INTERIOR
it. . . . The men are more serious-minded. I can see
it in the letters I censor.5
'Aren't you ever asked. Father, if it is a sin to kill
an enemy?'
'Never. There are no conscientious objectors in
the army. Besides, the theological reply would be
unequivocal, and I believe my friends of the
Anglican church are of the same mind. It is the duty
of every soldier to kill the enemy. Especially when
a war is, like this one, a crusade to save Christian
civilization. But in any case, as I have said, the
question has never been asked/
And then he explained the services which a
chaplain can render a soldier outside the spiritual and
purely religious sphere. He is their confidant. With
him they are not afraid to be sentimental, show him
the photographs of their wives and children they
all carry in their pockets but keep away from their
comrades for fear of having their legs pulled.
'Will eminent ecclesiastics be visiting the front?*
*I can't see any for the moment,' said the Anglican
chaplain with a smile, 'apart from us two.'
And the journalists laughed in acknowledgment
that the Churches had won the round.
Royal Signal Corps
The telephone cable was being laid in a shallow
trench along the roadside by a few English soldiers
59