The Washington times., 1915-09-09
VERDUN PUTS TRUST
IN GREAT SUBWAYS
Has Accommodat ations For At
Least $4,000 People, With
Necessary Supplies.
BY WILLIAM PHILIP s1MMs.
Copyright. 1915. by the United Press. Copy

Copyright, 1915. by the United Press. Copy
right in Great Britain)..
WITH THE FRENCH ARMY AT
THE FRONT. Aug. tby maiD.-
France Is putting her reliance In her
men. her entanRlements Of special
barbed wire of American make. and IN
her series of marvellous trenches. No
longer does she depend primarily upon
her forts.
No better proof OF this could be fur
nished than the act today OF Military
Governor Courtanceau In showing me
the secrets of the organization Of the
defenses Of Verdun.
The Germans have announced that
verdun Is on the point Of falling" .
staff officer said. I'VE want you to
you Judge whether Verdun is In danger
or not
So saying. we visited places and saw
things which no mere ''ctvils" had ever
visited or been shown before. We went
down winding stairs. down, down. down.
until l was dizzy. into the bowels of the
earth under the forts: we verturcd into
the deepest of the dungeons where miles
and miles of corridors are filled with
miles Of foodstuffs. ammunition and the
| like In broad, tall rows. we saw the
! general staff at work In some of these
! corridors. now rigged up as oi iiices; we
saw the whole plant. and lastly we were
| admitted to the underground retreat Of
| the general.
You may say" ne said. that we are
prepared to defend this city until the
last round of ammunition is gone and
the last man dead"
| Big Subterranean Chambers.
| The subterranean chambers of the
citadel of Verdun can accommodate at
least $4,000 people with the supplies
necessary to their comparative comfort
In June the Germans shelled Verdun
I yvNil {Fvnn fxV lov,
twenty-six shells falling on the town.
{ Not much damage was done. but profit
Ing by the experience Of Dunkirk. which
| was several times bombarded from a
thorities at once set about making Ver-
run safe. This was done by using
the corridors and chambers under the
citadel as a place to lodge the troops
civil population as we'll. These under
ground spaces date back for the most
part about thirty years. and are from
100 to 200 feet below the surface. They
are cut almost entirely in rock. but
have false walls. ceilings Of brick, with
space between the bricks and rock for
ventilation. chimneys. ascending to the
surface at intervals creating u natural
draft.
Subway voyagers In New York woulc
find these underground passages de
iightful!y invigoratIng.
One finds innumerable beds or hunks
In two tiers. There is a hospital with
pendent water~orks system. with tive
power stations Din case one Xoel
wrong. has as "a capacity sufficient for th'
mense store Of grain in alright meta
the grain into -four. a bakery has SUI
hcient ovens to furnish all soldiers ant
evils In the fortress with bread. BE
sides the grain there Is four-mucl
} being from AmeriCa-in the sealed meta
boxes; also canned meats in enormous
, In the same manner there are store
Of lard, canned milk and many othe
necessities, none of these things bein,
drawn upon at present They will b.
used only in case Nerdun is invested
Narrow gauge railways run through
the corridors to haul food supplies am
muntion, etc. Five electric light plant
guarantee the place against darkness
and there are two more being built a
an extra preCaution.
Officers Quarters Provided.
Officers quarters have been prepare,
in one of the 'subterranean passages
these being simply small rooms bull
CT thin boarding to provide a modicun
of privacy. On the door OF one littl
room the upright planks Of which ar
are the words:
} military Governor"
. The Germans, led by the crown prime
a. thS NJ! III. ana tne BdNarlanS con
, slderably to the south, comma nded b
, Prince Ruprecht. at considerable dist
| ance, form three-quarters circle abou
Nerdun 1t Is reported that the crow
e prince Is particularly eager to take tn
r citadel since 1T was here he met hi
first great failure last September. Bu
] now that Nerdun Is safe from Ion
e range Smelling, and with her five or 81
rings OF trenches and American barbed
wire about her outer girdles, It woul
I appear very difficult job.
). Nerdun is now considered a good bas
to operate from. 1t is not considere
Is any other fortress in the West
n Is just one point in the great system G
defensive work which stretch from Sc
n 20 switzerland and is important for Jus
a that much. '