The Catholic times. [volume], April 20, 1956, Image 4

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4—THE CATHOLIC TIMES
Friday, April 20.1956
THE
CATHOLIC TIMES
Published Every Week by
The Catholic Times, Inc.
Columbus. Ohjo
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Foretaste of Eternal Joy
Maintaining the spirit of holy joy which is
the particular mark of the Paschal time—in
which is commemorated Christ’s stay upon earth
after His Resurrection—the Church reminds us
in Sunday’s liturgy that this exaltation is a fore
taste. as.it were, of the everlasting joy opened up
for man through Christ’s victory over sin and
deat^. The disciples had the happiness of being
with’Christ during His stay on earth, and in Sun
day’s Gospel He tells them that this temporal
happiness is only a preparation for the supreme
happiness in Which they are to share.
"A little while and you shall see Me no
longer.” He tells them, “and again a little while
rrd you shall see Me, because 1 go to the Fa
ther.” That is. the great privilege of being in His
presence, of seeing Him parform His miracles,
of hearing His words of counsel and instruction
was to come to an end, because He was to leAve
this world and return to His Father yet alter
“a little while” the earthly careers of His fol
lowers were to end. too, and then they were to
jmn Him in the bliss of heaven, and he with
Him for all eternity. Whatever sorrows and
trials might intervene, whatever hardships they
might have to bear, must seem insignificant, for
they could last only “a little while,” to be swept
away in the beatific vision
Christ's words to the disciples, spoken at the
Last Supper, are addressed to us, too, His fol
lowers of today, beneficiaries of His mercy,
nbeyers of His teachings. In spirit we see Him
now, during the forty days between His Resur
rection and His Ascension, and we closely ob
aerve as He indicates His will for us. Wo know'
that these are precious days in the shaping of
our lives for the time to come we know that if
la but "a little while” that is giv-?n us to pre
pare for the life hereafter, and that when that
‘•’little while” is completed it will mean, if we
atay true to Him, the entering upon joys “that
no one shall take from you." Why should we
flinch from adversity, or let the cares and temp
tations of the world overcome us, when we have
this promise to sustain and strengthen us?
For we are, after all, as St. Peter points out
In Sunday’s Epistle, “strangers and pilgrims,”
making our way through the material world, in
which we have been placed, to our eternal des
tiny During our pilgrimage we have obligations
citizens and members of the human fhmily—
to be obedient to lawful authority, the Apostle
tells us, and to “live as freemen, yet not using
ynur freedom as a cloak for malice but as
servants of God We ar? “to abstain from carnal
desires that war against the soul we are to
conduct ourselves “honorably among the pa
gans." We are in the world, but we are. above all,
God’s creatures, dedicated to His service, and
that dedication must be revealed in all our
thoughts and actions Thus shall the joy that is
•urs a* followers of His Son lead us to the joy
of heaven.
‘Progressive’ Educators
Make Mo Progress
Modern “progressive educators” (and the
term allows shades of meaning from ridiculous
extremes to a few who might be hotter called
moderates) most often appeal to the criterion of
results. This is particulars true of those whn
tr? Pragmatists or Experimentalists and consti
tute th? radical group, and who forget that they
ar? after all experimenting not with guina pigs
but with children deserving of more respect. Rut
Hus safeguard set down, no one wants to deny
th? value of results except that some of these
progressive educators are not getting any, and
flow illngically try tn shut then eyes to the situs
Hon they have themselves created.
The public is gradually awakening to this
fact There is a mounting storm of criticism, evi
denced by mor? and more articles on education in
popular magazines like Collier's and Time, in the
daily press (eg, the furor over Flesch's book.
Why Johnny Can't Read), in business journals
Ilk? U. S. News and World Report, in profession
*1 magazines. 1-aw schools are complaining that
the students sent them cannot do the necessary
work: liberal colleges have led th? attack on poor
basic training, hig industries lately have entered
the fray, appalled at the ignorance of joh ap
plicants.
W? were hardly surprised then to read that
General Twining, Air Force Chief of Staff, has
found himself sucked into the dispute. The Gen
eral is alarmed over the potentialities of Russia's
«ir force. They ar? not merely quantitative, but.
what may he more shocking to our readers, qual
itative Our program is being held up not only
because of failure to allot funds hut also, in a
pior? serious way, by our failure to produce en
fineers. scientists, and trained technicians of
almost every type Were unjimited sums to be
psade available, this is no simple sure answer.
