvious, the fatigue that
small print causes to the eyesight as well as the brain, and the
inconvenience of wearing glasses, which indeed many do not
have, when the sight is defective. Books of an undersize rather
than the opposite and with light covers are preferable, as they
do not fatigue the weakened hands, and in falling are not so
apt to hurt the invalid or sustain injury themselves. Catholic
periodicals, especially when illustrated, are very welcome visitors
and are very beneficial, as many who would not read a book,
either from prejudice or distaste, would enjoy a paper or maga-
zine and gain considerable benefit from it. Scrap-books made
of cotton cloth instead of paper are excellent, especially when
containing pictures, for they give subject for thought and may
be enjoyed by those who are unable to read, either from igno-
rance or illness. Not having covers, they are light and easily
held even when bulky. If they contain short moral or religious
clippings they would teach many lessons that, perhaps, books
would not.

I would suggest to private individuals or associations desir-
ous of forwarding the Apostolate of the Press a work that
was begun some years ago, but was necessarily abandoned ; it is
that of providing simple hanging shelves in every ward of the
public hospitals, so that the patients may choose their books
whenever they please.

Books placed in hospitals or prisons should be well marked.

1 68 The Apostolate of the Press.

not only inside but on the compressed edges of the leaves, with
the words " Hospital " or " Prison " ; as books have been recog-
nized on second-hand book-stalls which had been carried away
by departing patients or prisoners and sold or pawned for a
trifle.

In regard to prisons I think a few illustrations may serve to
prove the benefit of the press within their walls better than my
ideas upon the matter. One of these was under sentence, or
rather awaiting it. Upon his incarceration a well-meaning lady
visited him, and came away quite disgusted with her interview
and disinclined to repeat her visit. She said to me : " I took
him the Conferences of Pcre Lacordaire, a large, expensive book,
and the Life of — I forget just now of whom, but at all events
the spiritual antipode of the poor prisoner — and he waved them
away, saying that if he wanted to read he had plenty of novels,
and he did not seem to wish to talk." She considered his case
a hopeless one, whereas it was only one of a want of judgment
on her part. I stopped at his cell immediately after and had
a conversation with him, but avoided the mention of books or
death. I found that the good lady had spoken of the latter
rather prematurely, and from the man's physique one could well
understand how repugnant the thought of death would be, natur-
ally or supernaturally. In after visits the conversation turned
upon matters of vital importance, until the time came to suggest
reading " to occupy his mind and distract his thoughts." This
did not look very serious to him, and he acknowledged its utili-
ty. Upon inquiring as to his progress in the book, a simple but
serious one which I had loaned him, he frankly replied : " I
would willingly read the book for your sake and have tried to
do so, but when I am at the end of the page I do not know a
word of what I have read ; I read these novels to keep from
thinking." I requested a view of the novels, and that one was
sufificient. As time was short and I appreciated the importance
of his occupying his thoughts with something beneficial in either
event death or life-imprisonment, as, in the latter case books
would be the only recreation permitted him, I determined to
compel him even against his will to acquire a taste for reading.
This was a difficult matter, as he took no 'interest in anything,
but, like a caged bear, continued to walk up and down his cell
planning methods of escape. However, I tried to interest him
in matters of general public interest and living great people ; as
he had been a petty politician this succeeded, and on the next
visits I took paragraphs or articles relating to the matter of our
conversation. From this we went to great dead people and

The Apostolate of the Press. 169

past events of importance, and so on, each conversation being
followed by an article, page, or chapter relative to them, until I
found him able to grasp some thought and remember it. In
conversation we had been approaching the great thing into
which all the other great things had merged, eternity, and upon
one visit I took him Brother Philippe's Meditation on our Last
End, almost fearing as to its success, and was most agreeably
surprised on my next visit to hear that he wished to ask me
" about something," and the book was drawn from under his
pillow. I saw by his mark that he had made considerable pro-
gress in it, and his questions proved that he had understood the
subject. After this it was an easy matter to get him to read
any work that I selected for him. His sentence was commuted
to life, and when visiting him in the penal prison and question-
ing him as to his reading, was gratified to hear him reply :
" Reading is my only pleasure. I read everything, but am espe-
cially interested in history when I can get hold of any. I read
a good part of the night," He receives the Sacraments fre-
quently.

