The Donaldsonville chief., 1918-04-06
LOAN CAMPAIGN LAUNCHED.
French Lieutenant Makes Stirring
Address at Informal Meeting.

While there was no formal demon
stration here to signalize the opening
of the third Liberty Loan campaign,
the occasion was marked by visit
to Donaldsonville of a gallant French
army officer, Lieut.. Robert Coube OF
the 262nd Infantry Regiment, who
addressed an impromptu meeting at
the Elks' Home Information OF
Lieut.. Coube's coming was received
here late Friday evening and was dis
seminated only this morning. There
is nothing lukewarm or apathetic
about Donaldsonville, however, when
question of patriotism is involved,
and despite the limited publicity given
to the meeting, quite large crowd
of representative citizens OF both
sexes assembled in the Elks' Home at
II o'clock to greet the distinguished
visitor, who had arrived from New
Orleans on the 1929 a. m. I. q +.
train.
Rev. Father Celestin NJ. Chambon,
rector of the local Catholic church
and a native of France, introduced
Lieut.. Coube, who. spoke first in
French and then in English. He en-
phasized the moral, material and pa
triotic obligation resting upon every
loyal citizen to contribute to the sup
port of his government as freely as
may be possible, paid high tribute
to the valor and spirit Of the AmerI-
can troops on the western front and
in training in this country, euloglZed
President Wilson as one OF the
worlds greatest men, and feellngly
expressed the cordial appreciation of
the people of his country for the m
valuable assistance rendered them by
the great American republic since the
outbreak Of the mighty war. lie
thrillingly related several of his per
sonal experiences on the battlefield,
praised the indomitable courage OF
the French "poilu" and the British
"Tommy' in glowing terms, and ex-
pressed absolute confidence in the
ultimate victory of the entente allies
over the fiendish Huns. His remarks
were enthusiastically received and
created a profound impression upon
his hearers.
Lieut.. Coube was engaged in active
service from the beginning OF the war
up to the latter part of 1917, and par
ticipated in the battles of the Marne,
Somme and PAisne. He was sent to
America about three months ago to
act as military instructor at training
camps on this side, and is presently
located at Camp Shelby, near Hattles-
burg, Miss.
From Donaldsonville Lieut.. Coube
left in an automobile for Napoleon
vile, where he addressed Liberty |
day rally this afternoon. He was es-
corted by Leonce Leblanc, of Pain
courtville, zone chairman of the Lib
erty Loan campaign in Assumption,
Lafourche and Terrebonne parishes.
Ascension's quota of bonds OF the |
new issue has been fixed at $80,500.
The minimum allotment for each
ward in the parish, according to pop
ulation, is as follows: First, $4,000;
second, $4,000; Donaldsonville, $780,
600; fourth, $4,000; fifth, $4,000;
sixth, $45O0; seventh, 500; eighth,
$4,000.
Owing to the fact that airplanes
from the Gerstner aviation field near
Lake Charles could not be despatch
ed to Donaldsonville today, it was de-
sided to pretermit the patriotic DEM
onstration which was to have been
held this afternoon to mark the open
ing Of the Liberty loan drive. 4 new
date for the rally will be selected and
announced later.