The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1915-09-10
QUARTERS FOR
81, 900 PEOPLE.
Entire Population Would Take
Refuge There il Fortress We're
in Danger from German
Bombardmept
BY WILLIAM PHILIP sIMms.

Omitted Press Staff Correspondent. }
Copyright, 1915, by the United Press.
Copyrighted in Great Brittany
With the French Army at the Front.
Aug 7.-tBy mail. France is putting
her reliance In her men, her entangle-
ments of special barbed wire of Ameri.
can make and in her series of mar
velous 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 a
staff officer said. I'VE want you to
have a look for yourself. then to let
you Judge whether verdun Is in dan
ger or not"
so saying, we visited places and
saw things which no mere "civils" had
ever visited or been shown before. We
went down winding stairs. down, down
until ! was dizzy, into the bowels OF
the earth under the forts; We ventnr-
ed into the deepest Of the dungeons
where miles and miles OF corridors are
filled with miles OF foodstuffs, ammu-
milton and the like in broad, tall rows:
we saw the general staff at work in
some of these corridors now rigged up
as offices; we saw the whole plant and
lastly we were admitted to the unoer.
ground retreat of the general.
you may say he said, that we are
prepared to defend this city until the
last round of ammunition Is gone and
the last man dead
Room for $4,000.
The subterarnean chambers of the
citadel of Verdun can accommodate at
least $4,000 people with the supplies
necessary to their comparative conf
fort In June the Germans shelled YER
dun with $50 kilometer long range
guns &c shells falling on the town. Not
much damage was done, but profiting
by the experience of Dunkirk, which
was several times bombarded from a
position 20 miles away. the. authorities
at once set about making Verdune
safe" This was done BY using the
corridors and chambers under the cit
adel as place to lodge the troops of
the garrison and, if reeds be. the civil
population as well.
These underground spaces date
back for the most part about 30 years
and are from 100 to 200 feet below the
surface. They are cut almost entirely
in rock. but have false walls and cell
ings Of brick. with space between the
bricks and rock for ventilation, CHM
neys ascending to the surface as inter.
walls creating natural draft.
Subway voyagers In New York would
find these underground passages de.
lghtfully invigorating.
Complete Underground City.
One finds innumerabIe beds or
hunks. in two tiers. There is hos
pital with a spotless operating room.
An independent waterworks system.
with two power stations lin case one
goes wrong), has capacity sufficient
for the needs Of $4,000 people. There
is an immense store Of grain in air
tight metal casks and large grisr-
mill to turn the grain into flour. A
bakery has sufficient ovens to furnish
all soldiers and civils in the fortress
with bread Besides the grain there is
flour-much being from America--in
the sealed metal boxes; also canned
meats in enormous quantities.
In the same manner there are stores
of lard. canned milk and many other
necessities. none OF these things be
ing drawn upon at presnet They vii
be used only in case Verdun is In
vested.
Railways in corridors.
Narrow gauge railways run through