A man arrested for wife murder and attempted suicide, ''the
worst thing that ever had life in it," according to one of the
prison employees, was confined, while awaiting trial, in a cell
near the clerk's desk, to be under surveillance. The cell was
somewhat dark, and upon my first visit I found him seated on his
cot with his head bowed almost to his knees. His manner caused
me to fear approaching insanity, which would have been a dread-
ful thing while in that state of soul. I called him, and as he
approached the grated door asked what he was doing. In a
hollow voice he replied, " Thinking of my crime." I assured
him that was the worst thing he could do, and asked if he was
in the habit of reading or if he took any pleasure in it ? He
replied he had read considerable, but his glasses had been taken
from him, fearing he might use them in his own destruction, and
he could not read without them. This was a bad case, and I could
not feel justified in asking for him the privilege of having
them, as he was a desperate character ; so I puzzled out a reme-
dy. Remembering that a package of Harper s Weeklies, a very
bigoted paper at that time, had been sent to us among some
other things and consigned to the loft, I made a tour of discovery
in that region. Cutting off all the large and unobjectionable pic-
tures, I mingled with them some of a religious character, and car-
ried a huge bundle of them with me the next visit. I explained to
him that I wished him to spread them out on his cot, and after
studying them well to decide what each represented ; this I

I/O The Apostolate of the Press.

thought would divert his thoughts until something better could
be done. Whether this novel amusement for a man of his years
proved beneficial or not I cannot say, but that he appreciated
the act I learned many months afterwards.

Every week a large package of the Catholic Illustrated was
waiting for me in his cell, which I received gratefully; but as the
gift entailed some expense, the papers being fresh from the
press, I remonstrated after a time with him for getting them.
Turning away to conceal a tear, he said, in a husky voice : " I-
have not forgotten the roll of pictures you brought to me once;
these may help some other poor fellow." The man regained
his glasses, was enabled to read, and received the sacraments.

At the present time I am endeavoring, by the aid of pictures
and the children's illustrated papers, to awaken some train of
thought in the brain of a poor, half-witted, almost deaf negro
under sentence of death. He can spell, and reads with pleasure
the little stories for children.

I have lately added to my prison library the Stonyhurst
series of Philosophy ; they have proved very useful with a cer-
tain class to whom at first I could not well offer a purely Cath-
olic work. An Oxford B. A., a captain in the army, and a
medical man, non-Catholics, and a Hebrew graduate of Columbia
College, have been among my readers. They have expressed them-
selves pleased, and have at least imbibed some sound philosophy,
which paves the way for its highest branch — religion.

I sincerely wish that all lay people would save their Catholic
periodicals, papers as well as magazines, for charitable purposes.
Those who are unable to buy them would be just as useful in
asking them from those who do not save them for such uses,
and in seeing that they are put to the use of charity. Messrs.
Benziger Bros, preserve their exchanges for the prison, and they
are very useful. Most of the men and larger boys on the upper
tiers of the city prison are not able even to purchase a news-
paper, and many of them have no friends to provide them with
any. I send one of the prison runners around those tiers to dis-
tribute such literature, and the men are very grateful even for
an old paper. Lonely hours spent sitting on a cot and staring
at the wall might be utilized in this way.

I have been compelled to withdraw the use of our library
from these upper tiers, as the men, being usually transient board-
ers, carry, in many cases, the books away with them or ill-
treat them.

I think the best means of promoting the APOSTOLATE OF THE
Press would be to open a depository to which all donations of

The Apostolate of the Press. 171

literature might be sent, and to have it placed under the care
.of some intelligent person capable of distributing the various
reading matter where it would be the most appreciated and the
most beneficial. I would suggest that the marking of the books
should be done in such a place, and that attention should be
drawn to it from the altar and also through the press. I do
not doubt but that it would be well supplied. A person once
came to me to ask if we could make use of certain things. She
seemed almost ashamed to make the offer, saying by way of ex-
cuse : " One cannot stop people in the street to ask if they want
such things and they do accumulate so." I am certain that an
act of charity as simple as saving, and sending to such a deposi-
tory old literature would be readily taken up, and it would be
productive of so much good.

