Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-03-25

bombarding Paris, has been located
in the forest of st. Gobain, west OF
Loan, and exactly 122 kilometers
Approximately 76 miles) from the
Paris city hail.
The gun, says the Martin is estab-
lished near AniZy. in st. Gobain for
est. This would place 1t somewhat
further south in the wooded area
and IL estimates the distance as
about 20 miles from Paris.
Early Alarm Sounded
Palm Sunday in Paris was ushered
in by the loud explosion of one of
the ten-inch shells fired by the Ger
mans from their new gun, more
than 30 miles distant, at 6.55 o'clock
this morning. The alarm was
sounded Immediately. Many people
took shelter. but larger numbers ap-
lpeared in the streets on the way to
the churches, which were almost
crowded as usual, the women who
sell palm leaves doing their custo-
mary thriving business.
The shells arrived at regular in
tervals of twenty minutes at first.
The detonations seemed louder, amid
the ordinary Sunday calm, than yes
terday, but they seemed TO have
lost their power to disturb the popu-
lation, which refused to be distract
ed from its Sunday habits to any
great extent.
! Fire Is Rapid
In the absence of means of trans
portation, a great many persons
were seen in the streets leading TO
the center of the city, walking to
keep their appointments.
The rapidity of the fire increased
after the first few shells landed. eN-
plosions following each other every
fifteen minutes on the average. Some
of the shots came after an interval
of only twelve minutes.
The comments of the French press
this morning. were ABOUT evenly di-
vided between the big gun which is
bombarding the city from back or
the German lines, and the terrlnc
battle raging on the British front
The tone of the comment on the
bombardment is one of astonish-
ment, at the feasibility of the per-
formance; while as TO the battle,
the favorable ending of it is conn-
IDENTIFY, expected.
/ Useless Barbarity
The newspapers do not conceal
their admiration for the mechanical
feat of the Germans in constructing
their new weapon, but speak pas
sionately of the useless barbarity of
the bombardmentS
The Matin says il is consoling TO
note that the number of victims is
small, but it asks for reprisals on
German cities.
Professor Paul. Painleve. former
premier and president Of the Aca-
deny of Sciences, told the Excelsior
that by the use of tungsten in the
fabrication of the projectile, the
ch bA Oh 1,al he din
meter of steel shells of an even
weight. and that therefore, the at
mospheric' resistance would be less,
accounting for the extremely long
range. He also touches upon the
Possibility of propeller being en-
ployed on the projectile.
Alfred Capus, in the Figaro, al
ludes to the making of the gun as a
great mechanical feat, but points
that as a military factor, the weapon
is entirely inetficacious.
! A Minor Incident
! The Petit Parisien comments up
on the bombardment, as an extreme
ly minor incident, as compared with
the gigantic battle in progress on
the British front.
lie Petit journal, says, that Jules
Nerno, had forseen this gun and it
declares, moreover, that it is
a French invention. More than a
year ago" itadds, 1--WE discovered
the secret of firing our cannon more
than 100 kilometers. The secret lies
in the greSer suppression of the
atmospheric resistance"
The Echo De Paris, declares the
bombardment is designed to give the
impression that Paris is within the
range of the German guns. 1t is
a political cannon" the newspaper
says.
France Is Confident
Premier Clemenceau's newspaper.
L'Homme Libre, says that the pass
word of the hours is Confidence.
GERMANY" it declares, has wished
to make it a complete offensive on
all fronts-the land, water and air
fronts, as well as the front of the
rear We are facing an enemy who
wishes 10 end it as soon as possible.
That suits us. Every shell that falls
into Paris, drives deeper into us the
confidence in an ultimate victory"
The newspaper La Journal, in its
article regarding the gun, says that
the piece of 240 millimeters cali
ber is of Austrian manufacture. II
lis very delicate piece of machinery
which must be handled by expert
mathematicians and gunners, the
newspaper adds, as the loading and
pointing is a difficult task. 1t de-
clares that each shot costs about
$4,000. This is a new conception
of our enemies the newspaper
comments.
Shell Every 30 Minutes
| The ordnance experts were not
ready last night to commit themsel-
yes as TO whether the shell was a
sort of aerial torpedo driven by
propellers whether an inner pro-
jectile contained in the original shell
is released by an explosive after the
shell has travelled a certain distance
from the gun. or whether the ori-
ginal projectile itself reaches its
destination, propelled perhaps, by
an explosive of a force hitherto un.
known.
In yesterdays bombardment
twenty-four shots in all were fired
from 7.20 to o'clock p. m, a shell
dropping every twenty minutes with
monotonous regularity. The bonn
bardment presented all the charac,
teristics of a bombardment by heavy
artillery, there being regular inter-
walls between the shots and the shells
falling within a restricted area
Enemy aviators who flew high over
the city, during the early hours OF
the bombardment, regulated the fir
ing.
The subways and tramways be-
gan running again before noon to-
day, and in the afternoon, the streets
were in a still greater state of ami
nation.
May Have Two Guns
The government has decided that