Where ar? th? men* The problem is basically
•ducatinnal many schools are not produciing.
On the other hand Russia is getting cduca
tional results It is graduating 90.000 scientists
tgainst our 30,000 annually, and still 53 per cent
pf our high schools do not give courses in physics.
It is “progressive” in tl\y real sense of the term.
While our lads are learning how to conduct them
selves on dates (Social Science course), how to
boil water (Home Economics), how to build a
Mexican village (the “project” method), Russian
children ar? learning fundamental mathematics
■nd mechanical kills they are mastering their
#wn language and. unfortunately, they arc learn
Ing how to make out a strong case for Vommun
lam and world revolution
It is most of all interesting to learn that Rus
da has already tried what is essentially the fal
lacy nf “progressive" education. There was a
time when they too read Dewey and his name
Was held in honor. Till the mid ’30s Russian
dreamers, too, experimented with education. Stu
dents participated in the preparation of courses
•f study, in the actual selection nf teachers, in
the regulation nf discipline Like in some Amcri
Mr schools, they played at various "activities.”
Hutchins puts it bitterly, indulged in little
“fake experiences.” Then th? Reds woke up.
Thev returned immediately tn what some of
our educators seem to despise—education. They
restored- discipline they reintroduced the tradi
tional methods of essentials and time-honored
contents of the past.
Friends are u'orth more than money.—French
proverb.
A faithful friend is a strong defense and he
that hath found him hath found a treasure.—Ec
clesiasticus vi.’ 14.
Before you make a friend, eat a peck of salt
with him.—This proverb, which has passed into
several languages, is thus explained by Aristotle.
“Nichomachean Ethics” vii, 2. 46: “A friend is
tried every day.” Salt is the symbol of preser
vation.
Just Among Ourselves
Pasting Comment Considered or Inconsiderate
A current magazine says that surveys have
shown that the averajJ? senior in high school
has a vocabulary of 15,000 to 18.000 words. Fur
ther the squib declares that the vocabulary of
the average adult (taking into account the spate
of the Ph.D.’s that bursts periodically from our
universities) is about 12.000 words. There seema
to be something wrong with these statistics.
A long time teacher of English in high school
thinks that the lad who compiled the figures
was careless with his pencil. An extra zero has
likely been introduced into the high school re
port. For, says this seasoned teacher, if the
average high school senior has a vocabulary of
even 1,500 words, he is parsimonious in his use
of over half of them.
A high school senior is a person who haa
spent three years, and is spending a fourth, in
learning to dispense with a vocabulary altogether.
He speaks a spluttery sort of jargon that may
be called tecnose. It consists in adenoidal or
tonsiilated grunts, elliptical slang, addled wise
cracks, and a welter of mispronounced and mis
used verbalisms.
Put the average high school senior to the
task of plainly defining plain words that ought
to be in the vocabulary of any person who can
read a newspaper or a weekly review, and you
will see some astounding things, ft was a high
school senior who defined antithesis as “a dis
ease of the lungs.” It was a high school senior
who wrote that decorum means a “group of
people, enough to start a meeting.” It was a
high school senior who defined anthology as “a
subject studied in college.”
It was a selected group of high school seniors
who were called upon tn study and discuss these
eight lines from Milton's L’Allegro:
Towered cities please us then.
And the busy hum of men,
Where throngs of knights and barons bold,
In weeds of peace, high triumphs hold,
With store of ladies, whose bright eyes
Rain influence, and judge the prize
Of wit or arms, while both contend
To win her grace whom all commend.
And here follows some part of what these
richly vocahularied seniors did with .1. Milton
Exhibit A—“Men are grouped together bp
cause they are going about their daily task like
be? which creates noise. The storekeeper with
their inviting faces to buy their goods. The
buyer buys the goods and all is content.”
Exhibit H—“The towered cities please us.
They are noisey with the hum of busy men.
There are throngs of bold knights and barons,
who in time of peace there is great praise.
There are many ladies in the city. When it rains
it shows in their eyes.”
Exhibit C—“He states that we are pleased with
the tall buildings of cities and the constant noises
that are found within a large city and that there
are many beautiful ladies in the city who are
influenced by rain and that many men fight
to win one particular women whomever it may
be.”
