Places and Persons
Williams, Michael
Places and Persons THAT REMINDS ME By MICHAEL WILLIAMS Finding it impossible in his own case to keep a notebook-a practice which he would make compulsory if he were a dictator over all...
...So far as the Boston Post was concerned, that marked the first appearance on the scene of journalism of the organized publicity committee of the Christian Science Church...
...Certainly, something ought to be done about it...
...In their uncertainty as to how they should deal with that subject, they decided to save time...
...How completely the situation has been changed by the skilful, adroit, and in general quite legitimate methods of the Christian Science publicity machine is well known to all those having any really expert knowledge of contemporary American journalism...
...Except for the stories, the speeches were of a most unusual order of excellence...
...but immediately went on to say that he would gladly publish the Catholic lecture...
...The Catholics of the United States, as I have often said before, with all their twenty million members, are so far behind the Christian Scientists, in this respect, that they are not even able to challenge comparison...
...The answer was, of course, promptly in the affirmative...
...But, oh, the stories...
...That was the end of the matter...
...Readers who are interested in the fuller details are recommended to read the series contributed to our contemporary by Mr...
...At that time, some twenty-five years ago, I was reporting for the Boston Post...
...It was not a bad story...
...Catholic publicity, in the general press, has not...
...I simply wrote a straight news account of the ceremonies incidental to the dedication of the imposing structure which is the Vatican, so to speak, of Christian Science...
...He then-to employ the useful stencil-let the cat out of the bag...
...Donald Ogden Stewart, or Mr...
...The papers next day carried considerable publicity about the Christian Science lecture ; but there was nothing about the Catholic lecture...
...Farlow, in a very courteous manner, thanked the city editor for appreciating the importance of the event described in my article...
...At that time, as those of my readers who are able to recall the period will remember, the press in general paid a great deal of attention to Christian Science, usually in an unfavorable sense...
...All the Irish stories, and of course they were numerous, had to do with what Pat said to Mike, or Mike to Pat...
...This point, of course, does not usually matter, but now and then it matters a great deal...
...I referred briefly to this matter in my recent series of articles on Catholic publicity...
...Places and Persons THAT REMINDS ME By MICHAEL WILLIAMS Finding it impossible in his own case to keep a notebook-a practice which he would make compulsory if he were a dictator over all journalists and writer-the editor has decided to use one or two pages in The Commonweal to relate incidents and memories concerned with places and persons connected with his somewhat wandering and occasionally adventurous mode of life, which may be of interest to our readers, and which otherwise would not get recorded...
...For example: Mr...
...But Catholics themselves have done little to supplement this mass of news with planned publicity dealing with less sensational but at times much more important aspects of their Church...
...The Catholic lecture was duly published...
...I pointed out that both lectures had been addressed to the general public, and it seemed odd that the Christian Science lecture should be published in full, since there could only be a few thousand members of the Christian Science Church in San Francisco, whereas there were tens of thousands of Catholics...
...I called up the managing editor of that paper and asked him why he did not give some space to the Catholic lecture...
...But in these days of many foundations for the support of worthy causes, surely here is one that ought not to be neglected...
...Perhaps the subject might be taught as a special course at the universities...
...But since then, Christian Science publicity-lectures, news, letters-has flourished exceedingly...
...The Christian Science lecturer and one of the Paulists spoke on the same night...
...I recall another instance of the successful methods by which Christian Scientists have succeeded in propagating their doctrines, in San Francisco some years ago...
...All editors- except a few scandalous blackmailers who disgrace a noble profession-are always ready to correct their errors or mistakes...
...One evening newspaper printed the entire address of the Christian Scientist...
...Frank Sullivan, or Mr...
...Would the Boston Post, therefore, as a matter of justice, accept a letter for publication next day correcting the errors...
...He answered that the Catholic lecturers had not sent in any publicity material...
...As Mr...
...If our readers should be Queen-Victorian and refuse to be amused, the space devoted to these notes will revert to more useful material.-The Editors...
...I had no personal interest in the matter...
...Farlow's letter duly appeared...
...Henry Raymond Mussey...
...In preparing the material for the volume under the letter 'D,' the Catholic editors reached the debatable theme of the deluge...
...One of my tasks was to write an article describing the formal opening of the Christian Science Mother Church in Boston...
...By the time they reached the subject flood, under the letter 'F,' they found themselves still unable to deal with the matter, so they inserted another note referring the reader to Noah, which, of course, pushed the matter on for a goodly number of volumes...
...He went on to say that the writer of the article, no doubt without conscious intention to offend, had made certain statements which were erroneous in fact...
...This obviated the necessity for the newspaper marking the published address as an advertisement...
...Alfred Farlow...
