The Cross

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Part of The Cross

Title: The Cross
Description: CROSS National Catholic Magazine
Official bi-monthly organ of the KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS in the Philippines, K of C, Gen. Luna cor. Sta. Potenciana St. Intramuros, Manila
Issue Date: Volume II (Issue No.10) October 1947
Year: 1947
Language: English
Rights
Place of publication: Manila
extracted text: OCTOBER, 1947 THE STORY Of "CAVITE" Eufrasio L. Abueg BACKDROP FOR THE MARSHALL PLAN John LaFarge THE BUSINESS OF EDUCATION Rev. George O’Sullivan, O.R.S.A. WOMEN PUZZLE ME Cirilo Mendoza RAGS AND RICHES Narciso G. Reyes (For, complete table of contents see page 2) CONCISE INFORMATIVE INTERESTING THE KANT-TANGLE ROSARY • Our New Kant-Tangle Rosary, black beads, silver-plated chain, oxidized silver cross and connection. • Will not knot, permits immediate use without necessity of untangling, makes it easier to ascertain direction, minimizes break age of chain. • Your choice of two kinds — P2.40 or P3.20 at mtn I I Bookwcvtk OTHER ROSARIES mj^oolvucvrl< also offers other' rosaries. A wide range of selection. Different materials. From P.40 to Pl7.—. The right kind for each taste. BOOKS MAGAZINES RELIGIOUS ARTICLES PAMPHLETS GREETING CARDS CATHOLIC SUPPLIES Regina Bldg. Escolta—Banquero Streets Manila, Philippines McDermott THE KEEPER OF THE KEYS P 5.00 Pollard THE PRESIDENTS AND THE PRESS 10.00 Maynard MYSTIC IN MOTLEY 5.00 O’Brien TRUTHS MEN LIVE BY 6.00 Latourette THE HISTORY OF JAPAN 8.00 KennyKeane A CATHOLIC QUIZ BOOK 4.00 Walsh THE WORLD’S GREAT CATHOLIC POETRY 3.96 Jeans THE MYSTERIOUS UNIVERSE 2.98 Betz YOUR MANNERS ARE SHOWING 4.40 Cantril GAUGING PUBLIC OPINION 7.50 CochranMiller THE AGE OF ENTERPRISE 7.00 Shannon THE AMAZING ELECTRON 8.00 Adamic DINNER AT THE WHITE HOUSE 5.00 Maus THE WORLD’S GREAT MADONNAS 9.90 Magner PERSONALITY AND SUCCESSFUL LIVING 5.50 THE OFFICIAL CATHOLIC DIREC TORY Anno Domini 1947 20.00 rHEt) 1 1 Bookvucxvk TABLE OF CONTENTS FEATURES: Eufrasio L. Abueg 8 ....... John LaFarge 11 The Story of “Cavite” ................................. Backdrop for the Marshall Plan GENERAL: Parish Priest of the Great White Way ................ David Clayton 8 Women Puzzle Me ..................................................... C5riI<> Mendozo 17 Think a Minute.......................................................................................... 20 Light For The Blind .............................. Jean Lawrie Holzhauer22 Rags and Riches .................................................... Narciso G. Reyes 38 The Little Businessman Comes Into His Own .... Wilfrido Borja 40 The Business of Education .... Rev. George O’Sullivan. O.R.S A 44 POETRY: Prayer for a Son ............................... At Peace ......................................... COLUMNS: The Uncommon Herd ....................... What’s on your Mind? .................... DEPARTMENTS: From the Managing Editor’s Desk Quiz Section: What’s your Moral I.Q.? ................................................................ 29 What Kind of a Theologian are you? ....................................... 30 Cross Sections of Filipiniana ................................................................ 35 Newsmonth .................................. by Catholic Information Service 51 Reviews of Guerrero’s Newest Plays .......... Godofredo Bunao Perhaps ................................................. Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero 56 What a Guy ......................................... Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero 57 From the Bookshelves: XII Reviews by Evelyn Vallejo ... Cross Currents of Reader’s Views ................ Louis Hasley 28 ... Mario T. Gatbonton 34 ... Antonio R. de Joy a 32 .......... Brother Edward 49 60 58 63 Managing Editor: ANTONIO R. DE JO YA. Bueineu Manager: RAUL C. REYES. Board of Editors: ANTONIO ESTRADA. HERMENEGILDO B. REYES. NICOLAS ZAFRA. ENRIQUE FERNANDEZ LUMBA. Contributing Editore: SALVADOR ARANETA. MIGUEL CUENCO. PACHA SANTOS. ROSITA MA. SOTTO-PENERA. The CROSS Is a Catholic publication Issued monthly by The Cross Magazine with the permission of the ecclesiastical authorities. Contributions to The CROSS are weloome, provided they are In line with the policy and standards adopted by this magaslne. All submitted manuscripts must be typewritten in duplicate and accompanied by return postage: otherwise, no return will be made In case of rejection. Subserigtian Ratos: One year—local: P4:00; foreign: *8.00. Printed at Cache Hermanoe, Ino„ 872 Logarda. Manila. Registered as second class mail matter at/the Poet Office of Manila. OCTOBER, 1947 VOL. II No. 10 Published by THE CROSS MAGAZINE Regina Bldg., 15—17 Banquero and Escolta, Manila Philippines THE STORY OF “CAVITE” Eufrasio L. Abueg ’T' HI S is a story that should * put an end to all stories about unwavering loyalty. It took place inside the infamous intern ment camp on the University of Santo Tomas grounds: between January 2, 1942 when the Japa nese occupied Manila, and Feb ruary, 1945 when the internees were liberated by the First Caval ry; it was unfolded under the very nose of the Japanese, but they never knew. The principals are Benigno del Carmen, alias “Cavite," a Filipino in his late twenties, from Ball wag, Bulacan, and an American, William Douglas MacDonald, vicepresident of the Manila Trading and Supply. This story may lack the color and glamour of “Bread and Rice,” a current American novel which glorifies Fabian San Juan, a farmer from Rizal, whose loyalty to the author (Mrs. Doris Rubens) and her husband inspired the book. Unlike farmer San Juan, “Cavite” del Carmen has remained anonymous until this writing. Even then he allowed himself to be interviewed only after pro longed persuasion. Previously, he had been asked by an American writer to relate his story for transformation into a feature ar ticle; he was offered a very sub stantial amount for this; politely but flatly, he refused. The truth of the matter is that Benny, as del Carmen is more commonly called, does not care very much for publicity. “It just occured to me,” he said when nar rating his story, “that I should help the MacDonalds as much as I could. Some people regarded those THE CROSS trying days as a time to rise or fall. Others Just waited and hoped. I lived as best as I could, remembered the people I liked and tried to do something for them.” ENTRY gENIGNO’s story began when he heard that the MacDonalds, his former employers, had been taken to Santo Tomas by the Japanese. He found out, too, that Bob Davis, a ten-year-old American-Filipino mestizo, visited his father at the camp every day. So one day he just tagged along with the little boy. Benny recalls that the first sight of his American employer almost made him cry. “Mr. Mac Donald had changed,” he explain ed. “His once robust frame had been reduced to a mass of skin and bones. His clothes were tat tered, his face showed clearly the effects of the misery and malnu trition which he had undergone. He lived with his wife and the children, Lynn and Dougie, in a shanty on the grounds. It was a shock to see them living in that tiny place; I had become used to the mansion which they used to keep in one of, Manila’s best res idential districts. The only hope they had was that the war would end in “just a few months.” And thus did Benny start his daily visits to the compound. He brought them food every day, and three times a week he attended to their laundry. In the middle part of 1942 Mr. MacDonald opened a coffee shop within the camp with the permission of the Jap mil itary authorities. The little “joint” was operated on cooperative basis; supplies had to be secured from outside. And this was Ben ny’s job. Day after day MacDonald gave him money, and he would set out for Manila’s sadly replenished markets, loading his purchases on a pushcart and pushing this back to the UST. And Benny’s work was important to those Amer icans behind the bars of Santo Tomas; he would not leave them now, he told himself. He never did. He told his sick mother that he was going' to stay in the city; re luctantly she gave her consent. Meanwhile Benny was becoming more than a mere purchasing agent; he began 4o serve as a oneman press service. He secured all the news he could from the underground and relayed it to the news-starved .internee. Then one morning the Japs al most got him. DANGEROUS DAYS The camp commandant had is sued strict orders against smug gling liquor into the camp, and Benny thought it might be a good OCTOBER, 1947 idea to bring in a demi-john of rum inside. It would be quite a feather in his cap. So he got the rum and hid it inside a sack of peanuts. Loaded down with this burden he headed fcr the concentration camp. He cannot explain clearly what happened next. "I was passing the sentry at the gate,” he narrates, “when I slipped and the sack fell to the ground. There was a metallic thud which no peanuts could have made and a swishing sound of liquid which I thought could have been heard a hundred yards away. My hair stood on end; I was pe trified. “The officer in charge came to ward me, sword clanking against bowleg; he wanted to know what the sack contained. “‘Food, food,’ I said, making motions with my hands, bringing it to my mouth and chewing on nothing while my knee felt like water. “He wasn’t satisfied. He leaned over and dipped one hand into the sack, into the contents. You’re a goner, I told myself. You can’t get away with this. This is the end... The officer straightened up and barked at me;. I couldn’t understand him; but, blessed mo tion! he was teling me to move on. I tottered away in a daze... I think it was a miracle that saved me.” During the weeks that followed that narrow escape, no visitors were allowed to get inside the prison compound. The Japs were beginning to feel the impact of the reverse that were coming, one after another, like a battering tide striking against castles in the sand. And they didn’t want the internees to know that the sons of heaven were not so un beatable after all. Benny was more than a little worried about the MacDonalds. Then he thought of a scheme by which he could contact them, Japs or no Japs. He befriended the owner of the house on the corner of Dapitan and P. Noval streets. The second story of this over looked the internment camp, and from here he kept a constant watch for his friends. Weeks passed; he failed to catch a sight of MacDonald. He continued his watch, grimly. One lucky morning the gods who watch over men like Benny were kind; he saw the gaunt American, shambling listlessly across the grounds. He gave a high piercing whistle. MacDonald looked up and saw him. He rushed away and came back with a piece of chalk. On a blackboard he wrote: "Come at 4 o'clock this afternoon. I’ll throw you a letter over the wall.” They identified themselves in their notes as "Ca THE CROSS vite” (Benny) and "Malaya" (MacDonald). One day “Malaya” asked "Ca vite” to deliver some food at 2 o’clock the next morning. This was “Cavite’s” first important job under the new set-up. Mac Donald’s written instruction to his Filipino friend stated: "Be on the alert at 2 a.m. for signals. The first signal we shall give you will be lighted cigarette moved upward and downward; get ready. Our next signal will be a lighted cigarette moved crosswise; this will mean that everything is o.k. on our side of the wall. Answer each signal with the same from your side. If we don’t get your signals, we will know that everything is not ready. In that case we will repeat our signals every few minutes until we get your return signals. Be sure to work as quickly as possible after signals are given, as the wall is now patrolled on the insidg. “Do not attach any note with package. Toss note over after we give you the signal that we have gotten the package. This signal will be a cigarette moved in a cirele. Be very careful.” LIBERATION These risky communications came to an abrupt halt shortly afterwards, when the Japs barri caded the top of the wall with barbed wire. Empty barrels were placed outside the wall; guards were posted at strategic points. But this was a mere indication that the tides of war were relent lessly turning against the sons of heaven; it was the latter part of September, 1944. In a few days, the Americans were to land on Leyte. But Benny never gave up hope of reestablishing contact with MacDonald. He continued his watch with grim patience. But he was to receive only one more note from the American; the day of reckoning was at hand. In February, 1945 came that long-awaited day when the First Cavalry, led by "Georgia Peach", stormed the gates of the- prison camp and let loose what might very well have been the fires of hell on the Japanese garrison. The day was one of joy; it was also a. day of blood. And Benny, see ing all these, cried for the first time. The Philippines was free again, and so was Mr. MacDonald. OCTOBER, 1947 AFTERMATH Today Benigno “Cavite” del Carmen is one of the few who can treasure the memory of a really noble deed; how really no ble, it is hard to say. The Mac Donalds in their gratitude did not forget him. They presented Ben ny with a substantial monetary gift and several of those essential household items that were so hard to get during the first l_ean days of liberation. He has been promoted from laborer to ship ping clerk in Mr. MacDonald’s firm, and his fondest hope is still to get a 6-month leave in order to see the States with the grateful MacDonalds. It was Mrs. MacDonald who paid him the compliment which he treasures most: “Our apprecia tion of Benny’s deed is like the waters around the Philippines," she says, “ ... unfathomable.” As for Benny he thinks America is a great country — as great as the American whom he has loved and served. END It has not been possible or wise for me, since my recent visits to the Vatican, to speak in public — and it has likewise been my judgement that I should observe a certain amount of restraint is speaking of my experiences, wonderful as they have been, in private. There is a timelessness about the Vatican which impels me to believe that in the life of the spirit, human interests cannot always be measured in terms of a generation or of a life or of a century. Thus the solution of the principal difficulties and trials which from time to time eclipse the children of God must always be brought into accord with the great fundamen tals and never be the subject of temporary compromise. It is trite and easy to say that civilization has failed. But civiliza tion is only what we are as individuals. It is not something that can fail. Shall we say that we have failed? Does that matter? God has not failed. He cannot fail. Rather is the challenge to us to fortify our faith, renew our vows and take up the good fight — the fight of the spiritual over the material. The forces of that which is good and just will overcome the forces of evil. The power of justice is slowmoving, but irresistible. All wars are In vain, but the peace when it comes need not be in vain. Myron C. Taylor, address to University of Notre Dame alumni PARISH PRIEST OF THE GREAT WHITE WAY David Clayton Confessor, confidant and friend to Catholic Broadway, Father O'Reilly of St. Malachy’s has for 21 years seen a side of New York’s famous Great White Way that the entertainment-seeking public never sees. For to St. Malachy’s neoiu-Iightcd portals come Broadway’s famous and in famous, successes and failures, to pray, to weep or to give thanks. Every ■night around midnight Father James Brendan O’Reilly, pastor of Sti. Malachy’s takes a stroll down the garish High Street of his little Manhattan pa rish, the smallest in New York State. The rest of the world may be switching off the radio or putting out the cat; but along Broadway, which Father O’Reilly has served as priest, ccnfldant, and friend for nearly 21 years, the neon-lighted day i3 just beginning. Shouting newsboys, weighed down by "to morrow’s papers, wave him a cheery greeting, night club door men in glittering uniforms hold up incoming patrons long enough to give him a smart salute; per formers en route to the jazz cel lars and dance hostesses on their way to work receive answering smiles to their salutations. And Toni Mineli, who runs the oneman orange crush stand