POTTER United Families

From 1871 to 1877 he became chief editor of the Ghent "News of
the Funds", the flagship of the press group of Canon Verschueren.
Frans de Potter turned out to be a formidable polemicist, had become
a real political champion and could always be counted among the
most radical.
His sharp pen was mainly aimed at the liberals and in 1874 he
launched in the " News of the Funds" an appeal to found a Catholic
counterpart for the liberal Willems Fund.
This cry for help is simply regarded as the founding act of the David
Fund, a cultural association with "the popular exaltation" as noble
goal. Frans de Potter, by the way, would have continued to live and
would continue to work for this fund for 26 years as national
secretary.
The second half of the 19th century was also characterized by the
sharp contrasts between the clerical conservative and anti-clerical
progressive parties, all of which had a very pronounced political
character. The school struggle is a clear example of this. People who
were destined to work together and strive for the realization of their
popular ideals, now fought each other extremely vehemently.
Frans de Potter also entered the arena where he clearly chose the
Flemish Catholic side. His combative workforce and his drive, given
to him during his upbringing and youth, continued to help him until
his death.
When the liberals, with their anticlerical tendencies, came to power
in 1878, they did not hesitate to immediately dismiss Frans de Potter
under the guise of "incompetence". The French-speaking press
concluded in an article of 14 December 1878: "... “The honourable
archivist believes in God and that is his crime."
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