...Such episodes throw light upon the mysterious origin of many popular myths...
...All the Scotch stories dealt with the only characteristic of the Scotchman which the tradition of public story-telling permits to be mentioned, his parsimony...
...but the point of it rather fades out for anybody who takes the trouble to refer to Volume IV of the Catholic Encyclopedia, which contains subjects ranging from "Clan" to "Dio...
...As the laughter and applause which greeted this anecdote seemed quite sufficient for the speaker's purpose, he did not pause to tell us how, in the end, the harassed editors of the Catholic Encyclopedia treated the subject...
...Mussey says in his first article in the Nation, "The Christian Scientists have the best publicity machine in the country...
...certainly, I had no prejudice for or against the doctrines of Christian Science, for at that time I was not interested in the doctrines of any church...
...Are the Catholic lecturers prepared to make a business arrangement...
...Whether any expert in story-telling would find the composition of the suggested guide-book financially worth while is, of course, another question...
...What I am reminded about in particular is the fact that I chanced to be a participant in what was probably the beginning of the work of the Christian Science Publicity Bureau...
...I then asked whether if I made myself responsible for sending him a copy of one of the Catholic lectures, which would have general public interest, he would publish it in full...
...I immediately inquired whether the Christian Scientists had paid advertising rates for the publication of the lecture, pointing out that there was a state law to the effect that all paid advertising matter in a newspaper should be marked as such...
...so they inserted after the word 'deluge' a note saying: 'See under flood.' This deferred the matter for two volumes...
...he asked...
...Allen Johnson, the editor of the Encyclopedia of American Biography, told an anecdote which ran somewhat as follows: "Illustrating the difficulties which confront the editors of encyclopedias, I would like to mention what one of my good Catholic friends in Washington told me about an experience that befell the editors of the Catholic Encyclopedia, that excellent production...
...There were many speeches...
...Yet here, as in so many other things, we must try to do what Thomas of Aquinas labored so hard to teach us-we must distinguish...
...When we remember that the registered membership of the Christian Science Church is between two hundred and three hundred thousand people, the success of their propaganda proves the depth of their devotion and their continuous and well-directed zeal...
...I WONDER if it would not be a useful work if Mr...
...Possibly Professor Stephen Leacock would be the ideal author or editor of such a guide...
...It bore the name of Mr...
...People listen to statements made by other people who apparently possess authority, accept them, make no inquiry and then pass the myth on, usually with a distortion or an exaggeration in the process...
...R. H. ("Bob") Davis, should write: A Joke Book for Highbrows: particularly intended as a guide for the use of college professors, scientists, social service experts, and others of the high priests of the intellectuals, in the preparation and delivery of after-dinner speeches...
...But the chief drawback of all of the stories was the manner in which they were lugged in, head over heels, painfully, inappropriately...
...A trifle confused by this remark, he hemmed and hawed and gave me no definite answer...
...Two Catholic priests, the celebrated Paulist preachers, Fathers Gillis and Conway, arrived in San Francisco simultaneously, and also advertised a course of lectures to non-Catholics...
...Another point that might be called to the attention of public speakers in telling funny stories, or stories supposed to be funny, is the little matter of whether they happen to be true or not...
...Where the Christian Science publicity machine falls down, so that now it is arousing much general resentment, is in their ill-advised and un-American methods of political wire-pulling and deliberate attempts to boycott and suppress books which they regard as obnoxious...
...A Christian Science lecturer came to that city and advertised a public address...
...That the secular press has of late years given more and more space to news and views concerning Catholicism is unquestionable and that has come about naturally: through the press observing- as it is its business to do-the enormously remarkable facts connected with the world-wide resurgence of the Catholic faith...
...As a matter of fact, the Christian Scientists had not bought advertising space, but they had paid for many thousands of copies of the paper containing the address, and did not bother to get the papers and distribute them...
...where, beginning on page 702, they may find an article fully dealing with the deluge, to the extent of about eight columns...
...Like the speakers at the banquet in question, I "am reminded" of something by the articles which have just begun publication in the Nation, dealing with the censorship and Publicity Bureau of the Christian Science Church...
...This was proven amply and even painfully at the testimonial banquet given the other evening at the Hotel Astor in honor of the editors and contributors who have just produced the first volume of the monumental Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences...
...it was distinctly better than others, although not so good as some...
...The next day a gentleman called at the editorial office of the Post, sending in a card which designated him as a member of the Committee on Publication of the First Church of Christ, Scientist...
...It would seem that there are fundamentalists as well as liberals among our Catholic friends as well as among other Christian groups...
...Again except for the stories, the speeches sparkled with wit, and were rich with genuine humor...
...There were also many funny stories...
Vol. 11 • February 1930 • No. 17
