The Catholic bulletin., 1918-11-16
PERSHINC DEMANDS CLEAN ARMY

sensus of sentiments sustains the
commanders eagerness 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
| lieutenant 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, :" | don't give a.
| hang about your morals or your char
| acter; that's no concern of mine: but
| am responsible for your keeping in
fit condition to do your work as SOL
dlers, and therefore l demand that
you keep out of places where you
might contract contagion 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 report
| ed to me?" he asked. The lieutenant
| acknowledged the accuracy of the quo
| tation. DO you think that talk of
that kind stands for the mind of your
superiors and represents the spirit
OF the A. E. F.?" was the next uues.
| ton. The lieutenant thought it did.
The colonel was almost fierce: well,
| tell you it doesn't The business of
an A. E. F. officer is to look out for
the moral character of his men just
as much as for their physical eff
cheney. You have been assigned to
this regiment. You think you belong
to it, 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 regiment runs on
| different idea.''
Question of Drink.
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 French wines. One
colonel said: What made a prohibi-
| zionist out of me was seeing national
army regiments that have been organ
lied out of the draft from the dry
states-the states that have been dry
long time, so that their present gen.
feration of draft age has grown up
without even seeing saloons. The
draft men from Kansas, for instance,
are simply magnificent. If that's what
| prohibition can do for an army, I'm
| certainly for prohibition all the way
through"
Rev. Paul Moody, younger son of
the great evangelist, Dwight L. Moody,
| is Bishop Brent's Protestant associate
| at chaplaincy headquarters; Father
Doherty his Catholic associate The
| three of them have already attained
church unity; their harmony of fell
lowship is parable of what can be
done in the whole Christian world.
And they are conspicuously harmoni-
Gus in their optimism about the Amer
lean army in France "It is an army on
a higher plane in every way-more
| moral far-than it was in the training
camps at home," said senior chap
lain. Inspiration and high ideals are
at maximum in the trenches; every
thing degrading and base at a mini
mum. And it is wonderful how these
newly appointed national army chap
| lains contribute to the atmosphere
that stimulates and inspires. They are
the finest ever. 1t is miracle how
these young men right out of civil life
| adapt themselves instantaneously to
army ways and win the officers and
men from their very first arrival in
camp or trench. They fear nothing,
risk everything, and the army loves
them"