Catholic Journalism: A Study of Its Development in the United States, 1789-1930 9780231879392

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CATHOLIC JOURNALISM

CATHOLIC JOURNALISM A STUDY OF ITS DEVELOPMENT IN THE UNITED STATES, 17894930 BY

APOLLINARIS W. BAUMGARTNER

NEW YORK

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY P R E S S 1931

Copyright 1931 COLUMBIA

UNIVERSITY

PRESS

Published May, 1931

Printed in the United States of America The Torch Press Cedar Rapids, Iowa

TO TWO LOYAL FRIENDS WHOSE DEEDS OF KINDNESS ARE RECORDED IN THE BOOK OF LIFE THIS LITTLE VOLUME IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED

FOREWORD The vigor of the Catholic press in the United States has increased much in recent years and the time is opportune for a study of its history. It has arrived by slow and difficult processes at its present state and a consideration of these processes is of general interest, as well as of special interest to those who are concerned with the progress of religious journalism. The earliest Catholic papers printed in this country were feeble. They appeared when the standards and methods of the American press in general were chaotic. The journalistic profession, as it has been developed since, was then beginning to assume definite form under the leadership of men of the type of James Gordon Bennett, a Catholic, the founder of the New York Herald, Greeley, Raymond, Jones, Dana, Abell, also a Catholic, and Storey. They abandoned the old paths and reached out into new fields in their work of converting newspapers from journals of opinion, with little real news, to journals of information, with a relatively small proportion of space devoted to editorial comment. In their day, men trained occupationally as journalists were rare in the religious field. Journalism had not been disciplined at that time vii

Vili

FOREWORD

to regularity, even in essentials, and the Catholic press, like the secular press, was on a shifting foundation. During the period when their capacity to reach the masses of readers, so far as they did reach them, was dependent upon the exposition of opinions rather than news, a considerable number of Catholic papers were militantly controversial. This zest for disputation went so f a r as to result in challenging, in some cases, the authority of the Bishops, and led to a situation which the Second and Third Plenary Councils of Baltimore took steps to alter. In recent years two influences have operated to give the Catholic press the substantial and consistent character which has been in evidence, particularly in the period 1900-30. The first of these in point of time was the infiltration into the ranks of Catholic editors of men trained on the staffs of secular papers. They brought to the management of religious journals an understanding of news as such, skill in collecting, writing, and editing it, better typography, and sounder economic methods in the production and distribution of newspapers. Men trained in the business offices of secular papers or observant of their systematic methods obtained a much larger revenue for the Catholic press from advertisements. The increased financial resources, although inadequate in many cases, enabled the papers to employ larger and better staffs and to pay higher rates for contributions. Naturally the contributions improved in quality. The effect of the introduction of professionalism

FOREWORD

ix

into the management of Catholic newspapers has been evident in another way. Trained newspaper men naturally sought to associate a paper with a definite function and to execute that function consistently. Since the function of a Catholic paper is to present information about the Church and its activities and to serve as a medium for diocesan, parochial, and general announcements emanating from religious authorities, as well as to express editorial opinions in conformity with ecclesiastical judgment, the Catholic press, in so far as it has reflected the methods of the secular press, has been more unified and more effective in reinforcing the work of the hierarchy. The second influence in point of time which has been potent in increasing the range and power of the Catholic press has been the organization of the Press Department of the National Catholic Welfare Conference soon after the World War. By means of this central agency in Washington for the collection of Catholic news and the supplying of a wide variety of material to Catholic papers in the United States, a diocesan journal may now appear as an attractive issue every week, or offener, without incurring a disheartening burden of cost. Since the Catholic press has an increased capacity to attract readers by the intrinsic value of what it prints, problems of circulation and advertising have become less acute. There is a desire to make the papers welcome in Catholic households for pleasant reading as well as for dutiful reading. This change has been accomplished with-

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FOREWORD

out any infringement of the standards which have been set by ecclesiastical authority. When Father Apollinaris, O.M.Cap., chose "Catholic Journalism in the United States" as the subject of his thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Journalism at Columbia University, which degree he received in June of the present year, he embraced a fruitful opportunity. No complete work on that topic was in existence. While the need to explore the whole story of the Catholic press was evident, the extent of the research required was exceptional. Father Apollinaris brought to his task, besides marked zeal and thoroughness, his equipment as a graduate of St. Lawrence College, Mt. Calvary, Wisconsin, and his experience as associate editor of the "Seraphic Chronicle" and editor of the "Mission Almanac. ' ' I have observed with warm interest, as the faculty adviser of Father Apollinaris, the concentration of his powers on the work he has done. He has sought exactness in every statement and has been indefatigable in personal investigations in the wide field of the Catholic press of today, as well as in written or printed data accumulated in the past. His main aims have been completeness and accuracy, together with a fair perspective, and to their accomplishment he has brought the resources of a broad and sympathetic understanding of his subject. A L L E N SINCLAIR COLUMBIA

UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL

OF

September 15, 1930

JOURNALISM

WILL

T A B L E OF FOREWOBD

CONTENTS vu

.

Xlll

INTRODUCTION CHAPTER I .

FORMATIVE Y E A R S ( 1 7 8 9 - 1 8 4 0 )

.

.

1

General view of the period ; Beginnings ; Irish national newspapers; Catholic religious journals. CHAPTER I I .

SECOND PERIOD ( 1 8 4 0 - 8 4 ) .

.

.

12

General view of the period; the Freeman's Journal; Other Catholic journals; Decade preceding the Civil W a r ; the Civil War period; the Second Council of Baltimore. CHAPTER I I I .

T H I R D PERIOD ( 1 8 8 4 - 1 9 1 9 )

.

.

36

General view of the period; the Third Plenary Council; the last two decades of the nineteenth century; the Catholic Lay Congress ; a controversy ; Foreign-Language Journals; the present century; the Catholic Press Association ; Journals founded 1910-19. CHAPTER

IV.

CATHOLIC

JOURNALISTIC

EDUCA-

(1910-30) 65 Schools of Journalism; Marquette University; Notre Dame University ; departments in other schools ; University of Detroit; St. Mary-of-the-Woods; St. Edward's University ; data on schools of journalism under Catholic auspices. TION

xi

xii CHAPTER V .

T A B L E OF CONTENTS P R E S E N T S T A T E OF T H E

CATHOLIC

PRESS ( 1 9 1 9 - 3 0 ) 80 General view of the period ; the National Catholic Welfare Conference News Service; list of Catholic journals to today. APPENDIX I . APPENDIX I I .

UNRECORDED JOURNALS BIBLIOGRAPHY

.

.

.

101

105

INTRODUCTION Recently, Cardinal O'Connell of Boston was reported as having said : A Catholic paper is as much a necessity as a church. It is as much the duty of every priest in the diocese to stand for it, aid it, and work for its widest diffusion among the people as it is to build and support a school. It is for the self-same purpose, object and aim — the propaganda and defense of Christian principles.

The dictum of Cardinal O'Connell is the echo of statements by Catholic churchmen in the United States from the earliest days of the Republic, and these men have been responsible, in large measure, for the progress and development of Catholic journalism from its humblest beginnings down to our day. In this work we shall trace, stage by stage, the rise of American Catholic newspapers. It would be impossible to bring within its limits the other Catholic periodicals, which outnumber the newspapers and have had a synchronous development. Likewise, it was thought best to stress the newspapers published in the English language, without, however, passing over with too slight remark the interesting and energetic journalism of the foreign-language groups among American Catholics. xiii

xiv

INTRODUCTION

Most of the journals treated were published weekly and consequently little reference is made to frequency of issue, except in the case of dailies, semiweeklies, etc. The division into periods is more or less arbitrary. Catholic journalists generally concede that the first fifty years of the Republic may be considered as the formative period of American Catholic journalism; while that which followed it (1840-84) was fraught with its own peculiar advantages and disadvantages for the Catholic press. The Third Plenary Council of Baltimore marks a natural change in American Catholic history and the beginning of a new era of Catholic journalism. The terminal date of this period (1919) was chosen because of the revolutionizing of the Catholic press through the formation of the National Catholic Welfare Conference and its News Agency. The chapter on Catholic journalistic education has been compiled from such sources as were available, including personal letters from the directors of schools and bulletins of information. The list of present-day Catholic newspapers is a compilation of the answers of their editors to a questionnaire addressed to them early in 1930. Missing data in the list was supplied from Ayer 's "Directory of Newspapers and Periodicals" for 1930 and from the "Catholic Press Directory" for 1928. Speaking of the suspension of the " F r e e m a n ' s Journal ' ' in 1861, Finotti remarked :

INTRODUCTION

XV

The future historian will have a raey subject to deal with in the interesting chapter of the history of Catholic newspapers of this epoch. When will it be written? We are a generation of procrastinators. It may be presumptious, aye, it may border on profanity, but I feel as if I were vox clamantis in deserto. In sooth, I have cried myself hoarse, and squeezed my marsupium to a pricked football. Never mind; better times, stronger hands, mightier heads will appear on the scene ; but alas ! the sources will then be dried up and the cisterns broken. 1

The sources are, to a great extent, dried up and the cisterns broken. Except for the admirable treatise of Dr. Paul J. Foik, C.S.C., on " P i o n e e r Catholic Journalism in the United S t a t e s , " Finotti's expectations of a Catholic historian to write the history of the Catholic press have not materialized. Nor is the present work intended to be a complete history of American Catholic journalism. There are many lacunae, and much that might be said on some particular phase of the question. Yet, from the fragmentary sources which remain, it has been possible to piece together this story of the development of Catholic journalism in the United States. Gratitude is due Roscoe C. E. Brown, D.Litt., Professor of Journalism, Columbia University, for having suggested the topic of this work. In making the necessary research the author has been assisted very much by Allen Sinclair "Will, LL.D., Associate Professor of Journalism, and Miss Mabel Rollins, M.S., 1 Finotti, Rev. J. M., The Catholic Record, Philadelphia, Vol. I X , 1873, p. 50.

xvi

INTRODUCTION

of Columbia. Thomas F. Meehan, Secretary of the United States Catholic Historical Society, has given invaluable aid in suggesting sources and in revising the rough draft. Gratitude is also due to the editors of Catholic newspapers and kind friends, whose advice and assistance have made possible the publication of this thesis.

CHAPTER

I

FORMATIVE YEARS (1789-1840) The formative period of Catholic journalism in the United States may be said to have been the years between the establishment of the See of Baltimore, April 6, 1789, and the year 1840, when a decided change in the tone and management of Catholic journals was noticeable. It was during these years that the foundations of the future Catholic press were laid. These were years of struggle against impediments both from within and from without the pale of the Catholic Church. Dr. Foik says : The whole disposition of Catholic journalism during these decades seems to have been to promote the harmony of society by removing from the pathway of non-Catholics the groundless prejudices and presuppositions which had grown up into social barriers, due chiefly to the circulation of misrepresentations and calumnies by the enemies of Catholicism in Europe and America, and to the supineness of the Catholic body at large in the face of these fabrications.1

From within the Catholic Church of the period came schism and strife. In Philadelphia for a time 1 Foik, Paul J. Catholic Historical Review, Vol. I, 1915, p. 267. 1

2

FORMATIVE YEARS

the followers of the Reverend William Hogan, a schismatic priest, controlled two r a t h e r efficient and virulently anti-Catholic weeklies. In New York and elsewhere Trusteeism was rife. Against these elements were pitted the efforts of a few men who saw the value of the press and generously spent themselves in preserving and developing it. BEGINNINGS

The earliest Catholic journals deserve a place in any retrospect of Catholic journalsim in so f a r as they were Catholic in general tone and sympathy and under Catholic editorial guidance although not distinctly Catholic in content. The first of these was the " C o u r i e r de B o s t o n , " which appeared on April 23, 1789, and continued publication weekly for six months, edited by Paul Joseph Guerard de Nancrede, instructor in French at H a r v a r d University, 17871800.2 I t was many years before another attempt was made; but, finally in 1809, F a t h e r Gabriel Richard, Sulpician pastor of St. Anne's Church, Detroit, founded the "Michigan Essay or Impartial Observer." As early as 1806 F a t h e r Richard had appointed his sacristan, Theophilus Mettez, as a sort of town crier. H e was to stand at the door of the church 2 Catholic Historical Beview, Vol. I l l , new series, 1923, p. 481. Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. VI, p. 276. Evans, Charles. American Bibliography, Vol. 7, 1786-89, No. 21773, p. 309.

FORMATIVE YEARS

3

after services each Sunday and cry out the news, secular as well as religious, to the parishioners as they left the edifice. Next the pastor adopted a bulletin board on which the news was posted week by week. Finally, in 1809, on a visit to Baltimore, Father Richard bought a printing press and had it transported to Detroit, where his paper made its first appearance on August 31 of that year. The journal contained sixteen columns of general news, one and one-half columns of which were printed in French, the rest in English. Despite Father Richard's interest and efforts the paper soon failed. Michigan was not yet ready for a Catholic weekly. IKISH N A T I O N A L NEWSPAPERS

After 1809 there appeared a long series of papers which had Catholicity and Ireland for their leading topics, but were otherwise political rather than religious journals. The Irish immigrant to the United States had brought with him all the tenacious loyalty to his Church which had characterized his forbears throughout preceding centuries. As citizens of the United States, the Irish were frequently called upon to defend their faith against the attacks of those who misunderstood them. Misrepresentation called for retort, and retort called for able writers. Thus were developed a series of important journalists who contributed to the success of the Irish journals which were formed during this period. Thomas Addis Emmett, William.

4

FORMATIVE YEARS

Sampson, Thomas O 'Connor, Dr. Macneven, Mathew Carey, and William Duane were among the most gifted contributors. At first they used the secular papers of the day, at home and abroad, to defend their native land, f o r as yet they had no paper of their own. But, on December 15,1810, there appeared in New York the "Shamrock or Hibernian Chronicle," founded by Edward Gillespy and edited by him until, in 1814, Thomas O'Connor assumed the duties of editor. A f t e r an ephemeral existence the "Shamrock or Hibernian Chronicle" ceased publication on June 5, 1813, only to reappear as the " S h a m r o c k " in the following year. In 1817, its chief purpose accomplished, the publication ceased entirely. In its short life the journal had contributed largely to thwart the gubernatorial aspirations of E u f u s King. Of the other Irish journals of the time none succeeded in long holding the interest of its readers and one by one they dropped from the field. In 1822, the "Catholic Herald and Weekly Regist e r " and the " E r i n " were founded in Philadelphia as organs of the Hoganites. The former was Catholic only in name ; the latter has been called,3 " a n angel's name with a devil's tongue. ' ' No pains were spared to attack the Catholic religion and undermine the authority of the hierarchy. Against these two schismatic journals the "Catholic Advocate and Irish3

rinotti, Rev. J. M. Bibliographia Catholica Americana, p. 160.

