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THE WAR
(Continued from Page I.)
THE OTHER SIDE.
A CHAPLAIN ON AUSTRALIAN
SOLDIERS.
'A representative of "The Advertiser"
called on Chaplain-Colonel T. "Worsley
Maguire yesterday afternoon and asked
his opinion of Captain Bean's letter re
gaxding the morale of the Australian
forces in encampment in Efeypt. Mr.
Maguire stated that while lie was at
Petersburg the Rev. J. C. McPhee left
■with the Erst Expeditionary Force for
the front, and he -was called on to act
a3 locum ten ens for him at St. Peters
Presbyterian Chunch. Having had a
targe experience of military life, being
for st>me time chaplain to the American
troops in the Spanish-American. war,
he was chosen to represent his denomina
tion at the military camp. Regarding
Captain Bean's letter, he said lie felt
there was another side to the sordid
picture. there . presented, and that was
the religious side. Mr. Maguire has 'had
* great deal to do with men in camp
life, for he was one of the religious
instructors to a large body of American
troops in Chickanaugh Park, Georgia,
during the Spanish-American war. He
■aid:—
'"In reading Captain Bean's letter, it
must be remembered that he said the
majority of tie Australian soldiers were
keen, intelligent, self-restrained young
men, behaving themselves in a way m
which any rational Australian would be
have. From my experience as a chap
lain, I can fully endorse this statement,
and yet at the same time it would not
be difficult to show even worse things
than Captain Bean has written of. But
this would represent a very small min
ority which manages to creep into every
army at a tjme like the present. They
are wastrels rather than wasters, and no
plains should be spared to exclude them
irom the army. The first strong point
about the South Australian anny is, its
officers. ~ With very few exceptions
these men set a splendid example,. not
merely from the standpoint of discipline,
but of morality. It may be stated as
x positive fact that the character and
bearing of the officers in Egypt will
bear comparison with those in any army
of the world, and we can rest assured
that short shrift will be given to those
men who are besmirching the fair name
of Australia. Speaking for the irnen,
one has to get at close quarters tho
roughly to understand them, and it can
be safely said that whilst the Austra
lian soldier is not ox a pious nature, he
is deeply religious. As an illustration ot
■this, the following incident may be men
tioned, which occurred at Morphettville
Jast Sunday week. It was my duty
to conduct a church parade, and as the
men lined up and crowded into the
Y.M.C.A. tent, I noticed an earnestness
that was unusual. At once realising
that these men were thinking of an
early departure, I said, 'Men, this is
Sunday. The folks at home will be
thinking of you. Shall we bare heads
and think for a moment in prayer
of them?' The men's heads went. down
as one, and there was about a minute's
intense silenced I tried in a few words
<to express to the God of Battles the
thought in the minds of the men, and
when they raised their heads I was sur
prised to "see so many wet eyes. I could
not but think of these boys leaving
• home and,. with bravado of spirit, creat
ing the impression that they were past
feeling for those whose hearts were
breaking at their departure. Yet here
the natural man, confronted with the
fact that he was about to leave home
and kindred, showed the real man he
Was.
"Chaplain Donald McUicol has had
something like 200 responses for an out
and-out Christian life in his invitations
to the men at the Y.M.C.A. tent meet
ings. It is no easy task for a man to
stand up among five hundred of hi3 com
rades and publicly signify that he. is
going to live a straight-out Christian
Ofc. Only to-day Chaplain Metters men
tioned, over tie 'phone, that he ^ was
having a splendid response to his *anti
treating* pledge, and that a large number
of men were signing it. In the religious
services held during the week the man
who has an appropriate message is always
listened to by* as large a crowd as can
flock into the Y.M.C.A. tent. A song ser
vice will always attract a packed audience.
There is nothing the men enjoy better than
the selecting of their own favorite hymns.
Ask them any time to suggest hymn, and
these men are the most in demand:—
"Nearer, my God, to Thee,"^"Where is my
wandering boy to-night?" '"Onward,
Christian soldiers,' 'Fight the good fight,'
.and 'Abide with Me.'
"To help the men who have ioined the
New Testament Army Corps League a
simple outline of Bible study has been ar
ranged for the men who possess Bibles
and New Testaments. About 400 of these
Testaments have been asked for bjr- the
men, and in all 2,000 have been distributed
since the beginning of the war to the sol
diers by the Y.M.C.A. One might relate
p great deal more to show that there are
moral influences at work to counteract the
evils indicated in Captain Bean's letter.
Let us not be ready to judge the Aus
tralian soldier by the Australian waster.
It sho'ild give us great satisfaction to
know that when the rotten elements of our
army are known they are separated from
the true Australian soldier, and for this
knowledge we should thank Captain Bean.
It is when we seek to cover up our de-*
fccts that reforms are hopeless. I am sure
the wives, mothers, sisters, and friends of
our young men in Egypt are anxious and
sorrowful over these revelations, "but let
them not forget the other side, which, after
all, Is the biggest, and if the boy has gone
from the home pure, good, and strong there
need be no anxiety about his moral pro
gress. He will find always kindred spirits,
avc, hundreds of them."
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