VII
Kansas Knights In War

The work of the Knights of Columbus in the first World War made the Order known, and favorably known, to hundreds of thousands who had never before heard of it.  To the grateful American soldier the Order became personified in its workers and upon it was bestowed the affectionate nickname "Casey".  They found it truly interested in their welfare and sincerely generous; the Knights meant it when they emblazoned their buildings with the slogan, "Everybody welcome, everything free."

The Knights of Columbus first tried its hand at this kind of work in 1916 when our National Guard was mobilized on the Mexican border during the Villa trouble.  There were many Catholics in the National Guard and in their camps on the border there was ample room for the improvement of religious and recreational facilities.  The Knights quickly stepped in and constructed the first K. of C. "huts", sixteen of them, scattered from the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of California.  State Deputy M. A. Quigley praised the Kansas Councils for their contributions of money, literature and other supplies for this project.  W. J. Moriarity, who had been State Deputy of Kansas from 1911 to 1913 and was now a Special Agent of the Order, returned from his work on the border to tell the first war-time convention of the State Council what good work it was doing:

This success served primarily to open the eyes of Knights, and of people generally, to the Order's enormous capacity for service when the United States entered the war in April 1917.  The Knights promptly offered their services and they were quickly accepted.  The Supreme Council immediately levied an assessment of two dollars per capita in order to raise a fund of one million dollars.  This amount was arrived at on the assumption that a half million men were to be under arms.  As our armed forces swelled in numbers the amount aimed at by the Knights kept pace.  The Supreme Convention of that year raised the sights by two more million and each state jurisdiction was pledged to raise a sum equal to ten dollars for each member.  Kansas, with some seven thousand members at the time, met its assessment.  At the convention of 1918 it was announced that fifty-four thousand dollars of the quota set by the last Supreme Convention had been raised.  The financial demands of the task the Knights had set themselves rapidly went beyond their own purses, but as it was well-known that their program was for the benefit of every member of our forces regardless of creed, the general public responded generously and the amount available for the work far exceeded the Knights' earlier plans.

Kansas Knights were not satisfied merely to support their national program; they gave its local activities their time and energy as well.  In January 1917 Pat McAloon, Grand Knight of Topeka Council, and other Topeka Knights were busily helping to provide odds and ends of equipment to Catholic chaplains at Camp Funston.  The convention of 1917 offered to provide support for a Catholic chaplain at Ft. Riley.  However, the national Knights of Columbus War Activities Committee soon entered the field.  The local committee for the construction and administration of the K. of C. buildings at Camp Funston was located at Topeka.  Paul Huycke was chairman, P. J. McAloon secretary-treasurer, and E. L. Mooney, Jr., attorney.  Pat McAloon's file of correspondence gives an interesting picture of what happened -- confusion, misunderstandings, and all.  Plans for three buildings were approved and through August telegrams and letters flew in all directions.  It was a miniature of America arming for war -- seemingly a complete snafu.  But work on the first building began on September fourth and before the end of the month it was in use and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass was offered there.  Equipment such as chairs, stoves, and a player piano gradually arrived.  Madame Schumann-Heink sang for the troops there and left a donation of a thousand dollars for the work.  This first and main building was not dedicated until Sunday, November 11, 1917, because that was the first date Archbishop Glennon had available.  The day began with a Solemn Mass celebrated in the presence of the archbishop.  In the afternoon Bishop Cunningham of Concordia blessed the building, the Reverend John Maher of Salina presented it to the troops in the name of the Knights of Columbus, and Archbishop Glennon addressed the assembly.  The party then proceeded to another building under construction in the colored troops' area and presented it in a similar ceremony.  The Catholic Advance gave credit to the personal efforts of Paul Huycke for the erection of a building for negro troops.  That at Funston, according to the Advance, was the first to be erected.  Many Knights of Columbus traveled by special car from Topeka and Salina to take part in this ceremony.

E. J. Mooney of Topeka was the first general secretary of the Knights of Columbus activities at the camp and was in charge of the main building.  Other Kansans on duty were J.J. Lannan and Hugh Flynn, both of Topeka.  When the armistice was signed, a year after the dedication of the first building, work had begun on the sixth K. of C. building at Camp Funston.

The end of the war did not bring the K. of C.'s welfare work to an abrupt stop.  Their task, as they saw it, was to look after the welfare of the soldier until he had returned home and had a job.  In many localities the Knights ran free employment bureaus.  Educational and welfare activity in hospitals financed by the national committee continued until 1927.  State Deputy James Malone announced in 1924 that Kansas Knights had regularly been supplying comfort items to about a hundred disabled veterans.

