Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1919-10-03
COMPANlONSHIP

Several pastors In Illinois churckae have notified the
church authorities o their district that at the end Of their
present terms they expect, to leave the ministry and seek
Occupation In other fields. Tho reason which they advance
is that they are weary Of the. struggle With living costs
and those Of them who have families feel that 1t would DO
unjust to those families to subject them to the deprive
tons which seem to be inseparable from their present
calling rs they have found the conditions in their own ex.
perience.
Since the close Of the military activities Of the wae
the United States war department has been greatly con-
cerned over tho large number Of resisnations by officers
who. it was hoped. would remain in the service and stve
sation Of the nations new army on. a permanent basis.
Naturally . great many officers have resigned because they
have no taste and no special aptitude for military Life and
because they feel that the special work for which they
volunteered has been completed. They are anxious to
return to the civil occupations which they enjoy and for
which they believe themselves to be fitted. But there are
many others, both among those who entered the army
at the outset Of the war, and among those who have been
In the regular service for years. whose fitness tor army
work rs recognized, who enjoy the work, and who would
gladly remain in the service were it not for the fact that
the remuneration is small and the chances tor the better
rent Of tho individuals material condition seem to be
slight.
Recently ono officer wrote to Genera, Arson Mills, An
"~st O~oA6 Ao AVN AAo
officer said that he would gladly remain in the army If
he felt that he could do so in justice to himself and his
future. In . letter full Of pertinent suggestions, and in
which reference was made to the experience Of several
well known officers who really belonged In the army had
resigned in the hope Of improving their condition and had
found that for them civil life was not the road even to
material prosperity, General Mills advised his inquirer to
remain In tho army. In giving this advice he used a SEN
tence which ought to b remembered. He wrote:
It will be to those who love the flag and have
faith tn It and faith In the country. a. q general thing.
who win remain, and you will be their companion.
Companion shfp counts for . lot. II a mans sur
~roundtnEs are not congental he cannot be happy in his
work. no matter what the other conditions. The man Of
honor, who Is devoted to the higher ideals Of his work.
can never be comfortable in an atmosphere Of sordid ma
terialisn. no matter what the salary or the dividends.
And the man whose ideals are high will be happy in the
conpanionship of others of his kind. even though the ma
terial compensation be meagre.
There is no intent to use the advice Of General Mills
to SUPPORT the doctrine that the army officer or<the ntn-
tster Of the gospel should. either Is a matter Of policy OF
ton wages because of the con,panionship which he finds
In h4s work. The intent is rather to call attention to the
tact that both IN the army and in the church, as well as
IN the field of education and in many other fields of ac-
ttvHy. there are men and women who serve and continue
to serve, at wages that are meagre when Judged by or
binary commercial standards, not because they are in
eompstent, not because they lack ambition, but because
they ind joy and satisfaction in the compantonship Of
other fine and noble spirits which they are unwilling to
for money.