The herald., 1895-01-29
MILITARY STORES IN PARIS.


The French Capital Gould Not Again Be
Starved Into ospitulaticp.
Should the fortunes Of war ever sgain
expose the city OF Paris to the hardshi p
of a siege the besieger would find the re.
duction OF the French capital to be a far
more difficult undertaking than did the
German armies in the winter OF 1901,
1t may, according to the Philadelphia
Record, be doubted whether the city
could ever again be compelled to ca
pitulate. The fall of Paris. as Is well
known, was not accomplished by the
German siege batteries, but the city was
starved into submission. A recurrence
have been made practically impossible
serving and COMPRISING great
variety of nutritious foods into
the smallest possible spaca. Thus,
for example. 10000 rstions OF pre-
served vegetables can be placed in a
cubic space measuring only forty inohss
each way, and millions OF these rationa,
together with solid soups and preserved
meats, are conetsntly kept ready for the
eventual necessity of the military pro-
visioning of Paris. An enormous stock
Of -four and biscuits ia always main
tanned by the war department., while
the introduction of compressed fodder
and the silo system have facilitated the
storage of sufficient food for the horses
required by the cavalry as we'll as by
the omnibus and street railway COM
panies. One of the gravest causes OF
distress during the last siege of Paris
was the scarcity and poor quality OF
milk. Such quantities OF this indiBpen-
sable article as could then DO procured
we're worth their weight in gold, and
the mortality among infants resulting
from their deprivation OF this necessary
food reached q frightful rate, In the
next siege, however. milk will not only
be plentiful, but very good. thanks to
DR.. Autefage's process of "pasteurizing"
milk, which has been adopted by the
French government, and by which milf
can be preserved almost indefinitely abb
solutely pure and unaltered.
Twenty years ago the art Of preserving
meat by means of cold storage was in
ita infancy, but the French government
has fully availsd itself OF every improve
ment that has been made in this direc-
ton, and at the first sign of impending
danger the authorities would be pre-
pared to store hundreds of thousands of
carcassss of beeves and mutton. The
military magazines are always kept
filed, but at the approach of war the
numerous warehousee and buildings
which have been indicated for the pur-
pose and prepared for the storage OF
provisions would DO Immediately
brought into requisition. By means Of
the Fixary process dressed beef and
other meats can be kept sweet and fresh
for many months, and by new chemical
methods the storage rooms can be kept
cool without the use of ice. In its careful
preparation for the dire emergency OF
hostile attack the French government
seems to have overlooked nothing; even
coal, wood, petroleum, chemicals and a
thousand other things have been pro-
vided in ample quantities. 1t seems al
most impossible to believe that any flu
ture siege of Paris could be prolonged
until the war department should have
exhausted its fabulous accumulations
of provisions. which are constantly
main tanned at their proper level by res
newals of stock as fast as they are used
up. "The best laid plans o. mice and
mon," however, gang aft a.glee."