The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-08-31

Frenchnen during the religious dis
txbances which are agitating their
country have awakened to the exist
ence of an extraordinary secret socie-
" which is said to be involved in the
controversy. This extraordinary Sc
cret society is known to its members
as the F. D. L. c." which, being in
terpreted, stands for Les F'reres de
ia Cote" (CThe Brothers of the
Coast)
Few Englishmen and not many
Frenchmen. says the London Daily
Mail. have ever haerd of this remark
able society. Its members, to the
number of two and a half millions,
consist entirely of boys from the ages
of IA to 20, the majority of whom are
receiving education at the hands of
the priests in the ecoles Hbres, or free
schools, which are controlled by the
Catholic Church.
The society has two objects in view.
First and foremost, they are bound to-
gether for the propagation and en-
enlargement of Atheism and the de-
struction of the power of the church.
on the arm of each member is tattooed
in large print the letters "A. D." sig
nifying Anti Dieu. These letters car
~ with them a VOW to observe as lit
tie as possible the rules of the Catho-
lie Church if complete abstinence from
her ceremonies be incompatible with
home life.
No eBrother of the Coast" must
Ii h g1f
never confess unless practically drag
ged to the confessional, and even then
he must treat the ceremony with ridl-
cule he must never communicate I'M
less under parental compulsion, and he
must not only not fast or eat matgre,
but he lust starve himself at the
family dinner table only to stuff him
self with forbidden meat at some con-
Venient restaurant.
He must. in fact, do all in his power
TO dissociate himself from the Church.
AT a recent examination in which 100
of the brethren took part, they one
and all, in reply to a question asking
them TO show the truth Of Christ's mi
racles, answered that they were an in
Vention, an absurd fairy tale!
The second object for which the So
ciety is constituted is for the uphold
ing of its members supposed rights.
once to reckon with the f. d. l.. c. A
deputation is formed to wait upon the
headmaster and complain of the Of
tending tutors conduct.
Then the +. D. l.. c. await results.
If the masters behavior does not at
once show a radical change they take
action. A sheet of paper, with the let
tiers +. D. l.. c. printed large upon it
in red ink, is dropped into the head
IL l. L.
perience that unless his colleague
mends his ways he will have to look
out for squalls. Generally the mystic
rious piece of paper has an instant
and an excellent effect: but if the
'head" be obstinate, the brethren
show their teeth.
The unfortunate tutors life is made
a burden to him. Let him look away
for another moment, and an inkpot
follows the volume. Punishment is
useless, for the Brethren of the Coast
and it is a rule of the society that no
member shall perform the punishment
task meted out to him. 1t is invaria-
bly, undertaken by another.
Again, if the food allotted to the
boys be in their opinion not of suf-
ficient quality, the F. D. L. c. step in
TO mend matters. A fayorite method is
to abstain from food altogether, with
the effect that on returning to their
homes they are in such a state of
weakness and ill-health that the par