New-York tribune., 1921-12-04

tional chaplain for the COMING
year? Ask any buck private Of the
old 130th Field Artillery and he'll probably
reply:
He's square -iawed two-fsted fighter, who
could whip any man in the regiment. He
knows how to preach, too Talks straight
from the shoulder, uses plain, everyday Eng
ish, and what he says has the kick of
Missouri army mule
The Rev. Earl A. Blackman pastor of the
First Christian Church, of Chanute. Kan.
worked his way through Kansas University
giving lessons in boxing. In order to earn
enough money to study for the ministry in a
Western theological seminary he became
salesman and made good. He turned from
automobiles to books and back to automobiles
again. Indeed, DR.. Blackman has the happy
faculty of being successful in everything he
undertakes. he tackles the problems of life
with the same vigor and zeal he exhibited
when he used to step into the ring to box
three rounds with some husky enlisted man
hardened by work in the Kansas wheat fields
or the rigor of military training
Chaplain Blackmans fame is not regimental
ia its scope, nor is it merely statewide. Short
ly after the armstice he was national fig
ure AT least he was the chief topic of con-
versation in the American Expeditionary
Forces next to the really vital questions:
When do we cat?' and "When do we go
home?" And in this country ministers were
saying to one another: What manner of man
of God is this fellow Blackman?" And no
less parsonage than General Pershng tool.
a hand in the matter, and for the time being
Wy frIa ALL
ture. But you can't keep good man down.
and twice since his return to America In 1919.
has Chaplain Blackman come to the front
again.
What happened to Chaplain Blaclman in
France this: One day l., December, 1918,
the mail orderly Of the 1a0th dispatched from
Sommedeue batch Of letters to the English
speaking dailies of Paris and "The Stars and
Stripes A few days later the front pages
Of these papers blossonaed forth with chal
lenge over the signature Of Chaplain Black
man to fight any parsoa i'll the A. e. It. ter
rounds. The stipulation was that the preacher
must be under ITO pounds in weight The
match was to be staged in Paris at a date
convenient to both parties and, Of course, the
military authorities
DR.. Bsackman's challenge was sent broad
east. The Paris correspondents Of American
newspapers and the news association men in
France cablcd the story home. The chaplain
had to hire two corporals and a private to
take care Of his mail. 1t happened that there
were other chaplains in France who could
light, or thought they could fight. match;
finally was arranged with one from the service
OF supply, and January 10, 1919, was the date
selected for the encounter The S5th Division
commander guaranteed to grant furloughs to
the puglllstlc parson, his manager trainer and
press agent.
The fight between the two plans-Blacls-
man having earned the sobriquct "the fighting
parson of the A. r. F.'--m;ght have filled
Hard Boiled" Smiths absent -without-official-
leave rest camp, because most of the 35th Diyi
sion, to say nothing of men from other out
fits, planned to go to Paris either with or
without those important documents which the
eagle-eyed military police in General Hart's
town scanned So carefully
But although the A. E. r. waxed enthusias
tic over the coming bout, lnurnlurs began to
percolate back from the states. Many well
meaning persons said it was an outrage that
two ministers of the gospel should strip to the
waist and punch each other bfutally for ten
rounds. Perhaps Blacklnan would knock the
other fellow cold. Sacrilegious, many insisted
Some one at G. II. @. heard about it. The re-
suit was that few days before the fight was
scheduled to come off Chaplain Biackman was
called from his training quarters, where he
was giving Sergeant Frank Fable, of Battery
A, a pair of black eyes, and informed that All
order had been issued at Chaulnont prohibiting
the scrap. So Sergeant Fable got his eyes
BACKED for nothing
Chaplain Blackman's fade-out was not per-