Words of Fr. Paul Wattson S.A. In: The Antidote

Words of Fr.
Paul
Wattson s.a.
in
The Antidote
iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction to The Antidote Entries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v
The Antidote by year : 1919 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

1920 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
1921 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
1922 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
1923 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
1924 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 393
1925 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 485
1926 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 561
1927 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 669
1928 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 751
1929 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 823
1930 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 887
1931 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 989
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 997
iv
Introduction to The Antidote Entries

ORIGIN According to The Antidote (Aug. 1927 p.211), the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement
took over its publication in 1918. Fr. J.A.Campbell founded the magazine in 1909 or 1910 and
published it from Hereford, Texas. Its purpose was, “to counteract the mischievous effects of the poison germs
injected into the body politic by the peddlers of religious bigotry who hope for profit and political power through
appealing to racial and religious prejudice.” (The Antidote Feb.1924 p.30; The Lamp Feb. 1915 p.72)
The “poison” was contained in the periodicals, The Menace, Rail Splitter, Yellow Jacket and Fellowship
Forum. (The Antidote Sep. 1929 p.226)
The Antidote Building, in Hereford, from which the magazine was first published, was originally the fine
marble Courthouse of Deaf Smith County (The Antidote Feb. 1924 p.30) It was not until the beginning of 1921 that
the office of publication was moved to Peekskill, where the magazine took on an “enlarged form and better dress.”
While operating the magazine from Hereford, Campbell requested the Friars’ help because of poor health. (The
Antidote Aug. 1927 p.211)
FR. CAMPBELL Two articles written by Campbell, while still editor of The Antidote, appeared
in The Lamp. (Mar. 1917 p.126-129 and Apr. 1917 pp.182-185) In one of them he wrote,
The Antidote building was paid for by the work of my hands, working as a printer 16
hours a day; but I am unable to do that any more as I have a bad heart and straining lays me low.
(The Lamp Mar. 1917 p.129)
A photo of him is in The Lamp Mar. 1927 p.126.
Campbell was a convert from Presbyterianism. (The Lamp July 1918 p.392) Fr. Paul introduced him to
Lamp readers in the February 1915 issue as a “brave priest” with a short article by him and an ad for The Antidote,
which had an annual subscription cost of 50 cents. (p.72) Campblell organized the St. Anthony’s Defenders Army
to spread the circulation of the magazine. (The Lamp Sep. 1916 p.431)
A biographical sketch from the Diocese of Dallas archives indicates that Campbell was born on July 8,
1861 in St. Anastasie, Meganic County, Quebec, Canada. He was ordained as an Claretian in Dallas on Nov. 21,
1897, and was assigned through the years to a number of parishes and institutions in Texas as pastor or chaplain. By
exception, he worked in a parish in Idaho, where some one tried to shoot him. He died in Amarillo, July 9, 1927 and
is buried at Llano Cemetery. (Diocese of Dallas Archives, Tex.)
ADDED PURPOSE Shortly after Fr. Paul took over The Antidote, he stated that he would
do more through the magazine than just combat the anti-Catholic sentiment of
The Menace. He wrote, “Through The Antidote we seek to establish a line of communication with those not of
Peter’s fold” (The Antidote Oct. 1919 p.150) and “Consistent with the twofold purpose of The Antidote, viz.
Catholic Unity and Christian Democracy, we very naturally desire to win the good will and adhesion of our Jewish
fellow citizens for both.” (The Antidote May 1922 p.102-3)
Early on, Fr. Paul called his Antidote “our Magazine of Reconciliation.” (The Antidote July 1919 p.111;
Nov. 1921 p.166)
He also stated that it was “published in the interest of Church Unity and Christian Democracy.” (The
Antidote Oct. 1920 p.324)
Later, he amplified what he meant by Christian Democracy with, “Catholic Unity is the necessary
prerequisite of a truly Christian Democracy and until the Disciples of Christ are essentially one in faith, hope and
charity, Christian Democracy cannot prevail through the world...” (The Antidote July 1922 pp.142-143)
In March 1926, he said that the “sole raison d’etre of the existence of The Antidote is to establish lines of
v
friendly communication between Catholics, Anglicans, Protestants and Jews in the interests of a better and greater
America, but most of all to promote Catholic Unity as the necessary prerequisite of the compete subjugation of the
world to the reign of Jesus Christ as Sovereign Lord and King.” (The Antidote Mar. 1926 pp.71-73)