FORMATIVE YEARS

5

man's Journal," founded, February 22, 1823, did vigorous service. From 1824-27, the "Globe and Emerald," which defended the political rights of Catholics, was edited and published both in New York and Philadelphia by Clerke and Mortimer. The " T r u t h Teller" was a weekly sponsored by the Reverend Dr. John Power, pastor of St. Peter's Church, New York. The first edition appeared on April 2, 1825. After the issue of October 19, 1825, the journal was under the joint ownership of George Pardow and William Denman. Pardow sold his interest to Denman and the latter continued the proprietorship until March 31, 1855, when he sold the " T r u t h Teller" to the owners of the "Irish American." Several rival publications arose in an attempt to destroy the influence of the " T r u t h Teller." The first venture was that of George Pepper, who founded the "Irish Shield and Monthly Milesian." (New York, 1828.) Pepper chose to assail the editors of the "Truth Teller" and soon found himself involved in a libel suit which brought about the cessation of his publication. His next attempts in journalism were the "Irish Shield and Literary Panorama" (Philadelphia, 1831), the "Patriot and Shield" (Philadelphia, 1832), and, later in the same year, the "Republican and Literary Observer." Another rival of the "Truth Teller" appeared in New York in 1831, called the "Irish Advocate." But

6

FORMATIVE YEARS

the tactics of the editor were comparable to those of George Pepper, and the paper soon was forced to discontinue publication. In the meantime the " T r u t h Teller" began to develop tendencies towards Trusteeism. This led to the founding on October 5, 1833, of another rival, known as the "New York Weekly Register and Catholic D i a r y , " the literary department of which was entrusted to Patrick S. Casserly. After three years this publication ceased. The "Green B a n n e r " which Dr. Foik calls " a creature of circumstances," was founded in New York in 1835. Father Thomas C. Levins, who wrote under the name of Fergus McAlpin, was the editor of this journal, but soon found himself in difficulties with Bishop Du Bois of New York, and in 1837 the "Green B a n n e r " ceased to wave. While New York and Philadelphia were witnessing the rise of these journals, the South was not without its own weekly. In 1829 there appeared in Charleston, South Carolina, a journal which had the motto : " A l l men have a right to equal and impartial government." It bore the title the "Irishman and Charleston Weekly Register," but soon afterward the name was changed to "Irishman and Southern Democrat." Like its predecessors in the North its existence was very short. CATHOLIC RELIGIOUS

JOURNALS

The first distinctly Catholic journal in the United States was Bishop England's "United States Cath-

FORMATIVE Y E A R S

7

olic Miscellany, ' ' founded at Charleston, South Carolina, on June 5, 1822. The prospectus of this journal, issued in March of that year, states: " T h e principles of the publication will be candor, moderation, fidelity, charity and diligence. ' ' 4 In his " L i f e of John E n g l a n d " (vol. I, p. 451) Dr. Peter Guilday says : If the appearance of the Miscellany did nothing else, it revealed as if by drawing aside a curtain the number and the influence of a score of anti-Catholic journals, now happily forgotten, but then in the heyday of their power. The secular press of the time was by no means the suave and impersonal kind of journalism we possess to-day. AntiCatholic sermons were welcomed in its columns, and thus on all sides Catholics found themselves at the mercy of this hostile group.

Bishop England was ably assisted in the work of editing his journal by his sister, Joanna England. He had agents for the paper in thirty-one cities of the United States. But the journal was not a financial success. A f t e r half a year it was necessary to suspend publication. A year later, on January 7, 1824, the "Miscellany" resumed publication in a changed format. A f t e r that it continued, fairly successful, down to the outbreak of the Civil War. The Provincial Council of Baltimore, October, 1829, discussed the Catholic press. An appeal was 4

Shea, John Gilmary. History of the Catholic Church in the United States, Vol. I l l , p. 317.

8

FORMATIVE YEARS

made to the Catholics of the land to support the press. "The appeal of the venerable prelates," says the "Catholic Intelligencer" of London, November, 1830, "we are happy to learn, has had the effect of giving life and vigor to the press, and we sincerely hope that it will continue to display sound knowledge and public spirit. ' ' A journal established in Boston in 1829 deserves more than passing mention. This paper was founded by Bishop B. J. Fenwick on September 5, 1829. George Pepper and Dr. J . S. Bartlett were the editors ; Patrick Donahoe and Henry L. Devereaux the publishers. The managers were known as the Roman Catholic Auxiliary Society. They were composed of William Dyer, Thomas Murphy, Roger Flinn, Christopher Peterson, John MoNamara, Patrick Moony, James King, and William Cazneau. At first the weekly was called the "Jesuit or Catholic Sentinel," but four months later it was known as the "Catholic Intelligencer." In January, 1832, it was once more called the " J e s u i t " ; but the issue of December 27, 1834, bore the title: the "Irish and Catholic Sentinel," and hardly a year later the paper was called the "Literary and Catholic Sentinel." Bishop Fenwick was not satisfied with the manner in which the journal was being conducted and, on January 2, 1834, sent a long letter to the "members of the government of the Auxiliary Society," withdrawing his support from the paper. He wrote : The Jesuit newspaper was originally instituted to promote

FORMATIVE YEARS

9

the Catholic cause so dear to us all, among a people not acquainted with its true principles, and to diffuse among them a correct knowledge thereof. But it . . . is now becoming an apple of discord and disunion among brethren of the same family. . . . I beg you, therefore, gentlemen, to consider the first number of the fifth volume as the last which shall be issued with my sanction as a religious paper.5

Two years later a successor to the " J e s u i t " appeared, being known as the "Boston Pilot," the owner of which was Patrick Donahoe. Subsequently the journal has been known as the " P i l o t " ; and it continues to be published in Boston. An attempt was made by the editors of the " J e s u i t " to publish a juvenile weekly in Boston. This journal was called the "Expostulator or Young Catholic's Guide." It was published for about one year (1830). Another weekly founded in the formative period, which has continued to flourish as the oldest existing Catholic journal in the United States, is the "Catholic Telegraph" of Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1831 the Eight Reverend Dominic Fenwick, first Bishop of Cincinnati, received as a gift a European press, with which he began to publish the first diocesan organ in the United States. The original purpose of the "Telegraph" was " t o meet the constant attacks upon the doctrine of the Church, her clergy and her people. ' ' 6 Unlike its predecessors, the ' ' Telegraph" has weathered many trying storms. s Cf. The Sacred Heart Keview, November 7, 1908, p. 342. « Cf. Shea, John Gilmary, Vol. I. I l l , p. 614.

10

FORMATIVE YEARS

In 1835, an interesting paper was founded at Bardstown, Kentucky, by Benjamin J . Webb, who had received his training in journalism on the Louisville " J o u r n a l . " With the cooperation of the Bishop he began the ' ' Catholic Advocate, ' ' with the Reverends Martin J. Spalding, G. A. Elder, William Clarke, and O. H. de Luynes as its first editorial staff. Previously the faculty of St. Joseph's College, Bardstown, had edited a monthly magazine called the "Minerva," which suspended publication. The "Advocate" continued to be published, first at Bardstown and soon after at Louisville, until 1850, when it was absorbed by the "Catholic Telegraph" of Cincinnati. Other Catholic weeklies of the period, which eventually proved failures, because the country was not yet ready for them, were the "Catholic P r e s s " founded by Bishop Fenwick at Hartford, Connecticut, in June, 1829; the "Catholic Herald" of which the Reverend John Hughes, later Archbishop of New York, was editor, founded in Philadelphia in 1833; the "Catholic Journal" of Washington, D.C. (1833) ; the "Shepherd of the Valley" edited by R. A. Bakewell in St. Louis (1833-38?) ; the "New York Catholic Register" of New York (1839), which was merged the following year with the "Freeman's Journal"; and the "Catholic Banner," edited by Thomas Mullen at St. Louis, 1839. Catholic or semi-Catholic journals published in foreign languages during this period were: the "Courier de Boston" of Boston, Massachusetts

FORMATIVE YEARS

11

(1789) ; the " H a b a n e r o " of Philadelphia (1824), of which the Reverend Padre Don Felix Varela was editor (his journal was moved to New York in the following year) ; the "Gazetta F r a n ç a i s e " of Detroit (1825) ; the " W a h r h e i t s f r e u n d " of Cincinnati (1837) ; and the " P a t r i o t e " of St. Albans, Vermont (1839).

CHAPTEB

II

SECOND PERIOD (1840-84) After the struggles of American Catholic journalism during the formative period, a new era set in, marked by the rise of new and more efficient journals. The anti-Catholic attacks which inspired and occasioned the rise of various publications had hitherto been restricted, for the most part, to writing and speaking. But after 1840 matters took a more serious turn in the use of force on the part of adversaries. The Catholic press became more aggressive in meeting these attacks, and new journals sprang up on all sides which rallied to the cause. The encouragement given to the press by succeeding provincial and plenary councils of Baltimore did much to foster and develop Catholic journalism. In many instances Bishops and priests were responsible for the rise of new journals, and, to a great extent, formed the editorial staffs of these papers, especially diocesan organs. But there were not lacking laymen of experience who assisted materially in furthering the cause of the Catholic press. One may not pass over in silence the work accomplished by such men as James W. White, Eugene Casserly, John T. Devereaux, and James A. McMaster, who at one time or other edited the "Freeman's Journal" of New York. Nor may we forget the con12

SECOND PERIOD

13

tributions to Catholic journalistic history made by Orestes A. Brownson, John Boyle O'Reilly, Martin Spalding, Dr. Reynolds, Benjamin J . Webb, D'Arcy McGee, and others. The growth and expansion of the nation, due to the host of immigrants who came here from various European countries, many of whom were Catholics, necessitated the formation of new dioceses and, consequently, new centers from which Catholic journals might radiate the Catholic news of the world and the views of the Church. The tenacity with which the immigrants clung to their mother tongues contributed to the number of papers which rose during this time. Yet there were handicaps. The Catholic press was barely self-supporting and, for the most part, unable to engage editors and writers of merit. Hence many of the new journals were not so skillfully edited nor so carefully managed as might have been desired. Still there was a notable movement carried on throughout this period for the betterment of the press in all its departments. The visit of the Irish temperance apostle, Father Theobald Mathew, O.M.Cap., was the signal for the growth and development of the Catholic temperance movement in America. Catholic societies too were formed in almost every diocese, some of which were local organizations, some of national importance. Both the temperance journals and those of the societies contributed their quotas to the history of journalism during this period.

14

SECOND PERIOD T H E FREEMAN'S JOURNAL

In 1840 the " F r e e m a n ' s J o u r n a l " was begun in New York, and two years later it was acquired by Bishop Hughes as his official organ. Bishop Hughes made his secretary, the Reverend James Roosevelt Bayley, afterwards Archbishop of Baltimore, editor of the paper; but in 1847 the paper was sold to James A. McMaster, under whose skillful management it acquired a national reputation. During the days of "Native Americanism" the " F r e e m a n ' s J o u r n a l " played an important rôle in Catholic affairs in New York. The Native Americans (later called the Know Nothings) had burned many homes, convents, and churches of Catholics in Philadelphia. In New York similar scenes might have occurred had it not been for the Catholic press. Archbishop Bayley says : The Natives had elected a mayor; the city would in a few days be in their hands ; a public meeting was called in the park, and all seemed to promise a repetition of the scenes in the sister city. A bold, stern extra issued from the office of the Freeman's Journal actually sent terror into the hearts of the would-be-rioters. It was known that Catholics would defend their churches to the last gasp. 1

Echoing the words of Bishop Hughes, " T h e law intends that citizens shall defend their own property, ' ' an editorial in the extra edition stated : 1 Bayley, Rev. J. E. " B r i e f Sketch of the History of the Catholic Church in the Island of New York," Catholic World, Vol. X, January, 1870, p. 517.

SECOND PERIOD

15

If, as has already appeared in Philadelphia, it should be part of Native Americanism to attack their [the Catholics'] houses or churches, then it behooves them, in case all other protection fail, to defend both with their lives. In this they will not be acting against the law, but for the law. . . . But in no case let them suffer an act of outrage on their property without repelling the aggression at all hazards.2

The outcome was that the scheduled meeting was countermanded and New York was spared the horrors of Philadelphia. OTHER CATHOLIC JOURNALS

Other Catholic weeklies which appeared during the years 1840-50 were: the "New England Reporter and Catholic D i a r y " of Boston, Massachusetts (1843-47) ; the " W e s t e r n Catholic Register" of Detroit (1843-45) ; the "Catholic Sentinel" of New Orleans (1845-46); the "Boston T a b l e t " of Boston (1845-45) ; the "Roman Catholic Observer" of Boston (1847-50); the " M i r r o r " of Baltimore (1849), which continued publication until 1908, and the " I r i s h American" (1849) which absorbed the " T r u t h Teller" in 1855. This journal was founded by Patrick Lynch and was edited, 1857-1906, by his stepson Patrick J . Meehan. The "Catholic" of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was begun on March 16, 1844, by Bishop Michael O 'Connor. The first manager and proprietor was J . F. Boylan, who in 1847 sold his interest in the paper to 2 Shea, John Gilmary. Vol. IV, p. 106.

16

SECOND PERIOD

James Porter and Henry McNaughton. Porter remained the joint proprietor of the paper for the following forty-two years. Among the noteworthy editors of the "Catholic" was the Reverend Hugh P. Gallagher, who later founded the "Catholic Stand a r d " of San Francisco, California. A four-page "Catholic News L e t t e r " was published in St. Louis, by William J . Mullen and edited by ' ' an association of gentlemen. ' ' The first number of the "News Letter" appeared on November 22, 1845, and the journal expired in 1849. Journals published in foreign languages during this decade were : the ' ' Propagateur Catholique ' ' of New Orleans (1842) ; the "Katholische Kirchen Zeit u n g " of Baltimore (1846); the "Katholische Kirchen Zeitung" of Jamaica, New York (1846). DECADE PRECEDING THE CIVIL W A R

The early fifties witnessed the rise of several German Catholic newspapers in various parts of the country. In Buffalo, New York, there appeared the "Central Zeitung fuer Katholische Vereine und Familien" issued weekly in the interest of German Catholic societies and the family; in New Orleans the "Echo von New Orleans" was edited by the Reverend Leonhard Thevis. Other German journals of the decade were: the "Herold des Glaubens" of St. Louis (1850); "Aurora und Christliche Woche" of Buffalo (1851) ; "Taegliche Pittsburgh Republikaner" a daily of

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17

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (1852); "Katholische Wochenblatt" of Chicago (1859) and "Katholische Volkszeitung" of Baltimore (1859) which enjoyed a wide circulation throughout the country and continued publication until 1914. An interesting paper of the decade immediately preceding the Civil W a r was the ' ' Tablet. ' ' In 1848 Thomas D'Arcy McGree founded the " N a t i o n " in New York, but soon became involved in a controversy with Archbishop Hughes, who withdrew his support from the paper because of its views on the Irish national question. The journal expired in 1850. McGee then founded the "American Celt" in Boston, moved it to Buffalo and finally to New Work City. In 1857 this journal was sold to D. J . Sadlier, and was thereafter known as the " T a b l e t . " Among its noted editors were Orestes A. Brownson, Dr. Henry J . Anderson, and Lawrence Kehoe. The " T a b l e t " suspended in 1890. T H E PROVINCIAL S Y N O D OF N E W Y O R K ,

1854

Archbishop Hughes of New York, who had edited the " H e r a l d " of Philadelphia and had interested himself in various other journals, had frequent tilts with the editors of the " N a t i o n " and other Irish national journals. He referred to them as " t h e socalled Catholic p a p e r s , " and strenuously sought to counteract their influence. He succeeded in drawing Catholic public opinion from them and was instrumental in causing some of them to cease publication. In the synod of the ecclesiastical Province of New

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York, which Archibishop Hughes called in September, 1854, the subject of the Catholic press was treated. A pastoral letter which emanated from the synod informed Catholics of the various matters which had been the subject of discussion and then continued : Two other subjects have engaged the attention of the fathers in the council which has just been brought to a close. One is the indiscriminate reception into your families of journals not at all calculated to impart, either to you or those committed to your care, those solid maxims of public instruction which would tend to edification. We do not intend to speak of merely secular papers, but we do speak rather of those which, taking advantage of certain feelings supposed to be alive in your breasts, whether in reference to kindred, country, or religion, involve you in political relations which it would be expedient for you to avoid, except, indeed, in the sense in which it is the right of every free man to give his vote freely, conscientiously, individually, as often as the laws of the country call upon and authorize him to do so. There appears to be abroad an ignorance or a prejudice on this subject which it would be our desire and to your interest to have removed. It is to the effect that every paper which advocates, or professes to advocate, the Catholic religion, or which advocates some imaginary foreign interest in this country, is, as a matter of course, under the direction of the priests and bishops in the locality where it is published, and consequently authorized to speak for and in the name of the Catholic Church. Hence when editors of such papers publish their own sentiments by virtue of their indisputable right to exercise the liberty of the press, it is

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assumed by persons outside our communion that they speak in the name of the Church, and under the direction of her pastors. Nothing could be more false than this inference, and we exhort you, venerable and beloved brethren, to leave nothing unsaid or undone to remove every shadow of foundation for this inference, so absurd in itself, but yet so injurious to us.3

In 1859 the " F r e e m a n ' s J o u r n a l " came into conflict with the Archbishop of New York, who thereupon founded the "Metropolitan Record," which was edited during the whole of its history (185973) by John Mullaly. It was the official organ of Archbishop Hughes until this journal, too, fell into his disfavor owing to its policy during the Civil War. Other journals of the decade were: the "Catholic Weekly I n s t r u c t o r " of Philadelphia (1850); the "Western Tablet" of Chicago (1852) of which James A. Mulligan of Civil W a r fame was editor; the " C r u s a d e r " of Summit, Pennsylvania (1852); the "Detroit Catholic Vindicator" of Detroit (1852); the "Catholic P i o n e e r " of Albany, New York (1853) ; the "Catholic S t a n d a r d " of San Francisco (1853); the "Buffalo Sentinel" of Buffalo, New York (1853); the "Catholic Messenger" of New Orleans (1853), and its successor the "Southe m J o u r n a l " of the same city (1854) ; the "Roman Guardian" of Rome, New York (1853) ; the "Catholic V i s i t o r " of Philadelphia (1856), which was 3 History of the Catholic Church in New York, Smith, John Talbot. Vol. I, p. 214.

