Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 238, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 October 1918 — Page 3

HUMAN SIDE OF OUR GREAT ARMY

Chaplain Is the Man Who Gets Nearest to the Boys. OVER THE TOP WITH TROOPS Besides Ministering to the Spirituaf Needs of Soldiers, the Chap* lain’s Place Is Wherever His Men Are. (From the Committee on Public Information, Washington, D. C.) By A UNITED STATES ARMY CHAPLAIN. I consider my job the most Interesting In the army.. No officer has more rich and varied opportunities for service than a chaplain. No officer’s calendar presents greater contrasts. It Is a chaplain’s duty to oversee the dispositions of Jils mobile flock, as well as their souls, minds, amusements, morals, correspondence, and reading matter. He must go from the boxing ring to the hospital, and from the theateb to the guard house. He is in jail oftener than any other man in the service. But, if his work is well done, he is there none too often to suit the men.

Last* January General Pershing sent a cablegram to the secretary of war asking that the number of chaplains in the arjjpy be increased for the war to an average of three per regiment. His cablegram reads, in part, as follows: . . . I believe the personnel of the army has never been equaled, and the conduct has been excellent, but to overcome entirely the conditions found here requires fortitude born of great courage and lofty spiritual ideas. Coun.-ng myself responsible for the wetfare of our men In every respect, it Is my desire to surround them with"- the best Influence possible. In the fulfillment of this solemn trust, It seems wise to request the aid of the churches from home. ..." The chaplain is a commissioned officer, starting with the rank of first lieutenant. He Is always an ordained clergyman who has had practical experience as a pastor before entering the army. The different religious bodies are represented in the chaplaincies in numbers proportionate to the number of adherents of the different denominations in the country at large. Each is privileged to conduct religious services in the manner prescribed by his own church. But, when that has been said, I have expressed all the denominationalism that there is in the army. In this as in many other respects the army has set an example to civil life, for it has learned the needlessness and waste of many sectarian lines in the face of human need. Chaplain an Information Bureau. Some people have the idea that all a chaplain has to do is conduct religious services. At other times they think of him as enjoying a life of complete relaxation. The utter mlstaken- , ness of this notion becomes evident after the briefest survey of the tasks assigne<| to a chaplain. For one thing, he is the information bureau for his regiment. If a soldier wants 'to know a street address, a telephone number; or a train schedule, he goes to the chaplain’s office. If he wants 4 right information on' current topics he calls on the chaplain and asks him If Jie has any late magazines or newspapers dealing with the question. On some of the battleships the naval chaplains put out periodicals for the men. Some of these magazines are really excellent productions. Then, there is the whole problem of education. If there are men in the regiment lacking in necessary education the chaplain is expected to organize classes in the common branches, so that they’may improve themselves along those lines, make themselves more useful to their country, and brighten their own futures. The chaplain frequently gives lectures to recruits on discipline and the relation of moral cleanliness to health and efficiency. He keeps a record of air the men as they come Into the service, including their name, home address, next of kin, education, and other items. The chaplain’s day indudes plenty of humorous incidents. A fellow chaplain, now on duty at one of the base hospitals, tells an amusing story of talking to an Italian who had been recently injured. The man listened attentively, his great brown eyes fixed on the chaplain’s face. The padre did not know that the injured man was an ‘ltalian and spoke little English, though a soldier In the United States army. After suggesting a little prayer the chaplain added carelessly: “It makes no great difference between us, but . . . what is youP creedl" Religion In His Foot. ■The injured man still looked earnestly upward, and the chaplain repeated hfi question. The soldier eaught only the questioning intonation and flashed a brilliant smile. “Oh, eet ees in my foot!” he said, in an explanatory'tone, and immediately pulled back die covers of the bed, displaying a much bandaged limb. The chaplain must be a good mixer. This is especially necessary because he is much concerned with the recreational life of the men. He must be capable of participating actively In manly sports and of organizing such games as will appeal to the tastes of all the

men. The social life of the regiment is one Of- his responsibilities. 7 The movies, the boxing matches, the volleyball games, and the wrestling bouts are all within his province. He writes letters, too, for men who are sick or wounded. In case of difficulty or death it is the chaplain who must impart the message to the loved ones who gave the man into service. Because he has access to every one, the chaplain becomes involved in many delicate problems of conduct. I once received a rather pathetic note from the mother of one of the men, asking whether her boy was still at the post. I happened to know that he was in the guardhouse. I went to see the boy and asked him why he had not written home. The whole story came out immediately. During his Christmas furlough the soldier had married a girl, whom his mother did not approve of, and, in a fit of temper, his mother had said she wished never to see or hear from him Before the conversation was over the chaplain had persuaded the boy to write. Thus the difficulty was smoothed over, and a difficulty smoothed over is a chaplain’s duty done. Go Over the Top.

