The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1918-02-23
OVER HERE WITH Ak. OFC. CHAPLAIN

II. vi y. UuAILAlW
comprised of Mr.. Palmer, religious
secretary for Y M. C. A. activities,
Lieut.. Purdy, regimental chaplain of
the 36th, and myself. We are demo
cratic, hence each one is president
In addition. both amusing and in
structive films are screened for those
who care to indulge in the joys of
the movie" fan. The movie fan can
have his palate tickled by the peri.
scopic menu ranging from Fatty Ar
buckle to strictly governmental films
or travelogues.
Besides the agency of speech and
the motion picture, we have of
course another familiar one 'Out here"
namely reading: books and periodi-
Gals, religious and non-sectarian
abound. Thanks to The Catholic Bull
letin, this paper is a regular visitor
to the post. ''Nuff said," when l state
that l find many even among non
Catholic soldiers. clipping items for
passing around from the columns of
The Catholic Bulletin. The books
comprise the general list of works
likely to interest men of the soldier
type at this. period, biography and
fiction, with current 'war-shots,"
those especially that come from the
popular.
There are classes in French, Eng
lish grammar and spelling, conducted
by instructors from the cities, so that
our "new-Americans," as Chaplain
Father Renier of the 40th used to
speak of them last fall in the X. G..
club house, have a chance to
arrive"
ChapIain's Work.
Now combine all this with the per-
Sonal contact of the chaplain with
the men, you can easily perceive what
is the educational value of the "Y''
and the K. of c. to boys, many of
whom had never up to this time &C
quired the habit of reading even the
village Courier" who knew the
priest t. home" but not as a pal
the regular ''reg'lar guy" to the pri-
vate, the "sky-pilot" to the officer;
who can be counselled and even rep
rimanded by the chaplain without
at the same time being estranged:
one can easily imagine what it all
means to the ever widening mental
horizon of the men coming to an
army camp, from the farm, the fac
tory, the office, and asking K. of c.
chaplain for aid and guidance. To
most of the men, beginning with the
military training, their entrance into
the service of the U. S. even before
they go across, is an intellectual life
insurance. And to speak only of our
own, the Knights of Columbus are
keeping up" the policies for their
possessors, paying lasting premiums.
But praiseWorthy as is all the fore
going for a Catholic Chaplain and
for a typical Catholic soldier it does
not go far enough. 1t is only the eX-
ternal side of r-philanthropy. The
religious needs of men in any camp
are vital and many. Without being
supplied, no healthy morale can be
created in assembling troops. Of
course, lack of healthy morale would
only serve to endanger the success
of our arms.
There are at present at Fort Shell
ing, nearly 1000 men including off.
GERS. My lowest estimate, made from
combination of personal inquiry plus
the regular census of Lieut.. ,Purdy,
puts the number of Catholics at about
one-third. The total number of
Catholics-and this has been the case
since the opening of the cantonment
is, even following lowest estimates,
almost twice as many as the next
nearest sect, the Methodist, believe.
The Catholic boys are given an
opportunity to go to weekly confess
sion if they choose. AS in the X. C.
club house, confessions are heard
Saturday afternoon and evening.
Holy Mass is celebrated every Sun
day and on Holy days at 8. The at
tendance at Mass even since the close
of our own quarters has been most
gratifying. Speaking for the ordi-
nary Sunday, not an available seat is
to be had when the few civilians at
tached to the post or their friends,
join with the military in assisting at
the Holy Sacrifice. The chaplain's
sermons for the month of January
and first Sunday in February com.
prised a series, entitled, 'The Ideal
American Soldier in Terms of Catho-
lie Teaching simple explanations of
vital Catholic dogmas applied to the
hearers needs. The big drive is now
on to endeavor to persuade every
Catholic soldier to make. his Easter
duty. This is done by personal con-
ference, roundabout method, but eff
| fective.
On Sunday evenings the members
of the Chaplains' association alter
nate in giving both religious and non
4 conf foIIyc 4n y,aav, THh1 Ir.k