The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1918-03-09
From A Chaplain in France
REV. w. A. BEAUDETTE WRITES
OF NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
OVER Observation-Disclosures. is
? "a w. 81
NOTABLE.

Father Beaudette, who is about
thirty-two years of age, was born in
Chippewa Falls, Wis, and was for
mer pastor at Washburn, Wis, and
Rhinelander, Wis, going into the army
from the latter place. He writes in
terestingly as follows:
France, Dec. 6, 1917
I have been in camp some time and
have become acclimated. | mentioned
that our regiment was at the British
front. We haul munitions to the bat
teries, but we are not under direct fire.
Indirect fire, of course, can reach far
beyond our outfit.
There are about 300 X. C.'s in the
regiment, fully IS per cent of which
is Catholic, mostly young Irishmen and
Canadians from New England, fine
chaps too. There is no vice or booze
area for a good many miles.
This country behind the lines is a
desert, hardly a tree remains. | saw
a dog for the first time since coming
here today. I have not seen COW
or sheep at all. The only places the
Germans left trees are the German
cemeteries. Even the French GENE
teries were robbed of trees.
We live in huts and tents, but we
have trenches in case firing becomes
menacing; a direct hit would clean
out trench section, but the menace
of shells consist much in the debris
scattered laterally and a ditch is proof
against that. The accuracy of the
Germans must not be moderated. We
experience many of the thrills Incl
dental to presence at the front, daily
inspection by the German in his plane,
occasional bombing in the vicinity,
the mOnOtonous noise of night artil-
lery and fireworks.
hold services every Sunday and
the attendance is always good Many
of my boys are weekly communicates.
They are exempt from the Eucharis-
tic fast at the front, and confessions
are heard standing anywhere.
Uncle Sam has sent a motorcycle
for my use, thus facilitating my work.
An engineer regiment is necessarily
scattered over considerable territory.
C Our regiment has been cited by the
British for efficiency in a recent move,
and the boys feel proud of it. Ac-
cording to London paper, the show
at Cambria and vicinitysis one of the
bloOdiest of the war; the slaughter
OF the enemy was something fright
full
The Britishers are grim fighters and
hard as nails, but the French eclipse
them in quickness and the power to
find cover. American papers have not
exaggerated the astounding ravages
of war England mourns, like France,
her numerous dead. The French and
British place confidence and they
somehow imagine that the American
will be a fine soldier. Give us a million
Americans, they say, and the big
show" is over. The yellow of Russia
has somewhat hurt our feelings and we
see in that prolongation Of the strug-
gle. No one here cares to return
home unless we win. The feeling
among the boys is more one of resent
ment than dependency. The less
mentally endowed chaps murmur
I'VE ought to lick Russia, for after
that we trim Germany"
None of my boys are really discour-
aged or seriously homesick, but we
confess we lack the comforts of the
large camps at home. We "salvaged"~
a piano recently. Inmilitary parlance
salvage may mean buy, borrow, beg
or steal. There is no Y. M. C. A. or
recreation centers around here. Event
ually things may be different.
CHAPLAIN w. A. BEAUDETTE,
l4th Engineers Railway, A. E. F.,
France.