The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1913-11-01
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
uNcHARITY IN THE NAME OF
CHARITY.
The st. Paul Seminary,
st. Paul, Mimi,
October 81. 1913.

October u, 1913.
Editor, The Catholic Bulletin:
The communication from Fair
Play in your issue of last week does
serious injustice to the Associated
Charities, owing to the fact that it
was written without sufficient knowl-
edge or sufficient reflection, or both.
Obviously the membership of the
Board of Directors cannot be con-
structed on a basis of representation
by religions. Consequently no de-
nomination can expect to have it's
exact numerical strength represented.
Nor is the Board intended to repre-
sent fully or exclusively the various
charitable organizations which go to
make up the Associated Charities. AS
there are only twenty-four members
on the Board, while the constituent
societies and Institutions number not
less than seventy-two, adequate rep
resentation of them all is impossible.
On the other hand, almost half the
membership of the Board does not
represent any affiliated organization.
For example, Rabbi Rypins, Rev. Mr..
Schaad, myself, Mr.. Jackson, Mr.. Peet,
and several others have membership
on it for other and sufficient reasons
What then have Catholics right to
expect in the matter of membership
on a board so constituted? Two
things, it seems to me. First, that
their organizations shall have a rea-
sonable voice, and, second, that the
general Catholic population of the city
shall have reasonable proportion of
those members who do not represent
the affiliated societies. Wherein does
the present board fail to meet these
requirements?
The Guild of Catholic Women has a
member on the Board, Miss Doherty.
Had Fair Play" taken the trouble to
get the knowledge which would have
enabled him to play fairly, he would
not have asserted that the Guild was
without representation. In the second
place, a member of the st. Vincent
de Paul Conferences might we'll have
had representative, but he attended
only two meetings, and contributed
nothing of value. Had he been more
and efficient he would no
doubt have been reelected, as were
all the other members of last year.
Why was not some other Vincent de
Paul man selected in his place? With
full and inside" knowledge of the
l say that the reason was
the failure of any interested Catholic
to suggest the matter to Mr. Jackson
who had almost entire charge of the
selections. The most prominent
Vincent de Paul man in the city saw
the tentative list of new directors
some days before they were chosen,
but failed to suggest any name. Can
we blame Mr.. Jackson for having over
looked the matter?
AS to the general Catholic represen-
tation, l am on the Board, but I shall
gladly resign in favor of any person
whom Fair Play" desires to see sub
stituted. / agree that normally we
ought to have more than one from our
general population, but l happen to
know that Mr.. Jackson had the names
of two prominent Catholics on his
original list. Both declined to serve
So much for the conditions that are
responsible for the present constitu-
ton of the Board. Why is it that
Catholics as a rule have such a poor
in civic and social or
CARNATIONS? For two principal rea-
sons. First, because they do not in
sufficient numbers go into this field in
any capacity whatever. Therefore,
their names do not occur to the men
of influence in these organizations
who have the power to select officers.
This is sober and saddening fact
Catholics have not yet developed a
social or civic sense. happen to be-
long to some half dozen or more state
and national organizations of this
but, with the exception of
one or possibly two, they do not con-
tain enough Catholics to enable any
one to know that the membership is
not entirely Protestant At none of
the various conventions of these So
cieties that 1 have attended through
put the country, has the participation
Of Catholics been any where nearly
with their proportion
Of the population. In such circum-
stances it is inevitable that they
should be passed over.
The second reason for the paucity
Of Catholic names in the lists of Off
GERS in organizations of this kind is
The failure of those Catholics who are
members to make themselves and
their fellow Catholics known. In all
these bodies non-C atholics are at
present in the ascendant When they
think of names for Offices they natur-
ally think of their friends, of those
whom they know, just as we should do
If conditions were reversed. If the
Catholic members do not check and
correct this process, who is to blame?
So, there are plenty of reasons to
explain the lack of prominence of
Catholics in these organizations with
put having recourse to the ugly
hypothesis of bigotry. Ordinary
Christian charity would suggest that
this explanation should be advanced
only as a last reluctant resort, after
all the facts had been carefully
examined And yet, too many of us
adopt the uncharitable explanation
This is the refuge of
weaklings and men of bad will, not of