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merged the following year with the "Catholic Hera l d " as the "Catholic Herald and Visitor" (1857), under the management of James McDonald, Charles S. Green and Charles A. Reppelier, (the paper ceased publication about 1865) ; the "Catholic Stand a r d " of New Orleans (about 1859). In May, 1858 the "Catholic Guardian" was founded by members of the local Particular Council of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, at Louisville, Kentucky. This journal took the place of the "Catholic Advocate" which had been consolidated with the "Catholic Telegraph" of Cincinnati in 1850. The "Catholic Guardian" was forced to suspend in July, 1862 because of the Civil War ; but was revived later as the "Catholic Central Advocate." The "Shepherd of the Valley" of St. Louis, which had suspended publication in 1839 was revived in 1851 ; but after three years it ceased to be a Catholic publication and became the organ of the Know Nothings. It was followed by the "Catholic Leader" (1855), the "Western Banner" (about 1858), and the "Guardian" (a few years later) none of which endured. T H E CIVIL W A R PERIOD

When the Civil War broke out the Catholic Church was faced with the same problems that had to be confronted by every organization having constituents both in the North and in the South. There were individual expressions of partisan opinion, but no open rupture. In the main, both in the North and

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in the South, there reigned a spirit of charity within the Catholic body, despite the differences of opinion upon the causes at stake. This spirit was encouraged actively by the Bishops. In New York, Archbishop Hughes withdrew his support from the "Metropolitan Becord," which had been his officiai organ, because he disagreed with its course of action. Correspondence between Archibishop Hughes and Bishop Lynch of Charleston shows clearly the moderation earnestly desired by both. Although he deplored the action of the southern states in seceding from the Union, the Archbisop of New York would not countenance anything that might tend to inflame the public mind. But this sentiment of the Bishops was not shared by James A. McMaster, editor of the "Freeman's Journal." At the outset of the war his paper took strong issue with southern writers such as Bishop Lynch and the Reverend Nicholas Perché. Later, the paper veered about to the opposite extreme in scathingly condemning the conduct of the party in power in the northern states. The Government forbade the use of the mails to several journals of the time, among them the ' ' Freeman's Journal, ' ' which was suppressed with the issue of August 24, 1861. The editor was arrested, as Shea says, "without warrant or indictment, and long confined a close prisoner in Fort Lafayette." 4 McMaster was never * Shea, John Gilmary. Vol. IV, p. 472.

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brought to trial and, after his release, recommenced the publication of his journal on April 19, 1862. Previous to the Civil War there appeared at Augusta, Georgia, the "Banner of the South," edited by the poet-priest, the Reverend Abram Ryan, later also the editor of the "Morning S t a r " of New Orleans (1867). In the latter task he was ably assisted by James R. Randall. Practically no new Catholic journal arose during the trying days of the war ; but several papers were forced by circumstances to discontinue publication. Among these was the "United States Catholic Miscellany," which during its long and at times uncertain history (1822-61) had served the Catholic community well. During the remaining five years of the decade (1865-70) there appeared the "Western Watchman" of St. Louis, Missouri (1865), edited by the Reverend Dr. S. Phelan; the "Spectator" of Washington, D.C. (1865); the " S t a n d a r d " of Philadelphia (1866) ; the "Northwestern Chronicle" of Minneapolis (1866) ; the "Columbian" of Chicago (1867) ; the "Sunday Democrat" edited by Dr. Michael J. Walsh, New York (1867) ; the "Western Catholic" of Detroit (1868); the "Brooklyn Catholic" of Brooklyn (1869-70); the "Catholic Central Advocate" of Louisville, Kentucky (1869) ; the "Catholic Sentinel" of Kansas City, Missouri (1869); the " I r i s h Citizen" of Chicago, Illinois (1869); the " E m e r a l d , " a secular journal under Catholic auspices, of New York (1869); the "Monitor" of San

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Francisco (1869) ; and the "Augustinian" of Kalamazoo, Michigan (1869). The "Universe" founded in Philadelphia, 1866, bore as its mottto the Ciceronian standard of uprightness, "Neither dare to say anything that is false, nor fear to say anything that is true, nor give suspicion of favor or prejudice." The journal expired in 1870. Of the papers in the English language founded during this decade the " S t a n d a r d " of Philadelphia, the "Western Watchman" of St. Louis, the "Northwestern Chronicle" of Minneapolis, and the Monit o r " of San Francisco have come down to us. The rest were more or less short-lived. During these years there appeared a few journals in the German language, notably the "Katholischer Glaubensbote" of Louisville, Kentucky (1866) ; the " W a n d e r e r " of St. Paul, Minnesota (1867); and the Buffalo Volksfreund," a daily, of Buffalo, New York (1868). T H E SECOND P L E N A R Y COUNCIL OF BALTIMORE

The echoes of the Civil War had hardly died away when the Most Reverend Martin J. Spalding, Archbishop of Baltimore, issued the call to all Catholic Bishops in the United States to assemble for the Second Plenary Council. The date of the Council had originally been fixed for 1862, but the outbreak of the war made a meeting at that time impossible. In the fall of 1866 the Bishops assembled in Baltimore, and among their deliberations a conspicuous

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place was given to the Catholic press. The prelates had some very definite ideas with regard to what had been accomplished and what might be done with cooperation and good will. In the pastoral letter which emanated from the Council, they say: We cheerfully acknowledge the services the Catholic press has rendered to religion as also the disinterestedness with which, in most instances, it has been conducted, although yielding to publishers and editors a very insufficient return for their labors. We exhort the Catholic community to extend to these publications a more liberal support, in order that they may be enabled to become more worthy of the great cause they advocate. We remind them that the power of the press is one of the most striking features of modern society ; and that it is our duty to avail ourselves of this mode of making known the truths of our religion, and removing the misapprehensions which so generally prevail in regard to them. 5

The prelates of the Council, while recognizing the ability with which the Catholic press had functioned in the past, were very desirous that no misunderstanding should exist with regard to the authority with which these journals made statements for the Church. Hence we read in the Acta et Decreta of the Council : Journals edited or directed by Catholics indirectly contributing to the advantage of religion must exist. But for fear lest political opinions of the writers may be attributed s 1 ' Pastoral letter of the Second Plenary Council of Baltimore, ' ' Catholic World, Vol. IV, p. 427.

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to ecclesiastical authority, or to Christianity itself, as often happens, thanks to the bad faith of adversaries, we desire that all should be duly warned not to recognize any journal as Catholic unless it bears the express approbation of the ordinary. 6

The prelates then speak of the various diocesan organs, some of them owned by the diocesses, others under private ownership, all bearing the approbation of the Ordinary. They wish to have it clearly understood that these have not always an official character, despite the approbation; and that frequently matters treated in them cause difficulties, " f o r whatever may be written by these editors, who may often be controlled by passions, private and political, is laid to the account of the Bishop, and seems to form part of his pastoral teaching." 7 Nothing was further from the minds of the prelates than to admit this common misunderstanding, and they proceeded to explain just what constituted, in their opinion, an ecclesiastical journal : In order that such a responsibility may cease to weigh upon the episcopate, and in order to set forth clearly the relations between the ordinary and the ecclesiastical journals, the fathers declare that the approbation accorded by a Bishop to a Catholic journal merely signifies that he has not found in it anything contrary to faith and morals, and that he hopes such will be the case in future; and, moreover, that the editors are well-deserving men, and their writings 6 Acta et decreta concilii plenarii Baltimorensis I I , Tit. xi. Translation in the Catholic World, Vol. IX, 1869, p. 510. ι Acta et decreta as previously quoted.

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useful and edifying. The Bishop, then, is only responsible for what appears in the paper as his own teaching, counsel, exhortation or command, and for this, only when signed with his own hand.8

The Council's Acts speak of the establishment at some future time of a journal which should be devoted solely to the exposition and defense of Catholic doctrine, of which the Archbishops of Baltimore, New York, and others, if they wish, would have the ownership. The question was submitted by the Council to the judgment of the Ordinaries; but nothing ever came of the suggestion. The next twenty years, however, saw feverish efforts for the establishment of Catholic journals in almost every important city of the United States. Little time was lost after the publication of the pastoral letter of the Second Plenary Council of Baltimore before a whole host of Catholic journals, mostly diocesan, made their appearance. The limits of this treatise will permit little more than passing mention of the names and dates of foundation of these papers, and of such other noteworthy features as may have come to light in the process of research. Journals of the period which have had long and interesting histories are the "Catholic Citizen" of Milwaukee (1870); the "Universe" of Cleveland (1874) ; the "Catholic Tribune" of St. Joseph, Missouri (1878); the "Catholic Union," later the ' ' Catholic Union and Times ' ' of Buffalo, New York (1872); the "Catholic Sentinel" of Portland, Oreβ Acta et decreta, as previously quoted.

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gon (1869); the "Catholic Visitor" of Providence, Rhode Island (1873; the "Connecticut Catholic," later known as the "Catholic T r a n s c r i p t " of Hartford, Connecticut (1876); the " R e c o r d " of Louisville, Kentucky (1879); the "Catholic Messenger" of Davenport, Iowa (1882); and the "Michigan Catholic" of Detroit (1883). The "Catholic Citizen" of Milwaukee, is especially noteworthy. In 1869 the " S t a r of Bethlehem," a monthly, was established in Milwaukee, but was sold two years later to the "Catholic Vindicator" which had been established in 1870. Both were merged in 1871. In November, 1878 Edward A. Bray and the Reverend Gr. L. Willard acquired the ' ' Catholic Vindicator" and called it the "Catholic Citizen. ' ' Humphrey J . Desmond, who assumed editorial charge in 1880, later evolved a chain of Catholic papers, published by the Citizen Company of Milwaukee. Some of the journals were merged and lost their identity ; but the company continues to publish the "Catholic Citizen" of Milwaukee, the "Northwestern Chronicle" of Minneapolis, the "Catholic Journal of the New S o u t h " of Memphis, Tennessee, and the "New Century" of Washington, D.C. There was at this time no more zealous apostle for the Catholic press than Father Isaac Hecker, founder of the Paulists. He founded the Catholic Publication Society, which received commendation from the Second Plenary Council of Baltimore. He established, in 1865, the "Catholic W o r l d " and five years later the "Young Catholic." He did not con-

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fine himself to the publication of periodicals but looked forward to the publication of a Catholic daily in New York. Only ill health prevented the realization of his ambition. Father Elliott in "The Life of Father Hecker" 9 says : Not more than a few words need be said of his undertaking to buy a New York daily paper. It happened that in 1871 a prominent journal, a member of the Associated Press, could be bought for three hundred thousand dollars. In an instant, as it seems, Father Hecker grasped the opportunity. By personal appeals to the rich men of the city more than half the sum required was subscribed, Archbishop McCloskey heading the list with a large amount. But soon the doctors had to be called in, and the enterprise went no further.

About this time, 1872, the "Catholic Review" was founded in New York by Patrick V. Hickey, a progressive and practical journalist who had been trained on the New York " W o r l d " by William H. Hurlbert. 10 Hickey sought out the best Catholic talent of the period. John McCarthy, Maurice Francis Egan, Arthur Marshall, and Margaret Sullivan were among his editorial contributors. He also edited the ' ' Catholic American ' ' and the ' ' Illustrated Catholic American," both weeklies. The great ambition of Hickley's life was the 9 The Columbus Press, 1891, p. 358. 10 Ecclesiastical Review, Vol. X, p. 505.

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founding of a Catholic daily and he was making preparations for the undertaking when death overtook him in 1889.11 Ten years after Hickey's death his "Catholic Review" was absorbed by the Citizen Company of Milwaukee. In 1872 the " W e s t e r n Home J o u r n a l " of Detroit was founded; and Bishop Mullen of Erie, Pennsylvania, commenced the publication of the " L a k e Shore Visitor" that year. The " L a k e Shore Visit o r " did not have a long existence, but a new journal with the same name has since been published. In the year 1872, too, Marc F. Valette began to edit the short-lived "Catholic H e r a l d " of Philadelphia. The year 1873 saw the foundation of the "Catholic Visitor" of Portland, Maine; the "Catholic Citizen" of Newark, New Jersey; the "Metropolit a n " of San Francisco; another "Metropolitan" of New York; and the "Union and Catholic Times" also of New York. In 1873 the "Sunday U n i o n " was founded in New York. It was edited by the tactful and capable journalist, William O 'Brien, and represented for a long time the temperance movement in New York.12 During the following year, 1874, there appeared in St. Paul, Minnesota, the "Western Times," formerly the "Northwestern Chronicle"; the "United States Catholic Register" in Baltimore; the "Catholic Columbian" in Columbus, Ohio; the "Uni11

Smith, John Talbot. History of the Catholic Church in New York, Vol. II, pp. 401, 522. 12 Smith, John Talbot. Vol. II, p. 401.

