FROM OUR VAULTS

91YearsAgo:August5,1931

PopePiusXItacklesfascists

Pope Pius XI has issued a strongly-worded and detailed encyclical on fascist aggression, and in anticipation of fascist interference has taken great precaution to ensure that his letter will reach the outside world. The encyclical was written as a response to ongoing conflict between Italian dictator Benito Mussolini’s regime and the Holy See, which has included the disbandment by the regime of youth and student associations affiliated to the Catholic Action movement. Pius also criticised the fascist press for publishing insults and “injurious words” against the Church and the pope himself.

Church calls fordrug action

The Catholic Church has called for an immediate end to the illicit trade in drugs, and urged the adoption of a strict plan which would limit their manufacture.

Equal rights forwomen?

A debate was held by the St Michael’s Catholic Club in Rondebosch, Cape Town, on the question of whether women should have equal rights with men. After an animated discussion, with both sides represented by two men and two women each, the motion in favour was lost.

Is China safe from Reds?

In his editorial, Southern Cross editor Fr John Colgan writes that “signs are evident that the influence of the communists in China is waning, temporarily at least, if not permanently” . However, there remains a strong possibility of a new civil war on a larger scale than the previous one.

Previous “From The Vaults” articles at www.scross.co.za/vaults

WhatelsemadenewsinAugust1931:

• Ramsay MacDonald (Labour) submits his resignation as prime minister of the United Kingdom and agrees to form a new coalition government which would include representatives of all three major parties. • Tens of thousands die in China when a dam of the Yangtse-Kiang River bursts in a typhoon, and more

than 10000 people are killed in an earthquake in China’s Xinjiang region.

• The Mahatma Gandhi sets sail from Bombay to attend the Round Table Conference in London. “I see nothing on the horizon to warrant hope, but I am an optimist and I am hoping against hope, ” he says before boarding. • In Spain, 60 people die in an outbreak of the bubonic plage. • Jazz star Bix Beiderbecke dies on August 6 at the age of 28 of lobar pneumonia and brain edema, reportedly aggravated by alcoholism.

Left: Three pairs of brothers play for the Marist football team in Cape Town. They are (from left) J & P O’Sullivan, F & E Penso, and James and Jack Markey.

Right: If you’re in Makhanda in 1931 and need a hat, you know where to go.