So far I have said nothing about the work of the chaplains in the field, which, for the present war, means chiefly "over there.” My own experience has not yet extended thither, but I can answer briefly some of the questions that people ask. The query is often put to me: “Do chaplains go into the front-line trenches?” x The answer is, yes, of course. Frequently they go over the top with the men. A chaplain’s place is wherever his men are, and when they are in danger he is, too. A chaplain who is not willing, if .necessary, to lose his life in the performance of his duties is false to his trust and does not deserve his commission. As a matter of fact, many have been killed. The mortality among chaplains on the western front has been as high as one a day, which is a high percentage when the small total number of chaplains Is considered. The chaplain has this additional test of nerve —that he is obliged to go unarmed. By the terms of the Geneva convention, chaplains are not permit-, ted to carry arms. Of course, in return for this, the person of the chaplain is supposed to be sacrosanct. But everyone knows that to the Hun the safeguards of the Geneva convention are as obsolete as the Sermon on the Mount is to them. A Brother to the Wounded. The hospital is one of the principal fields for the chaplain’s endeavors. As one chaplain puts it: “In the hospital, they can’t get away from me.” But there is a more powerful element in the chaplain’s success among the sick boys. As soon as they feel helpless, they reach out involuntarily for a friendly hand, and it is rare for a man in a hospital not to be glad to see the chaplain. The most impressive story I have heard was given to me by a friend of mine who is a chaplain. He had become greatly interested in one of the men , who was seriously ill and not expected to live. Every time the chaplain came to see him, the fellow would ask him to “say just one little prayer, won’t you?” Toward the end they thought that he would be delirious. But he was not. The chaplain came, and the soldier whispered his customary request for a prayer. The, chaplain prayed. When he had finished he asked: “Did you understand me then, Gray?” “Yes,” the dying man whispered. “I understood. I can understand anything about God. It’s wonderful.” Those were his last words. The army has learned- that men may worship God in different ways, but they all need the same kind of brotherlng. So the army chaplain looks after all his boys alike, whether they have a faith or whether they have none. He knows, better than any other officer, that Uncle Sam’s boys are not mechanisms, but men. Because he comes so close in touch with the human side of the army he is in a position to stimulate that morale without which fighting men are powerless to win battles.

Beginnings of Great Things.

On July 26, 1847, the first electric magnetic locomotive was exhibited and operated. The exhibition was ma'de in the town hall of Dover, N. H„ by its Inventor, Moses G. Farmer, It carried several people, who Were doubtless the first passengers transported on a railroad by electricity in the United States. Farmer lectured upon the invention at various Eastern points, after which he opened a telegraph office, where he devised the well-known fire alarm apparatus. As early as 1850 Professor Farmer predicted, among other results, the talking exactly as we talk- today by telephone, and he also saw the feasibility of electric traction by means of the storage battery and trolley system now in use. He also invented a flying machine, but his sudden death prevented his bringing it before the world.

“Duration of War.”

The phrase “duration of the war” is more poked about in England than in America. “You will realize how philosophical we are become out here,” an officer writes to the Evening News, “when I tell you that we have just been invited to enter a team for a divisional football competition—to be an annual event "My men seem very keen, especially as a cup is offered. I suggested, quite gravely of course, that winning three times would mean ‘keeps,’ and they cordially acquiesced.” -

THE EVENING RENSSELAER, IND.

Japanese Boys at Work in Rice Fields

These boys, working In rice fields In Japan, are doing their bit toward relieving the present rice shortage In that country. Recent reports tell of serious rioting ir Japan on account of a corner in the rice market.

A. E. F. Publication Tells Soldiers “Over There” What Conservation Really Means

A private in a truck train, relates the Stars and Stripes, France, went to a reserve tank the other day, opened the faucet and drew a liberal quantity bf gasoline in a bucket. “I guess,” he remarked, “the old man will raise h—• if he saw this, but I’ve got to wash my pants.” Yes, the “old man” probably would have raised h—. If he is the right kind of “old man” he would have raised seven or eight different kinds of it.