at the corner of 52nd Street (“We Ne ver Close”) and who has not missed a four o'clock mass In 15 years, shouts a greeting above the noise cf the yellow taxicabs. For everybody knows Father O’Reilly and it seems that Father O’Reilly knows everybody along the Great White Way. Fiftyish, with a head of Irish red hair that is greying a little, a cheer ful face and laughing blue eyes, Father O’Reilly is probably the quietest and most reticent man in the parish. Along a street where every man’s favourite ’conversa tion is a monologue, he remains friendly but aloof, stopping in frequently as he takes his nightly walk before turning the corner to his little church which contains the actors’ chapel which Catholic Broadway regards as its very ITS NAME IN LIGHTS The church itself, near Madison Square Garden, is unpretentious. Its sop to show business is the small electric sign which spells out its name and which is over shadowed by the monster coloured signs advertising whiskies, tigsOCTOBER, 1947 rette3, cosmetics, and neighbour ing entertainments. In the actors’ chapel the smell of incense e mingles with another aroma which romantic writers like to think is grease paint but which the six priests who help Father O’Reilly to keep the church going 24 hours a day diag nose as natural mustiness. Everything in the way cf or nament in the chapel has one as sociation or another with the Broadway stage. The altar was presented by an actor’s associa tion; and a troupe of acrobats gave chandelier; a pair of fam ous comedians, anonymous for the first time in their lives, are responsible for the sanctuary lamp. All around, wherever the eyes rest, there are reminders that this church serves a bizarre, garish, stay-up-all-night world and the worshippers who throng to its services throughout the might are themselves part of the strangest show on earth. Fred Allen, the famous radio comedian, comes regularly; song writers play the organ for the services; kneeling in the pews are chorus girls, drummers, trom bone players, shooting gallery at tendants, plain tourists and un identified people who by seme means or other make a living by methods they never disclose. Fa ther O’Reilly never asks ques tions. With such a strange body of parishioners it is no wonder that St. Malachy’s finds that the at tendance numbers fluctuate. And although attendances increase when times are bad, Father O’Reilly makes no comment and puts it down to human frailty. Men, he says, forget the need for spiritual food when times arc good, and he hepes the overflow services which were a feature of the depressed ’thirties will never come again. In those days actors, weary from fruitlessly climbing the stairs to agents’ offices, came and sat all day in the pews be cause it was warm. Nobody bo thered them and many of the or naments now in the church have been presented by actors who re member those times and the kind ness that came unasked from Fa ther O’Reilly and his six good helpers. VALENTINO’S FUNERAL St. Malachy’s has figured in the news more than once. The staff still think with distaste about the funeral of one Rudolf Alfonzo Raffaele Pierre Filibei-t Guglielmi di Valentina D’Antonguolla, shortened by Hollywood into Rudolph Valentino. That ceremony was turned into a three ringed circus in which women fainted whenever a camera point ed their way, and the police had to use their batons to quiet the hysterical crowd which rushed the 10 THE CROSS barriers and forced itself into the church. Five women committed suicide either just before or after the service. Onlookers fought like wildcats for a better view of the funeral procession. It is an event which Father O’Reilly and his staff would like to forget. Instead, if you can get them to talk at all, they prefer to dis cuss the ordinary routine that goes on day and night, the nume rous sick-calls, the classes for ac tors’ children, the pathetic sto ries of young girls from the coun try who ccme to New York seek ing stage fame and, failing to find it, come for advice to St. Ma lachy’s Rectory. “Our task is to serve,” said one of the priests. "The singing star and the street cleaner are all the same to us. We make no differ ence between them." “NO MIXING” RULE It is this objective view towards his famous (and sometimes in famous) parishioners that has made Father O’Reilly and his as sistant priests keep without ex ception the rule of "no-mixing”. Everyday come invitations to meet parishioners at the Colony Club, the Stork Club, Sardi’s and all the other celebrated meeting places of Broadway. Whether it is a wedding anniversary, a reu nion, a birthday party, a christen ing party, Father O’Reilly gently but firmly turns them all down because it is better that way. “We look after everybody,” says Father O’Reilly, “but we keep it at that level and it works better.” But Father O’Reilly has a soft spot for the people of Broadway nevertheless. That is why he takes his nightly walk down the High Street of his parish where the newsboy wave “hullo” and the nightclub doormen'salute. Occasionally, but never habi tually, he may stop at Tom’s and treat himself to an orange juice. That is the full extent of Fa ther James Brendan O’Reilly’s in cursion into high life in his pa rish where high life and its pur veyance keep his charges up all night. — (Reuters) LIMIT TO OMNIPOTENCE A little while ago, I came across a sentence in the Beda Review that would do for a text When the teacher asked the question, “Is there anything that God cannot do?" There was some hesitation’ in the class, bnt at last one hand shot up. “He cannot please everybody," said the child. BACKDROP FOR THE MARSHALL PLAN John LaFarge An over-all picture of the economic and political problems confronting the representatives of sixteen nations now gathered at Paris. ON the close, hot evening‘bf July 1, the crowded press conference at the French Foreign Office—Quai d’Orsay — was a simple enough affair. The spokesman for the secret confer ence of the three Ministers with regard to the U.S. proposals for Europe’s rehabilitation could re port no answer as yet from Rus sia’s representative. For one more evening Mr. Molotov was to talk in his shirtsleeves in the secluded garden of the Russian Embassy, discussing his anxious problem with his secretary. The proposals of M. Bidault and Mr. Bevin were brief and direct. They spelled European self-help, aided, but not managed, by the United States. The plan of or ganization might be modified aplenty, but the principle was clear ly announced, and was proof against the angry charges of in terference in the internal affairs of smaller nations. During the question period, these objections were persistently hurled against the proposals from the other end of the big table. But each Moscow-prompted query served enly to lend greater clarity to the Government’s plan, and the questioner finally shrugged his shoulders. By this time it was plain enough that the break with the Soviets had finally arrived. There would now be only an academic interest in what Mr. Molotov might have to say on the morrow. The time for shadow-boxing was over; the time to launch out upon the new venture had arrived. At 95 in the shade, it was zero-hour to go over the top for Europe’s economic li berty, come what may. The press conference was a last bit of experience in my six weeks of the European scene. As I walk ed out of the Foreign Office court yard into the fresh air and past the Gare des Invalides, whence I should leave in the early hours of the coming morning for the trip home, I recalled but a couple of weeks before having seen the place picketed by government em ployes, while all France groaned under the multiple annoyances of the railway strike. And I tried 11 12 to formulate a little in my mind what might be the hazards and the hopes of the coming confer ence of European nations, which is now in session at the Quai d’Or say. The proposals made by our coun try for Europe’s economic rehabi litation appeal to the practically universal longing of the European peoples to get to work and start a real, planned reconstruction of their shattered economies. It cannot be too strongly em phasized over here that the great majority of the European peoples are not, fundamentally, looking for mere gifts. If they have had to look for handouts up to now, it is because so little else has seem ed in any way available to them. “For generations,” said M. Bidault at the opening session on July 13, “men of all countries who re jected a selfish nationalism have longed for this assembly which is being held today.” It is often said that people fail to learn the lessons taught by war. In the main, this is unhappily true. Nevertheless, certain mat ters have been so terrifically im pressed by recent experiences that it is hard to see how they can be very readily forgotten. There are the lessons of economy and doing-without, of Ingenuity in utilizing slender resources — food, clothing, recreation, etc. — which contrast with our own easy waste fulness in the U.S.A. There remains, in the Latin countries, the strong family spirit; and an ever-increasing and healthy concern over the assaults which religious decay and modern social conditions have made upon the fa mily. There is a much sharper vision than we appear to possess of how precious a thing is the-soil, or any of a nation’s God-given re sources, and of what will befall a country when these resources are wasted or misused. And then, there is ever-present the stark vision of utter destruc tion, of what man has done to man, and can again do, only in still more terrible form. On the other hand, the battle with war’s mise ries has deepened the sense of what cooperative effort really means. While Europe is plagued by so cial and national divisions which appall an American by their his tory-laden tenacity, there is also a keen sense of what it means actually to overcome some of these differences; of the release and peace which are achieved by a vic tory over them. But then an ever-present query comes to the mind: how far can any such plan stand up against the furious opposition of Moscow and the Moscow-controlled com munist parties in the Western countries 7 Or—to put the same question in OCTOBER, 1947 13 another fashion — how far can the countries which are now con ferring in Paris stand up against the blackmail of pressure, lies and threats of violence which the same parties exert upon all who refuse to do Moscow’s will? To such a broad question there are obviously a hundred answers. But since the question is capital, and space is limited, I wish mere ly to note thrqe or four points which, it seems to me, must be kept in mind if the difficulties are to be rightly appraised — and if our own American assistance is to be a help and not a hindrance. 1. The threat of communist sa botage and communist vengeance is very real, and the danger and complexity of the situation which the rapid development if the Com munist Party has produced in Western Europe can hardly be ex aggerated. As some French cynic remarked: “In France we have only one party, the CP; the rest are but four ways of voting anti communist.” In Italy, especially, the situa tion is peculiarly terrifying. Alone of all the groups and parties, the Communists emerged from the Resistance movement fully organ ized, amply financed, with trained men and a definite program. In the field of government and in the field of labor where, in all these countries, 'the fiercest bat tle exists between the Christian concept of social justice and the steady progress of communist to talitarianism, there is a woeful lack of leaders. Twenty years of fascism have left their fatal mark upon Italy’s younger generation, and the great men of th© Chris tian democracy often find it stiff going. Unlike its French counter part, Italy’s socialism presents no buffer between Christian demo cracy and communism, such as exists in France (Blum, Auriol, etc.). And, financially, much of the time Christian democracy has had to operate on a shoestring. In France the Communists are clamoring for a return to the Gov ernment, even threaten to seize po wer, and brandish the threat of what they can do through their control of the CGT (General Con federation of Labor). In addition, western Europe is paralyzed by the fear of war, for the vision of its horrors is im mediate and devastating. I know no question that is more frequent ly asked of an American traveler today than: "Are they talking in the United States of another war?" The thought was terrifying that Europe might suddenly become the no-man’s-land in a war be tween two outside Powers. As Count Della Torre pointed out in his much-commented-on articles in Osservaflore Romano, communism 14 THE CROSS thrives on physical violence direct, ed against it quite as well as on violence used in its behalf; some times even better. "The words of Pius XII in his anxious vigil of 1939 are still valid... With war everything can be lost — and we wonder what still remains to be lost after two world wars — but all can be regained by peace." But — and the "but” is impor tant — the news that the U.S. is well (prepared for defense did not evoke the same reaction. A de fense that might prevent war was welcomed. Implicit in Europe’s confidence in the U.S. is the con sciousness of our country’s mili tary might; and, after a brief burst of glory, Henry Wallace’s European star has rapidly set. They are mighty glad that we are armed with the big guns, although they hope to heaven that we shall not have to fire them. 2. But there is another and a very different side to the commu nist picture. During the last few weeks the communist bluff has been called: not once alone but many times over, and each time with increasing effect. De GaBperri had to face physical violence in Venice, but his seemingly shaky Government, which excludes Com munists, has stood firm. The “Blum experiment” in con trolling prices came to an end in France with a grinding jolt that nearly knocked Premier Ramadier out of his seat; but he has hung on in power, without the Commu nists. The French railway strike came and went, as did other strikes; but the CP did not succeed in takin over. And, unless there is an explosion before these lines are printed, the Marshall Plan will have got under way in the face of their vituperation and fury. The vast masses of the people are be ginning to breathe a little easier, to take a more hopeful and con fident view of things, and to won der if, after all, they may not be able somehow to limp along on three legs, even if the fourth leg, that of eastern Europe — Rus sia’s satellite countries: Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, etc. — is hopelessly lamed. And Molo tov, as Anne O’Hare McCormick has so clearly explained, is facing a terrible dilemma in his attempts to scuttle the plan. In other words, the Truman doctrine, with its implication of military defense, and the Marshall Plan, with its implication of a great nation’s strength behind its proposals of aid and reconstrua tion, have put a ghost of new hope into a political and financial mi sery that seemed to be spiraling into a whirlpool of destruction. 