Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1941-02-05
Almanac
Skaters
Runyon Faith
Error Of 40 Issue Not Yet
Corrected, Writer Finds
BY DAMON RUNYON

BY DAMON RUNYON
ONE day last Summer, in re-
" ply to reader query. we
wrote column of the religious
affiliations of the presidel.te oil
the United States. stating that
Benjamin Harrison. a Presby-
terrain, was said to have been the
first president who was an
actual member of any church.
The ensuing blast of letters
denouncing us for inaccuracy
was most severe. though highly
complimentary to the circulation
of the column. II seemed that
practically everybody but us
knew that George Washington,
the first president. inaugurated
in 1889. was positively a member
of the Episcopal Church.
He once had a family pew in
ST. Paul'S Chapel AT Broadway
and Ncscy streets. New York.
Benjamin Harrison was in
auguraicd in 1889. so we were
Just hundred years wrong OF
the % presidents in between
Washington and Benjamin Harri-
son. there is no doubt but that
a number were actual members
of churches.
In fact. of all the presidents
only jefferson and Lincoln did
not claim actual membership in
any church. though Lincoln at
tended the New York Avenue
Presbyterian Church in Wash
ington when he was President.
GO WE apologized. but not
~ very loud Our restraint was
partly due to embarrassment
over the nagrancy of the boot.
but more to grief because we
felt we had been double-croSsed
by an old friend and counselor.
our authority for the state
ment in the first instance was
tho World Almanac.
Thus when the query came in
about the religious affiliations
of the presidents We turned with
confidence to The 1910 ISSUE Of
the almanac and read there that
BENJAMIN Harrison was said TO
-A-sAe-t.'A.-Ta--itli, +--ftt->t president
who was an actual member ri
any church
And We published that state
-mcni with no more thought Of
the possibility of error than we
would have given To sucgeS-
ton that The world was going
TO cease revolving the next day.
WE WERE slightly stunned
W when the first challenge 10
the accuracy of the statement
arrived and lapSed into a COM
plete coma when Investigation
disclosed that the challenge
seemed we'll founded
The SCATTERING OF any fond
illusion is always a sad thing.
We had thought the almanac
infallible When we were able
10 use the telephone we called
up the office of the almanac and
said 10 a fellow there:
"On page 326 OF your hook II
saws Ben iar'in Harrison WAS
said to have been the first pre>i-
dent who was an actual member
OF any church"
II; does. che" he countcred
cautiously. "Wait'Il get copy
and see
IFS there all right" he re-
ported after a MaIl
We'll, that's wrong" we said.
lowering our voice "Nashin On
was the first"
'Humph." said the fellow. II
will look into the matter"
He seemed quite calm. hut we
figured that probably he did not
want TO let us in on the agita-
ton that must be wracking his
soul
WE HUNG up the receiver
w quite gently a little re-
grenul that we had been com
PEELED TO make the revelation.
But what do you think? The
other evening we were coming
the pages of the World Alma
mac for 1871. refreshing our
memory on the tax rates for the
city of Chicago. the production
of rayon in the United States.
and other interesting subjects.
when we recalled the discussion
on the religious affiliations Of
the presidents and Tipped 10
Page 326 to SEQ how the alma
nae had wigglcd out of that
enc.
And there it was just as be-
fore BENJAMIN Harrison Said