_An Associated Press dispatch of July 9 from Arras via Paris reads:_
Shells have been dropping into Arras at intervals today, as they have
been for 250 days. Each twenty-four hours a few more buildings crumple
or burn, although the Fire Department still is efficient in
extinguishing flames.
One thousand civilians out of a former population of 35,000 are still
here. There were 4,000 in December when The Associated Press
correspondent first visited the town. A few scores of the inhabitants
have been killed or wounded, while the others have been persuaded by
the military authorities to go away. None of those remaining thinks of
sleeping anywhere except in a cellar. The rest of their time they
spend out of doors, when no shells are falling.
The streets, which formerly were filled with traffic, are now
grass-grown. Two postmen deliver the mail, which comes regularly once
a day by military post. Several shops located underground are open for
business. Displayed on cellar doors are baskets of fresh vegetables,
which can be bought at about the same prices as in Paris. Inside the
principal grocery are many standard brands of American, French, and
British canned goods.
About half the outer walls of the beautiful City Hall are still
standing, but there remains only one jagged corner of the imposing
belfry which once adorned the great square of Arras. A citizen
occupying a cellar on the other side of the square counted the shells
which struck the belfry, and says it took 360 to shatter the beautiful
bit of architecture.