Simon Alexander Baldus was born May 19, 1872 in Cincinnati, Ohio. He was raised in a German speaking community with English as his second language. He earned an A.B. degree from St. Xavier's College in Cincinnati in 1893. He worked as a reporter for a Cincinnati newspaper and wrote book reviews for the Catholic Telegraph, 1893-1895. He was in government service from 1895 to 1902. He organized a stock company to publish a Catholic home journal entitled Men and Women, 1902-1906, with Baldus as the editor.
Baldus was friends with Rev. Francis Clement Kelly. They met with others interested Catholics in Chicago in 1905 to found the Catholic Church Extension Society with the goal to do mission and charity work among Catholics in remote areas of North America. Baldus became managing editor of the society's Extension magazine in May 1907 and began writing the editorials in the Fall of 1928. He retired from Extension Magazine in March 1951.
Baldus was a member of the St. Xavier Alumni, Knight of Columbus, Catholic Order of Foresters, and the Catholic Knights of Ohio. In 1923 he wrote and published a book, The New Capitalism. In 1946 he was awarded the Cross Pro Ecclesia by Pope Pius XII. His wife of many years, Mary Margaret Deters, predeceased him in September 1956. He followed her shortly thereafter, in January 1957. Frank Hall, director of the National Catholic News Services stated that "Mr. Baldus was one of the greatest figures of the Catholic Press for more years than any other person."
The Simon A. Baldus Papers contain correspondence, printed material, and a few photographs. There are no records as to how Cathollic University obtained these papers, nor what criteria was used, if any, for selection. The correspondence is primarily related to the Catholic Church Extension Society and its Extension Magazine, but there are many gaps with several years such as 1914-1915, 1918-1925, and much of the 1930s and 1940s almost completely missing. Overall, this has the appearance of being but a mere fragment of a much larger and more significant collection of Baldus material that may no longer be extant.
Series 1 is Correspondence, 1907-1949, in boxes 1-2. This is an apparently random selection of Baldus' editorial correspondence from his many years with Extension Magazine of the Catholic Church Extension Society. Topics include feedback from the readership as well as interactions with potential contributors of articles along with those whose articles were accepted for publication. There is a concentration of material dated 1911-1913 and 1916-1917 with only sporadic items for apparently random years, such as 1936 and 1941, thereafter to 1948. While there are files related to E.B. Ledvina, Vice President and General Secretary of the Extension Society there is very little with Baldus' friend and society founder Francis Clement Kelley. There are also some very brief exchanges with notable churchmen such as Bishop Peter Muldoon of Rockford, Illinois, and Father John Burke, the founder of the National Catholic War Council. The correspondence gathered here is probably more notable for the diversity of the correspondents themselves, lay and religious, men and women, from varied locations in North America, including Canada, New York, Kentucky, California, Texas, and Illinois. Among the people corresponding are New Jersey publisher John Bright Kennedy, Ohio Attorney General Timothy Hogan, actress Irene West, and a young woman named Edna Ellen Mullen of Sistersville, West Virginia. Miss Mullen wrote Baldus to give account of her battles with local Socialists. She included a photo of herself, which was transferred to the photo series.
Series 2 is Publications and Printed Material, 1914(1928-1956)n.d., in box 3. Except for a few miscellaneous items most of this material is focused on world peace meeting and efforts, with some Catholic involvement, primarily from the interwar period of 1928-1939. There is also a copy of his 1923 book The New Capitalism.
Series 3 is Photographs, 1912-1913, in Box 3. There are in fact only two photographs, and both of these were pulled from the first series with a duplicate photocopy left in its place.
The Simon A. Baldus Papers consists of three series:
None
John Brophy Papers
National Catholic War Council Records
Arthur Preuss Papers
John A. Ryan Papers
USCCB Executive Department/Office of the General Secretary Records
USCCB National Catholic News Service Records
This record series is indexed under the following controlled access subject terms.
Donor name and date for the majority of the collection unknown, but probably in the late 1950s or early 1960s. The material appears to be but a portion of a larger group of files who potential existence is currently unknown. In 2004, a copy of Baldus' book The New Capitalism was donated by Patricia Davis.
Processing and EAD markup completed in March 2011 by William John Shepherd.
Alphabetical Correspondence
1 item
2 items
2 items
Replies from his secretaries
2 items
Material mostly related to world peace, but some miscellaneous items as well as a copy of The New Capitalism book.
Inscribed to James Gavin, August 2, 1949
Photographs pulled from the first series