The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1917-12-09
CAAfBRAI

Washington. D. C. December THE
| vast Importance to botr bcIIgerents
Of the town of Cambria 121 mites
northeast of Paris ard twenty niles
southeast of Arras. is due In very
large measure to tho railways which
radtate from it In spoke-nke fashion.
as from tho hub of wheel" says a
war geography bulletin Issued today
| from the Washington headquarters of
the National Geographic society.
Seven railroads meet and cross
each other a this little city OF 10000
inhabitants which cltngs to a slope ris-
ing from the right bank OF the river
Scheldt. Fully to appreciate the value
of this military depot one needs only
! to realize the territory which It's rail-
roads cover If we should draw a north
and soath line through the town four
of its railroads would be found branch
ing of in an easterly direction. and
| three to the west. The two main
| lines on the eastern side extend to
V14sat sG#rnes. twenty leignt miles TO
the northeast, and to Busigny. sixteen
miles TO the southeast. The latter line
passes through Caudry. a town Of H.
OA} inhabitants. and after reaching
+ Busigny turns in a southwesterly d.
rection to st. Quentin. The two less
important lines are those running to
lie Cateau. sixteen miles distant. with
/ important wooden and spinning mills.
| and to Solesnes, a nen-manufactur-
| ing town thirteen miles away.
The lines Of the western sector run
northeastward TO Douai. sixteen miles
away. westward 10 the villa ge of Bots
lenx, station on the important Arras
An1iena railway line, and southwark
to st. Quentin on the Somms and to
Chaulues. this line branching east and
west at Rotsel.
"Cambrai lies to the north and
slightly east Of Parts. 12l miles distant
by rail via st Quentin and Busigny.
and l2S miles by way OF St Just Chaul-
mes and Peronne.
BEFORE the war tho town was quite
an important manufacturing city, with
extensive soap works, sugar mills and
textile factories. OF course. its chief
distinction from an Industrial stand
point IL the fact IT was here that Bap-
tiste Coutaing. the weaver. is sup
posed to have made the FIRST cloth
which now bears the name OF cam
brio in honor of the town, and the
fine muslin called 'battste which
commentaries the achievement of the
weaver. 1t was in the fifteenth CEN
fury that cambria was invented
"Cambrsi occupies an important
place In medieval French history 1t
was here that the famous League of
Cambrat was formed in 1903, the mem
pri . u tht lEaE AS DGtUk tbBB JULIUS
II, the Emperor Msxinltltan I, Louis
XII of France and Ferdinand. king OF
AraEon. The primary object of the
allies was the overthrow of Venice
which would have been fully accom-
plished had not jeaiousies defeated the
chief aim OF the alliance.
"Tweutv-one years after the forma-
ton of this famous league. an almost
equally famous peace was signed here
by Louise OF savoy, representing her
son. Frances l Of France. and Mar
garet OF Austria. representing her
nephew, the emperor. Charles W This
treaty which. owing 10 its feminine
signatories. became known as the 'Paix
des Danes put an end to the plans
for a duel between Francis and Charles.
This sin gle handed battle had been
proposed as means OF settling the I
differences between the two monarchs (
without piungtne their respective
countries into a bloody war
'In the closing wears OF the six !
teenth century Cambria passed to the
Spanish crown, and It remained a part
OF the Flemish possessions of that
royal family for nearly hundred
years. its recession to France taking
Mace by the treaty of NftmweCen dur
ing the reign Of Louis XIV. In 1898 /
the town resisted Siege by Austrian
forces but It fell before the duke OF
weilington's attack in 1915"