The Catholic times. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1951-current, 1953-09-18
Just Among Ourselves
Passing Comment Considered or ineensidsrsss

remarked long ago, ana one Oh MS constant mlSer-
les is the fact that of this worlds gifts and gadget
ries he has almost always too little or too much.
The sane balance, the meson, highly recommend.
ed by Aristotle, j. seldom available Let
slider for instance"
few centuries back people had to depend
travellers and ships arrivals and town criers, for
what call news. This item of human diet was
scanty, and infrequently served and not always
liable. To-day We have news till we can't rest.
News In papers, on radio, on televSion. News IN
weekly surveys, in picture magazines, IN cinema
reels. And not only news unacceptable and omnipres
ent news, but reviews OF the news and digeSts of
the news and people to tell us what the news means
il anything. From too little have advanced TO
great deal too much
And weather. not long since, nobody knew any.
thing about weather but few bureaus that COM
mon citizens disregarded and old farmers with
rheumatic joints Now, with the advent of teleyiSon,
We are surrounded by reports the weather until
the very climate becomes mental burden. Babies
m their cribs ponder weather-charts. We had very
little; now We have more than We can handle.
And the too much" is often plain repetition.
We hear OF event by air and We il on tee-
vision and in news-reels not once, but again and
again, and again. This recalls the old-time history
books which covered the centuries in various coun-
tries after the other An event recorded and
studied was not laid quietly in the storehouse of
memory; no, il came popping up again, time after
time.
The recurrence of Attila for instance, was a
frightening thing. The "Scourge of God" was prob
ably only clustering roughneck with dis
position and lmid vocabulary. But the history
books portrayed him figure OF preternatural
evil, and he made many entries upon the historic
scene, coming in by the doors of the several coun-
tries, Sarah Bernhardt made farewell appear
ances. Attila tearsome figure: IT was said by
the columniStS OF his day that grass never grew
again where his horses hoof had trod. This always
seemed to us as schoolboys circumstance of
very remarkable horse rather than of a dreadful
rider. But IN any every time We took up the
story OF tribe OF people sooner or later old Atta
would appear doing no good at all 10 the grass OF
the Alpine slopes
How many times modern televiewer did you
the GROWING of England's undoubted queen"
You might have witnessed this cerem0nious event
AT least thrice on the very day OF its occurrence
and thirty forty times over during the week
that followed How often did you review the guard
al Washington airport with President Truman and
the Queen OF the Netherlands? How frequently have
you had the inspiring spectacle OF Secretary OF
State descending the steps from an arplane,-not
al the end of different trips, but The same trip
How often did you conduct the funeral service
for Senator Taft? How many times, quite recently,
did you assist at the obsequies OF Chief Justice Vim
son? The spirit of somber reverence with which
such scenes are properly viewed tends to rub
rather thin al the ninth or tenth showing Too
little OF too much And thus al long last we arrive
al something which ii seems proper and timely
to say.
Chief Justice Vnson now repeatedly laid to
rest by the elecasers Tin the town of Louisa, Ken
lucky which one tired commentator rather refresh
ngly called Eliza was doubtless an important man,
and an able man, and an enlightened man. as this
world understands misunderstands enlighten-
ment But there is such amazing contrast and con-
tradiction between what the did and stood tor,
and what he publicly proclaimed as his intellectual
conviction, that the mind hobbies 10 contemplate II.
OF course il may be unfair to judge man by
his solemn public pronouncements. Too often these
words meant 10 impress rather than TO
convey meaning mere man. confronted by bat
terry of microphones, and q regiment Of reporters
easily feels that what he is about 10 say is pabuum
for posterity In such situation the chest and ego
arc apt to swell inordinately and what emerges
in syiiabes is likely 10 be perishng piffe And yet
we have little to Judge public figure by. but what
he says taken in conjunction with what he does.
Here then was man who declared publicly
that there absolutes. This means many things
even as IL means one thing. II means that there
means that there is certainly movable virtue
thai is called Justice; il that there is Abso
lutte Being that men call God. II Mr. Justice Vinson
meant TO say that human judgment on people and
events is variable and not always reliable; If he
meant that Justice among is not always surely
achieved we might understand his words as those
of a sensible and normal man. But If he meant that
he did not say that He said there are no absolutes
which is plain and sheer insanity.
IA a.
state the fact? To say there are absolutes is TO
lay down principle as absolute This is just like
the statement of the skeptie that you be sure
that nothing is certain. The man who says there
no abs0lutes ties himself in tight knot OF contra
diction he nullifies his statement by making IT:
he shows himself mental nincompoop, not en-
lghtened person.
And if there is no absolute Justice, how dare
man try to administer Justice? What is his stand
ard? Would you trust clerk to measure out cloth
If he denied the yardstick? II there is absolute
how dare man speak of God, and administer an
oath IN the name of God who Is the Infinite and
Eternal Absolute? Vel Mr. Justice Vinson. who said
there no absolute accepted the post of Chief Jus
lice and administered oaths, even TO Presidents ir
the name of God.
Well may Fred NJ. Vinson rest in peace. He va.
lust poor nalxeG-tlp Chief Justicei