3. The query is sometimes made: why should the Marshall OCTOBER, 1947 15 Plan be striving to save Europe through economic measures, when, as everybody knows, the real trou ble is political? Were the politic al terror out of the way, the eco nomic problem would be solved with comparatively little difficul ty. It is the political, not the eco nomic, considerations which are forcing Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Rumania to look helplessly on from behind the So viet barbed wire; and it is politics, first and last, which keeps Europe in turmoil. Wise men will have iflany an swers to this question, but one an swer seems to be plain enough. It is precisely because no progress can be made along the political line that the people of western Europe are glad to forget politics for the time being and finally get down to work upon sober, econo mic realities. . Although the future remains still uncertain, and a thousand ha zards surround the conferees, there is satisfaction in finding out what can be done if there is at least a minimum of political free dom and good will; in discovering what each country, despite its in dividual hardships, can supply to others in the matter of cereals, meat, fish, fuel, building mate rials, textiles and other prime ne cessities; so that the appeal to the U.S. will be based upon honest manhood, not upon irresponsible beggary. The experiences of the recent months, too, have taught a pro found and deeply significant les son. Where genuine human eco nomic needs are concerned, where focus is kept upon the actual pro blems of the individual, particu larly of the individual family, com munism is not a help but a hind rance to a practical economic so lution. This philosophy has be come particularly apparent in the field of the trades unions. Italian Christian and socialist syndicates have found themselves weak precisely because they had allowed themselves to degenerate into political rather than strictly trades-union agencies. And the Christian Trades-Union Federa tion in France, the CFTC, just a year ago, at its 22nd Conference, the second after the liberation, ex pressly emphasized the "absolute independence of the Christian syndical movement from all political formations and parties — all at tempts to intrigue for political ends under cover of trades-union activity.” Despite all its vaunted might, the CGT has of late suf fered notable secessions. Its Achilles* heel is the growing distaste of the western European industrial worker for politics-rid den syndicalism. And, as a re 16 THE CROSS suit, he is drawn closer to his con freres in the United States, who have built their unionism on a sound, non-political basis. 4. In conclusion, may I note two very simple considerations which need to be kept in mind, if America’s aid is to be both wel come and effective. The first is, that if Europe is to be encouraged to help itself, Europe’s confidence must be main tained. That confidence we now possess, to a surprising and hope ful degree, because we have made clear that we harbor no intention of interfering in the internal af fairs of the various states; nor are we asking them to interfere with one another more than is ab solutely necessary for solid, prac tical economic reasons. It is for them, not for us, to take the initiative in the limita tion of their own sovereignty. We have not tormented them with irritating demands that they “bury their differences,’’ and try with one sudden swoop to turn the clock of history backward. The truth is that they cannot of a sud den forget their differences. Time and a new Europe should erase some of these; but such a happy state of things must grow from below: the Low Countries must practise their “Benelux" customs agreement before they-can proceed to a higher form of unity. Unity as such, even political unity, is a bright und welcome vision. But we cannot hand that desirable unity to them upon a silver platter. And, last not least, our first, short-range aid must come, as one keen European observer remarked, not in driblets, but “suddenly,” as a powerful shock to the public psychology. If it is doled out in driblets, if we haggle and nego tiate, the total impression will be lost in detail and cross-purposes. What America has decided to do for Europe’s reconstruction, be it much or little, must be.done quick ly, in one strong, clear action, that the whole world may see it. All the power and ingenuity of CP propaganda will be mobilized dur ing these coming weeks, to capture with a few appealing slogans the imagination of the millions who are now munching their gritty, scant cornbread in lands where wheat is really the staff of life. Too often we have acted too late, even if not too little. The time to act is now, not next month or next winter. Human hearts fol low human needs, and the heart of Europe is now in the balance. WOMEN PUZZLE ME Cirilo Mendoza “All women puzzle me. But God bless ’em!" WOMEN puzzle me. I should know. I’ve been married for three years now and I still can’t make my wife out. Sometimes I wonder whether I married her in spite of that or because of that. There are times when I look at her and ask myself how I ever managed to get this paragon of virtues to keep house for me; I feel like a speck of dust at these times. And other times, I feel like tearing out my receding hair by the handfuls; she seems such a bundle of vagaries and whims of enough magnitude and quanti ty to try the patience of Job him self. The other day I was lost in ad miration as I watched her sitting before her dressing table. “Look at her,” I murmured under my breath: "married six years, and she doesn’t show it, with that face of an angel and the figure of a bluefish. Now, why on earth did she fall in love with me?” Suddenly, she frowned at her self and bent closer to the mir ror, the better to examine the imaginary wrinkles on her brow. “I don’t like my nose,’’ she de clared vehemently. “It’s a snub nose." “Don’t say that,” I told her. “It’s a lovely nose, cute and pert. I wouldn’t have it different for the world.” “You’re blind,” she shot back. “You’re saying that just to please me.” “Of course not. I’m telling you the truth.” “You’re not. I know I’m snub nosed.” “All right. I give up. It’s a snub-nose.” “Is it?” she gave a start. “Don’t you think it really is a pert nose?” She examined her nose from a corner of an eye, try ing to see it as much in profile as possible. “That’s what I’ve been telling you; it’s pert.” “But you just said it’s snub.” “Only because you said so your self,” I answered, beginning to feel at little exasperated.” "And before we were married, you used to say that I had the cutest nose in the world.” She looked at me reproachfully, al most as if I had just kicked Jun17 18 THK CROSS lor in the pants. "I still think it’s the cutest nose in the world.’’ I declared, protestingly. My wife has a way of putting me in the wrong every time we start an argument. I got out quickly and drowned my sorrows in a cloud of cigaret te smoke. I could have used a neat whiskey, but my wife has made me swear off liquor; that, accord ing to her, includes beer. My wife can never keep her ac counts right. I always have to help her whenever she wants to find out whether she’s been over spending again. It would really be worth getting mad about if she spent it on herself. But she spends it on me. One day I got one of those nice letters from the bank, telling that my wife had overdrawn her ac count again. Of course I took it up with her. She was apologetic. “But I saw such a lovely bath robe for you,” she told me, "all white with sky blue lining, and it could be initialled, free of charge, and I wanted so much to give you a nice birthday gift...” I got mad with her on princi ple, but I kissed her. However, I have worn that fancy bathrobe exactly once, in order not to hurt her feelings. She’s crazy about bargain sales. Last week she came home with a load of linoleum. “Do you think,” I asked her, “that your husband is made of money?” "But, darling," she explained, “it didn’t cost me a single cent." I was a little mollified. “But what on earth has come over the store people?” I said. “Are they giving away linoleum free these days?” “Well, not exactly,” she said. I sucked at my pipe, deeply, and kept calm, the calm before the storm. “You see, the store was offering a 50 per cent discount on all linoleum sales. So you see I bought these on what I saved.” Figuratively I tore my hair off by the handfuls. I,said soft ly, "And you bought something else to get that discount off in the first place,” I tried to explain for her. "Silly,” she said. “Do you think I want to spend too much in one store?" I gave up. She’s a very funny woman, my wife. She hates cigarettes, but says there’s nothing she’d rather see a man with than a pipe. “It’s so manly,” she says, and insists on cleaning my pipes for me. She even insisted otni giving them names. My Bryson air-cooled is “Silver Lady.” My a-la-Sherloc^Holmes is “Mae West.” My virgin briar is “Sugah.” And, to top it OCTOBER, 1947 19 all, aha insisted to calling the pipe she gave me "Dearly Be loved.” After all, she explains, it isn’t an ordinary pipe; she gave it to me. Maybe I should have taken for granted from the very start that I would never be able to really understand her; she gave me warning right from the start. I remember an incident that hap pened before we were married. I visited her one afternoon and she came out, looking so lovely and sweet, just as if she had just had a bath, that I couldn’t help feeling all choked-up. When I could regain my breath, I greeted her: "Hello, funny-face.” “I know my face is funny,” she told me, making a little pout“You haven’t got me right, darling,” I remonstrated, “that’s just a ’term of endearment.’ It means I love you.” "But you just said my face was funny, didn’t you?” "Yes, but” “All right; it’s funny.” And she’s been that way since. To my wife I hereby serve no tice that she should never critic ize her looks. Doesn’t she know that every time she does that, she’s merely insulting her hus band’s impeccable taste? My wife puzzles me. All women puzzle me. But God bless ’em! In the accounts of the early Jesuits who preached the faith among the Indians of North America the following story is recorded: One of the fathers was trying to win over a dying Indian, but as soon sb he began to speak of heaven, the Indian interrupted him. “Do they hunt in heaven 7” “No, there is no need for hunting there.” “Do they go to feasts and fill themselves with roasted venison?” “No.” “Do they make war in heaven?” “No, everyone is at peace there.” “Then I won’t go,” the Indian said. “It is not good to be lazy.” —THE LIGOURIAN THINK A MINUTE Fit to print... or print to fit? WHEN a man bites a dog— that’s news. People want to read all about it. Hu man nature is curious about what is new, exciting, or even fantastic. Moreover, in order to get the man-bites-dog story, people will buy newspapers. They will pay their nickel. One of the results is that the publisher of the paper will make money. And it is for the purpose of making money, among other reasons, that the publisher is in business. His bread and butter, and his champagne and caviar, depend upon his ability to feed public curiosity. It is as sim ple as that — almost. The process of feeding human curiosity has certain limitations. Some of these limitations are psychological, in the sense that even the public curiosity can be come jaded or disgusted. Some of them are legal, since the libel laws prevent publishing certain things. Some of them aie tradi tional, as for instance, when a reporter will not betray his secret source of inside information. But, apparently, in many papers one of the limitations set upon the process of feeding human curio sity is not the consideration of public morality. Or simply, moral right and wrong. To be very spe cific, we don’t mean that newspa pers cheat, slander, or blaspheme. But we do mean that they feed morally sinful curiosity; and they do belittle, deride, and snicker at the sacred institution of marriage. They do it in their news stories; they do it in their so-called chatty columns; they do it in their pic tures; and they permit it to be done in their advertising. Not all papers fail in this re gard, of course. But most of the big metropolitan dailies of the West certainly do. Their news stories, especially o f' crimes, or trials of crime, are pock-marked with sly, suggestive innuendoes, or lurid and brutal details which no one can miss. Their gossip columns, and even the pages sup posed to chronicle the polite and elegant goings-on of society’s Four Hundred, in well-chosen phrases smirk and chuckle and make light of legalized adultery. And to make the matter utterly monstrous, this sort of frothy poison and sophisti cated filth appears in the same issues with pious editorials decry ing juvenile delinquency or col umns devoted to promoting r^li20 OCTOBER, 1947 21 gion for youth. Publishers and answer, however, little matter of curiosity? Well, wants what we 5 must be served... editors have an Remember that feeding human if the public vrite, the public We doubt that the public wants that sort of thing; in fact, more and more people are becoming nauseated with it. But even if the public did want it, the publish ers and editors have no moral right to give it to them. If peo ple want physical poison hurtful to themselves, that fact does not give anyone a moral right to give it to them. Feeding people moral poison is just as immoral. We doubt very much whether such newspaper publishers would agree with us. They do not agree that human curiosity can be sin ful curiosity, titillating perverse passions, or being amused at sin, is sinful. But here is where the Christian parts company with the Pagan. What are you going to do about it? May you continue to let such immoral stuff enter your home? May you let your children be ex posed to its subtle effects? May you, by buying such papers, con tinue to let the publishers think the "public wants it”? The only language the publish er understands in this matter is a dropping off of the nickels that buy the papers, the fading of cir culation that attracts fat adver tising contracts. Cancel your subscripition. The Western Tertiary RETORT CAUSTIC Father Tom Burke, the famous Irish Dominican, had a great fondr ness for riding on the top of an omnibus. Once when doing so after a long service in Dublin, he produced his breviary and was soon deeplyabsorbed in prayer. A non-Catholic sitting near by took occasion to comment. “The Lord tell us,” he said, “that when we pray, we should not be as the hypocrites who love to pray in public so that they may be seen by men. When I pray, I enter into my room close the door, and pray in secret.” Without looking up. Father Burke replied aloud, “Yes, and then you get on top of an omnibus and tell the world about it.” LIGHT FOR THE BLIND Jean Lawrie Holzhauer “To light the way for youth who walk in darkness...” IN Mexico City today, a young man is making a comfortable income as a salesman of stocks and bonds, although he is totally blind. In a Chicago high school, a girl student carries a full load of aca demic work and maintains a straight “A” average in all her courses. She too is blind — the first sightless student to be admit ted to a Catholic high school in her city, A blind merchant carries on business transactions throughout the city of Colorado Springs, Co lo., supporting his wife and two children by operating a grocery store. At Marquette University, Mil waukee, a young woman teaches as a full professor in the philoso phy department and makes fre quent lecture trips to neighboring cities, although she, too, is eight ies'*. Each of these people is guided in his daily activities by a Master Eye German Shepherd dog, ob tained through Bishop Bernard J. Shell’s new program for the blind in connection with the La Salle Kennels in Minneapolis. They are four of thirty-six per sons supplied with guide dogs since the Bishop’s plan whs in corporated as the Master Eye Foundation in April, 1945. Well known for his work as founder and director of the Ca tholic Youth Organization in Chicago, Bishop Sheil has organ ized activities fcr young people in the fields of religion, education, recreation, and social service the country over. Through the years, he had become increasingly cons cious of one major lack: the Church in the United States had no program for its blind youth, except in local and unorganized instances. Attracted by publicity accord ed by the late Alexander Woollcott to the famed "Seeing Eye” dogs of Morristown, N.J., Bishop Sheil found on inquiry that al though the plan was fairly suc cessful, the cost of the dogs and their training was prohibitive for many blind young people. For a w..ile he considered various ways of making such a service 22 OCTOBER, 1947 28 available to larger clientele. Then he heard of La Salle Kennels in Minneapolis, and his dark, sym pathetic eyes gleamed. “This time”, he told his CYO colieagues in Chicago, “I think we’ve got it.” La Salle Kennels had been ope rated in Minneapolis since 1925 by a Russian Jew named Jack Sinykin. Deeply interested in the problems of his sightless, Sinykin was accused early in his career of trying to exploit them by com petition with the better-known Seeing Eye Foundation. His re action to the charge was to avoid all forms of advertising and pub licity. For twenty years he worked at improving and enlarging his guide dog service, but so quietly that he attracted only a