| Show FRANC E W na CANAL 7 7 arz az A Z 4 4 A smile from the proposed canal route in france national national prepared by geographic in society IV 1 11 at 0 u D V C service WO french cities bordeaux and TWO tort carcassonne assonne the former a great and the latter a sleep an dent clent inland town are literally in the wiy way of the canal which france Is planning to dig from the atlantic ocein ocean to the mediterranean sea thus affording it a new waterway to the ter terra noan from the west vest bordeaux will bo be the hie atlantic ter minus of the canal which will include portions of the lie garonne baronne riter find and the canal du midi which was built in the I 1 he canal will be about miles long and will nill cost approximately bordeaux Is seldom jn in the headlines in pence peace times but let parts be threat ened cried from tile the north or the east and bordeaux would doubtless resume its old place in the spotlight during the franco I 1 ranco prussian war w nr when the enemy enem occupied paris and again during the early birly days dais of the world war ar before the germans had been stopped in their initial rush on the french capital the machinery of government go eminent was hastily transferred to the great commercial city on the left bank of the Ga givonne baronne ronne at the time of the french revolution too 06 the alie used bordeaux as their chief headquarters geography Is bordeaux trump card not only in time of ivar ar but in time of peace as well nell although a seaport the city Is CO 60 miles from open sea on a river that provides adequate dock ing facilities but Is still not deep enough tor for warships warship 1 of heay heavy draft A few barges judiciously sunk across the channel would block everything else at any time desired far down in the sou southwestern th western part of france the city has prospered almost undisturbed since it first came into bromine prominence nee as the capital of secunda ot of the romans bordeaux however lio should not be re gardea only as a governmental pinah hitter it Is a thriving commercial city the fourth in population in france and has a foreign trade exceed among french ports only by marseilles find havre with the province of burgundy in the eastern part of france the district around bordeaux shares the wine producing honors of tho the country the yanks remember bordeaux Bora bordeaux eaux is largely terra incognita to the average tourist none of the aar large e transatlantic lines from north america terminates here although there are many smaller companies especially ally those connecting france with south america nor Is it on any heavily traveled route to other oilier parts of europe bordeaux cannot benefit by way traffic as can I 1 marseilles nice or lyons travelers to spain and to the shore resorts around biarritz Biar ritz gen r brally pass through the city without stopping the american doughboy however knows bordeaux when the united states went into the world war var the railroads in tile the northern part of france were greatly overworked an and d clicked choked with traille the northern nort liem ports too were menaced by tile the submarine tho the brest southward conditions were better brest st nazaire Naz alre nantes bordeaux an and d bayonne thus thu s spring suddenly into front page headlines or of american newspapers docking facilities even nt lit bordeaux were rather poor at that time it was necessary tor for american on engineers fincers virtually to reconstruct some of the ports in tho the spring of only two large ships could bertli berth for unloading at the same time in bordeaux but a year later th there ere were places for fifteen ve vessels s linssen a small village six miles down the baronne tl aronne from bordeaux was wag given line fine docks find and warehouses A great deal of 01 tile the supplies and ammunition of tile the A R B F P nero ivero landed here bordeaux was one of tho the few cities to benefit by abo war commercial but attractive despite tile the fact that it la Is largely a f commercial city bordeaux Is in many respects very attractive tho the main i part of the city curves around the left bank of the garonne baronne river which nt lit this point describes a wide semi I 1 circle low T white houses liquor take tile the place of 0 the tenements so characteristic of other french fionch cities while the public buildings are grouped in the center of the city along public gardens or line the imposing qunis quays of the wa tei ter front the whole city Is s surrounded by a elide circle of boulevards tile the cathedral of st andre started in the eleventh century Is considered one of the best proportioned gothic churches in southern france fiance the pont do bordeaux Gorde aut one of the bridges connecting tile city vv etli tile the right bank of tile the caronne garonne Ga ionne ronne was long considered among the finest in the world many of t the magn magnificent incent private pi hate lie homes in es of the city were built when the great merchants of bordeaux Dorde aus were at the height of their wealth and power and are aie comparatively com ely modern around bordeaux Boide aus are smiling hills and fresh valleys covered with vine yards lards the vines they produce have lave made the district famous and have S sent ent the names of medoe graves giaves sauternes st edillon Em IllOn etc around the world nearby also la Is tile the little town of 0 f cognac which hns has lent its name mine to the most potent of french liquids it Is the center of the girandy br a ady trade of tile the district south 0 of f bordeaux s stretch great pine forests find and regions of waving grass like those of our r southern ou thern atlantic states carcassonne assonne Is two towns carcassonne assonne straddles the river aude about 60 50 0 of f toulouse travelers linvel eis arriving at tile the railway station in the so called new town on the west bank of the aude scan the panorama for a city of antiques but it Is not found on that side of the river new town only about three hundred years older linn early amerlean towns sonic of the tie inhabitants of the old town across the river revolted against the king kin of france and were driven out of tile tha old town walls they were allowed to settle on oil tile the site of the new town that was in 1247 A beautiful shaded parkway near the railroad station introduces car massonne cas sonne but a few steps beyond the traveler Is in between walls of stone and brick buildings rising sheer from the sidewalks the T lie streets run nt at right angles forming solid blocks the monotony of wl which 1 leh Is relieved only by a few squares and small parks ancl a wide shaded boulevard the place barnot la is a combined market alnee loading place and meeting place in carcassonne assonne famous walls of the old city cross the river aude enter the gates of tile the old town and you are on it a site which ch was occupied by a settlement somewhere back in the mists of history you may cross the aude by a modern bridge or with the ancient ramparts ram pants ahead of you you might prefer the old thirteenth century span tile the frowning gray walls of the old town were impregnable when battering rams were the high explosives of attackers there are two walls with about 28 feet between thern them one glance at these ramparts ram pants convinces the traveler that one his was right when lie said that only famine or treason within tile the walls we its could cause the capture of tile the town the walls form an irregular oval about the old town and lave have only four openings one opening in each wall Is large enough to admit horses and wheeled vehicles ind and each Is guarded by a series of turrets and towers the other openings are mere holes in tile tho wills walls wide enough for only one man to squeeze through inside narrow cobbled streets breathe tin an atmosphere of many centuries ago there Is the venerable st nazaire cathedral with stained glass windows depicting niblo bible scenes and the chateau where high walls once echoed with the guy gay revelry of car massonne cas sonne feudal lords TI these i e se old structures look down upon streets almost deserted for the eife of car massonne cas sonne today Is in tile the new town where the wine trade ono af pf of tile old trades of the city still flourishes |
