Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1918-10-17

General Pershing has laid =
down the lines he wants fol- "
lowed on this score The ap- q
pend article reveals his feel -
ings regarding the laying y
aside of UNCONVENTIONAL ques- .
tions. =
=
PARIS, Oct. 12.-The proudest
thing to be said about and for the
American Army in France from a
moral viewpoint is that its command
ing general is just as anxious to see
mis- soldiers maintain a cisan, faith
ful standard of manly integrity as to
see them come off victorious in bat
tie. Not often has it been possible
to say so much Of any army and it's
Ieader-certainly never in any army
comparable in size and Significance
10 the American Expeditionary Force
now in France. But IL is literally
true concerning General Pershing.
And his sentiments in this regard are
not merely utiliturian. He knows
right well. of course, as any thor
ough soldier must, that an army
made up of men sound and strong in
personal character is necessarily a
mere dependable army i'm military
sense than could ever be constituted
from rogues and ruffians. But his
moral concern for his men goes deep
er than that. 1t is out of his per-
s0nal valuation of religious faith
NIB own experience OF it--that Cen
eral Pershing has set his heart on
having every soldier under his COM
mand preserve in France whatever
religious faith he brought from the
homeland-all of il at full strength
and get more of it if he can.
This is the handspring of the en-
enlargement which the commanding
general has so constantly given to
the Y. M. C. A, the Knights of CO.
lumbus, the Jewish Welfare Board
and the Salvation Army. He wants
his men under the influence of these
religious forces. 1t is the secret also
or his quite unexampled pains to de-
velop the power and use of the chap
laincy among his trOops-the reason
why he insisted on creating the here
tofore unheard of office of Senior
chaplain" of the army and on ap-
pointing to the position the man who
had been his most strengthening spir-
itual counselor-Bishop Brent.
No great soldier ever issued before
10 his troops any such moving re-
.ligious appeal as that unofficial but
nightly effective word of counsel,
so widely circulated vy the Y. M. G..
A., in which General Pershing, like
an older brother of his soldiers, begs
them to be true to the precepts of
the Saviour. And these public signs
confirm the reality of the conviction
which an innocent revelation of
headquarters secrets tells of his ex-
pressing to his staff: Gentlemen,
this army of ours has a heart and
conscience, and that heart and con-
science must be fed" In that noble
word is spoken the explanation of
much that makes General Pershing
unique among the military chieftains
Of his time. Such avOwals from the
commanding general naturally have
a tremendous effect on his subor-
dinate officers. The influence may
be slow |, filtering down to the sub
alterns. Tut among the higher grades
a remarkable consensus of senti- |
ments sustains the commanders Gag
erness for keeping the army morally
fine. An incident in one of the best
disciplined regiments of the front
line reveals how strongly this better
ideal is already intrenched in the
thought of army leaders. A lieu
tenant newly assigned to the regi-
ment lectured his platoon on the mil |
itary duty of avoiding contagious dis |
ease. Understand me now" he said |
sternly to the men; II don't give a |
hang about your morals or your
(Aaracter; that's no concern of mine;
Int / am responsible for your keep |
ing in fit condition to do your work |
= soldiers, and therefore l demand |
that you keep out of places where |
you might contract contagious con-
tag.on that would disable you
The colonel of the regiment heard
Of the speech and promptly sent for |
the lieutenant. did you talk to
your men in this way that has been |
reported to me?" he asked. The |
lieutenant acknowledged the accur-
acy Of the quotation. do you think |
that talk of that kind stands for |
the mind of your superIors and rep
rescnts the spirit Of the A. f. F?"
was the next question. The lieuten-
ant thought it did. The colonel was
almost fierce. We'll, i tell you II |
doesn't. The business of an A. E. |
y. officer is to look out for the |
moral character. of his men Just as
much as for their physical effic-
iency. You have been assigned to |
this regiment. You think you be- |
long to 1t. but I want to tell you
you are never going to belong to us |
until you revise your opinion about |
what you are here for. This regi- !
ment runs on different idea"
The question OF drink rests on the |
same basis. The higher up In the |
army an officer stands, the stronger.
generally speaking, Is his earnestness |
about inducing his men not to drink |
even the permitted Frnch wines. One |
colonel said: what made a prohibit |
zionist out of me was seeing Nation
al Army regiments that have been
organized out of the draft from the |
dry etates-the states that have been |
dry a long time, SO that their present |
generation of draft age has grown up |
Without even seeing saloons. The |
Craft men from Kansas. for instance, |
sfe simply magnificent. II that's
mat prohibition can do for an army. |
Pm certainly for prohibition all the |
way through"
Rev. Paul Moody, younger son of
the great evangelist. Dwight l.. |
Body, Is Bishop Brent's Protest
ant associate at chaplaincy headquar-
tiers: Father Doherty his Catholic |
associate. The three of them have |
already attained church unity; their |
harmony of fellowship is a parable OF |
what can be done in the whole Chris |
tian world. And they are conspic- |
iously harmonious, In their optimism |
about the American Amy France.