there would stop enlistments. He said, "We can talk about it just as much as we please total abstinence clubs are not successes." But as one Representative who knew his Hamlet said, "It is the Women's Christian Temperance Union which doth make cowards of us all." Consequently, in February 1901 Congress abolished the sale of all alcoholic beverages on military property." There the canteen controversy ended, it seemed. As time passed, however, some chaplains recommended that the Act of 2 February 1901-the "canteen law”—be repealed; they believed that the sale of beer and light wines in the canteen was the lesser of two evils. William T. Anderson reported that the troopers of the 10th Cavalry Regiment began to "drink a great deal" at Cuban rum shops, where rum was sold at five cents a bottle; he was fearful that their "constitutions" would be ruined. When the Tenth returned to Fort Robinson, Nebraska, in 1902, he said that numerous soldiers were purchasing opium, cocaine, and morphine from a druggist in nearby Crawford. Since there was no law to prevent druggists from selling drugs, Anderson and officers at Fort Robinson appealed to the citizens of Crawford, especially the druggist, not to sell drugs to soldiers; the people were agreeable, but the druggist continued to make the drugs available. Anderson reported that one soldier under the influence of drugs shot himself but remembered nothing of the event, and said that one could commit murder in such a condition. In his monthly report, he told his military superiors that terrible results would occur unless “radical measures" were taken to limit drug sales. Meanwhile, capitalizing upon his medical background, he lectured the men about the "great dangers" of using drugs without a doctor's prescription. Anderson was not the only chaplain who reported the use of hard drugs among soldiers. Chaplain Nave made reference to "dope dens" which "allured men from the path of rectitude.” “ Francis B. Doherty reported that he initiated the "suppression of the illegal sale of cocaine" in Camaguey, Cuba, while serving there with the 17th Infantry Regiment in 1908 and 1909.50 48 Catholic chaplains were also engaged in the temperance movement. Franz J. Feinler periodically reported that he "gave the pledge" to some enlisted men and urged others to refrain from excess in the use of intoxicants. Doherty, George J. Waring, and Andrew C. Murphy attended the annual conventions of "The Catholic Total Abstinence Union." Unlike other temperance organizations, it claimed no identification with any political party or any organization that aimed at reform through legislation; it confined itself to "moral-suasion." In 1906 Waring invited Arch bishop John J. Keane, the leading temperance advocate within American Catholicism, to visit Fort Des Moines, Iowa; following the visit Waring suggested-as Anderson did in 1902-the repeal of the "canteen law." He and the archbishop agreed that the law "had wrought a serious injury upon the soldier by forcing him to go to the saloon, where he is exposed to every kind of moral and physical evil." Doherty expressed a similar view in 1912.51 Black soldiers were exposed to at least one additional evil in off post saloons, that of racial prejudice. While visiting a Douglas, Arizona, saloon in 1913, a trooper from the 10th Cavalry Regiment encountered racial slurs from a white cowboy, and the provocation erupted into a gunfight. The soldier killed the cowboy, was jailed, and charged with murder. Wanting to ensure that the soldier received a fair trial in the local civilian court, Chaplain Louis A. Carter went throughout the regiment to raise funds for a good lawyer. Subsequently, the black trooper was acquitted on the basis of self-defense.52 Many chaplains provided wholesome counter attractions to the moral and physical evils found in the saloons. William T. Anderson organized Young Men's Christian Associations in Cuba and at Fort Robinson, Nebraska, whereby the soldiers could expend some of their energies in athletic contests, literary activities, and other forms of entertainment. He was also noted for his humorous lecture, "Superstitions." When he presented it in Chaplain Aldred A. Pruden's "Chapel and Library Tent" during the 1908 Philippine Division Military Meet, Pruden published a pamphlet which announced: "We will not be responsible for ruptured blood-vessels, strained sides, or other injuries caused by the Mirth-Provoking, Side-Splitting Lecture." 53 John T. Axton, who was a Y.M.C.A. general secretary from 1893 to 1902, developed successful Y.M.C.A. programs wherever he was stationed: at Army posts, on troop ships, in the Philippines, on maneuvers, and along the Mexican border. The programs included stereopticon presentations, Gramaphone concerts, movies, minstrels, plays and skits, singing of college songs, yarn-spinning, and athletics; they were an extension of his ministry and attracted many men to his chapel.5* A young medical officer at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, wrote his father: You will probably be surprised and certainly be gratified to know that I could not obtain a seat in chapel last Sunday night. The chaplin [sic] conducts services of the "good music-stereopticon-moral talk" type. He is earnest and industrious and a good writer, a good talker but not a profound thinker. He is the Y.M.C.A. type. He is Other officers agreed that Axton was "well thought of." In 1906 Brigadier General J. Franklin Bell commended Axton for his "indefatigable . . . efforts to promote the morality, contentment, and entertainment" of the Fort Leavenworth garrison. In the following year the Fort Leavenworth post commander said that Axton's programs kept large numbers of men from the "vicious resorts" of the city. In 1915 Brigadier General John J. Pershing wrote that there "is no chaplain in our service to-day who is so much entitled to recognition for his splendid work as Chaplain Axton." Pershing's judgment may have been accurate, but other chaplains, Catholic and Protestant, provided like ministries and were similarly effective.56 Convinced that wholesome entertainment was "as important and as essential" to the "moral uplift" of the soldiers as his religious services, George J. Waring organized recreation programs that attracted large audiences. He found that soldiers who participated in the programs were more willing to attend church on Sunday." Edmund