Exhibit D—“He is trying here to say that
during a lime of peace the knights and barons
are held in the city because they have no other
place to go and since they had nothing else to
do they went and jost with one another for the
eye of a damsel. This was done by different feats
of arms. The looks of these women had the power
to command them. So Milton was meaning that
the lords had nothing else to do so they just
played around."
You notice in the quotations the lush vocabu
lary of the high school seniors, and also the
graceful ease with which they shape abundance
of words into graceful phrases. And what sim
plicity and directness is here. “They went and
jost with one another for the eye of a damsel.”
The keen understanding of words enjoyed by
these high school seniors is well exampled in
their interpretation of phrases taken from the
eight hnes of L'Allegro already quoted
1. toweled cities—“The tall buildings over all
men. “Tall cities with large skyscrapers," “The
cities had so many towers in them that they
looked as if they were all towers."
2. hum of men “Singing of men as they
walk along the street,” “People moving up and
down the street talking or singing "The noise
created by talking and the autos."
3. needs of peace.—“While in peace the knights
havt^ nothing to do and s they do no good as
weeds a field “The restraining of the fight
ing spirit of the lords felt to them as weeds
holding them back “In time of war the fields
would be trodden down by soldiers since it is
peare time the weeds grow.”
4. store of ladies—“Different kinds or variety*
of ladies “Probably means that there were
numerous ladies about so that it looked as though
there was a stqie full o( them “l-adies at stores
and everything they see they want to buy.”
5. high triumphs hold—‘“The ladies held the
men in high esteem "Tournaments and similar
gallantries “They were so successful in war
that no one wants to fight or make another war."
6. to u
hi
her grace—"To w in her favor—have
her appreciate him "To get her for himself
“To win the favor and admiration of the ladies.”
A man’s vocabulary consists of the words
he knows, readily remembers, and uses cor
rectly. It is not possible to believe that the thirty
two high school seniors,—not run-of-minc sen
iors, hut selected as superior,—whose work we
have been viewing are equipped with a vocab
ulary of 15,000 to 18.000 words. It is manifest
from their wrnrk that they are cramped in ex
pression. and do not readily find words to carry
their meaning, even when they have any intel
ligible meaning to convey.
There must be something wrong with those
surveys which rat? th? average citizen as a 12.000
unrd man (and he's (ar overrated al that) and
the high school senior as a 15.000-18.000 genius.
Maybe 1500-1800 is right. Or 150-180.
//,C
WASHINGTON LETTER
WASHINGTON A govern
ment agency, in attempting an
official definition of the word
“church." has so narrowed th?
concept that its effort could
have far-reaching ramifications
The agency, the Internal Rev
enue Service, is attempting the
definition in connection with
some regulations the law re
quires it to. promulgate. The
problem is similar to one
which faced the legislative
branch twice in the last six
years.
In 1950, when Congress was
amending the Internal Revenue
Code of 1939, a spokesman for
Baptists pointed out that the
word “church” did not protect
independent churches, and
Congress changed the law to
make its provisions apply to
“church, convention or associ
ation of churches.” In this way,
Congress implemented its in
tention to exempt from taxa
tion churches in whatever form
they might be organized.
In 1952, a change proposed
in the Internal Revenue Serv
ice regulations would have ex
cluded religious orders from
the meaning of the term
"church", but this change was
not then adopted.
In 1954. proposed legislative
changes in the Internal Reve­
MONSIGNOR HIGGINS
In a statement from his hos
pital bed, Mr. Riesel himself
put the challenge to “the de
cent men of labor" very point
edly. “For God’s sake,” he said,
“stop looking the other way.
Stop apologizing and sidestep
ping. Use the AFL-CIO Ethical
Practices Committee to begin a
real, all-out war against the
mobs." l/*t Us hope and pray
that "the decent men of labor"
will respond to this dramatic
challenge without fear or fa
vor, let the chips fall where
they may. The sooner the bet
ter. There is no time to lose.
A Two-Way Proposition
It would be unrealistic to as
sume that “the decent men of
labor"- who are in the over
whelming majority in the
American labor movement
can solve the problem of labor
racketeering without the whole
hearted cooperation of employ
ers. politicians, and the guard
ians of the law.