fraction of the notice given to Morristown. Sinykin’s interest in dogs dates from the first World War. Dur ing that war he had studied re ports on Shepherds trained by the German Army for work on the battlefield and was impressed by their intelligence. As an ex periment, he imported a few of them to Minnesota. He trained the dogs at home, where they learned to serve as guardians for his infant sons and watchdogs for the household in general. So gentle and docile were the animals that one of them would carry the baby’s bottle to him at feeding time and hold it motionless while the baby lay on a pillow on the floor and drank his formula. "If dogs will do that,” Sinykin reasoned, "there must be other peacetime services they can per form.” He found the answer in a train trip through the Midwest. On the train and later, in the station he witnessed the helpless difficul ties of a fellow traveler. The man was blind, and despite a cane and the occasional assistance of passers-by had an agonizing time finding his way through the crowds. Sinykin thought of his dogs. Many times he had seen them pa tiently guide the faltering steps of the babies at home. As soon as he returned to Minneapolis he organized a new course of train ing for them: one which would turn them into companions and guides — “eyes" for sightless masters. One of the first dogs, appro priately named “Lux,” he sent to the late Senator Thomas D. Schall of Minnesota. The blind senator took a course of instruc tion from Sinykin in the handling of his dog, and thereafter until the dog*6 death relied on Lux to lead him in campaign tours, va cations, and all {public and private 24 THE CROSS activities Lux died of a broken heart af ter five days’ separation from his master, when the senator found it impossible to take the dog with him on a business trip. So grate ful was Schall for Lux’s service that he eulogized the dog in a speech before the United States Senate. The eulogy was includ ed in the Congressional Record, and Sinykin received his first— and only—national publicity tb date. The La Salle Kennels’ policy differs in two major ways from that of the Seeing Eye Founda tion. In the first place, Sinykin breeds all of his own dogs See ing Eye buys most of theirs. It is Sinykin’s belief that the true German Shepherd breed pos sesses the qualities requisite for guiding the blind — gentleness, tractability, and a high degree of devotion to duty—and that these qualities can be intensified by careful breeding. He selects only the best of each new liter for training. The other puppies are sold as pets, breed dogs, or show dogs. Secondly, Sinykin does not charge hi3 blind clients for more than /the cost of the dogs them selves. There are no extra charges for either the training of the dog or the training of the client. Sinykin has steadfastly refused to serve organization exploiting the blind. More than once he has hired auditors to check the books of groups purporting to spon sor sightless applicants for one oi the La Salle dogs. If the auditors find evidence that organization funds are being used for purposes other than to assist the blind, the trainer finds that no dog is avail able for them. «Dogs selected for training are put through a two-year course as intensive as any given to a pilot for Uncle Sam’s Air Corps. Cho sen for their courage, faithful ness, and intelligence, the dogs must be taught to distinguish such subtleties as a comparison of their own height with the height of persons they will guide. They must learn to consider their masters, not themselves. They must recognize obstacles under which they may pass with com plete safety, but which might hurt or maim their masters, such as low awnings overhanging the sidewalk. They must also learn concen tration in the midst of noise and distractions like those they will meet in guiding their masters across intersections teeming with traffic. They must be taught to solve difficulties which they have never experienced. Always, their training stresses the fact that the dogs must guard their mas ters as well as guide them. Impossible as it seems, the dogs trained at La Salle Kennels have OCTOBER, 1947 never failed in their complicated tasks. No blind persons guided by them have come to harm, though one dog lost his life in pushing his master frcm the path of an oncoming car. The process which transforms a yipping, scrapping puppy to a responsible, efficient guide dog is one requiring endless hours of patient instruction. Sinykin him self supervises the training of every dog, but is aided in his work by a staff of experts in cluding two of the sons who, as babies, were the La Salle dogs’ first charges. The 50-acre grounds at the Kennels include an “obstacle course” where dog3 as well as clients must learn the elements of co-cperation. Puppies’ training begins as soon as they are old enough to understand a command. They are taught to respond to orders, first, then fitted with har nesses and leashes and taught to lead their masters down straight and winding pathways, up and down steps, through swinging gates and around sand pits and trenches, and eventually, of course, through metropolitan traffic. Their training completed, the dogs are prepared to guide under any conditions bar one: they are not to be expected to perform for unsuitable or incompatible mas ters, Clients, therefore are just 25 as carefully selected as the dogs. Arriving at La Salle Kennels, they are introduced immediately to Sinykin but not to the dcgs. For a week they visit with the trainer while he explores in his easy, conversational way, their activities and living conditions. “Gosh!” a blind boy frcm New York said, after his first audience with Sinykin. “He found out more about me than I ever told anyone, and I 'hardly knew he was doing it until it was all over!” The purpose of all this visit ing, cf course, is to discover how well the applicants are likely to get along with their dogs. Some clients have been rejected, always with regret, by Sinykin, who ex plains it to them this way: "There are some people who just can’t get along with any dog. We couldn’t guarantee your safe ty if we gave ycu one of our She pherds just now. Maybe in a year or two, if you’ll apply again...” Rejects are not always made on a personality evaluation. Sometimes an applicant will be admirably suited to own a dog— gentle, considerate cf animals’ welfare, well balanced—but sim ply not physically strong enough to control a dog by the harness system that Master Eye trainers use. These people are turned away with extreme reluctance by Sinykin. He is trying to think of ways to make the handling of 26 dcgs possible for the crippled or physically weak. It is not necessary, he points out for prospective clients to be ‘‘crazy about dogs " Many men and women successfully served by Master Eye had only the most casual interest in pets of any kind before coming to Sinykin. They usually become deeply at tached to their guide dogs, though, and in a very short time. Once accepted by the trainers, after their week of interviews, the clients are introduced to the dogs. This is often a .dramatic moment. More than one girl client has cried, realizing that the introduction means the beg inning of a new life. Sinykin tries to match the per sonalities cf dog and client Thus a handsome young man affecting ascots, flashy sports jackets, and and theatrical ambitions, got a blond female Shepherd with a tendency to pose in profile for audiences of her own. The high school girl in Chicago was given a serious, business-like animal who attends strictly to her job and saves her frolicsome moods for "after school.” All clients undergo the same basic training: two weeks beg inning with walks on the “obsta cle course” at the Kennels. The course covers several acres, and when they have mastered it they are informed that this is “only the beginning.” Turned loose on the highway passing the Kennels, the clients have their first experience with traffic. For several days they and their dogs, dodge automobiles, trucks, bicycles, and wagons, traveling at various rates of speed both ways on the road, “We walk,” as one girl put it, “and we walk, until we can't take another step. Then we walk some more.” That part of their training ac complished, the clients face their last and most difficult test. In groups, sometimes with Sinykin and sometimes withcut him, they make excursions into nearby Minneapolis and St. t’aul. There they go shopping, attend concerts, meet friends for luncheon and din ner in the several large restau rants and hotels, and face every hazard that normal metropolitan life cffers, .including elevators, escalators, and revolving doors. Little by little they gain con fidence in themselves and their dogs, until at last they are strid ing along as freely, and often as quickly and gracefully, as their companions with normal vision. Sinykin’s “pupils" are familiar sights in the two cities, and res taurant managers and hotel staffs are on the lookout, ready to ac cord them any services required. OCTOBER, 1947 27 They are instructed, however, that no special assistance is to be offered unless absolutely necessa ry. The clients must preserve their sense of independence and leam how it feels to be entirely "on their own.” A college professor recently equipped with a Master Eye dog remarked that for the first time in his life he knows what it means to feel really free. "Bishop Sheil suggested that I buy a guide dog ten years ago,”, he said. “I refused. I had a notion that dogs merely attract attention to the fact that one is blind, and I wanted to avoid that at all costa. I didn’t know until I final ly got a Master Eye deg how wrong my attitude was." The hardest part of the train ing Sinykin says, is the first few weeks of adjustment when the client has returned home with his dog. Here there is no competent trainer to turn to for advice, no voice -of authority that the dog has learned over a period of months to respect and obey. One girl reported that for the first week her dog leaped to at tention every time he heard a male voice. “He was thinking of Jack, wishing he was there,” she said. ‘'Sometimes I wished so, too.” The period is quickly over, however. The dog settle down to their lives and learn to love their new masters as devotedly as they did their trainer. Sinykin, of course, can always be reached by mail and often keeps in touch with his clients for years, offer ing advice and suggestions in the handling of their dogs. It is Bishop Sheil’s plan to con tinue the service, directed by Si nykin, exactly as it has been, but to raise funds to facilitate the serving of many more blind young people aware of the service. The funds are being raised through private donation to the Master Eye Foundation, which is "pledge to do "its utmost to as sure the fact that every blind youth in America capable of uti lizing a guide dog i3 afforded the opportunity of obtaining one. Bishop Sheil has already be gun his personal work for the Foundation, as head of the newly appointed Board of Directors. He has found several candidates for guide dogs from his own list cf 28 THE CROSS friends and acquaintances, and constantly stresses the point that the service is available to all without regard for color, race or creed. That, the Foundation thinks, is the best way to achieve its end: “To Light the Way for Youth Who Walk in Darkness.” —END— PRAYER FOR A SON Lord, I can do without a boy. The girls you sent us have been apple sweet, Voices ever in song or cry or laughter, And they have bells upon their glancing feet. Lord, I can do without a boy. Lord, girls are just as good as boys. True, they can’t run so fast or hike so far; They’ll bait their hook until they enter high school And they have little sense to drive a car. Yet girls are good as boys. Lord, girls are good as gold. But I can do without too large a hoard. Two menfolk in a house could get a hearing Where one is too easily ignored— Though girls are good as gold. Lord, I can do without a boy. Surely a boy might grieve me night and day. There’s plenty of room to think about Saint Joseph And how his lad was needed for the Way. Lord, it is yours to say. By LOUIS HASLEY The Sign Magazine What's Your Moral I. Q.? Allow ten points for each question. One hundred per cent means that you are a moral theologian; 90, you know the law; 80, your are about average; 70 you’d better join a study club. SCANDAL AND OCCASIONS OF SIN 1. What is scandal? 2. The Borlongans play mahjong every Sunday night. The neigh bors say they are scandalized. Are the Borlongans guilty of sin? 3. What is direct scandal? 4. Alberto tells dirty stories to high-school companions. Is he right in excusing himself on the plea. “The stories don’t bo ther me and I don’t intend spiritual harm to others.” 5. Isabel dresses immodestly and uses excessive make-up so that her boy friend will take liberties with her. What sin is she guilty of? 6. What are proximate occasions of sin? 7. In the last five out of six times Beatriz has committed mortal sins of impurity when alone with a certain boy. Merely by going out with him again, Beatriz commits (mortal sin, venial sin, no sin). 8. Baldomero often becomes intoxicated with certain companions. To go with them again is a (mortal sin, venial sin, no sin). 9. May Rufino continue with certain necessary medical courses which have proved a proximate occasion of sin? 10. What are the meanB whereby proximate occasions may be made remote? 29 What Kind of a Theologian Are You ? Give yourself 10 points for each of the 10 questions which you answer correctly. If you score 96-100, give yourself a SCL (summa cum laude); 90-95, a MCL (magna cum laude); 85-90, a CL (cum laude); 80-85, a BP (bene probatus); 70-80, a P (probatus); 60-70, a NP (non probatus). THE EUCHARIST 1. In the Bible the Eucharist is called (a) the Blessed Sacra ment; (b) the Sacrament of the Altar; (c) the Sacrament of Bread and Wine; (d) the Breaking of Bread. 2. The words of institution, “This is My Body,’* are found in (a) St Matthew; (b) St. Mark; (c) St. Luke; (d) St. John; (e) St. Paul. 3. Is it of divine and Catholic faith that after the consecration Jesus Christ true God and true man, is contained under the species (a) truly; (b) really; (c) substantially? 4. Is it of divine and Catholic faith that the Holy Eucharist con tains (a) the Body and Blood of Christ; (b) the Soul and Div inity of Christ; (c) the whole Christ? 5. Is it correct to say that the Body of Christ in the Blessed Sacra ment (a) is round; (b) tastes sweet; (c) looks white; (d) is eaten by the faithful. 6. The principal effect of the Eucharist is the remission of sins. 7. Proper effects of the Eucharist are (a) the union of the soul with Christ by love; (b) spiritual reflection of the soul; (c) increase of sanctifying grace; (d) a certain spiritual delight; (e) destruction of concupiscence. 8. Is it proper to say that the Eucharist is (a) a pledge of our glory to come; (b) an antidote whereby we may be freed from faults and preserved from mortal sins? 9. Is it true that the Latin Church once administered the Euchar rist to infants under the species of wine immediately after baptism and Confirmation? 10. To receive Holy Communion frequently it is sufficient that one be in the state of grace and approach the Holy Table with a right and devout intention. 30 OCTOBER, 1947 31 MORAL 1. Q. ANSWERS 1. Scandal is a word or act which because of its very nature or because of circumstances tends to lead another into sin. 2. The Borlongans are not guilty of sin since the action neither in itself nor in the circumstances tends to lead others into sin. The so-called scandal comes from the abnormal disposition of the neighbors. 3. Direct scandal is that in which the sin of another is both fore seen and intended. 4. Alberto 6ins because the stories would most likely cause some of his companions to have bad thoughts. This is called in direct scandal, that is, the harm is not intended. 5. Isabel is guilty of direct scandal, which is a sin against charity, and in this case also a sin against purity. 6. They are either (1) circumstances in which any ordinary individ ual is almost certain to sin, or (2) circumstances in which the individual in question as a rule sins. 7. Beatriz commits a mortal sin merely by putting herself into a proximate question of sin in which it is almost morally certain that she will sin mortally. It is not a mortal sin if Beatriz takes effective safeguards, i.e. make sure they are never alone. 