Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1914-09-17
PREDICT PEACE FOR
CHURCH IN FRANCE

NEW YORK, Sept. T.-"It looks as
though the war may succeed in re-
establishing some sort of entente cor
dale between the French church and
state in France, is the statement of
Cozens Hardy in a special dispatch
to the Sun.
Hundreds of nuns have been re-
called from Belgium, whittier they
lad been expelled when the religious
orders were dissolved Now they are
serving as hospital nurses with beau
tiful devotion. Moreover, there are
900 monks on the battlefield ready
to lay down their lives for the coun-
try.
1T is impossible that the heroic
work of the nuns and the monks
should be lost on the public, ever
quick to recognize devotion to duty
when it has no axe to grind we
probably never shall see a concordat
i'm France again, but under the regime
of the new Pope it is possible that
the war will induce a better under
standing between the church and the
government.
"The churches will remain state
property, but l think we shall see the
time when not only national monu-
ments like Notre Dame, where l00,-
900 worshippers have congregated on
Sundays for the "Te Deum,' but all
churches will be maintained at public
expense, which French history of the
last few years shows has been the
grave difficulty"
The unity of spirit and purpose
with which the French people have
been imbued since the outbreak OF
the war could not be better evidenced
than in the fact that not q single
protest was offered against the gov
] ernment's action in increasing the
number of army chaplains according
to another dispatch.
AS recently as a year ago pro-
posal to appoint auxiliary clergymen
could not have gained a hearing. For
wears hitherto anti-clericalism has
been one of the chief principles in
the platforms of the Socialist and
Radical Socialist parties. However,
the leaders of these organizations not
only refrained from any move in OPP
position when the project to supple
nent the staff of chaplains was
launched a few days ago. but various
enterprises for the amehoration OF
the condition of French soldiers and
the people generally, find them work.
ing side by side with priests. and
rabbits.
Thus the newly formed committee
on national aid which has Monsignor
Annette, archbishop of Paris, as chair
man, and M. Levy, chief rabbi, as one
of it's members, numbers also in its
membership no more enthusiastic
workers than M. Bled, secretary of
the Union des Syndicats de la Seine,
and Leon Jouhaux, secretary of the
Confederation du Travail, who in re-
cent years have advocated the abol-
isbment of the posts of army chap
lainS.
That the old differences and preju-
dices have been forgotten, for the
present at least, was demonstrated at
= meeting of the committee recently.
After an official statement had been
prepared for submission to the news
papers Jouhaux, the labor leader,
asked:
"Do you wish me to take charge of
il? / have typewriter and will
make copies for the papers"
His colleagues accepted the offer.
Newspapers predict that before the
end of the war conferences between
Ionhaux and Monsignor Odelin, first
vicnr. will be held in the labor head
quarters. meetings which only two
months ago would have been regarded
as impossible. ----------------'