Thl role of employers in
solving this srandalouj prob
lem I* particularly important
For it is obvious that much of
Wrong Book
Agency Tries to Define "Church 9
nue Code provided that a tax
payer might make deductions
of up to 30 per cent of his in
come for gifts made to “a
church or convention or associ
ation of churches or a relig
ious order.” While the bill was
under discussion, a spokesman
for the National Catholic Wel
fare Conference appeared be
fore the Senate Finance Com
mittee and pointed out that the
proposal to classify religious
orders separately would indi
cate that they are not consid
ered a part of, or come within
the meaning- of, the term
“church".
Congress ultimately struck
the term “religious orders”
from the measure and the Sen
ate Finance Committee stated
specifically in its report that
it did so because it believed
“that the term ‘church’ should
be all inclusive.”
In January of this year, the
Internal Revenue Service gave
notice of proposed changes in
its regulations. In a section per
taining to “unrelated business
activities” of churches, the IRS
proposed to include in the gen
eral exemption provided for a
“church, convention or associa
tion of churches,” only those
religious orders the members
nf which perform “sacerdotal”
Too Much Winking
(Continued (rom page 1)
is not so simple as some of la
bor’s critics make it out to he.
For exampl^, the president of
the National Association of
Manufacturers, in a public
statement on the Riesel case,
left the impression, perhaps
unwittingly, that the problem
can he solved by the labor
movement alone. This is a great
oversimplification. The labor
movement, to be sure, can and
should do a great deal more
than it has done thus far to po
lice its own ranks and to elim
inate the minority of unsavory
characters who are preying on
its members and giving it such
a bad reputation in the public
mind.
th? racketeering in the labor
movement is a two-way propo
sition. a collusive and mutually
profitable arrangement be
tween unscrupulous labor lead
ers and unscrupulous employ
ers who are willing to pay a
fancy price for ,#soft" contracts
at the expense of the rank and
file workers. The New York
waterfront scandal is an elo
quent case in point According
to the experts on this subject,
many of the employers on the
waterfront, far from cooperat
ating with the A FL when it
expelled the discredited inter
national Longshoremen's Asso
ciation. secretly sided with the
I.L A. which they had come to
respect as a docile union.
A few days before the attack
on Riesel this unsavory tie-up
between the racket-infested
I.L.A. and some of the water
front employers was again ex
posed by a former Assistant
District Attorney of New York
City, William J. Keating, in a
new book entitled “The Man
Who Rocked the Boat.” Mr.
Keating says very bluntly that
“the discredited union's most
fe.vid backstage supporters, of
course, were the shipping and
stevedoring companies, whose
New York Shipping Associa
tion kept agitating for a
prompt election (between the
old I.L.A. and the reform un
ion chartered by the A.F.L.)
Th*' A.F.L. wanted to delay the
election, in order to have more
time to organize, but amid all
the big talk about the forces
of government being on the
side of the federation against
the beleaguered I.L.A.. the
hoods and the employers got
what they wanted: on Decem
ber 17. th? National Ijibor Re
lations Board announced that
th? election would be held five
I
TH£ SEARCH FOR
functions. Rut the proposed
regulation would operate to ex
clude from the statutory co
emption the “unrelated busi
ness activities” of religious or
ders of nuns or religious bro
thers.
A hearing on this point has
just been held by the IRS, and
a spokesman for the NCWC
was invited to appear. The
NCWC representative protested,
in part, that the proposed reg
ulation involves a violation of
the tradition of separation of
church and state. It was point
ed out that “the unwarranted
interpretation placed upon the
statute cuts off certain branch
es of the Catholic Church but
leaves other churches, such as
the Baptist or Congregational
Churches, intact.”
II was further argued that
the regulation, contrary to
Congressional intent, “endeav
ors to decree that certain or
ders are not a part of the
church unless they discharge
functions arbitrarily set up in
the proposed regulations.”
It was amply demonstrated
that the term “church" includ
es religious orders, and any
other religious organization
w’hich is an integral part of the
church and is engaged ir carry
ing out the functions of a
church.
days later cutting the nor
ma! electioneering period by
more than three weeks.”
Joint Responsibility
Mr. Keating is equally caus
tic in his criticism of some of
the politicians and law enforc
ing agencies' for their reluc
tance to lower the boom on no
torious racketeers even when
they had more than enough ev
idence to support a conviction
in the courts. Needless to say,
he is also very severe, and
rightly so. in his edndemnation
of the labor movement for its
failure to face up to its own
responsibilities more courage
ously and effectively.
