The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1919-11-06
CHAPLAIN OF BLUE DEVILS
COMPLETES Tour Of The United
States.

Canon Cabanel, chaplain of the
famous Blue Devils, who has been
the distinguished guest of the United
States, for the past two weeks. is
about to return to France.
Sent by the French High Commits
sion, of which he is member, his
mission in America was to visit the
various committees of The Fatherless
Children of France, an American or
ganization cooperating with a SINH
lar one in Paris of which Marshal
Joffre is the head, and express to
them the gratitude of his country
for the aid rendered to the poor little
homeless orphans of the war during
the past three years through its plan
of long distance adoption" s"-Ameri-
can aid being contributed to the ex-
tent of 10 cents a day, $3.50 a year,
and the donor of this sum constitut-
ed godmother or godfather of one OF
the little French war waits and put
in touch with it through correspond
ence. Every cent of money contribut-
ed goes direct to thechild-the small
expenses of the organization are
borne by generous friends.
Canon Cabanel spent three and a
half years in. the trenches with his
beloved boys" until he was so seri-
ously gassed as to render him unit
for front line service. He wears the
decoration of the Legion of Honor,
and the Croix de Guerre with three
palms and four stars-seven citations
-oesides the four degrees of the me-
daille militaire, which is equivalent
to the British Victoria Cross and CIV
en-, only for extreme heroism.
At one time while conducting the
funeral service, of a dead poilu the
boches began to shell the cemetery.
The men present were Withdrawn,
bit Father Cabanel stayed on to fin
ish the service. A shell exploded,
burying him and he was reported as
dead. He survived, however, but it
was not until later that his Blue
Devils learned this, and in the mean
time they had erected monument
to him with the inscription "To Our
Father Cabanel, who died for France
and God" The monument still stands
with the first part of the inscri ption:
"To Our Father Cabanel."
"Is it too much to ask of the moth
ers and fathers of America, whose
little children are sheltered and car
ed for" says this brave priest, "this
little help of ten cents day for the
children of those whose wooden
crosses mark the field and highways
of France?"
"In all the Universities of my coun-
try and of yours, young sons and
daughters are being sent from France
to America, from America to France,
that relations between our countries
may be cemented in friendship and
understanding. This exchange is good,
and you and we realize it may create
& strong bond of friendship, but when
an American family has 'adopted'-as
we say-one of these little fatherless,
homeless children of France, imme-
diately the family of the adopter and
the broken remnant of the family of
the child which is adopted become
bound together in friendship so
strong that the two families are as
one"
Mrs. Walter C. Brewster of Chica-
go, national chairman of special
campaign to provide help for 1000
little orphans to whom American aid
mad been promised before the armis-
tice was signed, will be glad to mail
some literature, including booklet
of translated letters from little
French children, to anyone inclosing
to her at Room 92S, 410 S. Michigan
Avenue, Chicago, a stamped, self-ad-
dressed envelope of business size.