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v e r s e " founded by Bishop Gilmour of Cleveland and edited at first by Manley Tello, in Cleveland; the "Catholic Reflector" in Albany, New York; the " P i l o t " in Chicago ; the "Southern Catholic" at Memphis, Tennessee, which soon suspended ; and the "Catholic Visitor" at Lockport, New York. The first of the Catholic Temperance Association's journals was established in 1874 in Philadelphia. Catholic temperance work had been inaugurated by the visit of Father Mathew to this country in 1849 ; but it was not until 1872 that the various independent groups united at a convention held in Baltimore. The Union was called the Catholic Total Abstinence Union of America, with nation-wide membership. The first journal of the Union was the "C.T.A. Ledger." About 1880, the "C.T.A. N e w s " was founded in Philadelphia, and during that year the "Catholic Temperance Advocate" appeared at Providence, Rhode Island, as the official organ of the Catholic Total Abstinence Union. About this time, that is before 1875, there were founded the " G u a r d i a n " of San Francisco and the " H i b e r n i a n " of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 1875 a number of new journals were published, among which were : the ' ' Catholic Visitor ' ' of Richmond, Virginia, and the "Catholic Journal of the New S o u t h " of Memphis, Tennessee, called at first " A d a m . " The "Catholic J o u r n a l " has since been acquired by the Citizen Company and is published from Milwaukee. The "Central Catholic" was founded at Indian-

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apolis in 1875 and Dr. Middleton says: "No. 44 of vol. IV, dated April 19, 1879, names a Mr. Bell as editor." 13 The first attempt at a Catholic daily newspaper in the English language was made without success in New York. F o r a short time in 1875 Peter McCorry edited the "Daily Telegraph," which was soon forced to cease publication. A f t e r it had expired no further attempt was made during this period to found a Catholic daily newspaper. During the following year, 1876, there appeared a noteworthy journal, the "Connecticut Catholic" later called the "Catholic Transcript" of Hartford, Connecticut, which contained what Thomas F. Meehan has called ' ' one of the most interesting and wellwritten editorial pages in the whole Catholic circuit." 1 4 Other journals which arose during the year 1876, but which had not the lasting characteristics of the "Catholic Transcript," were "McGee's Illustrated Weekly" of New York, and the "Catholic Messenger" of Parkersburg, West Virginia. During the last three years of the decade, (187780), there apeared the "Catholic T r i b u n e " of Kansas City, Missouri (1877?); the "Catholic Times" of Rochester, New York (1877-81); the "Church P r o g r e s s " of St. Louis, which merged with the "Catholic W o r l d " of Illinois as a rival of the 13

Middleton, Rev. Dr. Thomas C. Records of the American Catholic Historical Society, Vol. X I X , p. 30. « McGuire, C. E. Catholic Builders of America, Vol. V, p. 224.

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PERIOD

" W a t c h m a n " (1878-1929) ; the "Catholic T r i b u n e " of St. Joseph, Missouri (1878) ; the "Catholic Teleg r a p h " of Albany, New York (1878) ; the "Catholic Advance" of Philadelphia (1879) and the " R e c o r d " of Louisville, Kentucky (1879). The first four years of the following decade saw the foundation of the "Illustrated Catholic Ameri c a n " of New York, edited by Patrick Y. Hickey (1880); the "New England Catholic H e r a l d " of Lawrence, Massachusetts (1880), at Boston in 1885, ceased as the "Catholic H e r a l d " at New York, 1887; the "Republic" of Boston (1881) ; the "Catholic Exa m i n e r " of Brooklyn, New York (1882) ; the "Catholic Messenger" of Davenport, Iowa (1882); the " Catholic Home " a family weekly of Chicago (1882) ; the " K a n s a s Catholic" of Leavenworth (1882) ; the " E m e r a l d Vindicator" of Pittsburgh (1882), moved to Norfolk, Virginia, in 1888 and was suspended the following year; the "Working B o y " (1883) and the " O r p h a n ' s F r i e n d " (1883) both of Boston; the " A n g e l u s " of Detroit (1883); "Vesper Bells" of Philadelphia, a juvenile weekly (1883) ; the "Michigan Catholic" of Detroit (1883) and the " I r i s h S t a n d a r d " of St. Paul, Minnesota (1884). FOREIGN-LANGUAGE

JOURNALS

Immigration was on the increase during a long period following the Civil War. Germans, Poles, Bohemians, Lithuanians, Italians, and others sought the refuge of friendly shores. As they usually set-

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tied in areas where they were in communication with their fellow countrymen, there soon arose a series of well-edited Catholic papers in foreign languages. Among the German papers which appeared during this period, 1870-84, were the "Luxemburger Gazette" of Dubuque, Iowa (1871); "Distmerika," a daily of St. Louis (1872); "Nord-Amerika" of Philadelphia (1872) ; the "Katholische Zeitung" of Milwaukee (1873); "Columbia" of Cleveland (1873); the "Ohio Waisenfreund," first of Pomeroy, later of Cleveland, Ohio (1873); the "New Yorker P r e s s e , " a daily of New York (1873) ; the "Philadelphia Volksblatt" of Philadelphia (about 1873) ; the " V o l k s f r e u n d " of Richmond, Virginia (1873) ; the "Rochester Wochenblatt" of Rochester, New York (before 1874); " G e r m a n i a " a daily, of Quincy, Illinois (1874) ; "Concordia." of Green Bay, Wisconsin (1874); the "Stimme der W a h r h e i t " of Detroit (1875); " I o w a " of Dubuque, Iowa (1875); the "Christliche Woche" of Buffalo, New York (1875); " N e w Yorker Volksblatt" of New York (1878); "Katholischer J u g e n f r e u n d " a juvenile weekly of New York and Chicago (1878) ; the "Katholische Volkszeitung" of Rochester, New York (1881) ; the " N o r d s t e r n " of St. Cloud, Minnesota (1882); and the "Exclesior-Patriot" of Milwaukee (1883). Other foreign language groups had their journals as well as the Germans, and during this period may be noted especially the rise of the Polish journals.

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The immigration of Polish masses began in 1854 and was rapid in growth. The financial panic of 1873 checked, for a time, the flow of immigrants, but in 1875 there were in the United States one hundred and fifty thousand Poles, twenty thousand of whom resided in Chicago. The first Polish journal, established in New York, devoted to the condition of the Poles in the motherland, was the " E c h o ζ Polski." Its first issue appeared on June 1, 1863. The paper expired in 1865. Other journals followed the "Echo ζ Polski." The "Orziel B i a l y " (The White Eagle) was published (1870-75) at Washington, Missouri. The "Pielg r z y m " (Pilgrim), founded by Joseph Barzynski at Union, Missouri, was moved later to Detroit, Michigan. In 1875 Barzynski took his paper to Chicago as a rival of the nationalistic organ "Gazeta Polska," founded in 1873 by Ladislaus Dyniewicz. In Chicago the " P i e l g r z y m " was known as the "Gazeta Katolicka," and was edited by Joseph Barzynski under the guidance of his relative Father Vincent Barzynski of the Resurrectionist Fathers, until his death in 1880. Ladislaus Smulski succeeded Barzynski as editor of the paper. The first Catholic paper in the Bohemian language was " H l a s " (the Voice) of St. Louis, founded about 1871 by Monsignor Joseph Hessoun. Other foreign language journals of the period were the "Osservatore Cattolico" of New York (1875); the " J o u r n a l de Noticias" (Portugese) of Erie,

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Pennsylvania (1877); the " S t a n d a r d " (Dutch) of De Pere, Wisconsin (1878) ; the " M e s s a g e r " of Lewiston, Maine (1880) and the "Echo de l'Ouest" of Minneapolis, founded 1883, which expired in 1929.

CHAPTER

III

THIRD P E R I O D (1884-1919) The impetus given to the foundation of Catholic journals by the Second Plenary Council of Baltimore was not lessened by the pronouncements of the Third Plenary Council which convened in the same city in 1884. However, in the general rush to found papers in the various parts of the country, no united effort was used, nor was there ecclesiastical supervision to any great extent, with the result that several journals sprang up in the territory already occupied by other papers. This forced some of the existing journals to cease publication ; and in some instances the divided public refused to support the newcomer. This accounts to some extent f o r the discontinuation of many Catholic papers during this period. Even though lacking ecclesiastical supervision, journals which were labeled "Catholic" were published by laymen, in some cases not even Catholics, with the result that these papers soon found themselves in difficulties with the Bishops. Before the opening of the new century there was a desire manifested by some of the earnest Catholic journalists for a more truly representative press. Leo X I I I touched on the state of affiars in the Amer36

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ican Catholic press in his encyclical letter Longinqua ocecmi. And the influence of the Pope, the strong stand of the Bishops, and the efforts of genuinely Catholic journalists prevented, in a measure, the rise of too many so-called "Catholic" papers. The need, greatly felt and often expressed, for a centralized press with some sort of news agency, was filled to some extent by the formation of the Catholic Press Association following the Catholic Lay Congress of 1889. But it was not until many years later (1911) that the Association was practically established, and began to function in a helpful manner. T H E T H I B D PLENARY COUNCIL

The " A c t a et Decreta" of the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore contain an entire chapter on the press, which deserves a place in the history of Catholic journalism in the United States, both as an authoritative statement of the condition of the press of the time, and as an indication of what the prelates hoped f o r from the Catholic press of the future. Chapter IV of the " A c t a et Decreta" reads (in translation) : With regard to periodicals, we earnestly desire that there be one for each Province, which should be commended and encouraged, and, if necessary, be supported by the Bishops with gifts of money, whether this be done in Provincial Councils or otherwise, as they shall judge best. Periodicals or diocesan journals, as they are called, which are read especially by those who live in rural districts, and preclude recourse to those papers which we style the ' ' Sun-

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day Papers," which often attack faith and morals, are to be commended ; but, we nevertheless think that it would better profit our Catholic people if there were but one paper for each Province. For it is easier, where there is but one, to use the abilities of more talented writers, and to grow better day by day. It is also greatly to be desired that in some of our larger cities there be a daily paper which, in its appearance and the authority of the writers, both as to talent and weight of opinion, will equal that of the secular press. It is not necessary that this paper bear the name "Catholic." It is sufficient that, besides the news and other departments embraced in these papers, this journal sedulously strive, whenever a favorable opportunity presents itself, to defend the Catholic religion from the attacks and calumnies of its enemies, and explain the doctrine of the Church; and, furthermore to keep carefully from the eyes of the reader whatever is scandalous or obscene. While we commend Catholic periodicals, we also wish to admonish the faithful that not every paper that bears the name "Catholic" is by that token a really Catholic paper. The writers of these glory in the Catholic name, but by their example and writings besmirch that name and expose it to contempt. For they broadcast their own opinions, which are often little less than the comments of the incredulous and innovators regarding the origin of human society and the limits of civil power. Furthermore, by trickery, fraud and honeyed words they seek to undermine the authority of the Church, or even brazenly debauch it. Only those periodicals shall be considered Catholic which expose and defend the Church, describe the progress of the Church at home and abroad, and are prepared to subject themselves to the authority of the Church in all things. But, not everything that is found in these papers, even such as are

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truly Catholic, is to be considered as emanating from the Church herself or from the authority of the Bishops. Wherefore, lest incautious readers be deceived, our predecessors have well provided for this. . . [here follow the words of the Second Plenary Council previously quoted]. Wherefore, we earnestly entreat and urge all, whether clerics or laymen, to whose care these periodicals have been entrusted, to see to it that they perform their duty, and in their lives and morals, commend themselves to the Faithful. In the first place, whatever they write themselves or insert into their papers shall conform to the laws of Christian charity and modesty. Even when there is a question of defending our most holy religion from the attacks and calumnies of adversaries, let them remember that the enemies of divine truth are to be overthrown by the strength of argument rather than by harsh words, curses or wise sayings. This is surely required by justice and the holy cause which they have taken upon themselves to defend. Nor should they act differently when it is a question of legitimate difference of opinion, outside of faith, should controversy arise among Catholic writers themselves. If they wish to differ from the ideas of certain Catholic writers, let them differ, but let it be done without bitterness. Christian charity may well exist together with difference of opinion among "men of good will." We are happy to add the solemn words of the Sovereign Pontiff, Leo XIII, who says: " I n conducting controversies one must beware not to exceed the limits prescribed by the laws of justice and charity; nor to bring into suspicion lightly men who are otherwise loyal to the Church, especially such as have dignity and power. ' ' 1 We are much disturbed to think that our pastoral office ι Litt. Licet multa, August 3, 1881.

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forces us again and again to admonish the writers in our Catholic periodicals, neither by themselves or through other writers to flay ecclesiastics, especially the Bishops, nor boldly to be untruthful about, pass judgment upon or belittle the opinions, decrees and decisions which they render in the performance of their diocesan duties, and thus bring them into contempt and derision on the part of the Faithful and non-Catholics alike. Let them learn to subject themselves to those in authority. Let them commend themselves by their example and writings to their superiors. Our thoughts here return to the wise counsels and commands of the Supreme Father and Master of the Faithful, who says: "Above all let Catholic writers remember to keep sacred the name of the Bishops, to whom has been given a high degree of authority and whose office is worthy of honor. Nor should private individuals question those things which their holy pastors have decreed, by reason of their power; otherwise great and unbearable disturbances of order will follow. And this reverence which it is lawful for no one to neglect, should especially be conspicuous and exemplary in the authors of Catholic periodicals. ' ' 2 But, lest this evil which has arisen among us and has increased from day to day to the scandal of the Faithful and non-Catholics, should grow and remain unpunished it is to be met not only with admonitions and exhortations but with ecclesiastical punishments as well. Wherefore, if in future clerics or laymen, either by themselves or through others instigated by them, in papers or pamphlets publicly distributed, cast calumnies, curses or threats at ecclesiastics, especially those who are constituted in authority, and in particular if they presume to belittle or condemn in such 2 Litt. SS. D. Ν. Leonis XIII, Cognita Nolis, January 25, 1883.

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papers or pamphlets the things which are decreed by the Bishops in. the government of their dioceses, we declare that these writers, the participants, or those who encourage this most pernicious abuse, are disturbers of the peace, enemies and contemners of ecclesiastical authority, guilty of gravest scandal, and therefore worthy, if their guilt is sufficiently proven, of canonical censures.3

In the pastoral letter which emanated from the Council the prelates stress the importance of supporting the Catholic press, and urge Catholics to consider it a duty to subscribe to Catholic journals. The hopes of the Third Plenary Council for the establishment of Provincial papers was never realized, chiefly because the existing journals were in the hands of private individuals or private corporations — only in rare instances were the papers actually owned by the Bishop or diocese. The idea of daily newspapers in larger centers was realized among the foreign language groups; but only one ill-starred attempt was made, in Buffalo, to publish a daily in the English language. Still the idea of eventually publishing a daily paper was never quite abandoned and the topic formed a subject of frequent discussion among journalists and in Catholic periodicals. T H E L A S T T w o DECADES OF T H E N I N E T E E N T H C E N T U R Y

Fewer in number, but more permanent in endurance, were the journals established in the years im3

Acta et decreta eoneilii plenarii Baltimorensis III, Caput IV.

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mediately following the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore. Among the journals established during the remaining portion of the last two decades of the century were: the "Young Catholic Messenger" of Dayton, Ohio (1885); the "Catholic Weekly" of Troy, New York (1885); "Parochial Schools," a school weekly of Phlox, Wisconsin (1886) ; the "Catholic Record" of Scranton, Pennsylvania (1886) ; the "Louisville T r i b u n e " of Louisville, Kentucky (1886) — called the "Celtic News" or the "Celtic Review" in 1887—-; the " M e s s e n g e r " of Worcester, Massachusetts (1886); the "Marlboro S t a r " of Marlboro, Massachusetts (1886); the " N e w Jersey Catholic J o u r n a l " of Trenton, New Jersey (1886). The ' ' Catholic News ' ' of New York, was founded in 1886 by Herman Ridder. The scholarly Catholic American historian, Dr. John Grilmary Shea, closed his eventful career as its editor, on February 22, 1892. Other papers which followed the ' ' Catholic News ' ' in date of foundation were the "Catholic L i g h t " of Scranton, Pennsylvania (about 1887); the "Texas Catholic" of Dallas, Texas (1888); the "California Catholic" of Los Angeles, California (1888); the "Sacred Heart Review" of Cambridge, Massachusetts, founded in 1888 by Monsignor O'Brien, enjoyed an enviable reputation among the journals of its time, during the thirty years of its existence ; the " H i g h l a n d e r " of Denver, Colorado (1888) ; and the "Catholic Citizen" of Chelsea, Massachusetts (1888).