Negatively, the moral of all
this is that people who live in
glass houses should not throw
stones. That goes for employ
ers, labor leaders, politicians,
and the guardians of the law.
From the more positive point
of view, the moral is that the
elimination of racketeering in
the field of labor management
relations is the joint responsi
bility of all the parties con
cerned, including the politi
cians!
1-et us hope that the misfor
tune suffered by Victor Riesel
will result in a cooperative ef
fort on the part of all four
groups to solve a problem
which they have all been wink
ing at too long. They have an
obligation to solve this prob
lem as rapidly as possible in
the name of public decency
and morality. Also, for the pro
tection of the average working
man and the average consumer
who, when all is said and done,
are the ones that have to pay
the cost of racketeering—in
terms of inadequate wages and
working conditions on the on?
hand, and exorbitant paces on
th? other.
Inquiry Corner
Q. Is one ever permitted to
sell or give an eye to some
one who is blind?
A. White the Fifth Com
mandment ordinarily forbids
any self-mutilation except for
preservation of life there seem
to be some who* consider it
morally possible to submit to
this operation for another. In
a publicized case? recently in
Italy a priest left directions
that his eyes be surgically
transplanted to help others to
sec, but this was to be done
immediately after his death.
For a person to do it while
living some extraordinary need
must exist. If some important
figure (e.g. the pope, a presi
dent etc.) were to go blind it
might be morally permissible
for someone to sacrifice one
eye so that such a person might
see and so continue his work
for the common good. Certain
ly it could not be done merely
for money nor for anything
except a motive such as that
mentioned in the New Testa
ment: “Greater love than this
no one has, that one lay down
his life for his friends.” (John:
15:13).
Q. We have so many social
functions during Lent and on
Sunday night etc. Is this
change from old-fashioned,
customs a sign of changing
times or of lack of faith and
Christian moral stamina?
A. In a different context
Tope Pius XII spoke of the dif
ference between this younger
generation in its inclination to
“turn your backs upon the
past and to place all your hop?s
and aspirations in the future"
and the older generation with
its conservative tendency.
(“Rights of man", Christmas
1942) There are probably dif
ferences in our social customs
which are due to increased fi
nancial and social privileges
which are accorded to young
people in our time.. Some of
these differences may well re
flect a compromise with the
world and an excessive desire
for amusement, regardless of
Lent or Sunday services. On
the other hand the greater
freedom of young people has
also produced good works and
spiritual activities which did
not exist before. As the Holy
Father states we .should try to
JOHN C. O’RRIEN
Father Healey------------------
harness th*-' energies and en
thusiasm of young people and
ner, The Catholic Times, Rox
as driving power and the rurb
oi restraint are coupled to
gether, the natural difference
I ‘tween the o Ider and the
younger generation can give
rise to no danger."
Q. Where can I obtain a list
of Christian names suitable for
Baptismal names?
A. There me a number o(
publications such as the pamph
let “Is II a Saint’s Name?”
There are many lives of the
saints which provide more than
a list, giving at least a sketch
of the life of the saint. Out
standing in this area ate such
collections as Butler’s (avail
able now in a new edition),
Englebert's "Lives of the
Saints" and the “Book of
Saints’’ edited by the Benedic
tine Monks of Ramsgate. A
daily Missal or church calen
dar provide.^at least a list of
saints for the various days. It
is always posible to ask a priest
for advice in choosing an ap
propriate name, especially the
pastor of the place.
Q. Who was St. Raymond?
A. There are several saints
of that name. St. Raymund of
Pennafort, whose feast is Jan
uary 23rd was general of the
Dominical Order, adviser of
Pope Gregory IX and compiler
of Canon Law. St. Raymund
Nonnatus, also a Spaniard of
the thirteenth century was ac
tive in the newly-founded or
der of Our Lady of Ransom.
He gave himself as a captive
upon his return he was made a
cardinal by Pope Gregory IX.
Q. What is the meaning of
the word “canon” in the ex
pression "Canon of the Mass"?
