The Waterbury Democrat., 1932-12-15

Many splendid tributes have been paid Irving Roger Bacon, born Irving Rosenthaf in New York and educated along orthodox Jew ish lines, but very early in life be- coming a convert to the Roman Catholic religion, who died Sum- day of cancer at the House of Calvary in the Bronx. For thirty years he was in the newspaper field. The New York Times in their Wednesday morning issue carried an account of his life and activities. saying in part:
 "Mr Bacon started his news paper career in the gay nineties,' when handsome cabs thronged tho avenues and when 0. Henry had yet to write of Haroun Al Raschid and his Bag-dad-on- -the-subway. His amazing facility for languages - he could speak Latin better than the average man speaks Eng fish, and he was master of most of the important living tongues = his kindly disposition and tolerant phil losophy and his scholarly mind early won for him a reputation which never left him during a life of vicissitudes.
 By turn journalist, teacher, lawyer and palmist, but always the student, MT Bacon had lived life fully, and despite the fickleness of fortune he had found 1t good. Of late years he had been, teacher at St Bonaventure College, q Roman Catholic institution at Alleghaney, N. Y., but retired because of Ill health three years ago.
 Walking homo from school one day he saw an Irish youngstcr pummeling young Jew. Young Irving Rosenthal pitched In to help the member of his own race. In $ few minutes the fiery Irish boy had whipped both. his opponents, and Irving" was retiring from the field of battle dabbing a bloody nose.
 "That encounter convinced him nurtured men of fighting blood and announced that he intended to en- ter Q Catholic school.
 And he did, too, despite the vigorous protests of his family. He studied at Manhattan College, at St Bonaventure, where he was a classmate of Cardinal Hayes, and later at Tulane in New Orleans. His intense interest in philosophy and his interest in Roger Bacon, as well as his conversion to the Catholic faith, led him to change his name to Irving Roger Bacon, the name by which he was known to many old New York newspaper men. While student in mon- astery near Pittsburgh he came under the tutelage and influence of Father Acularius, who instilled in the youth a knowledge and love of the classics which never left him. When his early education was complete the youth studied for time at Jesuit institution in California with the idea of beconl- ing q monk, but turned to journal ism instead.
 "EIe entered newspaper work at Q time when the spice of the undertaking school was seasoning New York and he took keen de- light in his "stories." For some thirty years he served on various newspapers. As court reporter for Tho Evening Journal he knew. most of the judges of his day, and because of his vast knowledge or the classics and his study of law. which he undertook in his spare time. he could write as learned a brief as any of them. He was . member of the staffs of the old New York Herald and the old World. Some famous assignments came his way, including the trial of Harry K. Thaw for the murder Of Stanford White.
 "For a brief interim after he took his law degree and was ad' mitted to the bar he hung out his "shingle" and left Journalism. Af. ter he had waited for months for a client. woman came to ms or, flee. She told such tale of hard luck and woe that he gave her dime to comfort her in her distress. Then he stepped outside on to the ton step of the brownstone stoop