Evening Republican, Volume 18, Number 226, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 September 1914 — LIEGE FAMORS BELGIAN CITY [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

LIEGE FAMORS BELGIAN CITY

STRATEGIC points in the importance of Liege, the Belgian city before which the German advanoe was checked and where, according to European dispatches, the first great, battle of the war was fought, are numerous. Principally it was the most-strongly fortified obstacle to the supposed plan of the Germans to cut across the lower half of Belgium into French territory, but in addition to this the city is of Itself a prise in many ways. In its surroundings it is the Pittsburg of Belgium. For miles to the southwest of the city, along the banks of the river Mease, there are scores of blast furnaces, puddling furnaces, rolling mills and forges. It Is the site of the famous Cockerill works, said to be the largest manufactory of mar chlnery in the world. The Lion, erected as a monument on the field of Waterloo, some 60 miles distant, was made here. Liege proper, with a population of 168,000, lies at the Junction of the Meuse and the Ourthe, in a basin margined by hills. Many handsome buildings and gardens strive to keep themselveß handsome against the tremendous odds of coal dust Surrounded by Mineral Wealth. All around the city is a wealth of coal and iron ore. The mines extend even under the city and river. These natural riches, in connection with the favorable situation of the city at the junction of Wo navigable rivers, have given rise to the extensive manufacturing industry in the city itself. The products are varied, but the principal one, and that whioh would make Liege a valuable prize of war,

is that of firearms. More than 20,000 persons in and around the city are employed in the manufacture of guns, ranging from small .vrihs to the largest of modern weapons. There Is a royal cannon factory and a small arm factory also in the suburb of St Leonard. In the wars of the last century Liege has played only a small part, but the city itself, is defended with modern fortifications. Its strength, it is said, is far greater than has generally been appreciated by military strategists. In 1888 the Belgium authorities decided to adequately fortify both Liege- and Namur, the two important points on the Meuse. At each place a number of detached forts were constructed along a perimeter dravra a distance varying from within four to six miles city. At Liege 12 of these forts were constructed, six on the right bank and six on the left side of the river. All of the forts have been kept fairly well up to date'. The heavy guns, in* their concrete casements, are raised and lowered automatically. The names of the forts on thg right bank of the river are Barohon, Evegnee, Fleron, Chaudfontaine, Embourg and Boncelles. The average distance between the forts is four miles, but Fleron and Chaudfontaine are separated by little over a mile in a direct line, as they defend the main line of the railway from Germany. The blx forts on the left bank, also commencing at the north, around a western curve, are Pontlsse, Liers Lantin, Loncln, Hollogne and Flemalle. It has been estimated by military authorities that 25,000 men would be necessary for an adequate defense of these fortifications today. Liege was made to figure largely in Sir Walter Scott’s novel “Quentin Durward," In which Scott made a notable blunder by speaking of the people of Liege as talking Flemish. The city Is, in fact, the center of the Walloon country. The Walloons are Romanized Gauls,In a much truer sense than their Flemtty it •V- f-' ■*" 'S‘ '

ish neighbors, and speak the French language. The city first appears in history in the sixth century, at which time a town grew up around the original chapel founded there by St. Monulph, bishop of Tongres. In the _ century the episcopate of Notger, which had succeeded the early line, was marked by .large territorial acquisitions, and the see became reoognized as an independent principal* lty of the French empire. There were many popular risings for freedom from the exactions of the episcopal sovereigns, who were also occupied in preserving neutrality in the various wars and preserving their territory from being raided by invading armies. Taken by Marlborough. They were only in psrt successful. Liege was taken by Marlborough in 1702, and the fortress was garrisoned by the Dutch until 1718. The French revolutionary armies overran, the principality in 1702, and from 1794 to the.fall of Napoleon It was annexed to France, and was known as the department of the Ourthe. The congress of Vienna in 1816 decreed that Liege, with the other provinces of southern Netherlands, should form a part of the new kingdom of the Netherlands under the rule of William I, of the House of Orange. The cjty of Liege took an active part in the Belgian revolt of 1830, and since that date the ancient principality has been Incorporated into the kingdom of Belgium. ' ' The principal point of interest to the tourists-in Liege has been the great cathedfab or church of St. Paul, founded in the tenth, century

and rebuilt in the thirteenth century. The University, founded in 1817, is one of the largest in the country and enjoys a high reputation for education in the art of mining and manufacturing. There are many beautiful gardens and the rivers are spanned by splendid bridges, but the larger portions of the city have a crowded aspect of narrow, crooked streets. The railway lines through. Liege are the direct routes from Cologne to Paris and from Luxembourg to Brussels, the possession of either of which would be valuable prizes to the German army. Waterloo, the place which everybody knows as the scene of the downfall of Napoleon at the hands of the allies on the 18th of June, 1815, is not on a direct line from Liege, but lies some sixty miles from it in an air line, south of Brussels.

STREET SCENE, LIEGE