Millions of schoolboys are selling War Savings stamps in the States to keep us going over here and millions are stinting to buy them. There were three gallons of gasoline in that bucket and, what with the money it cost to make it and build and run the ships to get it over here, we wouldn’t be surprised if it .represented a whole week’s work for some bright-eyed, enthusiastic, patriotic schoolboy. The private in question would probably fight if you accused him of betraying his friends in the trenches. Yet gasoline means airplanes, and airplanes mean dead Germans, and dead Germans mean live Americans. It’s the same with every commodity we handle. Conservation and care mean lives and a shorter war.

LAYING HENS NEED GRIT

Ground feeds are necessary for most efficient digestion in poultry. Hopper feeding saves labor and furnishes the necessary supplementary feed at all times. There is no danger of poultry overeating on ground feeds fed dry in a hopper. Limestone grit or oyster shell is also necessary for laying hens. A laying hen requires large quantities of shellmaking material. Nearly all of this must come from the grit and shell she eats. It is poor economy not to keep a liberal supply accessible. One extra egg a year will pay the bill. It returns the money invested a hundred fold. Chickens raised on range can be produced much more economically than those kept closely confined around the farm buildings. Not only is less feed required, but the danger from disease is reducedl The edge of the cornfield makes an ideal poultry range. Chickens grow best on plowed ground and the corn furnishes shade, which is essential during the summer. Under such conditions, a pound of chicken can be produced from three to four pounds of grain. ’

Short and Snappy.

Nothing amuses a baby that doesn’t annoy grown folks. The tattooed man has a moving picture show of his own. It’s seldom safe to judge a man by his own opinion of himself. An ounce of get-up-and-get is better than a pound of that “tired feeling.” If a man loses all his money he also manages to lose nearly all his enemies.

Senators and Representatives

The term of a state senator is generally longer than that of a representative* although in 18 states it is the same. In two-thirds of the states senators are elected for four years, while the usual term for representative is two years. Massachusetts and Rhode Island are the only states that elect both senators and representatives annually.

World’s Largest Flowers.

The largest flowers in the world, often more than three feet in diameter and weighing up to 28 pounds, are produced by plants growing on mountains in the Philippines. r

Mother’s Cook Book

Ideals add to the beauty of the commonplace. They make drudgery bearable. A Day With Leftovers. The leftover problem is always with us and she is a good manager who plans her meals so that there are few leftovers to dispose of. A most dainty first course may be prepared for a dozen with a small piece of ripe watermelon. Use a potato cutter and make enough balls from the pink ripe part of the melon to fill sherbet glasses. Chill and serve as a cocktail. Add enough sirup to make a sauce, using a bit of mint to garnish each cup. Muskmelon may be used in the same way with a ginger sauce. It is especially delicious. The Canton preserved ginger with bits of mint chopped and added for a garnish make a most elegant dish.

Smoked Salmon Breakfast Dish. A few very thin slices of smoked salmon, dipped in boiling water and placed on rounds of toasted bread well buttered, one slice on each round, and a poached egg slipped on top, make an appetizing breakfast dish. Lemon Sirup for Lemonade. Do not allow an accumulated supply of lemons to dry up or mold. They may be made into sirup which will keep Indefinitely. Boil a cupful of sugar with, a half cupful of water and a cupful of strained honey until it threads. Add td the sirup the juice of six lemons and the grated rind, being careful to take but the yellow part. Boil together and bottle after straining out the rind. A half a glass of jelly with the white of an egg and sugar to sweeten, beaten until so thick it will stand up, then served with a thin custard, makes a dish especially nice for a light dessert. « Sausage and Rice Cakes. To one cupful of cooked rice, warm or cold, add one unbeaten egg and two tablespoonfuls of fried sausage. Mix well and form Into flat cakes. If the mixture seems too soft, add a little more rice. Brown lightly in hot fat. This makes six medium-sized cakes. Sour Cream Filling for Layer Cheese. Sweeten and chill a cupful of sour cream. Whip until stiff, then add a cupful of nuts, chopped. If for any reason the cream does not become stiff, add a teaspoonful of gelatine softened in a tablespoonful of water. Set on ice. Com Flour and Sour Milk Griddle - Cakes. With a cupful of sour milk a half tea spoonful each of salt and soda, one beaten egg and corn flour to make a thin batter, one may have a most dainty breakfast cake.

