New-York tribune., 1918-03-26
Traffic Suspends Only
Briefly and People
Fill Streets
Timing of Shells
Indicates 2 Cannon
French Airmen Searched
Sky Saturday for
Enemy FIiers
By Wilbur Forrest


PARIS. March 25.-Before Paris
began TO read lis morning papers
to-day. containing various highly
technical and expert opinions re-
gardine Germany's new long range
gun. more 9-inch shells began to
arrive Nethodically. throughout
the morning. dull. cavernous booms
began to sound, sometimes near,
sometimes far.
The first shell fell about 7
o'clock. Immediately the entire
city was apprised of the fact by
shrieking sirens But the oeauti-
ful, balmy spring day proved an il
resistible lure. and the streets
were filled with their normal pedes-
trian and wheel traffic.
Even the nurses with babies in
charge declined to allow the Boche
shells to break tie routine outings
Of the children in the Luxembourg
Gardens
French Morale Not Affected
Railways. autobuses and streetca~
Ines received orders before TO o'clock
this morning to resume schedules
After that hour only an occasional ex-
plosion reminded the French capita.
that i. still was under enemy FIRE.
4
Gun as a means to crack 1he morale
of the French, the e.Fecs thus far
seems to indicate that the wors q the
worlds unique e4Aaons are an eEpen-
va folly
PARIS. on Saturday was visiblr per
'Gr0at. Neck we're cr2ned constantly
and face .urEed skyward. Tae rlys-
'er.ous menace cause.. FL trafi,e ex-
cspt that Of t4Xls 20 cease until the
danger over signal was sounded.
sunday. however. brought the usual
ceiling O. cortenp. 20 a familiar
langcr. Every one man CT woman.
ueean 10 act Ike = veteran. assuming
apparently the log-c OF the fa-al.st.
Americans tdva1ce Vacations
tiany in tle American colouy. as q
result @ tire .lcoave,ll le..ce mostly. anf!
corsidera.i CHS Of safety Tor the chi
eren. advanced their sammer vacations
after the recent al. raids. and arc
leae.nc for he Atlantic coast. Vhere
ne apple blossoms already are bloom
fEe. L can be stated authoritatively Y
however. that there has been no hur-
ned exodus from Paris.
HX7crc opinion. Is SCI ou- in the
newspapers. is tha- the new German
'oys q frightfulness number =. least
-wo. Because OF the prolonged Ire
shells are dropping every ,iftecn OF
twenty minutes. 10 sing gun. i IS
believed, could Withstand such a strain
Without frequent overhauiin-
The accuracy Of the fro from the
frst shot is regarded as beng due to
ne same mathematical precision by
which artillerynen. handling smaller
cannon. are able 10 GAUGE .xacr dis
.aaces. as IN barrage. where hundreds
- guns produce walls ~ cea6i- steel
fragments
or2lo1 tha- The new cannon i sky
SIX yards long and has been ersDlaced !
IN the Saint Gobain plateau, nine miles
neyond the fighting lines, and about
seventy-,ive miles from Paris.
Believed 1t Was Air Raid
When Parisians heard the burst of
ne first shot fred by the new gun and
N-' liz ehJ met " LII ISt-iAS L4cUES
me theory Immediately accepted was
hat few enemy airplanes capable Of
reaching the greatest attitudes had
fought their way over Paris and were
beginning 20 drop snail bombs.
Merchants closed their stores. al
deportation was suspended and
many persons descendcd TO the cellars.
As the morning dragged or crowds
aegan 70 appear u the streets. al.
craning their uecks sdyward. Occa-
.onaiiy French a.rpianes. 50 high they
appeared 70 Us as tiny flaming crosses
Z ne sunlight. were sighted through
re vapory clouds. Virtually every one
came cut of the rcfuees by noon, but
t@1icab8 were the oniy vehicles oper-
atiny in tae streets
Occasionally duN boom reverbe--
a'ec from afar. People vainly scanned
tae s@y. s.il seeing 7niy Paris al,
G1arcs I. eimost invisible altitudes
S1rrtlrg BON % cont -ued 20 fall with