Norwich bulletin., 1921-02-10
WORK OF K. OF c. IN
 PEACE AND IN WAR

The Knights of Columbus in Peace and l War, which has been compiled and
 written by Maurice Francis Egan, eX- minister to Denmark, and John P. Ken nedy, has just been issued,
 The monumental work is divided into 1 two volumes The first volume traces
 the history of the order from it's incep- | ton until the present day. The second
 volume contan the war correspondence
 and the honor roll of all the money re- ceived by the order during the united
 war drives, and diagrams and figures show how the money was spent.
 In tracing the history of the order the
 authors begin with it's foundation by Fa
 ther Michael J. McGivney, an assistant parish priest at St. Mary's church, New
 Haven. Tho plan i'll the mind of the founder, it is pointed out, was to have the laymen unite the church at it's
 strongest point and to develop faith and good works
 r Tn the Connecticut of the early
 eighties, state the authors. Catholics
 W2r4 the objects of a prejudice that
 placed them at social and economic dis
 advantage. Catholic was synonym for
 Irish and feeling was strong against men
 of Irish descent The position of Cath
 olics in a democratic time when the value of majorities was considered as most | lllDOEldllL ldCIOr III lne management OI social life vas far inferior to that war
 ranted by the size of the Catholic popu- lation. A firm barrier stood in the way l of Catholic advancement. This lack ot prestige had it's effect on the individual Catholic, especially the man in the or. dinary walks of life. It gave himN a sense of social inferiority when confront
 cd with the social advantages of men no
 of his faith."e
 The promoters of the infant order ear ly adopted an insurance policy. It wa then contemplated to form a secret oath \ bound organization This proposal wa submitted to Rt- Rev. Lawrenc5 T. Mo l Mahon, bishop of Hartford, and rejected ' by him. The plan of organization wa - then altered and the oathbound featur 5 eliminated. The ritual was then approv i ed by the bishop and later received tn approval of Cardinal Gibbons and tn n | Apostolic delegate The order thus ha n never been an oathbound order and i j. not today, according to the publication r The strongest allegiance expressed is ' pledge.
 $ Prominent among the works of the or T. der in this country have been the en a downg of higher education, the allayin Of religious prejudice, the commenorat es ing of Columbus. the urging of the erec Il tion of statues to Columbus, the secu1 ' ing of legal holiday on Columbus da, !" the prosecution of circulators of the be
 gus Fourth Degree" oath and the prat ls tic" of charity and patriotism.
 The first educational work undertake 70 by tho order was the endowment of
 $50, ,AOO chair of American history at tt III Catholic university of America Tn T. was followed by the endowment of half
 million dollars to maintain in perpetuit E 50 graduate scholarships at the Cathel
 university of America. This amount W. t. fully subscribed before the war and W.
 paid in full at Cardinal Gibbons res
 dcnce in Baltimore on Jan 6, 1914 L
 ter. after the war, rehabilitation schoo .E and evening schools were originated al rs maintained.
 st Toward commemorating Christoph re Columbus generous contribution w ,w made for the erection, in. connection wi al O. congressional appropriation of c id lumhus memorial in the plaza in front nd the Union station, Washington, D. c. A z- ter some agitation Columbus day w ve madn legal holiday in 36 states and mt Washington's birthday, 1917, the four n- d"gree inaugurated a nationwide D is triotic celebration in all the large citi he to give patriotic tribute to the discover bo of America.