The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1915-07-16
French Forces, Fourteen Miles
from Lorraine City, Refrain
from Bombardins the
Famous Fortress
SCENE OF HISTORIC
SURRENDER In 1870
Located at the Junction Of Two
Streams Surrounded by Flower
decked Plains, City is
Strongly Fortified
BY WILLIAM PHILIP slMMs.

BY WILLIAM PHILIP sIMM9.
Omitted Press Staff Correspondent.)
With the French Army at the Front,
June 2S-(By mail to New York;
Any day the French select they can
shell the very heart of Metz into q
rubbish heap. And II they have thus
far refrained from doing SO 1t Is be-
cause they do not care to pound =
town or city to pieces without either
rhyme or reason.
| myself have just seen Metz. I
saw the tragic city of Lorraine, the
city which Marshal Bazaine 90
strangely surrendered to the Prus-
slams in 1870, from the crest Of $50
foot hill, part of the present French
battle line. Through glasses the "a
nous fifteenth century cathedral, Al
well as theo ther houses of the city,
were plainly visible. for the day was
fairly clear and the mighty fortress
was but some fourteen miles away.
Fourteen miles are short distance
in this day of big. long range howitz.
ers, and the French are amply prcgid-
ed with artillery capable of consider
ably greater distance than that.
After the Germans had deliberately
dropped shells Of great csiibts into
Dunkirk shooting from beAjnd tbeir
lines some rs or 0miIes away and
killing many non.coBahatnuts lbs
French fired a few shells not upon
Metz, the city, but the forts of Metz
Just by way Of saving
I'VE, too. can indulge in long.dis-
tance artillery practice If We care to.
However, we refuse, to endanger the
lives of civilians uselessly"
From a thickly bespossef valley Of
French Lorraine literally knee-deep In
buttercups and black eyed-Husies, via
began the climb to the summit OF this
mountainette which rises abrutly from
the plain and does not stor, until its
head is far above the surrounding
countryside. Now and then practi-
cally every day-shells follows its
contour a hundred feet or so above
the surface or drop into the town OF
Uont-a-Moussen, now on its way to its
two hundredth bombardment by the
Germans since the commencement Of
the war It's slopes are under cultiva-
tion even now and as we toiled up
wards, we passed an old man and
woman. probably his daughter or
daughter-in-law husband in the army,
of course) taking care of the grape
vines which are to yield, Germans
shells permitting. their quota OF the
lovely pinkish and most palatable IL
quid. the rose wine OF Lorraine"
At the top of the hill Is a cluster
of houses dating perhaps from the
sixteenth or seventeenth century. One
would say some former lord OF Lor-
raine had had his castles stronghold
there and the houses remaining were
those of his dependents and his men
of war. Through bayou. or trench.
we gained what was left of q tiny
chapel, the stained glass windows re-
duced to powder. the place Of total
wreck 1t. like everything else In the
enighborhood. has caught its share
of shells
1t was from this point that saw
Metz.
Through the blue haze, which grew
denser and denser the farther one
lifted ones eyes over the succeeding
rangs of hills bordering the valley OF
the Moselle. Metz appeared like a
magic Wit yof some fairy tale. To the
left the Gothic towers Of the cathe-
dral sprang into the circle formed by
thelenses of the field glasses. To the
right were the spires OF another houss
Of God Between were masses or
houses, quite distinct yet appearing
utterly unreal The city seemed 10
repose upon purple clouds and 3 pus-
pie veil seemed spread upon " nne
had the distinct impression that IL