The record-union., 1898-05-04
NAVY CHhPLAINS.
IF OF THE RIGHT SORT ALL
ARE HIS FRIENDS.

how Services Are Conducted on q
Modern War VesseI-His
Duties.
JACKS and marines who go to sea ir
our many styles of naval fighting craft
have their spiritual welfare looked af.
ter by the ChapIains, who not only af-
ford them church privileges on Sunday
mornings, but read the prayers over
them to afford them Christian burial
IL the worst come Our Government
does not provide as many naval Chap
lalns as it ought, but one effect Of the
present war agitation will probably be
an increase in their number. Twenty
years ago sthere were no ships worth
putting Chaplain aboard of. at least
not one who was more than a per-
| functory person, bent on nothing save
drawing his salary. Now the splendid
fighting machines whose very names
are household words and which are
| helping to make history have on each
OF them number equal to a large
! parish, and all men. They are more
and more recruited from the ranks OF
American homes-homes in Illinois
in Missouri, in Pennsylvania, in Ohio
! the Northwest-for the reason that
Jacks are now required to be native
born or naturalized American citizens
Those who are to uphold our honor on
the seas are not foreigners, as some
suppose
The Chaplain is a friend to all of
/ ha ho he
right sort of man, all the men are
| friends of his. Some Chaplains upon
| entering the service make asses of
| themselves. This is partly because of
their inexperience, partly because
| landsmen cannot readily understand
sea life, and a third of the response
| bility rests with the Government itself,
which ought to send newly appointed
Chaplains to navy yard where they
could gain experience before going to
sea- and where they might have help
ful consultations with old Chaplains.
There are twenty-four Chaplains in the
navy. They must be, upon appoint
ment ordained men and in good stand
ing in their respective communions
They are free to use any form of service,
that of the denomination to which they
belong. AS a matter of fact many of
them use the Book of Common Prayer.
There are two reasons for this. 1t is
we'll adapted for the purpose and
Methodists, Presbyterians and others
often turn to it, as an available sup
ply of a very apparent need And the
influence of England, to which the
Prayer Book primarily teiongs, is
enormous on the seas Members Of
churches who are sent upon the ships
of our navy either as Jacks or as
marines, will find the sacrament of the
Lords Supper celebrated by these
Chaplains, but generally in their own
rooms. The reason for this is the
liability of the communicates being
called upon at any moment to go upon
deck to perform naval or marine duty.
This interferes with a public COM
munion service. Hence the private
one.
rig Church." is one of the regular
naval orders. The Captain issues it and
the rigging is done on deck or else
where, according to the season of the
year or the latitude of the ship. 1t
consists of much or little according
as the Chaplain is Methodist or Ro-
lIldu CdlHOIlC, Ddpllol VI ilIueiiiSNlC
Episcopalian. When rugged. the ships
bell is tolled. Attendance at church is
quite voluntary on the part of all. 1t
rarely happens, save under exceptional
circumstances, that so few as 40 per
cent. of the men come. Generally half
on shipboard attend. Sometimes three
fOurths. They may not all be so in
clined but, unlike young men on land,
they have nowhere else to go. Some
times the bard, if the service be on
flagship. is used to accompany the sing
ing, but generally some officer, or per-
haps an able seaman, plays the organ,
with which all ships that have Chap
lains are provided.
And the singing. It is grand. Three
hundred men, with strong voices. And
for the most part the men like to come
and sing. Sometimes Sunday evening
lectures are given. This depends upon
the Chaplain, whether he wants to and
whether he can. Other services are
prayers on week day mornings, or per
haps, instead. at dress parade at even
ing. Here attendance is compulsory,
but the service is very short. BY tar
the greater part of the work Of the
Chaplain is pastoral. The service mas
a tremendous influence on the men,
even if they do not attend it. If the ship
be lying in harbor, other ships men
hear the bell and know divine service
is going on. The whole effect is whole
some, and money paid to Chaplains is
we'll invested
When a Jack dies, the funeral, unless
circumstances prevent, is exceedingly
Ppcppt1v while training
squadron was at Barbados a boy ap
prentice dropped dead on deck. The
funeral, held on a Sunday, could hardly
have been made more formal All the
shipping in the harbor had flags at half
mast, and the funeral procession, long
one. was made uD of shiDs' boats, bells
on all ships near were tolled, everybody
was assembled on the spar deck, and
stood throughout the service. On this
occasion, as the body was carried on
shore, a girl came hastily out of the
crowd. put some flowers on the casket,
and ran away into the crowd. The in
terment was in the Seaport Cemetery,
which, like all such cemeteries. from
Halifax southwark contain the re-
mains Of persons inferred under SINH
lar conditions, hailing from every quar-
ter of the globe.
In the minds of most people a navy
Chaplain is a rather ornamental per-
sonage, who reads an occasional service
and lives in comparative luxury at sea,
with good pay as an extra inducement.
The impression is wrong. There are IN
our navy twentyfour ChaDlains. Of
this number ten are Methodists, and the
remainder are EoiscoDalians BaptiS5s,