Evening journal., 1919-02-17
AMERICANS SOON
ENDED WORLD N'AN
Chaplain Grant Says Yanks
Got Huns Out OF Trenches
in Jiffy
TELLS WAR STORY
10 CROWDED CHURCH

'The only directions the American
boys received when ihey went over The
top was Go gel 'em, and they did get
the Germans 0es Of the trenches into
the open and The war was over. Both
allies and enemy had settled down into
trench system OF warfare whicn
would have gone on indefinitely, but
the American way OF lgiltns ended the
war"
The Rev. James NJ. Grant. recently
chaplain OF the ii6th Field Artillery IN
France. brought this message 20 a con-
gregation Of 900 people. all the chufcn
would hold, in st. Pat.ick's Church las.
night
Fa.her Grant said his first duties with
the Dixie Div sion were in Macon, Ga.
where he was kept busy writing the
letters for the 1900 men in the camp
who could neither read nor wri;e-and
they were not all letters TO their
mothers. ebher, said the chaplain An
artillery chaplaln's duties. also in
cludcd learning 10 ride a horse and t0
wear gas mask, he found out. He
gave an example OF the instruction In
passing along front line messages with
a gas mask on, which all were required
to drill upon The message Enemy
coming over the crest, bring fans TO
trench No. ., ,"went along the line until
10 reached last man as DOnr give me a
crust, bread In pans on Bench No. 8"
When they were transferred 10 North.
Carolina, 50 many OF the boys had been
sent overseas. that the lessons in read
ing and writing did not take so mucn
Of the chaplalns time, and he conduct
ed singing Glasses for the boys.
The ii6th Artillery were to embark
on the transport "Amerlta," which was
sunk in New York harbOr, with a loss
Of nine lives, the night before the men
were to go on board. They then went
on the "Agamemnon, in company with
another transport. their submarine
chaser escort leaving them after they
left the American dancer zone
fcacbing the European danger zone,
they had 10 turn back towards Amer
lea. because their escort failed TO pick
them up. having gone TO the rescue Of
torpedoed merchant ships, but finally
their escort returned, and they reach-
ed Brest safely.
"Bresl is a fine harbor. but that is all
That can be said for IL, although so per
cent Of the American boys win return
that way" said Father Grant. It rains
three times a day and four times a
night. and the mud is knee deep. II
was supposed TO be a rest camp, but
The boys said the only rest about II was
that they would remember Il for the
rest OF their lives. The trenches were
more comfortable"
The ti6th Artillery We're scheduled
TO go % the front about i5 days after
the armlstice was signed. While await
/ ing this. Father Grant mmistered to
lhe sick and buried the dead at a base
hospital where there were French, Ital-
Ian, American, and German wounded
an glad that they bad been wounded
for their countries. on the way TO
their quarters. the ll6th Artillery was
Immediately behind the French and
American troop trains which had been
lelescoped. For four days. he was oc-
,upied IN burying the dead from this
disaster, twenty or more funerals each
day
He had many opportunities Of speak |
ing TO the ten thousand German prison |
3rs where the artillery was stationed, !
md the equally great number at Brest. /
He found them full Of admiration for /
he Americans. Many Of them thought .
he Yanks had brought over a new
gun, because the Americans
hot the French "75" so much faster |
han the French ever had other /
prisoners told him that the draft serial
numbers on the American Identification
ags upset the German morale. They
would read a number in the three mil
ions, among the flrst Americans cap
.ured. and took this TO mean the num- /
Der OF Americans over in France. when /
in reality not more than $1,000 might |
have arrived The chaplain declared |
that there was good feeling among The |
German prisoners and the American |
soldiers, and when the Americans come |
home, he thought they will contradict |
the stories that all Germans were
brutes.
Father Grant made a stirring appeal |
for home rule for ireland and declared |
that the war would not he over until
all countries were free and the principles
for which the Allies fought-that the
peoples Of every country might enjoy
Life. liberty and the pursuit Of hap
nness" should be guaranteed the
Emerald Isle.
ENDEAV0RERSTO GIVE