Cresco plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1913-1945, 1919-05-09
IRE SET BACK MANY YEARS
Frank n. Probert Gives First-Hand
story Of Unbelievable Atrocities Of
Huns In Destroying industrial
LIE OF France and Belgium.

the war to the coal and iron mines
and the steel works Of France and
Belgium, after a personal investiga-
ton, has just returned to Washington
With first-hand story Of the almost
unbelievable atrocities Of the Huns IN
the destruction and wreckage Of the
Industrial life Of France and Belgium.
10 systematic and diabolical has been
this destruction in one great coal
mining region, Mr.. Probert says. that
It WIN take at least nve years to re-
habilitats this district and 1t will be
twelve to fifteen years before it gets
back TO normal, pre-war output. he
predicts that with the indomitable
spirit Of France, in spite Of the fearful
destruction to her, steel works, with
the return Of Alsace and Lorraine to
the mother land, France will eventual
II become the dominant factor in the
future steel industry Of Europe.
Ss Exploited by Invaders.
II In q preliminary report to Van 81.
Manning. director of the bureau Of
mines. Mr.. Probert says in part:
Early in the war the German hordes
swept southwark through the iron
basins Of French Alsace and Lorraine,
and for nearly four years this re-
nowned mining area was held and ex-
plotted by the invaders. Many Of the
employees were made captives and
compelled to work in the mines under
German direction. The international
boundary between France and Ger
many was drawn In 1871, to give the
victor Of the Franco-P russian war con-
trol Of the iron fields, but since that
time scientific development, guided
by 4 better understanding Of the local
geology. exposed for France q great
ar ore reserve at lower horizons than
that Of the Lorraine annexee.
'.The actual physical damage to the
isen mines u comparatively small
sNAsa compared to the destruction Of
- coal fields 81 northern France,
which u - rsprehensibls % II u coas-
piete. Only in Z few cases whore pill
lols have been robbed In the mines, IL
tAare any collapse Of underground
wsfkings, but the equipment both
surface and underground, has been
pisused, and where ore has been
1pined, the lack Of development will
deter realisation on capital until the
Exploratory work Is sufficiently ad-
vsnced to admit Of daily output APP
Jeux1matinE pre-war conditions. The
mines are not seriously crippled, but
what Of the steel plants in which the
iron ores are smelted7 In my opinion
no such atrocity was ever perpetrated
against the industrial life of any
country. Magnificent plants, compar-
ins favorably with anything we have
a the United States. are now but
tangled, twisted mass Of structural
steel and broken stone. The willful
demolition was scientifically planned
and systematically carried out. This
after the removal Of all such mechan.
teal and electrical power units as
could be used by Germany. The ma
liciousness and efficiency with which
this crime against French industry
was carried out Is almost unbeliev-
able. *ea.
Surface Structures Raxed.
,t.In the coal districts Of Pas de
Calais and Nord, sector fought over
from the beginning to the end Of the
war, changing hands frequently. bonn
barded all the time, all surface struc-
lures whether Of town, village or min
Ing enterprise have been RACED. Ar
ras, Douai, Bethune, Bapaume, Lens,
lLoos, Courriere, centers Of coal-min-
ing activity but few years ago and
the mainsprings Of French industrial
lie are gone, but the indomitable
shirt Of France survives and already
plans are laid for the future. Bruay,
at the western edge Of the known coal
field, was not in the fighting zone and
it, output has been steadily main
tanned, but going eastward the fright
fulness IL more and more appalling,
for the hate Of the Hun left It's mark
on the mines during his forced retreat.
The coal measures are Overlain by
watef-bearing strata, necessitating
special methods Of shaft sinking and
support to keep the mines dry. The
steel lining Of the shafts was dyna.
mited, letting in the quicksands and
flooding the underground workings for
miles around. In the entire Pas de
Calais region 1t is estimated that 49,
O0O, 600 cubic meters of water must b.
pumped before mining operations are
resumed. Having flooded the mines,
the head frames and surface equip
lent were systematically dynamited,
the twisted debris in many cases fill
ing up the demolished shafts.
Likes Chewing Gum.
st. Louis.-Police are looking for
burglar with chewing-gum appetite.
The burglar stole set of false teeth
md then purloined $3.50 worth Of chew.