The Kansas City sun. (Kansas City, Mo.) 1908-1924, 1915-09-11
GO ABOUT THEIR DAILY TASKS UNDER
CONTINUAL ROAR OF BURSTING SHELLS
Several Towns in France That Are Continually Bombarded by Great
German Guns-PeopIe Grow Accustomed to the Unceasing
Fire and Eat, Drink and Sleep as UsuaL-The Case
of Arras Is Typical of Many French Towns.

tul' without any apparent cause or mo
tive, as Arras has no strategic impor-
lance and is not garrisoned in force.
Towards the end of April, however,
the tactics changed, and every day
since then at least a hundred shells
have been sent into Arras. Latterly
the heaviest 'marmites,' or Jack John
sons have begun to fall together with
incendiary bombs.
One would have thought that the
inhabitants would have long since
quilted the inferno, and preferred to
put more than half a mile between
themselves and their relentless foes.
When the bombardment began there
were perhaps $4,000 inhabitants, and
in the first fright at least half of these
fed. AS time went on others thought
life was scarcely worth living under
the existing conditions, but 1000 have
stoutly stuck to their native place,
and refused to quit what is left of,
or represents, their homes. These
are mostly small tradesmen and the
working classes, the majority of whom
lead a troglodytic life in cellars and
underground shelters, but still at
home They know we'll the habits
and customs of the enemy. and when
they are sure that the firing is going
to for a while, they venture out
and do their shopping and meeting
with each other.
Go On With Their Work.
With that love of order that dis
tinguishes French official life, the pre-
fectual service has never stopped
working, and though the walls of the
prefecture have long since been blown
down, and little but the skeletons is
left of the town hall, the staff CON
tinue to carry on their duties as calm
ly as if in time of peace. One of the
most curious and touching features
of the life of Arras is the school,
where eighty little boys and girls reg
ularly attend, and where ten male and
three woman teachers daily give their
lessons in a spacious cave. The hours
are not very regular, and the bonn
bardment often makes some of the
children late, both in coming and go
ing home in the evening. The mid
day meal is prepared and taken in the
underground school room and though
several of the children have fallen
victims of the shell fire this has not
deferred a single one from continu-
ing the lessons.
Another strange and admirable in
stitution is the Coffin league When
the bombardments began the victims
were SO numerous that it was not pos
sible to give each a separate burial.
For instance, in the almshouse one
shell alone killed thirty-two women
and wounded forty-three more. The
cemeteries as usual being outside the
town, and fully exposed to the enemy's
fire, arrangements had to be made for
inhumation in gardens or ~courtyards,
and on n occasion one hundred and
fifty bodies had to be incinerated at a
street corner. This tragic spectacle
so impressed the people that a Coffin
league raj started, and its members
work almost all day and night in eel
lars making collins. And now all the
civilians who are killed and all the
soldiers who die in Arras are decent
ly buried in a coffin, so that their
friends will be able to find their last
resting place later on.
Distinguished Fire Fighters.
"Of course fires are frequent, es-
pecially lately, since the Germans
have taken to delivering incendiary
shells upon Arras. There were only
two old hand fire pumps in the town
hall after the steam engine had been
smashed to pieces by a shell. These
we're put into such order as was pos
sible, and twelve ancient firemen took
the places Of the modified fire brigade
men. There is never any lack of vol
~unteers. though the Job is doubly dam
gerous when the b~ombardment is in
full blast. Men and women issue out
of their retreats, and a story is told
of how on one occasion the project,
the mayor, the bishops vicar, and the
vice-president of the prefectural coun-
ell, together with the bishop himself,
were all seen together working the
pumps under a heavy fire, for, natural