The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1922-11-18
ST. THOMAS COLLEGE
IRAIlhG
III ii4ls E,; rs's n l,h9s

Gil will participate ih The conference
on the Conservation OF Man-Power to
be. held in Washington, D. c., on NoY.
Is, II and IS, at which the special
subject OF discussion will be the train.
ing of the youth of the country for
citizenship and national defense.
Measures for developing in young
American manhood a vigorous and
disciplined mind and body and the
training Of boys and young men in a
voluntary military system calculated
to produce the officers and men re-
quired for our citizen forces, will be
among the important matters consid-
cred at the conference, which will pay
special attention to the work of the
Reserve Officers Training Corps,
units of which are established in many
Catholic colleges and academies.
Father Rurke's Statement.
"The universal draft proved that
there exists in the country an as
founding amount of illiteracy," said
the Rev John J. Burke, G.. S. p, gem
eral secretary of the N. G. w. c., who
will be one of the speakers at the con.
ference. 1T also showed that thou-
sands of young men were physically
unsuited for the army.
"The National Catholic Welfare
Council stands squarely on the prin-
ciples of the Holy See for world peace,
and strongly supports the Pope plea
to the nations to disarm 1t sees,
however, no conflict between this
position and the assistance asked of
it by the United States in supporting
measures of a non-warlike character,
whose purpose is to prepare youths
for citizenship and national defense.
"The National Catholic Welfare
Council is prepared to assist the. Gov
ernment in this. worthy task by ac-
quainting all Catholic s, education
forces, young, mems organizations,
athletic clubs and all citizenship
classes with the exigencies of the
situation and calling upon them to up
hold the Republic in it's efforts to pre-
pare itself for any emergency which
may .dIISc Ill lH0a future. sa,5s
It. is estimated that $500 reserve
officers are being produced through
the Reserve Officers Training for the
year ending i'm 1923, as opposed to
2,570 in 1922. 1893 in 1891 and 1872 in
1920, but the necessities OF national
defense, according to the program sent
out in connection with the Confer
ence, require very many more reserve
officers than are now being brought
forward.
Catholic Colleges Doing Their Part.
Catholic colleges are playing an i'm
portant part in the development of
these student officers. Thirty-eight
Catholic institutions maintained Stu
dent. Army Training Corps units dur
ing the great war and many Catholic
colleges and academies are now
maintaining units which have most
creditable records, including the medi-
cal department of st. Louis Univer-
sity, which was the first University
to be chosen by the Government in
furtherance of it's plan Of creating in
the great medical colleges of the
country hospital units that can func-
ton promptly in time of war, or in the
emergency of some national disaster
The College of st. Thomas at st.
Paul. Mimi, is credited with having
the largest enrolment Of any Catho.
lie institution in it's military reserve
officers unit by figures given for the
school year ending June 80, 1922. The
enrolment was 647 Creighton Uni
versity in Omaha had ABS men en-
rolled and the University of Dayton
425. Georgetown University and
Campion College had enrolled, re.
spectively. 296 and 227 men and
Spring Hill College of Alabama 112
men. The enrolment given for the
4 St Louis University School of Medi-
cine was 400. Among the academies
and secondary institutions listed in
the same category were Cretin High
School, st. Paul, with 125 men; st
Johns College, Washington, D. c.. 159;
| Loyola Academy, Los Angeles, IT'S, and
sClason Military Academy, Bronx, 137
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