The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1913-11-09

cit Hale az chaplain OF tho Senate was,
like the present House chaplain. -
blind man. This was tho Rev w H.
Milburn, Methodist minister, who had
previously served seven terms as chap
ain OF tho IIouse--,n 1s45-46. 1883.
90 and 1888. A Senate haplain, who.
like Or. Pierce. was also tho pastor ot
"A President was tho Rev Dr. Byron
Sunderland, who oiiiciated at tho mar
riaKe OF President Cleveland and whose
Presbyterian church in Washington
that chief executive attended He was
chaplain OF the Senate six years. front
1873 to 1879.
Divided ON Chaplain Question.
The fathers Of the republic we're dii
Eidcd on the question of opening Con-
gross with prayer. On tho opening
day of the first Continental Congress-
Gushing moved that the session bo
thus opened. but Jay and RutledEe OBJ.
jected on tho ground that the Colonies
wero too much divided In religious
sentiment. Samuel Adams. however
arose at this point and protested that
| it lll-bccame men protesting to he
Christians TO say that they were oc
so wide a difference OF belief that they
could not, as ono man. bow their knee
in prayer 10 the Almighty.
| He then moved that Rev. Mr.. Dushe,
an Episcopal minister OF Philad ephia,
| should open the next mornings ses-
ried.
This same minister was regularly
elected chaplain of Congress five days
| after tho Declaration OF Independence
| and tnc following December two chap
lains were appointed for tho Cont
| mental Congress.
! That the two chaplains OF Congress
should be OF different denominations,
and that they should interchange
wcekly-the Senate chaplain going
! n
was a precedent laid down by the
| First Congress. under the Constitution,
but II was not long followed.
The first congressional chaplains re-
ceived $500 apiece or just half the
present salary Aftor the ratification
OF the Constitution the first Senate
cha plain was Or. Provost an Eplsco-
! palian, who served from 1850 to 1890.
while the first chaplain OF the House
was Rev. William Linn. whose term
| extended between the same years. In
| the early flfties there was n protest
because the old rule had been violated
/ by Congress choosing two chaplains Of
| the same faith. BY this time the SAL
airy had been raised to $3.50 a year
Open Prisonera' Mail.
At each OF the big Federal peniten-
tiaries. at Atlanta and Fort Leaven-
worth, there are two cha plains. one a
| Protestant and the other a Roman
Catholic One of these. doing religious
| W II tiOHt, TcCelNeS ShUu Il year, Wnll0
the other. drawing $500. has various
administrative duties I'm addition to
those of a pastoral nature. He must
examine all Of the incoming and out
going mail of prisoners and must keep
record of it In 4 book whether 1t in
clude letters, parcels or papers. All
money sent to prisoners also goes
| through his hands He Is also the
prison librarian and the censor Of all
reading matter entering tho cells. At
state Of Washington, the chaplains
thus far have been supplied by the
| relig ious organizations.
Tried TO Gust All ChapIains.
sensational effort TO GUST all chan
lains from the Federal service was
made half century and moro ago by
certain members of Congress and out
side politicians. who sought vengeance
against the thousands OF the clergy
who had been instrumental In memo
rializing Congress against the repeal
of the Missouri compromise. against
the Kansas Nebraska bill and against
the running OF the mails on Sunday.
The move began by an attempt to pre-
vent the election OF i chaplain OF the
House. and this was followed by an
| attempt to abolish the Office of chan
lain also in the Senate, the army and
navy and in the Indian service as we'll.
which now has no chaplains. The con-
| tention Of those favoring the PROPOSE
ton was based on two clauses of the
Constitution. one providing that mo
| religious test shall ever be required
! as IL qualification to any office or public
trust under the United States" and the
other specifying that Congress shall
make no law respecting an establish
ment of religion" This troublesome
matter was referred to the House Ju-
dietary Committee, for which James
| Meacham, or Vermont, prepared an adj
verso report. remarkable document.
| in which he defended the army, navy
and Indian service chaplains. and had
. this TO say about the necessity Of re-
| tanning those ut the Capitol
| IF there be n God who hears prayers
as we believe there is--we submit
| that there never was a deliberative
body that so eminently needed the fer
vent prayers of righteous men as the
| Congress OF the United States"
| Copyright 1913. by John Elfreth
Watkins.)