A. It comes from the Greek
word for rule, since it is the
most fixed and regular part of
the Mass. From the Preface Io
the Pater Noster (exclusive) of
the Mass the prayers are seldom
changed, regardless of the feast
or the season. The present
Canon of the Roman Missal is
that of St. Gregory the Great
and goes back, therefore, tn
the end of the sixth century.
Send questions to Father Ed
ward F. Healey, Inquiry Corner,
The Catholic Times, Box 636,
Columbus (16), Ohio.
A Look at Education
The report of the CommitUe
for the White House Confer
ence on Edu
cation is be
ing hailed in
some quar
ters as the
most compre
hensive sur
vey of our
public school
system ever
undertaken.
In all fair
ness, it must be conceded that
the committee has brought to
gether a great deal of valuable
statistical information about
the present state *of our gram
mar and high schools. But most
of its findings have been ob
vious for years.
Silence in Some Quarter*
The 195-page report fails to
deal at all with the complaints
of many educators that our
schools are turning out gradu
ates who are woefully deficient
in the Tundamentals of an ele
mentary education. It is silent
on the growing problem of ju
venile delinquency among
teen agers, although it does ad
mit that it should be one of
the the aims of our schools to
“foster moral ethical and spir
itual values.”
Th-? committe has nothing to
zsay about the deemphasis in
the high schools of the science
and mathematics, to which many
educators attribute the dearth
of students in college who are
training for the sciences and
•engineering, it ignores the tend
ency among high school pupils
to sidestep the so-called
“tough” courses in favor of
superficial excursions into the
social sciences, which used to
be the pres-?rve ‘of the colleges.
toothing Wrong?
The reason, apparently, why
the committee did not consider
whether there is anything
wrong with the aims of pres
ent-day elementary education
is that it believed unanimously
that nothing is wrong.
On the contrary, the authors
of the report wholeheartedly
approved the direction which
our public school education has
taken.
Although th-? committee rec
ognizes, in passing, that the
fundamental skills reading,
writing and arithmetic are
"important," it places singu
larly little emphasis upon them.
A Littl? of Everything
The report indorses w'hat it
calls the “new educational
ideal,” which e puts so much
stress upon training in leisure
time activities such as music,
dancing and hobbies, on learn
ing how to drive an automobile,
or how (o swim.
"It is no longer thought prop
er to restrict educational pro
grams to th? skills of th? mind,"
says the report, “even though
these skills remain of funda
mental importance. Schools
also should attempt to improve
the children’s health, to pro
vide vocational training, and to
do everything else which will
bring a child up to the starting
line of adult life as even with
his contemporaries as native
differences in ability permit."
No one. of course, will quar
rel with the schools for seek
ing to improve the health of
th-? pupils or to teach them a
vocation, if the main job of
grounding them well in the
fundamentals of an education
is not slighted.
Statistically Speaking
A rec-ent survey by the Unit
ed States Office of Education
for the year 1949-50 confirms
the fact that students are turn
ing away from the basic sub
jects. In that year 30 per cent
of all high school work was in
vocation classes. Another 15
pe- cent of the enrollment was
found in types of courses listed
under “Education for Democrat
ic Living.” This includes such
courses as world problems,
community government, geog
raphy, sociology, psychology,
consumer education, radio
speaking and broadcasting,
journalism, general mathemat
ics and general science.
That diversion of the pupils*
interests away from the basit
elementary subjects has result
ed in an alarming increase in
the number fit graduates defic
ient in the fundamentals, ha»
b-een amply shown by the ex
perience of the Army with in
ductees.
Eleven per cent of the men
reporting for military duty have
been turned down because they
could not score 10 out of 100
in a test covering elementary
English, arithmetic and solving
of elementary problems.
Religion
As to the part the fostering
of moral and spiritual valuei
should have in a system of ele
mentary education, the commit
tee confessed it was unable to
come up w'ith a satisfactory an
swer. The difficulty is, the re
port stated, ’that the public
schools cannot teach religion,
and strong differences of opin
ion stand in the way of permit
ting religious institutions to
cooperate in the public
schools. It is pointed out that
judicial decisions on church
state relations had clarified on
ly small parts oi the whole
question, and urged continued
study at community, state and
national levels.
In short, th^ committee con
cluded that public school edu
cation is on the right track it
just isn’t moving fast enough.
Or to pul it another way. there
is nothing wrong with th? pub
lic schools that more spending
will not cure.