The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1915-11-29
LILLE INDUSTRIAL
CITY OF IMPORTANCE
FRENCH, ENGLISH AND GERMANS
HAVE BEEN FIGHTING OVER
1T FOR MONTHS.

Washington, D. c., Nov 29-'Lille
for whose possession the French anC
English precipitated the terrific clash
between their own and the entrenched
German forces, is a city of prime i'm
portance, a great railway and industri
al center, and the heart of an i'm.
mensely rich district" says a primer
on war geography issued today by the
National Geographic Society ut is
the capital of the department of Nord,
and one of the largest cities in France.
In it's factory hives before the war, all
manner of wares were turned out, for
home consumption and for export
Here, too, great quantities OF ma
terials used in war were manufacture
ed, and, so, the city would be a doubly
welcome prize to the attacking armies.
"The city is a fortress of the first
class. Vauban, a foremost military
engineer constructed his masterpiece
here. His great works today, however,
are out of date, being done in 1858. The
famous old pentagonal citadel was not
planned to meet the onslaught Of shells
such as modern cannon hurl. In the
present plan of defense are more than
twenty detached forts and hidden bat
teries, which sweep around the city in
broad navv 1poIOCoo
Lille, and water from its river almost
surrounds it, lea through broad canals.
The older Notifications have been de-
strOyed in part, but the remarkable
citadel, covering many acres, still
guards the town In the northwest. At
the wars outbreak, Lille was head
quarters of the 7 army corps.
Lille is famous. in the first place, for
it textile industry. There is not a
woman of the West but has heard of
some of its products-Iisle thread
Spoiled and woven, this article of
Lii has carried the city's name around
the world. Among the staple commod-
tiles of the fabric mills, are linen, cot
ton and wooden goods and lace. Large
quantities of flax, grown in norther
France and imported, are spun here,
and the thread is wiven in Lille fac
tories into cloth, table-linen, damask /
ticking and flax velvet. The mills are
also known for the production of fine
qualities of cotton tulle. Great dyeing .
and finishing works swell the city's list
of inhabitants. Besides the factories
OF the textile and allied industries,
there are chemical, oil, white lead and
sugar works. Further, many kinds of
machines, locomotives, military stores.
and furniture are produced here. The /.
city is one of the most important juno
tions on the Northern railway, which
receives branches here from every
compass point, and it is, also. in the
midst of highly developed system of
canals.
"The country around Lille is a low
fertile plain, and the farms here were
among the most intensely cultivated
and productive in the land. The Duele
river cuts a sluggish way to the left of
the city Thirty-eight miles to the
near Arras, the rolling,
billy country begins. Thirteen miles
to the north, the plain merges into the
owlands of Belgium. Lens. the scene
Of recent bitter fighting. lies q miles
south of Lille. The city, which was
formerly the rich capital of French
Flanders, and from which war-storms
have torn most of the memorials of
youth and middle age, is today one OF
the worlds greatest commercial cities,
more than 100000 people,
and. with conditions normal, sending
It's outputs all over the earth"