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Show FIGHTING PARSON IS LIKED Rov. Earl Blackman, National Chaplain Chap-lain of American Legion, Is Regarded Re-garded as Man's Man. "Fighting parsons" were common during the World war, but those who actually fought were not. Ilev. Earl Blackmail, Kansas, earned h 1 s sobriquet, however. He has been elected national na-tional chaplain of the American Legion. Le-gion. To make fun for the boys while in France, Reverend Rev-erend Blackman offered to box a match with any chaplain of the A. E. F. of his weight. He wasn't chosen chaplain of the Legion for that reason, rea-son, however, his followers declare. It was because "he is at all times a man's man and represents the liberal spirit of the organization." Returning from France, Reverend Blackman resumed his pulpit in Chanute, Kan. One of his first acts was to attend a public dance. He didn't dance, but thoroughly enjoyed the fun. A protest came from his congregation con-gregation and he resigned. His resignation resig-nation wasn't accepted. TJien he began doing other things. He itgged up a gymnasium in the basement of his church and gave boxing box-ing lessons to the boys of the Sunday school. The church liked it. Reverend Blackman refused offers from larger churches to stay with his pastorate in Chanute. His view of Sunday "blue laws" is characteristic : "To my mind the advocacy of such laws only serves to cheapen religion in the minds of the masses and tends to push it back into the superstitions of the past. What is rest and relaxation to the farmer may not be such to the bank clerk." |