The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1914-11-07
BUILDING TROUBLES LONDON
Feared German Guns Might iIc TScd
in Printing Shop.

London, Nov l.-London has been
greatly excited by the report that a
Gcrman-owncd music printing plant
in WilleSden, a prominent manufac-
turing suburb Of London, has an inn
mense building, whose heavy concrete
foundations, floors and roof are we'll
adapted to the use Of siege .,uns.
Twenty of the German employees Of
The firm have been taken into GUS
tOdy and military experts are studyinG
the building carefully. Meantime the
excited public is fully convinced that
the plant was designed to act as a
/ German base for attack upon Lon
don proper. The building unques-
tionably occupies Il strategic position.
1t stands high, with clear range TO
Crystal Palace. Wilesden Junction,
where two main lines entering Lon
don centre, is but a short distance
! from the plant
/ However, the English architects
who designed the building and super
vised its construction eight years ago
say it is similar to many other print
ing plants and has no heavier founda-
tions and floors than are required
where heavy machinery are to be in
stalled.
The building is about two hundred
feet square on the outside and is con-
structed about a court sixty feet
square. 1t is but one story and the
foundations are of concrete about six
feet thick. The English manager of
the concern says this unusually thick
foundation was laid, as the firm eX-
pccted to add additional stories to the
plant when business expanded. A
ing.
Discovery by the allies that Ger
many has prepared concrete bases for
its howitzers surrcptitiOusly in many
places in Belgium and France has
made all EnSlisnmen suspicious OF
possible German preparations in Eng
land.
In discussing the Willesden factory
the Sunday Times says: In a situa-
ton which commands an almost unin-
terrupted view of that great tract of
London which lies between Willesden
and the Crystal Palace is discovered n
building whose roof, floor and founda-
tiOnS are constructed of exceptionally
thick concrete, and might apparently
he employed as the emplacement of n
inch hOwitZers for which such careful
arrangements We're found to have
been made around Antwerp and Ma
mur. We are very far from suggest
ing that the premises at Willesden
were deliberately arranged. Consider
ing the German workmcn, it is at least
possible that in the event of an at
tack upon London the attention OF the
Germans commanders would have
been called to that convenient con-
crete floor, even if they had not known
Of it before their arrival.
1T is highly probable that there do
exist such places around London and
in the neighborhood of our great for
tress positions which have been care
fully prepared for siege guns, and the
chief value, to our mind, of the
Willesden discovery is that it may be
expected to stimulate authorities to
search for them.
The suspicion that many wireless
equipments are operating in London
was justified by the discovery of such
Il plant in the home of Il German pro-
fessor. AS wireless apparatus can be
operated for SO short distance as
from London to the European coast
without an outside tower the discov-
cry of illicit wireless stations is very
difficult. The Times advocates that
the war Office issue Il statement stipu
lating that persons found sheltering
such apparatus will be treated as spies
and handed over to military power"
Tho Christmas Vhouoht