The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1914-01-03

Washington, D. c., Dec. 3O-"We
note the army chaplains have. now a
flag which enables one to recognize
the quarters of these efficient clergy.
men. 1t would be edifying if we had
some reports of the work being done
by chaplains in the army and navy.
We are pretty we'll advised about the
work performed in all missionary en-
deavors, but we have never seen any
report of the work of the chaplains."
Inasmuch as the above editorial ap-
peared in one of our Catholic papers,
It might be interesting to know some
1 thing relative to the work done by
our Catholic chaplain corps.
Holy Mother Church is spreading
the gospel wherever the salvation OF
soul is concerned, and It would be
surprise if she neglected the sol
der or the sailor, the defender of the
country, the national hero whose life
may be sacrificed upon the altar stone
of patriotism.
uS NuSSllOA VI CuS SulloIcu lllCll ia
both branches of the service is init
mately associated with the policy Of
the Ecclesiastical Hierarchy of the
country, who insist upon the govern.
ment giving the Catholic church her
proportionate share of chaplains. When
vacancies occur in our ranks, the
church endeavors to fill them with
priests especially fitted for the work,
and Rev. Lewis j. O'Hern. the we'll
known Paulist, is worthy successor
to the universally beloved Father
ments.
To consider the army alone, we
have S+,S59 men, made up of Is regi-
ments of cavalry; 80 regiments of in
fantry; 6 regiments of field artillery;
1 Porto Rico regiment of infantry;
40 companies of coast artillery; 3
battalions of engineers; companies
of signal corps. and Philippine scouts
to the number of about 5000.
For campaign purposes, the army is
also divided into divisions, brigades
and regiments, but chaplain is usual
ly and regularly assigned to the regi-
ment. To each regiment are forty to
fifty commissioned officers and from
nine hundred to thousand enlisted
men. In an army OF hundred thou
sand men, are five to six thousand
commissioned officers, while the bal
ance are the enlisted personnel-the
young men of the country.
The latter class come from all parts
of the world, and are recruited from
every grade and station in life. Or
phans reared in Catholic institutions
are quite numerous, while the army
affords a refuge for those who enlist
to escape hunger, trouble, etc. A
priest in the service has an uphill
: the church is far-seeing in keeping her
ministers in the army and navy, where
there are so many souls to be looked
after.
The proportion of Catholics in the
different regiments may vary, but it is
safe to say we have from twenty to
twenty-five thousand Catholic young
men in the army today. In the 18th
B United States cavalry alone, about
One-fourth of the enlisted men are
Catholics. Should the army be in
creased the proportion is not likely tc
4 be lowered, while in the event of war
the Catholic percentage gives every
promise of being much higher.
In times Of peace, the priest in the
army attends to his Catholic soldier:
as the pastor in the parish attends tt
his congregation. Upon the battle
field, the Catholic chaplain is at hant
to encourage the sick, to alleviate pail
and to administer the sacraments o
ia the church to the dying. The occa
5 sions are then not wanting to offe
spiritual consolation. The priest
task is finished only when the las
Il message is sent, the news gentl
broken to the parents and anxious lei
Il tiers answered.
The chaplain's usefulness in tn
s@ service may be multiplied just as i
the parish. The nominal Catholic
III may here be given special attentio
and converts made. Often the chal
lain is appointed as counsel for tn
soldier who Is to be tried by geners
court. He may visit the guard hous
Y ON Sundays and explain the Christia
h doctrine to the prisoners; he is e.
u pected to visit the sick in the hosp
| tails and he is often assigned to otht
duties which bring him more or LEI
in touch with the enlisted men. TT
\ A priests presence, however, is CO
slant reminder that God is to be wo
shipped, and his influence for good
strongly felt.
Chaplains are required to rend
!sss through military channels, month
reports of the duties performed
Esgs them, and of all births, baptism
marriages and deaths occurring
Ii their stations.
Every chaplain's efficiency is repol