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In 1889 there were founded the "Catholic Journ a l " of Rochester, New York and the " C o u r i e r " of Ogdensburg, New York, which later merged as the "Catholic Courier and J o u r n a l " of Rochester; the " I n d e p e n d e n t " of New York; the "Western C r o s s " of Kansas City, Missouri; the " F r e e m a n and Irish Review" of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and the " M o n i t o r " of West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. T H E CATHOLIC L A Y CONGRESS

As early as 1867 there had been agitation for a Catholic congress to be held in the United States after the example of the Catholic congresses in other lands. The "Catholic World" 4 said in reference to the Catholic press and a future Catholic congress : Of all the departments of public instruction, the press needs amongst us the improvement, encouragement and sanction which a congress is calculated to give. Think of Belgium, with only 5,000,000 inhabitants, supporting over fifty Catholic periodicals, and possessing numerous societies for the publication of cheap religious books and pamphlets. Our Catholic population in the United States is at least equal in number to that of the whole of Belgium. Yet with all our numbers and means we have not a daily paper under Catholic supervision, a most important work, to the establishment of which one of the first efforts of a Catholic congress with us should be directed. Those who complain of our Catholic press, and make invidious comparisons between the literary merit of our periodicals and our neighbors' should remember that edii Vol. V, 1867, No. 28, p. 439.

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tors are professional men, and not to be obtained for the wages of a day laborer; and that a first-class periodical must have a first-class circulation. A congress of editors would tend to elevate the tone of the Catholic press, and its voice would stimulate all classes to greater effort in promoting a more generous diffusion of this kind of literature. An increased circulation would enable the conductors of our journals to pay for original contributions, and engage the services of the first-class writers; an outlay which very few of them now have the means of making. T h e first Catholic c o n g r e s s of l a y m e n m e t in Baltimore, N o v e m b e r 11-12, 1889. A m o n g the p a p e r s on a m u l t i t u d e of subjects p e r t a i n i n g to the activities of the C h u r c h in general, which were r e a d b e f o r e it w a s one on ' ' T h e Catholic P e r i o d i c a l P r e s s , " by George D e e r i n g "Wolf, of N o r r i s t o w n , P e n n s y l v a n i a , sometime editor of the " S t a n d a r d " a n d of the " A m e r i c a n Catholic Q u a r t e r l y R e v i e w , " both of P h i l a d e l p h i a . T h e congress a d o p t e d a resolution r e c o m m e n d i n g the s u p p o r t of the Catholic p r e s s . T h o m a s F . Meehan says :5 Following the Catholic Lay Congress of 1889, a Catholic Press Association was formed and annual conventions were held, usually in conjunction with the national conventions of the Federation of Catholic Societies. Apart from passing resolutions urging the support of the Catholic press and the stimulus of social intercourse amongst those present, nothing of a very practical nature resulted from these meetings. s McGuire, C. E. Catholic Builders of America, Vol. IV, p. 227.

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I t was not until much later in this period (1911) that the Catholic Press Association, as we know it, was incorporated and began to function efficiently. Following the Catholic Lay Congress and the subsequent meeting of the Catholic editors, a number of new journals arose. The " L a y m a n " appeared at Indianapolis in 1890; the " L e a d e r " in Brooklyn, New York (1890), but ceased publication after three years; the "Lake Superior Catholic" at Duluth, Minnesota (1890); the "Catholic U n i o n " at New Bedford, Massachusetts (1891) ; the "Angelus Bell" a juvenile weekly at Detroit (1891); " F a c t s " at Chattanooga, Tennessee (1891); the " T e x a s Monit o r " of Galveston (1891) and the "Village Catholic" at Waterbury, Connecticut (about 1891). In 1892 the "Celtic C r o s s " appeared for a brief period at Denver, Colorado; the " N e w World," the diocesan organ of Chicago; the " S e m i n a r y " (eclectic) in New York; the "Southern Messenger" at San Antonio, Texas; the " J o u r n a l " in Philadelphia; the "Western Crusader" at Kansas City, Missouri; the "Providence Catholic" at Providence, Rhode Island ; "Young People" a juvenile weekly in Milwaukee; and the "New Century" in Washington, D. C., one of the papers still published by the Citizen Company of Milwaukee. In 1893 the Reverend Henry F. Xavier founded the "Catholic N e w s " of Yonkers, New York; but as there was a journal of that name in the neighboring city of New York, the name was changed after about a year to the "Home News and J o u r n a l . "

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In 1893 the "Catholic Times" was founded in Philadelphia as a rival to the " S t a n d a r d " of the same city. The Reverend L. A. Lambert, was the editor of the journal, which two years later merged with its rival and has since enjoyed an excellent reputation as the "Catholic Standard and Times." The first Catholic editors' convention was held in Chicago, at the time of the "World's Fair, 1893. Thirty-five Catholic papers and periodicals were represented and the meeting convened in the Memorial Art Palace on September 6. A permanent organization was effected with the Reverend A. P. Doyle, C.S.P., as president and T. A. Connelly of the "Catholic Universe" as secretary. 0 A

CONTROVERSY

The "American Ecclesiastical Review" of February, 1894, carried an article by Louis W. Reilly, who had been associated with a number of Catholic journals. The article bore the title, " T h e Weak Points of the Catholic P r e s s , " and occasioned several replies from Catholic journalists. As the controversy throws light on the state of Catholic journalism at the beginning of the last decade of the century, a summary is given here. Mr. Reilly maintained that the Catholic press labored under seven weaknesses, which would have to be corrected before Catholic journalism would be able to function properly and prove self-supporting. The first weakness was, according to Mr. Reilly, 6

Cf. Catholic Press Association Year Book, 1928.

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"lack of standing." He pointed out that many Catholic religious papers were not official publications under ecclesiastical supervision; and said that they were mere business enterprises to make money rather than to further the cause of religion. This occasioned, he said, three deplorable consequences: (a) The clergy, with rare exceptions, did nothing for the Catholic press, (b) The laity did not feel bound to sustain papers which could not be identified with the interests of the Church, and which were understood to be the undertakings of private individuals. (c) The fifty millions of non-Catholic neighbors had less respect for the Catholic press, the private property of unauthorized laymen, than they would have if it were the recognized organ of the Church. The second weakness was poverty — a lack of capital with which to purchase original matter. " A n a t t e m p t " he says, " w a s lately made to form a Catholic Press Syndicate," but the project failed for lack of support. Consequent upon poverty was the third weakness : " W a n t of competent editors," with the result that a number of Catholic journals were poorly edited and badly managed. The fourth weakness was " v a g a r i e s , " that is, failure to respect the limits of the field of religious journalism, by entering into the realms of scandal, personal abuse, and lack of courtesy. The fifth weakness was partisanship in politics, the inclination being towards the Democratic party,

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so that " i n the public mind, it is taken f o r granted that every Catholic is a Democrat, and that there is some connection between the Democratic party and the Catholic Church. ' ' The sixth weakness was lack of solidarity. " I t seems," said Mr. Reilly, "impossible for them in any crisis to say the same thing. Their counsels are always divided." And, finally, there was the seventh weakness : " I m proper advertisements" of which he said: " T o o many papers help along the business of gin-shops, quack-medicine venders, snide jewelry dealers, real estate speculators, e t c . " 7 The weaknesses which Mr. Reilly summed up were those which, time and again, had been pointed out by the Plenary Councils and individual Catholic Bishops and laymen during much of the second half of the century. Conde Β. Pallen, John Talbot Smith, and Maurice Francis Egan, all eminent Catholic journalists, came to the defense of Catholic journalism; and, while admitting Mr. Reilly's structures, suggested means of correcting some of the existing abuses. Mr. Pallen, editor of the "Church P r o g r e s s " of St. Louis, contributed an article on " T h e Independence of the Catholic P r e s s . " He wrote: W h a t is a Catholic journal? I t is first and last a religious journal. Nobless oblige. The irreligious, the irreverent, the immoral, the indifferent in substance or in speech, indirect τ American Ecclesiastical Review, Vol. X, 1894, pp. 117-25.

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or implied, are its primary incompatibles. This much on merely negative lines : each and all of these are essentially repugnant to it; they are what it can never be without ceasing to be what it professes to be essentially. On positive lines the Catholic journal is the organ of all that body of doctrines, or morals, and of discipline which the Catholic Church believes, teaches, commands and ordains. . . . The Catholic journal can only presume to instruct, teach and guide subject to its Ordinary.

Nevertheless, Mr. Pallen maintained, an official organ — a sort of coadjutor Bishop-in-print was not desirable. He remarked: No hierarchy in the world appreciates the value of an official press more than our American Bishops. No hierarchy more generously meets the bounds of journalistic liberty. We have yet to hear of the American Bishop who ever arbitrarily clipped the wings of Catholic journalism or chained the Catholic editor to the episcopal door-mat. There could be no better evidence of the large liberty allowed Catholic journalism by the American hierarchy than the variant attitude of Catholic journals in this country during the recent school controversy.

Mr. Pallen concluded with a plea for fewer journals — one for each Archdiocese or, at least one at each large Catholic center. Catholic patronage, [he said] is largely wasted by the support of numbers of journals that fulfill their functions but indifferently with the means they command. If these means which they thus divert from the larger and more influential journals, could be put into the service of the

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latter, Catholic journalism as a whole could take an auspicious stride forward. ' ' 8

Mr. Reilly had declared that one of the weaknesses of the Catholic press was its partisanship in politics. The Reverend John Talbot Smith, in an article on " P a r t i s a n Politics in the Catholic P r e s s , " while admitting that the Catholic press of the time did, to a large degree, incline towards partisanship, registered the opinion, " t h a t the Catholic press would of itself become non-partisan did the people take a legitimate interest in its welfare. It would then pay to be non-partisan, as it now pays to cultivate partisanship." The real reason for partisanship, he sought to show, was that the press was so poorly supported that it had to depend upon the donations of politicians in whose favor it thenceforth spoke. He concluded : Given the common factors of any money-making business enterprise and a Catholic weekly journal can be made an absolute success. It is because these factors have never been present simultaneously that our journals decay and die, or become venal, morose, insipid; escaping these misfortunes, they surrender themselves to the demon of partisanship in politics.®'

Maurice Francis Egan, who had been editor of "McGee's Weekly," subeditor of " T h e Catholic Review" and of the "Illustrated Catholic American," as well as editor of the "New York Free8 American Ecclesiastical Review, Vol. X, 1894, p. 329. » American Ecclesiastical Review, Vol. X, 1894, p. 349.

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man's Journal," entered the controversy with a paper on, "The Need of the Catholic Press." He said: The weak points in the Catholic press are lack of capital and a false premise that a religious paper must keep itself apart from the everyday life and thought of the people, that it must be an ecclesiastical organ, with a cylinder set in and arranged to play certain tunes composed without regard to the tastes of the people who are not compelled to listen to them. . . . The ideal relation between a Catholic editor and his Ordinary was once described by John Boyle O'Reilly. "Theology," he said, " i t doesn't trouble me at all. I stick to the little catechism. If I make a mistake the Archbishop tells me so ; I don't make an act of contrition, but I do make satisfaction as soon as I get a chance." . . . A Catholic paper at variance with the Ordinary of its diocese is an anomaly and anachronism. If it exist it ought to be printed in the Latin tongue. At the same time a paper which represents only the opinion of the Ordinary on all subjects has no reason at all to exist.10

Finally an unsigned article in the "Review" contained these words: A Catholic journal rightly managed, under ecclesiastical supervision, enjoys all liberty this side of license, provided the editor possesses: (1) knowledge enough to decide what is sound Catholic doctrine; (2) character enough not to be a time-server and mere flatterer of persons in authority; (3) religion enough not to spread scandals nor to practice detraction . . . ; (4) tact enough not to give deliberate offense to his superiors ecclesiastical or civil.11 10 American Ecclesiastical Review, Vol. X, pp. 349-57. 11 American Ecclesiastical Review, Vol. X, 1894, pp. 358-68.

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It was generally recognized that Catholic journalism at the time was a losing financial venture. Journals rose and were soon swallowed up in bankruptcy. Sometimes, too, many journals tried to cover the same territory, often employing tactics hardly befitting religious journals, in order to cripple rival papers. On J a n u a r y 4, 1895, Pope Leo X I I I addressed the encyclical letter Longinqua oceani to the hierarchy of the United States, wherein he made special mention of the accomplishments of the Catholic press, and called to mind the qualities he looked for in the Catholic journalist. The letter reveals the Pope's knowledge of the true state of affairs in the American Catholic journalism of the time. A f t e r calling attention to the fact that it is the duty of the clergy " t o instruct, admonish, strengthen and urge men to the pursuit of virtue, ' ' the Pontiff continued : It is, of course, the proper function of the clergy to devote their care and energies to this great work; but the age and the country require that journalists should be equally zealous in this same cause, and labor in it to the full extent of their powers. But they must seriously reflect that their writings, if not positively prejudicial to religion, will surely be of slight service to it, unless in concord of minds they all seek the same end. Those who desire to be of real service to the Church, and with their pens heartily defend the Catholic cause, should carry on the conflict with perfect unanimity, and, as it were, with serried ranks, for they rather inflict than repel war if they waste their

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strength by discord. In like manner their work, instead of being profitable and fruitful becomes injurious and disastrous whenever they presume to call before their tribunal the decisions and acts of Bishops, and, casting off due reverence, cavil and find fault, not perceiving how great a disturbance of order and how many evils are thereby produced. Let them, then, be mindful of their duty and not overstep the proper limits of moderation. The Bishops placed in the lofty position of authority are to be obeyed and suitable honor befitting the magnitude and sanctity of their office should be paid them. Now this reverence, which is lawful to no one to neglect, should of necessity be eminently conspicuous and exemplary in Catholic journalists. For journals, naturally circulating far and wide, come daily into the hands of everybody and exert no small influence upon the opinions and morals of the multitude. We ourselves, on frequent occasions, laid down rules respecting the duties of a good writer, many of which were unanimously inculcated as well by the Third Council of Baltimore as by the Archbishops in their meeting of Chicago in the year 1893. Let Catholic writers, therefore, bear impressed upon their minds our teachings and yours on this point, and let them resolve that their entire method of writing shall be guided thereby; if they indeed desire, as they ought to desire, to discharge their duty well.12

The effect of the controversy and of the encyclical letter may be seen in the establishment of fewer Catholic papers in the succeeding years of the decade and, in fact, all through the remainder of the period. In 1895 the " T i d i n g s " came to light in Los An12 Leo XIII. Longinqua

Oceani, January 4, 1895.

