The Celina Democrat. (Celina, O. [Ohio]) 1895-1921, 1917-10-19
WWhy, ,ffenchyC Canadians WonhA
GEi@ht tor Canadaooao4saE$zzz.

claimed exemption-hve brothers, aged
twenty-One, twenty-three, twenty-five,
twenty-seven and twenty-nlne years,
respectively. Another family had four
sons Of draft age, and six others had
three apiece-eight Freneh-Amerlcan
families, in brief, furnishing the amaz-
Ing number Of 81 conscrlpts.
Young French-Amerlcan men in Low
ell-home, by the way, of George
Charette, one of the "heroes of the
| Merrimnc" of Spanish war fame-had
always In peace times enlisted to a'no-
| ticeable extent In the regular army
/ and navy aud IN the national guard.
/ As one officer of the latter organizu-
| ton put it, The French boys always
were strong for the national guard"
| Upon the call tO arms, the response of
these same "FrenCh boys" was stnk-
/ Ing. IN spite of the circumstances of
so many of them, forcing abstentiOn
| because of dependents 10 support, vol
unteerlng was brisk with them in all
branches of the service. When the
draft came into operation, Military
District Number 4, corresponding TO
Ward @, Lowell's banner "French
ward" had only GS men to call to fill
It's quota, so numerous had been the
voluntary enlistmcnts, or credits" in
the section.
\ recruiting officer IN Lowell, who
had been previously stationed in sew
eral other New England cities, showed
me II page Of his register where 10 of
the 80 volunteers names il contained
were French, and he reported II SINH
lar willingness of the French boys"
To serve wherever he had been. This
page was of course exceptional, but no
page in the book was without several
French names. They ranged all the
way from that Of a prosperous young
lawyer to that of woOdchopper who
phOnetically signed "Arment," the
named he shared with the lover Of the
Dame aux Camelias.
The five Lowell units of the nation
al guard went into camp with one
fourth or over of their men French
Americans, while many more, accord
ing to an officer, had at some time
tried to join and been turned down"
for various reasons. One company of
the railroad engineers reserve, num-
bering 160 men now in France en-
gagged in railroad building, was organ
lied and is captuined by Lowell
French-Canadian who naturally sought
among his cOmpatriOts for volunteers
and secured the larger part of them
from their ranks. a company Of the
state guard in Lowell is composed to
Il man of "French boys and captained
by one, these same "French boys" be-
ing older men with dependents who
could not otherwise serve, but who !
are all patriotically anxious to give
what they can. Plattsburg commits |
sions have also been sought and Sc
cured.
Patriotism has been shown in vari-
Gus other ways. A FrenchAmerican |
formed, and knitting is fast and furi- !
Gus among the French girls. Priests |
in the French churches have preached |
Earlier in the war one |
young priest stirred social gatherings |
at the Association Catholique, the |
largest organization Of French-Amer' |
lean men in the city, by passionate |
appeals for voluntary service under |
the American cOlOrs. That organiza-
ton alone has over GO volunteers now
wearing khaki or the sailors blue.
In brief, all reports tend to show
that the one million and half people
of French-Canadian stock in the
United States are gladly and even
eagerly accepting war service, while
two million of the same people in Can
ada are apparently opposing it zen
bloc" What can be the reason for
this striking difference of attitude?
The English colonies in 177G became
American of their own vOlitiOn. The
French of Canada became English in
1868 by force Of conquest. England
to the American colOnials was the
burden shaken off; France, to the
colOnials, the lost treasure.
There is no logic" a young Amer
ican once said to me, about the
French Canadian affection for France
and the corresponding dislike of Eng
land-one born Of the other-after a
century and n half of English rule. 1t
Is mere sentiment. Political, that Is,
Frances name is erased
from the Canadian consciousness"
The sentimental link with France
has naturally remained stronger with
the educated classes. 1t always does.
The cultured lose more in losing the
ancestral land because they had pos
sessed more of that lands heritage.
This is what has puzzled Americans
80 much-the contradiction in the Que
lec Frenchman's refusal to serve when
ne is described as still fond of France.
This contradiction, however, is not
wholly contradictory. The ancient
French blood bond, the occult and
mighty pact of race, is still the OBJ
,cure root of many things, and it can
rot be ignored in getting at" the
feeling of French-Americans o.
N the attitude of their Quebec cousins {
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