The West Virginian. [volume] (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1914-1974, 1915-12-03
lived A YEAR IN
A RAIN OF SHELLS
Parish Priest Tells What
German Domination
Meant for Loos.
fBy Associated Press.

LOOS:ElS.G0HELLE. Pas de Calais,
France, Dec. 3.-Three hundred only
u :Se 5000 inhabitants Of Loosen.
Go1elle were still In the town when
the Germans took it in October last
year. "A hundred of them escaped
through the French lines, the rest liv.
ed Just ten days short of a year under
foreign domination and under the al.
rect administration OF the Able Cam.
payne, the parish priest, made mayo.
IN spite OF himself by the German
kommandatur.
During all that time the town re.
ceiyed an average OF 100 shells day.
Loos;en-G ohelle, which should not be
COMPOUNDED with Loos in the depart
ments du Nord near Lille. was on the
line OF the great race between the
Germans and the Allies toward the
road to Calais and the sea last year.
The uhlans came Oct. 4, followed by
four regiments of the Prussian Guard.
A battalion of French infantry sent
against them four days later was
obliged to retire before superior mum.
beers, after a violent fight. The Ger.
mans then began to fortify the posi-.
tfonsand occupied 1t in force. The Alb.
be Champagne. who with 200 OF his
parishioners was liberated by the Brit.
ishy troops In the recent battle OF Loos,
aftirms that "the first measure of the
Germans was to shoot seven civilians,
among whom were two men so years
old and one 20; the others were from
32Stol4 40. Four of the men were farm
ers, the reason for their execution
was never made clear; what they did
was simply this: They went out to
feed their cows one night and while
doing so were caught by the. German
sentinels and held as prisoners un-
til shot. These four were buried in
the Rue Huilluch in graves dug by
q miner that the Germans had left all
night tied to tree before forcing him
TO do the work. Tho two other VIC
Tins were buried in ditch in holes
dug by the same miner.
1.-THE majority Of the population re.
naming In Loos at the time were wo.
men, children. few old men and six
orsseven valid men, besides a dozen or
SCOT individuals. The men who were
strong enough to work were employed
blythe Germans in dismounting all the
machinery of the mines, taking off the
copper and loading 1t upon cars. The
moment OF their arrival in Loos the
Germans called upon me and demand
ed at the point Of revolver where
the mayor and his assistants were.
WhenI told them that all the. authori.
ties the town had left, they said:
stYou shall be the sole authority
Hare CHI t,a
II replied that my religious func-
tons the eyes of French law were
Incompatible with municipal respon.
sihility. They declared that 1t did
not matter and that they should hold
irresponsible for all that might hap.
penfinS the village; for any discovery
Of concealed arms, for. any telephones
that might have been hidden, for any
luminous signals, etc. had no choice
but to accept the dangerous honor and
i have done what could for my com.
patriots during the period Of occupa.
ton, with two German soldiers at my
!. door with fixed bayonets all the time
acting as sentinels. j was unable to
goiout more than three times a week.
Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, to
visit the population, accompanied by
a German interpreter.
.AIshort time after the Germans ar
rived they notified me that a contribu-
ton OF war Of 1000 francs had been
levied upon the town of Loos. Since
the population remaining in the town
was mostly of the poorer class, I had
no idea where could raise such a
sum. We finally decided to make It
up from portions of the relief allow
ance made by the director OF the mines
of Lens to the women OF modified
miners. We FINISHED paying the a 900
francs August IA, 1915. sil
During the long months that we
lived under German domination our,
life was most difficult; provisions be
came rarer and srarer, until at the be.
ginning Of May we were on the point
OF dying Of hunger. Each person had
to live six days on the half OF loaf
of bread weighing 3 pounds. The sit.
uation WAS desperate! 1 succeeded
d.