In August 1929, he poetically wrote that the “primary object and purpose of the Antidote’s existence” is
“the healing of the bitter waters of Protestantism by casting into them the Cross of the Atonement.” He continued,
Our crusade is...to win our non-Catholic Brethren in America to the acceptance of
Catholic Truth and to persuade them to hear the voice of the Divine Shepherd calling His other
sheep back to the unity of the one fold under the one shepherd of Divine appointment, Christ’s
Vicar....” (The Antidote Aug. 1929 p.198)
When Fr. Paul started the “Our Letter Box” column to replace the “Have Your Say” column of Fr.
Campbell, he (Fr. Paul) said that he would not be as “militant” in answering objections and criticisms as Campbell
was. (The Antidote July 1919 p.111)
Taking over The Antidote by Fr. Paul and the Friars led to them and the Franciscan Sisters of the
Atonement establishing themselves in Hereford. (The Antidote Mar. 1929 p.58)
FEATURES Some of the feature departments of The Antidote through the years were:
“Echoes of the Press” (press releases from other periodicals), Fr. Paul and other writers’
editorials, “The Antidote Forum” (Fr. Paul commenting on letters received by The Antidote), the “Jewish Page,”
“Men and Events” (currents happenings throughout the world), serialized books, feature stories, “Letters to Antidote
Crusaders,” “Letters to Subscribers,” “Thoughts for the Season,” and short stories,
CIRCULATION When Fr. Paul took over the magazine in 1918 it had a paid subscription of
5,000. Some five or six years later, in February 1924, the magazine had 35,000 subscribers. (The Antidote
Feb. 1924 p.30) But two years later the paid subscription went down to 12,575, and copies mailed free numbered
4,479. (The Antidote Feb. 1926 p.30) In September 1929, The Antidote had only 7,000 subscribers. (The Antidote
Sep. 1929 p.226)
He compared The Antidote with the other contemporary of the Friars, The Lamp.
There is a special reason why subscribers to The Lamp should also become subscribers to
The Antidote. Readers of The Lamp sometimes complain that the major portion is taken up with
appeals for Graymoor, and all sorts of missionary and charitable objects, leaving very little room
for literary articles of general interest to Catholic Readers. Now The Antidote in this regard
supplies what The Lamp lacks. There are no appeals in The Antidote whatsoever. It is a high
grade literary magazine, every article of which is worth reading. (The Antidote Feb. 1929 p.30)
The magazine ceased publication in January 1931.
MANAGING EDITOR James Arthur Marrow Richey, T.S.A. (J.A.M.R) was listed as
managing editor of The Antidote from May 1922 to Sep. 1929. (The Antidote
May 1922, p.96; Sept. 1929 p.237) It appears that whenever Richey did not sign the “Antidote Forum” department
of the magazine, the author was Fr. Paul Wattson, S.A.
Although there is no issue of the 1918 Antidote or previous ones in the Archives of the Friars of the
Atonement, the Archives do contain issues from 1919 to 1931.
CRITERIA FOR AUTHORSHIP All of the following entries (documents) in this work were typed directly from
the pages of The Antidote.
The criteria used for identifying Fr. Paul Wattson’s words in The Antidote magazine as well as in The
Lamp, The Candle and Rose Leaves magazines are:
vi
- His signature, that is, Fr. Paul Wattson, or the titles Minister General, Father General at the end of
the article, e.g., Letters to Rosarians.
- The author of the piece calling himself “the editor” or “the editor of The Antidote”
- The capitalization of all the letters in words referring to the Divine, e.g., LORD, HOLY GHOST,
CHRIST, etc.
- The use of “we” or “our readers,” especially in editorials
- The signature of E. U. Lex, which was a pen name for Fr. Paul
- The content that indicates that the writer was someone who could only be Fr. Paul, e.g. in detailed
articles about John Reid.
- The spellings of “centre,” “defence” and “builded.”
- The use of the word “consequently.”
- An unsigned article amid others that are signed or initialed by authors other than Fr. Paul, for example,
some articles are signed JAMR (James Arthur Morrow Richey, who was associate editor of The Lamp) or
S.J. (Spencer Jones). The unsigned article is most likely that of Fr. Paul, since his practice was to indicate
the author’s name (other than his) or the publication from which the article was taken. If an editorial was
written by someone other than himself, Fr. Paul indicated that person’s name. Hence, an unsigned editorial
is, most likely, the work of Fr. Paul.
Bro. Raymond Saville, s.a.

Fr. Fred Alvarez, s.a.
May 21, 2005
vii

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The Antidote by year : 1919 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Introduction to The Antidote Entries

A photo of him is in The Lamp Mar. 1927 p.126.

The magazine ceased publication in January 1931.

- The use of “we” or “our readers,” especially in editorials

- The spellings of “centre,” “defence” and “builded.”

- The use of the word “consequently.”

Bro. Raymond Saville, s.a.

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