Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-12-17
THE ARMY CHAPLAIN
Movement to Reorganize Sys-
tenn of Appointment.
MULTITUDE OF DUTIES
MUST CHEER UP THE SICK IN
HOSPITALS.
Looks After the Post Exchange-Ad-
vantages of Same officer
in Navy.
MULTITUDE OF DUTIES

IN connection with the military establish
ment are Of much more Importance than is
generally supposed by the layman or Is
conceded by many Of his fellow officers.
volumes could be written about the heroism
OF the chaplafns on the field, of the hard
ships they endure along with the other
lighting men of the army and of the intense
pifvatfons they are forced to undergo
which do not fall to the lot Of the regular
army officer or enlisted man. If the life Of
the enlisted man in the army is hard, as
some croakers claim. the life of a chaplain
must be doubly so. He is compelled to I'M
dergo the same experiences as the other
omcers and enlisted men. He must go to
the front and is frequently under fire.
These are mere details and incidentals of
the chaplain's daily life in the field.
Care Of the Sick.
There is one chapter that is not written
or heard Of in the daily press reports,
which Is, however. being enacted every day
the campaign in the Philippine Islands con-
tinues, and has been going on ever since
there has been an American soldier In the
east. 1t Is in the care of the sick that the
chaplain performs his hardest and most
disagIeeable task This is not intended to
Imply that the chaplain has charge of the
SICK or that he assumes the care Of those In
the hospital, as that would cast a refiec-
ton on the brave and noble men who are
serving IN the hospital corps and the sur
geons who have rfsked everything to follow
the army and care for those brought low
by wounds or disease. But the men receive
treatment from the chaplain that the army
nurses and surgeons cannot give them.
1t Is the duty of the man of God to 20
among the sick and wounded and keep
their spirits from tagging. A cheerful pa
tient gives a physician new courage and
hope, no matter how Ill the man might be.
This Is the duty OF the chaplain. He must
go among the i'll and wounded, no matter
how hard the work might be or how dis
agreeable the task; no matter of what dis
ease the man might be suffering. Columns
have been written in praise of the bravery
OF the hospital attendants who, undaunted.
raced death to nurse men suffering from
loathsome infectious diseases, but nothing
has been written about the chaplains who
assisted also in the care of these men and
who went voluntarily into the fever camps,
the smallpox hospital, the eholera-infested
sections Of theol country, to administer
spiritual consolation to those Ill and suffer-
ing and give to them those creature COM
Iorts that are so welcome to- the man who
is tied to his bed with Illness 1t must not
be imagined, either, that the business of the
chaplain on SUCH occasions is confined to
preaching religion 0rd painting pictures Of
the hereafter II very often happens that
such course ofs treatment would put the
pauent IN his grave, when words Of cheer
would add strength to the weak and In
crease his chances Of recovery The chap
idiL uluSt De d Judge Dl human nature and
must know showute talk to his man. If
needs be he must read to him or tell him
stories or do almost anything to keep his
mind from his misfortunes. Many strong,
brave man Is fighting or working for his
country today who would have been in his
grave but for the efforts of the chaplain
Identifies the Dead.
But that is not all of the chaplain's duty.
He has other important work to do. It is
he faII
and picks out and Identifies the dead. This
is new duty. but is one of the most i'm
portant that can be performed with an
army. In the Philippine campaign, when
this system was inaugurated by a brave
chaplain in the army, who Is now residing
In the old methods The body of every
American soldier who persisted in the Phil
tpptne Islands was found and identified and
sent home to his friends or relatives as
the case may have been, If they expressed
desire that the remains should be brought
here. The number. OF missing reported af-
ter a fight was reduced to minimum The
chaplain made 1t his business to keep track
OF every man OF his regiment who went
Into battle. each regiment having it's own
chaplain, and after the battle he made 1t
his business to find who were missing and
to search them out on the field. This
work was dangerous In the extreme not
only from the bullets Of the enemy but
from the diseases that Turk In that deadly
cline in every marsh and in every Jungle
This system is so well established now
that the authorities Of other countries have
started an investigation Of its methods
with view of adopting them for their own
army.
Looks After Post Exchange.
But even these important duties are only
part of the days work Of the chaplain. In
many of the posts there Is what is known
as the post exchange with It's canteen and
general store. The canteen, by, the way,
is not a place where intoxicating liquors are
sold but a place where the soldier can Sc
cure all sorts Of refreshments for the inner
man. It does not necessarily follow that
to be canteen intoxica ting liquors can be
sold. There is a general misunderstanding
of the term throughout the country. Many
people believe that the act of Congress
which abolished the sale of liquors on mill
tary reservations disestablished the can
teen. This Is not fact. The canteen still
fourishes and will continue whether the
authorities are able to secure the sale Of
liquor for the men or not To return to the
original subject. the chaplains at many of
the military posts throughout the country
seas were the superintendent Of the post
exchange. They were the men who as
sumed charge Of the stock and the funds.
In the field the chaplain is the man from
comforts, of whatever nature they might
be, including tobacco, a most important
item, candy and such articles. The chap
lain must therefore be a storekeeper as well
as a worthy follower of the religion Of
Christ. He must be able to take charge Of
the funds Of the men. if they desire he
should and they often do. and he must be
able to retain the confidence and respect of
all the men. which he most always does
To buy for the post exchange and have
charge Of the outside business of the con-
Germ is part of his duty.
Defends Enlisted Men.
The work of these, reverend men does not
stop here, however. They are also required
to have some knowledge of law. They are
often called upon to defend enlisted men
in general court-martial. Recently, in the
military district hiof Which this city is a
part, there weren notJguffieient officers to
form a general court-martial for each post
separately. and a court was formed of Of
ficers of all the posts. to hold trials at first
one post and then ANOTHER. A chaplain was
assigned as attorney for the defendant in
every case brought before this court the
same chaplain serving for all. and defend
ing all successfully. 1t is not to be sup
posed that this Is required Of the chaplain
in all cases. but only in those where he
shows ability to properly look after the in
terests of his men.
Only One tank.
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