8. A venial sin if it is only probable Baldomero will become intoxi cated but moral sin if it is morally certain. 9. Yes, if Rufino takes the means to minimize and resist the temptations which arise. 10. The best means are prayer, the sacraments, custody of the eyes, avoidance of idleness. DOGMA QUIZ ANSWERS 1. a—No. b—No. c—No. Yes. 2. a—Yes. b—Yes. c—Yes. d—No. e—Yes. 3. a—Yes. b—Yes. c—Yes. 4. a—Yes. b—YeB. c—Yes. 5. a—No. b—No. c—No. d—Yes. 6. No. 7. a—Yes. b—Yes. c—Yes. d—Yes. e—No. 8. a—Yes b—Yes. 9. Yes. 10. Yes. —Adapted from “The Queen’s Work” THE UNCOMMON HERD by Antonio R. de Joya A few months ago, a young man strode into the Com monweal office and walked over to the manager’s desk. He was just .a str.ding, and the thing about him that struck you right away was the intensity that blazed in his eyes from time to time. It seemed that he wanted to work in the press. “Have you had any exper ience in the printing busi ness?” he was asked. “None,” he confessed. The manager sized the young man up. He was im pressed. Besides, the young man was the brother of a convert who was fast gain ing a name as a Catholic writer; he himseTf was a convert. “All right,” the manager said. "We’ll take you on as a linotypist’s apprentice. How much do you expect to earn?” The applicant paused for a moment. “Nothing,” he said. The older man was puzzled; he had never come across a young man like this before.“And how do you expect to live?” he asked. “I don’t care very much about a salary as long as I have a roof over my head and three meals a day,” the young man answered. “My brother takes care of that.” For a long time the man ager was speechless. Finally he asked: “Why are you do ing all this?” And this time the young man did not hesitate. "This,” he answered, "is my idea of Catholic Action.” As far as I know this young man -is still working at the press, burning his fingers and getting printer’s ink and grease all over his face for a thing he calls Ca tholic Action. He does not know and, perhaps, never will, that this has been writ ten about him. But if he does, he will be glad that his name is not mentioned. 32 OCTOBER, 1947 I must confess that when I heard about this case for the first time, I was a little skeptical. I didn’t believe it when they told me this young man had been working as a press apprentice, until I had sought him out and got to know him. Of course, we never talked about" the great and humble work that he was doing. We both would have felt a little mean dis turbing one of those things that lie nearest the heart and are better left unknown ex cept to God. But after I left him that afternoon, I felt a little ashamed of myself, ashamed because I and a lot of other men seemed so much smaller in comparison to this young grease-smeared stripling in a pair of soiled trousers. And after I had left him, I re membered another young man whom I had met and known and loved when I was a little younger. We were teaching catech ism in one of the dirtier parts of the Tondo slums, where a large proportion of the popu lation was composed of thugs and hoodlums. It was a part of Manila so tough that our pupils asked, not for religious pictures and medals, but Piedmont cigarettes; so hard ened were they to all that was lowest in human nature that, week after week, we would find our pupils engros sed in a game of “Lucky Nine” or “Twenty-one” when they should have been wait ing for thJJir classes to begin. I suppose it was inevitable that we should have gotten mixed up in a brawl in that sordid neighborhood. This young man, my friend, fared very well for himself, but he emerged with a bloody nose. When the smoke of battle had cleared and we could limp off to lick our wounds, we went into a cafeteria for a cup of coffee. I must con fess that I was a little dis heartened at the violent op position with which our attempts at Catholic Action had met. Over our coffee I asked him: “Have you ever asked yourself what this Catholic Action really means?” And the answer he gave, I think, was the most beautiful ex planation I had ever heard. “Tony,” he said, “you may think I’m a heretic, but I never think of Catholic Ac 34 THE CROSS tion in terms of that defini tion given by the Pope. To me,” he continued, "Catholic Action is a little boy running, trouserless, down the street to meet his teacher. It’s the face of a little girl with tears in her eyes because she thinks Rene Goupil got a worse beating from the Indians than you or I got this after noon. It’s the look in a man’s eyes when he’s forgotten to struggle against that little thing you and I call grace. So there you are, Tony, and to heck with bloody noses!” This was the other young man I remembered as I walked out of the printing shop. AT PEACE Let her alone, let The green grass grow round where She lays; let the sweet fragrant Wild flowers fair Deck the dome of her Cold lonely tomb. At peace — she is there — Oh, if we were as blest! God is hers. Let her rest. Never again will the taste Of earth’s bitterness touch Her lips now so pure. (Dedicated to Miss Dolores Borja in memory of the death of her sister, Josefa.—by Mario T. Gatbonton.) (ROSS SECTIONS ol FILIPINIANA THE MAN QUEZON One evening the late President Manuel L. Quezon was motoring to hia home town with a number of friends. In the course of the trip the .party met a procession of the Blessed Sacrament in one of the towns. Without further ado, the President ordered the driver to park by the roadside and stepping out, knelt down on the bare ground. His companions, some of whom were Masons of the highest degree, stood speechless for a mo ment, but presently sheepishly followed suit. Rev. Francisco Avendano Antipolo, Rizal COLAYCO AND THE SANCT UARY LAMP It happened during the hectic guerrilla days. Captain Manuel Colayco and his men were be nighted' in a small deserted town where stood a lonely monastery. Having a chaplain in their com pany, the 'guerrilleros* decided to seek shelter for the might with the friars. Unfortunately they were told in no uncertain terms that they could not be admitted. Co layco was so enraged that that night in the hills he ordered his men to “kidnap” the friars for “questioning". The genial chaplain however laid a staying hand on his should er and pointing to a flickering lamp in the distance, said, “Man ny, look.” It was the sanctuary lamp in the monastery chapel. Colayco nodded slowly and mut tered, “alright, father.” The friars slept soundly that night. A guerrilla padre BATAAN WEAPON I know of no better anecdote to contribute to your “Filipiniana” section than the story of the “ROSARY AND THE WAR”. It has been said that Pope Pius Vth used the Rosary as his wea pon against the Turks in the bat tle of Lepanto. And his cause Well, in Bataan there was a grouip of college students who 85 36 THE CROSS used the same weapon against the spirit of loneliness, of despair and of the sting of the flesh. Every evening, raid or no raid, they slowly counted their beads as they stormed the Mother of God with: “Pray for us, sinners, now and at the hour of our death.” And these students won. I knew most of them. They were all daily communicants. Some of them died as they had lived; the others are still living blameless lives. Augusto Vallejo 121 Sierra Madre Quezon City ...BUT TRUE I During one of my summer vac ations my friend and I decided to help our parish priest in catechiz ing the children in the remote barrios of the parish. On the com munion day of the children a good number of the barrio people at tended the Mass, some of them for the first time in years. Mass was about to begin when I found my friend trying^ hard to control his laughter. “What’s the matter,” I asked him. “Look.. at.. the... young men... in the... congregation.” he sputtered laughingly. I peeped thru a hole from the sacristy and beheld young men elegantly dres sed with handkerchiefs over their heads — for veils! Bienvenido Reyes Quezon, N. E. NO FAITH A rich man observed that his new servant, Juan, knew nothing of religion. Thereupon, he decided to ask: “Juan, what is your faith?" **I don’t know, sir.” “Poor man! Now, look here. If I tell you that I have money in my pocket and you believe with out seeing it, that is faith. Do you understand now?” “No, sir, because you have not yet given me the advance pay ment you promised me.” Benedicto Chico 367 Int. 1 Gomez Paco, Manila WHICH, SENOR? In one of our local high class restaurants, a provinciano who had been reading a lot of books of etiquette, sat down and tied his napkins under his chin. The man ager told the .waiter to let the man know without hurting his feelings that, “This wasn’t being done here.” The waiter approached his cus tomer, smiled sweetly an<P in quired, “What will it be sir, a shave or a haircut?" Roberto de la Cruz F.E.U. HURRAH FOR "NOBIS” I have a friend who unfortun OCTOBER, 1947 37 ately due to circumstances has never had any religious training of any kind either at home or in school. I once invited him to church with me and he generous ly conceded. We arrived at the church when the congregation was praying the rosary. The Litany was recited in Latin and the peo ple chorused in unison the an swer: “Ora pro nobis.” After the services, I asked my friend what he thought about the whole thing. “It was very impressive,” he answered, “but I’ve been wonder ing who this man “NOBIS” is, for whom the people were cheering. They cheered ‘HURRAH FOR NOBIS’ enthusiastically to the end.” Felix Veloso 1520 Quezon Blvd. THE GRACIOUS TOUCH When Herbert Hoover went to the Vatican for an audience with the Pope last spring, he arranged for the four Catholic crew members of his army plane to accompany him, so that they might receive the papal blessing. When the doors were opened to admit the four flyers, instead of four GIs, more than 40 lined up. Word had got around, and every Catholic at the Army field who could get away had come. The Pope instructed his chamberlain to have the GIs step forward to be blessed one by one as their names were called. All went well until the last soldier, a blushing youngster in the rear, was called. “Excuse me, Sir” he stammered in a broad Georgian accent, “but ■ I’m here under false pretense. I just came to look. You see, I’m a good Baptist!” The Pope left no time for the lad’s embarrassment to fill the room. “Kneel, my son,” he said. “There isn’t any young man who wouldn’t be better for an old man’s blessing.” * * * t * * * If men are so wicked with religion, what would they be without it? —BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. **♦ + ♦'*♦ WHAT EVERY WOMAN KNOWS Three kinds of men don’t understand women: old men, young men, and men of middle age. —IRISH PROVERB RAGS AND RICHES Narciso G. Reyes One view of the present position of the Philippine press The epigram about the rich getting richer and the poor poorer could be used a cut-lane to the journalistic picture in he Philippines today. While their less for tunate contemporaries f ght an increasingly bitter battle against the wolf at the door, the financially successful dair'es are becoming more and more securely establish ed. Their problem is expand s'on, not the hazards and in tricacies of operating in the red or just this side of it. Thus we find the Bulletin and the Time's deep in expan sion plans while the Chroni cle, the Post, the Tribune and the Liberty News have their hands full trying simply to keep their respective positions in the field. Among the af ternoon papers, the Evening News on the one hand and the Star Reporter and Even ing Herald on the other, are roughly in the same position. The root cause of course, is economic. The newspaper is back in the big time. The Indian summer of shoe string publishing, of small independent or cooperative ventures, is over, gone with the extraordinary conditions that made it possible. In the transition, superiority in equipment and facilities made itself felt more and more dec siVeUfy, all along the line. Organization, experience and advertising know-how did the rest. Assuming the technical competence of the various staffs to be about equal, the basic economic . ’situation could be reduced to the s:mplioity of grade school arith metic. More newsprint plus faster presses equals more advertising revenue, — the lifeblood of the business. Bet ter distribution, the procure ment of the syndicated fea tures indispensable to the present-day newspaper read er, and the strict hewing to editorial policies calculated to give the greatest pleasure to the greatest number of cus tomers, completed the su premacy built around this hard core of advantage. 39 OCTOBER, 1947 Men—newspapermen—are important in the building up of a successful modern news paper, but so are money and machinery. In an effort to compete on more even terms, the Chronicle turned to using a Duplex and more recently a rotary press. The Post has bought additional linotypes and is negotiating for the purchase of a rotary press (it is being printed on a Du plex machine). The Tribune will soon put up a complete printing plant of its own, in cluding a late-model rotary press. The Liberty News has acquired a “baby rotary” which will enable it to print more pages and more copies. It’s uphill climbing at best. Advertisers, and even the ordinary readers, tend to look down on and shy away from the struggling paper. In this business as in many others, nothing succeeds like success.... These developments are bound to have a decisive in fluence on the content, 'color’ and direction of the Philip pine press. Among the news papers that are being pushed to the wall by mechanical handicaps, limited circulation and advertising shortage are the “independent” dailies which have sought to exercise through their editorials and signed columns the greatest possible measure of freedom to comment, to criticize, to crusade for causes they con sidered worth-while. On the other hand, the editorially ‘‘conservative” papers have flourshed—with the help, as has been noted, of better facilities and more experienc ed management. Perhaps it’s just a coinci dence, but the effect in any case is the same- As the “conservative” organs wax more prosperous and power ful, there is a corresponding decline in the influence of the “independent” journa lists. The crusading editor or columnist becomes a lone lier and lonelier figure. Soon he may be just another voice :n the wilderness, vainly shouting his message in the surrounding void. BEAU GESTE AT TABLE I have never seen a situation more heroically saved than when a child, at a luncheon party of specially important people, managed to drop a complete dish all over the tablecloth; to ignore it was impossible, re buke would have been brutal; only Maurice Baring would have thought of saying, "What a lovely mess!” THE LITTLE BUSINESSMAN COMES INTO HIS OWN Wilfrido Borja WHEN the war ended, Emi lio Guevara, 32, engineer by profession and tem perament, was a changed man. Ever since his graduation in 1934 he had been content to work for somebody else, and to pocket a payenvelope whose meagreness — he often felt — was an insult to the degree which he had earned at the University of the Philippines. But all that was changed now. Perhaps the war had made him a bit dissatisfied. And surely it had given him time to think. In those lean days he had often looked back with dissatisfaction at the years which he had squandered making money for other people. And now, with peace blossoming all over the land, budding amid the rubble of war-born destruction, he vowed that he was going to be his own boss. At the business syndicate where he was working, he came across. Leocadio Arcenas. He wasn’t like Martinez: he was quiet where the other was voluble; he seemed a bit easy-going on the surface while Emilio could be like a house on fire at times. The former was a man who had his moments. But the two, so different temperamen tally, had one obsession in com mon: they wanted to work for themselves. True, their company was working out a schedule suited to the government’s own rehabili tation program; but they felt that they could still do their own little bit for the Philippines even if they started on their own. After the day’s work was done, they would hurry