I am forming a library for the Sing Sing Prison, as the only
library there is a non-Catholic one, and, being under the charge
of the Protestant chaplain, who is also moral disciplinarian, those
men whose records are not just what they ought to be are
wary of approaching it.

In all of the city institutions under the charge of the Com-
missioners of Public Charities and Correction there are some
Catholics, either wardens, matrons, orderlies, or attendants, who
will willingly undertake to see that all Catholic literature sent to
their respective departments is properly distributed. The com-
missioners have always proved themselves very obliging, and are
desirous of furthering the mental as well as moral improvement
of those under their care. They will see that any packages ad-
dressed to their care, 66 Third Avenue, for any of the city or
island institutions, will be forwarded by them to their destina-
tion, and that any packages labeled " Catholic Literature " shall
be sent to such institutions as will appreciate such matter the
most, and will be put under the care of some Catholic ofificial
to be distributed. I would suggest Charity Hospitals, Penitentiary,
alms-houses for m.ales and fem.ales, and work-house for males
and females, on Blackwell's Island, and the various hospitals on
Randall's, Ward's, and Hart's Islands, also Bellevue and Har-
lem hospitals in the city, and the Tombs Prison.

As regards sailors and soldiers, I would offer a suggestion
which, I have been told, was carried into effect by my father
during the Mexican and Florida wars; I believe the idea origi-
nated with him also.

He provided my uncle, who was an officer in those wars,
with a library of small, compactly bound books of standard au-
thors, one of which was given to each man to carry in his knap-

172 The Apostolate of the Press.

sack, with the right to exchange it when read with his comrades.
A regiment would thus form a good walking library. Those
books were non-Catholic, but how much good would not a Cath-
olic library do !

For sailors, I think the hanging shelves well stocked with
moral, pious, and interesting works would be very beneficial.

" Let us sow good thoughts and we will reap good actions."

THE APOSTOLATE OF THE PRESS AND THE PRE-
VENTION OF CRIME.

BY JOHN W. GOFF.

One of the great questions of the day is, how best to redeem
the criminal. In no one feature have the humanitarian tenden-
cies of the age been more marked than in that of prison re-
form and the reformation of criminals. It is no longer deemed
necessary to the protection of society that the criminal should
be treated as being irretrievably bad and beyond the possibility
of reformation. The fact that though a criminal he is withal a
human creature, susceptible of human emotions and capable of
human achievement, has gradually forced a recognition of the
truth that the real purpose of punishment by the state is not
vengeance but prevention and correction. Hence the establish-
ment of houses of correction and reformatories, an excellent ex-
ample of which we have in our own State in the Elmira Refor-
matory. In this institution there are no retributive penalties
applied, hope and encouragement are the drill-masters of disci-
pline, and the aim is to effect such changed conditions of feeling
and thought as shall be most serviceable in accomplishing a
reformation.

In this great work of reformation none have a greater in-
terest, nor indeed have more at stake, than the Catholics of
America, not alone from the principles of charity that are incul-
cated, and the corporal works of mercy which are imposed as a
duty by their religion, but from regard for the good repute of
their faith, its works, and its fruits in a country where they are
but yet in a missionary stage. It is true that in popular estima-
tion the number of persons in our penal institutions who pro-
fessed themselves Catholics have been grossly exaggerated, and
that non-Catholic prisoners, in order to conceal their identity,

The Apostolate of the Press. 173

have given assumed names of Catholic complexion. But making
due allowance for exaggeration and fiction, the fact remains that
a large area in this field of reformatory work is necessarily-
allotted to Catholic labor.

