The western sentinel. [volume] (Winston-Salem, N.C.) 1887-1926, 1898-07-14
CHRISTIAN WORK IN CAMP.
Opportunity, Needs, Methods and
Results Pointed Out.


Results Pointed Out.
Editors Sentinel
EAST NoRTHFIELD, Mass, July Al
In view of the special efforts now
being made in Winston-Salem to
raise money for christian work |
among the soldiers in the camps now |
located in the South, it struck me |
that perhaps a few notes from this !
mornings address before the North
field Students Conference, upon his |
own observations in connection with
this work, might be of interest to
christians throughout the Twin City
As soon as the war between Spain
and the United States had been de-
clared, and thousands of men were
hurried from the various peaceful
walks of life into great camps to be
| drilled and disciplined into fitness as
troops of the United States, christian
workers awoke to the TACT that God
was calling them to a new field of
service for Him. Rev. DR.. r A
Torrey, OF the Chicago Bible Insti-
tute, was one of those sent to the
front, to enter this field of evan
7 gelistic effort SO providentially
created. This morning, July 4th, in
the Mortified auditorium, he gave
his Impressions He prefaced his
remarks by drawing attention to
three great blessings already brought
about by this war. First, the bitter
sectionalism of a quarter century is
now forever buried, and North and
South are not only now under the
same flag, but of the same heart and
mind. He told of how the jeff
Davis Regiment, the LIST Mississippi,
rang out the chorus of the Bath.
Hymn of the Republic fairly rend-
ing the air with their patriotic en-
thusiasm. Or how the 2nd Arkansas
has as it's mascot captive eagle,
"a d has named it Abraham Lincoln,
Jr. OF how when the Indiana and
the Georgia Regiments were drawn
| up opposite each other in the camp,
the Regimental band of the Georgia
| Regiment was the first to strike MP
Marching through Georgia." which
the Indiana hand had CONSIDERABLY
forbidden to it's own men.
The second blessing is the strength
ened love and sympathy between
England and America, between the
parent and the child.
And the third blessing, the wonder
iul revival of religion among the
young men in these great military
camps, SO that it almost seems as if
God had brought the men together
to show forth His glory.
DR.. TORY spoke along four lines,
the opportunity, the need, the
methods, and the results.
First, the opportunity. There are
more than $4,000 men in Camp
Thomas, at Chlckamauga, alone
There are some who say THAI they
are from the lower classes. 1t is
false. Never has finer body of men
been gathered anywher. There are
college students and college alumni
there by the hundreds aud thous
ands. One sergeant is a college
president, there are college profess
sOrs in the ranks, going out even a.
privates to serve their country. Nor
have men ever been so ready to hear
the gospel. Camp life is necessarily
irksOme and unpleasant. Sickness
and prostrations all about, the
deaths of near friends, added to the
fact that any day may send them to
the front to face bullets and disease
these things are calculated to make
death seem very real and near to any
man. These men also come from
every State in the Union and are
representative men from their own
communities. What a grand OPP
portunity God has given to send the
Gospel OF Christ not only into the
life ot the army, but back again into
the homes OF these men as they re-
turn to their peaceful vocations.
Second, the need. There are Al
regiments now at Camp Thomas
alone But the need is not alone
baca use OF the numbers, but because
OF the extraordinary temptations o
camp lite. These are of three kinds
| FIRST, the so called ''canteen-undeI
another lame, the Government grog
shop, not only licensed, but run by
the government, where christian meL
are detailed, as part of their duties
to serve liquor to their comrades
and where a system of credit checks
is carried on, which in many cases
: eats up the entire pay OF the soldier
each month. The intense heat anC
the terrible dust, penetrating every
, where and everything In camp, in
crease this tempfat ion ten-iold. II
one reginental canteen alone, $50
worth OF liquor, or 1000 glasses, wa'
served in one day, an average of
glasses to each man.
Then the temptation to imparity
intensified by the terrible heat, thu
! absence OF pure women's society, TIL
presence OF bad female society, ant
, | the housing of five men together il
each tent, one of whom, out of eact
. five, is only too often ''of the base
sort"
Again, the temptation of disloyai-
| ty to Christ. Ahundred times harde
: is it to own the Master in camp thai
at home, or in college or In business
? Many have been protesting christian
{ at home, but now the dread o
| ridicule has caused them to hide ever
J the fact from their comrades.
Third, the methods. Not only hay'
} the strongest evangelists in America
been sent into the various camps tt
! | cooperate with the regimental chap
? lains, but the strongest efforts arr
being made to negative the tempta-
tions SO visible on every side. Larg'
tents have been erected, one for eacf
brigade-in Camp Thomas there arr
, 21 of these tents. Each OF them i,
: | supplied with ice water in abundance
with decent literature and sons
books. At the same time. by per
} sonal work and by great evalgelisti'
] meetings, the gospel of Christ i,