A portion of the Knights of Columbus welfare fund was used to open free night schools for veterans in many cities throughout the country.  This program was in operation from 1919 to 1925.  Such a school was organized in Topeka in 1920 and offered courses in Welding, Automotive Mechanics, and Electricity.  A professional department offered courses in Traffic Management (taught by P. J. McAloon), Commercial Law, Salesmanship, Accounting, Spanish, and Business Management.  A commercial department taught a complete selection of commercial courses.  When classes opened in March there were two hundred and seventy-five enrolled in the school.  In its first hasty organization the school was handicapped by the difficulty of finding shop space for its classes, but in 1921 a remodeled garage solved that problem.  The school operated for two terms and in that time provided valuable specialized training for veterans.

Leavenworth Council had opened a similar school with an enrollment of a hundred and fifty a few weeks earlier.  It offered courses in Bookkeeping, Stenography, English, Arithmetic, Classification of Finger Prints, Spanish, and Public Speaking.

A further step in educational activity was taken in 1922 when correspondence courses were offered in a great variety of subjects to veterans who were members of the Knights of Columbus.  These were later opened at cost to all members and their families.  Immediately after the war the Knights granted scholarships to member veterans whose college education had been interrupted by the war.

Kansas Knights did not depend on words to show their loyalty to their country but note should be taken of those resolutions in which the State Council put on record its attitudes to the war and the peace.  The convention of 1918 branded the enemy as the "vilest form of autocracy and barbarism," and pledged its loyalty to the government, and promised to buy bonds.  It pointed with satisfaction to the fact that the Socialist attackers of Christianity had in the crisis proved disloyal.  The convention of 1919 put itself on record as favoring Wilson's Fourteen Points but it opposed the violation of the principle of self-determination.  The latter was a reference to the refusal of the negotiators at Versailles to consider the case of neutral Ireland.  The sedate Proceedings note merely that the resolution was adopted "after much discussion."

In the Second World War the role of the Knights of Columbus was much less glamorous than the one they had played in the first war.  They did not contribute less, they did not work less hard, but the efforts of all private organizations were integrated in and directed by the United Service Organizations.  As a matter of fact Knights gave their time, their talents, and their money as before -- the performance was just as inspiring but the label was changed.

Once again they started their work before the United States was in the war, this time working in cooperation with the bishops for the relief of the war-stricken.  After the United States had been attacked the Committee on the Good of the Order recommended that each council appoint a war effort committee to help their brothers in service and to promote the sale of War Stamps and Bonds.  The work of Kansas Knights was coordinated by a War Activities Committee under Chairman Ed Dunbar.  Further, a committee was appointed in each diocese for cooperation with the National Council of Catholic Services, the Catholic agency in USO.  A. J. Pflumm was chairman for the diocese of Leavenworth, A. J. Norton of Salina for Concordia, and Karl E. Gutzmer of Newton for Wichita.  Other than this there was no field of activity for the State Council.  As Chairman Dunbar pointed out, activities were restricted to the cooperation of the subordinate councils which acted as units in the NCCS.  He reported in 1943 that the councils had organized their members for Red Cross Blood Plasma stations, for participation in the War Loan Drive, and miscellaneous drives.  The councils at Wichita and Leavenworth had given their club facilities to the USO, while Manhattan, Junction City, Salina, and Topeka were engaged in providing special recreational facilities to servicemen based near those cities.

After VE Day and with the end in sight the committee was renamed the Post-War Activities Committee and Dr. Harry D. Mosier was made chairman.  He was succeeded in 1948 by Michael A. Kamer and S. R. Stetz.  The task of the committee, as outlined in 1945 by State Deputy Dr. Harry Klenda, was to make a roll of honor of all Kansas Knights who had served in the armed forces, and of those who had given their lives for their country, to compile an account of blood donor activities, to record all activities of Knights in the various drives, and to help erect committees in each council for the aid of returning veterans.  S. R. Stetz compiled the following statistics for the final report of the committee:

POST WAR ACTIVITIES REPORT

The 110 Councils reporting have a membership totaling 13,101.

1. Members in Service:

The following are approximate totals.

2. Financial Donations:

3. War Bonds:

4. Activities of Members:

A total of 209,702 hours given by members in various civilian enterprises such as Blood Donors, USO.

5. Aids for Service Members:

60 Councils have paid dues for members while away.
52 Councils have paid Per Capita for members while away.
For dues, per capita, gifts, letters, devotions, medals, rosaries, etc., a total of $36,944 was expended.

6. $11,238 was spent on Socials, Quarters, and other aids for Service men.

60 Councils have Honor Roll displayed. 32 Councils have Service Flag displayed.

Eight members who made the supreme sacrifice were survived by children who will participate in the million dollar Educational Trust Fund.

Kansas Knights have every reason to be well satisfied with their record as civilian workers in two wars, but their real pride is the honor roll of those members who served in the armed forces of the United States and particularly those, whose names are starred, who gave their lives for the defense of our beloved country.