The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1873-06-22

age price of 90 cents per copy. or $780, NET
pr9ft Of forty dollars. Here we have mace , no
wrapping.paper and twinc, rent or advertising
i'm fact, have made no allowance for the ordi-
nary expenses of business. We THINK Geo!-
glns" will see from those figures why ca.ao nnt
soide of the publishers richf Yes, wei on
but not rich, excepting. one, and be qua not
make IL on books. But those OF them tnat are
those engaged in similar business, but on the
other side of the house. are ten times as well
off. Take ono instance in New York,-saoners
an@ the They began much
richer. No Catholic publisher does more than
turn over his capital once year. What other
business is as slow as this =,
up" Of Catholic books. 1t is said, and truly.
theyeare not as handsome as other books But
who is to blame for this Not the Publishers
demanded it, books would be- got out hand
somely, but it does not. It is not the quality
the majority of Catholic book. buyers look for,
but the quantity. We very seldom hear q Ca
tholic laymau, whom about to purchase book,
except it is q prayer-book, ask for fine edi-
ton, or complain of its "get up" No, it is the
price he complains of, and the usual cry meets
when the speaker has never purchased dozen
in his life, and If he went into a nom Catholic
bookstore, would pay the price asked without
one word of objection. We have found out
complaining of the high prices of books sell
dom buy, and We hero mako an assertion that
may astonish some people-it is this: Nine
tenths of the Catholic books, outside of prayer
books, sold in the United States, are purchased
by clergymen, the Sisters and libraries. The
Catholic laity. as body, buy no books Those
money, and those that have the money are too
often without the'taste for reading.
The next question is, how are we to get a
larger circulation for Catholic books We
| "a, r0fr nfh
lies. They will be readers-of Catholic books,
II We take the proper means to place them
within their range; if we do not do this, then
they will read the trash and filth offered them
at the town or village circulating library. We
have less fear for Catholics from Protestant
doctrnal, or what is known as anti.Catholic
books, than we have from the IMMORAL, lcen-
tious novels, and books of that class now
Catholic book repels, while such novels as
Charles Reads and Miss Mulbach's attract
draw the unwary youth into their snare, aud
he 10 gone. Yet strange to say some of our
Catholic libraries have such books on their
shelves
Let "Georgius," and others like him, give a
helping hand to their pastor. Take some of
ton or more to pay for a Sunday school paper
for every child in the parish. That is the first
stop. The next is the Sunday school and parish
library; Let him be one of one hundred to
subscribe for this Good example spreads,
and when s. Georgius'" parish is thus supplied,
others will have to do the same. The Sunday.
school is a Catholic institution, but the Protest
have, and they use it to disseminate their reli-
gious notions. The children bring home pa
pers, tracts and books, and very often they
have great influence on the old.
Avery great many Protestant Sunday sch ools
publish books. 1t is done in this way Some
teacher, or other person connected with the
Sunday school, has brains, and writes q book.
That school sends the book to New York, has
it published by one of the Book Societies ut
the Sunday -schoops expense, and takes 500 or |
1000 copies for its own use. After that the
for it costs the publishers nothing. When will
a Catholic Sundsy-school pay for getting out
o book1 Echo answers-when We hope to |
see the day when we. the Catholics of these
good books We must do it. We must work |
for the youth. If we have Catholics at all, in |
!. next twenty-five or thirty years.. we will
ligence. The Catholic youth who practices
his religion in this country does so of his own ,
free uiH and choice. He does it for the love of
Goa. The influence, example, and many other
things that lead him to do it in profess adly |
Catholic countries, is wanting here, therefore
the American Catholic remains so by the grace
Of God and his intelligence-his thorough
We have lost heavily during the past fifty
years by persons falling OFF from their relig ous
luties but none of these were intelligent Ca
holes; They knew little or nothing of the
heir fathers-they left because they We're
gnorant' Then let US be up and doing. Let
men like "Georgius" give practical help
% disseminate Catholic books.
Going to Mass, last Mass particularly, only
IN Sunday, with magnifcently bound prayer
BOOK, isquite fashionable; but going on Sun
lays and holidays, and when returning home,
pending the evenings in reading Catholic
books rih and for the children, when they are
Unable to do so for themselves, is the duty of
very catholic parent, and no Catholic who I
ver did it, or who ever will, has had cause to
weep for son or daughters morals. Catholic {
parents must read for their children, whom
'onng, # they expect them to become honored |
ND useful members of society; they must keep
hem supplied with good books when they are ,
Die to read they must stamp out the first !
IMPURE sheet that crosses their thresholds: | {
hey must, no matter at what sacrifice of heart i
ain, punish the custodian of q bad book and r
onsign the foul volume to the flames. To keep
supply of Catholic books on hand. and to en- 8
BILE publishers to priAt them in decent type .
nd bind them as they ought to be, the hun '
reds of thousands of Catholics who have only I
= big Bible," seldom read, upon their sitting ]
'om table, and cheap edition of o cheap t
'ayer-book in their bedroom, must give them t
H!te assistance by investing u few dollars g.
'ch year in Catholic books, and resolutely re- I
I've to buy no more sensational trash, and see b
lat those dependent upon them for instruc- n
on and example do not touch the abominabie u