The Hawaiian gazette., 1915-12-28
LORRAINE BUT
WOUNDED SAYS
BRAVE OFFICIAL
Department Already At Work
Repairing Damage Done BY
r. ! 4 the Invaders

/ NANCty " france, DecemDer e.
| Correspondence Of The Associated
Press) -" Everyone e thoughts are di.
reeted toward the victorious termina-
tion Of the war, and that unity of pur.
pose alone suffiees to create dis
cipline, . said Monsieur Mirman, Pre-.
feet Of the department of Meurthe and
Mosnlle, in explanation Of what some
call the "new spirit" in France.
Monsieur Mirman has become widely
known through the work he has done in
a dangerous post during the war. He
was director Of hygiene at the ministry
of the interior when the war began
and ne could have retained that safe
post but he preferred to take an active
part in the great tragedy.
"Send me to Nancy" he asked of
Minister Malvy, when he learned that
the Project of Meurthe and Moselle
had fallen i'll. "To Nancyf II Is a
question whether you can get there
ahead of the Germans. I" he was told
at the ministry. He was given the
| chance and he arrived in the ancient
capital Of Lorraine on the historic day,
August 4, 1871, while the "saered uni
on" was Deing consecrated in the
French parliament. He lived with his
family through all the anxious mo-
ments of the battles of Morhange, of
| Nancy and of the Marine. During the
critical hours from August % to Au
gust "a, when it was expected that the
city might at any minute be occupied
| by the Germans, Monsieur Mirman
and Madame MIrman were conspicuous
in the rue Saint,Jean, making what
the Project calls their "diplomatic pro.
menades." The cannon Numbered
ominously and increasingly, yet the po-
pulation, seeing "Monsieur lie Project"
and MADAME Ia Prefete'' calmly ex-
aiming the goods displayed in the
principal shop windows, went quietly
and resignedly about their various oe-
equations. There was never the slight
est panic and at the most critical mo-
ment on August "a, less than 5000 of
the 100000 inhabitants left the city
for the interior.
The last shots of the battles of Nan
cy, or the battle of Metz as the German
call it, and the battle of the Marine
had scarcely been fred before Monsieur
Mirman, in the wake of the retreating
Germans, set about making an inven-
tory of the damage in his department
and the Inauguration of measures of
relief, comfort and restoration. Dead
bodies OIL civilian victims were still
lying where they fell around Garbe-
villers and other afflicted towns when
this work began.
I'VE picked up the bodies of seven
dead civilians over there" he said to
correspondent of The Associated
Press, pointing to a little ravine on
tho road from Gerbevillers to Nancy.
Monsieur Mirman had not only TO as
sure burial to the civilian victims Of
the invasion found here and there after
the decisive engagements of the first
week of September, but had to provide
food and shelter for thousands of refu-
gees from regions still occ"pied or
from towns rendered uninhabitable.
"Tle bombarded towns of Lorraine
may be said to be wounded, not dead, -
he said, in explanation Of the rapid
restoration of many stricken villages
to which the entire population has re-
turned. at is only the towns to
which the torch has applied that are
practically annihilated. The houses of
Lorraine villages are solidly built of
stone and bombardments, unless syste-
matically followed up, damage without
destroying. Gerbevillers and Nomeny
are examples Of another kind. There
were few shells fred into these towns.
The buildings were systematically set
fire by squads of German soldiers pro-
vided with most complete incendiary
equipment, specimens of which we
picked up in and around the town af-
terward The hypothesis of accident is
entirely precluded also by the fact that
it took two and a half days continued
effort to complete the burning of Ger
bevillers; an accident is rarely either
so perservering or 80 thorough.
'In the stricken villages of the por-
tion Of Meurthe and Moselle not still
occupied bv the enemy, in some cases
all, and in most cases nearly all the ex-
lied population has returned. Even
Gerbervillers, where we have repaired
what was repairable and erected new
temporary homes, half of the 1000 in
habitants have returned
u