New-York tribune., 1918-07-21
Army Priests ON More Intimate Relations With
Men Must Administer Rites to Wounded
Under Fire-Two Win War Cross
Why, yes." said the priest.

'Why, yes." said the priest.
Ginger" showed his disappoint-
ment, SO the chaplain made haste to
amend: "But I can do with your
help, if that's what you mean"
Oats what l mean," said Gin
ger"
The chaplain turned to the tall
lieutenant.
Glow about it," he asked, for the
lieutenant had himself volunteered
to serve at the altar the following
morning.
Fine" said the lieutenant.
Ginger" beamed upon both. He
turned away, but hung about the
door. The chaplain bee anne occu-
pied with other matters, but not so
much occupied that he didn't hear
"Ginger's" colloquy with the lieu
tenant as the officer emerged from
the Office
"Say, lewt ;" said Ginger" semi
sotto-voce, "when we serves mass
together to-morror,. kin / take de
side of de altar wild de bell?"
When Ginger
Smote the Bell
The lieutenant was willing. And
1t is written in the annals Of this
particular X. OF c. building at Camp
Devens that even a stone-deaf wor
shipper could realize the solemrity
of the sacrifice, for Ginger" smote
the bell with the force of a zealot.
He has served consistently since,
always on ode side wild de bell"
They have had two new bells at that
building since Ginger" got religion.
Bill, the blasphemer, was some
what of tough-nut in camp. He
couldn't pass a chaplain without
sneering, and it was his particular
pleasure to use language that no
refined young gentleman should ever
use before other refined young gen
tlemen's ears, let alone before those
of clergyman. But Bill, mavbe
because he came from certain wild
regions of Arizona, had the false i'm
preston that chaplains were excess
impedimenta, to use Ceasarian
phrase. Even when the transport
on which Bill sailed to France went
zigzagging through the danger zone,
and many Of his companions were
very piously inclined, Bill did not
improve his opinion of "Charlies"
and others whose principal occupa-
ton in life he misconstrued as to
pray.
But although Bill was a faulty
Christian he had decided merits as
soldier.
When his outfit went into action
Bill, who had been grinning at the
chaplain's final words of encourage
ment to the boys before they went
over the top, outstripped his mates
IN his eagerness to reach the straf-
ing Fritzes, with the result that he
was dropped in No Mans Land with
shrapnel in both thighs. He lay
there for a long, long time-quite
long enough for even the resources
of his singularly copious voca bulary
to become utterly exhausted. But he
would have lain there many agoniz-
ing hours longer if somebody, creep
ing among the pits and corpses of
No Mans Land, had not stumbled
across him. The somebody was a
chaplain.
Bill found the priests back quite
broad and strong enough to carry
him at a snails pace through the
mud and slime and fragments of
men to the comparative heaven of
the American trenches.
Bill no longer blasphemes.
These are no sporadic exhibits of
the intimate work being done by K.
of c. chaplains among the boys who
are fighting our battles; they are
just typical. Among the routine
duties by day and week scores of
like experiences befall every K. of C.
and, in the words of one of
them. they illustrate "the four-ply
mannishness Of the Yankee dough-
boy"
And as to drawing the religious