Arizona republican., 1918-10-11
Devastation in France

workmen engineers, and superntendents in fac tories caught in the north of France when the Ger army invaded the region have gradually worked their way back to Paris repatriation has been &C., cOmplished. They bring the information that practi cally nothing remains of the industrial establishments anywhere in the invaded districts, Commercial Alta che Pierce C. Williams reports. Mir. Williams says
 Tt is difficult to give any adequate idea of the tent of this damage. While the area that has been under German occupation for almost four years is small compared with corresponding regions in the United States it should be kept in mind that prior to August, 1914 northern and eastern France, with Bel gium, constituted of the worlds busiest work shops. In the invaded departments of France alone there nearly 26OO0 factories and industrial tablishments These factories represented than 30 cent of the industrial output of all of France
 Before the the department now occupied by the enemy furnished France with the following proportion of the countrys total production of the articles named: Iron ore, 90 per cent pig iron, S3 per cent steel 75 per cent; coal 70 per cent combed wool 94 per cent; linen thread 90 per cent; sugar. 65 per cent.
 Coal mines have been flooded and years will eapse before coal will be hoisted out of them again. Electric power stations and their transmission lines have in many been thoroughly dsmantled, the machinery carried off by Germans and the copper wire sold at auction Practically all the equipment in metalworkng plants, all the cotton, linen and wool spinning machinery, together with wool combng plants and textile looms, have been systematically pillaged. Repatriated workmen bring back word that machines have been skllfully taken apart and all the copper and alloys in the bearings into Germany for remelting In many cases, after this done, the iron frame broken up and turned to German scrap-iron dealers. Steel structures have been taken down and the sheet roofs and steel columns and beams have either been sent back into Germany used elsewhere in the zone. Machine shops finished just before the broke out have been razed to the ground and if in the of the battle line, the enemy has continued in operation certain plants that capable of serving his purposes Is every likelihood that they will later be destroyed
 Figures representing the cost of construction be- fore the war are given by MT. Williams. There in clude Central electric stations and lines of distribu tion, 25O00OOOO francs; machinery electrical ufacturing plants, 5OO,OO00o0 francs: spinning of conbel wool 2,4O000O spindles), 19200OO00 francs; spinning of cotton (2,S0O000 spndles), 1S4000 900 francs; small machine shops 0O0e000 francs coal mines, 9O0000O00 francs; iron mines blast furnaces and steel works 900 francs These in addi- tou with other leading industries aggregate than 50OO00 1000 francs s1O00 900 000
 Many other flourishing plants with up- to date in- stalments have been destroyed. Among these ice making plants glass works, potteries establishments for dyeing and bleaching textiles flour mills, and chemical and fertizing works. The buildings, tools and stocks of merchandise represented an enormous capital, and the cost of replacing them is estimated at three times the original cost.