It has been stated at this Convention of the ApoSTOLATE of
THE Press, by one who has devoted years of labor and effort in
behalf of the unfortunate, that the placing of Catholic books up-
on the shelves of the prison libraries and the distribution of
Catholic literature among the prisoners have been attended with
the most gratifying results. Instances were given of prisoners
who when having their pedigree taken were ashamed to ac-
knowledge their religion, but after having read Catholic books
took pride in stating that they were Catholics. This naturally
suggests the inquiry if the reading of Catholic literature by
prisoners after conviction be attended with such beneficent re-
sults, how much greater would be the benefit to them and
society if the reading would take place in time to prevent the
crime. The inquiry, logically pursued, leads to the proposition
that the real solution of the question depends not so much on
the reformation of the criminal as on the prevention of the
crime.

It is remarkable that, notwithstanding the large number of in-
stitutions which have been founded for the reclamation of the
fallen and depraved, pauperism and crime have not decreased in
proportion to the efforts made to repress them. If by the great
inventions and achievements of the nineteenth century the
material progress of man has been immeasurably accelerated, why
should not his moral retrogression be arrested in a corresponding
degree? There is too much self-complacency in the more fortu-
nate part of the community to recognize to their full extent the
existence of those evils in our social system, evils that require
immediate treatment, and which cannot be dispelled by a liberal
contribution to foreign missions while right at our doors, in what
may be called the slums of New York, there are more white
pagans to the square rod than there are black ones to the square
mile in the wilds of Africa. It is a divine work to recover and
bring back the lost sheep to the fold, but care should be taken
that the fences around the fold be kept in repair so that oppor-
tunity might not tempt the sheep to become wanderers.

To attempt to formulate a system calculated to insure abso-
lute prevention would be Utopian, but practical work applied in
certain directions would accomplish much that is within reason-
able expectation. There are thousands of Catholic young men
in this city without family connections, whose only home is the

174 The Apostolate of the Press.

cold and cheerless boarding-house. There are thousands who
have family connections, but whose homes are anything but con-
ducive to their moral or intellectual well-being. These young
men seek society and recreation, and they must get it whether it
be good or bad, and the bad is much cheaper and more easily
attained than the good. What has been done for these young
men? Apart from the zealous labors of the clergy, if the
measure of the wealth, influence, and numbers of the Catholics of
New York be considered, a candid answer must be, not enough.
A study of criminal statistics shows that a large percentage of
the crimes attributed to violence can be directly traced to an
over-indulgence in convivial tastes and bad associations. What
is the antidote ? There must be counter attractions to the dance-
hall, the low variety theatre, the sporting-room, and such like
places of resort, and these will be found in the reading-room, the
circulating library, the gymnasium, the debate of intellect, the
contest of muscle, the hearty laugh, and the jovial song in inno-
cent companionship. Whatever will tend to build up a .strong,
self-reliant manhood, and to facilitate the acquisition of knowledge
and of a higher intellectual life, becomes a most potent factoi- in
the prevention of crime. Look at the work accomplished by
the Young Men's Christian Association, with its seven branch
institutes in this city, each frequented every night by hundreds
of young men, who go there to enjoy the amusements and to
profit by the many advantages. The reverend curator of the
Cathedral parochial library states that its establishment was in
part due to the fact that the young men of the parish were
attending the Episcopal and the Hebrew institute libraries.
Catholic clubs have been organized under parochial auspices,
and their influence, though limited and localized, is very bene-
ficial to their members. What is needed is an institution, educa-
tional as well as social, for all Catholic young men without regard
to locatiofi, under a general management and supported by the whole
Catholic commimity ; an institution where the poor man will not
be made to feel the galling sense of social inequality, and whose
main purpose will be to contribute to his material as well as
moral welfare. With the genius of organization possessed by
the Catholic Church, the administrative energy of its clergy, the
generosity and loyalty of its laity, this great work if once
started would be sure to succeed, and its success would mean
not only a better moral and material life for thousands of young
men, but a protecting and saving hand to many who now drift
helplessly into the vortex of criminal associations.

