Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-10-10
LILLE CLASSED AS CITY
OF PRIME IMPORTANCE
National Geographic Society De-
scribes Municipality Over Which
European Foes Clash.

Lille, for whose possession the
French and English precipitated the
terrific clash between their own and
the entrenched German forces. 10 a
city of prime Importance, a great rail-
way and industrial center. and the
heart of an immensely rich district"
says a primer on war geography is
sued today by the National Geographic
Society. 1T is the capital of the de
partment of Nord and one of the larS-
est cities in France. In its factory
hives before the war all manner OF
wares were turned out for home con-
sumption and for export. Here. too.
great quantities of materials used in
war were manufactured, and, so, the
city would be doubly welcome prize
| to the attacking armies.
Fortress Of First Glass.
The city is a fortress of the first
class. Vauban. a foremost military en-
gineer, constructed his masterpiece
here. His great works today. however.
are out of date, being done In 1868.
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 hid
den batteries, which sweep around the
city in a broad arc. new enciente
incloses Lille. and water from its riv-
| er almost surrounds It led through
broad canals. The older Notifications
have been destroyed. in part. but the
remarkable citadel, covering many
| acres. still guards the town in the
northwest At the wars outbreak
Lille was headquarters OF the LIST Army
Corps.
| Lille is famous. in the first place. for
its textile industry. There is not
woman in the west but has heard Of
| one OF Its products-lisle thread
Spoiled and woven, this article of Lille
has carried the city's name around the
Of the fabric mills are linen. cotton and
| wooden goods and lace. Large guam
titles of fax. grown in northern France
| and imported. are spun here, and the
| thread is woven in Lille factories into
| cloth, table linen. damask. ticking and
| fax velvet. The mills are also known
for the production of fine qualities OF
cotton tulle. Great dyeing and finish
dustries. Besides the factories of the
| textile and allied Industries. there are
chemical, oil, white lead and sugar
works. Further, many kinds Of ma
chimes, locomotives, military stores ana
| furniture are produced here. The city
is one of the most important functions
on the northern railway. which re-
| ceives branches here from every com
pass point, and 1t is. also. in the midst
Of highly developed system of canals.
Surrounded by Fertile Plain.
1.-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
southwark. near Arras, the rolling,
billy country begins. Thirteen miles
to the north the plain merges into the
lowlands of Belgium. Lens. the scene
of recent bitter fighting. lies twenty
1--WE 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 me-
MORALS of youth and middle age, Is to-
day one of the worlds great CONNER
cial cities, supporting more than ZOO
900 people, and. with conditions nor
NAL. sending its outputs all over the
earth"