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geles. In the following year the "Midland Review" was founded in Louisville, Kentucky, as a rival of the "Catholic Central Advocate" which it soon absorbed; but the " R e v i e w " suspended in 1899. During the remaining years of the century there appeared the present "Catholic T r a n s c r i p t " of Hartford, Connecticut, succeeding the "Connecticut Catholic" (1898) ; the "Catholic Observer" of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (1899); the "Catholic Northwest P r o g r e s s " of Seattle, "Washington (1898) ; the "Catholic Register" of Kansas City, Missouri (1899) ; the "Intermountain Catholic" of Salt Lake City, Utah (1899), and the "Sunday Companion" of New York (1899). In 1898 the "Catholic S u n " of Syracuse was founded, succeeding the "Catholic Reflector" of the early sixties, the "Vindicator," and the "Sentinel," none of which had a long existence. In 1899, Nicholas Gonner founded the "Catholic Tribune" of Dubuque, Iowa, which was destined to be the "first and only English Catholic daily in America" to succeed. McCorry's attempt, the "Daily Telegraph, ' ' in 1875 had been a failure. FOREIGN-LANGUAGE J O U R N A L S

A f t e r the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore there arose a number of foreign-language Catholic journals, well edited and, in the main, well managed. In 1887 there appeared the " W i a r a I Objczyna" (Polish) of Chicago. The "Katolicke Noviny" (Polish) of Hazelton, Pennsylvania, was published

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in 1889. " S t . Joseph's B l a t t " (German) of St. Benedict, Oregon began publication the same year. " P r i t e l Ditek" (Bohemian) was founded by the Reverend Nepomucen Jaeger, O.S.B., in Chicago (1890); the "Gazeta Cattolica" (Italian) in New Orleans (1890) ; the "Dziennik Chicagoski" (Polish Daily News) in Chicago (1890); " K a t o l i k " (Bohemian) in Chicago (1893); " A r m o n i a " (Italian) in New York (1890) ; the "Feuille d ' e r a b l e " (French) in New York (1891); the "Monitor Clevelandzki" (Monitor Polish Daily) in Cleveland (1891); the "Louisville A r g u s " (German) at Louisville, Kentucky (1892); the "Opinion publique" (French) a daily of Worcester, Massachusetts (1893) ; " N a r o d " (Bohemian) a daily of Chicago, Illinois (1893) ; "Novy Domov" (Bohemian) a semiweekly of Halletsville, Texas (1894); the "Corriere della Domenica" (Italian) in New York (1898) ; the "Justice de Biddeford" (French) of Biddeford, Maine (1896); " V l a s t e n e k " (Bohemian) of La Crosse, Wisconsin (1898); "Wielkopolanin" (Polish) of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (1898). In 1892 the first Catholic journal in the dialect of the Sioux Indians appeared at Fort Totten, North Dakota. It was called ' ' Sina Supa Wocekiye Taeyanp a h a , " i.e. " T h e Blackrobe 's Church, Its H e r a l d . " The paper contained a supplement printed in English. T H E PRESENT CENTURY

The first decade of the new century saw the rise

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of but few new journals, most of which have continued down to the present time. The "Leader," of which the Reverend Dr. Peter C. Yorke was editor, appeared in San Francisco in 1902; the "Catholic Advance" at Wichita, Kansas (1902); the " T r u e Voice" in Omaha, Nebraska (1903) ; the "WesternWorld" in Des Moines, Iowa (1904) ; the "Beehive" a juvenile of New York (1904); the "Record" in Toledo, Ohio (1905); the "Catholic Chronicle" in Albany, New York (1906) ; the "Monitor" of Newark, New Jersey (1906) ; the ' ' Catholic Temperance Advocate ' ' at Danbury, Connecticut, a semi-monthly (1906), and the "Catholic Herald" of Sacramento, California (1907). An attempt was made to found a Catholic daily paper in Buffalo in 1904. The Volksfreund Company, publishers of a thriving daily newspaper in the German language, yielding to suggestions from many persons interested in the project of a Catholic daily in the English language, sent out a circular letter to the clergy of the diocese of Buffalo, in January, 1904. The project had the approbation of the Right Reverend Charles Henry Colton, Bishop of Buffalo, and was under the direction of James Gerard Smith, president of the Volksfreund Company. Encouraged by the replies from the clergy, Mr. Smith issued a general circular in February, 1904, in which he drew up a plan for financing the projected daily. "The proposed paper," he says, "will be an American, up-to-date, high-toned, politically independent, secular, evening, penny newspaper

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whose Catholicity shall be discernable in its advertising, news and editorial columns. I t will not be a religious p a p e r . " The plan was to secure, by individual subscriptions one hundred thousand dollars before January 1,1905. If the desired amount should not be forthcoming by that date the subscriptions were to be void. A third circular by Mr. Smith elaborated plans for the daily, and everything seemed to be progressing according to expectations, when there came a sudden lull in enthusiasm. By January, 1905, only $31,600 had been subscribed and promises had been made for an additional ten thousand dollars; but the Volksfreund Company felt that it could not proceed in face of such apathy, and the project of a daily in the English language was once more abandoned. 13 In 1908 the " P i l o t " became the official organ of the Archdiocese of Boston, having been acquired by Archbishop (later Cardinal) O'Connell. Thus was added a new chapter to the history of a sturdy survivor of the formative period of Catholic Journalism. In 1868 the " P i l o t " with its publishing house and its bank under the proprietorship of Patrick Donahoe moved to a building of its own. The great Boston fire of 1872 wiped out the entire establishment of the " P i l o t . " "Within a month," says the centenary number of the paper, 14 " t h e Pilot was burnt out three 13 Fortnightly Review, Vol. X I , 1904, pp. 95, 149, 163 ; Vol. X I I , 1905, pp. 45, 141. " M a r c h 8, 1930.

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times in three different locations. ' ' Another fire occurred in the following year; but the paper kept on. In 1874 the editor said : The great fire of Boston which swept away the beautiful Pilot Building with its valuable material was not strong enough to stay the Pilot's progress. The course of the paper since that time has been onward and upward. 15

But dark days were ahead. The failure of insurance companies consequent upon the fires of the time affected the finances of the paper. The failure of Donahoe's bank forced the veteran publisher to withdraw. Archbishop Williams and a committee bought up a three-fourths interest in the paper and continued publication with John Boyle O'Reilly as editor. In 1891 Donahoe had sufficiently retrieved his fortune to repurchase the " P i l o t " which he conducted until his death in 1901. As the official organ of the Archdiocese of Boston the " P i l o t " continued the work carried on by its former editors O'Reilly, James Jeffrey Roche, and Katherine E. Conway. In 1923 Cardinal O'Connell purchased a new plant f o r the paper in the heart of the Boston newspaper district. In 1927 the Cardinal remarked: " I shall always consider the purchase and refounding of The Pilot one of the best things I have accomplished; it has now a standing among the religious papers of America that is enviable." 15

Quoted in the centenary edition.

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In 1908 the " T a b l e t " was established in Brooklyn, New York. At first it was under private ownership but in December, 1909, Bishop McDonnell and a company composed of diocesan priests acquired the paper as the diocesan organ. The " M e s s e n g e r " of Belleville, Illinois, was founded in 1908; and the "Catholic H e r a l d " of Sacramento, California. The "Catholic Messenger" was established at Binghampton, New York, in 1909 but ceased publication two years later. A radical departure from the Catholic journalism of the past was made in 1909, with the foundation of " A m e r i c a , " succeeding the periodical the "Messeng e r . " The first editor of the new "review of the week" was the Reverend John Wynne, S.J. The journal has since been edited by the Jesuits, and has acquired an international reputation. FOREIGN-LANGUAGE J O U R N A L S

Journals published in foreign languages during the first decade of the present century were: "Amerikai, Magyarok V a s a r n a p j a " (Hungarian) of Cleveland (1900); the "Courier de Lawrence" (French) of Lawrence (1900) ; the "Courier de Sal e m " (French) of Salem, Massachusetts (1901) ; the " T r i n a c r i a " (Italian) of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (1900) ; the " L a n d m a n n " (for German farmers) of Milwaukee (1902); "Tydenni Z p r a v i " (Czech) of New York (1904) ; "Przewodnik Katolicki" (Polish) of New Britain, Connecticut (1907) ; "Ognisko Do-

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mowe" (Polish) of Detroit (1908) ; "Italica gente" (Italian) of Philadelphia (1908); "Ceska Z e n a " (Bohemian) of St. Louis (1908) ; " P r o s v i t a " (Ruthenian) of McKeesport, Pennsylvania (1908), and " D r a u g u s " a Lithuanian daily of Chicago (1908). On September 25, 1906, a convention of French Catholic journalists met at Woonsocket, Rhode Island, to form the Association des Journalistes Franco-Americaines de la Nouvelle Angleterre. Representatives of French papers of New England, which numbered in that year seven dailies, fifteen weeklies, two issued every other day, and one semiweekly, were present. 16 T H E CATHOLIC PRESS ASSOCIATION

As previously mentioned, a Catholic Press Association had been formed at the conclusion of the first Catholic Lay Congress in Baltimore in 1889. No stable organization was effected, although the Association met annually and passed resolutions urging the support of the Catholic press. In 1905 a Catholic Associated Press was formed by Dr. Thomas P. Hart, editor of the "Catholic Telegraph" of Cincinnati. Dr. Hart went to Washington and assembled a number of writers to whom he explained the object of the organization. Its purpose was " t o supply the Catholic press with short articles, discussing social, economic, educational and other subjects." Among the writers were the Reverend Dr. Thomas J. Shahan, later Rector of the Cathie Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. VI, p. 276.

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olic University, Reverend Doctors A. W. Thomas, Edward A. Pace, and William J . Kerby, and Professor James C. Monaghan, editor of the United States consular reports. 17 The Catholic Associated Press met with little encouragement from some of the Catholic journals of the land. Dr. Hart, the organizer, found difficulty in holding the interest of the writers, and the venture soon proved a failure. It did, however, lead to the formation in 1908 of the American Catholic Press Association, organized in Cincinnati, Dr. H a r t being one of the principal supporters of the project. The object of the Association was " t o promote the educational, literary, news and business interests of the papers concerned, and to establish a closer fraternity among Catholic editors." 18 F o r this purpose another meeting was called f o r that year. The editors or managers of eleven Catholic papers met in convention in Buffalo on September 12, 1908, and, plans were discussed for developing the association, outlining a scheme of news exchange, and establishing an advertising bureau. A convention of the organization was held at Columbus, Ohio, on August 24 and 25,1911. The printed record of the proceedings states that "upon motion duly made and seconded, it was decided that the organization be known as ' The Catholic Press Association of the United States and Canada.' " Edward 17 The Messenger, Vol. X L I V , 1905, p. 510 ; also an editorial in the Catholic Telegraph, Cincinnati, October 5, 1905. 18

Catholie Press Association Year Book, 1928.

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J. Cooney of the "Providence Visitor" became the first president of the Association. The organization was incorporated in the state of New York on February 14, 1913, as The Catholic Press Association, Inc. Yearly conventions have been held from 1911 to the present time in various cities of the United States. In 1919 the meeting was scheduled for Cincinnati, but was postponed because the Bishops intended to take up the question of the Catholic press at their meeting in Washington in September of that year. After the incorporation, arrangements were made for foreign correspondence, especially by cable from Rome, and such other details of a modern press service as came within the financial resources of the Association. In 1920, as will be seen later, the Catholic Press Association transferred its news service to the National Catholic Welfare Conference News Service, established in that year by the American Bishops. The Association continues to exist and to hold yearly conventions. JOURNALS FOUNDED 1910-19

While plans were being made for an efficient press association, there appeared at Little Rock, Arkansas, the "Guardian" (1910) ; the "Indiana Catholic Record" at Indianapolis, Indiana (1910), and the "Catholic Bulletin" at Minneapolis (1910). Among the Catholic journals founded during the

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remainder of this period were the ' ' Catholic Regist e r " of Denver (1910); the "Christian Home and School" of Erie, Pennsylvania (1910), which since 1921 has been called the "Lake Shore Visitor" after a former journal founded in the diocese of Erie by Bishop Mullen; the "Southern C r o s s " of San Diego, California (1912) ; " O u r Sunday V i s i t o r " of Huntington, Indiana, a national Catholic journal with the largest circulation in the whole group of Catholic weeklies, founded by the Reverend John Noll (later Bishop of Fort Wayne, Indiana), to act as a " h a r monizer" between non-Catholics and Catholics (1912) ; the "Catholic Review" of Baltimore, Maryland (1913), succeeding the earlier " M i r r o r " ; "Schoolmate," a juvenile, of Belleville, Illinois (1914); the "Josephinum Weekly" of Columbus, Ohio (1914); the " E c h o " of Buffalo, New York (1915); the " C r e s s e t " of Nashville, Tennessee (1915); the "Catholic Vigil" of Grand Rapids, Michigan (1916), which merged in 1929 with the "Michigan Catholic" under the name of the latter; the "Canton Catholic N e w s " of Canton, Ohio (1918), and the "Akron Record" of Akron, Ohio (1919). Foreign-language journals of the period were : the "Voce del popolo" (Italian) of Detroit (1910); the "Semaine paroisiale" (French) of Fall River, Massachusetts (1911); " N a s i n e c " (Bohemian) of Taylor, Texas (1914); " F a r n i k " (Bohemian) a. semi-monthly of Cleveland (1915) ; "Grlasilo K.S.K. J e d n o t e " (Slovenian) of Chicago (1915); "Nowiny

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Polskie," a Polish daily of Milwaukee (1917) ; "Gosc Niedzielny" (Polish) of Chicago (1917), and the " U n i o n e " (Italian) of San Francisco (1919).

CHAPTER

IV

CATHOLIC J O U R N A L I S T I C EDUCATION (1910-30) The Roman Pontiffs and Councils of the American hierarchy had repeatedly stressed the necessity of training men for the work of editing and managing the Catholic papers of the United States. No particular method, however, was suggested as to how this training should be given. In the last century the Catholic press suffered from the same handicaps that confronted the secular journals of the day — the need of trained men. There were, to be sure, some eminent journalists among the editors and contributors to Catholic papers ; but they were the exception rather than the rule. James A. McMaster, John Boyle O'Reilly, Orestes A. Brownson, James Jeffrey Roche, and others seem to have been born journalists. I t was no especially difficult task, from the viewpoint of training, for them to take their places and direct the course of their journals. As yet there were no schools in which young men and women with leanings towards journalism as a profession could learn the fundamentals and acquire knowledge of what they were to put to practical use later on. The only schools for them were the schools of experience. 65

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Experienced men who had passed through the same process of acquiring journalistic knowledge and ability lent their assistance in teaching their followers the ways of writing for, editing, and managing newspapers. The surprise is that such a system accomplished all it did and developed such men as Patrick V. Hickey and others. On April 16, 1904, Joseph Pulitzer wrote into his will: I am deeply interested in the progress and elevation of journalism, having spent my life in that profession, regarding it as a noble profession and one of unequalled importance for its influence upon the minds and morals of the people. I desire to assist in attracting to this profession young men of character and ability, also to help those already engaged in the profession to acquire the highest moral and intellectual training. 1

Pulitzer died on October 29, 1911, and the School of Journalism at Columbia University, endowed by him, was founded in 1912. It was not the first school of its kind, but it exemplified what Pulitzer hoped from it. Catholic universities, too, have introduced courses and schools of journalism and at least one of them antedates the Columbia School. In September, 1907, Santa. Clara College, Santa Clara, California, established, for a time, a course in journalism under the direction of Mr. Charles D. South, who had served in an editorial capacity on ι Bulletin of Information, School of Journalism, Columbia University, 1929, p. 10.