The Apostolate of the Press. 175

Between the arrest and the conviction is a period of feverish
hope and depressing fear to every person accused of crime.
The prison pens of the criminal courts are filled every morning
with all sorts and conditions of men and women awaiting their
trial. Many are there for the first time. The young man may
be a proper subject for the reformatory, and so may the young
woman ; but there is no State reformatory for females. At this
juncture a kindly effort may save them from the almost hopeless
degradation of the State prison or the penitentiary. The judges
are invariably inclined to clemency if their attention be called to
deserving cases, and careful men and refined, intelligent women,
representing Protestant and Hebrew societies are always ready to
intercede for clemency or to assume the task of trying to reform
them. It is easy to understand the prisoners' gratitude, and
how susceptible he or she may be to whatever influences sur-
round them. This is an important feature in the prevention
of crime as well as the reformation of the criminal, and a
society like the St. Vincent de Paul would be able to save
many a poor creature trembling on the brink of utter ruin.
But ^he St. Vincent de Paul Conferences are overburdened with
the immediate care of the extremely poor; these organizations
should be joined by a large number of our well-to-do Catholics
so that they may extend their labors more widely.

But after all the most vital, because the most urgent, question
on this subject is the disposal and the treatment of the children,
the youthful crim.inals, the waifs of the streets, the offspring of the
thief or of the drunkard. To a person who has not given this
phase of social depravity any attention the truth regarding its
depth and extent must be startling. These children, whose earli-
est impressions are those of squalor, drunkenness, and vice of all
sorts, take on the color of their surroundings, as they grow up
in an atmosphere laden with crime, to become future fathers and
mothers and transmit to their posterity the curses and the evils
which they themselves have inherited. Here is the place to
begin the work of prevention and redemption. It is a gratifying
fact that the means of saving the children have been greatly
improved by the State as well as by private institutions. Laws
have been enacted for the protection and reclamation of the
child, particularly of the female, which transfer its possession
and control from the unworthy parent or guardian to some suitable
institution. It is also provided by law that a child under sixteen
guilty of crime " shall, when practicable, be committed to an insti.
tution governed by persons of the same religious faith as the

176 The Apostolate of the Press.

parents of such child." There are eleven criminal courts in
session every day in this city empowered to make commitments,
and there are thirty-seven institutions authorized by law to re-
ceive such children. Of these one is non-sectarian, two are pub-
lic, three are Hebrew, fifteen are Protestant, and fifteen are
Catholic. While the judges are careful to comply with the law,
yet in the rush of court business it frequently happens from
the indifference of the officers, the inability of the child to
name the religion of its parents, and from other causes, that
children are sent to institutions regardless of the religion of the
child or of its parents.

The non-sectarian and the Protestant institutions are well
equipped with a staff of trained men who are ever on the alert
to rescue and gain possession of the juvenile delinquents. As to
Catholic institutions, while their numbers speak eloquently of
charity and zeal, their usefulness would be increased if wealthy
Catholics would step forward and enable them to bring to bear
united action. Many of them are poor and struggling for exist-
ence, and none of them are rich enough to maintain a sufficient
number of men necessary to cover the whole of the ground.
Those fifteen institutions would combine their efforts and ope-
rate through a central management, and an efficient rescue-ser-
vice could be organized and a great number of children of
Catholic antecedents would be sought out and saved, if the ex-
penses were provided.

This is a noble work for some society to undertake, and
the necessity for it is increasing day by day, and the APOSTO-
LATE OF THE Press will find in it one of its most useful fields
of activity.

These observations bear upon matters of practical detail in
which laymen must co-operate with the clergy. Of course the
many Catholic, religious, and charitable institutions in the city
of New York are a magnificent monument to Jthe tireless energy
and unflagging devotion of the clergy and the loyal support and
generous co-operation of the laity. But outside of parochial
lines and in the broad field of philanthropic endeavor much that
is needed remains to be done. This is not an age of content
and joyous optimism, in which men regard existing arrangements
as best ordained for their happiness. Confidence can be won
and conviption produced more by deeds than by professions,
and the practical work and fraternal solicitude that lessens the
grime, the want, and the misery in this world is hailed as true
Christianity.

This book is due two weeks from the last date stamped
below, and if not returned at or before that time a fine of
five cents a day will be incurred.

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY

0035518987

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Full text of "The convention of the Apostolate of the Press : held in Columbus Hall, New York City, January 6th and 7th, 1892, report of papers and letters"

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