P. Easterbrook provided such successful entertainment programs, including minstrels, that an officer once criticized him in an efficiency report for minimizing the religious aspect of his work; that officer's superior, however, strongly disagreed." To supplement the programs, Easterbrook prepared a lecture series on character building, and delivered it to the enlisted men as he visited the various units within the Coast Artillery Corps. Some of the lectures were titled: "Character Building," "Lofty Purpose," "Perseverance, "True Manhood," "Patriotism," "Self-Respect," and "SelfControl." " Franz J. Feinler presented a similar series of addresses under the general title: "How To Make the Most of Ourselves,' 60 Other chaplains also gave lectures to the troops, but not as regularly; furthermore, their subjects were primarily of an entertaining or educational nature. When the occasion demanded, chaplains gave appropriate morality lectures, as William T. Anderson did when some men in his regiment were using hard drugs without a doctor's prescription. In 1909, while stationed in the Philippines, George W. Prioleau lectured throughout his unit on the subject: "The injurious effects of venereal disease upon the human system. Our duty to self and our government. "61 In the same year, Feinler gave similar presentations at Vancouver Barracks, Washington, "before or after venereal inspection." Five years later, in the Philippines, he again addressed the subject of "social purity" and supplemented his talks by distributing pamphlets from "The Chicago Society of Social Hygiene." Two pamphlets were titled: "Sexual Hygiene for Young Men," and "For the Protection of Wives and Children From Venereal Contamination." To reinforce the impact of his lectures, he managed to have the Police Gazette removed from the list of publications provided to post libraries— "reasons are obvious." 62 Venereal disease was apparently a significant problem among American servicemen in the Philippines, including married enlisted men separated from their families. When Chaplain Louis A. Carter arrived in the Philippines in 1915, he found no Army family housing available to ranks below staff sergeant for the men of the 9th Cavalry Regiment. Realizing what could happen during a long separation, he persuaded the Camp Stotsenburg commander to set aside an area within the camp for married men to build houses at their own expense. A habitable bamboo hut for two could be built for $200, and less if the men did most of the work; with their low pay, however, they found it difficult to raise the money. Carter again came to their aid by persuading the Quartermaster to assume "certain financial responsibilities"-outside Army regulations—for their housing projects, which the men repaid in installments. In a few months a village sprang up and was named after its "Patron Saint," Chaplain Carter.63 DUTIES OF UNIT CHAPLAINS Although the chaplains were assigned to units rather than posts beginning in 1901, their duties remained much the same. In addition to operating religious programs, a few still superintended the post schools; all were given some additional duties as librarian, post exchange officer, and defense counsel. Others even volunteered to translate articles from foreign military publications for the General Staff, or to write post histories. In May 1914 Chaplain Franz J. Feinler received an unusual assignment; an excellent linguist, he was sent by the War Department Embassy and spent three years preparing a textbook for the "study of the written system and literary language of Japan. 99 64 When the regiments were on a march, maneuver, or military opera tion, the chaplains generally accompanied them and, as the situation permitted, provided religious services and ministrations; they also furnished entertainments, and were given additional duties such as unit postmaster and property officer. If they did not accompany their units to the field, they carried on their religious programs with the families on post and assumed some duties normally performed by other officers. In the field or on the post, most of them conscientiously arranged for the religious needs of persons from other denominations. On Sundays George J. Waring, a Catholic chaplain, usually celebrated Mass in the mornings and held a "general service" in the evenings; clergymen from nearby towns frequently assisted him with the evening services. In three assignments-Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia; Fort Leavenworth, Kansas; and Governor's Island, New York-he arranged for a civilian rabbi to hold Jewish services. Franz J. Feinler, also a Catholic chaplain, and Alfred A. Pruden, an Episcopalian, held "union services" at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. Feinler would preach, and Pruden would lead the service, or vice versa. At Vancouver Barracks, Washington, Feinler cooperated with several clergymen in holding two special services on the post for soldiers converted at a Vancouver revival meeting. Feinler reported that over 300 soldiers signed cards, either at the revival or one of the two special services, "promising a Christian life." 65 Chaplain Waring was convinced that the War Department could assist chaplains with their duties by erecting post chapels in prominent and easily accessible places with "distinctly ecclesiastical architecture." He believed that such structures would constantly remind soldiers of the place of Christ in their lives and of their spiritual duties. For the same reasons, he said that chaplains' tents should be similarly located in the field, and marked with a “suitable flag." In 1911 he suggested that a "chaplain's flag" be designed with a white cross centered against a blue background, and six years later the War Department adopted his suggestion. 66 Additional duties frequently took chaplains away from their religious duties. Upon entering the chaplaincy in 1913, William R. Arnold was assigned as post exchange officer for 18 months. Being somewhat apprehensive about his ability to manage the business, he told his commander, "All I can do is see that everything gets into the till." The Commander replied, "That's what I want. The former officer got off with more than $2,000." Arnold might also have been wondering about the propriety of the assignment. George J. Waring was convinced that some chaplains had become too attached to post exchange duty. 67 |