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several West Coast secular newspapers. The "Monit o r " of San Francisco 2 informs us that the college has established in connection with its literary course a department or school of Journalism, and Mr. South has been appointed professor in charge. The new department is designed to furnish a practical course in both newspaper and magazine work, according to the best standards and methods. MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY

In 1910, the Reverend John E. Copus, S.J., who had gained considerable experience in journalistic work before entering the Society, yielded to the suggestion of local newspaper men and opened courses of journalism at Marquette University, Milwaukee. At first these courses were an integral p a r t of the Robert A. Johnston College of Economics. There were two courses, one of two years leading to a diploma and another of three years leading to the degree of Bachelor of Journalism. In 1916 the courses were separated f r o m the work of the College of Economics and the College of Journalism was instituted. The two-year diploma course was abolished and, in the following year, the course of studies was increased to four years, requiring in addition to studies in journalism all the cultural courses required for a Bachelor's degree. The College of Journalism now offers courses leading to three degrees: Bachelor of Arts in Journalism, 2 Vol. X V I I I , p. 20.

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Bachelor of Science in Journalism, and Bachelor of Philosophy in Journalism. The students of Marquette receive not only knowledge of journalism in the many courses offered them, but edit their own weekly newspaper, the ' ' Tribune, ' ' and gain practical experience in working on dailies. Since 1924, J. L. O'Sullivan, B.J., has been the dean of the College of Journalism at Marquette. He possesses experience gained with the Milwaukee " S e n t i n e l " and as manager in Chicago, New York, and Kansas City for the United Press. The staff of the College of Journalism at Marquette is composed of J . L. O'Sullivan, B. J., Dean; Maynard Brown, M.S. in Journalism, former head of the department of journalism at Oregon State University ; Walter Mattison, LL.B. ; Richard Davis, A.B.; Charles Lechleidner; and Frank Yander Heiden, Ph.B. in Journalism, graduate assistant. Journalism organizations at Marquette are the " P h i Epsilon," the Honor Society; the Marquette Press Club, under whose auspices men and women in newspaper work give weekly lectures for the department; Sigma Delta Chi, national journalism fraternity; and Theta Sigma Phi, national journalism sorority. The enrollment, in 1930, was one hundred and forty-seven students. NOTRE D A M E

UNIVERSITY

Two years after the foundation of courses in journalism at Marquette University, Dr. Max Pam, of

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Chicago, a Jew by race and religion, endowed a chair of journalism at the University of Notre Dame. In the letters of foundation, Dr. Pam says, under the head of "Public Opinion": It is the controlling force and irresistible power in all forms of government; it is felt in every walk of life; it influences legislation, affects courts and admonishes executives. Before the power of public opinion all resistance is swept away. It, therefore, should be the manifestation of all that is the best in the manhood of the nation. If this be true, it is equally true that the most potent factor in the formation of public opinion is the press. This is a matter concerning which there is no room for dispute. A press that is prejudiced, unreliable, or that has a personal or selfish interest to serve cannot produce the right kind of opinion on any given subject. To get the right kind of journalists, viz: men of conscience and character, animated by high ideals and a high sense of the responsibilities attached to their profession, legislative penalties and criminal statutes are not sufficient safeguards. We need conscience and the elements that make for conscience, the old-fashioned ideas of right and wrong, the high regard for truth and justice, and the abhorrence of untruth and injustice which are instilled in the religious atmosphere of such an institution as yours. . . .

On June 15,1912, in a speech delivered at the University of Notre Dame, Dr. Pam further enunciated his ideas and ideals in endowing the chair of journalism. He said : I want young men trained here to be lovers of truth, and I feel that in a religious atmosphere of this kind my pur-

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poses and objects will be more steadily kept in view. I want them to be men of letters, men of knowledge and sound views. I want them to be men of conscience and high ideals. I want to make this chair of journalism a most effective department in the work being done by this University, as well as an effective aid to the causes of clean and sound journalism the country over.3

In November, 1912, the department of journalism was opened for classes with John M. Cooney, Ph.D., in charge. Before Dr. P a m died, 1925, he had the opportunity of seeing the department grow until, in that year, it was converted into a special school of journalism. Dr. Cooney remains the director of the school, assisted by Professors Edward Meehan, Litt.B. ; Elton Richter, A.M. ; Frederick A. Miller, editor of the ' ' South Bend Tribune ' ' ; Gerald Cosgrove, associate editor of the "South Bend Tribune," and Sidney B. Whipple, editor of the "South Bend NewsTimes." The background of the course in journalism at the University of Notre Dame is arts and letters, and graduates receive the degree of Bachelor of Arts and a certificate in journalism upon the completion of the course. Besides the knowledge gained from instruction in journalistic principles, the students are given an opportunity for practical experience not only with the "Scholastic," a weekly newspaper, and 3 " T h e Modern Newspaper," a speech delivered by Max Pam at the University of Notre Dame, Indiana, June 15, 1912.

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the other publications of the institution, but also with the local newspapers, the editors of which are associated with the school as special lecturers. Graduates of the school have passed into active fields of journalism in two-thirds of the states of the Union, in Canada, the Philippines, and France. The enrollment for the term, 1929-30, was sixty students. St. Mary's College, Notre Dame, Indiana — a college f o r women — has a department of journalism under the direction of Sister Mary Pietà and Dr. John M. Cooney, of Notre Dame University. Courses are offered in comparative journalism; history and development of the American newspapers ; the collection and writing of news; advertising; feature writing; advanced course in feature writing; the editorial; problems in journalism; magazine writing; book reviewing; the law of the press ; ethics of journalism; short story writing; technique of the novel and copy-reading. 4 The students of St. Mary's have the same facilities for practical experience as have the students of the neighboring University of Notre Dame. Besides the work on the college newspaper, " S t . Mary's Chimes," which appears bimonthly, they have opportunities for service with the "South Bend Tribune." The courses in practical work are required for the degree of Bachelor of Arts in Journalism. * Cf. Bulletin of Information, St. Mary's College, Notre Dame, Indiana, 1929-30, pp. 13, 14.

72

JOURNALISTIC EDUCATION DEPARTMENTS IN OTHER

SCHOOLS

Since 1915, St. Joseph's College, Emmitsburg, Maryland, has given a course in journalism leading to a certificate of proficiency. The Reverend P. A. Coad and Sister Betrand Layton were the first instructors. The college announcement says: The course of journalism, under the supervision of an experienced editor and publisher, embraces : familiarity with the essentials of practical newspaper work, including methods employed by the Associated Press and other news agencies ; the ethics of journalism ; the true function of a newspaper; editorial and news writing; actual work under assignment; condensation of telegraphic dispatches; construction of headings ; preparation of copy ; the psychology of advertising, with critical discussion of type, space, color and artistic effect.

Many students of St. Joseph's have entered the newspaper field, and others are indirectly connected with the profession as occasional contributors. The department of journalism was temporarily suspended for the term 1929-30, to be resumed later. In 1918, Marygrove College of Monore, Michigan, began to offer courses in journalism. In 1921 the college was transferred to Detroit; and, in 1925, the students began the publication of a weekly newspaper, the "Watch Tower." Sister Mary Fidelia, of the Sisters Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, was the first directress

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of the course. A f t e r three years her place was taken by Sister Mary Judith, who remains in charge. F r o m the first the students have reported the school news for the local papers both at Monroe and in Detroit. In this manner they supplement instruction with actual experience. The course leading to the degree of Bachelor of Arts in Journalism, embraces : elementary principles of journalism ; newspaper editing; general survey of journalism; editorial and feature writing; advertising and public opinion. In addition to this, six weeks of successful work on a newspaper, other than the college paper, are required before the degree will be conferred. 5 At the present time, 1930, the courses are being taken by forty-two students. T H E UNIVERSITY OF DETROIT

The School of Journalism at the University of Detroit began, as did most of the Catholic schools of the kind, in a small way. In 1922 the University offered courses in journalism, but no department head was appointed until 1924, when John S. McGarry assumed charge of the newly constituted department of journalism. When Mr. McGarry died, in 1927, Victor X. Mitchell was appointed to the position. The department offers six classes each semester. Those of the first semester are : history of journalism; limitations; kinds of papers; reporting and s Marygrove College Bulletin, Vol. 19, No. 1, p. 50.

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editing ; editorial writing and feature writing. In the second semester: organization; personnel; technique; reporting and editing; editorial writing and feature writing. 6 At the present time (1930) about fifty students are taking these courses at the University of Detroit. They are engaged in work for the school paper and various dailies. SAINT

MARY-OF-THE-WOODS

In 1921, Miss Amanda Lee Beaumont, formerly of Teachers' College at the University of Missouri, taught news writing and editing and a course called " H i g h School P a p e r s , " to fifty Sisters of Providence at the summer normal school of their college, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana. During the following September courses in journalism were offered to the students of the college, with Miss Beaumont as instructor. F o r the term 1921-23, Sister Angela Marie took the place of Miss Beaumont. From 1923 to 1925 courses in journalism were suspended ; but in September, 1925, they were resumed as part of the department of English. Courses are now offered in a survey of journalism; news writing and editing; advertising; magazine article writing; feature article writing and the woman's page. The students gain practical experience on " F a gots ' ' the bimonthly newspaper of the college, issued since 1918. They also assist in editing a number of e Letter of the Director, Victor X. Mitchell, April, 1930.

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magazines published by the college: " A u r o r a " (1870), which won the All-American Rating in the magazine contest sponsored by the National Scholastic Press Association, 1928, 1929, and 1930; " L e Bois" (1916) ; the college annual; the "Bugle Call" (1921), devoted to home and foreign missions entrusted to the Sisters of Providence, and the "Alumnae of St. Mary-of-the-Woods, " formerly called the " S i g n a l " (1891). The college also has a number of organizations which foster journalism among the students. The De Sales Press Club was organized in 1929 " f o r the purpose of promoting greater interest in journalism and particularly Catholic journalism." The students are members of the Writers' Guild of the Eta Beta Chapter of the Sigma Tau Delta, national English fraternity, and of "Pegasus," a poetry club. Former students of St. Mary-of-the-Woods hold responsible positions on representative newspapers in different parts of the United States. In 1922, Blanche Mary Kelly left an active editorial career to devote her time to the teaching of journalism both at the College of Mount Saint Vincent and at the College of the Sacred Heart, New York. Neither institution has a school of journalism, and the course is an elective one listed under the department of English. Of the College of Mount Saint Vincent, the instructor writes : In the first year we do news reporting and writing,

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editorial writing, copy and proof reading, in fact most of the assignments could be listed under the head of newspaper work. . . . In the second year the work is more literary in quality. The students do a great deal of critical work, of books, plays, pictures. . . . They also do interviewing and feature writing. The college newspaper, which comes out twice a month, is edited by the Senior journalists, and from among these are chosen the editors of the quarterly, which is a literary magazine.

At the College of the Sacred Heart, the course is the same as at the College of Mount Saint Vincent. There are, this year, fifty students at the latter institution and forty-five at the College of the Sacred Heart taking the courses in journalism. In the fall of 1922, Notre Dame College was founded at South Euclid, Ohio. During the following term, 1923-24, courses in journalism were introduced with Miss Margaret Grant, A.M., as instructor. The institution offers courses in news collecting and news writing; copy reading; newspaper makeup; newspaper organization and management; feature writing and magazine work ; women in journalism; advertising; history of comparative journalism and editorial and critical reviews.7 S T . E D W A E D ' S UNIVERSITY

St. Edward's University, Austin, Texas, old as a preparatory school, is young as a college. The first college class was graduated from the institution in 7 Catalog of Notre Dame College, 1929-30, Vol. VII, No. 1, p. 20.

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June, 1925. In the following September Albert J . Bieter, B.J., A.M., began to teach journalism at St. Edward's. During the first year of the newly organized course, reporting was the only subject taught. In the 1926-27 term, copy-reading was introduced. Since that time feature writing, advertising, and editorial writing have been added to the curriculum. The course, which leads to the degree of Bachelor of Arts in Journalism, calls f o r English, history, religion (elective for non-Catholic students), economics, public speaking, foreign language, natural science, education, politics, philosophy, sociology, and a thesis, in addition to the special courses in journalism. In 1927, a department of journalism was instituted at Fontbonne College, St. Louis. The first instructor was a nun. During the following year a lay instructor of the University of St. Louis, of which Fontbonne is a corporate college, assumed the directorship of the department. At present Milton McGrovern, of the University of St. Louis, is instructing a small class at Fontbonne in the general character of journalism, stressing news values and news stories. In 1928, St. Mary's University, San Antonio, Texas, began to offer courses in journalism under the direction of Albert L. Hollinger, S.M., Litt.D. At the present time courses are offered in news gathering, advanced news gathering, and news and

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editorial writing. Students are required to take courses in other departments of the University. Besides these schools there is a College of Commerce, Finance, and Journalism attached to the Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska, organized in 1920. The courses in journalism are under the direction of Professor C. L. Sanders. 8 Journalism is also taught at Mount St. Joseph's College, Hamilton, Ohio ; Duchesne College, Omaha, Nebraska; Clark College, Dubuque, Iowa; 9 and a course in journalism is offered at Fordham University, New York.10 Loyola University, Chicago, offers a home study course in journalism. 11 Catholic schools of journalism are still in their infancy. On the whole they have done well, in fostering journalistic ideals, imparting journalistic knowledge, and in preserving the religious atmosphere of a Catholic training. The Catholic press at large has benefited by the training of Catholic journalists; although the majority of the students of these institutions, after their graduation, have sought positions of a more lucrative nature on the secular journals. s Information Bulletin, Announcement, 1929-30. 9 Information received from the Department of Education, National Catholic Welfare Conference. 10 Letter of the Dean of Fordham University. 11 Announcement of Loyola University.

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CATHOLIC SCHOOLS O F J O U R N A L I S M INSTITUTIONS

Schools of Journalism: Marquette University, Milwaukee University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, I n d i a n a Creighton University, Omaha Departments of Journalism: University of Detroit, Detroit St. E d w a r d ' s University, Austin, Texas Fontbonne College, St. Louis St. M a r y ' s University, San Antonio, Texas St. M a r y ' s , Notre Dame, I n d i a n a Courses in. Journalism: St. Joseph's, Emmitsburg,. Maryland Marygrove College, Detroit St. Mary-of-the-Woods, I n d i a n a College of Mount St. Vincent, New York College of the Sacred H e a r t , New York Notre Dame, South Euclid, Ohio St. J o s e p h ' s College, Hamilton, Ohio Duchesne College, Omaha Clark College, Dubuque, Iowa Fordham University, New York Loyola University, Chicago

POUNDED

DEGREES OFFERED

1910

B . J . ; B.S.; Ph.B. in Journalism

1912 1920

A.B. and Certificate B.S.C, and Certificate

1922 1925 1927

A.B. in Journalism None

1928 A.B. and Certificate 1915 1918 1921

None A.B. in Journalism None

1922

None

1922 1922

None None

(Home-study course)

CHAPTER

V

P R E S E N T STATE OF T H E CATHOLIC P R E S S (1919-30) Several journals which had enjoyed fairly successful careers were forced during the period following the World W a r to discontinue publication, because of increased costs of newspaper production, competition, and financial difficulties resultant from lack of support on the part of readers. In their places appeared a number of new journals which are carrying on the work, side by side with the older journals, at the present time. The meeting of the Catholic hierarchy at Washington, 1919, proved to be a most important one from the standpoint of the development of the Catholic press in the United States. The National Catholic Welfare Conference was set up, and its Press Department took over and enlarged some of the functions of the Catholic Press Association. In general tone the press became more alert and versatile. In point of editorial opinion there appeared more unity. In point of news, outside of local happenings in the dioceses, the news of the world was supplied by the National Catholic Welfare Conference News Service. 80

PRESENT STATE OF THE CATHOLIC PRESS

81

T H E NATIONAL CATHOLIC W E L F A R E CONFERENCE N E W S SERVICE

As stated in a previous chapter, there was no convention of the Catholic Press Association in 1919, because the Bishops intended to take up the discussion of the Catholic press at their meeting in Washington in that year. This they did; and from the meeting came a pastoral letter in which it was stated that: The unselfish zeal displayed by Catholic journalists entitles them to a more active support than hitherto has been given. By its very nature the scope of their work is specialized; and, within the limitations thus imposed, they are doing what no other agency could accomplish or attempt, in behalf of our homes, societies and schools. In order to obtain the larger results and the wider appreciation which their efforts deserve and which we most earnestly desire, steps must be taken to co-ordinate the various lines of publicity and secure for each a higher degree of usefulness. Each will then offer to those who are properly trained a better opportunity for service in this important field.1

In accordance with the wishes of the hierarchy of the United States, the National Catholic Welfare Council was to continue its work. The Council had been established during the World War in fulfillment of the pledge of the hierarchy to the Government : 1 Pastoral letter of the Archbishops and Bishops of the United States Assembled in Conference at the Catholic University of America, September, 1919, p. 18.