off to the little coffee shop across the street and talk themselves hoarse. They dis cussed possibility after "possibility. They didn’t want to follow the beaten track that was occupied by too many potential competitors al ready. They wanted to start a business that would not be too dan gerous for young men with a max imum of willingness to work but a minimum of capital. Weeks went by. They couldn’t decide what they yanted to do. One day Providence put his finger into the pie. Emilio was working over some plans in his office one day when ■10 OCTOBER, 1»47 41 Salvador Pena, a big business magnate, walked into the room. “Guevara,” he asked, “do you know anybody who’s willing to do a bit of excavation work for us? For a reasonable price, of course. It should be good for a 30-day job, and there’s a bit of hauling that might be thrown in.” Emilio’s pulse quickened. Here, he thought, is one chance in a thousand. He began to ask ques tions. Pena, it seemed, had a con tract to put up a three-story build ing on a downtown site that was strewn by ruins. This had to be cleared away; furthermore, new foundations would have to be dug. "How soon will you need the man,” Emilio asked. “I expect to start work in three months.” “Mr. Pena,” Emilio said, “you don't have to ask anybody else. I know just the man for y6u. He’ll be ready for you in two months. He’s a little busy at present, try ing to get married.” You 6ee, Emi lio was going to be married in two weeks. After Mr. Pena had gone, how ever, he felt a little empty and afraid. Here he was, about to be married, and he had just about de cided to take the greatest gamble in his life. What would his fiancee say about that? He felt a little cold. Nena looked at him, a little quiz zically when he told her. "You’re sure, aren’t you, that you’re doing the right thing?” “Darling,” Emilio was all en thusiasm now that he had got the telling her off his chest. “I was never surer of anything in my life — except you,” he added gently, as an afterthought. “Mr. Guevara," she looked at him, serious little chin tilled, one little hand outstretched, “you’ve just made yourself a deal.” "Darling,” he cried out; he didn’t waste any more words after that. The wedding was beautiful, and so was the honeymoon. Sometimes he wondered how he had ever done it. Shaking his head, he went to work on his embryo company. He and Arcenas had both re signed from their jobs. Now, they had told themselves, we are free. The next moment their knees felt like water. They didn’t even know where the next pay en velope was coming from, if it came at all. The two of them dug out all the money they had in the world; they borrowed the rest, mortgaging everything they had in the world, except their 42 THE CROSS souls. They had something a lit tle less than P14,000.00. Their next step was the Surplus Property Commission from which they managed to wangle four beaten-up ten-by-ten trucks and some excavating equipment. They bought a dilapidated trailer this they repainted, set up in a vacant lot and called an office. Over a bottle of whiskey, they toasted themselves and the company. “Here’s to the Engineering Cor poration,” Arcenas said solemnly. "May it live to see another day.” They clinked their glasses and drank. And that was how ENCO was born. When they approached Mr. Pe na, he was dumfounded. "Do you too mean to say you resigned your jobs to gamble on a fly-by-night thingamajig like this?” he asked, stunned. "That’s right,” Emilio said. “And we want that job. Remem ber?" Mr. Pefta snorted. "Young fools,” he muttered. But he gave them the job. When they were leaving, he called them back. “I think," he said, "this calls for a drink." Over the glasses he said, “Here’s to two young fools... may there be more of them." The first month wasn’t too bad. They were able to draw salaries amounting to slightly mjre than half of what they used to get. The Pena job hadn’t been so.bad. But after that was finished, theye didn't seem to be anybody else who wanted excavations made or haul ing jobs done. “Those next two months were the worst," Arcenas told me later. “We didn’t draw any salaries; hardly any, that is. It was all we could do to meet expenses and pay the men. Emil and I felt like Pompeii during her last days. How we ever made it, only Heaven knows." But Pena had been a satisfied customer. Once again he came; there was another haujing job that had to be done. And Pena, had friends; he was interested in these young men who had been brave enough to make a superb gamble. He spread the news and slowly, ENCO began to build up a list of customers. Soon pay-day was coming around regularly, and there was even a little left over for new equipment after the debts had been paid. The bigger companies began to regard them with grudging admi ration. “Beginners’ luck,” they said, and they were right, too. But ENCO’s success wasn’t just a Mat ter of luck. There was hard work behind it, determination and a OCTOBER, 1947 48 great deal of courage. It’s too early to prophesy that ENCO will become a giant corpo ration someday. But already the partners are expanding operations. Stock is worth five times its value during the first days. And ENCO is definitely making good. The last time I saw the two partners was a month ago, when they gave a little luncheon to com memorate their first anniversary. I called Guevara aside and asked him how things were going. He spread out a hand in the general direction of his guests and said with justifiable pride, “My baby is one year old.” He drew into his pocket. “Here,” he went on, "have a cigar." Just then his wife came into the room. She spotted him and came. Guevara put an arm around her and beamed fondly. “And there’s another baby on the way," he winked at me, then drew into his pocket again. "Here, you better have another cigar.” EDITOR’S NOTE: This is an es sentially true story. A change has been made with regard to names and a few events in order to avoid blushing embarrassment. You could call this "a success story” and you wouldn’t be wrong. There seem to be a lot of “success sto ries” among oui' young people to day, and there will be more. * * * t * * * PARABLE OF THE PIG A rich man said to his pastor, “Why is it that everybody is always -criticizing me for being miserly, when everybody knows that I have made provision to leave everything I possess to charity when I die?” "Well,” was the reply, “let me tell a story about a pig and a ccw. The pig was lamenting his lack of popularity. He complained to the cow that people were always talking about the cow’s gentleness and kind eyes. He admitted that the cow gave milk and cream, but main tained that pigs gave none. He asserted that pigs gave bacon and ham and bristles and that people even pickled their feet. He demanded the reason for such lack of appreciation. The cow thought awhile and said, “Maybe it’s becanse I give while I’m still living.” THE BUSINESS OF EDUCATION Radio Speech Fr. George O’Sullivan, O.R.S.A. 'The wellknown writer Locke once said “The business of edu cation is not as I think to perfect the learner in any of the sciences but to give his mind that free dom and disposition and those habits which may enable him to attain every part of knowledge himself.” This surely is a very noble and elevating view of edu cation. Truly it is a bright day in the life of a youth when he receives the crown of his scholastic labours and leaves the halls of his Alma Mater for the last time. He little realizes that the freshness of those early triumphs will not be repeated in the years that follow. His attitude toward life is replete with optimism and eager expecta tion. For him life is long, bright and haippy; whereas those who have preceded him over the thres hold, know that it is short, laden with cares and that the highest of it’s joys are serious. Far be it from me to condemn the illusion of youth or even tem per it with disparagement, for in this illusion lies an omen of the Divine possibilities of man’s na ture. Of the many careers life offers, one must be chosen; of the many ideals lofty or not so lofty one must be followed, which one ideal will mould the character and shape the destiny of it’s adherent, since it is the truest expression of love and desire of the inner man and the most potent agency in de veloping his inmost powers. The worthiest ideal must be within the reach of all and this is summarised concisely enough in the words of Christ “Seek ye first, the kingdom of God”; for men will still know by experience that neither pleasure, fame, money nor aught that the world can give will ever satisfy the cravings of the human heart. Culture as a means is a power ful instrument in assisting us to follow our end, since it bids us build ourselves to the heights our beings may reach. I say “as a means” for culture as an end, will only serve to destroy true sym pathy and love ,of our fellowmen terminating ingloriously in self worship. If seriousness then prevails re ligion must be man’s prime con cern; and to those who put for ward, that there are mysteries and difficulties involved we an swer, that the same can be said 44 OCTOBER, 1947 45 of all 6y6tems and branches of knowledge. It is not for ub to grasp the infinite to analyse or synthesise, but with the buckler of a firm faith in God we can strive to do a brave and righteous work namely fitting ourselves for our ideal. Fo s t e r i n g this go-forward movement is the business of edu cation; not perfecting the indi vidual in any particular science but teaching him to love all know ledge because God knows all things; to love beauty because God is it’s source, to love the soul as the instrument of conscious communion with God and his world. Learning may be gained from a study of the thoughts, feelings and deeds of others, but know ledge results from thinking, feel ing and doing ourselves, a neces sary consequence of personal con tact with God, man and nature. The work of education then is to ■rouse, strengthen and illumine the mind, to give it force and pliability and openness to light. . The problem of education becomes not how to crowd the mind with multitudinous facts but rather how -to give the soul purity of in tention and the conscience stead fastness of purpose; how to bring philosophy and religion to the aid of the will so that the learner is always better for his learning, wider in outlook, greater in char acter and deeper in sympathy with fellowmen. Education in thia eenta can not be accomplished without religion for the principles underlying both are co-related, nay, knit together in an indissoluble bond. Yet there are would-be educators who ig nore religion or assume to mimimise it’s importance and reduce it’s influence in the training of youth. Such men know little or no thing of education in its high est or widest sense. They will not realize that intellectual, moral and spiritual development must go hand in hand if the youth is to be come a man. They will expound on morality, without the slightest reference to religion, and talk of the well-ordering and control of the passions, giving no other rea son for the same than that socie ty and the commonwealth demands these things. Surely there are some discre pancies here due to faulty rear soning and narrowness of out look arising perhaps from a touch of prejudice er even a tinge of fear of the naked truth. Let religion cater for morality for in this it cannot fail. Let grace be mentioned in connection with the control of the passions and the dictates of the lower appetites for without it youth will be discou raged. Let the reason of it all be man’s final end and destiny demanding the full development of his being, and society will find nothing amiss, nay, it will be well served. Let it be frankly .acknowTHE CROSS lodged that th* only true educa tor, leader and master the world has ever known or will know, 1* Christ Himself, who paved the way for all men when He bade them seek first the kingdom of God. What does history and the re ports of current events tell us of those countries in which religion has been ignored and Christianity in all its ramifications derided? It relates a sad story of cultural decline, of a lowering of the hu man dignity, and the saddest tale of moral depravity and degrada tion. The thrill of casting off the burden of Christian moral princi ples is as false as it is temporary, a machination of the Evil One “who goeth about seeking whom he may devour.” We cannot fail to see the slough of despond it leaves in its train, and the pover ty of those who would hope to gain by rejecting the only real treasure of their lives. Once again Christ’s words are supported incontrovertably by experience: “My yoke is sweet and my burden light.” It is a lamentable fact that lov ers of excellence are so few and we can still complain with Words worth in his own words: “Why is this glorious creature to be found one only in ten thousand? What one is, why may not millions be? What bars are thrown by nature in the way of such a hope? Truly we can agree that nature does not close the door on the multitude without, but rather faulty princi ples of education, mean and smallminded educators or poor response to the stimuli of the more effi cient one. The noble educator sends forth his pupils from the narrow walls with a desire for improvement so sMent that the whole world be comes a university for them. All that it stands for will be used in furthering their lofty end. Without the slightest element of pessimism or morbidity he will promise them sorrows as well as joys, thrills as well as consola tions, explaining that in -sorrows and trials there is much to be learnt that perhaps these latter teach the best lessons and bring about the truest and most lasting appreciations. For true men and women there must be a truth seeking, a passion for truth. This is a great gift which is seldom felt adequately, by the heart of youth. The educator must apply his mightiest efforts to sow well the seeds of the love of truth hoping that in the future years one in a hundred will show that those seeds have taken root. Just as a good businessman does not look to his immediate profits but Tather thinks in terms of years and the dividends that must ac crue from his well made plans; so the educator will not look for OCTOBER, 1»47 47 the result of his work on the day his disciples graduate. Hie work has only begun and in most cases he will never know the extent of the dividends. If the educator could see those same pupils twenty, thirty years hence, if he could see them die, then he might in some way mea sure the reward of his labours. His consolation in his old age will not be his secure pension and comfortable home but the thought that he has helped to form true men and women; that long after he has gone someone will benefit by his life’s work. His regrets will not surround the sacrifices, unselfishness, and the energy spent in years that passed like a thief in the night, but ra ther he will regret that he had no more to give. Truth seeking asserts itself more irresistibly when external restraints have been removed and when the mind feels free to travel where it will. The influence of parents and teachers have played their part and the man is left to shape his own ends. He then be gins to learn and know. From now on, the man grows by a ceaseless effort to improve and his reward is life; true life, and feeling the joyousness and worth of it There will be many discourgements and opposing forces to life devoted to self-government: there will be doubts concerning the uti lity of seeking an end only par tially attainable, an ideal which the masses neither understand nor admire. Strong faith and courage will be needed to combat this sop histry; a faith more potent than knowledge, a hope greater than possession. His resolve must be based on his conviction of the vanity of fame and fortune and the instability of human love. All things outside himself can fail despite his mightiest efforts to avert such failures, but what he ■has made himself to be can only fail at his own bidding. Every daily effort to improve be it ever so feeble will leave its mark, its indelible impression for his good. Education is the word of the moment; we hear it a hundred times a day, I think there is hard ly a more used and abused word in the dictionary. Out of the many who talk of it how few seem to realize its importance and significance and still fewer are interested in its deeper mean ing. For most, education presents itself as of a lucrative value, for others it gives rise to possibilities of a social nature, or inculcates reputation and prestige. These people go so far and no further, for them education presents a visible objective, they want no God-given concomitant ideal. As an excuse for evil doers we some times say "They know not what they do." We can say of the half educated that “They know not what they miss?’ They miss man’s 48 THE CROSS true blessedness, that blessedness which arises from the well-nigh infinite possibilities of growth that obtains in man’s nature. The truth of the situation is this, that many years of learning have to be accomplished before we grasp the true meaning of education. That once being real ised, it presents itself not as the work of a college course or a uni versity career but as the work of a lifetime with these things as a foundation. It is all embracing, a true companion of religion, philo sophy oand all branches of know ledge. There is no realising its ultimate length and breath, there is no denying its possibilities. It is God’s consoling gift to man; some retribution to man for those gifts jeopardized by our first parents in their sin. Let those who seek education cultivate the simplicity, sincerity and nobility needed to acknow ledge these things, and they will find their reward in the realiza tion that we were not placed in this world to have, for to have, is nothing, but rather we were meant to be and to be is every thing. END EPISCOPAL AD LABBING Not long ago in a British crown colony a group of American priests added a scientific laboratory to the college plant. At the solemn dedication the British officials referred to the new building constantly as the laboratory, with the accent on the second syllahle. The American priest accepted the laboratory with the accent on the LAB. The the Bishop rose to speak. He was American, yet he had to keep in the good graces of the British. “There is no doubt,” he said, “of the enormous importance of this new lab to education in our island. —Daniel A. Lord, S.J. ♦ * * t * * * The practice of 6aying “God bless you” whenever a person sneezes originated back in the 6th century when Gregory the Great was Pope. During this particular time an infectious malady was raging through out Italy. Pope Gregory asked the people to say prayers against ,the disease and accompany the prayer with the Sign of the Cross. When anyone sneezed they would utter “God bless you,” and the custom has existed ever since. WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND? LIPSTICK 1. Is it a sin of vanity for a girl to make use of lipsticks, rouge, etc., in order to beau tify herself?. A. R. Castor A. A girl would not commit sin if she made moderate use of artificial means of improv ing her appearance and of making herself attractive. But she would be guilty of sin if her motive were to ex ercise a sinful allurement over others. COMMUNISM 2. Why do Catholics hate com munists? M. Guevara. A. Catholics do not hate com munists. What they hate is COMMUNISM. POPE IMAGINATION XIII 3. I read somewhere that in 1870, when Italy took over the Pope’s property, the Ital ian king and the Pope had some misunderstandings. So the Pope, who was impris oned, was disgusted and shot himself. What was the name of the Pope? D. Baula. A. What a pipe dream! The Pope’s name was Imagina tion XIII. MARRIED PRIESTS 4. Are there any Catholic priests who are allowed to wed and have children? Ri cardo O. A. The Greek Uniats and others of the Eastern rites may marry and rear families. LUTHER 5. Did Martin Luther marry an ex-nun after leaving the Ca tholic Church? Did he ever break the seal of confession? L. Vinuya. A. No, he married a nun who became an ex-nun by marry ing. There is no record of Luther or of any ex-priest ever having broken the seal of confession. YOUNG COMMUNICANTS 6. My daughter is only 6 years old. But being an intelligent little angel, our parish priest said she can receive her first communion. Why must we rush the first communion of children? Mrs. R. de los Re yes. A. We must be sure Christ 40 BO THE CROSS comes into their hearts be fore the devil. CONFESSION 7. My cousin was brought up a Catholic but he never goes to confession anymore. He says he doesn’t believe in that stuff anymore. T.K. A. When Catholics begin to neg lect confession there is some thing wrong, ordinarily, in their lives that they dislike to confess or do not wish to correct. Then they either belittle the Sacrament or just refuse to be interested. You can’t argue with such persons. But you can pray for them. EDUCATION 8. Why do Catholics insist so much on introducing religious instruction in public schools? There is separation of Church and state here, isn’t there? B. Carpio. A. Catholics believe in a tho rough education — i.e. deve lopment of man, physically, intellectually and MORAL LY. They believe that only religion offers the true foundation of moral develop ment. There is separation of Church and State in Brazil, isn’t there? Yet Brazilian public schools give religious instruction. CATECHISTS 9. Since catechists are not be ing paid, they ought to have special spiritual benefits ex clusively for themselves. Leticia S. A. Pius XI has granted a Plennary indulgence to Catech ists who teach twice a month for a period of at least twen ty minutes and a partial in dulgence of 100 days every time they teach catechism for the same length of time. INTOLERANCE 10. Why is the Cathojic Church so intolerant of other doc trines? One religion is just as good as another. Felix T. A. The Catholic Church posses ses the truth. Truth is intol erant of error. One religion is NOT as good as an other. There is only ONE truth. There can be only ONE TRUE RELIGION. If it’s anything Catholic, ask Brother Edward The Cross Magazine Regina Building Escolta-Banquero Manila NATIONAL FRONT BONUS GRANT President Roxas exercising his emergency powers last Sept. 25 extended the time limit for the granting of living bonuses to em ployes of the city, provincial and municipal governments. The grant ing of bonuses under Republic Act No. 29 started in July of last year and expired last June 30. Govern ment entities which have suffi cient funds have continued paying living bonuses. HERE In a 30-minute ceremony last Sept. 22, President Roxas received the American Ambassador extra ordinary and plenipotentiary to the Philippines, Emmet O’Neal. O’Neal in his address observed that his task has been made light er by the “knowledge that there is no conflict of aims, ideals or policy between our two coun tries.” WARNING Bibiano Meer, collector of in ternal revenue, warned that the full weight of the revenue laws will be made to bear on taxpay ers willfully violating the laws or committing frauds in- the pay ment of taxes. The revenue col lector urged erring taxpayers to avail themselves of the opportun ity given them to make voluntary disclosures of the true amount of their business, income, property. GIVES UP Abelardo Zuniga, No. 3 Huk leader in western Pampanga, and one of the trusted aides of Huk Supremo Luis Taruc, recently sur rendered to Jose Lingad, candi date for governor of the province in barrio San Pablo, Lubao, Pam panga. Lingad promptly turned the wanted leader over to Zulueta, Secretary of Interior. RED LINK The immigration board of in quiry has definitely established a link between five Chinese nation als and the local communist move ment and found them guilty of having participated in a plot to overthrow and destroy the Phil ippine government. The aliens were immediately ordered to be deported on the first available transportation. 51 32 THE CROSS TRADE MISSIONS The second batch of Philippine trade missioners to Japan com posed of six members represent ing trading and merchandizing Filipino firms was recently ap proved by the Cabinet. The mis sioners will make a survey of trade possibilities and make con nections in anticipation of the re opening of the Japanese overseas trade, of which the Philippines will share. DRIVERS STUDY The Philippine National Red Cross, through its safety services department, has extended the first aid course to Manila taxicab driv ers. Classes are free and are un der the direction of M. E. Serra no, safety service instructor from the Manila Red Cross Chapter. PRAISED The people of the town of Dagupan, Pangasinan were recently cited for “outstanding services’' in the prosecution of the allied war effort during the last war by Gen. George Moore. Gen. Moore extolled the gallantry of the peo ple -especially in furnishing aid and succor to the American es capees and guerrillas during the Japanese occupation. RFC BONDS The Rehabilitation Finance Corporation Sept. 23 started is suing “Rehabilitation Bonds” in Pl,000 and P100 denominations for the purpose of increasing its funds. Several money-making government corporations have re portedly manifested a great deal of interest in buying a substantial amount of Pl,000 denomination. TOWN PLANNING A new town in the Philippines can be planned right from the beginning in carefully selected lo cations where industrial sites, residential neighborhoods and ad ministration can be coordinated according to Louis Croft. Most towns begin to grow haphazardly at the mouth or confluence of riv ers, Croft added, the P.I. should take advantage of what other na tions have had to Warn through trial and error. Louis Croft is technical adviser of the City Plan ning Board. AWARDED Miss Lulu Reyes, prominent Manila social worker, has been awarded the Medal of Freedom, highest U. S. award to civilians. Miss Reyes was President of the Chaplain’s Aid Association and was the first Filipino woman to bring food and medicine to Usaffe personnel at Capas, Tarlac. She also took an active part in underground activities. WORST HIT 80 per cent of the houses in Ba ler were destroyed in the last Pa OCTOBER, 1947 53 cific typhoon. All school buildings except one were totally wrecked. A school teacher and two others were seriously injured in the line of duty. The Philippine National Red Cross immediately rushed a large supply of rice and foods to the typhoon victims. DEPORTED 53 of the 67 Chinese who enter ed illegally through Sanchez Mi ra, Cagayan last Aug. 27 have been given an indeterminate sen tence of from two months to one year and four months and pay to a fine of Pl,000 each with subsi diary imprisonment in case of in solvency. They will be deported to China after serving their terms. “FLIPS” IN GUAM In a letter to President Roxas, more than 1,000 Filipino laborers complained that they receive on the average one sixth of the wages paid to American laborers of the same category. These Fili pino laborers who are employed by private American firms in Guam, solicited the aid of the president in making representa tions with American authorities to remedy the gross discrimina tion. Lowest wage paid to Amer ican laborers is $1.19 per hour as against 21 cents to Filipinos. INTERNATIONAL FRONT CARDINAL AND FIREMAN For helping to extinguish a fire at his home, Francis Cardinal Spellman was made an honorary deputy fire chief. A silver hand extinguisher was presented to him along with the title by Fire Commissioner Frank J. Quayle. Firemen found the Cardinal ably wielding a portable extinguisher when a small fire broke out in his home. “I ought to be good at this,” he told them, and showed his badge as honorary member of the Boston fire department. LAUDED “The Filipinos can assume lead ership of all eastern peoples if they wish,” declared Capt. John William Hughes of the British Royal Army Educational Corps. Capt. Hughes spent three weeks in the Philippines and traveled ex tensively in other eastern coun tries. “It seemed,” he added, “as if everybody in the P.I. was tra veling in a 1947 American car or a 1947 taxi.” “WASTE LESS” President Truman recently call ed on the American people for voluntary food conservation by wasting less. “The food and fuel situation in Europe is so critic al,” the President said, “that there is no time for detailed and careful study.- The American peo ple cannot stand by and allow Europeans to starve and freeze. I am not asking you to eat less but to waste less ... Bread thrown away in this country account for 54 a waste of about 70,000,000 bush els of grain annually.” GOOD OLD DAYS? If the rate of progress in re storing Philippine gold produc tion continues, the output will equal the prewar level of P60.000,000 annually before June 30, 1948. Meanwhile Philippine government revenues for the year ending June 30, 1947, was the largest in Phil ippine history and considerably in excess of the most optimistic of ficial .prediction. GANDHI’S FAST The weakened conditions of Mo handas K. Gandhi who is fasting in an effort to stop communal rioting is causing grave anxiety among his millions of followers. Meanwhile disturbances in Cal cutta are reported to have de clined in frequency and serious ness, although the curfew im posed to curb lawlessness has been extended for one more week. SEEK LOAN Finance Secretary Miguel Cuaderno said recently that the P. I. would seek a loan of about $70,000,000 from the Export Import bank to cover rehabilitation costs. “By 1949,” he further declared, “we expect to balance bur budget and so will not need to borrow to meet operating expenses. The Philippine government suffered a deficit of $2,000,000 during the last fiscal year. UNDERWATER TELEVISION Armchair scrutiny of sunken Spanish Galleons and other hid den mysteries of the ocean depths became a possibility Sept. 11. By means of a remote-controlled tel evision camera, scientists of Biki ni were able to watch fishes swimming around the deck of a submarine 160 feet below the sur face. The demonstration opened what scientists and military men believe may be an entirely new. field in deep water investigation. FREE INDO CHINA A provisional national govern ment, headed by the exiled ex Emperor Bao Dai, will be formed soon in Hongkong and will be re cognized by the French govern ment. This followed the recent French offer of independence to Indo-China, where for nine months French troops have been fighting Vietnam nationalists led by Dr. He Chi Minh. Dr. Minh is pres ident of the Vietnam republican government and leader of the Viet Minh party. PIUS XII AND P.I. SCOUTS His Holiness Pope Pius XII re ceived in audience and gave his blessings to members of the Phil ippine delegation to the recently concluded World Boy Scout Jam boree Sept. 2. The 84 Filipino Boy OCTOBER, 1947 55 Scouts and leaders, were reeevied at the Castel Gandolfo in the Alban Hills where the Holy Fa ther was spending the summer. The Holy Father expressed his happiness at the opportunity to meet worthy representatives of Filipino youth. DON’T BELIEVE JAP DEFEAT A group of fanatic Japanese in Brazil refuse to believe in Ja pan’s defeat causing agitation among 200,000 Japs there. The fanatic group urged their Japa nese brothers to dispose of their property and migrate to New Guinea "which was conquered by Japan." The disturbances which arose from this agitation were quieted only after Brazilian army forces mobilized and arrested 3,000 Jap6. Meanwhile the Japa nese government is sending news papers and other materials about the surrender. CONFLICT GROWS The conflict between Commun ism and Catholicism became more evident recently as the Red in tensified their attempts to form an ideological bloc and the dem ocracies aligned themselves to stop the advance of the red cur tain. In Yugoslavia the Catholic clergy has been the chief target of red terrorism for months. In Basel, Communists agitators are being used as “priests” to fill the gap left behind in the Orthodox Church when the majority of the clergy were arrested and deported. QUATRAIN Each time that I pass by a church, I stop to make a visit, So that when I am carried in Our Lord won’t say, “Who is it?” by a fourteen-year-old boy. BROTHER’S KEEPER Discipline, as practiced by the monks of the Grande Chartreuse monastery, is of an exceptional austerity. During meals no one may complain of any inconvenience he may be subjected to. One 75-year-oId novice discovered a rat drowned in his jug of wine. He did not dare to drink it, but he was extremely thirsty. He endured patiently for a while, and eventually indicated to the presiding monk, “Father, my brother here hasn’t any rat in his jug of wine." ***!