Frost Not Due to Moon Phase; Watch the Weather Forecasts

The moon may be of tremendous importance to young folks hanging over the garden gate or to night marauders with an Incurable thirst for watermelons, but it should have no sinister significance to gardeners or farmers, observes an exchange. In some sections of the country prevails a popular belief that in the season when frost may be expected its occurrence lb largely influenced by the phase of the moon or other periodical phenomena. Careful tabulation of frost data and comparison with moon phases fall to disclose any such relation. All persons Interested are therefore cautioned to watch, not the moon, but the forecasts issued by the weather bureau.

Seven Miles of Village.

Kempton, near Bradford, England, is probably the longest village in the world. It straggles along a single road for a distance of seven miles.

Oversupply of Beans and Appeal Is Made to Public To Help Eat the Old Crop

There are 120,000 bushels of last year’s beans in the New York market which are in danger of going to waste unless they are consumed before the 1918 crop comes in, says the New York Bun. In the hope of saving them the federal food board recently issued a call for a “bean drive.” “Just as the consuming public came to the rescue during the spring and early summer to save the surplus potatoes,” the board said,’“so a similar patriotic use of beans is requested. Patriotic housewives are urged to have a bean dinner or bean supper at least one day a week as a means of using up the present surplus. One reason for the existing surplus is a falling off in the consumption of beans during the past few months. “It is true .that the selling price of beans is above the prewar price, but it should be borne in mind that the cost of production last year was exceptionally high. Even at the prevailing prices, however,, beans are cheap when their food value is considered. When combined with milk or eggs in the same meal, they are one of the best meat-saving foods. At 15 cents a pound, at which prices they can be purchased in some localities, they furnish throe times as much protein as round steak at 38 cents a pound and as lean veal at 32 cents a pound. Beans in combination with fruits or seasonable vegetables serve very well as the basis of meat-saving meals.f

Corona of Sun, Latin Word And Its Meaning Is Crown

Corona is a Latin word meaning crown, hence our English words coronet and coronation. Astronomers apply the word to the crowning circle of light visible during an eclipse of the sun notwithstanding its partial obscuration by the moon. A distinguished astronomer says: “During a total solar eclipse, when the sun is obscured by the moon’s shadow, the dark disk is seen to be surrounded by a ‘glory’ or fringe of radiant light, which is called the corofia.” Another authority says: “The corona is the exterior envelope of the sun, being beyond the photosphere and Chromosphere, invisible in the telescope and unrecognized by the spectroscope, except during a total eclipse of the sun. To ascertain the character and composition of the sun’s corona is the object of scientific observations made during an eclipse.”

HAVE A SMILE

Compensation. His Wife—Mother’s going to make us a little visit. I know you don’t object to having her here for a short time. The Jokesmith—-Oh, I can stand it. Out of a week’s visit I get enough material for a year’s supply of mother-in-law jokes.

ALL NICE CHAPS. Allow a horrid man to kiss me—never! Neither would I; but thank goodness there Isn’t one among all my male acquaintances.

An Anxious Moment Agitated Daughter (on the links)— Oh, mother, whatever shall we do? Father’s in that bunker and here come the parson and his wife. Across the Clothesline. Mrs. Hogg—One flag, Mrs. ’lggs, 1 ain’t two-faced. 1 should say that’s somefink to be thankful for. Mrs. Higgs—-Yus, you’re right; one dial like yours is quite enough to see by itself. Weight Vs. Whacks. Defeated Pugilist—l weighed in all right before the fight. Backer —Maybe you <lid, tlie trouble is you didn’t wade' in during the fight

A Near-Employee. “Ever been on government work before?" asked the manager of the job seeker. “Very nearly, sir," was the reply. “What do you mean by very nearly?” “Well, you see, sir, there wasn’t quite enough evidence to convict me.” The Doctor Speaks Up. “Doc, you charge some people more than others, (don’t you?” inquired the grocer. * “People with money, for instance?” “Sometimes.” ’ “Suppose I charged you that way?” “That would be all right provide# you didn’t charge poor people anything, a custom not unknown to doctors.”

A GENTLE KNOCK. Miss Wrinkles: Don’t you think it’s horrid to ask one’s age? Miss Trinities: Yes, and it’s often so unnecessary.