82 PRESENT STATE OP THE CATHOLIC PRESS Our people, now as ever, will rise as one man to serve the nation. Our priests and consecrated women will once again, as in every former trial of our country, win by their bravery, their heroism and their service new admiration and approval.2

In order " t o promote the spiritual and material welfare of the United States troops at home and abroad and to study, coordinate and put into operation all Catholic activities incidental to the w a r " the hierarchy founded the National Catholic War Council in August, 1917. The Council drew its leaders and workers from every department of American Catholic life and two members of the Catholic Press Association held office in its Executive Board. The National Catholic W a r Council succeeded in accomplishing its purpose so well that it was decided to direct its work into broader channels in peace time. The name of the organization was changed to the National Catholic Welfare Council, but owing to the signification, in ecclesiastical circles, of the word "Council," it was deemed prudent after a year to change the name "Council" to "Conference." The National Catholic Welfare Conference, with the Most Reverend Edward J. Hanna, Archbishop of San Francisco, as chairman, was divided into various departments: education; social action; laws and legislation ; and publicity, press, and literature. The Right Reverend William T. Russell, Bishop of Charleston, was chosen head of the department devoted to the press. 2 Letter to the President of the United States, April 18, 1917.

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83

The founding of the National Catholic Welfare Conference marked a new period for the Catholic press. Bishop Russell soon found a director for the proposed news service in Justin McGrrath, who had been managing· editor and chief editorial writer of the New York " A m e r i c a n " and managing editor of the San Francisco " E x a m i n e r . " Michael Williams, who had edited the "National Catholic W a r Council Bulletin," was retained as the assistant director. A f t e r a year, Mr. Williams left the service to establish the weekly review the "Commonweal" of New York. In recruiting his staff and foreign correspondents Mr. McGrath was careful to select only journalists of experience. By March, 1920, the initial personnel had been chosen for the news service and the organization began to function. Pope Benedict XV in his message to the National Catholic Welfare Council commended the service about to be inaugurated : His Holiness most cordially extends the Apostolic Blessing to the service you have inaugurated to improve the Catholic papers in the United States. Those who are conducting them will be pleased and heartened by your establishment for their benefit of an efficient press organization in Washington, which also will have representation in the leading capitals of Europe and South America. They are now to have the aid which they so long deserved. As the news standard of Catholic journals is raised, undoubtedly the support given them by the Catholic reading public will be increased.

84 PRESENT STATE OF THE CATHOLIC PRESS

In the ten years that the National Catholic Welfare Conference News Service has been functioning, it has served Catholic papers in the United States, Canada, England, Ireland, Italy, Australia, China, Cuba, Hawaii, Porto Rico, the Panama Canal Zone, the British West Indies, and the Dutch Indies, providing increasing quantities of news for these journals until today a weekly average of 55,000 words of varied Catholic news and features is supplied. The National Catholic Welfare Conference News Service offers : 1. Every Friday, an eight-column news sheet of 9,000 words on leading Catholic current events. The news sheet was instituted on April 11,1920. 2. Every day, a supplementary mimeograph service, amplifying the record of Catholic news, averaging 25,000 words weekly. 3. Every Saturday and Monday, a 2,000-word cable service of Catholic news from European capitals, Rome, Paris, London, and Dublin. This service was inaugurated in 1920. 4. Every Saturday, a 1,500-word Washington letter, interpreting national events and trends of interest to Catholics — the same as had been issued previously by the Catholic Press Association News Service. 5. A Catholic Feature Service of twenty articles weekly, averaging 10,000 words in all, covering the entire feature field in both the lighter and more serious departments, issued two weeks in advance, since December 10, 1928.

PRESENT STATE OF THE CATHOLIC PRESS 85

6. Since 1928, a Dublin letter, a Paris letter, a Berlin letter, and sidelights of Washington. 7. Every Friday, a world-wide Catholic news picture service, inaugurated in September, 1921. 8. Once a month, since June, 1920, a two-column editorial on Catholic subjects. 9. Special Easter and Christmas supplements, with features and art, averaging about 30,000 words each ; used for the first time in 1928. 10. Whenever important papal pronouncements are made (e.g. the Papal Encyclical on Education issued early in 1930) special textual supplements are printed. 11. On occasion, special groups of syndicated articles on Catholic subjects, written by authors of international reputation ; begun in 1926. The News Service maintains a paid staff of its own correspondents in Bome, Paris, London, Dublin, Vienna, Berlin, Cologne, Madrid, Louvain, Prague, Ljubljana, Jerusalem, Mexico City, Auckland, New Zealand, and Montreal, and in the leading cities of the United States. It is the only news service principally for religious papers which has ever enjoyed the privilege of admission to the press galleries of Congress. Radio, cable, long-distance telephone, and the air and railway mails are employed in gathering the outside news into the Washington offices, while the telegraph, the air and railway mails are used for the distribution of the news. In 1920 the Catholic Press Association had turned

86 PRESENT STATE OF THE CATHOLIC PRESS

over to the National Catholic Welfare Council News Service its twenty-three clients. By 1928 the number had grown to eighty-one, with most journals reporting progress because of the service. The News Service is supported by the subscribing papers which contribute about three-fourths of the cost each year and the balance is supplied by the Bishops of the United States by means of collections taken up in their dioceses. I t is noteworthy that the amount needed from the Bishops has decreased year by year. 4 CATHOLIC J O U R N A L S ,

1919-30

In 1919 a wave of anti-Catholic sentiment swept across Georgia. In order to combat it the Catholic Laymen's Association of Georgia began the publication of a semimonthly journal, the "Bulletin," which styles itself " T h e only Catholic newspaper between Baltimore and New Orleans," and has for its motto : " T o bring about a friendlier understanding among citizens irrespective of creed." During the twelve years of its existence the ' 4 Bulletin ' ' has done active service for the Catholic cause in the South. In 1920, Nicholas Gonner, owner of the "Catholic T r i b u n e " of Dubuque, Iowa, saw the realization of a cherished dream in the establishment of the "Daily American Tribune." The journal was begun as a weekly in 1899 and in 1914 commenced to appear twice a week. With Mr. Gonner as manager, and s See Official Catholic Year Book for 1928. Pp. 613-25, for a detailed description of the News Service and its work. Also the "N.C.W.C. News Service," Washington, D. C., 1930.

PRESENT STATE OF THE CATHOLIC PRESS 87

Anthony J . Beck as editor, the paper enjoyed sufficient success to venture triweekly publication a little later. Finally, on July 4, 1920, it began to appear daily. The name of the paper was changed to the "Daily American Tribune," but was subsequently changed to the "Catholic Daily Tribune," and as such it continues to be published with a circulation in many states of the Union. During the last ten years (1920-30) there have been founded in the United States: the "Catholic M i r r o r " of Springfield, Massachusetts (1920); the " W i t n e s s " of Dubuque, Iowa (1921); the "Intermountain Catholic" of Salt Lake City, Utah (1922) ; the "South West Courier" of Oklahoma City (1922) ; the "Catholic H e r a l d " of St. Louis (1922); the "Catholic H e r a l d " of Milwaukee (1922) ; t h e ' ' W e s t ern American" of El Paso, Texas (1922) ; the "Arizona Observer" of Phoenix, Arizona (1924). An interesting adventure in journalism is the "Commonweal," a weekly review of New York, founded in 1924 by Michael Williams, who has been the guiding spirit of the publication since its inception. His journal enjoys an international reputation. In 1925 there appeared the "Diocesan" of Toledo, Ohio. In 1926 " O u r Sunday Visitor" began to issue a special edition for the diocese of F o r t Wayne, Indiana. During the same year the " E v a n g e l i s t " began publication at Albany, New York. In May, 1926, the "Catholic Universe" founded in 1874 by Bishop Gilmour of Cleveland merged with the " B u l l e t i n " which had been established in 1911.

88 PRESENT STATE OF THE CATHOLIC PRESS

The "Catholic Universe Bulletin." is now the official weekly of the diocese of Cleveland, and is published by the Catholic Press Union, Incorporated. The Right Reverend Joseph Schrembs, Bishop of Cleveland, when announcing the merger on May 21, 1926, said: One strong diocesan paper is clearly to be preferred to two weak organs dividing the diocese by their separate appeal. The management will ever be mindful of the best traditions of the old Universe, founded and maintained for many years by the venerable Bishop Gilmour, and of the progressive spirit of the more recently established Bulletin, which in comparatively few years has won for itself the support and respect of the community. Its aim will be the highest standard of Catholic journalism. Its hope is in time to reach every Catholic home, in order to create and foster a lively interest in Catholic affairs. A good Catholic paper is of its very nature a powerful aid for the maintenance and the spread of Catholic truth.

Prior to the merger the Catholic Press Union had published not only the " B u l l e t i n " but also the "Akron Catholic Record," established in 1919; the "Catholic Canton News," established in 1918; and the ' ' Catholic Bulletin of Eastern Ohio, ' ' established at Youngstown, Ohio, in 1926. These journals are now published as separate editions of the ' ' Catholic Universe Bulletin" in the important industrial districts of Ohio. The Catholic Press Union also publishes the "Lake Shore Visitor" of Erie, Pennsylvania, which

PRESENT STATE OF THE CATHOLIC PRESS 89

was founded as the "Christian Home and School" in 1910 by Right Reverend Monsignor H. C. Wienker. The Catholic Press Union of Cleveland bought the journal in 1918, and at the request of the Right Reverend John M. Grannon, Bishop of Erie, renamed it for a former journal of the diocese, established in 1872 by Bishop Mullen. The present editorial staff of the journals published by the Catholic Press Union is composed of the Right Reverend Monsignor James A. McFadden, chairman of the editorial board, Linus Gr. Wey, Cletus J . Koubek, Peter J . Zimmerman, and Eugene McCarthy, editors. During these years, 1920-30, a number of foreignlanguage journals have come to light, as "Dziennik Zjednocznia" (Polish) of Chicago, Illinois (1920) ; " L ai v a s " (Lithuanian) of Chicago (1920); the " P a i s " (Spanish) of El Paso, Texas (1926) ; "Katolyckj Provid" (Ukranian) of Philadelphia (1927); "Slovensky Svet" (Slovak) of Pittsburgh (1927); and " A Jo Pasztor" (Hungarian) of Pittsburgh (1927). In 1929 a number of Catholic journals ceased publication or were merged with others. The "Catholic Vigil" of Grand Rapids, Michigan, merged with the "Michigan Catholic" under the title of the latter. The "Catholic Herald" of Sacramento, California, in its last issue for the year announced that it would cease publication. The "Church Progress" of St.

90 PRESENT STATE OF THE CATHOLIC PRESS Louis, a n d the " L ' E c h o de l ' O u e s t " of Minneapolis h a d ceased to exist e a r l i e r in the y e a r . T h e " C a t h o l i c C i t i z e n " of Milwaukee r e p o r t e d suspension of several o t h e r Catholic j o u r n a l s d u r i n g the p r e c e d i n g fifteen y e a r s , 1915-30. No complete list of discontinued or merged newspapers for this period is available [the "Citizen" says] but we present here a partial roll call of the dead : Alabama Catholic, Montgomery, Ala. ; Catholic Friend, Richmond, Va. ; Catholic Life, Washington, D.C. ; the Advance, Kansas City, Mo. ; Florida Catholic, Jacksonville ; Western Catholic, Chicago; Columbian-Record, Indianapolis; Catholic Churchman, New Orleans ; Catholic Opinion, Lewiston, Me. ; Sacred Heart Review, Boston ; Hibernian, Boston ; Catholic Union, New Bedford, Mass. ; Angelus, Detroit ; Augustinian, Kalamazoo; Catholic Citizen, Rochester, N. Y. ; Catholic Home Journal, Yonkers, N. Y. ; Freeman's Journal, New York City ; Irish American, New York City ; Ireland, NewT York City ; Sunday Union, New York City ; Christian Year, Covington, Ky. ; Catholic Record, Toledo, Ohio ; Catholic Chronicle, Erie, Pa. ; South Carolina Catholic, Charleston; Irish Standard, Minneapolis; Dakota Catholic, Minot, N. Dak. ; Eastern Herald, Burlington, Vt. ; Catholic Sentinel, Chippewa Falls, Wis. ; the Western World, Des Moines, la. The g r o w i n g cost of n e w s p a p e r p r o d u c t i o n , resulti n g in a d e c r e a s i n g n u m b e r of secular dailies, h a s been reflected in the Catholic press. T h e a t t i t u d e of the Catholic public t o w a r d s religious j o u r n a l s is n o t one of consistent s u p p o r t . T h i s is due to no i n h e r e n t lack of ability u p o n the p a r t of the p a p e r s them-

PRESENT STATE OF THE CATHOLIC PRESS

91

selves, but principally to an idea that religious journals cannot compete with the secular papers in the presentation of news. Not many managing editors of Catholic journals can write, as did the editor of the "Record" of Louisville, Kentucky, on January 22, 1930: In our fifty years we have never employed a solicitor or paid commission for subscriptions ; we have never continued a subscription after it expired. We have never sent a due bill for subscriptions; we have no unpaid subscriptions on our books.

Despite the passing of many Catholic journals during the period following the World War, the prospects of the Catholic press are very good at present. The quality of production has been improved by cooperation with the National Catholic Welfare Conference and the Catholic Press Association. In general, Catholics no longer need subscribe to a religious journal merely because it represents a cause, but because it presents readable and interesting news and features of special importance. C A T H O L I C J O I J N A L S OF T O D A Y

A list of Catholic weekly papers published in the United States is given here. In a few instances the papers are daily or semiweekly, etc., in which case a notation to that effect has been made. The list was compiled from answers received to a questionnaire sent to the editors of the various pa-

92 PRESENT STATE OF THE CATHOLIC PRESS

pers. In a few instances no reply was received. In some cases the circulation was not stated. As f a r as possible, the missing data have been supplied from " T h e Catholic Press Directory" for 1928, and Ayer's "Directory of Newspapers and Periodicals" for 1930. The figures in parenthesis are from the "Catholic Press Directory" and those underlined are f r o m Ayer's. The order followed is the alphabetical order of the states of the Union, no regard being given to the date of foundation. An asterisk before the name of a paper signifies that the journal is the official organ of the diocese in which it is published.

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