OCR Text |
Show (Copy for Tftia Departmeni Supplied by the American Legion News Servle.) FIGHTING PARSON IS LIKED Rev. Earl Blackman, National Chap-lam Chap-lam of American Legion, Is Regarded Re-garded as Man's Man. "Fighting parsons" were common (luring the World war, but those who actually fought . were not. Rev. f v . Earl Blackman, f . Kansas, earned -.. j hia sobriquet, t -i however. lie has ". ...-v 5, been elected na- tf fi f tionai chaplain of s the American Le- TjZ. f Sion. " . To make fun , for the boys while. , in France, Kev- - erend Blackman mlrt- y. ia offered to box a match with any chaplain of the A. E. F. of his weight. lie 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. lie 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. Then he began doing other things, lie rigged up a gymnasium in the basement of his church and gave boxing box-ing lesions 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. Ills view of Sunday "blue laws" is characteristic: "To my mind the advocacy of such laws only serves to cheapen religion in the miuJs of the masses and tends to push it buck into the superstitious of the past. What is rest and relaxation j to the farmer may not be su-h to the bank clerk." |