THE ANNUAL PICNIC

By JOSEPHINE MURPHY.

(Copyright, 1918, by McClure Newspaper Syndicate.) At the time of the annual picnic given by Lovett A Neville to their employees It was expected that any incipient romances that the year had developed would be haled forth into the gay light of publicity. Not that the number was so very great, but It must be admitted that even the most distinguished floorwalker loses a certain charm—the charm, perhaps, of the proud and unapproachable —when you have taken notes on him for a twelvemonth across the counter. Nevertheless, something was always to be hoped for at the annual picnic. A year ago, it was confidently predicted that Kenneth Moore of the book department and Cynthia Gray of the ribbon counter were to afford the necessary love Interests. There must have been an understanding between them, certainly; he hardly so much as said “Good morning” now to other girls; they had been seen together at theater and lunch. Oh, there were plenty of signs! The seal of finality was all that was lacking. The long-expected day brought only confusion to these cherished hopes. Cynthia, who was looked upon as one of the most refined girls In the whole store, appeared unusually gay and reckless. First she was devoted to one man, then to another, with an imprudence that set friendly eyes wide with horror. Finally, when the picnic dinner was over, the party broke up for games, swan-boating and strolls in the woods, Cynthia flung herself at a certain Mr. Green, newly of the shoe department, and before the eyes of all they had gone together toward the lake. “Well, wouldn’t that frost you?” gasped Florence Small. “Is the girl crazy? The way she’s treating Kenneth, and he the most refined fellow in the store, too!” They saw Kenneth alone, and sent one of the new men over to him with an invitation to come to the skating rink; but he only shook his head with a wan smile, and replied: “I have got sort of a headache; guess I’ll just sit around a while. Perhaps I’ll come down later.” He did not have a headache; but he wanted to be alone, for his heart was sore. He had not expected Cynthia to treat him like this. During the whole trip she had scarcely spoken a word to him. No one would ever have thought they knew each other. And it didn’t seem like her Either. He couldn’t understand it. Why, only the last time he called on her they had" sat together in her little “den,” and had talked on quite a number of subjects. There was nothing sentimental about Cyn-lj thia; they had been just good pals together; that was what he liked best in a girl. She sang well and loved poetry, both of which he also was fond of. What had first attracted him to Miss Gray was the sight of her burled in a volume of poems. He had asked her what she was reading. She had glanced up at him with a smile he could never forget. “Lucile,” she said. Now, Kenneth had never read "Lucile,” so he purchased a copy, which at this very moment was in his pocket He had brought IL thinking of how he and Cynthia—but what was the use of thinking. That was all it had come to. And he mused, as others mused before him. In the distance he heard the gay strains of the band at the skating rink, and the sound disturbed him, so out of harmony was it with his mood. He thought of Mr. Green, perhaps even now paddling down the lake with the faithless Cynthia. But Cynthia had ruthlessly deserted Mr. Green when he went in quest of a boaL and strolled off by herself. Kenneth arose from the bench on which he had been sitting and wandered up the path. Sitting down under a tree he opened his volume, “Lucile.” He was glad even now that Cynthia was not beside him

Afternoon sunlight began to peep through the trees. He got- up and leaped to the summit of a fern-grown bowlder, and, looking down the path, a cjdn of terror ran over him. Cynthia was walking toward him with downcast eyes, digging the toe of her little boot into the moM every now and then. All at once she stopped, and with a cry snatched something. It was "Lucile.” She pressed the volume to her lips. “It’s his!” he heard her murmur —“Kenneth’s.” There were tears in her eyes. “Kenneth!” —he heard her murmur again. He took a step forward. “Cynthia,” he cried. “Cynthia, dear!” He forgot the steepness and height of the bowlder; he slipped, lost Ms balance. and in a minutewas lying below. Cynthia ran to him, fell on her knees with a cry of distress. “Oh! Kenneth, are you hurt?” He sat up and shook himself, like an English sparrow after a bath. “I suppose they are all laughing at me; but I don’t care—l mean, not it you’ll call me ‘Kenneth’ like that again.” / Springing to his feet, he stung bib arms about Cynthia and kissed her ardently several times. “Cynthia !” he gasped. “I love you. You can’t get away." “I don’t know as I want to.” she retorted shyly. “I think we’ve been foolish enough for one day," she added; and after kissing her once more they walked down toward tM skating rink. '