Ixii BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 



welfare of the Catholics of the Greek Rite in the United 

 States, but he was as zealous in protecting their interests 

 against any movement that might seem to jeopardize them. 

 When the Russian Orthodox Bishop in the United States 

 endeavored to get the New York legislature to give legal 

 sanction to the name "Russian Greek Catholic Church,'' as 

 applicable to the Russian Orthodox Church, Mr. Shipman suc- 

 cessfully opposed the measure as an usurpation of the name 

 and as a source of confusion. When one of the Protestant 

 denominations in New York and in New Jersey made use 

 |of the Greek rite and ceremonial to proselytize newly arrived 

 Slavic Catholics, Mr. Shipman personally investigated and 

 exposed the deception. 



It was characteristic of him never to take anything from 

 hearsay or at second hand. In the above instance he went 

 in person to the chapels in question, and determined for him- 

 self the exact nature and method of the proselytizing attempt 

 and followed it up by calling it to the attention of the authori- 

 ties of the denomination under whose auspices the fraud was 

 being practised. He also wrote several vigorous letters to 

 the public press protesting against the deception with the result 

 of having it discontinued. He would frequently make personal 

 excursions into obscure and remote quarters of New York 

 City, especially on the East side, seeking information and 

 often forming in this way valuable acquaintances and friend- 

 ships. He was prompt and diligent in following up any hint 

 or clue relative to any interest he might have in hand and 

 never rested satisfied until he had followed the trail to the 

 end ; he wanted to see for himself. 



A mental habit of this kind necessarily entailed great labor 

 and time, and he begrudged neither. His many voyages across 

 the ocean to gather first-hand knowledge and to come into 

 personal contact with the Slavic people of the Old World 

 are evidence of his thoroughgoing method, his untiring zeal 

 and his passion for getting at the bottom of things. A typical 

 instance was his investigation of the circumstances of the 

 famous Ferrer trial in Barcelona, Spain. He happened to 

 be in Spain shortly after the event, and visited Barcelona 

 with the express purpose of finding out on the spot what had 

 happened before, during and after the trial. He visited the 

 scenes of riot in the city, interviewed participators, both ag- 



