Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-07-24

A GREAT many people, CORES
u pondents, investigators and
others trained in the observa-
ton of humanity in bulk, have re-
turned from Europe in the past
year with various ideas, many of
them strange and curious, as to just
what we who served on the battle
fields of France got out of the war
in the way of religion.
Personally don't believe that the
American soldier, as a unit, got re-
ligion as it is generally construed
at all-that is, he did not hit the
sawdust TRAIL" nor did he publicly
proclaim his redemption from the
paths of sin in the good old camp
meeting style.
No man, however, could possibly
have gone through that seething
caldron "over there" without ac-
quiring something. However, to
me it seemed that this something
was a larger and broader Christ
ianity-a sort of brotherhood whose
one and perhaps only law was the
golden rule.
Creeds and doctrines were for
the most part forgotten on the field.
Protestant Jew and Catholic lived
or died side by side with no thought
save of serving each as best he
might, not only God and country,
but also his fellow man. Under
fire at the front they were united
against one common foe. In the
rear when danger was passed this
same unity continued, but against
many foes against selfshness,
blasphemy, drunkenness, social ev-
lis and the like.
Men learned that to be a soldier in
the truest sense of the word it was
not necessary to be a loud swearing,
licentious braggart, the embodi-
ment of all unchristian like quail
ties; and new standard was borne
on those fields of death and suffer-
ing. The man who had seen his
companions fall. who had come
near to the supreme sacrifice him
self, was imbuded with a different
sort of spirit than that which has
usually and unfortunately been at
tributed to the soldier.
Orders and regulations for our
Government were many, their en-
forcement was necessarily strict;
and prompt punishment awaited the
delinquent No less prompt and
infinitely more sure was the punish
ment afforded him who violated
the higher order-the greatest COM
,mand ever imposed upon man
Whatsoever ye would that men
should do unto you, even so do ye
unto them"
The army held men of every
nationality-of all races and tom
CUES; many had probably never
even heard or read this wonderful
command. but evidences of its
power and influence were every
where. The deeds of personal
heroism which were of daily and
ofttimes almost hourly occurrence
things such as the many rescues
of wounded comrades in the face
of deadly machine fire-all were
but the expressions of belief in the
universal doctrine proclaiming
mans brotherhood to man: and,
being such, We're of much greater
value to the illiterate and unread
that any printed or spoken word.
For weeks at a time our only
opportunity for open worship was
at the burial service of some fallen
comrade. The chaplainS could but
seldom assemble more than a score
of men together for divine services,
and, under such conditions, 1T
would seem but natural that when
the scattered units of a regiment
were assem- bled, the response to
church call" would be but meager.
This was not the case, however.
All who were not actually on guard
or at work unfailingly attended SER
vice. Those who at home in their
comforta BILE, we'll heated homes,
with roofs over their heads and
four walls to protect them from the
elements, who on a showery Sab
bath felt no desire and no sense of
duty to attend their church, now
stood reverently in the open shell
torn fields. more often than not in
never ceasing, cold, drizzling rain,
and found no discomfort too great,
no hardship too difficult, to endure,
that they might give thanks to Him
who had guided them safely
through the valley of the shadow
of death"
The public assemblage for wor-
ship with its attendant ritual was
not so necessary for US: for each
man day by day was living
Christian life in the finest sense of
the word. in that he was needless