The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1914-05-16
No More Chaplains.


regular naval appropriation bill
/ providing for the increase of chap
latns in the navy, has been stricken
out, at the request of Representative
Samuel ]. Tribble Of Georgia, on
point of order.
Inasmuch as this clause pertaine,
to new matter, it was possible fo
any member of Congress. should h,
/ so desire. to reject it from the regu
lar bill, even after it has been fav
orably reported by the Committee
He objected to increasing the
number of navy 2chaplains from
twenty-eight to fifty-two on severa
grounds, and for the first time in
many years the House heard a re-
ligious dispute-one sided, it is true
but dispute. ..s q,
1t is more than probable that Mr.
Trib ble's protest against the increase
Of Chaplains was inspired by an arti-
Gle in the May number of the Prot
estant Magazine, published in Wash.
ington. AS stated on previous occa-
sions. this periodical belongs
in the same class as the Menace.
This, at least, is significant, that
Representative Tribble made the
same objection against a priest be-
ing allowed to celebrate Mass aboard
ship as was made by the editor of
the Protestant Magazine, which
reads as follows:
I'm answer to the question wheth-
or every chaplain would conduct
practically the same service on board
ship, the priest replied: Well, no,
sir, not entirely. At the morning
service Catholic priest would cele-
brate mass Here is one of the
anomalies of this chaplain question:
A Protestant nation pays from the
public treasury for a chaplain to
conduct what thousands of taxpay-
ers believe to be an idolatrous serv-
ice.'
The strange thing about it is this,
that after proclaiming that the Con-
stitution of the United States pro-
vides that every man can worship
God in this country as he pleases'
Mr.. Tribble protests against the
privilege of holding divine service
aboard ship according to the Cath
Ollie methods.
Verify. the representative from
Georgia must have taken a night
course in logic.
However, be it said to the credit
of Representative Hobson of Ala
bama. that he came nobly to the de-
tense of the Chaplain clause in the
bill. which speech brought forth
genuine applause.
Mr.. Hobson said: THE deepest i'm
preston ever made upon me as a
boy-I entered the service when l
was not quite Is years old, at the
age of 14-was received on my first
Sunday on a war vessel; it was on
the Constellation. If I remember
correctly, we were at anchor near the
capes Of the Chesapeake. About 10
o'cvlock Sunday morning the boats
wain's mate piped his whistle and
called "lay aft port watch of after
guards and rig church" They got
out the little portable organ, erected
little altar. and arranged the camp
stools with hymnals and prayer
books. At 1890 the bell began to
ring slowly. 1t was the call to Di-
vine service and officers. midship-
men, and enlisted men began to as
semble aft. As the bell began to
strike I saw the Stars and Stripes
comes down. 1t astounded me to see
national flag come down. No enemy
had ever been able to make that flag
come down from the peak. Then
saw another flag start up on the
yardarm halyards. 1t had a blue
cross on a white background. We
call it the church pennant. 1t was
hoisted to the yard arm. Then saw
the national flag start up again. this
time on the yardarm halyards. 1t
rose slowly, and then it stopped rev.
erently, just beneath the church
flag, and there 1t was flying during
the whole service out there under the
sky. watched it all during the
service. and the symbolism of the
sight was engraven forever in my
heart.
have since then realized the sig
nificance; notably once, when 1 was
on the deck of one of our ships in the
harbor of Corfu, in the Mediterran-
can, when the first White Squadron,
on the old Chicago. flagship of Ad-
miral Walker, who was in command
Of the squadron. When I came up
on deck before breakfast one day
It was a gala day ashore. a feast of
the passover Of the Greek church
the flags were flying. Looking out
n happened to notice hoist of flags
ON the promontory on which stood
the governors palace. It was the Of
fetal fagpole. I counted several
iflags above ours, although ours were
the only ships in the harbor. I felt
IL strange sensation. did not know