*** Government investigator: “What time do you go to work?" Farmer: "I don’t go to work, I wake up surrounded by it." A Review Of Guerrero's Newest Plays Godofredo Bunao Perhaps CONSIDERING the nine teenth century moral sense that was partly responsible for the suppression of a largo part of such a daring film as “The Outlaw’’, the audience which helped “Perhaps” go over could not have missed in its perception the typical Guerrero courage that has made many of his plays a suc cess. Performed on the stage of a re ligious school before a doubtless religious audience, this play did not give any indicaton of having created a disapproving stir in spite of the realistic portrayal of life among the prostitutes of the city. The reason for this is quite ob vious to those who understand the psychology of the Filipinos as af fected by almost four years of war and its accompanying moral de gradation which continues through the post-war years. Before the war, the play might have proved a smashing failure and could have been condemned by Catholic quarters. Even then, there would , have been at least a handful of broadminded indivi duals to appreciate the way with which the play was handled to re duce the shock upon those moral people who are so morally weak as to be afraid to find themselves in a maelstrom of immoral in fluence from which they are afraid they cannot extricate them selves. But as we are now, we can ap preciate such a play as “Perhaps" even with a slighter subtlety in the characterization of wayward women, the reason being our having adjusted ourselves gra dually with the morally changing world. With a carefully selected cast of non-smoking women who had to portray the lives 'of habitual smokers, “Perhaps” is, perhaps the first Filipino play to depend for its success on the determina tion of every character to present a work of art with great realism, although such Tealism could have been a perfect one had the writer endeavoured not to twist the story to cater to the whims of a nottoo-radical audience. We have, for example, a character in Clemencia whose philosophic speech could never have been that of a whore. There is some possibility of as sociating such speech with a whore, but the possibility is so slight that the ordinary man would 56 OCTOBER, 1947 57 see no possibility at all. The portrayal of other charac ters such as the sailor, the police man, and the other men saved the play from losing the interest of audience. Without such minor characters, the play would have been too heavy to be swallowed by an audience unused to too much emotion packed up in a small play. Through the play there runs a moralizing fiber that is the great est factor which determined its success. From the story of pros titutes, seldom will one find a mo ral. Here, however, one cannot miss memorizing the passage, "Dream and do, not just dream and do.” This is why “Perhaps” drew applause from a religious audience that filled a Catholic hall. WHAT A GUY? SUPPOSED to be a satire, “What a Guy” did not pro duce the effect that it was ex pected to produce. Unique in the history of the world’s drama, hav ing only one character, the recep tion was not as unique. Perhaps the audience expected more or perhaps it expected less. However, although the audience seemed dis interested in some parts, their ap plause was considerable in others. The play typifies the modern man and emphasizes the playboy element of our society. It makes us understand what we, as a peo ple bound by tradition, refuse to understand: that a man (most men are idealistic although they don’t know it) seeks in one woman what he can only find in several women, and that, consequently, a married man seldom thinks he is married except when he is at home and he realizes the utility of the woman he has married. Eric may not be an ideal man but he certainly is one typical of most men. One may just watch this play where only one man speaks and see himself as he is. The addition of another character on the stage will not make the characterization of the modern man any better. —IJgourian * • ♦ t * * * Notice to car thieves: my tires are punctureproof. If you try to steal them, you had bettc-r be punctureproof too. BOOK REVIEWS by Evelyn Vallejo OUR LADY IN THE MODERN WORLD — Daniel A. Lord, S.J. As in the case of the world's great personages, the Virgin Mo ther has received her share of publicity, has been showered with her share of legends. One of the less desirable effects of such wellmeant adulation is the formation in the minds of a great many peo ple of a concept about the cele brity that is not in conformity with the original. Before long, a national hero becomes something of a superman who can fight an untamed lion barehanded. Though it must be admitted that Our Lady up to now has not been attributed with such silly powers, still, the very human tendency to distort remains. In her own par ticular sphere, she has been ele vated in the estimation of pious Christians up to a place so re moved from their daily lives that she no longer seems to have any contact with the lowly earth. Now, the reviewer does not aim to imply that she does not deserve such veneration. On the contrary, she is, of all women in the world, preeminently worthy of the best efforts of all the press agents ever created. The fact that is decried is: In the glamorizing process, we Christians have rendered her so unlike us in our mental image of her that any beneficient influence she may exert on our more hundrum lives has been *nullified by sheer distance. It Is perhaps to remedy this state of affairs that the brilliant Father Daniel A. Lord wrote his book. Knowing perfectly well that the Mother of God should have all the strength of her influence in our daily lives bolstered in these times of moral stress, the author strives in his own inimitable way to bring her back closer to us. He presents her as she was, — a poor maid, a lowly housewife, a frugal mother. He endeavors to describe heT so that we may be able to see Mary in the plain girl 58 OCTOBER, 1947 59 next door, in the patient wife down the alley, in the work-laden mother of a large family from our home town. Such a momentous event as the Annunciation is de picted as happening while the busy little maid is finishing her dish washing. Such an attempt, of course, al ways runs into the danger of be coming a mere debunking. This has been, a little time back, a vogue amongst biographers. And the unwary, no matter how wellintentioned risks putting our Lady under an unfavorable light. Hap pily, the author handles his sub ject with assurance and does suc ceed in showing her in terms of our modern everyday lives with out subtracting an iota from her truly magnificent heavenly sta ture. And not only that, — Fa ther Lord somehow gives her even greater grandeur in the vivid pictuTization of her humility. About the only objection that one may forward, more so if he is an informed Catholic, is the painstaking way the author proves his points. To us who believe, the repetitive logic involved is super fluous. On the whole, however, Our La dy In The Modem World is an in spiring book that ought to breathe new courage into ordinary strug gling people who are trying to lead the Christian way of life but now are about ready to give up when they see the mess the world is in. THE ROSARY OF MARY — Translations of the Encyclical and Apostolic Letters of Pope Leo XIII, collected by William Ray mond Lawlwe, O.P., P.G. 220 pages. Price — four pesos. St. Anthony Guild Press. Now gathered for the first time in a single volume, the Encyclical and Apostolic Letters of His Ho liness Pope Leo XIII on the de votion which was so dear to him, are a monumental tribute from the Church’s Head on earth to the Church’s Mother. The preacher will find here a rich source of material and of in spiration for sermons and instruc tions. The Rosary Of Mary is also beautifully adapted to spirit ual Teading, both for lay-people and for the members of religious communities. A special feature of the book which will be welcomed alike by the devout and the scho larly is the complete listing in an appendix of all existing Rosary in dulgences. • * * f * * * Heroes are the men we would be if we could, saints are the men we could be if we would. From the Managing Editor’s Desk— ZULUETA AND “THE OUTLAW” The news has reached us that Secretary of the Interior Jose Zulueta has not only re-released Howard Hughes’ con troversial film, “The Outlaw”, for nationwide screening, but has also re-inserted scenes which had previously been deleted by the National Board of Review for Motion Pictures. For your information, the Secretary is a Catholic; fur thermore he happens to be an Ateneo alumnus. But, of course, he does not believe that morality should be con sidered where a motion picture is concerned. No doubt, the good secretary will give the go-ahead signal to the first en terprising movie studio which portrays how Luis Taruc and his cohorts are giving the Military Police the run-around. We cannot help wondering whether his old professors are at all proud of their former student’s latest exploit. But we do know that Father Masterson, Ateneo president, has written him a curt note of protest. It is not our task to comment on the manner in which sex was played up in Jane Russell’s latest celluloid exploits in the company of one Billy the Kid. We shall just cite one fact: a quotation from LIFE MAGAZINE’S movie ratings, to wit: “PERSONAL FLOPS were scored by Errol Flynn and Jane Russell............Miss Russell, possessor of the most ad vertised bosom in America, was in THE OUTLAW and YOUNG WIDOW; displayed hardly enough talent to rate a walk-on role in a high-school play.” This is a free country, and anybody who wishes to see THE OUTLAW can do so, for a peso-twenty, or less. But don’t say we didn’t warn you; it’s a sheer waste of good OCTOBER, 1947 money. We hope Mr. Zulueta gets around to reading this. WANTED: CATHOLIC WRITERS If we were to hang a sign outside the office, stating that we wanted Catholic writers, we would have to wait a long, long time for the first applicant who would fit the description correctly. Either we would get CATHOLICS who THINK they can write, or writers, the forced quality of whose Catholicism w'ould be as obvious as the nose on Dur ante’s face. We have been told, however, that there is a plan which might remedy the situation. The Philippines Commonweal, national Catholic week ly, is trying to organize a Junior Catholic Editor’s Guild. We believe, for one, that this plan merits serious con sideration because it may constitute the right answer to the statement, almost a taunt at times, that we have no Catholic writers to speak of. True, we have a few Catholic schools of journalism. But the trouble is that most of their graduates seem to forget the principles they are supposed to have learned, as soon as they pass out through the portals of their respective schools. Many of them commit the error of writing not what they should write, but what they think the reading public would like. As for most of our alleged Catholic writers of recog nized literary stature, most of them prefer not to write at all or, if they do write, only for the secular publications. In this respect, we believe, they are acting neither like Catholics nor like writers. The Junior Guild has been organized in order to provide a practical training ground for budding journalists who, if they ever blossom, will definitely be assets to the Catholic Press. The organization promises competent training in the various phases of newspaper work. At the same time, how ever, it sets qualifications which are undoubtedly high. This is good, indeed. We express the hope that the Guild will live true to its plans. We do not think its activities should be limited to the annual election of an Intercollegiate Girl or to listening 62 THE CROSS to a few politicians who, in an eruption of bad taste, may try to inject politics into the proceedings. Your editorial writer is not implying that these things are bad in themselves. But to make them ends in themselves is a tragedy that shall cry to a writer’s Heaven for vengeance. BISHOP-ELECT RUFINO SANTOS On October 24 as Bishop-elect Santos dons the purple of the episcopacy, Manila will see another young priest raised to the princedom of the Church. On his comparatively young shoulders, the onerous res ponsibilities of caring for the Manila archdiocese will partly fall, and there are very few who will envy him his position despite the accompanying prestige and influence. For Ma nila and the surrounding provinces, littered as they still are with the moral debris of the post-liberation era, will need energy and vision from Archbishop O’Doherty’s new auxil iary. We do not believe he is to be congratulated, for his task will be an onerous one. We have only this to say: May the prayers of his country and of his flock go with him. CLO’s AMADO HERNANDEZ Quoth CLO President Amado Hernandez at a memorable luncheon at the Selecta last month: “Many have erred in branding the Congress of Labor Organizations as Communist. Even our beloved president (Roxas) has 'committed that mistake. But I say, here and now, that we disavow all Com munist influence. The CLO is a vast body of men, coming from many professions and creeds. There may be Com munists in our ranks, but they do not exert the excessive influence which an erroneous public has often attributed to them.” We believe that the statement is historic because, taken at its face value, it would seem to scare away the spectre of communism that many people have seen hovering over the ranks of Labor. We hope that the Catholic public will study the above, statement, consider Labor’s actuations, and act accordingly. Personally, we believe that Mr. Hernandez should be given a chance to prove his statement. A LETTER FROM CHRIST (In reply to the article, “A Letter to Jesus,” July issue) By H. Artemio Espinoza To my dear son My gladness was beyond compare When your long expected letter came, May the promises of love you have made And the resolutions so ably decided Be fulfilled as long as you live. I met a very merciful death! A crown of thorns around my head, Long nails pierced my hands and feet. And all my bones were numbered. What great a suffering and sorrow I have met for loving you! How many sins have you made That I always forget and forgive— How many times have you felt desperate And found relief when gone to my side— How many troubles have you met And all efforts behind you were exhausted Solved only when you invoked me to intercede— The visit to my tabernacle you have planned Given up for another day— The flowers that should have been offered me Sent for someone for vanity— Though I’ll be without your love and care My love for you will not wane, All these and many more you have done 03 64 THE CROSS Are nothing to me when you come To confess and make penance for them And to promise never again. Live up to your promise everyday To be good and to pray For a life of Ageless Eternity Of faith, hope, and charity. Your Heavenly Father, Iesu Christi P.S. I hope to hear from you often—Same ACEBEDO OPTICAL CO. Optometrists & Opticians 428 Rizal Ave.. Manila (Infront of Ideal Theatre) TUASON and SAMPEDRO Inc. Globa de Oro 801-178 Quiapo, Manila Lumber, Construction and Furnitures (Wooden and Rattan) Melquiades Virata, Jr. Attorney-at-Law 2126 Azcarraga Manila, P. I. — THE ANSWER to the growing need of a Catholic Magazine.that the masses readily accept .. . — OUR OBJECTIVE is to comment on current'events and give timely articles and entertaining stories . .. — PROMOTED by the CATHOLIC CLERGY, it brings to the masses the progressive social doctrines of Pope Leo XIII, Pope Pius XI, etc ... — INDUSTRIALISTS interested in sound social doctrine might like to circulate FILIPINAS among their employees... JUAN DE LA CRUZ IS READING PLENTY OF COMMUNISTIC PROPAGANDA!!! LET FILIPINAS BE AN AN TIDOTE!!!! FILIPINAS MAGAZINE Regina Building Escolta-Banquero Manila Enclosed please find P............... for a year’s subscription t the FILIPINAS Magazine. It is understood that one more laborer wi) be receiving your Magazine for one whole year free of charge. One Year Subsbcription: P4.00