Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1895-08-28
MILITARY STORES IN PARIS.
The French Capital Could Not Again Be
Starved Into Capitula ton.

Starved Into Capitu1ation.
Should the fortunes Of war ever
again expose the city OF Paris to the
hardship Of siege the besieger would
find the reduction Of the French capt.
tai to be far more difficult undertake
ing than did the German armies in the
winter of 1870-71. 1t may, according
to the Philadelphia Record, be doubted
whether the city could ever again be
compelled to capitulate. The fall of
Paris, as is well known, was not ac-
complished by the German siege bat
teries, but the city was starved into
submission. A recurrence Of such an
emergency is supposed to have been
made practically impossible by the de-
velopment of the art of preserving and
COMPRISING a great variety of nutri-
tious foods into the smallest possible
space. Thus, for example, forty thou
sand rations of preserved vegetables
can be placed in a cubic space measur-
ing only forty inches each way, and
millions of the rations, together with
sclid soups and preserved meats, are
constantly kept ready fcr the eventual
necessity of the military provisioning
of Paris. An enormous stock of flour
and biscuits is always maintained by
the war department, while the intro
duction of compressed fodder and the
silo system have facilitated the storage
of sufficient food for the horses required
by the cavalry as well as by the omni-
bus and street railway companies. One
of the gravest causes of distress during
the last siege Of Paris was the scarcity
and poor quality of milk. Such guam
titles of this indispensable article as
could then be procured were worth
their weight in gold, and the mortality
among infants resulting from their de-
privation Of this necessary food reached
a frightful rate. In the next siege,
however, milk will not only be plenti-
full, but very good, thanks to DR.. Aute-
fage's process of 'pasteurizing" milk,
which has been adopted by the French
government, and by which milk can be
preserved almost indefinitely absolute
ly pure and unaltered.
Twenty years ago the art of preserv-
ing meat by means of cold storage was
in it's infancy, but the French govern
ment has fully availed itself Of every
improvement that has been made in
this direction, and at the first sign of
impending danger the authorities would
be prepared to store hundreds of thou
sands of carcases of beeves and NUT
ton. The military magazines are al
ways kept filed, but at the approach
Of war the numerous warehouses and
buildings which have been indicated
for the purpose and prepared for the
storage of provisions would be imme-
d1ately 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 stor-
age rooms can be kept cool without the
use of ice. In it's careful preparation
for the dire emergency of hostile at
tack the French government seems to
have overlooked nothing; even coal,
wood, petroleum, chemicals and thou
sand other things have been provided
in ample quantities It seems almost
impossible to believe that any future
siege of Paris could be prolonged until
the war department should have ex-
hausted It's fabulous accumulations of
provisions, which are constantly main
tanned at their proper level by renewals
Of stock as fast as they are used up.
"The best laid plans o mice and men, :"
however, "gang aft aglee."