The Irish standard., 1917-10-13
KNIGHTS WORK At ARMY
CAMPS N full SWING
Ten Thousand Soldiers Attend Open
Air Mass At Camp Devens. Mass.
TO Open Paris Headquarters
shortly-6ishop FalIon Hopes
to Make Similar Provision
for Canadian Soldiers.

With eighteen buildings completed
at as many encahpments and canton
ments. with secretaries at work even
in those places where buildings are
not finished. and with the knowledge
that other buildings are well under
way, the knights of Columbus Com
mittee on War activities begins to feel
that It can see daylight. It has been
q herculean task to engineer the con-
struction Of these army recreation cen.
ters and to overcome the obstacles
which have arisen from every side,
but Col. P. H. Callahan, chairman Of
the committee, together with those
who are associated with him in the
work. realizes that 1t has all been we'll
worth while, and as proof of this cite
the splendid good that is being accom-
plished in those places where the plan
for providing for the social, recrea-
tional and religious welfare of the SOL
diers has fully materialized.
One of the first buildings opened
and where the work is now In fun
swing is Camp Devens, at Aver, Mass.
Here John E. Dunphy is the field Sec
rotary. He is proving himself to be
just such man as the committee had
in mind when it formulated it's ideal
of what secretary should be. An
other splendid aid at this camp is the
Rev. Father Thomas p McGinn, the
post chaplain, who has left the affairs
of the large parish of which he is a
pastor at Aver, Mass, in the hands of
curate, that he may devote his own
time to Uncle Sans soldiers.
Ten Thousand Hear Mass.
Father McGinn has had an altar
erected out of doors at Camp Dew
ems, and here when the weather per-
mits, Mass is celebrated. He reports
that 10000 people, mostly soldiers, as
sisted at Mass here Sunday, Septem-
Der %. The men, he says, are taking
the greatest interest in religion and
many receive Holy Communion every
day. Under the direction of Secretary
Dunphy an orchestra has been formed,
many applications have been received
from those who wish to organize q
glee club and Father McGinn. and Mr..
Dunphy will soon have a large choir
which will sing hymns during the cele-
bration of Low Mass and will also
furnish the music at occasional High
Masses. Congregational singing will
also be encouraged.
Professional Entertainments to Be
Given. :
The writing room and the indoor
games at the knights of Columbus
Building are also popular diversions
for the men; and at this camp, as at
all the Others, professional entertain
ments provided for by the knight Of
Columbus committee will be staged
during the winter months. Athletics
are not being neglected and baseball.
football and basketball games are
promoted by Mr.. Dunphy. It is the
idea not to permit the organization Of
teams which will create rivalry not
appreciated NY all the men, but to con-
eithe teams't to representatives Of the
various military units.
: While the American work is prog
ressing In. splendid shape, the COM
mittee is.not forgetting the foreign
field in which It expects to be able
to accomplish great good, not for
the American soldiers alone, but for
all those with whom Knights Of Col
umbus chaplains and secretaries may
come in contact. The committee has
received cordial assurances from
prominent Catholics in England that
the work will be welcomed and A. e..
Pagley, general secretary of the COM
mittee, is in receipt of letter from
his son, written at Vancouver, Brit
ish Columbia. who says in reference
to the proposed Knights Of Columbus
activities in France:
Il think those camps can be made
the finest things in the world. As /
see the soldiers returning here and
talk to them especially the Catholic
ones-and learn how little regard is
really taken Of them, It seems terrible
that for the three years the war has
been going on and despite the fact
that nearly one.half of the British
army Is Catholic, as one officer told
me, there has been nothing done for
them in France or England. The
priests use the Z. NJ. c. A. posts for
saying Mass"
It is the intention to open a general
headquarters It Paris, and from there
to conduct the work which will be
done by chaplains and secretaries in
the camps and the trenches. The Rev.
Lewis J. O'Hern. who is the represen-
tative Of the hierarchy In the matter
of appointing Catholic chaplains to the
United States army and navy. and who
Is also making the appointments Of
auxiliary chaplains who are to be sup
ported by the knights Of Columbus.
is DESTROYS Of receiving more appli-
cations from priests who aspire to
serve with the American army In
France. French.speaking priests who.
# not American-born, are fully nat
uralized, are particularly wanted. They
must be not more than forty years Of
age, and. physically able to measure up