The copper era and Morenci leader., 1915-10-01
By GEORGE DUFREsNE.
unternational News servlee1

france where the 1nnaDlCanLS nave | grown so accustomed to being bom- barded that they eat, drink, sleep, and | go about their daily tasks under con- tinual roar Of cannon and bursting | shells. There are Reims, Pont-a-Mous | son and Arras, for example, whose | populations have had but few days respite for months past. To take the | latter town as a very typical instance of what the French have to, bear at the present time, a correspondent of the Journal gives an account of the sufferings of the people, which excites astonishment and admiration; and from stories have personally heard, it is not in any whit exaggerated.
 ''The last time passed Arras in the train on the journey to Boulogne,"@ says the correspondent, shells could be seen and heard bursting close by, and though this was some time ago the German interest in this unfortu- nate town does not seem to have abat- ed jot. To understand the whole at- mosphere of danger and sudden death that hangs over Arras, it has to be realized that the German lines are just half mile away: And for eight months they have never been further of, and have showered shells of every caliber upon the town, until whole quarters have been reduced to piles of ruins.
 Scarcely House intact.
 "The massively built cathedral is hardly recognizable, and the railway station is pile of nondescript ma terials. There is scarcely house in- tact in the place. It was on October 5 of last year that the Germans began a bombardment that continued for three days, and was taken up again towards the end of the month After that it became intermittent and fanci- full, without any apparent cause or mo- tive, as Arras has no strategic impor- tance 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
 
 quilted the inferno, and preferred to put more than half mile between themselves and thelr relentless foes. When the bomoardment began there were perhaps 25,000 inhabitants, and in the first fright at least half of these fled. As time went on others thought life was scarcely worth living under the existing conditions, but 2,OO0 have stout1y 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 well the habits and customs of the enemy, and when they are sure that the firing is gong to cease for while, they venture out and do their shopping and meeting with each other. .&.4 ,s, S'''-7'
 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 spacious cave. The hours are not very regular, and the bom- 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 deterred 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 sib1e 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 one occasion one hundred and fifty bodies had to be incinerated at a street corner This tragic spectacle so impressed the people that Coffin league was 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 pc able to find thelr last resting place later on.
 Distinguished Fire Fighters. Of course fires are frequent, es- pecially lately. since the Germans